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TAMPA www.officialcanadiensprostore.com/authen...s-karl-alzner-jersey , Fla. — As the rest of the NHL opened play earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers practiced. And practiced. And practiced some more.But finally the last two teams yet to begin their season — at least in North America (Edmonton and New Jersey open in Sweden) — drop the puck Saturday at Amalie Arena.“You get a little jealous of watching the games,” Florida coach Bob Boughner told the team website. “You wish you could not only play one early but play the next one right after. But we’ve had some time here that has allowed us to fine-tune some things here, have some good meetings and have some good practices.”Article continues below ...Both Tampa Bay and Florida enter the season with high expectations, though for completely different reasons.The Lightning are coming off a loss in the Eastern Conference finals to the Washington Capitals, blowing a 3-2 series lead. It marked the second time in three years that Tampa Bay fell in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion in the conference finals.Tampa Bay no longer wants to be seen as a bridesmaid catching the bouquet at the reception. The Lightning want to be holding the prize at the center of the dance floor when the music stops.“It’s a process on how we are going to get there,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “But it’s a hard thing (to get there) and this group has done it year after year. Call it unfinished business.“You don’t know how long that is going to last, but you just have to keep trusting the process in getting there. Look no further than the Washington Capitals, where it was setback after setback after setback and now a lot of those guys that went through a lot of those years got to realize their dreams.“We’re no different Jonathan Bernier Jersey Womens , it’s just our setback happened a little later in the playoffs. But there is a reason we keep getting that far and it’s because we have a great group in there and you can see the look in their eyes. Guys are looking forward to getting going.”The Panthers, on the other hand, are looking to get into the playoffs for the second time in four seasons after coming up just short last season. A late-season charge fell just a point short as Florida finished with 96 points — tied for the most points for a team that missed the postseason.After coming so close, the Panthers feel primed to be inside the playoff picture rather than on the outside.“Hopefully, the guys use that bad taste in their mouth from last year, being so close,” Boughner said. “We played with pride, but that can be a powerful motivator for this season.”Tampa Bay will start the season without veteran forward Ryan Callahan, who remains out after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery but is on track to return “in the coming weeks Mike Reilly Jersey ,” according to Cooper. Center Tyler Johnson is considered questionable after missing the final two weeks of training camp with an undisclosed upper-body injury.Both Callahan and Johnson have been practicing with the team. For the second straight season, the Nashville Predators will unveil banners commemorating their accomplishments from the previous campaign before their home opener.Before it plays the Calgary Flames at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville is scheduled to honor their 117-point 2017-18 by flying banners that honor their first Central Division title, first Western Conference regular season championship and first Presidents’ Trophy.The banner the Predators would like to unfurl before next season’s home opener is one signifying a Stanley Cup title. To that end, they started this season by sweeping a two-game trip through New York, beating the Rangers 3-2 on Thursday night and edging the Islanders 4-3 Saturday night.Article continues below ...Defenseman Mattias Ekholm, mindful that Nashville has gotten off to slow starts the past two seasons, felt good about taking care of business against two teams it’s supposed to beat.“We’ve still got some defensive stuff that we can work on,” he said Womens Paul Byron Jersey , “but it’s nice to see that the offense is there and we’re coming out on the right side of these tight games. It feels really good for your confidence to be 2-0.”Ekholm had something to do with that, potting a goal Saturday. The Predators also got outstanding play from their top line of Ryan Johansen, Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg. Arvidsson scored twice on the Islanders, his first goal being a did-you-see-that tally which saw him slide the puck between his legs as he sped around a defenseman before beating goaltender Thomas Griess.“That’s his patented move, I guess,” Ekholm said of Arvidsson. “It’s a really great move and you’ve got to be on your toes if you want to be able to defend it.”Juuse Saros got a start in place of workhorse Pekka Rinne and turned away 26 shots for the win. Rinne, who bagged 34 saves in the opening night win over the Rangers, is expected to get the call on Tuesday night.Calgary (1-1-0) split a home-and-home series with Vancouver. After dropping the first game 5-2 on Wednesday night in British Columbia, the Flames cranked up their explosive offense Saturday for a 7-4 decision.Elias Lindholm collected two goals and an assist Authentic Shea Weber Jersey , while Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Giordano each chipped in a goal and two helpers. Matthew Tkachuk pitched in four assists, three coming during a four-goal third period that gave Bill Peters his first win in his new NHL digs. Peters spent the last four years coaching the Carolina Hurricanes.“We were moving the puck around pretty well tonight,” Gaudreau said. “There’s still some room for improvement, but it was a step in the right direction for us.”One thing Peters will have to correct is this team’s tendency to get loose on the defensive end. Goalie Mike Smith isn’t off to a good start, saving just 34 of 42 shots in two games, and backup David Rittich will get a game either Tuesday night or Thursday night when Calgary visits St. Louis.The absence of rugged defenseman Travis Hamonic, who’s week-to-week with a facial fracture, won’t help the Flames in that regard.