The 2026-27 NHL season is not yet a week old, but it's been a bit of a roller-coaster ride:
Nathan MacKinnon fought Brandt Clarke, then fired his helmet at the boards in celebration.
Evan Bouchard had three goals and two assists on opening night ... and somehow that wasn't enough to beat the Canucks. Connor McDavid equaled his five points on Thursday, and the Oilers won 9-7.
Igor Shesterkin scored the first goalie goal in Rangers history.
And commissioner Gary Bettman cautioned about the further use of no-trade clauses after they became the story in hockey this summer.
So much for easing into the campaign!
There's no slowing down Friday, as the five-game slate includes some more season debuts. That includes Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, who take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. Both teams are expected to contend for the Metro Division crown, and every result counts.
Here's what else to watch in each game this evening:
New York Rangers at Detroit Red Wings
6:30 p.m. ET (TNT) | DET -142, O/U: 5.5
The Rangers' season didn't get off to the best start, as they couldn't get a puck past Jeremy Swayman while the Bruins put two past Igor Shesterkin and one into an empty net. It could be worse, though; just ask a Red Wings fan.
Detroit's captain, Dylan Larkin, asked for a trade, then was stripped of his captaincy upon his return to camp following the lack of a deal and is now out with an upper-body injury; rising star defenseman (and restricted free agent) Simon Edvinsson is without a contract; and the club has not named a permanent GM to handle these matters. Of course, the Wings do have some exciting players that will be taking the ice, including Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat. Let's see how they can tune out the off-ice issues.
Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | CAR -148, O/U: 6.5
Despite an overtime loss to the Panthers on Tuesday, the Hurricanes look just as strong as the group that won the Cup last season; that makes sense, since the majority of the roster is back and ready for another run. Meanwhile, the Capitals spent the summer making bold move after bold move -- and welcomed Ovechkin officially back for one more season as well. This early clash could set the tone for the battles to come. (Round 2 will be Oct. 13, again in Raleigh.)
Boston Bruins at Winnipeg Jets
8 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | WPG -122, O/U: 5.5
This will be the season debut for the Jets, and they'll be playing without Connor Hellebuyck, the 2025 winner of both the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. Hellebuyck's trade request has thus far gone unaccommodated, leaving Stuart Skinner in the Winnipeg crease.
On the other side, the B's got off to a steady start with a 3-0 win over the Rangers on opening night and hope to carry some momentum into this cross-conference tilt before a matchup against the Wild on Saturday.
St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars
9 p.m. ET (TNT) | DAL -205, O/U: 5.5
This game will be the season debut for both clubs and the first regular-season game with Robert Thomas serving as Blues captain. The Blues have become a popular hipster pick to earn a wild-card playoff spot this season, while you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone not predicting the Stars will finish among the top three in the Western Conference -- particularly now that Jason Robertson is officially back (at least for this season).
Anaheim Ducks at Vegas Golden Knights
10 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | VGK -185, O/U: 6.5
The last time these two teams met was May 14, when the Golden Knights closed out their second-round playoff series with a 5-1 win. In the time since, Vegas lost in the Stanley Cup Final, elected not to continue John Tortorella's tenure as head coach (opting for Ryan Craig) and traded its top goal scorer from last season, Pavel Dorofeyev, to the Rangers.
The Ducks lost their three veteran blueliners from last year's squad (John Carlson, Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas), weathered the Leo Carlsson offer sheet storm, then signed long-term new deals with Cutter Gauthier and Tristan Luneau. How will the two Pacific Division rivals look Friday?
Reminder: Fans can catch all of the action in the NHL streaming hub and on the ESPN App.
Jump ahead:
Top NHL stories
Last night's scores
NHL stats leaders
Today in hockey history
Top stories around the NHL
Here's what you need to know:
Greg Wyshynski predicts the future for all 32 teams with his full standings projections.
Emily Kaplan runs down all the big storylines across the NHL for opening week.
Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton went deep with all the intel you need on all 32 teams.
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov exited the Panthers' game on Thursday with a lower-body injury.
The Sabres have signed defenseman Louis Crevier to a four-year, $16 million contract extension.
Rangers backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
The Avalanche have extended coach Jared Bednar's contract through 2030-31.
Wild defenseman Brock Faber had surgery on his fractured skull, with his return TBD.
Thursday's scoreboard
Columbus Blue Jackets 6, Buffalo Sabres 3
New Jersey Devils 3, Philadelphia Flyers 2 (OT)
New York Rangers 5, Tampa Bay Lightning 1
Minnesota Wild 3, Nashville Predators 1
Seattle Kraken 6, Calgary Flames 1
Utah Mammoth 6, Chicago Blackhawks 0
San Jose Sharks 4, Florida Panthers 3 (OT)
Edmonton Oilers 9, Vancouver Canucks 7
NHL scoring leaders
Click here for full list of stats leaders.
NHL goaltending leaders
Click here for the full list of goaltender stats.
Today in hockey history
Longtime hockey fans are well aware that the NHL has not always had the 32 teams it does for the 2026-27 season. Multiple rounds of expansion and relocations have yielded the current array.
On this day in 1999, a new team made its debut: the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Thrash had some of the most instantly recognizable uniforms in the league during their existence from 1999 to 2011, and won one division title (2006-07), though their playoff run was over in four games after a sweep by the New York Rangers.
The franchise relocated to Winnipeg in 2011, ending the NHL's second run in the city.