The Toronto Maple Leafs are gearing up for their first game on the road this season, meeting the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night. At morning skate at T-Mobile Arena, the Maple Leafs revealed their projected lineup to kick off this road trip.

Toronto flies into Nevada with a 2-2-0 record, while Vegas owns a 3-1-0 record across the first four games of the season.

The forward group will see a minor change with the middle six. 

The last game for the Leafs was a 5-4 dramatic overtime win against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. In that contest, there were several lines that were shuffled, including the moment Gavin McKenna scored his first NHL goal, assisted by Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic. Typically, he's slotted on the left wing of John Tavares and William Nylander.

In the third period, the rookie dropped to the third line with Nick Paul and Colton Sissons. As a result, Easton Cowan got a shot with Tavares, with Kirill Marchenko getting a look on that line too. That left Nylander with Matthews and Roslovic, leaving head coach Jim Hiller with plenty of options to deploy his squad.

Those changes from Tuesday make a small feature in Toronto's projected lineup for it's contest against Vegas.

Leafs lines during morning skate Oct 8/26

Marchenko-Matthews-Roslovic
Cowan-Tavares-Nylander
McKenna-Paul-Sissons
Duhaime-Blueger-Groulx
Extra: McEwen

McCabe-Tanev
Rielly-Raddysh
OEL-Stecher
Extra: Blankenburg.

Bobrovsky
Stolarz@Ozoon_CApic.twitter.com/qOUy5sbn0n

— David Alter (@davidalter) October 8, 2026

McKenna was skating on the third line with Paul and Sissons, with Cowan up on the second line as the left winger alongside Tavares and Nylander.

Hiller said after morning skate that he really liked the way the team finished the game against Nashville, and that would include where Cowan and McKenna were playing in the lineup.

"They finished that. Gavin finished with those guys. We liked how we finished the game, so it's just kind of easy for us," he said. "It was a good night in the end, so why change it?"

Cowan had a hot start to the season, scoring a goal and three points in his first pair of games. Hiller admitted that he probably hasn't played him as much as he deserves, so he's interested to see how he'll perform with more responsibility with Tavares and Nylander on his line.

"I thought he started really strong, and then I probably haven't played him as much," Hiller said. "He probably probably deserved a little bit more ice time. So, we'll give him another crack. He'll get a little more tonight, probably with (Tavares) and (Nylander). So, we'll see. We'll see where he takes it."

Toronto's fourth line and the first line remain the usual trio, and the defense pairs are the same, too.

In terms of goaltending, Anthony Stolarz was the Maple Leafs' starter against the Predators. Before that game, when Hiller said that he'd be the starting goaltender, he said that they had a goaltending rotation plan.

'It Was His Turn': Anthony Stolarz Is Starting Against Predators, The Maple Leafs' Road 'Plan' For Goaltending RotationToronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz will start against the Nashville Predators. With that, head coach Jim Hiller reveals he has a "plan" for his goaltending rotation.

Based on morning skate, Sergei Bobrovsky is projected to start for the Maple Leafs against the Golden Knights. The veteran netminder is still looking to earn his first win for Toronto, having lost his first two games and averaging an .887 save percentage and a 3.06 goals-against average.

Bobrovsky is 8-3-0 against Vegas in his career, averaging a .913 SP and a 2.40 GAA across those 11 outings.

For special teams, Toronto's power-play formation and layout is the same as it was against the Predators.

Leafs PP Units Oct. 8/26

Raddysh
Nylander-Marchenko-Matthews
Tavares

Rielly
Roslovic-Paul-McKenna
Cowan@Ozoon_CApic.twitter.com/XbFAoBhBLh

— David Alter (@davidalter) October 8, 2026

Regarding the Golden Knights, they had their morning skate and laid out their lineup against the Maple Leafs.

Victor Olofsson not on the ice this morning, so here are the lines ahead of tonight’s game with Toronto:

Barbashev-Eichel-Stone
Howden-Karlsson-Marner
Connelly-Hertl-Lavoie
Gatcomb-Dowd-Bowman

McNabb-Theodore
Wotherspoon-Andersson
Lauzon-Hanifin#VegasBorn | @FOX5Vegaspic.twitter.com/BARf1ChO2N

— Vince Sapienza (@VinceSapienza) October 8, 2026

Victor Olofsson was injured in Vegas' last game on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken, and won't be in the lineup against Toronto. So Raphael Lavoie is making his season debut for the Knights in Olofsson's place.

In the crease, Adin Hill gets his second start of the season. He earned a win in his first start in a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, where he posted a .900 save percentage, stopping 18 of 20 shots on goal.

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Today we celebrate the anniversary of one of the oldest and most popular traditions involving the Florida Panthers and their fans.

