DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche didn’t make it to the fifth period of this season before encountering a goaltending crisis.

Alexandar Georgiev was pulled from a second straight start, and Justus Annunen was again not the answer in relief. The result was a 6-4 loss Saturday night in the home opener at Ball Arena, and an ugly 0-2 start to the...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek was solid in his first NHL start in over eight months.

His new teammates weren’t nearly as crisp in the offensive zone.

Vanecek made 28 saves, but Isac Lundestrom’s goal at the 11:00 minute mark of the third period turned out to be the winner as the Anaheim Ducks handed the Sharks a...Read more

Game 2: Kraken 5, Wild 4, SO

Notable: Seattle (1-1) surrendered a two-goal lead in its season opener. This time the Kraken were the ones trailing throughout, but managed two quick response goals to keep the game close into the third period. Those response goals eluded them many times last season.

Winger Jared McCann’s goal to tie the game at...Read more

TORONTO — There was chaos in front of the Toronto net in the final minute. But Pittsburgh’s last gasp came up empty when Rickard Rakell couldn’t whack it in.

The Penguins were trying to climb out of a two-goal deficit late in the game. But they lost 4-2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena.

Overall, it was a ...Read more

DETROIT — This was a totally different looking Red Wings team Saturday at Little Caesars Arena.

Led by a terrific 40-save performance by goaltender Cam Talbot, and a sturdier defensive game, the Red Wings won their first game of the season, 3-0 over the Nashville Predators.

J.T. Compher, Andrew Copp and Dylan Larkin (empty net) supplied the ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini is only one game into his rookie NHL season and is already dealing with a significant injury.

In a potentially serious blow to the Sharks’ hopes of getting off to a better start this season, Celebrini was placed on injured reserve Saturday and is now considered week to week with a ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev had a goal and an assist each to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Friday at T-Mobile Arena.

Defenseman Shea Theodore scored his first goal of the season, and goaltender Adin Hill made 19 saves for the Knights (2-0-0) in their second straight home win to begin the ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — There’s nothing quite like opening night in hockey.

The Stanley Cup playoffs are fun, intense, important. So much is at stake as a season ends.

But opening night is when it all begins and so much seems possible. Most teams are healthy, the players are edgy and eager to drop the puck, go at it and start a new season.

So it ...Read more

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural game is in the books — a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks — but there’s one issue remaining.

Will the brain trust behind the UHC pick a new name, like the Yeti? Or perhaps even the Mammoth?

Woolly or won’t they?

As a sports reporter, it’s annoying to keep writing “Utah ...Read more

SAN JOSE — Macklin Celebrini didn’t take long at all to pick up his first career NHL goal.

The San Jose Sharks’ rookie No. 1 overall pick took just 7:01 to put the Sharks up 1-0, getting the puck past St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer on a deflected pass in the crease. Celebrini’s goal was assisted by William Eklund and Jake Walman....Read more

DETROIT — Mike Sullivan had a simple message for Joel Blomqvist on Thursday.

The Penguins were coming off an ugly loss to the New York Rangers in their season opener and had to rely on their rookie goalie in the second half of a back-to-back, with two more tough road tests looming on the schedule in the coming days.

It would have been panic ...Read more

BOSTON — Now that was better.

The Montreal Canadiens may have represented a sizable drop-down in quality of opponent for the Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday, but the B’s game looked a lot more like the brass envisioned when it assembled this team in the offseason in a 6-4 victory in the home opener. It was not perfection — far from it —...Read more

Florida Panthers captain and top-line center Aleksander Barkov sustained a lower-body injury late in their 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre to start a four-game road trip.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice did not have an immediate update on Barkov postgame other than Barkov is “going to get looked at here tonight...Read more

The Lightning, who open their season on the road at Carolina on Friday night, will wait a little longer to play at Amalie Arena.

The team announced that Saturday’s home game against the Hurricanes is being postponed while the Tampa Bay region deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

After Monday’s practice in Tampa, the team evacuated...Read more

TAMPA BAY, Fla. — Makeovers aren’t just for losers. Turns out, even mini dynasties need some freshening up.

So it is for the Lightning. Across the past 10 seasons, there’s not a team in the NHL with more victories than Tampa Bay. No franchise has won more conference titles, and only the Penguins have won as many Stanley Cups. This is what...Read more

SEATTLE — At 10:53 a.m. PDT Tuesday, a DJ bobbed his head and spun records outside Climate Pledge Arena, while cups of complimentary Pepsi and potato chips were prepared for the fans facing First Avenue. They came early — so early — to salute the arriving Kraken, who gamely signed autographs and posed for photos before entering the arena. ...Read more