Luca Cagnoni scores in OT in the Sharks' season-opening victory over the Panthers

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Luca Cagnoni rocketed a shot off goalie Akira Schmid at 3:14 of overtime and the San Jose Sharks opened the season with a 4-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

Florida overcame a three-goal deficit to force overtime, with Eetu Luostarinen scoring twice and Matthew Tkachuk pulling the Panthers even at 5:18 of the third. Luostarinen and Tkachuk scored in a 17-second span.

Mason Marchment opened the scoring for San Jose with 5:40 to go in the first period. Will Smith scored twice in the second period, the first short-handed and the second on a power play, both off assists from Macklin Celebrini. Smith and Celebrini each had three-point nights.

Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov made 23 saves.

Schmid stopped 28 shots.

Multiple scuffles broke out throughout the game, highlighted by Tkachuk and Jacob Trouba squaring off in the center of the rink.

Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov left in the second period after his left knee appeared to buckle during a scrum with Sharks defender Darnell Nurse and forward Zack Ostapchuk along the boards.

Barkov immediately left the ice, throwing his glove on the ground as he headed into the tunnel.

Barkov missed all of last season after tearing his ACL and MCL during training camp. The 31-year-old Finn was playing his second game this season.

Panthers: At Anaheim on Sunday night.

Sharks: Host Los Angeles on Saturday night.

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

San Jose Sharks defenseman Nolan Allan (5) is checked into the boards by Florida Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen (27) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) blocks a shot against Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell (15) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

San Jose Sharks defenseman Luca Cagnoni celebrates after scoring the winning goal in overtime against the Florida Panthers in a NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

San Jose Sharks defenseman Luca Cagnoni (42) celebrates with Will Smith (2) and Alexander Wennberg (21) after scoring in a overtime against the Florida Panthers in a NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

San Jose Sharks center Will Smith (2) celebrates with teammate Macklin Celebrini (71) after scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Indian airline captain who helped thwart an apparent attempt to crash a FlyDubai flight described Friday how he fought for his life in the minutes after his co-pilot stabbed him and the plane began a steep descent.

Capt. Smit Machchhar, recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital, told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised video call that he knew he had to get back on his feet to save his passengers.

“I had so many wounds. I had fallen down,” he said from the hospital, his head bandaged and tubes in his nose, before breaking down as he recalled the attack.

“I was fighting for my life. At one point, I realized that if I didn’t get up … then passengers would lose their lives,” he told Modi.

Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, was seriously injured in Wednesday’s attack but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply, witnesses and Israeli authorities said. He has been hailed as a hero, with world leaders saying he helped avert a disaster.

The flight, carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. FlyDubai said Wednesday that the jet was secured by on-duty crew members “who diverted and landed the aircraft safely.” A regional official said the crew members were pilots in training.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker, an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was undergoing interrogation there. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Modi told Machchhar his “courage, patience, and presence of mind” saved many lives.

Machchhar said his flying experience allowed him to sense the plane’s steep descent even after he was knocked down by the attacker.

“I have been flying planes for 17 years and serving as a captain for the last 11 years. I can sense exactly what is happening with the aircraft even with my eyes closed. When I was down, I could feel that the aircraft was plummeting,” he said.

Machchhar said that during those difficult moments, he recited the Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman, the monkey god, and traditionally recited as a prayer for strength and courage.

“Lord Hanuman gave me courage,” he told Modi.

Machchhar, who is married and has two children, has worked for FlyDubai for about four years, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before joining the airline, he spent 11 years with SpiceJet, an Indian low-cost carrier, where he served as a senior commander and line training captain. He logged more than 9,750 flying hours with SpiceJet.

Philip Kean, CEO of Mainland Air, the New Zealand flight school where Machchhar trained, said pilots are taught how to take over if a fellow crew member becomes incapacitated. But the training does not typically prepare them for a stabbing attack by a colleague, he told The Associated Press on Friday.

“I don’t think there’s much in the handbook for being stabbed,” Kean said.

“You’re friends and you’re flying together,” he said. “Nobody would expect … a person to have a go at you like that.”

Associated Press journalist Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.

News media personnel film in the building where relatives of Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot for Flydubai, previously lived in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A teacher from Gurukul School of Art paints a portrait honoring Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot with FlyDubai, in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

This undated photo released on Israel's Foreign Ministry social media shows Indian Capt. Smit Machchhar in the cockpit of a plane in an unknown location. Machchhar was at the controls of a FlyDubai flight that was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Israel's Foreign Ministry via AP)