Ten teams faced off on the third day of the NHL regular season. Solid young goaltending from Vitek Vanicek led the Washington Capitals against the Sabres, winning 2-1. In Ottawa, the Sens’ rebuild looked deadly against a struggling Toronto Maple Leafs squad that looked lost against a physical opponent. Ottawa won the First Battle of Ontario 5-3. Chicago seemed like a different team against Tampa but still fell 5-2. The Pittsburgh Penguins kept it close into the third period against the Philadelphia Flyers after an early 3-goal collapse. In Red Wing-esque fashion, they lost 5-2
Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres
Vitek Vanicek kept the Caps in this game as he made 30 saves and shut out the Sabres in the first two periods. His one goal against came early in the third and he immediately bounced back, unfazed. His efforts in the final seconds of the game were S-tier as he scrambled to make clutch saves. The Sabres defensive game played its heart out, but Washington somehow scored two goals on 21 shots. The offense for Washington looked a bit stagnant, especially coming off of a six-goal performance in its last outing. It’s still too early to judge either team, but in such a compressed schedule
Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers
The Pens were in this game until the third, rallying from a 3-goal deficit to come within one goal. Travis Konecny scored a hat trick and assisted on an Oskar Lindblom goal for the Flyers. Tristan Jarry played like dogwater, giving up three goals on six shots. Casey DeSmith tried to help the Pens rally with a 0.923 save percentage but his offense couldn’t bail him out against the defense of the Flyers. Like the last game, the Penguins were disadvantaged by poor goaltending early in the game. Playing from behind from early on, the Pens just couldn’t complete the Herculean feat of tying up their in-state rivals. Tough break.
Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning
The Blackhawks paced the Lightning in almost every way except goals as Andrei Vasilevskiy went full Fort Knox. Blake Coleman looked solid for the Bolts, scoring a goal and assisting on another with five shots on goal. Colin Delia did his best, but facing such a deep roster as the Lightning with a rebuilding and simultaneously aging roster is like climbing Mt. Everest in a tank top and shorts. (Fun fact, Delia won the first and only NHL game I have ever attended.) I am excited to see the Blackhawks face other opponents because I feel these last two games will prove to be the exceptions and not the rule. The Hawks have too many solid scorers despite the efforts of the injury bug.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators
Derek Stepan scored a greasy goal after his linemates forced a turnover from Auston Matthews’ line in the third period. That play summarized the game for the Leafs nicely as they could not keep up with the Sens’ physical presence. Like a young Mitch Weaver in the beginning of the film “Dirty Work,” the Leafs were forced to give up their lunch money. Perhaps they can come up with some trickery to get even with their provincial rival in the future. Brady Tkachuk was an X-factor in this game, buzzing all game and making his presence known at every point. John Tavares tried to spark a rally with the final goal of the game, but his team couldn’t clutch up.
St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche
Gabe. Frickin’. Landeskog. The firecracker who scored his 200th career goal in an offensive avalanche (see what I did there). Jordan Binnington didn’t collapse; his defense simply left him out to dry. Landeskog scored No. 199 to break the scoreless tie, while Andre Burakovsky extended the Avs’ lead. Landy scored No. 200 to go up 3-0 while Mikko Rantanen scored his 100th goal of his youthful career with a shot from his knee. The Avs swarmed once they saw a tiny ray of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, with Nazem Kadri scoring a rebound off of a nifty play by Nathan MacKinnon. Then MacKinnon scored his own powerplay goal with a little more than 8 minutes to go. Around 30 seconds later, Joonas Donskoi added an even-strength marker. Then Devon Toews added a tally with the man advantage. The powerplay scored six goals on seven chances, and the team went supersonic. Ville Husso looked decent for the Blues, especially when the defense left him drier than cow bones in Death Valley. At points, the Blues looked worse than the Wings. Hopefully the Blues don’t like skiing, because it looks like this gongshow will spoil any good vibes a trip to the mountains might bring. One thing is for certain: Phil Grubauer could’ve been asleep and still won this game.
Three Stars of the Night:
First Star: Vitek Vanicek (0.968 save percentage, one goal against in debut victory)
Second Star: Travis Konecny (hat trick, assist in 5-2 victory over rival Pens)
Third Star: Brady (now known as “Gravy”) Tkachuk (goal, 2 assists, 5 hits, +3)
Honorable Mentions: Gabriel Landeskog (2 goals, including his 200th career tally)
Nathan MacKinnon (1 goal, 2 assists, 5 shots)
Shouldn’t Have Traded Murray Award: Tristan Jarry (3 goals against, 0.500 save percentage)
“You Blew It” Award: St. Louis Penalty Kill (1-for-7 against Colorado)
Big Tex Goes to College 