Colorado Avalanche – Chicago Blackhawks : 4-2
The game between the Avalanche and the Blackhawks, which had not faced each other for almost two years, was dominated from the start by the Colorado players. After conceding three goals (Jack Johnson, Gabriel Landeskog and Bowen Byram, first NHL goal) in the first period, the Blackhawks never managed to catch up, despite the 32 saves of Marc-André Fleury, who was playing his first game. with Chicago.
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Toronto Maple Leafs – Montreal Canadiens: 2-1
It was the reunion after the elimination of the Leafs by the Canadians, in May, in the play-offs. This time, the surprise finalists from last season missed a lot of chances in the third period and failed to take advantage of their power-play superiority (they even played in double power-play for 1’44 ”) and lost. 2-1 against the Maple Leafs. But they mostly stumbled on a burning goalkeeper, Jack Campbell, who made 96.9% saves, including several double saves.
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Washington Capitals – New York Rangers : 5-1
First victory for the Caps, despite the absence of Nicklas Backstrom, injured in the left hip. Its star, Russian Alex Ovechkin, scored two goals in the third period, climbing alone to fifth place among all-time NHL scorers. With 732 goals, he is 9 goals behind Brett Hull for 4th place. And 162 from leading scorer, Wayne Gretzky. 732nd goal for Alex Ovechkin, therefore, and first NHL goal for 19-year-old Quebecer from the Caps, Hendrix Lapierre, who was making his league debut.
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Anaheim Ducks – Winnipeg Jets : 4-1
Not aggressive enough, the Jets were largely beaten by the Ducks, who are coming off a season where they had collected just 43 points, the second worst total in the League. In his very first NHL game, young Ducks forward Mason McTavish, son of Dave, also scored his first goal, after 13 minutes of play against Winnipeg, becoming Anaheim’s youngest scorer. Anaheim who was also able to count on his goalkeeper, John Gibson (33 saves).
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Edmonton Oilers – Vancouver Canucks : 3-2 (après tab)
After leading 2-0, the Oilers moved up in the final third. A Quinn Hughes goal with less than three minutes to go sent the game into overtime. But the extra five minutes did not work and it was Kyle Turris who finally signed the victory for Edmonton, scoring the fifth penalty (2-1). His goalie, Mike Smith, who had made 36 saves on 38 shots, including three in overtime, stopped four of five.
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