Oct 9, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Ryan O'Reilly (90) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period at Bridgestone Arena. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Coming into Thursday’s season opener at Bridgestone Arena, the Nashville Predators hadn’t lost at home to the Columbus Blue Jackets since March 30, 2019, a span of nine games.

That streak was stretched to 10 following Thursday night’s 2-1 victory. It may not have been pretty, but the Predators are already off to a better start than this time last year, when they dropped their first five games in 2024-25.

“Columbus is a really good team,” Preds head coach Andrew Brunette said following the win. “They're fast, they're big. I thought we were a little nervous. We had a lot of guys, that was their first Opening Night in a Predator jersey, whether they're young kids or guys that just came in the lineup… I thought we settled down in the third. I thought it was by far our best period."

Here are three top performances from Thursday’s win.

The New Dad Lights The Lamp

Fatherhood apparently agrees with Michael Bunting.

Just two weeks ago, the 30-year-old Predators forward welcomed his son Bo into the world. Prior to Thursday’s season opener, Bo took the gold walk at Bridgestone Arena.

Michael Bunting scores the first goal of the season for the #Preds. I would imagine that puck might just go to his 2-week-old son, Bo, who also took the Gold Walk earlier today. pic.twitter.com/BJxoX7zqlH

— Brooks Bratten (@brooksbratten) October 10, 2025

Bunting scored the Predators’ first regular-season goal of 2025-26 later that evening, putting them in the lead 1-0 at the 6:45 mark of the opening period.

Bunting took the puck off a turnover, but his first shot was blocked by a Columbus defender, then bounced off another. Linemate Erik Haula fed the puck back to Bunting, and his second try went over the shoulder of Columbus goalie Jet Greaves. Haula was credited with the lone assist.

At 10:08 of the first, Bunting went to the penalty box for slashing, but former Predator Dante Fabbro also went off for interference at the same time, creating a 4-on-4.

Bunting’s goal put him four shy of 100 for his NHL career. He was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins with a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn last March.

Bunting also lit the lamp in the Predators’ last meeting with Columbus, an 8-4 loss last Apr. 1. After the Blue Jackets took a 4-1 lead in the second period, Nashville scored two goals within 43 seconds of each other. Bunting cut the deficit to 4-2 at 5:43, then Justin Barron narrowed the gap to 4-3 at 6:26.

Here's to a great start of 2025-26 for the new dad, on and off the ice.

Ryan O'Reilly Gets The Game-Winner

Last season, the Predators ranked 18th in the NHL on the power play. On Thursday, they went 1-for-4, but that goal was a big one. It came from Ryan O’Reilly to put the Preds ahead 2-1 in what would eventually be the game-winner.

At 16:41 of the third period, O’Reilly took a pass from Filip Forsberg down low, showed some adept stick-handling skills before firing a high backhand past Greaves.

Forsberg picked up the assist, giving him a point in 10 consecutive season-opening games dating back to 2016-17. He’s only the fifth player in NHL history to accomplish that milestone.

“It's a good feeling,” O’Reilly said of Thursday's win. “It wasn't pretty at times out there. They had some momentum, and we got caught on our heels, but still, to find a way to win, to kind of stay with it… It's so important to establish that right away and get that first win. It's definitely a great game to build on."

O’Reilly was on a power-play unit with Forsberg, Roman Josi, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. They had great puck movement on that particular shift. It’s definitely something they can build on.

Juuse Saros Slams The Door

In last season’s loss to Dallas on Opening Night, Predators goalie Juuse Saros didn’t play due to an injury. The Stars scored all four of their goals in the second period off backup Justus Annunen, and Nashville fell 4-3.

Saros was in net Thursday, and made the most of his season opener. He had several key saves in the first period after the Predators had grabbed a 1-0 lead. One was on Kirill Marchenko on a wraparound attempt going left to right.

Saros was up to the task all night, stopping 38 of 39 shots. The Blue Jackets outshot Nashville 28-18 through 40 minutes before the Predators won the third period advantage 13-10.

“Obviously, he's the backbone of our team," Forsberg said of Saros. "And then for two periods, we relied on him a lot, too, a lot more than we…want to on a regular basis. But that's why he's here. That's why he's ours and not someone else's. He's one of the best, if not the best.”

The Blue Jackets almost went ahead 2-1 with 17 seconds left in the middle frame after Mathieu Olivier put one in after Saros partially saved a previous shot by Damon Severson. However, the goal was disallowed after video review for goalie interference.

Saros’s previous performance against Columbus was forgettable. He saved 19 of 26 shots over two periods in the 8-4 loss last April before giving way to Annunen.

Thursday, the Predators saw the vintage Saros. If the club has any hope of a turnaround in 2025-26, it starts with Saros being consistent throughout the grind of a season.

Dmitri Voronkov (1) provided the only offense for Columbus, and Jet Greaves was stellar, making 29 saves, but the Jackets would fall to the Nashville Predators 2-1. 

Bridgestone Arena is absolutely a house of horrors for the Columbus Blue Jackets. With last night's loss, they move to 9-37-1-7 all-time in Nashville. So, it's a blessing that this game was played so early in the season. 

