Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Philadelphia Flyers 1 (from Philadelphia) - The Toronto Maple Leafs are 2-0 thanks to back-to-back road victories to start the season, as they go into Montreal and Philadelphia and spoil both of their home openers. The Flyers got things started on the PP late in the 1st, as Vincent Lecavalier made a nice move behind the net and fed Brayden Schenn infront of the net and he made no mistake beating Jonathan Bernier with only 7 seconds left in the period. The Leafs would tie the game near the end of the 2nd period, as birthday boy Phil Kessel put home a rebound from a Dion Phaneuf shot. The Leafs would seize the lead early in the 3rd, as Dave Bolland converted a Nikolai Kulemin pass for his 1st goal as a Toronto Maple Leaf and a 2-1 lead. Bolland would then ice the game with his 2nd goal of the game on a PP with 23 seconds left, and the Leafs would hold on for a 3-1 win. Jonathan Bernier was stellar in his Maple Leafs debut, making 31 saves on 32 shots.
Three Stars:
3. Phil Kessel (1 goal) - Toronto
2. Dave Bolland (2 goals, including the GWG) - Toronto
1. Jonathan Bernier (31 saves on 32 shots) - Toronto
Detroit Red Wings 2, Buffalo Sabres 1 (from Detroit) - The Detroit Red Wings opened their season at home with a close 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres thanks to 2 goals in 36 seconds in the 1st. Mikael Samuelsson got things started for the Wings, with a beautiful deflection off a Cory Emmerton shot. The Red Wings then took a 2-0 lead thanks to some Pavel Datsyuk wizardry, in vintage Datsyukian style as he deked to his backhand and roofed it over Miller's glove. The Sabres would get one back in the third, as Jimmy Howard's clearing attempt went off a Sabres forward behind the net and right out front to rookie Zemgus Girgensons, who beat a sprawling Howard on his backhand. That was Girgensons first NHL goal in his first NHL game. The Red Wings would hold on for the 2-1 victory.
Three Stars:
3. Zemgus Girgensons (1 goal, his first NHL goal) - Buffalo
2. Jimmy Howard (19 saves on 20 shots) - Detroit
1. Pavel Datsyuk (2 goals, including the GWG)
Colorado Avalanche 6, Anaheim Ducks 1 (from Colorado) - The Avalanche started the Head Coach Patrick Roy era in style with a dominating 6-1 victory. The Avs started the scoring in the 1st, as Ryan O'Reilly picked off a Francois Beauchemin pass and went in all alone on Viktor Fasth, making no mistake on the breakaway. The Avs would then get 3 goals in the 2nd period, as Steve Downie scored his 1st goal since returning from a torn ACL that kept him out of all but 2 games last season. John Mitchell made it 3-0 midway through the 2nd, as him and Tyson Barrie were on a 2-on-1 and Mitchell kept the puck and beat Fasth down low. Jamie McGinn made it 4-0 late in the period, a nifty pass from Nathan MacKinnon setup the goal, and it was MacKinnon's 1st NHL point in his 1st game. The Avs added 2 more in the 3rd, as McGinn scored his 2nd of the game again setup by MacKinnon (tic-tac-toe Parenteau to MacKinnon to McGinn). Matt Duchene made it 6-0 with some nifty passing on the PP, as Alex Tanguay sent a cross-seam pass to Downie at the goal line, who found Duchene wide open at the other side of the net. Jakob Silfverberg scored the lone Ducks goal with 7 seconds left, breaking Semyon Varlamov's shutout bid. The game ended with some controversy, as Ben Lovejoy stuck his knee out on rookie Nathan MacKinnon which made Patrick Roy furious. MacKinnon was okay, but that didn't stop Roy from having a heated exchange with Ducks Head Coach Bruce Boudreau. An impressive 6-1 win for the Avalanche.
Three Stars:
3. Ryan O'Reilly (1 goal, 1 assist) - Colorado
2. Nathan MacKinnon (2 assists in his NHL debut)
1. Semyon Varlamov (35 saves on 36 shots)
Player of the Night - A tie between Jonathan Bernier and Semyon Varlamov, both goalies let in only 1 goal and led their team's to victory.
Highlight of the Night - An easy choice, Pavel Datsyuk with a standard Datsyukian deke that we are so used to seeing time and time again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otuAYN91uVg. Runner up goes to the Avs trio of Alex Tanguay-Steve Downie-Matt Duchene on this beautiful tic-tac-toe goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O71Ka1ZTOpY
Interesting Stat of the Night - After seeing 26 goals in 3 games yesterday, there were only 14 goals in 3 games tonight. All 3 winning goalies, Bernier Howard and Varlamov, each allowed 1 goal each
Whats up next (October 3rd) - There are 8 games on tap for tomorrow night
1. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins @7PM ET (In Boston)
2. New Jersey Devils vs. Pittsburgh Penguins @7PM ET(In Pittsburgh)
3. Calgary Flames vs. Washington Capitals @7PM ET (In Washington)
4. Los Angeles Kings vs. Minnesota Wild @8PM ET (In Minnesota)
5. Florida Panthers vs. Dallas Stars @830PM ET (In Dallas)
6. Nashville Predators vs. St. Louis Blues @830PM ET (In St. Louis)
7. Vancouver Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks @10PM ET (In San Jose)
8. New York Rangers vs. Phoenix Coyotes @10PM ET (In Phoenix)
-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff
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