The game started with a tribute to Eugene Melnyk. He has never been my favorite owner in the league, but his passing is still sad. I might not have cared for his public presence, but the NHL is a better league with a team in Ottawa, and he helped keep the team there. He was still quite young, relatively speaking, and whatever my opinions may be on his work as an owner, I hope his family and friends find some solace.

First Period

The early going of the period was a lot of back-and-forth with fairly equal play.