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Stone’s Third-Period Hat Trick Lifts Golden Knights Past Flames, Atop NHL Standings

LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights started fast Thursday night. Their captain made sure they finished with a flourish.

Mark Stone scored three times in the third period as the Golden Knights defeated the Calgary Flames 6-2 at T-Mobile Arena, improving their home record against the Pacific Division rival to 14-2-0.

Brett Howden opened the scoring just 25 seconds into the game, Jack Eichel added a shorthanded goal and Braeden Bowman contributed a power-play tally as Vegas improved to 7-2-0. The Golden Knights’ fifth win in six games gave them 14 points and put them atop the NHL standings.

“I like playing hockey. I like playing in this league. I like scoring goals. So sure, why not?” Stone said when asked about the satisfaction of another hat trick. “I like winning, and we won.”

Calgary, which arrived after snapping a season-opening five-game losing streak Tuesday at Anaheim, fell to 1-6-0.

The Golden Knights wasted little time disrupting whatever confidence the Flames brought from that breakthrough.

Mitch Marner set up Howden’s opening goal, extending his assist streak to five games and immediately putting Calgary in chase mode.

“I thought more than the goal, I thought we just played the right way,” Bowman said. “I thought we got after their D and hunted them a little bit, and that usually turns out successful for us.”

Eichel doubled the lead with an unassisted shorthanded goal later in the opening period, sending Vegas into the first intermission ahead 2-0.

Calgary briefly tightened the game in the second when defenseman Jacob Middleton scored shorthanded, cutting the Golden Knights’ lead to one.

Bowman answered on the power play, restoring the two-goal cushion with assists from Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson.

“They got one there in the PK and thought we did a good job getting back out and getting right back at it,” Bowman said.

Stone pointed to that response as one of the sequences that mattered more than the final margin suggested. Calgary had a chance to build momentum, but Vegas’ second power-play unit quickly erased it.

Then Stone took over.

The captain scored 1:06 into the final period to extend the lead to 4-1, then struck again at 12:10. He completed his hat trick at 16:13, with Eichel and Marner collecting the assists.

Matt Coronato scored for Calgary with 1:20 remaining, assisted by Morgan Frost and Matvei Gridin, to complete the scoring.

Barbashev credited his linemates’ intelligence and execution for making the game easier around them.

“Just the way they played today, five versus five, was outstanding,” Barbashev said.

Stone supplied all of Vegas’ offense over the final 20 minutes, turning a competitive game into a comfortable victory. The Golden Knights entered the night with a 9-4 scoring advantage in third periods and pushed that margin to 13-5.

Despite the result, Stone saw room for improvement, particularly with the power play’s entries.

“When we get possession in their end and move the puck around, we had some really, really good chances,” Stone said. “But for whatever reason, our entries need to be cleaned up a bit. So we’ll keep working on it.”

Vegas improved its all-time record against Calgary to 20-9-2 after winning three of four meetings last season, including both home games.

KEY MOMENT: Bowman's Response

Bowman’s power-play goal restored order after Calgary threatened to turn a strong Vegas start into a much tighter game. Middleton’s shorthanded tally had trimmed the lead to 2-1, but Bowman answered with help from Barbashev and Karlsson. The response sent the Golden Knights into the second intermission with a two-goal cushion, setting the stage for Stone’s three-goal third period.

KEY STAT: Marner's Five

Five consecutive games with an assist for Marner, whose setup on Howden’s goal gave Vegas an advantage just 25 seconds into the opening period. He added another assist on Stone’s hat-trick goal, giving him six during that five-game stretch. From helping establish the early lead to contributing to Vegas’ final tally, Marner continued to provide consistent production.

WHAT A KNIGHT: The Captain

Stone turned a two-goal lead into a runaway victory, scoring three in the third period. His first, just 1:06 after the intermission, immediately put Calgary further behind. His next two eliminated any remaining suspense, with Eichel and Marner combining to help him complete the hat trick. On a night when Vegas received contributions throughout its lineup, the captain delivered the defining performance.

UP NEXT

The Golden Knights host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT.

PHOTO CAPTION

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) scores against Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf (32) in the first period at T-Mobile Arena.

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Flames' Slow Start Continues With 6-2 Loss to Golden Knights

The Calgary Flames dropped to 1-6-0 after a 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.

Vegas struck early and capitalized on its special teams opportunities, while the Flames struggled to find consistency defensively. Calgary managed to cut into the deficit in the second period, but the Golden Knights responded almost immediately to take control of the game.

Credit: Christopher Trim-Imagn Images
Credit: Christopher Trim-Imagn Images

Brett Howden opened the scoring just 25 seconds into the contest, skating into the Flames zone before firing a shot over Dustin Wolf’s shoulder to give Vegas an early lead.

The Golden Knights doubled their advantage at 9:34 of the first period with a shorthanded goal. Jack Eichel intercepted the puck and broke in alone on Wolf, beating him on the glove side to make it 2-0.

Calgary found a response while shorthanded in the second period, as Jake Middleton scored his first goal as a Flame at 10:15. Joel Farabee set up Middleton in the slot, where the defenceman ripped a wrist shot past Carter Hart to cut the deficit to one.

Credit: Christopher Trim-Imagn Images
Credit: Christopher Trim-Imagn Images

However, the momentum didn’t last long. Vegas answered just 48 seconds later, with Braeden Bowman finishing a quick passing play on the power play to restore the Golden Knights’ two-goal lead.

Vegas added another early in the third period. At 1:06, Eichel sent a cross-seam pass to Mark Stone at the side of the net, where the Golden Knights captain redirected the puck past Wolf to make it 4-1.

Stone struck again at 12:10, beating Wolf with a backhand to complete the scoring and completed the natural hat-trick late in the game as Eichel set up the Vegas captain for this third goal of the period.

Matt Coronato scored a late powerplay goal, but it was too little too late as the Flames fell 6-2.

Three Takeaways

1. The Flames need timely saves

The Flames couldn’t afford to give up goals at critical moments, but that’s exactly what happened in Vegas.

Howden scored on the opening shift, putting Calgary behind immediately. Then, after Middleton cut the deficit to one in the second period, the Golden Knights responded less than a minute later.

Those goals made it difficult for the Flames to build any momentum. Wolf and the Calgary defence need to find a way to limit those momentum-killing moments, particularly when the team starts to generate some offence of its own.

2. Special teams made the difference

Both teams found the scoresheet on special teams, but Vegas made better use of its opportunities.

