Puckline Press

Chicago did the hard part. Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi had the Hawks up 2-0 in the first, Oliver Moore put them back ahead 3-2 late in the second, and Anton Frondell set up two of the three. Then the third period happened, as it tends to in Chicago. Rasmus Dahlin tied it 6:10 in and Jiri Kulich buried the winner at 13:20, with Tage Thompson (goal, assist) and Jack Quinn also scoring for Buffalo. The Hawks managed 15 shots all night, so Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 12 and mostly enjoyed the view; Spencer Knight made 24 saves on 28 and deserved better company. Buffalo native Patrick Kane went home and left with zero points and a minor. Chicago is 0-3 and minus-10: the rebuild is still under construction, and the third period is a load-bearing wall made of cardboard.

Ottawa opened its season by beating Toronto in Toronto, which remains the Senators' favorite way to spend a Saturday. Thomas Chabot scored late in the first, Auston Matthews answered 33 seconds into the second, and Kirill Marchenko gave the Leafs a 2-1 lead on the power play. Toronto held it for five and a half minutes. Michael Amadio tied it from Tim Stützle and Chabot, and Stephen Halliday won it 9:46 into the third off feeds from Fabian Zetterlund and Claude Giroux. Shots finished 29 apiece; Linus Ullmark stopped 27, Sergei Bobrovsky 26, and the difference was who blinked in the third. The Leafs blinked. Toronto is 1-2 with a new coach and a new goalie, and the same old feeling of watching a lead walk out the door with the Senators holding it open.

Tampa Bay's 11-forward, seven-defenseman experiment paid off in every way it could. Charle-Edouard D'Astous scored 2:26 in, Conor Geekie made it 2-0 late in the first (Brandon Hagel and Jake Guentzel set up both), and the extra defenseman, Emil Lilleberg, found time to fight Vincent Desharnais in the second. Justin Sourdif got Washington on the board 7:04 into the second, and that was the whole Capitals offense: Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of 21. Charlie Lindgren was sharp at the other end (27 of 29) and it didn't matter. Guentzel finished it with an empty-netter for a goal and two assists, and the Lightning have their first win. Washington spent the summer buying forwards and came home with 21 shots: all that shopping, nothing in the bag.

Shayne Gostisbehere came back to Philadelphia and scored a big power-play goal, just like old times, only for the other team. Sebastian Aho scored 10 seconds into the game, Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov turned it into a 2-1 Flyers lead, and Aho tied it on the power play 4:59 into the third. Then Gostisbehere ended it on another power play at 2:51 of overtime, from Jackson Blake and Aho. Joseph Woll was the only reason it got that far: 37 saves on 40 as Carolina outshot Philly 40-18. Pyotr Kochetkov needed just 16 saves. The Flyers are 0-1-2, the hockey version of showing up to every party and leaving before the cake: three games, two points, minus-9, and an old friend delivering the bad news in their own building.

Pittsburgh built a 5-1 lead by the middle of the second period, then spent the next 25 minutes handing it back like an overdue library book. Evgeni Malkin (goal, two assists), Declan Carlile, Samuel Girard, Tommy Novak and Ben Kindel did the building. Nick Suzuki started the demolition late in the second, Cole Caufield scored his second of the night early in the third, and with Jakub Dobes pulled Montreal scored twice in 24 seconds: Chris Kreider at 18:52 and Ivan Demidov at 19:16. Suzuki finished with a goal and three assists, Lane Hutson with three helpers. Then Novak, from Malkin and Kris Letang, won it 1:33 into overtime for his second of the night. Both goalies stopped exactly 80 percent. The Penguins are 2-0. Montreal got a point and a lesson: comebacks are fun, but spotting a team four goals is how you end up with a Cup drought old enough to have a mortgage.

