Alannis Morisette wasn’t the only one who looked terrible tonight…

I wasn’t quite sure if that was Lily Munster on guitar or what, but I’m sure it’s a far cry what Dave Coulier had 13 years ago. Yikes. Anyway, the NHL season is officially underway in North American and we didn’t have to wait long to see our first upset of the year. A number of fantasy notables from opening night action, so let’s get started:

Toronto Maple Leafs 3
Detroit Red Wings 2
Many, including myself, figured Detroit would make quick work of the new look Leafs but the old adage proves true once again: this is why we play the game. The Wings played an extremely sloppy game at home and a number turnovers eventually did the team in. Toronto’s scoring came from a number of unlikely sources, many of which are not fantasy notable players. However, in the third period, Nikolai Kulemin picked off an arrant Dan Cleary pass and roofed it on Chris Osgood giving the Leafs a 3-1 lead. Kulemin’s goal turned out to be the game winner as Toronto’s defense held strong against a late Red Wing attack. We knew Kulemin’s potential heading into this season but because of the fantasy lull the Leafs are expected to be in this season, he didn’t merit much attention in most drafts. Still be skeptical of relying too heavily on Kulemin right now. We know he is a phenomenal talent, however, it’s still too early to really gauge where he stands with the Leafs right now. He logged 11 minutes and 50 seconds of ice time in the game, so for those of you in deeper leagues, it could be a wise add to fill an injury or to stash on your bench until we see where the Leafs want to use him. On a final note, Vesa Toskala looked extremely solid in net and the defense in front of him worked their tail off to protect that lead. For those of you who were hesitant to start Toskala in this game, it may give you boost of confidence to use him once and a while in both roto and head to head formats. His value still may be low in salary based leagues to where you might be able to pick him up at a fairly cheap rate if you’re struggling with your tender situation.

The Wings had an off night, and it seemed like their brightest spot came from Tomas Holmstrom. Holmstrom is a work horse in front of that net and if you’re an owner, you may be in for a treat this season. If he’s available, he’s certainly worth a play in large leagues. His place is in front of the tender and on the power play, he’ll be sure to benefit greatly from the talent around him. Osgood didn’t look like his head was in the game whatsoever. Detroit fantasy owners don’t fret, however. They’ll be just fine. Trust me.

Boston Bruins 5
Colorado Avalanche 4
This was an all around entertaining game to watch and it gave us a solid base to start answering a lot of fantasy questions about this season. Fantasy managers who drafted Patrice Bergeron, even in shallower leagues, are going to be just fine. Bergeron returned to the ice last night after missing almost all of last year and put forth 2 assists in the effort. He was all over the ice and it looks like he’ll be utilized in Boston in a number of different ways.

Nothing over the top outrageous in terms of fantasy emergers in the game from the ‘Lanche, however, we did see John-Michael Liles contribute two helpers. Liles was a question mark heading into this season which made Colorado’s power play quarterback a bit of a mystery, but Liles is off to a solid start and fantasy managers who may be using him as a number one or number two option can breathe a little easier.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that managers who use Budaj as a number one may want to consider an upgrade in net. He looked quite shaky all game and if this keeps up, expect to see Andrew Raycroft inserted into the lineup more often. It’s still early enough where you may be able to put together a package deal to acquire an upgrade, so if you’re in a bind, keep the idea in the back of your head. On the flip side of the coin, despite allowing 4 goals, Tim Thomas played well and certainly earned the win with 35 saves on 39 shots.

Vancouver Canucks 6
Calgary Flames 0
If there were any pre-conceived notions about the effectiveness of Vancouver’s offense, you may be able to throw them out the window. The Canucks battered the Flames last night on 3 point night from Daniel Sedin. Vancouver received scoring from fantasy uncertainties Steve Bernier, Alex Burrows and Ryan Kesler. For those managers who took a chance on Bernier this season, you’re off to a good start. Yes, it may only be 1 goal, but it shows that he’s up to the challenge of playing top line with the Sedin twins.

Fantasy managers who put a lot of stock in Miikka Kiprusoff this season are certainly disappointed with the shellacking he took. Kippers is coming off of a mediocre season by his accounts and was looking to rebound nicely with an extremely potent team in front of him. So he’s off to a bad start. Don’t lose faith just yet. He’ll bounce back and so will the team. Don’t hesitate to start Kippers in the near future.

San Jose Sharks 4
Anaheim Ducks 1
Jonathan Cheechoo is off to a really great start after netting two goals, including the eventual game winner. Cheech has been a proverbial fantasy roller coaster ever since his monster year in 2005-2006, so it’s ok to be skeptical of things thus far. However, a few more games like this one and you’ll be able to feel a little more confident about acquiring him this season. Devin Setoguchi was a bit of a sleeper heading into this year and is off to a great start with a goal and a helper in the contest. Look for Seto to shuffle around between the 1st and 2nd line this season. In deeper leagues, there may be a chance he’s still a free agent. If that’s the case in your league, he is worth a play. For those of you in shallower leagues, you may want to give it a few more games before you make a commitment to Setoguchi. There may be talent in your free agent pool that has shown more years of consistent scoring and that would be a safer play at the moment.

For those of you who have Rob Niedermayer on your fantasy team, you had a great night…But seriously though, it’s the first game back. Let them iron a few things out and they’ll be back to normal here shortly.