Calgary got a shorthanded goal from Middleton, and a powerplay goal late from Coronato, while the Golden Knights scored once shorthanded and added a power-play marker of their own.

The Flames showed they can create offence on special teams, but they couldn’t build on that success. Vegas, meanwhile, answered Calgary’s shorthanded goal with a power-play marker of its own, quickly restoring its two-goal advantage.

In a game where Calgary needed something to swing its way, the Golden Knights consistently had the answer.

3. Middleton gives the Flames another scoring option

Middleton’s second-period goal was a positive takeaway from another difficult night for Calgary.

The defenceman jumped into the rush, found space in the slot and finished Farabee’s pass with a quick wrist shot. It was his first goal since joining the Flames and his first career shorthanded marker.

Middleton was brought in to provide physicality, experience and leadership on the blue line. Getting offence from him is an added bonus, particularly for a team that has struggled to generate consistent scoring.

The Flames need more contributions throughout the lineup. With the team searching for answers early in the season, goals from unexpected sources can help, but Calgary needs to turn those moments into more complete efforts.

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Instant Analysis: Two Nights After Blowout Win, Blues Get Rattled Despite Late Rally In 5-4 Loss To Wild

The St. Louis Blues knew the objective would be tough facing the Minnesota Wild on Thursday despite the home side missing a plethora of key players due to injury.

Instead of accounting for who wasn’t in the Blues’ lineup, they needed to be more mindful of of the ones that were in the game, namely the Wild’s best players.

Minnesota’s top line of Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek combined for nine points, and Quinn Hughes – Minnesota’s best defenseman – had two assists, and the turnover-prone Blues, in search of a three-game winning streak, saw that notion come crashing to a halt despite making it interesting late in a 5-4 loss at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

The Blues (3-3-1) have split their two games of a three-game road trip after a 7-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

Let’s get to the key moments of the game …

* Too many turnovers – If there’s one thing the Blues have done a decent job of in the early going this season is take care of the puck.

Not Thursday.

Even though the Blues were playing not up to par, two costly turnovers led directly to Wild goals that essentially put the game away.

It had already been a tough night for the Cam-Fowler-Brandon Carlo defensive pairing (more below), but the Blues had some positive momentum going, and when Connor McMichael paid a puck for Fowler to step into in the offensive zone and the veteran D-man fumbled it, it led to the Wild transitioning the other way, and Kaprizov would eventually make it 4-2 at 8:47 of the second period:

And in the simplest of plays, and at the end of his shift, Philip Broberg had a puck on the left side of the ice, and as partner Colton Parayko went off for a change, Justin Barron jumped on, took a pass from Broberg but fumbled it in the neutral zone.

The puck turned back in the D-zone, Broberg is tired and badly needed a change, and the line on the ice wasn’t able to win a puck back before Kaprizov found Boldy for a one-timer in the left circle for the hat trick goal and a 5-2 lead at 16:47 of the second:

The turnovers were a microcosm of the Blues’ play throughout much of the game that kept this game closer than the score thanks to some terrific saves by Joel Hofer.

And then there was that learning moment for Dylan Peterson, playing in just his second NHL game.

Instead of chipping a puck in and going to work on the forecheck, which is his game, the 24-year-old tried to stick-handle along the wall, got stripped and it was off to the races for Minnesota before Danila Yurov made it 2-1 at 11:17 of the first:

* Too many odd-man rushes – The Blues, even with the Wild missing a lot of their veteran players, couldn’t afford to play a track meet game against this team.

But tying in with the turnovers, that’s what it turned into, and at least through two periods, the odd-man chances were 6-1 in favor of the Wild and scoring chances were 21-11. A lot of those came off the odd-man rushes, but as mentioned, Hofer was making some really nice stops.

* Tough night for the Fowler-Carlo pairing – A veteran pairing that had been really strong to begin the season, this pairing did not have a good night.

We already mentioned the fumbled puck of Fowler that led to Minnesota’s fourth goal, but it seemed like they were a step slow in reading coverage and as a result, backing in instead of attacking Minnesota’s forwards.

Let’s call it a one-off, or at least Blues fans hope it is, because they have been steady-solid to begin the season.

Fowler did end up with three assists in the game after two late third-period goals, but through 40 minutes, he and Carlo were each a minus-3 and a three-goal deficit was too much to overcome.

* Berggren takes advantage – With Pavel Buchnevich (expecting birth of child) returning to St. Louis and missing the game, the Blues needed someone to step into the special teams slot vacated by Buchnevich, and Jonatan Berggren, already getting minutes on the PK, was inserted onto the power play and it paid immediate dividends with a beautiful power move to the net and backhand goal that actually gave the Blues a 1-0 lead 1:45 into the game that gave Berggren a four-game point streak (two goals, two assists):

* McTavish keeps shining – Hofer had made a series of really good saves that at the time kept it a one-goal game at 2-1, and you had a sense that normally when that happens, teams find a way to score the tying goal, and Mason McTavish did just that when his breakaway goal, off a clever pass from Pius Suter to spring him, tied the game 2-2 at 4:57 of the second:

It was just what the doctor ordered until …

* Poor shift after tying goal – The Wild retook the lead just 27 seconds later when Boldy would get his second of the game and make it 3-2 and the Blues could never recover.

Blues coach Jim Montgomery had the Dalibor Dvorsky line on the ice with Jake Neighbours and Pius Suter and the Fowler-Carlo pairing, and what does a coach always say after scoring: the next shift of always crucial.

The Blues actually get the puck into the Minnesota zone, and they’re in position everywhere on the ice, but when the puck gets whipped along the right boards to the Blues’ blue line, the puck gets chipped in, and Fowler had already backed in and was now fending a 2-on-1 forecheck, which he wasn’t able to win, and Jake Neighbours was caught puck-watching until it was too late to identify where Boldy was:

But ultimately what was a 3-on-3 from the blue line going in wasn’t played well at all and cost the Blues big time.

* Costly penalties against league’s top power play unit hurt – The strong start on the Berggren goal was wiped out by two costly penalties that enabled Boldy to get his first of the night and tie it.

McTavish was whistled for a high stick 200 feet from his net, then Neighbours got called for tripping giving Minnesota 28 seconds of a 5-on-3, which the Wild took advantage of on Boldy’s one-timer at 7:31 of the first, or with five seconds on the two-man advantage.

