Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins
The Caps lost this game, straight up. The Pens outshot them, they outplayed them, and they won 4-3 in the shootout. They shouldn’t have even gotten the point from this one. Alex Ovechkin scored his first of the season, a welcome sight for Washington fans. He also assisted on a goal and had a whopping six shots. Samsonov went 24-for-27 between the pipes, letting in Jake Guentzel’s fivehole goal in the shootout. Casey DeSmith played hard for the Pens but had some struggles when his defense left him vulnerable. This raises a desperate debate regarding what the Pens should do for their goalie of the future. Nevertheless, they can sleep easy knowing they knocked off the rival Caps in the first of eight meetings with the team. I cannot wait to see how this rivalry shapes up this season if every game features such close scoring.
Chicago Blackhawks at Florida Panthers
Keith Yandle preserved his ironman streak at the mercy of the Panthers organization. Then he scored a nice goal for his team in the second period. Chris Driedger looked stunning for the Panthers, making incredible saves to preserve his team’s leads. He went 21-for-23 on the night. The Panthers crawled all over the Hawks early in this game, and I imagine their team is deathly afraid of the state of Florida after the beginning of this season. That will severely limit their golf options come playoff season. Congratulations go to Eetu Luostarinen for scoring two points in his Florida debut. The centerman had one assist in eight games with Carolina last season.
Three Stars of the Night
First Star: Keith Yandle (Scored a fuck-you goal when his team wanted to move on)
Second Star: Alexander Ovechkin (scored first goal of season, earned assist in SO loss)
Third Star: Eetu Luostarinen (goal and assist in season debut)
Honorable Mentions: Jonathan Huberdeau (goal, two assists in Panthers’ victory)
Alex DeBrincat (powerplay goal in Hawks loss)
Victorious Laughingstock Award: Florida Panthers Management
Big Tex Goes to College 