Category: Ice Hockey

Another Saturday night loss leaves the Los Angeles Kings as the NHL's only winless team. (0-4-2) Los Angeles held a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes and played a solid first period, but missed chances and defensive breakdowns led to a 4-1 home win. 

The Kings are now the only winless team remaining after losing to the Boston Bruins. For some perspective, LA didn't lose their sixth game last season until Oct. 25, when they were 3-3-3.

Loss Angeles 😬

The Kings are now the only team in the NHL without a win to their name after their 4-1 defeat to the Bruins pic.twitter.com/V0tPS371uz

— BarDown (@BarDown) October 18, 2026

All things considered, the Kings were on the verge of their first win of the season, but the Bruins capitalized on several missed chances in the clutch by LA. 

Mikey Anderson spoke postgame after losing another disappointing game. 

"We came out good, like we want to at home, and then lost it along the way. It’s on the team. It’s on us.”

If the Kings keep playing this poorly, especially early in the season, where every loss reduces their chances of making the postseason, they should at least decide which direction they're going. 

The home team's anemic offense continued, as they scored one goal again in their fourth straight game. After scoring eight goals in their first two games, the Kings now have just four total goals in their last four games. 

Playing the NHL's slowest, least effective hockey raises the question of whether it's time for the Silver and Black to blow it up and rebuild around young talent. For the last 5-10 seasons, the pattern has been the same: the Kings make or miss the playoffs and go home early in the postseason, with no real success since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014. 

The bigger concern for Los Angeles isn't necessarily its six-game winless streak, but the possibility that the organization has reached its ceiling with the current core. Five consecutive first-round playoff exits, multiple coaching changes, and continued offensive struggles have left the Kings searching for answers.

General manager Ken Holland now faces a difficult question: Does he remain patient with a roster built to compete immediately, or begin looking toward the future with younger players such as Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke, and Alex Laferriere?

Now, just over two weeks into the season, it couldn't have been a uglier start for a team with high hopes after hiring a new coach and switching to a new system. The Kings entered the season with expectations of improving on last year's terrible run, reaching the playoffs despite being 12 games below .500 and getting swept out. But six games without a victory have already raised serious doubts about whether this roster is capable of competing

If the Kings are going to be this bad for the rest of the season, they should at least have the courtesy to plan ahead for an increasingly impatient, loyal, and passionate fanbase.

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LOS ANGELES — The Kings scored an early goal, 31 seconds into the game, but that didn't change the result. The Bruins were still able to clobber the Kings 4-1.

Alex Laferriere was plugged into the first line to pair with Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin. That move paid dividends for the Kings as they saw quick results early in the game.

“Every time I play with [Kempe and Panarin] we have good energy and good chemistry,” said Laferriere. “Just trying to make it easy for those guys to play the game and just trying to find open ice.”

Within the first minute of the game, Laferriere scored a goal to give the Kings an early lead. This goal allowed Los Angeles to control the tempo and keep the puck in the throughout the first period.

Despite a strong start by the Kings in the first period, it all came crashing down. The Bruins were able to flip the script and take control in the last two periods.

In the second period, David Pastrnak had a breakaway goal for Boston that shifted the momentum. The Bruins pushed the tempo, which allowed them to keep the puck in the Kings' defensive zone.

Los Angeles couldn’t keep up with the tempo, which translated to more penalties for the team. The Kings racked up 21 penalty minutes while the Bruins only had 11minutes in the box.

Heading into the night, the Bruins had 108 penalty minutes, which lead the league.

However, the Kings were so sloppy that they spent more time in the box than the most penalized team.

The Kings gave up a 1-0 lead to a Bruins team that was coming off back-to-back games played. This was a golden opportunity for Los Angeles that only resulted in a disappointing loss.

“We got to take [the loss] with us and stew on it a little bit. It's certainly not where we want to be,” said Coach Laviolette. “I thought the start was really good and on point and then as the second period rolled over it just seemed to tilt the other way. So we've got to be better.”

Six games into the season and the Kings have lost all six of those games. Los Angeles is the only team in the NHL that has yet to secure a victory.

Now the Kings head on a five-game road trip without much momentum on their side. However, this loss to the Bruins could be a turning point for the Kings to pull away some victories.

Even though the Kings lost, the first line change gave the team an energy boost that they desperately needed. The hot start was a sign of how fluently the Kings could play, but they didn’t finish the job. This loss showed the Kings that they needed to execute for 60 minutes, not just the first minute.

Pregame

The Penguins use the same skaters and groupings as last night while swapping in Sergei Murashov in net.

How we're lining up in Las Vegas.#LetsGoPenspic.twitter.com/8WgAJHy8Bt

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 18, 2026

First period

Vegas activates defensemen and scores two goals in the first 4:02 of the game to set the tone.

First up it’s Rasmus Andersson jumping in the play and scoring 1:06 into the game.

Pick your spot, Ras 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/mDeLvqXsQe

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 18, 2026

Not long after that Jack Eichel draws all the attention and no one notices Noah Hanifin sneaking into the vacant space. No one except Eichel. 2-0.

The pass from Jack to Hanny is just 🤌 pic.twitter.com/Qhir6QPQIQ

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 18, 2026

The Golden Knights get a power play and try a lot of backdoor plays. It finally pays off, Mark Stone gets his third point of the night redirecting a puck from right in front of Murashov. 3-0.

