* Evan Bouchard, who achieved an NHL first, and Connor McDavid, with a 15th career five-point outing, continued their productive ways in 2026-27 as the Oilers and Canucks delivered another high-event thriller to open the season and combined for 27 goals through their home-and-home set to start the year.
* Igor Shesterkin etched his name under a different section of the score sheet Thursday by netting his first career goal and joining a short list of goaltenders in NHL history to do so.
* High-scoring games remained an early trend as the Blue Jackets, Kraken and Mammoth potted six goals apiece in their respective season openers. The 2026-27 season is the fourth in NHL history – and first in 40 years – to feature at least six teams achieve the feat.
* A five-game Friday features an NHL on TNT doubleheader that begins with the Red Wings opening their season with an Original Six showdown against the Rangers, followed by the first game of the campaign for both the Stars and Blues
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BOUCHARD, McDAVID CONTINUE TO PILE UP THE POINTS TO START 2026-27
After becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to record five points in a season opener Tuesday, Evan Bouchard (1-2—3) was a regular on the score sheet against the Canucks once again and became the 11th player in the past 80 years – and the first defenseman ever – to record at least eight points through his team’s first two games of a season.
* Bouchard’s point-producing ways also include an NHL-leading four goals – tied with Larry Sacharuk (4-1—5 in 1974-75 w/ STL) and John McKinnon (4-1—5 in 1929-30 w/ PIR) for the most by a defenseman through his first two games of a season.
* Connor McDavid (1-4—5) factored on five of Edmonton’s nine goals – tied for the franchise’s highest output in a road opener – en route to his 15th career five-point game (t-7th) and 15th career four-assist game (t-5th).
* The Oilers (Bouchard: 4-4—8 & McDavid: 1-6—7) became the second team in NHL history to have at least one player register five or more points in each of the club’s first two games of a season, alongside the 1973-74 Bruins (Phil Esposito: 3-2—5 & Ken Hodge: 2-4—6).
OILERS AND CANUCKS PROVIDE GOALS GALORE IN FIRST TWO MEETINGS
The Oilers rebounded from an opening-night defeat to earn a split in their home-and-home set with the Canucks to begin the 2026-27 campaign – scoring 14 goals through that span and tying 1984-85 for the most through the first two games of a season in franchise history.
* Overall, Edmonton and Vancouver combined for 27 goals across their first two games of the season. Only three other matchups since 1993-94 have seen a pair of clubs combine for as many through their first two in-season meetings: Boston vs. Pittsburgh (28 in 1995-96), Winnipeg vs. Philadelphia (27 in 2011-12) and San Jose vs. Pittsburgh (26 in 1995-96).
SHESTERKIN SCORES, STEERS RANGERS TO FIRST WIN OF SEASON
Igor Shesterkin (1-0—1) made his mark at both ends of the ice on Thursday as he stopped 24 shots and scored one of his team’s five goals to lift the Rangers to their first victory of the 2026-27 season in front of fans at Madison Square Garden.
* Shesterkin became the 18th different goaltender in NHL history to be credited with a goal and the first to do so with the Rangers. Overall, it was the 21st goalie goal in League history (19th in regular season plus two in playoffs), with one-third of those goals coming in the past six years alone (33.3%).
* Prior to Shesterkin, the last goaltender to score a goal was his friend, Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin (March 1, 2025), who joked that he knew he would find the back of the net before Shesterkin.
KNIES NETS A BLUE JACKETS DEBUT TO REMEMBER
Matthew Knies (2-1—3) was acquired by the Blue Jackets ahead of the NHL’s opening night and provided an immediate spark to his new club by becoming the first player in franchise history to record multiple goals in their debut. Overall, Columbus’ six goals were the second most in a season opener in franchise history, behind 2021-22 (8).
* Knies also etched his name next to other accomplishments for the Blue Jackets: matching the franchise mark for points in a franchise debut (Artemi Panarin: 0-3—3 on Oct. 6, 2017) and becoming the fourth player to score the game-winning goal in that scenario (Nathan Horton:Jan. 2, 2014; Marian Gaborik: April 4, 2013; & Craig MacDonald: Dec. 31, 2008).
* Knies is the third player in as many days to score multiple times in their debut with a franchise, following Vancouver’s Paul Cotter (2-0—2 on Sept. 29) and Pittsburgh’s Nick Robertson (2-0—2 on Sept. 30).
