* Sidney Crosby hit the 1,600-point mark and Evgeni Malkin collected his 500th career goal before the longtime Penguins teammates combined on the overtime winner to cap off their milestone night.
* Auston Matthews scored his 200th home goal and tied for the fifth-fewest games in NHL history to reach the mark.
* The second edition of Prime Video Canada’s whiparound show, NHL Coast to Coast,begins Thursday at 7 p.m. ET with 22 teams in action, including the Stars (4-0-0) and Lightning (2-0-0) who will look to continue their perfect starts.
CROSBY, MALKIN CELEBRATE MILESTONE MOMENTS, COMBINE ON OVERTIME WINNER
Sidney Crosby (1-2—3) became the 10th player in NHL history to reach the 1,600-point mark with his first assist of the night and then set up Evgeni Malkin (1-3—4) for his 500th career goal in the third period before the longtime Penguins teammates combined on the captain’s overtime winner to cap off their milestone night with a storybook ending.
* Malkin joined Mario Lemieux (690) and Crosby (593) as the third player in franchise history to reach the 500-goal milestone. He also became the eighth player born and trained outside North America to reach the mark, following Alex Ovechkin (853), Jaromir Jagr (766), Teemu Selanne (684), Jari Kurri (601), Mats Sundin (564), Marian Hossa (525) and Peter Bondra (503).
* Coincidentally, Crosby collected the lone assist on Malkin’s 500th goal 974 days after Malkin registered the only helper on Crosby’s 500th career tally – something the duo discussed in their post-game interview with the NHL on TNT panel.
* Malkin (2-9—11 in 5 GP) is off to the best start of his career as he became the first Penguins player to post at least 11 points through the team’s first five games of a season since Lemieux had 4-7—11 in 2002-03. This marks the first time that Malkin has led all players outright in points since April 7, 2012 – the final day of the 2011-12 season in which he won his second Art Ross Trophy.
MATTHEWS NETS FIRST GOAL AS CAPTAIN, MAPLE LEAFS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT
Auston Matthews scored his first goal as captain of the Maple Leafs and his 200th at home, while Mitch Marner collected 0-3—3 to climb multiple franchise lists as Toronto won its third game in a row. The Maple Leafs improved to 203-36-34 when both Matthews and Marner find the score sheet.
* Matthews became the fourth player in franchise history to record 200 home goals, joining Darryl Sittler (231), Dave Keon (225) and Mats Sundin (217). He was by far the fastest in doing so (279 GP), besting Sittler (365 GP) by 86 games. In fact, Matthews became the fastest active player to 200 home goals, outpacing Alex Ovechkin, who reached it in 321 contests.
* Marner recorded his 109th multi-assist game to pass Sittler (108) for sole possession of the second most in Maple Leafs history. He also tied Borje Salming for the second-most three-assist games in franchise history with 29, behind Sittler (36).
DUCKS OUTLAST UTAH TO WIN NINTH STRAIGHT HOME OPENER
In a game that saw five lead changes, it was the Ducks who came out on top thanks to an overtime winner from 19-year-old Leo Carlsson as well as notable performances from other youngsters, Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish.Anaheim earned its ninth straight home-opening win dating to 2016-17, matching Toronto and Boston for the longest active run in the NHL.
* Carlsson (1-1—2) became the third teenager in Ducks history to score an overtime goal, joining Cam Fowler (Feb. 11, 2011 & March 23, 2011) and Jamie Drysdale (Oct. 18, 2021).
* Zegras (0-1—1) notched his 100th career assist in his 214th game and became the third-fastest player to reach the mark after debuting with the Ducks, following Paul Kariya (153 GP) and Ryan Getzlaf (198 GP).
QUICK GOALS PROPEL BRUINS TO VICTORY IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The most recent #NHLStats: Live Updates included the Bruins, who scored their fastest two goals on the road in over eight years and fended off an Avalanche three-goal comeback attempt for their third win of the season.
QUICK CLICKS
*Willie O’Ree ‘overwhelmed’ by surprise party to celebrate 89th birthday
* Riley Sheahan retires after 12 NHL seasons, last played in 2022-23
*Patrick Kane looking to take off with Red Wings after pain-free offseason, full training camp
* Anaheim celebrates 21st Duck Emma Melin at home opener
* Mailbag: Start to Oilers’ season, lessons learned after first week
ORIGINAL SIX RIVALRY ON ESPN+ PART OF 11-GAME THURSDAY
There will be lots of action on the ice during an 11-game Thursday, including Original Six rivals facing off exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu when the Rangers visit the Red Wings in the second half of a home-and-home set (NYR: 4-1 W on Oct. 14). Panarin (2-5—7 in 3 GP) helped New York to victory with a three-assist outing in the first meeting and will look to match or surpass his franchise mark for points by a Rangers skater though four games of a season (2-8—10 in 2022-23).
* The multitude of games will be an ideal setting for week two of NHL Coast to Coast on Prime Video Canada, the weekly Thursday whiparound show hosted by Andi Petrillo with a rotating group of analysts and guests starts at 7 p.m. ET. Keith Yandle, Thomas Hickey and Jets forward Mark Scheifele are among the guests slated to appear this week.
Five things to look out for Thursday:
* The Stars (4-0-0) and Lightning (2-0-0) will look to continue their season-opening win streaks. The Flames (4-0-0) and Jets (3-0-0), who are both idle Thursday, are the only other teams with an unblemished record heading into tonight’s action. Dallas can open a season 5-0-0 for the third time in franchise history and first since 2006-07, while Tampa Bay looks to start a campaign 3-0-0 for the first time since their last Stanley Cup-winning season in 2020-21.
* Coming off Edmonton’s first win of the season and Connor McDavid’s first multi-point outing of 2024-25, the Oilers travel to Nashville to face the Predators. McDavid has a point in each of his last 13 games against the Predators dating to Oct. 27, 2018 (8-25—33 in 13 GP). Ironically, that is tied with current Nashville forward Steven Stamkos (13 GP from Oct. 26, 2019 to Oct. 10, 2023) for the longest point streak by any player against the Predators.
* Sabres forward Tage Thompson has 16 points in 11 career games versus the Blue Jackets (11-5—16 in 11 GP), including a memorable five-goal and six-point night on Dec. 7, 2022. The only other active players to record a five-goal game include Mika Zibanejad, Timo Meier and Patrik Laine.
* The Rangers (2-0-1) are one of six teams yet to suffer a regulation loss in 2024-25 and can extend their season-opening point streak to at least four games for the first time since 2008-09 (5-0-0). New York will have a chance to do so against Detroit, which they’ve defeated in four straight meetings dating to Nov. 7, 2023 – tied for the Rangers’ longest active win streak versus one opponent (also 4 GP vs. NJD).
* Blues defenseman Philip Broberg (1-3—4 in 4 GP) enters Thursday with points in each of his first four games with St. Louis and can become the first blueliner in franchise history to extend that streak to five. Only three active defensemen have posted a point streak of five games from the start of their tenure with a club: Shayne Gostisbehere (5 GP w/ DET in 2023-24), Ty Smith (5 GP w/ NJD in 2020-21) and Cale Makar (5 GP w/ COL in 2019-20).
