The Chicago Blackhawks played their first game of the season on Tuesday. Although they didn't have their best, they kept it close against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. 

Their next opponent is the Boston Bruins, who will have their home-opener in the second half of a back-to-back. On Wednesday night, they beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 in D.C., and now they are looking to build on that in their own barn. 

In an effort to get their first win of the season, the Blackhawks have made some changes to their lineup, which they will use against the Bruins. 

Projected Lineup:

Dach - Bedard - Burakovsky 

Teravainen - Nazar - Bertuzzi 

Donato - Dickinson - Mikheyev

Foligno - Greene - Lafferty 

Vlasic - Rinzel

Kaiser - Levshunov

Grzelcyk - Murphy

Soderblom

Arvid Soderblom is going to be the man in the net for the Blackhawks against the Bruins. Alex Vlasic will make his season debut, coming back from a lower-body injury, and he will take the place of Ethan Del Mastro. Up front, Colton Dach and Ryan Donato are switching spots. 

Blackhawks Already Preparing For Lineup Changes After One GameAfter one game, a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, the Chicago Blackhawks are preparing for lineup changes already. 

Feel Good Story

In between Chicago's first two games of the season, New York Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer revealed a wonderful gesture by Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno. The two, despite their age difference, share a tragic commonality, and the elder Foligno demonstrated his class by reaching out to the young prospect. Included is the full story below. 

Islanders Rookie Matthew Schaefer Reveals Incredible Gesture Made By Blackhawks Captain Nick FolignoThe Chicago Blackhawks are a young team trying to find its footing in the National Hockey League. With that in mind, they are not short of veteran leadership always around to help them do the right thing. 

How To Watch & Listen

Those looking for the game in the Chicago area can find it on CHSN. Out-of-market viewings can be found on ESPN+. The puck will drop at the TD Garden just after 6:00 PM CT.

After this game, the Blackhawks will return home to prepare for the home schedule of their centennial season in Chicago. 

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

Fearless forecast for the Flyers' 2025-26 season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Rick Tocchet era officially begins Thursday night for the Flyers down in Sunrise, Florida.

Tocchet takes over a rebuilding team that hasn’t made the playoffs in five straight seasons, matching the franchise’s longest drought. But the Flyers Hall of Famer isn’t setting the postseason as his expectations.

“It’s the development of players,” the head coach said Monday. “We call it maximizing the player. Are players improving? That’s a big part of it. If players are improving, you’ve got a better chance at winning hockey games.

“I understand people want to talk playoffs and all these variables. I don’t know. But for me and my staff, we’re going to be judged, for me, on we’ve got to get guys to maximize their talent. I think that’s really what it comes down to. We have guys that I really believe we can make them really good hockey players.”

Before the club opens the season against the Panthers (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP), let’s get into our Flyers Fearless Forecast, featuring projections for how the team will finish and a random assortment of bold predictions from NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall and Joe Fordyce.

Hall

Flyers prediction/Cup prediction

The Flyers have a reasonable chance at improving this season, especially when you consider just how poorly they finished last season. They dropped 15 of their final 21 games (6-13-2) to end the season tied with the Bruins for the Eastern Conference’s worst record (33-39-10).

The additions of Trevor Zegras and Christian Dvorak give the Flyers a good lift down the middle, an area in which they’ve needed help. Zegras provides a high-end skill level and Dvorak offers intriguing versatility.

But will the Flyers have enough depth on defense? And, more critically, will they get the all-important answers in net?

The new coaching staff wants to give the goaltenders a cleaner opportunity at seeing the puck, meaning fewer blocked shots. It also wants the Flyers to be a better possession team, potentially cutting down on the odd-man rushes the other way. It’ll be interesting to see if the Flyers can follow through on those changes.

“I expect the goaltending to be better, no doubt about it,” Danny Briere said last month. “I think also the system might protect them a little better, that Rick Tocchet and his staff are going to put forth.”

The Flyers had 76 points last season, so an eight-point jump to 84 seems realistic in Year 1 under Tocchet. We’ll go with a 38-36-8 finish, which won’t get the Flyers into the playoffs. But it could be a promising step heading into a big offseason.

As for the Stanley Cup Final, the Stars will benefit from a full season of Mikko Rantanen and take down the Lightning in six games.

Dvorak breaks out

The Flyers traded for Zegras and signed goaltender Dan Vladar, arguably the team’s two biggest offseason moves considering the positions. But, sneakily, Dvorak might be the Flyers’ most impactful acquisition.

The 29-year-old had his best NHL season under Tocchet with the Coyotes. The familiarity will pay off this season as he puts up 40 or more points for a new career high. And it’ll lead to the Flyers re-signing him.

Changing of the guard

The Flyers could look a lot different on defense when the season is all said and done. They just lack stability outside of their top three or four blueliners, which could lead to moving parts. Injuries could also factor into things.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Flyers are constantly looking at different options down at AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley or even pursue a trade now that they have some added cap space.

Fordyce

Flyers prediction/Cup prediction

It’s that time of year again, time for a fearless forecast of how this Flyers season will go. The way this has gone recently, however, I may be better off forecasting the weather.

I feel like this Flyers season, the first under Tocchet, will start slowly, but will pick up steam. In the end, I see the Flyers finishing with 83 points and just on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. With that said, I think the Flyers can capture one of the wild-card spots if they get better goaltending than expected.

Overall, I believe last season was the one to capitalize on — the Rangers had a down year and Jack Hughes missed a good portion of the season for the Devils with an injury. Those are not things that you can count on happening two straight seasons.

My Stanley Cup Final prediction is a heavyweight matchup between Craig Berube’s Maple Leafs and the Stars. Dallas has been a team flirting with a Stanley Cup ever since losing in the Final during COVID. I think this is the year the Stars get it done.

As I write this, I sit and wonder what would become of Toronto if it reaches the Final only to lose. Scary thought.

