Most productive player
Just before the start of the season, Jack Eichel signed an eight-year, $108 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights, and it seemed to give him the peace of mind he needed. He notched seven points (2+5) in the first three games, and mainly in the opener against Los Angeles, in which he landed four (1+3).
Although he scored most of his points (four) in the power play, he seems to have benefited greatly from the arrival of Mitchell Marner from Toronto. That was especially evident in the game against the Kings, where their interplay looked fantastic.
Together with Ivan Barbashov, they have the potential to form a very effective trio. The only things the current leader of the scoring charts can rue are the Knights' two overtime losses.
Four other players collected one less point than Eichel in the opening week, and it is worth mentioning Kirill Kaprizov (2+4) and Matthew Boldy (2+4). The duo from Minnesota only needed two games to pick up six points, impressively.
Goaltender of the week
It was tough to choose the best goalie last week, but we finally went with Igor Shestorkin. The Russian confirmed in the opening week that he will again be one of the mainstays of the New York Rangers' lineup. He played in three games in which he conceded just two goals, keeping his goals against average to 0.67. What's more, he boasted a 97.6% save percentage.
If we had to pick a game in which he really shone, it would be the one in Buffalo, where he stopped all 37 shots, kept a clean sheet and earned a 9.4 Flashscore player rating.
Moment of the week
Although the first week offered several impressive performances, two goaltenders would prefer to forget it entirely. We're talking about Edmonton's Stuart Skinner and San Jose's Alex Nedeljkovic. Both of them contributed greatly to their sides losing from good positions.
The Oilers even led 3-0 against their Alberta rivals, Calgary, but ultimately went down 4-3 in a shootout. And Skinner was partly to blame. He was able to tame a pass from the middle zone in the final period, but then hesitated so much that Blake Coleman was able to reach in and tie the game at 3-3.
What happened to Skinner was not a pretty sight. But it barely compares to what Nedeljkovic went through a day later... The San Jose goaltender put in a strong performance until the 59th minute, but after Vegas pulled their goalie, a series of events began that led to disaster.
The videos that are now circulating the world are partly due to William Eklund, who, even on two attempts, was not able to hit an empty Golden Knights goal from close range to wrap up the game.
Instead, the puck immediately found its way to Jack Eichel's stick, who took it into the offensive zone and somehow sent it into Nedeljkovic's net to everyone's surprise. The footage shows that Eichel's pass wasn't even going on goal.
To make matters worse, in overtime, Nedeljkovic was responsible for the game-winning score.
The American wanted to help his teammates and went to the blue line for a deflected puck. However, even though he was first there, Reilly Smith managed to block his pass, and the helpless Sharks goalie just watched as the Canadian forward, in tandem with Shea Theodore, scored in an empty net. Ouch.
Stat of the week
In the opening game of the new season, Nathan MacKinnon rewrote the history books, or at least Colorado's, which has existed since the 1995/96 season. He broke the record, previously held by the legendary Joe Sakic, for the most points for the franchise since relocation.
MacKinnon closed the game against the Los Angeles Kings with a 0+2 record, the sixth time in his career that he has recorded more than one assist in the first game of the season. He is the leading active player in that stat, having overtaken Steven Stamkos (five games).
Social media highlight
Born in South Africa and playing in the NHL? That's a feat only the famous goaltender Olaf Kolzig has ever accomplished in the history of the league. Now the Washington legend is joined by Harrison Brunicke, who is starting to tell an interesting story of his own.
Still only 19 years old, the defenseman, who was born in Johannesburg but has a Canadian passport, played his first games for Pittsburgh. In his second one against the Islanders, he scored his first goal, too.
Brunicke and his family moved from Africa to Canada in 2009, where he played soccer as a child in addition to hockey. The latter, however, won his heart. And his current teammate, Sidney Crosby, had a hand in it.
The father of the talented player revealed that although his son grew up in Calgary, Harrison's idol was the Canadian star. He wore his jersey as a child, and now they share the same dressing room.
Photo of the week
Well, the genes certainly showed here... Jeff Malott, whose brother is UFC fighter Mike, decided to drop the gloves against Colorado, avenging Josh Manson's big hit on Warren Foegele. The Los Angeles forward showed at least early in the brawl that he had learned a thing or two from his older brother, landing some nice punches.
But just 24 hours later, Malott showed he can play hockey, too, scoring against Vegas and thus notching his first goal in the NHL - at 29 years old! Add to that another brawl in Saturday's game against Winnipeg, when he faced off with Luke Schenn, and you could say that Malott had an eventful week.