Our NHL recap for Sunday, Oct. 4 covers five games, led by a Ducks overtime win that spoiled Brad Marchand’s return to the Panthers’ lineup. Anaheim opened its home schedule with a 3-2 win over Florida, Kyle Connor scored twice on the power play in Winnipeg’s 3-2 win in Detroit, the Kraken beat the Flames 6-1 for the second time in four days, and the Rangers and Golden Knights both held on late. If you missed Saturday’s slate, our NHL recap from Oct. 3 has all 13 games, and you can find more on the Hockey Informers home page.
Habs watch
The Canadiens had Sunday off after their 6-5 overtime loss in Pittsburgh. They return to the Centre Bell on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET against the Carolina Hurricanes, then host Nashville on Thursday and Detroit on Saturday, per The Hockey Writers. Defenceman Alexandre Carrier left Saturday’s game in the second period and was still under evaluation, according to the same report, and forward Oliver Kapanen is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Ivan Demidov have been skating together on the top line, and you can follow every game on our Canadiens page.
Ducks 3, Panthers 2 (OT)
Anaheim’s home opener had everything, including a late scare. Cutter Gauthier scored two power-play goals, one at 16:18 of the first period and one 47 seconds into the second, and the Ducks led 2-1 until the third period was nearly over. With Jacob Markstrom pulled for the extra attacker, Marchand tied it on a rebound at 18:10, in his first game since March 6 after offseason surgery, according to NHL.com.
Overtime did not last long. Mikael Granlund scored his first goal of the season on a power play, redirecting a Leo Carlsson pass with 46 seconds left in the extra period. Lukas Dostal made 29 saves for Anaheim, and Markstrom stopped 18. Carlsson now has five points in two games, and the Ducks won their 11th straight home opener, a franchise record that matches the NHL-best streaks held by Boston and the Canadiens’ teams of the 1950s and 60s.
“It was a bit of a rude awakening,” Marchand said of his return. Florida has played three overtime games in its first three and is 1-0-2. Captain Aleksander Barkov was placed on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and Aaron Ekblad is away from the team for a personal matter and will miss Tuesday’s game at Los Angeles.
Highlights: Panthers vs. Ducks | NHL Highlights | Oct 4, 2026
Golden Knights 3, Canucks 2
This one turned in 34 seconds. Jonathan Lekkerimaki tied the game 2-2 for Vancouver at 17:54 of the second period, and Marc Gatcomb answered at 18:28 for his first goal since signing with Vegas on July 1. Paul Cotter had put the Canucks ahead on a power play late in the first, Mitch Marner scored his first goal of the season to tie it, and Victor Olofsson gave Vegas a 2-1 lead on the power play, per NHL.com.
Adin Hill made 18 saves in his first start of the year, and Kevin Lankinen made 25 for Vancouver. Cotter scored in his 300th NHL game, and Elias Pettersson has now collected a point in all four Canucks games. Vegas is 2-1-0, while Vancouver is 2-2-0 and starts a six-game road trip Thursday in Carolina. “For a team that everybody in the world has said, ‘This is going to be last in the League,’ I’m pretty happy with how we’ve been doing,” Cotter said.
Highlights: Golden Knights vs. Canucks | NHL Highlights | Oct 4, 2026
NHL recap: the rest of Sunday
Kraken 6, Flames 1
Seattle again ran over Calgary. After a 6-1 season-opening win over the Flames on Thursday, the Kraken scored three times in the first 7:40 on Sunday, through Berkly Catton, Mackie Samoskevich and Bobby McMann. Shane Wright made it 4-0 in the second, Samoskevich added his second of the night with 26 seconds left in the period, and Jordan Eberle answered 39 seconds after a late Morgan Frost power-play goal, according to NHL.com.
Joey Daccord stopped 32 of 33 shots, and Dustin Wolf allowed six goals on 27 shots for Calgary. The Flames are 0-3-0. “I think just getting that first goal of the year is always nice to get it out of the way,” Catton said. Seattle is 2-1-0.
Highlights: Flames vs. Kraken | NHL Highlights | Oct 4, 2026
Jets 3, Red Wings 2
Winnipeg’s power play did the damage. Cole Perfetti scored at 13:04 of the first period, Kyle Connor added a goal 92 seconds later, and Connor scored again at 5:41 of the second for a 3-0 lead. The Jets were 3-for-4 with the man advantage, and Connor passed Thomas Steen for fifth place on the franchise’s power-play goals list, per NHL.com.
Detroit got back into it with Viktor Arvidsson’s first goal as a Red Wing and an Emmitt Finnie goal early in the third, but Stuart Skinner made 33 saves for his first win with Winnipeg. “The power play obviously gave us a lot of momentum, and we stuck with it,” Connor said. Detroit coach Todd McLellan was blunt: “The penalty kill failed us.” The Red Wings are 0-2-0.
Highlights: Jets vs. Red Wings | NHL Highlights | Oct 4, 2026
Rangers 4, Mammoth 2
The last game in this NHL recap went to the Rangers, who earned their third win in four days with a strong third period. Vladislav Gavrikov scored late in the first, Nick Schmaltz tied it on a power play in the second, and Gabe Perreault put the Rangers back in front 3:15 into the third. J.T. Miller redirected a Gavrikov shot to make it 3-1, Andrew Peeke pulled Utah within one, and Eeli Tolvanen sealed it with an empty-net goal, according to NHL.com.
Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves and added an assist on the empty-netter. Karel Vejmelka stopped 18 for Utah. Center Joe Veleno left in the first period with a lower-body injury, and coach Mike Sullivan said the team would likely know more Monday. The Rangers are 3-1-0, the Mammoth 2-1-0.
Highlights: Mammoth vs. Rangers | NHL Highlights | Oct 4, 2026
NHL recap: three stars of the night
- 1. Cutter Gauthier, Ducks – two power-play goals and an assist on the overtime winner.
- 2. Kyle Connor, Jets – two power-play goals and an assist in Detroit.
- 3. Mackie Samoskevich, Kraken – his first two goals as a Kraken in a 6-1 win.
Up next
Monday brings four games: the Flyers at the Lightning, the Senators at the Bruins, the Jets at the Penguins and the Sharks at the Stars. The Canadiens open at the Centre Bell on Tuesday against Carolina. Watch all of the night’s videos on our Highlights page and check back tomorrow for the next NHL recap.