The Cap has three points in the first period….. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/h8NWvTGl3g

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 18, 2026

Tough period on what’s becoming a tough road trip (and even tough season). Vegas flexes their muscles and get in full control.

Second period

The Pens get their first power play, and brace yourself, they score on it. Tommy Novak shoots, it hits Sidney Crosby in front and is good for goal No. 657 in his career. 3-1 game.

Another spot in the record book.

Sidney Crosby moves into sole possession of 14th-most goals in NHL history 🐐 pic.twitter.com/3yjwgBDxAu

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 18, 2026

Faint hope doesn’t last long, a Crosby pass goes awry and the Golden Knights go off on the rush. Trevor Connelly snipes Murashov. 4-1.

TREVOR CONNELLY LEADS ALL NHL ROOKIES WITH FOUR GOALS 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅 pic.twitter.com/XIsrzm1wvz

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 18, 2026

Pittsburgh has a penalty coming and Sam Girard gets tripped and goes heavy into the boards on his arm. The 4v4 trickles away, Vegas wins the puck out of a scrum and feeds Shea Theodore for a big shot. 5-1.

IT'S AN OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMEN KINDA KNIGHT 🤩 pic.twitter.com/PRqIuAvVIm

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 18, 2026

It’s spooky season and this game has been a house of horrors so far.

Third period

Some mild signs of life with 15 minutes to go, Novak shoots the puck and then pokes it around Adin Hill. Both Evgeni Malkin and Ville Koivunen are crashing the net, one of them gets the stick on it to score, apparently Koivunen. 5-2.

Novak ➡️ Malkin ➡️ Koivunen pic.twitter.com/pWUxB70I8r

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 18, 2026

Not long after, Novak sets up Koivunen for a really nice chance, his shot goes just wide of the net and that’s a back-breaker for trying to make a comeback effort.

Penguins pull the goalie, Golden Knights get awarded a goal.

Some thoughts

• Bad game, sad game. Much like last night, the Penguins faced a really good team and it showed. They didn’t come close to measuring it up.
• Not to go all Doc Internet, but the read on Girard didn’t look good at all. He favored his left arm, was on the bench briefly and left for the lockerroom. We’ll see what comes of it but given the velocity he went into the end boards at a tough angle, it wouldn’t be surprising if he’ll be dealing with a serious injury.
• Well, at least the power play scored for the first time in seven games. That’s the most minor of silver linings but could be a bright spot on the confidence meter for those guys moving forward. Didn’t matter much tonight, could be something positive for the future considering how fastly those groups can go from ice cold into a heater.
• After last night, Crosby and Bryan Rust said it wasn’t time to panic. That makes sense from their perspective and I’m not sure that veterans like that ever really would admit to it. And this weekend was tough, playing two legit championship contenders on the road. There’s no shame in dropping it, though it’s a look in the mirror to realize the difference in quality between yourself and a big-time team. The Pens are also 1-5-1 in their last seven. It’s a long year but the results are pretty clear that this team needs to find some answers really quickly.
• Do such answers exist? That might be the trickier question. The Pens aren’t very good defensively, and that’s not reserved to just their goalies or defensemen. Give up three goals tonight to defensemen and that says a lot about the forward positioning and tracking. On the other side, the offense has been tough to come by.

Pittsburgh will look to salvage something out of this ugly road trip on Monday against Utah.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ryan Leonard scored a highlight-reel goal and the Washington Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Saturday afternoon.

Ilya Protas, Dylan Strome and Boone Jenner also scored and Vincent Desharnais had two assists for the Capitals, who have won back-to-back games.

Arsenal Gritsyuk and Timo Meier scored for the Devils, who dropped to 4-4-0 to open the season.

The Devils got on the board first roughly halfway through the first period, when Gritsyuk beat Logan Thompson through traffic at the end of New Jersey’s second power play of the period.

With 3:18 to go in the first, though, Leonard would even the score and change the momentum with his spectacular goal. In the final seconds of Washington’s power play, Leonard took the puck up ice himself, going coast to coast before beating Luke Hughes, cutting to the inside and deking out Jake Allen for his third goal of the season.

From there, the Capitals took over the game, starting with back-to-back goals in a span of 4 minutes, 46 seconds to open the second period. First, Protas buried a cross-zone feed from Alex Ovechkin to give Washington the 2-1 lead. Then, Strome finished off a passing play from Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou to put Washington up by two.

HURRICANES 3, JETS 2

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Nikolaj Ehlers scored a power-play goal 6:43 into the third period to lift Carolina to their seventh straight victory, over Winnipeg.

The former Jet fired a wrist shot past the glove of Clay Stevenson.

Mark Jankowski — also on the power play — and Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored for Carolina as well. Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere had two assists.

Pyotr Kochetkov made 21 saves and has posted victories in all five starts this season. With fewer than 40 seconds remaining, Kochetkov made a pad save on Cole Perfetti, following that up with a save on 18-year-old Viggo Bjorck off the helmet to preserve Carolina’s lead.

Mark Scheifele and Alex Iafallo scored for Winnipeg, which lost its first game this season on home ice in regulation. Stevenson stopped 34 shots.

