Two teams that began the season with impressive road victories face off on Saturday when the Montreal Canadiens visit the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pittsburgh opened its season with a 7-0 win at Philadelphia while Montreal edged the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2.
The Penguins scored multiple goals in each period against the Flyers and finished with a 38-19 edge in shots on goal. According to OptaSTATS, it was the largest road shutout in a season opener in NHL history.
Center Filip Hallander, who missed the majority of last season dealing with a blood clot in his leg, led the way with a goal, two assists and a plus-4 rating while Nicholas Robertson scored twice for Pittsburgh. The victory provided some sweet revenge for the Penguins against the team that knocked them out in six games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I think it meant a lot for us,” said goaltender Arturs Silovs, who finished with 19 saves. “We had a bitter taste after the playoffs, and the season opener against the team that knocked us out, everyone knew this was a great opportunity for payback, and we were ready for that.”
Sidney Crosby, beginning his 22nd season and an NHL record 20th season as captain, had an assist for the Penguins.
“I thought we had the right mentality coming into the game,” Crosby said. “It’s the first game, I don’t think anybody expects it to be perfect, but I thought we just had a good work ethic and led with that, and then things just kind of took care of themselves.”
The Penguins did it without center Ben Kindel (lower-body) and left wing Andrei Kuzmenko, who both practiced on Friday and could be back in the lineup for the Canadiens. Kindel scored 17 goals and had 35 points as a rookie.
Kuzmenko, a free agent signing who had 13 goals and 25 points with the Los Angeles Kings last season, spent the last 10 days in Russia to mourn the loss of his father, Alexander, who was killed by a brown bear on a fishing trip in southern Siberia.
For Montreal, Josh Anderson and Alexandre Carrier each had a goal and an assist and Zachary Bolduc also scored a goal in the Habs’ opening win against the rival Maple Leafs. Jakub Dobes finished with 26 saves.
“To get a win in the first game, I’m really happy,” Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said. “Do we have things to address and correct? I’m sure we do, and it’s nice to be able to do that after a win. The tone of positivity can stay around and (we can) still do some teaching.”
Montreal, which heads home after Saturday for a four-game homestand that opens Tuesday against defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina, spent the past three days practicing and taking part in team bonding in Cranberry Township, where the Penguins have their facility.
“I think … it’s an opportunity, when you get a break in this kind of schedule, especially early on, (it’s important to take it), considering we didn’t get a chance to do it during training camp,” St. Louis said. “I know we have a close group, but it’s about having opportunities to get even closer.”
