Day 1 of this 48-game season really took a page out of the shortened 1995 season after veterans Jaromir Jagr and Teemu Selanne each tallied four points. But those weren’t the only feel-good stories of opening weekend.
Marian Hossa, who was decimated by Raffi Torres in last season’s playoff series and was carted off with a concussion, has four goals and five points in two games to take an early scoring lead. And Minnesota backup goalie Josh Harding, recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, turned aside 24 shots to earn a shutout win over Dallas Sunday.
There’s sure to be many more great stories as we play on. In the meantime, let’s all be thankful for the return of the world’s best league and enjoy watching the season play out.
With it being so early, the Power Rankings lean heavily towards pre-season rankings, though early returns factor in as well.
The Hockey News ranks the teams 1-30 each Monday based on a combination of last week’s play and a squad’s overall outlook.
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