The Montreal Canadiens have had a solid start to the 2025-26 season. After losing their season opener to the Toronto Maple Leafs by a 5-2 final score, they have followed that up with wins against the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks in their last two games. Now, they will be looking to keep their winning streak going against the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 14. 

One reason for the Canadiens' success early on this season has been the impressive play of new forward Zack Bolduc. The 22-year-old has had a very hot start to the new campaign, as he has scored a goal in each of his first three games with the Canadiens. He also had his first multi-point game as a Canadien during their Oct. 11 matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks, as he not only kept his goal streak going, but also recorded an assist. 

With his great start to the season, Bolduc currently leads the Canadiens in goals with three. His four points are also second on the Canadiens, as captain Nick Suzuki currently leads the club with five points. With this, Bolduc has certainly been feeling it early on offensively. 

While the season is young, it is hard not to feel excited about the way Bolduc is playing right now.  The 2021 first-round pick could very well be on the way to having a breakout season for the Canadiens, and it will be interesting to see if he can this kind of play up from here. 

In 72 games last season with the St. Louis Blues, Bolduc posted career highs with 19 goals, 17 assists, and 36 points. Yet, with the way he is playing now, it would not be necessarily surprising if he gets even better numbers with the Canadiens this season. 

Once a reliable bottom-six grinder, Morgan Barron is rewriting his story with the Jets, opening the 2025–26 season with four points in three games and hinting at a potential breakout year. 

Morgan Barron is off to the strongest start of his NHL career. Through three games of the 2025–26 season, the Winnipeg Jets forward has recorded two goals and two assists for four points, establishing himself as one of the early bright spots in Winnipeg’s lineup.

Known primarily as a bottom line forward, Barron’s sudden scoring surge hopefully signals a potential evolution in his role. His four points give him an average of 1.33 points per game, very far above his 2024–25 pace, when he produced 15 points (8 goals, 7 assists) in 74 games. 

Barron, 26, was selected by the New York Rangers in the sixth round (174th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native played three seasons at Cornell University from 2017 to 2020, where he developed into a standout forward and earned ECAC Hockey Player of the Year honors in his junior season. After signing his entry-level contract with the Rangers in 2020, Barron made his NHL debut during the 2020–21 season but was eventually traded to the Winnipeg Jets as part of the deal that sent forward Andrew Copp to New York.

BEARY pretty 🤩 🤭 pic.twitter.com/4x2qhrTIMa

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 13, 2025

Since joining the Jets, Barron has steadily carved out a role as a dependable bottom-six forward, combining physicality with steady two-way play. His continued development led to a two-year, $3.7 million contract extension in July 2025.

Entering this season, Barron has quietly become a fan favorite with the Jets, tallying 62 points in 241 games across five seasons. The hope is his early season success can help Winnipeg when they really need depth scoring as Barron's four points is more than the season totals of Jonathan Toews, Gustav Nyquist and Vladislav Namestnikov combined. For a player long regarded as a depth option, this could be the beginning of a defining chapter in his NHL career as Barron may finally be able to tap into the first round upside that the Rangers saw in him back in 2017. 

Jets Riding Early Momentum, But Veteran Forwards Still Searching For Their StrideWhile <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/winnipeg-jets">Winnipeg</a>’s top line continues to shine, the team’s veteran additions are struggling to generate offense with advanced stats showing concerning trends.

After exactly one week of regular-season NHL action, the seven Canadian teams are spread out throughout the standings already.

From the first impressions to the early trends from the start of this season, each Canadian squad looks different. Let's dive in.

Calgary Flames

After three games, the Calgary Flames have a 1-2-0 record and are tied for last in the Western Conference. Their only win came in overtime against their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, in the season opener.

Going into this season, The Hockey News’ Yearbook predicted the Flames to be a ‘mushy middle’ team, finishing sixth in the Pacific Division. Following that prediction, Calgary seems to be on the right path to being the team that most expected them to be.

One storyline to watch is the play of Dustin Wolf. The 24-year-old sophomore is the bona fide starter, but he's allowed 12 goals in three games with a .865 save percentage and minus-3.9 goals saved above expected, according to moneypuck.com. Only the Ottawa Senators' Linus Ullmark has a worse GSAE rating at minus-5.4, but more on that later.