And even though the Blues have been strong out of the gates on the PK, having to kill five penalties against this team despite going 4-for-5 is asking a lot.

* Thomas, Holloway finally get on the board; can that get them going? -- Well, yoou were just sitting back and wondering when Robert Thomas and/or Dylan Holloway would get on the board with goals.

Two-thirds of the Blues’ top line, along with Jimmy Snuggerud, has seen remnants of looking like they would break out, and they combined for six points last Saturday in a win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, but it had been slim pickings for this unit as a whole.

Serving a penalty when Hofer was nabbed for interfering with Kaprizov behind the Blues’ net, Thomas would finish off a play and score the Blues’ third shorthanded goal in seven games and second in as many to make it a 5-3 game with four minutes on the clock, using patience to gain the zone before feeding Fowler for a good look before potting home the rebound:

And with a sixth attacker on the ice, Holloway finally got his first with 15 seconds on the clock to make it 5-4:

The goals didn’t help the Blues win, but just getting on the board could certainly fuel this trio on a run, which they can definitely benefit from.

* Need to start winning divisional games – After beating the Dallas Stars 4-0 in the season-opener, the Blues have now lost three straight to divisional opponents. This was a sore spot last season when they went 10-16-0 in that department, and if they want to be relevant in the playoff chase this season, those are the teams they’re going to have to be beating, and with another divisional game on the road – the first five within the division are on the road – against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, these are the games they need to start being on the better side of.

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Flyers' Epic Free Fall Continues with Another Anemic Offensive Showing

The Philadelphia Flyers' comically bad start to the 2026-27 continued in embarrassing fashion on Thursday night, losing 2-1 to a mediocre Detroit Red Wings team mired in turmoil of their own.

With the anemic loss, the Flyers now own an 0-6-3 record on the year and hold the distinction of one of the two winless remaining teams in the NHL beside the 0-3-2 Los Angeles Kings, who have played four fewer games.

Third-year forward Matvei Michkov continues to impress in spurts, tallying his third goal of the season - the Flyers' lone goal - in the loss to Detroit, which makes him the team's leading goal-scorer and tying him for the team lead in points.

The caveat is that only four Flyers played less than Michkov against the Red Wings: linemates Noah Cates and Porter Martone, and fourth-liners Jack Studnicka and Michael Bunting.

In total, Michkov took just 18 shifts, and Martone (17), Bunting (13), and Studnicka (11) were the only Flyers who took fewer.

As has become customary, the Flyers also lost the shot battle once again. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers were out-attempted 52-37 at 5-on-5, while the Red Wings doubled them up on unblocked shot attempts, 34-17.

Even more egregiously, high-danger chances were an astounding 15-4 in Detroit's favor, including a 5-0 third period.

If the Flyers are going to consistently play this poorly without making major personnel or staff changes, the least they can do is lean into developing the youth they already have on the roster. Playing the most sluggish, ineffective, and boring hockey in the NHL is not a suitable alternative.

NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers 'Untouchable' Forward Drawing Big InterestNHL Trade Rumors: Flyers 'Untouchable' Forward Drawing Big InterestThe Philadelphia Flyers are refusing to trade this popular forward drawing trade interest around the NHL.

Instead, Michkov and Martone, the organization's only two long-term building blocks, again barely played for a team devoid of any offense - at forward, at defense, at even strength, and on the power play.

Just over two weeks into the season, Trevor Zegras isn't playing center anymore, and Tyson Foerster has two points since the start of the playoffs last season.

Winger prospect Alex Bump, who started the season with the Flyers before getting replaced by Bunting, has scored in each of his three games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms since being sent down to the AHL, recording 11 shots on goal across those three games.

Jett Luchanko, who has three assists in four AHL games, could conceivably take on a third-line role for the Flyers should the losing continue, with Noah Cates and Sean Couturier the obvious candidates to receive reduced workloads going forward.

With Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York out, the Flyers brought up Oliver Bonk, and that move has paid dividends for them thus far. The 21-year-old should remain with the NHL club for the foreseeable future, even if and when the two injured veterans return.

That's the one silver lining the Flyers can secure for themselves this season, having already lit 10% of the campaign on fire.

The development of young players was the organization's modus operandi until last year, when many players enjoyed career years to spur the team to a somewhat fluky playoff run.

Now, with higher expectations, the Flyers have lost sight of that, and the incorporation of older players like Bunting and Studnicka is a recent example of the philosophical shift.

If the Flyers are going to be this bad for the rest of the season, they should at least have the courtesy to make it fun and interesting for an increasingly impatient, loyal, and passionate fanbase.

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Levshunov’s OT winner caps Blackhawks’ 4-3 win over Jets as Kane sets US-born assists record

CHICAGO (AP) — Artyom Levshunov scored 1:37 into overtime and Patrick Kane set the NHL record for most assists by a U.S.-born player in a 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.

Connor Bedard scored on the power play for his first goal of the season after missing the first six games with a shoulder injury. Frank Nazar and Ryan Donato also scored for Chicago and Bedard added an assist.

After breaking Phil Housley’s record with his 895th assist in the first period, Kane had a hand in Levshunov’s game-winner.

Kane gained the Jets’ zone and dropped the puck to Bedard, who fed Levshunov. The defenseman took a few steps up the middle and snapped a shot to beat Stuart Skinner on the glove side.

The goal came some 40 seconds after Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight kicked out his left pad to foil Neal Pionk’s attempt to convert Mark Scheifele’s cross-ice pass on a two-on-one break.

Knight had 31 saves.

Pionk had a goal and two assists. Kyle Connor, on the power play, and Alex Iafallo also had goals for the Jets. Connor now has a four-game point streak with five goals and an assist. Skinner had 24 saves.

DEVILS 7, RANGERS 1

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Evan Rodrigues scored with 29.6 seconds left in the first period to begin a barrage of four goals in just over five minutes, and New Jersey rolled over New York in the first matchup this season between the cross-Hudson River rivals.

The bubble burst on the Rangers and Dylan Garand, the minor-league callup who had been spectacular in his first two starts — and wins — since franchise goaltender Igor Shesterkin was lost to a season-ending injury. Teammates did him few favors this time.

Captain J.T. Miller, who was spectacular on a 5-on-3 penalty kill and had a strong offensive-zone shift near the end of the first, whiffed on a passing attempt that put the puck on Rodrigues’ stick in prime scoring territory. Top-pairing defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov had a giveaway that led to Luke Hughes’ first of two goals, which came 18 seconds out of intermission.

