Friday's hockey: No. 4 MSU wins opener on Russell's OT goal; Pacific Division preview
No. 4 Michigan State posted a 2-1 overtime victory at Lake Superior State to open the 2024-25 NCAA hockey season on Friday in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
Daniel Russell (Traverse City) scored the winner 39 seconds into overtime, Isaac Howard added a first-period goal and goalie Trey Augustine (South Lyon) made 25 saves for the Spartans.
"I think we had to get our legs underneath us, kind of get a feel for the puck because it was a bit sloppy the first half of the game," Russell said. "I think that third period, we were all over them. I don't know how many shots. I think that's good going forward."
Connor Milburn replied for Lake Superior State and goalie Rorke Applebee stopped 37 shots. The teams will meet again on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Also Friday, No. 7 Michigan opened the regular season with a 5-2 loss at home against Minnesota State at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor.
William Whitelaw and Garrett Schifsky scored goals, Michael Hage had two assists and goalie Logan Stein made 18 saves for the Wolverines.
Michigan and Minnesota State will play again on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Pacific Division preview
Playoff MVP Connor McDavid canโt shake the memory of what now-former Edmonton GM Ken Holland told the team after falling one win short of winning the Stanley Cup.
The Game 7 loss to Florida in June caused Holland to reflect on the disappointment he still felt from his time in Detroit in 2009, when the Red Wings failed to defend their title in losing Game 7 to Pittsburgh.
โIโm not sure itโs something that you ever get over, really, and time just kind of moves on,โ McDavid recalled.
However much the Oilersโ playoff run was regarded as a breakthrough for McDavid in finally leading them to their first Cup final in his nine seasons in Edmonton, itโs back to square one as the season arrives. The Pacific Division features a mix of contenders and teams in various stages of rebuilding.
Joining the Oilers at the top are the Vancouver Canucks, who surged during coach Rick Tocchetโs first full season in making a 26-point jump to win their first division title since 2013.
โThe challenge will be greater, certainly," Canucks president Jim Rutherford said. "But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year, and probably better.โ
Then there are the Vegas Golden Knights, who have missed the playoffs just once โ in 2022 โ in their seven-year history, and are two years removed from winning the Cup. The Golden Knights lost Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson and goalie Logan Thompson, but they return a strong core, and got better with last seasonโs late addition of forward Tomas Hertl.
The question marks are where the divisionโs other five teams fit in the equation.
The Los Angeles Kings have finished third in the division in each of the past three seasons, and feature a mix of veterans โ captain Anze Kopitar, Phillip Danault and Drew Doughty โ and youth, led by Quinton Byfield. The Kings have already been dealt a blow with Doughty out indefinitely after breaking his ankle.
The Seattle Kraken underwent a shakeup with Dan Bylsma replacing Dave Hakstol as coach after the team regressed in winning just 34 games a year after making the playoffs. Seattle also upgraded its lineup with the additions of Stephenson and defenseman Brandon Montour.
Calgary, Anaheim and San Jose round out the bottom.
In Edmonton, the Oilers have their star duo of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in place, while retooling on the fly under new GM Stan Bowman. Though Edmonton added Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson in free agency, the team traded Ryan McLeod to Buffalo and Cody Ceci to San Jose, while choosing not to match St. Louis' offer sheets to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway.
The Oilers will be without forward Evander Kane, who is out indefinitely with various injuries.
โGood teams have good players, and itโs tough to keep them all together, and ultimately you lose guys,โ McDavid said. โWe improved in some areas, and maybe we took a step back in different areas.โ
On the rise
Tocchet has the Canucks finally playing up to their potential, and GM Patrik Allvin has a talented prospect pool to draw from, and added power forward Jake DeBrusk, defenseman Vincent Desharnais and two way forward Kiefer Sherwood this offseason.
The big question is net, with Vancouver counting on goalie Arturs Silovs to carry over his playoff performance in filling in for Thatcher Demko, whoโs out with knee injury.
On the decline
In Calgary, the Flames appear to be starting over in shedding established talent after trading goalie Jacob Markstroฬm to New Jersey and Andrew Mangiapane to Washington.
The Flames have been shedding talent since losing the late Johnny Gaudreau in free agency and trading Matthew Tkachuk to Florida in the summer of 2022. They also parted ways with Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm.
โFrom the outside, media and even friends and family, the expectations are probably a little bit lower,โ defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. โBut thereโs no reason to think that we canโt make the playoffs and canโt be a good team (with) that underdog mentality. You never know.โ
The Sharks are starting from scratch with a youth movement headed by Will Smith, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft, and this yearโs No. 1 draft selection, Macklin Celebrini.
โSo is it a fresh start? For sure,โ new Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. โWe donโt talk about the last two years, but weโre going to learn from it, and weโre going to keep moving forward.โ
There are higher expectations in Anaheim, where the Ducks are in the midst of a franchise-worst six-year playoff drought.
โI want to see us making the next step. I thought we were looking for our game throughout the season,โ new captain Radko Gudas said. โI think the hunger in the group is here.โ
On the hot seat
The Kings have been treading water under GM Rob Blake, and havenโt advanced past the first round of the playoffs since winning the Cup in 2014.
Predicted order of finish
Edmonton, Vegas, Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Jose, Calgary.