If you’re an NHL fan and are familiar with the Panthers, odds are you’ve heard of their victory tradition.

After every one of the team’s victories, Panthers fans celebrate by throwing plastic rats on the ice.

It’s something that started 31 years ago, all the way back on Oct. 8, 1995.

On that Sunday night, a few hours after Dan Marino broke Fran Tarkenton’s NFL career completions record at Joe Robbie Stadium, the Panthers hosted the Calgary Flames for their home opener at Miami Arena.

Surely there were a few South Florida sports fans who attended both games, which sure sounds like a fun way to spend a Sunday.

As the Panthers were preparing to take the ice that night, something happened in the locker room that would impact the franchise for decades to come.

A few minutes before puck drop, a live rat emerged in the dressing room and scurried across the floor, startling the majority of the players who were getting dressed.

One player, however, was not fazed by the furry rodent, and that was forward Scott Mellanby.

While many players jumped on chairs or moved away from the rat, Mellanby grabbed his stick and one-timed the gnawing pest across the room and into a wall, killing it instantly.

The story could have stopped there and it would’ve just been a fun story to hear on podcasts 30 years later, but then Mellanby went out with that same stick and scored a pair of goals while helping Florida to a 4-3 victory over the Flames.

After the game, to put a bow on the night and giving fans something to think about, Panthers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck referred to Mellanby’s heroic efforts on and off the ice that night as a “Rat Trick.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

Fans quickly picked up on the comment and began throwing plastic rats on the ice after Panthers goals.

For the rat-throwing tradition, the timing couldn’t have been better.

Florida was playing in just the team’s third season of existence, but they were about to embark on an incredible journey.

After making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, the Panthers went on a Cinderella march all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.

During the improbable playoff run, the throwing of the rats took on a life of its own, to the point where the Panthers had to employ several people whose job was to go on the ice after goals and clean up all the rats as quickly as they could.

There would be delays lasting several minutes after Florida scored on home ice, which ultimately led to the NHL changing its rules and threatening home teams with delay of game penalties if fans consistently threw items which caused a delay.

That’s when the tradition changed from after every goal to after every win.

To this day, Panthers fans still throw rats after every home win, and you’ll even see a few sprinkled on the ice for some of Florida’s road victories.

It’s a tradition as random as it is awesome, and one that Panthers fans have long embraced as their own.

Over the past few seasons, some of the Panthers players have even gotten in on the fun.

During Florida’s last run to the Stanley Cup in 2025, former Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues began shooting rats at Brad Marchand as the team exited the ice after a win.

KATIE ENGLESON on Instagram5,603 likes: "Favorite part of every postgame celebration. Evan Rodrig...

Marchand, a new Panthers player at the time, would collect the rats and bring them home to his kids.

Because what young children don’t want a few plastic rats to play with, am I right?

So wherever you are today, take a moment to think about a few things.

Think about Scott Mellany scoring two goals with a stick that still had rat hair stuck to the tape.

Think about a group of arena workers dressed as exterminators while using buckets and squeegees to collect thousands of rats off the ice.

Thank about Brad Marchand giving his children a thrill by bringing them home a handful of rats.

Think about a decades-long tradition that has survived the test of time despite being on one of the NHL’s most unsuccessful franchises (which was true until around seven years ago).

And if you have a chance, think about finding a plastic rat and throwing it at your TV, or on your living room floor, or wherever you are when you watch Panthers games.

Go Cats Go?

More like, Go Rats Go.

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Continuing their road trip, the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre at 7 p.m. on Thursday night, searching for their first win of the young 2026-27 season amid an 0-2-2 start.

Desperation is, or at least should be, beginning to creep in for the Flyers, who barely look the part of a cohesive hockey team through the first handful of games leading to their winless start.

The Flyers are the last remaining team in the Eastern Conference without a win this season.

New free agent signing Michael Bunting, who is replacing Alex Bump on the NHL roster, is set to make his Flyers debut against the Senators on Thursday night, with head coach Rick Tocchet also shaking the lines up in a major way.

Goalie Joseph Woll will make his third start of the season after Dan Vladar started Monday night against Tampa Bay.

Woll has been one of the best goalies in the NHL early on in the season, surging to a 2.87 GAA and .929 save percentage in his two starts - both overtime losses.

