Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings (3-2), the Boston Bruins were triumphant over the Colorado Avalanche (5-4), the Anaheim Ducks got chewed up by the San Jose Sharks (1-4) but it was the matchup between the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks that completely blew me away (and not just because I’m a Flames fan, either).

The Flames were trounced 6-0 in the season opener against the Canucks.  Roberto Luongo, who is the first goalie to be a captain, shined by stopping all 25 shots that he faced while Flames netminder, Miikka Kiprusoff, let in 6 goals.  It was absolutely terrible.

I’ll tell you, though, Vancouver’s line with the Sedin twins and Steve Bernier has the potential to be crazy. 

image credit:TSN

Looking at all of the things that lay ahead, I got really excited.  The IIHF championships, the Winter Classic, the All-Star events and even the trade deadline (yeah, I’m already thinking ahead to that) aren’t even that far away anymore. 

Check out this year’s important dates:

• Oct. 9 - 2008-09 NHL regular season begins in North America.
• Nov. 8 - Hockey Hall of Fame Game, Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs.
• Nov. 10. - Hockey Hall of Fame induction, Toronto.
• Dec. 1 - Signing deadline for Group 2 free agents.
• Dec. 19-27 - Holiday roster freeze in effect. No waivers, trades and loans permitted.
• Dec. 26-Jan. 5 - IIHF World Under 20 Championship, Ottawa.
• Jan. 1 - NHL Winter Classic 2009. Detroit Red Wings vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Wrigley Field,  Chicago.
• Jan 22-26 - All-Star break.
• Jan. 24 - NHL SuperSkills Competition, Montreal.
• Jan. 25 - NHL All-Star Game, Montreal.
• March 3 - Trade deadline, 3 p.m. EST.
• April 9-19 - IIHF Under 18 World Championship, Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn.
• April 12 - Last day of 2008-09 regular season.
• April 15 - Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.
• April 24-May 10 - IIHF World Championship, Switzerland.
• May 25-30 - NHL Combine, Toronto.
• June 15 - Last possible day for Stanley Cup finals.
• June 26-27 - NHL draft, Montreal.
• July 1 - Free agency signing period begins.
• July 5 - Deadline for player-elected salary arbitration.
• July 6 - Deadline for club-elected salary arbitration.
• July 10 - Deadline for eligible players to elect Group 5 free agency.
• July 20-Aug. 4 - Salary arbitration hearings held.
• Aug. 6 - Deadline for salary arbitration decisions to be rendered.

image credit: TSN

I guess things won’t change too much for fans of the Anaheim Ducks since so much of their stuff must be sponsored by them anyway since the Ducks play at the Honda Center (I’ve never been inside but I saw it from the outside this summer and it looks really nice!). 

image via honda.com

There is still time to help Hockey Night in Canada choose a new anthem!  On the CBC site, they have whittled it down to just five semifinalists.  Now it’s your turn to vote!  You must first register and then you can cast your ballot through any of the following means:

PHONE
Call 1-900-451-9999 and press the number for your favourite anthem when prompted. $1 per call.

TEXT MESSAGE
Simply text the corresponding number for your favourite Anthem to 777 111 50¢ per text.

WEBSITE

1. Gerry Mosby - http://anthemchallenge.cbc.ca/gerrymosby/246136
2. Robert Fraser Burke - http://anthemchallenge.cbc.ca/robertfraserburke/293438
3. Graham McRae - http://anthemchallenge.cbc.ca/grahammcrae/313543
4. Christian St-Roch & Jimmy Tanaka - http://anthemchallenge.cbc.ca/christianstrochjimmytanaka/330387
5. Chris Oberst - http://anthemchallenge.cbc.ca/colinoberst/289271

The videos are acting a little strangely for me but I think it’s just that so many people are trying to watch them at the same time.

image via CBC.ca

The New York Rangers celebrated a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning today in the season opener in the Czech Republic.  Just as Daniel Alfredsson failed to be victorious in Sweden during the Senators’ first official game of the season, Marcus Naslund also fell in his home country. 

Bolts netminder, Mike Smith, turned away 39 shots on goal which makes it almost criminal that they lost that game, especially considering the fact that Henrik Lundqvist was barely tested (he made 20 saves). 

The teams will play against each other again tomorrow.

image credit: TSN 

Ottawa Senators captain, Daniel Alfredsson, had to deal with a 4-3 overtime loss in his native land today when his team was defeated in the season opener by the Pittsburgh Penguins.  That must have sucked not only for him but for the Swedish fans.  Fortunately, it wasn’t the landslide victory I was worried it might be.  I think Pens goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury made a huge difference today, making 32 saves compared to Martin Gerber’s 26 saves. 

Since it was a relatively close game, it should be interesting to see what happens when they meet again tomorrow.

image credit: TSN

There are some games happening all the way in Europe so make sure you know what time it comes on for you (these are listed in Eastern Standard Time). 

Here are today’s scheduled games:

• NY Rangers at Tampa Bay - 12:00 PM
• Pittsburgh at Ottawa - 2:30 PM

Pre-season games:

• NY Islanders at Boston - 4:00 PM
• Minnesota at Montreal - 7:00 PM
• Philadelphia at New Jersey - 7:00 PM
• Detroit at Toronto - 7:00 PM
• St. Louis at Atlanta - 7:00 PM
• Los Angeles at Phoenix - 10:00 PM

image credit: TSN

I would like to see the Habs get close to winning the Stanley Cup this season.  I think that, if Carey Price, can hold it together, they will have a really good chance.  I’m not saying he needs to carry the team but I am saying that I hope he’s feeling a little more experienced so that he can trust himself and the team can trust him too. 

image credit: tsn

Last year, the 27-year-old player played with both the Kings and the Detroit Red Wings, posting three goals and five assists (8 points) in 54 appearances.  Not great but maybe he will fit in with the Sabres and they can help him develop his game.

image credit: TSN