The Jackets played really well, but just couldn't solve Preds goalie Juuse Saros. The 30-year-old Finn made 37 saves on 38 CBJ shots to stifle the young Jackets. The Jackets thought they took the lead with 18 seconds left in the second period, but upon further review, it was ruled that Mathieu Olivier made contact with Saros, so the goal was called back. That would be it for the Blue Jackets, as the Preds would of course score a power play in the third to end it. 

They played well against a tough and skilled team and playing well defensively. There's really nothing to be upset about in this one. 

Quotes

• HC Dean Evason - "A ton of positives. Obviously, their goaltender was really good. We did so many really good things in this hockey game. It's frustrating, obviously, but the guys know how hard and how well they played."
• Mathieu Olivier - “I thought our game was really good. We put a lot of pressure on them, did the right things to win. Ultimately, their goalie was really good. So was Jet. It was a very tight game, and that’s just the way it goes sometimes, but as far as the way we played, I don’t think there’s much to look at and not be satisfied with. We played well. Just not satisfied with not getting the two points, but other than that, not a bad performance by our group.”
• Jet Greaves - "Excited for the opportunity to be out there with the guys tonight. So, I felt good, but obviously like there's some positives but also some things to improve on, so it's I think it's a good step, but I think there's a lot for myself and for us to learn from going forward."

Final Stats

Player Stats

• Dmitri Voronkov scored his 1st goal of the season.
• Damon Severson tallied an assist
• Denton Mateychuk recorded an assist.
• Kirill Marchenko led the CBJ with 8 shots.
• Zach Werenski had 5 shots on the night.
• Jet Greaves made 29 saves.

Team Stats

• The Jackets' power play went 0/1 on the night.
• The Columbus PK stopped 3 of 4 Predator power plays.
• Columbus won 46.8% of the faceoffs.

Up Next: The Blue Jackets travel to Minnesota to play the Wild on Saturday night. 

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The Toronto Maple Leafs paid a steep price when they bolstered their blue line back in March, dealing Fraser Minten and a top-five protected first-round draft pick in 2026 for defenseman Brandon Carlo.

Now in his second season with the Bruins, Minten is making an immediate impact. The 21-year-old center scored the overtime winner to help the Boston Bruins defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3. Minten, a late-season call-up for the Bruins in 2024-25, earned a spot in the opening-night lineup after just six games with his new club. The Bruins missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years last season, but are now 2-0-0 thanks to the player Toronto selected with their first pick (38th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft.

FRASER MINTEN OT GOAL TO WIN IT IN FRONT OF THE HOME CROWD pic.twitter.com/SlXF3AlIVk

— NESN (@NESN) October 10, 2025

Minten wasn’t the only former Leafs prospect acquired at the deadline to make it to an NHL-opening roster. Nikita Grebenkin, acquired in the deal for Scott Laughton, made the Philadelphia Flyers out of camp. However, Grebenkin was a healthy scratch for Philly’s season-opening loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

“I want to win every game.”

Forward Nikita Grebenkin is ready to get to work after making the Orange & Black’s Opening Night roster.@KendallSkalicky | #LetsGoFlyerspic.twitter.com/Nus4y9zojW

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 7, 2025

Laughton has been out of action for the Leafs since blocking a shot in a pre-season game. He remains week-to-week with a lower-body injury. His lower-body injury appears to derail Leafs prospect Easton Cowan’s opening the regular season on the fourth line alongside Laughton and Steven Lorentz. Perhaps the prospect gets his chance when the Leafs head down the 401 to take on the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesar’s Arena on Saturday

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Two games into the new NHL season, the Florida Panthers have to be pleased with the early results.

While they haven’t come easy, the Cats have clawed out a pair of tight wins on home ice as they adjust to life without several key players.

On Thursday, Florida welcomed a young and hungry Philadelphia Flyers squad with a new coach behind the bench and a new goaltender between the pipes.

As was the case with the youthful Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, the Flyers, thanks in large part to a strong game from their goaltender, kept the game tight until the very end, but ultimately came up short against the veteran Panthers.

We’ll have to see if that’s a trend that continues when the Cats start playing some of the stronger teams on their upcoming schedule.

For now, let’s get to the takeaways from Florida’s win over Philly:

SHORTHANDED DEFENSE STEPS UP

Almost exactly halfway through the game, Florida lost defenseman Dmitry Kulokov to an upper-body injury.

Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice didn’t have much of an update afterward, other than that Kulikov would get looked at the following day and there would be more information after that.

Despite playing down a D-man for the remainder of the game, Florida’s blueliners did not flinch.

They allowed the Flyers only 11 shots from that point on, including just five during the entire third period.

“(They were) really good, especially in the last 20 (minutes),” said Maurice. “I thought they were real clean with what they were trying to do. All those guys can play big minutes, they have in playoff games, and they've played deep into overtime games, so going to five (defenseman) for those guys isn't a big concern.”

WINNING TIGHT GAMES

Two games, two one-goal victories for the Panthers.

A veteran team that’s earned themselves a ton of postseason experience in recent years should be extremely comfortable in situations like that, which is exactly what we’ve seen from Florida.

It’s nothing new to use of us who have been following this team for the past several years, but for the newcomers, it’s a cool thing to be a part of.

“It's the second (game), but you can feel it, and even last game I said that you have that feeling of, there's no panic in the room,” said defenseman Jeff Petry. “And knowing that, we don't need to get away from our game just because pucks aren't going in the net. In both games we had a lot of chances, and those are going to go. To not open it up, to try to create more, I think it showed we were getting plenty of chances based on the way we were playing, so just to stick to that and we were going to find a way.”

