Bedard-Crosby duel, reigning champs' return headline NHL's opening night

Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Six NHL teams will carve up the frozen floor Tuesday as pucks drop to start the 2023-24 season. The Tampa Bay Lightning will host the Nashville Predators in the first of three games on the opening night schedule.

All three games will air on ESPN.

The Lighting-Predators opener will start at 5:30 p.m. EDT in Tampa, Fla.

Then, hockey phenom Connor Bedard, the No. 1 overall pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2023 NHL Draft, will make his regular season debut in the next game at 8 p.m. against two-time MVP Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"He's someone who's come with a lot of expectations," Crosby told NHL.com. "There is a lot of anticipation and nerves that come with that first game. That's just part of playing your first game. But it's fun."

The reigning champion Vegas Golden Knights will host the Seattle Kraken in the nightcap at 10:30 p.m.

"I texted some of my buddies and they' were like, 'You can play in an NHL game [Tuesday],'" Bedard told the league website. "It's pretty special and I'm just trying to take it all in, but also, once I'm on the ice, not be like, 'Oh this is so cool.' Just be like, 'I want to perform, I want to be as good as I can.'"

Another 21 of the NHL's 32 teams will launch their seasons between Wednesday and Thursday. The other five teams will have openers Friday and Saturday.

The Lightning, Penguins and Golden Knights are favorites in their first games. The Golden Knights went 51-22-9 in the regular season en route to their first Stanley Cup.

The Lightning, who were involved in three of the last four Stanley Cup Finals, with wins in 2021 and 2022, finished 46-30-6 last season and lost in the first round of the playoffs.

The Penguins went 40-31-11 in 2022-23, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

"There's a lot of potential, that's for sure," Penguins defenseman Kris Letang told reporters Sunday. "A lot of new pieces. We have to make everybody stick together and make something solid out of new acquisitions, new guys, and the new system."

The Colorado Avalanche, who won the title in 2021-22, are favorites to gain another Stanley Cup. They will start their season against the Los Angeles Kings at 10 p.m. Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Reigning MVP Connor McDavid and the Toronto Maple Leafs will host the Montreal Canadiens in their first game at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Toronto.

The Boston Bruins, who won an NHL record 65 games last season, but lost in the first round of the playoffs, will host the Blackhawks at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Boston. The Bruins-Blackhawks and Avalanche-Kings matchups will air on TNT and Max.

The Florida Panthers, a wild-card entry last postseason who upset the Bruins and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, will face the Minnesota Wild at 8 p.m. Thursday in Minneapolis.

Upon completions of their 82-game regular season schedules, 16 teams -- eight from the Eastern Conference and eight from the Western Conference -- will advance to the playoffs. The 2024 postseason is expected to start April 15 and conclude in mid-June with the Stanley Cup Final.