Flames Must Accomplish The Opposite Of Last Season To Avoid 'Mushy Middle'The Calgary Flames were a surprising team last season. While they didn’t make the Stanley Cup playoffs – that part was expected of them – the St. Louis Blues beat them out on a tie-breaker after the two teams levelled on points for the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference. 

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers' goal is clearly the Stanley Cup or bust. After two straight Cup final losses to the Florida Panthers and a short-term extension for Connor McDavid, the Oilers, specifically management, have a ton of pressure.

After some mediocre starts to the last two seasons, including a 5-12-1 run in 2023-24 that cost coach Jay Woodcroft his job, the Oilers would benefit from starting strong this time around.

In the pair of contests Edmonton has played, the star players ran the show. McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have three points each.

It’s a small sample size, but the Oilers appear to be right on track to get to where everyone believes they belong, with a 1-0-1 record. Their 1.94 expected goals against per 60 minutes is the best rate in the NHL, according to naturalstattrick.com.

Montreal Canadiens

Despite being the youngest team in the NHL, according to eliteprospects.com, the Montreal Canadiens have been a force to start this season.

They dropped their first game last Wednesday, but even in that loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the two wins that followed, the Habs have been a fast and exciting team. Their 75 speed bursts of between 20 and 22 miles per hour are the sixth-most in the league, according to NHL Edge.

Off-season acquisition Zachary Bolduc has had a hot start to his Montreal tenure. He’s scored three goals and four points in three games. Captain Nick Suzuki leads the team in scoring with five points, all assists.

GM Kent Hughes also locked up defenseman Lane Hutson to a tidy eight-year contract worth $8.85 million annually on Monday. 

While they’re still a young team, the Canadiens will take a lot of points away from teams throughout this campaign and will be hunting for a second straight playoff berth.

Ottawa Senators

The Senators have some positives and a few concerns after one week.

Center Shane Pinto leads the team in points with four goals and five points in the first three games. Defensemen Artem Zub and Jake Sanderson and captain Brady Tkachuk have three points each.

Their strength is their forward depth. However, the Sens would like to have more consistent goaltending as Linus Ullmark has a 4.07 goals-against average and .842 save percentage in the first three contests.

The potential greater concern for Ottawa is Tkachuk's injury he suffered in Monday's game against the Nashville Predators. He's expected to be out for at least four weeks, maybe longer.

The expectation for Ottawa is to make the playoffs, and that’s no easy task in the mighty Atlantic Division.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs are without Mitch Marner for the first time since his rookie season in 2016-17, in case you forgot. He provided much of Toronto’s offense last year, with 102 points.

The Leafs will need to make up for all the lost scoring, which is even tougher considering Craig Berube’s north-south and dump-and-chase style of play.

Toronto went 1-2-0 in the first seven days, losing twice to the Detroit Red Wings. Despite outshooting Detroit 40-15 on Monday, the Wings eked out a 3-2 win.

They're also 0-for-6 on the power play.

With a major loss to their scoring touch, only time will tell if they’ll be able to survive.

'He Always Has Good Feedback': Maple Leafs' Craig Berube Details What Conversations Are Like With William NylanderIf there's anyone on the Toronto Maple Leafs who can come out on the good side of adversity, it's William Nylander.

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks and a few individuals on the team are looking for a major bounce-back year. After shockingly missing the playoffs last season, Vancouver is expected to get back into the post-season, and a lot of that falls on center Elias Pettersson.

Pettersson only scored 15 goals and 45 points in 64 games last season, despite scoring 89 and 102 points in the two campaigns before that. So far this season, he has one assist in three games as the Canucks are 1-2-0 to start the 2025-26 campaign.

Pettersson has a lot of say in how far Adam Foote’s Canucks go this year. In the meantime, Kiefer Sherwood leads the way with three goals, and Thatcher Demko has a 1.54 GAA and .944 SP in two starts.

Winnipeg Jets

After winning the Presidents’ Trophy last season, no one expects anything less of another excellent regular season for the Winnipeg Jets. They're 2-1-0 so far.

Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each have three goals in three games. The two of them were particularly strong in Winnipeg’s only loss this season against the Dallas Stars.

It was the season opener, and Connor netted himself a hat trick with Scheifele providing primary assists on all three of his goals. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as Dallas took it 5-4, but the Jets showed signs that they aren’t much different from last year.