STILL GENERATING OFFENSE

The Panthers may have only scored five goals over their first two games, but it’s not for a lack of trying.

They’ve racked up 71 shots on goal off of 132 attempts while holding their opponents to 39 shots on 88 attempts.

As for scoring chances, Florida holds an impressive 62-38 edge, so despite the relatively lower goal total, the vibes are just fine regarding the Cats’ offensive output because at the end of the day, they’re not sacrificing anything on the defensive end while trying to keep things rolling in their opponents’ end of the ice.

“I think we're generating enough, and that's kind of the expectation, that we will probably score a little less right now,” said Maurice. “Hopefully, we don't have to give up less. That's the bigger ask from our blue line especially, and our goalie, because you take a Selke (winner) out of your lineup, you should give up more, but our penalty kill was really good again tonight, so that's a real positive. There was enough generated, certainly in the last game, that we would expect to score a little bit more, but we're fine with that, in that 2-1 is a game you have to learn how to win. You're not getting a lot of looks, there's not a lot of clean offense, so we don't want to open the game up to try to find it, and we didn't do that tonight.”

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Photo caption: Oct 9, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Owen Tippett (74) moves the puck against Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

It was a night of firsts for several Pittsburgh Penguins' players in Thursday's home opener against the New York Islanders. 

And it was also quite the night for some Penguins' legends.

With Mario Lemieux in the house, the Penguins took down the Islanders, 4-3, on a third-period game-winning goal by Justin Brazeau, who now has three goals in two games. Rickard Rakell and Sidney Crosby also tallied goals, and Evgeni Malkin finished the evening with three points, giving him five points in two games on the season.

And, as far as "firsts," rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke scored his first NHL goal, becoming the first South African-born player in NHL history to do so. Filip Hallander registered his first NHL point with the primary assist on the goal, and Tommy Novak recorded his first point as a Penguin with the secondary helper. 

The 19-year-old blueliner admitted he doesn't remember much in the immediate aftermath of the goal.

"I don't really know, to be honest," Brunicke said. "You talk about that blacking-out feeling? That's kind of what I felt. Just a lot of excitement and happiness, for sure. It felt good."

In what was a bit of a back-and-forth game, the Penguins opened up the scoring first. Evgeni Malkin took the puck down low and fed Rakell, who missed the first opportunity. Crosby and Rakell poked away at it in a net-front scramble, and Malkin pounced on the rebound and threw it toward the empty net. The goal was originally credited to Malkin, but Rakell had tipped it on the way in.

Islanders No. 1 Pick Matthew Schaefer Becomes Youngest Player To Record Point In NHL DebutPITTSBURGH, PA -- During the New York Islanders’ season opener on Thursday, 2025 first-overall pick Matthew Schaefer scored his first NHL point, marking an early milestone for the young defenseman. 

Then, the Islanders responded. Jonathan Drouin halfway-whiffed on a shot from the high slot, and the puck softly knuckled in and dropped, fooling Penguins' goaltender Tristan Jarry and tying the game headed into first intermission. The goal also gave Isles' 2025 first overall draft pick Matthew Schaefer his first NHL point. Kyle Palmieri also scored blocker-side on a lazer from the right circle a little more than four minutes into the second period to put the Isles up, 2-1.

Then, about a minute and a half later, Brunicke pushed a puck up to Novak in the defensive zone, who dove to push it ahead to a breaking Hallander. Hallander pulled up just inside of the offensive blue line, dishing a soft backhand touch pass to Brunicke, who was coming into the slot with speed. Using Islanders' defenseman Scott Mayfield as a screen, Brunicke snapped the puck past Ilya Sorokin for his first in the NHL  to put the game back into a tie. 

"A big piece of the coaching staff is d-men join the rush," Brunicke said. "We talked about that [Thursday] morning, me and [defensive coach Mike Stothers] there. So, I found some ice. Lucky enough, the puck found me. And I put it in."

GRAB THAT PUCK 🗣️

Harrison Brunicke has his first NHL goal! #NHLFaceOffpic.twitter.com/7WA4Nt57Ic

— NHL (@NHL) October 10, 2025

A few minutes later, Crosby parked at the net front on one knee, refused to budge, and redirected home a Malkin pass on the power play to put the Penguins ahead, 3-2. However, in the final minute of the period, Islanders' forward Maxim Shabanov - making his NHL debut - tied the game again for New York. 

The score remained tied until late in the third, when Malkin worked some magic yet again. From his own zone, he fed Brazeau a stretch pass by banking it off the left wall and leaving Brazeau all alone. The 6-foot-6 forward deked forehand-to-backhand, putting it past Sorokin and calling game for the Penguins.

BRAZ FOR THE LEAD! 🚨

HIS 3RD GOAL OF THE SEASON! pic.twitter.com/EGVu3mvJe2

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) October 10, 2025

Things got a bit dicey toward the end, but Jarry stood tall to the task. He stopped 34 of 37 Islanders' shots, several of which came near the end of the game.

"He was awesome, especially early," Brazeau said. "I thought we maybe didn't have our best stuff, and I thought he did a really good job of keeping us in it and allowing us to kind of find our game and get going there. He did a great job keeping us in it tonight."

