Frozen Frenzy packs 32 NHL teams into one wild night
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- All 32 NHL teams played on Tuesday, October 13, in 16 games.
- The games started every 15 minutes, from 6 PM to 11 PM ET.
- Connor Bedard returned, Alex Ovechkin said goodbye to Raleigh, and the Hurricanes kept winning.
Frozen Frenzy gave hockey fans a full night of games. All 32 NHL teams played on Tuesday, October 13. The night packed 16 games into about six hours.
The event is now in its fourth straight year. ESPN runs it as a wall-to-wall hockey night. Fans could flip from game to game all evening.
What happened
The first game started at 6 PM ET. The New Jersey Devils visited the Detroit Red Wings. After that, a new game started every 15 minutes.
ESPN showed three games on its main channel. The first was Devils at Red Wings. The second was Colorado at Dallas.
The third was Boston at San Jose.
ESPN2 ran whip-around coverage from 7 PM to midnight. That show jumped from game to game. John Buccigross and Kevin Weekes hosted it, according to USA Today.
The other games streamed on ESPN+ and other channels. No fan had to wait long for the next puck drop.
The early finals
The early games gave fans 11 finals to track. Here is how they went.
New Jersey beat Detroit 5-4. Florida beat Columbus 7-3. Montreal edged Buffalo 4-3.
Carolina beat Washington 4-2. Seattle beat Philadelphia 3-2 in a shootout. The New York Rangers beat Tampa Bay 4-1.
The Blues beat Ottawa 7-2. The New York Islanders beat Vancouver 3-2. Chicago beat Pittsburgh 5-3.
Winnipeg beat Minnesota 5-2. Vegas beat Nashville 5-2. The late games then ran into the night.
Why it matters
Frozen Frenzy is a showcase night for the league. It puts every team in front of fans on one night. Young stars get a big stage.
Old stars get a farewell stage.
Connor Bedard made his season debut for Chicago. He had shoulder surgery in the off-season. The Blackhawks named him captain on September 15.
He was 21 years and 60 days old at the time. That made him the second-youngest captain in team history, according to the NHL.
Bedard picked up his first point of the season. He set up a goal by Roman Kantserov, according to The Hockey News. Chicago beat Pittsburgh 5-3.
Sidney Crosby scored his first goal of the season for Pittsburgh. He then scored again to tie the game at 3-3. Teuvo Teravainen put Chicago back in front late.
Tyler Bertuzzi sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
Alex Ovechkin played his final regular-season game in Raleigh. He is in his last NHL season. The Capitals drafted him in 2004.
That draft took place in the same building, according to Reuters. Carolina won the game 4-2. You can read the full story in our Hurricanes rally past Capitals recap.
Brady Tkachuk scored his first goals as a Florida Panther. His brother Matthew set him up. Each brother finished with four points, according to The Hockey News.
Florida beat Columbus 7-3.
The Rangers kept their hot start going. They won their sixth game in eight tries. That is a big jump.
The team had one of the worst records last season, according to The Hockey News.
The Flyers stayed winless. Their losing streak to start the season reached eight games. Seattle won 3-2 in a shootout.
Bobby McMann scored the winner. Matty Beniers and Matvei Michkov also scored in the shootout.
The Islanders got two goals from Kyle Palmieri. Matthew Schaefer added two assists. The Islanders moved back to .500 with the win.
Bo Horvat faced Vancouver for the first time as Islanders captain.
Ottawa had a rough night in goal. Samuel Ersson gave up seven goals, according to The Hockey News. The Blues won 7-2.
What happens next
Frozen Frenzy is over for this year. The regular season goes back to a normal pace. Teams return to their own schedules.
The night gave fans a clear picture of the early season. Carolina looks like the team to beat in the East. The Rangers look much better than last year.
Chicago has its captain back.
The Jets also made a statement. Their top line scored seven points in one game. You can read that story in our Jets top line recap.
The NHL season runs to June 2027. More big nights will come. But few nights pack this much hockey into one evening.
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