Sunday, October 4, 2026

Buffalo refused to let an early deficit derail their home stand, mounting a tenacious third-period surge to stun Chicago 4-3 and leave the Blackhawks winless through three games. Chicago initially looked poised to grab their first victory of the season after Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi built a quick 2-0 cushion. Even after Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson dragged the Sabres level, Oliver Moore restored the Blackhawks' edge with under two minutes remaining in the second period. But the final frame belonged entirely to Buffalo. Captain Rasmus Dahlin ignited KeyBank Center six minutes into the third, jumping into the rush to knot things at 3-3. Seven minutes later, Jiri Kulich took a crisp feed from Owen Power and buried the game-winner past Spencer Knight. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen shut the door late despite facing only 15 shots all night, helping Buffalo even their record at 1-1-0. The reeling Blackhawks head home still searching for answers, while the Sabres carry some badly needed swagger into next week.

Thomas Chabot owned the spotlight in Toronto on Saturday night, steering Ottawa to a gritty 3-2 victory in the season's first Battle of Ontario. After Chabot broke the ice late in the first period, the Maple Leafs responded with venom early in the second. Auston Matthews struck just 33 seconds in, and Kirill Marchenko snapped home a power-play marker six minutes later to flip the script. But Ottawa refused to blink. Michael Amadio leveled things midway through the frame off a sharp feed from Tim Stützle, setting the stage for Stephen Halliday. Just before the midway mark of the third period, Halliday pounced on a setup from Claude Giroux, who pocketed two assists on the night, beating Sergei Bobrovsky for the decider. Linus Ullmark stood tall with 27 saves to preserve the opening-night win, leaving Toronto searching for answers after dropping two of their first three.

Jake Guentzel and Brandon Hagel put on a masterclass in early-season chemistry to lift Tampa Bay to its first victory of the year. The Lightning duo went to work immediately. Just over two minutes into the opening frame, Hagel and Guentzel set up Charle-Edouard D'Astous, then connected again late in the period to feed Conor Geekie for a quick 2-0 cushion. Washington pushed back midway through the second when Justin Sourdif sliced the deficit in half, sparking a testy stretch highlighted by Emil Lilleberg dropping the gloves with Vincent Desharnais. Charlie Lindgren kept the Capitals alive with 27 saves, but Andrei Vasilevskiy locked things down when it mattered most, finishing with 20 stops to stifle the comeback bid. With just over two minutes remaining in regulation, Guentzel capped his three-point night with the clincher, prompting a frustrated Tom Wilson to earn a misconduct on the ensuing whistle. Now evened up at 1-1-0, both squads head into the new week with plenty of bruises to nurse.

Sebastian Aho wasted exactly ten seconds putting Carolina in front, but it took a former Flyer to finally bury Philadelphia in extra time. Despite Joseph Woll standing tall under a relentless 40-shot barrage, the Hurricanes ground down their Metropolitan rivals for a 3-2 overtime victory. Woll kept Philly afloat after Aho's opening strike, allowing Owen Tippett to equalize before Matvei Michkov finished a slick feed from Travis Konecny midway through the second to hand the Flyers the lead. Carolina simply refused to go away. Aho struck again five minutes into the third period on the power play, knotting things up and setting the stage for a tense extra frame. With Philadelphia shorthanded midway through sudden death, Shayne Gostisbehere stepped into the spotlight. Set up by Jackson Blake and Aho, the veteran defenseman hammered home the winner at 2:51 of overtime against his former club. Carolina finally grabs its first victory of the young season, while the winless Flyers must quickly regroup after another agonizing close call.

