* Cale Makar extended his multi-point streak in season-opening games to five and reigning Maurice “Rocket” Richard winner Nathan MacKinnon scored twice to help the Avalanche set a franchise mark for goals in a season opener.
* The Penguins trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang climbed atop an all-time list while Nick Robertson scored twice in his club debut as Pittsburgh opened its season with a rare seven-goal shutout win.
* Wednesday marked the first day since Oct. 7, 1995 (PIT, PHI & WIN) that multiple teams scored at least seven goals in their season-opening game.
* Three Olympic gold medalists from Team USA make their season debut during an ESPN+ doubleheader tonight as Jack Hughes and the Devils host the Flyers and the Mammoth’s Clayton Keller and Vincent Trocheck host the Blackhawks.
MacKINNON, MAKAR HELP AVALANCHE SCORE EIGHT IN 12-GOAL THRILLER
Reigning Maurice “Rocket” Richard winner Nathan MacKinnon opened his 2026-27 campaign with a pair of tallies and Cale Makar (0-2—2) became the first defenseman in NHL history to record multiple points in five straight season openers as the Avalanche defeated the Kings in a 12-goal game. Colorado established a franchise mark for most goals in a season opener, besting its previous high of seven (7-3 W vs. NYI on Oct. 4, 1983).
* Makar extended his point streak against the Kings to 14 games dating to May 13, 2021 and joined teammate Brent Burns (14 GP vs. OTT from 2013-14 – 2021-22) as the only defensemen in the past 30 years to post a run of that length versus one opponent. The longest run by a blueliner is held by Bobby Orr (19 GP vs. MNS from 1969-70 – 1972-73).
* MacKinnon boosted his career totals in season openers to 5-15—20 (13 GP) and passed Peter Stastny (8-11—19 in 9 GP) for the third-most points in season openers in franchise history. Only Joe Sakic (11-16—27 in 20 GP) and Michel Goulet (11-11—22 in 10 GP) have more.
* Only three season-opening games in the past 35 years have featured more goals than the Avalanche-Kings on Wednesday: the Lightning defeated the Red Wings 7-6 in overtime on Oct. 14, 2021, the Penguins defeated the Capitals 7-6 in overtime on Oct. 4, 2018 and the Blackhawks defeated the Predators 8-6 on Oct. 5, 2006.
PENGUINS START SEASON WITH SEVEN-GOAL SURGE
Both familiar and new faces found the score sheet for Pittsburgh on Wednesday, with longtime teammates Sidney Crosby (0-1—1), Evgeni Malkin (1-0—1) and Kris Letang (0-1—1) each putting up a point and Nick Robertson scoring two of the club’s seven goals in his Penguins debut, while Arturs Silovs (19 saves) recorded his second straight season-opening shutout.
* The Penguins scored seven goals in a season opener on the road for the second time in franchise history, following Oct. 5, 1990 (7-4 W at WSH). Pittsburgh has scored more goals in a season opener only twice: Oct. 6, 1976 (9-5 W vs. VAN) and Oct. 7, 1995 (8-3 W vs. TOR). The Penguins also became the fifth team in NHL history to open a campaign with a seven-plus goal shutout win – the Canadiens are the only club to win by a larger margin in that scenario (9-0 vs. LAK on Oct. 8, 1975).
* Robertson scored two of those seven goals and became the seventh player in Penguins history to net multiple in their franchise debut and just the third to net a shorthanded marker in that scenario, joining Eric Fehr (Oct. 31, 2015) and Sergei Zubov (Oct. 7, 1995).
* Silovs, who also blanked the Rangers in the Penguins’ 2025-26 opener, became the fifth goaltender in NHL history to record a season-opening shutout in consecutive campaigns. He joined Antti Niemi (2014-15 & 2015-16), Sean Burke (1995-96 & 1996-97), Glenn Hall (1964-65 & 1965-66) and Jacques Plante (1955-56 & 1956-57).
COWAN, RIELLY COMBINE TO SHINE IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Easton Cowan (1-1—2) collected two points and Morgan Rielly (0-1—1) assisted his game winner to move into a tie on an elite Maple Leafs list as Toronto defeated New York on the first Wednesday Night Hockey on Prime broadcast of the 2026-27 season. For more notes from last night, check out the Wednesday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates.
QUICK CLICKS
* Gavin McKenna, Maple Leafs, show support on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
* Jared Bednar signs four-year contract with Avalanche, runs through 2030-31
* TNT crew hits road to ‘feed off of the energy’ in Philadelphia
* Gritty makes appearance on CNN with anchor Jake Tapper
* William Karlsson signs two-year, $13.5 million contract with Golden Knights
10 MORE TEAMS, MANY MORE STARS WILL MAKE SEASON DEBUT THURSDAY
With another 10 teams beginning their campaign tonight, three U.S. gold medal winners will make their season debut during an ESPN+ doubleheader when Jack Hughes and the Devils host the Flyers before the Mammoth’s Clayton Keller and Vincent Trocheck host the Blackhawks. Thursday’s slate also features two of the top four highest-scoring players from 2025-26 commencing their campaign when Nikita Kucherov (2nd) and Macklin Celebrini (4th) take the ice.
* Hughes will look to start 2026-27 riding momentum from the second half of 2025-26, which saw him score the ‘Golden Goal’ for Team USA and record the second-most points of any player post-Olympics behind only Connor McDavid. Hughes has breached the 70-point threshold in each of his past four seasons, putting him 72 away from the 500-point milestone. He can become the fastest player in Devils franchise history to reach the mark should he do so this season.
* Keller led Utah in scoring in each of the franchise’s first two campaigns and scored in its inaugural season opener on Oct. 8, 2024. That contest also saw two tallies from Dylan Guenther, who became the club’s first 40-goal scorer in 2025-26. Guenther is the only skater to find the back of the net in both of Utah’s season-opening games and can join a short list of players to extend that stretch to three for their franchise.
* Celebrini’s third NHL season will be his first as Sharks captain as he looks to build on his franchise-record 115-point campaign. The 2026-27 season can see Celebrini (70-108—178 in 152 GP) become the fifth player to record 250 career points before age 21, following Wayne Gretzky (167-270—437), Dale Hawerchuk (122-174—296), Sidney Crosby (99-195—294) and Jimmy Carson (141-145—286).
* Kucherov is coming off a 130-point campaign and will look to begin the new season the same way he started the past three: with a multi-goal game. Kucherov (9-3—12 in 11 GP) can become the franchise’s first player with a double-digit goal total in season-opening contests and can also tie Brad Richards (4 from 2001-02 – 2005-06) for the most consecutive season openers with a goal by a Lightning skater.
