The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, Sept. 30, 2026, while the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New York Islanders 2-1 in Toronto. Pittsburgh scored five times on its first 18 shots, and Toronto earned its first victory under coach Jim Hiller.
Penguins Take Control in Philadelphia
Evgeni Malkin, Hendrix Lapierre and Filip Hallander scored in the second period as Pittsburgh pulled away. Malkin’s one-timer from the slot early in the period made it 3-0 and brought him to 100 career points against Philadelphia. He became the sixth player to reach at least 100 points against the Flyers.
Nick Robertson scored twice for the Penguins. Ville Koivunen and Egor Chinakhov also scored, while Sidney Crosby had an assist. Crosby’s assist on Robertson’s opening goal extended his record to 140 career points against Philadelphia. Arturs Silovs stopped 19 shots for his third career shutout in his 57th start.
Philadelphia’s Dan Vladar hadn’t played a full period in the preseason while dealing with an unspecified injury. The Flyers were playing the first game of a back-to-back set, and Vladar stayed in as Pittsburgh scored five goals on its first 18 shots. Robertson’s second goal made it 6-0 after Vladar knocked the puck into the net with the back of his skate.
The game took place on the same Philadelphia ice where Pittsburgh’s season ended in April, when the Flyers won their first-round playoff series in six games. Philadelphia clinched the series on Cam York’s winning goal and left to a roaring ovation. Wednesday brought a different reception. The Flyers were booed off the ice, and the boos grew louder after the second period.
Pittsburgh is seeking another run with its longtime core of Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang. Malkin signed a one-year deal to remain with the team, which hopes to win a playoff series for the first time in nearly a decade. The Penguins’ next game is their home opener Saturday against Montreal. Philadelphia plays at New Jersey on Thursday.
Toronto Edges New York
The Maple Leafs rebounded from a 3-2 home loss to Montreal in their opener Tuesday night by beating the Islanders 2-1. It was Toronto’s first victory under Hiller, while New York opened its season with a loss.
Easton Cowan scored and had an assist in the first period. Colton Sissons also scored for Toronto, and Anthony Stolarz made 26 saves. For New York, Emil Heineman scored in the third period, while Ilya Sorokin stopped 24 shots.
Sissons redirected his first Toronto goal at 7:14 of the first period off Nick Paul’s setup. Cowan put in a power-play rebound with 8:05 left in the period, giving Toronto a two-goal lead.
Stolarz was perfect until Heineman scored short-handed with 5:51 remaining. Stolarz reunited with fellow netminder Sergei Bobrovsky after the two won the Stanley Cup together with Florida in 2024. The Islanders host New Jersey on Saturday night, while Toronto hosts Ottawa on Saturday night.