Joel Armia and Eeli Tolvanen scored their opening goals of the season in the NHL. A new Finnish player was also seen in the Taalaliiga.
Montreal Canadiens Joel Armia played his first game of the season in the hockey NHL and immediately managed to score in a home game against the Winnipeg Jets.
The Finnish striker hit the Canadian defender on the counterattack Kaiden Guhlen from the pass after Montreal reached full strength a moment earlier. Armia tied the game at 3–3 at the beginning of the third period.
Armia, who was transferred to the AHL via the waivers list at the beginning of the season, got responsibility for almost 15 minutes.
The Canadiens eventually won the match with a 4–3 home victory after a contest for the winning goal. The Canadiens’ decider was Nick Suzuki.
Seattle Kraken also scored their first goal of the season in the night round Eeli Tolvanen, who led his team to a 2–0 away lead against the Florida Panthers. However, Florida won the match 3–2.
Panthers Niko Mikkola and Anton Ludell both recorded one assist from the fight.
Matinpalo debuted in the NHL
Ottawa Senators goaltender Joonas Korpisalo performed his best in an away game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Korpisalo saved no less than 22 times in the opening set and 40/42 times in total, when the Senators won 5–2.
Korpisalo has now won two of his five starts of the season.
In addition to Korpisalo, another Finn was also seen in Ottawa’s ranks, when Nikolas Matipalo debuted in the taala league. The 25-year-old pack from Espoo got a screen spot when Thomas Chabot was on the sidelines. The 190-centimeter Matinpalo got a good eight minutes of ice time and recorded a plus-minus balance of +1.
Matinpalo played in Ässi last season and also broke into the Lions World Cup group. The Finn, who is playing behind the guard in his first season, has also appeared in four AHL matches this season with an output of 1+0.
Not only Korpisalo, but also Nashville got a taste of victory from the Finnish goalkeepers Juuso Saros, who saved a 3–2 home win over Toronto after the game-winning goal race. Saros stretched in front of the puck 33/35 times.
The results of the NHL round:
Philadelphia–Anaheim 4–7
Florida to Seattle 3–2
FLA: Lundell 0+1, Mikkola 0+1
SEA: Tolvanen 1+0
Columbus–NY Islanders 0–2
Boston–Detroit 4–1
DET: Husso 27/30 defense.
Montreal–Winnipeg hours 4–3
MTL: Armia 1+0
Nashville to Toronto and 3–2
NSH: Saros 33/35 torj.
Pittsburgh–Ottawa 2–5
OTT: Korpisalo 40/42 torj.
Vancouver–NY Rangers and 3–4
Los Angeles to Vegas vl 3–4