5 Overreactions From the Opening Week of the 2025-26 NHL Season
We're just over one week into the 2025-26 NHL season, and you know what that means: It's time to overreact.
Each year, a few things in hockey spark early overreactions: a team off to an abysmal start, a new player scoring once or twice, or a standout goaltending performance—good or bad.
The thing is, we know deep down when an overreaction is just blowing off steam or excitement in the moment, and we know when something lingering from the first week of the season could actually turn into a pattern that will plague or boost the team the rest of the season.
Here are five overreactions from opening week that could actually carry over to the rest of the season.
The Sabres Are in Deep Trouble
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The Sabres are one of two teams sitting at 0-3 to start the season. It's not the end of the world when a normal team starts the season 0-3, but it's a little different when the Sabres do it.
Your run-of-the-mill NHL team can shake off a 0-3 start and laugh about it later. But no one is laughing; instead, there is speculation that this year's epic losing streak has started early. The "fire Kevyn Adams" chants are certainly there.
To be fair, the Sabres started the season in a tough injury position, without starting goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and top-six forwards Josh Norris and Zach Benson. But Norris came with injury concerns, and the unproven Benson shouldn't be so pivotal to this team.
The Sabres have been outscored 10-2 to start the season, and it's directly due to the lack of legit depth that has plagued the team throughout this brutal playoff drought.
Perhaps starting the season with the losing streak will finally lead to tangible change in Buffalo?
Panthers Will Be Fine Without Barkov and Tkachuk
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The difference between the Sabres and Panthers is a clear example of how crucial top-tier depth is in today's NHL.
The back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers are without their two biggest stars in Sasha Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, and yet they're atop the Atlantic Division with three wins and one loss.
We can expect some lulls and modest slumps when it comes to the Panthers throughout the season, but it'll look more like preserving health and knowing when to take your foot off the gas.
Florida has mastered the art of knowing when to push and when to rest, a skill that begins with its roster depth.
Brad Marchand and Anton Lundell lead the team with two goals and four points apiece, while Mackie Samoskevich, Sam Reinhart, Gustav Forsling, and Evan Rodrigues all have three points in four games. Meanwhile, Sergei Bobrovsky is 3-0-0 with a .925 save percentage.
Things won't be perfect for the Cats this season, but they will be more than fine.
Igor Shesterkin Will Be in Contention for 2026 Vezina Trophy
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A Rangers team full of new faces might be struggling to buy a goal at home, but at least it knows it's covered on the other end of the ice.
Despite New York's early-season ups and downs, which have led to a 2-3-0 record with all three losses and zero goals coming at Madison Square Garden, Igor Shesterkin looks ready for a career year in net.
Aside from Charlie Lindgren, who has only recorded one game that was a shutout, Shesterkin leads the league with .76 goals against per game and a .972 save percentage. According to MoneyPuck.com, he's got a whopping 7.4 goals saved above expected, which leads the goaltending field by three whole goals saved above expected.
What does this mean for the Rangers? Well, it means they're experiencing some offensive growing pains with the lineup changes, but it also means they have one of the best goaltenders in the league.
Shesterkin is officially back on the Vezina watch as he looks to collect his second career trophy.
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Martin Necas is Putting Avs in a Tough Spot
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Being linemates with Nathan MacKinnon is as close to a dream job as it gets for NHL wingers, and he's going to give you a boost. At the same time, he is a seriously competitive guy, and only a few wingers can rise to the intensity he plays with.
If the first week of this season showed us anything, it's that Martin Necas is one of the few. He and MacKinnon are tied for second leaguewide in points with eight apiece in four games—that's three goals, a plus-six rating and an average 21:02 time on ice for Necas.
The catch? Necas, who was sent over from the Hurricanes in the Mikko Rantanen deal, is on the last year of his deal with a $6.5 million cap hit.
He will certainly seek a raise. Then, the Avalanche could find themselves in a situation similar to last year's Rantanen trade at the deadline.
The two sides could avoid this by working on an extension that makes everyone happy before the deadline, the Avalanche could attempt the same blockbuster type deal they did last year, or everyone could just stand pat and deal with it in the offseason.
Either way, Necas could be pricing himself out of the Avalanche unless he's happy winning on MacKinnon's wing and willing to take a bit of a pay cut to stay.
Business As Usual (or Better) for Stars and Canes
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Our typical conference finals staples, the Stars and the Hurricanes, look poised for long playoff runs once again.
In Carolina, Seth Jarvis keeps evolving and scoring game-winners, as the Hurricanes sit atop the Metropolitan Division at 3-0.
K'Andre Miller is fitting into the offensive-minded defensive structure with two goals, a plus-three rating, and a time on ice average of more than 22 minutes. Alexander Nikishin looks as impactful as anticipated and has three assists in three games to show for it.
Meanwhile, in Dallas, the Stars also boast a 3-0 record in the brutal Central Division. Three players—Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz and Thomas Harley—have five points in three games. That's what they call scoring from all over the lineup, and that's how you need to win games if you're the Dallas Stars. So far, so good for new head coach Glen Gulutzan.
However, the question remains: Will either of these two teams finally rise above in this window and lift the Cup? A Stanley Cup Final between the Stars and Hurricanes, two teams overcoming longstanding challenges, would be compelling.
.png?w=480 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
