The quest for the Stanley Cup is officially underway as six teams commenced their series on Wednesday night in three marquee matchups.
The evening started off with the Lightning defeating the Red Wings and then went on and saw the Penguins pulverize the Rangers and the Blues best the Blackhawks in the first of hopefully many overtime games in this year's postseason.
Here are the five most thrilling moments from Opening Night of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.
5) Lightning Quick
The first goal of the postseason officially goes to Nikita Kucherov, who beat Jimmy Howard (31 saves) at 6:23 of the first period. Kucherov would add a game-tying tally in the second, while Alex Killorn scored the decider in the third. Mike Green and Justin Abdelkader each beat Ben Bishop (34 saves), but the Lightning held on, 3-2, to take a 1-0 series lead.
4) Dazzling Debut
With Marc-Andre Fleury dealing with a concussion and his backup Matt Murray also sidelined, Jeff Zatkoff was thrust into the Penguins crease to make his playoff debut. Despite only having 35 games to his NHL resume, Zatkoff looked like anything but a third-string goalie. He turned aside 35 of the Rangers' 37 shots, allowing just two Derek Stepan goals, as the Penguins marched on to a 5-2 victory and 1-0 series lead.
Across the rink, Rangers goaltender Antti Raanta (16 saves, three goals allowed) also made his playoff debut after incumbent Henrik Lundqvist had to leave after taking teammate Marc Staal's stick to the eye.
3) Gateway To Redemption
Blues netminder Brian Elliott led the NHL with a .930 save percentage in the regular season, but he entered a Game 1 matchup against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks with a ghastly .857 save percentage in postseason play. The St. Louis goalie resembled more of his regular season form, quelling any doubts by turning aside all 35 shots he faced en route to a shutout victory in overtime. The Blues toppled the Blackhawks, 1-0, and skated on to a 1-0 series lead.
2) Hornqvist Hat Trick
Patrick Hornqvist lit the lamp three times for the Penguins in their Game 1 victory over the rival Rangers. Mere moments after Lundqvist was placed back into the game despite an eye injury, Hornqvist beat him at 19:42 of the first period to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission. He then got the puck past Raanta at 8:02 of the third and sealed the game with an empty-netter.
1) Backes & Blues
As expected, the Blackhawks and Blues engaged in a very physical game to open up their series. What wasn't expected is that two teams full of superstars like Patrick Kane (NHL-best 106 points in the regular season) and Vladimir Tarasenko (finished fourth in the league with 40 goals) would be deadlocked in a scoreless tie after three periods. Something had to give and in overtime, Blues captain David Backes attempted to center the puck in front of Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (17 saves), and it hit off of Chicago defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and past Crawford to give St. Louis the victory.
To view our entire round-by-round picks for the Stanley Cup playoffs, click here.
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