Utah walked into Columbus and won it on special teams. Mikhail Sergachev opened the scoring on the power play, Nick Schmaltz made it 2-0 before the first intermission, and after Kent Johnson (from Matthew Knies) cut it to 2-1 early in the second, the Utah power play struck twice more in the third: Dylan Guenther, then Schmaltz again. Three power-play goals, two goals for Schmaltz (three on the season) and a goal and two assists for Guenther (three goals in two games). Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley had two assists apiece. Sebastian Cossa stopped 17 of 18, because 18 was all Columbus could find; Jet Greaves made 27 saves on 31. Utah is 2-0 and plus-9 and heads to Madison Square Garden tonight. The Blue Jackets kept handing Utah power plays and shot like a team that left its sticks on the bus.

Edmonton's two best players waited until the last three minutes and then clocked in. Owen Michaels scored 2:51 into the game for his second of the season, Bobby McMann tied it on a Seattle power play in the second, and it sat at 1-1 until Leon Draisaitl, from Connor McDavid, scored with 2:27 left. McDavid added the empty-netter 82 seconds later, because of course he did. Devon Levi stopped 19 of 20; Philipp Grubauer stopped 22 of 24 and kept Seattle alive for 57 minutes. Ryan Lindgren and Trent Frederic dropped the gloves in the first period, the most physical thing the Kraken attack did all night. Seattle is 1-1 and comes home to face Calgary tonight with 20 shots of evidence that its offense is still exploring the ocean floor.

Ilya Sorokin made 37 saves, and New Jersey spent the night finding out what a brick wall feels like. The Devils outshot the Islanders 37-32 and lost 6-0, which takes real talent. Simon Holmstrom and Brayden Schenn scored 88 seconds apart early in the second, Bo Horvat added a power-play goal, and the third turned into a group project: Victor Eklund, Ondrej Palat and Casey Cizikas, the last one shorthanded with 1:19 left. Six goals, six different scorers. Matthew Schaefer had two assists and Eklund a goal and an assist. Nico Daws stopped 26 of 32 and got no help from anybody. The Islanders even up at 1-1. The Devils are minus-5 two games in, and their offense got lost somewhere on the Long Island Expressway and still hasn't called home.

Miro Heiskanen scored 47 seconds in, and Dallas apparently decided that was enough work for the second half of a back-to-back. Nashville answered with two power-play goals in the first period: Steven Stamkos, from Ryan O'Reilly and Roman Josi, and Nils Hoglander, his first as a Predator, from Jack Ahcan and Alexander Kerfoot. Then nobody scored for the last 44 minutes. Juuse Saros stopped 29 of 30; Casey DeSmith made 24 saves on 26 and was fine. Waiver pickup William Trudeau played his first NHL game, and Ahcan picked up a point in his Predators debut. The Stars are 0-2 and minus-5, and a team that piled up 112 points last season is now giving away power-play goals like free samples at the grocery store.

Tanner Jeannot scored 1:53 in for Boston, and the Bruins spent the next 58 minutes learning why you don't hand Minnesota power plays. Kirill Kaprizov tied it on the power play in the second, Quinn Hughes put the Wild ahead on another one six minutes later, Jared Spurgeon made it 3-1 early in the third, and Kaprizov closed it with an unassisted empty-netter. That's three goals in two games for Kaprizov; Hughes added an assist to his goal. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 26 of 27, and the Wild are 2-0. Michael DiPietro made 26 saves on 29 for Boston. The Bruins fall to 2-1, which is fine, but their offense after the first two minutes was a Boston traffic jam: plenty of horn, no movement.

Colorado scored the first six goals, and St. Louis spent the night looking for the exit. Cale Makar opened it 4:09 in, Martin Necas added another in the first, and the second period was a highlight reel: Josh Manson, Artturi Lehkonen (unassisted, already his third), Nicolas Roy, and Necas again, the last two 23 seconds apart late in the period. Necas finished with two goals and an assist; Nathan MacKinnon had three assists without scoring, which is how he relaxes. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 25 of 26 and lost the shutout to Dalibor Dvorsky early in the third. Jordan Binnington faced 36 shots and wore six of them. Colorado is 2-0 and plus-9. The Blues brought their new, younger look to Denver and found out the altitude isn't the only thing there that leaves you gasping.