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The Buffalo Sabres are hoping to get some of their injured players back on the ice. At practice at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, wingers Zach Benson, Jordan Greenway, and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen took part, but defenseman Mattias Samuelsson did not participate. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff also provided an update on blueliner Michael Kesselring.  

Benson, who suffered a nasty gash to his left cheek during practice last Wednesday, wore a full face, and skated with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch. According to Ruff, the diminutive winger could play on Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators.

"I just went and got stitches and kind of kept blowing up on me." Benson said.  "(It) got to a point where I thought it'd be best (to go to) the emergency room, and thankfully I did. I had to get some some blood removed on my face." 

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Greenway practiced for the first time since having a second surgery to repair a mid-body injury, and said that a followup procedure was necessary after there was still some lingering discomfort. Luukkonen, who missed the start of training camp and played one period in the Sabres home preseason finale against Pittsburgh before encountering some discomfort, which is no longer present. Ruff did not rule out the possibility that he could go down to AHL Rochester for a rehab assignment. 

Ruff said that Samuelsson’s injury was not as series as thought and he was day-to-day, but the defenseman was not on the ice on Tuesday, which puts his status for Wednesday’s contest against the Sens in question. Kesselring, who is on injured reserve with an unspecified injury, is progressing according to Ruff. 

Follow Michael on X, Instagram  @MikeInBuffalo

While we already discussed Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael Hage last weekend after another standout offensive performance with the Michigan Wolverines, Marco D’Amico published an article on Research Ground yesterday that is highly interesting. In an exclusive interview with the prospect, D'Amico was told in no uncertain terms that the Canadiens are grooming Hage to be a pivot in the NHL.

For those who had their doubts, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound center told RG that he has worked hard this offseason to build himself into a player who can cope with the strain of playing down the middle in the NHL. That’s not all he’s worked on, though. The way he speaks about the importance of playing a two-way game sounds like he’s already a member of the Canadiens.

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His outlook on the game and the fact that he needs to play defense at both ends of the ice when he doesn’t have the puck sounds like a page right out of Martin St-Louis’ book, a true testament to the fact that all parts of the organization Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are building are communicating with each other like a well-oiled machine.. While it’s not always easy to “reprogram” players to play that way, the bench boss will certainly be grateful if Hage joins the Canadiens and has already mastered the art of 200-foot defense.

The piece also mentions that former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty is now part of the Michigan coaching staff and is playing a mentoring role with the 19-year-old. While Pacioretty came up a bit short when it came to being the Canadiens’ captain, he never did as a hockey player. He was an excellent scorer, a hard worker, and had remarkable longevity, skating for 17 years in the NHL (939 games). Had it not been for the numerous injuries he had to deal with, especially at the later stage of his career, he would have played over a thousand games.

Pacioretty spent 10 years in Montreal, and in that sense, he can be an excellent resource for Hage, but the youngster doesn’t want to fast forward to the pros and playing for the Canadiens; he’s focused on winning a national championship for Michigan, an experience that would also be beneficial as he matures into a complete hockey player.

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The Vancouver Canucks will be making two roster moves ahead of their upcoming five-game road trip. Vancouver will be reassigning forward Braeden Cootes to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL while recalling forward Max Sasson from the Abbotsford Canucks. Head Coach Adam Foote also confirmed that forward Teddy Blueger and defenceman Pierre-Oliver Joseph, who are both injured, will join the team on the road.

"After practice, we had a discussion with the staff, and we're going to reassign Cootsy to Seattle today," said Foote. "So he will not be on the road trip with us, but we're proud of what he's done. It's not been his play at all. He's a smart hockey player. We just think it's the right thing for his development. You know, this is going to be condensed, long, heavy season. He's a guy that's really good with touch pucks, touches with the puck. We have a young team. So it's hard to have a lot of support around them for his age at this moment. So I think it's the right thing for his development."

This season, Cootes played in all three games for the Canucks. He went five for 13 in the faceoff dot while averaging 10:47 of ice time. For fans who want to watch Cootes live, the next time he will be playing close to Vancouver is when the Thunderbirds take on the Vancouver Giants at the Langley Events Centre on February 16, 2026. 

The Canucks kick off their five-game road trip on Thursday when they battle the Dallas Stars. During the road trip, Vancouver will face the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators. Game time for Thursday is scheduled for 5:00 pm PT and will be broadcast on Sportsnet. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.