Garand made a puck-handling mistake that led to Devils captain Nico Hischier scoring on a tap-in. The shift after New York coach Mike Sullivan called timeout to attempt to stunt his opponent’s momentum, Arseny Gritsyuk scored on a juicy rebound to end Garand’s night following four goals on 13 shots.

Spencer Martin allowed goals to Hughes, Stefan Noesen and Cody Glass in relief.

PANTHERS 3, CANUCKS 2, OT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Brady Tkachuk completed his second straight natural hat trick with a nifty move up the middle in overtime to give Florida a victory over Vancouver.

Tkachuk also scored three straight goals Tuesday night in Columbus in the second period of a 7-3 victory over the Blue Jackets.

With goalie Akira Schmid off for an extra attacker, Tkachuk tied it with 13 seconds left in regulation with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle. He started the run with 8:49 to go, firing a shot from the top of the right circle past goalie Leevi Merilainen.

Merilainen made 36 saves, and Liam Ohgren and defenseman Elias Pettersson scored first-period goals for Vancouver. The Canucks have lost six straight, the last five to start a six-game trip.

Schmid stopped 15 shots.

Ohgren opened the scoring at 7:23. After a Florida turnover, he took a pass from Linus Karlsson and snapped in a shot from the high slot.

Pettersson struck with 2:54 left in the first with his third goal of the season. Filip Chytil — making his season debut after returning from preseason shoulder injury — set up the defender for a shot from the slot.

LIGHTNING 4, KRAKEN 3, OT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Captain Victor Hedman scored just over two minutes into overtime to give Tampa Bay a victory over Seattle.

Hedman crossed the blue line, split the defense and drove straight to the net, tapping the puck through the legs of Seattle goalie Philipp Grubauer, who was trying to poke the puck away. Pontus Holmberg got an assist on the goal 2:07 into OT.

Brandon Hagel scored twice and Ilya Mikheyev added a goal for the Lightning, who improved to 4-0-0 at home. The last time Tampa Bay opened a season with four straight wins in 2020-21, when they opened 6-0.

Tampa Bay led 2-1 after two periods and was 3-0 when leading after 40 minutes entering Thursday’s game. Last season, the Lightning were 33-1 when leading after two periods.

Jared McCann, Matthew Beniers and Ryan Winterton scored for the Kraken. Beniers’ tip-in goal in the third tied the game with 4:19 left in regulation.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves in the win for the Lightning. Grubauer had 31 saves for the Kraken.

SABRES 5, MAPLE LEAFS 4, OT

TORONTO (AP) — Owen Power scored in overtime and Buffalo rallied from two goals down in the third period to overcome Kirill Marchenko’s hat trick and beat Toronto.

Marchenko had the fifth hat trick of his career in his 300th NHL game. His third goal, at 16:51 of the second period, put the Leafs ahead 4-2.

Jack Quinn had a pair of goals for Buffalo before Dennis Gilbert and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the third to tie it at 4-all. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 26 shots for the Sabres, who were coming off a shootout loss to Montreal two nights earlier.

Auston Matthews also scored for Toronto, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves.

Power took a feed from Quinn at center ice and ripped it past Bobrovsky at 3:14 of overtime.

Acquired from Columbus on Sept. 28, just before the season began, Marchenko had scored only once for Toronto before Thursday.

John Tavares had two assists before he left the game early in the third after he collided with Buffalo forward Josh Norris. The former Toronto captain appeared to favor his left leg as he left the ice.

RED WINGS 2, FLYERS 1

DETROIT (AP) — Andrew Copp broke a tie with 4:38 left and the Detroit Red Wings sent the Philadelphia Flyers to their franchise record-extending ninth straight loss to start the season, winning 2-1 on Thursday night.

The Flyers dropped to 0-6-3.

After Copp put Detroit ahead with a point-blank shot, the Flyers had one more chance but Oliver Bonk shot wide from 10 feet with eight seconds left.

The Flyers scored first when Matvei Michkov’s baseball swing put a bouncing puck past Daniil Tarasov with 2:28 left in the first period.

Dylan Larkin set up the tying goal, passing across the slot on a 2-on-1 to set up Anton Johansson’s first NHL goal at 4:31 of the second period.

Johannson is the third Scandanavian rookie to score his first career goal this season for Detroit, joining fellow Swede William Wallinder and Norwegian Michael Brandsegg-Nygard.

Tarasov stopped 17 shots. Joseph Woll made 24 saves for Philadelphia.

SENATORS 2, ISLANDERS 1, SO

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Shane Pinto scored the shootout winner to lead Ottawa to a win over New York.

Ridly Greig scored in regulation and Linus Ullmark made 20 saves for Ottawa (6-2-0). Ullmark has won his first six starts of the season.

Matias Macelli scored and Semyon Varlamov, making his second start of the season, stopped 18 shots for the Islanders (3-3-1).

The Islanders’ Adam Pelech took a hooking penalty with 3:08 remaining in overtime. Varlamov made two saves to extend the game before Dylan Cozens took a tripping penalty catching Pelech as he came out of the box and looked to break in on Ullmark. Bo Horvat had the lone shot on the power play.

Trailing 1-0, the Senators tied the game late in the second on a 2-on-1. Warren Foegele broke in and made a cross-ice pass to Greig, who beat Varlamov high on the stick side.

New York opened the scoring with 11.2 seconds remaining in the period when Maccelli stripped Pinto of the puck at Ottawa’s blueline, took two strides and wristed a shot past Ullmark.

Artem Zub made his season debut Thursday, assisting on Greig’s goal. The Senators defenseman hadn’t played since sustaining a knee injury in Game 1 of the first round of last season’s playoffs.

SHARKS 3, PREDATORS 2, SO

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini scored the only goal of a shootout to give San Jose a victory over Nashville.

Mason Marchment and Will Smith scored, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 33 saves to help the Sharks snap a two-game losing streak. Nedeljkovic has won both of his starts this season.

Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos scored, and Juuse Saros made 30 saves for Nashville, losers of three straight. Saros is 15-2-2 in his career against San Jose.

Celebrini beat Saros with a wrist shot on the glove side for the shootout’s only goal. All four of the Sharks’ wins on the season have been beyond regulation time.

Marchment scored the game’s first goal at 5:20 of the opening period.

From behind the Nashville net, Tyler Toffoli sent a pass to Marchment in front, where he beat Saros for his second goal of the season.

