NHL 2022 Opening Night Reactions
The puck has dropped, and the 2022-2023 NHL season is underway. There were two exciting matchups on opening night, one for each conference.
The Eastern Conference had a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals as the Tampa Bay Lightning traveled to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers. The Rangers got some revenge for their playoff loss as they defeated the Lightning 3-1.
While in the Western Conference, there was a matchup of two playoff hopefuls as the Las Vegas Golden Knights went to Los Angeles to take on the Kings. The Golden Knights won a back-and-forth game over the Kings 4-3.
Now let’s jump into the top storylines from each team on opening night.
Tampa Bay Lightning: New Year Same Vasilevskiy
The Lightning may have lost, but it was no fault of the former Vezina Trophy winner.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 36 out of 39 shots, including an absurd 13 saves while the Rangers were on the power play.
Vasilevskiy made some ridiculous stretch saves to rob Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider; otherwise, the final score could have been a much larger Rangers victory.
Steven Stamkos scored the Lightning's lone goal during a second-period power play as he will look to have a similar output to his 42-goal, 106-point season last year.
The Lightning will look to grab their first points of the season on Friday as they travel to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets.
New York Rangers: ZIbanejad’s Playoff Excellence Carries Over
Mika Zibanejad picked right up where he left off after his impressive 14-goal 24-point playoff campaign.
Zibanejad opened up the scoring in the second period deking around a Vasilevskiy poke check and roofing a backhand shot for a short-handed goal.
Then in the third period, Zibanejad struck again as he hit twine for a power-play goal off a one-time pass from Artemi Panarin. Zibanejad was inches from the hat trick as his attempt toward the empty net hit the post and stayed out.
Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin was solid in goal, saving 25 out of 26 shots.
The Rangers will seek to pick up another two points Thursday as they travel to Minnesota to face the Wild.
Las Vegas Golden Knights: Stone’s Late Heroics
In a game where stars from both sides made themselves known, the Golden Knights captain had the night's biggest play.
After a Kings' turnover in the neutral zone, Chandler Stephenson set up Mark Stone, whose wrister beat Jonathan Quick on the blocker side to score the tie-breaking goal with just 24.9 seconds remaining.
Jack Eichel scored off a rebound for his first goal of the season. The Golden Knights will hope last season's midseason acquisition can stay healthy and replace the scoring lost by the departure of Max Pacioretty.
Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson also tallied goals for the Golden Knights.
Goaltending was a concern coming into the season for the Golden Knights as starter Robin Lehner had off-season hip surgery, which will cause him to miss the entire season. Logan Thompson played well in his place, stopping 27 of 30 shots.
The Golden Knights will look to continue their winning ways on Thursday, Oct. 13 when the Chicago Blackhawks come to town.
Los Angeles Kings: Vintage Quick Appears on Opening Night
The Kings may not have come away with any points, but it is at no fault of the former Conn Smythe winner.
Jonathan Quick played like his old self as he sprawled around, stopping breakaways and odd-man rushes in his 47-save performance.
Quick will be an exciting goalie to monitor this season as he chases Ryan Miller’s all-time win record for an American-born goalie.
Gabriel Vilardi, Adrian Kempe and Arthur Kaliyev were the goal-scorers for the Kings.
The Kings will look to grab their first win of the season on Thursday when the Seattle Kraken comes to visit.
Ben Palillo is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bgp5079@psu.edu.
