Carolina Hurricanes rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin has scored his first career NHL goal, just four games into his regular season career.

The highly touted Russian blueliner has been close quite a few times, especially when he hit the goal post on a 2-on-1 on Tuesday, but he finally got his.

Early into the third period, Nikishin found some soft space in the slot as the Hurricanes' top line was going to work and Sebastian Aho quickly found the activating defenseman.

Nikishin made no mistake, rifling the puck past Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal and you could tell how much that first one meant to him.

Niki with his first, welcome to the NHL‼️ pic.twitter.com/9CbaIrkltk

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) October 17, 2025

That first NHL goal feeling 🥹 pic.twitter.com/t90p7rSfb6

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) October 17, 2025

Here's to many more, Niki!

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LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights got at least one point from 11 skaters Thursday night, led by William Karlsson's two goals, as Vegas defeated the Boston Bruins, 6-5.

"This was one of our more - it might sound funny - complete games, especially offensively," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I thought we were the better team most of the night. We gave up the first goal again, but answered right away. And then I thought we took it to Boston in a lot of different areas."

Vegas has given up the first goal in 15 straight games dating back to last postseason, through the preseason and over the first five games of the regular season.

"I thought the score was a little more complimentary than the game myself," Cassidy said. "I'm sure they may feel differently, but that's how I felt as a coach, and that's a good thing. That means we're moving in the right direction.

"Do we have some things to fix? Of course, you do. It's game five. It's the middle of October. We'll have things to fix for a while, but I'd like the direction the game went tonight. We're just going to keep emphasizing better starts. Some of that's puck management."

Jack Eichel became the first player in the NHL to hit double digits in points this season as he finished with a goal and an assist to extend his season-opening point streak to five games.

Eichel leads the league with 11 points, including five goals.

Everything is going in for Jack Eichel right now 👏 pic.twitter.com/174eDplfH6

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 17, 2025

Captain Mark Stone finished with three assists, upping his season tally to a league-leading nine helpers.

Pavel Dorofeyev scored his sixth goal of the season and moved into a league-leading tie with Ottawa's Shane Pinto.

we lost track of how many goals Pavel is on pace for but it's a lot 🚨 pic.twitter.com/wr04XropbW

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 17, 2025

Cole Reinhardt scored his first goal as a Golden Knight, while Tomas Hertl also scored for Vegas.

🦏 THE RHINO 🦏 pic.twitter.com/QdMfKuLRSz

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 17, 2025

"We got four lines that can do a lot of damage in various ways," defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. "I don't want to specify anyone, because everyone has some things that they do really well that other lines don't necessarily have their identity as, but they can all score and create problems down low, especially off the rush.

"I think we're a good team creating off the rush, especially when we're breaking pucks out well. And I've said it all the time, as long as we get our forwards going with possession out of our own zone, more often than not, they're going to do a great job creating up the ice and managing pucks."

Karlsson finished with two special teams goals, one short-handed goal near the end of the second period and a power-play goal early in the third. It was the latter that not only ended up being the game-winner, but that also moved him within one point of his 400th point as a Golden Knight.

and here's his power-play goal! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/je3QJgwur9

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 17, 2025

Goaltender Akira Schmid improved to 3-0-0 after stopping 19 shots in what was his third appearance but just his second start of the season.

Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, and Nico Hischier scored, and the New Jersey Devils won their home opener, 3-1, against the Florida Panthers at Prudential Center on Thursday.

Evan Rodrigues scored Florida's lone goal, and Daniil Tarasov made 31 saves for the Panthers. 

"I felt we stayed with it," head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "(It was a) funny game, lots of special teams, all that kind of stuff, especially in the early going, but we stayed with our game. We built our game as we went through. Power play finally came through after a ton of chances, so that was good. Penalty kill was outstanding, and we built our lead in the third period." 

Rodrigues opened the scoring at the 1:59 mark of the first period. Brad Marchand fired two quick shots on Allen before his linemate capitalized, scoring his fourth career goal against New Jersey.  

Jack Hughes tied it 1-1 with a power play goal at 5:48 of the second period. Devils team reporter Sam Kasan perfectly described the goal, "When puck carriers get near the goal line, goalies are taught to use the Reverse VH (down on a knee with body against the post). That leaves them vulnerable up high if you can make a great shot. Jack waits for Tarasov to drop and then picks the corner."

