* The week opens with a six-game schedule highlighted by the premiere of Prime Monday Night Hockey for Prime Members in Canada as well as holiday matinees in Boston, Ottawa and New Jersey.
*Casey DeSmith stopped all shots he faced during his Dallas debut and helped the Stars achieve a rare feat with their second shutout in as many days.
* The Jets and Flames were the two teams Sunday who collected a comeback win, boosting the season total so far to 20, exactly half of all games. This trend was part of the storylines that came from the first full week of the 2024-25 season.
Penguins pitted against Canadiens in Prime Monday Night Hockey premiere
Today’s six-game slate is highlighted by Sidney Crosby and the Penguins visiting Nick Suzuki and the Canadiens during the premiere of Prime Monday Night Hockey, which will stream all national regular-season Monday night games in English throughout the 2024-25 campaign for Prime Members in Canada.
* Prime Monday Night Hockey features an all-star cast led by play-by-play announcer John Forslund as well as analysts Thomas Hickey, Shane Hnidy and Jody Shelley. Co-hosts Andi Petrillo and Adnan Virk as well as analyst Blake Bolden anchor the Prime Monday Night sports desk from on-site alongside a mix of local guests throughout the season, while Mark Messier will be a contributor over the course of the campaign both on the desk and with vignettes.
* Crosby needs one point to become the 10th player in NHL history with 1,600. Crosby has collected 24 of his 1,599 career points at Bell Centre and is set to contest one more game in Montreal on Dec. 12 before returning to the venue with Canada for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Offin February.
* Suzuki could join Crosby with Canada at the international event after representing his country in the 2019 World Junior Championship and 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. Suzuki also skated with Canada White at the 2015 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
* Monday features five other contests including three matinees as Thanksgiving and Columbus Day are observed in Canada and the U.S., respectively. Utah Hockey Club can become the first franchise in League history to earn wins in each of its first four games, while multiple Utah players can extend their season-opening goal streaks.
WEEK AHEAD FEATURES MORE NATIONAL GAMES, NHL COAST TO COAST
Other national broadcasts to look forward to during the week ahead:
Tuesday, Oct. 15 – ESPN doubleheader one week before Frozen Frenzy
* The final games on ESPN before Frozen Frenzy returns next week feature Jordan Kyrou and the Blues battling Kirill Kaprizov and the Wild followed by Matvei Michkov and the Flyers facing Connor McDavid and the Oilers.
Wednesday, Oct. 16 – NHL on TNT two-pack, Kings-Maple Leafs on Sportsnet and TVA Sports
* An NHL on TNT doubleheader opens with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins hosting Rasmus Dahlin and the Sabres before closing with David Pastrnak and the Bruins visiting Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche. The contests bookend Anze Kopitar and the Kings clashing with Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.
Thursday, Oct. 17 – NHL Coast to Coast on Prime Video
* Prime Video’s weekly whip-around studio show for Prime Members in Canada returns during an 11-game slate which is set to feature Will Smith and the Sharks squaring off with Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks, marking the first head-to-head game between the 2023 NHL Draft class members.
Saturday, Oct. 19 – Four-game Hockey Night in Canada slate
* Another star-studded Hockey Night in Canada features Matthews and the Maple Leafs continuing their four-game homestand while Nick Suzuki and the Canadiens, Quinn Hughes and the Canucks as well as Jonathan Huberdeau and the Flames contest road games.
SUNDAY NIGHT HOCKEY SEES TEAMS STAY PERFECT
Sunday’s four-game slate saw the Jets, Stars, Flames and Golden Knights remain undefeated to start 2024-25.
DeSMITH SHINES IN STARS DEBUT AS DALLAS DEALS OUT SECOND STRAIGHT SHUTOUT
Wyatt Johnston scored his first goal of 2024-25 and extended his season-opening point streak to three games as the Stars skated to a second shutout in as many days but this time thanks to Casey DeSmith (25 saves), who made his team debut. The Stars/North Stars recorded shutouts on consecutive days for the second time in franchise history (also 2 GP from Dec. 15-16, 1967).
* Dallas became the seventh team in the past 50 years to record a shutout in each of its first two home games of a season. The others: Philadelphia (2015-16), Minnesota (2014-15), St. Louis (2012-13), Columbus (2007-08), Florida (2005-06) and Calgary (2001-02).
