NHL PREVIEW OCTOBER 28, 2025 – NHL FROZEN FRENZY RETURNS WITH ALL 32 TEAMS IN ACTION

The sixth 16-game day in League history and third dubbed NHL Frozen Frenzy will see all 32 teams hit the ice across several staggered start times, with the 7.5 hours of continuous action bookended by the opening and closing contests of an ESPN tripleheader in the U.S.

16 PLAYERS TO WATCH ON A 16-GAME NIGHT

A trio of high-producing players who were once No. 1 picks in the NHL Draft and will be featured as part of ESPN’s exclusive tripleheader starting at 6 p.m. ET: Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Macklin Celebrini.

Sidney Crosby: Penguins at Flyers (6 ET on ESPN)

At age 38, Sidney Crosby (632-1,069—1,701 in 1,362 GP) is averaging over a point per game in 2025-26 (7-7—14 in 10 GP) and on Monday became the ninth player in NHL history to reach the 1,700-point milestone and set a franchise record for career multi-point games (498) – among other milestones achieved on home ice. The Penguins captain now sits 22 points shy of tying Mario Lemieux for the franchise record and in three-and-a-half months will embark on a journey with Team Canada in search of his third career Olympic gold medal after winning in 2010 and 2014. His impact goes well beyond the ice, as he has been making a positive impact for kids across the Pittsburgh region with his “Little Penguins Learn to Play” program and hosts local charities in his suite at every home game.

John Tavares: Flames at Maple Leafs (6 ET on TSN4, SNF)

The number 500 keeps coming up for John Tavares this season. On Oct. 18, he recorded his 500th point since joining the Maple Leafs and became the fourth player in NHL history to notch 500 points with multiple franchises (also w/ NYI), joining Ron Francis, Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky. Tavares enters Tuesday’s game on a four-game point streak and one goal away from becoming the fifth active player (49th all-time) to reach the 500-goal milestone. Of note, Maple Leafs legend Mats Sundin, who also spent time as Toronto captain, scored his 500th goal against Calgary on Oct. 14, 2006.

Jack Eichel: Golden Knights at Hurricanes (6:30 ET on FDSNSO, SCRIPPS)

Jack Eichel enters Tuesday’s action tied for the League lead in points with 6-10—16 in nine games, following up on the 2024-25 campaign in which he set a Golden Knights record and finished eighth in the scoring race with 28-66—94 (77 GP). The most points by a Golden Knights skater through his first 10 games of a season is 18, posted by current teammate Mark Stone in 2024-25 (5-13—18 in 10 GP).

Rasmus Dahlin: Blue Jackets at Sabres (6:45 ET on FDSNOH, MSG-B)

Rasmus Dahlin (0-7—7 in 9 GP) is tied for the team lead in assists and ranks ninth in franchise history (second among defenseman) with 284 career helpers. Dahlin, who has already been named to Team Sweden’s roster for Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, ranks among the top 10 defensemen in multiple offensive categories since entering the NHL in 2018-19: goals (7th; 83), assists (9th; 284) and points (7th; 367). Among the 15 defensemen selected first overall in the NHL Draft, only Denis Potvin (1,052 in 1,060 GP), Roman Hamrlik (638 in 1,395 GP), Rob Ramage (564 in 1,044 GP), Ed Jovanovski (500 in 1,128 GP) and Aaron Ekblad (383 in 742 GP) have more career points than 25-year-old Dahlin (367 in 518 GP).

Leo Carlsson: Ducks at Panthers (7 ET on Victory+, SCRIPPS, KCOP-13)

The Ducks (4-3-1, 9 points), listed as the sixth-youngest roster this season, are off to the team’s best eight-game start in six years as they visit the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions at Amerant Bank Arena. Anaheim is co-led in points by 20-year-old forward Leo Carlsson (3-6—9 in 8 GP) who also tops all Ducks forwards averaging 19:10 time on ice per game this season. Carlsson (35-48—83 in 139 GP) has recorded the most career points by a Ducks player at age 20 or younger. He was the youngest player to participate in the 4 Nations Face-Off (age 19 at the time) and a candidate to represent Team Sweden again at Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Matthew Schaefer: NY Islanders at Boston (7:15 ET on TVAS, MSGSN, NESN)

Matthew Schaefer (2-5—7 in 8 GP) has already achieved several notable feats during the six-game point streak he had to begin his career and is currently on pace to finish his rookie campaign with 71 points. He can establish a new NHL benchmark for points in a season by an 18-year-old defenseman, a distinction Phil Housley has held for more than 40 years (17-40—57 in 1982-83).

Andrei Vasilevskiy: Tampa Bay at Nashville (7:45 ET on The Spot, FDSNSO)

Andrei Vasilevskiy can win his 10th straight game against the Predators, which would be the fourth team he has recorded a double-digit win streak against (13 GP vs. CHI & DET, 11 GP vs. MTL). He would tie Ken Dryden (VAN, WSH, MNS, CGS/CLE) for the most clubs with a double-digit winning streak against by a goaltender in NHL history.

