Still in the ICE in December, now the NHL's first winning goalscorer

Villach striker Michael Raffl, who has already made 4 appearances (3 scorer points) for his hometown club in the ICE Hockey League this season, scored Philadelphia's decisive 6th goal in Wednesday's 3-4 home win in the Pennsylvania Derby against the Pittsburgh Penguins: 3 (46th). It was Raffl's 499th NHL game.

In an intense derby, the Penguins took an early lead through Mark Jankowski (6th). With two similar goals in their first two powerplay games, the Flyers turned the game around in the first third. James van Riemsdyk (16th) and Nolan Patrick (20th), who missed all of last season due to migraine problems, each deflected a shot from new defender Erik Gustafsson.

Pittsburgh also hit back in the power play through Sidney Crosby (24th) after a mistake by Carter Hart. The superstar intercepted the goalkeeper's unsuccessful pass attempt out of the air and shot into the empty goal. The Flyers' renewed lead through Joel Farabee (39th), who also recorded three assists, was once again equalized by the guests through Brandon Tanev (44th). But Raffl finally put Philadelphia on the road to victory. Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes made everything clear with a double strike within 20 seconds (53rd).

Oilers superstar Connor McDavid suffered a defeat on his 24th birthday. © APA/getty / Codie McLachlan

Germany's ice hockey star and MVP of the past NHL season, Leon Draisaitl, and his new teammate from the Edmonton Oilers started the new season with a defeat against Vancouver. Although Draisaitl and his new German strike partner Dominik Kahun each prepared a goal, the Oilers lost 3-5 to the Canucks in their own stadium. Stanley Cup champ starts in style Defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, on the other hand, started the new season with a befitting 5-1 win against Chicage, with the long-injured superstar Steven Stamkos, among others, getting on the top scorer list.

The Toronto Maple Leafs won the traditional Eastern Canadian duel with the Montreal Canadiens with a 5:4 overtime victory. The St. Louis Blues were also successful with a 4-1 win against title candidate Colorado Avalanche.

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Still in the ICE in December, now the NHL's first winning goalscorer

The Philadelphia Flyers won the opening game of the North American ice hockey league NHL. An Austrian played a crucial role.

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