* Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer found the score sheet in his NHL debut but fellow No. 1 pick Sidney Crosby lifted the Penguins to victory in their home opener and climbed an all-time list with his 626th career goal.
* Shane Pinto led a trio of three-point scorers for Ottawa and tallied a late go-ahead goal to help the Senators outlast the Lightning and record their first-ever multi-goal comeback win in a season-opening game.
* Tight contests were a trend Thursday as 10 of the 14 games saw the game-winning goal scored in the third period or later.
* There are no games on the schedule Friday, but the NHL will return to action Saturday with the first 16-game day of the season and 12 hours of continuous action.
CROSBY AND MALKIN SHINE FOR PENGUINS, SPOIL SCHAEFER’S NHL DEBUT
Matthew Schaefer (0-1—1), the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, collected his first career point in the first period and became the youngest defenseman in League history to find the score sheet in his NHL debut, but Penguins icons Evgeni Malkin (0-3—3) and Sidney Crosby (1-1—2) rose to the occasion and lifted their club to victory in their home opener – their second straight win to start 2025-26.
* Crosby, who collected a secondary assist on the contest’s first goal and later scored in the second period, factored on a game-opening tally for the 286th time to pass Mark Messier (285) for the fourth most in NHL history. He now trails only Wayne Gretzky (328), Jaromir Jagr (326) and Gordie Howe (320).
* Malkin (0-5—5), the first Penguins player with five or more assists through his first two games of a season since Mario Lemieux in 2000-01 (2-5—7 in 2 GP), became the team’s first skater to post back-to-back multi-assist games to start a campaign since Crosby did so in 2022-23 (2-4—6 in 2 GP). Only one player in franchise history extended his streak to three contests: Kevin Stevens (3 GP in 1990-91).
* Justin Brazeau, who once again benefited from a primary assist from Malkin, became the sixth player in the past decade to score the game-winning goal in each of his team’s first two contests of a season and first since Jake Guentzel (2 GP in 2022-23 w/ PIT). Only two players in NHL history extended their streak to three: James Neal (3 GP in 2017-18 w/ VGK) and Brian Propp (3 GP in 1982-83 w/ PHI).
PINTO SCORES LATE GO-AHEAD GOAL AS SENATORS OUTLAST LIGHTNING
Brayden Point (1-2—3) spearheaded a three-goal opening frame for Tampa Bay but Shane Pinto (2-1—3) put Ottawa up with 1:47 remaining in regulation to help the Senators outlast the Lightning and record the franchise’s first multi-goal comeback win in a season-opening game. Pinto was one of three players to record three points for Ottawa (also Brady Tkachuk: 0-3—3 & Artem Zub: 1-2—3), marking the first time that the Senators have had multiple three-point scorers in a season opener.
* Captain Tkachuk became the first Senators player to post three assists in a season opener while Zub became the second defenseman in franchise history to record three points in a season-opening contest, following Erik Karlsson (Oct. 12, 2016 & Jan. 19, 2013).
* Point became the second player in Lightning history to record three points in the team’s first period of a season, following Rob Zamuner who posted 0-3—3 in Tampa Bay’s inaugural game on Oct. 7, 1992. That contest also featured four tallies from Lightning forward Chris Kontos – one of 10 four-goal performances in a season opener in NHL history.
* Victor Hedman (0-2—2) tallied his 16th and 17th career assists in a season-opening game and tied Al MacInnis for the second most in NHL history among defensemen. The list is topped by Ray Bourque (21).
STRONG STARTS TO THE SEASON
Jack Eichel posted his second straight multi-point outing, the Bruins won their second contest in as many days, while Canadiens forwards Zack Bolduc and Oliver Kapanen both scored again, rounding out three clubs who won in their second game on the tail end of a back-to-back.
* Jack Eichel followed up his 1-3—4 performance Wednesday with a 1-1—2 outing, including scoring the tying goal with 1:34 remaining in regulation, to help the Golden Knights earn their first win of 2025-26. Eichel has six points through the first two games of a season for the second time in as many years – only four active players have ever recorded more through the first two contests of a campaign: Mika Zibanejad (4-4—8 in 2019-20), Anze Kopitar (4-3—7 in 2021-22), Anthony Mantha (5-2—7 in 2019-20) and Alex Ovechkin (7-0—7 in 2017-18).
