Sept. 23: NHL Preseason Roundup

Jonathan Toews made his debut for the Winnipeg Jets in a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old-forward, who signed a one-year contract with the Jets on July 1, was minus-1 in 18:36 of ice time. He left the NHL following the 2022-23 season after battling ongoing health issues through his final few seasons with the Blackhawks.

Quinn Hutson and Isaac Howard scored for Edmonton (2-0-1), and Calvin Pickard stopped all eight shots before being replaced midway in the second period by Matt Tomkins. Tomkins made 13 saves. Noah Philp had two assists.

Colin Miller and Colby Barlow scored, and Brad Lambert had two assists for Winnipeg (0-1-1). Eric Comrie allowed three goals on 17 shots.

Hutson put the Oilers up 1-0 at 7:39 of the second period when his backhander deflected in off the skate of Jets defenseman Kale Clague.

Miller tied it 1-1 at 15:23 with a wrist shot through traffic from the left point.

Howard put the Oilers back up 2-1 at 17:28 on the power play. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sent a cross-ice pass to Howard in the right circle, who one-timed it past Comrie.

Howard, a 21-year-old forward, had 52 points (26 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games at Michigan State University and won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in the NCAA last season. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract after being traded to Edmonton from the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 8.

Ty Emberson increased the lead to 3-1 at 11:57 of the third period with a wrist shot from the right circle that went in off the far post.

Barlow scored on a deflection at 18:49 for the 3-2 final.

Canadiens 4, Flyers 2: Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki each had a goal and an assist, and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Philadelphia Flyers at Bell Centre in Montreal.

Defenseman Arber Xhekaj and forward Florian Xhekaj, brothers playing as teammates for the first time, also scored for Montreal (2-0-0). Jakub Dobes stopped all nine shots he faced, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 10 saves in relief after entering midway through the second period.

Kahkonen was making his Canadiens debut after signing a one-year contract July 1.

Anthony Richard and Owen Tippett scored for Philadelphia (1-1-0). Samuel Ersson made seven saves on nine shots before being replaced by Aleksei Kolosov (12 saves) to start the second.

Caufield gave Montreal a 1-0 lead 53 seconds into the first period, scoring on the rush with a one-timer from the left face-off circle.

Florian Xhekaj then made it 2-0 at 9:58 with a wrist shot from the right circle. The 21-year-old, who has not played in an NHL regular-season game, played with Laval, the Canadiens’ American Hockey League affiliate, last season.

Richard pulled the Flyers within 2-1 on a breakaway at 11:11 of the second, beating Kahkonen to the blocker side.

Suzuki extended the lead to 3-1 at 16:05. He scored with a wrist shot from the right dot off a pass from Juraj Slafkovsky.

Tippett cut it to 3-2 with a power-play goal at 17:35, putting a shot from low in the left circle inside the near post.

Arber Xhekaj scored a short-handed goal into an empty net with 14 seconds remaining for the 4-2 final.

Bruins 5, Rangers 4 (OT): Nikita Zadorov scored at 3:25 of overtime to give the Boston Bruins a comeback win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Zadorov took a pass up ice from Marat Khusnutdinov, curled past the Rangers net and into the right circle before firing a wrist shot past Talyn Boyko.

Michael Eyssimont had two goals and an assist for Boston (1-1-0) and Khusnutdinov had a goal and an assist. Joonas Korpisalo made 33 saves.

The OT goal came after Khusnutdinov tied it 4-4 with 1:05 remaining and the Bruins net empty for an extra attacker.

Trey Fix-Wolansky, Gabe Perreault, Sam Carrick and Vladislav Gavrikov scored for New York (1-0-1). Igor Shesterkin made 10 saves before being relieved halfway through the second period by Boyko, who made 20 saves.

Matej Blumel tapped in a pass from Casey Mittelstadt in front of the net to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 8:30 of the first period.

Just 44 seconds later, Fix-Wolansky tied the game 1-1 for the Rangers, scoring off his own rebound at 9:14.

Perreault scored for the second time in two preseason games with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle for a 2-1 Rangers lead at 3:25 of the second.

Carrick controlled a loose puck when the Bruins turned it over trying to clear the zone and skated down the slot to score from the netfront on Korpisalo for a 3-1 lead at 9:53.

Gavrikov, who signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with the Rangers on July 1, scored short-handed to put the Rangers up 4-1 at 11:07.

Eyssimont swiped the puck from Adam Fox and beat Boyko high to the glove side with a backhand to cut it to 4-2 at 7:05 of the third period.

