NHL PREVIEW OCTOBER 13, 2025 – DOUBLE SERVING OF PRIME MONDAY NIGHT HOCKEY FOR CANADIAN THANKSGIVING

The season debut of Prime Monday Night Hockey will feature a hefty serving of hockey on Canadian Thanksgiving, with Toronto and Vancouver hosting the two contests for the network’s second ever doubleheader (and first of two this season; also: March 16).

Doubleheader begins at 2 p.m. ET:

• Toronto will play on Canadian Thanksgiving for the first time since 2017-18, which also was an Original Six showdown involving Auston Matthews and Patrick Kane. On Oct. 9, 2017, Matthews, an NHL sophomore at the time, picked up the puck after it deflected off Kane’s skate and dashed up the ice for an unassisted overtime winner to complete Toronto’s multi-goal third-period comeback win against Chicago.
• It has been a decade since Vancouver last played on the holiday (Oct. 12, 2015 at ANA) and 15 years since they hosted a Thanksgiving contest (Oct. 11, 2010 vs. FLA). In the last Thanksgiving home game, Daniel Sedin scored both goals in a 2-1 victory – the second and third points of his 104-point Art Ross Trophy-winning season.
• While Canadian Thanksgiving is top of mind today, American stars are fast approaching (or have already reached) significant milestones: Matthews needs 19 goals for the Maple Leafs goals record, Kane needs seven goals for 500 (and 28 points for his country’s all-time benchmark), and Quinn Hughes recently took sole possession of Vancouver’s all-time scoring record among defensemen. Blues forward Robert Thomas, vying for a spot on the Canadian Olympic team in February, needs two points for 400 in his career and one assist to continue climbing the franchise’s all-time list (recently passed Pavol Demitra, also a former Canuck).

NATIONAL GAMES ON THE RADAR THIS WEEK

Five storylines you need to know about other national broadcasts for the first full week of the 2025-26 NHL regular season:

1. Lightning at Capitals on ESPN (Tuesday): Nikita Kucherov needs four points to become the 101st player in League history with 1,000 points, while Alex Ovechkin needs three goals to become the first with 900 goals. Kucherov is set to become the fourth-fastest to 1,000 points among players born outside North America, behind Peter Stastny (682 GP), Jari Kurri (716 GP) and Jaromir Jagr (763 GP). Ovechkin hit the mark in 880 games.
2. Wild at Stars on ESPN (Tuesday): The Stars are 5-0-0 in home openers since 2020-21 (the second-longest streak in franchise history behind 6-0-0 from 2001-02 to 2007-08) and have a point in 14 straight regular-season games against the Wild (9-0-5 since Dec. 20, 2021). Kirill Kaprizov and Mikko Rantanen are set to meet for the first time since signing long-term contract extensions with Minnesota and Dallas, respectively.
3. Panthers at Red Wings on TNT and HBO Max (Wednesday): The opener of an NHL on TNT doubleheader, Florida could take a 4-0-0 record into Hockeytown as they seek to achieve something Detroit has never done in their nearly 100-year history: three-peat as Stanley Cup champions. The Red Wings last claimed back-to-back Cups in 1997 and 1998 and for nearly 20 years were the last to do so (but it has been done three times in the past decade).
4. Oilers at Islanders on ESPN+ and Hulu (Thursday): Drafted first overall 10 years apart, Connor McDavid (2015) and Matthew Schaefer (2025) will go head-to-head for the first time. McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011) will be the third and fourth No. 1 picks Schaefer faces within the first four games of his career.
5. Predators at Jets on Sportsnet (Saturday): The reigning Presidents’ Trophy-winning Jets will make their 2025-26 Hockey Night in Canada debut, with Mark Scheifele entering the week only four points from setting the Jets/Thrashers franchise record. Predators forward Steven Stamkos needs five power-play goals to pass Dino Ciccarelli (232) for 10th place on the NHL’s all-time list and 10 points to reach 1,200 in his career. Hockey Night in Canada will also stop in Toronto, Montreal and Vegas.

SETTLE IN FOR A DAY FULL OF NHL ACTION

In addition to the Prime Monday Night Hockey doubleheader, Monday’s slate gets an early start with the puck down in four games by 1 p.m. ET – including the lone preview of the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series. Tampa Bay will visit Boston today for their only clash before meeting outdoors at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 1, in what will be the League’s 45th outdoor game and second ever in the state of Florida (following the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2: NYR at FLA).

LINDGREN ROBS ZIBANEJAD, OUTDUELS QUICK AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

Charlie Lindgren made 35 saves in his season debut, including a highlight-reel stop on Mika Zibanejad at 4:53 of the second period, to outduel three-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Quick (20 saves) and backstop the Capitals to a shutout victory at Madison Square Garden.

Dorofeyev, Pinto and Bobrovsky Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Pavel Dorofeyev, Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto and Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Oct. 12.

FIRST STAR – PAVEL DOROFEYEV, RW, VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS

Dorofeyev (5-0—5 in 3 GP) paced the NHL in both goals (5) and power-play goals (4) to propel the Golden Knights (1-0-2, 4 points) to four out of a possible six standings points. Dorofeyev opened the season with his third career hat trick – notching all three goals in the second period – in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings Oct. 8. He then scored once in both a 4-3 overtime victory against the San Jose Sharks Oct. 9 and a 2-1 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken Oct. 11. The 24-year-old Dorofeyev, a third-round pick (79th overall) from the 2019 NHL Draft, has totaled 60-30—90 through 152 career NHL appearances. That includes career highs in goals (35), assists (17) and points (52) while playing in all 82 games for Vegas last season.

SECOND STAR – SHANE PINTO, C, OTTAWA SENATORS

Pinto registered a pair of multi-point performances, totaling 4-1—5, to help the Senators (1-1-0, 2 points) split their first two contests of 2025-26. He posted 2-1—3, including the tying and go-ahead goals, as Ottawa earned a 5-4 comeback victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning Oct. 9. Pinto then scored both Senators goals in a 6-2 loss to the Florida Panthers Oct. 11 to become the first player in franchise history to start a campaign with consecutive multi-goal outings. The 24-year-old Pinto, a second-round pick (32nd overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft, is coming off a career-best 21-16—37 season in 2024-25 (70 GP) and owns 55-57—112 through 212 career NHL games.

THIRD STAR – SERGEI BOBROVSKY, G, FLORIDA PANTHERS

Bobrovsky went 3-0-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .925 save percentage to lift the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers (3-0-0, 6 points) to a perfect start to their season. He made 17 saves in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks Oct. 7, 19 stops in a 2-1 triumph versus the Philadelphia Flyers Oct. 9 and 26 saves in a 6-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators Oct. 11. The 37-year-old Bobrovsky, who ascended to 10th place on the League’s all-time wins list last season, has a 432-243-57 record in 757 career NHL appearances (2.57 GAA, .914 SV%, 49 SO).