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The Wraparound is here with more NHL and hockey topics in rapid-fire segments.

Will The Bruins Or Penguins Defy Expectations? by The Wraparoundundefined

Here's what Emma Lingan, Michael Augello and Stephen Kerr discussed in this episode:

0:00: Was the Lane Hutson extension a huge win for the Montreal Canadiens?

4:25: Could Pavel Dorofeyev be one of the league’s next best goal-scorers?

8:29: Should the Colorado Avalanche be concerned about how much they might have to end up paying Martin Necas?

12:55: How will Aleksander Barkov’s LTIR placement impact the Florida Panthers’ season-long plans?

16:04: Do the Boston Bruins or Pittsburgh Penguins have a better chance of defying expectations this season?

18:55: Will the Washington Capitals end up keeping John Carlson beyond this season?

21:45: Has Juuse Saros shown early signs of a potential resurgence with the Nashville Predators?

27:15: Can the Ottawa Senators stay afloat without Brady Tkachuk in their lineup for at least the next four weeks?

See below for where to subscribe to the show for future episodes.

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Amazon

New York Islanders' No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer stars in the NHL's "Welcome To The NHL' Part 2, which premieres this Friday on the league's YouTube channel.

This episode highlights Schaefer’s journey to the NHL, from draft day to development camp and his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Islanders fans also get a look at No. 17 pick Kashawn Aitcheson as well, as he's a character that fans are going to fall in love with, if they haven't already.

Enjoy the trailer and be sure to check out the episode in a few days. 

Tocchet wants Michkov to play through slow start, be ready for more minutes originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

VOORHEES, N.J. — Rick Tocchet, for a couple of reasons, isn’t too fixated on Matvei Michkov’s ice time just three games into the season.

His club has been in the penalty box way too often. The Flyers have committed five penalties in each game. Those 30 total penalty minutes have taken away from Michkov’s minutes because the young winger doesn’t play when the Flyers are shorthanded.

And when you beat the two-time defending champion Panthers, it’s tough to complain about Michkov not playing the final seven and a half minutes. He still finished with a comprehensible 14:56 minutes and he wasn’t the only player to lose ice time down the stretch of the Flyers’ 5-2 home-opening win Monday night.

“I’ve got to get people on the ice, so I get it,” Tocchet said Tuesday. “But he’s playing 15 minutes and we won the hockey game, so we’ve got to kind of move past that.

“We’re killing five penalties a game, so the game shrinks to 50 minutes. You’ve got to get people out there, I get it, but we’re a balanced type of team, we’re not a one-line team, we’re not a team that plays guys 25 minutes if we’re going to win.”

Michkov doesn’t have a point through the Flyers’ 1-1-1 start. After Monday’s morning skate, Tocchet divulged that Michkov dealt with an ankle issue at some point this offseason, which limited some of his training.

But the 20-year-old still looked like his dynamic self in training camp and the preseason.

“He had some stuff in the summer that he couldn’t really train and he’s behind the eight ball,” Tocchet said, “so we’ve got to get him skating.”

The head coach liked the way Michkov skated Monday night and Tuesday in practice.

“There’s two good days together,” Tocchet said. “We’ve just got to stack some days for him.”

Matvei Michkov sets up Bobby Brink goal in 2-on-1 drill. pic.twitter.com/QsLGHNX567

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) October 14, 2025

Last season, Michkov played 80 of 82 games and was one of the NHL’s top rookies. The Flyers wanted to be careful with a teenager from Russia making the jump to the NHL. As part of the process, former head coach John Tortorella sat Michkov for two games in November and cut his minutes at different times of the season.

Tocchet was asked about the thought of healthy scratching players to give them a mental or physical reset. It doesn’t sound like he’ll go that route with Michkov, especially this early in the season.

“No,” Tocchet said. “For a guy like him, he has got to play through it.”

The Carolina Hurricanes look to be in line to see an NHL debut tonight as goaltender Brandon Bussi is slated to make his first career start in San Jose after being the first to leave the ice at Tuesday's morning skate.

The 27-year-old goalie has bided his time, even dressing as the backup for a handful of games over his three year professional career, but the ultimate opportunity is now before him.

"He's been great," Hurricanes goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder told The Hockey News. "Good in practice, he has a great attitude, good work ethic. Obviously I didn't know him personally before he got here, but he's been great and has fit in real well. He's worked hard and I think if he shows what he does in practice in a game, then he'll be fine."

