Did you know that an average of 12 pucks are used per NHL game? We hope the league has more than just these ones! (© Jmweb7 | Dreamstime)
Hockey fans, rejoice! A new regular season in the NHL is here. The players have rested and trained, the preseason has been played, and the rosters have been set. From now on, the games are real.
The regular season begins!
Hope for the north
Toronto's Auston Matthews and William Nylander will be difficult for any team to handle this season. (Getty Embed)
Four of Canada's seven NHL teams are playing on opening night. The Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Winnipeg Jets, while the Edmonton Oilers host their provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames.
Canada doesn't need much reason to get excited about hockey. But for the first time in many years, there's a lot of real hope for many of the country's teams...
The Edmonton Oilers have the league's best young player, Connor McDavid.
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Edmonton superstar Connor McDavid won almost every trophy possible last season... except the Stanley Cup. He wants to fix that this season. (Getty Embed)
The Montreal Canadiens have the league's best goalie, Carey Price.
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The ever-reliable Carey Price gives the Canadiens a chance to win any game. (Getty Embed)
The Ottawa Senators arguably have the league's best defenseman, Erik Karlsson.
Karlsson almost single-handedly led the Sens to the Stanley Cup final last year... and he did it all while playing with a broken foot! (Getty Embed)
And then there are teams like the Jets, Flames, and Leafs.
Get used to seeing this a lot again this year... Winnipeg's Patrik Laine scores! (Getty Embed)
All three of them are loaded with incredible young players. Winnipeg's Patrick Laine, Mark Scheifele, and Jacob Trouba. Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau, Dougie Hamilton, and Matthew Tkachuk. Toronto's Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner... and on and on...
Matthew Tkachuk is part of a slick-and-speedy young Flames team. (Getty Embed)
Two years ago, zero Canadian teams reached the playoffs (yikes!). Meanwhile, the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup was the 1993 Montreal Canadiens. That was 24 years ago (double yikes!).
Will that all change this year?
The Knight life
Las Vegas hits the ice! (Getty Embed)
And of course, there's also the not-so-small matter of the league welcoming a brand new team. The Vegas Golden Knights. They will open their season on Friday, October 6, with a game in Dallas.
The first year of an expansion team is rarely a great one (especially in a league as competitive as the NHL), but this team still has some first-rate talent on it, including goal scorers James Neal and Jonathan Marchessault, and legendary ex-Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. As the first-ever major pro sports team to play in Las Vegas, expect the Golden Knights to be entertaining at the very least.
Will Sid three-peat?
Will this be the scene in Pittsburgh in June 2018? Sid hopes so! (Getty Embed)
Finally, we'll leave you with this! Even if Connor McDavid looks ready to take over his title as the NHL's best player, Sidney Crosby is still an unbelievable talent on a very good team, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens won their second Cup in a row last season, and Sidney's third overall.
The last team to win three Cups in a row was the 1980–83 New York Islanders (who actually won four in a row).
Can Sid and the Pens add their names to that list? You can bet he wants to!
Okay, enough talk. Drop that puck! May your favourite team have a great season!
