NHL Opening Night Primer

RECORDS FOR SEASON-OPENING GAMES

The 2013-14 National Hockey League season opens on Tuesday, Oct. 1 with three games. Following are team and individual records for season-opening games, compiled by the Elias Sports Bureau:

(1) team-by-team records in season openers

(2) team-by-team records when opening the season at home

(3) team-by-team records when opening the season on the road

(4) active head coaches' record in season openers

(5) longest winning streaks in season openers (all-time and active)

(6) longest unbeaten streaks in season openers (all-time and active)

(7) longest winless streaks in season openers (all-time and active)

(8) longest losing streaks in season openers (all-time and active)

(9) fastest goals from the start of a season opener

(10) most goals in a season opener

(11) active players with 3+ goals in a season opener

(12) most assists in a season opener

(13) most points in a season opener

(14) most career points in season openers

TEAMS' RECORD IN SEASON OPENERS THROUGH 2012-13

PCT    TEAM                             GP      W       L  T/OT     GF   GA      OPENING NIGHT

.652     Colorado Avalanche        33     18       8       7      125     94      Wednesday, Oct. 2 vs. ANA

.650     Tampa Bay Lightning       20     12       6       2        71     54      Thursday, Oct. 3 at BOS

.636     Edmonton Oilers              33     19     10       4        99     90      Tuesday, Oct. 1 vs. WPG

.632     New Jersey Devils           38     20     10       8      127   108      Thursday, Oct. 3 at PIT

.625     Minnesota Wild                12       7       4       1        32     23      Thursday, Oct. 3 vs. LA

.619     Buffalo Sabres                 42     24     14       4      136   117      Wednesday, Oct. 2 at DET

.605     Montreal Canadiens         95     49     29     17      318   236      Tuesday, Oct. 1 vs. TOR

.600     Ottawa Senators              20       9       5       6        64     57      Friday, Oct. 4 at BUF

.578     St. Louis Blues                 45     22     15       8      159   142      Thursday, Oct. 3 vs. NSH

.560     Vancouver Canucks        42     21     16       5      140   131      Thursday, Oct. 3 at SJ

.556     Dallas Stars                      45     19     14     12      153   140      Thursday, Oct. 3 vs. FLA

.553     Florida Panthers               19       9       7       3        56     53      Thursday, Oct. 3 at DAL

.545     Phoenix Coyotes             33     16     13       4      112   100      Thursday, Oct. 3 vs. NYR

.544     Philadelphia Flyers           45     21     17       7      128   122      Wednesday, Oct. 2 vs. TOR

.536     Nashville Predators          14       7       6       1        37     36      Thursday, Oct. 3 at STL

.529     Chicago Blackhawks       86     36     31     19      236   249      Tuesday, Oct. 1 vs. WSH

.522     Los Angeles Kings           45     19     17       9      132   134      Thursday, Oct. 3 at MIN

.512     Detroit Red Wings            86     37     35     14      246   249      Wednesday, Oct. 2 vs. BUF

.511     Pittsburgh Penguins         45     20     19       6      148   150      Thursday, Oct. 3 vs. NJ

.500     Columbus Blue Jackets   12       5       5       2        30     30      Friday, Oct. 4 vs. CGY

.500     Boston Bruins                   88     36     36     16      252   257      Thursday, Oct. 3 vs. TB

.500     Washington Capitals        38     18     18       2      130   133      Tuesday, Oct. 1 at CHI

.488     New York Rangers          86     35     37     14      244   242      Thursday, Oct. 3 at PHX

.479     Toronto Maple Leafs        95     37     41     17      279   281      Tuesday, Oct. 1 at MTL

.429     San Jose Sharks             21       7     10       4        64     72      Thursday, Oct. 3 vs. VAN

.425     Calgary Flames               40     12     18     10      128   138      Thursday, Oct. 3 at WSH

.423     Winnipeg Jets                  13       5       7       1        31     38      Tuesday, Oct. 1 at EDM