Smith doubled the San Jose lead at 4:28 of the third, snapping a wrist shot from the right circle to beat Saros on the far side.

Smith has seven points, three goals and four assists, in seven career games played against Nashville.

WILD 5, BLUES 4

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Matt Boldy had his fifth career hat trick as part of a four-point night, Kirill Kaprizov added his league-high ninth goal and two assists, and Minnesota held off St. Louis.

Quinn Hughes had two assists to establish a franchise record for the longest season-opening point streak at eight games.

Danila Yurov also scored, Joel Eriksson Ek also had two assists and Jesper Wallstedt made 21 saves for Minnesota, which has won three of four.

Dylan Holloway scored with 15 seconds left for St. Louis after Robert Thomas scored with 4 minutes remaining. Jonatan Berggren and Mason McTavish also had goals.

From near the left dot, Boldy hammered home a no-look backhand pass by Kaprizov for a 5-2 lead late in the second period, leading to hats aplenty landing on the ice.

Boldy, who scored on a one-timer in the first period and off a turnover earlier in the second period, is the third-fastest active American skater to record five hat tricks, doing so in 369 games. Only Tage Thompson of Buffalo (279 games) and Jason Robertson of Dallas (363) were quicker.

MAMMOTH 4, OILERS 2

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Clayton Keller scored a pair of goals and Utah snapped Edmonton’s five-game win streak.

Barrett Hayton and Logan Cooley also scored for the Mammoth, who have won three straight. Karel Vejmelka stopped 22 shots.

Leon Draisaitl and Shakir Mukhamadullin scored for the Oilers, who were missing five starting forwards and a defenseman. Devon Levi made 20 saves for Edmonton.

Just 23 seconds after Draisaitl got Edmonton on the board at 13:54 of the second period to pull the Oilers within 2-1, Vincent Trocheck sent he puck in front to a hard-charging Cooley, who directed in his first of the season to restore Utah’s two-goal lead.

Connor McDavid picked up an assist to extend his season-starting points streak to seven games. He now has four goals and 14 assists for a league-leading 18 points, his best start to a season.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 6, FLAMES 2

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mark Stone had the fourth hat trick of his career and Vegas beat Calgary.

Vegas (7-2-0) leads the NHL with 14 points.

Stone scored all three of his goals in the third period to put the game out of reach for the defending Western Conference champion. He’s tied for sixth in the NHL with six goals.

Jack Eichel, who ranks second in the NHL with 16 points, had a goal and two assists and has had at least a point in seven of Vegas’ first nine games.

Brett Howden and Braeden Bowman also scored for the Golden Knights. Ivan Barbashev finished with three assists and Carter Hart made 28 saves.

Jacob Middleton and Matt Coronato scored for the Flames and goaltender Dustin Wolf stopped 27 shots.

Calgary dropped to 1-6-0.

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Artyom Levshunov Scores In Overtime, Blackhawks Beat Jets 4-3

CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks came into Thursday night's game against the Winnipeg Jets feeling good about their game. Two nights prior, Connor Bedard returned to the lineup, and that added some juice to the team in a winning effort over the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

For a variety of reasons, the Jets came into the 2026-27 season with low expectations from the outside. In their room, however, they didn't see that to be the case. They have shown it on the ice in the early going, too, as they entered the United Center with a 4-1-1 record. 

The Blackhawks, for the second game in a row, started off on a good note. While on a 5-on-3 power play, Connor Bedard scored his first goal of the season. It was set up by Patrick Kane, which was a connection that folks have been waiting weeks to see in a game that counts. 

With that assist, Patrick Kane passed Phil Housley for the most assists ever by a US born player in the NHL. Of the many impressive milestones that Kane has reached throughout his career, this one shows just how good he has been compared to other top American borns in history. 

Patrick Kane Makes USA Hockey History With Assist On Connor Bedard's First Goal Of 2026-27Patrick Kane Makes USA Hockey History With Assist On Connor Bedard's First Goal Of 2026-27With an assist on Connor Bedard's first goal of the 2026-27 season, Patrick Kane made some history for USA Hockey.

The game opened up a little bit from there, and Frank Nazar made it 2-0 shortly after. In his return from a two-game suspension, he found some open ice, used his speed to create separation, and sniped one home. 

Before two minutes of game clock could go by, Neal Pionk got the Winnipeg Jets on the board with his first of the season. 14 seconds later, Ryan Donato restored the two-goal lead for the Blackhawks. He used incredible patience to eventually get a good shot off for the goal. 

That 3-1 score held through the first intermission. In the middle frame, there was only one goal scored, and it was Kyle Connor for the Jets. It wasn't for a lack of chances, but both goalies stood tall. 

You knew the Jets would not fly quietly into the night, and they got the equalizer that they were looking for when Alex Iafallo scored. That's back-to-back games in which the Blackhawks blew a 3-1 lead. They overcame it against the Penguins, but they needed a hero again against the Jets. 

That hero came in overtime when Artyom Levshunov scored his first of the season. He was set up with a lane to the net thanks to a play made by Patrick Kane and Connor Bedard. Levshunov has been exceptional as an offensive defenseman so far this season, and it continued with this game-winning goal. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Chicago Blackhawks will be back in action on Saturday night. Their homestand continues with a match against the Dallas Stars at the United Center. 

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Andrew Copp Scores Late, Red Wings Hold Off Winless Flyers 2-1

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The Detroit Red Wings hosted the winless Philadelphia Flyers at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night, and both teams were locked in a 1-1 tie as time began to wind down in the third period. 

But veteran forward Andrew Copp made sure the Red Wings wouldn’t need overtime for a third consecutive game.

Copp buried a centering feed from forward Michael Rasmussen with 4:38 left in the third period, breaking the 1-1 tie and eventually extending the miserable start to the season for the Flyers, who are now 0-6-3. 

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Rasmussen took a feed from Nate Danielson and carried the puck behind the net and tried to find Copp, only to have the puck deflect right back onto his stick. He immediately fed Copp, who had a tap-in. 

It was Copp’s first goal since March 19 of last season, while Rasmussen broke a lengthy points drought dating back to January 5. 

Red Wings goaltender Daniil Tarasov, making his second start in three games, continued his strong play with 17 saves on 18 shots. The win was his first since signing with Detroit as a free agent over the summer.

Meanwhile, Flyers goaltender Joseph Woll took the loss with 24 saves. 