And on this night of firsts, the Penguins also opened the game with a celebration of 20 years of the Big Three - Crosby, Malkin, and Kris Letang - in Pittsburgh. With another three-point individual effort in the books, Malkin is aware that it may have been his final home opener. 

But he is enjoying every moment, and he is proud of the two decades of hockey that the three have put together.

“It’s very special. Time is flying," Malkin said. "I feel like 20 years ago, it’s one day. It’s amazing. Love to play with Sid and (Letang). Same team together 20 years. It’s special. People talk a lot about that. I try to do my best.

"Who knows? Maybe last year. I do my best and try to help the team to win. Sid, a special kid. (Letang), too. Lots of (memories), lots of wins together. Keep going.”

'It's Super Rare': Looking Back On Two Decades Of The 'Big Three'On Oct. 5, 2006, a young, 19-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins' defenseman named Kris Letang suited up for his NHL debut against the Philadelphia Flyers.

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Despite OT loss to Golden Knights, can Sharks sustain surprisingly good play? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.

For a San Jose Sharks’ fanbase that’s as tired of losing as owner Hasso Plattner is, this is going to be cold comfort, after a truly unbelievable 4-3 OT loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

But I don’t care about the honestly fluky goals that Alex Nedeljkovic gave up that turned a hard-fought 3-2 opening night victory into a wild defeat.

This is what I care about: The Sharks, and it’s just one game, did a lot more good than bad, against a Cup-contending Vegas squad. In fairness, the Golden Knights were on a back-to-back.

Is the good sustainable? We’ll see, but I thought Macklin Celebrini had gotten faster, William Eklund carried over his assertive pre-season, Ty Dellandrea actually excelled as third-line center, and Barclay Goodrow also got quicker.

Read the full article at San Jose Hockey Now

Download and follow the San Jose Hockey Now podcast

The Buffalo Sabres’ 2025-26 regular-season is here at last, and the Sabres would certainly like to win their first game – a home game against the New York Rangers Thursday night – an analysis of their schedule tells Sabres fans they need to buckle down and get ready for a true test of this team, right out of the starting block.

No matter what happens against the Rangers Thursday, there’s no let-up for the Sabres, because they don’t have a break inschedule for the next 20 games. Legitimately, there are 19 more teams after the Rangers that Buffalo could plausibly lose to.

Need evidence? Here you go: after Thursday’s game, the Sabres are taking on the Boston Bruins – the same Bruins who are determined to make a playoff push after being bitten hard by the injury bug last season. Boston has a new coach, some new players, and returning stars including winger David Pastrnak, defenseman Charlie McAvoy and goalie Jeremy Swayman. They could quickly snuff out Buffalo’s momentum if that’s what the Bruins have after Game 1.

Meanwhile, after that, the Sabres take on the Colorado Avalanche, Ottawa Senators and defending Stanley Cup champion-Florida Panthers. Buffalo can’t afford to let those teams overpower them. And after those three games, Buffalo will square off against the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs (twice) and Columbus Blue Jackets in their first 10 games this season.

All of those teams – especially the particularly-desperate Red Wings and developing Canadiens and Blue Jackets – are going to give the Sabres a hard fight for the two standing points night-in and night-out.

Will Sabres Have Any Individual Award-Winners This Season?Full disclosure: the Buffalo Sabres aren't particularly interested in the NHL's individual awards. But who's kidding who -- you always like to perform well, and that's somthing  the league de facto acknowledges by handing out end-of-season honours. 

But that’s only the half of it. Buffalo will start its second stretch of 10 games against the Bruins (again), then the high-octane Washington Capitals, followed by the Utah Mammoth (twice), St. Louis Blues, Carolina Hurricanes, Avalanche (again), Red Wings (again), Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. Buffalo can’t afford a soft effort against any of those teams.

It isn’t until they play the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 21 that you can say the Sabres have a ‘gimme’ game. That means there’s a full quarter of the season immediately ahead that legitimately could go one way or another for the Sabres. A solid effort to kick things off against the Rangers is something that would set an immediate tone for Buffalo, and to be honest, we’re not sure how this Sabres team will react when confronted with adversity.

That said, the slate is clean for Buffalo, as it is with all teams. But one way or another, Buffalo is going to send a message out of the gate. Either they impress people with their growth as a group, or they buckle under expectation and have to play catch-up the rest of the way this year.

Do The Math, And You'll See Why Sabres Are A Playoff Longshot 

There’s really no inbetween for the Sabres, is there? Either they make the playoffs and fire back at their cynics, or they fail to make the playoffs and the organization faces drastic on-and-off-ice consequences. Make it to the playoffs, and you get to keep your job; miss the playoffs, nobody’s safe.

It’s that simple. And the way Buffalo plays its next six weeks will go a long way toward determing their fate this season

The Vancouver Canucks set the fans home at Rogers Arena happy as they defeated the Calgary Flames 5-1 to kick off their 2025-26 regular season. Kiefer Sherwood, Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Brock Boeser each scored once while Filip Chytil found the back of the net twice in the victory. As for Thatcher Demko, he stopped 17 of the 18 shots he faced for his first win of the season. 

Thursday's game was close until the Canucks took control in the third period. Vancouver scored four times in the final 20 minutes while limiting the Flames to just five shots in the third. The game also featured some massive hits, which were originally called majors until they were downgraded to minors after video review. 

