NHL Results: Friday, October 9, 2026

When William Wallinder put Detroit ahead early in the second period, Little Caesars Arena felt primed for a Red Wings surge. Instead, Seattle unleashed three minutes of pure chaos that completely flipped the script. Just 39 seconds after Wallinder struck, Frederick Gaudreau sparked a four-goal Kraken onslaught. Gaudreau scored twice in under four minutes, sandwiching a Mackie Samoskevich snipe to leave John Gibson helpless on a miserable night where the Detroit netminder stopped just 10 of 15 shots. Ben Meyers tacked on another before the second intermission, effectively putting the contest out of reach. Detroit actually controlled long stretches of play, peppering the Kraken net with 40 shots, but Philipp Grubauer stood tall with 37 saves. Youngster Berkly Catton was also electric, potting a first-period goal and adding a primary helper for Seattle. The 6-3 victory lifts the Kraken to 3-2-0 on the young campaign, while Detroit drops to 1-3-0 and must urgently patch their defensive coverage before this early-season slide deepens.

Logan Thompson slammed the door on the division leaders, steering Washington to a gritty 3-1 comeback victory over the Rangers. Alexis Lafreniere drew first blood for New York midway through the opening frame, burying a power-play marker to reward a bruising 35-hit effort from the visitors. But the Capitals completely flipped the script in the second period. Defenseman Timothy Liljegren leveled the score six minutes in, finishing off a feed from Dylan Strome, before Boone Jenner pounced on an unassisted chance to snap the go-ahead goal past Igor Shesterkin with under three minutes left in the frame. Thompson was magnificent down the stretch, stopping 21 of 22 shots and completely freezing out New York’s desperate push before Tom Wilson sealed the night with a dagger with just one second remaining. The victory pulls Washington within two points of the first-place Rangers, setting an intense early benchmark in what promises to be a suffocating Metropolitan Division race.

Sergei Murashov did everything humanly possible to steal two points in Columbus, stopping 43 shots, but the Blue Jackets ultimately prevailed in a shootout. Damon Severson opened the scoring midway through the first period before setting up Mathieu Olivier midway through the second to give Columbus a 2-0 lead. Pittsburgh pushed back against the run of play. Bryan Rust cut the deficit late in the second, and Evgeni Malkin knotted things up early in the third period by cashing in on a feed from Erik Karlsson. Murashov continued his masterclass through a frantic overtime, repeatedly turning away Columbus attackers who held a staggering 45-22 shot advantage. Cam Talbot held firm with 20 saves, setting the stage for Kent Johnson, who outwaited Murashov in the shootout to secure the 3-2 victory. The Blue Jackets improve to 2-1-0 with real offensive swagger, while Pittsburgh heads home needing to figure out how to give their goaltender far more defensive support.

Anaheim's unlikely trio of Judd Caulfield, Tim Washe, and Jeff Malott completely dictated terms in Winnipeg, turning what should have been a grueling road test into a breezy 5-1 rout of the Central-leading Jets. Caulfield struck first late in the opening frame off a nifty sequence with Malott, before Washe doubled the advantage five minutes into the second period. The tone had already been set at the buzzer of the first, when Anaheim defenseman Travis Mitchell squared up with Jets captain Adam Lowry in a spirited heavyweight tilt that energized the visitors rather than the home crowd. Sam Colangelo pushed the lead to three early in the third, and though Kyle Connor finally solved Lukas Dostal midway through the final frame, Mikael Granlund and Nikita Nesterenko piled on late to silence Canada Life Centre. Dostal had a remarkably quiet evening, stopping 15 of 16 shots, while the Ducks bullied Winnipeg with a 25-14 edge in hits. Anaheim heads home riding serious momentum, having handed Winnipeg its first regulation loss of the young season.