15 things we learned from a wild first 3 days of NHL action

Three days, 21 games, all 32 teams in action. What a shot of adrenaline to start the 2025-26 NHL season. With no games Friday, it's an ideal time to take a (very early!) pulse of the league. Here are 15 things we've learned thus far:

Pasta, Pasta, and more Pasta

David Pastrnak finished 11th in Hart Trophy voting last season after earning one second-place vote, two fourths, and 11 fifths. The downballot MVP case for Pastrnak was pretty straightforward: his 106 points were a whopping 49 ahead of the Bruins' second-highest scorer, linemate Morgan Geekie.

Pastrnak opened the season Wednesday with a goal and two well-deserved primary assists in a win over Washington then added an assist in an overtime victory over Chicago on Thursday.

The Czech winger looks primed to lead the attack to an extreme degree again - not just because he's a truly electrifying player, but because, beyond Pastrnak, the Bruins have perhaps the league's least inspiring forward group.

These 2025 kids are all right

Five picks from the 2025 draft - Matthew Schaefer (first overall), Michael Misa (second), Brady Martin (fifth), Ben Kindel (11th), and Braeden Cootes (15th) - cracked a season-opening roster. If that seems like a lot of immediate jumps to the NHL, especially for a so-called "weak" draft class ... well, you're onto something.

Misa was unfortunately scratched Thursday for Game 1 of San Jose's season.

The last time the top two picks of a class played in their teams' ensuing season opener was 2019-20 - Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko. That same campaign was also the last time multiple players selected outside the top 10 suited up for opening night - Ville Heinola (20th) and Tobias Bjornfot (22nd).

The last time five guys from a class skated in their team's opener was 2016-17 - Auston Matthews (first), Patrik Laine (second), Jesse Puljujarvi (fourth), Matthew Tkachuk (sixth), Mikhail Sergachev (ninth), and Jakob Chychrun (16th).

Smart Vegas even smarter now

Hockey IQ has never been in short supply in Vegas, especially in the Bruce Cassidy era. The team's front-line players - think Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Shea Theodore, Noah Hanifin - process the game exceptionally well.

Coach Cassidy's group is brighter than ever, thanks to the offseason acquisition of Mitch Marner, and the impact of a high collective IQ was on full display in games on Wednesday and Thursday. The Golden Knights aren't a particularly fast team skating-wise, but their smarts allow them to play a quick brand of hockey.

Here's a prime example of Marner, Eichel, and Ivan Barbashev playing chess, while the Kings' defense plays checkers - the puck keeps finding open ice.

Welcome to your 40s, Ovi

Alex Ovechkin, who's three goals from 900, struck out in Washington's season opener against Boston and goalie Jeremy Swayman. Here's what he recorded in what was ultimately a decent start to the winger's 21st season.

• Time on ice: 18:16
• Shot attempts: 9
• Shots on goal: 3
• Scoring chances: 1
• Hits delivered: 2
• Penalties drawn: 1

I'd love to see a 40-goal season from 40-year-old Ovi.

Jury's out on Rangers' blue line

Rangers management turned over six of its eight defenseman spots in the past 12 months. Adam Fox and Braden Schneider were the only blue-liners to appear on the opening-day rosters in both 2024-25 and 2025-26.

In theory, top-six newcomers Vladislav Gavrikov, Carson Soucy, Will Borgen, and Urho Vaakanainen bring more to the table as a group than goners Ryan Lindgren, K'Andre Miller, Jacob Trouba, and Zac Jones. Yet, the difference in talent feels fairly insignificant given the amount of work general manager Chris Drury put in (three trades plus the Gavrikov signing) to insert those new guys.

Was the overhaul worth it? The season's first two games suggest maybe not. I'm concerned about the revamped blue line's footspeed, or lack thereof.

That said, the flurry of moves will pay off if Scott Morrow develops into a difference-maker. The Rangers acquired the 22-year-old righty in the July 1 trade that sent Miller to Carolina, but he's starting the season in the AHL. Morrow has the skating and puck-moving chops the big club needs right now.

Necas in perfect spot to level up

The 2026 unrestricted free agent class has lost a ton of star power, with Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, Jack Eichel, and Kyle Connor all re-signing before the season. The remaining headliners are Artemi Panarin, Adrian Kempe, Alex Tuch, and Martin Necas - though a couple may extend, as well.

Necas, who posted 83 points for Carolina and Colorado last season, is the most intriguing case. The 26-year-old winger, who's currently making $6.5 million, is going to cash in whether he re-signs with the Avalanche or heads elsewhere next July. And his future average annual value will only increase if he's skating with second-best-player-in-the-world Nathan MacKinnon all year.

Necas has quick feet and smooth handles. He also flashed world-class deception Tuesday during Colorado's 4-1 win over Los Angeles. Check out his hands in the clip below. On Necas' second goal of the night, he's pressing them against his body in an unnatural way as he launches the puck forward.

We're a long way from serious free-agency talk, but based on available cap space and competitive timeline, Detroit should be a serious player in 2026. Necas would look fantastic on many teams, including the goal-starved Wings.

Leafs must watch Stolarz's workload

Morgan Rielly's strong showing hogged the headlines following Toronto's 5-2 season-opening victory - and rightfully so, the blue-liner looks rejuvenated.

Yet, the top Maple Leafs story of the early season is and will continue to be the status of Joseph Woll. The 27-year-old goalie took a leave of absence a couple of weeks ago to attend to a family matter, with no return date set. Let's hope Woll and his family are doing all right, first and foremost.

Anthony Stolarz will be shouldering a larger load, which is less than ideal for a Leafs squad set up for a 1A/1B situation in the crease. The recently re-signed netminder appeared in a career-high 34 games last campaign, so it would be risky business to let that number climb to 50 or higher by season's end.

