Frozen Frenzy gave us 16 games and 110 goals in one night. The Flyers finally found the win column. Florida did something no team in NHL history has ever done. And somewhere in Los Angeles, a team is still waiting for its first W. Coffee's poured. Let's chirp.
Three Stars of the Week
⭐ First Star: The Florida Panthers' Hat Trick Factory
The Panthers just became the first team in NHL history with natural hat tricks in three straight games. That means three goals in a row by one player, three nights running. Brady Tkachuk did it twice, including the only hat trick of Frozen Frenzy. Then Carter Verhaeghe did it Saturday in an 8-3 beatdown of Seattle, and Sam Bennett piled on with three of his own. Brady goes back to Ottawa on Wednesday for the first time since the trade. Good luck, Sens.
⭐ Second Star: Devin Cooley, Calgary
The Flames had one win all season. Carolina had won seven straight. Cooley made 34 saves anyway, Yegor Sharangovich buried a one-timer with 4:28 left, and Calgary stunned the champs 3-2 for its first home win of the year. Then Cooley told the whole city to relax: "Everyone's panicking about the goalies, everyone just chill out." We love a goalie with a podcast voice.
⭐ Third Star: Mark Jankowski, Carolina
Six games, six straight with a goal. That ties the third-longest goal streak in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchise history, behind Pierre Larouche (nine, 1981-82) and Ray Ferraro (seven, 1988-89). Yes, the Whalers count. They always count. A lower-body injury scratched him Sunday, and that's the night the streak-snapping happened in Calgary. Coincidence? Probably not.
Hometown Moment of the Week: Showtime Makes History
Thursday night at the United Center, Patrick Kane went behind the goal line on the power play, found Connor Bedard in the slot, and Bedard ripped it home for his first goal of the season. Bedard was playing just his second game back from offseason shoulder surgery, and his first as Chicago's captain.
That assist was No. 895 of Kane's career, which moved him past Phil Housley for the most assists ever by a U.S.-born player. Kane needed 1,377 games to get there. Housley played 1,496.
"Phil Housley's a guy my dad grew up watching," said Kane, a Buffalo native whose dad wore No. 6 because Housley did. "Always a guy I looked up to."
Kane wasn't finished, either. In overtime he carried the puck into the zone, dropped it to Bedard, and Bedard fed Artyom Levshunov for the winner at 1:37. Kane-to-Bedard-to-Levshunov, 4-3 Hawks. The Hawks are still 3-6-0 and -15, but nights like that are why we're in the 300 level.
Chirp of the Week: The Los Angeles Kings
The Flyers handed off the crown, and the Kings caught it. 0-4-2. The only team in the league without a win. They've scored 12 goals in six games. McDavid had four points in their building on Frozen Frenzy night, which is roughly a third of LA's season output in one game.
The good news: they've only played six. The bad news: everybody else has started counting.
Honorable Chirps
Philadelphia Flyers (1-6-3): Credit where it's due. After nine tries, three blown chances and a Frozen Frenzy shootout loss, the Flyers beat Ottawa 3-1 on Saturday. Matvei Michkov and 19-year-old Porter Martone did most of the damage, and those two kids have 42.9% of the team's goals. Then the week ended with reports that Travis Konecny ($8.75 million a year through 2032-33) could be on the trade block. One win, one fire sale rumor. Very Philly.
Vancouver Canucks (2-7-1): Seven straight losses and 45 goals against in 10 games. They did hold 2-0 leads over Tampa and Florida this week, then lost both. Points for the effort. Zero points in the standings.
Pittsburgh Penguins (3-5-1): 1-5-1 in their last seven after a 6-2 loss in Vegas. "We've got to fix it quick," said Sidney Crosby, a man who has never once been chirped successfully.
Quick Hits
- Vegas leads the league at 8-2-0 with 16 points and a +18 goal differential. The Golden Knights are scoring over four goals a night.
- Boston has won five straight and sits at 7-2-0 on top of the Atlantic.
- Kirill Kaprizov leads the NHL with nine goals. He's on pace to make Wild history as the first Minnesota player to lead the league to 10.
- McDavid had a goal and three assists in a 4-1 win in LA. The Oilers are 6-1-1.
- The Rangers are 5-0-0 at home without Igor Shesterkin. They already have more home regulation wins than half of last season.
- St. Louis scored five goals in one period at Ottawa, a 7-2 Frenzy blowout.
- Gavin McKenna scored his second NHL goal on Frenzy night, then got benched against Buffalo later in the week. Welcome to Toronto, kid.
The Injury Report Nobody Wanted
Jordan Staal, the reigning Conn Smythe winner, is out one to two months with a partially torn calf. Matt Duchene needs core muscle surgery and will miss about three months in Dallas. John Tavares is week-to-week in Toronto after a seven-point start. And Carolina's injury list keeps growing: Rod Brind'Amour said Sunday his team has "lost three or four penalty killers."
The Week Ahead
- Wed., Oct. 21: Brady Tkachuk's return to Ottawa. Bring earplugs.
- Fri., Oct. 23: Connor Hellebuyck's holdout suspension ends. Either he's back in a Jets sweater or a trade finally happens.
- Sun., Oct. 25: The Heritage Classic, Montreal at Winnipeg, outdoors. Real ice, real cold, real hockey.
Standings Snapshot (through Oct. 18)
East: Carolina 15 pts · Boston 14 · NY Rangers 13 · Tampa Bay 12 · Ottawa 12 · Florida 12
West: Vegas 16 pts · Edmonton 13 · Minnesota 13 · Utah 12 · Colorado 11
Basement: Los Angeles 2 · Calgary 4 · Philadelphia 5 · Vancouver 5 · Chicago 6
Final Chirp
Three weeks in, and the Flyers are no longer the punchline. Somebody tell the Kings the job is open. See you next Monday.
Shop the story: Every bench has a trash talker. Now he has a uniform. Meet The Chirp, our new mascot tee and hoodie for everyone who talks more than they score. And if Jankowski's Whalers-era streak hit you in the feels, our Hartford Hockey 1972-1997 tee is still here, always in our hearts. Hand-pressed one shirt at a time. [Shop Odd Man Rush →]