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The Florida Panthers ran into a buzzsaw on Thursday night.

Playing the back end of a back-to-back set, Florida was shellacked by the NHL-best Colorado Avalanche by a final score of 6-2.

Colorado jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when they scored on their first rush of the night.

A nice cross-ice pass by Martin Necas found a wide-open Sam Malinski, and his long wrist shot squeaked through Daniil Tarasov to give the Avs a 1-0 lead just 74 seconds into the game.

The Panthers tied the game about six minutes later, and the goal came from an unlikely source: Florida’s fourth line.

After a nice poke-check by Seth Jones, Noah Gregor picked up the puck and flew up the left side of the ice before driving toward the net. He then flipped a shot that went over the blocker of Mackenzie Blackwood to tie the game at one at the 7:21 mark.

A bad bounce led to Florida falling behind again shortly before the end of the period.

Gus Forsling was defending in front of Tarasov when a Valeri Nichushkin wrist shot hit him in the back and bounced to the side of the crease, where Brock Nelson extended his stick and got just enough of the puck to squeeze it between Tarasov’s skate and the goal post.

The Avalanche doubled their lead at the 5:05 mark of the middle frame when Gavin Brindley got his backhand on a Brent Burns rebound after the pair came down the ice on a 2-on-1.

A long wrist shot by Nathan MacKinnon got past a screened Tarasov just over two minutes later, suddenly making it 4-1 Colorado.

Artturi Lehkonen scored on what felt like Colorado’s tenth breakaway of the game, making it 5-1 Avalanche with 7:29 left in the second period.

Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog got in on the fun at the 6:18 mark of the third period, corralling a Necas rebound and beating a sprawling Tarasov to five the Avs a 6-1 lead on their 38th shot of the night.

Florida picked up a goal with just under seven minutes to go, but it may have come at a cost.

Mackie Samoskevich finished off a nice passing play with A.J. Greer and Evan Rodrigues, but when Greer made a spinning pass at the side of Colorado’s net, Josh Manson slid down to try and block the pass and took out Greer’s skates causing him to go feet first into the boards.

Greer went to Florida’s locker room afterwards and did not return.

On to Dallas.

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Photo caption: Dec 11, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) celebrates his goal with center Nathan MacKinnon (29) against Florida Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov (40) in the second period at Ball Arena. (Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images)

There have been a handful of tough losses this season for the Pittsburgh Penguins, as there are for any team in the NHL. And, typically, the Penguins have been able to respond well when things aren't going their way. 

After two tough shootout losses to the Dallas Stars and the Anaheim Ducks - both of which featured blown leads very late in regulation - the Penguins hoped to bring their best effort against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, a team they will face three times in the month of December. 

And - a game delay and three periods later - they found themselves on the wrong side of the result again.

The Penguins fell to the Canadiens, 4-2, in what felt like one of the least energetic efforts of the season from the Penguins. Part of that could have been a byproduct of the fact that the game's original start time of 7:00 p.m. ET was delayed by a half hour due to a serious accident inbound to the city that delayed players getting to the rink.

But it's fair to wonder how much of Tuesday's loss still rang in their heads - and it's also worth noting that both teams had to deal with the delay. At the end of the day, the Penguins just couldn't seize any sustained periods of momentum in this game, and it was a lackluster response to two hard-to-swallow losses in a row that should have probably been won in regulation.

"I don't know. Honestly, we just had zero jump from the start," Penguins' defenseman Ryan Shea said. "They were all over us, and we didn't respond to start the game, but we didn't even have a response mid-game. I think we had a couple good shifts we put together after we took that timeout, but other than that, we just let them bring it to us, and we just sat back.

"No one wanted to be a difference-maker, and we were just flat."

#LetsGoPens defenseman Ryan Shea on the lack of a response to Tuesday's loss against the Ducks:

"I don't know. Honestly, we just had zero jump from the start. They were all over us, and we didn't respond to start the game, but we didn't even have a response mid-game."

— Kelsey Surmacz (@kelsey_surmacz4) December 12, 2025

The Canadiens were ready from the jump in this one, as a defensive zone turnover by Kris Letang near the left point turned into an early goal by Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier. The Habs held the Penguins to just four shots on goal in the first period, and things didn't get much better in the second for the Penguins.

