Panthers, Utah, & Blues Start Strong with Opening Night Wins

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CAN’T MISS HOCKEY NEWS 🎯

☝️ Sam Bennett buries two rebounds, Panthers open their Stanley Cup defense with a 6-4 win over the Bruins. The former 4th overall pick opened scoring 6:27 into the 1st before burying an A.J. Greer rebound in the last minute of the 1st. Eetu Luostarinen scored his 1st of the season 64 seconds after Bennett’s 1st and Sam Reinhart added a shorthanded tally as Florida surged to a 4-1 lead in the first period. Jonah Gadjovich and Even Rodrigues added goals in the 2nd and 3rd as the Bruins fought back, thanks to goals from Pavel Zacha, Charlie McAvoy, Trent Frederic, and David Pastrnak to make it 6-4 with just under 2 minutes to play in regulation but ultimately fell short. Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves for the win while Joonas Korpisalo made 29 saves for the loss in his Bruins’ debut. Read more →

🍾 Dylan Guenther scores twice including Utah’s 1st goal as franchise, Utah Hockey Club wins inaugural game defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2. The recently extended 21-year-old forward blasted a one-timer, setup by Michael Kesselring, just 5 minutes into regulation to give Utah the 1-0 lead before adding an empty-netter in the final minute of the 3rd period. Utah captain Clayton Keller gave his team a 2-0 lead just past the midway mark of the 1st. Barrett Hayton deflected in a Mikhail Sergachev point shot in the 2nd period for the 3-0 lead before Chicago made a push, with Teuvo Teravainen and Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno scoring to cut the lead to 3-2 early in the third. Utah’s Lawson Crouse tipped in an Ian Cole shot-pass with just 22 seconds remaining in regulation. Connor Ingram made 24 saves in his Utah debut. Read more →

✌️ Jordan Kyrou scores twice including game-winner, Blues rally for 3-2 season opening win over Kraken. After trailing 2-0 early in the second, thanks to goals from Vince Dunn and Eeli Tolvanen for Seattle, Kyrou sparked the rally with a power-play goal, rushing wide before cutting across the crease and sliding a backhand five-hole for his 1st of the season. Philip Broberg, making his Blues debut, scored 95 seconds later, snapping one low glove to tie the game at 2-2. And just 20 seconds after Broberg’s tally, Alexandre Texier sent Kyrou on a breakaway where the 26-year-old sniped low glove for the 3-2 lead and eventual game-winner with just over 4 minutes to play in the 2nd period. Justin Faulk added two assists and Jordan Binnington made 30 saves, earning his record-breaking fourth season-opener win for the Blues. The Kraken remain winless in season-openers. Read more →

POLL 🗳️

ICYMI 🥊

A.J. Greer and Mark Kastelic drop the mitts in the 1st period of opening night:

QUICK HITS ⚡️

• Carter Verhaeghe, Panthers agree to 8-year, $56M deal (ESPN)

• Report: Shesterkin rejected eight-year, $88M deal from Rangers (Sportsnet)

• Malkin fast approaching significant milestones with Penguins (NHL.com)

• Leafs confident in goaltending duo ahead of new season (TSN)

• Avs set to begin season under cloud of uncertainty with Nichushkin suspension and Landeskog’s injury (AP News)

• Kraken name Eberle second captain in franchise history (theScore)

COACHES CORNER 🏒

• Use the push-pull method to get the most snap out of your shot (Modern Hockey)

• Great 1-on-1 battle drill starting below the goal line (BTNL Hockey)

TRIVIA 🧠