After going 0-for-4 on the man advantage in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, the New York Islanders' power play sits at 12.7 percent, which ranks 31st in the NHL.

For the most part, this season, the power play has actually looked dangerous, but the goals aren't coming. Against Boston, that was probably the weakest the man advantage has looked, but some great setups just went by the wayside. 

The Islanders have the third-most scoring chances on the power play this season (148), but the second-fewest goals (10), with an Expected Goals for of 21.58. 

"I just feel like our power play has been playing really well," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said following Wednesday's loss. "And sometimes it's like our PK. Our PK right now is playing with a lot of confidence. Maybe, sometimes, it's just a matter of having a little bit more confidence around the net, and our power play will click. You get one, you get two—all of a sudden, I mean, you feel confident. And I feel like that's always missing, because we are doing everything right."

Roy touched on but let's elaborate a bit on the traffic part. 

When the Islanders have had success on the power play, more often than not it's when Schaefer, at the point, keeps things simple. When he sees traffic in front, he has the innate ability to get his wrist shot through. 

When the Islanders don't have success, it's when Schaefer, Mathew Barzal, and Jonathan Drouin are playing too much perimeter hockey. While you do have to credit some of the opposition's penalty killers who have clogged up the lanes, especially Bo Horvat in the bumper spot, too often the Islanders are trying to find the perfect pass.

"We seem dangerous," Barzal said. "When we're moving it around well, and looking at the net and attacking the net, we got a lot of threats out there. So, as long as we're just moving around and creating threats, I feel like we're always dangerous. We got good players in the unit."

Does Barzal think that they need to simplify things at all?

"I don't think so...we're definitely looking for like Bo Horvat shooting from the slot. I mean, if we can get one look at that versus four average looks, I'll take that all day," Barzal said. "We feel dangerous. I mean, everyone in the building knows it's dangerous, so we just gotta find a way."

With how tight the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference are, the Islanders are fortunate, with their lack of power-play success, to find themselves in the wild-card spot at Thanksgiving. Seventy-seven percent of teams in a playoff spot by then make the playoffs. 

However, the difference between first in the Metro and last in the division is 5 points. And over these first three games of the seven-game homestand, the Islanders' power play struggles are why they are 1-2-0.  The team has scored just two total goals over those three games, with the power play going 0-for-10. 

Roy did mention that he would talk with power-play coach Ray Bennett on Thursday to see what he thinks about maybe changing up some of the personnel. 

One thing the Islanders may consider is taking Drouin off the first unit. While he is a fantastic playmaker, he isn't really a threat to shoot from the right flank. That allows the opposing PK to focus on Horvat in the bumper. 

The same can be said about Barzal at the left flank, who is more often than not looking for Horvat once he gets the puck. 

Until the Islanders have two players on the flanks who are true one-time threats, it will be hard not to score consistently on the man advantage. Even if those players don't rifle ones, if the opponent thinks the one-timer is coming, that will likely open up space for Barzal or Drouin to tap one to Horvat -- just a thought. 

We saw this power-play story last season, finishing the campaign at 12.6 percent, 31st in the NHL. Had the power play been 10 percent better, the Islanders likely would have made the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

Despite being in a playoff spot right now, the inability to come through on the man advantage could hinder this team's ability to stay in the hunt as the season progresses. 

However, if the power play starts to find success, the Islanders will have a strong chance not just of making the playoffs, but of becoming one of the more dangerous teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Vancouver Canucks (10–12–2) are making their second stop in a four-game road trip with a match against the San Jose Sharks (11–10–3) this afternoon. This marks the Canucks’ second game in California this week, as they most recently took down the Anaheim Ducks in a 5–4 win. San Jose is coming off a colossal 6–0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche — a team Vancouver will face once they’ve played all three California teams during this road trip. 

