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New PGA Tour season begins at Safeway Open
By Steve Habel, The Sports Xchange

Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Paul Casey and defending champion Emiliano Grillo will be among the 144-player field on Thursday when the PGA Tour opens its 2016-17 schedule with the Safeway Open at the Silverado Resort & Spa's North course in Napa, Calif.
But much of the talk for the past few weeks surrounding the Safeway Open centered on Tiger Woods, who committed to playing in the event last week before withdrawing Monday.
Not even four days in the California wine country and a $6 million purse could entice Woods back from his 14-month injury sabbatical.
"My health is good, and I feel strong, but my game is vulnerable and not where it needs to be," Woods wrote on his website Monday. "When I announced last week I was going to Safeway, I had every intention of playing or I wouldn't have committed. I practiced the last several days in California, but after a lot of soul searching and honest reflection, I know that I am not yet ready to play on the PGA Tour."
Just the notion of having Woods play the first two days, and his Thursday and Friday pairing with Mickelson, doubled ticket sales. Those that will tee it up for 72 holes of stroke play through Sunday will give those golf fans plenty to enjoy.
Mickelson said he was still on an emotional high from being part of the winning United States team in the Ryder Cup two weeks ago.
"The tournament here is so well run and the course is such fun that I can't wait to get the season started," Mickelson said.
Grillo won here last season in his first PGA Tour event, becoming the first player to do so since Russell Henley at the 2013 Sony Open in Hawaii.
On Wednesday, Grillo was named the tour rookie of the year based on that victory and two additional top-10 finishes the rest of the season (a tie for second at The Barclays and a tie for 10th at the season-ending Tour Championship during the FedExCup playoffs). He also finished tied for eighth in the men's Olympic golf competition in Rio.
This is the fourth year for the PGA Tour's wraparound schedule that bridges two years with 47 events. Seven events will be played during the fall of 2016, all of which will award FedExCup points. After a seven-week break, the season will resume in January with the traditional swing through Hawaii before moving to the West Coast.
Four of the seven winners from the fall portion of the 2015-16 season (Grillo, Justin Thomas, Russell Knox and Kevin Kisner) qualified for the Tour Championship and two others (Smylie Kaufman and Graeme McDowell) finished inside the top 50.

10 Players to Watch: Safeway Open
By Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange

1. Paul Casey, England -- Following a strong run through the FedExCup playoffs after tying for 10th in the PGA Championship, Casey hopes to keep it going at the start of the new PGA Tour season. He finished second to Rory McIlroy in the Deutsche Bank Championship, was runner-up the following week behind Dustin Johnson in the BMW Championship and was fourth in the Tour Championship to wind up fifth in the FedExCup point standings. The Englishman has bounced back from injuries that stalled his career after a strong start and has climbed to No. 12 in the World Golf Ranking. Casey owns 16 wins in his pro career, but surprisingly his only victory on the PGA Tour came in the 2009 Shell Houston Open, so he is overdue. He tied for 11th in the opener in 2011 when it was the Frys.com Open.

2. Matt Kuchar, United States -- After helping the United States regain the Ryder Cup with a 2-2 record, although he lost to Martin Kaymer of Germany on the final hole in singles, Kuchar is playing in the opener at Silverado for the second straight year. Last season, when it was still the Frys.com Open, he was tied for third after playing the middle rounds in 68-66, but he closed with a 4-over-par 76 and slid to a tie for 21st. Kuchar has won seven times on the PGA Tour, but not since the 2014 RBC Heritage. However, he is coming off another solid season in which he posted 10 finishes in the top 10, including third on three occasions -- in the Players Championship, the AT&T Byron Nelson and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He also captured the bronze medal at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

3. Phil Mickelson, United States -- Lefty was hoping to play alongside Tiger Woods in the Safeway Open before Woods withdrew from the opener on Monday. We last saw Mickelson two weeks ago, when he recorded a 2-1-1 record to help the United States regain the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine, where he halved his singles match with Sergio Garcia of Spain. Even though he hasn't won since claiming his 42nd PGA Tour victory in the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield, the 46-year-old was close several times last season, finishing second in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the FedEx St. Jude Classic and the Open Championship at Royal Troon among his six top-10 results. The only other time he played in the fall opener, he shot 71-70--141 and missed the cut on the 2007 Frys.com Open.

4. Emiliano Grillo, Argentina -- Coming straight to the PGA Tour opener last year after winning the Web.com Tour Championship, Grillo became the second player off the Triple-A circuit to win his first start as a member of the big tour, joining Russell Henley (2013). The Argentine lipped out a 3-foot birdie putt to beat Kevin Na on the first hole of a playoff at Silverado, but he came back to nail down the title with a 10-foot birdie on the next hole. Grillo saved the rest of the best in his rookie season for the stretch run, tying for second behind Patrick Reed in The Barclays and tying for 10th in the Tour Championship to wind up 11th in the FedExCup standings. He also tied for eight in golf's return to the Olympic Games in Rio.

