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The Buffalo Sabres' 10-game winning streak came to an end, as they lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets by a 5-1 final score in their last contest. Although the Sabres lost, they undoubtedly put themselves in a far better place than they were with their big winning streak. 

The Sabres currently have a 21-15-4 record and are just one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. With this, it would not be surprising in the slightest if the Sabres look to add to their roster by the trade deadline. This is especially so when noting that Buffalo is desperately looking to snap their 14-year playoff drought. 

When looking at trade candidates around the NHL, Calgary Flames forward Blake Coleman would have the potential to be a nice pickup for the Sabres.

The Sabres could use another impactful forward for their top nine, and acquiring Coleman would provide them with just that. The 34-year-old forward is also capable of playing multiple positions, which certainly adds to his appeal. He would also give the Sabres another option to work with on their penalty kill.  

Coleman's experience also makes him a fascinating potential target. With the Sabres looking to take that next step and be a playoff team, bringing in a player who has won the Stanley Cup twice like Coleman certainly could benefit them.

In 41 games so far this season with the Flames, Coleman has recorded 13 goals, 21 points, and 103 hits. With numbers like these, the 10-year veteran would give the Sabres both secondary scoring and plenty of grit if brought in.

The Philadelphia Flyers didn’t simply leave Edmonton with two points — they left with a performance that showed clarity in how they wanted to play and discipline in how they executed it.

In a 5–2 win over the Oilers to close out their West Coast road trip, Philadelphia delivered a game that balanced patience with assertiveness, matched skill with detail, and responded decisively when momentum threatened to swing. 

1. The Flyers Managed Edmonton’s Stars Without Chasing the Game.

Beating the Oilers often comes down to resisting the temptation to overreact. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are going to generate chances; the danger comes when teams start cheating offensively or abandoning assignments trying to stop them outright. Philadelphia largely avoided that trap.

The Flyers kept McDavid and Draisaitl from dictating pace through the middle of the ice, forced plays to the outside, and limited second opportunities around the net. When Edmonton did generate looks, they were rarely off broken coverage or extended chaos — a key difference from the Flyers’ earlier loss to the Oilers this season.

Dan Vladar benefitted from that approach, but he also earned his night. The shots he faced were competitive, not overwhelming, and his rebound control prevented Edmonton from turning single chances into game-shifting sequences. The Flyers didn’t neutralize Edmonton’s stars — they managed them, which is often the more realistic and effective goal.

2. Denver Barkey’s First NHL Goal Fit the Night Perfectly.

Denver Barkey’s first career NHL goal was a highlight, but what made it notable was how naturally it arrived within the flow of the game. He's fit in so naturally with the NHL game since his debut on Dec. 20 (where he recorded his first two NHL assists) that it only felt like a matter of time until he started making an impact through goals. 

Denver Barkey is a Philadelphia Flyer. #PHIvsEDM | #LetsGoFlyerspic.twitter.com/7MIGtZvsTu

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 3, 2026

His goal mattered not just on the scoreboard, but in reinforcing how the Flyers are integrating younger players into meaningful situations without overexposing them. Barkey didn’t look overwhelmed by the stage or the opponent, and his ability to contribute without needing to dominate touches speaks well to his adaptability at the NHL level.

3. The Blue Line Helped Drive the Outcome.

Travis Sanheim’s goal and continued climb up the franchise’s all-time scoring list for defensemen is worthy of recognition, but the broader takeaway is how involved the Flyers’ defense was across all three pairs.

Sanheim, Cam York (1A)), Nick Seeler (1G, 1A), and others consistently supported the attack without abandoning defensive responsibilities. Pucks were moved efficiently, pressure was relieved quickly, and Edmonton was rarely able to hem the Flyers in for extended stretches.

Seel Team checking in! 🫡#PHIvsEDM | #LetsGoFlyerspic.twitter.com/8vph7L5pAX

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 3, 2026

Sanheim’s milestone goal — moving him into sole possession of fourth all-time in points by a Flyers defenseman — was the headline, but it was the collective reliability of the group that allowed Philadelphia to control large portions of the game.

That’s Olympic Athlete Travis Sanheim, to you. #PHIvsEDM | #LetsGoFlyerspic.twitter.com/Q1FBFZwIuM

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 3, 2026

4. Depth Scoring Continues to Define This Team’s Ceiling.

The Flyers didn’t win this game on a single dominant line or a one-off performance—and they rarely do anymore. They won it because production came from everywhere.

Bobby Brink’s 11th goal, Nick Seeler’s first goal of the season (along with an assist), Owen Tippett’s multi-point night, and contributions from Matvei Michkov, Sean Couturier, Cam York, and Rodrigo Abols all added up to a balanced offensive night that Edmonton struggled to contain.

The Magic of Owen Tippett: Unpacking His Impact On Flyers Beyond The Scoresheet<a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/owen-tippett-speaks-on-individual-season-closeness-of-current-flyers-group">Owen Tippett</a> is a player who makes you sit up in your seat.&nbsp;

When 12 different players factor into the scoresheet, it becomes far harder for opponents to game-plan or survive momentum swings. Philadelphia’s ability to generate offense without relying exclusively on its top-end skill has quietly become one of its most reliable traits.

