Matthew Knies scored twice for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres at home.
Mattias Samuelsson had put the guests ahead seven minutes and change in, but the Blue Jackets responded in emphatic fashion with three goals before the first period ended.
Jack Quinn brought the Sabres to within one to open the second frame, but Columbus added a fourth six minutes later. Although Buffalo would again reduce the deficit to one goal, they could not find an equaliser.
Sean Monahan and Mathieu Olivier added to the scoring in the third to secure the win for the Blue Jackets in what was both teams' opening games of the year.
Elsewhere, Luke Hughes found the back of the net twice for the New Jersey Devils, including the winner in overtime, to edge the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2.
It was the second night in a row where the Flyers were beaten, having suffered a heavy loss at home to the Pittsburgh Penguins. This time, they led twice at the Prudential Center, but were unable to hold on either time.
Travis Sanheim had given Philadelphia their second lead of the night early on in the third, but Hughes stepepd up for his team to level the game a few minutes later. The centre then grabbed the winner with 1:37 left in the overtime period to help the Devils prevail.
The Seattle Kraken began their year with a 6-1 success at the Calgary Flames, while the New York Rangers grabbed their first win of the new season in a 5-1 defeat of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin scored an empty net goal towards the end to send the visiting fans into a frenzy.
In Nashville, the Minnesota Wild topped the Predators 3-1.