Power surge

As far as bold predictions for the Flyers, I see their offense being significantly better, and in particular on the power play. I predict the Flyers’ power play will finish right in the middle of the league, which might as well be the best PP in the league when you consider how bad it has been in recent years.

Konecny’s climb

My second bold prediction is that this is finally the year that Travis Konecny reaches the 40-goal mark. At different points during the last two seasons, Konecny has been on pace to reach that mark. But injuries and/or a slump have dashed those hopes. This year, he gets it done.

The Toronto Maple Leafs didn't have any turnover on their defense from last season to this one , but they still wanted to see improvement from their highest-paid and longest-tenured defenseman.

Morgan Rielly delivered immediately, scoring the game-winning goal in the third period. He jumped up into the play after Matthew Knies had a breakaway stopped and gave Toronto the lead for good in a 5-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens in the season opener.

Rielly was Toronto’s best performer in all-around play, recording a team-best 1.24 expected goals at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. This is particularly impressive since Toronto only had a 45 percent share of the puck. The Leafs want Rielly to be more aggressive with the puck, and it showed in his play, bringing back a similar offensive vintage to the defenseman who recorded 20 goals and 52 assists in 82 games during the 2018-19 season.

“He looked great. I feel like he did everything out there today for us,” Maple Leafs forward Calle Järnkrok said of Rielly.

Rielly was presented the team’s championship belt, given to the player of the game following a Leafs win, by Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews.

“Let’s keep building from here” - Mo Daddy pic.twitter.com/sM279127Da

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 9, 2025

A Summer of Commitment

At the beginning of training camp, Leafs GM Brad Treliving revealed he had a conversation with Morgan Rielly before the 2024-25 season that the player ‘took to heart’. Treliving mentioned that Rielly spent a lot of time in the gym this summer and took to heart the messages he had for him.

Forward Bobby McMann, who spent most of the summer with Rielly at the club’s workout facility, confirmed the defenseman's commitment:

'My Goal Was To Leave No Stone Unturned': How Morgan Rielly's Summer Could Set Him Up For Success With Maple LeafsShortly after the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in May, Morgan Rielly and general manager Brad Treliving sat down to review the year.

“It was kind of me and him going at it together in the summer. And he showed up every day, put the work in, continued to be a professional this far into his career,” McMann said. He’s still hungry. He still wants it. And he wants to win so bad, and he wants the best for himself. And you can see that”.

The Strategic Shift

When Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube took over the bench last season, there was a change in philosophy that was more focused on a collective defensive approach. Berube suggested that while Rielly committed to the new style, he felt that maybe it took out some of the aggressive attack in his game.

Since the acquisition of Brandon Carlo from the Boston Bruins in March, the team felt it’s only helped Rielly feel more secure about jumping into the play.

Bruins Trade Brandon Carlo To Maple Leafs In Surprising Deal The Boston Bruins have traded defenseman Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Fraser Minten, a 2026 first-round pick, and a 2025 fourth-round pick. The Bruins are also retaining 15% of Carlo's salary.

“He's really good at protecting his partner and doing all that stuff,” Berube said of Carlo. “So I think Mo has got a lot more freedom. And quite frankly, when he came over here, I thought Mo's game changed quite a bit”.

With the Leafs looking for offense wherever they can get it, improving from defense would help. Toronto finished last in the NHL in goals scored by defensemen last season. Even a modest improvement from Rielly goes a long way to changing things for the better.

Rielly's Reaction

Despite the big game, Rielly didn’t want to soak in the praise after the win, rather pointing out some of the mistakes and poor puck play the club displayed against a fast Montreal team.

“Lots of good things. I'm not trying to say we sucked. But, we're going to look to improve and build our game,” Rielly said. “We have high expectations for our group. And I think at times in the middle of the game, we didn't manage the puck that well. And then obviously in the third, we came out and played well. So we're happy with the result”.

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PITTSBURGH, PA -- It's finally game day, New York Islanders fans. It's been 175 days since the last Islanders regular-season game, and 177 days since the last regular-season game at UBS Arena.

To say the franchise has changed since then would be a dramatic understatement. From moving on from Lou Lamoriello to winning the NHL Draft Lottery and selecting Matthew Schaefer, it's truly a new era on Long Island.

It all gets started tonight, where the Islanders take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Schaefer makes his NHL debut against Sidney Crosby and fellow 2025 NHL Draft pick Ben Kindel.

Before things get going, The Hockey News' New York Islanders writers are here with some bold predictions for the upcoming season.

---

Rosner's Bold Predictions: 

#1: Anthony Duclair will score 30 goals to lead the team

What a nightmare Anthony Duclair's first season on Long Island was.

From the groin tear to a way-too-early return, he was bashed in the media by his head coach, which led to a leave of absence with eight games to go, leaving no one with any idea how things would play out this summer, with three seasons left on his deal. 

But the way Duclair has come into camp, looking healthier than ever and as sharp as ever, it's changed the potential impact he can have on this team. One of the biggest questions surrounding the Islanders is who will fill the goal-scoring void with Brock Nelson gone. 

Duclair has something to prove, an enormous chip on his shoulder. And although he's starting the season on the fourth line alongside Casey Cizikas and Maxim Tsyplakov -- the most offensive-looking fourth line in franchise history -- if he plays the way he played in training camp and preseason, he'll find himself higher on the depth charts. I wouldn't be shocked if he's playing with Barzal and/or Horvat. 

While I don't think he'll set a new career high in goals -- he scored 31 in 2021-22 with the Florida Panthers -- could 30 be in the cards, and if so, that would likely lead the team.

#2. Calum Ritchie Is The No.  2 Center Befor Christmas

There may have been no real opportunity for Calum Ritchie to crack a spot in the Islanders' lineup, and the injury awarded the Islanders more time to figure things out.

But once Ritchie returns from his minor lower-body injury, he'll likely be sent to Bridgeport. But if he excels in the AHL like we expect, he's going to force the Islanders to make a call-up -- unless an injury creates an opportunity before that. 

