NHL Results: Friday, October 16, 2026

Nathan MacKinnon orchestrated a ruthless comeback in Denver after Pittsburgh threatened to spoil the party early. The Penguins stunned Ball Arena midway through the first period when Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust scored just 29 seconds apart. That, however, was where Pittsburgh's fun ended. Artturi Lehkonen cut the deficit before the break, then tied it just 25 seconds into the second frame off another slick setup from MacKinnon. From there, Colorado simply took over. Gabriel Landeskog notched the go-ahead marker four minutes later, and T. Hughes buried one late in the period to extend the lead. MacKinnon capped his four-point masterclass with a third-period power-play strike past Arturs Silovs, while Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 29 of 31 to lock down the victory. The Avalanche are clicking on all cylinders at 5-2-1, while Pittsburgh needs answers defensively before this road trip gets away from them.

Anaheim looked primed to stun the Atlantic Division leaders after a dizzying 21-second burst late in the first period, when Tim Washe and Beckett Sennecke beat Michael DiPietro in rapid succession. But Boston’s lethal special teams completely flipped the script. Frederic Brunet sparked the comeback on a second-period power play, setting the stage for a third-period clinic by the Bruins. David Pastrnak ripped home the equalizer on the man advantage just over three minutes into the final frame, before Elias Lindholm followed suit five minutes later with Boston’s third power-play tally of the night. Matthew Poitras capped the four-unanswered goal surge with under four minutes remaining, finishing off a feed from rookie James Hagens, who quietly dished two helpers on the evening. DiPietro stood tall after that shaky opening frame, stopping 25 of 27 shots to preserve the victory. The Bruins maintain their grip on first place in the Atlantic at 6-2-0 and head into the weekend firing on all cylinders.