Following a light four-game slate on Monday, the NHL is quite busy on Tuesday night. There are nine games on the calendar, including the first matchup of the season between the rival New York Islanders and New York Rangers.
Later, the Vegas Golden Knights take on the surprisingly high-scoring Seattle Kraken, and the Florida Panthers close out their West Coast trip with a visit to the Los Angeles Kings.
Here’s what to watch in each contest:
Odds are provided by DraftKings and subject to change.
Carolina Hurricanes at Montreal Canadiens
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | CAR -125, O/U: 6.5
It’s a rematch of the 2026 Eastern Conference finals, won 4-1 by the Hurricanes. Neither team has gotten off to a perfect start, but both are expected to again be near the top of the conference throughout the season and come playoff time, when it matters most.
Nashville Predators at Toronto Maple Leafs
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | TOR -155, O/U: 5.5
In another version of reality, Markham, Ontario, native Steven Stamkos would have played for the Maple Leafs at some point in his career. As it stands, all 625 of his career goals have been scored for the Lightning or Predators — including seven against the Maple Leafs in Toronto. On the other side, Auston Matthews had a fun time the last occasion the Preds were in town, scoring two goals in a 7-4 win.
Ottawa Senators at Detroit Red Wings
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | OTT -105, O/U: 5.5
After a chaotic summer, the Red Wings haven’t won a game yet this season, but maybe the third time will be the charm. The visiting Senators will do their part to continue Detroit’s losing ways. Newly minted captain Thomas Chabot has been a particular bright spot, tied for the team lead in scoring and playing his usual ridiculous amount of minutes (27:06 average ice time per game).
Utah Mammoth at New Jersey Devils
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | NJ -135, O/U: 5.5
Following a 4-2 loss to the Rangers on Sunday, the Mammoth cross the Hudson River into the Garden State to try their luck against another Metro Division foe. The Devils had the Mammoth’s number last season, winning both games (2-1 on Dec. 19 and 4-1 on Jan. 3).
Minnesota Wild at Buffalo Sabres
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | MIN -108, O/U: 6.5
The Wild’s superstar duo of Quinn Hughes and Kirill Kaprizov has delivered this season; both have three points through two games heading into this showdown in western New York. Not to be outdone, Buffalo’s Owen Power has gotten off to a hot start as well, with three assists through the Sabres’ opening two contests.
New York Islanders at New York Rangers
7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) | NYR -142, O/U: 5.5
One of the NHL’s most storied rivalries takes center stage as the Isles pay a visit to Madison Square Garden. The two clubs have met 340 times in their histories, and the Rangers hold the all-time series lead 161-150-19-10. The Islanders have won five of the eight playoff series between the clubs, though the teams have not squared off since 1994.
The game could also feature a matchup between two of the league’s elite netminders — the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin and the Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin — who have been friends since they were 16 (and Sorokin is godfather to Shesterkin’s son, Timofey).
St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks
8 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | STL -135, O/U: 5.5
The Blues-Blackhawks rivalry might be a little lower on the priority list, but this one gets hot when both teams are contending. The teams have split their past two playoff series (Blackhawks won 4-2 in 2014, while the Blues won 4-3 in 2016). In 2026, the Blackhawks are still searching for their first win of the campaign, but perhaps there’s extra motivation to earn it against this old Norris Division foe.
Vegas Golden Knights at Seattle Kraken
9 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | VGK -166, O/U: 5.5
One of the more surprising stats of the 2026-27 season is that the Kraken are sixth in the NHL in goals per game (4.33) after finishing 28th last season (2.73). Some early momentum would be nice for a team that has struggled to make it back to the playoffs, having missed out the past three seasons. On the other side, Jack Eichel‘s profile continues to grow as one of the league’s top players; he has six points through the first three games.
Florida Panthers at Los Angeles Kings
10 p.m. ET (ESPN) | FLA -125, O/U: 5.5
The Panthers will be happy to see their trip through California end, as they lost captain Aleksander Barkov to injury in a loss to the Sharks, then fell short against the Ducks as well. The good news for the Kings: They scored four goals in each of their first two games, which is usually enough to win. The bad news: They allowed eight and five goals, respectively, in those contests, resulting in an 0-1-1 record heading into this showdown.
Reminder: Fans can catch all the action in the NHL streaming hub and on the ESPN App.
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Here’s what you need to know:
Monday’s scoreboard
Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Philadelphia Flyers 1
Ottawa Senators 4,Boston Bruins1
Winnipeg Jets 3,Pittsburgh Penguins2
Dallas Stars 5,San Jose Sharks 0
NHL scoring leaders
Click here for full list of stats leaders.
NHL goaltending leaders
Click here for the full list of goaltender stats.
Today in hockey history
Throughout NHL history, many famous siblings have taken the ice together, and that trend continues in 2026-27 with the Tkachuks in Florida and the Hugheses in New Jersey.
But on this day in 1982, the Quebec Nordiques had three brothers skating in the same lineup.
Marian Stastny played his first NHL game and had two assists in the Nordiques’ 6-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Brothers Peter (three goals) and Anton (one goal, one assist) contributed their fair share as well.
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