4 takeaways from opening night of the NHL season
The NHL season triumphantly returned Wednesday night, featuring a four-game slate that included dramatic pregame ceremonies, a captaincy unveiling, an overtime winner, and much more.
To put a bow on the first night of the 2019-20 campaign, here's one takeaway from each contest.
Leafs finish strong on captaincy night
After weeks of suspense, the Toronto Maple Leafs anointed John Tavares as captain to kick off opening night. However, the hype was short-lived, as Brady Tkachuk put the Ottawa Senators in front 25 seconds after puck drop to suck the life out of Scotiabank Arena.
Toronto ultimately lured its home crowd back in, putting together a dominant performance in a 5-3 victory. Auston Matthews buried two goals and all the new bodies from a summer full of roster turnover contributed; Tyson Barrie racked up two primary assists, Ilya Mikheyev notched his first NHL goal, and rookies Rasmus Sandin and Dmytro Timashov each collected the first point of their careers.
When the final whistle blew, the Leafs had controlled 59% of shot attempts, 59% of scoring chances, and 62% of expected goals at five-on-five.
Caps' top six spoil banner night
In a battle of the last two Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals took down the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime. The home squad started hot with two goals in the first eight minutes, but the Caps took over from there and didn't look back.
Washington finished the game at 59% Corsi For while owning 60% of scoring chances and 61% of expected goals at five-on-five. The club found a ton of success through its top two lines, which is a great sign moving forward.
As usual, Alex Ovechkin found the back of the net while his line produced several chances, but Washington's second unit of Jakub Vrana, Lars Eller, and T.J. Oshie did considerable damage as well. The trio owned a whopping 73% of shot attempts, and Vrana - who's expected to take on a larger role in the offense this season - registered five shots and the overtime winner in over 17 minutes of work.
Look out for this offense when Evgeny Kuznetsov returns from suspension.
McDavid and Draisaitl: Still very good
The Edmonton Oilers didn't look all that inspiring while hosting the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, but their two superstars did enough to treat the home crowd to a win.
Leon Draisaitl was a force. He skated with purpose and picked up right where he left off last season with a goal and a two assists. Connor McDavid looked merely pedestrian until a third-period showstopper electrified Rogers Place and completed the Oilers' late comeback.
Edmonton entered the season hoping for more out of its supporting cast, but sometimes, you have to take what you can get.
It's worth noting the Canucks looked solid in this one. They largely controlled play at even strength, while Tyler Myers, J.T. Miller, and Quinn Hughes all found the scoresheet. Tough result but an encouraging performance for Vancouver.
The Golden Knights are scary
Only one side of the high-profile Pacific Division rivalry was ready for the rematch of last season's controversial playoff series, and it wasn't the San Jose Sharks.
The Golden Knights seemingly played in a higher gear all night, cruising to a 4-1 victory. Vegas was in control in all facets of the game, scoring two goals at even strength, one on the power play, and one shorthanded. The club also out-chanced the Sharks 29-8 at five-on-five and won the overall shot battle 35-22.
Vegas' top line had 14 shot attempts to four against, while Mark Stone and rookie Cody Glass - two-thirds of the club's second unit - each scored. A full season of Stone stands to be huge for the Golden Knights, who fully looked the part of Stanley Cup contenders in their first test Wednesday.
(Advanced stats courtesy: Natural Stat Trick)