Eyssimont went top shelf from the right circle at 11:11 to make it 4-3.

Red Wings 3, Blackhawks 2: Connor Bedard scored for the Chicago Blackhawks in their loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

It was the preseason opener for each team.

It was also the first game as Chicago coach for Jeff Blashill, who was hired May 22. He coached Detroit for seven seasons (2015-22).

Arvid Soderblom made 40 saves for the Blackhawks.

Emmitt Finnie scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and had an assist, and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard had two assists for the Red Wings. Sebastian Cossa made 15 saves.

Carter Mazur made it 1-0 for Detroit with a power-play goal at 14:26 of the first period, scoring from the low slot off a no-look, between-the-legs pass by Finnie.

Bedard tied it 1-1 on the power play at 2:41 of the second period. He took a feed from Sam Rinzel and scored with a one-timer from the top of the left face-off circle.

The Red Wings went back ahead 2-1 at 4:21 on Nate Danielson’s redirection of William Wallinder's shot.

Wyatt Kaiser tied it 2-2 at 6:23 of the third with a wrist shot through traffic.

Finnie made it 3-2 at 12:38 when he put in a rebound at the side of the net after Soderblom stopped a Brandsegg-Nygard shot from the slot.

Devils 6, Islanders 2: Jack Hughes had two assists in his first game since March 2 for the New Jersey Devils in their win against the New York Islanders at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Hughes missed the final 19 games of last season after undergoing surgery for a shoulder injury on March 5.

Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov each scored in his Devils debut, and Dawson Mercer and Dougie Hamilton each had a goal and an assist.

Brown (four-year, $12 million contract), and Dadonov (one year, $1 million) both signed with New Jersey (1-1-0) on July 1.

Jacob Markstrom allowed one goal on three shots for the Devils before being replaced by Georgi Romanov with 16 seconds remaining in the first period. Romanov stopped 11 of 12 shots in relief.

Emil Heineman and Calum Ritchie each scored in his Islanders (0-1-1) debut. Marcus Hogberg stopped 22 of 25 shots before he was replaced midway through the second period by Tristan Lennox, who allowed three goals on 13 shots.

Hamilton’s power-play goal gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 13:52 of the first period, a one-timer from just behind the left face-off circle off a cross-ice pass from Hughes.

Heineman tied it 1-1 at 15:56 with a wrist shot from the slot after the Devils had the first 14 shots on goal. He was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens on June 27, along with two first-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, in the trade for defenseman Noah Dobson.

Nico Hischier put New Jersey back in front 2-1 with a power-play goal 44 seconds into the second period on a one-timer from the right circle.

Brown extended it to 3-1 at 9:31, scoring on a wrist shot from the right face-off dot.

Mercer’s one-timer 1:08 later pushed it to 4-1 at 10:39 off an assist from Timo Meier.

Ethan Edwards made it 5-1 at 4:52 of the third period before Dadonov extended it to 5-1 at 6:53.

Ritchie scored a power-play goal at 10:09 to cut it to 6-2. The 20-year-old forward, who was the No. 27 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche on March 6 as part of the trade for Brock Nelson.

Senators 3, Maple Leafs 2 (OT): Shane Pinto scored twice, including 16 seconds into overtime, and the Ottawa Senators rallied past the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Pinto won it when he slipped behind the defense, skated in alone and sent a wrist shot past Artur Akhtyamov. His OT goal came after he tied it at 2-2 on the power play at 17:58 of the third period with Hunter Shepard pulled for the extra attacker.

Auston Matthews and Bobby McMann scored, and Matias Maccelli had two assists for the Maple Leafs (1-0-1). Dennis Hildeby made 23 saves in two periods and Akhtyamov stopped 15 of 18 shots in relief.

Fabian Zetterlund scored, and Leevi Merilainen allowed two goals on 25 shots in the first two periods for the Senators (1-1-0). Shepard stopped all eight shots he faced.

Matthews opened the scoring 4:24 into the first period, finishing off a give-and-go with Oliver Ekman-Larsson with a wrist shot from the slot.

McMann pushed it to 2-0 with a power-play goal at 18:23.

Zetterlund cut it to 2-1 at 7:33 of the third period with a short-handed goal, tapping in a rebound in front off a Donovan Sebrango shot.

Sabres 2, Blue Jackets 1: Jason Zucker scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to help the Buffalo Sabres defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Zucker gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead at 11:57 of the third. Konsta Helenius couldn’t get a shot off in front, but the puck went to Zucker to the right of the net for the goal.

