Rachel Schaffner – Staff Writer

rls6117@psu.edu

The hockey season has officially started! Opening day for the 2022-2023 hockey season
began on October 7 with the Nashville Predators facing off against the San Jose Sharks. The
Predators were off to a great start in their first game of the season, winning 4-1 against the
Sharks. They went on to win against the Tampa Bay Lightnings with a score of 7-1. Tampa Bay
had won two consecutive Stanley Cups with their eyes on the prize for a rare three-peat back in
the 21-22 postseason but lost to the Colorado Avalanches. With a new slate of ice ready to be
skated on, it is still too early to predict who will win this year’s Stanley Cup, however, EA’s
simulator in their NHL game series predicted that the Pittsburgh Penguins are to win, but are
they up to the challenge they are going to be facing this season?
The Pittsburgh Penguins had a rocky preseason with them only winning three out of the
six preseason games they played, leaving them at the 50 percent win average, but it is just the
preseason, right? Their first game of the season, which took place on October 13 against the
Arizona Coyotes. Completely dominating against Arizona, Pittsburgh won against them with an
astounding 6-2 score. Players, Sydney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Jason Zucker, Kasperi Kapanen,
Evgeni Malkin, and Bryan Rust are the ones to put the Penguins on the board for the team to win
6-2. Goalie Tristian Jarry, took on the role of the main goalie after Matt Murray was traded to the
Ottawa Senators back in 2020. While those six players mentioned had a great spotlight, so did
Jarry with a .928 percent save percentage, saving 26 out of 28 shots on goal. Not bad for the first
game of the season!
With the second game of the season under wraps, the Penguins faced off against the
Lightnings on October 15. Back on home ice, the Penguins were able to win with another 6-2
score. Sydney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, and Bryan Rust were at it again by putting their names on
the score sheet and putting the puck in the net. The other three points were scored by Jeff Carter,
who was a previous player on the Los Angeles Kings, Danton Heinen, formerly on the Boston
Bruins, and Rickard Rakell, who played for the Anaheim Ducks. While all six players were able
to lead the Penguins to victory, Jarry was the person who kept the Lightnings from scoring
anymore goals after their two points. With a save percentage of .944 percent, Jarry kept 34 out of
36 shots on net out of the net. However, their first away game did not go as well as the first two
opening games.
Heading to face off against the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal at the Centre Bell arena,
the Penguins lost to the Canadiens 3-2 in overtime. The only person to score for the Penguins
was Evgeni Malkin, getting both goals for the Penguins. While there are wins and losses in every
sport there are, with three games into the regular season, the Penguins do have the potential to go
all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in the postseason, but will the regular season be too much
of a challenge for them to get another cup? Only time on the ice will tell.