As we expect to see with No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer, it will be challenging to limit Ritchie's minutes once he earns his NHL chance with the Islanders.

He's not a bottom-six player -- he proved that and I think the Islanders understand that. 

Mix in that and Mathew Barzal's desire to play with Bo Horvat, and that No. 2 center job is one that Ritchie will likely own by the end of the season, but why wait if he's ready?

Before the presents go under the Christmas tree, Ritchie will be the No. 2 C -- hey, that rhymed. 

#3. Islanders Win Jennings Trophy

Goaltending is the most important position for the Islanders if they want to get back into the postseason.

Starting netminder Ilya Sorokin is elite, and this is the season he'll have the numbers to prove that again, like he did when he was a Vezina finalist in 2022-23 (2.34 GAA, .924 SV%).

Backup David Rittich is entering the season with a major chip on his shoulder after signing a one-year, $1 million deal this summer. He's coming off a tough season with the Los Angeles Kings (2.84 GAA, .886 SV%), a season in which Los Angeles was elite and so was their starting netminder Darcy Kuemper (2.02 GAA, .921 SV%). 

Rittich will put a shaky presence behind him and be the brick wall the Islanders need him to be, with Semyon Varlamov still a way off.

Backed by an improved defense under Bob Boughner, a more dynamic defense thanks to Matthew Schaefer, Sorokin, and Rittich will win the Jennings Trophy, allowing the fewest goals in the NHL, for the first time since Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss back in 2018-19.  

---

Macias' Bold Predictions:

#1: The Islanders finish above the Montreal Canadiens in the standings

For all of the many things the Islanders did this spring and summer, perhaps nothing was more scrutinized in the moment by the hockey world than the trade of Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens. 

Fast-forward to opening night, and it looks far less one-sided than many thought. Emil Heineman will be skating alongside Jonathan Drouin and Bo Horvat to begin the year, outright beating Maxim Shabanov and Anthony Duclair for a spot in the top six.

That doesn't even mention Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson, both falling to the Islanders at the draft.

As for this season, the Canadiens did acquire Dobson, but their defense is still extremely suspect. Additionally, Sam Montembeault remains a huge question mark. Yes, those Habs can score, but can they keep the puck out of their net? They couldn't Wednesday, losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. 

The Islanders will have the better goaltending and defense, even if New York's offense may not have the same firepower as Montreal.

The Atlantic Division will also be much tougher than the Metropolitan Division, another reason the Habs may struggle more.

As a result, pencil the Islanders to come in ahead of those Canadiens when the season comes to a close.

#2: Maxim Shabanov and Matthew Schaefer Combine for 80+ Points

The Islanders will have two NHL rookies in their lineup when the season starts tonight in Pittsburgh. One is the highly-touted, elite defenseman in Schaefer.

The other is the highly sought-after Russian, Maxim Shabanov. Despite not initially sticking in the top six, Shabanov's immense skill is very apparent.

He will be able to score and create plays all by himself, having already proven his size does not affect his game whatsoever. 

Maxim Tsyplakov posted 35 points last year as a rookie with less-projected offense than what Shabanov may bring, so it's not far-fetched to think Shabanov could sniff close to 50 points as a rookie.

Meanwhile, Schaefer will be 18 years old and immediately given all the opportunities in the world. His smooth skating fits Head Coach Patrick Roy's system like a glove, and he's going to play on the second power play unit. With his offensive upside, it's very likely he gets 30 points at an absolute minimum, with clear potential for a 40-50 point rookie year.

Book Schaefer and Shabanov to combine for 80 or more points this season.

#3: The Islanders Finish With A Top-Ten Power Play

Perhaps the boldest of all takes from me. The last time the Islanders didn't have a bottom-ten unit came in 2021-22, when they finished 12th in the league. 

Last year, the Islanders finished with a putrid 12.6%, 31st in the league. Enter Ray Bennett and Jonathan Drouin, a PP specialist coach and a PP specialist set-up man.

Behind the arrival of that duo, a full season of Tony DeAngelo and Schaefer quarterbacking two units, and a healthy Mathew Barzal, it doesn't feel all that unlikely for New York to have a significantly better unit.

Not only do all those factors work in their favor, but Shabanov has immense skill to offer, too.

Bennett had a perennial top 10 power play no matter what in Colorado. Just because he's got elite talent there doesn't mean he didn't have clear, elite systems for his team to use. Clearly, Bennett's got the chops to do it here, too.

The Islanders will snap the nearly decade-long drought without a top ten unit and earn themselves one this year.

What are you bold takes for this season? Let us know in the comments. 

Fresh off an exciting win on Opening Night, the Florida Panthers are set to continue their season-opening homestand on Thursday night.

The Panthers will welcome the Philadelphia Flyers to Sunrise in what will be Philly’s first game of the new season.

Florida featured some new-look forward lines in their opener, and overall the results were quite good.

The Panthers new top line of Sam Bennett centering Brad Marchand and Carter Verhaeghe created an impressive 14 scoring chances at even strength, which is more than the entire rest of the team combined (13), according to Natural Stat Trick.

Defensively, Florida’s fourth line, which featured new signing Luke Kunin skating between A.J. Greer and Jonah Gadjovich, was quite good defensively.

They allowed no scoring chances or high danger chances against, though they did earn three high danger chances of their own, generating a pair of rebound opportunities to boot.

As for the visiting Flyers, not only to they get to face the defending Stanley Cup Champs to open their season, but two of their first three games will come against the Cats, including their home opener on Monday.

Thursday’s game will also be the first behind the bench for new Flyers Head Coach Rick Tocchet.

The former Jack Adams winner will look to lead Philadelphia back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

Playing his first game in Flyers orange will be exciting young forward Trevor Zegras.

He was brought to Philly in an offseason trade after spending his first five seasons in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks and will be looking to recapture the success he saw during his first three years in the league, and move past the frustrations of the past two.