* DeSmith became the fourth goaltender in Stars/North Stars history to record a shutout in his team debut, joining Antti Niemi (Oct. 8 ,2015), Mike Smith (Oct. 21, 2006) and Markus Mattsson (Jan 12, 1983).
* Johnston became the fifth player age 21 or younger in Stars/North Stars history to have a season-opening point streak of at least three games and the first since Mike Modano (3 GP in 1991-92).
COMEBACK TRENDS CONTINUE IN EARLY PART OF 2024-25
The Jets and Flames both continued the trend of come-from-behind wins with their victories over the Wild and Oilers:
* After falling 1-0 early in the first period, the Jets rallied back with goals from Mark Scheifele andKyle Connor in overtime to help the Jets improve to 3-0-0 – their longest winning streak to begin a season in franchise history – and earn their sixth straight victory against the Wild. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 of 27 saves as Winnipeg has now held its opponents to one or fewer goals in each of its first three games of 2024-25 – the first time in franchise history the club has started a campaign that way.
* Justin Kirkland scored his first NHL goal to help the Flames improve to 3-0-0 this season, one shy of their longest winning streak to start a campaign in franchise history. Kirkland, who was coached in junior by his now head coach Ryan Huska and signed with Calgary as a free agent on July 3, was selected 62nd overall in the 2014 NHL Draft, spent eight years playing in the American Hockey League and was skating in just his 11th NHL game Sunday. The last two instances of a player scoring their first NHL goal 10-plus years after being drafted were achieved by goaltenders Tristan Jarry (Nov. 30, 2023) and Linus Ullmark (Feb. 25, 2023).
EICHEL, GOLDEN KNIGHTS CONTINUE EARLY SUCCESS IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The Oct. 13 edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates saw notes from all eight teams in action, including the Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel, who became the first player in franchise history with at least seven points through three games of a campaign as Vegas improved to a 3-0-0 start for the third straight season.
QUICK CLICKS
*Sidney Crosby can join NHL 1,600-point club in debut of ‘Prime Monday Night Hockey’
* Color of Hockey: Juan Carlos Otero‘s Amerigol LATAM Cup looks to expand reach in 2025
* NBA legend Carmelo Anthony wears Peter Forsberg Avalanche jersey to Colorado football game
* Jared Bednar, Spencer Carbery, Ryan Warsofsky share bond from South Carolina of ECHL
* Zizing ‘Em Up: Mike Sullivan discusses U.S. roster for 2025 4 Nations Face-Off
FIRST FULL WEEK OF THE 2024-25 SEASON OFFICIALLY WRAPPED
The 2024-25 season has officially completed its first full week and there’s already been plenty of noteworthy #NHLStats and storylines:
* Teams honored the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, including the Flames who recognized the pair with a moment of applause in an emotional pre-game ceremony Saturday. All players will wear a decal with the numbers 13 and 21 in honor of the Gaudreau brothers through Oct. 24.
* Utah Hockey Club commenced their NHL journey undefeated in their first week of action. The League’s newest franchise is 3-0-0, and can make NHL history with a fourth straight victory on Oct. 14.
* The sports world bared witness to a monumental moment on Oct. 8 when Seattle’s Jessica Campbell made NHL history as the first woman to work a regular-season game as an assistant, associate or head coach.
* A plethora of players have found their scoring touch to start 2024-25 as there have been 31 multi-goal performances, including three hat tricks registered by Mikko Rantanen (Oct. 9), Anze Kopitar (Oct. 10) and Nikita Kucherov (Oct. 11), with the latter two doing so in natural fashion and achieving a never-before-seen NHL feat.
* Macklin Celebrini, the first-overall pick from the 2024 NHL Draft, had a debut to remember when he became the sixth-youngest player in NHL history to score in his first career game and the second youngest to tally two points in that same contest.
* There have been 247 goals scored at the end of the first full week of the season, with Utah and Calgary leading the way with 16. The most scored in a single game was by Vegas, which potted eight against Colorado in the highest-scoring contest so far (8-4 on Oct. 9).
* Results have been anything but predictable to start the new season. Of the 40 games played, 20 have been won in comeback fashion with seven of those occuring in the third period. Even a two-plus goal lead wasn’t always safe in the final frame – there have been two multi-goal, third-period comeback wins, which includes a three-goal, third-period rally by the Blues on Oct. 10.