LIGHTNING 4, CANUCKS 2

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored twice, Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, and Dennis Hildeby stopped 12 shots as Tampa Bay defeated Vancouver.

Guentzel scored the winner in the third period as Tampa Bay came back from a two-goal deficit.

Pontus Holmberg also scored and Brayden Point finished with two assists for Tampa Bay, which improved to 5-0 at home.

Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson scored while Kevin Lankinen finished with 31 saves for the Canucks, who finished winless (0-4-1) on a five-game road trip. Vancouver is winless in the past seven games (0-6-1) overall.

Guentzel picked up the winner at 2:04 of the third after Charle-Edouard D’Astous slid a pass off the wall to Guentzel for the quick snap shot that deflected off the stick of Vancouver’s Liam Ohgren.

For the second consecutive game, the Canucks had a 2-0 lead they were not able to hold.

PANTHERS 8 KRAKEN 3

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe had a history-making natural hat trick, Sam Bennett scored his first three goals of the season and Florida rolled past Seattle

The Panthers became the first team in NHL history with natural hat tricks in three consecutive games, after Brady Tkachuk had them in wins over Columbus on Tuesday and Vancouver on Thursday. Florida also became only the third team in 30 years to have a hat trick — of any variety — in three consecutive games.

With four hat tricks already this season — all coming in the last three games — Florida has matched its total from the last three regular seasons combined. Niko Mikkola and Sam Reinhart also scored for the Panthers, and Matthew Tkachuk had three assists.

Freddy Gaudreau, Shane Wright and Ryker Evans had goals for Seattle, while Kaapo Kakko and Berkly Catton both had two-assist games.

ISLANDERS 4, MAPLE LEAFS

TORONTO (AP) — Bo Horvat scored the winner and added an assist to help the New York beat Toronto.

Simon Holmstrom scored twice, the second into an empty net, and Anthony Duclair also connected for New York (4-3-1). Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves.

Colton Sissons replied for Toronto (3-4-2). Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 16 shots for the Maple Leafs. They have dropped three straight games and four of their last five.

The Islanders jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 8:18 of the first period when Duclair took a pass in the slot and changed the angle before firing through a partial screen on Bobrovsky.

Coming off a hat trick Thursday night in a 5-4 home shootout loss to Buffalo, Maple Leafs winger Kirill Marchenko had a couple of chances that Sorokin turned aside in the second.

No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna, who was benched for the second half of Thursday’s contest, had an opportunity it late in the second period on a partial breakaway, but fired high and wide. The Islanders raced the other way, with Horvat eventually beating Bobrovsky with 1:27 to go.

CANADIENS 4, SABRES 3 (OT)

MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield scored his second goal of the game 54 seconds into overtime to lift Montreal over Buffalo.

Caufield had a breakaway after Josh Norris missed his shot on a 3-on-1 rush. He ripped a shot into the top-left corner, extending his franchise record with his 14th regular-season overtime goal.

Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier also scored while Montreal built a two-goal lead before Buffalo stormed back. Juraj Slafkovsky and Alexandre Carrier added two assists each.

Jacob Fowler stopped 23 shots in his fourth start in five games.

RED WINGS 4, SHARKS 3 (SO)

DETROIT (AP) — Lucas Raymond scored the only goal during the shootout and Detroit rallied for a victory over San Jose.

Alex DeBrincat scored with 1:33 remaining to send the game into overtime. DeBrincat’s team-high fifth goal left him one shy of 300 for his career.

Justin Faulk and Emmitt Finnie also scored for the Red Wings, who have won back-to-back wins for the first time this season. John Gibson stopped 32 shots.

Macklin Celebrini had a goal and two assists to lead the Sharks. Dmitry Orlov and Ivar Stenberg contributed power-play goals, while Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves in the second of six consecutive road games for San Jose.

With Gibson pulled for an extra skater, DeBrincat tapped in the puck with 1:33 remaining during a scramble in front of the net. Detroit needed to kill off Andrew Copp’s penalty in overtime to force the shootout.

FLYERS 3, SENATORS 1

PHILEDELPHIA (AP) — Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone each had a goal and an assist, and Philadelphia beat Ottawa for their first victory this season.

Philadelphia (1-6-3) opened with nine consecutive losses, a franchise record.

Michkov set up Martone with a nifty pass to the far post, and Martone tapped in his second goal this season at 9:03 of the second period to tie the score 1-all.

Martone returned the favor on a power play late in the period, firing a shot toward the net that Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark stopped. But the rebound went right to Michkov, who snapped home his fourth goal of the season at 18:33.

It was the 50th career goal for Michkov in 171 games. He became the fastest Flyers player to reach the milestone since Matt Read in 2014.

Trevor Zegras added an empty-net goal with 14 seconds left in the third to seal it.

BLUE JACKETS 1, RANGERS 0 (0T)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kent Johnson scored with 1:33 remaining on the clock in overtime, Jet Greaves got his fifth career shutout and Columbus beat New York.

Charlie Coyle brought the puck into the zone and passed to Zach Werenski near the left faceoff circle. Werenski then found Johnson in the slot, who fired a wrist shot past Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand for his team-leading fourth goal of the season as the Blue Jackets snapped a two-game slide.

