6 storylines to follow on the 1st Saturday of the season
The NHL is off to a roaring start, but it's about to be cranked up to another level.
Take a quick gander at the schedule and you'll see 15 games on tap for Saturday, with the Boston Bruins being the lone team with the night off.
Anytime 30 teams are in action in a single day, plenty of narratives abound, and that's certainly the case here.
Here are a half-dozen storylines worth monitoring on the busiest day of the NHL calendar to date:
Stanley Cup Final rematch
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators meet Saturday for the first time since their thrilling matchup in the championship round back in June.
The clubs remain largely intact, with the exception of a few offseason tweaks, and it will be interesting to see if there is any lingering hostility between Sidney Crosby and P.K. Subban.
Nick Bonino will also be especially motivated for the tilt, considering he joined the Predators as a free agent in the offseason after winning back-to-back titles with the Penguins.
Hitchcock battles Blues
A matchup between the always competitive St. Louis Blues and a revamped Dallas Stars squad might be compelling enough on its own, but it's even more interesting given Ken Hitchcock will face the club that fired him back in February.
Hitchcock and the Stars met the Blues twice in the preseason, with the Stars winning both contests by a combined 9-3 margin, but it's going to be for real this time.
It's obviously not Hitchcock's first go-round with Dallas, but he'd surely like to make a statement against St. Louis early in his second Stars tenure, and in the regular season.
Panarin vs. Saad
The Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off one of the most unexpected moves of the summer, and the two principal figures of the trade will have their first opportunity to determine who won it Saturday.
Artemi Panarin scored 61 goals combined in his two seasons with the Blackhawks, and he'll look to prove they made a mistake by dealing him away for Brandon Saad.
Saad notched a hat trick in Chicago's 10-1 destruction of the Penguins on Thursday night, and he looks more than comfortable back in his familiar spot alongside Jonathan Toews.
The Blue Jackets and Blackhawks split their two preseason meetings, but now they'll square off with points in the standings at stake.
Welcome back, Karl
Over in D.C., another reunion will take place when Karl Alzner plays his first game in the U.S. capital as a member of the opposition.
The new Montreal Canadiens defenseman inked a five-year deal worth more than $23 million on July 1.
He spent parts of nine seasons with the Capitals, so he'll likely get a warm reception from the fans before attempting to prove Washington erred by letting him walk over the summer.
This could be awkward
Will Butcher won't have to wait long to get his first crack at the club he wasn't interested in playing for.
Back in August, Butcher chose not to sign with the Colorado Avalanche, the team that drafted him back in 2013, instead becoming a free agent and joining the New Jersey Devils.
Those two clubs get the 15-game slate started with the lone matinee Saturday, and the early game will also be worth watching to see how Nico Hischier fares in his NHL debut.
Rivalry renewed
The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are both arguably fading from deep postseason contention, but they always bring it when they play each other.
Saturday's nightcap pits the Pacific Division foes against each other in what could be another spirited contest.
If their playoff meetings and countless regular-season battles of the past were any indication, it should be.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)