Looking at standouts, one of the Canucks best forwards was Chytil, who scored twice. He also led the team in shots with five while recording 16:25 of ice time. Considering the injury issues Chytil went through last season, Thursday's game was a welcome sight as he was able to provide offence as the team's second-line center.

Thursday was also a special night as Braeden Cootes made his NHL debut. The 2025 first-rounder played 11:14 and was able to record his first career hit. Post-game, Cootes spoke to the media about his first game and the crowd at Rogers Arena. 

"They're awesome," said Cootes. "They're so passionate. They're for sure like the best fans in the league. Honestly, that's it's a pretty cool building to play in, and a ton of support. So couldn't be more thankful for that."

As for some areas that need improvement, Vancouver's power play went zero for four while only recording six shots on net. While the Canucks did generate some chances, their passing was off, which led to easy zone clears for the Flames. For Vancouver's power play to be successful, they need to move the puck quickly and space themselves out in open ice, which will provide the puck carrier with more passing options. 

Clearing the puck out of the defensive zone was also a problematic trend during this game. The Canucks struggled to clear the zone which led to scoring chances for Calgary. In the end, Vancouver was lucky as Demko came up with some massive saves to keep the Flames off the board. 

They were good, said Foote when asked about the defensive structure of his team. I thought the structure was good. We didn't give them too much. The mistakes we made, we covered over pretty good. Between the dots. I think coming to our landmarks inside really helped us when we did make a mistake, leaving our zone or leaving their zone, we hustled back. Those things stopped more damage." 

Overall, Thursday was a good start to the 2025-26 season for the Canucks. 10 players recorded points, while 12 were credited with at least one hit. While there are some areas that need some work, Vancouver played a solid game and were deserving of the win on opening night. 

Stats and Facts:

- Kiefer Sherwood becomes the 20th undrafted player to record 960 hits
- Scoring his 79th career goal, Filip Chytil breaks his tie with Petr Prucha and is now in sole possession of the 54th most goals by a player from Czechia in NHL history.
- Recording his 121st assist with Vancouver, Conor Garland breaks his tie with Matt Cooke for 44th all-time in franchise history
- Filip Chytil records his first game-winning goal since joining the Canucks

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

14:53- VAN: Kiefer Sherwood (1) from Drew O'Connor 

2nd Period:

No scoring 

3rd Period:

2:54- VAN: Filip Chytil (1)
8:52- VAN: Filip Chytil (2) from Arshdeep Bains
11:42- VAN: Jonathan Lekkerimäki (1) from Evander Kane and Conor Garland
13:04- CGY: Morgan Frost (1) from Yegor Sharangovich and Joel Farabee
17:05- VAN: Brock Boeser (1) from Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk

Up Next:

The Canucks hit the road for a Saturday night battle against the Edmonton Oilers. Last season, Vancouver lost the head-to-head matchup with Edmonton, going 1-2-0 against their Pacific Division rivals. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm on October 11 at Rogers Place. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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Looking Back At The Vancouver Canucks' Lineup During Their Inaugural Game At Rogers Arena In 1995

A day after making perhaps one of the greatest comebacks in franchise history, the Calgary Flames were humbled 5-1 by the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Thursday night.

Here are my three takeaways for the game:

Kings of Comeback(ish)

After outshooting the home team 3-2 for the first 5:41 of the first period, not only did the Canucks restrict the Flames to just two shots on goal, but they put six on them for the rest of the period including a goal off a giveaway.

But Calgary, being a great comeback team it is, rebounded in the second period.

By the second break, the Flames had outshot the Canucks 39-26 in total shots in the game. Even though the stat sheet showed 16-13 shots on goals as favoring Canucks, the scoring opportunities were 17-9 in Calgary's favor., including seven high-danger scoring opportunities for Flames versus a flat out zero for the hometown Canucks. Yet, Vancouver was still up 1-0 by the second intermission.

Unfortunately, it was the third period, where the Flames crapped the bed. More on that below.

0-for-4 on the Power Play

This was probably the most disappointing. A team that has four opportunities at the man-advantage and comes up with zero goals is not going to go very far in the regular season.

During Calgary's first power play, they were 0-for-3 in faceoffs, which was a big reason why the man-advantage didn't materialize into anything. So they need to clean up their faceoff act as well.

Keep Playing

Yeah, I'm not a pro hockey player, but even I know you don't stop playing until the ref blows the whistle.

I get how the Calgary players were concerned about their comrade Kevin Bahl getting hit in the head and falling on the ice, but that doesn't mean you freeze up and leave the goal unguarded.

As a result, Vancouver's Filip Chytil scored a goal and put the Canucks up 2-0.

How costly was that?

It drained all the life out of the Calgary bench, and until the next Chytil goal 5:59 minutes later, the Canucks outshot the Flames 10-3 in total shots.

After that, Vancouver put on two more goals.

Except for a Morgan Frost goal, the Flames never recovered and frankly never had a chance.

Bottom Line

As to things that I did like, going 4-for-4 on the penalty kill is amazing. The Flames did get out of their zone more easily than they did against Edmonton and they did have a lot more scoring opportunities than against the Oilers, but ultimately it was that second goal that just killed any life on the Calgary bench.

The Flames will now host the St. Louis Blues for their home opener on Saturday.