* After Connor Bedard (1-1—2) powered the Blackhawks to a 2-1 lead, Fraser Minten scored the overtime winner to help Boston earn a victory in its first game at TD Garden in 2025-26. The Bruins improved to 10-0-0 in each of their past 10 home openers, which is tied with the Maple Leafs (10 from 2016-17 – 2025-26) and Capitals (10 from 2001-02 – 2011-12) for the second-longest streak in NHL history behind the Canadiens (11 from 1953-54 – 1963-64). The Ducks, who play their home opener on Tuesday against the Penguins, can join this list.
* Zack Bolduc (1-0—1) and Oliver Kapanen (1-0—1) each scored for the second time in as many games as the Canadiens notched five unanswered goals to rally past the Red Wings. The 2025-26 campaign is the first since 2013-14 (Lars Eller: 3 GP & Brendan Gallagher: 2 GP) in which a pair of Canadiens teammates each scored in the first two games of a season.
BIG SEASON-OPENING PERFORMANCES TO START 2025-26
Big season-opening performances helped the Hurricanes, Predators, Kraken and Wild find the win column:
* K’Andre Miller and Seth Jarvis both scored twice to help the Hurricanes earn their first victory of 2025-26. Rod Brind’Amour improved to 6-1-1 (.813 P%) in season-opening games – the second-highest point percentage among active head coaches (min. 5 GP) behind Bruce Cassidy (9-1-1, .864%), while Miller became the third defenseman in Hurricanes/Whalers history to score twice in their debut with the club.
* Filip Forsberg assisted on the game-winning goal for Nashville and became the fifth player in NHL history to record a point in at least 10 straight season-opening games. Forsberg (5-11—16 in 12 GP) already holds the franchise benchmark for assists and points in such contests.
* Vince Dunn opened the scoring for Seattle in 2025-26 and became the third defenseman in NHL history to score his team’s first goal of a season in consecutive campaigns, joining Sergei Zubov (2000-01 – 2001-02 w/ DAL) and Sylvio Mantha (1929-30 – 1930-31 w/ MTL).
* Kirill Kaprizov (0-3—3) found the score sheet in his sixth straight season opener while Filip Gustavsson (26 saves) recorded his second season-opening shutout to help the Wild win their first game of the campaign for the third consecutive year. Kaprizov (6 GP from 2020-21 – 2025-26) passed Mikko Koivu (5 GP from 2008-09 – 2012-13) for the longest run in Wild history and also recorded his 204th career helper to pass Andrew Brunette and Jonas Brodin (both w/ 202) for the eighth-most assists with the franchise.
CONNOR NETS HAT TRICK, STARS KEEP STREAKING IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Thursday’s jam-packed edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured an abundance of notes, including some on two Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 hopefuls who went head-to-head, both of whom were invites to USA Hockey’s 2026 Olympic orientation camp, Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor and Dallas’ Jake Oettinger, as well as on Nathan MacKinnon who is guaranteed to be competing for Team Canada after already being named to their roster.
* Connor became the first player in Jets/Thrashers history to score a hat trick in a season-opening game, Oettinger became the first goaltender in Stars/North Stars history to win four season openers, while Mackinnon became the first player in NHL history with a game-winning tally against 32 different franchises after netting one against the Mammoth.
QUICK CLICKS
* Maple Leafs players visit Covenant House Toronto for Canadian Thanksgiving
* Gavin McKenna inspires campus rush for Hockey Valley home opener at Penn State
* Rasmus Dahlin walks Sabres home opener carpet with teenage cancer patient
* New-look NHL EDGE site has ‘advanced stats for everybody’
* ESPN’s NHL Opening Night Up 37% Year-Over-Year
NEXT UP, A 16-GAME SATURDAY
There are no games on the schedule Friday, but the NHL returns with 12 hours of continuous action across a 16-game slate on Saturday including a four-pack of contests during Sportsnet’s first Hockey Night in Canada broadcast of the season. Tomorrow’s Morning Skate will include a full preview of Saturday’s packed schedule.