The Colorado Avalanche spent the last six months essentially invincible on the road and the last two weeks unbeatable anywhere.

It all came to a crashing halt on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

The Avalanche's perfect start is over. Their NHL-record road winning streak too after three periods in which the Penguins provided a glimpse of the team they hope they can become far more regularly than they've shown during an uneven start.

Reilly Smith scored twice, Tristan Jarry stopped 31 shots and Pittsburgh snapped Colorado's road run at 15 games with a decisive 4-0 victory.

Even when they're not playing their best, the Colorado Avalanche find ways to keep winning.

Mikko Rantanen scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and had three assists as the Avalanche beat the New York Islanders 7-4 on Tuesday night for their NHL record 15th straight road win.

 Connor Bedard did everything but score a goal in his NHL debut.

And the Chicago Blackhawks rookie still stole the show.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft made his much-heralded premiere Tuesday night and lived up to the billing while notching his first NHL point in Chicago's 4-2 win over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The day it was announced Las Vegas was getting an NHL team. The way that team became a symbol of a city that was in pain before the Golden Knights even played a game. The big trades that saw them get the stars who have built their win-at-all-costs mentality.

Moments such as these have defined the Vegas Golden Knights. And with Tuesday marking the sixth anniversary of their first game, those events were instrumental when they raised their first Stanley Cup banner before playing the Seattle Kraken at T-Mobile Arena.

The Carolina Hurricanes begin the NHL season as the consensus betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup at sportsbooks.

The Hurricanes are the Cup favorites at 15-2 at Caesars Sportsbook, followed by the Colorado Avalanche (8-1), Edmonton Oilers (8-1) and Toronto Maple Leafs (9-1). The New Jersey Devils are 10-1, and the defending-champion Vegas Golden Knights are 12-1.

The Vegas Golden Knights received their 2023 Stanley Cup championship rings, filled with symbolism and surprises, during a ceremony Sunday night.

The Golden Knights, who won their first Stanley Cup in five games over the Florida Panthers in June, held their championship ring ceremony at Wynn Las Vegas, where players, coaches and hockey operations staff were given their hardware.

The Arizona Coyotes have reached a four-year deal with Scripps Sports and will become the second NHL team to broadcast games over the air.

Scripps will broadcast all non-national Coyotes games to roughly 3 million people in Arizona and Utah in the deal announced on Thursday. The Vegas Golden Knights are the only other NHL team to broadcast its games over the air.

The Chicago Blackhawks have nearly doubled their season-ticket base thanks to the arrival of rookie phenom Connor Bedard.

Bedard, 18, was the first overall pick in the 2023 draft and is one of the most-hyped prospects in years. When the Blackhawks won the draft lottery in May, the team sold $5.2 million in new season-ticket packages within 12 hours.