Here are the Panthers’ projected forward lines and defensive pairings for Thursday’s matchup with the Flyers:

Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart

Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – Jesper Boqvist

A.J. Greer – Luke Kunin – Jonah Gadjovich

Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones

Dmitry Kulikov – Jeff Petry

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Photo caption: Oct 7, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Jesper Boqvist (70) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

The wait is finally over as the Vancouver Canucks kick off their 2025-26 regular season against the Calgary Flames. Vancouver will be opening up their season at home, while Calgary started their campaign on Wednesday. Last season, the two Pacific Division rivals split the season series, with each team going 2-1-1. 

A key for the Canucks will be getting out to a quick start. As mentioned, this will be the second half of a back-to-back for the Flames, who battled the Edmonton Oilers on the road in their season opener. If Vancouver can hold offensive possession and test Calgary's goaltender early and often, it could provide an advantage later in the game. 

 The Canucks also need to ensure they build off the energy provided by the fans. Rogers Arena is going to be loud, which should provide a boost for Vancouver, especially early on. Ultimately, the Canucks cannot afford a similar situation to last year, where Vancouver gave up a 4-1 first-period lead before falling 6-5 in overtime to the Flames. 

Players To Watch:

Braeden Cootes

Welcome to the NHL, Braeden Cootes. After an impressive training camp and pre-season, the 2025 first-round pick will make his NHL debut, becoming the first 18-year-old since Petr Nedvěd in 1990 to play for Vancouver. Projected to play on a line with Evander Kane and Jonathan Lekkerimäki, it will be a special moment for Cootes and his family when he hits the Rogers Arena ice for his solo rookie lap.

Matvei Gridin

Another teenager in this game will be 19-year-old Matvei Gridin. A first-round pick in 2024, the Russian forward was selected using the Canucks draft pick, which was sent to Calgary in the Elias Lindholm trade. Coming off a successful NHL debut where he scored and recorded five shots, Gridin could be a handful for Vancouver in this game. 

Vancouver Canucks 2024-25 (38-30-14): 

Points:

Quinn Hughes: 16–60–76
Brock Boeser: 25–25–50
Conor Garland: 19–31–50
Jake DeBrusk: 28–20–48
Pius Suter: 25–21–46

Goaltenders: 

Kevin Lankinen: 25-15-10
Thatcher Demko: 10-8-3

Calgary Flames (1-0-0): 

Points:

Matvei Gridin: 1-0-1
Connor Zary: 1-0-1
Blake Coleman: 1-0-1
Nazem Kadri: 0-1-1
Matt Coronato: 0-1-1

Goaltenders:

Dustin Wolf: 1-0-0

Game Information: 

Start time: 7:00 pm PT 
Venue: Rogers Arena
Television: Sportsnet
Radio: Sportsnet 650

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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Abbotsford Canucks’ Kirill Kudryavtsev Poised For A Breakout Season

The Philadelphia Flyers were hoping to splurge on a bonafide NHL star in the 2026 free agency class, but in recent weeks, their options rapidly thinned out.

Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov signed a record-breaking extension to stay put, and on Wednesday, Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel agreed to an eight-year, $108 million ($13.5 million AAV) deal to remain in Sin City.

With those two off the market, the Flyers are left with only New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin to chase.

The problem, of course, is that Panarin will turn 34 years old at the end of this month.

It's certainly plausible the former 120-point-scorer hits free agency, given the volatile state of the Rangers and the general lack of team success there.

However, it's important to note that Panarin is in the last year of a seven-year, $81.5 million ($11.643 million AAV) contract and will be due for a big raise, regardless of his age. The 34-year-old is represented by agent Paul Theofanous, who just negotiated the eight-year, $136 million extension ($17 million AAV) for Kaprizov.

NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Badly Need Defensive UpgradesThe Philadelphia Flyers are reportedly scouring the NHL trade market for much-needed defensive reinforcements, but which players are actually going to be worth their while?

The Flyers do have some advantages in going after Panarin, such as being able to sell the veteran on playing with young talents and fellow Russians like Matvei Michkov, Nikita Grebenkin, and, soon, Egor Zavragin.

Fortunately, after clearing significant cap in the Ryan Ellis trade, the Flyers won't have any issues affording Panarin and any potential contract demands that end up being greater than what the public sphere would expect.

Plus, the Flyers hold arguably the greatest trump card in that Panarin's father-in-law, Oleg Znarok, works for the team and has for two seasons now.

Of course, signing Panarin doesn't address the Flyers' continued needs at the center position, but, in theory, they do still have Sean Couturier, and Trevor Zegras could very well surprise people now that he's rejuvenated and back home on the east coast.

Flyers to Begin New Season Without Key DefenderIn a somewhat surprising injury update, the Philadelphia Flyers are going to be without one of their top defensemen to start the 2025-26 regular season.

From there, the Flyers would just have to hope that Jack Nesbitt and/or Jett Luchanko can fill out the bottom-six in the short term and develop some top-six upside in the right environment in the long term. Such a climate would be super friendly for that growth, too, given that it would include Panarin, Michkov, Travis Konecny, and Porter Martone.

But, in the event the Flyers aren't able to sign Panarin? Eichel and Kaprizov are already locked down, which effectively dashes any plans of making a splash signing in the 2026 free agency period.

Then, it would come down to a big trade, or no move at all.

The Florida Panthers–Tampa Bay Lightning rivalry was once a regional sideshow, a quirky matchup between two southern expansion teams playing to half-empty arenas and polite indifference. But in the space of just a few years it has mutated into the nastiest, most revealing feud in hockey: one that’s exposed the NHL’s double standards, cronyism and cultural divide.