Jesper Bratt's primary assist on Hughes' goal marked the 300th of his NHL career. It ranks 10th all-time for franchise history behind Aaron Broten's 307 (ninth). 

Meier put the Devils in front 2-1 at 6:21, redirecting Simon Nemec's shot from the blue line. Brenden Dillon picked up the secondary assist. 

"I was hoping," Meier said postgame when asked if he thought Nemec was going to take that shot. "I think that is something we can work on. Get more pucks to the net and types of goals like that. More guys at the net to get more goals like this."

Nico Hischier extended the Devils' lead with his second goal of the 2025-26 campaign. Dawson Mercer showed tremendous effort, diving to poke the puck over to his linemate. 

"It was important to treat our fans to a good game, especially in the first one of the season," Meier continued. "I thought the guys got better as the game went on; it was impressive."

The Devils' next game is scheduled for Saturday afternoon against the Edmonton Oilers at Prudential Center. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

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The Buffalo Sabres finally won a regular-season game Wednesday, beating the Ottawa Senators to get their record to 1-3-0. But if you think the Sabres are out of the woods now, think again. The Sabres are still going to have to play extremely hard to recover in the Atlantic Division standings.

Why? For one thing, lust look at the current standings position of the Senators team the Sabres just beat. Ottawa has put up a 2-3-0 record out of the skate, with the Sens being outscored 18-7 in those three defeats. So we know the Sabres weren’t taking on an elite Ottawa team Wednesday. 

The Sens will be a much better squad when they get star forward Brady Tkachuk back from injury, but as far as the Sabres go, they’d best believe Ottawa will give them a far tougher test than the one they had Wednesday.

These inter-divisional games are so important to win, so that was heartening for the Sabres. But they didn’t play a perfect game Wednesday. Far from it. Because even in a winning game against the Sens, they still gave up four goals. That means Buffalo has allowed 14 goals in its four games this season. And that’s not acceptable.

The margin for error in Buffalo is as thin as a wasp’s wing. But the biggest thing – as crazy as it sounds – is that the Sabres can’t get complacent. To get back in the race for a Stanley Cup playoff spot, they’re going to need many more wins to be in the playoff conversation. 

More Misery For Sabres As Buffalo Loses Third Straight Game To Start New SeasonAny way you want to frame it, losing three straight games to start the season is a disaster for the Buffalo Sabres. <a href="http://thn.com/buffalo">The Sabres</a>' third straight defeat came Monday at the hands of the <a href="http://thn.com/colorado">Colorado Avalanche</a> -- a legitimate Stanley Cup frontrunner -- and once again, offense was a problem for Buffalo.

Judging by last season, you need 40-44 wins just to get into a wild-card. So you can see why the road ahead is so tough for the Sabres. Their poor start to the current situation had fans anxious, but to be honest, they should still be anxious for this team for quite some time. It’s going to take a consistent effort to get this Sabres team across the finish line as a playoff team.

And if they can’t do it, change will be on the horizon in Buffalo. 

Regardless of how the season shakes out for the Pittsburgh Penguins, there are sure to be a good bit of milestones courtesy of their future Hall-of-Famers.

And one of them has climbed two all-time lists with one goal.

On Thursday, 39-year-old center Evgeni Malkin scored a second-period power play goal against the Los Angeles Kings, which puts him at 515 for his career - tying him for 41st on the NHL's all-time list with Pierre Turgeon. 

In addition, Malkin tied Guy Lafleur for 29th on the NHL's all-time points list at 1,353. He is now just one point shy of tying Brendan Shanahan for 28th on the list.

Last season, Malkin became just the 48th player in NHL history - and fourth active player - to reach the 500-goal mark. He needs just four more goals to surpass Dale Hawerchuk for 40th all-time in goals.

Despite Healthy Scratches, 'Development Plan' Could Be Good Sign For Two Top Penguins' ProspectsEven if the Penguins sideline top prospects Brunicke and Kindel for "development," this strategic move signals a long-term commitment - possibly defying expectations of a return to juniors for both players.

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!    

Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele scored twice and tied the franchise’s all-time points record as the Jets rolled to a 5–2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night at Canada Life Centre.

Scheifele, who recorded his 811th and 812th career points, matched Ilya Kovalchuk’s franchise mark and continued a strong early-season run for Winnipeg. His second goal, a power-play marker early in the third period, gave the Jets a commanding 4–1 lead and helped seal their third straight win.

