October 13, 2016
Chris Szagola/AP
Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny (63) celebrates a preseason goal with teammates.
Hockey returned on Wednesday night and did so in a big way, thanks to the unprecedented debut of Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews. The former No. 1-overall pick netted four (yes, four) goals, all in the first two periods, in his first NHL game.
The 19-year-old did all of the scoring for his team, which lost to the Senators in overtime, and put the rest of the league on notice with some video-game-like moves.
Auston Matthews is unreal. pic.twitter.com/BiDo2xbwPj
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) October 12, 2016
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia fans are anxiously awaiting the debut of their team's pair of promising rookies -- Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny. The Flyers won't start their season until late Friday night in Los Angeles, but they did drop a promo video on Thursday afternoon that you can just watch on a loop between now and when the puck drops at 10:30 p.m. on Friday.
Back to work. pic.twitter.com/JGeqYJmQZ9
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 13, 2016
We'll have a more Flyers-specific preview tomorrow -- nationally, most experts see them on the playoff bubble when the season ends -- but in the interim, here's a look at how we see the NHL season playing out, including postseason and award winners.
Atlantic
Metropolitan
Wild Card
Central
Pacific
Wild Card
• Champion - Tampa Bay Lightning
• Conn Smythe - Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Hart - Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Vezina - Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
• Art Ross - Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
• Calder - Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Jack Adams - Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning
Atlantic
Metropolitan
Wild Card
Central
Pacific
Wild Card
• Champion - Washington Capitals
• Conn Smythe - Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
• Hart - Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
• Vezina - Brayden Holtby, Washington Capitals
• Art Ross - Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
• Calder - Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Jack Adams - Peter Laviolette, Nashville Predators
Follow Matt on Twitter: @matt_mullin | Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
