Saturday, October 17, 2026
NHL Saturday: Upsets, Hat Tricks, and Overtime Drama
A packed Saturday NHL slate delivered everything from shutouts to wild finishes, with Vancouver falling in Tampa and big wins across the board.
Saturday night saw heavy action across the NHL, with teams lighting the lamp and a handful of games going to extra time. In Tampa, the Vancouver Canucks started fast but the Lightning surged back to hand them a 4-2 defeat. Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson scored early for Vancouver, but Nikita Kucherov's pair of goals, along with third-period tallies from Jake Guentzel and Pontus Holmberg, secured the comeback for Tampa Bay.
In Sunrise, Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett both notched hat tricks to pace the Panthers to a decisive 8-3 win against Seattle. Matthew Tkachuk chipped in with three assists.
Overtime and shootout games added to the drama: Montréal's Cole Caufield buried the OT winner to edge Buffalo 4-3, while in Columbus, Kent Johnson's overtime goal gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 shutout win over the Rangers. Detroit staged a late comeback to force a shootout and ultimately beat San Jose 4-3, with Lucas Raymond netting the clincher.
Elsewhere, Edmondton's Connor McDavid had a five-point night (two goals, three assists) in a 6-2 rout of the Utah Mammoth. The New York Islanders stunned the Maple Leafs 4-1 in Toronto, powered by Bo Horvat's goal and assist and two goals from Simon Holmstrom. The Dallas Stars blanked the Blackhawks 4-0 in Chicago, led by Arttu Hyry's pair of goals and a shutout from Jake Oettinger.
The action continued in Nashville where the Predators beat St. Louis 5-2, Philadelphia topped Ottawa 3-1 at home, and Boston pulled away from the Kings with three third-period goals in a 4-1 road win. The Capitals took care of business with a 4-2 win over the Devils, thanks to 29 saves from Logan Thompson.
The Vegas Golden Knights put up six against the Penguins, with Mark Stone racking up three points and four different goal scorers finding the net early.
- Ryan Leonard, Ilya Protas, Dylan Strome and Boone Jenner scored for Washington.
- Arseny Gritsyuk and Timo Meier scored for New Jersey.
- Logan Thompson made 29 saves for the Capitals.
- Stars: 1. Logan Thompson, 2. Vincent Desharnais, 3. Dylan Strome.
- Mark Jankowski, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for Carolina.
- Mark Scheifele and Alex Iafallo scored for Winnipeg.
- Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 21 of 23 shots for the Hurricanes.
- Stars: 1. Nikolaj Ehlers, 2. Mark Scheifele, 3. Shayne Gostisbehere.
- Vancouver: Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson scored.
- Tampa Bay: Nikita Kucherov scored twice, Jake Guentzel and Pontus Holmberg added goals.
- Dennis Hildeby made 12 saves for Tampa Bay.
- Stars: 1. Nikita Kucherov, 2. Jake Guentzel, 3. Kevin Lankinen.
- Florida: Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett both recorded hat tricks.
- Seattle: Shane Wright, Frederick Gaudreau and Ryker Evans scored.
- Jacob Markstrom made 20 saves for the Panthers.
- Stars: 1. Carter Verhaeghe, 2. Sam Bennett, 3. Matthew Tkachuk.
- New York: Anthony Duclair, Bo Horvat, and Simon Holmstrom (twice) scored.
- Toronto: Colton Sissons scored the lone goal.
- Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves for the Islanders.
- Stars: 1. Bo Horvat, 2. Colton Sissons, 3. Ilya Sorokin.
- Cole Caufield scored twice, including the overtime winner for Montreal.
- Alexandre Texier and Zachary Bolduc also tallied for the Canadiens.
- Buffalo: Josh Norris, Jack Quinn (shorthanded), and Tage Thompson scored.
- Jacob Fowler made 23 saves in the win.
- Stars: 1. Cole Caufield, 2. Alexandre Carrier, 3. Zachary Bolduc.
NHL highlight
Sharks vs. Red Wings | NHL Highlights | Oct 17, 2026
- San Jose: Dmitry Orlov, Macklin Celebrini, and Ivar Stenberg scored.
- Detroit: Justin Faulk, Emmitt Finnie, Alex DeBrincat scored, Lucas Raymond scored the shootout winner.
- John Gibson made 31 saves for Detroit.
- Stars: 1. Emmitt Finnie, 2. Macklin Celebrini, 3. Alex DeBrincat.
NHL highlight
Senators vs. Flyers | NHL Highlights | Oct 17, 2026
- Philadelphia: Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, and Trevor Zegras scored.
- Ottawa: Drake Batherson scored.
- Dan Vladar stopped 25 of 26 shots for the Flyers.
- Stars: 1. Matvei Michkov, 2. Porter Martone, 3. Dan Vladar.
NHL highlight
Rangers vs. Blue Jackets | NHL Highlights | Oct 17, 2026
- Kent Johnson scored the overtime winner for Columbus.
- Goaltender Jet Greaves made 29 saves for the shutout.
- Dylan Garand stopped 28 shots for New York.
- Stars: 1. Jet Greaves, 2. Kent Johnson, 3. Dylan Garand.
- Dallas: Jason Robertson, Arttu Hyry (twice), and Roope Hintz scored.
- Jake Oettinger stopped all 19 shots for the Stars shutout.
- Stars: 1. Arttu Hyry, 2. Jason Robertson, 3. Jake Oettinger.
NHL highlight
Blues vs. Predators | NHL Highlights | Oct 17, 2026
- Nashville: Jonathan Marchessault, Filip Forsberg, Adam Edstrom, Ryan O'Reilly and Jack Drury scored.
- St. Louis: Philip Broberg and Jimmy Snuggerud tallied.
- Juuse Saros made 24 saves for Nashville.
- Stars: 1. Filip Forsberg, 2. Jonathan Marchessault, 3. Adam Edstrom.
NHL highlight
Bruins vs. Kings | NHL Highlights | Oct 17, 2026
- Boston: David Pastrnak, Marat Khusnutdinov, Elias Lindholm and JJ Peterka scored.
- Los Angeles: Alex Laferriere opened the scoring.
- Jeremy Swayman made 25 saves for the Bruins.
- Stars: 1. Marat Khusnutdinov, 2. David Pastrnak, 3. Jeremy Swayman.
NHL highlight
Oilers vs. Mammoth | NHL Highlights | Oct 17, 2026
- Edmonton: Connor McDavid had two goals and three assists, with goals from Zach Hyman, Mathieu Joseph, Kasperi Kapanen and Leon Draisaitl.
- Utah: John Marino and Mikhail Sergachev scored.
- Tristan Jarry made 26 saves for Edmonton.
- Stars: 1. Connor McDavid, 2. Leon Draisaitl, 3. Vasily Podkolzin.
NHL highlight
Penguins vs. Golden Knights | NHL Highlights | Oct 17, 2026
- Vegas: Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin, Mark Stone, Trevor Connelly, Shea Theodore, and Brett Howden scored.
- Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin scored.
- Adin Hill stopped 22 shots for Vegas.
- Stars: 1. Mark Stone, 2. Rasmus Andersson, 3. Noah Hanifin.
Sources: NHL scores