Well, well, well. This didn’t play out how most people thought it would. In most people’s minds, the Wings are the favourites to win the Stanley Cup once again, and the Leafs are at the bottom of the league. Last night’s season opener seemed to tell a different story. It is game 1, so it really means nothing in the long run, but it was a fantastic way to open the season.

The Leafs played hard right from the get go. You could clearly see the influence of Ron Wilson and his coaching staff, as the Leafs didn’t play the game at all like they did last season. Mike Babcock was quoted during the game as saying ‘the Leafs reminded him of playing the Sharks’. Considering the Sharks are one of the best teams in the tough Western Conference, that is a huge compliment to this young team.

To start things off, the Wings were raising their Stanley Cup banner to the rafters. Most visiting teams stay in the dressing room while the home team celebrates their victory. Ron Wilson decided to make his team sit on the bench. Good move in my books. It gave the young Leafs team an idea of what it feels like, and obviously gave them a burst of adrenaline to play with last night. Well… it worked.

The Leafs looked like world beaters in the first game of the season. Some may have looked at the game and said the Wings were not playing very well. As Don Cherry said after the game, the Wings were playing poorly, but BECAUSE the Maple Leafs were doing things so well. Their forecheck was the best part of their game, and caused the Wings veteran defense (and some forwards) to cough the puck up in their defensive zone all throughout the night. The Leafs were also able to capitalize on these mistakes, which was highlighted by Nikolai Kulemin’s goal at 7:25 of the third period.

The line of Hagman, Tlusty and Kulemin were the best line on the ice, constantly getting the puck into the offensive zone and keeping it there for long periods of time. Toskala looked fantastic after a first period that saw 14 Detroit shots make it’s way to the Toronto netminder. He was sharp, and moving very well for being the first game. At the end of the night, two rookies had their first NHL points; Nikolai Kulemin with the aforementioned goal, and Jonas Frogren with an assist.

This is most likely not going to be the result throughout the season, but it was a damn good start to a season where expectations are fairly low. Leafs Hockey is back, and the “Nation” couldn’t be happier.

Watch all the goals at NHL.com

As a side note, Def Leppard performed before and after the game. After the game, Darrin McCarty drove a motorcycle across the stage with the cup on the back. He then handed the cup to Elliot, who proceeded to place the Stanley Cup upside-down on a pedestal. The crowd goes silent, and he says “it doesn’t matter anyway”. Well buddy, seeing as how the NHL got you to perform for their season opener, it kind of does matter.