Brendan Gallagher scored less than five minutes into the second period, and Cole Caufield registered a power play goal at the midpoint of the period to put the Canadiens up, 3-0. Pittsburgh got a little bit of momentum in a late push at the end of the second after a disallowed goal by Montreal that was deemed offside after the Penguins challenged.

And they did carry some of that into the start of the third period. Bryan Rust scored just 44 seconds into the third to cut the Habs' lead to 3-1. It looked like the Penguins had some life, but just like that, Oliver Kapanen scored just 15 seconds later to put Montreal back up by three.

Penguins' Top Goaltending Prospect Posts Impressive Shutout, Continues AHL DominanceThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' goaltending situation has certainly been an interesting one to follow as a whole this season.

The Penguins played a pretty flat game after that fourth Habs goal, even as they had a five-on-three power play that they failed to convert on a few minutes later. A holding call on Adam Engstrom with five minutes remaining in regulation resulted in the Penguins pulling goaltender Tristan Jarry for a six-on-five, which Erik Karlsson quickly converted on to make it 4-2. And Pittsburgh did push hard in the final five minutes, with Sidney Crosby making it 4-3 with around 40 seconds left.

However, it was too little, too late for the Penguins, who have now dropped three straight games after winning five of their previous six. They have a busy stretch of schedule ahead for the rest of December, which can, hopefully, help to pull them out of the funk they're in. 

"In two days, we've got to come out and bring our best game, then do it again back-to-back," Shea said. "It's a quick turnaround. [Friday], we've got to have a good practice, review this, see what we did wrong, then flush it and move on, because we've got two fast teams - two young teams - coming in that like to play offense.

"So, we've got to clean up things if we want to be able to stay in those games."

Final. pic.twitter.com/3br01iOzFW

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 12, 2025

Here are some takeaways from the Penguins' latest loss:

- This is some of the most lifeless, sloppiest hockey I've seen the Penguins play this season. And it was so, so strange considering the fact that they've followed up some of their worst games this season with some of their best games. 

I do think the game delay may have played a factor in the team's start. But, after that, the Penguins still failed to put together any kind of big response until it was far too late in the game. 

They play Montreal three times this month. They play the San Jose Sharks and the Utah Mammoth back-to-back this weekend. It's critical that they don't let the results of the last three games spiral into something worse, as they can lose ground very quickly in such a tight Eastern Conference.

And it starts with the Penguins simplifying their game.

"When it comes to stuff like that, we've just got to be patient," Shea said. "We can't force stuff when it's not there. I think we've played too much east-to-west, and a team like that... it just fuels their game. I think they came out hot, they were on top of us, but we don't have to spiral out of control.

"We've just got to bear down. Usually, teams come like that for the first period, then they slow up. So, we've just got to learn how to withstand their best and bring ours right after."

Yes, Shootouts Are A Problem For The Penguins - But They're Not The Biggest ConcernIf you've been paying any semblance of attention to the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> this season, you've probably heard a thing or two about shootouts.&nbsp;

- Letang's turnover in the defensive zone was something that just cannot happen. 

He had puck support right in front of him, and he just whiffed on the puck. It rolled off the heel of his stick and right to Texier, who brought it back into the slot and put it home.

It's tough to keep piling on Letang. He has been a staple for a very long time with the Penguins, and he has been a large part of their success in the Crosby era.

But his play is becoming a legitimate problem. These kinds of plays are starting to happen with frequency, and he isn't doing enough on the other side of the puck to make up for the defensive gaffes. It just seems like the game is happening too fast for him at times, and he tends to hold onto the puck a hair too long.

I don't know what the solution is. It's not like the Penguins have a plug-and-ready right defenseman on their roster who would fare better than Letang on the second pairing. Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton have been unspectacular this season. Jack St. Ivany was just activated from injured reserve and hasn't seen a game this season. Youngster Harrison Brunicke is about to head to the World Junior Championship and didn't even practice with the team Thursday, as he was working with Penguins' skills coaches on the other rink.

Coucou, c'est Texier

*Tex notification* "Alexandre scored"#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/lmjDkUZoNE

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 12, 2025

Unless Brunicke shows out at the WJC, rejoins the NHL team after to activate his entry-level contract, and shows a degree of readiness that wasn't there at the start of the season, I don't think there is a replacement for Letang on the second pairing that could allow him to slide down in a reduced role. 

So, yes, his play is an issue, and I do think the Penguins need to address it in some way. I'm just not sure how they even do that at this point. 