5. Bill Haas, United States -- Three of Haas' six victories on the PGA Tour have come in California, and he would love to add another this week in the Safeway Open at Silverado. He captured what is now the CareerBuilder Challenge in the California desert when it was the Bob Hope Classic in 2010 and in its last year as the Humana Classic in 2015, and he also beat Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in a playoff at the 2012 Northern Trust Open at Riviera near Los Angeles. Haas is making his third start in the fall opener, the last when he tied for 20th in 2008. The 2011 FedExCup champion is coming off a season in which he finished in the top 10 in six tournaments, including a playoff loss to Charl Schwartzel of South Africa in the Valspar Championship.

6. Kevin Na, United States -- Na is back at the PGA Tour fall opener for the fifth time, and he came close to winning each of the last two years. He got into a playoff with rookie Emiliano Grillo of Argentina last year, but he drove behind a tree on the second extra hole at Silverado and wound up falling to 0-3 in playoffs. The year before, Na made a run on the weekend with 64-64 to tie for third, three strokes behind winner Jimmy Walker. His only PGA Tour victory came in the 2011 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, but he has finished second eight times in his career, including twice last season. After losing to Grillo last year, he tied for second in the Shriners behind Smylie Kaufman in his next start, then tied for third in both the CIMB Classic and the CareerBuilder Challenge.

7. Justin Thomas, United States -- One of the youngsters from the high school class of 2011 who are making a splash on the PGA Tour, Thomas claimed his first PGA Tour victory just about a year ago in the CIMB Classic in Malaysia. That came a couple weeks after he tied for third in the Frys.com Open, now the Safeway Open, at Silverado, where he opened with a 6-under-par 66 and was in the hunt all the way before finishing one stroke out of the playoff in which Emiliano Grillo beat Kevin Na. Grillo is another one of those kids out of the class of 2011, along with Jordan Spieth, Daniel Berger and Patrick Rodgers. Thomas finished in the top 10 on the PGA Tour seven times last year, including a tie for third in the Players Championship and a tie for sixth in the Tour Championship.

8. Jon Rahm, Spain -- Rahm, 21, came out of Arizona State last spring and earned his PGA Tour card in only four starts. He led or shared the lead after each of the first two rounds of his first start in the Quicken Loans National before tying for third, and after tying for 72nd in the Barracuda Championship and tying for 59th in the Open Championship at Royal Troon, he wrapped up his card for this season with a tie for second in the RBC Canadian Open. Before that, he was low amateur with a tie for 23rd in the U.S. Open at Oakmont and tied for 10th in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba before turning pro. Rahm showed the year before that he could play with the big boys by thrilling the Arizona State fans when he tied for fifth in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

9. Brendan Steele, United States -- Last year, Steele was in command most of the way at Silverado, opening with a 9-under-par 63 and holding onto the lead by shooting 70-69 in the middle rounds, but he stumbled home with a 76 and slipped all the way to a tie for 17th. This will be his sixth start in the fall opener, and his best result was a tie for seventh in 2011, when he again held the lead after the first round with a 67. Steele's only PGA Tour victory came in the 2011 Valero Texas Open, a year after he earned his card by capturing the Nationwide Tour (now the Web.com) Championship at Daniel Island. His best result last season was a tie for third in the CIMB Classic, and he kept his playing privileges by posting 11 finishes in the top 25.

10. Jhonattan Vegas, Venezuela -- Following a five-year drought after he burst onto the scene by capturing the 2011 Bob Hope Classic in a playoff over Bill Haas and Gary Woodland, Vegas finally made it back to the winner's circle last year at the RBC Canadian Open. That and four other results in the top 10, including ties for fourth in the Sanderson Farms Championship and the Barbasol Championship, allowed him to make it all the way to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta for the first time. Vegas, who played college golf at Texas, is making his fifth appearance in the PGA Tour's fall opener, and last year he posted his best finish, a tie for 10th. He opened with an 8-under-par 64 and stayed in the hunt until carding a 73 in the final round.

NHL roundup: Leafs lose despite Matthews' historic debut
By The Sports Xchange

OTTAWA -- Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews did more than live up to his billing. He made history, and it just took him two periods of his NHL career to do it.
Matthews became the first player to score four goals in his first game, but it still wasn't enough to defeat the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre in the season opener for both teams Wednesday night.
The Senators' Kyle Turris scored his second of the night on a slap shot from the high slot at 37 seconds of overtime to give the Senators a 5-4 victory over Matthews' Maple Leafs.
Bobby Ryan, Erik Karlsson and Derick Brassard also scored for the Senators and goalie Craig Anderson made 34 saves. Frederik Andersen stopped 25 shots for the Leafs.

