NEW YORK, United States, October 4, 2026: Igor Chernyshov needed overtime to complete San Jose’s perfect start. Ilya Sorokin needed 37 saves to make New Jersey disappear from the scoreboard. Colorado needed only two periods to put six past St. Louis. Leon Draisaitl waited until 2:27 remained before deciding Edmonton’s night.
Saturday’s NHL schedule produced 13 games, 76 goals, three overtime finishes, one shutout and several individual milestones before the league’s first week was even complete.
The most compelling part was how differently those victories arrived.
San Jose survived a nine-goal contest. The Islanders conceded nothing. Carolina required a power-play goal in overtime after trailing Philadelphia. Pittsburgh nearly threw away a 5-1 lead before Tommy Novak rescued it. Vancouver waited until the third period before scoring four unanswered goals. Buffalo’s home opener turned on Jiri Kulich’s first goal in 11 months.
Story at a glance
NHL Results From Saturday, October 3, 2026
The official NHL scoreboard confirms all 13 results from Saturday’s schedule.
Igor Chernyshov Turns Sharks-Kings Into the Night’s Best Finish
San Jose had already begun the season by showing that its young core can create offense.
Ilya Sorokin Gives the Islanders the Night’s Only Shutout
New York’s 6-0 victory over New Jersey was the largest defensive statement of the night.
Colorado’s Top Line Turns Two Games Into a 14-Goal Warning
The Avalanche are not easing into the season.
Kaprizov and Hughes Give Minnesota Two Wins From Two
Boston scored first in Minnesota.
Only days after the NHL season opened with record performances, overtime drama and Gavin McKenna’s debut, the league delivered another night that made early standings feel less important than the individual stories forming underneath them.
NHL Results From Saturday, October 3, 2026
The official NHL scoreboard confirms all 13 results from Saturday’s schedule.
| Game | Result | Defining Story |
|---|---|---|
| Utah Mammoth at Columbus Blue Jackets | Utah 4-1 | Clayton Keller reaches 600 career points |
| Chicago Blackhawks at Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo 4-3 | Jiri Kulich scores late winner in emotional home return |
| Seattle Kraken at Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton 3-1 | Leon Draisaitl breaks tie with 2:27 remaining |
| Carolina Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers | Carolina 3-2 OT | Sebastian Aho scores twice before Shayne Gostisbehere wins it |
| Montreal Canadiens at Pittsburgh Penguins | Pittsburgh 6-5 OT | Tommy Novak rescues Penguins after Montreal erases 5-1 deficit |
| Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning | Tampa Bay 3-1 | Jake Guentzel records goal and assist |
| Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs | Ottawa 3-2 | Stephen Halliday scores third-period winner |
| New Jersey Devils at New York Islanders | Islanders 6-0 | Ilya Sorokin makes 37 saves |
| Dallas Stars at Nashville Predators | Nashville 2-1 | Steven Stamkos reaches 625 career goals |
| Boston Bruins at Minnesota Wild | Minnesota 4-1 | Kirill Kaprizov scores twice |
| St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche | Colorado 6-1 | Martin Necas scores twice as Colorado’s top line dominates |
| Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks | San Jose 5-4 OT | Igor Chernyshov completes two-goal night in overtime |
| Calgary Flames at Vancouver Canucks | Vancouver 4-1 | Canucks score four unanswered goals in third period |
Igor Chernyshov Turns Sharks-Kings Into the Night’s Best Finish
San Jose had already begun the season by showing that its young core can create offense.
Saturday offered stronger evidence.
Chernyshov scored twice, including the winner 3:18 into overtime, as the Sharks defeated Los Angeles 5-4 and improved to 2-0-0 for the first time since 2021-22.
Macklin Celebrini created the decisive play by carrying through the middle before finding Chernyshov in the left circle. The winger finished with a one-timer past Anton Forsberg.
The NHL’s official Sharks-Kings report confirms Chernyshov also added an assist, while Celebrini recorded two assists and Tyler Toffoli contributed a goal and an assist.
Los Angeles received a goal and an assist apiece from Adrian Kempe, Artemi Panarin and Quinton Byfield, but the Kings have now conceded 13 goals while opening 0-2-0.
Chernyshov and Celebrini Are Giving San Jose More Than Hope
The Sharks spent much of their recent rebuild talking about what their young talent might eventually become.
