It’s not always easy for hockey to command attention this time of year, especially when so much else is already active with far greater implications. And if you’re a regular reader to this site, you probably have far more knowledge of the just-begun NBA preseason than the average person might otherwise desire.
But glaringly underrepresented of late has been pro hockey, and for some of us, that’s an oversight that needed to be corrected. Especially since very, very quietly, thousands of miles from either Newark or Buffalo, the 2024-25 NHL regular season got under way earlier today. And per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, it was a lot more of a festive event than either New Jersey or upstate New York could ever provide:
PRAGUE — Jaromir Jagr, the ageless former NHL great, was here to drop the puck for the ceremonial opening face-off, receiving a warm embrace as he was introduced. Also here was the Czech and Slovak Buffalo Sabres Fan Club, wearing their big buffalo horns and being guided by one member with a megaphone and another with a drum, banging away and chanting relentlessly, even when their team was down three goals.
Patrik Elias, the New Jersey Devils all-time leading scorer, got a big ovation when he was shown on the scoreboard before the game. Kids chased after T-shirts thrown by mascots NJ Devil and Sabretooth during the game. New Jersey forward Ondrej Palat nearly scored at the end, coming oh so close to what would have been one of his most memorable NHL goals scored in front of family, friends and thousands of adoring fans.
The Devils defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 in the first of two games in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal at O2 Arena on Friday, opening the 2024-25 regular season with a fast start and a strong finish. That was only part of the story here.
The atmosphere created by the 16,913 in attendance, so many in Sabres blue and yellow or Devils red and black, plus the presence of the Czech hockey stars and Hockey Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom turned a regular-season opener for each team into an event for opening night event for hockey fans in the building and everywhere.
“Tons of fun,” New Jersey captain Nico Hischier said after scoring a goal in the win. “I said it before, I think those games you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
“I know how great the Czech people are about hockey. I was here just at the end of May [for the 2024 IIHF World Championship] and it was something I hadn’t seen a lot either, and tonight was an awesome atmosphere as well. Tomorrow will be the same thing.”
And Hischier apparently has some more exciting times ahead even in North America, as THE ATHLETIC’s trio of Dom Luszczyszyn, Sean Gentille and Shayna Goldman offered in their preview of the Devils’ season:
(W)ith a new coach, a new starting goaltender and the same talented core, the Devils are looking to make up for lost time.
Last season, everything that could go wrong for the Devils did. Instead of becoming the NHL’s next great power, they took a massive step backward.
While some prognostications are treating the Devils’ upcoming season as a surefire return to glory, last season’s epic disappointment should warrant some ceiling skepticism until proven otherwise. Every indication suggests the Devils have a roster that can rule the league for the next decade and that the 2024-25 season will offer a return to form.
A lot of the circumstances — injuries, coaching, goaltending, defensive depth — that led to such a miserable season have changed for the better. There’s no doubt the Devils will improve in 2024-25; they surpass 81 points in 98 percent of simulations.
THE ATHLETIC projects New Jersey to not only return to the playoffs, but as a ninth overall seed in the 16-team field. One major reason for their ebullience is the presence of goaltender Jakob Markstrom, who showed his promise in today’s opener with newsworthy feats such as this, per Rosen:
Jacob Markstrom made the most impossible of his 30 saves possible at 16:57, when he stunned the Sabres and, yes, probably their fan club, with a paddle save on forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who appeared to have a wide-open net until, well, he didn’t.
“Yeah, the stick was crazy,” (Devils defenseman Jonathan) Kovacevic said. “There was so much chaos that it was like, I don’t think everyone caught it, but it was, yeah, hell of a save. He was an absolute brick wall for us tonight.”
The full slate gets under way with a Tuesday tripleheader on ESPN, where the Seattle Kraken will play an afternoon game (1:30 PM local time) against St. Louis to get things going, the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers (still sounds funny, doesn’t it?) will begin their defense against the budding arch-rival Boston Bruins, and finally the erstwhile Arizona Coyotes begin tbeir Salt Lake City life as the temporarily generically branded Utah Hockey Club, where a home crowd more than twice as large as any they got on the campus of Arizona State in the last two years will welcome Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks.
I get jazzed (no pun intended, Utah sports fans) when hockey season starts because it reminds me of cozy nights, a comfortable pace and often intense excitement. Last year it all went on until a couple of days into summer, so it’s arguably even more of a marathon than baseball season. This year, thanks to the Global Series providing a jump-start, it could last a couple of days farther.
You’ll get no complaints here.
Courage…