Story Summary
The NHL’s third week of the 2026-27 regular season is set to feature a full-league Tuesday slate, with all 32 teams scheduled to play in the fourth annual Frozen Frenzy. Staggered start times will carry the schedule from Colorado Avalanche at Winnipeg Jets through to Boston Bruins at San Jose Sharks.
The week’s highlighted national broadcasts also include the Montreal Canadiens visiting the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night, when the game will air on Prime in Canada, and the Dallas Stars facing Colorado in the first of two meetings between the clubs in two days. Saturday brings New York Islanders at Toronto Maple Leafs, a meeting between recent No. 1 NHL Draft picks Matthew Schaefer and Gavin McKenna.
The schedule arrives with several leading players already shaping the early storylines. Nathan MacKinnon has 10 points for Colorado, while Cale Makar has seven. Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor has six goals, and Stuart Skinner has started 2-0-1 while posting a 2.62 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage as Connor Hellebuyck remains suspended.
Elsewhere, Boston are due to welcome Charlie McAvoy back from his six-game suspension as they begin a four-game road trip, while Alex Ovechkin remains in search of his first goal of his final NHL season before Washington host Montreal.
Key Facts
- All 32 NHL teams are scheduled to play on Tuesday, October 13, in the fourth consecutive Frozen Frenzy event, with staggered start times.
- Colorado visit Winnipeg at 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The Avalanche are 3-2-0, while the Jets are 3-1-1.
- Nathan MacKinnon has 10 points and Cale Makar has seven for Colorado through five games. Twelve Avalanche players have scored at least one goal.
- Winnipeg goaltender Stuart Skinner is 2-0-1 with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. Connor Hellebuyck remains suspended.
- Boston visit San Jose at 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The Bruins are 4-2-0 and have allowed 2.17 goals per game.
- Charlie McAvoy is set to return for Boston after serving a six-game suspension for slashing Buffalo forward Zach Benson during Game 6 of last season’s Eastern Conference First Round.
- Montreal visit Washington at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The Canadiens are 2-2-1 after a 1-0 shootout win against Detroit, while the Capitals are 3-1-0.
- Chris Kreider has four points, including one goal, in five games for Montreal. Zachary Bolduc has three goals after scoring 12 in 78 games last season.
- Dallas and Colorado meet at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday in the first of two games between them in two days. The teams split last season’s series, with two wins each.
- Matthew Schaefer and Gavin McKenna are set to meet when the Islanders play in Toronto on Saturday. Schaefer has four assists and leads New York in ice time at 25:27 per game, while McKenna has four points in his past three games.
IHM Discussion
Frozen Frenzy provides an early-season snapshot of the league because every club is placed on the same day’s schedule. It also gives the week a clear progression: Colorado are involved in Tuesday’s trip to Winnipeg and then host Dallas on Wednesday, while Boston’s late visit to San Jose opens a demanding four-game spell away from home.
Colorado’s scoring distribution is particularly notable alongside MacKinnon and Makar’s production. The Avalanche have 12 different goal scorers in five games, with eight players scoring at least twice. That is a substantial spread of contribution in a short sample, and it gives context to why the Jets will have more than the leading pair to account for.
Winnipeg’s goaltending situation is a central part of that matchup. Hellebuyck remains suspended, leaving Skinner as the de facto No. 1. His 2-0-1 record and .920 save percentage offer a strong early return, while Connor’s six goals and Cole Perfetti’s six points in five games have supplied offence at the other end.
Wednesday’s Montreal-Washington game carries contrasting early narratives. Montreal stopped a three-game skid with their shootout victory over Detroit, and Kreider and Bolduc have both begun productively. Washington have already faced Carolina, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers, while Ovechkin enters the Canadiens game seeking his first goal of his final NHL campaign.
The Stars-Avalanche meeting has added interest because it immediately begins a two-game, two-day sequence. Dallas are 2-2-1 after opening with two defeats, following with consecutive shutouts, then losing a shootout to Pittsburgh. Tyler Seguin scored his first goal on Saturday following a long recovery from injury.
Why It Matters
The week puts several early-season tests in prominent broadcast windows without requiring a premature verdict on any club. Winnipeg must continue to manage without Hellebuyck, Boston will reintegrate McAvoy at the beginning of an extended road trip, and Montreal will try to build on the result that ended its skid.
For viewers in Canada, the Canadiens-Capitals game is the week’s Prime Wednesday Night Hockey fixture. The later Stars-Avalanche game is also meaningful in scheduling terms: it is not a standalone meeting but the opening half of an immediate home-and-home-style sequence, following an even four-game season series a year ago.
Saturday’s Islanders-Maple Leafs game offers a direct look at Schaefer and McKenna. Schaefer, the Islanders’ 2025 first overall pick and last season’s Calder Trophy winner, is already playing 25:27 per game. McKenna, selected first overall by Toronto this year, has responded after a scoreless first three NHL games with four points over his past three.
Mini Q&A
What is Frozen Frenzy?
Frozen Frenzy is Tuesday’s league-wide slate in which all 32 NHL teams are scheduled to play at staggered start times. It is being held for the fourth consecutive season.
Which game is featured on Prime in Canada?
Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 14, as the week’s Prime Wednesday Night Hockey game in Canada.
Why are the Stars and Avalanche playing twice in two days?
Dallas at Colorado on Wednesday is the first of two games the clubs are scheduled to play in two days. They split their four meetings last season, with two wins each.
Coach Mark Comment
Colorado’s early scoring spread is the coaching detail to watch in Winnipeg. MacKinnon and Makar are producing at the expected level, but 12 Avalanche players finding the net means opponents cannot simply shape their plan around denying two elite puck carriers. For the Jets, clean defensive layers and disciplined puck management will matter, particularly while Skinner is carrying the primary goaltending responsibility in Hellebuyck’s absence.
What Comes Next
The televised schedule continues on Tuesday with Colorado at Winnipeg and Boston at San Jose. On Wednesday, Montreal play at Washington before Dallas visit Colorado in the first of two games between the clubs in two days. The Islanders then face the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Saturday.
IHM Final View
Frozen Frenzy is the anchor of a varied NHL week, but the schedule’s strongest thread is the number of teams entering games with a specific early-season question. Colorado’s depth meets Winnipeg’s altered crease picture, Boston bring McAvoy back on the road, Montreal seek momentum after ending a skid, and Dallas and Colorado begin a rapid two-game set. The broadcasts offer a concentrated view of those developments while the season is still taking shape.