By ESPN Stats & Information | ESPN.com
Hockey fans welcomed the opening of the season on Saturday with a robust slate of action on ice. The puck dropped to start the Kings game at about 3:29 ET. That means the hockey drought, since the end of the Stanley Cup finals, lasted 221 days, 17 hours and 41 minutes. The defending Cup champion Kings didn’t fare well, losing 5-2 to the Blackhawks. The Kings are the fourth defending Stanley Cup champion in the last five seasons to lose their home opener.
Blackhawks 5, Kings 2
* Marian Hossa (CHI): 2 goals (72nd multigoal game, 4th-most among active players)
* Jonathan Toews (CHI): Goal; 1st time he's scored in team's season opener (6th NHL season)
* Jonathan Quick (LA): allowed 3 goals in 1st period (allowed 4 goals total (2 SHO) in 4 games vs Blackhawks last season)
* Kings: 4th defending Stanley Cup champion in past 5 seasons to lose home opener
FROM ELIAS: It was the eighth time in NHL history that the defending Stanley Cup holder lost its season opener by a margin of three goals or more and only the second time in the last 24 seasons. Since 1988–89, the only other three-goal loss by a defending Cup winner in its season opener was inflicted on the Ducks by the Kings, 4–1, on Sept. 29, 2007 in a game played in London, England.
Penguins 3, Flyers 1
* Penguins: have won 5 straight road openers
* Evgeni Malkin (PIT): Ast; 53 Pts (20G, 33A) in 37 career games vs Flyers
* Sidney Crosby (PIT): 19:00 TOI, 3 SOG
* Claude Giroux (PHI): Goal in 1st game as captain (28 Pts (13 G, 15A) in 18 games vs Penguins since start of 2010-11 season, including playoffs)
FROM ELIAS: The Penguins won their season opener despite getting only a minimal offensive contribution from their resident superstars, Sidney Crosby (no points) and Evgeni Malkin (one assist). But that’s been par for the course for Crosby and Malkin when they’ve participated in season-opening games for Pittsburgh. Crosby has scored only five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in the seven Penguins openers in which he’s played (he missed the 2011–12 opener) and the only one of those games in which he recorded more than one point was the 2006–07 opener against the Flyers (1 goal, 1 assist). Malkin has played in six Pittsburgh season-openers and scored only five points (2 goals, 3 assists), with no multiple-point games.
Bruins 3, Rangers 1
* Rangers: 4-game win streak AT Bruins snapped
* Bruins: win 2nd opener in last 10 seasons; snap 3-game losing streak in season opener
* Tuukka Rask (BOS): 20 saves; 95.2 save pct is best since Jan. 5 2012
* Milan Lucic (BOS): Goal; 2nd career goal vs Rangers in 19 games
Lightning 6, Capitals 3
* Lightning: won 3 straight season openers
* Martin St. Louis (TB): 2 power-play goals, helping Tampa Bay go 3-for-7 on power play (3 multigoal games last season; 1st multi-goal game came in 46th game of season)
* Joel Ward (WSH): 2 goals (1st multigoal regular season game since March 18, 2009)
* Alex Ovechkin (WSH): 0 goals, 0 ast (Capitals were 6-25 last season when Ovechkin didn't score a goal or an assist in a game)
Stars 4, Coyotes 3
* Jaromir Jagr (DAL): 4 points (2 goals, 2 Ast); 55th career game of 4+ points (most among active players)
* Jagr: 118th multigoal game (2nd-most among active players - Teemu Selanne 129)
* Stars were 50.0 pct on PP (2 of 4) and Coyotes were 40.0 pct on PP (2 of 5); teams were tied with NHL-worst 13.5 Power Play percentage last season
* Coyotes: 4th straight season opener on road; fall to 2-2 in those games
FROM ELIAS: Jaromir Jagr was the third player in Stars franchise history (including the team’s years in Minnesota) to record at least four points in his first game with the club. The others were Brad Richards, who tallied five points (all assists) in his first game with Dallas on Feb. 28, 2008, and Roland Eriksson, who registered four points (all assists) while making his NHL debut with the North Stars on Oct. 6, 1976.
Blues 6, Red Wings 0
* Vladimir Tarasenko (STL): 2 goals in NHL debut
* Chris Stewart (STL): 2 goals (12th career multigoal game)
* Blues: largest shutout victory since 7-0 win over Predators in Oct. 2002
* Red Wings: worst shutout loss since 6-0 defeat to Islanders in Jan. 2010
Maple Leafs 2, Canadiens 1
* Nazem Kadri (TOR): PP Goal in 1st; 2nd career Power Play goal (1 in 1st 51 career games)
* Phil Kessel (TOR): 2 Ast; 0 Pts in previous 4 games vs Canadiens
* Maple Leafs: 3rd straight win in season opener
* Canadiens: lost 3 consecutive season openers
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