Throw out the defensive playbooks for this one. Pittsburgh looked ready to cruise after a four-goal second-period onslaught, but Montréal pulled off two minutes of pure third-period delirium to force overtime in an electric 6-5 Penguins victory. Trailing 5-2, the Canadiens clawed back behind Cole Caufield's second of the night before the madness peaked. With under two minutes remaining, Chris Kreider brought Montréal within one, and just 24 seconds later, Ivan Demidov finished a feed from Nick Suzuki to stun the home crowd. The comeback magic evaporated quickly in sudden death. Just 1:33 into the extra frame, Tommy Novak converted a setup from Evgeni Malkin for his second of the night, capping a three-point performance to keep Pittsburgh perfect at 2-0-0. Montréal leaves with a bitter finish, but that frantic rally proves this lineup is never out of a fight.

Utah's power play looks terrifyingly dialled in, converting three times on Saturday night to fuel a 4-1 victory over Columbus and keep the Mammoth undefeated at 2-0-0. Mikhail Sergachev kicked things off midway through the opening frame, blasting a man-advantage strike past Jet Greaves before Nick Schmaltz doubled the cushion five minutes later. Columbus showed brief signs of life just 90 seconds into the second period when Kent Johnson converted a slick feed from Matthew Knies, but the Jackets never solved Sebastian Cossa again. The towering netminder stopped 17 of 18 shots in a calm, efficient road performance. Dylan Guenther then took complete control in the third, putting the finishing touches on a first-star, three-point effort. Six minutes into the final frame, he whipped home another power-play marker off a Logan Cooley pass, before setting up Schmaltz for his second of the night with under six minutes remaining. With special teams clicking like this, Utah looks ready to make serious noise in the Central.

Just when Seattle thought they had dragged Edmonton into a gritty, low-event stalemate, the Oilers' superstars delivered their trademark late-game magic. With under two and a half minutes remaining in regulation, Connor McDavid fed Leon Draisaitl, who snapped the tie to break Seattle hearts. McDavid added an insurance tally just over a minute later, sealing a 3-1 Edmonton victory and sparking tempers that saw Mattias Ekholm and Brandon Montour sent off with misconducts. The contest carried bad blood from the opening frame, sparked by a heavyweight bout between Trent Frederic and Ryan Lindgren midway through the first period. After Bobby McMann leveled the score for the Kraken on a second-period power play, Devon Levi slammed the door. The Oilers netminder stopped 19 of 20 shots to earn first-star honors, consistently bailing out his defense during Seattle's best pushes. Edmonton climbs to five points and takes early control of the Pacific Division, looking every bit the ruthless closer as their road trip approaches.

Ilya Sorokin turned away 37 shots in a flawless performance, backstopping the Islanders to an emphatic 6-0 rout over the Devils. After a scoreless, tightly contested first period, New York blew the doors open early in the second. Simon Holmstrom broke the deadlock just over three minutes in, before Brayden Schenn capitalized on a slick feed from Eklund only 88 seconds later. Bo Horvat piled on midway through the frame, ripping a power-play marker past Nico Daws. The onslaught continued in the third, sparked by Eklund, who finished a gorgeous sequence with Schenn before Ondrej Palat struck 42 seconds later to turn it into an absolute runaway. Casey Cizikas added insult to injury with a late shorthanded breakaway tally, capping an evening where New York outhit New Jersey 25-15 and punished every careless puck touch. Both Metropolitan rivals now sit level at 1-1-0, but the Islanders carry all the swagger heading into next week.

Special teams ruled the night in Music City, where Nashville erased an instant deficit to secure their first win of the young season. Dallas jumped out front just 47 seconds into the contest when Miro Heiskanen finished off a crisp setup from Mikko Rantanen. But discipline unravelled for the Stars shortly after, handing Nashville’s lethal power play all the opening it needed. Steven Stamkos answered just four minutes later, blasting home a feed from Ryan O'Reilly and Roman Josi. With just over four minutes remaining in the opening frame, Nils Hoglander cashed in on another man advantage to give the Predators a 2-1 cushion. From there, Juuse Saros shut the door, turning aside 29 of 30 shots and frustrating a heavy Dallas push that outhit Nashville 29-21. Casey DeSmith held firm at the other end with 24 stops, but Dallas could not find an equalizer against a dialed-in Saros. The Stars suddenly sit 0-2-0 and will need to clean up their special teams quickly before this early slide deepens.