.350     New York Islanders         40       9     21     10      105   131      Friday, Oct. 4 at NJ

.348     Carolina Hurricanes         33       8     18       7        83   118      Friday, Oct. 4 vs. DET

.263     Anaheim Ducks               19       5     14       0        39     64      Wednesday, Oct. 2 at COL

TEAMS' RECORD WHEN OPENING THE SEASON AT HOME

PCT    TEAM                             GP      W       L  T/OT     GF   GA

  .875   Florida Panthers                 8       6       0       2        32     17

  .875   Minnesota Wild                  8       7       1       0        30     17

  .750   New Jersey Devils           20     12       2       6        77     48

  .706   Washington Capitals        17     12       5       0        64     50

  .704   Buffalo Sabres                 27     17       6       4      104     77

  .700   Edmonton Oilers              25     16       6       3        81     66

  .692   Tampa Bay Lightning       13       8       3       2        51     33

  .684   Phoenix Coyotes             19     12       5       2        75     59

  .676   Colorado Avalanche        17     10       4       3        65     46

  .672   Montreal Canadiens         58     34     14     10      204   121

  .667   Dallas Stars                      24     14       6       4        88     67

  .634   Chicago Blackhawks       41     20       9     12      123   108

  .632   St. Louis Blues                 19     11       6       2        76     55

  .620   Detroit Red Wings            50     28     16       6      151   115

  .616   Boston Bruins                   56     29     16     11      195   162

  .589   Philadelphia Flyers           28     15     10       3        90     76

  .583   Vancouver Canucks        30     15     10       5        95     82

  .563   Nashville Predators            8       4       3       1        22     17

  .538   Los Angeles Kings           26     11       9       6        82     72

  .521   New York Rangers          24     10       9       5        80     70

  .517   Toronto Maple Leafs        58     24     22     12      177   159

  .500   Anaheim Ducks                 4       2       2       0        10     15

  .500   San Jose Sharks             12       5       5       2        41     44

  .500   Columbus Blue Jackets     8       3       3       2        20     19

  .478   Pittsburgh Penguins         23       9     10       4        67     65

  .477   Calgary Flames               22       8       9       5        76     68

  .450   Winnipeg Jets                  10       4       5       1        26     30

  .444   Carolina Hurricanes         18       5       7       6        40     56

  .429   Ottawa Senators                7       2       3       2        21     21

  .375   New York Islanders           8       2       4       2        20     21

TEAMS' RECORD WHEN OPENING THE SEASON ON THE ROAD

PCT    TEAM                             GP      W       L  T/OT     GF   GA

.692     Ottawa Senators              13       7       2       4        43     36

.625     Colorado Avalanche        16       8       4       4        60     48

.571     Tampa Bay Lightning         7       4       3       0        20     21

.545     Pittsburgh Penguins         22     11       9       2        81     85

.538     St. Louis Blues                 26     11       9       6        83     87

.500     Nashville Predators            6       3       3       0        15     19

.500     Columbus Blue Jackets     4       2       2       0        10     11

.500     New Jersey Devils           18       8       8       2        50     60

.500     Vancouver Canucks        12       6       6       0        45     49

.500     Los Angeles Kings           19       8       8       3        50     62

.500     Montreal Canadiens         37     15     15       7      114   115

.476     New York Rangers          62     25     28       9      164   172

.471     Philadelphia Flyers           17       6       7       4        38     46

.467     Buffalo Sabres                 15       7       8       0        32     40

.438     Edmonton Oilers                8       3       4       1        18     24

.433     Chicago Blackhawks       45     16     22       7      113   141

.429     Dallas Stars                      21       5       8       8        65     73

.419     Toronto Maple Leafs        37     13     19       5      102   122

.361     Calgary Flames               18       4       9       5        52     70