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Vladislav Namestnikov opened the scoring less than five minutes into the first period, followed by second-period goals from Scheifele and Morgan Barron. The Flyers briefly clawed back into the game with a goal from Owen Tippett late in the second, but Barron responded just 1:27 later to restore Winnipeg’s two-goal cushion.

Philadelphia rookie Matvei Michkov added a late goal in the third, but Tanner Pearson iced the game with an empty-netter in the final minute.

Connor Hellebuyck made 15 saves for the Jets (3–1–0), who dominated the pace of play despite being outshot 17–15. Kyle Connor chipped in with two assists.

Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson stopped 10 shots in the loss as Philadelphia (2–2–0) dropped its second straight game.

The Jets return to action Saturday night when they host the Calgary Flames.

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Shane Pinto scored the shootout winner as the Ottawa Senators defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-3 on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre. Pinto scored in regulation as well and currently leads all NHL players with 6 goals on the young season.

It was a fine bounce-back performance by Ottawa after getting pounded 8-4 in Buffalo the night before. Having said that, the Senators were less than two minutes away from their fourth straight loss. They trailed 3-2, and with Linus Ullmark on the bench for the extra attacker, Dylan Cozens scored to tie the game at 3 with 1:46 remaining.

Cozens unleashed what appeared to be a nothing shot from the boards out past the top of the right circle. But Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer may have been screened by his teammate, Jamie Oleksiak, who appeared to skate through Grubauer's field of vision at just the wrong time.

The 3-on-3 overtime settled nothing, but Tim Stützle and Shane Pinto both scored in the shootout to seal the win for Ottawa. Pinto’s goal, a shot just inside the right post, clinched it for the Sens. He's now the NHL’s leading goal scorer with 6 goals in 5 games.

For the fifth time in as many games the Senators allowed the first goal. But goals from Pinto and David Perron helped them rally to take a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. That advantage was erased by a pair of Chandler Stephenson goals – one in the second and another early in the third. And that, of course, set up Cozens’ late, game-tying heroics.

Of course, he wouldn't have had a chance to do so if Ullmark didn't make some monster saves in the third. Overall, Ullmark was excellent, stopping 30 of 33 shots, along with two more in the shootout.

 "I thought Linus was huge in the third period," head coach Travis Green told the media after the game. "Everyone raises their game, or you hope they can raise their game when the heat's on. And everyone does it in a different way. For a goalie, it's finding ways to stop the puck when maybe you don't. And the good goalies in the league make big saves when it matters. And he did tonight."

The Senators will play game two of their four-game homestand on Saturday afternoon at 3 against the New York Islanders.

More Sens headlines at the Hockey News Ottawa:
Tkachuk Has Successful Thumb Surgery And Will Miss 6-8 Weeks
Sens Call Up Kaliyev As Tkachuk Goes On IR
Senators Suffer Discouraging 8-4 Loss At Buffalo
Senators Lose Sebrango, Claimed Off Waivers By Florida
An Early Glance At The Senators' Goaltending Pipeline
Brady Tkachuk Likely To Miss A Month Of Action (At Least)

Oct 16, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos (91) celebrates his goal against the Montreal Canadiens with his teammates during the second period at Bell Centre. David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Coming off a hard-fought 7-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena, the Nashville Predators hoped to get back on track in Montreal Thursday at the Bell Centre against the Canadiens.

For most of the game, it looked like that might happen. After Nick Perbix scored to put the Preds ahead 2-1 at 11:21 of the third period, Cole Caufield scored the tying goal with 19 seconds left in regulation. He then tallied the golden goal with three seconds left in overtime for a 3-2 Canadiens victory.

"I liked our game," Preds head coach Andrew Brunette told reporters. "We gave ourselves a really good chance to win. Every second counts. I think we thought it was over, kinda gave up on (the overtime) play a little bit, and it turned around. Big learning experience."

The loss was a tough one to swallow for the Predators, who drop to 2-1-2 for the season. They continue to fight hard, but need to find a way to close out games.

After a scoreless first period, Steven Stamkos scored his first goal of the season to put the Preds ahead 1-0 at 11:36 of the middle frame. Roman Josi and Luke Evangelista each picked up assists. Perbix had the other Nashville goal.

Steven Stamkos, goal No. 583.