The conversation is beginning to change.
Chernyshov supplied three points. Celebrini created two goals. San Jose has won twice.
That development follows a preseason in which the Sharks’ younger players already offered some of the league’s most encouraging evidence. TSE’s 32-team preseason assessment identified San Jose’s emerging talent as one of September’s strongest positive signals.
Two regular-season games do not complete a rebuild.
They can begin changing what opponents expect when they arrive in San Jose.
Ilya Sorokin Gives the Islanders the Night’s Only Shutout
New York’s 6-0 victory over New Jersey was the largest defensive statement of the night.
Sorokin stopped all 37 shots he faced, while the Islanders turned a scoreless first period into a three-goal second and eventually a six-goal victory.
Simon Holmstrom and Brayden Schenn scored 1:28 apart early in the second period before Bo Horvat made it 3-0.
Victor Eklund then scored his first NHL goal in the third and finished with a goal and an assist. Casey Cizikas, Holmstrom and Schenn each produced two-point nights, while Matthew Schaefer recorded two assists.
The official NHL report confirms Sorokin’s 37-save shutout and Eklund’s breakthrough goal.
The Islanders’ Goaltending Story Has Changed Quickly
Only weeks ago, one of the most encouraging Islanders stories belonged to Semyon Varlamov.
The veteran returned after almost two years away and stopped every shot he faced during an exhibition comeback at Madison Square Garden, a moment TSE explored in our report on Varlamov’s return and the Islanders’ preseason.
Saturday belonged to Sorokin.
Thirty-seven saves and six goals at the other end turned what had been a tight game through 20 minutes into one of the most decisive results of the young season.
Colorado’s Top Line Turns Two Games Into a 14-Goal Warning
The Avalanche are not easing into the season.
Colorado defeated St. Louis 6-1 after scoring eight against Los Angeles in its opener. Fourteen goals through two games ties the franchise record set by the 1992-93 Quebec Nordiques.
Martin Necas scored twice against the Blues. Artturi Lehkonen had a goal, Nathan MacKinnon collected three assists, and the Lehkonen-MacKinnon-Necas line combined for eight points.
Cale Makar, Josh Manson and Nicolas Roy also scored.
Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 25 of 26 shots.
Colorado’s Threat Is Coming From Several Layers
Six goals matter.
The distribution matters more.
Colorado received goals from a defenseman, its top line and secondary contributors. MacKinnon did not need to score to dominate possession and creation. Necas finished chances. Lehkonen added another goal after already beginning the season strongly.
The Avalanche entered the year as one of the teams carrying serious Stanley Cup expectations in TSE’s complete 2026-27 season preview.
Fourteen goals in two games do not settle that discussion, but they make Colorado impossible to ignore at the start.
Kaprizov and Hughes Give Minnesota Two Wins From Two
Boston scored first in Minnesota.
The Wild answered with four straight.
Kirill Kaprizov scored twice, Quinn Hughes produced a goal and an assist and Jared Spurgeon also scored in Minnesota’s 4-1 victory.
Jesper Wallstedt stopped 26 shots as the Wild moved to 2-0-0.
Kaprizov tied the game on the power play in the second period before Hughes scored during a 5-on-3 advantage. Spurgeon extended the lead early in the third, and Kaprizov finished the night with an empty-net goal.
For Minnesota, the encouraging element is balance between elite forward skill and blue-line creation. Hughes influencing a game alongside Kaprizov gives opponents two very different problems to solve.
Leon Draisaitl Waits Until the Final Minutes to Break Seattle
Edmonton’s first two wins could hardly have looked more different.
The Oilers had just survived a 9-7 game against Vancouver.
Against Seattle, they needed to wait until the final three minutes.
Draisaitl scored the decisive goal with 2:27 remaining after a puck redirected off Connor McDavid and arrived in front of the net. McDavid later added an empty-net goal to complete a 3-1 victory.
McDavid finished with a goal and an assist, Owen Michaels scored for the second consecutive game and Devon Levi made 19 saves.
The result moved Edmonton to 2-0-1.
That variety is significant. The Oilers showed they could survive an offensive shootout earlier in the week and then win a one-goal game deep into the third period.