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The Flyers struck first when forward Matvei Michkov batted the puck out of midair past Tarasov at the 17:32 mark of the opening period.

"More Aggresive Game": Todd McLellan Looks At Positives Amidst Michael Rasmussen's Scoring Slump "More Aggresive Game": Todd McLellan Looks At Positives Amidst Michael Rasmussen's Scoring Slump While Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen is experiencing a prolonged scoring slump, head coach Todd McLellan is choosing to look at the situation through a more optimistic lens.

But it was another milestone night for a young Red Wings rookie, as Anton Johansson scored his first NHL goal early in the second period to tie the game at 1-1.

Joining the rush, Johansson one-timed a pass from Dylan Larkin past Woll on a two-on-one for the milestone goal.

With the win, the Red Wings improved their record to 2-3-2. They will host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday evening. 

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Levshunov scores in OT as the Blackhawks beat the Jets 4-3; Kane sets assists mark

CHICAGO (AP) — Artyom Levshunov scored 1:37 into overtime and Patrick Kane set the NHL record for most assists by a U.S.-born player in the Chicago Blackhawks' 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.

Connor Bedard scored on the power play for his first goal of the season after missing the first six games with a shoulder injury. Frank Nazar and Ryan Donato also scored for Chicago and Bedard added an assist.

After breaking Phil Housley’s record with his 895th assist in the first period, Kane had a hand in Levshunov’s game-winner.

Kane gained the Jets’ zone and dropped the puck to Bedard, who fed Levshunov. The defenseman took a few steps up the middle and snapped a shot to beat Stuart Skinner on the glove side.

The goal came some 40 seconds after Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight kicked out his left pad to foil Neal Pionk’s attempt to convert Mark Scheifele’s cross-ice pass on a two-on-one break.

Knight had 31 saves.

Pionk had a goal and two assists. Kyle Connor, on the power play, and Alex Iafallo also had goals for the Jets. Connor now has a four-game point streak with five goals and an assist. Skinner had 24 saves.

Pionk's point shot went in off Iafallo’s shin at the right of the net to tie it at 3 5:39 into the third period. It was the defensman's eighth career three-point game.

The Jets had dominated the Blackhawks recently coming into the game 8-1-1 in their past 10 outings against Chicago, with their only loss a 2-0 decision at Chicago on Jan. 19.

Up next

Jets: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

Blackhawks: Host the Dallas Stars on Saturday night.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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See AP’s full NHL coverage here

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Ex-Canadiens Sniper Still Unsigned As NHL Free Agent List Shrinks

The NHL saw a notable free agent finally land his contract for the season on Thursday, as David Perron signed a one-year, $850,000 contract with the Dallas Stars. This came a little over a week after Michael Bunting signed a one-year, $1.22 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers after not being signed during the off-season.

Now, as more recent NHL free agents are finally getting signed, one former Montreal Canadiens forward is still unsigned at this point of the season: Patrik Laine.

With free agents like Bunting and Perron finding new homes, it is fair to wonder if Laine could be the next free agent signed by an NHL club. Teams looking for more scoring could consider taking a chance on him. This is especially so with how frequently injuries are occurring early on this campaign. 

Laine played in just five games last season with the Canadiens, where he recorded one assist. This was after he had 20 goals and 33 points in 52 games for Montreal in 2024-25. With that, he put up decent offensive totals not too long ago, so the possibility of him being signed by a team soon should not be ruled out.

It will be interesting to see if Laine can land with an NHL team soon. He is arguably the best free agent left after Vladimir Tarasenko. 

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Islanders fall to Senators, 2-1, in shootout

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Shane Pinto scored the shootout winner to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

Ridly Greig scored in regulation and Linus Ullmark made 20 saves for Ottawa (6-2-0). Ullmark has won his first six starts of the season.

Matias Macelli scored and Semyon Varlamov, making his second start of the season, stopped 18 shots for the Islanders (3-3-1).

The Islanders’ Adam Pelech took a hooking penalty with 3:08 remaining in overtime. Varlamov made two saves to extend the game before Dylan Cozens took a tripping penalty, catching Pelech as he came out of the box and looked to break in on Ullmark. Bo Horvat had the lone shot on the power play.

Trailing 1-0, the Senators tied the game late in the second on a 2-on-1. Warren Foegele broke in and made a cross-ice pass to Greig, who beat Varlamov high on the stick side.

New York opened the scoring with 11.2 seconds remaining in the period when Maccelli stripped Pinto of the puck at Ottawa’s blueline, took two strides and wristed a shot past Ullmark.

Artem Zub made his season debut Thursday, assisting on Greig’s goal. The Senators defenseman hadn’t played since sustaining a knee injury in Game 1 of the first round of last season’s playoffs.

The Senators had two goals called back in the first period. Foegele believed he had opened the scoring, but upon review, it was clear the puck hit the outside of the crossbar and never crossed the goal line. Just over seven minutes later, Stephen Halliday beat Varlamov, but upon review, Ottawa was offside.

Ottawa’s William Eklund had surgery Wednesday to repair a torn tendon in his ankle and is expected to miss 10 to 12 weeks.

Up next

Islanders: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Senators: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

Highlights

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Senators Return To Winning Form In 2-1 Win Over Islanders

The Senators got back on the winning track Thursday night with a 2-1 shootout victory over the New York Islanders at Canadian Tire Centre.

Long Island native Shane Pinto scored the only goal of the shootout, while Linus Ullmark made 20 saves to improve his own record to 6-0.

After Tuesday's gnarly 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues, the Senators (6-2-0) got some of their defensive mojo back on Thursday. But even with Travis Green's major re-shuffle of the forward line combinations, the offense was still having trouble finding some rhythm.

That was thanks, in part, to the fine play of Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who's one of the great stories of the young NHL season. He turned in an excellent performance in just his second NHL game since November 2024.

Varlamov has endured the bumpiest of roads after undergoing not one, but two partial knee replacements and spending 22 months rehabbing. That's a tall order for anyone, let alone a goalie who's now 38.

Judging by his work against the Sens, he still has plenty of game left. He made only 18 saves but there were some biggies in there.

Senators fans thought their team had beaten the Russian goalie twice in the opening period, going bananas in each case. Unfortunately for the home side, neither shot ended up being an actual goal.

First, Warren Foegele appeared to open the scoring with a snapshot that got past Varlamov. But after a review, it was crystal clear that the puck had only struck the crossbar and stayed out.

