Hockey

Top-5: A Gordie Howe hat trick for Mantha in his Flames debut
Emma Wilson
Top-5: A Gordie Howe hat trick for Mantha in his Flames debut
Credit: Getty Images

There were only five games in the NHL yesterday. And there was plenty of action nonetheless!

The Canadiens blanked the Leafs in their opening game at the Bell Centre thanks to a sublime performance by Samuel Montembeault, but otherwise, what does it look like?

Let's check it out together:

1: Anthony Mantha is already having fun with the Flames

This summer, the Flames offered Anthony Mantha a one-season contract ($3.5 million).

The Québécois accepted the gamble, even though he was free as a bird on the free agent market.

That said, Mantha wasted no time in making his mark with his new team.

He scored a beautiful goal in the first period, picked up an assist in the third… And he battled with J.T. Miller to complete his Gordie Howe hat trick.

His level of involvement has often been criticized since the start of his career, but he was everywhere on the ice last night:

The game between the Flames and Canucks had the feel of a playoff game.

There was emotion, and it showed on the ice that there's a great rivalry between the two clubs.

Late in the game, things got really interesting when the Canucks trailed by a goal.

Vancouver pulled their goalie in favor of a sixth forward, and the Flames had a chance to walk away with the win… But Quinn Hughes was the hero, blocking a shot with no goalie behind him.

He restarted the attack by passing to Miller, who tied the game with a perfect shot:

Overtime was needed to determine a winner and it was finally Connor Zary who came to close the debate.

The youngster gave the Flames a 6-5 win in overtime :

2: Shesterkin makes like Montembeault

The mighty Rangers took on the aging Penguins, and there was one thing we particularly remembered about the game.

I'm talking about Igor Shesterkin's performance.

The Rangers goalie was simply perfect in front of his net, stopping all 29 shots he faced.

He recorded a shutout in his first game of the season… and sent a clear message to Rangers management regarding the signing of his next contract.

Hard to ask for a better performance:

The Blue Shirts won the game 6-0, and Alexis Lafrenière stood out in his own way.

How?

By scoring a goal reminiscent of his heyday in the QMJHL.

Laffy starts his season the right way:

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3 : Kyle Connor makes NHL history

Watching the Oilers play last night, it didn't look like a club that had just played in the Stanley Cup Final.

Not even close.

Connor McDavid's team may have thought they were still on vacation, because they simply didn't show up on the ice.

The Oilers lost 6-0, Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves in the Jets' victory and Mason Appleton turned in his team's best offensive performance with three points (one goal).

Kyle Connor's seventh consecutive goal in his first game of the season is an NHL record:

4: Four points for Eichel and Barbashev

The Golden Knights look violent.

Last night, they made short work of the Avalanche, even though the Colorado team is considered one of the best in the NHL.

The game was the story of Jack Eicheil and Ivan Barbashev, who enjoyed themselves by collecting four points each.

The Russian scored a magnificent goal, by the way:

Victor Olofsson also showed his talent for the Knights.

The former Sabres man scored two goals on his debut with his new club and clearly knows how to make new friends.

He's going to have a great time in Vegas:

The Golden Knights won the game 8-4.

This was a big performance for the Vegas team in their first game of the season.

5: Rantanen scores a hat trick and MacKinnon hits a high plateau

Even though the Avalanche lost outright to the Golden Knights, Mikko Rantanen's performance must be mentioned.

The Finn, who has established himself as one of the NHL's best all-round players, started his season strong by scoring a hat trick.

He did what he could in the loss to the Knights:

Nathan MacKinnon didn't score in the game, but he did pick up two assists on two of Rantanen's three goals.

One of them helped him reach the 900-point plateau in his NHL career, which is quite a feat.

It's just a shame his club lost:


Extension

– Huberdeau starts the season on the right foot.

– Whew.

– Magnifique.

– That's what I call a perfect game.

– Big contact.

– Big night at work for Golden Knights players :

(Credit: NHL.com Screenshot)

– It's going to be busier tonight in the NHL :

(Credit: Google screenshot)
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