The 2026-27 NHL Season began on Tuesday with five matchups. Here’s a look at how each game played out.
Florida Panthers 1, Carolina Hurricanes 0 OT
Before puck drop the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes, raised their championship banner, but it was the Panthers who tainted the celebration with a 1-0 overtime victory. Defenseman Gustav Forsling scored with less than five seconds remaining in overtime following a pass from center Carter Verhaeghe. Florida goaltender Jacob Markstrom recorded 15 saves for the shutout victory in his first game back as a Panther.
Despite the loss, Carolina’s goaltender Brand Bussi recorded 19 saves. The Hurricanes also failed to capitalize on their six power-play chances across the game.
Aside from the win, Aleksander Barkov made his Panthers debut after missing the entire 2025-26 season with a torn ACL. Brady Tkachuk also debuted with the Panthers after being acquired from Ottawa, joining his brother Matthew in the sunshine state.
Montreal Canadiens 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 2
Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut for Toronto, finishing the game with one shot and a minus-2 rating in 15 minutes. Toronto struck first with a goal just 48 seconds into the game thanks to right-winger William Nylander.
The Canadiens tied it before closing out the first and took the lead in the second period after a goal from right-winger Zachary Bolduc. Montreal extended the lead, adding a third goal in the third period to take a commanding two goal lead.
Nylander netted a goal past Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes with just minutes left in the third, but Dobes stayed strong in net, preventing Toronto from netting a game-tying goal.
Boston Bruins 3, New York Rangers 0
It was a scoreless first two periods in Boston for both teams before Bruins newcomer Fraser Minten gave Boston the lead with less than four minutes remaining in the third period. Nearly a minute later, right-winger JJ Peterka netted his first goal of the season to double the Boston’s lead. Before closing out the game, Mark Kastelic added yet another goal to the lead to give the Bruins a 3-0 opening night victory. Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman recorded his 19th NHL shutout, finishing with 24 saves.
For New York, the Rangers struggled to generate offense throughout the game, managing to get just 24 shots on net. Despite the loss, goaltender Igor Shesterkin kept the Rangers within reach of scoring, making 20 saves before the Bruins had their late offensive push.
Vancouver Canucks 6, Edmonton Oilers 5 OT
After Vancouver took a 5-2 lead to enter the third period, Edmonton made a comeback, scoring three goals throughout the third period to send the game into overtime. Defenseman Evan Bouchard scored three of the five regulation goals for Edmonton completing the first hat trick of the season.
It was left winger Paul Cotter who brought home the win for the Canucks, scoring less than two minutes into overtime. Cotter forced a turnover from Oilers defenseman Ryan Shea to gain control of the puck and get it past Edmonton’s goaltender Tristan Jarry.
Vegas Golden Knights 5, Chicago Blackhawks 2
Jack Eichel was a standout player for Vegas during the matchup, scoring a goal and two assists. His early second-period goal gave Vegas a 3-1 lead and marked the 700th point of his career. Newcomer left-winger Trevor Connelly scored his first goal in the NHL and the first goal of the game to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 early lead.
In the third period, Patrick Kane scored in his return to the Blackhawks to cut Vegas’ lead to 3-2, but the Golden Knights quickly responded less than a minute later to get the two-goal lead back. Captain Mark Stone added an empty-net goal in the third period to ensure the 5-2 victory.