Emmitt Finnie and Dylan Larkin achieved feats last accomplished by two franchise cornerstones as the Red Wings extended their winning streak to five games.
* Quinn Hughes had another point during the Canucks’ early-season five-game road trip, while several skaters hoping to join him on Team USA’s roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 also shone Sunday.
* Monday’s five-game schedule is highlighted by the Sabres squaring off with the Canadiens during the latest edition of Prime Monday Night Hockey on Prime Video Canada, one of several national broadcasts slated for the week ahead.
Finnie, Larkin achieve feats last accomplished by Zetterberg, Datsyuk
Emmitt Finnie (2-1—3) scored his first two career goals and Dylan Larkin (2-2—4) stretched his season-opening point streak to six games as the Red Wings improved to 5-1-0 (10 points) on the campaign, including five straight wins.
* Finnie became the first player selected by Detroit in Round 7 of the NHL Draft or later with a multi-goal game for the Red Wings since Henrik Zetterberg on Jan. 18, 2015. Larkin tied a single-game career high with four points and has factored on each of Detroit’s last six goals dating to the 1-0 tally against Tampa Bay on Oct. 17.
CANUCKS OUTLAST CAPITALS TO WIN THIRD STRAIGHT ON ROAD
The Canucks jumped out to a 4-0 lead early in the second period, with Elias Pettersson getting Vancouver on the board just 59 seconds into the contest for the NHL’s fourth opening-minute goal of the season and third in two days. The Canucks then fended off a furious three-goal rally by the Capitals that saw Washington move within one before Vancouver ultimately won to improve to 4-2-0 (8 points) on the season and earn their third consecutive road win of a five-game trip. In 2024-25, the Canucks reeled off an eight-game road winning streak – tied for the second-longest run in franchise history.
* Quinn Hughes (0-1—1), who already holds the Canucks record for career assists by a defenseman, surpassed Thomas Gradin for sole possession of sixth place on the franchise’s all-time assists list.
Team USA OLYMPIC hopefuls FEATURED IN SUNDAY’s #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Sunday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes from the four-game slate, including Mammoth teammates Clayton Keller (1-1—2) and Logan Cooley as well as Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar notching goals in victories. Keller, Cooley and Nazar attended Team USA’s orientation camp for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 after winning a goal medal together with the Americans at the 2025 World Championship.
QUICK CLICKS
* Tage Thompson embraces chance to make U.S. Olympic roster, end Sabres’ playoff drought
* Brad Marchand says 1st game vs. Bruins with Panthers in Boston should be ‘weird’
* Bradly Nadeau hits “The Michigan” in game with AHL’s Chicago Wolves
* Canucks overcome injuries, pressure to win 3 straight to open 5-game road trip
* Marchand fined maximum for actions in Panthers game
PRIME MONDAY NIGHT HOCKEY HEADS TO BELL CENTRE IN MONTREAL
An #NHLStats primer before tonight’s Sabres–Canadiens game on Prime Monday Night Hockey (7:30 p.m. ET), live from Bell Centre in Montreal where the hosts are 2-1-0 this season:
* After two straight wins in which they outscored opponents 11-4 (including a shutout against the reigning champion Panthers), Buffalo will visit Montreal for their first of four straight national telecasts this week (in the U.S. or Canada) with Alex Tuch (6-12—18 in 18 GP vs. MTL), Rasmus Dahlin (4-14—18 in 20 GP vs. MTL) and Tage Thompson (9-7—16 in 16 GP vs. MTL) all taking strong career head-to-head stats into the matchup.
* Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki is averaging more than a point-per-game in his career in this matchup (6-12—18 in 17 GP vs. BUF), while Lane Hutson enters the Prime showdown with multiple assists/points in every game he has played against Buffalo (0-8—8 in 4 GP). Hutson and P.K. Subban (4 GP vs. MIN) are the only defensemen in Canadiens history to record multiple points in each of their first four career games against one opponent.
* Montreal has won four straight games against Buffalo dating to Nov. 11, 2024 (BUF: 0-3-1), tied for their second longest active streak against any opponent (w/ NSH, behind 5-0-0 stretch vs. FLA).
