Five Storylines to watch out for on NHL’s Opening Night Part 2
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.
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.
4. New Faces in New Places
We saw Joe Thornton in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey for the first time in a game last night, which was very, very weird, while we also saw defenseman Alexander Romanov make his NHL debut for the Montreal Canadiens, as did forward Nils Hoglander who scored in his first game for the Vancouver Canucks. And there will be more of that tonight.
The obvious one is Alexis Lafreniere, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, who will make his debut for the New York Rangers later, but we will get on to the generational talent shortly.
Elsewhere around the league, Taylor Hall will make his much-anticipated debut for the Buffalo Sabres who are looking to end their nine-year absence from the postseason, while we will see if a new-look Detroit Red Wings team, spearheaded by veterans in the ilk of Bobby Ryan and Marc Staal can deliver their new team a win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Then there is the small matter of elite defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who was the biggest prize available in Free Agency, making his debut tonight for the Vegas Golden Knights, who open their 2020-21 season against the Anaheim Ducks. Pietrangelo signed a seven-year, $61,600,000 million contract with Vegas in the offseason and he’s expected to be the final piece in this franchise’s hunt for a Stanley Cup.
Let’s not forget about future Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara, either, who is expected to make his debut for the Washington Capitals tonight after signing a one-year, $795,000 contract in the offseason. And, let’s be honest, it is probably going to be just as weird, if not more so, seeing Chara in another jersey other than a Boston Bruins one as it was witnessing Joe Thornton not in a San Jose Sharks uniform. These are strange times we are living in.
3. How will Boston cope without David Pastrnak?
The Boston Bruins open up their 2020-21 NHL season on the road at the New Jersey Devils tonight, but they will do so without their elite scorer David Pastrnak, who is still sidelined after undergoing hip surgery during the offseason. He is back on the ice and skating on his own, although he’s expected to be miss the first few weeks of the season.
Therefore, the Bruins will have to make do tonight without the man who scored 48 goals in 2019-20 and ended up sharing the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy with Alex Ovechkin. The good news, however, is that Brad Marchand will be available tonight after making a quicker than expected recovery from hernia surgery in the offseason.
It is also expected that rookie Jack Studnicka, who was taken with the 53rd overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, will skate on a line with Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, and the prospect will have the opportunity to impress in Pastrnak’s absence.
No Pastrnak will certainly be a relief to the New Jersey Devils, who will be starting a new era of Devils hockey under new Head Coach Lindy Ruff. This is a big year for New Jersey who will need to see considerable improvement from their young core, including the likes of 2019 No. 1 overall pick Jack Hughes, but it won’t help their case that they are stuck in an absolutely loaded East Division.
Players in the ilk of P.K. Subban, who put up just 18 points (7 G, 11 A) in 2019-20 in what was his debut season for the Devils, and more will be expected of the veteran defenseman who could play a big role under Ruff this season.
I’m most excited about seeing Jack Hughes in his second season, though, with the forward having bulked up during the offseason and seeming determined to put a disappointing rookie year, in which he recorded 21 points (7 G, 14 A) in 61 games with a plus / minus rating of -26, firmly in the rearview mirror. Hughes will center the top line for the Devils in Nico Hischier‘s absence and, if he can get off to a hot start against the Boston Bruins tonight, then it could be key to the New Jersey Devils getting off to a surprising start.
2. Alex Ovechkin Vs. Taylor Hall
One of the most intriguing games to keep an eye on tonight is between the Washington Capitals and the Buffalo Sabres, with plenty of storylines to keep us all entertained in that one showdown alone.
Firstly, Alex Ovechkin’s quest to beat Wayne Gretzky‘s All-Time Goals record of 894, with the Great Eight currently sitting on 706 goals. Granted, a shortened 56-game schedule won’t help Ovechkin’s cause but, if anyone can do it, then it is the Russian superstar.
And Ovechkin can actually overtake Mike Gartner (708) in seventh place on the list with a hat trick tonight, while he’s only 35 behind Brett Hull (741) who sits in fourth, so it is feasible that Ovechkin can do some serious damage in getting closer to The Great One this year.
It won’t be easy to score tonight against a Buffalo Sabres team, however, who are determined to prove that this is the start of a new era for this beleaguered franchise. They haven’t been to the postseason in nine years, yes nine, and in order to put an end to that drought the franchise hired a new General Manager in Kevyn Adams this offseason.
Adams immediately went to work and sent ripples throughout the hockey world when he signed Free Agent forward Taylor Hall to a one-year, $8 million deal, before also trading for veteran center Eric Staal from the Minnesota Wild. With a big jump expected from the likes of stud defenseman Rasmus Dahlin this year too, the Sabres should be a lot better than they have been.
They better be or else they risk upsetting franchise cornerstone and Captain Jack Eichel further, who won’t take another year or two without Playoff hockey lightly. Therefore, expect the Buffalo Sabres to do whatever it takes this year to try and make the postseason, and it will be fascinating to see how quickly Hall and Eichel can forge a deadly understanding out on the ice.
1. Let the Lafreniere Era Begin
It all starts tonight. Yes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Alexis Lafreniere will make his long-awaited NHL debut for the New York Rangers tonight. It will be a special night for the generational talent, despite playing in-front of an empty Madison Square Garden, and it will also be a special night for Blueshirts fans who get to see their bright hope of the future in action.
And it will also be special because Lafreniere’s debut will come against the New York Islanders, the first of eight games between these two rivals this season in the incredibly stacked East Division. This is always a mouthwatering showdown anyway but especially so tonight given all the additional storylines.
Not only will you have Lafreniere’s debut, with the winger expected to start on a third-line with Filip Chytil and Julien Gauthier, but star center Mika Zibanejad will play after recovering from COVID-19 while Artemi Panarin is worth tuning in for this game alone, with the superstar coming off a 95-point campaign in 2019-20 (32 G, 63 A).
Take it in. pic.twitter.com/yC6h7l7rS4
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 14, 2021
This could be the year the Rangers take that next big step in their journey back towards the glory days, and it all starts tonight with their new face of the franchise in Alexis Lafreniere set to be unleashed on to the biggest stage.
Let’s not forget about the New York Islanders, though. They are coming off a year in which they made the Eastern Conference Final in 2019-20, and they will fancy their chances of being one of four postseason teams in a stacked East Division.
Built on sturdy defense, the Islanders also have a rookie that is getting everyone excited in goalie Ilya Sorokin, although Semyon Varlamov is expected to get the start between the pipes tonight. But there will still be plenty of intrigue surrounding the Islanders tonight, much of it on star center Mathew Barzal who will be expected to carry the offensive load on his shoulders once again.
Next. Stone perfect Captain for Golden Knights. dark
You could say that it is going to be between the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins for those final two Playoff spots in the East, so tonight’s game will be an early marker and the Battle of New York is about to get a whole lot bigger and better, thanks in large part to the Alexis Lafreniere show, which has its grand opening tonight.