* Alex Ovechkin and Kyle Connor added to their impressive season-opening stats as the former continued to climb more all-time lists.
* Joel Hofer posted a season-opening shutout for the Blues and helped his club extend their point streak in road openers to an NHL-best (tied) 11 games.
* The first Saturday Night Hockey broadcast of the season hits Sportsnet with four games, including the first “Battle of Ontario” between the Senators and Maple Leafs as well as Connor McDavid and his high-scoring Oilers hosting the Kraken.
CONNOR, OVECHKIN ADD TO SEASON-OPENING FEATS FOR JETS, CAPITALS
Kyle Connor (1-1—2) extended his season-opening goal and point streaks to nine games in Winnipeg’s first contest, while Alex Ovechkin (0-1—1) climbed an all-time NHL list and helped Washington start its 2026-27 campaign with a victory.
* Connor, who already owned the longest goal streak in season openers in NHL history, matched Bill Guerin (9 GP from 2000-01 – 2009-10) for the longest point streak in season-opening games by an American player. The Jets forward has 11 career goals in season-opening games, trailing only Ovechkin and Auston Matthews (both w/ 13) for the most among active skaters.
* Ovechkin assisted on the game-opening goal from his new teammate, Alex Tuch (2-0—2), and boosted his career totals in season openers to 13-13—26, passing Michel Goulet, Phil Esposito, Adam Oates, Al MacInnis and Gordie Howe (all w/ 25) for the sixth-highest point total in NHL history. Ovechkin, playing in his 22nd NHL campaign, joined fellow 41-year-old Brent Burns as the eldest players in 2026-27 to post a point in their season opener. The only other campaign to feature multiple players age 41 or older do so is 2003-04 (Mark Messier & Igor Larionov).
* Tuch became the fifth player in Capitals history to score multiple times in his team debut and helped mark the first time in League history a season had four straight days with a player scoring multiple goals in their franchise debut.
HOFER’S SHUTOUT HELPS BLUES MATCH NHL MARK…
St. Louis began its season by having new forward Mason McTavish score 1:34 into the contest and Joel Hofer make 25 saves for the shutout in Dallas. With the win, the Blues extended their point streak in road openers to 11 games (9-0-2 since 2016-17) and tied the Canadiens (6-0-5 from 1963-64 – 1973-74) for the longest run in NHL history.
* McTavish, who was acquired by St. Louis via trade this past offseason, recorded the fourth-fastest goal by a Blues player in their team debut, behind Lou Angotti (0:20 on Oct. 10, 1973), Christian Bordeleau (0:21 on Oct. 10, 1970) and Dan Hinote (0:36 on Oct. 5, 2006).
* Hofer became the second goaltender in Blues history to blank his opponent in a season opener (Jaroslav Halak: Jan. 19, 2013) and now has seven shutouts dating to 2025-26 – tied with Ilya Sorokin for the most among all goaltenders. He helped St. Louis become the sixth team with a shutout so far in 2026-27 (also FLA, BOS, PIT, UTA, NYR).
…WHILE A GOALIE STEALS THE SHOW FOR SECOND TIME IN AS MANY DAYS FOR RANGERS
A night after teammate Igor Shesterkin captivated the hockey world with the 21st goalie goal in League history (19th in regular season plus two in playoffs), rookie Dylan Garand turned aside all 22 shots he faced to earn his first NHL shutout and improve to 3-0-1 in his career (.958 SV%, 1.22 GAA, 1 SO). Click here for more stats and storylines from the Friday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates.
* Garand became the third rookie goaltender in franchise history to begin his career with a point streak of at least four games (spanning seasons or otherwise), alongside Henrik Lundqvist (3-0-2 in 2005-06) and Marcel Paille (3-0-1 in 1957-58). The last rookie netminder to do so for any franchise was Montreal’s Jakub Dobes (5-0-1 in 2024-25).
