Night one: the comforts of home, for some.

Last night's results will come as a shock for very few.

The first game I watched was Pittsburgh v. Tampa Bay, which seemed to play out exactly as I anticipated. Marc Andre-Fleury was outstanding, without a doubt the star of the game. The James Neal/Alexei Kovalev/Mark Letestu lineup is an absolute handful, and if they play like that every game, they're going to win that series on their own. Staal wasn't terribly effective, but he'll get better as the series goes on.

Tampa were very good, and I'd say that probably Roloson kept them in the game as the Penguins started to exert more pressure. I know that most people say that the penalty kill is far more important, but as the game ebbs away and you've wasted six or seven opportunities with a man advantage with the score locked at 0-0, it starts to look like you're not making a good enough effort.

The Penguins were lucky on a couple of occasions. But they did deserve to win the game. The top six of Neal/Kovalev/Letestu/Kunitz/Staal/Dupuis is doing quite well in the absence of Crosby and Malkin.

The second match I watched was the Rangers v. Washington. This was a very good match, with two very even strength teams playing in an out all battle. The Rangers were fairly impressive but at the end of the day, Washington does come across as a superior team and they really needed that win last night. It was interesting to watch overtime because Washington didn't seem overawed by the occasion. With Arnott and some of the other seasoned veterans, there didn't seem to be any panicking. They played smart, efficient, attacking hockey and it paid off. Semin's goal was awesome. It was a coach's dream, really, because it was an example of 'getting the puck on the net at every opportunity.'

The next match I watched was the Canucks vs. Blackhawks. This was a war, though it started as Vancouver running amok and seeing most of the puck possession in the first period. I expected better play and more energy from the Blackhawks, but we did see some of it through at the end of the game when they tried to get a goal and break the duck.

I didn't watch the Anaheim vs. Nashville game, and I'm glad. It was extremely one-sided. As some pundits predicted, Nashville's collapse-to-defend and then catch-them-on-the-break system of play was efficient and effective.

I also didn't get a chance to watch Detroit v. Phoenix, and that's good because I hate Detroit and it looks like the Wings are not going to let the Coyotes have anything easily. Some of the goals were scrappy, so the Coyotes need to clean that up. However, they did hold the lead for nearly half the game, so they should take that as a positive. They also scored two goals on the Wings much revered defense, so that's another positive to take to the bank. They are facing a beatable team with a beatable goalie.

So that's that for night one. I can't wait to watch the three games tonight. Remember though, game two is the most important one.