Jesper Wallstedt was not about to let an early slip-up spoil Minnesota’s perfect start. After Tanner Jeannot caught the Wild flat-footed just two minutes into the opening frame, Wallstedt shut down everything else the Bruins threw his way, stopping 26 of 27 shots to anchor a 4-1 comeback victory. The turning point came on the man advantage during the second period. Kirill Kaprizov ignited the rally six minutes in, finishing a slick feed from Maksim Shabanov. Midway through the frame, Quinn Hughes snapped home another power-play tally to give Minnesota the lead. Hughes then orchestrated Jared Spurgeon’s insurance marker early in the third, before Kaprizov capped his two-goal night with an unassisted dagger with just a minute remaining. Michael DiPietro battled gamely in the Boston net, but the Bruins stalled out completely after their quick opening punch. Minnesota stays undefeated at 2-0-0, looking thoroughly dialed in on special teams as they prepare for their next test.

Martin Necas is fitting into the Avalanche machine just fine, thank you very much. The Czech winger delivered a dazzling three-point night as Colorado dismantled their Central Division rivals in a 6-1 rout that was over before the second intermission. Cale Makar ignited the avalanche just four minutes in, finishing a slick passing sequence from Necas and Nathan MacKinnon. From there, the hosts relentlessly pinned St. Louis in their own zone. Jordan Binnington faced a relentless barrage, yielding four second-period goals in a brutal twelve-minute span, including Josh Manson from the point, an unassisted snipe from Artturi Lehkonen, and a second from Necas off a feed from Gabriel Landeskog. Dalibor Dvorsky finally spoiled Mackenzie Blackwood’s shutout bid early in the third, but the 25-save performance from Colorado's new netminder was more than enough to secure a dominant victory. With MacKinnon dishing three primary helpers and Necas already looking like a lethal weapon in burgundy and blue, this Avalanche attack appears terrifyingly ahead of schedule.

Old-school Pacific Division animosity erupted in Vancouver, but it was a blistering four-goal third period that broke Calgary's back. The bad blood ignited just three minutes in when Luke Schenn and Adam Klapka dropped the gloves—a heavyweight clash that spilled over into matching misconducts in the second period. Matt Coronato gave Calgary the early lead on a first-period power play, but the Flames completely unraveled late. Liam Ohgren turned the tide just 88 seconds into the third, burying a feed from Tom Willander to pull the Canucks level. Midway through the frame, Elias Pettersson snapped home the winner off another Willander setup, before Drew O'Connor and Aatu Räty struck 43 seconds apart to turn a tense duel into a rout. Leevi Meriläinen stood tall with 23 saves to stifle Calgary's push. The Flames leave winless at 0-2-0 and thoroughly rattled, while Vancouver’s surging depth looks ready to make noise in the Pacific.

San Jose’s youth movement is arriving ahead of schedule, and Igor Chernyshov made sure the Kings felt every bit of it on Saturday night. The Sharks winger stole the show in an electric 5-4 overtime victory, capping a three-point performance by burying a slick feed from Macklin Celebrini at 3:18 of the extra frame. Los Angeles refused to go quietly. After falling behind 4-2 early in the third period, the Kings rallied behind strikes from Erik Haula and Artemi Panarin, whose equalizer with five minutes remaining rewarded a relentless push that tested Yaroslav Askarov all evening. Quinton Byfield had previously kept L.A. alive with a buzzer-beating power-play goal with just two seconds left in the second, but San Jose’s counterattack proved too lethal for Anton Forsberg. Askarov stood tall with 31 saves to preserve the win, keeping the Sharks spotless at 2-0-0 as they suddenly look like must-watch hockey in the Pacific.