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Five Storylines to watch out for on NHL’s Opening Night Part 2

By Andrew Steele-Davis

KeyBank Center prior to the game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Washington Capitals. (Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images)
KeyBank Center prior to the game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Washington Capitals. (Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images) /
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KeyBank Center
KeyBank Center prior to the game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Washington Capitals. (Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images) /

We’ve got five storylines for you on the NHL’s second opening night.

NHL hockey was finally back on Wednesday after five games opened up the 2020-21 season, and you can read our five quick observations from those matchups here.

But we really get down to business tonight with a beautiful 10-game slate – yes, 10 games, and there will be a plethora of talking points from those contests to keep an eye on as the night goes on.

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From Alexis Lafreneire’s eagerly-anticipated NHL debut with the New York Rangers to Taylor Hall‘s debut with the Buffalo Sabres to a couple of mouthwatering North Division showdowns, there is plenty to get excited about ahead of all of tonight’s action.

So, without further ado, let’s delve into the five storylines to watch out for on the second night of the 2020-21 NHL Season…

5. Goals, Goals, Goals

Okay, so this is an obvious one to start but expect a whole feast of goals over the 10-game schedule tonight. We saw plenty on Opening Night with no game providing less than five with a total of 37 lamps being lighted across the five games.

We will obviously see a lot more than that tonight given the fact that we are being treated to double the amount of games, but also because teams and certain players aren’t going to be as dialled in yet, especially goaltenders.

Ethan Bear (74)
Ethan Bear #74 of the Edmonton Oilers. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images) /

We all know that it takes goalies longer to get locked in and, with a very, very short Training Camp and no preseason this year, a lot of netminders will have to use the early games of the season to settle into a groove and find their natural game, which means that mistakes and soft goals could be a regular sight over the next week or so.

That is only good news for those of us who love goals, goals, goals and, with plenty of elite offensive weapons on display tonight, expect to see plenty of goalies lift their helmets and look up to the scoreboard in disgust throughout tonight.

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