- I don't think this was a particularly strong outing from Jarry. While the Penguins were certainly not at their best in this one, Jarry let in a few goals that I'm sure he'd like to have back - including a bit of a leaky goal against from Caufield on the power play. 

That said, your goaltender is entitled to an off-day every now and again, especially in the midst of a largely positive season. I imagine Jarry probably gets the net again on Saturday against the Sharks, but we'll see how the Penguins decide to handle the weekend split between he and Silovs.

NHL Rumors: Penguins Goalie On Latest Trade BoardThis Penguins goalie is once again creating noise as a trade candidate.

- The third line - or "kid line" - is brought up in pretty much every recap at this point, and it's for good reason. Ben Kindel, Rutger McGroarty, and Ville Koivunen simply look comfortable out there with each other, and they definitely have chemistry. 

Outside of maybe the Crosby line, they were the best line for the Penguins again on Thursday, and I'm not so sure they shouldn't simply be the second line in the absence of Evgeni Malkin. They had their moments against the Habs - including a botched three-on-one where Kindel fed a center-breaking McGroarty a perfect pass that he just couldn't handle - but they were still generating offense.

I do think McGroarty looks a bit rusty, and Koivunen is still gripping his stick a bit too tight. But once the line's production begins to meet its chance generation, I do think the floodgates will open.

New 'Kid Line' Might Be Just What Penguins NeedThe Pittsburgh Penguins debuted their new "kid line" of Rutger McGroarty, Ben Kindel, and Ville Koivunen against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday - and it paid off.

- It goes without saying that the Penguins really, really miss Evgeni Malkin and Blake Lizotte. 

As far as Malkin, the impact is pretty obvious. The Penguins have lost all threee games that he's missed, and they're just 2-for-13 on the power play in his absence. The second line is not the same without him, either, as Kevin Hayes can't provide close to the offensive output that Malkin can for both himself and his linemates.

And as for Lizotte, he's obviously missed on the penalty kill. But there is a drastic difference between the way Danton Heinen centers the fourth line and the way Lizotte does. And it's a much better line with Lizotte on it. 

If neither are going to be back within the next few games, I think it might be in the Penguins' best interest to give Tristan Broz an extended look down the middle. He only played in one game against the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 26 before sitting as a healthy scratch for two games and being optioned back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS), where he has a goal and three points in his three games since the demotion. 

He's a two-way center, and he's young. The Penguins could use that right now. If they want to stop the bleeding, they need to try to address some of the deficiencies in their lineup where they can. Getting Rickard Rakell back soon should help, but they could still use some extra help.

Penguins Provide Injury Update On Key PlayerInjured reserve has been an all-too-popular place for the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> this season.&nbsp;

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!   

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It got ugly quickly in Music City.

The St. Louis Blues laid another egg in a stretch of playing four divisional opponents, and the Nashville Predators were the beneficiaries.

Well, Steven Stamkos was the greatest beneficiary.

The sharpshooter scored four goals en route to a 7-2 bludgeoning of the Blues at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

The lone bright spot for the Blues was Hugh McGing scoring his first NHL goal; Robert Thomas also scored, Robby Fabbri earned an assist in his return to the Blues, and Jordan Binnington was hung out to dry, allowing six goals on 25 shots on a night where the Blues did not defend the ice very well whatsoever. He was lifted after two periods for Joel Hofer.

"The last two games we've not been hard enough at either net front," Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. "We don't get there too on the inside. That's where good teams in the NHL score goals, screening the goalie and having two guys whacking away at rebounds like you saw them score three or four times tonight, and we're not boxing out at our net front. The physicality and our D-zone coverage the last two games has really dissipated." 

The Blues (11-14-7) turn right back around and head home for a Friday night matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks (13-11-6).

Let’s take a look at Thursday’s game observations:

* Team was soft -- like Charmin -- at both ends of the ice – There was simply no defense. And there’s no defending this kind of play.

It started early, unfortunately for the fourth line being on the ice for the first two goals against.

The Blues had some terrific looks from the slot early, until O-zone whiff leads to 3 on 1 goal. The Blues were buzzing pretty good early with three slot shots on the power play but Juuse Saros came up with the necessary saves.

Then an unforced error, by McGing, whiffing on a puck in the O-zone, that ultimately led to a 3-on-1 and trouble.

Stamkos was set up for a one-timer that Binnington initially stopped but the puck went right back to the Nashville forward for the rebound goal at 8:22 of the first period.

