Newark — Thursday night in the NHL is still very much in progress, and the loudest story so far is unfolding at the Prudential Center. As of about 6:20 p.m. PT, with games still being played across the league, the New Jersey Devils lead the New York Rangers 6-1 in the third period — a scoreline that looked unlikely before puck drop given who was in goal for New York — while the Toronto Maple Leafs lead the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 in the third, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Seattle Kraken are tied 2-2 in the third, and plenty of other games remain in the balance. Nothing in this roundup is final. Every score below is a live, in-progress score from the ESPN scoreboard as this story was published on Thursday evening, and Previously will update the night once these games go final. Follow the rest of the evening on our NHL hub and the live scores page.
A nightmare night for Garand, a statement night for the Devils
The New York Post reported the goaltending context that makes the Newark scoreline so striking. With Igor Shesterkin injured, Dylan Garand came into the night carrying a 1.15 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage — numbers that suggested the Rangers were in safe hands. Instead, according to the New York Post, Garand allowed four goals on 14 shots and was pulled early in the second period, after the Devils scored twice in 31 seconds to blow the game open. That 31-second burst is the hinge of the whole night: a close rivalry game became a rout in half a minute, and a young goaltender who had been one of the early stories of the Rangers' season had his hardest night at exactly the wrong moment, in a rivalry building, against a Devils team that smelled blood.
NHL.com, in its game coverage on Thursday night, reported that Luke Hughes scored twice for New Jersey, headlining a balanced attack that kept coming in waves. The Devils' goals, per NHL.com and the ESPN scoreboard, also included Evan Rodrigues late in the first period, Timo Meier and Arseny Gritsyuk, as New Jersey built its 6-1 third-period lead goal by goal rather than in one flurry alone. That spread matters. This was not one hot line carrying a team; it was a lineup scoring from multiple places against a rival that had no answer once Garand's night collapsed. For the Devils, a win of this shape — again, still in progress as of publication — would be an early-season marker in the Metropolitan Division. For the Rangers, the questions will start with Shesterkin's health and how quickly Garand can put a four-goals-on-14-shots night behind him, because backup goaltending stories can define a month when the starter is out.
Matthews and the Leafs hold off Buffalo
In Toronto, the Maple Leafs lead the Sabres 4-2 in the third period, per the ESPN scoreboard. Heavy reported how the scoring started: Auston Matthews opened the scoring for Toronto with a hand-catch play, the kind of hand-eye moment that only a handful of players in the league can turn into a goal, and Kirill Marchenko also scored for the Leafs. Jack Quinn scored for Buffalo, keeping the Sabres within reach for long stretches of a game Toronto has mostly controlled. A two-goal third-period lead at home is comfortable but not safe, and Buffalo has enough young speed to make the closing minutes interesting — which is precisely why this one stays in the in-progress column until the horn. Matthews setting the tone early is, however, the takeaway forming in Toronto: when their captain scores first and the building gets loud, the Leafs tend to play from in front with a confidence that has not always been there in past Octobers. See how Toronto's night finishes on our NHL hub.
Tied games and tight third periods across the map
The rest of the early and middle slate is a study in fine margins, according to the ESPN scoreboard as of about 6:20 p.m. PT. The Lightning and Kraken are tied 2-2 in the third period in a game neither side has been able to seize. The Vancouver Canucks lead the Florida Panthers 2-0 in the third — a shutout bid on the road against the Panthers would be one of the results of the night if Vancouver closes it out. The New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators are tied 1-1 in the third, a low-event grind of a game. The Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings are tied 1-1 at the end of the second period, with a full third period still to sort out. Any of these four games can flip on a single third-period shift, and that is the honest state of play at publication: leads of one goal, ties everywhere, and no finals to report yet from this group.
The later games are still taking shape
Further west on the schedule, the second-period picture is just as unsettled, per the ESPN scoreboard. The Chicago Blackhawks lead the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in the second period — a lead, but a fragile one against a Jets team that scores in bunches. The San Jose Sharks lead the Nashville Predators 1-0 in the second, the kind of low-scoring game where the next goal effectively counts double. The Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues are tied 2-2 in the second in a Central Division matchup that has gone back and forth. And the Edmonton Oilers and Utah Mammoth are scoreless in the first period, a slow start to a game featuring plenty of offensive talent that has not clicked yet. None of these scores should be read as results; second-period leads on a busy Thursday have a habit of disappearing, which is why this roundup is deliberately a snapshot, not a wrap-up.
One more game still to come in Vegas
The night is not even fully underway. The Calgary Flames at the Vegas Golden Knights is still to come, with puck drop scheduled for 10 p.m. ET in Las Vegas, per the ESPN schedule — the last game on Thursday's board. Vegas crowds have made late starts feel like events unto themselves, and the Flames arrive as the final piece of a night that has already produced a rivalry rout in Newark, a Matthews highlight in Toronto and a pile of one-goal games everywhere else. Previously covers the Golden Knights closely — see our NHL coverage and the sports front for the late game and for final scores from everything above once the third periods finish.
Thursday's board at a glance
For the record, the full Thursday board covered in this snapshot is: New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks vs. Florida Panthers, New York Islanders vs. Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers vs. Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks vs. Winnipeg Jets, San Jose Sharks vs. Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers vs. Utah Mammoth, and Calgary Flames vs. Vegas Golden Knights. Every one of those games is accounted for above, in progress or still to come, per the ESPN scoreboard.
What this snapshot actually tells us
Snapshots like this one are useful precisely because they resist tidy conclusions. As NHL.com and the New York Post have documented from Newark, and Heavy has documented from Toronto, Thursday has already delivered two genuine storylines — a young Rangers goaltender's worst night arriving while Shesterkin is injured, and a Devils team scoring six times on its biggest rival. The rest is still hockey to be played: a Kraken-Lightning tie in the third, a Canucks shutout bid in Florida, one-goal games in Chicago, San Jose and St. Louis, a scoreless start in the Oilers-Mammoth game, and a 10 p.m. ET start waiting in Vegas. Check back on Previously tonight — the finals, and the full wrap-up, will replace this snapshot once the last horn sounds.
