On Tuesday, hockey fans will enjoy the Frozen Frenzy with all 32 teams in action throughout the night. On Saturday, the NHL nearly gets there, with 14 games taking place.

The fun begins with Flyers-Bruins at 1 p.m. ET, continues with three more in the late afternoon, the standard phalanx of eight games at 7 or 7:30, then two nightcaps beginning at 10.

Here’s a look at the key stats and storylines in each contest, along with betting info on broadcast details:

Odds are provided by DraftKings and subject to change.

Philadelphia Flyers at Boston Bruins

1 p.m. ET (NHL Network) | BOS -135, O/U: 5.5

One of these days, the Flyers will get their first win of the season. Will it be Saturday? The Bruins have alternated between being world-beaters — including impressive wins over the Mammoth and Rangers — and getting their doors blown off by the Senators and Wild. This game could go a lot of different directions!

Vancouver Canucks at New Jersey Devils

3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | NJ -278, O/U: 6.5

In seasons past, any Canucks-Devils game would mean a showdown between Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes and New Jersey’s Jack Hughes (and later, Luke Hughes). With Quinn now in Minnesota, the familial connection isn’t there. But this could be a fun watch, since Canucks center Elias Pettersson has apparently remembered that he’s an elite talent; after two straight lackluster campaigns, he has eight points through the first five games. How will the Devs’ own superstars match up?

Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks

4 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | EDM -155, O/U: 6.5

Is the main event taking place at 4 p.m. Saturday? This is the first showdown of the season between the world’s No. 1 player, Connor McDavid, and Macklin Celebrini, who might be his toughest competition in the MVP race for years to come. Don’t miss this one; the teams don’t play again until Jan. 13.

Minnesota Wild at Florida Panthers

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

For those who dug the 2026 Olympics — and Team USA’s gold medal win — there are a number of familiar faces here. Minnesota will have Quinn Hughes and Matt Boldy in the lineup (Brock Faber is out injured following surgery for a skull fracture), and Florida’s forward group includes Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk.

Utah Mammoth at Buffalo Sabres

7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | UTA -108, O/U: 6.5

On Friday, Greg Wyshynski identified 40 players who are breakout candidates; that list included current Bruin JJ Peterka, who previously skated for both the Mammoth and Sabres. In addition to the Peterka connection, both of these teams can consider themselves legit Stanley Cup contenders this season, and this is a rare showdown between the interconference foes.

Detroit Red Wings at Montreal Canadiens

7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | MTL -218, O/U: 6.5

There’s something special about an Original Six matchup, particularly one featuring arguably the two greatest uniforms in professional sports history. Both teams are still figuring things out a bit, but perhaps one of the two gets on track here.

Nashville Predators at Ottawa Senators

7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | OTT -162, O/U: 5.5

One reason the Canadiens don’t have the record some expected is because the Predators beat them 5-2 the other night, though that score is a little misleading given that Adam Edstrom scored two empty-netters in the final three minutes. Can the Senators avoid a similar fate? Through three games, goaltender Linus Ullmark looks like the dominant version of himself that kept things interesting in the 2026 playoffs, with a .956 save percentage and three W’s.

Dallas Stars at Pittsburgh Penguins

7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | DAL -155, O/U: 6.5

For those with quite long memories, you’ll remember these two franchises squared off in the 1991 Stanley Cup Final (with the Stars then known as the Minnesota North Stars). The good news for Dallas is that Mario Lemieux, Paul Coffey and Jaromir Jagr won’t be playing Saturday. The bad news is that Sidney Crosby, Erik Karlsson and Evgeni Malkin will. Can Jake Oettinger (.967 save percentage in three games) hold the Penguins down enough for the Stars to outscore them?

Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks

7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | CAR -230, O/U: 5.5

As the defending Cup champs, the Hurricanes will typically “get every team’s best,” as coach Rod Brind’Amour said earlier this season. DraftKings does not believe that will put them in too much peril against the Blackhawks, but stranger things have happened!

Columbus Blue Jackets at St. Louis Blues

7 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | STL -125, O/U: 5.5

For some reason, the Blue Jackets have played only two games so far, which means they should be plenty fresh for this showdown against Robert Thomas & Co. And for those who like goaltending, two of the best young ones in the league may be squaring off in Joel Hofer (St. Louis) and Jet Greaves (Columbus).

Toronto Maple Leafs at Colorado Avalanche

7 p.m. ET (NHL Network) | COL -205, O/U: 6.5

This is the middle game of a three-game set for the Leafs against the top Western Conference contenders. They earned a point with a shootout loss against the Golden Knights on Thursday. Will this one be as close? On the other side, the Avalanche offense is en fuego to begin the campaign. According to ESPN Research, Colorado’s 23 goals through four games are the most by an NHL team since the 1993-94 Kings.

Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders

7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | TB -170, O/U: 5.5

Two things that caught many a reader’s eye about the Top 100 player rankings this week: the Lightning tied for the most players on the list (six), despite not getting past the first round of the playoffs since 2022, and Islanders second-year pro Matthew Schaefer being ranked No. 16. Maybe the result of this game will let us know which of those two things is more outlandish.

Anaheim Ducks at Calgary Flames

10 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | ANA -125, O/U: 6.5

Like the Flyers, the Flames are also searching for win No. 1 this season; of course, expectations for Calgary were not quite as high as those for Philly. Anaheim will be playing this one as the second leg of a back-to-back after playing the Jets in Winnipeg on Friday.

Los Angeles Kings at Vegas Golden Knights

10 p.m. ET (ESPN+) | VGK -162, O/U: 5.5

When the Golden Knights entered the NHL in the 2017-18 season, many thought there would be a natural rivalry with the Kings. It has resulted in just one playoff series thus far — a sweep by Vegas in 2018 — and a 21-15-4 edge for the Golden Knights in 40 regular-season contests. With the Kings now embarking on the post-Anze Kopitar era, it’s not entirely surprising that they’ve struggled out of the starting blocks, while the Knights are atop the Pacific Division at 4-1-0 and Jack Eichel is among the league scoring leaders. But that’s why they play the games; perhaps this one reverses the trend for both clubs.

Reminder: Fans can catch all the action in the NHL streaming hub and on the ESPN App.

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Today in hockey history

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Here’s what you need to know:

Friday’s scoreboard

Seattle Kraken 6, Detroit Red Wings 3
Washington Capitals 3, New York Rangers 1
Columbus Blue Jackets 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2 (SO)
Anaheim Ducks 5, Winnipeg Jets 1

play

Tom Wilson scores goal for Capitals

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

The Sabres are taking on the Mammoth tonight. But they faced off against another team with a winter-oriented animal mascot on this day in 1970 in the first game in franchise history.

Buffalo headed to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins, and won the contest 2-1 thanks to goals from Jim Watson (one of just four he’d score in the NHL) and Gilbert Perreault (who scored 511 more in a Sabres sweater during his Hall of Fame career).

It would take two more seasons for the Sabres to qualify for the postseason, losing in their first appearance to the juggernaut Canadiens.