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NHL round-up: Stars pick up big win while Canadiens take Heritage Classic

The Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensTerrence Lee-Imagn Images

The Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars picked up big early wins on Sunday, with the Montreal Canadiens holding on in the latest edition of the NHL's Heritage Classic.

Florida Panthers 3-2 Chicago Blackhawks

The Florida Panthers (6-4-2) have struggled at times in 2026/27 due to injury, but lately they've seemingly found their groove, and on the road on Sunday, they managed a tight win over the Chicago Blackhawks (3-8-0), taking them to 4-3-2 away from home this season.

The win was a true team one from Florida, but it was a late goal from Lars Eller that sealed the deal, with the team picking up the key win after back-to-back losses as Akira Schmid did his job, stopping 19 of the 21 shots he saw on the day.

For the Blackhawks, this was another example of being close but not managing to get the job done, as Spencer Knight was fantastic against his former team, making 30 saves to get his team in a position to win, although they ended up falling short to a late goal in the third period.

Dallas Stars 6-3 New York Islanders

The Dallas Stars (7-3-1) have been on the cusp of a deep post-season run for years, and unsurprisingly, after another productive off-season, the team are off to a great start, highlighted by a 6-3 win over the New York Islanders (5-4-2) on Sunday.

In this one, Dallas got going early and often, with Jason Robertson's two goals leading four Stars with multi-point nights, but in net, Jake Oettinger was shaky, allowing three goals on 20 shots.

Clearly, that didn't affect Dallas too much, as Ilya Sorokin couldn't overcome Dallas' offence, allowing six goals on 38 shots, with two assists to captain Bo Horvat not enough to keep them in this high-scoring contest as New York move to 1-3-1 away from home in 2026/27.

Montreal Canadiens 2-1 Winnipeg Jets

The NHL's Heritage Classic has become a key event on the yearly calendar, and on Sunday we saw the latest edition as the Winnipeg Jets (4-4-3) hosted the Montreal Canadiens (6-3-2) in what promised to be another marquee showdown.

While there wasn't much scoring, the game was tight and very hard-fought, with the Canadiens picking up key goals through Kaiden Guhle and Lane Hutson, enough offence to secure a critical victory.

In net, the team saw Jacob Fowler make an impressive 34 saves, and while Stuart Skinner 19/21 was fantastic in his own right alongside a goal from Isak Rosen, it just wasn't enough as the Habs came away victorious 2-1 in another big contest for the National Hockey League.

Nashville Predators 6-2 Colorado Avalanche

The Nashville Predators (4-3-4) are off to an intriguing start in 2026/27, and while they're yet to find their consistency, they've certainly shown an ability to beat anyone on any given night.

That continued on Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche (6-5-1), with Steven Stamkos and Ryan O'Reilly both potting two goals on the night, with the two of them combining for 10 points on the night alongside fellow veteran Filip Forsberg.

It was a slow start for Colorado on the second night of a back-to-back, and while Martin Necas managed 2 assists on the night, given that Scott Wedgewood allowed six goals on 35 shots on the night, the team came out flat and continued to struggle, falling to 2-4-0 on the road this season.

Minnesota Wild 4-2 Vancouver Canucks

After Brady Tkachuk was welcomed back to Ottawa this past week, it was Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild (8-3-2) who was welcomed back by his former team, the Vancouver Canucks (2-10-1) on Sunday night.

It wasn't quite as hostile a reaction, and in the second period, the former Canucks captain tallied his third goal of the year, and after Kirill Kaprizov added his 13th early in the third period, the Wild had built themselves a 4-0 lead.

The Canucks fought hard to the final moment, however, as they added late goals through Max Sisson and Brock Boeser to make it close, but with Calvin Pickard stopping 15 of the 17 shots he saw on the night, it was enough for Minnesota to hold on and pick up a key road victory.

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