Jimmy Howard looked really good in the limited chances that he faced. Health is the only real question I have about him though. He's proven himself capable.

 

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The Panthers-Lightning matchup was a rather physical affair from what I saw. That was mostly caused by the Panthers who didn't have much puck possession so instead decided to get chippy, especially after the whistle. Honestly, it didn't seem like they were all that interested in playing hockey. This led to some early power play opportunities for the Lightning.

 

I really did not like the looks of the Lightning top power play unit. It consisted of Steven Stamkos, Valtteri Filppula, Ryan Callahan, Ondrej Palat and Victor Hedman. I'm cool with the pieces but not the deployment of them.

 

For whatever reason they had Stamkos triggering things from the right half-wall instead of on the left side setting up for his big one-timer. I get that they want to get their best player the puck on his stick but taking away his biggest weapon just isn't how you do it.

 

And that doesn't even mention the fact that everyone else on the ice was left-handed making the prospect of setting up a one-timer passing from the right to the left a more difficult proposition. I'd say that this was a case of players getting mixed up because hockey is a fluid game but this was the case on multiple power play attempts, like it was their intent, which is baffling.

 

They did eventually convert on three of their seven attempts but one of those was by the second unit and one came in the four-on-four overtime so the power play was only four-on-three.

 

So the top unit was not all that impressive though they did get a goal from Callahan, which is encouraging for his owners.

 

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You have to respect the Panthers showing enough offense in this one to force overtime. Two goals is definitely more than they averaged last season. Can't say I expect them to keep even this level of scoring up though.

 

Jonathan Huberdeau owners will be excited to hear that he got on the board. He managed just nine goals in a disappointing sophomore season. He was frequently skating with Aleksander Barkov and Jussi Jokinen, which is as good as it gets in Florida.

 

Aaron Ekblad got his first NHL point on Huberdeau's goal. Expect him to be a mainstay though not a fantasy option this season.

 

Roberto Luongo was the most impressive Panther I thought. He stopped 29 of 32 to keep the Panthers hanging around in a game they really weren't in.

 

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So the New York Rangers may have only one scoring line but it could be a lethal one. The top line of Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis and Chris Kreider combined for all three of the Rangers' goals and all seven of their points. And yes that means St. Louis was playing center. He obviously got dominated on faceoffs but otherwise he looked just fine. What a wonderfully speedy line that is.

 

Otherwise, the most notable thing the Rangers did was kill penalties. They held the Blues scoreless on five power play chances, an impressive feat and a repeat of their strength from last season. Also Henrik Lundqvist played like the King.

 

I'm sure some of you are wondering about Dan Boyle. He left the game early and did not return. Looks like a broken hand that will cost him 4-6 weeks.

 

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The most impressive Blues last night were definitely Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko. Schwartz got in on both goals for the Blues, scoring the first and setting up the second with a terrific back-check and strip. Just a complete player. It's a shame he doesn't figure into their power play plans anymore, which cripples his upside.

 

The big players for the Blues on the power play were Paul Stastny (who left the game briefly but returned long enough to have a Tarasenko shot deflect off of him for his first goal as a Blue), Kevin Shattenkirk, David Backes, TJ Oshie and Alexander Steen. No real surprises there.

 

The second unit consisted of Jori Lehtera, Tarasenko, Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester and a rotating cast of forwards, sometimes including Schwartz.

 

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I can't claim to have watched a second of the Senators-Predators game but it looks to have been a dominant showing by the Preds, winning 3-2 on the scoreboard and controlling the shot game 37-20.

 

Craig Smith opened the scoring for Nashville but if you are looking for a reason to be pessimistic, his goal came on the second power play unit, which limits his potential.

Filip Forsberg had two assists be he too was on the second power play unit, which again, is reason for pessimism.

 

The top power play unit was shutout, continuing some of their struggles from the preseason. I still like this unit, however. With James Neal, Shea Weber and Mike Ribeiro they have three guys who have scored at least 25 PPP in a season at this level. Roman Josi is a capable second defenseman on that unit. My only question is about the presence of Gabriel Bourque with that group. Bourque is a player I have no faith in.

 

Neal, by the way, was scoreless but had seven SOG. You can take the gorilla out of the jungle but you can't take the jungle out of the gorilla, which is to say, shooting pucks is what Neal does.

 

*

 

What an awesome game that Chicago-Dallas affair was. It was WIDE OPEN with great speed on both sides. I even felt like the Stars were the better team. They lost in the skills competition mainly because Corey Crawford played unreal in net stopping 32 of 34 chances, many of which were glorious opportunities.

 

The Stars power play clicked on 1/6 opportunities, which isn't a great ratio but it did look dangerous. Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky notched their first power play points as Stars, assisting on a goal by Trevor Daley.

