Posts

Posted on

Observations From Blues' 3-2 Overtime Loss To Maple Leafs

The extra session has not been kind to the St. Louis Blues this season.

That trend continued on Tuesday.

William Nylander scored at 4:06 of overtime for the shorthanded Toronto Maple Leafs, who ended a five-game losing skid with a 3-2 win over the Blues at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Tuesday.

Nathan Walker and Dalibor Dvorsky scored for the Blues (6-9-5), who have dropped four of their past five (1-1-3). Jordan Binnington stopped 26 shots.

The Blues began a five-game road trip on Tuesday and continue Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Let’s look at Tuesday’s observations:

* Terrible sequence for Blues to end a game, highlighted by a highly-skilled goal – The goal, quite frankly, should have never been available for Nylander to begin with.

John Tavares, who was at the end of, or beyond the end of, a long shift at 1:36, goes into the right corner and the Blues converge two skaters (Philip Broberg and Pavel Buchnevich), with Dylan Holloway behind the play waiting for one of his teammates to win the puck back to him for a potential final possession.

Broberg’s shift was at 58 seconds but Buchnevich was the fresher of the players, having just stepped on for his third OT shift at 16 seconds. He comes in to really make sure they can win the puck back. But Tavares is able to kick it out to Morgan Rielly, who finds Nylander coming down the left hand side, he dangles around Holloway, who now has to scramble into position, then dangles around Binnington and tucks the puck inside the near post.

Game over:

The Blues had been pretty strong on wall battles in this game, but it’s been a lingering issue in this first quarter of the season and reared its ugly head once again to cost them another point in the extra time, falling to 0-3 in OT, 0-2 in shootouts.

* Blues trying to play Buchnevich through his slumps is a problem – It’s no secret that Buchnevich is struggling and underperforming by a country mile.

We all know he has just three even-strength points (all assists) in 20 games now and just seven points (two goals, five assists) on the season. Unacceptable for an $8 million player.

But until this guy figures it out, if he figures it out, maybe it’s time in these situations for Jim Montgomery to give ice time, especially in overtime, to someone that deserves it.

Dvorsky is your future, how about him? Maybe a Pius Suter, who didn’t see the ice in OT? Maybe get Jimmy Snuggerud, also the future, back out there for another shift since he was on the bench at the 2:07 mark and rested.

But Buchnevich had a blunder of a turnover that resulted in a penalty shot in a 4-3 OT loss to the Seattle Kraken on Nov. 8 and had a chance to win it in his previous shift when Broberg found him in the slot area, only to fumble the puck at his stick and nearly losing it again.

Buchnevich was on the ice for all three goals against (minus-3 for the game) and had one shot attempt in the game (blocked), took an undisciplined penalty in the first period that didn’t cost them a goal but it came not long after in 17:19 of ice time.

He did make a good play to help with Dvorsky’s power-play goal, but the miscues and mistakes are glaring for someone who’s supposed to be a top-end player.

* Fourth line creates a break, momentum – The fourth line of Walker, Oskar Sundqvist and Alexey Toropchenko did what they are supposed to do: create momentum and hard, gritty, grinding shifts.

They did that and opened the scoring with what was the tone-setter for their game when Walker – or should I say Nylander – made it 1-0 for the Blues when the Toronto forward inadvertently batted the puck past Dardene Prairie’s Joseph Woll at 1:50 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. But it came after initial pressure below the goal line that helped fuel the fire in that situation:

So think about this: Walker scored a goal but didn't have a shot on goal in the game. Pretty rare but it happens on those proverbial own goals.

* Breakdown on tying goal in first starts with undisciplined penalty – The Blues had some good mojo going, but Buchnevich takes an ill-advised offensive zone holding minor at 3:25, and although the Blues killed the play off, Jake McCabe tied the game 1-1 at 5:36 on a floater from the left point.

The Blues had a chance to clear the puck, but Justin Faulk, playing in his 1,000th game, failed to get the clear, and after McCabe’s initial shot was blocked in the slot, the puck hopped over Brayden Schenn’s stick, who thought he was going with it out of the zone, McCabe used former Blue Dakota Joshua as a screen to knuckle one into the corner:

* Special teams create life, Blues turn up shot volume from moment of tying goal – It started with a solid penalty kill for the game, going 3-for-3, including killing off Tyler Tucker’s double minor for high-sticking in the first period after his partner Matthew Kessel, who had a tough first, got walked by Max Domi.