* Arber Xhekaj, whose path to the NHL included a stop approximately 50 miles from Buffalo with the Junior B St. Catharines Falcons, started the preseason by skating alongside his brother, Florian, on Sept. 23. Their mother, Simona, surprised them by being in attendance at Bell Centre and was brought to tears when Florian put the Canadiens up 2-0 before Arber scored an empty-net goal in a victory versus the Flyers.
NATIONAL GAMES ON THE RADAR THIS WEEK
Five #NHLStats and storylines you need to know about other national broadcasts this week:
1. Panthers at Bruins on ESPN (Tuesday): After 16 seasons wearing the spoked B in front of the TD Garden faithful, former Bruins captain Brad Marchand will play an NHL game in the building as a visitor for the first time. With another Stanley Cup to his name – adding to the one he won with the Bruins in 2011 as a rookie – since he last wore the black and gold, Marchand returns to face the franchise with whom he ranks among the top five for games played (1,090; 4th), goals (422; 4th), points (976; 5th) and game-winning goals (82; 2nd).
2. Avalanche at Mammoth on ESPN (Tuesday): Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon needs two goals to tie Milan Hejduk for fourth place on the all-time franchise list as he leads the 5-0-1 Avalanche into Utah, where the Mammoth are 3-0-0. MacKinnon has a point in all four games he has played against Utah (2-4—6 in 4 GP), including the game-winning goal Oct. 9. Mammoth captain Clayton Keller (32-65—97 in 87 GP) needs three points to become the first player with 100 career points for Utah. He will be the first American player to be any franchise’s first 100-point player.
3. Red Wings at Sabres on TNT and HBO Max (Wednesday): In pursuit of 500 career goals (6 away) and the most points by a U.S.-born player in NHL history (27 away), Patrick Kane will lead the 5-1-0 Red Wings into his hometown to face the Sabres. Kane is seeking his first goal in Buffalo as a member of the Red Wings, with his last hometown tally coming March 11, 2023, with the Rangers. Kane is averaging at least a point-per-game against Buffalo both overall (1.13 P/GP) and on the road (1.00 P/GP).
4. Canadiens at Flames on Sportsnet (Wednesday): Two young teams will square off when the Canadiens (25.66) begin a tour through Western Canada against the Flames (27.97). Calgary has won four straight against Montreal, with 24-year-old Dustin Wolf (runner-up to Lane Hutson for the Calder Trophy last season) claiming three of those victories for a perfect 3-0-0 mark in his career against the club. Each of these teams has one player already on an Olympic roster, both on Team Slovakia: Martin Pospisil (CGY; injured) and Juraj Slafkovský (MTL). Slafkovský was the youngest NHL player (min. 1 GP) named to a preliminary roster and already has an impressive resume on that stage.
5. Canadiens at Canucks on Sportsnet and TVA Sports (Saturday): Two NHL Award-winning defensemen from families with multiple siblings either in the NHL or pursuing that dream will be the focal point of Hockey Night in Canada as Lane Hutson (2024-25 Calder Trophy) and the Canadiens visit Quinn Hughes (2023-24 Norris Trophy) and the Canucks. Hutson, who skated in his 90th career game on Saturday, ranks second in assists (behind 68 by Cale Makar) and third in points (behind 85 by Makar & 73 by Hughes) among active defensemen through that stage of a career. Hutson and Hughes combined for five points in their only previous meeting (Jan. 6, 2025).
HURRICANES, GOLDEN KNIGHTS MEET ON HOT STREAKS
The Hurricanes (5-0-0, 10 points) and Golden Knights (4-0-2, 10 points) will look to keep their season-opening win and point streaks, respectively, alive when they face off in Vegas on Monday. Carolina is the only team without a regulation loss in 2025-26 and look to start a season 6-0-0 for the second time in franchise history (9-0-0 in 2021-22). Vegas’ season-opening six-game point streak is already the second longest in franchise history, behind a 12-game run (11-0-1) to open the 2023-24 campaign.
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