Chris Kreider netted two goals and provided an assist as the New York Rangers clinched a dominant 5-1 victory against the Buffalo Sabres in the inaugural game under new coach Peter Laviolette. Kreider opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period and later added a short-handed goal in the third. He also assisted Jacob Trouba’s empty-net goal. With this performance, Kreider now holds the record for most short-handed goals since the 2021-22 season, tallying eight in total.
Artemi Panarin contributed a goal and an assist, while Alexis Lafreniere also added a goal to ensure Laviolette’s successful debut. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 24 saves and achieved his 100th career victory since his debut for the Rangers in the 2019-2020 season, which took him 159 games to reach.
Mika Zibanejad dished out three assists, and defenseman Adam Fox reached a milestone with his 200th career assist. For the Sabres, JJ Peterka was the lone goal scorer. They missed the playoffs by just one point in the previous season and are determined to avoid another year without postseason action – a 13-season drought. Goalie Devon Levi made his eighth career start for Buffalo and allowed four goals on 30 shots faced.
In other NHL action, the Dallas Stars secured a 2-1 shootout victory against the St. Louis Blues in their season opener. Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars, and Jamie Benn scored in regulation time. Jason Robertson and Matt Duchene scored in the shootout to seal the win. For the Blues, defenseman Tyler Tucker netted the lone goal, and goalie Jordan Binnington stopped 33 of 34 shots.
The Minnesota Wild shut out the Florida Panthers with a 2-0 victory in their season opener. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped all 41 shots he faced to earn the shutout. Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and an assist, and Brock Faber also found the back of the net for the Wild. The Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk led the team with 10 shots on goal, but Sergei Bobrovsky’s 19 saves were not enough to secure a win.
In a contest between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Flyers emerged victorious with a score of 4-2. Travis Konecny scored twice for the Flyers, with one goal coming in the first period and the other as an empty-netter in the final seconds. Joel Farabee and Cam Atkinson also contributed goals. The Blue Jackets’ Jake Bean and Patrik Laine found the back of the net, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Flyers’ goalkeeper Carter Hart’s impressive performance, with 31 saves.
The New Jersey Devils opened their season with a 4-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings. Jack Hughes netted two goals in the second period, and Dougie Hamilton scored the go-ahead goal in the third to secure the victory. Vitek Vanecek made 32 saves for New Jersey, while Erik Haula also added a goal. For the Red Wings, Daniel Sprong, Alex DeBrincat, and Robby Fabbri were the goal scorers, with Ville Husso making 23 saves in net.
The Nashville Predators claimed a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Kraken in their home opener, celebrating their 25th-anniversary season. Juuse Saros made 23 saves to earn the shutout for Nashville. Colton Sissons, Gustav Nyquist, and Juuso Parssinen provided the goals for the Predators, with the last one being an empty-netter. Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer put up a strong performance in net, making 32 saves, but the Kraken’s offense struggled, scoring just one goal in their first two games of the season.
