Thursday Night Across the NFL, NBA & NHL: Packers Hold On, Memphis Stays Perfect, and Hockey Delivers a Wild Night

 | October 29, 2026 | NFL | NBA | NHL

Three professional leagues, a full night of competition, major individual performances and plenty of storylines. Thursday delivered another action-packed night for sports fans, with the Green Bay Packers protecting home field, the Memphis Grizzlies continuing their undefeated start, and the NHL providing 11 games' worth of hockey.

From Lambeau Field to the NBA hardwood and across the NHL, there was no shortage of action.

NFL: PACKERS SURVIVE CAROLINA'S LATE PUSH

Green Bay Packers 27, Carolina Panthers 19 (Panthers-Packers box score)

Thursday Night Football belonged to Green Bay, but the Packers made things more interesting than necessary.

Jordan Love threw three touchdown passes, Josh Jacobs scored twice, and the Packers improved to 5-3 with a 27-19 victory over the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field.

Green Bay appeared to have the game comfortably under control after building a 27-10 advantage in the third quarter. Carolina refused to go quietly, however, cutting the deficit to eight points on a Bryce Young touchdown pass to Jalen Coker with 5:45 remaining.

The Panthers attempted a two-point conversion but failed to convert.

Carolina had another opportunity to get back into the game but eventually turned the ball over on downs. Green Bay's defense closed the door.

Thursday's standout performers

Jordan Love: Packers

• 30-of-41 passing
• 288 passing yards
• 3 touchdowns
• 1 interception

Josh Jacobs: Packers

• Two touchdowns
• One rushing touchdown
• One receiving touchdown

Christian Watson: Packers

• 8 receptions
• 113 receiving yards

Watson's night included the longest play of the game, a 53-yard reception. Love's other touchdown passes went to Tucker Kraft and Matthew Golden.

Bryce Young: Panthers

• 209 passing yards
• 1 touchdown
• 1 interception

Chuba Hubbard: Panthers

• 81 rushing yards
• 1 rushing touchdown
• 7 receptions

The bigger picture

Green Bay moves to 5-3 and keeps itself firmly in the NFC North conversation. Carolina falls to 3-4 and misses an opportunity to steal a road victory against a division contender.

The Packers weren't perfect. Three turnovers and an inconsistent rushing attack are concerns, but Love's ability to distribute the football and deliver touchdowns made the difference.

The Panthers showed some fight, but six sacks allowed and missed opportunities proved costly.

Fantasy takeaway: Love and Watson delivered strong fantasy performances, while Jacobs found the end zone twice. Matthew Golden also found the end zone, which matters for Green Bay's receiver pecking order.

NBA: MEMPHIS MAKES A STATEMENT, ATLANTA STUNS CLEVELAND

Thursday's NBA schedule featured three games, including a late-night showdown between Memphis and Portland that carried an interesting storyline.

Final scores

• Atlanta Hawks 114, Cleveland Cavaliers 111 (box score)
• New Orleans Pelicans 132, Sacramento Kings 120 (box score)
• Memphis Grizzlies 124, Portland Trail Blazers 103 (box score)

Atlanta 114, Cleveland 111 (box score)

Atlanta pulled off one of the night's more notable victories, taking down Cleveland by three points.

The Cavaliers entered the game looking to continue building momentum, but Atlanta managed to protect its home floor in a competitive finish.

A three-point decision makes this an important early-season result for the Hawks, particularly against an opponent expected to compete near the top of the Eastern Conference.

New Orleans 132, Sacramento 120 (box score)

The Pelicans put together an impressive offensive performance, scoring 132 points to defeat Sacramento.

New Orleans controlled the scoring battle and finished with a comfortable 12-point victory.

For Sacramento, allowing 132 points is a defensive concern. The Kings need to find more consistency on that end of the floor if they expect to compete with the Western Conference's better teams.

Memphis 124, Portland 103 (box score)

The Grizzlies continued their perfect start to the season, improving to 5-0 with a convincing 21-point road victory.

The matchup had an additional storyline: Ja Morant facing his former Memphis teammates for the first time since his offseason move to Portland.

Memphis had other plans.

After a competitive first half, the Grizzlies separated themselves in the second half, outscoring Portland 66-45 over the final two quarters.

The Grizzlies scored 33 points in each of the final three periods.

Memphis also dominated the transition game, recording 21 fast-break points compared with Portland's 12, and scored 23 points off turnovers. Rookie Cameron Boozer posted a triple-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, while Ja Morant scored 14 for Portland.

Portland committed 16 turnovers, while Memphis gave the ball away 11 times.

The result keeps Memphis undefeated at 5-0 and gives the team an early-season statement victory.

NBA fantasy and DFS implications

Memphis is becoming one of the early teams to watch for DFS purposes. An offense capable of generating transition opportunities and scoring efficiently across four quarters creates fantasy opportunities throughout the lineup.

Portland's defensive issues and turnover problems are worth monitoring, particularly when evaluating opposing guards and frontcourt players.

Atlanta's close win also provides an early reminder that the Eastern Conference standings could be competitive throughout the season.

NHL: 11-GAME SLATE DELIVERS GOALS, DRAMA AND MAJOR STORYLINES

Thursday's NHL schedule featured 11 matchups, making it one of the busier nights of the young 2026-27 season.

There were big offensive performances, three overtime games, a hat trick and several important early-season results.

