Edmonton, Alberta-
Lights were flashing outside on the walls of Rexall Place, the Oilers’ home. Messages imposed by more bright lights read “The Wait is Over” and “Hockey is Back.” A rich red carpet at one end of the arena welcomed guests who arrived in long limos, giving this NHL opening night a feel of glamour for a game always known more for its grind and grit.
Oh, the hard-core, common fans made their presence felt outside the arena and inside, too. The capacity crowd of 16,839 yearned to see what this new brand of free-flying hockey would bring.
It took 24 seconds for the answers to begin unfolding.
That was when Edmonton scored. But then the Avalanche answered fewer than six minutes later. Then the Oilers popped a puck in less than a minute after that. Another couple of minutes, another Avalanche score.
One opening quarter. Four head-spinning goals.
Promises delivered.
It took 16 months of no hockey, including a 310-day lockout, a salary cap, new rules and old faces in new digs, before hockey could skate back into fans’ hearts and wallets.
The league was smart enough to push all 30 teams into action Wednesday night and place a bouquet – THANK YOU FANS – in writing on the ice. For head-knocking effect, it was written twice, just behind both blue lines, visible every which way.
What was also clear is the Avalanche played a reserved first period despite the tied score. When it quickened the offensive attack and kicked the game into a higher gear early in the second period, the Oilers kicked it up in response. The Oilers scored the only goal in the second period, during which they outshot the Avalanche 14-2.
The final period had the same flavor. Avalanche scores to tie it, and soon thereafter Oilers score to win it.
It was clear the Avalanche missed injured right wing Milan Hejduk. It would have been nice to once again benefit from the offensive flair of Peter Forsberg in this type of swift skirmish. But a team must march with what it has, and the Avalanche played as if unsure of how much it wanted to force the action or simply defend against it.
The Avs wound up spending most of the night on the defensive. On their heels. No oomph in their legs, dropping the opener 4-3.
“We didn’t match their intensity,” Joe Sakic said.
Goalie David Aebischer added: “They played pretty hard. They came out strong and we answered them, and that many goals that fast, you don’t see that every day. We worked hard. They worked harder than us.”
It was one game. The first game. On the road. But it did not meet the expectations of general manager Pierre Lacroix.
I asked him before the first puck was dropped what he was looking for from the Avalanche in this opener, win or lose.
“I expect the same thing when I come to the arena that I have for more than 30 years in hockey,” Lacroix said. “I expect to win.”
Not tonight. But there is a game at Dallas on Saturday, and the home opener is Monday against Calgary.
There are 81 games left. The regular season started here for the Avalanche. It ends here, too, April 17.
There is time to heal the injured, adjust to the new style, skate faster and stronger.
“We gave up some scores fast, and we were lucky to be in it at the end,” Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said. “Our fourth group played better than our first group. They looked quicker than us. It’s the first time we’ve played a game at this pace.”
There are many more to come, games where tempo and speed and execution while on the fly in the new NHL will separate good teams from bad ones.
We thought the Avalanche was already up to speed on this.
The fleet Oilers provided a numbing reminder.
Staff writer Thomas George can be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