Deflects in off a Habs defenseman. pic.twitter.com/JxIEMA6IYj

— Alex Daugherty (@AlexDaugherty1) October 17, 2025

Oliver Kapanen tied the score 1-1, and Caufield netted the final two nails in the Preds' coffin.

Prior to the game, the Predators reassigned forward Joakim Kemell to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. Brady Martin was a healthy scratch for the third consecutive game, with Nick Blankenburg also a healthy scratch.

The Preds were facing a Canadiens team that had won their last three, including a 5-4 overtime win over the Seattle Kraken in their home opener Tuesday. The Habs improved to 4-1-1 after Thursday's win.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Steven Stamkos Finally Gets One

The first season in Nashville was a difficult one for Steven Stamkos as he tried to make the transition from a long career in Tampa Bay with the Lightning.

Coming into Thursday’s contest, Stamkos had no goals and an assist for one point through four games. He finally lit the lamp at the 11:36 mark of the middle frame on a nice setup by Roman Josi.

Stamkos’s shot deflected off a Habs defenseman and got past goalie Jakub Dobes to give Nashville a 1-0 lead. Josi and Luke Evangelista were each awarded assists.

"Sometimes you need that killer instinct to put some teams away," Stamkos said. "Whether that's on the power play or 5-on-5, it's been a struggle. We've just gotta keep digging."

Stamkos's goal actually came on a power play after Montreal’s Zachary Bolduc went to the sin bin for hooking. The goal snapped an 0-for-13 skid on the power play over the last three games for the Preds.

Stamkos now has 583 goals for his career. The Preds’ offense would get a real boost if he can find a rhythm, especially in tight games like these where the offense has had trouble lighting the lamp consistently.

Perbix Is Finding Some Offense, But The Preds Defense Still Has Cracks

One of general manager Barry Trotz's main tasks this past off-season was to bring more size to the defense and more protection for Juuse Saros.

Trotz brought in Nicolas Hague and Nick Perbix. Hague suffered an injury during training camp and has yet to play this season. Perbix has stepped up offensively, especially in the last two games.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Perbix scored what appeared to be the game-winner Thursday, until Cole Caufield knotted things up 2-2 with 19 seconds remaining in regulation.

Perbix's goal was his second in as many games. It came right after Saros made one of his many key saves in the game, putting the Preds ahead 2-1 at 11:21 of the third.

Perbix's offense notwithstanding, the Preds defense still needs to tighten things up. Saros, who came into the game with a 2-01 record and a 1.64 goals-against average, was money all night against the Habs. He stopped 24 of 27 shots and made countless key saves that kept his team in a tight game.

The Preds allowed Montreal to attack the net on a sequence that Saros stopped until Oliver Kapanen finally connected at the 6:02 mark of the third period. No one had an answer for Cole Caufield on either of his two goals, one that tied the game with 19 seconds left and the golden goal in overtime to break the hearts of the Preds.

Saros has been the definition of great so far this season. Great goaltending will only take a team so far, however, if his defense allows constant traffic in front of the net in close, tight contests. They must find a way to close things out and not rely on their netminder to do all the work.

Tyson Jost Is Mr. 500

Just five games into wearing a Preds jersey, forward Tyson Jost reached a milestone once he set foot on the ice by playing in his 500th career NHL game.

In 10 seasons, Jost has accumulated 149 points (61-88-149). The Predators claimed Jost off waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes Oct. 1. He scored four goals and five assists for nine points and 46 hits in 39 games for the Hurricanes last season.

In 14:31 of ice time, Jost had two shots on goal and no points. He would be a lot happier if his 500th game had resulted in a win regardless of his individual stats.

NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Horvat tied it short-handed in the second period, scored the go-ahead goal on the power play and finished off the hat trick with an empty-netter with 8.1 seconds left to help the New York Islanders pick up their first win of the season by rallying to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Thursday night.

Seven seconds after Trent Frederic high-sticked Matthew Schaefer, Horvat beat Stuart Skinner with 4:46 left to bring fans — some of whom were booing the home team earlier — to their feet. Mat Barzal had the Islanders’ first goal and the primary assist on Horvat’s game-winner, while David Rittich stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced at the other end of the ice in his Islanders debut.

Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard gave the puck away on an inexplicable turnover in the neutral zone to set up Barzal’s goal and was the last player back on the power play who let Horvat past him for a breakaway on Skinner. Bouchard, who is the fourth-highest-paid player at his position in the NHL and tied for 14th among all players at a salary cap hit of $10.5 million, also coughed the puck up to cause several quality scoring chances against.

