Welcome to the NHL On Tap. Three NHL.com writers will share what they are most looking forward to on the schedule each day. Today, their choices from two games Tuesday, the first day of the regular season in North America.
Goalie matchup headlines season opener at MSG
Let’s call it the battle of the top two goalies in the NHL Igor Shesterkin and Andrei Vasilevskiy facing off when the New York Rangers host the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN1, TVAS, SN NOW). Vasilevskiy and the Lightning defeated Shesterkin and the Rangers in six games in the Eastern Conference Final last season. Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL, collecting 29 of the 32 first-place votes (and three second-place votes). But if Shesterkin wants to be known as the best goalie in the world, not just the best goalie last season, he’s going to have to take that title from Vasilevskiy, a two-time Stanley Cup champion. And that is what makes this season-opening matchup so intriguing. It won’t define the season for Shesterkin, Vasilevskiy, the Rangers nor the Lightning, but it will be an early-season measuring stick for all involved. — Dan Rosen, senior writer
Spotlight on Thompson and Fiala in LA
Logan Thompson takes over as the Vegas Golden Knights’ No. 1 goalie and Kevin Fiala will make his Los Angeles Kings debut when the teams open the season at Crypto.com Arena (10 pm ET; ESPN, SN1, TVAS, SN NOW). The Golden Knights need Thompson to step up with Robin Lehner expected to be out for the season following hip surgery. Thompson was 10-5-3 with a 2.68 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and one shutout in 19 games (17 starts) last season, but the 25-year-old rookie will have to handle a larger workload this season. He’ll be tested right away by Fiala, who was traded to Los Angeles by the Minnesota Wild on June 29 and signed a seven-year, $55.125 million contract ($7.875 million average annual value) the following day. The 26-year-old set NHL career-highs in goals (33), assists (52) and points (85) in 82 games last season and will add another offensive dimension for the Kings, who qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. for the first time since 2018. — Tom Gulitti, staff writer
Expectations higher for Kings this season
It was somewhat surprising last season when the Los Angeles Kings made the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they pushed the Edmonton Oilers to seven games before losing to them in the Western Conference First Round. Now there’s more of an expectation for the Kings to make the postseason and they’ll look to get off to a fast start beginning Tuesday. They want to avoid what happened last season when they started 1-5-1. Kings coach Todd McLellan said Sept. 22 that veteran leadership from goalie Jonathan Quickdefenseman Drew Doughty and forward Anze Kopitar, who was with the Kings when they won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014, will help the team handle expectations. Will the Kings qualify for the playoffs again? We’ll see. But a strong start will certainly help. — Tracey Myers, staff writer
Tuesday schedule
Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, TVAS, SN1, SN NOW)
The Lightning began the regular season after making their third consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, winning the Cup in 2020 and 2021 before losing in six games to the Colorado Avalanche last season. Rangers forward Sammy Blaiswho has an upper-body injury, did not practice Monday and is doubtful to play.
Vegas Golden Knights at Los Angeles Kings (10 p.m. ET; ESPN, TVAS, SN1, SN NOW)
Forward Mark Stone, who had back surgery May 19, is ready to go for the season opener for the Golden Knights. The same is true for Kings forward Viktor Arvidssonwho had surgery to repair a herniated disk on May 17 and played 16:42 in his lone preseason game, a 6-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.
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