Vancouver’s win on Wednesday came about in somewhat of a surprising manner. The team mimicked Anaheim’s high-flying, low-defence style of hockey and generated 37 total scoring chances-for throughout all 60 minutes of play — something that hasn’t happened often this season. Since October 9, they’ve only hit above 40 scoring chances-for three times; against the Avalanche (40), Dallas Stars (41), and Chicago Blackhawks (44). While they shouldn’t completely abandon the defensive aspect of the game, Vancouver will want to repeat the success they had in generating chances when playing the Sharks. 

One thing to take note of when it comes to San Jose’s brand of play is that they’re currently tied for last in the NHL in shots per game with 24.3. In terms of shots and scoring chances, they have only eclipsed 40 once — during their 4–3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on October 28. If the Sharks have a hard time producing chances and generating shots, the Canucks could use that to their advantage by putting up more of their own. 

Both the Canucks and the Sharks will play games the day after this matchup, with Vancouver facing the Kings at 7:00 pm PT on Saturday and San Jose taking on the Vegas Golden Knights in Nevada at the same time. Each team will want to be strategic with who they start in net, especially Vancouver considering the fact that their goaltending situation is currently up in the air. 

Players To Watch: 

Arshdeep Bains 

While he didn’t end up on the scoresheet in the Canucks’ Wednesday night game against the Ducks, Bains played a big role in helping his line generate offence. Wednesday was his first time slotting back into the lineup after being held out for five games and he ultimately made a difference, providing great forecheck during the opening goal. While the team’s skate on Thursday indicated that Bains may not be playing alongside Abbotsford teammate Max Sasson, the forward could be skating with Lukas Reichel, who will provide Bains and Karlsson with a similar level of speed. 

Macklin Celebrini

Many Canucks fans have paid close attention to Celebrini’s talents knowing he is from North Vancouver and currently has a brother in the Canucks organization. Vancouver connection aside, however, Celebrini has surpassed all expectations so far this season and leads his team in scoring with 14 goals and 20 assists in 24 games played. He is currently tied for second in the NHL in overall points, matching Connor McDavid’s total in one less game played. 

Vancouver Canucks (10–12–2): 

Points: 

Quinn Hughes: 2–20–22

Elias Pettersson: 7–14–21

Kiefer Sherwood: 12–4–16

Brock Boeser: 8–7–15

Filip Hronek: 2–13–15 

Goaltenders: 

Kevin Lankinen: 4–7–2

Thatcher Demko: 5–4–0

Nikita Tolopilo: 1–0–0

Jiří Patera: 0–1–0

San Jose Sharks (11–10–3): 

Points: 

Macklin Celebrini: 14–20–34

Will Smith: 7–14–21

William Eklund: 5–9–14

Dmitry Orlov: 0–13–13

Philipp Kurashev: 6–6–12 

Goaltenders: 

Yaroslav Askarov: 8–6–1

Alex Nedeljkovic: 3–4–2

Game Information: 

Start time: 1:00 pm PT 

Venue: SAP Center

Television: Sportsnet

Radio: Sportsnet 650 

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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The Calgary Flames (8-14-3) will play the second of their four straight road games early Friday as they face the defending Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers (12-10-1).

Don't let the Panthers recent slump fool you.

While Florida may be two spots shy from the basement of the Eastern Conference, out of their 52 goals scored in even-strength hockey, 32 of them have come from high-danger shots (high-danger goals), comprising of 61.54% of their goals. That is the highest of any team so far. This Florida group does not rely on lucky bounces and "puck luck" and scores quality goals.

The only problem with Florida is that their shots on goals and 52 goals are the 13th-fewest. But that is still impressive considering their time on the ice in even-strength situations is the fourth-lowest in the league.

Regardless, Calgary can ill-afford to let Florida to get any lucky goals in starting now, considering the three goals scored by Tampa Bay two days before in the first six minutes of their game were not high-danger goals. The last of them was an own goal by Kevin Bahl.