Blues 5, Blackhawks 2
CHICAGO -- Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals and an assist and St. Louis scored three times on the power play in a win over Chicago.
Kevin Shattenkirk and Paul Stastny each had a goal and two assists for the Blues.
Richard Panik and Ryan Hartman scored for the Blackhawks.
Jake Allen stopped 17 shots in the win while the Blackhawks' Corey Crawford turned aside 29 of 32 shots.

Oilers 7, Flames 4
EDMONTON, Alberta -- Connor McDavid scored twice and added an assist as Edmonton beat Calgary in the first regular-season game played at the new Rogers Place.
Patrick Maroon opened the scoring for the Oilers after just 1:10, and Tyler Pitlick, Zack Kassian, Jesse Puljujarvi and Jordan Eberle also had goals for Edmonton. Alex Chiasson, Troy Brouwer, Michael Frolik and Dennis Wideman countered with goals for Calgary.
Perhaps the biggest news for Edmonton fans came pregame: Wayne Gretzky is an Oiler again. The NHL's all-time leading scorer was named partner and vice chairman of the Oilers Entertainment Group. The announcement came as a refurbished Gretzky statue was unveiled in front of the new arena. The Great One also joined fellow Hall of Famer Mark Messier in the on-ice opening ceremony.

Sharks 2, Kings 1
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Defenseman Brent Burns scored a tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and goalie Martin Jones slammed the door on his former team as the San Jose Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 Wednesday at SAP Center.
The Sharks earned their seventh consecutive opening-night victory, the longest current streak of first-game success in the NHL.
Jones allowed a goal to Tyler Toffoli on the Kings' first shot, then stopped the final 21 shots he faced, including all seven in the second period and each of the Kings' eight in the third. Logan Couture scored San Jose's first goal in the opening period.

Preview: Bruins (0-0) at Blue Jackets (0-0)

Date: October 13, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Thursday evening is opening night for the Columbus Blue Jackets as they play host to the Boston Bruins, two teams not expected to place within the top-3 of the Metropolitan Division this season.

The Blue Jackets begin the 2016-17 season as a team that didn't make any spectacular moves, save for selecting forward Pierre Luc-Dubois ahead of the pundit's choice of forward Jesse Puljujarvi with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 draft.

Although it was announced Tuesday that the team had sent forward Alex Wennberg through waivers in order to be assigned to the team's AHL-affiliate Cleveland Monsters while Luc-Dubois had apparently "made" the team, the Blue Jackets announced late Wednesday that Pierre Luc-Dubois, 18, had been assigned to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL), and had recalled Wennberg from Cleveland. This was done ostensibly to give them more room under the salary cap with forward David Clarkson on long-term Injured Reserve.

Wennberg, 22, posted NHL career highs in 2015-16, recording eight goals and 32 assists in 69 games with the team.

The Blue Jackets signed Sam Gagner, 27, this summer to be a possible integral component of the power play, while also being a potential No. 2 center for the team. Gagner was selected with the No. 6 overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2007 draft. He had eight goals and eight assists in 53 games for the Philadelphia Flyers last season, and has recorded 124-228-352 in 615 NHL games.

The Blue Jackets also have high hope for 19-year old defenseman Zach Werenski, selected No. 8 in the 2015 draft.

"I see another gear, a high gear, that a lot of people don't have," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said of Werenski, via BlueJackets.com. "I look at his skill ... I mean, my god, he's just a kid.

"I look at him as a very intelligent player. I look at him as a guy that can help our power play -- we're gonna give him a whack at it right off the bat here -- because it's been one of our weaknesses."

The Boston Bruins will be without the services of star-forward Patrice Bergeron to start the 2016-17 season, out with a lower-body injury and currently being evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

"You're missing one of your better players, so it's not an easy way to start, but it's reality, and I really feel that it's an opportunity, too," Bruins coach Claude Julien told his team's website.

"We've been talking about having depth -- let's use that depth right now, and if everybody does their job and plays the way we should, we can get through this."

Julien specified that it was a "minor" injury, and not something major, stating "We're confident it's going to be real short term."

With Bergeron not starting the trip, forward David Backes took over his spot centering Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak during Wednesday's practice.

Bruins' general manager Don Sweeney announced that defenseman Adam McQuaid is currently being evaluated on a day-to-day basis with an upper-body injury, while defenseman Kevan Miller, who underwent successful surgery to repair a fracture in his left hand on Tuesday, is expected to be out of the lineup for six weeks.

With McQuaid and Miller absent, defensemen Brandon Carlo and Rob O'Gara will likely get the opportunity to make their NHL debuts.

Forward Tim Schaller was recalled from the Providence Bruins by the team in Bergeron's absence.

