TORONTO -- It was all going smoothly for Toronto Maple Leafs rookie defenseman Stuart Percy in his NHL debut, and then kaboom!

Just like that, a pass by Montreal Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec intended for Alex Galchenyuk hit Percy's skate and deflected past Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier, giving the Canadiens a 4-3 win in the 2014-15 season opener. The goal came with 43 seconds left.

EDMONTON — If the media availability with the 1984 Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday was any indication, there will be plenty of great stories shared during the next three days.

The group that started the Oilers' dynasty is back together, 30 years after winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship.

"I never finished high school, so this is my first actual reunion," center Mark Messier said. "It's great to be here. I think the first thing that comes to my mind is what a great time we had back in the '80s and leading up to the Stanley Cup. We had a little bit of heartbreak until we finally won the championship in '84. And the collective group of people that are on the stage right now were all responsible for that Cup and many of the other ones."

BUFFALO – It all starts for real Thursday for Sam Reinhart.

The Buffalo Sabres' first-round pick and the second player taken in the 2014 NHL Draft is slated to make his debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets. After a busy summer with development camp and training camp, he's ready to show what he's got.

"I came in with the mentality that I was going to soak everything in and I feel I've learned more than I could ever imagine from all the veteran guys here," Reinhart said. "I'm going to keep trying to learn every day from them and get better with their help."

Reinhart won't be the only young player on the Sabres' opening-night roster; 19-year-old defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov were first-round picks in 2013. But he'll be on a line between two more-experienced players in Cody Hodgson and captain Brian Gionta.

TORONTO -- Tomas Plekanec was asked a question about his new teammate and Czech countryman Jiri Sekac during Montreal Canadiens training camp. He quickly corrected his questioner.

"Oh, you mean Forrest Gump?" Plekanec asked, a wry smile on his face.

That was the nickname given to Sekac by a Czech newspaper after he set a new Canadiens record in the beep test, a grueling exercise that measures an athlete's maximum oxygen intake, or VO2, during rookie camp last month. The test essentially entails the player running through a number of stages for as long as he can.

Sekac kept running, just like Forrest Gump did in the movie of the same name, a nickname Plekanec was only too happy to share with anyone who would listen in the hopes it would stick.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Kings have what the other 29 teams in the NHL want, but they'll be motivated and driven this season by the same emotion that everyone else in the NHL feels toward them.

"Jealousy," Kings forward Justin Williams said Tuesday.

Come again? Jealousy?

It's definitely fair to wonder how it is that the Kings, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the team that will raise its second championship banner in three seasons Wednesday before their season-opener against the San Jose Sharks at Staples Center (10 p.m. ET, NBCSN, SN1), can be jealous of anything or anybody?

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin won't soon forget the most memorable dinner date with the "cutest little girl" he's ever met.

Ann Schaab, a 10-year-old bundle of joy who has Down syndrome, had the courage to ask Ovechkin out on a date for sushi dinner and some kickball during an American Special Hockey Association skating session with the Capitals forward Sept. 11 at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va.

"I was pretty surprised when Ann skated over and asked me out during our skate," Ovechkin said. "I thought it was a good idea and decided to take her up on it."

A fourth-grade student at Fulton Elementary School in Maryland, Ann played it cool despite being in the presence of about 60 other players from the association. And Ovechkin.

"She's the cutest little girl I've ever seen," Ovechkin told "Caps Red Line." "She asked me for a date to go and eat sushi but we didn't have lots of time [Sept. 11], so we decided to bring her to the Capitals [preseason] game against the Carolina Hurricanes [Oct. 5 at Verizon Center]. We would talk before the game and then after go and spend some time to eat sushi."

It's not a stretch to say the developing relationship between Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz and captain Alex Ovechkin will be one of the most intriguing NHL storylines this season. It's also not a stretch to say Trotz needs to be careful with how much he tinkers with Ovechkin, because no coach wants to put the psyche and confidence of a 50-goal scorer at risk.

The latter is tied directly to the former, and each will dictate the story arc in Washington and the success or failure of the Capitals as they try to bounce back from a disappointing 2013-14 season, their first without a trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2006-07.

"You can see how the organization is changing over the last couple of years," Ovechkin said. "We want to win and we want to try to find the right way. We'll see how it goes this way."

OTTAWA -- The crisp white "C" on the left shoulder of Erik Karlsson's red sweater isn't going to stand for "Change."

When the 24-year-old defenseman was named the Ottawa Senators' ninth captain Thursday, it ended weeks of speculation about the role after Jason Spezza's one-year run ended with his trade to the Dallas Stars in July.

According to Karlsson and Senators goaltender Robin Lehner, who have known each other since they were in their mid-teens, there is no doubt how the honor will affect Karlsson.

It won't.

Johnny Boychuk

Defense - NYI

GOALS: 5 | ASST: 18 | PTS: 23
SOG: 142 | +/-: 31

But Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli did that Saturday when he traded Johnny Boychuk to the New York Islanders for the Philadelphia Flyers' second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft (previously acquired by the Islanders), the Islanders' 2016 second-round pick and a conditional third-round pick in 2015 that Boston will receive if the Islanders trade Boychuk to another Eastern Conference team this season.

Chiarelli conceded that by making this trade four days before the regular-season opener against the Flyers, he didn't make the Bruins better.

"How does it impact our team? He's very well-liked and I'm sure the guys are bummed and they're probably a little bit bummed at me for doing it," Chiarelli said at TD Garden prior to the Bruins' preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- As the team bus rolled out of the Nassau Coliseum parking lot and headed west on the Long Island Expressway toward Brooklyn, New York Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic stared out the window and thought about the changes coming.

"Getting here, you're trying to figure out the plan of how you're going to fight the traffic to get in," Hamonic said. "Probably the train is one of the best options. I'm sure with more time it's going to feel at home."

Barclays Center started to feel a little more like home to the Islanders on Friday than it did a year ago. It was their second preseason game in as many Septembers in their future home, but this one felt different.