The Flames' offence also did rebound back, putting up their highest number of high-danger scoring chances (HDCF) in a game (19) this season in even-strength situations. Calgary has gone three straight games (14 vs Stars, 10 vs Canucks, 19 vs Lightning) where they've put up double-digit HDCF . They almost made it four straight, but they were one short and put up nine against the Sabres. So close...

That shows this Flames team has found their mojo to put up quality shots now.

They'll be hoping to continue that against a Panthers' defence that allow the 10th-fewest high-danger scoring chances against (HDCA).

By the way, just to put it out there, in that same list, Tampa Bay allows the third-fewest HDCA, but the 19 that they gave up to Calgary was the most given up out of all of their (Lightnings') 23 games so far. Some food for thought...

While the Flames have given up the eighth-fewest HDCA in the league, they are in the midst of a six-game streak where they've given up at least seven HDCA. In three of these games, they've given up at least one high-danger goal, with three by Chicago in their Nov. 18 encounter.

Where the Panthers lack in even-strength TOI, they make up on the power play as their TOI in the man-advantage is the fourth-most (70:38) in the league in the month of November.  Their power play percentage of 19.0% ranks them in the middle of the pack at 15th. Calgary's penalty kill percentage of 86.5% (32-for-37) is ranked eighth in the month of November. The team has also scored a shorthanded goal in each of the last two games.

It's the power play where the Flames struggle with, being the second-worst at 10.3% despite having the fifth-most PP TOI (67:22) this month. Florida's PK is ranked 17th.

The expected goalie for Calgary is Dustin Wolf who had a terrible start in the last game. But the Flames could also turn to Devin Cooley who has the lowest GAA (1.86) for netminders that have played at least seven games.

For the Panthers, two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky is as good as they come. Although right now, his save percentage is under 0.900, which the Russian netminder has always put up by the end of seasons where he has played at least 31 games in his Hall of Fame NHL career.  The other option Florida could go with is a less-tested Daniil Tarasov who has a record of 2-3-1, GAA of 2.45 and save percentage of 0.913.

Bottom Line

The quality shots for Calgary has only improved: they were 20th in HDCA before Oct. 19. Since then, they have the second-most and are now 11th. That has to continue against Florida and more importantly translate to goals.

This defence has allowed the 15th-most shots on goal this month, but they haven't been quality shots so the blue line should play as they they've always been doing.

The power play is a long shot but would love to see a successful score off one.

Penalty-kill and whoever is in net need to do their thing.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are at home to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at Nationwide Arena.  

The Pittsburgh Penguins come into Columbus having gone 3-4-3 in their last 10 games and are losers of 5 of 7. They currently sit with 27 points and are 5th in the Metro. 

The Metro Division is wacky right now, so every single point matters. The New Jersey Devils sit atop the Metro with 31 points, while the Blue Jackets and Rangers sit 7th and 8th with 26 points. So, Columbus would be wise to win this game in regulation and not let the Pens get any points. 

The Blue Jackets are 4-2-4 in their last 10 games and can beat this struggling Penguins team. 

Blue Jackets Stats

• Power Play - 16.1% - 25th in the NHL
• Penalty Kill - 74.6% - 27th in the NHL
• Goals For - 67 - 25th in the NHL
• Goals Against - 77 - 24th in the NHL

Penguins Stats

• Power Play - 31.4% - 1st in the NHL
• Penalty Kill - 85.2% - 5th in the NHL
• Goals For - 68 - 23rd in the NHL
• Goals Against - 57 - 2nd in the NHL

Series History vs. The Penguins

• Columbus is 19-30-9 all-time, and 13-11-4 at home vs. Pittsburgh.
• The Jackets are 5-4-1 in the last 10 against the Pens overall, and 5-5 in the last 10 at home.
• The CBJ are 1-0 against the Pens this season.

Who To Watch For ThePenguins

• Sidney Crosby leads the Pens with 13 goals.
• Evgeni Malkin leads the team with 18 assists and 24 points.
• Goalie Tristan Jarry is 6-2-0 with a SV% of .914. His last start was on November 27th against the Sabres.
• Arturs Silovs is 4-3-4 with a SV% of .907. His last start was on November 21st against the Wild.