Flyers lines vs. Senators

via The Inquirer's Gabriella Carroll in Ottawa

Travis Konecny - Sean Couturier - Porter Martone

Trevor Zegras - Christian Dvorak - Owen Tippett

Tyson Foerster - Denver Barkey - Matvei Michkov

Michael Bunting - Noah Cates - Noel Acciari

Travis Sanheim - Jamie Drysdale

Cam York - David Jiricek

Nick Seeler - Simon Benoit

Joseph Woll (S), Dan Vladar

Senators lines for Flyers game

William Eklund - Tim Stutzle - Drake Batherson

Ridly Greig - Dylan Cozens - Fabian Zetterlund

Michael Amadio - Shane Pinto - Claude Giroux

Warren Foegele - Stephen Halliday - Nick Cousins

Thomas Chabot - Jordan Spence

Tyler Kleven - Carter Yakemchuk

Cameron Crotty - Nikolas Matinpalo

Flyers special teams

Power play: 0-for-11, 0.0% (31st)

Penalty kill: 11-for-15, 73.3% (22nd)

Senators special teams

Power play: 1-for-13, 7.7% (25th)

Penalty kill: 10-for-13, 76.9% (18th)

How to watch the Flyers game

Thursday night's Flyers game can be found on RDSI, TSN5, and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Flyers player to watch

Defenseman David Jiricek has earned his way into a top-four role for the Flyers after a strong game against Tampa Bay, even if his high-profile turnover that effectively ended the game painted his performance in a dour light.

Rasmus Ristolainen is on the road trip for the Flyers but appears questionable at best, leaving the Flyers and Tocchet to rely on Jiricek and Travis Sanheim with Cam York and Jamie Drysdale badly struggling.

According to Gabriella Carroll, Jiricek is now quarterbacking the top power play unit in addition to moving up next to York, giving the former No. 6 overall pick his best opportunity yet to make a strong impression in a Flyers uniform.

Remember, Jiricek is still just 22 years old and on his third team, so it will take some time for him to settle in, get comfortable, find his reads in the system, and slow down the pace of play the NHL level.

He's already an all-star caliber player at the AHL level, but it's now up to Jiricek and the Flyers to bridge the gap to the big leagues and get the player to his full potential, or somewhere close to it.

The Chicago Blackhawks (1-3-0), after just one game at home, are heading back east for one against the New York Islanders (1-2-0). This is a one-game trip. 

The Blackhawks are heading into this match after their first win of the season, a home opener on Tuesday night against the St. Louis Blues.

Following the win, the vibes surrounding the team are trending up. They didn't win by playing poorly and capitalizing on chances; it was a strong, gritty win they can build on. They weren't flawless, but it was a massive improvement over their first three games. 

Scouting New York

The New York Islanders had a surprising start to last season, but ultimately failed to make it to the playoffs. Now, they are going to be a competitive team, but they are not seen as a playoff lock at this point in time. 

Everything that the Islanders do starts and ends with Matthew Schaefer, the defenseman they took with the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. He has been even better than advertised, showing signs of an elite two-way defenseman. There is a chance that he is considered one of the five best at that position by the end of the season, if he isn't already.

Schaefer will be relied on even more, as Alexander Romanov is going to be out for the season with an injury. They are going to try to manage Schaefer's minutes as much as they can, including keeping him off the penalty kill as much as they can, but it will be harder with Romanov out. 

Heineman-Horvat-Palmieri

Schenn-Ritchie-Eklund

Holmstrom-Pageau-Duclair

Palat-Cizikas-Maccelli

Stanley-Schaefer

Pelech-Pulock

DeAngelo-Mayfield

Sorokin

Bo Horvat is the leader of this group and will be the driver of offense without Mat Barzal in the lineup due to a short-term injury. It's not the deepest lineup in the league, but they have already shown the ability to be hard on the forecheck, strong defensively, and give high effort on every shift. 

Ilya Sorokin will start in goal for New York. The 31-year-old star goalie is 1-1-0 with a .968 save percentage, a 1.02 goals-against average, and a shutout. He is already on track to have another one of those elite seasons where he competes for the Vezina Trophy. 

A couple of keys for the Blackhawks to beat Sorokin: they must take his eyes away, find a way to beat him a few times, and keep the Islanders from scoring too many goals to overcome. In his career against the Blackhawks, Sorokin is 4-2-1 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage. 

Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago

The Blackhawks are going to be without Teuvo Teravainen in this game against the Islanders. His status for Saturday remains unclear, but they called up Dominic Toninato and put Andrew Mangiapane on injured reserve to make room as a result of Teravainen's injury. 

The lines had to be changed up as a result, and they will look as follows: 

Moore-Nazar-Kane

Bertuzzi-Frondell-Kantserov

Smith-Greene-Greenway

Donato-Toninato-Lardis

Byram-Levshunov

Vlasic-Cole

Kaiser-Rinzel

It is still unclear who will start against the Islanders in net. Spencer Knight is 3-0-0 in his career against New York with a .908 save percentage, while Arvid Soderblom is 0-2-0 with a .925 save percentage. Either choice makes sense. 

