NHL Flyover: NHL Opening Week

The NHL Flyover is a weekly look at the games happening across the NHL. I’ll look at game outcomes and stand-out stories from around the NHL.

The beginning of October always starts off with a lot of excitement. It is the beginning of hockey season, the time of year that hockey fans and players alike can get excited about games that count and where fans get to see their favorite players on the ice and remember why their heroes are exactly that off the ice. The hockey season started on October 2nd and in case you missed it, here are the highlights from around the league. 

AROUND THE NHL 

WEDNESDAY: 

• The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators with a final score of 5-3.
• Meanwhile, in St Louis, the reigning champions, the St. Louis Blues were upset by the Washington Capitals in overtime, 3-2.
• The Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2.
• The Golden Knights finished out the hockey’s opening day by beating the San Jose Sharks, 4-1. 

THURSDAY: It was a busy day in the NHL with 8 games played.

• The Anaheim Ducks and the Arizona Coyotes opened their seasons against each other with the Ducks winning in regulation, 2-1.
• The Boston Bruins got off to a good start by beating the Dallas Stars, 2-1.
• The Buffalo Sabres beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-1 victory.
• The New York Rangers came out strong by beating the Winnipeg Jets in a 6-4 win
• The Tampa Bay Lightning lit up the board 5 times against the Florida Panthers, winning 5-2.
• The Carolina Hurricanes won in a shootout against the Montreal Canadians.
• The Nashville Predators beat the Minnesota Wild, 5-2.
• While the Colorado Avalanche beat the Calgary Flames 5-3. 

FRIDAY: Quality over quantity; there were fewer games on Friday, but they were just as exciting.

• The Capitals followed up their first game with a second win over the New York Islanders, winning 2-1.
• The Golden Knights also won, beating the Sharks 5-1.
• The Jets upset the Devils by coming back to win in a shootout 5-4. 
• The Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks played in the NHL Global Series in Prague, Czech Republic. It was a hard-fought game in a sold-out crowd of a mixture of all types of hockey fans, excited to be able to participate in an exciting event. The Flyers pulled out a 4-3 win after barely holding on to the lead for the entirety of the game. 

IMPACT OF THE WEEK: 

THE ST. LOUIS BLUES: The noteworthy team or player this week is the St. Louis Blues. During their playoff campaign and Stanley Cup win, the team found an honorary member of their team named Laila Anderson. Anderson suffers from a rare, life-threatening immune disease at only 11-years-old. Anderson got to watch her team not only win the cup but got to be a part of their celebrations and raise the cup herself. 

This week, the Blues came through with a surprise for their superfan once again. The Stanley Cup rings that the team received were inscribed with Laila’s name, forever tying Anderson and her story to St. Louis history. Blues players Alex Steen and Colton Paryako surprised Anderson with her own Stanley Cup ring.