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Preseason hockey is meaningless by design, a handful of perfunctory tune-ups that even hardcore fans barely notice in the run-up to opening night, when the games finally start to count. Yet in the past week the Panthers and Lightning turned a pair of exhibition contests into three-hour fever dreams of violence: 114 penalties totaling nearly 500 minutes in the box, 16 game misconducts and one ejected player who somehow picked up an assist on an eighth goal that shouldn’t have counted. It was all-out bedlam before the season even began, but the uneven fallout has raised uncomfortable questions around the sport.

It all kicked off last Thursday when Florida’s AJ Greer sucker-punched Tampa’s Brandon Hagel in the head – a callback to last spring’s playoff meeting between the teams, when Hagel’s borderline hit on Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov sparked Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad’s retaliatory headshot that left Hagel concussed. Greer’s cheap shot, punished with only a $2,000 fine, broke hockey’s unspoken code: you never go after a player with a known concussion history, especially one you’ve already injured.

So on Saturday, Tampa iced a lineup of AHL enforcers and spent the night exacting frontier justice. The league’s response? Heavy fines and suspensions for the Lightning, none for Florida.

The ugly scenes revived an old suspicion: that the NHL’s disciplinary system protects its favorites. The Panthers’ connections only make the optics worse. The league’s director of hockey operations, Colin Campbell, is a longtime power broker whose son is a minority owner and assistant general manager of – you guessed it – the Panthers. The head of player safety, George Parros, is a former Panther himself. A decade ago Campbell’s leaked emails showed him berating referees for not giving Florida preferential treatment. Nothing changed.

Across the NHL, this latest bloodbath looked like business as usual: a vivid reminder that hockey’s old-boy network pulls the strings on a two-tiered system of justice.

The bad blood has been brewing for years. For most of their existence the Panthers were an afterthought, overshadowed by the more successful Lightning, who won the first of their three Stanley Cups in 2004. Then they traded for Matthew Tkachuk – a brilliant, agitating forward – and hired a coach who encouraged the chaos. Overnight, the franchise became an almost comically ratty heel team: relentlessly annoying, gleefully abrasive and somehow good enough to win anyway. They ran goalies, took liberties after whistles, and seemed to delight in their role as the villains of modern hockey.

Tampa, by contrast, had built its dynasty on cool precision: a team that mixed speed, skill and structure to win back-to-back Cups in 2020 and 2021. To Lightning fans, Florida’s rise represented something else: the triumph of cynicism, of hockey as provocation rather than craft.

The long-simmering tensions finally exploded in April’s postseason meeting. When Hagel flattened Barkov with what looked like a clean shoulder check – a hockey play at playoff speed gone wrong – the officials ruled it illegal because Barkov hadn’t touched the puck. Hagel was slapped with a one-game suspension. The next night Ekblad, who’d already served a lengthy ban earlier in the season for performance-enhancing drugs, hunted him down and delivered a full-force shot to the head, concussing him – a retaliatory hit that earned just two games. Florida went on to win the series and their second straight Cup, while Tampa were left muttering about double standards.

So when Greer targeted Hagel again – during a meaningless September preseason game, no less – the Lightning saw red. Coach Jon Cooper rested his stars and called up six players from the minors – two known enforcers among them – to ice a full lineup without exposing his smaller, skilled forwards. Within minutes, 32-year-old bruiser Scott Sabourin leveled Ekblad with a single punch that dropped him to his knees. From there the night descended into absurdity: brawls after nearly every whistle, fights in the penalty box, more than 300 combined penalty minutes and so many ejections that both teams ended with nine skaters. At one point, Florida’s Niko Mikkola even picked up an assist despite having been sent off minutes earlier. It’s not every night an ejected player somehow helps to extend an 8-0 lead before anyone notices.

The next day, the discipline meted out by the NHL’s department of player safety came down squarely on Tampa. Six players fined, two suspended, the organization docked $100,000 and Cooper fined another $25,000. Florida’s Greer kept his token $2,000 fine. The perception was plain as day: the Panthers could do no wrong. And that sense of impunity is what has turned a once-anodyne cross-state rivalry into something much darker: a microcosm of how the NHL still protects its insiders and punishes its critics.

That defiance fits neatly with the Panthers’ broader identity. Under owner Vincent Viola – a billionaire financier and one-time Donald Trump nominee for secretary of the army – the franchise has cultivated an overtly Maga aesthetic. After their first Cup win, team executives proudly visited Trump at the White House, presenting him with a custom “45–47” jersey. Viola’s longtime business partner and minority owner Douglas Cifu, the Panthers’ vice-chairman and alternate governor, also runs Virtu Financial, the high-frequency trading firm he co-founded with Viola. In May, Cifu was suspended indefinitely by the NHL after an inflammatory social-media exchange with a Canadian fan where he invoked the Israel-Palestine conflict and Trump’s 51st state taunts, a move that did little to distance the team from its hard-right image.

Across the state, the Lightning’s ownership has taken the opposite tack: removing a Robert E Lee statue from downtown Tampa, supporting diversity initiatives and hosting some of the league’s most inclusive heritage nights.

In miniature, the Battle of Florida now mirrors the United States itself: grievance and aggression on one side, progressive branding on the other, both locked in a fight over what the sport, and the country, should be.

The irony is that all this has unfolded during what’s meant to be the NHL’s modern age of enlightenment. League executives boast about player safety and mental-health awareness, and evolving beyond the blood-and-guts spectacle of decades past. Yet its disciplinary machinery still operates with the opaque impunity of an old boys’ club. When New York Rangers owner James Dolan semi-publicly condemned the league’s refusal to suspend Washington’s Tom Wilson in 2021, the NHL didn’t revisit the call; it fined the team $250,000 for daring to question it. Commissioner Gary Bettman scolded the Rangers for “demeaning” a league executive and declared such criticism “unacceptable”. The message was clear enough: silence is rewarded, dissent is punished and the culture that enables violence is the one most fiercely protected.