Cayden Primeau (.884 save percentage in 55 career starts) is Woll's temporary replacement. AHL starter Dennis Hildeby is the next man up otherwise. It might be worth scanning the trade market if Woll isn't back in a few weeks.

Chinakhov-CBJ drama continues

No healthy scratch raised eyebrows across the league quite like Yegor Chinakhov's on Thursday. Columbus coach Dean Evason felt his squad was better off without the talented Russian in the lineup on opening night (a 2-1 loss to Nashville), upgrading the odds of a trade from likely to super likely.

Chinakhov is a middle-six winger with a bullet of a shot. He received limited ice time last campaign (15:43), requested a trade in the summer, and recently fired his agent. It is, to put it mildly, time for a change of scenery, and you can bet at least half of the league's GMs have checked in with Don Waddell to gain an understanding of the Blue Jackets' asking price for the 24-year-old.

The pending restricted free agent's $2.1-million cap hit is very appealing.

A non-exhaustive list of win-now teams that could really benefit from acquiring Chinakhov: Utah, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Ottawa, and Winnipeg.

Rising Habs somehow younger

Montreal was the second-youngest team in the league last season (opening-day roster average age of 26.0). They're now the youngest, at 25.8.

This isn't a misleading fact where the average age is being dragged down by a couple of 18-year-olds who'll suit up for a few games then get sent back to junior. No, the Canadiens are legitimately led by guys in their early-to-mid 20s.

Through two contests, the lineup has featured only three players in their 30s: 31-year-olds Josh Anderson and Mike Matheson, and 33-year-old Brendan Gallagher. Meanwhile, its leading goal-scorers are 22-year-olds Oliver Kapanen and Zachary Bolduc, and its top line in usage and expected goals generation is Juraj Slafkovsky (21), Cole Caufield (24), and Nick Suzuki (26).

Recalibrating expectations ASAP

The opening week of the season is fun because we can start dropping the phrase "on paper" from our vocabulary. A team is no longer simply a [insert adjective] on paper since we've now seen what it looks like in a real game.

Seattle, for instance, is destined to fall short of expectations. On paper, the Kraken are a squad with solid players up and down the lineup. Pundits can convince themselves that making the playoffs is a realistic outcome. In reality, having only good-but-not-great players severely limits a team's ceiling.

On the flip side, the Flames have adopted a scrappy style out of the gates for a second straight year. They should be more competitive night to night than expected - a team greater than the sum of its parts. Nobody saw 96 points coming last season (Dustin Wolf's emergence sure helped!). Is this deja vu?

The Hurricanes are the most predictable team in the league as far as tactics and year-over-year performance. The club's expected to fight for the Eastern Conference's top seed, and Thursday's 6-3 win affirmed that. It's just one game, but the on-paper vibe seems to match reality in the case of the Canes.

Champs haven't missed a beat

Life without Aleksander Barkov is ... not too shabby, apparently.

The Panthers are 2-0 following wins over Chicago and Philadelphia (OK, not the stiffest competition), and the man tasked with "replacing" Barkov while he recovers from knee surgery is off to a thrilling start. Anton Lundell, who was nicknamed "Baby Barkov" years ago, is logging two extra minutes a night this year, bringing his average to 18:34. He scored a nifty goal Thursday.

Lundell's been centering Florida's second line at even strength. Sam Reinhart and Eetu Luostarinen are on his wings. Man, what an unreal two-way trio.

Zegras experiment's on in Philly

Seeing Trevor Zegras in a Flyers uniform requires a double take.

Everybody knows he's a Flyer following a June trade But the move from Anaheim to Philadelphia felt permanent only when Zegras, one of the most recognizable NHLers, entered the broadcast frame without a Ducks logo on his chest. For the record, Zegras had an uneventful debut with the Flyers: zero shot attempts, zero points, and one minor penalty in 16 minutes of ice.

Will he blossom into a legitimate first-line star, or has he tapped out as a middle-six guy and the Ducks were smart to ship him out?

Central Division second thoughts

I find the middle of the Central Division extremely difficult to project.

Last week, I predicted the Central standings would shake out like this: Dallas, Colorado, Winnipeg, Utah, St. Louis, Minnesota, Nashville, Chicago. After catching a glimpse of what each group offers in a real game, I'd consider flipping two sets of teams: Winnipeg and Utah, and St. Louis and Minnesota.

The Mammoth are going to rock, and, hey, maybe I was too high on the Blues.

Same old story out of Buffalo

The Sabres sold out their home opener Thursday. That's the good news.

The bad: Buffalo lost 4-0 to the Rangers, and oft-injured center Josh Norris left the game due to injury.

The ugly: A large group of fans, fed up with the home team's performance, left KeyBank Center early. Many who stayed until the final buzzer booed the Sabres off the ice.

Dramatic stuff. Every loss stings amid an NHL-record 14-year playoff drought.

McDavid faster than ever?!

On Monday, McDavid signed a preposterously team-friendly contract extension with the Oilers. Teammate Jake Walman re-signed the same day.

Early Wednesday, it was Mattias Ekholm's turn for an extension, while Edmonton also announced a deal for free-agent forward Jack Roslovic. Late Wednesday, McDavid received a thunderous ovation during player introductions then recorded two assists in a loss to Calgary, logging 26:21.

What a week - and it's not over. The Oilers host the Canucks on Saturday.

My favorite tidbit: McDavid was clocked skating 24.6 miles per hour in the second period of the Flames game. The NHL started tracking player skating speed in 2021-22, and that burst now stands as No. 97's fastest mark.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter/X (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email ([email protected]).