For 40 minutes Calgary had a lead, a fight and a plan. Luke Schenn and Adam Klapka went at it 2:55 in, Matt Coronato scored on the power play late in the first, and Devin Cooley carried a 1-0 lead into the third. Then Vancouver scored four times in the final 20. Liam Ohgren tied it 88 seconds in, Elias Pettersson put the Canucks ahead from Ohgren and Tom Willander, Drew O'Connor added one with 3:27 left, and Aatu Räty hit the empty net. Linus Karlsson and Willander had two assists each. Leevi Meriläinen stopped 23 of 24; Cooley made 22 saves on 25. The Flames are 0-2 and minus-8 and play in Seattle tonight on the back end of a back-to-back, after blowing a third-period lead to the team that finished last in the league a year ago. Flames fans will be hearing that sentence in their sleep.

San Jose and Los Angeles played 63 minutes of hockey that needed a scorekeeper on overtime pay. Adrian Kempe opened it on the power play, then the Sharks scored three straight: Tyler Toffoli on a power play, Kiefer Sherwood unassisted, and Nolan Allan. Quinton Byfield answered on the power play with two seconds left in the second, Igor Chernyshov made it 4-2, and the Kings tied it with goals from Erik Haula and Artemi Panarin, the second at the 15-minute mark of the third. Then Macklin Celebrini found Chernyshov 3:18 into overtime for his second of the night. Yaroslav Askarov stopped 31 of 35, Anton Forsberg 20 of 25. San Jose is 2-0. The Kings outshot the Sharks 35-25 and still lost, a very Kings way to spend a Saturday: all the puck, none of the points, one point in two games.

Detroit's home opener had everything a long-suffering fan base could want: booing their own former captain before puck drop, then 60 minutes of not scoring. Dylan Garand, the Rangers' fill-in on the second night of a back-to-back, stopped all 22 shots for the shutout, which is what happens when the other team's shots arrive gift-wrapped. Sean Durzi scored on the power play 5:12 in and later fought Marco Kasper, a full night's work before the third period. Eeli Tolvanen hit the empty net with 1:16 left. John Gibson made 19 saves on 20 and got nothing for it but a sympathetic slap on the pads. New York is 2-1 and has won two straight. Detroit is 0-1, has no goals, no captain and a 10-season playoff drought, and the season is one game old.

The Capitals walked into the champs' building and had it 3-0 before the first intermission, the hockey version of showing up to a party and eating the cake. Alex Tuch scored twice in his Washington debut, and rookie defenseman Cole Hutson scored in his NHL debut, which beats the usual first-game souvenir of a puck and a nervous smile. Ovechkin got an assist on the opening goal, Jakob Chychrun had a power-play goal and an assist, and Dylan Strome and Pierre-Luc Dubois had two helpers each. Sebastian Aho finally got Carolina a power-play goal in the second, and Ryan Leonard answered eight seconds later, which is just rude. Logan Thompson made 31 saves on 33; Brandon Bussi let in five on 27. The Hurricanes outshot Washington and lost by three: 0-1-1, one goal in two home games, and the banner is already the best thing they've put up this season.

Winnipeg's home opener was a lovely evening right up until the last 1:38. The Jets led 3-2 after Mario Ferraro scored with eight seconds left in the second, Kyle Connor had a power-play goal, an assist and nine shots, and the Canada Life Centre was ready to go home happy. Then Boston pulled Jeremy Swayman, and Elias Lindholm tied it 6-on-5 at 18:22 of the third. JJ Peterka, two games into his Bruins career, won it 3:21 into overtime for his second goal. David Pastrnak and Nikita Zadorov set up two goals each, Hampus Lindholm and James Hagens also scored, and Mark Kastelic and Tyrel Bauer dropped the gloves early. Swayman stopped 30 of 33, Stuart Skinner 26 of 30. Boston is 2-0. Winnipeg got a point for its trouble, and a reminder that its former Vezina winner is still suspended for skipping camp and still waiting on a trade. Nothing says 'new season' like the old goalie problem.