5. The Flyers Know What They're Capable Of, and They're Hungry For More.

Closing a West Coast trip with a win against Edmonton wasn't simply about energy or emotion alone. It’s about decision-making when tired legs meet elite opposition. The Flyers were smart with the puck, selective with their pressure, and opportunistic when Edmonton overextended.

The Flyers didn’t need to be perfect to win this game. They needed to be deliberate, composed, and committed to doing the hard things consistently—a mindset that has defined this group since Rick Tocchet took over this season.

Dan Vladar summed up where the Flyers are at pretty perfectly, telling media postgame, “Those are the moments that I think a lot of guys in here are living for. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best… Obviously, we’re still not the best, but we are doing everything we can to get to the best spot we can. We still know it’s a lot of hockey left, but I think that if you’re going to follow our leaders and the coaching staff, we are going to be in a good spot.”

Bonus: Welcome Back, Garnet Hathaway!

Garnet Hathaway returned to the Flyers lineup in Edmonton, and didn't take long to drop the gloves with Darnell Nurse in an entertaining—and also quite dizzying—first period brawl.

Just a CHAOTIC fight between Hathaway and Nurse 😂🥊 pic.twitter.com/MZ9VDQHCfK

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 3, 2026

The Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas Golden Knights are set to face off on Sunday night at the United Center. After defeating the Washington Capitals in DC on Saturday night, this is another back-to-back with travel for Chicago. 

So far this season, they have had terrible results in these situations. This is their fifth opportunity to make it right, as plenty more loom in the second half of the season. With the team carrying some momentum as they’ve played well following the holiday break, this is as good a time as any to get a back-to-back sweep. 

Scouting Vegas

The Vegas Golden Knights have one of the best rosters in the NHL when healthy. The problem for them is that they are not very healthy. They’ve also lost three in a row coming into this game and are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. 

They do now, however, have Jack Eichel back in the lineup. Eichel is their best player as he creates chances, scores goals, and has a heavy two-way game that brings out the best in everyone. It is only a matter of time before this group finds its groove.

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Smith-Howden-Stone 

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Lauzon-Korczak

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Hart

Jack Eichel playing with Mitch Marner is pure hockey magic. These two are both playmaking wizards, and Eichel has an all-world shot. This duo, on a line with Ivan Barbashev, is one to focus on for Jeff Blashill and his staff. 

Although Eichel is back, they are still missing two-way forward William Karlsson and Team Canada defenseman Shea Theodore. Brayden McNabb, who is also a pretty good defenseman, is out as well. 

Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago

The Chicago Blackhawks have two straight wins with the same lineup. There really isn’t much of a reason to mess with it unless there is any sort of injury or return of an injured player. 

In the last couple of games, they’ve seen veterans like Ryan Donato, Ilya Mikheyev, and Teuvo Teravainen produce in the absence of Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar. Even Nick Foligno and Andre Burakovsky coming up clutch in the shootout on Saturday night were big moments for this team, trying to gain some steam again. 

When Bedard and Nazar come back, they will be returning to a team that learned how to play without them. That may help everyone overall once the lineup is at full strength. There will be no reason for the young guys playing well or the veterans to slow down once those two return, which would make it a much more balanced attack. 

Bertuzzi-Greene-Burakovsky 

Donato-Dickinson-Mikheyev

Teravainen-Moore-Lardis

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Soderblom

After Spencer Knight shut down the Capitals on Saturday night, Arvid Soderblom will certainly go against the Golden Knights at home on Sunday. To have success in the NHL these days, you need two good goalies. Soderblom has played well, and this is another good test for him. 

How To Watch

The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found locally on CHSN. Nationally, it can be streamed on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 6:00 PM CT. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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There has been no love lost between the Nashville Predators and the Calgary Flames this season. 

While Nashville has won the regular-season series, picking up a 4-3 win on Saturday in Calgary, there have been 118 penalty minutes combined across those three games. 

The most recent matchup featured two fights, a 10-minute misconduct and a missed sucker punch that left Predators head coach Andrew Brunette irate at the officials.

It was a chippy game that was a lot closer than the previous one, but in the end, it was the impact of Nic Hague that resonated and gave the Nashville Predators the win. 

"It's never going to be easy for us, and it hasn't been all year, and tonight was another example of that, but I'm really proud of the group," Hague said. "We stuck together and kept pushing for that next goal."

John Beecher's impact in the game could debatably led to the Predators' win. During a scrum in the first period with Michael McCarron, Beecher got a punch in that caused McCarron to fall to the ice. 

Brunette and the Predators argued that Beecher should've been given a match penalty as his lick in on McCarron could've been deemed a suck punch. Beecher was not given an extra penalty, as both he and McCarron were given roughing and misconduct calls. 

