The Columbus Blue Jackets’ Sonny Milano (22) celebrates after scoring a goal against New York Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss (1) during the first period at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Oct. 6, 2017. Credit: Courtesy of TNS

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ first two games of the 2017-18 NHL season couldn’t have been much different.

They rocked Nationwide Arena Friday with a 5-0 victory on opening night against the New York Islanders before losing at Chicago 5-1 Saturday. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, last season’s Vezina Trophy winner, recorded a franchise record 20th shutout with the Jackets in the first game, then rested the next night while Joonas Korpisalo got the start in net.

Here are some headlines from Week 1 of the Blue Jackets’ season.

Panarin impresses

Arguably the No. 1 storyline coming into the season for Columbus was what type of impact Artemi Panarin would have. The big offseason acquisition, who came to Columbus via a trade with Chicago for Brandon Saad, wasted no time Friday making his presence felt.

The left winger tallied three assists in his team debut, setting a franchise record for most points in such a game. His first assist came on an odd-man rush created at the Islanders blue line where right wing Cam Atkinson intercepted the pass as New York attempted to clear the zone. He dropped it to Panarin who dashed to the right side of the net, sent the puck to Atkinson, who deflected it into the net off his skate

“Saader lights it up there. They have a good player there in Chicago. We got a pretty damn good one here,” head coach John Tortorella said Friday.

Panarin’s speed and his ability to take the puck from end to end are skills the Blue Jackets front office sought out in an effort to be an elite offensive team this season. His two other assists came on a delayed penalty in the second period, when he found defenseman Ryan Murray to the right of the net, and on the powerplay just four minutes later.

A few times on defense as well, Panarin positioned himself well and be productive on the back-check.

“He’s known for his scoring … I didn’t realize how much work he puts into the other part,” Tortorella said. “I thought it was going to be a little bit of a learning curve in that part of the game. From Day 1, he’s been involved, he’s asked questions; we didn’t have to go to him, he came to us. He had a couple really good back-checks [Friday].”

Milano and Dubois score first NHL goals

The loud expectations put on the Columbus Blue Jackets for the 2017-18 season were matched with cannon fire early and often in Friday night’s season opener. Left winger Sonny Milano netted his first career NHL goal just one minute and seven seconds into the season to start a three-goal first period.

For the team’s final goal of the night, left winger Pierre-Luc Dubois recorded his first career goal in his anticipated debut.

After being selected as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, Dubois failed to make the roster in his first camp, but the 19-year-old earned a spot this season and was moved to left wing to allow him to play freely. He said that despite being one of the youngest teams in the league, the depth at forward can be a stronghold.

“I had a chance to perform on a two-on-one and kind of wanted that one back,” Dubois said. “So to get another chance like that and a nice play from [defenseman Seth Jones] at the blue line, it felt good.”

Milano was one of six players taken in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft that hadn’t yet played a full season with his club. His goal Friday and another Saturday in Chicago were examples of his unwillingness to play another season in Cleveland.

“Sonny, there were some great teaching situations for me with him where he tried to do too much at certain times, but then he made some really smart plays as far as simplifying,” Tortorella said. “That’s where I’m going to keep my thumb on him, just making sure he makes simple plays, and then when the offensive chances come, he’s on his own.”

Looking ahead

The Blue Jackets begin a three-game week at Carolina Tuesday night with right winger Josh Anderson back in the lineup. Anderson sat out all of training camp because of an elongated contract dispute that ended in a three-year deal worth less than $2 million per year. Anderson was recalled from Cleveland after passing a conditioning test Monday.

There will likely be several line changes Tuesday with Anderson’s arrival. Tortorella put Anderson on the third line with left winger Matt Calvert and center Brandon Dubinsky. Centers Nick Foligno and Alexander Wennberg swapped the top two lines, and Milano was shifted to the fourth line, despite scoring twice last week.

Top performers

Artemi Panarin – three assists, three points (franchise record for most points in Jackets debut)

Sonny Milano – two goals, two points

Alexander Wennberg – two assists, two points

Nick Foligno – two assists, two points

Goaltending:

Sergei Bobrovsky – (1-0), 29 saves, zero goals allowed, one shutout

Joonas Korpisalo – (0-1), 24 saves, five goals allowed

In the circle (faceoff record, faceoff percentage, EV record, PP record, SH record)

Brandon Dubinsky – 21-19, 52.5, 18-15, 2-0, 1-4

Alexander Wennberg – 11-21, 34.4, 10-18, 1-2, 0-1

Nick Foligno – 19-5, 79.2, 17-4, 2-1, 0-0

Lukas Sedlak – 7-10, 41.2, 7-9, 0-0, 0-1

Team: 59-57 overall, ranked 14th

Special teams units:

Powerplay – 1-for-2 vs. NYI; 0-for-2 vs. Chicago (25 percent overall, ranked tied-seventh)

Penalty kill – 1-for-1 vs. NYI; 1-for-2 vs. Chicago (66.7 percent overall, ranked tied-27)

Up next:

10/10 – at Carolina (1-0-0)

10/13 – vs. New York Rangers (1-2-0)

10/14 – at Minnesota (0-1-1)