Sharks Win Their Third OT Thriller, Stars Post Another Shutout, and the Predators Storm Back in Montreal

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2026 — Thursday night in the NHL belonged to the comeback kids and the shutout artists. Darnell Nurse scored 1:03 into overtime to lift the Sharks past the Blues 3-2 in St. Louis — San Jose's third overtime win in four games, all without captain Macklin Celebrini. In Buffalo, Jake Oettinger made 26 saves for his second straight shutout as the Stars blanked the Sabres 4-0 behind a four-point night from Mikko Rantanen. And in Montreal, the Predators stormed back from 2-0 down with five unanswered goals to beat the Canadiens 5-2, according to NHL.com and Reuters.

01 Nurse's First as a Shark Wins It in St. Louis

The goal was worth the wait for Nurse. The defenseman, acquired from the Edmonton Oilers on July 1, took Stenberg's pass on the back door and beat Joel Hofer to the near-side left post for his first goal in a San Jose sweater, NHL.com reported. "It felt amazing," Nurse said. "It was nice to battle back. It took us a little bit in the first, our team was resilient and then got to our game."

The Sharks had to be resilient — twice. Connor McMichael opened the scoring 3:52 into the first period for St. Louis, and after Tyler Toffoli tied it at 8:48 of the second by converting his own rebound, the Blues retook the lead 1:39 into the third when a wayward Toffoli pass sprung Dillon Dube and Pavel Buchnevich on a 2-on-1, with Dube burying the short-handed goal himself for his first tally of the season, Reuters reported. Collin Graf answered at 6:05 of the third for his first goal of the season, and the game stayed knotted until Nurse's OT heroics.

02 No Celebrini, No Problem (Again)

San Jose played its second straight game without captain Macklin Celebrini, who missed again with a lower-body injury after participating in the morning skate, NHL.com reported. Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves in his first start of the season after Yaroslav Askarov opened the year with three straight starts, and he was the reason it was tied at all — St. Louis outshot San Jose 11-3 in the first period. Kiefer Sherwood made what coach Ryan Warsofsky called "a heck of a play" to block Robert Thomas' shot in the slot with about a minute left, preserving the point. "Not a great first, got better as the game went on," Warsofsky said.

For the Blues, it's three straight losses since a 4-0 opening-night shutout of Dallas — they've gone 0-2-1 in that span. McMichael's second goal of the season and Dube's shorty weren't enough, and Hofer stopped 24 of 27. One bright spot for St. Louis: defenseman Colton Parayko skated in his 804th career game, breaking Barret Jackman's franchise record for games played by a defenseman, per the Associated Press.

03 Oettinger Posts Another Shutout as Stars Blank Sabres

In Buffalo, Jake Oettinger turned away all 26 shots he faced as the Dallas Stars blanked the Sabres 4-0 — his second straight shutout after Monday's 5-0 win over San Jose, per the Associated Press. Mikko Rantanen torched his former division rivals with a goal and three assists, Wyatt Johnston added three assists of his own, and Jason Robertson, Sam Steel and Roope Hintz supplied the goals. Hintz's second-period strike was Dallas' first power-play goal of the season on its 10th man advantage.

Robertson opened the scoring at 9:03 of the first on a 2-on-1 with Rantanen, and the Stars piled on three more in the second: Steel slipped one through Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's pads at 9:36, Rantanen backhanded home a carom off the end boards at 13:57, and Hintz finished the rout, Field Level Media reported. Oettinger now has 18 career shutouts in 299 starts, and Dallas has won two straight after dropping its first two games. Buffalo, which had won two in a row after a season-opening loss, managed just 14 shots past Oettinger.

04 Predators Erase 2-0 Deficit, Stun Canadiens in Montreal

The night's gutsiest comeback belonged to Nashville. Down 2-0 in the second period at Bell Centre, the Predators scored five unanswered goals to beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 — snapping a five-game losing streak to the Habs, Reuters reported. The winner came with 3:16 left in the third: with Montreal's Mike Matheson in the box for tripping, Ryan O'Reilly deflected a Roman Josi point shot past Jacob Fowler for a 3-2 lead. Defenseman Adam Edstrom added two empty-netters to seal it.

Montreal built its lead on second-period goals from Nick Suzuki (his third of the season) and Alex Newhook, and Chris Kreider appeared to open the scoring even earlier — but his first-period goal was overturned after Nashville challenged for offside, NHL.com reported. Alexander Kerfoot cut the lead to 2-1 with his first goal as a Predator, deflecting a shot from Adam Wilsby, and Matthew Wood tied it with 32 seconds left in the second on a power-play goal in a crease pileup that stood up to video review. Juuse Saros made 32 saves, including a breakaway denial of Josh Anderson in the third, to earn his second win of the season.

For Montreal, it's a third straight loss (0-2-1). Fowler, the 21-year-old recalled from Laval on Wednesday after Samuel Montembeault sustained a lower-body injury at practice, made 15 saves in his season debut between the pipes, NHL.com reported.

05 Around the League Thursday

The rest of Thursday's slate delivered plenty. Logan Stankoven recorded his first career hat trick — a natural one, short-handed, on the power play and at even strength — as the Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes routed the Canucks 7-2 in Raleigh for their third straight win. The goals pushed Stankoven to 100 career points, Reuters reported.

In Las Vegas, the Golden Knights rallied from an early three-goal deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, with 20-year-old rookie Trevor Connelly scoring in the fifth round of the shootout on his first career attempt. Jack Eichel scored on a penalty shot and added an assist, and Mark Stone and Brett Howden also scored in regulation for Vegas' third straight win. Sergei Bobrovsky made a season-high 40 saves for Toronto but fell to 0-2-1, per Reuters.

The Tampa Bay Lightning edged the Minnesota Wild 3-2 to round out the night.

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