And the power play came through when Dvorsky’s one-timer from the right circle at 13:18 of the second period tied it 2-2.

Buchnevich kept a play alive with a diving effort to keep the play alive, the Blues were able to reload the play from low to high, work it around to Robert Thomas, who found Dvorsky with a seam pass with a Toronto forward missing his stick because it was broken, and Dvorsky made no mistake with his third goal – all on the power play – of the season:

* Blues found life after looking somewhat lifeless – The Maple Leafs were missing some key components (Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, Chris Tanev) and others in this game, and the Blues at one point were being outshot 20-7 to a cast that would have resembled half of the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

But by getting that initial power play, created by Walker’s hustle to draw a tripping minor on McCabe at 12:06, the Blues then caught some life with 16 of the next 18 shots in the game and creating much more O-zone time. They just couldn’t find that next goal despite a plethora of opportunities.

Jordan Kyrou was part of a lot of those opportunities, and the Blues’ winger finished with six shots on goal on 12 attempts; you had to think a goal was coming but it never did.

* Missed too many nets – The Blues simply missed the net too many times, 18 of them in all.

Scoring chances were aplenty in the game, but six guys missed the net two or more times in the game, and that’s just too many in a one-shot game.

Kyrou had the best chance I could recall in the third period when he came in walking into the inner edge of the left circle and tried picking the top right corner but missed the net. That was the chance to win the game but there were others, including Buchnevich’s overtime chance.

Image

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

Posted on

Golden Knights Rookie Forward Nets Second Career Goal In Fourth-Ever Game

LAS VEGAS -- Rookie Braeden Bowman gave the Golden Knights an early 1-0 lead over the New York Rangers Tuesday night with the second goal of his four-game-old career.

Bowman, who made his debut Nov. 13 against the Islanders, was in perfect position to slam home a rebound on the power play against Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

Sitting to the left of the goal, Bowman fed Mitch Marner at the top of the slot. Marner's shot caromed off Shesterkin's right pad to Bowman, who one-timed it in the net.

Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) on XVegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) on XBraeden Bowman on the power play is a cheat code 🎮

On Saturday, in his second game, he scored in St. Louis, also on the power play. In doing so, he became the fourth Golden Knight to score his first NHL goal on the man advantage.

He also became Vegas' fifth skater whose goal stood as a game-winner.

An undrafted free agent, the 22-year-old earned an AHL contract with Henderson in July 2024 and later signed his entry-level contract with Vegas on March 3, 2025, during his first pro season with the Silver Knights.

PHOTO CAPTION: Vegas Golden Knights right wing Braeden Bowman (42) celebrates after scoring a goal against the New York Rangers during the first period at T-Mobile Arena.

Image

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

Posted on

After Earlier Warning, Ottawa Senators Forward Fined By NHL On Tuesday

Senators winger Nick Cousins has made a career out of being hard to play against, getting under people's skin, and pretty much doing whatever is required to help his team win. Opponents often don't care for his tactics, and sometimes the NHL doesn't either. So, on Tuesday, the league put its foot down. Kind of. 

The NHL announced that Cousins has been fined $2,000 as supplementary discipline under NHL Rule 64 (Diving/Embellishment). He was flagged for falling to the ice a little too easily in a game against the Utah Mammoth earlier this month.

According to the league, Rule 64 is designed to bring attention to and more seriously penalize players (and teams) who repeatedly dive and embellish in an attempt to draw penalties.

In a business where even the lowest-paid employees are making close to a million dollars, it's hard not to chuckle over the notion that the league might believe there's anything "serious" about a $2000 fine. That's an amount most players can recoup from under their floor mats the next time they get their Mercedes detailed.

But the real punishment isn't financial. It's the attention and stigma of being publicly labelled a diver. To many NHL players, it's a scarlet letter. No hockey player in this country wants to be thought of as a diver. It's an incredible contrast to professional soccer, where diving and pretending to be injured to fool the referee is appreciated by most and tolerated by all.