With Teravainen out and Toninato in, the latter will take the spot of the fourth-line center. Ryan Greene will slot up, while Oliver Moore will move to the wing and play on the top line with Frank Nazar and Patrick Kane. 

Anton Frondell is a player to keep an eye on in this game. He's been Chicago's best forward so far this season, as he leads all NHL rookies in assists (3) and points (4). Frondell also made his NHL debut late last season against the Islanders, picking up his first career NHL point with an assist. 

Frondell is not the only player with fond memories of playing the Islanders. Against the Islanders, Patrick Kane has 11 career points in 11 career games, Nick Lardis has two goals and two assists in two games, and Alex Vlasic has five assists in his four meetings. 

If the Blackhawks are going to turn their home opening win into a streak, some of these big career performances against the Islanders must continue. 

How To Watch

The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. It can be seen locally on CHSN. Nationally, it can be streamed on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 6:30 PM CT. 

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

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.

The emergence of Alberts Šmits benefits the New York Rangers’ present and future.

The one silver lining of the Rangers’ abysmal 2025-26 season, in which they finished last in the Eastern Conference, is that they landed the fifth-overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft.

With that selection, they had a number of different directions they could have gone in, but they decided to draft Šmits, who was touted as the most pro-ready defenseman in the draft class.

The expectation going into the season was that the 18-year-old defenseman would start the year playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League, but that wasn’t his plan. 

Šmits stood out throughout the team’s two-week shortened training camp and the preseason, as he earned a spot on the Rangers’ opening-night roster, something he wasn't surprised about in the slightest.

“Yeah, obviously,” Šmits said of whether he expected to make the team. “That’s why I came here.” 

After five games, the Rangers currently hold a 4-1 record, and Šmits has played a large part in the team’s recent success.

For a rookie, Šmits is playing beyond his years, as his high hockey IQ and understanding of the game have been evident in his play.

A lot of that comfort comes from Šmits’ experience playing in the Finnish Hockey League and representing Latvia at the Olympics and World Championship, where he faced off against NHL players.

“I have been in this situation before when you come into the new team and you got to prove yourself,” Šmits said. “I think also the organization has helped me a lot. They’re doing a great job helping me adapt as fast as I can. I'm trying to do my best here to adapt to the game and bring my best performance every night.”

Mike Sullivan has preached adding more balance to the lineup and to their defensive core that was heavily anchored by Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov, lacking the necessary balance.

To go along with the Rangers’ newly-established second pairing of Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson, Šmits and Braden Schneider have formed a strong third defensive pairing for the Rangers, helping further strengthen the team’s balanced attack. 

“I think it’s been pretty good,” Sullivan said of the Šmits-Schneider pairing. “I think those guys have worked well together. Scneids is such a great person, he’s a good partner for Smitty to have. Coming back to the bench, having conversations on the bench. We think that pair is only getting better.”

Even through his first few NHL games, Sullivan has not been sheltering Šmits, made evident by his average of 14:50 minutes of ice time per game.

The 2026 fifth overall pick looks comfortable in all situations. He’s defending well in his own zone, with his physical brand of hockey at the forefront while he uses his long reach and quick mobility to make plays.

It’s not always flashy with Šmits, but he’s reliable defensively and isn’t prone to making many mistakes. Those attributes should only continue to grow stronger as the season moves along, given his quick adjustment to the NHL thus far.

“Every game I spend out there, I’m getting more confident,” Šmits said. “I think I just gotta keep going in the right direction and we will see where time takes me.”

It’s now confirmed that, despite not making the team out of camp, Jacob Fowler will start for the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night against the Nashville Predators. In a weird twist of fate, Fowler will play the game he probably would have played had he not been sent back down to the Laval Rocket. While the youngster had a good training camp, veteran Samuel Montembeault bounced back from a dreadful season, forcing the organization to keep him as the backup.

Unfortunately for the Becancour native, however, he sustained an injury at practice on Wednesday, which ruled him out for Thursday’s tilt. Habs VP of communications Chantal Machabee told the media the netminder would meet with doctors Thursday night, and the team will provide an update after that.

Canadiens Unveil Heritage Classic Jersey
Game 4: Canadiens vs. Predators – Bounce Back Effort Needed
Florian Xhekaj’s Big Debut Spoiled By Hurricanes

Fowler has played two games in the AHL this season and shone brightly, allowing only three goals in 120 minutes, for a 1.53 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage. Last season, the Florida native played 17 games with the Canadiens and posted a 9-6-2 record, a 2.43 GAA, and a .908 SV.

The goaltender won’t be the only one making his debut, as Adam Engstrom will enter the lineup, and Jayden Struble will be scratched. The Swede will likely join the third pairing alongside Arber Xhekaj. Don’t read too much into the fact that Struble is the one making way; coach Martin St-Louis said he was coming out of the lineup because someone had to make room for Engstrom. After the youngster sat the first three games, it made sense to let him back on the ice.