CBJ Player Notes vs. Penguins

• Zach Werenski has a stat line of 4-9-13 in 22 career games against Pittsburgh.
• Charlie Coyle has 21 points in 35 games.
• Adam Fantilli has 3 points in 5 games against the Pens.

Injuries 

• Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body - Missed 16 games - IR
• Boone Jenner - Upper Body - Missed 8 Games - IR
• Kirill Marchenko - Lower Body - Missed 2 Game
• Mathieu Olivier - Upper Body - Missed 1 Game

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 39

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 93.3 The Bus, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play. 

Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more!

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The Philadelphia Flyers still very much need star talent, especially on defense, but, sometimes, risk outweighs reward, and trying to trade for Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes is one of those risks.

The Canucks would be wise to move on from Hughes, 26, as soon as they know for certain the superstar defenseman won't remain with the club beyond 2027, when he's expected to hit free agency and join brothers Jack and Luke on the New Jersey Devils.

Now, if the Devils wanted to get Hughes for two early pushes at a Stanley Cup before they need to sign the eldest brother to a new contract that far exceeds his current $7.875 million cap hit, it makes all the sense in the world for them to pursue a trade.

Blue chip defense prospects like Anton Silayev (2024 No. 10) and Seamus Casey (2022 No. 46) would be attractive pieces for the Canucks to chase, and the Devils, who are now trying to compete annually, still have their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks.

What would the Flyers need give up to match a package of that caliber? And would it be worth it at this stage?

Too much, and no, it wouldn't be.

The links to the Flyers have been obvious, given Hughes's strong relationship with Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet and his two brothers playing locally.

Missed Opportunity? Ex-Flyers Prospect Reaching Heights of NHL Superstars After Controversial TradeThe Flyers and Flyers fans have to be feeling pretty bad about how good Cutter Gauthier has been playing for the Ducks this season.

Even NHL insider Frank Seravalli has made that connection, but that is just about the only perspective from which this has any legs for the Flyers.

Franchise forward Matvei Michkov has had an underwhelming sophomore season - at least partially due to his significantly decreased average ice time - and other young players have regressed in lockstep.

The core of the defense has not changed at all, and the goaltending picture is improved but still curious; Sam Ersson has struggled, and, can Dan Vladar maintain this level of play past the winter?

Plus, top 2025 draft choice Porter Martone is not on the NHL roster yet and is only 19 years old.

Because Hughes cannot sign an extension with the Canucks, Flyers, Devils, or any other NHL team until July 1, 2026, the Flyers would be, at worst, parting ways with significant assets to get two seasons, including this one, out of Hughes without a new deal in place.

When accounting for lost assets, like draft picks and roster players (Tyson Foerster? Michkov? Jett Luchanko or Oliver Bonk?), the Flyers may not even have a good enough team left over to make those two seasons worthwhile.

At the time of this writing, Noah Cates and Christian Dvorak are the team's de facto top-six centers, with a combination of Owen Tippett, Travis Konecny, Trevor Zegras, and Foerster flanking them.

Michkov has been saddled with third-line minutes next to Sean Couturier and Bobby Brink, and Nikita Grebenkin has, for better or for worse, failed to displace Nick Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway in the lineup after a promising start to his first season with the Flyers.

NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Forward Not Out of the Woods Yet?The Philadelphia Flyers are reportedly not thrilled with another season of inconsistent scoring contributions from Owen Tippett.

These pre-existing issues, on top of trading the farm and having to outbid the Devils or other contenders for Hughes, make such an endeavor wholly unworthwhile in the big picture.

Hughes, like Michkov, was drafted seventh overall; the Flyers are best off drafting and developing their own players and adding talent in other ways.