Final scores

Detroit 4, Chicago 1 (box score)

Chicago scored first, but Detroit took over from there, scoring once in the second period and three times in the third, including an empty-netter, to beat the Blackhawks.

Alex DeBrincat had two assists and was named the game's third star. Detroit held Chicago to one goal on 19 shots and went 1-for-4 on the power play.

Montreal 5, Dallas 2: Canadiens keep rolling (box score)

Montreal continued its strong stretch with a convincing road victory over Dallas, two nights after a 2-0 shutout in St. Louis.

Alex Newhook scored twice, Phillip Danault added a goal and an assist, and Noah Dobson had two assists. Montreal scored three times in the first period and never looked back.

The Canadiens are becoming an interesting team to watch in the Eastern Conference, especially with their offensive production and improving confidence.

Dallas, meanwhile, will want to tighten things up defensively after allowing five goals at home.

Tampa Bay 6, Winnipeg 4 (box score)

The Lightning won a high-scoring contest against Winnipeg.

Tampa Bay's six-goal performance demonstrated its offensive potential, while Winnipeg continues to deal with a difficult stretch.

The Jets need to improve their defensive consistency before this early-season slide becomes a bigger problem.

Washington 4, Nashville 3 (box score)

Washington earned a one-goal road victory against Nashville.

Rookie defenseman Cole Hutson scored twice and was named the first star, while Filip Forsberg scored twice for Nashville.

NY Islanders 4, Minnesota 3 (box score)

The Islanders went into Minnesota and won it in overtime. Bo Horvat scored on the power play and was named the second star.

The Wild remain a team capable of competing in a crowded Western Conference, but they let this one slip away on home ice after taking it to overtime.

Other Thursday results

• Utah beat Pittsburgh 4-3 in overtime behind a hat trick from Logan Cooley.
• Carolina edged Columbus 3-2 in regulation.
• St. Louis handled Boston 4-1.
• Los Angeles beat Ottawa 6-5 in overtime, with Quinton Byfield scoring the winner.
• San Jose scored three times in the third period to rally from 2-0 down and beat Vancouver 3-2, with Mason Marchment scoring the winner.

Buffalo outlasted Anaheim 7-6 in regulation in the night's highest-scoring game. The teams were tied 3-3 after the first period, and Zach Benson scored the game-winner, while Peyton Krebs had three assists for Buffalo and Leo Carlsson had three for Anaheim.

THE NIGHT'S BIGGEST STORYLINES

1. Green Bay is keeping pace in the NFC North.

The Packers improved to 5-3, but the three turnovers and offensive inconsistency provide areas to address.

2. Memphis is one of the NBA's hottest early-season teams.

A 5-0 start and a convincing road victory over Portland are reasons to take the Grizzlies seriously.

3. Overtime ruled the NHL night.

Three of the 11 games needed overtime, with Utah, the Islanders and Los Angeles all winning in the extra period, and Logan Cooley's hat trick carried Utah in Pittsburgh.

4. Montreal is building momentum.

Back-to-back road wins in St. Louis and Dallas make the Canadiens a team worth watching.

5. San Jose showed some resilience.

Coming back from two goals down to defeat Vancouver is the kind of victory that can provide an early-season confidence boost.

FANTASYDAILIES FINAL TAKE

Thursday was a reminder of why October is such a special month for sports fans.

The NFL is underway, the NBA season is beginning to develop its identity, and the NHL is already delivering the kind of unpredictability that makes hockey so entertaining.

For fantasy managers, there were plenty of names to circle:

• Jordan Love and Christian Watson in Green Bay.
• Josh Jacobs as a touchdown producer.
• Cameron Boozer after his triple-double for unbeaten Memphis.
• Logan Cooley after his hat trick.
• Alex Newhook after his two-goal night.
• Cole Hutson after two goals from the blue line.
• Mason Marchment after his game-winner.

The early-season standings are beginning to take shape, but there is a long way to go.

Keep watching the numbers, follow the injuries, identify the trends and stay ahead of the competition.

WHAT'S NEXT: TONIGHT'S BOARD

NBA: Friday brings ten games. Check every starting five on the NBA Starting Lineups page, compare player numbers on the NBA props page and the NBA hit board, and build your slip in the NBA Parlay Builder or NBA Slip Builder.

NHL: Vegas hosts New Jersey, Florida hosts Winnipeg and Calgary hosts Seattle. Check goalies on the goaltending leaders, compare props on the NHL props page and the NHL hit board, and build in the NHL Parlay Builder or NHL Slip Builder.

NFL: Week 8 Sunday is next. Get ready on the NFL Week 8 hub, Week 8 matchups and NFL injury report, check the NFL props page and NFL hit board, and build with the NFL Parlay Builder, NFL Teaser Generator and teaser calculator.

Follow the odds on the odds heat map and the line movement board, let the AI Parlay Generator build a slip across every sport, and check it in the Parlay Doctor and the parlay calculator. Build DFS lineups with the DFS Lineup Generator and Lineup Doctor. Our official calls live on the NFL verdicts page, NBA verdicts page and NHL verdicts page.

Watch every game live in Game Zone on the website, on Roku and on Amazon Fire TV (every place to watch is on our Watch & Listen page), find every final on the NFL box scores, NBA box scores and NHL box scores pages, and talk about it in the community forum.

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