St-Louis didn’t give an update on what his lines will look like, but it stands to reason that Zachary Bolduc should get a chance in the top six after Kirby Dach failed to impress in his audition to fill in for Ivan Demidov on Tuesday. Oliver Kapanen did not take part in the optional skate, and there was no new information on his health, suggesting Florian Xhekaj will be in the lineup for a second game in a row.

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During this off-season, former Buffalo Sabres forward Victor Olofsson reunited with the Vegas Golden Knights on a one-year, $1,638,330 contract in free agency. This was after he had 13 goals and 31 points in 78 games split between the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames last season.

Now, after a pretty quiet 2025-26 campaign, the former Sabres forward is having a strong start to his second stint with the Golden Knights. 

In four games so far this season with Vegas, Olofsson has recorded four goals and one assist. This included the former Sabres forward scoring two goals in the Golden Knights' recent contest against the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 6.

With numbers like these, it is clear that Olofsson is impressing early on with Vegas. If the former Sabres forward keeps this kind of scoring up, he would end up being a very good value signing for the Golden Knights. 

Olofsson was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Sabres, 181st overall. In 314 games over six seasons with the Sabres from 2018-19 to 2023-24, he posted 90 goals, 92 assists, and 182 points. This included him scoring a career-high 28 goals and posting 40 points in 75 games for Buffalo in 2022-23.

Former Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jonas Johansson got a brief return to the NHL this week.

Johansson was recalled by the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday after starting goaltender Linus Ullmark left Monday’s game with an undisclosed injury. The 31-year-old spent the night on Ottawa’s bench as Samuel Ersson made 31 saves in a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

His stay in the NHL didn’t last long. Johansson was reassigned to AHL Belleville on Wednesday, suggesting Ullmark’s injury may not be as serious as initially feared. At the very least, Ullmark appears likely to back up Ersson when Ottawa faces the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, with a return to the crease also possible.

For Johansson, it was a quick trip back to the NHL after putting together a solid start to the season in Belleville. He is 1-1 with a 2.92 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in two appearances.

Johansson is no stranger to the NHL, though his results at the highest level have been inconsistent. He spent the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, going 32-23-10 with a 3.26 goals-against average and a save percentage below .900 during that span.

Before his time in Tampa Bay, Johansson spent parts of three seasons with the Avalanche and their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. He went 10-3-2 in 15 NHL appearances with Colorado, posting a 2.63 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.

The Avalanche originally acquired Johansson after he was drafted 61st overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2014 NHL Draft. He also spent time in the Sabres organization before eventually finding his way to Colorado.

Johansson’s latest NHL stint may have lasted only one game, but for a goaltender trying to work his way back into the league, even a short recall is a reminder that opportunities can come quickly.

After a much-needed day off, the Ottawa Senators returned to practice Thursday morning with some encouraging injury news ahead of their first meaningful home game in more than five months.

The Sens will take on the Philadelphia Flyers in their home opener Thursday night and there was some good news on three injury fronts.

Travis Green confirmed after practice that Linus Ullmark (2-0) is ready to go. Ullmark was dinged up in Boston on Monday and did not dress at all in the Tuesday loss to Detroit. But he was back at practice Thursday and will start against the Flyers.

Meanwhile, Artem Zub and Andre Burakovsky both traded their non-contact yellow jerseys for regular ones. It's another encouraging step for both players, although Green confirmed neither will suit up on Thursday night.

Burakovsky was an extra with Hayden Hodgson, while Zub rotated in with Nikolas Matinpalo and Cam Crotty.

For the record, Crotty has looked pretty steady on Ottawa's blue line, playing a style of game that's not a lot different than Zub's.

The one negative is that Jake Sanderson still isn't yet skating with the team after reinjuring himself in the season opener in Toronto on Saturday. He remains out with a lower body issue but is skating on his own.

The top six forward group has been tweaked a little from the start of the Detroit game. William Eklund, who had a goal and an assist in Detroit, switched spots with Ridly Greig. Eklund will skate with the Sens top two scorers so far, Tim Stützle (6 pts) and Drake Batherson (3 pts).

Eklund-Stutzle-Batherson
Greig-Cozens-Zetterlund
Amadio-Pinto-Giroux
Foegele-Halliday-Cousins

Chabot-Spence
Kleven-Yakemchuk
Matinpalo-Crotty 

Ullmark
Ersson

The Senators (2-1-0) will try to shake off their 5-3 loss in Detroit on Tuesday. That was their third road game in four days and as a result, the club looked a little out of sorts.

