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Rookies made a big splash on opening night

Carolina Hurricanes v Florida Panthers

SUNRISE, FL - JANUARY 19: Jonathan Huberdeau #11 (Center) is congratulated after scoring his first goal as a Florida Panthers against the Carolina Hurricanes during the seasons opener at the BB&T Center on January 19, 2013 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

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Last night’s talk was dominated by the old guys. After all when Jaromir Jagr and Teemu Selanne are racking up four-point nights, you have to take notice. That said, the kids are all right too.

Six different rookies earned points on opening night with five of them scoring goals. Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau teamed up with another old guy in Alex Kovalev to pile up three points each while Huberdeau scored his first career goal.

St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice, including this dazzler for his first career goal, against Detroit en route to a 6-0 win. The Blues have had high hopes for him since picking him 16th overall in the 2010 draft. For now, it looks like the wait was worth the reward.

Then you look at Cory Conacher in Tampa Bay and his two-point night as the Lightning rolled to a 6-3 win over the Caps. Conacher scored his first career NHL goal to help pile on in the third period.

Minnesota’s Mikael Granlund also got his first NHL goal in a win over the Avalanche. Meanwhile, Nazem Kadri got Toronto out front right away in their win over Montreal. Only Ottawa’s Patrick Wiercioch wasn’t able to find the net but did get an assist in the Sens win over Winnipeg.

Today, all eyes turn towards Buffalo’s Mikhail Grigorenko, Edmonton’s Nail Yakupov and Calgary’s Sven Baertschi to see if they can add to the rookie revolution.