It was Werenski’s 22nd career point in overtime. With seven goals and 15 assists, he passed Seth Jones for most overtime points in franchise history.

It was the fourth time the Blue Jackets won 1-0 in overtime. The previous occasion was Feb. 4, 2020, against the Florida Panthers.

STARS 4, BLACKHAWKS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Jake Oettinger made 19 saves for his NHL-leading third shutout in six games, Arttu Hyry scored twice and Dallas beat Chicago.

Jason Robertson scored and Roope Hintz also connected before he exited late in the third period with a right hand injury. Dallas (4-3-1) won its second straight to give Glen Gulutzan his 200th NHL coaching victory.

Oettinger had his 19th career shutout and lowered his goals-against average to 1.00. The 25-year-old Hyry had his first multi-goal game.

The Stars, who trimmed their NHL-best team goals average to 1.50, outshot the Blackhawks 32-19 in this one and limited Chicago’s chances.

Spencer Knight blocked 28 shots in his fourth straight start as the Blackhawks’ two-game winning streak ended.

PREDATORS 5, BLUES 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Filip Forsberg scored a goal and added an assist to lead Nashville to a victory over St. Louis.

Jonathan Marchessault, Adam Edstrom, Ryan O’Reilly and Jack Drury also scored and Juuse Saros made 24 saves to help the Predators snap a three-game losing streak.

Phillip Broberg and Jimmy Snuggerud scored and Jordan Binnington made 19 saves for the Blues. They have lost consecutive games.

Broberg scored the game’s first goal at 6:21 of the opening period. Coming through the slot unchecked, Broberg beat Saros with a wrist shot on the glove side.Mason McTavish assisted on the goal, extending his points streak to six games. He has four goals and four assists over that span.

BRUINS 4, KINGS 1

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Marat Khusnutdinov scored in the third period and Boston beat Los Angeles Kings for their fifth straight victory.

David Pastrnak had a goal, Elias Lindholm and JJ Peterka scored empty-netters, and Jeremy Swayman made 25 saves. The Bruins swept the three California teams as part of a four-game trip that ends in Dallas on Tuesday.

Alex Laferriere scored for Los Angeles, and Anton Forsberg made 24 saves. The Kings remained winless through six games to start the season and were held to one goal for the fourth straight contest.

Khusnutdinov put the Bruins ahead 2-1 with 6:24 remaining, scoring on a backhander after Forsberg failed to cover up Morgan Geekie’s shot and Matt Poitras kept the puck alive.

The Kings got off to a quick start, scoring 31 seconds into the game. Laferriere was at the top of the crease to put in Adrian Kempe’s pass for his second goal of the season, making the most of his promotion to first-line center.

_____

Heading into Game 10 on an almost unfathomable nine-game losing streak, the Philadelphia Flyers, led by the likely suspects, finally got their first win of the season against the Ottawa Senators, holding on for a 3-1 win that was a full team effort.

As has become customary, the Flyers conceded the first goal of the evening, with Drake Batherson converting on a 2-on-1 midway through the second period after a bad pinch by Travis Sanheim left rookie Oliver Bonk back to defend by himself.

However, the Senators' goal didn't leave the Flyers shaken or fazed, and the team just kept playing, as they have been preaching all throughout this nightmare nine-game skid.

Just over three minutes after Batherson's tally, Flyers youngsters Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone answered the bell.

After recovering the puck immediately after a Jamie Drysdale turnover in the slot, Michkov pivoted and fired a pass towards the Ottawa goal, with Martone home on the doorstep to redirect the puck past a helpless Linus Ullmark.

Then, with less than two minutes left in the middle frame, Michkov found the net himself with a power play goal.

On a Martone one-timer rebound, Michkov snuck up to the side of the net and popped the puck into a yawning cage to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

"There's a lot of good passes. I think I got a good shot from the flank, and it was a rebound goal," Martone said after the game. "Not all of them are going to be pretty, so it was nice to see that one go in." 

It was an fascinatingly composted unit for the Flyers that scored the goal, too. David Jiricek had been demoted to the second unit mid-game, while Michkov elected to stay on the ice instead of changing with the first unit.

Then Michkov was rewarded for his gamble, scoring the game-winning goal in the blue paint.

"Well, I mean, it depends," Tocchet said of Michkov's extended shift on the power play. "Like, if he's on the ice and he feels it, and you know that we have possession, you don't want to change. It's a feel thing, I think."

Without confirming or denying that Michkov was supposed to change with the rest of his unit, Tocchet seemed pleased with the final outcome, a game-winning goal delivered by the power play and the Flyers' 21-year-old talisman who has been under the spotlight since Day 1 in Philadelphia,

Flyers observations

The 3-1 win over the Senators on Saturday night was an important one for everyone on the Flyers, but it's fitting that Dan Vladar helped deliver the team's first win of the 2026-27 campaign.

Vladar finished with 25 saves on 26 shots, a .962 save percentage, and 1.33 goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck.

Every power play goal the Flyers have scored this season has come with David Jiricek on the ice.

Rookie Oliver Bonk continues to impress, and he finished with the fourth-most ice time amongst defensemen (19:12) against Ottawa, trailing only Nick Seeler, Jamie Drysdale, and Travis Sanheim.