As for the Flyers (0-2-2), they're the very definition of out of sorts. 

Through four games, they're allowing a staggering 39.5 shots per game, 8.5 more than any other team in the league. At the other end, the Flyers are generating just 19.3 shots per game, also the worst mark in the NHL.

If those trends continue, the Senators should have plenty of chances to dictate the play in their home opener. 

Thursday will also be an emotional night for Senators fans as the club honours the late Ray Emery, who backstopped the Sens to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final. Emery's family will be on hand to ring the ceremonial bell before the game.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News 

Mat Barzal took a step toward coming back on Thursday, skating on his own for the first time since reaggravating a left kneecap injury.

While his timeline for a return to play is still unclear, the Islanders have been optimistic that once he starts skating, it won’t take long.

Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche said last week that Barzal would likely only need a few practices with the team once he was back on the ice, which could in theory slate him for a return as soon as next week.

That said, it’s not clear how long Barzal will need to skate on his own, and his knee needs to cooperate.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The Montreal Canadiens unveiled the new jersey they’ll wear at the 2026 NHL Heritage Classic against the Winnipeg Jets, and it’s exactly what you'd expect. The Habs have never been very daring with alternate jerseys, and this one follows the trend.

Even though they’ll be the visitors for the October 25 match-up, the jersey is a solid red one while the Jets’ is white. No surprises that the Habs have stuck to their classic red, white, and blue look, but they went with a more vintage, stylized off-white. The jersey has a vintage look, with a logo appearing on one of the arms as well.

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The team also reverted to an older version of its iconic logo, similar to the one it used for its 2016 Winter Classic appearance, but this time it's red instead of white, as it was in Foxborough.

The NHL shield and Fanatics logo kind of detract from the overall vintage look, but the team at least avoided putting any kind of advertisement on the front of the jersey, unlike what we’re seeing in the NHL nowadays. On the inside back collar, the “Les Habitants” nickname is a nice addition.

The jersey does, however, feature the Heritage Classic logo, which includes the Tim Hortons logo, but it blends in quite well. The maple leaf and moose antlers are a nice touch that gives it a real Canadian look. The former has been part of every single Heritage Classic to date, but the latter is a fresh new addition.

Il est arrivé! Admirez les détails de notre chandail pour la Classique héritage 2026 de la LNH

It's here! Dive into the details of our 2026 NHL Heritage Classic jersey #GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/h6ZxHbOM6E

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 7, 2026

Overall, it’s a nice-looking jersey, but some have expressed reservations about the added stitching pattern on both the team logo and the numbers; it does give it a different, new look.

The Canadiens posted a video of the players' reaction to the jersey online, and they had positive comments, but Cole Caufield seemed more eager to play his first outside game than to check out the new jersey, which is understandable. Phillip Danault is the only Canadien who played in the Habs' last outdoor game in Ottawa, the Centennial Classic, a 3-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators. Montreal has a 2-2-0 record in the modern era of outdoor games. They won the first Heritage Classic against the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in 2003; lost 4-0 to the Calgary Flames in 2011; and beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 in Foxborough in 2016. Will they win this one?

Cole, Jake, Nick et Phil réagissent pour la première fois à notre chandail pour la Classique héritage

Cole, Jake, Nick and Phil react to seeing our Heritage Classic jersey for the first time#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/RmRfjWAyJb

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 7, 2026

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The Colorado Avalanche have had the Calgary Flames’ number for a while now — and they’ll get another chance to prove it Thursday night.

Colorado has won 12 of its last 15 meetings with Calgary, outscoring the Flames 59-30 in that span. The Avalanche swept all three games last season, outscoring Calgary 15-4, including a 9-2 rout in the first meeting.

Colorado is coming off a frustrating 3-2 loss to Winnipeg on Wednesday and now has to turn around and play again less than 24 hours later.

Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas combined for 14 points in those three games against Calgary last season, Nazem Kadri gets another crack at his former team, and Scott Wedgewood will make his first start of the season.

A Chance for the Depth to Keep Producing

Parker Kelly has quietly put together a nice start to the season.

The Avalanche forward has one goal and three assists through three games, giving him four points already. He has also had some success against Calgary, with a goal and two assists in his last three games against the Flames.

It’s early, of course, but that kind of production from the bottom half of the lineup is something Colorado will gladly take. Especially on the second night of a back-to-back, the Avalanche could use a few more players chipping in.

Kadri Returns to Calgary Again

Kadri knows this building and this opponent pretty well.

The Avalanche reacquired him at last season’s trade deadline after he spent parts of four seasons with the Flames. He wasted no time making an impact against his old team, scoring twice in Colorado’s 9-2 win.