ST. LOUIS – It’s only one game, right?

That’s the message coming from the St. Louis Blues locker room after a disheartening 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild in the season-opener for both teams at Enterprise Center on Thursday.

The Blues delivered a stinker of a result after lots of preseason hype of building off of how the team finished in the second half of last season and into the playoffs before falling to the Winnipeg Jets in seven games in the first round.

Minnesota’s top line of Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi and Kirill Kaprizov, who on Sept. 30 signed the richest contract in NHL history (eight years, $136 million; $17 million average annual value), combined for eight points (two goals, six assists) and Filip Gustavsson stopped all 26 shots the Blues threw at him, including the first 14 in the second period.

Jordan Binnington did not have a good night, allowing five goals on 21 shots.

Here are tonight’s observations:

* This game was decided at the net front – Blues coach Jim Montgomery hit the nail on the head when he talked about the net front presence at both ends of the ice.

The Wild were on top of it from their end; the Blues were not.

Four of five Minnesota goals came as a result of being at the net, whether it be a rebound, a loose puck or just being in the right place at the right time.

“I think our habits, special teams, our battle level on 1-on-1 battles wasn’t at the level that we expect,” Montgomery said. “And then I think the biggest difference was the battle at the net front. There’s a process that we believe in and a lot of those details and habits within our process cost us tonight.”

Ryan Hartman, who scored twice, scored the first goal after getting a puck by Dylan Holloway’s stick check, then being at the net after Logan Mailloux, making his Blues debut, couldn’t get enough of the puck sliding trying to sweep it away at 15:54 of the first period:

what a move and what a finish 🤯 pic.twitter.com/lQsgR4e8VE

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 10, 2025

Then Boldy was parked in front of Binnington and to redirect a Kaprizov pass off the boards at 17:30 of the first for a 2-0 Wild lead, which was a defensive breakdown and missed assignment of another guy in tight:

sit back... relax... and enjoy pic.twitter.com/x4Kk8zEc7b

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 10, 2025

Minnesota’s third goal, a power-play marker scored by Joel Eriksson Ek, at 12:27 of the second made it 3-0 and came on the Wild’s first shot of the period after the Blues put up the first 14. But it was another case of funneling a puck to the net and Eriksson Ek being in the right place in tight:

Ekker putting the puck where it belongs pic.twitter.com/eyHla3vWSL

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 10, 2025

And on Rossi’s goal that made it 5-0 at 7:27 of the third period, another case of funneling a puck to the net and driving the goal to collect the rebound in the crease:

goal 5 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/LV95P8cUg4

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 10, 2025

“I thought through the first two (periods) we did some good things and there's some things that we need to clean up,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “… Defensively, got to work on closing plays a little bit faster. We did some good things tonight, but there's a whole lot we can clean up and grow and get better.”

At the other end, Gustavsson was seeing the puck because the Blues just simply didn’t get enough bodies to the net. The goalie’s eyes were clear as day at that end of the ice far too often throughout the game.

“Offensively we've got to get harder in front of the opposition's goalie, that's for sure,” Schenn said. “Nothing against them, but I think we just weren't hard enough there ... willingness to go there and make it hard on Gustavsson. We had some looks, but they weren't second and third opportunities and chaos around the net. That's obviously something we've got to focus on here moving onto the next game.”

* Logan Mailloux had a rough first Blues game – Needless to say, it wasn’t the greatest of debuts for Mailloux, playing his first game after being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens on July 1 for Zack Bolduc. He played 14:12 and was a minus-2 in the game.

The 22-year-old looked jittery when the puck was near him, fumbling it, not playing it cleanly throughout the game. The first Hartman goal started as a result of Mailloux misfiring a batted puck out of the zone that led to the sequence for the goal in which he tried to atone himself with a sliding play but not getting enough of the puck.

The Rossi goal also started with a defensive play in which Mailloux’s pass to partner Tyler Tucker was off the mark.

This is a process, and there are going to be nights where it doesn’t go right and the teaching moments will be there. You have to remember, this was Mailloux’s ninth NHL game, and there’s a long-term plan here, and judging someone’s play by just one game.

It wasn’t the kind of game Mailloux had hoped or envisioned, but there are certainly some teaching moments, that’s for sure.

* Blues shot selection was not good enough when game could have changed at start of second period – The Blues came out in the second period with a purpose. And that purpose was to try and re-grab the game.

They had a firm grip on it until the two goals late in the first by the Wild. They grabbed it back by pumping the first 14 shots on goal in the second period and having a 22-7 edge on the shot clock.

Unfortunately, the shot selection was not the idea to aim at the Wild logo, which the Blues were adept at doing. If that was the case, they win this game running away. But it also goes hand in hand with not taking the goalie’s eyes away.

“Well one, we weren’t taking away his eyes, so even if you are shooting at the logo, which you are correct,” Montgomery said. “A lot hit the whatever animal that is. And I don’t have an answer. We have a lot of good players that score a lot of goals and for whatever reason, we weren’t on our mark tonight.”

* Team play dipped – When the Blues were up 14-0 in shots in the second period, they had the territorial edge. But an untimely Schenn hooking penalty halted the momentum and 15 seconds later, Eriksson Ek made it 3-0 and instead of sticking with the process, the team’s play sagged instead.