Devils beat Sabres in opener in Prague
Prague โ Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves and Paul Cotter had an empty-netter and assist in their debuts with New Jersey as the Devils beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 on Friday in the NHL regular-season opener that was played in the Czech Republic capital.
After former NHL great Jaromir Jagr, who still plays in the Czech league, dropped a ceremonial puck, Stefan Noesen became the first scorer of the season 8:39 in to put New Jersey up. Defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, also making his Devils debut, made it 2-0, and then Nico Hischier scored early into the second before Owen Power got the Sabres on the scoreboard midway through the third. Cotter made it 4-1.
โUltimately, the group just pulled together and wanted to compete at the high level tonight, and I think they got after it right from the start,โ Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. โFrom the opening face off we were all over the net within 10 seconds.โ
The teams' series of games on Friday and Saturday is part of the NHL global series. Two more international games will be played in Tampere, Finland, on Nov. 1-2 when defending Stanley Cup champion Florida faces the Dallas Stars.
This is the 11th season the NHL has played in Europe as part of its efforts to grow the fan base in hockey-mad countries like the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland and others.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 19 saves for Buffalo.
The Sabres hope to end a 13-season playoff drought this year. Coach Lindy Ruff, who guided them to their last postseason in 2011, is back after he was fired by New Jersey. During his previous stint from 1997-2012, Buffalo advanced eight times and reached the Stanley Cup final in 1999.
โThe start was probably the biggest difference in the hockey game,โ Ruff said. โThey were a step faster to loose pucks, they won more 50-50 battles early on and I thought that was the difference in the game.โ
Michigan-area hockey schedule
October games
Friday's games
โถ Senators 4, Red Wings 3 (OT)
โถ Michigan State 2, Lake Superior State 1 (OT)
โถ Minnesota State 5, Michigan 2
โถ Ferris State 4, Miami (Ohio) 3 (SO)
โถ Notre Dame 5, NTDP U18 2
Saturday's games
โถ Red Wings at Maple Leafs, 7
โถ Michigan State at Lake Superior State, 4
โถ Minnesota State at Michigan, 6
โถ Northern Michigan at Michigan Tech, 6
โถ Miami (Ohio) at Ferris State, 8
โถ NTDP U18 at Western Michigan, 6
โถ NTDP U17 at MEL All-Stars, 1
Sunday's games
โถ NTDP U17 at MEL All-Stars, 10a
Thursday, Oct. 10
โถ Penguins at Red Wings, 7
Friday, Oct. 11
โถ Milwaukee at Grand Rapids, 7
โถ Boston College at Michigan State, 6
โถ Michigan at Arizona State, 3:30
โถ Ferris State at Western Michigan, 7
โถ Northern Michigan at Colorado College, 9
โถ Alaska at Michigan Tech, 7
โถ Lake Superior State at NTDP U18, 7
โถ NTDP U17 at Sioux City, 9
Saturday, Oct. 12
โถ Predators at Red Wings, 7
โถ Grand Rapids at Rockford, 8
โถ Boston College at Michigan State, 6
โถ Michigan at Arizona State, 5
โถ Western Michigan at Ferris State, 7
โถ Northern Michigan at Colorado College, 8
โถ Alaska at Michigan Tech, 6
โถ Robert Morris at NTDP U18, 7
โถ NTDP U17 at Sioux City, 7
Monday, Oct. 14
โถ Red Wings at Rangers, 7
Thursday, Oct. 17
โถ Rangers at Red Wings, 7:30
โถ Bowling Green at Western Michigan, 7
Friday, Oct. 18
โถ Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7
โถ Windsor at Michigan State, 6
โถ St. Cloud at Michigan, 7
โถ Alaska Anchorage at Northern Michigan, 7
โถ Ferris State at St. Lawrence, TBA
โถ NTDP U18 at Harvard, 7
โถ Muskegon at NTDP U17, 7
Saturday, Oct. 19
โถ Red Wings at Predators, 2
โถ Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7
โถ St. Cloud at Michigan, 7
โถ York University at Western Michigan, 6
โถ Alaska Anchorage at Northern Michigan, 6
โถ Ferris State at St. Lawrence, TBA
โถ NTDP U18 at Boston College, noon
โถ Muskegon at NTDP U17, 7
Tuesday, Oct. 22
โถ Red Wings at Islanders, 7:45
Thursday, Oct. 24
โถ Devils at Red Wings, 7
Friday, Oct. 25
โถ Grand Rapids at Springfield, 7
โถ Michigan State at Canisius, 7
โถ Arizona State at Northern Michigan, 6
โถ Clarkson at Michigan Tech, 7
โถ Bemidji State at Ferris State, 7
โถ NTDP U18 at Michigan, 7
โถ NTDP U17 at Dubuque, 8
Saturday, Oct. 26
โถ Red Wings at Sabres, 1
โถ Grand Rapids at Lehigh Valley, 7
โถ Michigan State at Canisius, 7
โถ Western Michigan at Boston College, 7
โถ Clarkson at Michigan Tech, 6
โถ Bemidji State at Ferris State, 6
โถ NTDP U18 at Adrian, 3
โถ NTDP U17 at Dubuque, 8
Sunday, Oct. 27
โถ Oilers at Red Wings, 6
โถ Grand Rapids at Lehigh Valley, 3
Wednesday, Oct. 30
โถ Jets at Red Wings, 7:30
โถ Grand Rapids at Hartford, 7