Preview: Canadiens (0-0) at Sabres (0-0)

Date: October 13, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- After three years in the NHL's basement, the Buffalo Sabres planned on turning the corner this season. That plan got a whole lot tougher one day before Buffalo's season opener when budding superstar Jack Eichel suffered a severe ankle injury.

The injury occurred at Buffalo's final practice before its opener against the Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m., Thursday). Late in the practice session, Eichel awkwardly fell to the ice after tangling with teammate Zemgus Girgensons. He screamed in pain and was helped off the ice by his teammates.

The Sabres announced that Eichel suffered a high ankle sprain -- which means he could miss 1-2 months.

"He has an ankle injury and at this point not a lot to tell after that," Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma said, according to NHL.com. "He's going to get evaluated this afternoon. Initially he goes down in a lot of pain obviously and I think the initial shock of it is you see that, but we're going to let it calm down here and get evaluated and see the extent of him turning his ankle there."

The second overall pick in the 2015 draft, Eichel became an instant sensation in Buffalo and led the Sabres in goals as a rookie with 24.

Eichel isn't the only key member of the Sabres to begin the year on the infirmary list. Free-agent addition Kyle Okposo will miss the opener with a knee injury, and center Ryan O'Reilly's status is up in the air due to a back injury.

One positive for the Sabres is the return of defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. Ristolainen returned after signing a six-year deal with the Sabres on Thursday. Goalie Robin Lehner is also in much better shape after a promising but injury-plagued season one year ago; Lehner lost more than 20 pounds in preparation for the upcoming season.

The Canadiens, meanwhile, will be without their star goaltender for the season opener. Carey Price will not make the trip to Buffalo due to an illness. The Canadiens are counting on Price to return as the backbone of their team; Montreal's season fell apart last year after Price was lost for the season due to a knee injury.

"Unfortunately, he caught the flu and everyone reacts differently to medicine," Ottawa head coach Michel Therrien said, according to NHL.com "He caught a nasty bug, as we're seeing now. He's day-to-day. There's a chance he'll join the team in Ottawa on Friday, but he'll have to be healthy. It's too bad, but there's nothing we can do about it."

"That's hockey. There will be setbacks. We all would have liked for Carey to be between the pipes for the first game. Not only us, but our fans too. It's just going to be a matter of time now."

Al Montoya is expected to start between the pipes for Montreal in his first game for the Canadiens. He'll be backed up by Charlie Lindgren.

It will be the Montreal debut for defenseman Shea Weber, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade for P.K. Subban this offseason. Weber, 31, spent his first 10 seasons with the Nashville Predators. Gritty forward Andrew Shaw will also make his Montreal debut after spending his entire career with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Canadiens also added Russian forward Alexander Radulov, who has spent most of his career in the KHL after brief spells with the Nashville Predators.

Preview: Islanders (0-0) at Rangers (0-0)

Date: October 13, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

For the first time since 2007, the New York Rangers on Thursday will open a season at Madison Square Garden, and they will do so against their in-city rival, the New York Islanders.

Thanks to a three-year arena renovation project that would bleed into October and some odd NHL scheduling, the Rangers haven't started at home since goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's third season. But that's in the past, and whether beginning a season away from home was good or bad for the club, the team is ready to turn the page and look to the future.

"Something I think our group really needs to focus on is this is a new year," Derek Stepan said to the Daily News on Wednesday. "We're not gonna go back to seasons past. We've done everything in seasons past: We've had great starts; we've had terrible starts; we've made it deep in the playoffs; we've ended short in the playoffs. This is a new year. We're gonna try to avoid talking about years past, but if you're really talking about the feeling in this room, I think the biggest thing we've all been saying for weeks is we just want to get this season started."

A new season brings new faces for both the Rangers and Islanders; Mika Zibanejad is the big name among those making their Rangers debut while high-price free-agent acquisition Andrew Ladd will play his first game for the Islanders. Left winger Jimmy Vesey, the prized college free agent many teams coveted, will make his NHL debut with the Rangers.

Zibanejad was acquired from the Ottawa Senators during the offseason for fellow center Brassard and expects to find himself in high-leverage situations for his new club.

"When we're up by one with two minutes left, one minute left, or we're down by one and try to get a goal, I want to be out there for every different situation," Zibanejad told the Daily News. "I think I got a taste of that last year and it's something I want to evolve to a lot more this year."

Ladd brings leadership, experience and a Stanley Cup to Brooklyn after signing a seven-year, $38.5 million deal with a team that lost key players Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen to free agency. The left winger is expected to start his Islanders career playing on a line with center John Tavares.

With Tavares playing at the World Cup, Ladd didn't get much time in the preseason to work with him, so there could be an adjustment period for both players in the early going.

