5 Things We Learned From Last Night's Games

(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Last night, the NHL dropped the puck on its 95th season, each team starting with a clean slate and beginning the long month grind on the road to the postseason and for one lucky team, a championship. I noticed a few things during last night's game, so after the jump I'll tell you a bit about last night's odds and ends if you happened to not stay up or did not get the chance to watch every game. More after the jump.

It's Time!

Ok Folks, it's been a while but we're ready to go finally! Regular season starts in 15 minutes and I hope you'll all be watching! I will be. After the games I'll post a column about tonight's games so make sure to check back after the games or tomorrow morning if you can't stay up for the late games. We're getting set to go here so make sure you all tune in to Vs. or TSN and make tonight a hockey night.

Top 10 young players to watch for this season

Logan Couture (2nd yr) : drafted 9th overall in the '07 draft by the san jose sharks, the kid continued to develop well in the OHL with the ottawa 67's, scores 39G and 87P in his final year there. after a short call-up stint in the '09-'10 season he completed his first year of pro hockey int he AHL, scoring 53pts in 42games. and in his first full season in the NHL scores 32G and 56pts. the kid never dissapoints, can very well improve on those numbers centering the 2nd line for a strong san jose team.

Jeff Skinner (2nd yr): drated 7th overall in last years draft, makes the club in his first year as an 18 year old, and tears it up, putting up 31G and 63pts in his first season. did i mention he also scored 50G and 90pts in his draft year in the OHL? kid has insane skills and he will only get better.

Michael Grabner (2nd yr): drafted 14th overall in the '06 draft, couldn't really find his way through the vancouver canucks depth, was later shipped off to florida in the ballard deal but after a lousey showing in training camp and pre-season dale tallon decided to release him. the new york islanders took a chance on him and boy did it pay off. in his first full season he managed to string 34G and 52pts together. can he keep up the good play in his 2nd season?

More after the Jump.

Gordon's Preseason NHL Power Rankings

(Image from Puck Daddy)

The 2011-2012 NHL season is upon us. Heading into this Thursday, here's a list of how the NHL's teams stack up against each other:

5 Players To Watch in 2011-12

Mike Richards's adjustment to life in the City of Angels will be something to keep an eye on.

So, the week is finally here. The week that teams finally shake off the offseason rust and hit the ice and play games that actually count in the standings. Unbelievable that it's been almost half a year since all 30 teams have been playings hockey, but boy are we glad that it's 3 days away! I will be posting something every day in order to get everyone hyped for the season opener on Thursday, not that any hype is needed anyway. Many teams will be in action and there will be many storylines depending on what team you root for, but in my opinion these 5 players will be the most interesting to watch this season for all kinds of reasons. See who you should keep an eye on and why after the jump.

Rowe's top 5 possible candidates for the Vezina

Bryzgalov: putting up incredible numbers and being one of the leagues best goaltenders for the last few years, ilya bryzgalov is looking to have a big year for a strong philadelphia team. though the flyers lost top center jeff carter and captain mike richards, they made up for it by picking up young wingers wayne simmonds and jakub voracek, as well as one of hockeys top prospects in brayden schenn. to go along with briere, giroux, hartnell, van riemsdyk, and czech legend jaromir jagr, the flyers shouldn't be hurting for goals, and with one of the leagues best defenses in front of him bryzgalov will pick up a lot of wins as well as putting up fantastic numbers in every category.

luongo: for some time now, luongo has consistently been in the leagues top-3 goalies. after losing to the boston bruins in game 7 of the stanley cup luongo will look for another trip to compete for the coveted trophy. with one of the leagues best offenses and a solid defense to go along with his natural talents luongo is primed to have, yet again, another incredible season, is this the year he finally wins the vezina? i wouldnt be surprised.

thomas: last years vezina trophy winner, and winner of 2 of the last 3, thomas has shown he is one of the leagues best goaltenders if not THE best. defending champion of the stanley cup and playoff mvp award (conn smyth award) he has shown he can pretty much do it all, though he isn't the youngest goaltender out there, he has shown he can lead a team and consistently play well. look for another strong season out of thomas even with rask behind him.

miller: winner of the vezina 2 years ago, millers buffalo sabres have made vast improvements to this years squad. picking up defensemen christian ehrhoff and veteran robyn regehr, to go along with one of the leagues best young dmen in tyler myers, the sabres have assembled a strong D corp in buffalo as well as bolstering their offense, making this years team one of the best in the east. even though buffalo has jonas enroth, who played fantastic in his appearences last season, still expect to see miller get a vast majority of the starts, which spells a lot of wins for him.

vokoun: consistenly putting up strong numbers regardless of the team in front of him, vokoun will look to have a strong season for the washington capitals. even playing for the florida panthers, which meant facing many shots and not having a stellar D in front of him he still managed to put up very solid numbers in all his seasons there. now he's on one of the best teams in the league, if not the best, combined with his talents, vokoun will look to take a majority of the starts, competeing with youngster michal neuvirth, and try to get the capitals back to stanley cup for the first time in a long time.

my pick: as of now i say bryzgalov, but we'll see as the season progresses. right now he's my favorite for the award.

Drew Doughty signs: 8yrs for 56mil

Drew Doughty of the LA Kings finally signs a long term deal, 8 years for 56 million dollars.