We Speak Sports

Carolina Rules the Table, McDavid Chases History and the NHL Week Delivered Chaos at Both Ends

Published

1 hour ago

November 8, 2026

Carolina Hurricanes player wearing number 24 celebrating a goal in front of fans during a 9-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks

Carolina Hurricanes celebrate during their 9-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. Photo via @nhl.

Hockey season is young, but the league already has a clear pace setter, a superstar rewriting the history books and a basement nobody wants to visit. The week of November 2 to November 7 gave the NHL a little of everything, from a nine-goal explosion in Raleigh to overtime drama in Saint Paul and Elmont, and the standings are starting to separate into contenders and cautionary tales.

Start at the top. The Carolina Hurricanes closed the week as the best team in hockey at 14-3-2 with 30 points, and they signed off in style on Saturday, routing the Chicago Blackhawks 9-2 at Lenovo Center. Jordan Martinook scored two first-period goals, Andrei Svechnikov added two of his own and Carolina built a 7-0 lead through two periods. The nine goals tied the franchise record since the club relocated from Hartford in 1997. Pyotr Kochetkov made 18 saves in the win. Carolina now heads overseas for the 2026 NHL Global Series Finland, where the Hurricanes face the Seattle Kraken in Helsinki on November 12 and 14.

The biggest individual story in the league belongs to Connor McDavid. The Edmonton Oilers captain had a goal and three assists on Thursday, but the Oilers fell 5-4 at home to the Anaheim Ducks as Beckett Sennecke posted two goals and an assist for Anaheim. Edmonton also lost 4-3 at New Jersey on Tuesday, a brief stumble in an otherwise flying start. McDavid saved his history for Saturday, collecting three assists in a 4-2 home win over the Vancouver Canucks. That extended his assist streak to 18 games, tying Adam Oates from 1992-93 for the second-longest run in league history, behind only Wayne Gretzky and his 23-game streak in 1990-91. McDavid has 47 points, 10 goals and 37 assists, and he has hit the scoresheet in every game this season. Leon Draisaitl scored twice against Vancouver as Edmonton moved to 12-3-3 and stayed on top of the Pacific Division.

Saturday was a night of comebacks. In Saint Paul, Nikita Kucherov scored a power-play goal 3:23 into overtime to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild, capping a rally from two goals down in the final six minutes of regulation. Jake Guentzel had two goals and an assist for Tampa Bay, which won its third straight. Minnesota still earned a point for the eighth straight game at 6-0-2 in that span, and the Wild sit second in the league with 28 points. In Elmont, Jack Hughes scored 1:18 into overtime as the New Jersey Devils erased a two-goal third-period deficit to beat the New York Islanders 5-4. New Jersey has won four straight and eight of its past nine.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Montreal beat Toronto 4-2 in the rivalry game, Nashville won its fourth straight by beating St. Louis 3-1, Colorado shut out Detroit 4-0 behind Martin Necas and his two goals and two assists, Washington held off Florida 4-3, Ottawa beat Utah 4-2, the New York Rangers won 4-3 at Seattle, Dallas edged San Jose 4-3 and Pittsburgh won 5-2 at Los Angeles to end a four-game skid.

The streak board tells the week in one glance. Montreal owns points in 10 straight games and has won seven of its past eight. Minnesota has points in eight straight. Tampa Bay has won three in a row and has yet to lose at home. Nashville has won four straight. The flip side is grim. Vancouver has lost five straight and owns just one win in its past 16 games, sitting last in the league at the bottom of the Pacific. Chicago has dropped six straight and is still searching for its first road win of the season.

One month into the season, the message is clear. Carolina is the standard, McDavid is the show, and the race behind them is already getting rough.

Senden Strikes Twice Early and the Icemen’s Push Runs Out of Time Against Florida

Published

32 minutes ago

November 8, 2026

We Speak Media

A Jacksonville Icemen player battles a Florida Everblades player for the puck at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, with the final score JAX 1, FLA 4.

Jacksonville Icemen in action against the Florida Everblades at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on November 7. Photo via @jaxicemen.

The Jacksonville Icemen spent Saturday night chasing a game that got away from them in the first period, and against the defending Kelly Cup champions, the chase came up short. Mark Senden scored twice in the opening frame and the Florida Everblades beat Jacksonville 4-1 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, handing the Icemen a second straight loss in the weekend series and ending their four-game point streak.

Jacksonville actually started brightly, earning early power plays and generating chances, but the home team could not convert and Florida punished the waste. Senden opened the scoring at 9:49 of the first period, finishing a play set up by Jesse Lansdell and Maleek McGowan. The period also featured the night’s first fight, with Florida’s Sean Allen and Jacksonville’s AJ Schlepp dropping the gloves at 7:59. Senden struck again at 14:32, this time on the power play with assists from Jack Horbach and Jordan Sambrook, and the Icemen skated to the intermission down 2-0.

The Icemen found their answer in the second period, and it came from the slot. On a Jacksonville power play, Tanner Kelly fired a quick touch pass from the left-wing side that found Adam McMaster in front, and McMaster rifled the puck home at 6:33 to cut the deficit to 2-1. Bennett MacArthur picked up the second assist. Just as on Friday night, Jacksonville trailed by a single goal entering the third period, and the building had every reason to believe.

This time, the equalizer never came. Lansdell restored Florida’s two-goal lead at 4:16 of the third, converting assists from Senden and McGowan to complete a three-point night for Senden. Seconds later, the game turned feisty again as Jacksonville’s Tyler Schleppe and Florida’s Tiernan Shoudy fought at 4:29. The Icemen pulled goaltender Cameron Rowe for an extra attacker late, but a shattered Jacksonville stick killed a quality chance to draw within one, and Devon Paliani scored into the empty net at 18:43 to close the scoring.

Rowe finished with 24 saves on 27 shots for Jacksonville, which sent 26 shots at Florida goaltender Cam Johnson. The Icemen fell to 3-3-3 on the season, while Florida, at 7-1-0, showed exactly why it carries the Kelly Cup champion label. The series wraps up on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 PM, and Jacksonville gets one more crack at the champions on home ice.