Things can change if and when Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York return from injury, but he's earned the right to stay in the NHL until his play suggests otherwise.

Matvei Michkov is currently on pace for a career-high 33 goals.

Despite the breakout performance, Michkov finished Saturday night's win with 14:29 of ice time, slightly below his season average of 14:52.

In Lehigh Valley, prospect Alex Bump has scored in every AHL game he's played in this year, and he's now up to seven goals in just five games.

It will be interesting to see how long the Flyers can avoid bringing him back up to the NHL level, especially with the youngsters getting the party started against Ottawa.

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The Detroit Red Wings found themselves trailing by a 3-1 score in the third period of Saturday night's contest against the visiting San Jose Sharks, one of the NHL's most exciting young, up and coming clubs.

But they didn't wilt, and in the end, they got the last laugh.

Emmitt Finnie and Alex DeBrincat scored third period goals for the Red Wings, while Lucas Raymond scored the only goal in the subsequent shootout, resulting in a 4-3 victory at Little Caesars Arena. 

SHOOTOUT W‼️‼️‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/MuRkkD8jDD

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 18, 2026

With the win, the Red Wings improved their record to 3-3-2 in the early goings of the 2026-27 campaign. 

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

It was defenseman Justin Faulk who got the scoring started for the Red Wings, beating former Detroit goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic from the point while on the power play. San Jose responded later in the frame with a power play goal of their own from defenseman Dmitry Orlov. 

The Sharks took a 2-1 lead thanks to superstar captain Macklin Celebrini, who capped a three-way passing play with a one-timed blast over the glove of Red Wings goaltender John Gibson following a turnover from William Wallinder.

San Jose then extended their lead to 3-1 early in the third period, striking for the second time with the man-advantage. 

Lucas Raymond Still Feeling Confident Amidst Goal Drought While Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond is still searching for his first goal of the season, the confidence that's made him one of their top forwards hasn't wavered.

But Detroit began fighting their way back into the contest soon afterward. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård sent a perfect shot-pass to a waiting Emmitt Finnie at the side of the net, who had a tap-in for his third goal of the season. 

With Gibson on the bench, it was DeBrincat who once again came through in the clutch for Detroit, roofing a loose puck over Nedeljkovic from the same spot Finnie scored; it was his fifth of the season. 

The Red Wings not only killed off a Sharks power play in overtime, but got the only goal of the subsequent shootout from Raymond, who is still searching for his first official tally of 2026-27. 

DeBrincat and Brandsegg-Nygård were both stopped by Nedeljkovic in the shootout; he finished with 24 saves. Gibson stopped all three Sharks shooters, which included Will Smith, Celebrini, and Stenberg; he finished with 31 saves, the biggest of which was a sprawling two-pad stack on Celebrini late in the first period. 

After playing seven of their first eight games at home, the Red Wings will now embark on a four-game Western road swing, beginning Tuesday night in Seattle against the Kraken; Detroit will look to avenge their 6-3 loss to the Kraken from Oct. 9. 

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MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield scored his second goal of the game 54 seconds into overtime to lift the Montreal Canadiens over the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Saturday night.

Caufield had a breakaway after Josh Norris missed his shot on a 3-on-1 rush. He ripped a shot into the top-left corner, extending his franchise record with his 14th regular-season overtime goal.

Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier also scored while Montreal built a two-goal lead before Buffalo stormed back. Juraj Slafkovsky and Alexandre Carrier added two assists each.

Jacob Fowler stopped 23 shots in his fourth start in five games.

Jack Quinn, Tage Thompson and Norris scored for Buffalo, which fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Canadiens on Tuesday. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 30 saves.

Thompson tied it at 3 with 9:48 remaining in the third period after Josh Doan found him alone at the side of the net to eventually force overtime.

The Sabres went on the power play with 2:17 remaining in regulation after Slafkovsky tripped Jiri Kulich but couldn’t capitalize despite spending the majority of the time in Montreal’s zone.

UP NEXT

Sabres: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.

Canadiens: Host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

The Islanders pulled off an impressive 4-1 win in Toronto despite losing two forwards for most of the game, with both Cal Ritchie and Matias Maccelli limping off to destinations unknown in the first period.

Ritchie was the first to leave, on his first shift, but he was at least able to skate off after an awkward but not high-velocity collision on the far boards. Maccelli’s exit late in the first period looked more concerning, both in how his leg looked as it folded under him and in how he needed help to get off the ice and down the hallway.

After a surprising strong start to his tenure with the Islanders, we’re going to be without our lovable Swedish Meatball for a while.

[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]

Anthony Duclair got the Isles on the board eight minutes into the game, following a good forecheck with a deceptive against-the-grain shot from the slot.

That was the only goal for most of the first two periods, the Isles playing a steady game with a short bench but whiffing on two first-period power plays. Bo Horvat double the lead to 2-0 late in the second off another strong forecheck and a nice move to the slot by Horvat, who ultimately put the rebound of Kyle Palmieri’s shot home. Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled out of the net to stop Palmieri’s shot, so Horvat had an empty cage to enjoy.

But Adam Pelech took a penalty that gave the Leafs a power play and opportunity for life to begin the third period. The Isles survived that penalty kill, only to have Emil Heineman called for a soft, borderline phantom tripping call to immediately put the Leafs back on the power play.

