There were a bunch of goals, a couple shutouts (a couple near-shutouts, too), and even some people climbing up the all-time leaderboards.
Here are four things we learned in the NHL on Thursday night.
Maurice cracks top 10
The Stanley-Cup-contender Winnipeg Jets got off to an extremely impressive start with a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. The game itself was a tad closer than the final score suggests as it was a one-goal game until the Jets scored three quick goals in the third, and four total in the frame.
In the winning effort, head coach Paul Maurice picked up his 649th win as head coach, which moved him into 10th in all-time NHL wins.
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was near-perfect in the Jets’ opening game of the season stopping 41 of the 42 shots the Blues threw at him, only managing to get their lone goal in the final six minutes of the third period.
Goals Galore
[sidebar]
Within five minutes of Thursday’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, the goal light had already gone off three times.
Just three minutes later, two more pucks found the back of the net and by the end, 13 goals were scored in the 7-6 Penguins win against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
During the game of offensive prosperity, Brooks Orpik scored his first goal in 182 regular season games; Alex Ovechkin picked up his second of the season, moving him into sole possession of 18th all-time in goals scored; and Kris Letang got off to a hot start with two goals (including the game winner), moving him into a tie with Paul Coffey for most points by a Penguin defenceman.
Most impressively, the Capitals have now put up 13 goals in their opening two games. In comparison, it took the Buffalo Sabres six games to score that many to start out the 2017-18 season.
Carrick impresses in debut
It was just on Tuesday that Connor Carrick was traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Dallas Stars, and the trade paid instant dividends for the American-based team.
Dallas scored all three of its goals within the first six minutes of its game against the Arizona Coyotes, and it was Carrick who picked up an assist on each of the first two goals.
Carrick played solid the rest of the game, logging 16:14 of ice time and managing to fire a shot on net.
Trotz brings winning pedigree to Long Island
Last summer, Barry Trotz coached the Capitals to the Stanley Cup in the last year of his contract. Soon after, he joined the New York Islanders and soon after that, their captain John Tavares left as a free agent to join the Maple Leafs.
It was a grim off-season on Long Island but now that the 2018-19 season is underway, it’s time to look to the future. So far, so good.
Trotz picked up a W in Game No. 1 when his Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 in overtime, and it was largely on the back of goaltender Thomas Greiss, who swatted away 45 shots and came within two minutes of picking up the much-deserved shutout.
[relatedlinks]