Dallas spent the summer near the top of everybody's rankings and opened its season by getting shut out at home. Mason McTavish, playing his first game as a Blue, scored 94 seconds in, and the Stars spent the next 58 minutes looking for a reply. Dalibor Dvorsky made it 2-0 in the second, then St. Louis hit the empty net twice in 15 seconds, Jimmy Snuggerud and Pius Suter, with Joel Hofer picking up an assist on the second one. Hofer stopped all 25 shots for the shutout and outscored the entire Dallas roster in points. Jake Oettinger made 20 saves on 22 and deserved a better band in front of him. Jake Neighbours and Arttu Hyry fought in the second, the closest Dallas came to winning a battle all night. A 112-point team with Jason Robertson locked up, and the first goal of their season will have to wait for Nashville.

Anaheim's season opener in Vegas went great for about 45 minutes and then got very Vegas. Beckett Sennecke scored with eight seconds left in the first, Alex Killorn and Jeff Malott scored 55 seconds apart early in the second, and Leo Carlsson, the guy the Ducks paid to keep away from Philadelphia, made it 4-0 at 7:03. The Golden Knights trailed by four on home ice to a team that just lost half its summer roster, and the Strip briefly considered a dinner show. Then Shea Theodore, Tomas Hertl on the power play and Braeden Bowman with 2:50 left made it 4-3, and Jack Eichel had two assists in the rally. Lukas Dostal held on with 27 saves on 30. Carter Hart let in four on 20. Vegas played the last 20 minutes like Cup finalists and the first 40 like the house was comping the other team.

The Devils threw 44 shots at Joseph Woll, the hockey version of trying every key on the ring. Woll stopped 41 and dragged Philly to overtime, where Jack Hughes ended it at 3:23, because of course he did. The Flyers led twice: once on a Rasmus Ristolainen goal with their own goalie on the bench (bold), once on Travis Sanheim's goal early in the third. Both leads lasted about as long as a Philly sports-radio caller's patience. Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes did the tying, Bratt set up the winner, and Jake Allen needed only 23 saves. Tocchet shortened his bench so much that Porter Martone watched most of the third from the best seat in the house. One point and a minus-8 goal difference after two games: the Flyers are rebuilding, and so far the foundation is Joseph Woll and a lot of prayer.

Igor Shesterkin stopped 24 of 25 and then, apparently tired of waiting on his forwards, scored into the empty net himself. A goalie goal in the home opener: the Garden hasn't been this giddy since the last time somebody promised a parade. Zibanejad scored on the power play and set up another, Dorofeyev had two points, and Adam Fox handed out two assists like party favors. Tolvanen and Gabe Perreault joined in. Kucherov got one back in the second and then spent the night watching. Andrei Vasilevskiy let in four on 24 shots, not the opening act Tampa sold tickets for. Final tally: the entire Lightning roster scored one goal, exactly as many as the guy in the Rangers' crease, and he was busy making 24 saves at the time.

Matthew Knies' first game in a Blue Jackets sweater: two goals, an assist and, presumably, a thank-you card in the mail to Columbus. Charlie Coyle had three assists, Werenski two, and Columbus scored six on 23 shots, efficiency Buffalo can only read about. The Sabres hung around, 4-3 after two thanks to Quinn and Helenius, then remembered who they were. Luukkonen stopped 17 of 22, a save percentage best described as 'hospitable'. Mathieu Olivier fought Zach Metsa and then scored into the empty net, a full shift's work in one night. Owen Power and Noah Ostlund had two assists each, nice consolation prizes. Buffalo opened the season with 'this is the year' energy and closed the first night with 'here we go again.'