The Isles killed that one, too, despite some hairy moments, but the Leafs got on the board right after it expired with a point shot that took a perfect, fractional deflection off Matthew Schaefer, the post and in.

Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the third, the Isles were not getting any great looks as they went into survival mode. The dangerous-looking Leafs power play had one more chance to get them even when Schaefer took a puck-over-the-glass penalty at 10:10. But the Isles penalty kill held strong, and Simon Holmstrom created breathing room a couple minutes later with a whipped shot from the slot.

Holmstrom would add the empty netter, too, winning a battle behind the Isles net and carrying the puck out to center ice before scoring from the red line.

It’s a satisfying win for the Islanders, adjusting to 10 forwards and picking up three points from their two-game Ontario swing. Ilya Sorokin had 28 saves including 12 in the third period. But those injuries are going to hurt and test the Isles depth.

Up Next

The Islanders return home for another Tuesday-Thursday sequence, hosting the Ducks and Kings before heading out on a three-game Central Division tour.

TORONTO (AP) — Bo Horvat scored the winner and added an assist to help the New York Islanders beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Saturday night.

Simon Holmstrom scored twice, the second into an empty net, and Anthony Duclair also connected for New York (4-3-1). Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves.

Colton Sissons replied for Toronto (3-4-2). Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 16 shots for the Maple Leafs. They have dropped three straight games and four of their last five.

The Islanders jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 8:18 of the first period when Duclair took a pass in the slot and changed the angle before firing through a partial screen on Bobrovsky.

Coming off a hat trick Thursday night in a 5-4 home shootout loss to Buffalo, Maple Leafs winger Kirill Marchenko had a couple of chances that Sorokin turned aside in the second.

No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna, who was benched for the second half of Thursday’s contest, had an opportunity it late in the second period on a partial breakaway, but fired high and wide. The Islanders raced the other way, with Horvat eventually beating Bobrovsky with 1:27 to go.

Sissons got Toronto — which topped New York 2-1 at Scotiabank Arena on Sept. 30 — within one at 3:54 of the third on a tipped shot through traffic, but Holmstrom restored the two-goal lead with 5:52 to go off Horvat's setup before firing into the empty net with just over two minutes remaining.

The Islanders' Matias Maccelli left in the first period and didn’t return with an apparent lower-body injury. The winger, who spent last season with Toronto, stepped on the stick of defenseman Darren Raddysh and fell awkwardly.

Up next

Islanders: Host Anaheim on Tuesday night

Maple Leafs: Host San Jose on Monday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

The Philadelphia Flyers finally have their first win of the 2026-27 season.

Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone each had a goal and an assist as the Flyers (1-6-3) defeated the Senators 3-1.

It was a rough night all around for the Sens (6-3-0) who've scored just four regulation goals in their last three games. Not only did the Flyers first win come at their expense, but they also lost captain Thomas Chabot to injury.

Chabot appeared to hurt his right arm/wrist area, which has given him trouble at various times in his career for four or five years now.

In just nine games, the Senators have already had a season's worth of injuries on their blue line. Chabot joins Jake Sanderson, Artem Zub, Nikolas Matinpalo, and Cam Crotty as defensemen who've missed time due to injury.

Chabot not finishing the game is worrisome. Zegras’s skate appears to go directly on his right wrist/hand. He seemed to be favouring it right away in the penalty box as he was called tripping on the play in the first period. pic.twitter.com/Nu2ozaEw4i

— Steve Lloyd (@TSNSteveLloyd) October 18, 2026

The loss is the first of the season for Linus Ullmark (6-1-0) who made 26 saves in the loss. Dan Vladar had 25 saves for the Flyers.

After a scoreless opening period, the Senators finally broke through at 5:55 of the second when Drake Batherson finished off a beautifully executed two-on-one with Claude Giroux. Giroux delivered a perfect cross-ice pass, and Batherson made no mistake, burying a one-timer for his fourth goal of the season. Tim Stützle picked up the secondary assist.

But the Flyers responded just over three minutes later, thanks in part to a couple of mistakes by Chabot, who threw the puck away in his own zone, then lost track of Porter Martone in front of the net. Martone tipped home a Matvei Michkov shot at 9:03 to tie the game at one.

Philadelphia then grabbed its first lead of the night with just 1:27 remaining in the period. On the power play, Michkov pounced on a rebound in front and knocked it home for his fourth goal of the season, with Martone and David Jiricek drawing the assists.

The Flyers carried the 2-1 lead into the third period.

About five minutes into the third, the Sens picked up the pace, with Warren Foegele ringing one off the iron for the second straight game.

The Sens got a late power play after Tyson Foerster flipped a puck over the glass. Interestingly, after his first unit tried and failed to tie it up, Travis Green opted to close a crucial power play with Warren Foegele, Ridly Greig, and Fabian Zetterlund up front.

The Sens pulled the goalie and pressed again for the equalizer until Trevor Zegras iced it with an empty net goal to give the Flyers the 3-1 win.

The moral of this hockey story: It's difficult to match the desperation of a winless team. That's a big reason why Philly was the better team on the night.

After failing to kick the Flyers while they were down, the Senators are now off until Wednesday when they host Brady Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers.