Alex Lyon, who signed a two-year contract with Buffalo on July 1, allowed a goal on 14 shots in two periods in his debut with the Sabres (2-0-0). Devon Levi made five saves in relief.

Ivan Fedotov made 24 saves in two periods and Zach Sawchenko allowed a goal on nine shots in relief for the Blue Jackets (1-2-0).

Miles Wood gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 8:37 of the second period on the power play when he deflected Daemon Hunt’s point shot past Lyon.

Tage Thompson tied it 1-1 at 17:54, scoring on a one-timer off a Zach Benson feed from behind the net.

Stars 3, Wild 2 (OT): Tyler Seguin scored at 1:52 of overtime to give the Dallas Stars the win against the Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Seguin won it when he tapped in a cross-ice pass from Miro Heiskanen on the rush.

Seguin and Jason Robertson each had a goal and an assist for the Stars (2-0-0) and Jake Oettinger made 19 saves.

David Jiricek and Ben Gleason scored for the Wild (1-0-1) and Cal Petersen made 34 saves.

Jiricek scored on the power play to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 9:35 of the first period.

Mikko Rantanen tied it 1-1 just 17 seconds into the third period with a wrist shot on the rush from the right circle off a cross-ice pass from Robertson.

Robertson gave Dallas a 2-1 lead at 3:18, jamming in a loose puck.

Gleason tied it 2-2 when he scored on a snap shot from the top of the slot.

Lightning 3, Predators 2 (SO): Brady Martin, the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, scored his first two NHL goals for the Nashville Predators in a shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Juuse Saros made seven saves before exiting midway through the second period, and Justus Annunen allowed two goals on 17 shots in relief for the Predators (2-0-1).

Brandon Halverson made 20 saves in two periods for the Lightning (2-0-0). Caleb Heil stopped seven shots in relief.

Martin made it 1-0 at 2:13 of the second period from the slot after Matthew Wood stole the puck. Martin made it 2-0 at 4:42, scoring on the power play from in front.

Sam O'Reilly pulled the Lightning within 2-1 at 9:28 of the third period when he tipped in Oliver Bjorkstrand’s point shot.

Jakob Pelletier tied it at 2-2, tipping the puck in at 17:57.

Boris Katchouk scored the only goal of the shootout in the third round.

Flames 4, Kraken 1: Rory Kerins had a goal and an assist, and the Calgary Flames defeated the Seattle Kraken at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.

Yegor Sharangovich and Matt Coronato scored, and Hunter Brzustewicz had two assists for the Flames (2-1-0). Dustin Wolf stopped 12 of 13 shots in two periods. Owen Say had seven saves in the third period.

Mitchell Stephens scored for the Kraken (1-1-0), and Philipp Grubauer made 17 saves before being replaced midway through the second period. Matt Murray stopped 13 of 14 shots in relief.

Sharangovich put Calgary up 1-0 at 7:40 of the first period, deflecting a point shot from Brzustewicz.

Stephens tied it 1-1 at 9:14 when he cradled a pass from Mason Marchment and sent a spinning backhander through the pads of Wolf.

Kerins put the Flames ahead 2-1 on the power play at 3:14 of the second period.

Coronato pushed the lead to 3-1 just 39 seconds into the third period with a snap shot from the left circle.

Sam Morton scored an empty-net goal at 17:26 for the 4-1 final.

Kraken forward Chandler Stephenson left the game late in the second period and did not return after taking a hit from Flames defenseman Zayne Parekh.

Kings 3, Golden Knights 1: Anton Forsberg made 32 saves in his debut for the Los Angeles Kings against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Forsberg, 32, signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract with Los Angeles on July 1.

Trevor Moore, Taylor Ward and Jeff Malott scored for the Kings (2-0-0). Liam Greentree had two assists.

Defensemen Cody Ceci (four-year, $18 million contract) and Brian Dumoulin (three years, $12 million), who had an assist, each played his first game for the Kings after signing on July 1.

Viliam Kmec scored for the Golden Knights (0-2-0). Adin Hill stopped 12 of 13 shots before being replaced midway through the second period by Akira Schmid, who allowed one goal on 14 shots.

Ward gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at 5:06 of the first period on a wrist shot from the edge of the left face-off circle off a feed from Dumoulin.

Malott extended it to 2-0 at 7:57 of the third period, finishing on his own rebound at the left post following a backhand pass from Alex Turcotte.

Kmec’s goal 41 seconds later at 8:38 cut it to 2-1, a wrist shot from the slot on the rush.

Moore scored into an empty net at 18:58 for the 3-1 final.