It's been quite a month for Bussi, who has gone all the way from an AHL reassignment to the Charlotte Checkers to now playing in the NHL, all in the span of nine days.

Bussi signed this summer with the Florida Panthers after three seasons with the Boston Bruins organization, but he was among the final cuts from the defending Stanley Cup champs, and so he and his fiancée packed the car and headed up north to join the Cats' AHL affiliate. 

One phone call from Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky, though, changed everything. 

And luckily for him, it wasn't too hard to make a slight adjustment east to Raleigh.

"The hockey world can be crazy at times and that call was a special moment for me, my fiancée and my family, everyone involved," Bussi told The Hockey News. "Any day you're in the NHL is a privilege so I'm pretty pumped to be here."

The next day, the Hurricanes' assumed third-string goalie Cayden Primeau was claimed off of waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs and then another day later, Hurricanes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov was sidelined with a lower-body injury.

Life has a funny way of working out like that sometimes.

New Guy Bussi pic.twitter.com/XYOGx89GcT

— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) October 9, 2025

Bussi hasn't had a ton of time to get acclimated with his new team, but he said that everyone has welcomed him with open arms so far.

"It's a great locker room," Bussi said. "And everything from the top down, management, coach, players, staff, everyone has made me feel super welcome and just like another one of the guys."

But another aspect of the game that he hasn't had too much time to get used to either, though, is getting familiar with how the team in front of him plays.

That's where Schonfelder comes in.

"As far as the team goes, we talk a little bit about systems and what he can expect, stuff on the PK," Schonfelder said. "But mostly, it's been about me getting to know him on an individual level. Sometimes it happens quick and obviously Brandon got here pretty quick, so just trying to get an idea of what makes him tick and how he likes to play certain things, so when it's game time, he can just go out there and play. The process isn't over yet, to be honest with you, but you just do your best to get caught up and see how it goes."

However, the Hurricanes have historically done pretty well when bringing in a third or even a fourth goaltender throughout a season.

With injuries to Kochetkov and the Hurricanes wanting to avoid wearing out starting netminder Frederik Andersen this early into the year, the team really has no choice but to give Bussi his shot, but it's one they feel he is ready for.

"He was somebody I identified in the summertime," Schonfelder said. "He obviously ended up signing in Florida, but he was somebody who was on my list of people to go after. I had him down as somebody who, he obviously played down in the American league for three years, but is ready to make that jump to the NHL. I feel that's where his game is at right now."

Bussi has 111 games of AHL experience under his belt with the Providence Bruins, where he posted a 63-31-13 record along with a 0.915 save percentage and eight shutouts.

"He looks good," Brind'Amour said. "Big guy. Hopefully we're not going to be relying on that too much, but if we do, we have a lot of confidence in him."

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In their 2025-26 home opener, the Ducks (1-1-0) take on Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1-0). The Ducks are coming off a thrilling 7-6 overtime win on Saturday against the San Jose Sharks, while the Penguins are coming off a 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Anaheim showed incredible resilience against the Sharks, coming back from multiple two-goal deficits and evening the score in the final minute of the third and then winning in overtime, courtesy of a Leo Carlsson goal.

"I thought the second half of (our first game), we just weren't as good as we were in the first half," Jacob Trouba said. "I think it was a pretty big difference that we can tell when we switch between the two games we were playing. We had more offense in that San Jose game, more consistently, and a better result. Gave up a little more than we wanted, but found a way (to win)."

Takeaways from the Ducks 7-6 OT Win over the SharksThe Anaheim Ducks wrapped up their season-opening two-game road trip on Saturday when they traveled to take on the San Jose Sharks after Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken.

"We've done a good job," Alex Killorn said. "We're playing different systems and we're still trying to figure these little things out of when to jump, when to pinch. But, it feels like we're playing free there. We're getting a lot more shots than we typically get, so a lot more scoring chances. It's been good so far. It's just two games, but we'll see how it continues to go."

“We started both games getting off to a really good start,” head coach Joel Quenneville said. “First 20 minutes set the pace and didn't continue on out of game one, but we talked about it going into the next game, trying to be strong and consistent for 60 minutes. We sustained what we're looking to do with possession and zone time pretty well.