Kirill Kaprizov: Winnipeg at Minnesota (8 ET on FDSNWI, FDSNNO, TSN3)

Kirill Kaprizov (190-210—400 in 329 GP), who reached the 400-point plateau in his last outing, is having another productive season, leading his team in goals (tied), assists and points (5-9—14). Kaprizov is 10 away from being the third Wild player with 200 career goals and can become the fifth-fastest player born outside North America to reach the mark should he do so prior to his 355th game.

Dylan Larkin: Detroit at St. Louis (8:15 ET on FDSNMW, FDSNDET)

Dylan Larkin (6-7—13) leads the Detroit Red Wings in scoring thanks in part to an eight-game season-opening point streak that ended in his last outing – tied for the longest such run in 2025-26 with Martin Necas and Sebastian Aho (active runs). Larkin is looking for a fifth straight 30-goal season, a feat only three other Detroit players have achieved: Steve Yzerman (7; 1986-87 –1992-93), Gordie Howe (5; 1949-50 – 1953-54) and Brendan Shanahan (5; 1998-99 – 2002-03).

Alex Ovechkin: Washington at Dallas (8:30 ET on ESPN)

Fresh off his 1,500th career contest, Alex Ovechkin (899-731—1,630) enters on the cusp of becoming the first 900-goal scorer in NHL history. Ovechkin can also climb the League’s all-time points list this season – he needs 12 more to overtake Joe Sakic (1,641) for 10th.

Connor Bedard: Ottawa at Chicago (8:45 ET on CHSN, TSN5, RDS2)

Connor Bedard (48-88—136 in 159 GP) enters Tuesday’s contest against Ottawa two goals shy of becoming the sixth Chicago player to record 50 goals at age 20 or younger, following Eddie Olczyk (65-115—180 in 228 GP), Jonathan Toews (58-65—123 in 146 GP), Jeremy Roenick (58-79—137 in 146 GP), Bobby Hull (55-91—146 in 177 GP), Denis Savard (54-106—160 in 129 GP) and Patrick Kane (53-108—161 in 181 GP).

Jack Hughes: New Jersey at Colorado (9 ET on MSGSN2, ALT)

Jack Hughes, who scored twice to help New Jersey defeat Colorado on Sunday and shares the League-lead in goals, will look to guide the Devils to their ninth straight victory and match the fourth-longest winning streak in franchise history. Hughes (8) needs two goals to become just the third player in Devils/Scouts/Rockies history to record a double-digit goal total through the team’s first 10 games of a season, following Paul Gardner (12 in 1977-78) and Pat Verbeek (10 in 1986-87).

Connor McDavid: Utah at Edmonton (9:30 ET: SN1, Utah16)

Connor McDavid and the Oilers are 3-0-0 all-time against the Mammoth and will look to slow down NHL leading scorer Nick Schmaltz (tied) and Second Star of the Week Logan Cooley to put an end to Utah’s seven-game winning streak – the second longest active run in the League. McDavid has posted multiple points in all three of their previous showdowns, including a three-point performance in their last meeting March 18, 2025. Should he do so again tonight, McDavid can surpass Jari Kurri (137 GP) for the second-most three-point games in Oilers history – a list topped by Wayne Gretzky (301 GP).

J.T. Miller: New York at Vancouver (10 ET on SN360, MSG)

A clash between the Rangers and Canucks at Rogers Arena sees J.T. Miller return to Vancouver for the first time since being traded to New York on Jan. 31, 2025. Miller, who was named captain of the Rangers ahead of the season, led the Canucks in points (437), game-winning goals (27), overtime goals (10) and shorthanded goals (8) during his six seasons with the franchise from 2019-20 to 2024-25.

Matty Beniers: Montreal at Seattle (10:30 ET on KHN, KONG, TSN2, RDS)

Seattle remains undefeated at home this season (3-0-0) and will look to match its longest home winning streak in franchise history, with the help of Matty Beniers who leads the Kraken with 1-4—5 at Climate Pledge Arena in 2025-26. With a helper on Tuesday, Beniers can become the fifth player to record 90 career assists with the Kraken, following Vince Dunn (144), Jared McCann (126), Jordan Eberle (114) and Yanni Gourde (94).

Macklin Celebrini: Los Angeles at San Jose (11 ET on ESPN)

Hot off a three-point performance that included an overtime winner, Macklin Celebrini (6-9—15 in 9 GP) enters Tuesday two points back from matching Owen Nolan (8-9—17 in 1999-00) for the most by a Sharks player through the first 10 games of a season. With two games remaining in October, Celebrini is also within reach of becoming the second teenager in the past 35 years to record 20 or more points in a single month, following Sidney Crosby who did so three times in 2006-07 (December 2006, January 2007 & March 2007).