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This week, the National Hockey League (NHL) saw its pace pick up as its regular season has reached full gear. This week had 42 games on the slate, from Sunday, October 7th to Saturday, October 13. 6 games were decided in overtime, with 3 decisions coming in the shoot-out. Here are the highlights for the NHL's first full week of the season.
On Sunday, the highlight game was between the Los Angeles Kings and the Detroit Redwings. The Kings got a pair of goals from Captain Anze Kopitar, while Ilya Kovalchuk, who was playing his first game back in the NHL, put up 2 assists. Goalie Jack Campbell picked up the win for the Kings, while former King Jonathan Bernier took the loss for Detroit. On Monday night, the Boston Bruins laid a beatdown on the Ottawa Senators 6-3.
The Bruins' star center Patrice Bergeron netted a goal 30 seconds into the game, one of his 3 goals on the night for the hat trick. The Bruins' talented line of Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak had 11 points on the night, as they continue to power the team forward.
Boston’s talented young defenceman Charlie McAvoy had 2 assists on the night. While Ottawa did not have much to celebrate, they did get to watch the debut of their first-round draft choice Brady Tkachuk.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Kings returned to action against the Winnipeg Jets. The game between 2 high powered offenses was expected to be high scoring, however, the teams dug in for a defensive battle. Ilya Kovalchuk scored his first goal of the season, while Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor were able to net 2 goals, giving the Jets the 2-1 win.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs went to the heart of Texas for a match with the Dallas Stars. The 2 teams had their high-flying offenses going full throttle. For the Stars, their high-power line of Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov and Tyler Seguin were on the ice for all 4 of the Dallas goals.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs got a goal from young star Mitch Marner, while John Tavares was able to net 2 goals for his 5 and 6 goals of the season. Young superstar Auston Matthews continued his hot start to the season, scoring his 6 and 7 goals of the season. He has scored in every game this season.
Wednesday featured a rematch of the Stanley Cup Final as the Vegas Golden Knights looked for a little bit of revenge against the Washington Capitals. However, Washington’s big line of Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin combined for all 4 goals on the night, with Ovechkin netting 2, and Backstrom getting his first of the campaign.
Vegas received goals from Cody Eakin and Reilly Smith, but Marc Andre Fleury still took the loss. Brayden Holtby picked up the 5-2 win for the Capitals. Vegas continued on to Pittsburgh for a game the following night. They struck first, with a goal from Tomas Nosek, however, Phil Kessel exploded for 3 goals on the night, all in the first 40 minutes. A late goal from Reilly Smith could not help Vegas claw back into the game, as they lost to the Penguins 4-2.
Elsewhere, two Western Conference powerhouses played as the Winnipeg Jets traveled to Tennessee to play the Nashville Predators. The Jets took 14 penalties, for 60 penalty minutes for the game. Their lack of timing and even strength took its toll, as Winnipeg was unable to find the back of the net. Nashville saw goals from Ryan Hartman, Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen, as they took the match 3-0.
The week wrapped up with 14 games on Saturday, with action all across North America. In New York, the Edmonton Oilers picked up their first win of the 2018-19 campaign, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in the 1st before Connor McDavid netted his 2nd of the season to secure the 2-1 win over the Rangers.
In Dallas, the Stars laid siege on the Anaheim Ducks. The Stars took 50 shots on net, double of what Anaheim took. John Gibson stood strong for the first 20 minutes before he became overwhelmed, giving up 4 goals in the second frame. Dallas put up 5 unanswered goals, after falling behind 0-3 to get the 5-3 win.
The league saw an average of 6.5 goals per game this week. Expect this number to decrease as we progress further into the season. Defenses will tighten up, as teams begin to gel and develop more chemistry.
Looking ahead to next week, keep an eye out for the following games: New Jersey and San Jose play on the 14th, Los Angeles visits Toronto on the 15th, the Oilers will enter Winnipeg and face one of the most hostile arenas in hockey the following night. The Oilers will then look for some revenge against Boston after their 4-1 loss this week, returning home for the game on the 18th. Saturday the 20th will feature Chicago vs Columbus and Montreal heading to Ottawa. It should be a great week of hockey.
