There were a pair of day games to commence proceedings. In Winnipeg, the Jets edged Los Angeles Kings 3-2 thanks to Mark Scheifele, who scored twice. The centre nabbed what proved to be the winner with 8:13 left in regulation.
Out in Calgary, the St. Louis Blues managed two goals in two and a half minutes in the third to get the better of the Flames 4-2. Jake Neighbours' second of the contest proved to be the winner as the guests earned their first win on the year.
Red Wings, Blue Jackets win thrillers
Most of the games started concurrently in the busiest night of the hockey week. It was a back-and-forth thriller in Michigan as the Detroit Red Wings prevailed 6-3 over their Original Six rivals Toronto Maple Leafs. The guests got an early goal two and a half minutes in before doubling their lead midway through the opening frame.
However, the Red Wings came alive in the second period, hitting their opponents with three goals to take a lead heading into the final intermission. Max Domi responded for Toronto less than three minutes into the final frame, but Lucas Raymond's power play marker shortly after decided the contest.
The hosts added a pair of empty netters at the end to seal an impressive victory.
Perhaps the craziest match of the day came in at the Grand Casino Arena, where the Columbus Blue Jackets scored seven times in a 7-4 thriller over the Minnesota Wild.
The away team scored within the first three minutes in all three periods as they raced to a 2-0 lead. They would be pegged back as Matthew Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov converted power plays to tie the game. The Blue Jackets recovered, as Kirill Marchenko put them back in front just before the end of the period.
Marchenko went on to score a hat-trick in this one, and while Minnesota did make cut the lead back down to two - all of their goals coming from man advantage situations - they ultimately conceded another late on to lose their home opener.
In other NHL action, Nashville Predators rookie Brady Martin notched his first assist. Unfortunately for them, they still fell 3-2 in overtime to the Utah Mammoth. Meanwhile, Kaiden Gulhe netted a winner for the Montreal Canadiens 15 seconds before the end of regulation during their 3-2 defeat of the Chicago Blackhawks. Sam Rinzel, who played just nine times last year, managed to score his first for the hosts, but it was not enough.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers made it three wins in three after an impressive 6-2 success over the visiting Ottawa Senators. Six different players found the goal for the home side, taking them to 11 goals after just three games.
Caps get off the mark
In New York, the Islanders were beaten 4-2 by the visiting Washington Capitals. The defending Eastern Conference winners skated their way to a 4-0 advantage with four and a half minutes to play in the second period. They ultimately managed to hold on despite the hosts grabbing two of their own - both off power plays.
The one positive on the night for the Islanders was that Matthew Schaefer, the league's number one overall draft pick, notched his maiden goal at the professional level.
Seth Jarvis scored with 17 seconds left in overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Travis Sanheim had tied the game with four minutes left in regulation, but it the Flyers could not get over the line in the end.
The Boston Bruins topped the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 at home, while the New Jersey Devils got past the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3. Arseny Gritsyuk picked up his first assist with the Devils in their win.
The New York Rangers took care of business on the road in a three-goal haul in the second period to top the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1. Benjamin Kindel had tied things up at the start of the frame to get his first NHL goal, but it lasted a mere three minutes as the guests rattled off five unanswered.
A shootout was needed in Denver, with the Dallas Stars edging the Colorado Avalanche 5-4 thanks to a 2-1 success in the shootout. Nathan MacKinnon, who had tied the game in the middle of the third, failed to beat Jake Oettinger in what proved to be the decisive penalty.
Defenceman Brent Burns played in his 1,500 NHL game in the loss. The Avs temporarily hold the lead in the Western Conference even though they could not earn the full complement of points.
The late night games on the west coast see the Edmonton Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks, the San Jose Sharks take on the Anaheim Ducks, and the Seattle Kraken face the Vegas Golden Knights.