“But both games, we haven't had the lead yet, so that'll be the next test. 
Hopefully, we get to apply it one of these games, and then you can learn a little bit more about our team. But we know we can score goals. Let’s prioritize checking first, and then we get the puck.”

“We just couldn't bury the puck in Seattle,” Radko Gudas said. “I thought we had our chances. 
Also, in San Jose, I thought we played a lot longer in our game that we wanted. In Seattle, we kind of got away from our game towards the end of the game.”

Gudas, who is in his second season as Ducks captain, is just one point away from 200 NHL points. Known more for his bruising hits and shot blocking, the Czech defenseman can also rip it from time to time.

After starting the season opener in Seattle and getting the night off in San Jose, Lukáš Dostál will be back in the starter's crease for the home opener. He is 1-0-1 with a .950 SV% and 2.34 GAA in his career against the Penguins.

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and his status for tonight’s game is unknown.

The Penguins did not have a morning skate today, so their starting goaltender won’t be known until 5:30 p.m. PST, when head coach Dan Muse speaks to the media.

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Ducks Projected Lines

Chris Kreider - Leo Carlsson - Alex Killorn
Cutter Gauthier - Mason McTavish - Beckett Sennecke
Frank Vatrano - Mikael Granlund - Troy Terry
Ross Johnston - Ryan Poehling - Nikita Nesterenko

Jackson LaCombe - Radko Gudas
Olen Zellweger - Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov - Drew Helleson

Lukáš Dostál (confirmed)

Penguins Projected Lines

Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha - Evgeni Malkin - Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak - Benjamin Kindel - Phillip Tomasino
Connor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Filip Hållander

Parker Wotherspoon - Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea - Kris Letang
Caleb Jones - Harrison Brunicke

Tristan Jarry (projected)

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If the Florida Panthers are worried about missing Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, they aren't playing like it.

Lo and behold, the Panthers have started the season on a 3-1-0 run, and it’s time to ask the question – what were we worried about with this team?

Now, it’s understandable why people were concerned for Florida and why the Panthers aren't out of the woods yet.

Whenever a team loses one of its core components for a considerable stretch of time, the ripple effect on the organization can be a significant problem. So, to have Tkachuk out of the lineup until December or January and Barkov being sidelined for potentially all of the season, it’s certainly OK to be worried.

When we’re looking at the back-to-back Stanley Cup-champion Panthers’ all-around depth, you can see why they’ve absorbed the loss of two stars.

The NHL's schedule-maker did give Florida soft touches in the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers in Games 1 and 2, although Philly got revenge on Monday with a win at home. But on Saturday, the Panthers pounded the Ottawa Senators 6-2, showing Florida can rise to the occasion and beat a team that should make the playoffs again.

But the Panthers’ depth is reflected in their offensive totals. They may not have a front-runner for the Art Ross Trophy, but they did have 10 players who produced at least two points in their first three games and 11 players after the first four. The Panthers also have six players with three points apiece. The Colorado Avalanche, in comparison, have three players with at least five points and seven players with at least two after their first four games.

The Panthers' top six scorers have a mix of stars and depth. While left winger Brad Marchand and right winger Sam Reinhart are stars, they're arguably not the biggest on the team. The other four – Anton Lundell, Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich and budding top defenseman Gustav Forsling – are making life a lot easier on each other by providing some secondary scoring.

Florida is also going full steam ahead with nearly the full defense corps GM Bill Zito put together this season. That means veteran star D-men Seth Jones and Aaron Ekblad are playing alongside Forsling, Niko Mikkola and Jeff Petry and contributing at both ends of the ice. Florida’s defense corps indeed took a blow with the injury to veteran Dmitry Kulikov, but by and large, the ‘D’ corps has looked strong and capable of making a positive impact night in and night out.

Finally, Panthers star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has a .925 save percentage and a 1.67 goals-against average in three appearances. Bobrovksky was named the third star of the week for his efforts, and that’s a great harbinger of what’s to come in net for Florida this season.

Bobrovsky is now in the final season of his seven-year contract worth $10 million annually. He’s got every motivation to play well, given that, at age 37, he could be looking at his final NHL contract next summer. Bobrovsky will be asked to be a workhorse in net and appear in 50 to 60 games once again, and right now, he looks up to the challenge.

All things considered, the Panthers are firing on all pistons to start the season. In the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division, they’ll need to be consistently great to stay at or near the top of the standings. But as it stands, Florida is demonstrating it will not go away quietly simply because two stars are out of action.