Montgomery said when the Blues lost Nathan Walker (upper-body injury) and Alexey Toropchenko (scalding leg burns), they lost guys that can intimidate on that line.

The Blues have had to improvise with call-ups from Springfield of the American Hockey League in those spots to play with Oskar Sundqvist, and on Thursday, it was McGing and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki.

That trio was on the ice for each of the first two goals, when Stamkos was on the doorstep at the net, not tied up by Logan Mailloux, after Binnington kicked out a Roman Josi point shot. But Sundqvist lost the initial face-off, and the play ultimately led to a second goal against on that line at 11:19 of the first and a 2-0 Predators lead:

And from there on, the Predators wound up having six slot shots compared to the Blues’ five in the first.

The Blues’ top line and d-pair got caught running around in the zone that led to O’Reilly’s goal that killed any Blues momentum when they cut it to 2-1, a goal that made it 3-1 at 8:38 of the second and the route would be on. Cam Fowler was in Binnington’s line of vision on the shot that beat him five-hole.

Forsberg converted what was a flipped puck that ultimately was a 2-on-1, and made it 4-1 at 11:43 before Stamkos scored his third of the game, a pass actually that went in off Justin Faulk at 12:06 that made the score 5-1.

But ultimately, these goals are scored with little to no physicality by the Blues, not putting a body on anyone and leaving too much real estate to work with.

Stamkos’ fourth was the prime example of a puck to the net, and Dalibor Dvorsky of all people is there to fend the front of the net, not a defenseman, at 15:33 that made it 6-2. Again, it was the Fowler-Parayko pairing on the ice there:

STAMMERTIME X4 ‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/FTST52SIuM

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) December 12, 2025

It wasn't much better at the offensive end either, where the Blues were able to get good looks from between the dots but not committed enough to sacrifice bodies at the net.

Which led Brayden Schenn to some strong comments.

"Soft ... soft in front of our own net, soft in front of their net," he said. "Give good players time and space to score goals or second chances, leaving 'Binner' hanging out to dry on some, that's how we keep on giving up as many goals as we are right now."

This is December, and these kinds of results should be happening in preseason or early when guys are ridding themselves of pond hockey mode.

Should this be happening now?

"No, like flat-out answer no," Schenn said. "We're not hard enough in front of either net. That's why we don't score, that's why we give them up."

So how does this change?

"Mentality," Schenn said. "It's just simple as far as a mindset goes. We just don't do it, and that's every single guy. We have to commit to the little habits of the details to play for one another or if not, you keep getting embarrassed."

* Nashville’s top players grossly outplayed the Blues’ top players – Stamkos, O’Reilly and Forsberg combined for six goals, and yes, Robert Thomas scored one to make it 5-2 at 13:56 of the second:

Thomas snaps one in. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/NXSZPfvIGX

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 12, 2025

But the Predators’ top players outworked and out-competed the Blues’ top players, and the score was indicative.

* Fabbri looked good in debut – Too many negatives on a night like this, but I thought Fabbri’s return to the Blues was a good one.

Not only did he set up McGing for his goal, but he was skating hard, he was engaged and finished with three hits in 14:28 of ice time. Even in the third period, he was working hard.

We’ll see where this goes, but this could be a good fit if the 29-year-old shows the kind of determination he showed here tonight.

"I thought Robby Fabbri was our best forward," Montgomery said. "I loved his habits and details. He was at the net front screening, he got his assist being at the net front passing it over to Hugh. He was finishing checks, he was winning wall battles, all those little things that help your team have success.

"You hope that it will be infectious throughout our lineup. We've got an opportunity to regroup tomorrow night against the Hawks, so we look forward to tomorrow night at home."

"I thought 'Fabs' played well tonight," Schenn said. "He played hard, he brought energy, he had an assist there. I thought 'Fabs' was one of our better players and I think he was excited to be back. I thought he played pretty good tonight."

* McGing gets a goal he’ll remember – McGing would redeem himself with his first goal in a Blues uniform, and it was a nice play set up by Fabbri and Philip Broberg to cut it to 2-1 at 4:17 of the second period.

Broberg had possession in the corner working the puck and found Fabbri at the right side of the post. A quick pass to the low right circle and quick shot high blocker gave the Blues the momentum needed.

