Ice Breaker: Pittsburgh hangs seven on Philly, and MacKinnon drops the gloves

Pittsburgh walked into Philadelphia's home opener and left with a 7-0 win and a goalie who barely broke a sweat. In Denver, Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, then dropped the gloves for the first time in four years. The Panthers are back at it tonight in San Jose, 1-0 and still smiling about Carolina's banner night.

The games

Penguins 7, Flyers 0

Nick Robertson scored twice, one of them shorthanded, and five other Penguins found the net in a balanced opener. Evgeni Malkin's one-timer on the power play made it 3-0, and he became the sixth player with 100 career points against the Flyers. Arturs Silovs stopped all 19 shots for his third career shutout.

Dan Vladar gave up five on the first 18 he faced and knocked Robertson's second goal in with the back of his own skate.

Sully's chirp: Philly put 19 shots on Silovs all night, in its own building, on opening night. I've seen more pressure on a guy parallel parking on Newbury Street.

Avalanche 8, Kings 4

Colorado scored four times in the second period, two of them from MacKinnon, and turned a 2-1 game into a 6-3 one. Artturi Lehkonen added two power-play goals and Brock Nelson had a goal and two assists.

With Colorado up 6-4 midway through the third, MacKinnon fought Brandt Clarke. Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves; Darcy Kuemper allowed eight on 29 shots.

Lind's read: Half of Colorado's eight came on the power play, and the Kings scored twice shorthanded, so LA's penalty kill matched its even-strength group goal for goal. That's a fun statistic and a terrible sign for Los Angeles.

Jared Bednar got a four-year extension hours before puck drop, and his team made the case for it by the second intermission.

Maple Leafs 2, Islanders 1

Colton Sissons and Easton Cowan scored 4:41 apart in the first period, and Toronto defended that cushion for the remaining forty-eight minutes. Anthony Stolarz stopped 26 of 27, including a big pad save on Anthony Duclair in the third. Emil Heineman's shorthanded goal with under six minutes left made it close.

Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves at the other end, and Matthew Schaefer logged 27:45, the most of anyone on the ice.

Sully's chirp: Jim Hiller has his first win as Leafs coach, one night after the opener went sideways. The Toronto Maple Leafs would like to announce they are .500. Parade route to follow.

Three stars of the night (our picks)

1. Filip Hallander, PIT — a goal and two assists in 10:55. That's a lot of damage on a short clock.
2. Nathan MacKinnon, COL — two goals, eight shots and five minutes for fighting.
3. Arturs Silovs, PIT — 19 saves and a shutout in a rival's home opener.

Lind's number of the night

10:55. That's how long Hallander played for his three points, the lowest ice time of any Penguin who got on the sheet. When the depth guys produce like that, the top six doesn't have to carry the team through October.

Sully's take of the morning

Look, Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals, took eight shots and then fought a guy in a game his team was already winning. That's a Gordie Howe hat trick that forgot to pick up the assist on the way out.

Colorado is the best team in the West and I don't want to hear it. Yes, it's one game. I'm still writing it down.

Tonight

Eight games on the schedule. The Panthers visit the Sharks at 10 PM ET on Scripps, and the game page will have the lines once they're set.

The one to watch is Edmonton at Vancouver, also at 10. The Oilers erased a three-goal hole on Tuesday and still lost 6-5 in overtime, and now they get the Canucks again two nights later.

Tampa Bay visits Madison Square Garden at 7, Seattle visits Calgary at 9 on Prime Video, and Chicago at Utah, Minnesota at Nashville and Buffalo at Columbus fill out the night. Philadelphia plays at New Jersey a night after the Pittsburgh game, which might be a mercy.