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Thursday night, the Chicago Blackhawks began their first Stanley Cup title defense in 49 years on the road in Colorado. The Blackhawks scored first on Bryan Bickell’s power-play goal, but found themselves trailing the Avalanche 3-1 in the second period. The defending champs fought back to tie the game and force overtime, but Peter Stastny’s second goal of the night gave the Avs a 4-3 overtime victory.

Veteran goalie Marty Turco, brought in to replace the departed Antti Niemi, stopped 37 of 41 shots in his Blackhawks debut. “I saw the shot,” Turco said of Statsny’s game-winner. “Our D-man made a good play sliding so I kind of knew where he was shooting. It hits me twice and goes into the back of the net. It’s pretty disappointing after the way we fought back.” The Blackhawks will try to do better in their home opener Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings.

After the game, Avalanche winger Chris Stewart bellowed “It’s T-shirt time,” referencing MTV’s hit show “Jersey Shore.”

There were four other games on the first day and night of the NHL regular season. The Carolina Hurricanes got things started with a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. The Pittsburgh Penguins opened their new arena by losing 3-2 to the defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers. And two of the NHL’s worst teams last season opened the new season with victories. The Edmonton Oilers, who had the NHL’s worst record in 2009-2010, won 4-0 at home against the Calgary Flames. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished last in the Eastern Conference last season, but opened with a 3-2 home win over the Montreal Canadiens.