There's a Christmas Eve vibe out there Monday for hockey fans. Three games are on the calendar, including a matinee for the Panthers and Sabres with the kids off from school, but Tuesday night is the biggest evening of autumn for puckheads. It's the 2026 edition of Frozen Frenzy, with all 32 teams in action at staggered start times from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.
The Monday slate features three games and five playoff teams from last season. The Florida Panthers visit the Buffalo Sabres at 1 p.m. ET. After breaking the NHL's longest playoff drought last season, the Sabres want to make it two playoff runs in a row, but their campaign has started with a 2-3-0 record and minus-8 goal differential. The Panthers have been beset by injuries to Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand. The Ottawa Senators visit the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m. ET. The Senators have raced out to a tie for the Atlantic Division lead at 4-1-0, built from the net out, with Linus Ullmark entering with a 4-0-0 record, 1.34 goals-against average and .942 save percentage.
The marquee matchup is the Vegas Golden Knights at the Minnesota Wild at 8 p.m. ET. Had a few bounces gone the Wild's way in their second-round playoff matchup against the Avalanche this past spring, these two teams would've staged an epic Western Conference finals. Instead, the Golden Knights rolled an injury-beset Avs squad in four games and advanced to the Cup Final. The Wild have allowed the second-fewest goals per game this season (1.80), while the Knights have scored the sixth most (3.67).
The big question is whether Jesper Wallstedt can continue to be "the Wall of St. Paul" against Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner and company. Fans can catch all the action in the NHL streaming hub and on the ESPN App.
Source: ESPN NHL · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing