The new NHL regular season begins Tuesday, and there is no
shortage of storylines for fans to keep their eye on.
Here’s what to watch for in Week 1.
Important Matchups And Rivalry Showdowns Right Off The Bat
The first week of the season won’t make or break a team’s playoff hopes. But people need to understand how important each match is for some squads while the parity in the NHL is as strong as it’s ever been.
When teams are making the playoffs on tiebreakers or by a couple of points, any win or loss to a division rival can be critical.
The Montreal Canadiens
– a wild-card team last season – have it particularly tough to start the year
with back-to-back road games against Atlantic Division rivals.
After travelling to play a historic foe, the Toronto
Maple Leafs, on Wednesday, the Canadiens visit another Original Six opponent, the Detroit Red Wings, the next night.
For Montreal and Detroit especially, they need to separate themselves from the rest of the teams in the playoff bubble all season long. So this game is more important than people may think.
The NHL’s marketing centers around the league’s regional rivalries, so those matchups should provide lots of entertainment value early on. But some other ones across the NHL will be worth watching as well for the sake of rivalries and for the standings.
The Edmonton Oilers will take on the Calgary Flames in their first game Wednesday. Calgary then plays the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday in an important game for two teams that lost the playoff race last season. Edmonton then faces Vancouver on Saturday.
There are other rivalries that are a work in progress this year. For instance, Central Division opponents, the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche, face off on Thursday. The Mammoth have every incentive to lock up a wild-card spot in the Western Conference, while Colorado is aiming its competitive bar a little higher, as it focuses on earning home-ice advantage.Â
Any team could theoretically bounce back from a poor beginning to the season or regress after a strong start. But don’t think these games don’t mean anything – they’re quite the opposite.
Veterans Can Hit Major Milestones In Week 1
Tampa Bay Lightning star left winger Nikita Kucherov begins the season just six points away from reaching the 1,000-point plateau in his incredible career.
Considering the Lightning play twice this week, it’s not an exaggeration to say Kucherov might generate six points in these first two games against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
The 32-year-old posted 84 assists and 121 points last season. While that was a step back from his 100 assists and 144 points in 2023-24, Kucherov will reach the 1,000-point mark quickly and drive straight through it.
Meanwhile, Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin is a hat trick away from 900 goals. Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are becoming the first trio in NHL history to play 20 seasons together. Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar is beginning his 20th and final NHL season. And Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and Dallas’ Jamie Benn are each a goal away from 400.
There’s no shortage of noteworthy achievements across the league, and that’s why the savvy hockey fan will be highly attuned to every NHL team’s veteran players.
New Faces In New Places
As is true of every NHL season, there are a slew of familiar faces in unfamiliar cities.
For starters, there are NHL rookies who will be notable to watch this year: Minnesota Wild defenseman Zeev Buium will get a good deal of the spotlight as he challenges Canadiens right winger Ivan Demidov for the Calder Trophy. Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin also will be a prominent rookie who could get Calder votes. The Calgary Flames’ Zayne Parekh and San Jose Sharks’ Michael Misa could also be integral components for their team this season.
Eight bench bosses make their debuts with their new teams this week as well. The Anaheim Ducks hired longtime coach Joel Quenneville to steer them into a playoff berth. The Penguins hired Dan Muse to help lead a youth movement while their veterans are still there.
Former NHL player Marco Sturm will try to guide the Boston Bruins back to the playoffs. Former Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill gets another try, this time with the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Canucks chose former star defenseman Adam Foote to replace Rick Tocchet, who is now coaching the Philadelphia Flyers. The Seattle Kraken hired former New York Islanders coach Lane Lambert after one season of Dan Bylsma. Ex-Pens coach Mike Sullivan is now coach of the New York Rangers, while Glen Gulutzan returns to the Dallas Stars for a second stint.
​​Finally, there are veteran NHL stars wearing different uniforms this season.
Former Leafs star winger Mitch Marner is now a Vegas Golden Knight. Former Winnipeg Jets right winger Nikolaj Ehlers signed in Carolina.
Vladislav Gavrikov left the Kings for the Rangers, while former Capitals center Lars Eller signed with the Ottawa Senators. And former Oilers, Leafs and Sens winger Connor Brown is now a Devil.
All in all, there are plenty of reasons to tune in from every team’s Game 1 through Game 82 this season. Time will tell which players and teams succeed this year, but until final judgment is rendered on them, it’s going to be extremely intriguing to watch everything play out.
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