When it comes to NHL season openers, it's no surprise to see the Montreal Canadiens with the most all-time wins, but why are the Anaheim Ducks the worst in the league?
The NHL regular season is almost upon us. Here are all-time records in season openers, 2017-18 home opener opponents and an "opening notable" for all 31 NHL teams:
ANAHEIM DUCKS
All-time record in season openers: 5-18-0
2017-18 home opener: vs. Arizona Coyotes, Oct. 5
Opening notable: At 5-18-0, the Ducks have the worst all-time record in NHL season openers – and it's not even close. (Carolina, at 8-20-9, is second-worst.) Anaheim lost seven straight from 1993 to 1999, which is tied for the league's longest all-time losing streak in season openers, and they've dropped four in a row since 2013, which is tied for for the league's longest active losing streak in season openers.
ARIZONA COYOTES
All-time record in season openers: 19-14-4
2017-18 home opener: vs. Vegas Golden Knights, Oct. 7
Opening notable: Two days after (presumably) beating the Ducks in their season opener, the Coyotes (presumably) beat the expansion Golden Knights in their home opener.
BOSTON BRUINS
All-time record in season openers: 39-37-16
2017-18 home opener: vs. Nashville Predators, Oct. 5
Opening notable: Zdeno Chara would be a third-pairing defenseman playing 12 minutes a night for the Predators. True or false?
BUFFALO SABRES
All-time record in season openers: 24-18-4
2017-18 home opener: vs. Montreal Canadiens, Oct. 5
Opening notable: The Sabres have dropped four season openers in a row, tied with the Ducks for the longest active losing streak.
CALGARY FLAMES
All-time record in season openers: 12-21-11
2017-18 home opener: vs. Winnipeg Jets, Oct. 7
Opening notable: On the one side, you have a team with skilled young forwards and a deep and talented defense corps, but questions in net. On the other side, same thing.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
All-time record in season openers: 8-20-9
2017-18 home opener: vs. Minnesota Wild, Oct. 7
Opening notable: The Hurricanes are 0-4-2 in their past six season openers, the second-longest active winless streak behind the Flames' seven-year skid (0-6-1).
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
All-time record in season openers: 38-33-19
2017-18 home opener: vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Oct. 5
Opening notable: The last time the Blackhawks and Penguins faced off in a season opener, it was 1981 and Denis Savard scored 13 seconds into the game en route to a 5-5 tie. It's a real long shot for any of that to happen again, though.
COLORADO AVALANCHE
All-time record in season openers: 20-10-7
2017-18 home opener: vs. Boston Bruins, Oct. 11
Opening notable: Ray Bourque is 56 years old, but you have to think he might still be able to help out the Avs' blueline. And perhaps even the Bruins' blueline, too, for that matter. Related: Bourque has the second-most career points in season openers (30), behind Jaromir Jagr (39) and ahead of Wayne Gretzky and Joe Sakic (tied with 27).
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
All-time record in season openers: 6-8-2
2017-18 home opener: vs. New York Islanders, Oct. 6
Opening notable: The Blue Jackets are 3-6-2 when opening the season on home ice, which translates to the worst point percentage in the league (.364) – just behind the Islanders (2-4-3, .389).
DALLAS STARS
All-time record in season openers: 21-15-13
2017-18 home opener: vs. Vegas Golden Knights, Oct. 6
Opening notable: The desert comes to Dallas as the Stars play host to the Golden Knights' first-ever NHL regular season game.
DETROIT RED WINGS
All-time record in season openers: 40-36-14
2017-18 home opener: vs. Minnesota Wild, Oct. 5
Opening notable: The Wings play their first-ever regular season game at Little Caesars Arena against the Wild. Free octopus pizza for all!
EDMONTON OILERS
All-time record in season openers: 20-13-4
2017-18 home opener: vs. Calgary Flames, Oct. 4
Opening notable: It's the 'Battle of Alberta' on the opening night of the 2017-18 NHL regular season, and all is good and right again in the hockey world.
FLORIDA PANTHERS
All-time record in season openers: 12-7-4
2017-18 home opener: vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, Oct. 7
Opening notable: This is the second half of a 'Battle of Florida' back-to-back, with the Panthers and Lightning kicking off the season in Tampa Bay on Oct. 6. It's too bad the Panthers aren't opening the 2017-18 NHL campaign on home ice – they're 8-0-2 when they do, the only team in the league to have earned at least one point in every home-ice season opener that they've played.
LOS ANGELES KINGS
All-time record in season openers: 20-20-9
2017-18 home opener: vs. Philadelphia Flyers, Oct. 5
Opening notable: The 1967-68 expansion cousins are tied with two Stanley Cups apiece. It would come as quite the surprise, though, if one of them breaks the tie this season.