Leon Draisaitl scored on the power play, his third goal this season, off a feed from Connor McDavid, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had Edmonton’s other goal. Skinner was hardly to blame in allowing three goals on 24 shots as teammates hung him out to dry on multiple occasions with mistakes all over in a back-and-forth, fast-paced game, including Frederic’s ill-timed penalty.

The Islanders will take the two points however they can get them after opening with losses at Pittsburgh and at home to Washington and Winnipeg. Schaefer, playing against McDavid for the first time as No. 1 draft picks a decade apart, skated 17:38 in his fourth game in the league.

Up next

Oilers: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

Islanders: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

The Colorado Avalanche concluded their two-game road trip with an undefeated record.

Their latest triumph came Thursday night at Nationwide Arena, where they dictated pace and possession in a 4–1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets — a performance that showcased both their offensive precision and defensive composure.

Scott Wedgewood once again was dominant with 22 saves on the night. Valeri Nichushkin led the offensive charge with a pair of goals, while Cale Makar marked his 400th NHL game with a goal and an assist. Brock Nelson notched his first tally of the season, and captain Gabe Landeskog recorded his first point of the campaign with an assist.

Ivan Provorov scored the lone goal for Columbus and netminder Elvis Merzlikins was solid in defeat with a 32-save performance.

First Period

Early on, Nelson displayed his hand-eye coordination by splitting two defenders and batting a loose puck out of midair before firing a shot just wide of the net.

Moments later, Victor Olofsson broke free down the left wing and tested Merzlikins with a sharp wrist shot that was neatly gloved.

Artturi Lehkonen nearly broke the deadlock for Colorado, powering through two defenders to get a clean look at Merzlikins, but his attempt ricocheted off the netminder’s right pad.

Brent Burns was called for hooking Mathieu Olivier, granting Columbus a power-play opportunity. But much like their 0-for-5 showing on Monday against New Jersey, the Jackets’ man advantage sputtered, managing only a single shot as Colorado’s penalty kill stood tall.

Late in the period, Devon Toews nearly capitalized with a wrist shot from the left circle that nicked the top of Merzlikins’ stick before sailing out of play.

Second Period

Provorov opened the scoring just 1:36 into the frame, snapping a wrister from the left circle that beat Wedgewood cleanly. The play came together after a brutal turnover at the other end of the ice gave Columbus an ample opportunity to make the Avalanche pay, and that’s exactly what they did. 

From there, Colorado flipped the script in emphatic fashion — a sequence that could only be described as a deflection masterclass.

First, in his 400th career game, Makar buried a pinpoint wrist shot off a Martin Nečas feed to even the score.

Barely a minute later, Nelson tipped home Burns’ cannon from the point to put the Avalanche ahead 2–1.

Then, with just over three seconds left in the period, Nichushkin redirected a Sam Malinski shot to cap a three-goal outburst and send Colorado into the intermission with all the momentum.

Third Period

Nečas was whistled for hooking Yegor Chinakhov, but Colorado’s penalty killers continued their perfection — even as Wedgewood absorbed a heavy shot from Adam Fantilli that briefly winded him.

Dmitri Voronkov’s hold on Makar earned Colorado their first power play of the night, but the Avs couldn’t extend the lead.

With eight minutes to play, Colorado maintained a 3–1 advantage and a 29–20 lead in shots. Nichushkin nearly made it a multi-goal night earlier, streaking down the right side and flipping a backhander that Merzlikins denied with the glove.

Columbus emptied the net with 3:31 remaining, but the gamble backfired. GLandeskog found Nichushkin racing down the right wing, and the winger tapped in his second of the game — sealing a 4–1 Avalanche victory.

Takeaways

This was a solid performance that saw a lot of players contribute towards the outcome. Most importantly, we know the offense is the primary strength of this team, but defensively, although there was a turnover that led to the only goal for the Blue Jackets, there were far less turnovers than the previous game against Buffalo. As long as we continue to get better at keeping the puck in our possession, we have a solid foundation.

Nečas is now on a five-game point streak. Sign the man. Nothing more needs to be said about that. 

Columbus had two “goals” nullified and in both cases they involved hand passes.

Next Game

The Avalanche (4-0-1) return to Ball Arena on Saturday to take on David Pastrňák and the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. local time.