More than a few coaches turned to their backup goaltender in a jam-packed night on the NHL calendar.

Eight second-stringers got the call Saturday night and came away with varying degrees of success. Here's our assessment of their performances, from the most alarming to the most promising.

Time to panic

Antti Niemi

The Pittsburgh Penguins netminder struggled in two earlier appearances this season, lasting just nine minutes in his first contest and then allowing five goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning in his second start a week later.

Niemi didn't fare any better in a rematch against the Lightning on Saturday. He gave up seven goals, including four on the first 14 shots. Through three games as a Penguin, it looks like more of the same from Niemi, who was bought out by the Dallas Stars in the offseason after he posted a dreadful .892 save percentage a year ago.

Louis Domingue

Following a leg injury to newcomer Antti Raanta, the Coyotes have been forced to throw Domingue into the deep end, with ugly results.

The Arizona netminder has struggled, leaving the Coyotes - winless through eight games - calling on 21-year-old AHL farmhand Adin Hill. Domingue's allowed 19 goals in five contests (three starts), including Saturday's loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Cause for concern

Anton Khudobin

With starter Tuukka Rask shelved with a concussion, Khudobin is the go-to goalie in Boston for the immediate future.

The early returns came up in favor of the Bruins, as he turned aside 26 shots while backstopping Boston to a 6-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. But the next game wasn't as impressive - he and the Bruins surrendered a 4-1 lead over the Buffalo Sabres before losing in overtime.

Philipp Grubauer

The Capitals have an intriguing up-and-coming goaltender in Grubauer, but the 25-year-old has failed to find a win in the early season.

Through three contests - including Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers - Grubauer's earned a .848 save percentage, a stark contrast to the .926 he posted a year ago. He needs to improve in order for the Capitals to comfortably grant Braden Holtby the occasional night off.

Time will tell

Alex Stalock

Stalock signed with the Wild after a five-year run in San Jose, but hasn't seen much action at the big-league level. He's appeared in just four NHL games over the past two seasons, and spent much of last season in the minors.

He needs a larger body of work with Minnesota for the team and its fans to accurately evaluate him. The 30-year-old appeared in a career-high 24 games with the Sharks in 2013-14 and came away with 12 wins and a .932 save percentage.

Malcolm Subban

The Golden Knights saw something in Subban when they claimed the budding netminder on waivers from the Bruins. After he arrived in Las Vegas, the team quickly made room for him by shipping former backup Calvin Pickard to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Subban struggled when called upon by the Bruins, but the 23-year-old got the last laugh with his new club. He picked up his first win as a Golden Knight - and first NHL win overall - with a 3-1 victory over Boston. Subban added his second career win two nights later against the Sabres.

One bad night

Juuse Saros

Every goalie is due for a bad game eventually, and unfortunately for Saros, it was his turn Saturday. The Nashville Predators netminder allowed three goals on 14 shots in a loss to the New York Rangers.

After two games, the 22-year-old remains in search of his first win on the season. But the victories should soon follow - the Predators see plenty of potential in him, and that's easy to understand considering the Finnish goaltender posted a winning record alongside a .923 save percentage last season. It won't be long before he's entrusted with more games as Nashville puts a succession plan in place for starter Pekka Rinne.

Aaron Dell

Calling on Dell is typically a safe bet for the Sharks, but that wasn't the case Saturday, as they were sunk by the New York Islanders. Dell allowed four goals on 22 shots and was handed his second loss of the season.

He appeared in 20 games with the Sharks in 2016-17, his first NHL campaign after spending the previous four seasons in the minors, and posted an 11-6-1 record that's now earned him an extended look as the Sharks' second-stringer.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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Saturday is always an adventure around the NHL, and this 12-game slate was no exception.

Three teams in particular stepped up in a big way, letting the rest of the league know it's time to take them seriously.

Kings are back

With a 6-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Los Angeles Kings remain the lone team without a single loss in regulation.

After missing the playoffs last season, the Kings have gone 6-0-1 under new head coach John Stevens.

As a bonus, Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar appear committed to wiping away their poor personal performances from a year ago, as evidenced by their stat lines through seven games.

Not to be outdone, Jonathan Quick is riding a .938 save percentage after being sidelined by injury for most of last season.

Stop doubting the Senators

The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the latest installment of the Battle of Ontario as a burgeoning powerhouse, having averaged almost five goals per game to date.

It was the pesky Ottawa Senators who came out on top Saturday, however, limiting Toronto to a season-low three goals while pouring it on with six of their own.

Those who take deeper dives into advanced stats tend to cast doubt on Ottawa, especially considering the Senators ranked 31st in Corsi For in five-on-five play (43.39) heading into the game, according to Corsica. This, to be sure, is not generally seen as a recipe for success.

To the Sens' credit, though, they keep winning, and they have their all-world defenseman back in the fold to boot.

Lightning a force to be reckoned with

Much like the Kings, the Tampa Bay Lightning were hoping to bounce back after missing the 2017 postseason, and they're proving to be up to the challenge.

Tampa hosted the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and came out on top 7-1. It helps that Antti Niemi is well below average in net, but Tampa Bay was the better team from start to finish.

(Courtesy: HockeyStats.ca)

All eyes have been on Nikita Kucherov's blistering streak, but don't let that overshadow the magic of Steven Stamkos.

