Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews weren’t the only young stars in action on Tuesday.
No, across the country in our nation’s capital, where Matthews had his legendary debut, another American phenom was getting his season started.
It was a good night for U.S. hockey as a whole, as a couple of American goalies began to take over their team’s respective creases, while a coach who was mocked relentlessly going into the season has led his team to a franchise-best November.
Then there were those plucky Canucks, not ready to give up on their season yet, coming through with a wild win at home.
Here are five things we learned.
Jack is back
Tuesday night featured a welcome sight for Buffalo Sabres fans as Jack Eichel made his season debut after suffering a high-ankle sprain on the eve of the 2016-17 campaign.
Eichel wasted no time making his mark on the game against the Ottawa Senators, assisting on Kyle Okposo’s game-opening marker and then adding a gorgeous goal of his own just a few minutes later.
The Sabres left Ottawa with a 5-4 win despite Senators forward Mike Hoffman’s hat trick effort (his first career three-goal game).
After a string of low goal counts for Buffalo, Tuesday’s win was a breath of fresh air for the Sabres. With the exception of a 4-2 victory over the Flames a week ago, the Sabres haven’t managed to score more than two goals in a game all month.
Ryan O’Reilly was the Sabres’ offensive leader, with two goals and an assist.
All told, Eichel skated just over 17 minutes and had five shots on goal.
The Sabres’ next game is Thursday at home against the Rangers.
The Buyck stops… in Winnipeg
The Winnipeg Jets entered this season ready to move on from the Ondrej Pavelec era.
The team sent the veteran, and his $3.9-million salary to the AHL, paving the way for the highly touted Connor Hellebuyck to take the reigns in net.
It took a couple months, but it appears as though the young American is getting the hang of being a No. 1.
The 23-year-old had maybe his worst start of the season against Nashville on Friday, but followed that with a 42-save shutout of those very Predators on Sunday, and kept the Devils off the board long enough to set the franchise record for longest home shutout streak on Tuesday.
Hellebuyck finished with 23 saves in the 3-2 win and got a little help on Miles Wood‘s sub-optimal penalty shot attempt.
If the idea of a team handing over the crease to a young American goaltender who is starting to come around after a shaky start sounds familiar by the way, it’s because a very similar situation is playing out in Anaheim.
Ducks goaltender John Gibson was superb against the league’s best team on Tuesday, stopping 39 of 40 shots in a 2-1 win over Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens.
Gibson had been outplayed by backup Jonathan Bernier to this point, but perhaps like Hellebuyck the younger competitor is starting to take control.
Post-Gallant era in Florida starts with a loss
There is no sense in judging whether the Panthers made the right move in firing Gerald Gallant based on one game.
So, with our judgment fully reserved, Tom Rowe started his NHL head coaching career with a shootout loss on the road against a team that’s nearly impossible to beat in its home rink.
Florida did outshoot the Blackhawks 39-33, which presumably appeases the analytically inclined front office.
They played well, and could very well have won in the shootout, where Aleksander Barkov‘s Forsberg-esque attempt was denied and Vincent Trocheck lost his balance with a gaping net.
Roberto Luongo stuck with Patrick Kane to stop Chicago’s first attempt, but the veteran netminder bit hard on Artemi Panarin‘s deke before Richard Panik sealed it.
Luongo, as you’d expect, had a sense of humour about the whole thing.
Rangers’ attack strikes again
The New York Rangers looked to be in trouble, facing a 2-0 deficit against the feisty Carolina Hurricanes, but goals from Nick Holden, Rick Nash, and Jimmy Vesey got the team a nice comeback victory.
The Nash goal in particular was a beauty, as the power forward continued his strong start to the season by roofing a backhand past Cam Ward.
The goal gave Nash 10 on the season, making the Rangers the first team this year to boast three double-digit goalscorers (the Leafs would join them later in the night). Michael Grabner (12), and Kevin Hayes (10), complete the trio.
“There’s no doubt that Rick tonight was the leader of this team by his play,” said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault post-game. “He played the type of game that we needed against a tough opponent.”
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Blue Jackets look good in November
Columbus capped off its best November in franchise history with another home blowout, this one coming at the expense of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Blue Jackets outshot Tampa 38-27 in the 5-1 win, giving them a 9-2-3 record in November with a sparkling plus-18 goal differential.
Don’t look now but head coach John Tortorella, who came under heavy fire for Team USA’s performance at the World Cup, has put himself in early contention for the Jack Adams Award.
Columbus got a big performance from Josh Anderson, a fourth-round pick from 2012, on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old from Burlington, Ont., had a goal and two assists in the win over the Lightning.