Things that the First Day of 2013 NHL Taught Us

Alright, because there are so many games on today, and I'm watching three of them at once, instead of doing an entire posts about a game or two, I'm just going to abbreviate summaries and my thoughts into a compilation of random points.

I must say though, it really felt real that hockey is back when I heard Pierre McGuire on TV once again. I missed that. And then I knew it was really back when Don Cherry started ranting on CBC. It's really back.

So what's happened in the first games of the 2013 NHL season?

• The LA Kings took their banner raising ceremony, and turned it into a huge Hollywood production, including a final victory lap with Good Ol' Stanley. Yes, all teams have a nice, celebratory banner raising  ceremony, but most don't do what they did. The funniest part of it all though, was the fact that the Kings got killed. For the longest time, Chicago was outplaying the Kings bad, the Kings did eventually pick it up and attempt to redeem themselves, but they still managed to lose 5-2. Really makes that victory lap worth it, eh Kings? 
• That being said, pictures of the Kings' Stanley Cup Champions rings were released today...and holy crap. Wow. Those are some nice looking rings. And done by Tiffany. I like that. 
• And also in that game, first goal of this season goes to... PATTY KANE! 
• Winnipeg can not catch a break. In their season - and home - opener, they lost a 4-1 battle. Winnipeg fans are still as insane as ever though, they did not let the lockout slow them down at all. Everything about them remained the same, including the shout-out to the Jets' owner during the anthem. 
• Opening the season with a classic battle was an obvious choice for the NHL, and the Pittsburgh - Philadelphia game certainly didn't disappoint. From that:
• Philly has not matured at all, and still will chant "Crosby Sucks" whenever they get the chance
• That rivalry will never die. 
• It is pretty much expected that for the rest of the season, the two captains will always be matched up against each other. 
• Bryzgalov is still himself, not much changed there. 
• Matt Cooke has adjusted his game quite a bit. 
• Claude Giroux cut off his flow. 
• Pierre McGuire is as awkward and weird as ever. 
• Luke Schenn hasn't changed at all since he left the Leafs. And that's not a compliment. 
• I have a lot of opinions on that game, but they are pretty clouded because of my hatred for the Flyers so I'm just going to leave it at this. 
• NBC Broadcasts suck and they would prefer to constantly be going between games instead of showing any intermission features. As well as cutting over to the Battle of Pennsylvania instead of showing the end of the LA-Chicago game. 
• Boston is not dead, nor will they ever be. That was a great game. 3-1 final for Boston, with the first goal going to the new dad, Milan LUCIC!I don't think anyone could replicate the smile that was on his face after his goal. 
• In the 4-3 Dallas win over Phoenix, Jaromir Jagr pulled out a whopping 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists). Who says that they old guys aren't as good? That is CRAZY! Good for Phoenix for keeping it close though. 
• Derek Brassard got the winning goal in a 3-2 shootout game for the Columbus Blue Jackets over Nashville Predators. Wow. 
• St Louis Blues beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-0. I don't even know what to say about that game other than HOLY CRAP. I didn't watch that game though. 
• The most shocking outcome of all the games for me though, was the 5-1 win for the Florida Panthers over the newly Staal-stocked Carolina Hurricanes. From the bits and pieces I saw of that game. Wow. Good for Florida though! A big congrats goes to Jonathan Huberdeau on his goal and for Alex Kovalev for scoring in his first game as a Panther. 
• The Tampa Bay Lightning proved why they shouldn't be discounted as a playoff contender yet, in their 6-3 win over the Washington Capitals. 
• New Jersey Devils beat New York Islanders 2-1. Not much to say there. 
• Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. The epitome of a hockey rivalry. It only makes sense that they start the season playing each other. Toronto won this battle 2-1, with Nazem Kadri scoring the first goal of the game! It was great to hear that Kadri was getting way more of a chance this year, and then to score, he's had a good couple days. Congrats to him! 
• Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2. I didn't see any of this game, so I really have nothing to say. 
• In the upset of the season so far, the Anaheim Ducks beat the Vancouver Canucks 7-3. Cory Schneider began the game in net for Vancouver, but  after 5 goals Roberto Luongo took over. Whoa. Shocker. Anyways, after that, the Ducks proceeded to score two more goals to seal the win. That entire time had a crazy awesome game, as opposed to the Canucks who were weak on defense, goaltending and forwards. 
• Teemu Selanne was the perfect example of a hockey player who never seems to age, tonight. The 42 year old, played like he was 20 years younger than he is as he tallied two goals and two assists.

Let's do this!