Pittsburgh Goes From 5-1 Control to Overtime Survival
No game changed personality more dramatically than Montreal-Pittsburgh.
The Penguins built a 5-1 advantage and appeared to have their home opener under control.
Montreal refused to disappear.
Cole Caufield scored his second goal of the night before Chris Kreider and Ivan Demidov struck with the Canadiens’ goaltender pulled, completing a comeback to 5-5.
Tommy Novak then turned what could have become an extraordinary collapse into a 6-5 Pittsburgh victory.
Evgeni Malkin created a two-on-one in overtime and found Novak for the winner. Novak finished with two goals and three points.
Pittsburgh has now scored 13 goals through its opening two games after putting seven past Philadelphia.
The offensive output gives context to the franchise transition TSE has been following throughout the summer. The question was never whether veterans such as Malkin could still create. It was whether Pittsburgh could build enough productive depth around its older core.
Carolina Forces Its Way Past Philadelphia in Overtime
The defending champions needed 62 minutes and 51 seconds to finish a game they dominated territorially.
Carolina outshot Philadelphia 40-18 but trailed 2-1 entering the third period.
Sebastian Aho scored only 10 seconds into the game, then added a power-play goal early in the third to make it 2-2.
Shayne Gostisbehere won the game on another power play 2:51 into overtime.
Philadelphia goaltender Joseph Woll stopped 37 shots and gave the Flyers a chance to win despite the enormous shot disparity.
For Carolina, the result is a useful response after losing its championship-banner opener to Florida in overtime.
The Hurricanes remain the defending champions because of the run TSE documented when Carolina defeated Vegas in Game 6 to win its first Stanley Cup in 20 years. Saturday looked more familiar: sustained pressure, special-teams impact and enough patience to keep attacking despite a stubborn goaltender.
Buffalo’s Winner Belongs to Jiri Kulich
Buffalo trailed Chicago 2-0.
Then it trailed 3-2.
The Sabres still won their home opener 4-3.
The decisive moment belonged to Kulich, whose goal with 6:40 remaining was his first in 11 months after a blood clot ended most of his previous season.
Tage Thompson finished with a goal and an assist.
For Chicago, Jordan Greenway, Tyler Bertuzzi and Oliver Moore scored, but the Blackhawks could not protect either of their leads.
Chicago entered the season with its rebuild entering a new phase after Patrick Kane’s return, a move TSE examined when the franchise brought one of its defining championship-era players back home.
Saturday supplied a less comfortable lesson. Young teams still have to learn how to close games they have put themselves in position to win.
Steven Stamkos Reaches 625 Goals as Nashville Finds Its First Win
Nashville’s 2-1 victory over Dallas contained the night’s largest career milestone.
Stamkos scored his 625th NHL goal on the power play, moving level with Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic for 17th on the league’s all-time goals list.
Nils Hoglander scored his first goal as a Predator, also on the power play, and Juuse Saros made 29 saves.
Miro Heiskanen had given Dallas the lead only 47 seconds into the game.
Nashville then prevented another goal for more than 59 minutes.
The Predators had entered October with concerns after an uneven preseason, one of several teams TSE evaluated in its final preseason assessment of all 32 NHL clubs.
Saturday gave them something far more useful than an exhibition result: two standings points and evidence that Saros can still turn a narrow lead into a win.
Ottawa Spoils Toronto’s Milestone Night
Toronto produced several individual milestones without getting the result.
Auston Matthews scored his first goal of the season. William Nylander recorded his 400th career assist. John Tavares played his 600th game as a Maple Leaf. Kirill Marchenko scored his first Toronto goal.
Ottawa won 3-2.
Stephen Halliday broke the tie at 9:46 of the third period, while Thomas Chabot finished with a goal and an assist in his first game as Senators captain.
Linus Ullmark made 27 saves.
Toronto has now had each of its first three games decided by a single goal.
Tampa Bay Responds, Vancouver Explodes Late and Utah Stays Perfect
Jake Guentzel Helps Tampa Bay Reset
The Lightning followed a 5-1 opening loss to the Rangers with a far more controlled 3-1 victory over Washington.
Continue the NHL Story
Guentzel recorded a goal and an assist, Brandon Hagel had two assists and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves.
Conor Geekie and Charle-Edouard D’Astous also scored for Tampa Bay.