"(It) will be good just getting to know where Johnny's going to be," Ladd told Newsday. "All players are different, especially offensively. He's probably a guy who wants a little more space, take guys one-on-one in the corner, stuff like that. Just getting a feel for where he's going to be in certain situations and just have the ability to talk it out from there."

The Rangers will be without defenseman Kevin Klein, who is out with a back strain.

Islanders goaltender Jaroslav Halak is dealing with an illness and his status for the opener is up in the air. Center Anders Lee blocked a shot in practice Wednesday and he could miss the opener as well, although that has yet to be determined.

Both the Rangers and Islanders have playoff aspirations in a very tough Metropolitan Division and even though it's just the first of 82 games, it's already two important points up for grabs. And if the Rangers want to erase the past, starting with a win against a team that beat them in all four meetings last season would go a long way toward changing the future.

"We all know that last year they had our number," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault told the Daily News. "This season is a new season and I think everyone's anxious to get going here."

Preview: Devils (0-0) at Panthers (0-0)

Date: October 13, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

SUNRISE, Fla. -- It's Opening Night and virtually everyone's optimistic at this point.

But is there truly reason for optimism for the New Jersey Devils and/or the Florida Panthers, who will meet Thursday at the BB&T Center?

For the Devils, the reason for hope revolves around left winger Taylor Hall, acquired June 29 in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers. The Devils gave up defenseman Adam Larsson to get Hall, who produced 26 goals and 39 assists last year.

Hall, who turns 25 next month, has scored more than 20 goals in four of his six seasons in the NHL. He had more than a point a game in 2013-2014, when he posted 80 points in 75 games, and that's the kind of production the Devils are looking for from their speedy new forward.

The Devils also made another move to add offense, picking up forward P.A. Parenteau on Tuesday after the New York Islanders released him. Parenteau, who had 20 goals and 21 assists with the Toronto Maple Leafs last year, is expected to play against the Panthers on Thursday.

"He's a seasoned, veteran player," Devils coach John Hynes told the media. "He's played games -- it just hasn't been with us."

Those additions -- especially acquiring Hall -- should help New Jersey, but it's important to note that the Devils were 30th in the NHL in goals last season, and that went a long way toward sealing their fate of having just 84 points, 12th best in the Eastern Conference, and a fourth straight season without making the NHL playoffs.

The picture is legitimately brighter for the Panthers -- at least if they can stay healthy.

Florida won the Atlantic Division last year with 103 points before losing to the Islanders in six games in the first round of the playoffs.

The Panthers hoped to build on that momentum by signing high-scoring defenseman Keith Yandle from the New York Rangers, empowering him as the point man on their power play and pairing him with rising star Aaron Ekblad.

Florida also added Jason Demers and Mark Pysyk to their revamped defense.

However, all the Panthers' well-intentioned offseason moves have been stunted to some degree by two injuries.

Right winger Jonathan Huberdeau (left foot) is out, possibly for as long as four months, after getting cut by a skate blade on Sunday. And earlier in the exhibition season, the Panthers lost center Nick Bjugstad (broken hand) for about a month.

The Huberdeau injury breaks up the team's top trio, leaving Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr in search of chemistry with a new linemate.

Bjugstad's absence disrupts the team's second line.

Florida is hoping that Jonathan Marchessault, a speedy forward acquired after he scored seven goals in 45 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning last year, can make up for some of the slack.

Despite the injuries, Panthers coach Gerard Gallant is taking the high road.

"I like the players we've brought in," Gallant said. "We've moved forward the past two years. The hope is that we will move forward again this year."

Thursday's game should feature two standout goalies. Florida's Roberto Luongo has made a quick recovery from offseason hip surgery and is expected to start for the Panthers. Cory Schneider is expected to start for New Jersey. Both goalies are considered solid candidates for the Vezina Trophy.

Other players to watch include:

-- Panthers defenseman Michael Matheson, a smooth-skating 22-year-old, could be a Rookie of the Year candidate if he plays up to his prospect rankings.

-- New Jersey's Ben Lovejoy is the biggest addition to the defense. He signed a three-year deal after helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup last season.

-- Panthers center Derek MacKenzie, 35, will be making his debut as a team captain.

-- Devils center Pavel Zacha, who was the No. 6 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, is only 19 years old but appears primed for a stellar rookie season.

One of the biggest things to watch for Thursday -- and indeed all season for the Devils and Panthers -- is the toughness factor on defense.

The Panthers added an offensive defenseman in Yandle, who has frequently been derelict in his defensive duties throughout his career. The Panthers also got rid of solid defensemen such as Brian Campbell, Dmitry Kulikov and Erik Gudbranson in the offseason.

Similarly, the Devils traded away Larsson, who led the team in hits and ranked second in blocked shots.

Which defense plays toughest could go a long way toward deciding Thursday's winner.

