Let's get this season started

What me worry ?

 Well, it's another season opening night, so let's ask the Beaver what he thinks.

Munch ,munch, munch...well I guess this is a bad time , he's eating right now.  We will inquire later. Anyhow, the pomp and circumstance of the pre season is over and rosters have been settled, and we’re finally watching games that count. 

Obviously, you don’t want to read into openers, but it was encouraging to see a strong performance out of Edmonton.  Mike Smith had a good Oilers debut and Zack Kassian had a strong game.  We saw definitively last season that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl simply can’t carry the Oilers on their own.  They can lead the charge, as they did tonight, but they still need support.  Tonight they got it.

The Maple Leafs also had an encouraging opener.  Only four of their forwards finished the game without a point, highlighting the depth up front that they enjoy.  In particular, Ilya Mikheyev got off to an encouraging start in his NHL debut.

Auston pots a pair

TORONTO 5 OTTAWA 3

Well, it was certainly eventful in Toronto, with John Tavavres emotional entrance as Leaf's captain.
And for the fourth straight time, Auston Matthews scored in the season opener.  He’s just the fourth player in NHL history to find the back of the net in his first four openers.  On Wednesday, he scored twice with his second goal being the game winner.
Ilya Mikheyev and registered an assist.  The 24-year-old was made his NHL debut after scoring 23 goals and 45 points in 62 KHL contests in 2018-19.
Brady Tkachuk scored the first goal of the NHL season.  The Senators sophomore found the back of the net just 25 seconds into the game.
Craig Anderson turned aside 37 of 42 Maple Leafs shots.  He had a 3.51 GAA and .903 save percentage in 50 games last season.
At the other end of the ice, Frederik Andersen saved 23 of 26 shots.  He allowed a single goal in each period.

All hail Captain John

WASHINGTON 3 ST. LOUIS 2 (OT)

Washington spolied the party, and

after raising the Stanley Cup banner, got off to a fast start with Sammy Blais and Alex Pietrangelo bringing the Blues up 2-0 by 7:55 of the first period.  Ryan O'Reilly assisted on both of the goals.
Alex Ovechkin scored a goal for the Capitals.  It was his 659th career goal, which puts him just nine away from the 12th place Luc Robitaille.
Jakub Vrana netted the overtime winner.  He had 24 goals and 47 points in 82 games last season.
Braden Holtby stopped 20 of 22 shots for Washington.  He didn’t face more than eight shots in any period.
Meanwhile, Jordan Binnington saved 31 of 34 shots.  He’s coming off a stunning rookie campaign where he posted a 24-5-1 record, 1.89 GAA, and .927 save percentage in 32 contests.

EDMONTON 3 VANCOUVER 2
Mike Smith won his first game in an Oilers’ uniform.  He stopped 31 of 33 Canucks shots.
Leon Draisaitl scored a goal and registered two assists.  He’s coming off career-highs of 50 goals and 105 points in 2018-19.
Zack Kassian chipped in a goal and an assist for Edmonton.  He finished last season with 15 goals and 26 points in 79 contests.

Tanner Pearson found the back of the net in the third period.  Defenseman Alexander Edler scored Vancouver’s other goal.
Jacob Markstrom kicked out 19 of 22 shots Wednesday night.  Vancouver had a 2-1 lead, but Markstrom was beaten twice in the final 9:08 minutes.

VEGAS 4 SAN JOSE 1
Marcus Sorensen scored the Sharks’ lone goal.  It was assisted by Logan Couture and Brent Burns.

Martin Jones kicked out 31 of 35 Golden Knight shots.  He surrendered two goals on 12 shots in the first period.
At the other end of the ice, Marc-Andre Fleury saved 21 of 22 shots.  It was Fleury’s 440th career win.  He’s five victories away from Terry Sawchuk and seventh place on the all-time list.

Reilly Smith scored twice for Vegas.  The second marker was scored shorthanded at 4:01 of the third period.
Vegas’ Cody Glass made his debut on Wednesday.  He logged 14:51 minutes of ice time and scored a goal.