On Sunday night, New York Islanders. No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer went head-to-head with the NHL’s best defenseman, Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar. 

Sharing the ice for 5:38 minutes in a 4-1 loss, the Islanders held the Avalanche to just two shots on gaol, with Schaefer playing a huge role in that. 

Makar, a two-time Norris Trophy winner, is someone that Schaefer name-dropped as a comparison back when we spoke to the 18-year-old at the 2025 NHL Combine. 

Schaefer also dropped another name, a defenseman who he will be going up against on Tuesday night. 

"I like watching Cale Makar & Miro Heiskanen, two great guys with great hockey sense and great skating ability,” Schaefer said back in Buffalo.

There were signs early on that #Isles No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer had some #GoAvsGo Cale Makar in him.

The two face each other for the first time tonight.

My convo with Jonathan Drouin, who played with Makar last year & Schaefer now @TheElmontershttps://t.co/SDONtqutb6

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) November 16, 2025

Miro Heiskanen, drafted by the Dallas Stars with the third pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, is one of the premier offensive-defensemen the NHL has to offer.

Through 19 games, Heiskanen has three goals with 14 assists for 17 points, averaging 25:18 minutes per game.

Through 19 games, Schaefer has seven goals, with eight assists for 15 points, averaging 22:24 minutes per game. 

The Stars have been a Stanley Cup contender for the last few seasons, and Heiskanen has been a major reason why. 

Schaefer will be the main reason why the Islanders get back to that status when they do. 

After battling Heiskanen and the Stars, Schaefer goes on to battle another elite defenseman, Mo Seider, and the Detroit Red Wings to conclude the Islanders’ seven-game winning streak. 

Puck drop between the Islanders and Stars comes your way at 8 PM ET on MSGSN2. 

Entering this week, the Toronto Maple Leafs found themselves near the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a record of 8-9-2, and winless in their last five games (0-4-1).

While it's still early in the season, and they're within range of a wild-card berth, the rumor mill is buzzing about potential changes to the roster.

During last Thursday's Leafs Morning Take podcast, Jay Rosehill said a league source told him the Maple Leafs were trying to acquire Rasmus Anderson from the Calgary Flames. The 29-year-old defenseman is eligible to become a UFA in July. He's currently earning an annual cap hit of $4.55 million.

Rosehill felt that the only way the Leafs would make that deal is if Andersson agreed to sign a contract extension. He was skeptical that they had the trade assets to entice the Flames.

Two days later, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said the Maple Leafs attempted to acquire Andersson last season but failed. He felt that the Flames' rearguard wasn't a fit for Toronto.

According to Friedman, the Leafs are not interested in parting with futures. However, if they were to revisit their interest in Andersson, the Flames' asking price could include top prospect Easton Cowan.

Friedman claimed the Leafs prefer a “roster for roster” trade, meaning they're examining players on their roster who might interest other teams, excluding their core players.

Adam Proteau of The Hockey News can see the Leafs peddling defenseman Morgan Rielly. He wondered if they might offer him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Erik Karlsson, or the New Jersey Devils for Dougie Hamilton.

The opportunity to play for a contender could entice Rielly to waive his no-movement clause. However, the better-than-expected Penguins aren't in any rush to move Karlsson, who would also have to waive his no-move clause. Meanwhile, Hamilton has stated he has no desire to leave the Devils, and the Leafs might not be on his 10-team list of preferred destinations.

Proteau suggested veterans like center Max Domi and defenseman Brandon Carlo could also be trade candidates, along with depth forwards Calle Jarnkrok, Nick Robertson, Bobby McMann and Dakota Joshua.

Assuming the Leafs can find any trade partners willing to take some of those players off their hands, they won't fetch the type of returns that could provide a significant, immediate boost to the roster.

Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sunrecently observed that the promising Cowan and power forward Matthew Knies are the two Leafs that other clubs covet. However, they're among the least likely to be moved out of Toronto.

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  The Columbus Blue Jackets are on the road to take on the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.

The Jets are 3-4 since November 1 and are 5-5-0 in their last 10. They're 11-7 on the year and are the only team in the Western Conference without an OT loss. So, they sit 3rd in the Central Division and 6th in the West. 

Blue Jackets Stats

• Power Play - 17.8% - 21st in NHL
• Penalty Kill - 72.9% - 26th in NHL
• Goals For - 57 - 18th in NHL
• Goals Against - 59 - 18th in NHL

Jets Stats

• Power Play - 24.1% - 8th in NHL
• Penalty Kill - 84.1% - 8th in NHL
• Goals For - 58 - 15th in NHL
• Goals Against - 50 - 7th in NHL

Series History vs. The Jets

• Columbus is 18-17-1 all-time, and 9-8-1 on the road vs. Winnipeg.
• The Jackets are 5-4-1 in the last 10 games vs. the Jets
• The CBJ went 1-1 vs. the Jets last season.

