Yep, hockey is indeed back.
The Rangers and Hurricanes brought some immediate excitement to Saturday afternoon's Stanley Cup Qualifier, the first official game of the NHL's restart. Carolina's Jaccob Slavin scored one minute and one second into the matchup after receiving a nice cross-ice pass from Teuvo Teravainen.
(Fun fact: Slavin is the first player to score in August in NHL history.)
Blink and you missed it! 🚨
— #StanleyCup Qualifiers on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) August 1, 2020
The @Canes waste no time and strike FIRST. #StanleyCup
📺: NBCSN
💻: https://t.co/87i526ld5o pic.twitter.com/RPI4FpbSer
MORE: Standings, seeds & Round 1 projections for Stanley Cup playoffs
Then, less than two minutes later, Justin Williams and Ryan Strome decided to throw hands near New York's bench. So much for easing back into things.
Think Willy is fired up? pic.twitter.com/1ojti8Cf5g
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) August 1, 2020
If you wanted intense action on the ice, the Rangers and Hurricanes checked every box over the first 20 minutes. Just take a look at the stats from the period:
| Rangers | Stat | Hurricanes |
| 4 | Shots | 12 |
| 17 | Hits | 9 |
| 10 | Faceoffs Won | 8 |
| 11 | Penalty Minutes | 13 |
Keep in mind Rangers vs. Hurricanes is just the beginning of Saturday's five-game slate.
As they say in hockey, let's do that hockey.