Then Stephen Halliday, promoted to the top line, ripped a shot past Varlamov and this one clearly entered the net. The fans went wild again. But they were disappointed again.

This time, the Islanders challenged for offside, and the replay showed that Drake Batherson had entered the zone just ahead of the puck. 

Instead of carrying a lead into the intermission, the Senators found themselves trailing. With just 12 seconds remaining in the opening period, Matias Maccelli beat Ullmark with an unassisted wrist shot to give the Isles a 1-0 after one.

That lead held up throughout most of the second period when the Sens finally broke through on a beautiful two-on-one rush.

Foegele delivered a perfect backhand saucer pass to Ridly Greig, who one-touched the puck past Varlamov to tie the game at 1.

Varlamov's finest moment may have come against Halliday, who had two high danger chances in a row. The veteran stopped Halliday's initial shot, but the puck bounced right back to him.

With a net that was briefly wide open, Varlamov somehow scrambled to his right and arrived just in time to stop Halliday's follow-up. It was a fantastic save, particularly considering everything Varlamov has been through over the past two years.

After a scoreless third period and overtime, that's where Pinto delivered the decisive goal. Ullmark did the rest, turning aside all three Islanders' shootout attempts to secure the win.

The Senators improved to 6-2-0 and move into sole possession of first in the Atlantic. They'll return to action Saturday night against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Game time is 7 p.m. ET.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News

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'That Was My Decision': Maple Leafs' Coach Jim Hiller Admits To Mistake, Explains Benching Gavin McKenna Against Sabres

The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off a sour defeat against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. Falling to the Sabres in a 5-4 overtime loss, the outcome of the game was fueled by Maple Leafs rookie Gavin McKenna not seeing the ice for about half of the game.

The 18-year-old ended up taking nine shifts and finished the contest with 6:36 of ice time, the lowest of his young NHL career to this point. The last shift McKenna took was at the 10:20 mark of the second period.

"You know what? That was my decision," Leafs head coach Jim Hiller said after the game. We went for a stretch. I think we had those penalties. I wanted to get him out there. He sat through the penalties, and then I didn't get him out there. You know, through that stretch, and then in the last few minutes of the period, we're just trying to, you know, get out of the period. I guess you would say. And then now, as I've sat him for so long, and he sits in the intermission, so I probably should have got him out there early in the third. I didn't. So I'll talk to him about that."

Hiller is referencing the two minor penalties the Maple Leafs took in the second period. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was called for holding at 14:35 into the middle frame, and Morgan Rielly was called for hooking at 18:07.

'I Didn't Like Our Game': Why The Maple Leafs Are Shuffling Their Lines Ahead Of Matchup Against Sabres'I Didn't Like Our Game': Why The Maple Leafs Are Shuffling Their Lines Ahead Of Matchup Against SabresThe Leafs are set to start with Auston Matthews and William Nylander playing together while the second and third lines have been completely overhauled.

The Leafs' bench boss said he would speak to the rookie about why he didn't see the ice as much as he should have, and how much ice time Hiller intended to give him. However, he's not worried about how McKenna might react to the situation, highlighting his maturity.

"I'll talk to him," Hiller said. "I've said this before. I've talked to Gavin. Very, very mature. Doesn't take anything too, too personally. That's what I've got from him. He's usually ready to go. There's been other times I haven't played him as much and put him in there and double-shifted him and those kinds of things, and you know, he's responded. So, yeah, I'll talk to him, but I, I don't have a big concern about that."

Captain Auston Matthews, who scored the first goal of the game for Toronto, said the situation McKenna was in isn't an ideal one. But he knows a night like this will only motivate him.

"Those things kind of happen sometimes," Matthews said post-game. "I mean, I think everybody's been in that situation before. It's not necessarily a situation you want to be in. But we've all got his back. A game like tonight is going to just make him hungry for the next one to go out there and, you know, compete and dominate. And I'm excited to watch that."

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Senators 2*, Islanders 1 (*SO): Isles grab loser point in sloppy road game

OTTAWA, CANADA - OCTOBER 15: Tim Stützle #18 of the Ottawa Senators stickhandles the puck against Matthew Schaefer #48 of the New York Islanders during the third period on October 15, 2026 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by André Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

Hey everyone, glad to be back for another season of recaps for our favorite team that tortures us constantly!

The Islanders stuck around in this one for longer than they probably deserved, earning a point on the road and dragging the game out to a shootout by killing a full two minute penalty in OT.

Matias Maccelli scored the team’s lone goal and looked pretty good on the Islanders’ top line tonight and paired well with Bo Horvat in overtime, but Cal Ritchie’s line struggled all night and Ritchie and Victor Eklund both were benched for much of the third period. It was probably Ritchie’s worst game of the season so far, and he found himself on the fourth line for stretches, too, which might be good for him until he can find the form he had towards the end of last season.

Semyon Varlamov was sharp all game, turning aside 18/19 shots from the Ottawa Senators, and if he can continue that level of play it’ll be a huge help for Ilya Sorokin and the Islanders.

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

First Period

Early, Kyle Palmieri got tangled up with Shane Pinto, a fellow Long Island native (which the broadcast mentioned multiple times) and limped off the ice. It was a scary moment given his ACL injury last season, but he ultimately was fine.

Stephen Halliday had a great chance in the slot that he seemed to pass off for a backdoor set up which didn’t connect. Then, Warren Foegele sniped the puck past Semyon Varlamov and hit the crossbar. At first, it was ruled a goal on the ice, even though it didn’t entirely look like the puck actually went in, and after the Ottawa Senators celebrated, the call on the ice was overturned.

Halliday beat Varlamov after a defensive breakdown, but the Islanders challenged for offside, and once again Ottawa had a goal wiped off the board, leaving us at 0-0.

Matthew Schaefer rushed to the net and sent a backhand wide after he had Linus Ullmark beat and Emil Heineman had a great chance saved, too.

With 11 seconds left, Matias Maccelli stole the puck from Pinto and ripped it past Ullmark to give the Islanders a lead heading into the second period, his second goal of the season.

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Second Period

Thomas Chabot went to the box for high-sticking Brayden Schenn, and Schaefer had to break up a shorthanded chance for Tim Stutzle. Ultimately, the Senators killed the penalty.

Logan Stanley tripped Ridley Greig, and the Islanders killed that. When Stanley came out of the box, he had a chance on goal, but missed.