They’re deeper than that. They’re more talented than that. And it’s going to take an even bigger bite from the injury bug to set them back as they push toward Atlantic supremacy once again.

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Easton Cowan is enjoying life up in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The 20-year-old made his NHL debut on Monday against the Detroit Red Wings, playing alongside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies on Toronto's top line. Cowan finished with one shot, three hits, and 14:05 of ice time.

With any young prospect, whether they begin in the AHL or come straight in from junior, there's always a couple of eye-opening experiences about NHL life, which make the veterans chuckle a little bit.

Brandon Carlo, who's been in the league for what's now 10 seasons, got a front row seat to Cowan's first few days of being up with the Maple Leafs.

"It's been great. It's fun for me being around young guys. I still feel like a young guy myself, but at times when you get to talk to younger guys, especially like him, he brings a lot of energy each and every day. He's got a smile on his face," Carlo said on Tuesday morning.

"We went to dinner the other night and he was just having a great time enjoying the meal. It was pretty funny because there was a lot of things where he was like, 'I've never had this before', 'I've never had this before', and I remember being in that same position.

"It's great to see the game through young guys again and something we can all feed off of that energy."

'If You Stick With It, Good Things Will Come': What Easton Cowan Will Remember About His NHL Debut With Maple LeafsAs Easton Cowan skated onto the ice ahead of his NHL debut, the crowd started cheering. Within all the noise, a song blared inside Scotiabank Arena: "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)".

What was on the menu that Cowan was saying he'd never had before?

"I think it was like the tuna tartar or something like that," Carlo smiled. "One of those meals that I didn't grow up having in Colorado by any means. I guess you can get used to it a little bit, but I think he liked it."

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube opted to stick with the same lineup ahead of Tuesday night's game against the Nashville Predators. Cowan will remain alongside Knies and Matthews after earning more trust from the head coach in the loss to Detroit the day prior.

"I thought he had a great game. He made a lot of good plays with the puck," Berube said on Monday. "I just thought five-foot plays all over the ice. He made a lot of them, too. He was very good on the forecheck. He's got a great hockey IQ, that's the bottom line."

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Despite a strong effort by the Los Angeles Kings to push for a point against the Minnesota Wild on Monday evening after facing a 3-0 deficit, they can only blame themselves. 

The Kings are holding themselves back as they continue to rack up the minor penalties in this young 2025-26 campaign.

In fact, after their 4-3 shootout loss to the Wild, the Kings are second in the league in penalty minutes (55 PIMS) and penalties taken (23). Only the Chicago Blackhawks are ahead of them in those two categories.

In the first period against Minnesota, Los Angeles took four minor penalties. Because of that, the Kings can’t play the game they planned. 

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The line combinations get mixed up, skilled players such as Kevin Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko don’t see the ice as much because they aren’t penalty killers, and that hurts the flow.

“First off, we need to stay out of the box,” defenseman Drew Doughty told reporters after the game.

“One of our strengths is rolling four lines, three D-pairs, and once you get penalties, the momentum goes away.”

Not only will a parade to the penalty box ruin the team’s momentum, but it can also ruin the scoreboard. 

With about five minutes remaining in the first period, center Quinton Byfield took a delay-of-game penalty as he chucked the puck over the glass, trying to flip the puck up the ice.

“We’re taking too many penalties, and I might be the main guy, I’ve taken a ton,” Byfield told reporters. “So, that’s something that we’ve got to fix.”

It didn’t help that 18 seconds after Byfield’s penalty, right winger Adrian Kempe was called for hooking on Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov.

By that point, the score is already 1-0 for Minnesota, and now the Kings need to kill off a 5-on-3 penalty for almost a full two minutes.

Sure enough, the Wild score twice, 20 seconds apart, taking advantage of both power-play opportunities created by Byfield and Kempe.

With that, Los Angeles gave Minnesota a huge head start and a 3-0 lead going into the second period. From that point on, the Kings needed to chase the game. And to their credit, the team was great at 5-on-5.

“We’re taking too many penalties and we’re getting scored on,” Kings coach Jim Hiller admitted.

However, he shed some light on how the team played at even strength in the last couple of outings.

“Our 5-on-5 game is starting to feel a little bit more like how we play,” Hiller said. “We’re going to score goals, I’m not worried about that, but we just have to tighten it up. I think we’re getting there. We take some of the penalties away, we’ll be a good team.”