John Carlson recorded an assist in his first game against the Capitals after spending 17 seasons in Washington.
Vancouver Saves Everything for the Third Period
Calgary led 1-0 after two periods.
Vancouver then scored four times.
Liam Öhgren tied the game before defenseman Elias Pettersson scored the go-ahead goal. Drew O’Connor added another and Aatu Räty finished the comeback into an empty net.
The 4-1 result pushed Vancouver to 2-1-0 and left Calgary at 0-2-0.
Clayton Keller Reaches 600 as Utah Moves to 2-0
Utah defeated Columbus 4-1 and remained perfect through two games.
Keller recorded his 600th NHL point with his second assist of the game, reaching the milestone in his 685th career appearance.
The evening carried a more somber significance in Columbus, where the Blue Jackets honored former captain Lyle Odelein before the game following his death at 58.
Who Were the NHL’s Top Performers on October 3?
Igor Chernyshov: Three Points and an Overtime Winner
Two goals, one assist and the decisive strike made Chernyshov the strongest candidate for the night’s defining individual performance.
Ilya Sorokin: 37 Saves, Zero Goals Allowed
No goaltender faced more shots without conceding. Sorokin’s shutout turned a division game into a 6-0 statement.
Martin Necas: Two Goals as Colorado Scores Six
Necas drove an eight-point night from Colorado’s top line and helped the Avalanche reach 14 goals through two games.
Kirill Kaprizov: Two Goals as Minnesota Stays Perfect
Kaprizov erased Boston’s lead, then finished the game himself with an empty-net goal.
Tommy Novak: The Goal That Saved Pittsburgh
Novak scored twice, recorded three points and delivered the overtime winner after Pittsburgh allowed Montreal to erase a four-goal deficit.
The Numbers That Defined NHL Saturday
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| Games played | 13 |
| Total goals | 76 |
| Average goals per game | 5.85 |
| Overtime games | 3 |
| Shutouts | 1 |
| Largest margin | 6 goals, Islanders 6-0 Devils |
| Highest-scoring game | 11 goals, Penguins 6-5 Canadiens |
| Latest regulation winner | Leon Draisaitl, 2:27 remaining |
| Biggest comeback | Montreal from 5-1 down to force overtime |
What Did Saturday Reveal About the First Week of the NHL Season?
It is too early for sweeping judgments.
The useful evidence is narrower.
San Jose’s young players are already creating meaningful offense. Colorado’s first line looks dangerous before opponents have found regular-season rhythm. Minnesota has started with consecutive wins. Edmonton has won very different kinds of games. Pittsburgh can score in bunches but still has defensive work to do. Vancouver has shown it can recover when a game turns against it.
Goalies also shaped the night.
Sorokin stopped 37. Saros made 29. Woll made 37 in defeat. Levi gave Edmonton the stability it needed late.
That variety is exactly what the expanded 84-game season described in TSE’s season curtain-raiser was always going to expose. Teams need more than one way to win.
Saturday provided 13 different attempts to prove it.
For continuing scores, standings, player performances and Stanley Cup coverage, visit The Sports Encounter NHL Hub.
NHL October 3, 2026 FAQs
How many NHL games were played on October 3, 2026?
Thirteen games were completed across the NHL on Saturday, October 3.
How many goals were scored?
The 13 games produced 76 goals, an average of approximately 5.85 goals per game.
Who scored the Sharks’ overtime winner against the Kings?
Igor Chernyshov scored his second goal of the game 3:18 into overtime to give San Jose a 5-4 victory.
Which goalie recorded the night’s shutout?
Ilya Sorokin made 37 saves as the New York Islanders defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-0.
Who scored the most important late goal for Edmonton?
Leon Draisaitl broke a 1-1 tie with 2:27 remaining before Connor McDavid added an empty-net goal.
What was the highest-scoring NHL game on October 3?
Pittsburgh’s 6-5 overtime victory over Montreal produced 11 goals.
How many games went to overtime?
Three games required overtime: Carolina beat Philadelphia 3-2, Pittsburgh beat Montreal 6-5 and San Jose defeated Los Angeles 5-4.
What milestone did Steven Stamkos reach?
Stamkos scored his 625th career NHL goal, tying Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic for 17th on the all-time list.