It will be interesting to see if the current captain will be healthy enough to face the old one.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa

This story first appeared at The Hockey News Ottawa. For more Senators coverage from THN Ottawa, click one of the headlines below:

Brady Tkachuk Calls Panthers Fans "The Best in the NHL"

Brady Tkachuk Calls Panthers Fans "The NHL's Best," Just Days Before His Ottawa ReturnThe former Senators captain has put up back-to-back hat tricks, and his post-game comments that Florida has the NHL's best fans won't make next week's return to Ottawa any friendlier.

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Talk about the game with Pens fans here!

CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks were at the United Center for Saturday night hockey against the Dallas Stars. After winning two in a row, both at home, the Blackhawks came in feeling good about their game. 

The Stars came in after a lackluster 3-3-1 start to their season, looking to get back on track. Their record is better than Chicago's, but they have legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations, with a roster loaded with stars at every position, so expectations are different. 

It was an interesting first period. For most of it, the Dallas Stars controlled play. Jason Robertson scored a goal at one point to give the Stars a 1-0 lead, but it was reviewed and waved off for offside. The scoreless tie went through the first intermission. 

In the second period, Robertson didn't miss his chance to score one that counts. While on the power play, he made it 1-0 at 15:02. Robertson finished off a pretty passing play with Mikko Rantanen and Thomas Harley for the goal. 

At 5:50 in the middle frame, Artuu Hyry scored to give the Stars a 2-0 lead. With the way the Stars have been controlling the game, this definitely became a tough hill to climb for the Blackhawks. Hyry's goal came off a neat feed from Sam Steel on a 2-on-1. 

The 2-0 lead that the Dallas Stars built up held through the second intermission. It would have been worse if it weren't for Spencer Knight; things would likely have been worse for the Blackhawks through two. 

Hyry wasn't done there. Shortly into the third period, he scored his second of the game on a nifty backhand shot that beat Knight. Later in the third, Roope Hintz made it 4-0 with a snipe. That did it for the Blackhawks. 

The 4-0 score became the final at the end of regulation, and Chicago's winning streak ended at two. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

The Chicago Blackhawks didn't score a goal in the loss. There were some chances, but nothing was able to beat Jake Oettinger, who now has three shutouts. In fact, all three of his wins were shutouts. 

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Chicago Blackhawks are now going to be off game action for 6 days. This gives them plenty of time to rest, practice, and come back ready for a long stretch of games against good teams. Next Friday, they will face the Montreal Canadiens. This will be the first time in 2026-27 that the Blackhawks wear their black alternate sweaters. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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It’s been a pretty solid few days for the Florida Panthers.

Florida has now won three straight games during the young season, extending the streak thanks to Saturday’s dominant 8-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken.

It didn’t take long for the Panthers to get things started on the right skate.

Just 65 seconds into the game, Sam Bennett jumped on a Matthew Takchuk rebound, swatting the puck out of midair and into the Kraken net to give Florida a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately for Bennett and the Cats, they didn’t stay ahead for very long.

Former fourth overall draft pick Sane Wright got his stick on a shot by Berkly Catton, getting just enough of the puck to change its direction and get it past Jacob Markstrom to knot the score at one at the 4:51 mark.

That’s how the score would remain for the majority of the period, with both goaltenders coming up with some big saves.

With just over two minutes left until the first intermission, Carter Verhaeghe one-timed a puck from the left faceoff circle over Joey Daccord’s glove to give the Cats a 2-1 lead, but he wasn’t done there.

Florida went on the power play less than a minute later thanks to Ryker Evans shooting the puck over the glass, and Verhaeghe found the back of the net again, this time off a nice feed from Brady Tkachuk, sending Florida into the break with a 3-1 advantage.

Keeping the good times rolling, Verhaeghe completed the natural hat trick by finishing off a pass from Niko Mikkola to extend Florida’s lead to 4-1.

There was some history that came with the goal, as Florida became the first team in NHL history to have players log natural hat tricks in three consecutive games.

The Panthers just became the FIRST TEAM EVER to have a player record a natural hat trick in 3 straight games for them 🎩

Brady got one in the last 2 games and now Verhaeghe adds one! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MdZWEz9Jh3

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 17, 2026

Not too shabby, eh?

Just 40 seconds after that, Niko Mikkola’s long shot found its way over Daccord’s blocker to extend Florida’s lead to 5-1, and then Bennett gave the Cats a sixth goal by finishing off a 2-on-1 with Brady.

After a Freddy Gaudreau goal late in the second brought Seattle to within 6-2, Sam Reinhart scored on the power play to hit the extra point for Florida, one-timing a quick feed by Matthew Takchuk past Daccord.

Sure, the Kraken added a third goal just under four minutes into the period, but the bigger news of the final frame was Bennett becoming the second Panthers player DURING THIS GAME to pick up a hat trick.

Bennett’s third goal of the night was Florida’s eighth, marking the first time in Panthers history that two players recorded three goals in the same game.

The goal was also the 400th point of Benntt’s career.

SAM BENNETT SCORES THE PANTHERS' 4TH HAT TRICK IN 3 GAMES 🤯

Panthers fans are staring to run out of headwear 😭 pic.twitter.com/x8l7LNDn6c

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 18, 2026

Florida’s record has now improved to 5-2-2 on the young season. They’ll head back out on the road this week for a four-game trip, starting with a back-to-back Wednesday and Thursday in Ottawa and Pittsburgh.