.361     Detroit Red Wings            36       9     19       8        95   134

.357     Phoenix Coyotes             14       4       8       2        37     41

.344     New York Islanders         32       7     17       8        85   110

.333     Winnipeg Jets                    3       1       2       0          5       8

.333     San Jose Sharks               9       2       5       2        23     28

.333     Washington Capitals        21       6     13       2        66     83

.318     Florida Panthers               11       3       7       1        24     36

.297     Boston Bruins                   32       7     20       5        57     95

.233     Carolina Hurricanes         15       3     11       1        43     62

.200     Anaheim Ducks               15       3     12       0        29     49

.125     Minnesota Wild                  4       0       3       1          2       6

ACTIVE NHL HEAD COACHES IN SEASON OPENERS

Pct.     Head Coach                  GP      W       L T/OT

1.000   Kevin Dineen, Fla.             2       2       0       0

  .800   Todd McLellan, S.J.           5       4       1       0

  .750   Ken Hitchcock, St.L         14       9       2       3

  .750   Dan Bylsma, Pit.                4       3       1       0

  .667   Michel Therrien, Mtl.          6       4       2       0

  .650   John Tortorella, Van.       10       6       3       1

  .633   Lindy Ruff, Dal.                15       9       5       1

  .600   Dave Tippett, Phx.           10       5       3       2

  .600   Bruce Boudreau, Ana.       5       3       2       0

  .556   Peter Laviolette, Phi.          9       4       3       2

  .536   Barry Trotz, Nsh.             14       7       6       1

  .500   Paul MacLean, Ott.            2       1       1       0

  .500   Mike Babcock, Det.         10       5       5       0

  .500   Joe Sacco, Col.                 4       2       2       0

  .450   Bob Hartley, Cgy.            10       3       4       3

  .444   Claude Julien, Bos.            9       4       5       0

  .409   Alain Vigneault, NYR       11       3       5       3

  .400   Peter DeBoer, N.J.            5       2       3       0

  .375   Randy Carlyle, Tor.           8       3       5       0

  .333   Todd Richards, CBJ          3       1       2       0

  .321   Joel Quenneville, Chi.      14       2       7       5

  .167   Darryl Sutter, L.A.            12       1       9       2

  .000   Claude Noel, Wpg.             2       0       2       0

  .000   Kirk Muller, Car.                 1       0       1       0

  .000   Jack Capuano, NYI           2       0       2       0

  .000   Adam Oates, Wsh.            1       0       1       0

    ----   Patrick Roy, Col.                -        -        -        -

    ----   Dallas Eakins, Edm.           -        -        -        -

    ----   Jon Cooper, T.B.                -        -        -        -

    ----   Ron Rolston, Buf.               -        -        -        -

LONGEST WINNING STREAKS IN SEASON OPENERS

9    1978-1986 St. Louis Blues

9    1953-1961 Montreal Canadiens

8    1987-1994 Boston Bruins

8    1981-1988 Colorado Avalanche

8    1947-1954 Detroit Red Wings

Longest Active Streak:

3    Six teams tied (Buffalo, Dallas, Edmonton, San Jose, Tampa Bay, Toronto)

LONGEST UNDEFEATED STREAKS IN SEASON OPENERS

17  1963-1979 Montreal Canadiens   (13-0-4)

15  1940-1954 Detroit Red Wings      (14-0-1)

12  1987-1998 Boston Bruins             (9-0-3)

10  1996-2006 Dallas Stars                (7-0-3)

Longest Active Streak:

6    Toronto Maple Leafs                     (4-0-2)

LONGEST WINLESS STREAKS IN SEASON OPENERS

  12   1982-1993 Detroit Red Wings         (0-8-4)

  10   1997-2007 St. Louis Blues               (0-6-4)

    8   1987-1994 Carolina Hurricanes       (0-6-2)

    8   1945-1952 Toronto Maple Leafs     (0-4-4)

    8   1939-1946 Boston Bruins                (0-5-3)

Longest Active Streak:

    5   New York Islanders                         (0-3-2)

LONGEST LOSING STREAKS IN SEASON OPENERS

    7   1993-1999 Anaheim Ducks             (0-7-0)

    7   1972-1978 Dallas Stars                   (0-7-0)

    6   2002-2008 Calgary Flames             (0-6-0)

    6   1999-2005 Pittsburgh Penguins       (0-6-0)

    6   1949-1954 New York Rangers        (0-6-0)

Longest Active Streak:

    3   Calgary Flames                               (0-3-0)

         Montreal Canadiens                         (0-3-0)

FASTEST GOALS FROM THE START OF A TEAM'S SEASON-OPENING GAME

Date             Teams/Score          Scorers/Team               Time

10/11/1986   MIN 4 at QUE 4       Kent Nilsson, MIN          0:10

10/07/1981   WSH 3 at BUF 5      Ryan Walter, WSH        0:12

10/31/1943   TOR 4 at CHI 1        Bill Mosienko, CHI         0:13

10/07/1981   PIT 5 at CHI 5          Denis Savard, CHI         0:13

10/30/1943   NYR 2 at TOR 5      Gus Bodnar, TOR          0:15

MOST GOALS IN A SEASON OPENER

5    Joe Malone, MTL                       12/19/17    (at OTT)

5    Harry Hyland, Mtl. Wanderers   12/19/17    (vs TOR)

5    Babe Dye, TOR                         12/16/22    (vs MTL)

4    Reg Noble, TOR                        12/19/17    (at Mtl. Wanderers)

4    Rick Blight, VAN                        10/ 6/76     (at PIT)

4    Greg Adams, VAN                     10/ 8/87     (vs STL)

4    Chris Kontos, TB                        10/ 7/92     (vs CHI)

ACTIVE PLAYERS WHO HAVE SCORED 3+ GOALS IN A SEASON OPENER

3    Teemu Selanne, WPG        10/06/1993   (vs WSH)

3    Paul Stastny, COL               10/03/2007   (vs DAL)

3    Derek Stepan, NYR             10/9/2010     (at BUF)

MOST ASSISTS IN A SEASON OPENER

5    Greg Adams, NJ                  10/10/1985   (at PHI)

5    John Cullen, PIT                  10/05/1990   (at WSH)

MOST POINTS IN A SEASON OPENER

Player/Team                             Date                            G-A--PTS

Kevin Stevens, PIT                    10/05/1990 at WSH    (2-4--6)

Joe Malone, MTL                       12/19/1917 at OTT      (5-0--5)

Harry Hyland, Mtl. Wanderers   12/19/1917 vs TOR    (5-0--5)

Babe Dye, TOR                         12/16/1922 vs MTL     (5-0--5)

Andy Bathgate, NYR                 10/07/1955 at CHI       (1-4--5)

Phil Esposito, BOS                    10/10/1973 vs VAN     (3-2--5)

Gilbert Perreault, BUF               10/10/1974 vs BOS    (3-2--5)

Michel Goulet, QUE                  10/04/1983 vs NYI      (1-4--5)

Greg Adams, NJ                        10/10/1985 at PHI       (0-5--5)

Tom Fergus, TOR                     10/09/1986 vs MTL     (3-2--5)

John Cullen, PIT                        10/05/1990 at WSH    (0-5--5)

Steve Reinprecht, PHX             10/05/2006 vs NYI      (1-4--5)

Thomas Vanek, BUF                 01/20/2013 vs PHI      (2-3--5)

CAREER POINTS IN SEASON OPENERS

Jaromir Jagr, NJ (11-24--35)   ACTIVE

Ray Bourque    (9-21--30)

Wayne Gretzky  (9-18--27)

Joe Sakic      11-16--27)

Al MacInnis    (8-17--25)

Adam Oates     (1-24--25)

Phi Esposito  (11-14--25)

Michel Goulet (14-11--25)

Gordie Howe    (8-17--25)

Dale Hunter    (5-19--24)