In this edition of The Hockey News Morning Skate, Eric Cruikshank and Michael Traikos give a quick recap of all the biggest news from opening night of the NHL season, including Darren Raddysh's debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jacob Markstrom's shutout against the Carolina Hurricanes, and more.
Welcome to The Hockey News Morning Skate, where we give a quick recap of all the action from the NHL every morning so you stay up to date.
The puck dropped for the first time in the 2026-27 regular season on Tuesday and 10 teams got into action, including the last four Stanley Cup winners.
Let's run through the biggest storylines that emerged from opening night's five-game slate, and make sure to check out the video version of this story above.
Marchenko Impresses, Raddysh Struggles In Maple Leafs' Loss
With a ton of new faces on the Toronto Maple Leafs, someone was bound to stand out among the rest. After a whirlwind 24 hours for Kirill Marchenko, he stepped into the lineup on Toronto's top line and looked dangerous all night. The 26-year-old was second in ice time among forwards (20:08 TOI) behind only Auston Matthews.
On the other side of things, Darren Raddysh had a tough first outing after signing his big-ticket contract in the summer. The blueliner led all Maple Leafs in ice time (23:47 TOI) but finished with five giveaways and ended as a minus-1.
Markstrom And Panthers Spoil Hurricanes' Banner Night
The Carolina Hurricanes were shut down by Jacob Markstrom and the Florida Panthers, with the netminder pitching a 15-save shutout in his return to the organization.
Gustav Forsling spoiled the Hurricanes' banner raising with an overtime-winning slap shot in the dying seconds of the frame to seal the victory.
Bouchard Makes History In Oilers Loss
Even with new head coach Mike Babcock behind the bench, the Edmonton Oilers' loss to the Vancouver Canucks looked pretty familiar: Struggling goaltending, a late comeback led by the stars, and ultimately losing to a seemingly inferior opponent.
Outside of the result of the game, Evan Bouchard made history on Tuesday. He became the first defenseman to score a hat trick in a season debut since Mark Howe did in 1980. Bouchard also finished with a point on all five of the Oilers' goals. We could be in for a revenge tour after being snubbed as a Norris Trophy finalist.
Eichel Reaches Major Milestone In Golden Knights' Win
Jack Eichel picked up right where he left last season off, picking up a goal and three points as the Vegas Golden Knights cruised past the Chicago Blackhawks in a 5-2 win. In doing so, Eichel reached 700 career points.
The 29-year-old has never won an individual award at the NHL level. But if his performance on opening night — albeit against a Bedard-less Blackhawks squad — is any indication of what we may see from him all season, he could be in the running for a handful of awards next spring.
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