MINNESOTA WILD
All-time record in season openers: 9-5-2
2017-18 home opener: vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Oct. 14
Opening notable: The Wild join the Flyers as the two teams with latest home opener, 10 days after the start of the season.
Montreal Canadiens players celebrate a goal.
MONTREAL CANADIENS
All-time record in season openers: 52-30-17
2017-18 home opener: vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Oct. 10
Opening notable: It shouldn't come as any big shock to discover the Original Six's Canadiens lead all NHL teams with 52 season-opening victories (the Red Wings are a ways back in second place at 40). Montreal is tied for the longest winning streak in season openers at nine in a row from 1953 to 1961, and the Habs earned at least one point in an NHL-record 17 straight season openers from 1963 to 1979 (13-0-4).
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
All-time record in season openers: 10-7-1
2017-18 home opener: vs. Philadelphia Flyers, Oct. 10
Opening notable: The Preds are coming off the longest, busiest and most exciting season in franchise history – they played 110 games last year, from the start of the pre-season in September through Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final in June.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
All-time record in season openers: 21-12-9
2017-18 home opener: vs. Colorado Avalanche, Oct. 7
Opening notable: Let's be real, it's more of a draft lottery preview than a Cup final preview.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
All-time record in season openers: 11-22-11
2017-18 home opener: vs. Buffalo Sabres, Oct. 7
Opening notable: Will this be the Isles' last season opener at Barclays Center? More importantly, will this be the Isles' last season opener with John Tavares?
NEW YORK RANGERS
All-time record in season openers: 38-38-14
2017-18 home opener: vs. Colorado Avalanche, Oct. 5
Opening notable: The Rangers have won three season openers in a row.
OTTAWA SENATORS
All-time record in season openers: 12-6-6
2017-18 home opener: vs. Washington Capitals, Oct. 5
Opening notable: Sens bench boss Guy Boucher is a perfect 4-0-0 in season openers in his NHL coaching career. Can the Caps put the first blemish on his record?
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
All-time record in season openers: 22-19-8
2017-18 home opener: vs. Washington Capitals, Oct. 14
Opening notable: Philadelphia faces a tough opening schedule. After starting the season with three games on the West Coast against the California clubs and then a tilt in Nashville, the Flyers finally get a home game – and it's against the Caps.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
All-time record in season openers: 23-20-6
2017-18 home opener: vs. St. Louis Blues, Oct. 4
Opening notable: The two-time defending champion Penguins raise their latest Stanley Cup banner against the Blues, with whom they joined the NHL in 1967 – but Pittsburgh has won five Cups, while St. Louis is still seeking its first.
ST. LOUIS BLUES
All-time record in season openers: 25-16-8
2017-18 home opener: vs. Dallas Stars, Oct. 7
Opening notable: The 1978-86 Blues are tied with the 1953-61 Canadiens for the longest all-time winning streak in season openers, with nine straight wins. More recently, however, the 1997-2007 Blues had a 10-game winless skid in season openers (0-6-4), the second-longest of all-time behind the 1982-93 Red Wings (0-8-4).
SAN JOSE SHARKS
All-time record in season openers: 11-10-4
2017-18 home opener: vs. Philadelphia Flyers, Oct. 4
Opening notable: The Sharks have won seven season openers in a row, the longest active streak in the league.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
All-time record in season openers: 15-7-2
2017-18 home opener: vs. Florida Panthers, Oct. 6
Opening notable: The Lightning's .667 point percentage in season openers is the best all-time mark in the NHL. The Panthers aren't far off at .609.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
All-time record in season openers: 38-43-18
2017-18 home opener: vs. New York Rangers, Oct. 7
Opening notable: No team has lost more season openers than the Leafs' 43 defeats in Day 1 games.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
All-time record in season openers: 24-17-5
2017-18 home opener: vs. Edmonton Oilers, Oct. 7
Opening notable: Only eight players in NHL history – and only four since 1922 – have scored four or more goals in a season-opening game. Two of those players did it for the Canucks: Rick Blight, in a 9-5 loss to Pittsburgh in 1976, and Greg Adams (ie. the "good" Greg Adams), in an 8-2 win over St. Louis in 1987.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
All-time record in season openers: 0-0-0
2017-18 home opener: vs. Arizona Coyotes, Oct. 10
Opening notable: The house always wins? Not this year.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
All-time record in season openers: 19-19-4
2017-18 home opener: vs. Montreal Canadiens, Oct. 7
Opening notable: The Caps were on the wrong side of hockey history in 1990, when Pittsburgh's Kevin Stevens lit up Washington with a six-point game (two goals, four assists) in a 7-4 win for the Penguins, setting an NHL record for the most points in a season opener.
WINNIPEG JETS
All-time record in season openers: 9-7-1
2017-18 home opener: vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Oct. 4
Opening notable: Who you got, Patrik Laine or Auston Matthews?