5 things learned from Sept. 30 preseason games

With the start of the NHL regular season Wednesday, NHL.com is taking a closer look at the players, teams and stories that are making headlines in the preseason.
Here are five things we learned from the preseason games Sunday:

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Walk-off winner for Johansen

Ryan Johansen apparently didn't think his goal 21 seconds into overtime to give the Nashville Predators a 5-4 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Sunday was worth celebrating.
Johansen, who also scored the game's first goal, cut through the Hurricanes zone above the circles, took a pass from Filip Forsberg and beat goalie Petr Mrazek with a shot from the inside edge of the left circle.
Rather than celebrate with his teammates, Johansen skated to the corner and motioned to the off-ice workers to open the door for him and his teammates to leave.
After a 3-3-0 preseason, Johansen clearly is ready for the season opener, against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, MSG, NHL.TV).

Karlsson scores his first for Sharks

Erik Karlsson looks like he's finding some chemistry with his San Jose Sharks teammates.
The defenseman, acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on Sept. 13, scored his first goal, during a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.
With the Sharks on the power play, Karlsson pinched down into the right circle, sent the puck back to forward Kevin Labanc at the point and then redirected Labanc's pass past goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
Karlsson played a game-high 25:23 and led the Sharks with four shots on goal.
"He was outstanding tonight," coach Peter DeBoer told the Mercury News. "He really ramped it up. He was our best player for sure."

Connolly to Capitals' top line

Forward Brett Connolly got a promotion to the top line Capitals during their 5-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Capital One Arena.
Tom Wilson started the game at right wing on a line with center Evgeny Kuznetsov and left wing Alex Ovechkin. But after Wilson was ejected at 5:22 of the second fora match penalty assessed for a hit on Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist, Connolly was elevated into his spot. He scored a goal later in the second, and was on the ice for Ovechkin's goal in the third.
With Wilson facing an in-person hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for the hit, Connolly could be on the top line when the Capitals open the season against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS).
"Liked Connolly's game," Capitals coach Todd Reirden said. "Moving him up in the lineup, thought he's had a real strong training camp for us."
Connolly had three points (two goals, one assist) in four preseason games.

Nosek shows nose for the net for Golden Knights

Tomas Nosek scored two shorthanded goals in their win against the Sharks.The Golden Knights had three shorthanded goals in the game.

Nosek, 26, had one shorthanded goal in 67 games last season. He scored on a breakaway at 9:39 of the second period, and then scored off a pass from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare at 1:42 of the third period.
"Our job is to kill the penalty first and the goals scored is a bonus," Nosek told the Golden Knights website.
Nosek had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 67 games in a bottom-six forward role for Vegas last season, but with five points (two goals, three assists) in five preseason games, he could be a candidate to move up the lineup this season.
"He looks real good," coach Gerard Gallant said. "End-of-the-year meetings we asked him to get a little quicker and have a good summer and work hard. He looks quicker on the ice, he shoots the puck real well and he's had a real good camp. That was a guy that went home, put the work in, put the time in and it's showed in the preseason."
Max Pacioretty also scored shorthanded for Vegas.

Avalanche finish strong

The Colorado Avalanche finished the preseason with a 6-5 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
The Avalanche won their final two preseason games, scoring 10 goals. They won 4-3 in overtime against the Minnesota Wild on Friday.
Among the big scorers the past two games has been forward Mikko Rantanen, who scored in overtime against the Wild, and had a goal and two assists against the Stars
"I feel like it's been trending upwards," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "Certainly as we have kind of put a more veteran lineup in I have seen what I need to see out of most of our veterans and we still have some tough decisions to make coming into opening night."
Colorado opens the season against the Wild at Pepsi Center on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV).

Here's the full schedule for Monday (all times ET):

Devils at SC Bern, at PostFinance Arena (Bern, Switzerland), 1:30 p.m. (NHLN, SN, MSG+, NHL.TV).