Hockey results Thursday 1 October 2026: AI predictions review

Thursday 1 October 2026 produced 17 hockey matches across the DEL, Extraliga, KHL, National League, NHL and SHL, and the 10-model consensus finished the day with a record of 10 of 17. The headline number is solid rather than spectacular, but the spread of results told a more interesting story: several unanimous calls landed exactly as forecast, while a handful of confident predictions were upended.

The biggest surprise came in the KHL, where Dynamo Moscow 1–3 Nizhny Novgorod went against a 100% consensus for a Dynamo win. The NHL also delivered a jolt: Columbus Blue Jackets 6–3 Buffalo Sabres defied all 10 models, which had backed Buffalo. In Sweden, Djurgarden 0–4 Farjestad and IF Bjorkloven 4–2 Vaxjo added to the day's upsets.

The consensus went 10 of 17 across six leagues on Thursday.

Where the AI got it right

Adler Mannheim vs Iserlohn Roosters prediction — The consensus was unanimous: 100% of 10 models backed Adler Mannheim, with 4–2 the most common score and average confidence at 68%. Mannheim delivered a 6–1 rout, comfortably covering the pick. The margin was wider than expected, but the direction was never in doubt.

Sparta Prague vs Ceske Budejovice prediction — Another clean sweep for the models, with all 10 selecting Sparta Prague and 4–2 as the most likely scoreline. Sparta won 4–2 exactly, rewarding an average confidence of 64%. It was one of the day's most precise calls.

Ambri-Piotta vs Langnau Tigers prediction — The National League fixture saw 100% of models back Langnau Tigers, with a most common score of 2–4 and 64% average confidence. Langnau won 5–1, a more emphatic margin than predicted but fully aligned with the consensus.

Colorado Avalanche vs Los Angeles Kings prediction — All 10 models favoured Colorado, most commonly 4–2, at 66% average confidence. The Avalanche scored eight in an 8–4 win, blowing past the expected goal total but confirming the pick. The models read the winner correctly; the scoreline was another matter.

New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning prediction — Nine of 10 models backed the Rangers, with 4–3 the most common score and 57% average confidence. New York won 5–1, a more one-sided result than the consensus anticipated but a correct call nonetheless.

Where it got it wrong

The KHL accounted for three of the day's seven misses. Dynamo Moscow 1–3 Nizhny Novgorod was the most costly: 100% of models backed Dynamo, with 4–2 the most common score and 64% average confidence. Instead, Nizhny Novgorod won by two. Cherepovets 3–4 Vladivostok also went against a unanimous consensus (100% Cherepovets, most common 3–2, 58% confidence), as did Dinamo Minsk 1–4 CSKA Moscow (100% Dinamo Minsk, most common 3–2, 59% confidence). Three unanimous KHL calls, three wrong.

In the NHL, New Jersey Devils 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers defied a 60% consensus for Philadelphia, with 4–3 the most common score and 58% average confidence. More strikingly, Columbus Blue Jackets 6–3 Buffalo Sabres went against all 10 models, which had backed Buffalo at 61% average confidence with a most common score of 4–5. The SHL produced two misses: Djurgarden 0–4 Farjestad (100% Djurgarden, most common 3–2, 59% confidence) and IF Bjorkloven 4–2 Vaxjo (90% Vaxjo, most common 2–4, 58% confidence).

Models of the day

Four models tied for the best tally on Thursday: GPT-5.6 Luna, Claude Sonnet 5, DeepSeek V4 Pro and Gemini 3.8 Flash each finished 11 of 17 correct. At the other end, Qwen 3.8 Max, MiMo V2.5 Pro and Kimi K3 shared the lowest score with 9 of 17 correct each. The middle pack — Mistral Medium 3.5, Grok 4.6 and GLM 5.3 — finished on 10 of 17, matching the overall consensus record.

Full results

• DEL: Adler Mannheim 6–1 Iserlohn Roosters — consensus Adler Mannheim win (100%) RIGHT
• Extraliga: Sparta Prague 4–2 Ceske Budejovice — consensus Sparta Prague win (100%) RIGHT
• KHL: Dynamo Moscow 1–3 Nizhny Novgorod — consensus Dynamo Moscow win (100%) WRONG
• KHL: Cherepovets 3–4 Vladivostok — consensus Cherepovets win (100%) WRONG
• KHL: Dinamo Minsk 1–4 CSKA Moscow — consensus Dinamo Minsk win (100%) WRONG
• National League: Ambri-Piotta 1–5 Langnau Tigers — consensus Langnau Tigers win (100%) RIGHT
• NHL: Colorado Avalanche 8–4 Los Angeles Kings — consensus Colorado Avalanche win (100%) RIGHT
• NHL: New York Rangers 5–1 Tampa Bay Lightning — consensus New York Rangers win (90%) RIGHT
• NHL: New Jersey Devils 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers — consensus Philadelphia Flyers win (60%) WRONG
• NHL: Columbus Blue Jackets 6–3 Buffalo Sabres — consensus Buffalo Sabres win (100%) WRONG
• SHL: Frölunda 2–1 Brynas — consensus Frölunda win (100%) RIGHT
• SHL: Djurgarden 0–4 Farjestad — consensus Djurgarden win (100%) WRONG
• SHL: HV 71 2–1 Orebro — consensus HV 71 win (80%) RIGHT
• SHL: IF Bjorkloven 4–2 Vaxjo — consensus Vaxjo win (90%) WRONG
• SHL: Linkoping 0–2 Luleå — consensus Luleå win (90%) RIGHT
• SHL: Rögle 4–1 Timrå — consensus Rögle win (100%) RIGHT
• SHL: Skellefteå 4–3 Malmo — consensus Skellefteå win (100%) RIGHT

Friday's slate is already loaded into the models. Full predictions for every fixture are available on the today's hockey predictions page.

Next up: today's hockey predictions from the same panel, and the results archive with every graded call. Forecasts are informational only.