TORONTO -- Players watching the opening minutes of the first NHL game in several months marveled at the familiar feeling from half a continent away.
"Not necessarily laughing but just [noticing] how intense it was right away," Vancouver's Tyler Toffoli said.
If the first game is any indication, hockey hasn't missed a beat.
The most unusual playoffs in league history got underway Saturday with games in the Canadian cities of Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta. The dynamics are far different than usual: It's the middle of summer and all games are being played in empty arenas.
But the big hits and fight from Game 1 provided ample evidence the Stanley Cup is still on the line.
"It was a boxing match back and forth," New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said after a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Toronto in the NHL's first game since March 11.
Carolina's Jaccob Slavin carved his name into history 61 seconds in with the first NHL goal ever scored in August. Teammate Justin Williams fought Ryan Strome a couple of minutes later, and the Hurricanes took a big step by taking a 1-0 lead in their best-of-five qualifying round series.
The Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks picked right up with five goals in the first 13 minutes of their Game 1 in Edmonton.
At Scotiabank Arena, the first dozen or so rows are covered in gray and white tarp, with the NHL shield on four of them and Toronto in all capital letters on another four.
Above them are electronic banners with NHL logos on them and a TV viewing platform at center ice, all of them limited to the benches side of the ice. These electronic banners will feature team logos, as well as videos of each team's fans chanting.
In each of the end zones are NHL Eastern Conference banners book-ending a banner that reads "Stanley Cup Qualifiers 2020."
Outside the arena, the streets are generally bare of people, with Maple Leaf Square fenced off and with security personnel at each entrance.
Inside, there were reminders of the pandemic: the ice crew wearing masks, disinfection of benches at intermission and the din of piped-in crowd noise filling the air.
On the top banner of the video scoreboard at center, are the words: "#WeSkateForBLACKLIVES." Minnesota's Mathew Dumba made a pregame speech in Edmonton on behalf of the Hockey Diversity Alliance he and several other Black players started recently.
"Racism is everywhere, and we need to fight against it," Dumba said. "We will fight against injustice and fight for what is right. I hope this inspires a new generation of hockey players and hockey fans because Black lives matter, Breonna Taylor's life matters. Hockey is a great game, but it could be a whole lot greater, and it starts with all of us."
Dumba kneeled during the U.S. anthem, with Black players Malcolm Subban and Darnell Nurse standing with a hand on each of his shoulders.
In Saturday's action, rookie winger Dominik Kubalik scored two goals and added three assists, leading the Chicago Blackhawks to a 6-4 victory over the host Edmonton Oilers in the opener of their best-of-five qualifying round series. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews added two goals and one assist. Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists for Edmonton. ... Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots and the New York Islanders opened their best-of-five playoff series with a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers. Anthony Beauvillier had the decisive goal by scoring on the power play 3:39 into the second period. The goal was scored a little over a minute after Florida's Mike Matheson was penalized for a hit to the head on defenseman Johnny Boychuk, who did not return. Islanders trade deadline addition Jean-Gabriel Pageau opened the scoring re-directing in Derick Brassard's centering pass 12 minutes into the game. Jonathan Huberdeau scored 23 seconds into the third period for Florida's lone goal. ... Sebastian Aho scored a goal and set up another in the Carolina Hurricanes' 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers. Jaccob Slavin scored 61 seconds in on Carolina's first shot on goal in helping the Hurricanes gain the edge in the best-of-five preliminary round series. Game 2 is Monday. Martin Necas sealed the win in a game the Hurricanes never trailed by one-timing a shot in off the skate of Rangers defenseman Marc Staal with 9:09 remaining.
