Golden Knights Rout Kraken 6-2 as Hertl and Eichel Combine for Nine Points; Panthers Edge Kings Late

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2026 — Tuesday night in the NHL belonged to the West — and to one team in particular. The Vegas Golden Knights hung six on the Seattle Kraken in a 6-2 rout at Climate Pledge Arena, sweeping their two-game Pacific Northwest trip behind monster nights from Tomas Hertl (two goals, two assists) and Jack Eichel (a goal and three assists). Hours earlier in Los Angeles, Matthew Tkachuk’s third-period winner gave the Florida Panthers a 2-1 win over the still-winless Kings. In Chicago, the Blackhawks gave their home crowd a 4-2 win over St. Louis in the home opener, and in Montreal, Carolina outlasted the Canadiens 6-4 in a track meet.

02 Vegas 6, Seattle 2: The Rout

The Golden Knights’ special teams did the damage early — three special-teams goals in all — and the big guns did the rest. Hertl’s four-point night and Eichel’s four-point night (one goal, three assists) buried Seattle before the third period, with Victor Olofsson adding two goals of his own before leaving in the third with an apparent left leg injury, the one sour note on a sweet night.

The milestone of the night belonged to Mark Stone, whose short-handed goal was his 400th point in 404 games with Vegas — 17 shy of Jonathan Marchessault’s franchise record of 417. Carter Hart made 25 saves in net. Shane Wright and Jared McCann scored for the Kraken, who were never really in it after the second period.

The win completed a tidy two-game swing through the Pacific Northwest: Sunday’s 3-2 overtime win in Vancouver, Tuesday’s rout in Seattle. For a team with Stanley Cup expectations, that’s exactly what these early-October business trips are supposed to look like.

03 Florida 2, Kings 1: Tkachuk Wins It Late

The late game in Los Angeles was the night’s tightest contest. Tied 1-1 in the third, Tkachuk broke through at 11:20 of the period, beating Darcy Kuemper between the pads from the left circle for the winner. Seth Jones also scored for Florida, and Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves as the Panthers closed out a season-opening four-game road trip with a win.

The victory came at a cost. Brad Marchand left late in the second period with a leg injury and did not return — and the Panthers were already without captain Aleksander Barkov, who remains on long-term injured reserve. Alex Laferriere scored for Los Angeles, which is still looking for its first win of the season.

Florida’s depth is being tested early, and so far it’s holding. Winning the last game of a four-game trip without your captain and losing Marchand mid-game is the kind of result that matters more in April than the standings show in October.

04 Chicago and Carolina Take the Other Two

In Chicago, the Blackhawks gave the United Center crowd what it came for: a 4-2 home-opening win over the St. Louis Blues. Sam Rinzel and Anton Frondell scored 2:01 apart in the second period to break it open, Spencer Knight made 25 saves, and after Connor McMichael pulled St. Louis within one late, Cole Smith’s short-handed empty-netter and Frank Nazar’s empty-net goal sealed it. Mason McTavish — acquired at the NHL Draft — scored for the Blues. The concern for Chicago: Teuvo Teravainen left in the third with an apparent ankle injury.

In Montreal, the Canadiens dropped their home opener 6-4 to the Carolina Hurricanes — the same team that eliminated them in last spring’s Eastern Conference Final. Taylor Hall scored twice and Sebastian Aho had a goal and two assists for Carolina, with Mark Jankowski and Eric Robinson each adding a goal and an assist. Zack Bolduc scored twice in defeat for Montreal.

Four games, four flavors: a rout, a nail-biter, a home-opener party, and a playoff-rematch track meet. And Wednesday brings the main event — Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin meeting for the 101st time, with Ovechkin in his announced final season, at 7:30 PM ET on TNT.

05 Wednesday Night: 101

And then there’s Wednesday. The Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Washington Capitals at 7:30 PM ET on TNT and HBO Max — the Capitals’ home opener, and the 101st meeting between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, counting playoffs. It is also their first meeting since Ovechkin announced Monday that the 2026-27 season will be his last in the NHL, which means every remaining installment of hockey’s defining rivalry of the last two decades now carries a farewell-tour charge.

The numbers on the two captains remain staggering. Ovechkin, 41, owns the NHL’s all-time goals record with 929 and has 1,688 points in 1,575 games. Crosby, 39, sits seventh all-time with 1,763 points — 654 goals and 1,109 assists in 1,423 games. Both are still looking for their first goal of the young season, which only adds to the theater: the 101st chapter could easily deliver a milestone for one of them.

The supporting casts have their own storylines. Washington’s Alex Tuch — signed to an eight-year deal in the offseason — scored twice in the Capitals’ season opener, an early return on a major commitment. But defenseman Matt Roy left Saturday’s game at Tampa with a lower-body injury, and his availability for Wednesday is in question. For a full breakdown of the matchup, see Previously’s Wednesday preview.

Thursday’s national window brings the San Jose Sharks to St. Louis at 8 PM ET on ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+. The Sharks opened with two straight overtime wins (2-1-0), though Macklin Celebrini was a late scratch Monday at Dallas with a lower-body injury and his status is to be determined.