Hockey Night in Canada: 5 Storylines

The 2018-19 season of "Hockey Night in Canada" begins with a flourish Saturday.

In the first game of the weekly doubleheader, the Toronto Maple Leafs go for their second win in as many games when they host the Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; CBC, NHL.TV). Toronto defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday. The Senators lost their opener, 4-3 in overtime to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
In the nightcap, the Calgary Flames play their home opener against the Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN360, CITY, SNW, NHL.TV). The Canucks will be going for a home-and-home sweep after defeating the Flames 5-2 in Vancouver on Wednesday.
Here are five storylines to keep an eye on:

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Tavares-Matthews combination fuels Maple Leafs

The debut of center John Tavares couldn't have gone much better for the Maple Leafs; he scored a goal, had five shots, won 52.4 percent of his faceoffs and was plus-1 in 18:04 of ice time in a victory against Toronto's oldest rival. The one-two center combination of Tavares and Auston Matthews (two goals, including the OT winner against Montreal) gives coach Mike Babcock the kind of punch up the middle most of his counterparts can only dream of. The Tavares-Matthews combination should be especially lethal on the power play, which was second in the NHL (25.0 percent) last season - without Tavares.

Andersen saves the day

Tavares and Matthews are among the NHL's elite players. But if opening night were any indication, Toronto's most indispensable player is still goaltender Frederik Andersen. The Canadiens outshot the Maple Leafs 36-26, and Babcock said he thought the Maple Leafs were outplayed for much of the game. But Toronto won largely because Andersen was in midseason form. As good as Toronto's offense is, the Maple Leafs still tend to give up a lot of shots and scoring chances, and they need Andersen to be sharp every night.

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Tkachuk could debut for Senators

The Senators were unable to hold a third-period lead against Chicago and had to settle for one point in their first regular-season game after trading two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson on Sept. 13. They could get a boost if forward Brady Tkachuk, the No. 4 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, is ready to make his debut. Tkachuk missed Ottawa's opener with a minor groin injury, but wore a contact jersey at practice Friday and hopes to play.

Pettersson could be special for Canucks

The sellout crowd at Rogers Arena on Wednesday got everything it could have asked for: a victory that included the first NHL goal by top prospect Elias Pettersson, a 19-year-old center who exhibited why the Canucks took him No. 5 in the 2017 NHL Draft. He became the third teenager in Vancouver history to score in his NHL debut and the first since Dan Woodley on Oct. 8, 1987. Perhaps more impressive than simply scoring a goal and contributing an assist were his hockey IQ and ability to read plays. With franchise icons Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin retired, Pettersson showed he has the potential to be a player the Canucks can build around.

Video: CGY@VAN: Pettersson nets first NHL goal after prank

Flames can't afford another power outage

Not much went right for the Flames in the loss at Vancouver. They allowed four goals in the third period and lost defenseman Travis Hamonic with a facial fracture; he's on injured reserve and is week to week. It was a bucket of cold water for Calgary, which has seven new players but appears to have many of the same problems that kept it out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. Most problematic was the power play, which was 28th in the NHL in 2017-18 and began the new season by going 0-for-7. That can't happen if the Flames hope to return to the postseason.