Preview: Hurricanes (0-0) at Jets (0-0)

Date: October 13, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

No pressure, Patrik Laine.

A day after Auston Matthews, the No. 1 pick in last spring's amateur draft, scored a record four goals in his NHL debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the spotlight will shift to the Laine, who was drafted No. 2 but openly lobbied to be taken in the top spot.

The Finnish sensation hopes to replicate Mathews' debut when his Winnipeg Jets host the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night at the MTS Centre.

The Jets have every intention of giving Laine, an 18-year-old right winger, the time to get acclimatized to the NHL and have put him on the third line with another teenager, Kyle Connor, who will patrol the left side of Mathieu Perreault.

With an average age of 26.4, the Jets are the sixth-youngest team in the NHL this season and many observers expect some growing pains after the team finished last in the Central Division with a record of 35-39-8, missing the playoffs last season.

Laine had a quiet World Cup of Hockey last month, registering zero points in three games, but he had a monster year in 2015-16, leading the Finns to the World Junior title over the Christmas holidays and then picking up the most valuable player award at the 2016 IIHF World Championships as the Finns won a silver medal, falling to Canada in the final.

But you don't have to be a rookie to get butterflies before the start of season. Just ask Jets coach Paul Maurice, who has more than 1,250 games behind an NHL bench.

"It's always the same, right? It's mixed with the excitement and then you can feel that NHL tension coming back into your day," Maurice told the Winnipeg Free Press. "It's a good thing."

"You miss it over the course of the summer. You're planning for it and you know the grind that's coming, but, boy, you live for it. So, we're pretty excited here."

But as much as the buzz in Winnipeg is centered on the new faces, there's just as much noise about who isn't here. The biggest name to be sent down to the AHL's Manitoba Moose is veteran goaltender Ondrej Pavelec, who has been the starter pretty much since the team relocated from Atlanta in 2011. Also sent to the farm from last year's team are C Andrew Copp and RW Anthony Peluso.

The Hurricanes did not pack lightly for this roadtrip. They play their first six games away from PNC Arena -- the only team in the NHL with such a schedule -- and eight of their first 10.

"With a young team, that's not an ideal situation for us," Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis told the Raleigh News & Observer. "But it is what it is. And hopefully we get out there and get a few wins under our belt. There's no sense in complaining about what we face. Let's go make the most of it."

Defenseman Klas Dahlbeck, who was claimed off waivers from the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday, joined Carolina for one last practice before heading to the airport.

For the first time since the Hartford Whalers relocated to North Carolina in 1997, the Hurricanes will start the season without a captain. Long-time captain Eric Staal was traded last spring and signed with the Minnesota Wild in the offseason.

Preview: Capitals (0-0) at Penguins (0-0)

Date: October 13, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby is back on the ice, but he won't be in the Pittsburgh Penguins' lineup on Thursday when they begin their defense of the Stanley Cup.

Crosby, the Penguins' captain and arguably the NHL's best player, participated in some of the team's practice Wednesday, but his latest concussion will keep him out of the season opener against the rival Washington Capitals.

It's a game Crosby certainly didn't want to miss - the Penguins will raise their fourth Stanley Cup banner during pregame ceremonies at PPG Paints Arena. Then again, the ultra-competitive Crosby doesn't like missing a game for any reason.

Especially for this reason - a concussion, the same dreaded injury that caused him to miss big chunks of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, when Crosby was at his statistical and competitive best.

"It's a game you want to be part of but, at the same time, I think I've spent more than enough time being in this situation," Crosby said after practicing Wednesday in a yellow no-contact jersey. "I think you understand you have to be patient, you have to listen to your body. If you're ready, you're ready. If not, then you don't take any chances - and give yourself a lot better chance of not having it happen again if you treat it the right way."

The Penguins started the 2011-12 season without Crosby, going 11-6-3 before he returned briefly only to be diagnosed with a concussion yet again. As center Evgeni Malkin said, "We know how to play without Sid."

But there are signs this layoff might not be as long as those during Crosby's past concussion issues.

Crosby's latest concussion diagnosis was on Monday, but the superstar skated Tuesday and took part in drills Wednesday.

"I'm always happy when I'm on the ice," Crosby said.

And coach Mike Sullivan is hinting Crosby's time off might not be lengthy.

"As they (injured players) make progress, you add to the intensity of their workouts and see how they respond," Sullivan said. "As players respond the right way, you can take it to the next level. That's the process we've gone through here with Sid."

The Capitals, of course, know what they must do to reach the next level, and that's get past the Penguins.

Washington easily was the NHL's best regular-season team in 2015-16, accumulating 120 points - 11 more than any team in the league, and 16 more than Pittsburgh. But the Capitals lost three of five to the Penguins during the season, and then were eliminated by them in six games in the Eastern Conference semifinals - the seventh in eight series they've lost to Pittsburgh.