Nashville rolled out the home-opener pageantry and the Wild treated it like a soundcheck. Nick Foligno opened the scoring, Blake Coleman added a power-play goal, and Kaprizov put it away early in the third off a Quinn Hughes feed, a sentence Wild fans waited all summer to say. Hughes played 27:30 and looked like he'd been there for years. Jesper Wallstedt needed 19 saves, a light shift. Josi scored, Stamkos and Forsberg got assists, and the Preds managed 20 shots in their own building, roughly one per sad country song. Saros made 27 saves and deserved a better band behind him. Nashville spent big two summers ago to win now, and 'now' keeps showing up looking like this.

Calgary's home opener was over about 19 and a half minutes in, when the Kraken went up 3-0 and the Saddledome started checking the parking-lot traffic. Vince Dunn had three points, Jared McCann three assists, and Joey Daccord stopped 24 of 25 and still found time for an assist, which is one more point than the Flames' entire defense managed. Seattle's scoresheet read like a roll call: Eberle, Dunn, Gaudreau, Stephenson, Beniers, Kakko. Dustin Wolf faced 32 shots and six went in, and very little of it was his idea. Ryan Strome broke the shutout with 3:25 left, which in Calgary currently counts as a rally. The Flames have a shiny new arena on the way, and on this evidence it'll open before their second goal of the night would have.

The Sharks led Florida 3-0, which in San Jose is screenshot material. Will Smith scored shorthanded and on the power play in the same period, Celebrini set up three goals and put seven shots on net, and the building was ready to name a freeway after somebody. Then the Panthers woke up: Luostarinen twice and Matthew Tkachuk 17 seconds later, because Florida treats a three-goal hole like a mild inconvenience. Luca Cagnoni ended it in overtime anyway. Brady Tkachuk and Jacob Trouba dropped the gloves in the first, and Collin Graf and Uvis Balinskis followed suit in the second, so nobody left without a souvenir. Florida has Cup rings in the trophy case and just lost an overtime to a team that finished dead last in 2025: the champs' swagger made the trip, the finishing touch stayed in Sunrise.

Utah's home opener was a 6-0 party, and the Blackhawks brought 15 shots to it, which isn't a gift so much as an IOU. Dylan Guenther scored twice on the power play, Keller had two assists, and six different Mammoth scored, including Anders Lee in his first home game for his new team. Karel Vejmelka made 15 saves for the shutout and probably had time to reorganize the bench. Arvid Soderblom got a surprise start and 32 shots for his trouble. Ryan Donato fought MacKenzie Weegar in the third, the most competitive thing Chicago did all night. Two games, 0-2, minus-9: Chicago keeps saying the rebuild is almost finished, and the contractor still can't find the net.

Sixteen goals in Vancouver, which is what happens when two teams agree defense is a rumor. McDavid had five points, Draisaitl three, and the Oilers scored twice shorthanded in 34 seconds, which is just rude. It was 8-2 midway through the second and Kevin Lankinen's night was over. Then Edmonton did the most Oilers thing possible and let Vancouver score four straight, Marco Rossi twice, before Draisaitl calmed everybody down on the power play. Devon Levi gave up seven on 22 shots and still got the win, the hockey version of failing the exam and getting into the school anyway. Elias Pettersson had three points and eight hits, so at least one Canuck showed up angry. Vancouver had all summer to figure out how to stop McDavid, and the answer is still a shrug and a goalie change.

The Flyers had all summer to plan their home opener and still forgot to show up for it. Pittsburgh, a team that's supposedly too old to climb stairs, led 5-0 halfway through the second and kept going. Nick Robertson scored twice, once shorthanded, because even down a man the Pens looked like they had the extra skater. Filip Hallander turned a promotion to the third line into three points. Evgeni Malkin, 40, scored on the power play like it was 2009. Arturs Silovs needed 19 saves for the shutout, which is barely a warmup. Dan Vladar saw 38 shots and seven goals, and that's less on him than on the five guys in front of him who spent the night sightseeing. Philly's last Cup was 1975, and on this evidence nobody in orange is in a hurry to update the banner.

