• ESPN staffNov 7, 2026, 08:00 AM ET

There won't be another day when all 32 NHL teams are playing until April, but the league will be operating at 75% capacity on Saturday with 12 games on the schedule.

The slate of games offers a mixed bag of rivalries (new and old) along with a superb matchup of two teams that have a high chance of meeting in the Stanley Cup Final.

Read on for a look at what you need to know for each game, including betting info and broadcast details.

Odds are provided by DraftKings and subject to change.

Florida Panthers at Washington Capitals

12:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | WSH -125, O/U: 6.5

The way that this season has shaped up thus far, these two teams could well be fighting for one wild-card playoff spot by season's end. This will be the first showdown between the clubs, after Florida won all three matchups last season by an aggregate score of 16-8.

The Capitals are still waiting for Alex Ovechkin to get rolling, as the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer has just one of them through 14 games. Instead, they've been paced by newcomer Alex Tuch, who has 10.

A familiar face leads the Panthers in scoring -- Matthew Tkachuk, who is possibly the most Panther of anyone who's ever Panthered, has 22 points in 16 games -- while Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe are tied for the team lead in goals with nine apiece.

St. Louis Blues at Nashville Predators

1 p.m. ET (NHL Network) | STL -115, O/U: 6.5

The Predators enter this Central Division showdown having won three games in a row against a murderers' row of top contenders: 5-4 over the Lightning (shootout), 4-1 over the Hurricanes and 3-2 over the Avalanche in overtime.

Nashville also won the last matchup between the two teams, 5-2 on Oct. 17. The Preds had five different goal scorers in that game and won despite racking up 10 penalty minutes to the Blues' two. Filip Forsberg leads the team with 19 points through 16 games, and Steven Stamkos leads in goals with nine.

The Blues have a balanced offensive attack -- with five players in double digits in scoring through 16 games -- but have yet to have anyone break out. Does that begin Saturday?

New York Rangers at Seattle Kraken

5 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | NYR -118, O/U: 6.5

To the surprise of many, these teams enter this matchup in third place in their respective divisions.

The Rangers are on a two-game winning streak and are led in scoring by defenseman Adam Fox (two goals, 19 assists in 17 games). The Long Island native is on pace for 104 points, which would break the franchise's single-season scoring record by a defenseman (Brian Leetch had 102 in 1991-92).

Seattle's assist leader is a familiar face to the visiting Rangers: Kaapo Kakko, who was their No. 2 pick in 2019. Kakko shares the team's scoring lead at 12 points with Berkly Catton and Chandler Stephenson.

Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs

7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | MTL -115, O/U: 6.5

These two franchises have been playing each other since Dec. 26, 1917 -- i.e. during World War I. There have been 855 total meetings, and the Canadiens lead both the regular-season and playoff series.

Montreal has won the past four matchups between the teams, including a 3-2 victory on Opening Night (despite William Nylander's goal 48 seconds in).

No surprises here, the Habs are led in scoring this season by Lane Hutson (16 points in 16 games), Nick Suzuki (15 in 10) and Cole Caufield (15 in 16). But the real story is in goal, where Jacob Fowler's early play -- a 7-1-1 record, 2.17 goals-against average and .925 save percentage -- has him on the Calder Trophy short list.

For Toronto, captain Auston Matthews is back among the league leaders in scoring (26 points in 17 games), while Nylander is just outside the top 10. The goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz has not been up to Fowler's level, but there's a lot of season left!

Utah Mammoth at Ottawa Senators

7 p.m. ET (NHL Network) | OTT -110, O/U: 6.5

In the everlasting "which NHL division is best?" debate, here's a data point: These teams enter this showdown with identical 10-6-1 records. The Mammoth are in second place in the Central, while the Senators are fourth in the Atlantic.

All of that aside, this is a chance for fans to see some of the NHL's elite (and sometimes overlooked) young talent hit the ice. That begins with Ottawa's Tim Stutzle, whose 22 points in 17 games have him tied for 11th on the NHL leaderboard.

One of the players with whom he's tied is Utah's Clayton Keller. And one point behind both of them is Logan Cooley, who scored another hat trick on Thursday to bring his career total to five in 228 games. That sets an NHL record for the lowest number of games to five hat tricks, two games fewer than the previous record holder, Ovechkin.

New Jersey Devils at New York Islanders

7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | NJ - 148, O/U: 5.5

There's no official nickname for this NYC metro area rivalry -- unlike "Battle of New York" for Isles-Rangers and "Battle of the Hudson" for Devils-Rangers -- so maybe it's "Clash of the Commuters"?

Regardless, the two teams have had some explosive matchups throughout the past decades. The Isles hold the overall regular-season edge 155-89-32, while the Devils have won four head-to-head playoff series to the Isles' two.

The Islanders won the first game of this season's series 6-0 way back on Oct. 3, as Ilya Sorokin stopped all 37 shots the Devils fired at his cage.

Of course, those were the pre-Connor Hellebuyck Devils. Does the involvement of the former Hart and Vezina Trophy winner change anything this time around?

Chicago Blackhawks at Carolina Hurricanes

8 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | CAR -395, O/U: 6.5

The Canes enter this game having lost just five games total (two of which came after regulation) out of 16 contests, while the Blackhawks have just four wins in 17 tries. And that includes a 5-2 win for the Canes on Oct. 10 in Chicago. Ergo that massive moneyline.

One big thing to watch for Carolina is whether this game marks the return of defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who was re-signed recently after an extended holdout. The Canes just got forward Taylor Hall back in the lineup after his early-season injury and are still waiting on the return of captain Jordan Staal, who is on IR with a calf injury. (Yes, the Canes have been rolling everyone while missing key players.)

Chicago is without Patrick Kane and Bowen Byram, the latter of whom played just six games after coming over in a major offseason trade. Connor Bedard leads the Blackhawks in scoring (12 points in 11 games), while rookie Roman Kantserov paces the club in goals (eight).

San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars

8 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | DAL -290, O/U: 6.5

Less than 24 hours after a loss against the Central Division-leading Wild on Friday, the puck drops on a showdown with another powerhouse in Dallas.

San Jose has failed to launch this season; amid many predicting a playoff run for Macklin Celebrini & Co. this spring, they're currently jockeying for fifth in the Pacific with the rebuilding Calgary Flames, losing six of their past seven.

Dallas has been a team of streaks this season: It began the campaign losing two, then won two, then lost another two, then won five, then lost two, then (you guessed it) won two more before a loss Thursday to Columbus. It would appear the Stars are "due" for another loss -- or can they break the cycle?

Tampa Bay Lightning at Minnesota Wild

8 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | TB -122, O/U: 6.5

For a pairing of teams that we might well see square off in the 2027 Stanley Cup Final, it's a little disappointing that both matchups are taking place so early in the season, but here we are.

The Lightning won their first meeting 3-2 on Oct. 8. That game was the John Carlson Show, as the veteran defenseman scored twice to lead the way. Dennis Hildeby was in the crease for Tampa in that game, stopping 34 of 36 Minnesota shots. Winger Nikita Kucherov requested a trade but keeps scoring nonetheless with 20 points through 15 games.

Since the loss to Tampa, Minnesota has gone 10-2-2, largely thanks to the play of goaltender Jesper Wallstedt. Overall, the 23-year-old Swede is 11-2-3, with a 1.99 GAA and .922 SV% (tops in the league in wins, and among the top 10 in the ratios). The Wild also have two of the best players at their respective positions in the league in winger Kirill Kaprizov (16 goals in 18 games) and defenseman Quinn Hughes (25 points in 18 games).

Will we see these two again in the Cup Final? Stathletes projections give the pairing a 2.48% chance, which is 11th highest.

Detroit Red Wings at Colorado Avalanche

9 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | COL -225, O/U: 6.5

One of the most iconic rivalries of the past few decades -- you are required to watch this documentary if you have not yet -- has lost a fair amount of luster as the Red Wings have fallen off (and moved back to the Eastern Conference).

The Avs have gone 6-1-1 at home this season and hope to keep adding to that first column here. Nathan MacKinnon paces the team in scoring (and is fifth in the NHL) with 27 points through 17 games. Cale Makar -- whose game-changing $20.8 million AAV contract extension kicks in next season -- has 18 through 16.

Detroit doesn't have anyone to challenge MacKinnon that high up the leaderboard, but six players have hit double digits in points through 17 games, including 16 apiece for Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Los Angeles Kings

9 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | LA -135, O/U: 6.5

After playoff appearances by both of these teams in 2026, the postseason now seems like a distant fantasy. Each team enters the game with 12 points. But hey, one win can start a streak and get them back on track!

Sidney Crosby enters this matchup with a five-game scoring streak against the Kings. It's not Crosby, but Erik Karlsson who leads the Pens in scoring this season with 16 points in 16 games.

L.A.'s Artemi Panarin is one point ahead of Karlsson in two fewer games, and he has 46 points (19 goals, 27 assists) in 36 career regular-season games against the Penguins (skating for the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets and Rangers).

Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers

10 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | EDM -310, O/U: 6.5

If nothing else, this game should be entertaining -- unless you like low-scoring affairs. These clubs have played twice already, with final scores of 6-5 Canucks and 9-7 Oilers.

Following that season-opening win against Edmonton, Vancouver has won just two additional games in 17 tries. The Canucks have also yet to match the six-goal total since. But maybe this is the opportunity for leading scorer Elias Pettersson (18 points in 18 games) & Co.

We are all aware of what the Oilers have been up to on the score sheets, as Connor McDavid (44 points), Leon Draisaitl (31) and Evan Bouchard (30) are 1-2-3 on the league's scoring leaderboard. How much will they be padding those totals in this contest?

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:

Friday's scoreboard

Buffalo Sabres 5, Columbus Blue Jackets 2
Minnesota Wild 4, San Jose Sharks 1
Anaheim Ducks 5, Calgary Flames 3

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

What would the sport of hockey be without ice? (Well, field hockey.) In any event, indoor ice rinks are pretty important for the past, present and future of ice hockey, and there was a significant development on that front on this date in history.

On Nov. 7, 1896, the St. Nicholas Rink opened on the northeast corner of 66th Street and Columbus Ave. in New York, built by a consortium that included Cornelius Vanderbilt and John Jacob Astor.

The St. Nicholas Hockey Club called the building home, and the rink would host the first matchup in ice hockey between Harvard and Yale, as well as the first matchup between women's ice hockey teams in the U.S.

Eventually, the more lucrative sport of boxing took over the arena, and so hockey moved elsewhere in Manhattan. But the St. Nicholas Rink was a critical step in the evolution of indoor ice facilities.

Source: ESPN · ESPN staff

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