NHL Preseason Roundup: Red Wings Edge Sabres in OT as Hurricanes Complete Epic Rally vs. Predators

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

In a busy NHL preseason slate on Thursday, the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres played one of the evening’s closest games, with Alex Lyon exiting late in the first period before Colten Ellis took over in the Detroit net. The Red Wings ultimately secured a 3-2 overtime win at Little Caesars Arena, turning the game with a power-play strike from Alex DeBrincat only 33 seconds into the extra period. Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Sheldon Dries also scored for Detroit, while Daniil Tarasov made 17 saves. For Buffalo, Jiri Kulich and Trevor Kuntar found the scoresheet, and Ellis finished with 16 saves after replacing Lyon, who had stopped seven of eight shots before departing. Kuntar gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 10:48 of the first period, and Sandin-Pellikka tied it at 16:11 with a power-play one-timer from the right circle off a feed from Anton Johansson. Kulich restored Buffalo’s advantage 33 seconds into the second period when his shot on the rush trickled through Tarasov’s five-hole, and Dries evened the score at 7:13 of the third period by redirecting Jacob Bryson’s shot from the blue line at the left circle.

The Carolina Hurricanes continued their preseason surge by staging a dramatic late comeback against the Nashville Predators at First Horizon Coliseum. Carolina scored six times after falling into a deep hole, rallying from four goals down to win 6-5. Logan Stankoven recorded two goals for the Hurricanes, which also got a goal and an assist from Jesperi Kotkaniemi and two assists from Taylor Hall. Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves for Carolina. For Nashville, Vitali Pinchuk had a goal and an assist, and Jack Drury and Jonathan Marchessault also scored, while Tanner Molendyk added two assists. Justus Annunen made 25 saves. After Pinchuk gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 1:48 of the first period, Cole O’Hara made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 7:09 and Marchessault extended the advantage to 3-0 on a breakaway at 15:24. Stankoven made it 3-2 at 1:19 of the second period, and Carolina made steady progress when Kotkaniemi pulled the Hurricanes to within 5-2 at 13:38 and Juha Jaaska cut the deficit to 5-3 at 16:19. Juuso Valimaki then made it 5-4 with a power-play goal at 8:26 of the third period, and Stankoven tied the game 5-5 with 1:24 remaining in regulation. Felix Unger Sorum delivered the winning finish, scoring the game-winning goal three seconds from regulation’s end by beating Annunen with a wrist shot under his glove.

The Florida Panthers also posted a preseason victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, defeating Tampa Bay 5-3 at Benchmark International Arena. Cole Reinhardt scored for the Panthers for the third time in the preseason and added an assist as Florida took the win. Kai Schwindt added a goal and an assist, while Cooper Black started in net and made 14 saves for the Panthers. Kirill Gerasimyuk made 11 saves in the third period. Tampa Bay’s scoring came from Jansen Harkins, Conor Geekie, and Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 20 saves. The Lightning’s goals came in response to Tampa Bay falling behind early, as Bokondji Imama scored for Florida at 19:44 of the first period by deflecting Donovan Sebrango’s shot from the blue line past Vasilevskiy. Schwindt doubled the Panthers’ lead at 2:29 of the second period after the puck was pulled into the net by Vasilevskiy’s right pad. Harkins cut it to 2-1 at 3:14 and Geekie tied it 2-2 at 13:09 by finishing a rush after Sam O’Reilly’s play. Hunter St. Martin put Florida back ahead 3-2 at 4:21, but Harkins scored his second of the game at 5:29 to tie the contest 3-3. Reinhardt restored Florida’s lead just six seconds later by stealing the puck from Ryan McDonagh and snapping it past Vasilevskiy to make it 4-3. Sandis Vilmanis then sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal at 19:36.

In Philadelphia, the Flyers earned a 2-0 shutout against the Boston Bruins at Xfinity Mobile Arena, powered by Joseph Woll’s 28 saves. Matvei Michkov and Cole Knuble scored for Philadelphia, while Michael DiPietro made 26 saves for Boston. Michkov opened the scoring at 4:02 of the first period when he knocked in a loose puck into the open net after Helge Grans’ initial shot hit Porter Martone in front. Knuble then extended the lead to 2-0 with a goal at 2:57 of the third period, jamming in a rebound in the crease.

Columbus registered a commanding 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nationwide Arena, highlighted by Valeri Nichushkin’s debut with the Blue Jackets. Nichushkin scored in the game, which marked a new chapter for the forward after Columbus acquired him from the Colorado Avalanche on June 25 for multiple future draft selections: a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, and a fifth-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. In addition to Nichushkin, Zach Werenski, Kirill Marchenko, and Danton Heinen found the net as Columbus earned the shutout with Cam Talbot making 15 saves. Sergei Murashov made 13 saves for Pittsburgh. Werenski put the Blue Jackets ahead 1-0 at 11:48 of the first period by burying a point shot through traffic, and Nichushkin made it 2-0 at 14:42 of the second period with a backhand on the rush. Heinen stretched the lead to 3-0 at 19:45 by tapping in his own rebound following a pass from Charlie Coyle, and Marchenko completed the scoring with an empty-net goal at 17:28.

At Madison Square Garden, the New York Rangers held on for a 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils in a shootout. Will Cuylle produced a goal and an assist, and scored the deciding goal in the shootout. Anton Blidh and Scott Morrow also scored for the Rangers, and Gabe Perreault had two assists. Joonas Korpisalo made 20 saves and stopped all three Devils attempts in the shootout. New Jersey’s goals were scored by Stefan Noesen, Ethan Edwards, and Amadeus Lombardi, with Matyas Melovsky collecting two assists. Nico Daws made 20 saves for the Devils. Noesen put the Devils in front 1-0 at 8:51 of the first period with a power-play goal by deflecting Seamus Casey’s shot from the point over Korpisalo. Edwards pushed it to 2-0 at 12:09 of the second period, and Cuylle made it 2-1 at 3:10 of the third after a deflection off Matthew Robertson. Blidh tied the game 2-2 at 5:21 during a delayed penalty, and Morrow gave New York a 3-2 lead at 10:03 on a cross-crease pass from Cuylle. Lombardi tied it 3-3 at 18:21 with a snapped shot through Korpisalo’s pads to send the contest to the shootout, where Cuylle delivered the final deciding shot.