QUICK CLICKS
* Maple Leafs assist community in Thanksgiving visit to Covenant House Toronto
* Igor Shesterkin goalie goal with Rangers stirs memories for Ron Hextall
* Simon Després comes full circle on global hockey journey
* Devils unveil uniform partners: Prudential Financial (jersey), PGIM (helmet)
* TNT, truTV and HBO Max produced its most-watched Opening Wednesday since 2023
SPORTSNET SET FOR SATURDAY NIGHT HOCKEY PREMIERE
It will be a star-studded first Saturday Night Hockey broadcast on Sportsnet with six different Hart Trophy winners featured across a four-game slate that includes this season’s first installment of “The Battle of Ontario,” the Canadiens visiting Sidney Crosby and the Penguins (with both teams coming off season-opening wins), Connor McDavid and the high-scoring Oilers hosting the Kraken as well as an all-Canadian nightcap between the Flames and Canucks.
Five things to know ahead of Saturday Night Hockey on Sportsnet:
* The Senators will be the final Canadian team to make their season debut when they visit Toronto for another chapter in the “Battle of Ontario” rivalry and first under new captain Thomas Chabot. The Senators have no shortage of high-end forwards despite the offseason departure of Brady Tkachuk. Tim Stützle has more points than any Senators skater since 2020-21 when he entered the League while leading Ottawa in points for three of the last four seasons, and Drake Batherson has improved his point total every season highlighted by a career-high 33 goals and 71 points in 2025-26.
* Crosby has been historically productive against the Canadiens – the team that drafted his father Troy Crosby in 1984 – recording 26-46—72 in 55 games versus Montreal. Crosby’s career 1.31 point-per-game rate against Montreal is tied for his highest against any Canadian opponent (also 1.31 P/GP vs. TOR).
* Cole Caufield became the first Canadiens player in 36 years to record a 50-goal season in 2025-26, with a League-leading 21 of those tallies coming on Saturdays, earning him the moniker of “Mr. Saturday Night.” Caufield, alongside Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer, was part of the first edition of “NHL In Focus,” a six-part series featuring players in editorial-style photo shoots and profiles away from the rink.
* The Oilers skaters have combined to score 14 goals across their first two games of the season, with Evan Bouchard (3-2—5 on Sept. 29) and McDavid (1-4—5 on Oct. 1) each notching a five-point game – no franchise in NHL history has had a five-point performance by one of its players in each of the first three games of a season.
* A pair of young defensemen selected three picks apart in the Sphere at the 2024 NHL Draft will hit the ice on opposite sides when Zayne Parekh (9th overall) and the Flames face Zeev Buium (12th overall) and the Canucks. Similar to the Oilers, who they faced in their first two games, Vancouver has been off to a high-scoring start to the season with 13 goals and a 1-1-0 record. The most goals scored by the Canucks through the first three games of a season: 20 in 1983-84.
NHL PODCASTS WEEKLY ROUNDUP
* 100% Hockey with Millard & Shannon (Oct. 2): Bill Daly on Expansion, the Cap, and Change
* NHL Fantasy on Ice (Oct. 1): Marchenko-Knies trade; Week 1 mailbag
* NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers (Oct. 1): Mikhail Sergachev Loves his Chickens
* Never Offside with Julie and Cat (Oct. 1): PK Subban joins; PK’s Pantera karaoke story
* NHL Forcek (Oct. 1): díl s Jakubem Voráčkem o Pastovi i dalších kapitánech
* La Tasse de Café LNH (Sept. 30): Canadiens: Dobes a passé son message
* 100% Hockey with Millard & Shannon (Sept. 30): Inside the Blue Jackets-Maple Leafs Deal
* 100% Hockey with Millard & Shannon (Sept. 28): John Buccigross on the Biggest 2026-27 Stories
* NHL Schlagschuss (Sept. 28): Saison-Vorschau mit „Stand-up-Comedian” Leon Draisaitl
* NHL Längs Sargen (Sept. 28): Inför NHL-säsongen och Hävelids rookiehyllning
* DEBUT EPISODE – NHL Tilannehuone (Sept. 21): 2026-27 kausiennakko: Sisuuntunut Aleksander Barkov syrjäyttää Sebastian Ahon?
