League ready for 82-game season

Drew Doughty needs a refresher going into his 13th NHL season.

When he ran into Patrick Kane before training camps opened, it was the first time he had seen the Chicago star around a rink in almost two years.

“I don’t even know who plays for what team anymore,” Doughty said, halfjokingly.

After two pandemicshortened seasons, including one limited to divisional play to keep the coronavirus at bay, the NHL is set to drop the puck on a full 82-game slate and stage the traditional 16team playoff for the Stanley Cup.

Now at 32 teams with the addition of the expansion Seattle Kraken and fans back in every building, hockey is ready to get back to normal.

Opening night is Tuesday.

“Can’t wait,” Doughty said. “Really just can’t wait.”

Even Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk agrees with his longtime nemesis.

“Normal’s great,” Tkachuk said. “You don’t realize how much you miss it. ... I’m excited to get back to the playing in front of fans. There’s nothing like it. That was so different. And as much as people say it’s just hockey at the end of the day, it is, but it’s a whole different world when you’re playing in front of a soldout rink.”

The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Cup for the second time in 10 months at home in front of a sellout crowd, but some players — like reigning MVP Connor McDavid — haven’t played in front of fans since March 2020.

The Lightning celebrated with another boat parade and then said goodbye to several key contributors because of a salary cap squeeze and expansion. A three-peat hasn’t been done since the New York Islanders dynasty of the early 1980s.

“I certainly don’t think Tampa is out,” said McDavid, whose Oilers were swept in the first round of the playoffs. “They got a great core there, they got one of the best goalies in the world and some unbelievable defensemen, so they’re going to be a good team no matter what they put together there. But, yeah I think in this league everyone feels like they’ve got a shot.”

The best shot belongs to Colorado, the preseason Cup favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

After a second-round loss to Vegas, it could be the Avalanche’s year behind Nathan MacKinnon.

“It felt like we could win it last year, too, and the year before that,” MacKinnon said. “We’re in the mix, for sure. I think a lot of teams are.”

In the East, that includes the Lightning, Toronto and the Islanders, who were ousted by Tampa Bay in the semifinals the past two years. Out West, the Golden Knights and Avalanche could be on a collision course of two contenders poised to get over the hump and win it all.

Vegas reached the final as an expansion team in 2018, setting the bar unreasonably high for Seattle.