Getting back to Florida’s scoring for a moment, the game saw a couple point streaks extended by the Tkachuk brothers.

Matthew Tkachuk finished the night with three assists, extending his point streak to eight games, racking up three goals and 14 points during the run.

As for Brady, his point streak is now at four games, logging six goals and 10 points over that span after picking up a pair of helpers on Saturday.

The timing couldn’t be better as Brady and the Panthers’ next game is against his former team, the Ottawa Senators.

We’ll see if they can keep the good times rolling when they travel north of the border.

Stay tuned.

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Photo caption: May 9, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center CarterVerhaeghe(23) celebrates with center SamBennett(9) and defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) after scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period in game three of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

The Buffalo Sabres have finally got their offense untracked, generating 14 goals in their past three games. It’s not a coincidence they’ve won two of those three contests to improve their record to 4-3-1. 

But there’s still another issue the Sabres need to address – and that’s their play in their own zone. Because in those past three games, Buffalo has given up a combined 11 goals. And when you look at where the Sabres’ defense is at the moment, you can see why Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff needs to focus on improving his team’s play on ‘D’.

Indeed, right now, the Sabres have the NHL’s seventh-worst goals-against average – 3.63 goals-against per-game. And most of the teams that are as bad or worse in that department are notoriously sub-par teams, including the woeful Calgary Flames (5.00 goals-against), Vancouver Canucks (4.56), Columbus Blue Jackets (4.20), Los Angeles Kings (4.20) and Chicago Blackhawks (4.00). If you aren’t taking care of business defensively, it doesn’t much matter how potent your offense is.

How do the Sabres clamp down in their own end? Well, having captain Rasmus Dahlin back in the lineup will help in that regard – and it’s also not a coincidence Buffalo’s goals-against average spiked now that Dahlin has missed the past two games, as well as Saturday’s tilt against the Montreal Canadiens. Dahlin’s sky-high panic threshold sets a defensive tone for his teammates, and he’s Buffalo’s least-replaceable player.

That said, there’s still good reason to believe the Sabres have to do more to be more responsible on defense. And some of that falls squarely into the lap of Buffalo goalies Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Colten Ellis. With veteran netminder Alex Lyon sidelined with an injury of his own, Buffalo has had no choice but to ride Luukkonen and Ellis. And to say the results were mixed would be extremely charitable.

Indeed, although Luukkonen has been better of late – posting a save percentage of .921 or higher in two of his past three appearances – the reality is that, in six appearances this season, Luukkonen has a significantly-disappointing SP of .854 and a GAA of 3.52. You can say he hasn’t got a lot of support from his Sabres teammates, but Luukkonen has to own his own role in his bloated stats.

Meanwhile, in just three appearances this season, Ellis has been just as disappointing as Luukkonen, if not more so. He had a decent start to the season, putting up a .900 SP in an overtime win over the Minnesota Wild. But Ellis got worse in each of his next two games, posting an .867 SP in a 4-1 loss to the Utah Mammoth, then getting yanked after surrendering two goals on nine shots in a 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers.

If Luukkonen can’t provide at least average individual numbers, and if Ellis isn’t a legitimate option to turn to when Luukkonen isn’t at his best…well, you can see why that’s going to be an ongoing problem. Now, if Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen can pull off a blockbuster trade for suspended Winnipeg Jets superstar goalie Connor Hellebuyck, everything changes for Buffalo. But otherwise, there aren’t many great netminding options for the Sabres to acquire.

In any case, Buffalo’s challenge is clear: get better on ‘D’, and get better right away. Last season, the Sabres had the league’s 10th-best goals-against average at 2.93 goals-against. And it’s not as if there have been a slew of changes to Buffalo’s roster. It’s mostly the same group, so there should be no excuses as to figuring out how to defend better.

If your defense is porous, it matters not how great your offense is. Ruff knows this, so it’ll be intriguing to see how he pushes his players to be better defensively. And the sooner that happens, the more likely it is the Sabres get back to the top of the Atlantic Division.

Montreal Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault has been the subject of trade rumors for a while. Now, that is only continuing during the early stages of the 2026-27 season.

In a recent article for The Athletic, Arpon Basu named Montembeault the Canadiens' top trade candidate.

"Montembeault is in the final year of his contract, and with Jakub Dobeš and Jacob Fowler ready to take over, the Canadiens could collect a trade asset from a goalie-needy team," Basu wrote. 

It would not be surprising in the slightest if the Canadiens moved Montembeault at some point this season. He lost the Canadiens' starting job last season, and Fowler is continuing to prove that he belongs in the NHL. Thus, the Canadiens would be wise to move Montembeault if they can find a team interested in him.

Montembeault has yet to play a game this season for Montreal and is currently sidelined due to injury. In 25 games last season for the Canadiens, he had an .872 save percentage and a 3.43 goals-against average. However, he also had a .901 save percentage or better from 2022-23 to 2024-25, so it is fair to wonder if another team could be willing to take a chance on him as a bounce-back candidate.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if the Canadiens trade Montembeault this season. They would benefit by moving on from his $3.15 million cap hit.