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NHL: Mason Raymond, 3 stars of the week

By Mike Majeski

Oct 9, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; New York Rangers left wing Rick Nash (61) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at Scottrade Center. The New York Rangers defeat the St. Louis Blues 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; New York Rangers left wing Rick Nash (61) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at Scottrade Center. The New York Rangers defeat the St. Louis Blues 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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Who are the three stars of the NHL‘s opening week?

The 2014-15 NHL regular season officially began this past Wednesday and it was a busy shortened week for the league. There were four games on the schedule Wednesday night, including the Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup banner ceremony. The other remaining teams got their seasons underway on Thursday night. Saturday night had all 30 teams in action, only the sixth time in NHL history that that has occurred.

It’s early in the season and with the short week the sample sizes are small, making statistical analysis of performances difficult. Some players are on pace for career seasons, but it is highly unlikely that they will be able to maintain that all season.

With that said, this first edition of the Three Stars of the Week will recognize three players that started the season off with strong performances. Check back every Sunday for a new list of three stars for the previous week’s play.

Oct 9, 2014; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames left wing Mason Raymond (21) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Edmonton Oilers in the third period at Rexall Place. Calgary won 4-2 over Edmonton. Mandatory Credit: Chris LaFrance-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2014; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames left wing Mason Raymond (21) celebrates his goal with teammates against the Edmonton Oilers in the third period at Rexall Place. Calgary won 4-2 over Edmonton. Mandatory Credit: Chris LaFrance-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 1 Star: Mason Raymond

The Calgary Flames signed Mason Raymond to a three-year, $9.5 million contract during the off-season. It didn’t take long for Raymond to show the Flames that he will be worth every penny. During the Edmonton Oilers home opener (the Flames second game of the season), Raymond tipped in a Mark Giordano shot to silence the Edmonton crowd three-minutes into the game. It was also Raymond’s 100th career goal.

Raymond scored his second goal to help Calgary regain the lead in the third period. The Oilers were outshooting the Flames 25-11 at the end of the second period. Raymond got the hat trick on the Flames fourth goal, which put the game out of reach for the Oilers.

Raymond is coming off a bounce-back season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, which saw him score 19 goals and 45 points.

No. 2 Star: Antti Niemi

Anti Niemi was given the start in the San Jose Sharks season opener at the Los Angeles Kings. The game was preceded by the Kings Stanley Cup banner raising, an event that mentioned the Sharks blown 3-0 series lead in the first round of the playoffs numerous times.

The Sharks responded by completely shutting last year’s Stanley Cup champions down in front of their home crowd. When San Jose went up 3-0, I don’t think there was a single person not wondering if the Kings were going to storm back.

The main reason they didn’t: Antti Niemi, who posted a 34-save shutout and finished the game with a 3.27 Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA measures the number of goals Niemi saved by considering his SV% and shots faced vs the average league SV% for the same number of shots faced).

Alex Staloc was given the start last night in the Sharks home opener, indicating that head coach Todd McLellan is sticking to his plan of having an open competition for the starting goaltender position early in the season.

Oct 11, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; New York Rangers left wing Rick Nash (61) controls the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period at Nationwide Arena. Columbus defeated New York 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 11, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; New York Rangers left wing Rick Nash (61) controls the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period at Nationwide Arena. Columbus defeated New York 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 3 Star: Rick Nash

There were already questions regarding the New York Rangers offense when they lost Derek Stepan to a broken leg during camp. Things haven’t gotten much better for the Rangers: during the third period of their season opener, defensemen Dan Boyle broke his hand blocking a shot.

While the concerns about the Rangers offense is valid, Rick Nash is already showing signs of taking on a bigger role with the Rangers this season. Nash has been somewhat of a disappointment in New York since the trade that saw Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov go to Columbus. Both of those players have played a integral part in that club’s resurgence.

Nash scored two goals, including the game winner, and one assist. The Rangers met up with the Columbus Blue Jackets two nights later, losing 5-2. Nash scored one of the Rangers two goals. The Rangers offense is going to have some difficulty due to the injuries, but Rick Nash leading the team in scoring is exactly what the team needs right now.

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