This could finally be the year for this bunch, health permitting.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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Derick Brassard and Mark Stone each had two goals and an assist, Erik Karlsson had three assists and the Ottawa Senators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Saturday night.

Nate Thompson and Ryan Dzingel also scored for the Senators, who have earned points in seven of their eight games (4-1-3) and won at home for the first time after coming in 0-3-1. Craig Anderson stopped 28 shots in his seventh start of the season.

James van Riemsdyk, Auston Matthews and William Nylander scored for the Leafs, and Frederik Andersen made 29 saves. Toronto had won its first three road games.

Trailing 3-0 entering the final period, the Leafs struck quickly with goals from van Riemsdyk and Matthews 2 1/2 minutes apart to pull within one at 8:34. However, Stone gave the Senators a two-goal cushion again 7 seven seconds later.

Nylander scored on the power play with 7:08 left, pulling the Leafs within one again but they got no closer. Brassard scored with 3 1/2 minutes left and Stone added an empty netter with 39 seconds to go.

Ottawa took its 3-0 lead with one in the first and two in the second.

Thompson got his first as a Senator when he smacked in a rebound at 12:01 of the first period as Andersen had his back to the puck and his head in the net following a mass scramble in front of the goal.

Dzingel increased the lead to 2-0 when he tipped Karlsson's point shot off the glove of Andersen and in with 5:40 remaining in the second.

The Senators kept pressing and made it a 3-0 game with just 12 seconds to play in the period when Brassard took a cross-ice pass from Bobby Ryan off his skates and then beat Andersen on the stick side.

Notes: Mark Borowiecki was a scratch for the Senators while Eric Fehr, Josh Lewo and Calle Rosen were scratches for the Leafs. ... Anderson became the first goaltender to appear in 300 games with Ottawa.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: Host Los Angeles on Monday night.

Senators: Host Los Angeles on Tuesday night in the fourth game of a five-game homestand.

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The Ottawa Senators earned the win Saturday night, but they lost forward Bobby Ryan in the procces.

Ottawa beat the Leafs by a convincing score of 6-3, but Ryan will be lost for about a month with a fractured digit after taking a shot off his right index finger.

Here is the play when Ryan was hit with the shot:

According to Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas, Ryan has broken bones in his hands multiple times over the past few years, which includes breaking the same right index finger twice. The most recent time coming last season when he missed 11 games for the same injury.

After tonight's contest, Ryan has five points to his credit this season.

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While the rest of the hockey world salivates over Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov's blistering streak - 10 goals in nine games - to begin the season, Steven Stamkos is quietly off to one of the best starts of his career.

Specifically, it's No. 91's hottest season-opening performance since he notched 19 points in the first nine games of the 2010-11 campaign.

The Lightning captain has managed to fly slightly under the radar with 18 points while his linemate, Kucherov, has set the league ablaze.

Stamkos has three goals and 15 assists, while Kucherov has collected 10 goals and six assists.

After Saturday night's 7-1 shellacking of the reigning Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, Stamkos and Kucherov have already racked up solid offensive numbers for October with another 10 days left in the month. Kucherov had two goals and one assist while Stamkos chipped in with four points.

The twosome has been so hot that making history is becoming a nightly occurrence. Stamkos moved into first on the Lightning's all-time power-play goals list Saturday thanks to his 113th career tally with the man advantage, passing Vincent Lecavalier.

A fully healthy Stamkos had many preseason prognosticators tabbing the Lightning to take a big step forward after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since 2013.

With Kucherov and Stamkos firing on all cylinders, it seems foolish to expect Tampa Bay to finish outside of the top five spots in the East, especially if opponents continue to focus on Kucherov and allow the center to find open space.

The dangerous duo are in action next when the Lightning take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have added a center.

The club acquired Riley Sheahan and a fifth-round pick in 2018 from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for forward Scott Wilson and a 2018 third-round selection, the Penguins announced Saturday.

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For most NHL goalies, allowing four goals to the same player in a single game is usually a memory they want to quickly erase.

However, for Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson, that wasn't the case. After Toronto Maple Leafs centerman Auston Matthews' four-goal output, Anderson kept the stick he used that game, and later asked for the 20-year-old to sign it.

"I just asked one of the guys (to get it autographed)," Anderson said, according to Bruce Garrioch of Post Media. "I had the stick lying around and I thought, 'Maybe I should get it signed,' and, the next time (the Leafs) were in town, he signed it for me."

The insignia Matthews chose for the paddle was almost as sharp as his lightning-quick snapshot.

"Thanks ‘Four’ making my first game memorable," Matthews penned.

Usually, when a player just entering the league takes a jab at a longstanding veteran like Anderson, even if it's light-hearted, there are repercussions.

Again, not Anderson's style.

"Yeah, it’s funny. It’ll be up on my wall and it’ll be a good story for the grand kids one day," Anderson said Friday. "It was creative. I guess it’s kind of expected of a guy that’s that creative on the ice to be that creative intelligently.

" ... It seems like he’s got a very creative personality. It shows with the way he plays and it shows with the way he signed it."

Matthews may have some creativity off the ice, but he's certainly got plenty when he's on it. The Arizona native has 10 points in 7 games and will look to continue his hot streak against Anderson and the Senators when they resume the Battle of Ontario tonight in Ottawa.

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