The Kings are now 1-2-1 with the Pittsburgh Penguins coming to town on Thursday.

The 2025 offseason was the busiest in Pat Verbeek’s tenure as general manager of the Anaheim Ducks. He overhauled the coaching staff, shipped out a pair of long-time roster pieces (Trevor Zegras and John Gibson), brought in a trio of forwards (Chris Kreider, Mikael Granlund, Ryan Poehling), ran his fourth NHL Draft process with the Ducks, got some important piece of business done early (Lukas Dostal extension), was part of another important piece of business lingering well into training camp (Mason McTavish extension), and just when it seemed like the table was set and pencils were down, he inked the Ducks’ number-one defenseman Jackson LaCombe to the largest contract in franchise history (eight years, $72 million) just a week before the puck was set to drop for the Ducks’ regular season.

After an up-and-down rookie campaign in 2023-24, LaCombe (24) burst on the scene in 2024-25, tallying 43 points (14-29=43) in 75 games and leading the Ducks in TOI (22:18/G), playing in all situations, taking advantage of the opportunities afforded, and becoming the Ducks' top defenseman of the present and future.

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When he was drafted six years ago (39th overall in 2019), LaCombe was always seen as a smart, smooth-skating project of a defenseman with what could one day become an NHL frame. He’s now a finished product, or close to one, and is hitting his prime right as the Ducks are hoping to turn the corner on their elongated rebuild.

Signing a contract like that has the potential to negatively affect a player in LaCombe’s situation, where he is still in the early stages of his career. It places a great deal of pressure on players, perhaps leading them to feel like they have to perform to a certain standard or impact games with every movement. That hasn’t been the case for LaCombe thus far.

LaCombe is now 150 games into his NHL career, the long extension is signed, and now that his role is clearly defined, there is an air of poise and assuredness surrounding his approach, both on and off the ice.

Through the Ducks' first two games of the season and though he’s yet to find the scoresheet, it should come as no surprise to see LaCombe’s name atop the team’s TOI chart, averaging 26:20 TOI per game. He also leads the team in power play TOI (6:34) and is second in penalty kill TOI (6:28), just three seconds less than leader Radko Gudas (6:31).

“It means a lot for sure,” LaCombe said ahead of the Ducks' home opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. “For me, I’m trying to take full responsibility for that and just come to every game playing the best I can. We have so many good players that anyone can play anywhere, so I’m just trying to do the best I can.”

During those minutes, one would be forgiven for wondering if LaCombe was breaking a sweat. Visually, he seems to be teetering on the line between poised and casual during his shifts, seeming to barely take effortful strides when defending or on the attack. However, that statement isn’t meant to accuse him of playing lackadaisically whatsoever. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“I think that’s always kind of part of my game, growing up and stuff, but I think as you play more, you kind of learn the speed of the game and the pace, and you read plays differently,” LaCombe. “Having that calmness and poise is something I want to have in my game, and I wanted to work on it all summer.”

LaCombe has achieved a level of seemingly effortless yet effective skating, reminiscent of only the most elite to ever play the position. He’s using his ability to dissect plays, both on the offensive and defensive sides of the puck, to his advantage, blending it with his comfort and calmness to positively impact the game in every zone.

When defending, he is anticipating and sealing walls on the strong side, while never losing a race to a loose puck when retrieving. With just one or two strides, he can get to the front of the net and has become adept at boxing out opponents and taking sticks away.

On the attack, he’s as aggressive as ever when joining rushes off-puck to make himself an option and keep opponents on their heels. With the puck, he’s become proficient at shielding the on-puck defender with his 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame while maintaining possession and advancing pucks North, consistently in search of the most optimal play.

While maintaining a sense of the competitiveness that had allowed him to seize control of the number-one defenseman spot in Anaheim, signing a massive, record-setting contract only seems to have enhanced LaCombe’s self-assurance and composure. If he continues to impact games while displaying this collected brand of hockey and can consistently produce on top of it, he will continue to invoke shades of elite defensemen of the past and present like Scott Niedermayer, Niklas Lidstrom, and Miro Heiskanen

Author Disclaimer: I’m not alluding to LaCombe one day becoming a hall-of-fame defenseman, but simply stating what his play style is becoming reminiscent of.

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