For example, buying low on disgruntled Anaheim Ducks defender Pavel Mintyukov, who is supremely talented himself, would be a suitable alternative, especially if the Flyers can bring the Russian to or near his full potential as a player.

The Flyers can then allocate their high-value draft picks, or other prospects, to bring in proven talent if they wish.

Martone and Michkov are two top-six wingers for the future, and it's all but guaranteed Zegras and Foerster are part of that conversation, too.

Center and defense are still two questions the Flyers must address, and they need to come up with a solid plan before doing anything rash, such as trading for Quinn Hughes with no way of protecting themselves.

After winning their last two games, the Montreal Canadiens will continue their western road trip with a duel with the Vegas Golden Knights at the T-Mobile Arena on Friday afternoon. The weekday matinee stems from the fact that it’s a Thanksgiving bank holiday for our neighbours to the south.

Martin St-Louis has already shown his hand when it comes to his goaltenders, and Samuel Montembeault will be on duty against the Knights. Jakub Dobes was on duty for the last two games, but the coach has to use both netminders for the back-to-back. The Becancour native has a 1-2-2 record against Vegas with a 3.65 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. As for Dobes, he has never taken on the Knights, and given his goaltenders’ recent form, it makes sense to keep the Czech fresh to take on the red-hot Colorado Avalanche, who have won their last 10 games, including three by shutout.

Canadiens Goalie Prospect Ranked Among Best Young Players
Canadiens Outside Looking In At The Quarter-Mark Point
Canadiens: For Better Or For Worse

Meanwhile, Bruce Cassidy hasn’t confirmed who will man the net for the host. The Knights have been without starter Adin Hill for most of the season. He has only taken part in five games and hasn’t played since October 20 because of a lower-body injury. Right now, they are making do with Akira Schmidt and Carl Lindbom, but they are expected to call up Carter Hart soon, since he’ll be eligible to play from December 1.

Schmidt has seen most of the action for the Knights this season, and he won the only game he ever played against the Habs, giving up a single goal and posting a .958 SV. Lindbom has never faced the Canadiens, and since the Knights are also playing a back-to-back, either goalie could get the nod.

Since the Knights’ inception, the Canadiens have a 6-6-2 record against the Nevada outfit, and the host has won seven of the last 10 duels while outscoring the Habs 44-34, but they haven’t been in great form of late; they are 3-2-5 in their previous 10 games and will be trying to put a halt to a three-game losing streak. As for the Tricolore, they are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games.

When he suits up this afternoon, Brendan Gallagher will skate in his 857th game with the Sainte-Flanelle, tying Tom Johnson for the 16th most games played with Montreal. The alternate captain is the Canadiens’ second most productive forward against Vegas with eight points in 11 games, second only to captain Nick Suzuki, who has 10 points in as many games. Mike Matheson rounds up the top three with seven points in 12 duels, while Cole Caufield is a point-per-game player against the host with five points in as many tilts.

Martin St-Louis has yet to confirm if he’ll make any changes to his lineup this afternoon. Still, TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie believes that he could see Alexandre Texier make his debut since Jared Davidson didn’t see a single second of action in the third frame against the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday night. The newcomer has three points in as many games against the Knights. We’ll also keep an eye on Adam Engstrom, who could play his second game at the expense of Arber Xhekaj, even though the rookie blueliner didn’t see much action in the final frame on Wednesday.

Speaking of newcomers, it’s a new member of the Knights who has the best record against the Canadiens. Former Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner has 39 points in 38 games against the Habs. As for Jack Eichel, he has 24 points in as many duels, and captain Mark Stone completes the top three with 23 points in 27 games. Eichel is the seventh top-scorer in the NHL with 31 points on the season, and he has seven points in his last four games.

You can catch the game on SCRIPPS, RDS and TSN 2 at 4:00 PM ET. At the end of the match, the Canadiens will take off for Denver and are set to arrive at 12:30 AM, 12 hours or so ahead of Saturday’s game against the Avalanche, who will have taken on the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

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