NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 7, 2026
Recapping Tuesday’s action, including a big game for Rangers winger Alexis Lafreniere, Dylan Larkin’s season debut with the Red Wings, Maple Leafs rookie Gavin McKenna’s first NHL points, and more.
RECAPS OF TUESDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: Winger Alexis Lafreniere had a hat trick and collected an assist to lead the New York Rangers to a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders. Oliver Bjorkstrand tallied twice, and Mika Zibanejad had two assists for the Rangers (4-1-0), who’ve won four straight and sit atop the overall standings with eight points. Bo Horvat and Calum Ritchie replied for the 1-2-0 Islanders.
New York Rangers winger Alexis Lafreniere (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov left this game early in the third period with an undisclosed injury.
Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin scored and got an assist in his season debut to help his club beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3. Alex DeBrincat scored twice and picked up an assist, and Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings (1-2-0) as they collected their first win of the season. Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, and William Eklund each had a goal and an assist for the 2-1-0 Senators.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Larkin missed the first two games of the regular season with an upper-body injury. He was booed early in the game by Red Wings fans, who were angry about his offseason trade request. However, those boos turned to cheers when he scored.
Senators starting goaltender Linus Ullmark missed this game with an undisclosed injury. Backup Samuel Ersson made 31 saves in this contest.
Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Gavin McKenna scored his first goal and collected his first assist in the NHL as his club nipped the Nashville Predators 5-4 on an overtime goal by Auston Matthews, who also picked up three assists. William Nylander had a goal and two assists for the 2-2-0 Maple Leafs. Steven Stamkos and Nils Hoglander each had two goals for the Predators (1-1-1).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stamkos moved into seventh on the all-time power-play goals list with 244. He’s two behind Hall of Famer Phil Esposito and three back of Luc Robitaille.
Vegas Golden Knights forwards Jack Eichel (one goal, three assists) and Tomas Hertl (2 goals, 2 assists) each had four points in a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Viktor Olofsson scored twice for the Golden Knights (3-1-0) before leaving in the third period with an injury following a blindside hit by Kraken center Ben Meyers. Shane Wright and Jared McCann scored for the 2-2-0 Kraken.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Eichel became the first player to reach 10 points this season. Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren left this game early in the first period with an upper-body injury.
A third-period goal by Matthew Tkachuk lifted the Florida Panthers over the Los Angeles Kings 2-1. Seth Jones also scored, and Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves for the 2-0-2 Panthers. Darcy Kuemper stopped 26 shots, and Alex Laferriere scored for the Kings, who are winless in their first three games (0-2-1).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was a costly win for the Panthers as winger Brad Marchand was helped from the ice after injuring his left knee. It was his second game since returning from offseason lower-body surgery. This comes after the Panthers learned that team captain Aleksander Barkov will miss six to eight weeks with an injured left knee that doesn’t require surgery.
Carolina Hurricanes winger Taylor Hall scored twice (including the winning goal) in a 6-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Sebastian Aho had a goal and two assists for the Hurricanes (2-1-1). Zachary Bolduc tallied two goals for the 1-1-1 Canadiens.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The score flattered the Canadiens, who had more turnovers than a bakery as they were dominated by the Hurricanes. Habs winger Ivan Demidov missed this game with a lower-body injury and will be sidelined for two to four weeks.
The Utah Mammoth beat the New Jersey Devils 5-3. Forward Nick Schmaltz led the way with a goal and two assists, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 30 shots for the 3-1-0 Mammoth. Luke Evangelista scored twice for the Devils, who dropped to 1-2-0.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev collected three assists before leaving with an upper-body injury when teammate MacKenzie Weegar’s clearing attempt struck the side of his head.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power had two points (including the game-winning goal) in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Minnesota Wild. Tage Thompson also had two points for the Sabres as they improved to 2-1-0. Danila Yurov and Maxim Shabanov gave the Wild (2-0-1) an early 2-0 lead before the Sabres rallied in the third to force overtime.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Wild forward Nick Foligno left this game with an upper-body injury.
The St. Louis Blues got their first win of the season (1-2-0) by doubling up the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2. Connor McMichael had a goal and an assist for the Blues, as did Anton Frondell for the 1-3-0 Blackhawks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blackhawks winger Teuvo Teravainen left this game with an undisclosed injury after the second period. He’s expected to miss Thursday’s game against the New York Islanders.
IN OTHER NEWS…
SPORTSNET: San Jose Sharks captain Macklin Celebrini missed practice yesterday and is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
PHILLY HOCKEY NOW: The Flyers signed free-agent forward Michael Bunting to a one-year, $1.2 million contract.
Larkin had a goal and an assist. He did what he was
contracted to do. But now what? He still wants out.
Horcoff can’t do anything and Chris IllItch remains
owner.
The complete mess continues with Larkin still able to score.
If Larkin doesn’t score trading him becomes an even bigger challenge. Larkin playing well benefits both the team and the player.
Well, I’ll take a stab as to “now what?”
At least his teammates, the fans and Horcoff know that Larkin – until he publicly changes his mind – still wants out, but that at least he will continue to do his best while still there. And, if he continues to play well, and teams of his choosing start to sputter, it could significantly raise the quality of the return.
But whether or not that turns out to be the case, the Red Wings are simply not good enough overall to edge into a playoff spot. In the meantime, no one expected them to go 84-0 ,,, or 0-84. Once again they’ll play well enough here and there in the tough Atlantic to be somewhere in the mix as we approach season’s end … but ultimately fall just short once more.
As for the Ilitch FAMILY – who are collectively the owners – they now likely realize that a large element of the fan base will continue to demand an ownership change. Last night’s crowd may have been announced as 17,583 (maximum is 22,000) … but from camera shots, it was clear that it was considerably lower than that.
What’s to do with Larkin?
If there is no trade with the teams he wants to go to, then he doesn’t get traded.
Then he plays, which he is.
Can’t see how a competitive NHL player can mail it in, the rest of the players know if you are or you aren’t. These are guys he has played with for years, he’s accountable to them as well.
So good for the Wings, everyone can take a deep breath and get on with trying to win games.
Wouldn’t it be something if they get into the playoffs? Tough division, so unlikely, but they didn’t miss by much last year.
Hopefully either Larkin or Edvinsson goes to Boston before the new year begins. Hey maybe both Boston has the assets to do it.
“who had more turnovers than a bakery”
Thanks Lyle, never heard that before, very funny, you made my day!
LOL, glad you enjoyed it, Kent!
When Jacques Laperriere got a headache it was a bad one (who remembers that) .
Habs played with a collective headache last night, they couldn’t even sustain pressure playing 5 on 3.
Slafkovsky is a great young player but man he had a terrible game in all three zones, all three periods.
Nothing to learn from this game other than whatever they did/tried do the opposite.