Oct. 12, 2026 by Katie Plue (‘27)
We’ve been waiting three months for the teams to get back on the ice. Some held onto that excitement, and others were quickly disappointed. Here’s a recap of the first two weeks (as of 10/11) of hockey.
Atlantic Division
The beginning of the season gets difficult in terms of rankings, with a three way tie between the top teams in the division. Tampa Bay Lightning has a 4-1-0 record. Hagel leads the team in goals (4), alongside Kucherov leading in assists (7). With a bad breakout against the Rangers, a 5-1 loss, Tampa quickly recovered, and they haven’t stumbled since.
The Senators follow with the same record, their only loss against the current last place Atlantic team, the Detroit Red Wings. That was also the only game their back-up goalie, Samuel Ersson, traded from Philly nonetheless, played. Great look Ersson, I expected nothing better.
The Boston Bruins (4-2-0) rack up points against Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Captain David Pastrnak leads the team in points, with 22 year-old Fraser Minten following suit.
Thank goodness the Toronto Maple Leafs (3-2-1) have 1st round pick Gavin McKenna. With his one goal, the savage Toronto media tears him apart. Though I think Toronto’s going to move down very soon, McKenna should get going here.
The Florida Panthers (2-1-2) created issues early, Garnet Hathaway with 19 penalty minutes in 5 games. No team will come out of Florida alive. Someone tape Matthew Tkachuk’s gloves to his stick. He would still find a way. On the other hand, Marchand suffers an early leg injury, and is out for 6 weeks.
The Montreal Canadiens are 2-2-1, with point leader Suzuki and the Sabres are second to last with a 2-3-0 record. Both teams played each other in a second round playoff last year, the Sabres breaking a 14 year playoff drought. Though low on the rankings now, both teams are projected to make the playoffs this season.
Coming in last, to no avail, is the Detroit Red Wings (1-3-1). Nice job Dylan Larkin, now this is really awkward.
Metropolitan Division
2026 Stanley Cup champions the Carolina Hurricanes lead the division with a 4-1-1 record. Sebastian Aho leads the team with 9 points.
The Rangers also started off well, 4-2-0 record, which includes beating Tampa Bay 5-1. Now, goalie Shesterkin is out for the entire season with a knee injury. It’s only down hill from here New York. It was already hard enough sharing an arena with the Knicks.
The Pittsburgh Penguins (3-2-1) were knocked out in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers during playoffs last season. Crosby was clearly still bitter about that one, because they came back this season to beat the Flyers in a brutal 7-0 game opening night in Philly. What Crosby wants, Crosby gets.
The Washington Capitols are 3-1-0 so far, a great start for Ovechkins last season before retirement. He made his debut in 2005, playing 22 seasons, and now retiring at 41. Take the hint Crosby, it’s your turn next.
The New Jersey Devils sit at 2-2-0. Led in points by Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes both with 1 goal and 3 assists. Hopefully Hughes has learned his lesson, and lets his mom cut his steak from now on. Knives are sharp Jack. Oh sorry, was that joke not funny?
It was against the Islanders where fans brought in plastic cutlery. Would an olympian let the mocking get to him? It appears so, because the Islanders defeated New Jersey in a 6-0 beating opening night, contributing to the 2-2-0 record the Islanders have now.
The Blue Jackets also have a 2-2-0 record. Cam Talbot, goalie for the Blue Jackets, is now the first NHL goalie to win a game with 9 different teams, solidified with their win against Pittsburgh.
Lastly, another shocker, is the Philadelphia Flyers. They won the first round of the playoffs last season, and apparently peaked there. They are on a six game losing streak, which is every single game they have played. Their power play is looking as sloppy as ever, and they have a -95 shot on goal differential throughout their six games. There’s Rick Tocchet hockey for you. Could it get any more embarrassing?
Central Division
The Utah Mammoth march through to first in the central division early in the season with a 4-2-0 record. Nick Schmaltz leads the team in goals (8) and captain Clayton Keller leads in assists (7), both with 8 points overall.
Minnesota Wild ties in second with the Winnipeg Jets (3-1-1). On Florida’s opening night, Minnesota stole their thunder, Kaprizov getting a hat trick and Matt Boldy’s first goal of the season. The Jets only losses being against the Bruins and the Ducks, aren’t in a bad place.
The Colorado Avalanche are at 3-2-0. Nathan Mackinnon keeps his aura this season with a total of 10 points, 3rd in the league.
The 2-1-2 Predators beat the Canadiens 5-2 on Thursday, scoring 3 goals in the third period. Les Habitants se sont écroulés.
The Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues are both at 2-2-1. The Blues beat the Stars 4-0 opening night in Dallas.
And bringing it together at the bottom, are the Chicago Blackhawks with 1-5-0. It’s a rebuild, right? As soon as we rebuild Bedard’s shoulder.
Pacific Division
The Vegas Golden Knights, 2026 Stanley Cup runner-ups, are keeping up that momentum, 5-1-0, their only loss against the Anaheim Ducks. As long as Carter Hart keeps his hands to himself, they might be on track for as much if not more success than last season.
The Edmonton Oilers (4-0-1) and Anaheim Ducks (4-1-0) are tied. Rightfully so, both teams have shown talent and drive for this season. Connor McDavid continues to stun with a whopping 13 points. Leo Carlsson stayed loyal to the Ducks as they matched Philadelphia’s offer over the off season and has 8 points to lead the team, and plays alongside Beckett Sennecke who leads the team in goals at only 20 years-old.
Talking about being led by 20 year-olds, the San Jose Sharks keep up with a 3-2-0 record. The Sharks started off great winning their first two games, then lost Celebrini for two games to a lower body injury, said, “Oh gee! What do I do now!” and lost 5-0 against the Dallas Stars. On a real note, the Sharks came back to win, and I think they are going to get closer than last season, as long as Celebrini stays healthy.
The Seattle Kraken (3-2-0) missed the playoffs last season, but I think they are back for a vengeance. Starting the season off steady, scoring some goals, slowly brings them into the mix.
The Vancouver Canucks are another team that missed the playoffs, however they aren’t making much of a comeback with a 2-4-0 record. They had one of the worst seasons in franchise history during 2025-26, and carry that into the start of 26-27.
And bringing up the bottom are the Los Angeles Kings with a record of 0-2-2, and the Calgary Flames at 0-5-0.
There is still so far to go for all these teams through the 2026-27 season, and I can’t wait to see which ones come out on top. As a Flyers fan, I hope they keep losing and take an early draft pick.