But most North American hockey fans can't stand it. As an example, there's a popular Instagram account with almost 20K followers, entirely devoted to "exposing the divers/embellishers of the NHL."

NHL Dives invites followers to DM them with any dives they witness in the NHL, and the video of the offender's theatrics and fakery is quickly posted for all to see. They even post standings, or as they call it, "The Diving Board."

With Cousins' second infraction, that's when automatic fines start to kick in.

Cousins was issued a warning in a game at Washington on Oct. 25, though he really didn't do much embellishing. He was slashed on the back of the leg, though not very hard, and dropped briefly to one knee.

His second citation, which triggered the $2,000 fine, was issued for an incident vs. Utah on Nov. 9. Utah forward JJ Peterka was assessed a minor penalty for interference on a play where Cousins fell to the ice without taking much contact at all.

Once a team takes four diving penalties in a season, their coach is also on the hook for all future dives, starting at $2000 for a fifth dive, then escalating to a cap of $5000 for the eighth dive and every dive after that.

That can also be an effective deterrent, because no player wants to aggravate or take money away from the man who controls his ice time.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News

Posted on

Penguins' Defensive Prospect Has Surgery, Out Indefinitely

It looks like the Pittsburgh Penguins' injury woes have trickled down to their farm system. 

On Tuesday, it was announced by the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League that Penguins' defensive prospect Peyton Kettles will be out indefinitely after injuring his shouler. He is scheduled to have surgery Friday in Pittsburgh. 

Kettles was selected 39th overall by the Penguins in this summer's draft, and the big, 6-foot-5 defenseman has a goal and three points in five games this season split between the Swift Current Broncos and the Kelowna Rockets. He played with fellow defensive prospect Owen Pickering at Swift Current for two seasons from 2022-24.

He was traded from Swift Current to Kelowna on Oct. 30 in CHL blockbuster that included defenseman Jackson Gillespie and five draft picks - one of which is a 2027 first-round pick. Kettles had already missed Penguins' training camp due to injury and recently returned from that injury before sustaining this one. 

The Rockets are 8-6-3-1 and are currently ranked eighth in the Western Conference. They will play host to the Calder Memorial Cup Final at the conclusion of the 2025-26 junior season. 

Penguins' Rookie Defenseman Eligible For AHL StintPenguins' Rookie Defenseman Eligible For AHL StintIt has been exactly two weeks since <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke dressed for a game day.&nbsp;

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

Posted on

Islanders Hold On, Beat Stars 3–2 To Push Road Trip Record to 5-1-0

The New York Islanders improved to 5-1-0 on their seven-game road trip after a big 3-1 win in the Big D against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. David Rittich made  saves for his second straight win. 

Bo Horvat broke a 1-1 tie, scoring his 13th of the season at 3:12 of the third after a favorable bounce off the end-wall:

Then, after Horvat found himself in the box for a double-minor, also earning himself a 10-minute misconduct, Kyle Palmieri did his best Jean-Gabriel Pageau impression, scoring shorthanded to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead at 7:38 of the third:

Horvat was unable to play the final 13:12 of the third. 

The Stars pulled within one, scoring with 1:59 to go in the third with the extra-attacker courtesy of Jason Robertson's second of the game. But that's as close as Dallas would get.

Early in the Calum Ritchie scored at 0:31 of the period for his first goal since joining the Islanders, but Jason Robertson answered 1:55 later:

 We await an update on defenseman Alexander Romanov, who was hit from behind by Stars forward Mikko Rantanen with 27.3 seconds to play. Rantanen received a five-minute major and a game misconduct. 

The Stars thought they scored to force overtime with 0.2 seconds to play in regulation -- which they did -- but the league deemed it goaltender interference after a review. 

The Islanders conclude their road trip against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night with puck drop at 7 PM ET on MSGSN2. 

Posted on

Rookies Lead Red Wings To Atlantic Division Lead With 4-2 Win Over Kraken

Follow Michael Whitaker On X

One of the major storylines for the Detroit Red Wings in their centennial campaign has been the emergence of several rookie players.

