* The Canadiens staved off a late Jets rally attempt to earn a 2-1 victory at the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic in front of a sellout crowd of 32,343 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.
* Quinn Hughes became the second-fastest American defenseman in NHL history to 500 career points as the Wild skated to victory in his return to Vancouver.
* The latest edition of Monday Night Hockey on Sportsnet+ features Auston Matthews looking to reach the 800-point mark when the Maple Leafs visit the Flames and Leon Draisaitl hoping to extend his multi-goal streak when the Oilers host the Red Wings.
FOWLER SHINES IN CANADIENS HERITAGE CLASSIC WIN
It was mentioned by coaches and players all week that playing outdoors is “hockey in its purest form” and the Canadiens earned a victory in front of a sellout crowd of 32,343 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, many donning “Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge” jerseys, with key performances from foundational positions anchoring the back end: goaltender Jacob Fowler stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced to hold off a late rally by the home team, both Montreal goals came from defensemen (Lane Hutson & Kaiden Guhle) and Noah Dobson became the all-time outdoor game leader for assists and points by a blueliner.
* Fowler’s 33-save performance included stopping 12 of 13 shots in the final frame as the Jets frantically tried to tie the game on a late power play, earning Fowler his fifth consecutive win – only Carolina’s Pyotr Kochetkov (7 GP) and Ottawa’s Linus Ullmark (6 GP) have had a longer win streak this season.
* Fowler(21 years, 335 days) became the youngest goaltender in NHL history to both start in an NHL outdoor game and earn a win in an outdoor contest. His 33 saves were the fourth most by a rookie netminder outdoors, behind only newly acquired Jets goaltender Nico Daws (45 in 2024 SS w/ NJD), Matt Murray (36 in 2017 SS w/ PIT) and Samuel Ersson (34 in 2024 SS w/ PHI).
* The goals by Hutson and Guhle marked the eighth time multiple defensemen have scored in an outdoor game for the same team. It also marked the second consecutive game that Montreal had multiple blueliners find the back of the net after Mike Matheson and Guhle also did so Friday in Chicago.
* Dobson assisted on the game-opening goal and boosted his career point totals in outdoor games to 0-4—4 – the most by a defenseman. Dobson’s four career assists in NHL outdoor games also overtook Mike Green (0-3—3 in 3 GP) and John Moore (0-3—3 in 4 GP) for the most by a defenseman in NHL history.
FAMILY, HOCKEY SHOWS, ALUMNI & MORE
A look at more news and notes from the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic, which marked a milestone 10th NHL outdoor game contested in Canada. More #NHLStats are also available in Live Updates.
* Both teams continued the tradition of memorable arrivals to outdoor games in themed outfits. The Jets touched down on Princess Auto Stadium in ‘Top Gun’ inspired jackets while the Canadiens paid homage to two of Montreal’s “proudest exports”: hockey and beer.
* Brothers Arber and Florian Xhekaj became the third set of brothers to appear in the same outdoor game (as teammates or opponents). The others: Jack and Luke Hughes (2024 SS) as well as Daniel and Henrik Sedin (2014 HC).
* Fans were treated to a special first intermission presented by Ticketmaster performance hosted by ‘Off Campus’ star Ella Bright, featuring the soundtrack of hockey shows with musical performances from Remi Wolf, Wolf Parade, Feist and G Flip.
* The Canadiens improved to 3-2-0 in NHL outdoor games. Their three wins are tied with the Capitals and Blues for the third most among all teams, behind the Rangers (6) and Bruins (4).
* Three key figures since the Jets’ return in 2011-12 were on the ice for a ceremonial puck drop, greeted with loud ovations from the Winnipeg faithful: Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien.
PAIR OF DEFENSEMEN ACHIEVE ELITE FEATS SUNDAY
Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes and Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer each found the back of the net Sunday to land in rarified company among NHL blueliners.
* Hughes (1-1—2) factored on two goals to reach and eclipse the 500-point milestone as the Wild skated to victory in his return to Vancouver – the franchise he recorded 432 of those points with. Hughes (69-432—501 in 520 GP) became the second-fastest American defenseman in NHL history to reach 500 career points behind Brian Leetch (496 GP).
* Schaefer (1-0—1) scored his 25th career goal and surpassed Bobby Orr (24) for the second most by a teenage defenseman in League history behind Phil Housley (46). In the process, Schaefer also surpassed Doug Bodger (68) for the seventh-most points by a teenage blueliner in NHL history – a list Housley also tops (132).
CENTRAL DIVISION CLUBS TAKE CENTER STAGE IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured several noteworthy performances by teams and their star players across Sunday’s five-game slate, including a pair of Central Division clubs in the Stars and Predators.
