No. 1 star: Tyler Kennedy, Pittsburgh Penguins
With all the offensive stars dotting the roster of the defending Eastern Conference champs, it's easy for Tyler Kennedy to be overlooked. The 22-year-old second-year forward isn't even expected to add a lot of scoring, but someone forgot to tell him that on Saturday. After scoring the first goal of the season for the Pens, he also scored the last one of their opener – a game-winner coming with just 25 seconds remaining in overtime against the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm. It marked the first multigoal game of Kennedy's young career.
It took Kennedy only 40 seconds of game time to score on his first shift of the game and stake Pittsburgh to a 1-0 lead over the team it swept in the opening round of the playoffs last year on the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Kennedy, who scored on his only two shots of the game, was a plus-2 during an economical 14:12 of ice time.
No. 2 star: Brandon Dubinsky, New York Rangers
The 22-year-old forward is one of several young Rangers expected to contribute more offense this season with increased ice time coming via the departure of Jaromir Jagr. Dubinsky started off on the right foot Saturday by potting a power-play goal at 14:16 of the third period to break a 1-1 tie and lead New York to a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague. The native of Anchorage, Alaska, who enjoyed a strong rookie season last year with 14 goals and 40 points while appearing in all 82 games, had a team runner-up total of five shots on goal during 18:12 of ice time on Saturday.
No. 3 star: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
The third-year star scored a short-handed goal, logged a good portion of ice time and was a plus-2 during the Penguins' victory. It’s all in a day's work for Malkin. The center gave his team a 2-1 lead 3:18 into the second period by scoring his first goal of the season unassisted as the Penguins were killing an Ottawa power play. Malkin also contributed two shots on goal, two blocks and four takeaways during his 22:30 of ice time.
