The NHL season started on Tuesday with some Canadian flavor with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens playing before the Chicago Blackhawks started their title defense against the Washington Capitals and that will continue with the Edmonton Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets.
The Oilers have a heap of young talent on their roster and after the team went 19-22-7 last season with 45 points, the organization feels that new head coach Dallas Eakins is the man to lead them back to the postseason. The team hasn't made it to the playoffs since back in 2006 when they went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Hurricanes and now they will get their season started off against another Canadian team in the Jets.
Check here for the Oilers and Jets live stream or for more on opening night in the NHL with the Blackhawks playing on the schedule.
Winnipeg handled it's move from Atlanta very smoothly, nearly making the playoffs last season, which would have been the first time the franchise was back in the playoffs since back in 2007. Edmonton won the last time the two teams met and the Oilers will next play another Canadian team in the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday at Rogers Arena. The Oilers are part of a new divisional alignment in the Pacific, putting the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, Coyotes and the Flames all under one roof.
The Oilers will be playing on Tuesday without Sam Gagner after he injured his jaw on Saturday in the last preseason game for Edmonton and he could miss more time after losing teeth from a hit. The young forward scored over 10 goals last season while playing in 48 games and the Oilers are hoping he will return quickly. The team is excited about the young talent it has on the roster, including Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who the franchise signed to a seven year extension before the season began worth over $40 million.
The divisional alignment isn't the only new thing in the NHL this season, as the players allowed for a different type of icing call this year, which has been dubbed "hybrid icing". The new rule was used in the preseason and was put in place to help protect players from injuries when they are rushing to touch up the puck on icing calls. Multiple players have been injured over the past year while making those icing plays and many expressed that the rule is a good step in the direction of player safety.