This time, though, the silence has cracked. Around the league, executives and players are said to be quietly rooting for Tampa – not because they condone vigilante justice, but because they recognize the futility of appealing to a system stacked against them. The Panthers may have won the Stanley Cup for two years running, but they’ve also become the embodiment of a league that rewards swagger and punishes accountability.

That the NHL’s biggest controversy of the year erupted before a single regular-season game had been played says it all. The sport that keeps promising to modernize still can’t stop celebrating its own anarchy: a league where power, not principle, decides who gets away with what – and who gets left bleeding on the ice.

The Edmonton Oilers were heading into the 2025-26 with a sense of calm. That might surprise some, considering the team was coming off two consecutive Finals losses. Still, the team approached a new season relaxed.

Perhaps they were too relaxed, at least after getting out to a 3-0 lead. 

As expected, the narrative is one game at a time. Having said that, the Oilers are often guilty of not playing a full 60 minutes, and they were guilty of it again on Wednesday as their three-goal lead turned into a 3-3 tie, then a loss in a shootout.

Oilers' Roster Battle Moves to the Regular Season

The Stanley Cup isn't won in October. Still, a hot start is also being talked about a lot inside the dressing room, and that should have started with a victory over the Calgary Flames in Game 1 of the regular season. 

Goaltender Stuart Skinner took responsibility for the score being what it was. "I just had to make a quicker decision," he said when trying to explain the gaffe on the third goal for Calgary that tied the game. "The game happens fast down there, and there was just kind of a miscommunication and I was slow to react...

Head coach Kris Knoblauch wasn't ready to blame Skinner alone. "Turnovers," he said when asked what happened. "As soon as we made it 3-0, we got really sloppy with the puck. Before that, I thought we were outstanding with it. That was the turning point right there."

The Game Action

Ike Howard and David Tomasek took their "rookie" laps, seeing as it was the first game in the NHL for both players. 

The first period started a bit slowly, with both sides feeling each other out. It wasn't until a delay of game penalty on Morgan Frost that things got interesting. The Oilers made quick work of the power play as Connor McDavid passed down low to Leon Draisaitl, who hit Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in front for the goal. 

Tomasek took a minor for tripping at 11:04. The Oilers killed it off, with McDavid and Draisaitl getting some time on the second penalty-killing unit. 

On the Oilers' second goal, Andrew Mangiapane made an outstanding play as he got tangled up near the blue line. He did a great job staying onside, and McDavid got him with a pass, and he roofed a wrist shot past Dustin Wolf.

McDavid already had two points on the night. Nugent-Hopkins got the second assist, giving him two points in the first. 

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The second started much like the first, a little slowly. Things picked up around five minutes in. Skinner made a couple of solid saves, and Noah Philp got a solid chance on goal. 

The Oilers started buzzing and the top line hemmed Calgary in, forcing them to take a penalty. Adam Klapka got two minutes for hooking. 

The Oilers scored on the power play again, this time it was Nugent-Hopkins to Tomasek who made a sweet pass between Wolf's legs and right to Draisaitl. With that, it was a 3-0 lead and the game looked in hand for the Oilers. 

With the goal, Draisaitl had potted his 400th in the NHL. 

Congrats to Leon Draisaitl on 400 career goals! 🚨 #NHLFaceOff

Milestones powered by @ServiceNowpic.twitter.com/Jc9sve6i2Q

— NHL (@NHL) October 9, 2025

The Flames got on the board as Matvei Gridin spun and fired a puck it into the slot. It bounced off Philp and got past Skinner. 

On the second Flames goal, Tomasek got called for a high-sticking penalty. The Flames didn't take long to score on the power play, getting a goal off a questionable Connor Zary high stick. The officials reviewed the goal and determined that it was a good goal.

Just like that the lead was cut to 3-2. 

In the third period, Skinner misplayed a dump-in and got his signals crossed with Evan Bouchard. Blake Coleman got credit for the goal, and it was 3-3. 

Regulation ended at three goals each. In overtime, there were no goals, but some interesting opportunities. Ultimately, the game went into a shootout that took eight rounds to declare a winner. Nazem Kadri scored to give Calgary a 4-3 win. 

The Notables for the Oilers:

• Dustin Wolf was excellent for the Flames in goal. 
• Andrew Mangiapane scored his first as an Oiler and the shot was incredible. 
• Tomasek had a pretty assist on the power play goal by Draisaitl, who had his 400th point. Draisaitl's shootout goal was one of the prettiest we'll see this season. 
• Stuart Skinner flubbed the third goal, but he was solid otherwise
• The Trent Frederic experiment on the top line may not have a long shelf life. It was a great mix in one preseason game, but the trio has struggled a bit beyond that. Frederic was pulled off that line late in the game, with Mangiapane getting a bump up.

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The Los Angeles Kings suffered an embarrassing loss last night in their season opener against the Colorado Avalanche. 

Every aspect played out last night on the ice, both offensively and especially on defense; Los Angeles looked very weak and out of it. So, coming into a back-to-back, the Kings were looking to avoid a 0-2 start desperately. 

But, tonight, against another Western Conference contender in the Vegas Golden Knights, who introduced Mitch Marner and recently signed Jack Eichel to an 8-year extension, Los Angeles looked very good early on, until their power play defense and penalties let them down, ending in a high-scoring thriller with the Kings scrapping by a 6-5 win. 

Showbiz, baby ✨#GoKingsGopic.twitter.com/UxmK6W7pcF

— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 9, 2025

First Period Recap: Kings Come Out Strong

After the tripping call was made on Golden Knights center William Karlsson, who gave the Kings a power play opportunity. 

The Kings responded with a 1-0 lead in Vegas, capitalizing on the power play opportunity. Andrei Kuzmenko buried the goal five minutes into the period off the assist from Anze Kopitar. 

Vegas struggled to generate any goals against Anton Forsberg under the net, stopping every shot that came at him. 

The Golden Knights' best look came when Quinton Byfield was called for that unsportsmanlike conduct midway through the first period, but Los Angeles remained strong and didn’t let it get in their heads like last night. 

