Pluses, minuses for Blackhawks-Bruins, Avalanche-Kings

NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his thoughts for big games each week throughout the season.

The Chicago Blackhawks will play the second of a season-opening back to back against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT) coming off a 4-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Colorado Avalanche then visit the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena (10 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT).

Here's my breakdown of the games.

Blackhawks

Pluses: It's a new season and an opportunity to start fresh after a rough past couple of ones. They did that Tuesday in a game many people probably thought they would not win. Rookie phenom Connor Bedard made his NHL debut and had an assist, and though most of the talk was about the 18-year-old center, Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno and Corey Perry, veterans acquired in the offseason, all had an impact. Hall formed chemistry on the top line with Bedard, Foligno had a goal and an assist and Perry had two assists. It's one game into the season, but the future is bright for the Blackhawks and their fans.

Minuses: It's hard to assess after one game, but the power play was 0-for-4. Chicago was 28th in the NHL on the man-advantage last season (16.4 percent), so that can only improve. The Blackhawks were 19-for-59 on face-offs, with Bedard going 2-for-11.

Bruins

Pluses: We know they are coming off a record-breaking season with 65 wins and 135 points, still have a really good team with David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy, and have their goalie tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman intact. They were one of the best teams offensively and defensively last season and I expect them to still be good on both sides of the puck despite losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement. They brought back Milan Lucic and added James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Shattenkirk, three veterans who can play key roles this season.

Minuses: Losing Bergeron and Krejci will be a huge adjustment. Who becomes the No. 1 center (Pavel Zacha?) and how quickly they can form chemistry on the top line will be something to watch. I don't really have any other negatives because they are well-balanced and well-coached.

Avalanche

Pluses: Colorado had tons of injury issues last season, including missing forward Gabriel Landeskog for the entire season. Though Landeskog won't play again this season, the Avalanche brought in a couple of talented offensive players who should be able to really find their legs, center Ryan Johansen, and forward Jonathan Drouin, a teammate of Nathan MacKinnon for Halifax in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2011-13. Gritty forward Miles Wood and 2021 Stanley Cup winner Ross Colton were also acquired to help offset the losses of J.T. Compher (Detroit Red Wings), Alex Newhook (Montreal Canadiens), Evan Rodrigues (Florida Panthers) and Lars Eller (Penguins). They have MacKinnon, defenseman Cale Makar and goalie Alexandar Georgiev, whose 40 wins tied Ullmark for the NHL lead last season.

Minuses: It won't be easy playing another season without Landeskog, their captain and leader. Combine that with defenseman Erik Johnson signing with the Buffalo Sabres after 12 seasons in Colorado and the Avalanche will be without two players who have been leaders for them over the past decade.

Kings

Pluses: I thought Kevin Fiala fit in seamlessly last season and brought instant offense. He had 72 points, second on the Kings behind Anze Kopitar (74). The Kings acquired and signed Pierre-Luc Dubois, giving them Kopitar, Dubois and Phillip Danault as their top-three centers. They also signed Trevor Lewis in free agency, who won the Stanley Cup with them in 2012 and 2014 and can provide depth at forward. Los Angeles has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in two straight seasons and should again be in the mix in the Pacific Division.

Minuses: The goaltending could be an issue early on. Joonas Korpisalo was 7-3-1 with a 2.13 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and one shutout in the regular season after he was traded to the Kings last season but signed with the Ottawa Senators in free agency. Los Angeles will rely on a tandem of Pheonix Copley, a 24-game winner last season, and Cam Talbot, who is on his seventh NHL team and out to prove he can still play at a high level after a disappointing season in Ottawa. The Kings also traded two defensemen (Sean Durzi and Sean Walker), who each played at least 70 games last season, so that will be an adjustment.