The Leafs won a hockey game, which in Toronto is basically a parade-route announcement. Two first-period goals from the bottom of the lineup, Colton Sissons and Easton Cowan, then 40 minutes of everyone in blue clutching the lead like a coupon. Auston Matthews and William Nylander combined for zero points and two shots, and somehow that's the formula. Anthony Stolarz stopped 26 of 27 on the back half of a back-to-back. The Islanders' only goal came from Emil Heineman while they were a man down, so maybe try that more often. Pete DeBoer's first night on the Island: 27 shots, one goal, and Matthew Schaefer playing 27:45 because apparently nobody else was cleared to. Long Island waited all summer for its team, and the offense is still stuck in traffic on the LIE.

The Kings found out the hard way that killing penalties isn't optional in Denver. Colorado scored four times on the power play, and LA, in a twist nobody asked for, scored twice while shorthanded, so at least somebody on the Kings enjoyed special teams. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and still found time to fight Brandt Clarke, a full shift's work in one night. Artturi Lehkonen added two power-play goals, Brock Nelson had three points, and Jared Bednar got a contract extension the same day and celebrated with eight goals. Darcy Kuemper stopped 21 of 29, a save percentage you usually find on a beer-league stat sheet. Artemi Panarin pulled LA within two with the net empty, and Colorado answered twice in 3:15. Life after Kopitar starts with eight goals against and a long flight home to think about it.

The defending champs opened their title defense with 15 shots in 65 minutes, which is a very Hurricanes way to play: all forecheck, no evidence. Markstrom barely broke a sweat in his first game as a Panther, and the winner came from a defenseman in overtime, of course the first goal of the season between these two took 64 minutes and 55 seconds. Imama and Deslauriers handled the entertainment portion of the evening in the first period. The rest of it played like a tax audit with better lighting.

Nylander scored before most of Scotiabank Arena found its seats, and for about ten minutes the new-look Leafs looked like a whole new team. Then the Canadiens scored three in a row and it looked like the old one. Alexandre Carrier, a defenseman, scored the unassisted winner, Josh Anderson did Josh Anderson things, and Toronto's late push got them within one and no closer. Marchenko's visa arrived just in time for him to find out what October in Toronto feels like. The good news for the Leafs: they get to try again tonight.

For 56 minutes this was a goalie duel. For the last four it was a Bruins highlight reel: Minten, Peterka, then Kastelic into the empty net, three goals in 75 seconds of game time. Swayman pitched a 24-save shutout, and the Rangers' new-look forward group left with a clean sheet of zeroes in the points column. Dorofeyev fired five shots in his debut, which is five more than the Rangers got past Swayman. Shesterkin got zero help,

Last season's last-place team walked into Edmonton, went up 5-2, gave all of it back, and won anyway. Hockey is a beautiful, stupid sport. Evan Bouchard put up five points, a hat trick included, and still lost, which is about as cruel as opening night gets, besides letting three in the last two. Paul Cotter scored shorthanded to open it and in overtime to end it, bookending the chaos. Jarry got put on skates letting 6 of 23 go in. Same old story, the oily Edmonton net minders continue to be leaking worse than the Oiler's cup hopes in June.

Patrick Kane scored in his first game back in a Blackhawks sweater, the United Center crowd would have loved it, except this was in Las Vegas. Thirty-nine seconds later Noah Hanifin restored the two-goal cushion, which is the kind of hospitality Vegas is famous for. Eichel ran the show with three points and the Knights outshot Chicago 36-26 under their new coach. The Hawks hung around for two periods, and hanging around is progress for a team that finished with 72 points last season.