With tangible excitement in the air ahead of what is a bold new era for the New York Rangers, those fans who packed MSG were not left disappointed as the Blueshirts delivered on opening night.
But it was an unlikely figure who scored the first goal of 2019-20 as Marc Staal proved that there might be life left in the old dog yet with a superb wraparound effort.
In what turned out to be a pattern, the Jets with big hitters Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor back on the ice after their summer holdouts, hit straight back through Mark Scheifele who was left wide open in the slot.