"We have no bitterness toward Pittsburgh," Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Braden Holtby said. "They earned it, they earned the Stanley Cup. Any bitterness is toward us, how we didn't perform well enough to beat them."

On Thursday, Holtby said, the Capitals can't be thinking about what happened last year but rather what they need to do this year.

"We're going in to play our game and get two points to start off the season," he said.

But while Penguins stars Crosby and Malkin now have two Stanley Cup rings, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has yet to play in the finals - and the Penguins are a big reason why.

"I don't think we played bad, every game was a close game," Ovechkin said. "But we didn't get it done last year.

"Every year we're in the same position: We think this is the year. I think it is time to not talk, it is time to move forward."

Both teams are largely unchanged from 2015-16, a rarity during the free agency era in which clubs often undergo extensive roster alterations from season to season.

The soon-to-be 40-year-old Matt Cullen will replace Crosby on the Penguins' top line with left wing Conor Sheary and right wing Patric Hornqvist.

"You can't replace Sid. It's a group effort, to fill holes and play effectively while he's out."

The Penguins also will be without Stanley Cup-winning goalie Matt Murray, who broke a hand during the World Cup. He'll be replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury, who lost his starting job to Murray late last season after sustaining his second concussion of the season.

Fleury, who was in net when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009, will start his 11th consecutive season opener for Pittsburgh, and his 12th in 13 seasons.

Preview: Wild (0-0) at Blues (1-0)

Date: October 13, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS -- Jake Allen did not get much of a chance to celebrate his win in the season-opener for the St. Louis Blues.

Less than 24 hours after Allen earned the victory in the Blues' 5-2 triumph over the Blackhawks on Wednesday night in Chicago, he will be back in goal when the Blues return home Thursday night to host the Minnesota Wild.

"It's a great start, still a long ways to go, but heading in the right direction," Allen said. "For us to come out on top in the first game, get momentum and play tomorrow (Thursday) in our home opener, it was huge for us."

Allen, taking over as the Blues' number-one goalie this season after Brian Elliott was traded to Calgary, faced only 19 shots in the win in Chicago, 10 of which came in the third period. It was the first time the Blues had limited the Blackhawks to less than 20 shots in Chicago since a 17-shot game on Feb. 25, 2007.

The Blues' offense was led by Vladimir Tarasenko, who had two goals and an assist. His first goal was one of three power-play goals by the Blues, the first time they had done that in a game in Chicago since 2004.

Kevin Shattenkirk and Paul Stastny also finished with three point nights, each scoring a power-play goal and adding two assists.

It was the kind of game coach Ken Hitchcock hopes to see often this season.

"We're looking forward to the emergence of some of these younger guys," Hitchcock said. "It's going to be fun to see. We know there is going to be some rough water, but there also is a ton of growth here."

Thursday night's game will be the season-opener for the Wild, whose biggest offseason change was bringing in a new coach, Bruce Boudreau, who was fired after coaching at Anaheim for five years.

Boudreau's first task is to try to get the Wild back into the playoffs, after they finished fifth last year in the Central Division and failed to advance to the postseason for the first time in five years.

The Wild were 2-3 in the pre-season as they began learning and adapting to Boudreau's system.

"Those kind of coaches don't come available that often, and we were able to get him and we were able to get him pretty quick," forward Jason Pominville told NHL.com. "He's been around, won a lot of games and usually has a good offensive team. As a player, he was an offensive guy, so he should bring some good ideas to our group."

One newcomer who could provide an offensive boost is forward Teemu Pulkkinen, 24, who was claimed off waivers from Detroit on Tuesday. He scored 11 goals in 67 games the last two seasons for the Red Wings.

"He's played a top-six role at every level," Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher told NHL.com. "It remains to be seen whether he can do it at the NHL level, but that's the opportunity we'd like to give him, and we'd certainly like to see if he can do it."

Preview: Red Wings (0-0) at Lightning (0-0)

Date: October 13, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Detroit Red Wings open their 2016-17 NHL season on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team that has ended their last two seasons in the opening round of the playoffs.

The two clubs are hoping to extend two very different streaks this season -- the Lightning are aiming to return to the Eastern Conference finals for a third straight year and the Red Wings, after losing in the first round three years in a row, want to extend to 26 their run of consecutive playoff appearances.

"We've got to do a better job of making sure that we have a real identity," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told the Detroit Free Press. "We've talked lots about that as a group. We need to make sure that our team chemistry is great. We need to make sure we win as a hockey team in totality and not as one or two individual players. Those are going to be the focal points of the year."

Tampa Bay, which lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference finals, returns nearly intact.

