Penguins vs Jets Headlines Four NHL Monday Games
Penguins vs Jets is the headline event. But Monday's four-game NHL slate for October 5, 2026 is a first-week sampler. One game features a 40-year-old chasing a mark Gordie Howe set in 1968-69. Another features a team with exactly one goal all season. The rest is injury fallout, and there's plenty of that.
The card, per the NHL's On Tap: Flyers at Lightning at 7 p.m.
ET on NHLN and NBCSP, Senators at Bruins at 7:30 on NESN, SN+ and TVAS, Jets at Penguins at 7:30 on SN-PIT and SN+.
And Sharks at Stars at 8 on Prime Video and NBCSCA. One national broadcast in the United States, one in Canada. Small slate, wide spread of stories.
That spread is the appeal.
A hot start worth believing in, a hot start worth doubting, an aging-stars story that refuses to die.
And three blue lines missing somebody.
Four games, four completely different questions.
Penguins vs Jets: 13 Goals Already
The Penguins are 2-0-0 and they've been loud about it: a 7-0 opening win, then a 6-5 overtime escape, 13 goals through two games. The longtime stars are leading the way, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin driving the offense. This is not a new-look surge. It's the old engine still running hot.
Malkin has scored in each of the first two games, becoming the second 40-year-old in NHL history to do it, joining Gordie Howe, who managed it in 1968-69.
That list sat at one name for a very long time. Now it's Howe and Malkin, and Malkin isn't done yet.
Pittsburgh is doing it short-handed, too. Bryan Rust and Justin Brazeau are out until at least October 7. And Ryan Graves' knee keeps him out until at least October 24. A 2-0-0 start with 13 goals and three bodies missing is about as good as October gets. Now a 1-0-1 Winnipeg side arrives at PPG Paints Arena on the second half of a back-to-back.
Why Is Connor Hellebuyck Not Playing?
Suspension. Connor Hellebuyck is suspended and expected to be out until at least October 17.
So the Jets walk into a building that just watched the home team score 13 times in two games.
And they do it without their goaltender.
Losing your starter to a suspension in week one is a lousy break against anybody. Against this specific opponent, it's brutal.
It's not just the crease, either. Walker Duehr is out with a lower-body injury until at least October 17. And Elias Salomonsson's shoulder has him out until at least October 15. Winnipeg's depth is getting tested before the season is a week old.
The question isn't whether Winnipeg is any good, because 1-0-1 says they're fine.
The question is whether they can survive one specific night: road game, tired legs, no Hellebuyck. And a home team that can't stop scoring. Steal it anyway and that's a statement. Lose it and nobody should panic, but the roster's margins are showing.
Sharks, Stars, Flyers: Monday's Burning Questions
Can the Sharks start 3-0-0? They get the shot at American Airlines Center at 8 p.m. ET, going for three straight wins to open the season against a Dallas team still searching for a goal. Win in Dallas and San Jose owns the early storyline out West.
What's wrong with the Stars' offense? One goal in two games. Dallas is 0-2-0, a year after averaging 3.33 goals per game, ninth in the NHL. Two games is a tiny sample, but a top-ten offense doesn't forget how to score overnight. Something's off, and Monday is the first real chance to show it's fixable.
Who's out Monday night? The Flyers' Rasmus Ristolainen is a game-time decision after leaving a 3-2 overtime loss to Carolina with an undisclosed injury, and Philadelphia has already been outscored 13-4 in three games. Ottawa lost Jake Sanderson for the rest of the trip, per coach Travis Green, after he reaggravated an injury at 12:45 of the first period of a 3-2 win at Toronto. Boston is without Charlie McAvoy, who's suspended. Three of the four games involve a missing or shaky defenseman. That's a lot of minutes to replace on one night.
Who Wins Penguins vs Jets Monday?
On paper it's Pittsburgh, and it's not close. They're 2-0-0 with 13 goals, at home, facing a Winnipeg team on the back end of a back-to-back without Hellebuyck. But October loves ruining clean edges. And a tired road team with a point to prove is exactly the spoiler the first week produces. That's the whole reason to watch.
The Malkin angle is the one I'd circle. He's scored in both games. And Gordie Howe is the only 40-year-old who ever opened a season that way, back in 1968-69. A goal Monday makes it three straight games with a goal at 40. And that's territory where the only comparison point is Mr. Hockey himself.
The night starts as a four-game card with one headliner. It could end as the night a 40-year-old made more history, or the night Dallas finally found the net. Which one gets your remote: Malkin's chase in Pittsburgh, or the Stars trying to remember where the goal is?