"It felt good honestly," McGing said. "You dream about scoring in the NHL, so it finally came and felt good, but obviously I would like to get (it) in a win:

Congratulations to Hugh McGing on NHL goal No. 1. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/Uzbk0GTlF7

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 12, 2025

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NEW YORK (AP) — Anders Lee scored twice and had two assists, and David Rittich made 31 saves as the New York Islanders beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 on Thursday night.

Simon Holmstrom had a goal and two assists and defensemen Travis Mitchell and Ryan Pulock each scored as the Islanders won for the fifth time in six games.

Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry scored for Anaheim, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Islanders leading scorer Bo Horvat left about seven minutes into the second with a lower-body injury after he became tangled with Anaheim defenseman Drew Helleson.

The Islanders took a 3-0 lead in the opening period, starting with Mitchell’s first NHL goal. The 26-year-old was playing his seventh game following his recall from Bridgeport of the AHL.

Lee made it 2-0, beating Ducks netminder Ville Husso on the power play. The Islanders captain scored again with the man advantage late in the first, his eighth goal. Lee has 297 career goals, fifth-most in franchise history.

Carlsson rifled a shot past Rittich in the second for his team-leading 17th goal.

Terry made it 3-2 with a short-handed goal early in the third. The Islanders pulled away when Holmstrom scored his sixth and Pulock added his first.

The Islanders are 14-6-2 in their last 22 games and continued strong play against top-tier competition since losing to Washington on Nov. 30. New York has since defeated Tampa Bay twice, plus Colorado and Vegas.

Rittich improved to 7-3-1 with a sharp performance against the improved Ducks, who have 19 wins in 31 games.

Husso made 32 saves.

Up next

Ducks: At New Jersey on Saturday.

Islanders: Host Tampa Bay on Saturday.

ELMONT, NY --New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat did not return against the Anaheim Ducks after he sustained a lower-body injury in the second period. 

He is considered day-to-day, per head coach Patrick Roy. 

Horvat's right skate got tangled up with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson. The Islanders' leading goal scorer stayed down before quickly getting to the Islanders' bench. 

He went right down the tunnel at 13:08 of the second:

Bo Horvat was hurt on this play pic.twitter.com/iV0niJna9s

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) December 12, 2025

Horvat, 30, has 31 points (19 goals, 12 assists) in 32 games played this season.

Follow Michael Whitaker On X

Detroit Red Wings fans can breathe a little easier thanks to the latest update from head coach Todd McLellan concerning the health of defenseman Simon Edvinsson.

Edvinsson departed Wednesday evening's game against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome after he was felled by a lower-body injury after blocking a shot, and he was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the contest. 

The Red Wings called up defenseman Erik Gustafsson from the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins under emergency conditions on Thursday morning, sparking fears that Edvinsson could be unavailable because of his injury.

However, according to McLellan, Edvinsson is with the team in Edmonton for Thursday evening's tilt against the Oilers and is expected to suit up. 

"The latest on Simon is that he's in there (points toward dressing room) and is getting ready to play," McLellan explained to reporters at Rogers Place. 

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

Edvinsson had already missed time earlier this season because of an illness. He's appeared in 28 games so far in the campaign and ranks second overall behind only Moritz Seider in total ice time per outing, and has three goals with six assists along with a positive plus-six rating. 

During Wednesday's game, the Red Wings built up a comfortable 4-0 lead by the end of the second period and appeared well in position to cruise to another shutout victory like they enjoyed on Monday against the Vancouver Canucks. 

However, the Flames made life extremely tense for the Red Wings by scoring three third-period goals. While Detroit ultimately pulled out a 4-3 win, there wasn't much time to work on the things that went wrong against the Flames with another game to play less than 24 hours later. 

"You can't fix everything without a practice, and we addressed a few of the areas that we liked in the game last night, and there was a lot to like," McLellan said about the club's preparation for Thursday's game. "But there were also some areas that we needed to clean up. Anything that we thought would be really relevant to today's game against Edmonton in that short period of time, we tried to blend together for our pre-game meeting." 

Red Wings Hold Off Flames With 4-3 Victory in Calgary While things got dicey for the Detroit Red Wings, they held off the Calgary Flames and picked up a 4-3 victory at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

The Red Wings and Oilers are scheduled to drop the puck just after 9:00 p.m. ET.

It's their second and final meeting of the season, barring a matchup in the Stanley Cup Final; Detroit defeated Edmonton at Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 19 by a 4-2 final score, which included the first career goal of rookie Emmitt Finnie. 

