ESPN paid special tribute to the late Barry Melrose during the Panthers-Hurricanes broadcast, with fans sharing emotional posts about missing his voice, as well as there being a montage that brought tears. On the ice, Florida edged defending champ Carolina 1-0 in overtime on d-man Gustav Forsling’s game-winning one-timer. This came after the Hurricanes raised their Stanley Cup banner from a season ago, while the former champs watched the ceremony. Other results included Boston shutting out the Rangers 3-0 behind Jeremy Swayman’s standout performance between the pipes, and goals from Fraser Minten, J.J. Peterka, and Mark Kastelic. Also, Montreal beat Toronto 3-2 with key contributions from Josh Anderson and Alexandre Carrier.
In a fan gossip moment, Maple Leafs goalie Sergei Bobrovsky violated a long-held superstition by leading his team onto the ice ahead of rookie Gavin McKenna’s debut lap. Adding to the intrigue is that Bobrovsky’s actions were driven by his own superstition that the goaltender always is the first team member on the ice. The fact that Montreal beat Toronto in the contest most certainly will add fuel to this fire.