Just a few minutes later, Quinton Byfield extended the lead with an unassisted goal, giving LA a 2-0 lead. Despite Vegas having control of the puck for most of the possession and winning faceoffs, Los Angeles stayed ready and strong on the ice.

The period ended with the Kings holding a 2-0 lead, energized by their early intensity on both defense and offense, which enabled them to take an early lead. However, Vegas remained a threat heading into the second period despite trailing. 

Second Period: Golden Knights Dominate the Power Play

The Kings extended their lead to 3-1 early in the second period against the Vegas Golden Knights. Joel Armia put up his first goal as the newly acquired Los Angeles King from the middle of the ice against a solid amount of traffic in front of him.

Vegas managed to get back in the game in the second period, scoring three goals, including one by Pavel Dorofeyev on the power play and a fast break earlier in the period, to tie the game 3-3.

One glaring weakness in the Kings' last two games was their power play defense and ability to execute fast break plays. The defense just doesn’t look strong in the closing moments when the game starts to get tight and close, reminiscent of the choke job against the Oilers in the last playoffs, when they blew a 2-0 series lead. 

The Golden Knights were one of the best power plays ever, finishing second in the NHL, and in this game, they looked much better when they were in the power play, whipping the puck around the zone against what should be a Penalty kill. 

This period wasn’t a good one for the Kings. From what looked like a commanding 3-1 lead and a different team committed to bouncing back from the ugly loss at home last night, they got outplayed entirely by one man on the other side of the ice in one period.  

Third Period: Kings Battle Back

The third period was looking like it was going to be a big meltdown for the Kings, with another disappointing loss and back-to-back embarrassing games. 

Early in the third period, the Golden Knights were dominating the puck and scoring off the Kings' foolish penalties, but were getting outplayed in the power play, trailing 3-5 early in the period. 

The story of the game was looking like the Kings were repeating the same old things from last season, blowing leads and failing to capitalize on close, competitive games that came down to the wire. 

However, Los Angeles battled back thanks to Trevor Moore and Brandt Clarke, both of whom notched a goal to tie the game 5-5, sending it to overtime. 

Clarke, Byfield, and Kuzmenko were especially impressive, showcasing their toughness and grit, executing in the big moments when called upon.

All three players were reliable for the Kings in the clutch and, in overtime, gave some big minutes on the ice to help scrape by the Golden Knights. 

In overtime, LA squeaked by with a 6-5 win in a much-needed game that was theirs for the taking all game. It certainly would’ve been a horrible loss for the Kings, given the lead they had and how poorly their defense performed against the Golden Knights' offense for the rest of the game.

But give credit to the Kings' ability to respond to adversity and capitalize on key moments that will be crucial as they continue their push for a Stanley Cup.  

Fans can look forward to more exciting matchups as the Kings aim to build their momentum against Winnipeg on Saturday, Oct 11 at 1:30 p.m. EST.  

  

 

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 where are the true individual award front-runners in Buffalo? There are some outside possibilities for Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin to win the Hart Trophy, and for Dahlin to also take home the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman.

After that, there's pretty much no other Sabres players who will be in the mix for an individual award this coming season. For instance, there's not going to be a Vezina Trophy-winner from the Sabres. Their small army of goaltending options -- including Ukko-Peka Luukonen, Alex Lyon, veteran Alexandar Georgiev -- and in net does not inspire you to imagine Buffalo will have the best netminder in the league this season.

Meanwhile, the Sabres don't have a true front-runner to win the Calder Trophy as the league'stop rookie.  And imagining Buffalo will have a leader in the Art Ross Trophy is stretching the bounds of credulity. This Sabres team probably won't have a player who proves they're a top-10 talent in the league, and that will be reflected in the league's individuals.

In a best-case scenario, Thompson will raise the bar for himself and begin challenging in the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard race as the best goal-scorer in the game. Toronto Maple Leafs star center Auston Matthews will be the front-runner to win this year's goal-scoring race, but if Thompson can score 50 goals and 100 points, the Sabres are going to be thrilled.

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

That said, Buffalo isn't going to win the Jim Gregory Award as the best GM in the game, and Lindy Ruff isn't going to win the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's best coach. It's possible in theory both Ruff and GM Kevyn Adams find ways to get the Sabres into the post-season, but is it probable? No, this writer believes Buffalo will struggle to climb the ladder, both in an individual manner and as a group.

And this writer believes the Sabres won't make the playoffs -- leading to be changes next summer or sooner. Adams and Ruff have their future wrapped up with one another, and there's no question their lack of success running the Sabres will keep them in job limbo at this time next year.

When you look at the league's top teams, you see that most, if not all teams that are high-end playoff teams have elite players who contend for individual awards all season long. And the Sabres' lack of high-end, superstar performances is one of the reasons Buffalo is looking like a long-shot of making it into the playoffs. 

It's The Calm Before The Storm For Sabres As Buffalo Aims To End Painful Playoff DroughtFor the Buffalo Sabres, it’s the calm before the storm. The NHL’s 2025-26 regular-season is about to commence, and with the new season comes a new set of expectations for the Sabres. And with this season’s Sabres, the expectation is urgent – this Buffalo team is either going to end the Sabres’ 14-year playoff drought, or there are going to be changes throughout the organization, including the firings of GM Kevyn Adams and coach Lindy Ruff.

It's accurate that the Sabres do have talent -- they just don't have enough of it. And somehow, some way, they need to figure out a way to squeeze into the playoffs by any means neccessary.  

Jack Roslovic, one of the top NHL UFAs left, signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers late Wednesday.

The news of the $1.5-million deal came during the Oilers' season opener against the Calgary Flames.

Roslovic, 28, recorded 22 goals and 17 assists for 39 points in 81 games with the Carolina Hurricanes last year. He added another goal and three assists in nine playoff games. He's had two 22-goal seasons and passed 40 points twice in parts of nine NHL seasons.