 

Daley, one of my dark horses for this season, got the goal while skating 24:36 including 5:38 on the top power play unit. Alex Goligoski also skated some top power play unit minutes, but nowhere near what Daley did. Score one for Daley.

 

Valeri Nichushkin saw only 10:53 in this one. There were quite a few power plays going both ways though and Nichushkin doesn't play special teams right now so there was only so much time available for him to skate. When he was out there it was with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin but the lack of special-teams minutes is still disappointing. It's why I'm not high on Nichushkin for short-term production.

 

*

 

My Art Ross pick Patrick Kane managed only one point in this one. He actually didn't look great for much of when I was watching. The game seemed to be too much of an end-to-end speed battle for him to shine. Kane is more of a quick, darting player than a flat out speed guy so the end-to-end stuff can be tough sledding. Or maybe the Stars were just doing a great job of controlling Kane on the counter attack.

 

Once four-on-four overtime started Kane dazzled nearly ending the game multiple times with some beautiful flourishes. And he wound up scoring the decisive goal in the shootout.

 

Patrick Sharp was dynamite in this one for the Blackhawks. He scored a goal and an assist with six SOG. He was just blazing the puck at every opportunity on the power play.

 

Duncan Keith also got off to a good start with two points. I figured we'd see some pull back in his numbers this year but so far that seems false.

 

I think that the Blackhawks may be in some trouble with a lack of depth this season. Their bottom pairing of David Rundblad and Trevor van Riemsdyk was awful and skated less than 20 minutes combined after getting benched for the third period.

 

The Blackhawks also had Dan Carcillo and Jeremy Morin skating fewer than seven minutes each. Tough to have so many liabilities against a deep team like Dallas.

 

Brad Richards was skating on the second power play unit and third line so he takes a huge hit to his potential.

 

Andrew Shaw was playing second line center and on the top power play unit. He didn't score but this is an awesome opportunity for him to get to 50 points.

 

*

 

Wow. What a statement by the Minnesota Wild. It's only one game but their 5-0 victory confirms a couple of things that a lot of people were thinking headed into this season. The first being that the Wild would be improved, potentially reaching contender status. The second was that the Avalanche and their poor puck possession ways would be in for a rude awakening this season.

 

Look at that shot differential, 48-16 for the Wild. They TRIPLED the Avalanche in shots. That's embarrassing.

 

Semyon Varlamov was pulled after two periods and Reto Berra came in to stop all 10 shots he faced. I'm not saying that Berra has a chance to steal Varlamov's job. I am saying that Varlamov has a chance to not be a top-20 goaltender this year, let alone a top-five goaltender like he was last season.

 

*

 

How about Zach Parise's line last night? One goal, two assists, plus-four, NINE shots on goal.

 

Darcy Kuemper got the shutout, if it even counts as one having only to make 16 saves.

 

These two teams play again Saturday night in Colorado, let's see if the Avalanche actually show up to play.

 

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Do we have to talk about the Oilers game? I don't want to. On the positive side, they outshot the Flames 40-26. On the negative side, they lost 5-2. So hey, they "won" the possession battle. Is this what progress looks like? If so, I don't want it.

 

Ben Scrivens got lit up in this one. It seemed like most all of the Flames' chances were of a high quality variety. They didn't need shot volume since one in five shots found the back of the net. I don't put this on Scrivens but I also know he just lost a big opportunity in the battle for playing time with Viktor Fasth.

 

*

 

Karri Ramo had an impressive showing for the Flames turning aside 38 of 40 shots. He's a backup I could definitely see stealing the starting job but no you shouldn't get all antsy and grab him in your pool. Calgary still won't be good, which is why Ramo could steal the job. 

 

Mason Raymond with a hat-trick in this one. I don't see him being a consistent producer so don't grab him on account of this performance. The only forward I trust in this lineup is Jiri Hudler who had a goal and an assist.

 

Joe Colborne assisted on all three Raymond goals if you are somehow invested in him.

 

*

 

Blake Wheeler had himself a stat-stuffer of an evening. Two goals in 15 seconds, an assist on top, a plus-two rating and he fought Shane Doan for five PIM. That's a Gordie Howe hat-trick ladies and gentlemen. What a beauty.

 

Bryan Little also had a two-goal game for the Jets, helping to get things off to a great start.

 

Of course, this being Winnipeg, things had to go sour somehow. Sure enough, Evander Kane had to leave the game early and it looks like a serious knee injury. Nothing firm yet but don't be optimistic.

 

*

 

Shane Doan with two assists and the fight to give the fans a little something to cheer about in the home opener.

 

The ghost of Martin Erat went minus-four in this one.

 

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You can follow me @SteveLaidlaw.