About a minute after that, Cal Ritchie took a hooking penalty in the offensive zone. He had a rough game overall, with his line getting hemmed in a lot and his passes just not connecting all game. On the penalty kill, Varlamov robbed Halliday to help get the kill. After that, Simon Holmstrom put a shot off the glass on a 3 on 2.

Foegele cherry-picked at the blue line and got a stretch pass from Artem Zub, and then passed it off to Greig, who put it past Varlamov to tie the game.

Then, Anthony Duclair took a holding penalty, but the Isles were able to get the kill.

Third Period

Varlamov made a big save on Fabian Zetterlund, and when the puck still got behind him he managed to keep it away with the help of a diving Adam Pelech.

Then, Pelech blocked a shot and went down to the dressing room but came back quickly looking no worse for wear, so it was, fortunately, probably more of a stinger than anything else.

Ritchie was moved down to the fourth line, and DeBoer put Emil Heineman with Schenn and Eklund, and then shortened his bench for much of the third period tied 1-1.

Heineman laid a big hit on Foegele a bit far from the boards, with no call, and Foegele wanted to fight Heineman who didn’t take him up on it. Shortly after that, a high stick from Nick Cousins on Matthew Schaefer sent the Isles to the power play, but the Senators got the kill.

Overtime/SO

In OT, the Islanders had their chances, mostly with the combo of Horvat-Maccelli-Schaefer on the ice. When they were off, the Isles got hemmed in, and Pelech took a penalty, hooking Carter Yakemchuk. The Islanders killed off the full two minutes, and Pelech was tripped setting up a play as he got out of the box.

The Islanders couldn’t convert on their 4 on 3 chance, and we went on to the shootout, where only Shane Pinto could convert, giving the Ottawa Senators the extra point.

Up Next

Next, the Islanders head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs for the second time already this season. Last time was for the season opener, where the Islanders lost to the Leafs 2-1. That game is on Saturday, October 17. Hoping for a better outcome this time!

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Devils Dominate Rangers in 7-1 Win as Nico Daws Earns First Victory of the Season

“Let’s Go Devils!” and “Let’s Go Rangers!” chants echoed throughout the Prudential Center during the opening 30 seconds Thursday night, setting the stage for a heated matchup between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers.

After 60 minutes, the Devils had secured a dominant 7-1 victory, backed by a strong offensive performance and goaltender Nico Daws’ first win of the 2026-27 season. The 25-year-old stopped 18 of 19 shots, while Luke Hughes scored twice. Timo Meier, Brett Pesce, Evan Rodrigues, Amadeus Lombardi, Dougie Hamilton and Dawson Mercer each recorded two assists.

Seven minutes into the first period, Devils defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, appearing in his second game of the season, dropped the gloves with Will Cuylle after the Rangers forward took down Kovacevic’s defensive partner, Declan Chisholm.

For the second consecutive game, Rodrigues opened the scoring. At the 19:30 mark of the first period, he found the back of the net with an unassisted goal to give New Jersey a late-period advantage.

The Devils wasted little time extending their lead in the second period. Just 18 seconds after the puck dropped, Luke Hughes scored his first goal of the night, with Meier and Pesce earning the assists to make it 2-0.

Nico Hischier followed with his first five-on-five goal of the season, pushing the Devils’ lead to three. According to DevilsPR, the tally marked Hischier’s 203rd career goal, moving him past Travis Zajac and Bobby Holík for the third-most goals by a skater in franchise history.

“These things obviously make me a little proud, but for me, I'd rather get a fourth Stanley Cup to this franchise,” Hischier said. “So, obviously, I've worked really hard to get to this point, but I'm not done. I still want to keep working hard, and like I said last time too, with my 200th goal, there's been more to come, and I just want to bring this team somewhere.”

New Jersey continued its offensive surge less than a minute later when Arseny Gritsyuk found the back of the net, prompting the Rangers to replace goaltender Dylan Garand with Spencer Martin.

The goaltending change did little to slow the Devils.

At 16:34 of the second period, Luke Hughes scored his second goal of the night to extend New Jersey’s lead. Pesce recorded his second point of the game, while Lombardi picked up his second NHL point.

The Devils carried their momentum into the third period. Stefan Noesen scored off a pass from Lombardi, giving New Jersey a 6-0 advantage and marking the rookie’s first multi-point game.

Daws’ shutout bid ended at the 8:02 mark of the third period when Pavel Dorofeyev scored his second goal of the season on the power play.

With five minutes remaining, Cody Glass added another goal, scoring his first of the season to make it 7-1. Mercer and Hamilton recorded the assists on the late third-period tally.

Beyond the lopsided scoreline, the night also marked a career milestone for head coach Sheldon Keefe, who earned his 300th career victory.

The Devils (4-3-0) will practice Friday in Newark before traveling to Washington, D.C., to face Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals (4-3-0) on Saturday. 

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Pinto scores the shootout winner to send the Senators to a 2-1 victory over the Islanders

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Shane Pinto scored the shootout winner to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

Ridly Greig scored in regulation and Linus Ullmark made 20 saves for Ottawa (6-2-0). Ullmark has won his first six starts of the season.

Matias Macelli scored and Semyon Varlamov, making his second start of the season, stopped 18 shots for the Islanders (3-3-1).

The Islanders’ Adam Pelech took a hooking penalty with 3:08 remaining in overtime. Varlamov made two saves to extend the game before Dylan Cozens took a tripping penalty catching Pelech as he came out of the box and looked to break in on Ullmark. Bo Horvat had the lone shot on the power play.

Trailing 1-0, the Senators tied the game late in the second on a 2-on-1. Warren Foegele broke in and made a cross-ice pass to Greig, who beat Varlamov high on the stick side.

New York opened the scoring with 11.2 seconds remaining in the period when Maccelli stripped Pinto of the puck at Ottawa’s blueline, took two strides and wristed a shot past Ullmark.

Artem Zub made his season debut Thursday, assisting on Greig’s goal. The Senators defenseman hadn’t played since sustaining a knee injury in Game 1 of the first round of last season’s playoffs.

The Senators had two goals called back in the first period. Foegele believed he had opened the scoring but upon review, it was clear the puck hit the outside of the crossbar and never crossed the goal line. Just over seven minutes later, Stephen Halliday beat Varlamov, but upon review Ottawa was offside.

Ottawa’s William Eklund had surgery Wednesday to repair a torn tendon in his ankle and is expected to miss 10 to 12 weeks.

Up next

Islanders: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Senators: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

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See AP’s full NHL coverage here