Kadri missed the final two meetings with Calgary last season because of injury. He’ll get another chance Thursday to go up against the team he helped lead to the 2022 Stanley Cup.

Can the Top Line Break Loose?

MacKinnon and Necas were a handful for Calgary last season.

The two combined for five goals and nine assists in the three meetings, accounting for 14 points. Colorado scored 15 times in those games, and a lot of that offense came from its best players.

That’s something to watch again Thursday. The Avalanche generated 34 shots against Winnipeg but scored only twice, with Stuart Skinner making 32 saves. Colorado had plenty of looks, but it needs more of them to end up in the back of the net.

Wedgewood Returns

Wedgewood will get the call in net Thursday, making his first start of the season after Blackwood started in three straight games to begin the campaign. 

Wedgewood is 2-3-2 with a 3.09 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in seven career games against the Flames. But he’s been much better lately, winning two of his last three starts against Calgary while posting a 1.95 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.

The 34-year-old is coming off a strong season alongside Blackwood, with the two sharing the William M. Jennings Trophy as the goaltending tandem that allowed the fewest goals in the league.

A Clean Slate

The loss in Winnipeg was frustrating, but there was plenty Colorado liked about its game.

The Avalanche outshot the Jets 34-19, erased two separate deficits and had enough chances to win. They just couldn’t finish them, and Connor’s goal with one minute left ended up being the difference.

“I liked a lot of what we were doing,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “I thought we were skating. We were all checking hard. We had some really good scoring chances.”

Bednar pointed to a few late decisions that cost Colorado, while Schwartz focused on the bigger picture.

“There’s a lot of good,” Schwartz said. “It really is about short memory. Learn from it, regardless, and then move on and try to improve for the next game.”

They’ll have to do that quickly. The Avalanche are already in Calgary, with a chance Thursday to put Wednesday’s loss behind them and get back to a matchup that has treated them very well.

Coverage from the Saddledome kicks off at 7 p.m. local time. 

ELMONT, NY --New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal did not take part in the team's morning skate on Thursday ahead of their game against the Chicago Blackhawks, but he did skate on his own. 

Barzal skated on his own this morning, per #Isles.

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) October 8, 2026

Barzal, 28, had missed the first three games of the regular season -- he'll miss his fourth --  after inflammation in his left knee from a previous injury sidelined him for all of training camp and preseason. 

With defenseman Alexander Romanov out with a torn right ACL, the Islanders can just place him on Injured Reserve, which would open the roster spot for 

Barzal is in season four of an eight-year deal worth $9.25 million annually. 

It is four games of an 84-game season. There has been some good, some bad, and some ugly. Don’t let yourself get too caught up in early results and let them dictate your thoughts on where the season is going. There is a lot of hockey left, and a lot of time for good and bad elements of the team to develop.

Reality: The Penguins are not as good as they looked in the season-opener, and they are probably not as bad as they looked for portions of the Winnipeg and Washington games. I also thought they kind of put some things together in the second half of the Washington game and largely carried the play throughout the second and third periods, outside of two absolutely braindead turnovers that derailed all of that progress. The numbers back up that eye-test observation, as well. Those mistakes still count, and they still hurt, and they are still concerns, but eliminating one or two mistakes is a hell of a lot easier than figuring out how to tilt the ice and play better over an extended period of time.

There are still a handful of concerning trends that have developed early on that are probably inspiring different levels of panic.

Among them: the play of Sidney Crosby and the first line, the defense itself, and Arturs Silovs, who I don’t think has been very good since the season-opener (where he was never really challenged).

Let’s dig a little deeper into each of them and try to assess the proper level of concern and panic on a scale of 1-10, with one being “everything is normal” and 10 being “full blown panic.”

Sidney Crosby’s slow start

Wednesday night in Washington was a harsh reminder as to how imposing father time is on everybody in sports. Even the greats.

Everybody was excited to see the start of the final chapter of the Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin rivalry, and then both players were complete non-factors in the game.

Ovechkin played 14 minutes, had no points and recorded two shots on goal. After being on the fence about his future, he played two games this season and then decided this was going to be it.

Crosby was a minus-4 and was mostly invisible, continuing what has been a shockingly quiet start to the season for him and his line. He is almost two years younger than Ovechkin, and has been a better overall player, including over the past few years, but he is still 39. He is not going to dominate for ever.

There were eight goals scored in a Penguins-Capitals game and those guys factored into the scoring on exactly zero of them.

It’s a new era, folks.

The Penguins are now four games into the season and Crosby has zero goals, two assists, while the Penguins have been outscored by a 3-5 margin with him on the ice during 5-on-5 play. Through four games they have been significantly better when he is not on the ice versus when he is on the ice. Not only are they being outscored with him on the ice, their expected goal share is a 54 percent while he has received heavy offensive zone starts. When he is off the ice the Penguins are outscoring teams by a 9-4 margin, have a 60 percent expected goal share while those lines have received primarily defensive zone starts.