There was no cohesion, little urgency and the effort level as the game wore on dipped.

And it reflected onto Binnington, who allowed a poor fourth goal to Hartman, who made a veteran move count by locking up Colton Parayko’s stick with his legs that was not called leading up to it:

2ND OF THE NIGHT pic.twitter.com/NlEgNqFU8u

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 10, 2025

“It’s a long season. It’s a journey, it’s a grind,” Montgomery said. “You’re going to have nights where unfortunately the score ends up like tonight at times. I did think for the first two periods, until it went 3-0, I liked our game quite a bit. The execution of special teams and being at the net front I think is why they separated from us. I didn’t like our game after that. Once it went 3-0, I didn’t like the energy on our bench, I didn’t like the energy that we had on the ice and the game kind of got away from us in the third.”

* Boobirds already? – The pregame hype was one thing. But that tone changed at the end of the second period when some boobirds could be heard, then they grew a bit louder at game’s end.

For Game 1 of 82, that’s way too soon.

“You obviously want to win the home opener in front of your fans,” Schenn said. “You know what, it's a long season. We can't dwell on one game. We have to turn the page and the best part about it is we have a game in a day and a half. We can go right back at it and make some adjustments and we know we can be better.”

The injury bug just won’t stop fluttering around the Florida Panthers.

After starting the season with three key players on LTIR – Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Nosek – Florida was forced to finished Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers down a man due to an apparent injury.

Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov left Florida’s 2-1 victory over the Flyers with just under 10 minutes left in the second period and did not return.

The play saw Kulikov go awkwardly into the boards after attempting a body check in the neutral zone.

He immediately skated to the bench afterwards, skating slowly across the ice and gingerly holding his right arm.

Soon after, the Panthers officially ruled him out with an upper-body injury.

After the game, Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice did not have much of an update on his veteran blueliner.

"We'll get him looked at tomorrow and then we'll give you a better idea,” Maurice said.

If Kulikov is unable to play, Uvis Balinskis will slot into his spot in Florida’s lineup and next to Jeff Petry on the third defensive pairing.

The Panthers will practice on Friday in Fort Lauderdale before hosting the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Maurice’s next opportunity to provide an update will be after Friday’s skate.

Stay tuned.

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Photo caption: May 6, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (7) looks on against the Boston Bruins during the first period in game one of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Anthony Angello has announced his retirement from hockey. 

Angello, who played in 31 games for the Penguins from 2019-22, announced his retirement via his Instagram. 

"The time has finally come to hang the skates up. Hockey is a beautiful game that I gave everything to, and wow, was it ever generous in return. It’s given me friends, memories, and experiences to last a lifetime. It’s allowed me to chase and accomplish childhood dreams," part of Angello's post read. 

Angello compiled three goals and five points in 31 games with the Penguins. He was most recently with the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals and Syracuse Crunch during the 2024-25 season. He compiled seven goals and 14 points in 41 games with the Admirals and four goals and 10 points in 19 games with the Crunch.

The Penguins picked Angello in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL Draft. He played his college hockey at Cornell before joining the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and eventually the main NHL squad. 

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Throughout his first Training Camp as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, Todd McLellan emphasized the importance of mental fortitude and responding the right way when things inevitably go wrong over the course of an 82-game season.

The Red Wings didn't live up to his message in their Home Opener on Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens, surrendering five unanswered goals after taking an early 1-0 lead as part of a 5-1 setback.

Back at it Saturday vs. Toronto. pic.twitter.com/VwwjaYXokJ

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 10, 2025

As the seconds ticked off the clock in the third period, there was a noticeable smattering of boos from the fans who hadn't already gotten a head start on the traffic. 

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Afterward, McLellan said that that reaction was deserved. 

"We earned the Bronx boos or whatever you want to call it, we earned those," McLellan said. "And it's up to us to fix it. If we just play fundamentally sound hockey, we wouldn't be putting ourselves in that situation. Until we get that down and get it back in it's box if you will, we'll have trouble winnings games." 

Several of the Canadiens goals were a result of the Red Wings not playing fundamentally sound hockey as McLellan alluded to.

Montreal generated several odd-man rushes in the opening 20 minutes, capitalizing first on a partial breakaway after a missed defensive assignment that led to a Zack Bolduc goal, then on a two-on-one rush where Oliver Kapanen converted off a pass from Alex Newhook.

Zachary Bolduc ties it up! 💪 pic.twitter.com/Cv9HqjkFMB

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 9, 2025

Oliver Kapanen scores AGAIN after getting his first NHL goal last night 👏 pic.twitter.com/0efZcMC5bX

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 9, 2025

After two more goals from the Canadiens in the second period, goaltender John Gibson, who was making his Red Wings debut after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in an offseason trade, was pulled in favor of Cam Talbot. 

Defenseman Moritz Seider explained that despite the messages from McLellan during Training Camp and the pre-season, they were unable to execute the way they wanted to against the Canadiens.

"We talked about it so many times during Camp, and we just couldn't find a way to prevent the chances and make it happen on the other side," Seider said. "It's kind of tough that way, but we just have to regroup. Obviously it's a long year, and hopefully it's just a bump in the road." 

The Red Wings will have their work cut out for them as they next face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night in what will be another raucous atmosphere at Little Caesars Arena. 

