Yes, I’m exceptionally aware of what the calendar says and how I’m immediately turning on air conditioning as soon as I enter my car or my apartment. This coming weekend it will once again be well over 90 degrees where I am; I fully expect to be ODing on anti-perspirant. I am also aware that there are meaningful playoff baseball and basketball games being played this week–best two-of-threes where entire seasons are being determined with one shot or hung pitch. I personally know Cubs, Red Sox, Phillies and Caitlin Clark fans that are on pins and needles and that has nothing to do with our outsized levels of humidity.
But I’m also an unapologetic hockey fan and I’m actually paying attention to the beginning of what will be the lengthiest NHL season in history. For only the second time in the league’s 109 years–and for the first time on North American soil–regular season games are being played in September. And for only the third time–the first in more than 30 years–that regular season has been expanded by two additional games to a total of 84. On those previous occasions in the early 90s the league used those opportunities to audition 17 different North American cities being considered for the eventual expansions and necessary relocations that occurred in the back half of the decade. Five–Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, Minneapolis and Phoenix–got that future (two, of course, eventually lost it). This time around, the additional games will be with divisional or regional rivals with a nod to their pasts. And opening night had that on display at the outset.
With perhaps nods both to the European market and the level of competition that was peaking later in the eveningh the actual lidlifter saw the first puck drop shortly after 5 p..m. et. As THE ASSOCIATED PRESS’ bots reported, it was a dilly:
The Carolina Hurricanes gathered at the blue line, the Stanley Cup sitting on a table a few feet away, and watched a championship banner rise to the rafters amid roaring home fans.
From the visiting bench, the Florida Panthers — the team that had won the Cup the two years before Carolina’s June breakthrough — patiently waited through that 15-minute ceremony to remind everyone that they’re fully back from an injury-hammered year.
It added up to a tight-checking, goaltender-dominated and sometimes testy reunion between title winners with playoff history between them. And it took a blue-liner in Gustav Forsling to finally end it by blasting a one-timer past Brandon Bussi with 4.3 seconds left in overtime that pushed the Panthers to a 1-0 season-opening win.
“Playoff-style hockey,” Forsling said. “That felt like a playoff game to me. It was awesome, really fun.”
The NHL said it marked the third time in its modern era (since 1943-44) that the two previous Cup winners met in a season-opening game, the others coming in 1962-63 and 2019-20.
Speaking of old-school rivalries, none is perhaps more storied and seasoned than that of the one between Montreal and Toronto. Les Habitants have re-emerged as a true destination for players and fans thanks to a well-liked coach and exceptional young talent. The Leafs, starting their 60th season without a Stanley Cup, were beginning a new era after a summer of overhaul and opportunity. At least last night not much changed, as NHL.com Independent Correspondent Dave McCarthy observed:
Josh Anderson and Alexandre Carrier each had a goal and an assist for the Montreal Canadiens in a 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday. It was the season opener for each team.
“We focused on a lot of things in camp, paying attention to detail,” Anderson said. “Obviously, we had a little bit of a slow start (tonight), but we got some momentum on our hands and started to roll from there. I liked our compete level, and obviously Jakub Dobes made some huge saves for us tonight.” Zachary Bolduc scored, and Dobes made 26 saves for the Canadiens.
William Nylander scored twice, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves in his debut for the Maple Leafs, who were playing their first game under coach Jim Hiller. Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, was minus-2 with one shot on goal in 15:19 of ice time in his NHL debut.
“It was a lot of fun,” McKenna said. “Obviously you want to get the win but to get that first one under my belt, it feels good.
And still another new era was unfolding on Mark Carney’s West Coast that had a slightly better outcome, per McCarthy’s partner in crime Gerry Moddejonge:
The Vancouver Canucks recovered after blowing a three-goal lead in the third period to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 in overtime at Rogers Place on Tuesday. Paul Cotter won it for the Canucks at 1:59 of overtime. He forced a turnover by Oilers defenseman Ryan Shea along the left boards and slid the puck to Max Sasson while laying on the ice. Cotter then got back up to this skates, took a return feed from Sasson, and deked to his backhand for the winner past Tristan Jarry. Cotter scored twice, Sasson had a goal and an assist, and Filip Hronek had two assists for the Canucks, who pulled out the win in Manny Malhotra’s debut as coach…
“Not the way we drew it up, for sure,” Malhotra said. “Obviously, a lot of really good things to be able to score five goals in a game. Obviously, we don’t want to give up three in the third period, that’s something that we’ll definitely need to work on, but just the resiliency to stay with it for us was a huge factor in the game. And then guys stepping up in big ways. “‘Lanks’ made some key saves, especially down the stretch there, and our kill did the job throughout the course of the game against, obviously, an elite power play. … But just overall, the joy of winning a game takes precedence right now.”
The balance of the opening night slate had the misfortune of featuring teams going head-to-head with their respective cities’ baseball wild card combatants. So while I’ll allow that there was probably some second screen attention being paid by the Bruins’ gaining an Angstrom unit of revenge on New York by shutting out the work-in-progress Rangers just as the Yankees were doing same to the Sawx and the Blackhawks’ somewhat competitive stand against the Vegas Knights as the Cubs were in the process of being shut out by San Diego neither had my rapt attention.
North of the border NHL Opening Night is a way bigger deal than it is here. It’s not 90 degrees (temperature is measured on the Celsius scale in any event) and we’re less than two weeks away from their iteration of Thanksgiving. I know they care more about hockey even if you can’t bring yourself to just yet. But fear not, you’ll have your chance soon enough. The lenghtiest season ever awaits.
Courage…