Who To Watch For The Jets

• Mark Scheifele leads the team with 11 goals and 24 points.
• Josh Morrissey leads the Jets with 16 assists.
• Goalie Connor Hellebuyck is 8-6-0 with a SV% of .913. His last start was on November 15.
• Eric Comrie is 3-1-0 with a SV% of .908. His last start was a loss on November 9.

CBJ Player Notes vs. Jets

• Zach Werenski has 10 points in 12 career games against the Jets.
• Charlie Coyle has 24 points in 35 games.
• Sean Monahan has 21 points in 32 games vs. Winnipeg

Injuries 

• Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body - Missed 11 games - IR
• Boone Jenner - Upper Body - Missed 3 Games - IR

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 26

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 97.1 The Fan, 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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While the Montreal Canadiens were suffering a fourth straight defeat, one of their former players was reaching an important milestone. Jeff Petry, who spent eight of his 16-season-long career in Montreal, skated in his 1,000th game with the Florida Panthers.

The Habs first acquired Petry at the trade deadline in 2015 for a second-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick at the 2015 draft. He could have been a rental player, but after putting up seven points in 19 games, he was signed to a six-year contract extension with a $5.5 million cap hit and became a significant part of the Sainte-Flanelle’s blueline. From 16 points in his first complete season in Montreal, he became a steady 40-plus points producer in the last four years of the contract. His performance prompted then-GM Marc Bergevin to sign him to a four-year contract extension with a $6.250 million cap hit in September 2020.

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Whichever way you look at it, the Canadiens were lucky to have Petry during the Shea Weber years. Acquired to be the team’s top blueliner, Weber missed a lot of time due to injury, and when he was on the sidelines, Petry consistently stepped up to fill the void. In 508 games with the Habs, he put up 248 points.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 outbreak derailed Petry’s career with the Canadiens. A family man, Petry became a shadow of himself when his wife and three boys stayed behind in the USA for the season because of the restrictions. It prompted him to request a trade to an American team despite having recently signed a contract extension.

In their eight years in town, the Petry family left their mark on the organization. Not only because of the defenseman’s play, but because his wife Julie started a clothing label with goaltender Carey Price’s wife Angela. The Line Change label began as a Canadiens-only label but quickly expanded to other teams, and it’s now teaming up with Jessica Campbell, the first female assistant coach to have a role behind an NHL team’s bench.

The family’s eldest son, Boyd, also became something of an internet sensation in Montreal through the team’s social media, shooting many videos of the youngsters behind the scenes while he watched his dad play.

When Kent Hughes finally found a trading partner for the right-shot defenseman, he landed Mike Matheson from the Pittsburgh Penguins, a player who has played a significant role in the Sainte-Flanelle’s rebuild. The Canadiens’ GM had to throw in Ryan Poehling in the trade, and he received a 2023 fourth-round pick as well in what turned out to be a fantastic trade for the Habs. To this day, Matheson is a significant cog in the Canadiens’ defence, while Petry’s stay in Pittsburgh only lasted 61 games.

Just over a year later, the Canadiens reacquired the defenseman in a three-way trade. Still, Hughes promptly traded him again, this time to the Detroit Red Wings, a team he grew up watching as an Ann Arbour, Michigan native whose dad played for the Detroit Tigers in the MLB. The way Hughes handled the delicate Petry was no doubt noted by players around the league, as it showed just how respectful the GM was of his players.

Petry would end up playing in Detroit for two seasons before signing a one-year deal at a league-minimum $775,000 with the Panthers in the hope of winning a Stanley Cup before retiring. While things haven’t gone according to plan so far for the double-reigning Champions, with injuries to Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, they are far from out of the playoff race. In 1,000 games, the defenseman has put up 390 points, meaning that 64% of his offensive production came while wearing the Sainte-Flanelle.

The Panthers honoured Petry for his milestone in a pregame ceremony, where he received the traditional silver stick and added a personal touch by having his sons announce the starting lineup in the dressing room.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

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The Philadelphia Flyers have a number of their top prospects knocking on the door for an NHL role, but if those players do get called up, the team cannot continue to make the same mistakes repeatedly as they have been.

Rookie Nikita Grebenkin has hardly gotten a fair shake since the season started, franchise player Matvei Michkov is playing significantly less than last year, and it took the Flyers nearly a month to install defenseman Emil Andrae as a regular in the lineup.

While defenseman Adam Ginning, who has played just once since Oct. 16, is likely the first to go to make a roster spot for a prospect, the Flyers need to do it with a purpose.

Anthony SanFilippo of On Pattison recently reported that the Flyers might be "ready to give [Alex Bump] a look, but they don't want him stuck playing on the fourth line. The Flyers brass believes when Bump comes up, he has to play in the top nine."

In translation, that means more than 12 minutes a night, and not playing with Rodrigo Abols and Garnet Hathaway.

But the same, obviously, hasn't been true for Grebenkin and Michkov, who have both had to do that this season at some point.

'Everyone’s Bringing the Intensity': Tocchet, Flyers Committed to Avoiding ComplacencyThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> were battling hard in practice on Monday.