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Pittsburgh Penguins legendary forward Evgeni Malkin looked like a man possessed during the Penguins' 3-0 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday and carried that play into Thursday's game against the New York Islanders. 

He came into Thursday's game one point off from tying Mats Sundin for 30th on the NHL's all-time scoring list and ultimately passed him, thanks to a three-point performance. It looked like he opened the scoring in the first period before the goal was given to Rickard Rakell. Malkin got the assist on the goal and then dished out two more assists, including the game-winner in the third period.

Justin Brazeau scored his third goal in two games with less than six minutes remaining in the third period after 

Malkin now has 1,351 points, which is 30th on the NHL's all-time points list. He's only two away from tying Guy Lafleur for 29th on the all-time scoring list and three away from tying Brendan Shanahan for 28th. Malkin's five points in the first two games of a season are a career best.

The Penguins held on for a 4-3 victory over the Islanders and are 2-0-0 to start the 2025-26 season. Malkin will try and keep his hot start going on Saturday when the Rangers come to PPG Paints Arena.

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For the first time since 2019, the Nashville Predators are opening an 82-game regular season with a win at home.

The Predators defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-1, on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena, powered by a 35-plus save performance by Juuse Saros. Ryan O'Reilly scored the game-winning goal on the power play in the third period.

"Juice [Saros] was outstanding, and gave us a chance to win the game," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. "I'm really proud of the group. It wasn't the smoothest water all the time, but we hung in there." 

Here are three things we saw in the season opening victory.  

Juuse Saros kept Predators close throughout

The Predators' offense struggled to get anything going through the majority of the game, but it was goaltender Saros who was able to give them a fighting chance throughout. 

Under a bit of a spotlight after a disappointing 24-25 season, Saros made 37 saves on 38 shots. In the second period, he had already faced nearly 30 shots. The goal allowed in the first period came off a play where the puck deflected off two Predator sticks before Dmitri Voronkov put it in.  

The Blue Jackets also had a goal called back at the end of the second period after it was reviewed, as Saros had been interfered with. 

The called-back goal played into what Brunette said he wanted to help Saros with in clearing out space in front of the net. He said the Predators didn't "help" Saros last season, but did in the win over Columbus. 

I never lost confidence in him [last season] and I didn't think we helped him. 
Today, we help him [Saros]; he needs to see the puck to be effective," Brunette said. "We've got to clean the porch in front of the net a little bit better. Even though we're not quite there, it was a good step in the right direction." 

While the Predators likely don't want anyone to be carrying them, Saros gave them a fighting chance the entire night, allowing them to walk away with a win. The pressure may be just what he needed to get back into form. 

"Juice [Saros] was unbelievable tonight," O'Reilly said. "He was our best player by far, especially when they [Columbus] had momentum, and he made big stops to calm it down for us." 

Predators' offense still settling in 

Nashville's offense wasn't electric, but did enough to pick up the win. 

"It was a little bit of a difficult opener. Two teams that don't play the cleanest hockey," Filip Forsberg said. "They were better for two, but I thought in the third period we played really well. We got a big power play goal and obviously dominated the rest of the match." 

It went 1-for-4 on the power play, with O'Reilly scoring the lone special teams goal on an opportunity that he really created for himself in front of the net.

He got a feed from high to low from Forsberg and backhanded it in, opening up Jet Greaves off an individual stick-handling effort. 

"The PP [power play] needed to step up and get a big goal," O'Reilly said. "We won some battles there. You could feel all the [penalty] killers moving up and I knew I had time to make a move. I tried to get it from the middle, move up and make a move in front of the net." 

Michael Bunting scored the Predators' first goal of the season, which he scored off his own rebound. Bunting's original shot was saved, bounced off two Blue Jacket players, came back to him, and he scored on the second chance. 

Playing with a handful of new players on new lines, the offense hasn't yet found its identity, let alone individual lines. The Jonathan Marchessault, Erik Haula and Bunting trio looked the best,  as they've found a bit of chemistry in the preseason. 

However, the Predators were chasing a 10-shot deficit throughout the game, with Saros having to do most of the heavy work in the first two periods. 

Brady Martin has decent debut 

While the Predators' 18-year-old center, Brady Martin, didn't record his first NHL point, he held his own on the top line with Forsberg and O'Reilly. 

Martin logged 12:44 minutes of ice time on 14 shifts, won 42% of faceoffs and had a shot block. At the same time, he was on the ice for the Voronkov goal and gave away the puck twice. 

"It was a hard game, and he's [Martin] kind of against their best players," Brunette said. "He hung in there like, he has all camp, found a way to get through it and to make a few plays. It's a great learning experience." 

It was still a good start for the fifth overall pick. He was utilized not just in the top six, but on the Predators' power play as well. Whether the Predators would like to keep him in Nashville past the nine games, Martin is still getting critical experience. 

"It's tough coming into the league as an 18-year-old with NHL players that have been here for awhile," Martin said. "I think I held my own and I'm hoping for better games to come." 

Milwaukee call-ups Joakim Kemmel and Adam Wilsby also cracked the Predators' opening night roster. Kemmel skated on the second line with Steven Stamkos and Fedor Svechkov. Wilsby was on the first pairing with Roman Josi. 

Ozzy Wiesblatt was a healthy scratch as Tyson Jost took the fourth line, right wing position. Nick Blankenburg was also a healthy scratch.