KRAKEN, MAMMOTH SKATE TO HIGH-SCORING SEASON-OPENING WINS
Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn (1-2—3) extended his goal streak in season openers to three games while Mammoth forward Dylan Guenther (2-0—2) did the same as Seattle and Utah skated to six-goal victories Thursday night. The Kraken and Mammoth are two of six teams to score six or more goals in their season openers (also CBJ, COL, PIT & VAN); 2026-27 is the fourth season in NHL history to feature six teams achieving the feat (7 in 1980-81, 6 in 1985-86 & 1976-77).
* Guenther became the fourth player in NHL history to score in each of a franchise’s first three season openers, joining Jared McCann (3 GP w/ SEA), George Carey (3 GP w/ HAM/QBD) and Newsy Lalonde (3 GP w/ MTL).
* Dunn established a Kraken benchmark for points in a season-opening game – a mark matched by McCann(0-3—3) late in the third period. Dunn (3-4—7 in 6 GP) and McCann (4-3—7 in 6 GP) also share the franchise mark for most career points in season-opening games.
HUGHES BROTHERS SHINE IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Jack Hughes (1-0—1) scored the winner to lead New Jersey to a season-opening victory and climb the franchise list for overtime goals while his brother, Quinn Hughes (0-1—1), moved up an all-time American list with a helper in Minnesota’s opening win. Find more notes on the Hughes brothers and the rest of Thursday’s eight-game slate in #NHLStats: Live Updates.
QUICK CLICKS
* Igor Shesterkin celebrates ‘unbelievable feelings’ with first goalie goal in Rangers history
* Vegas honors first responders on anniversary of tragic shooting
* FDNY, NYPD hockey teams joins Rangers on ice for 9/11 tribute
* Anaheim announces 16-year-old fan as 21st Duck
* Sharks arrive for home opener in vintage cars
RED WINGS, STARS, BLUES OPEN SEASON ON TNT
A five-pack of Friday NHL action includes a doubleheader on TNT that opens with the Red Wings dropping the puck on their 2026-27 season when they host the Rangers in an Original Six rivalry game, followed by the first game of the season for both the Stars and Blues when the Central Division foes go head-to-head in Dallas.
* Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (Zell, Germany) has played in all 410 Red Wings games since entering the NHL in 2021-22, marking the longest-consecutive games played streak to begin an NHL career by a European-born player. It also is the longest “Ironman” streak to start an NHL career in franchise history and second longest at any point by a Red Wings player behind Alex Delvecchio (548 GP from Dec. 13, 1956 to Nov. 11, 1964). Of note, teammate Alex DeBrincat has played in 456 consecutive games dating to his time with the Blackhawks – the third-longest active streak entering 2026-27.
* The Stars have won six straight season-opening games dating back to 2020-21, the longest active run and the 10th-longest stretch in NHL history. Dallas is tied for the most series wins since 2020 among teams that have not won a Stanley Cup over that span (9 w/ EDM) and will look to get back to postseason success after falling in the opening round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs (on the heels of three consecutive trips to the Conference Finals).
* Robert Thomas begins his first season as Blues captain looking to get St. Louis, the first team outside the Western Conference playoff line in 2025-26, back into a postseason spot with the help of some new forwards in Connor McMichael and Mason McTavish. Thomas can become the first Blues player since Brett Hull (4 from 1994-95 to 1997-98) to lead the team in points in four consecutive seasons.
NHL SATURDAY & SUNDAY EUROPEAN BROADCASTS RETURN THIS WEEKEND
The 2026-27 NHL Saturday presented by Fastenal and NHL Sunday presented by Fastenal broadcast schedule is set and available here. Since 2018, the NHL Saturday and NHL Sunday broadcast windows have given passionate hockey fans across Europe the opportunity to watch their favorite teams and many of the NHL’s biggest stars during convenient primetime viewing hours. These games continue to be available live in primetime, bringing some of the League’s most exciting matchups directly to European audiences.
* The first installment will take place on Sunday when Seider (Germany), Lucas Raymond (Sweden) and the Red Wings host highly anticipated rookie Viggo Björck (Sweden), Nino Niederreiter (Switzerland) and the Jets.-02044703.png)
