The Avalanche defeat the Penguins, the Bruins down the Ducks, early-season attendance a concern, Red Wings owner Chris Ilitch not ruling out a rebuild, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

RECAPPING FRIDAY’S GAMES

NHL.COM: Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists as the Colorado Avalanche overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2. Artturi Lehkonen tallied twice, and rookie T.J. Hughes scored his first NHL goal for the 5-2-1 Avalanche. Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rusty scored for the Penguins, who dropped to 3-4-1.

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby collected an assist to move past Joe Thornton into seventh place (1,110) among the all-time assist leaders. He needs 26 assists to pass Paul Coffey (1,135) and 46 to move ahead of Jaromir Jagr (1,155).

The Boston Bruins scored four unanswered goals (three straight on the power play) to rally from a 2-0 deficit for a 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm each had a goal and an assist, and rookie Frederic Brunet netted his first NHL goal as the Bruins improved to 6-2-0. Tim Washe and Beckett Sennecke scored for the 4-3-0 Ducks.

HEADLINES

DAILY FACEOFF: Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton discussed the reasons behind the disappointing attendance numbers thus far this season.

The Vegas Golden Knights’ nine-year sellout streak ended on Oct. 8 when they had 92 percent attendance for their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Edmonton Oilers had over 2,000 empty seats for their Thursday game against the Utah Mammoth.

Yaremchuk noted the Columbus Blue Jackets were at 75 percent, the New York Islanders at 79 percent, the Ottawa Senators at 82 percent, and the San Jose Sharks at 82 percent.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Steven Sandor of the Edmonton Journal reported Friday that the Oilers have 840 tickets listed as unsold (“that’s outside of the resale market”) for their Oct. 20 home game against the Minnesota Wild. He also noted tickets remain available for their upcoming game against the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and their “Battle of Alberta” game against the Calgary Flames, and that’s with resale tickets going for as low as $61.00 apiece.

Sandor noted the Oilers aren’t the only Canadian team with an attendance issue. “The Ottawa Senators are selling just 80 percent of their seats, even though the team reduced the capacity of its arena for this season by about 900 seats,” he wrote. The Calgary Flames are selling 90 percent of their tickets, despite this being their final season in the Saddledome. The Winnipeg Jets are off to a strong start, but are selling at 93 percent.

Yaremchuk and Hutton believe the main reason is the high cost of watching NHL games. Hutton noted the rising cost of living is making it too expensive for people with families to attend those contests.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Other factors are at play, like the Golden Knights cutting the number of tickets sold directly to brokers in the hope of making each ticket more valuable. Nevertheless, the running theme in these stories is the rising cost of going to an NHL game.

Sandor spoke to several Oilers fans who found it too costly to renew their season tickets. Pittsburgh Penguins beat writer Josh Yohe of The Athletic cited the high cost of attending games (including parking). His colleague Mark Lazerus estimated the fan cost index for a family of four to attend a Chicago Blackhawks game at around $600.00, though he also pointed out it’s become more expensive to attend other sports or cultural events.

This could become an issue for all NHL teams if it continues throughout this season. The league’s fan cost index has steadily increased over the years, reaching an average of $761.22 in 2025, prompting concern that clubs were pricing out lower- and middle-income fans. That trend could accelerate if unaddressed given the current economic climate.

THE ATHLETIC: In an interview with Max Bultman, Detroit Red Wings owner Chris Ilitch acknowledged the fans’ unhappiness and frustration over the club’s direction this year, prompting some to chant “Sell the team!” at Little Caesars Arena earlier this month.

Ilitch said the fans “absolutely had the right to tell us how they feel.” He said it’s the reason why he changed general managers and why he’s being so meticulous in his ongoing search for a full-time replacement for former GM Steve Yzerman.

Red Wings interim general manager Shawn Horcoff recently said the club doesn’t intend to rebuild, but Ilitch isn’t taking that option off the table. He’s going to leave that decision to whoever he finally hires as his new GM.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ilitch might not have much choice if the Red Wings’ playoff drought reaches 11 years. Whoever comes in as general manager will have to sell a rebuild to core players like Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, and Alex DeBrincat, who signed a long-term extension earlier this week.

RG.ORG: Marco D’Amico reports soon-to-be Hall of Famer Patrice Bergeron believes the selection of David Pastrnak as the Boston Bruins captain was a logical organizational choice, pointing to the respect Pastrnak has earned through his years of production, personality, and credibility.

Bergeron believes young Bruins center Fraser Minten’s maturity and attention to detail have made him a good fit in Boston. He also singled out Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki’s growth as a leader and two-way player as setting the standard for his teammates.

DAILY FACEOFF: Winger Zach Hyman will return to action on Saturday against the Utah Mammoth. Colton Dach and Jake Walman are also “very likely” to play.

TSN: Carolina Hurricanes winger Taylor Hall is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Sidelined forward Seth Jarvis is travelling with the team and may be nearing a return from offseason shoulder surgery.

TVA SPORTS/SPORTSNET: Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault could be out longer than expected. He was initially projected to miss 10 to 14 days with a lower-body injury. Winger Florian Xhekaj (lower body) will be sidelined for two weeks, while defenseman Mike Matheson (lower body) remains day-to-day.

SPORTSNET: Winnipeg Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov is out week-to-week with an undisclosed injury.

CBS SPORTS: The Toronto Maple Leafs placed winger Miles Wood (undisclosed) on injured reserve.

NEW YORK POST: Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito has ties with MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers, who are heading to the World Series for the first time in 44 years. Back then, Zito was a bat boy for the team.