Bump, 21, has four goals, nine assists, and 13 points in 15 games with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, with 11 of those points coming in his last 10 games.

The offense is finally coming after an unimpressive preseason, and the Flyers, who rank seventh-worst in the NHL in goals scored, could certainly use that.

This is simply a matter of how, but head coach Rick Tocchet and Co. have not yet shown a willingness to lean into the youth, bar the Noah Cates line and newcomer Trevor Zegras.

Adding a young Bump to the equation only further muddies matters, as the Flyers would then have to organize a group of top-nine wingers that includes him, Michkov, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink, Owen Tippett, Travis Konecny, Zegras, if he stays on the wing, and potentially Grebenkin, too.

Such a move would effectively force Zegras and Christian Dvorak to stay down the middle permanently, which can, and arguably should be, the plan for Tocchet, but that remains to be seen.

Tocchet has basked in the versatility those two bring to the table, and it would be hard to imagine he softens his stance on that to make way for a 21-year-old winger.

Flyers: Are We Headed Towards a Goalie Controversy?The push and pull between Sam Ersson and Aleksei Kolosov may force the Philadelphia Flyers into having an uncomfortable conversation about goaltending.

Nonetheless, the Flyers absolutely should be leaning into youth and more traditional rebuilding practices while it is convenient for them, rather than seeing what developments come about and winging it from there - no pun intended.

Plus, Porter Martone could be in the conversation as soon as this spring. The Flyers ought to see which pieces fit into Tocchet's "puzzle" and which ones do not, and sometimes, you have to build the frame first and turn it every which way to find your next move.

After losing three games in a row at home, the Montreal Canadiens were hoping to get back to their winning ways with a game on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was never going to be an easy task, though, with the injury bug going around the Habs’ dressing room these days. Without Kaiden Guhle, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach, Martin St-Louis had to switch his lines and was hoping to spark some production in doing so.

Unfortunately for the bench boss, things didn’t go according to plan, and the Habs had to come back to Montreal with a four-game losing streak. This 4-3 shootout defeat and the point it earns keep the Canadiens in the playoff picture.

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Ex-Canadiens Forward Continues To Impress With New Team

New Lines Take Time

Chemistry doesn’t happen overnight, or even instantly, and it was painfully evident in Monday night’s tilt. For the first time this season, Zachary Bolduc was deployed alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the top line. The unit had one of the best scoring chances of the first frame when Bolduc skated up the wing and cut towards the net, but with the blueliner blocking his way, he ended up going around the net, but not without getting Jet Reaves deported to one side. A quick thinker, Bolduc opted for a backhand pass to Suzuki, but the captain didn’t see it coming and wasn’t ready for the pass.

The Habs’ newly formed second line featured Juraj Slafkovsky, Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov. While it wasn’t easy for them match-up-wise early on, as they were facing the Jackets’ top line, they still managed to score the Habs’ first goal by creating a lot of movement and defensive coverage mayhem. Four Canadiens players touched the puck as they built up Kapanen’s seventh goal of the season.

As for Jake Evans and Josh Anderson, they were paired up with Joshua Roy, who had a roller-coaster of a night. On the Jacket’s second goal, Roy had the puck right on his stick in front, but missed his opportunity to clear, and Adam Fantilli made him pay. Later in the third frame, his presence helped create mayhem in front of Greaves’ net, allowing Anderson to cut the lead in half.

Deep into the third frame and down by one, St-Louis couldn’t resist the urge to go back to familiar combinations with Slafkovsky joining Caufield and Suzuki and Gallagher joining Anderson and Jake Evans.

A tough Outing For Dobson

Since joining the Canadiens at the last draft, Noah Dobson has been very good for the Habs, but on Monday night, it was harder. While he’s fantastic offensively, there are times when it can be trickier in his own zone, and it was the case tonight.

His play reading wasn’t the best tonight, and as a veteran, that shouldn’t happen. On Zach Werensky’s goal, instead of closing down the dangerous blueliner, he just skated backwards, giving him all the time and space in the world to pick his spot, a recipe for disaster.

In overtime, he had an opportunity to complete the comeback win for the Canadiens after being put through on his own in front of Greaves by Caufield, but he couldn’t get the puck past him, and the game went on.

Hutson Bounced Back

Meanwhile, Lane Hutson had his best game in quite some time. He spent over 25 minutes on the ice, put up a goal and an assist, took five shots, landed two hits and blocked one shot. While Hutson doesn’t have the best shot in the league, he needs to trust himself more and take some shots; even if they don’t go in, they can lead to rebounds.

He finished the game with a highly deserved plus-two rating, and this is the type of game that could do wonders for the sophomore defender. His game-tying goal with less than a minute 20 left in the game allowed the Habs to collect a precious point.

After being visibly upset by the overtime loss against the New Jersey Devils on November 6, Jakub Dobes was livid after giving a shootout goal to Kiril Marchenko. He partly stopped the puck, but it trickled in, and the young netminder broke his stick on the way to the dressing room.

The Canadiens will now head back home, where they’ll host Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Thursday at 7:00 PM.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

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