Fast forward to the second period, right as Ryan Lomberg broke into the Predators zone, creating a prime scoring chance, Hague dropped the gloves with Beecher.

It's unknown whether or not Hague was aware of the Flames' offensive chance generating down the ice, but the fight stopped the play dead in its tracks. 

"We believe that we're a good team. There's going to be ups and downs through the season and throughout a game, but there was no better example than tonight," Hague said. "We just never backed down, no matter if it was physically or finding our own play. That's what good teams do and it took us right to the end." 

In the final minute of the game, tied, McCarron and Cole Smith worked the puck up the boards to Hague at the point. He let a slapshot go that went in, beating Dustin Wolf's glove side for the game-winning goal with 27 seconds left in the game. 

"They (Calgary) get one late to tie it up, but there wasn't any discouragement on the bench and we gotta go out there and work for that next one," Hague said. "Mac's (McCarron) line did an unbelievable job all night getting it (the puck) on the forecheck and (generating) the last goal." 

In addition to the game-winning goal, it was announced on Sunday that Beecher is scheduled to have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on the McCarron sucker punch. 

With the win, Nashville is still very much in the hunt for the final Wild Card spot in the west, now just one point out after the San Jose Sharks lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Nashville is now at 19-18-4, with 42 points and can move into that final Wild Card spot if it defeats the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. 

"We've had a lot of grit all year," Brunette said. "We've gone through stuff together, stayed together and we've never been tighter. We grow every day and we're continuing to get better, but we also believe in each other...It's nice to get the win in a hard place to play." 

Three days into the new year, as the Ottawa Senators approach the midway point of the season, GM Steve Staios held a state-of-the-union address with the local media on Saturday morning.  

As the team got ready to host the Winnipeg Jets later in the day, Staios began with a prepared statement that described expectations being different this year, the incredible parity in the league, and that there is a lot to like about the "process-driven" way the club is playing this year.

But as former NFL head coach Bill Parcells once said, "You are what your record says you are." Silver linings and moral victories will only go so far with this hungry Ottawa fan base, which was hoping the club would take a step forward after making the playoffs last spring. Instead, the Senators will have to take some major steps forward in the second half just to replicate last season's success.

The Senators opened play on January 3rd near the bottom of the Eastern standings. Three points out of a wild card spot doesn't sound all that bad, but when you have seven teams ahead of you, someone is always going to be winning games to keep you stuck in the logjam. 

It's not unreasonable to suggest that it will take a five or six-game winning streak to break on through to the other side of this wild-card jungle. And if they manage to do it, they'll have to keep playing well consistently.

When asked about the team's lack of consistency this season, goaltending was the first thing Staios brought up.

"I don't know if it's been consistency in player effort," Staios told the media. "We live in reality, and there are a couple of areas of our game that aren't up to expectations. We can talk about goaltending, and if the goaltenders were in here right now, they would be honest that they haven't played up to expectations.

"I think the optimism comes from, over the last month or so, they have played to expectations. It wasn't the best of starts for them, but it had stabilized, and I would I would feel comfortable saying that it's going to continue to not only stabilize, but move in the right direction."

That's all well and good to say, but between having the worst save percentage in the NHL, combined with Linus Ullmark on indefinite personal leave, and their current two goalies with just 31 games of NHL experience between them, this all seems like the complete opposite of stability.

Staios was asked if he knew roughly when Ullmark might return.

"Well, Linus knows he's got our full support, and we're going to respect him by not having a comment on that situation. We have full belief in Linus, along with Leevi, who's a good young goaltender who continues to develop, along with our depth with Mads Sogaard and Hunter Shepard.

"We know what Linus is as a goaltender, and he knows what he is as a goaltender. But at this point in time, he has our full support, and we'll respect his privacy until we have him back.

"We'll give him the time afforded to make sure that things are in order."

When asked about the possibility of pulling the trigger on a deal to get more goaltending depth, Staios shoehorned Mads Sogaard into the discussion.

"Mads is continuing to develop and in the right spot right now where he's got the net in Belleville and getting getting that time. But he's always been a top prospect goaltender turning into a top pro prospect, on the cusp of getting an opportunity."

For now, though, Merilainen is the emergency plan A and has been since last summer. Staios is now executing what he believed was the very best plan available to him if something happened to Ullmark.

He believed it, knowing that Merilainen is the sixth-youngest goalie in the league; he believed it the day he let Anton Forsberg walk into free agency; and he believed it, knowing that Ullmark had never played more than 50 games in a season.

Now we're about to find out if he was right or not. 

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News-Ottawa

Read more Ottawa Senators news and features at The Hockey News:

Senators Announce That Linus Ullmark Is Taking Leave Of Absence
Top Ottawa Senators Prospect Suits Up Again At World Juniors
Josh Norris: 'I Really Felt Like (Ottawa Fans) Had My Back, Even When I Was Injured
'NHL Player Fined For Cross-Checking Senators Star Tim Stutzle In The Face
Ottawa Senators Have A Soft Spot For Their Tough Guy
Senators Announce Their Latest Addition To Ring Of Honour