The Lightning worked hard in the offseason to re-sign star center Steven Stamkos to an eight-year deal worth $8.5 million a year, then locked up defenseman Victor Hedman with an eight-year extension worth $7.9 million a year.

Just this week, Nikita Kucherov signed a three-year contract worth $4.8 million a year, keeping another core player under contract.

"He's a big part of our team, make no mistake about it," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said Wednesday. "To see him zipping around out there, it's gratifying, because you want to put your best foot forward. Especially early in the season, you can't let games slip ... He's a big part of that."

Detroit has some major changes -- veteran Pavel Datsyuk went back home to Russia and the Red Wings have added two veteran scorers. Frans Nielsen, 32, signed a six-year, $30 million deal to come in from the New York Islanders, where he scored 20 goals and 32 assists last year; and Thomas Vanek, also 32, had 18 goals and 23 assists last season with the Wild.

The two newcomers join a returning nucleus that includes veterans like Henrik Zetterberg and emerging stars like Dylan Larkin, who had 23 goals as a rookie last season.

"The guys didn't take as big a step as we should have last year," center Darren Helm told the Detroit Free Press. "Everybody this year knows how important that is. We got some pretty good acquisitions and they are definitely exciting guys."

Tampa Bay opens the season with four home games, then has six straight on the road. Detroit opens with two in Florida before returning home for four of their next five games.

Detroit returns both goalies from last year in Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard, and the Lightning also have Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy back from last year's run.

Tampa Bay has made have some promising additions as well, like 20-year-old forward Brayden Point, who made the Lightning roster with an impressive preseason.

"All the players made decisions to fit themselves into a situation with us where we were able to keep everybody back together," Cooper said. "It shows the team-first mentality of a lot of our players. It's probably why we've had success here the last couple of years."

NHL

Thursday’s games

Boston is 7-3 in its last ten games with Columbus; three of last four series games stayed under the total. Bruins won four of last five visits to this building (over 3-2).

Road team won five of last seven Montreal-Buffalo games (over 4-0-3); Sabres are 5-3 in last eight series games (lost last two). Canadiens are 3-2 in last five visits to Buffalo.

Islanders won last four games with the Rangers; under is 5-2-1 in last eight series games. Isles also won their last four visits to Madison Square Garden (over 2-1-1).

Tampa Bay won six of last seven games with Detroit; they knocked Red Wings out of playoffs in five games LY. Detroit lost its last six visits to this building (under 3-2-1). Under is 6-2-2 in last ten series games.

Devils lost three of last four games with Florida; over is 5-1-2 in last eight series games. New Jersey lost three of last four games in this building (over 2-0-2).

Blues won three of last four games with Minnesota; five of last seven series games pushed total. Wild lost three of last five visits to this building (under 1-0-4). St Louis is only team playing tonight that played last night; they won in Chicago.

Road team won seven of last ten Carolina-Winnipeg games; seven of last nine series games stayed under total. Hurricanes are 3-2 in last five visits here (under 3-2).

Penguins won four of last five games with Washington; they ousted Caps from playoffs LY in six games. Over is 4-2-2 in last eight series games. Washington lost its last four visits to Steel City (over 2-0-2).

Anaheim won six of last eight games with Dallas, winning three of last four visits here (two of three wins were in OT). Four of last six series games stayed under total.

NHL

Thursday’s games

Boston is 7-3 in its last ten games with Columbus; three of last four series games stayed under the total. Bruins won four of last five visits to this building (over 3-2).

Road team won five of last seven Montreal-Buffalo games (over 4-0-3); Sabres are 5-3 in last eight series games (lost last two). Canadiens are 3-2 in last five visits to Buffalo.

Islanders won last four games with the Rangers; under is 5-2-1 in last eight series games. Isles also won their last four visits to Madison Square Garden (over 2-1-1).

Tampa Bay won six of last seven games with Detroit; they knocked Red Wings out of playoffs in five games LY. Detroit lost its last six visits to this building (under 3-2-1). Under is 6-2-2 in last ten series games.

Devils lost three of last four games with Florida; over is 5-1-2 in last eight series games. New Jersey lost three of last four games in this building (over 2-0-2).

Blues won three of last four games with Minnesota; five of last seven series games pushed total. Wild lost three of last five visits to this building (under 1-0-4). St Louis is only team playing tonight that played last night; they won in Chicago.

Road team won seven of last ten Carolina-Winnipeg games; seven of last nine series games stayed under total. Hurricanes are 3-2 in last five visits here (under 3-2).

Penguins won four of last five games with Washington; they ousted Caps from playoffs LY in six games. Over is 4-2-2 in last eight series games. Washington lost its last four visits to Steel City (over 2-0-2).

Anaheim won six of last eight games with Dallas, winning three of last four visits here (two of three wins were in OT). Four of last six series games stayed under total.