* Jason Robertson (2-0—2) scored two of his team’s six goals as Dallas defeated New York to extend the League’s longest-active winning streak to five games. Robertson recorded his fourth consecutive multi-point contest, which is the longest multi-point streak by a Stars player since Dino Ciccarelli and Brian Bellows both posted six-game stretches in 1986-87.
* Ryan O’Reilly (2-2—4), Filip Forsberg (1-2—3) and Roman Josi (0-3—3) each notched a multi-point outing as Nashville netted six goals, including four on the power play, to defeat Colorado at Bridgestone Arena. O’Reilly (6-6—12), Forsberg (2-9—11) and Josi (1-11—12) all reached the 10-point mark on the season, joining Steven Stamkos (7-7—14) to give Nashville four players with double-digit point totals. It marked just the second time in Predators history that four players reached the 10-point mark through the team’s first 11 games of a season, following 2019-20.
QUICK CLICKS
* Color of Hockey: Mark Burgin inspires on, off ice as GM in British Columbia league
* Drew Doughty wants to ‘play until over 40,’ and win another Stanley Cup championship with Kings
* NHL nationally televised games for week of Oct. 26
* Rookie Watch: Ivar Stenberg, James Hagens among first-year players trending up
* Gavin McKenna Watch: No. 1 pick, Maple Leafs continue western trip
PAIR OF SHOWDOWNS IN ALBERTA FEATURED ON SPORTSNET+
The latest edition of Monday Night Hockey on Sportsnet+ features Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs continuing their western Canada road trip with a stop in Calgary to face off against the Flames with both teams entering on a win streak (TOR: 4-0-0; CGY: 3-0-0), as well as Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers hosting the Red Wings at Rogers Place.
* Matthews enters Monday one point shy of 800 in his career and can become the fastest player in Maple Leafs history to reach the milestone (437-362—799 in 702 GP), a distinction currently held by Darryl Sittler (742 GP on Nov. 15, 1980). Matthews can also become the NHL’s second-quickest U.S.-born player to hit 800 career points behind Pat LaFontaine (664 GP on March 31, 1993).
* Draisaitl has scored multiple goals in each of his past three games and looks to become the second player born outside North America to extend that streak to four games, following Alexander Mogilny (5 GP in 1992-93). Draisaitl would also tie Wayne Gretzky (4 GP in 1984-85) for the second longest multi-goal streak in Oilers history behind current teammate Connor McDavid (5 GP in 2022-23).
National Games on the Radar this week
Five #NHLStats and storylines you need to know about other national broadcasts this week:
1. Bruins at Hurricanes on ESPN (Tuesday): The reigning Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes host the Bruins, who will enter play on an eight-game point streak, in a meeting between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Bruins captain David Pastrnak needs one goal to surpass former teammate Patrice Bergeron (427) for sole possession of third place on the franchise’s all-time list.
2. Sabres at Sharks on ESPN (Tuesday): Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks welcome the Sabres to SAP Center in the second half of a doubleheader on ESPN. Celebrini (75-118—193 in 162 GP; 20 years, 135 days as of Monday) enters the week looking to become the fifth-youngest player in NHL history to reach the 200-point milestone behind Sidney Crosby (19 years, 207 days), Wayne Gretzky (19 years, 347 days), Jimmy Carson (20 years, 107 days) and Mario Lemieux (20 years, 133 days).
3. Flyers at Capitals on TNT, HBO MAX (Wednesday): Alex Ovechkin, who already owns the Capitals records for goals and points, needs one assist to tie former linemate Nicklas Backstrom (762) for the most assists in franchise history. Ovechkin also enters the week nine points shy of becoming the 10th player in NHL history to reach 1,700.
4. Flames at Oilers on Prime (Wednesday): The first of four “Battle of Alberta” games in 2026-27 goes on Prime Wednesday Night Hockey as Connor McDavid (8-25—33 in 11 GP)looks to continue his historic start to the season. McDavid can surpass Gretzky (16 GP in 1984-85) as the fastest player to record 30 assists in a campaign and join Lemieux(12 GP in 1995-96 & 1988-89; 14 GP in 1992-93) as the second skater to reach the 40-point mark in fewer than 15 games.
5. Hockey Halloween (Saturday): The busiest Halloween since 2015 will include 10 games spanning 12 hours of continuous action beginning at 1 p.m. ET, with the Oilers-Islanders (2 p.m. ET) and Flames-Avalanche (10 p.m. ET) skating on Sportsnet. Calgary (10-2-0, 20 points) has the highest winning and points percentages by a team on Oct. 31 (both .833). For more Halloween related #NHLStats, click here.
