NHL Morning Skate for Sunday, October 25, 2026

October 25, 2026

* The first of three NHL outdoor games this season goes tonight in Winnipeg when the Jets host the Canadiens at Princess Auto Stadium for the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic.

* Nikita Kucherov passed longtime former teammate Steven Stamkos atop the Lightning’s all-time points list and became the eighth active player to hold that distinction for a franchise.

* Seventeen of 26 calendar days this season have featured at least one team score six goals in a game, including three Atlantic Division teams that did so Saturday.

SUNDAY’S HERITAGE CLASSIC FIRST OUTDOOR GAME OF 2026-27

The puck drops on the first of three NHL outdoor games this season tonight in Winnipeg when the Canadiens visit the Jets at Princess Auto Stadium – transformed into a rustic Canadian cottage (view time-lapse of rink build) – for the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic. The Canadiens enter the contest with points in five of their last six games (4-1-1), while the Jets look to earn an outdoor game win in Winnipeg for the first time – their previous victory outdoors came at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Sask.

* The 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic will mark the 10th NHL outdoor game played in Canada (eighth under Heritage Classic banner) and the League’s 46th outdoor contest overall. Winnipeg will join Edmonton as the second Canadian city to host an NHL outdoor game twice (only Chicago & New York have hosted more – 3x each).

* Two other outdoor games are slated for 2026-27 including the Discover NHL Winter Classic at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Utah (Dec. 31) and the 2027 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (Feb. 20).

* Adam Lowry, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey (Morrissey is currently on IR) have all appeared in Winnipeg’s two previous NHL outdoor games. In the Jets’ lone outdoor game win to date (2-1 OTW vs. CGY at 2019 HC), Morrissey scored the game-tying goal with an assist from Scheifele, while Connor earned the primary assist on Bryan Little’s overtime winner.

* The two newest Jets, Dawson Mercer and Nico Daws – who arrived in Winnipeg Friday night after the trade and could join a group of three players who made a team debut at an NHL outdoor game – also have experience outdoors. They both played for the Devils during their 6-3 win over the Flyers at the 2024 NHL Stadium Series with Daws setting an NHL record for saves in an outdoor game (45).

* Each of the past four head-to-head meetings between the Jets and Canadiens have seen the winning team overcome a deficit to win, with the teams splitting victories in those contests (MTL: 2-2-0; WPG: 2-1-1). Overall, Montreal leads all teams with 51 comeback wins since 2024-25 (WPG: 39).

* One of the most anticipated traditions of NHL outdoor games is the unique and creative player arrivals. Fans are invited to gather along the walkway to Gate 1 outside Princess Auto Stadium to greet both teams as they arrive to a festive atmosphere on game day. The Jets are expected to arrive at approximately 2:45 p.m. (CDT). The Canadiens are expected to arrive at approximately 3:15 p.m. (CDT).

* A special first intermission presented by Ticketmaster performance hosted by ‘Off Campus’ star Ella Bright will see musical performances from Remi Wolf, Wolf Parade, Feist and G Flip.

HERITAGE CLASSIC ONE OF FIVE GAMES ON SUNDAY’S SLATE

There’s plenty more hockey to go around on Sunday with a star-studded five-game slate that includes Chicago’s Connor Bedard and Florida’s Sam Reinhart going head-to-head in a matinee matchup as well as Minnesota’s Quinn Hughes making his return to Vancouver.

KUCHEROV CLAIMS LIGHTNING’S ALL-TIME POINTS RECORD
Nikita Kucherov’s first NHL point came on Nov. 25, 2013 and his 1,138th came tonight against the Mammoth as he became the Lightning’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing longtime former teammate Steven Stamkos. Click here to read the #NHLStats Fact Sheet on Kucherov’s achievement.

* Kucherov became the fifth player in the 34-season history of the franchise to be the club’s all-time points leader (min. 25 points), following Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Brian Bradley.

* The Lightning are the third decades-old franchise to have its all-time points record change since the start of last season (also LAK and PIT) and Kucherov is now one of eight active players who ranks as a franchise scoring leader, joining Sidney Crosby (PIT), Clayton Keller (UTA), Aleksander Barkov (FLA), Jared McCann (SEA), Roman Josi (NSH), Jonathan Marchessault (VGK) and Alex Ovechkin (WSH).

STARS SHINE FOR ATLANTIC DIVISION CLUBS IN HIGH-SCORING GAMES

The Atlantic Division provided plenty of offense Saturday, with the Senators, Bruins and Maple Leafs each scoring six or more goals. Seventeen of 26 calendar days this season have now featured at least one team score six goals in a game.

* Drake Batherson (3-1—4) scored Ottawa’s first, third and seventh goal of the game to record his third career hat trick and match Brady Tkachuk for the seventh most in franchise history. Batherson has recorded all three of his hat tricks at Canadian Tire Centre, tying Dany Heatley and Marian Hossa for the most at home in Senators+-¢¼. Ottawa registered its first seven-goal game of 2026-27, a stat they co-led the League in last season (also WSH w/ 6).

* After the Sharks took a 3-2 lead, David Pastrnak (1-0—1) scored to pull the Bruins even and matched Patrice Bergeron (427) for third place on the Bruins’ all-time goals list as Boston rallied to defeat San Jose. In the process, Pastrnak also tied Patrik Elias (69) for the third-most game-tying goals by a Czech player in League history behind Jaromir Jagr (129) and Milan Hejduk (70).

* William Nylander (2-0—2) scored two of his team’s seven tallies and hit the 300-goal mark as the Maple Leafs defeated the Oilers to extend their winning streak to four games. Nylander eclipsed Rick Vaive (299) for the sixth-most goals with the franchise and became just the 10th Swedish player in NHL history to reach the 300-goal milestone.

#NHLSTATS FROM AROUND THE RINKS FEATURED IN LIVE UPDATES

A 12-game Saturday delivered plenty of notable #NHLStats from star players and new faces alike. Click here to read every note from the latest edition of Live Updates.

* Leo Carlsson (1-1—2) posted a multi-point game to help the Ducks earn their 10th multi-goal comeback win dating to the start of last season – tied with the Stars for the most in the NHL over that span. Carlsson tied Lucas Raymond (64) for the second-most goals in NHL history by a Swedish player age 21 or younger – a list topped by Mats Sundin (83).

* Sidney Crosby (0-1—1) factored on one of his team’s three goals as the Penguins rallied to defeat the Predators in overtime. Crosby recorded his 1,111th career assist with Pittsburgh and matched Ray Bourque (w/ BOS) for the most with a single franchise in NHL history.

* Dmitri Simashev (2-0—2) scored his first NHL goal to level the game in the second period and scored his second career goal in overtime to complete Utah’s multi-goal comeback win. Simashev became the sixth active defenseman to have his first two career goals come in the same game, joining Mike Benning (April 15, 2026), J.J. Moser (Dec. 28, 2021), Dylan Coghlan (March 10, 2021), Colton Parayko (Oct. 13, 2015) and his teammate Mikhail Sergachev (Oct. 19, 2017).

* Pyotr Kochetkov stopped all 24 shots he faced to climb the Hurricanes’ all-time shutout list and become the third active goaltender to open a season with a seven-game winning streak, joining Frederik Andersen (8 GP in 2021-22 w/ CAR) and Logan Thompson (7 GP in 2024-25 w/ WSH). The NHL-leading Hurricanes (9-2-2, 20 points) hit the 20-point mark in 13 games, tied for the third-fastest pace in franchise history (11 GP in 2021-22 & 12 GP in 2024-25).