"Opening Night"
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Posted by Kerrzy
Banners were raised, fans were thanked, Stanley Cups were handed out and games were broadcasted. On any other day of any other winter this wouldn’t be out of the ordinary but after a long hockey-less winter and a drawn out summer of negotiations, the puck finally dropped on a new season in the NHL.
Every team in the league was in action on this much-awaited day of hockey, the first time all of the new additions and subtractions from the lineup are truly felt. A lot of players made immediate impacts in their new homes like Peter Forsberg who racked up two helpers for the Flyers, or Jeremy Roenick scoring two goals in his first game as a King. Penguins rookie Sidney Crosby earned his first assist on opening night with a cross-ice feed to Mark Recchi who put it home after the New Jersey Devils’ rookie Zach Parise notched a goal and an assist.
It wasn’t all good news on the first night of play as Toronto captain Mats Sundin took a puck to the face and will apparently be out for 4-6 weeks with a broken orbital bone in his face, an injury similar to that suffered by Dany Heatley in Europe last year.
Heatley was seeing fine on the night though, his goal in the NHL’s first ever regular season shootout sealing the victory for his Ottawa Senators, while Kariya’s goal in his first game with the Predators and Selanne’s goal for the Mighty Ducks brought back old memories of the Dynamic Duo. Jaromir Jagr put home two goals and added an assist showing shades of his former self and the old days of the Jagr salute.
It was the young players stealing the show on this night as most of them were playing in their first NHL games. Alexander Ovechkin scored twice in his first game and on his first shift, Ovechkin nailed a player so hard that the glass broke on impact. He certainly made his arrival to the league well known. Former London Knights forward Danny Fritsche, not to be upstaged, also scored himself two goals for the Columbus Blue Jackets who’s rookie sensation Gilbert Brule also chipped in with an assist.
Marcus Naslund’s two goals helped to sink the Phoenix Coyotes in Wayne Gretzky’s coaching debut while Michael Ryder’s third period powerplay goal lifted the Canadiens over their Original Six rival, the Boston Bruins.
Atlanta dropped their first game of the season to Minnesota and have been dealt a harsh blow today with the news that Kovalchuk is likely headed home for Russia to play there which will not help Atlanta’s chances.
Moral of the Story: I can’t believe hockey is really on again, this is crazy!