I’m just stating facts here, folks. And I’m watching the games. The eye-test isn’t much better. And given that his line has already rotated through three different wingers in four games to try and find the right fit I am guessing the coaching staff feels the same way.

Now, again, it’s four games. Crosby has been a slow starter in recent years, and he had even less time to build up for this season in training camp and the preseason. He is going to slow down at some point. The points will decline more significantly at some point. I am not sure we are at the point where his game has completely deteriorated over night (or over the summer). But I do think it’s more than acceptable to look at these first four games and say, “hmm, something doesn’t seem right with the 39-year-old forward here.”

Concern level: 5/10

The defense

I am on record as saying that I kind of like this defense and some of the players on it, at least in the context of what the Penguins 2025-26 defense was and what it looked like.

League-wide, and on an NHL level? It’s probably middle of the pack at best.

But compared to the 2025-26 Penguins level? I can see it being better than that group.

The early returns are not yet consistently there. Mostly due to the turnovers. Wednesday was shocking in that regard, with Trevor van Riemsdyk being guilty of two baffling plays, one of which led directly to a goal off the opening face-off, and another that led to a power play that eventually led to a goal that took away all of the momentum the Penguins had built in a comeback attempt.

Kris Letang and Declan Carlile were also guilty of shockingly bad plays that directly led to goals.

Just baffling, self-inflicted mistakes that clearly altered the flow and outcome of the game.

A lot of those same mistakes were also visible in Monday’s game against Winnipeg.

While it’s easier to clean up “a couple of mistakes” than it is to carry the pace of play, that doesn’t mean it’s actually going to happen, or that those mistakes are going to stop. Maybe they don’t. Maybe that’s what these guys do where they play well for 30 minutes and then just wet the bed two or three times a game.

That is a real possibility.

Concern level: 6.5/10

Arturs Silovs

I said at the start of the season that goaltending was going to impact a lot this season, and what it looks like for the Penguins. Silovs and Sergei Murashov certainly have the potential to be very good and steal some games, but they are also massive wild-cards that could put the Penguins into the lottery very, very quickly no matter what else is going on around them.

After posting a shutout in the opener, Silovs has allowed 10 goals in his next two starts and is now on the negative side of goals saved above expected (minus-1.4 via MoneyPuck).

My concern here isn’t necessarily about any one game, or any two games, or even his specific performance on Wednesday. Not only because it’s a small sample size, but also because the play in front of him has been spotty. It’s mostly about his overall play going back to the start of last season, and some of the things you see from him (and are still seeing from him).

He has had some great games, and the bigger situation, the better he seems to play. But He also has a tendency to just give them some non-competitive games and moments, especially when it comes to some of his plays with the puck and his rebound control. The difference between his floor and ceiling on most nights is like walking into the Sistine Chapel. I just don’t know that I trust him on a consistent basis.

Concern level: 7/10

The Buffalo Sabres after a summer filled with rumors of trading for Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck, came back with the same three-headed monster of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis between the pipes for the upcoming 2026-27 season. 

It is yet to be determined whether this trio will have the same level of success they had last season, but based on the waiver claim of Ellis last October, the Sabres clearly determined that they had moved on from Devon Levi having a future with the organization. The 24-year-old was sent down to AHL Rochester after training camp because he was waiver exempt, and did not get an NHL look for the first time since signing with the Sabres in 2023.

Levi played 52 games with the Amerks last season, but his statistics declined from his first two AHL seasons. With his waiver exemption expired this season, he was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers on July 1 for a 2028 third round pick, and appeared to be a fallback option to veteran Tristan Jarry and Stanley Cup winning free agent Frederik Andersen. 

Other Sabres Stories

Mrtka Looking To Take The Next Step Towards The NHL 

Things have appeared to fall into place for Levi with his new club. Andersen, who has found himself with nearly a permanent residence on injured reserve in the latter stages of his career, is out till December with a knee injury. Jarry, who lost his job to Connor Ingram last season after being acquired from Pittsburgh due to poor play, gave up six goals in an overtime loss to Vancouver last week.

Edmonton coach Mike Babcock started Levi in the rematch with the Canucks and allowed seven goals on 22 shots in a 9-7 win, but fared much better in his second straight start against Seattle, and on Wednesday won his third straight, stopping 29 shots in a 5-2 win over Anaheim. His statistics are not exactly Vezina-level (3-0-0, 3.35 GAA, .863 save %), but at this point, Babcock is likely to keep going with the hot hand and give the former Sabre the opportunity he did not get with Buffalo the last two seasons.  

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo