Welcome to another edition of The Hockey News Morning Skate, where hosts Eric Cruikshank and Michael Traikos break down the biggest headlines, the most compelling narratives, and the standout performances from across the National Hockey League.
It was a bustling, action-packed weekend on the ice with a massive slate of 21 games played between Friday and Sunday. With the 2024-25 NHL regular season now well underway, teams are beginning to separate themselves, and early-season storylines are taking sharper shape. From historic slumps to milestone celebrations and unexpected adversity overcome by resilient rosters, this weekend offered plenty of drama for hockey fans to digest.
Let us run through the biggest storylines that emerged from this weekend’s extensive slate of games.
Philadelphia Flyers’ Historic Slide Continues
For the first time in the storied history of the franchise, the Philadelphia Flyers have failed to record a single victory through their first seven games of a regular season. The latest chapter in this troubling opening stretch came on Sunday evening, when the Flyers suffered a decisive 4-1 loss at the hands of the surging Carolina Hurricanes.
With this latest defeat, Philadelphia’s early-season goal differential has plummeted to an alarming 28 goals allowed against just 8 goals scored across their first seven contests. The offensive anemic nature of the team, paired with defensive lapses and struggles in net, has completely derailed the opening month of their campaign.
Frustration has clearly boiled over among the fan base. In the final minutes of Sunday’s game at the XFinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, echoing chants of "fire Tocchet" cascaded down from the seating bowl. As the losses mount and the team fails to find any semblance of rhythm, speculation naturally intensifies regarding the security of the coaching staff. If these profound struggles continue much longer, a change behind the bench will undoubtedly become a very real possibility for the front office to consider.
On the flip side of that matchup, the visiting Carolina Hurricanes are enjoying the exact opposite fortune. By dispatching the Flyers, the Hurricanes rattled off their fifth consecutive victory, improving their record to an impressive 5-1-1 on the young season.
Veteran forward Sebastian Aho played a starring role in the victory, picking up a goal and an assist to continue his scorching start to the year. That multi-point performance ties Aho for the league lead in goals with six, while also moving him into a tie for third overall in league scoring with 11 total points. The Hurricanes continue to hum along as one of the elite early-season powerhouses in the Eastern Conference, while the Flyers search desperately for answers.
William Nylander’s Five-Point Night and Avalanche Goaltending Woes
On Saturday night, Toronto Maple Leafs dynamic forward William Nylander delivered a masterclass performance, putting together the second five-point game of his illustrious NHL career to lead his squad to a 6-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.
Nylander was a force to be reckoned with all evening, generating offense at will and completely overwhelming the Colorado defensive structure. Beyond the immediate impact on the scoreboard, the game marked a major personal milestone for the gifted winger. With his stellar offensive output, Nylander officially surpassed the 700-point plateau for his career, bringing his new career total to 702 points. In doing so, he etched his name in the history books by becoming the seventh-fastest Swedish-born player in NHL history to reach the prestigious 700-point milestone.
While the Maple Leafs celebrated a statement win and Nylander’s historic night, the visiting Colorado Avalanche were left to pick up the pieces of a frustrating defensive and goaltending collapse. Following the game, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar did not mince words when addressing the performance of goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
"He needs to give us a save at one point there," Bednar stated bluntly when assessing Blackwood’s performance. "I can’t blame him for any of the goals. None. But if you’re giving up 4 shots in a period, and 3 goals, you’d like him to make a save in some of those."
The harsh assessment highlights a growing concern in Denver regarding the team’s crease. Blackwood has endured a difficult start to his tenure with the club, carrying a pedestrian .867 save percentage and a 3.30 goals-against average through his first four starts of the season. If the Avalanche are going to realize their Stanley Cup aspirations, getting stable, reliable goaltending will need to become an immediate priority.
Rangers Show Resilience, Win Without Shesterkin
The New York Rangers were dealt a devastating psychological and athletic blow on Saturday when the organization announced that star goaltender Igor Shesterkin will be forced to miss the remainder of the season due to a severe lower-body injury. Losing a franchise cornerstone and a perennial Vezina Trophy candidate is the kind of adversity that can easily derail a team’s entire campaign.
Compounding the crisis in the crease, the Rangers are also currently without the services of veteran backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who is sidelined for the next several weeks with a lower-body injury of his own.
Facing an unprecedented depth challenge in net, New York was forced to pivot quickly and embrace a strict next-man-up mentality. The organization turned to 24-year-old rookie netminder Dylan Garand for Sunday’s high-stakes matchup against the Vancouver Canucks, a responsibility he is expected to shoulder for the foreseeable future.
Garand rose to the occasion brilliantly. He turned aside 19 shots to help guide the Rangers to a decisive 6-2 victory over the Canucks, pushing New York’s record to a strong 5-2-0 to start the year. With the latest performance factored in, Garand has now appeared in six career NHL games, boasting an elite .947 save percentage and a stingy 1.43 goals-against average. While replacing a talent like Shesterkin over a full 82-game schedule is an impossible task for any single goaltender, Garand’s composure and early success provide the Rangers with a vital safety net as they navigate the storm.
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