* Cole Hutson and the Capitals got the better of Lane Hutson and the Canadiens in the first-ever meeting between the two brothers, while Alex Ovechkin inched closer to another franchise record.
* Miro Heiskanen netted his 70th career goal to help the Stars defeat the Avalanche in the second half of their back-to-back, home-and-home set.
* An 11-game Thursday features Alex DeBrincat looking to join the 300-goal club when the Red Wings and Flyers face off on ESPN+ and Sportsnet+, while Connor McDavid aims to become the fastest player to 20 points in a season in 30 years when the Oilers host the Mammoth.
COLE’S CAPITALS DEFEAT LANE’S CANADIENS IN FIRST “HUTSON BOWL”
The first-ever NHL meeting between the Hutson brothers had it all: points from both Cole (0-1—1) and Lane (1-1—2), a clutch third-period assist from Alex Ovechkin (0-1—1) and a three-point outing from Alex Tuch (2-1—3) as the Capitals skated to victory in a nine-goal, back-and-forth affair.
* Did You Know? There were 17 sets of brothers on opening-day rosters and Wednesday marked the third game this season with a head-to-head between brothers, all in the past five days following Jason vs. Nick Robertson (Oct. 10) and Luke vs. Brayden Schenn (Oct. 13). There could have been another tonight, but an injury to William Eklund will prevent him from facing his brother, Victor, when the Senators welcome the Islanders. The next potential sibling battle is Tuesday when Morgan Barron and the Jets face Justin and the Blues.
* Cole (4-10—14 in 21 GP) collected his 10th career assist and became the fastest Capitals defenseman to reach the mark, besting Mikhail Tatarinov (23 GP). He now leads all rookie blueliners in scoring this season (1-3—4 in 7 GP).
* Lane netted his 20th career goal and became the fourth defenseman in Canadiens history to hit the mark before age 23, joining Mathieu Schneider (25), Petr Svoboda (22) and P.K. Subban (21). He also became the first Montreal blueliner to score a goal on consecutive days since David Savard (Dec. 21-22, 2023).
* Ovechkin tallied his 760th career assist and moved within two of tying Nicklas Backstrom (762) for the franchise record. Additionally, Ovechkin recorded his 622nd career third-period point and passed Gordie Howe for third most in NHL history behind Wayne Gretkzy (996) and Jaromir Jagr (653).
* Tuch (5-1—6 in 7 GP), who has scored the game-winning tally in three of Washington’s four victories this season, netted his team-leading fourth and fifth tallies of 2026-27 and became the fastest to accumulate five goals with the club since Sergei Berezin in 2002-03 (also 7 GP).
HEISKANEN HITS 70 GOALS IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Miro Heiskanen netted his 70th career goal to pass Darryl Sydor for sole possession of sixth most by a defenseman in franchise history as the Stars defeated the Avalanche in the second half of their back-to-back set. Find more notes from Wednesday’s slate in the latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates.
QUICK CLICKS
* Alex DeBrincat signs seven-year, $91 million contract with Red Wings
* Kyle Palmieri making up for lost time with Islanders following ACL surgery
* NHL EDGE stats: Rangers’ outlook with Igor Shesterkin injured
* Blue Jackets’ Mathieu Olivier Fined for Slashing
* Outdoor fan festival to set stage for Heritage Classic between Canadiens, Jets
LEAGUE’S STARS HAVE STREAKS AND BENCHMARKS IN SIGHT THURSDAY
The League’s stars will be on full display Thursday when they look to extend streaks and reach season and career benchmarks.
* The Flyers will look for their first win of the season when they visit Alex DeBrincat and the Red Wings on ESPN+ and Sportsnet+. DeBrincat (298-305—603 in 702 GP) is coming off a multi-goal outing and can reach the 300-goal milestone with another against Philadelphia. The Red Wings forward can become the fourth-fastest active American player to reach the mark, behind Auston Matthews (482 GP), Kyle Connor (648 GP) and Jake Guentzel (670 GP).
* Quinn Hughes (2-8—10 in 7 GP) has found the score sheet in every contest in 2026-27 and can extend his season-opening assist streak to eight games, a length only two other defensemen in NHL history have hit: John-Michael Liles (9 GP in 2010-11) and Filip Kuba (8 GP in 2008-09). Hughes’ teammate Kirill Kaprizov (8-3—11 in 7 GP) has also had an impressive start to the campaign, entering tonight as the League’s goals leader after scoring five times in his past three games. He can become the first player in Wild history to be the NHL’s first skater to hit the 10-goal mark in a season (tied or outright).
* The Oilers (5-0-1) enter tonight as the only team without a regulation loss in 2026-27 and can extend their season-opening point streak to seven games, which would match the second-longest run in franchise history (7-0-0 in 1983-84), behind a 15-game stretch to begin 1984-85 (12-0-3). A big part of Edmonton’s success has been Connor McDavid (4-13—17 in 6 GP), who has found the score sheet in every game this season. McDavid co-leads the League in three-point games (3) and can reach the 20-point mark with another three points tonight – he would be the fastest to hit the mark since Mario Lemieux (7 GP in 1995-96).
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