The center, who can also play right wing, had a one-year, $2.8-million contract last season, so his cap hit is $1.3 million less on his new deal. Before that, he had a two-year contract with a $4-million cap hit.

Edmonton is Roslovic's fifth NHL team and fourth in the past three seasons. The Winnipeg Jets drafted him 25th overall in 2015. The Columbus Blue Jackets traded for him and Patrik Laine in January 2021. In 2023-24, the New York Rangers acquired Roslovic at the NHL trade deadline, and he signed with Carolina that summer.

In 526 career games, Roslovic has 102 goals, 158 assists and 260 points while averaging 14:12 of ice time. He also has three goals and 17 points in 45 playoff games, including eight points in 16 games during the Rangers' run to the Eastern Conference final in 2024.

Oilers GM Stan Bowman has also signed contract extensions for Connor McDavid, Jake Walman and Mattias Ekholm this week. On Monday, McDavid signed a two-year contract worth $12.5 million annually, while Walman signed for seven years at $7 million per season. On Wednesday, Ekholm agreed to a three-year contract extension worth $4 million per campaign.

With Roslovic, the Oilers are now over the salary cap ceiling by about $2.8 million, according to PuckPedia. With left winger Zach Hyman on long-term injured reserve for at least October, the Oilers can exceed the cap ceiling by up to Hyman's $5.5-million cap hit.

Edmonton recalled forwards David Tomasek and Isaac Howard on Tuesday. Tomasek has a $1.2-million cap hit, while Howard's is $950,000. Those two, along with Matthew Savoie ($886,666), are exempt from waivers in case the Oilers want to avoid the waiver wire when clearing cap space upon Hyman's return. Noah Philp is also on the Oilers' roster, and he's on a two-way contract that typically goes to players in the system.

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There are a lot of new faces populating the Pittsburgh Penguins' roster this season, especially on the left side of the Penguins' blue line. 

And one of those players is settling into his role quite nicely so far - which could be revelation for the Penguins and their top blueliner.

Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon - who signed a two-year, $2 million deal this summer - has been paired with Erik Karlsson since the beginning of training camp, and the early returns on the Penguins' new top pairing have been promising.

Wotherspoon, 28, was selected in the fourth round (112th overall) by the New York Islanders in 2015, and he spent the last two seasons with the Boston Bruins. In 55 games last season, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound defenseman registered one goal and seven points to go along with 75 hits.

But the beauty in Wotherspoon's game is in its simplicity. The steady, stay-at-home blueliner plays such a low-event style of hockey that lies in stark contrast to his partner, who is one of the most high-event players in the league. 

And maybe that contrast is why the pairing has worked well so far - and why they showed so well in the Penguins' season-opening 3-0 shutout win against the New York Rangers on Tuesday.

"I thought we played good," Wotherspoon said. "I thought we moved the puck pretty well, got up ice, defended well. I don't think we spent too much time in our d-zone, so, it was a good start. There's still some things to grow on. It's a long season, but I think we did a good job handling it for the most part.

"He's such a good player. It makes it easier to just get him the rock, and he'll make a good play. So, it's been good."

Penguins Play Clinical Road Game, Shut Out Rangers, 3-0 There were a lot of storylines heading into the Pittsburgh Penguins' season opener against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

Karlsson, 35, is and has been a good player for a very long time. And that's why the Penguins acquired him in the summer of 2023 - following a 101-point Norris-winning campaign - but it's been a bit of a mixed bag ever since.

It's not easy to tandem with a high-risk offensive talent like Karlsson. He requires a partner who is almost entirely risk-averse, and that partner could very well be Wotherspoon. Karlsson is at his best when he's activating and noticeable, and Wotherspoon is at his best when he's virtually unnoticeable.

And that's what came to fruition on Tuesday. Setting aside a second-period shift that included a turnover from each of them, the pairing played some really good hockey. They had a 62.1 percent expected goals share, and they allowed only two high-danger chances against the entire night.

Wotherspoon is aware of what his role is and what the strengths of his game are. And he wants to use those strengths to allow Karlsson to play to his own - which is something that he's still working on.

"Just watching him in the o-zone, he's got his head up, he's looking for a screen... he's seeing the play come before it even happens," Wotherspoon said. "That's one thing I've got to get a little bit better at... Just get that head up, make those plays, wait for it to come, and just have that patience on the blue line like he does with the puck. He's so phenomenal with it."

Of course, it's still very early, and a lot can happen during the long season. But, for now, the Penguins' new top pairing - featuring two players who couldn't be more different - looks as though it could be a pretty formidable one.

And Karlsson hopes that he and his newfound defense partner can continue to get better and better.

"I think it's been good," Karlsson said. "He's a good skater, a good puck-mover, and he's got some experience. So, hopefully, we can continue to find some chemistry."

Penguins' Rookie Defenseman Makes NHL History In DebutOn Tuesday, a pair of teenagers made their NHL debuts on the same night for the Pittsburgh Penguins, which was something that hadn't happened since 2006.

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Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin was one of the team's best players on Tuesday night, notching two assists in their 3-0 win over the New York Rangers. 

His skating was also top-notch, and he had good chemistry with Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau. He set up Brazeau's first goal by making a nice little play off a faceoff before Brazeau roofed a puck past Rangers star goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

He also got the primary assists on Brazeau's second goal, an empty-netter that iced the game late in the third period before Blake Lizotte made it 3-0. 

Those two assists got Malkin's all-time point total up to 1,348, which ranks 31st in NHL history. He is one point away from tying Mats Sundin for 30th all-time and two away from passing him. 

Malkin will have the opportunity to pass other NHL legends on the NHL's all-time points list this year, including Brendan Shanahan, Guy Lafleur, and even Mike Modano.

His first opportunity to break into the top 30 will be on Thursday when the Penguins play the New York Islanders inside PPG Paints Arena for the home opener. 

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