The NHL Daily Fix is your morning wake-up call with news and notes for the day's hockey action. Today is Sunday, Jan. 20, the second day of opening weekend of the 2013 season. Finally.
| Morning Buzz |
The best of the NHL's opening day on Saturday
• The Kings weren't the only team putting on a show before their opener Saturday. While the Kings had a Cup relay, the Canadiens took a page from the Olympics and had a torch relay with some of the greats from their franchise.
• Saturday was a day of celebration for the NHL; hockey was back. The league didn't patronize fans by painting thank-you messages on the ice or anything, it was business as usual. That was until Bruins owner and noted hawk Jeremy Jacobs began speaking. In a day that wasn't supposed to be about the lockout at all, Jacobs was all about the lockout.
"I wanted nothing more than the season to start on time," Jacobs said. "It could've and should've." Asked why it didn't, Jacobs said only, "You have to ask the other side that."
It's done, Mr. Jacobs, let it go and let's focus on hockey. It's not the time. Not. The. Time. (Ranger Rants)
• Did anybody have a worse opening game than the Detroit Red Wings? The answer is no, and it wasn't even close. Not only did they lose to the Blues 6-0, the score might not even have been indicative of how badly they were outplayed. It's not too early for concerns in Detroit and there are already plenty of them. (Detroit Free Press)
• There's a new motto on Long Island this season with the future of the franchise settled thanks to the announced move to Brooklyn in two seasons. What's the motto? It's all about the hockey, Mark Herrmann writes. Based on a home-opener loss again for the Islanders, that might not be such a good thing. (Newsday)
• If you missed it late night on the East Coast, Teemu Selanne and Jaromir Jagr were busy being the best players in the league. They had the only four-point nights, meaning two men over 40 lead the league in scoring. Consider Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau impressed.
"So him and Jagr are leading the league in scoring? What the hell is this world coming to?" Boudreau said of Selanne and Dallas' Jagr. "I think it's great. It's Teemu. He defies age on certain nights. A 42-year-old getting four points in an NHL game ... it's quite amazing."
Oh by the way, 39-year-old Alex Kovalev and 37-year-old Martin St. Louis had three-point nights. (OC Register)
• Remember, not every team had the honor of playing Saturday. The Buffalo Sabres were one of them, but they'll get their season under way against Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon. They didn't make the postseason last year in disappointing fashion so here's John Vogl's reasons for optimism and pessimism. (Buffalo News)
| Sunday schedule |
Philadelphia at Buffalo (12:30 ET, NBC)
San Jose at Calgary (6 ET)
Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers (7 ET)
Dallas at Minnesota (8 ET)
Edmonton at Vancouver (9 ET)
Chicago at Phoenix (10 ET)
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