So far, it appears as if Roberto Luongo is the only most noteworthy goalie to get pulled on Saturday (it’s still early, mind you), but there was a feeling a few other big names would be warming the bench after rough opening periods. Then again, maybe their coaches are just shrugging it off, as some NHL players might just be too much to contain.
Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist are enjoying some outstanding early chemistry, for one. The Pittsburgh Penguins raced out to a 3-0 lead as they befuddled Jonathan Bernier and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both forwards have a goal and assist so far, with Crosby’s PP tally impressing:
(Nice play there by Kris Letang, too.)
The Penguins ended up beating Toronto by a jersey-chucking 5-2 margin.
After being held off the scoresheet in the Washington Capitals’ OT loss to the Montreal Canadiens, Alex Ovechkin scored his first two goals of the season against the Boston Bruins. His first of 2014-15 is not just old footage of Ovechkin scoring from his favorite spot, in case you’re wondering.
Washington ended up blanking Boston 4-0 on Saturday.
New York Islanders captain John Tavares and new acquisition Johnny Boychuk are red-hot in their own right. Check out Tavares’ patently ridiculous assist to Cory Conacher:
Boychuk, meanwhile, already has two assists, while Brock Nelson isn’t exactly slouching for the Islanders, either. The Isles survived Jiri Tlusty’s hat trick and beat Carolina 4-3.
Finally, Philadelphia Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds now has two straight two-goal games. This one was a particular beauty:
Simmonds’ duo of tallies wasn’t enough for Philly, as the Flyers coughed up that 3-0 lead and lost 4-3 to Montreal via a shootout.
This isn’t a comprehensive list of players who are starting the season on fire, but these players are making their early opponents pretty miserable in these first few games.