On Tuesday evening against the visiting Seattle Kraken, a pair of rookies took center stage. 

Nate Danielson scored his first career goal while adding an assist, while Emmitt Finnie broke a lengthy goal-scoring drought of his own (assisted by Danielson) as part of Detroit's 4-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken at Little Caesars Arena.

Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) on XDetroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) on X#REDWINGS WIN!!!! #LGRW

With the victory, the Red Wings improved their record to 12-7-1 and moved into the top spot in the Atlantic Division. 

It was the Kraken who found the back of the net first after team captain Jordan Eberle banged home a loose puck at the side of the net while on the power-play in the first period. 

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

Detroit's Lucas Raymond knotted the score early in the second period with his sixth goal of the season and second in as many games.

Not long afterward, it would be Danielson who was credited with his first NHL goal after a shot from fellow rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka deflected off his shin and past goaltender Joey Daccord. Immediately, rookie Emmitt Finnie retrieved the puck from the net that Danielson will keep forever.

Image

Danielson appeared to have his second career goal just minutes later after he deked around defenseman Adam Larsson and beat Daccord with a power move to the net, though the goal would be taken back after Finnie was ruled to have entered the offensive zone just a fraction too early. 

The Kraken then managed to tie the game on a deflection goal from Ryker Evans, but Detroit would restore the lead after Danielson picked up his second point of the evening with a perfect feed to Finnie, who roofed a shot past Daccord for his first goal since Oct. 25. 

Despite a late push by the Kraken in the third period, the Red Wings iced the game after Dylan Larkin scored into the vacated net, picking up the 600th point of his career in the process. 

Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot won for the eighth time this season, making 20 saves, while Daccord countered with 23 saves. 

Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum

Posted on

White Sox acquire left-hander Chris Murphy in a trade with the Red Sox

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox acquired left-hander Chris Murphy in a trade with the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

Murphy went 3-0 with a 3.12 ERA in 23 relief appearances over three stints with the Red Sox this year. He also made five starts and 13 relief appearances in the minors, going 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA.

The 27-year-old Murphy was selected by Boston in the sixth round of the 2019 amateur draft. He missed the 2024 season after he had Tommy John surgery.

Boston acquired minor league catcher Ronny Hernández in the deal. The 21-year-old Hernández hit .251 with four homers and 34 RBIs in 82 games with Class A Kannapolis this year.

The Red Sox also traded right-hander Alex Hoppe to Seattle and left-hander Brennan Bernardino to Colorado. They got minor league catcher Luke Heyman from the Mariners and outfielder Braiden Ward from the Rockies.

The 33-year-old Bernardino went 4-3 with a 3.14 ERA in 55 appearances with the Red Sox this past season.

Posted on

Nets remain winless at home after 113-99 loss to Celtics

NEW YORK (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 29 points, Payton Pritchard had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 113-99 on Tuesday night to move above .500 for the first time this season.

Derrick White added 15 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight game to improve to 8-7. They played the Nets even for about three quarters before smothering them defensively in the fourth, allowing just one basket for the first 10 minutes of the period.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points for the Nets, his career-best seventh straight game with at least 20. But after his 3-pointer gave Brooklyn a 90-89 lead with 9:08 left, the Nets didn’t make another basket until 1:56 remained.

Day’Ron Sharpe added 16 points for the Nets, who fell to 2-12 overall and 0-7 at home.

The Celtics started the season 0-3 and then won their next three. They dropped the next two games and hadn’t gotten their record back to even again until beating the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Porter had 18 points at halftime and Pritchard scored 17. The teams combined for 22 2-pointers and 21 3-pointers in the first half, which ended with Boston leading 62-61.

The Celtics opened their first double-digit cushion when Brown followed a three-point play with a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 burst and make it 75-65 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the third. Brooklyn cut it to one late in the period before Brown made another 3-pointer to send the Celtics to the fourth with an 89-85 edge.

With the Celtics leading 97-92, they chased down three missed shots on one possession to set up White’s 3-pointer. After a Brooklyn free throw, he made another 3 to make it 103-93. Brown’s 3 with 2:55 left capped an 18-3 run to make it 107-93.

Up next

The teams meet Friday night in Boston.