Hockey is Back!! 10/12-10/14 Recap

The NHL season is back and we saw three games among the better teams in the last three nights that had implications for the Metropolitan Division (returning to 2019 divisional format, to be explained below), and we will dive into those games in the following paragraphs. Welcome back to full arenas and a somewhat normal atmosphere hockey fans, keep your seatbelts fastened because it's going to be a long and bumpy ride from now to the Stanley Cup Playoffs!

(Image Credit - NHL.com)

Divisional Recap - The divisions, as most of you know, we realigned last year to maintain as little travel as possible between major cities. The NHL decided that each team playing in one bubble wasn't feasible after the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and last season was the result. The Divisions included: The North Division (All Canadian Teams), The East Division (PiT, WSH, NYR, NYI, PHI, BOS, NJD, BUF), The Central Division (CAR, CHI, CBJ, DAL, DET, FLA, NSH, TBL), and The West Division (ANA, ARZ, COL, VGK, MIN, STL, LAK, SJS). This format was very good for a season but wasn't feasible to continue either due to the frequency of the teams playing each other and the season being just 52 games as a result of the re-alignment.

The Divisions this season will go back to what they had been before, with the newly added Seattle Kraken franchise making an appearance in the Pacific Division. The typical divisions are as follows:

The Metropolitan - Pittsburgh, Washington, Philidelphia, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Carolina, Columbus, and New Jersey.

The Pacific - Anaheim, Seattle*, Vegas, Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, LA, San-Jose(* - denotes new franchise for 2021-2022 season).

The Atlantic - Buffalo, Ottawa, Toronto, Florida, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Boston, Montreal.

The Central - Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, St. Louis, Nashville, Chicago, Winnepeg, Arizona.

Now for the game recaps, which will be short and sweet:

Pittsburgh @ Tampa Bay - NHL Season Opener & Lightning 2021 Banner Raising [10/12/2021]

Game Notes: Tampa came out with not a lot of momentum, and it ultimately hurt them as Pittsburgh went right through the defending champs and shut down their offense in this game. Penguins scored 6 goals in total, 3 on Andrei Vasilevsky, and 3 Empty-Net. Tampa scored just 2 goals all game long, both against Tristan Jarry, who was stellar in net when tested for Pittsburgh. Final Score - Pittsburgh: 6 - Tampa Bay: 2.

New York Rangers @ Washington - Washington Home Opener, Rangers revamped team debut. [10/13/2021]

Game Notes: The Capitals were up to their old ways on Wednesday night in Washington, steamrolling the Rangers en route to a 5-1 victory at Capital One Arena. The Caps stars came to play, with TJ Oshie scoring a big goal early, rookie Hendrix Lappiere getting his first NHL goal in his first appearance for Washington, and Alex Ovechkin netting two goals to pass Marcel Dion for 5th all-time on the NHL goal-scoring list.

Pittsburgh @ Florida - Panthers Home Opener, Penguins second game of Florida road trip before 8-game homestand. [10/14/2021]

Game Notes: The Penguins and Panthers were bound to have a beauty of a game at Florida Live Arena on Thursday Night. The Penguins coming in from that HUGE win in Tampa & riding high, and Florida coming off a loss to start the season, looking for a spark. The Panthers started on time, while the Penguins had to catch up in the second period. Jake Guentzal made his return from the Covid list for Pittsburgh and was absolutely flying all over the ice, especially in the third when he scored the go-ahead goal. The Panthers fought back again though, with Arron Ekblad showing why he is a difference-maker for that team. He evened things up late in the 3rd, forcing OT. The Penguins had a few chances early in the extra frame, including a breakaway, but ultimately gave a 2-on-1 and the extra point. The goaltenders both made fantastic saves, keeping their teams in it when they needed it most. This is the kind of game every hockey fan was dreaming of watching this offseason. Final Score: Florida 5 - Pittsburgh 4 (OT).

As I said before: buckle up fans, this is just the beginning of what should be a FANTASTIC season. Grab some drinks, grab some friends, and prepare for the ups and downs the NHL regular season will bring.