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After a winless, pointless three-game homestand, the Senators will try to right their ship on the road Thursday night in Columbus, Ohio.

They’ll face the Blue Jackets, who have almost the same record as Ottawa, sitting just two points ahead of them. But with the Senators losing three straight, five of their last six, and plummeting in the Eastern Conference standings, the calibre of their opposition should be the last thing on anyone's minds.

Senators head coach Travis Green continues to fiddle with his forward lines, hoping to find some chemistry.

Nick Cousins is back down on the fourth line after starting the last game with Tim Stützle and Fabian Zetterlund. Brady Tkachuk takes his spot on that line, while David Perron moves up from the fourth line to play with Dylan Cozens and Drake Batherson. 

Kurtis MacDermid draws into the lineup, meaning Steven Halliday and Olle Lycksell take a seat. There’s a good chance MacDermid and Blue Jackets tough guy Mathieu Olivier find each other at some point.

But when you’re in a slump, you look for lucky charms wherever you can find them: in MacDermid’s eight games this season, the Senators have gone 5-1-2.

Linus Ullmark will start in goal.

Senators projected lineup

Tkachuk – Stützle – Zetterlund
Perron – Cozens – Batherson
Amadio – Greig – Giroux
MacDermid – Eller – Cousins

Sanderson – Zub
Kleven – Spence
Matinpalo – Jensen

Starting goalie: Ullmark

Weird stat of the day: Daniel Alfredsson celebrates his 53rd birthday in Columbus. According to NHL.com, in his long NHL career, Alfredsson only ever played three times on his birthday.

The Blue Jackets come into this game losers of three straight as well.

Blue Jackets projected lineup (according to nhl.com)

Voronkov – Monahan – Marchenko
Johnson – Fantilli – Jenner
Wood – Coyle – Sillinger
Gaunce – Lundestrom – Chinakhov

Werenski – Provorov
Mateychuk – Severson
Smith – Fabbro

Starting goalie: Merzlikins 

Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa

As it stands, no members of the Vancouver Canucks are expected to make Team Canada’s 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics roster. However, there is a former Canucks who has gotten off to a red-hot start to the 2025–26 season and could be making a bid for Olympic contention. Had things gone differently during his time with the Canucks, Bo Horvat could have been Vancouver’s lone representative on Team Canada. 

Currently, Horvat has been one of the NHL’s strongest goal-scorers to start the year. The former Canucks captain is tied with Jason Robertson and Connor Bedard for third in the entire NHL, having scored 19 goals in 31 games played at a pace of .612 goals per game. He currently leads the New York Islanders in points by a margin of eight — Mathew Barzal has the next highest total with 23 on the year. 

Throughout his time with the Canucks, Horvat has shown flashes of being a phenomenal goal-scorer at the NHL level. One instance in which this was very prominent was during the 2020 Bubble Playoffs, in which he scored 10 goals in 17 games, holding the league lead until Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning. Horvat and his team had been eliminated two rounds before that. 

Horvat’s offensive production shot up a couple of seasons after that. During the 2021–22 season, he scored a career-high (at the time) 31 goals in 70 games to mark the first 30-goal season of his career. The year after that, he potted 31 in 49 games played with the Canucks before being traded to the Islanders at the end of January. He finished that season with a grand total of 38 goals. 

Since joining the Islanders, Horvat has posted 33-goal and 28-goal seasons in 2023–24 and 2024–25 respectively. He is currently on pace to score 50 goals by the end of 2025–26. The former Canucks captain also has the second-most faceoff wins in the entire NHL with 329, while his faceoff winning rate of 57.8% ranks ninth among centers who have played more than 400 minutes and taken more than 200 faceoffs. 

With the Olympics on the horizon, Horvat is a good option for Team Canada in terms of center depth. Of course, however, this will be impacted by how Canada decides to deploy players like Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and Nathan MacKinnon. Horvat was not named to Team Canada during the 4 Nations Faceoff last year, though his current goal-scoring streak could propel him to land a spot on the team. 

“It’s always in the back of my mind,” Horvat said to amNewYork of making Canada’s Olympic roster. “I want to be there. Plain and simple. Anybody in my position, anyone around here wants to be a part of that. To wear the Canadian flag and represent your country has always been a dream of mine, and if I get that opportunity, I’m going to make the most of it.”

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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