NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – October 4, 2026
Recaps of Saturday’s games, the Panthers place Aleksander Barkov on LTIR, former Blue Jackets captain Lyle Odelein passed away, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Buffalo Sabres winger Jiri Kulich snapped a 3-3 tie to give his club a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist for the Sabres. Anton Frondell and Alex Vlasic each collected two assists for the Blackhawks, who have lost their first three games of this season.
Buffalo Sabres forward Jiri Kulich (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kulich’s goal was his first since last November, when he was missed most of last season with a blood clot. Blackhawks defenseman (and former Sabre) Bowen Byram missed this game because of a personal matter.
Thomas Chabot had a goal and an assist in his first game as captain of the Ottawa Senators to lead his team over the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2. Stephen Halliday broke a 2-2 tie in the third period, and Claude Giroux had two assists in the Senators’ season opener. Kirill Marchenkov scored his first goal with the Maple Leafs, and team captain Auston Matthews also scored.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson left this game after aggravating a lower-body injury. There was no immediate update on his status.
The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Washington Capitals 3-1. Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists, Brandon Hagel collected two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves. Justin Sourdif replied for the Capitals.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Vasilevskiy has 371 wins in 600 regular-season games, giving him the most among NHL goaltenders over the same period. Maple Leafs goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is second with 339, and Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck is third with 334. Capitals defenseman Matt Roy left this game in the second period with a lower-body injury.
An overtime goal by Shayne Gostisbehere lifted the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, giving the defending Stanley Cup champions their first win after dropping their first two games (1-1-1). Sebastian Aho had a goal and two assists. Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov replied for the Flyers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen left this game with an undisclosed injury after taking a shot off his left glove.
The Pittsburgh Penguins blew a 5-1 lead but defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-5 on an overtime goal by Tommy Novak, who finished with two goals and an assist. Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists for the Penguins. Nick Suzuki led the Canadiens comeback with a goal and three assists, and Cole Caufield tallied twice.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Penguins activated forward Ben Kindel off injured reserve and placed forward David Gustafsson on waivers. Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier left this game with an upper-body injury.
Utah Mammoth forwards Nick Schmaltz and Dylan Guenther led their club to a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Schmaltz scored two goals, and Guenther had a goal and two assists, while Sebastian Cossa made 17 saves for his first win with the Mammoth. Kent Johnson replied for the Blue Jackets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Blue Jackets held a pregame moment of silence to honor the memory of former NHL defenseman Lyle Odelein, who died on Friday of a heart attack at age 58.
Odelein was the Blue Jackets’ first captain and spent two of his 16-season NHL career in Columbus. He also played for the Montreal Canadiens (winning the Stanley Cup in 1992-93), New Jersey Devils, Phoenix Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, and Pittsburgh Penguins. From 1989-90 to 2005-06, Odelein had 252 points in 1,056 games, and 18 points in 86 playoff contests.
My condolences to Odelein’s family, friends, former teammates, and the Blue Jackets’ organization.
Third-period goals by Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid lifted the Edmonton Oilers over the Seattle Kraken 3-1. Owen Michaels also scored, and Devon Levi made 19 saves for the Oilers, while Bobby McMann tallied for the Kraken.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was a better defensive effort by the Oilers after giving up 13 goals in their first two games.
New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin made 37 saves for his first shutout of the season to blank the New Jersey Devils 6-0. Rookie Victor Eklund scored his first NHL goal, and Calder Trophy winner Matthew Schaefer collected two assists. Nico Daws made 26 saves for the Devils.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sidelined Islanders forward Mathew Barzal (left knee inflammation) is expected to resume skating later this week.
The Nashville Predators nipped the Dallas Stars 2-1 on a goal by Nils Hoglander. Steven Stamkos also scored, and Juuse Saros stopped 29 shots. Miro Heiskanen scored for the Stars, who’ve dropped their first two games and have only one goal on the season thus far.
Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov scored two goals, and defenseman Quinn Hughes had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 26 shots for the Wild. Tanner Jeannot replied for the Bruins.
Colorado Avalanche forwards Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon each had three points to lead their club over the St. Louis Blues 6-1. Necas scored twice and set up another, while MacKinnon had three assists. Dalibor Dvorsky scored the Blues’ only goal.
A four-goal third period lifted the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames. Liam Ohgren had a goal and an assist, and Leevi Merilainen kicked out 23 shots. Matt Coronato scored for the Flames.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canucks winger Jake DeBrusk missed this game due to illness.
San Jose Sharks forward Igor Chernyshov scored twice, including the winner in overtime, in a 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Chernyshov also collected an assist, and team captain Macklin Celebrini had two assists. Artemi Panarin, Adrian Kempe, and Quinton Byfield each had a goal and an assist.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: RG.ORG’s Marco D’Amico interviewed Sharks forward Michael Misa, who explained how he spent the summer improving his shot, faceoffs, and play along the boards. He’s also quickly established chemistry with Sharks rookie forward Ivar Stenberg.
SPORTSNET: The Florida Panthers placed team captain Aleksander Barkov on long-term injured reserve. Barkov injured his left knee during Thursday’s loss to the Sharks.
The Panthers are still unclear about the status of Barkov’s injury. He will be seeing team physicians on Monday. His LTIR status means he’ll miss at least the next 10 games.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s not the same knee that Barkov had season-ending surgery on last September. While this one isn’t as serious, he could miss more than 10 games.
CBS SPORTS: Detroit Red Wings forward Marco Kasper will miss Sunday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets with an upper-body injury.
Although both teams wound up with 29 shots on goal, more of those by the Leafs were labelled, and in this one, Ullmark was the saviour.
Losing Sanderson for any length of time will really hurt. Not a good night for defensemen, with Matt Roy of the Capitals, Rasmus Ristolainen of the Flyers, and Alexandre Carrier of the Habs all leaving their games due to injuries.
Another ex-D, Lyle Odelein, passed away at age 58 pn Oct 2. Drafted by Montreal in the 7th Round in 1986, he put in 7 solid seasons with the Habs from the 1989-90 to the 1995-96 seasons. R.I.P. Lyle.
GeorgeO,Don t forget about Barkovs injury. Feel bad for the player,doubt anyone feels sorry for the team!
I didn’t forget about Barkov, Sr, as I wasn’t focusing on ALL injuries in that comment, but rather on those defensemen who had to leave their games last night due to injury, beginning with Ottawa’s Sanderson.
Chris Illich in Detroit yelled at by fans to “SELL the Team” Edvinsson now wants a trade sitting in Sweden. Keep up the reporting of the hot mess
in Detroit. I find it hilarious.
Things in Detroit just went from bad to worse, Edvinsson wanted to stay, after this mess he wants out. How incredibly incompetent can you get?
I truly don’t think we’ve reached the peak yet as to how incompetent that organization can get.
It does make why Jeff Greenberg pulled himself out of the GM search more understandable.
Although, after the Tigers woeful season in the AL, perhaps that “agency” still out there searching (futilely, so far) for the next Red Wings GM will have their scope altered to find one for Illich’s baseball team.
Hate to see what’s going on in Detroit. Very sad to see. The Wings are like the Leafs, like them or not it’s good for the game when both of these teams are good.
The worse is not done in Detroit, Debrincat is next!
Wait till Raymond and Mo ask to go
Solid game from the Oilers and Levi.
Owen Michaels looks good. I am not simply talking about the goal, but he has been given some challenging assignments and deployments and so far does not look mismatched with some solid play without the puck.
Frederic also looks closer to what he looked like as a Bruin.
All in all not much to lament about.