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Kings Outlast Oilers In Shootout Thriller As Forsberg Shines In Edmonton

The Los Angeles Kings (19-15-10) once proved that they can go toe-to-toe with any team in the league, including the Edmonton Oilers (22-16-7), grinding out a dramatic 4-3 shootout win in Rogers Place after a back-and-forth battle that featured momentum swings and late-game controversy. 

In a matchup that felt like a playoff game, the Kings were resilient on both ends of the floor. Missing their key players tonight, they stopped Conor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl from threatening to take over the game in the final moments of regulation. 

Perry Strikes In Familiar Territory

Edmonton opened the scoring midway through the second period after an ill-timed Kings turnover left Leon Draisaitl alone in the slot, burying his 22nd goal of the season, reminding everyone why he continues to be one of the elite players in the league. 

But the Kings would respond later in the frame. 

Following the high-sticking penalty called on Darnell Nurse, Corey Perry, returning to Edmonton for the first time since leaving the Oilers, jammed home a rebound on the power play to tie the game 1-1. 

The first period looked evenly matched, both teams trading shots and goals, but the question was: could the Kings keep this pace up, or would they fold the same way they always do against their heated rival? 

Kings Depth Answers

Draisaitl struck again early in the second period, winning a face-off and sprinting into open space before scoring his second goal of the night to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead. 

Once again though the Kings had an answer for the Oilers.

Midway in the period, Andre Lee, the new King, who was recalled from Ontario, capped off a strong transition play, scoring his first goal of the season to tie the lead again, 2-2. 

Despite Edmonton putting more pressure on the ice in the late stages of the period, the Kings escaped out of the intermission with an even game, setting the stage high for a final period in regulation. 

Laferriere Gives Kings the Lead

The Kings finally grabbed their first lead of the night early in the third when Alex Laferriere diverted a Brandt Clarke shot to give Los Angeles its first lead. 

The Oilers didn't go away though. 

With Andrei Kuzmenko already in the box after serving a high-sticking penalty, Adrian Kempe was whistled for slashing, giving Edmonton a brief 5-on-3. A few seconds later, McDavid snapped a wrist shot to score his first goal of the game, tying the game 3-3 and reigniting the building.

Forbserg Slams the Door in OT and Shootout

Overtime belonged to Anton Forsberg, who turned aside multiple high chances of the Oilers scoring, especially from McDavid and Draisatil who had a lot of open shots to win the game, but Forsberg countered them. 

In the shootout, Adrian Kempe delivered the decisive goal to win the game, while Forsberg denied all of Edmonton's shots to seal the game. 

Final Takeaway

A couple of things to note: Los Angeles was good on the power play tonight, finishing 1/2, and it was the first power-play goal in over a week, a game they also won against Minnesota last Saturday.

Los Angeles also outshot the Oilers 30-24, but struggled with turnovers, giving the puck away 19 times, which is why the game came down to the wire, despite the Kings getting more shots up. But it was still a great quality win for a shorthanded Los Angeles team, coming off a terrible loss to the Winnipeg Jets last night, with no rest, against a fully rested Oilers team and one of the best offenses in the NHL. 

Up next, Los Angeles will begin their three-game home stand against the Dallas Stars on Monday, Jan. 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET, a team that will look to get revenge on after losing on their home ice last month. 

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Predators Run Into Historic Goaltending In Loss To Blackhawks

The Nashville Predators (20-20-4) ran into a historic performance in goal Tuesday night, falling to the Chicago Blackhawks (19-19-7) at home.

Blackhawks rookie goaltender Drew Commesso recorded a shutout in his first NHL victory.

Commesso stopped every shot he faced to become the fourth goaltender in Blackhawks franchise history to post a shutout in his first career win, joining Corey Crawford, Craig Anderson, and Paul Goodman.

It was a 36-save shutout.

The Predators generated offensive-zone time and had some pressure throughout the night but were unable to convert against a goaltender who grew more confident as the game progressed.

Nashville created chances at five-on-five and around the net, but failed to find a breakthrough as Chicago played from ahead. According to MoneyPuck.com, the Predators had 4.38 expected goals.

“We came out in our first eight minutes or so, and I liked our game…and then we got really sloppy with the puck,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said postgame. “Our execution was fairly poor by our standards, and it didn't allow us to get to our game. We pushed a little bit at the end, but I think the whole game, I'm not sure if we thought it'd be a little bit easier than it was. Then we got frustrated with it and seemed to compound, which we haven't done that often. Regardless, we weren't sharp. They were the better team for most of the game.”

The Predators will finish the weekend back-to-back with the Washington Capitals on Sunday.

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Hornets build a 47-point lead in the 1st half and rout the Jazz 150-95

Brandon Miller scored 18 points, LaMelo Ball had 17 and the Charlotte Hornets built a 47-point lead in the first half of a 150-95 rout against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. It was the second-biggest win in franchise history for the Hornets and their largest on the road. The Hornets bounced back from a pair of frustrating losses in a big way, having fallen to Toronto by one point and Indiana by two in their last two games.

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Simon Holmstrom's game-winner in OT gives Islanders 4-3 win over Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Simon Holmstrom scored his second goal of the game 1:34 into overtime and the New York Islanders beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Saturday night.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Casey Cizikas also scored for the Islanders, who improved to 3-0-1 in their last four games. Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves, including 17 in a scoreless third period.

Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov and Ben Jones scored for Minnesota in its third loss in four games (1-1-2). Quinn Hughes assisted on all three Wild goals and Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots.

In the extra period, Holmstrom circled into the slot and fired a backhander that beat Gustavsson to give the Islanders the win.

Minnesota took a one-goal lead three times in the first two periods, including Jones’ first NHL goal to open the scoring early in the first. But the Islanders answered each time to even the score.

Cizikas scored a short-handed goal to tie it 3-3 late in the second period, completing a 2-on-1 rush with Holmstrom by slipping the puck between Gustavsson’s pads.

The Wild were playing their first home game since Dec. 23. They went 4-1-2 on a seven-game road swing that coincided with the Twin Cities hosting the World Juniors Championships.

Up next

Islanders: At Winnipeg on Tuesday.

Wild: Host New Jersey on Monday.

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Drew Commesso Earns First NHL Win & Shutout In Blackhawks' 3-0 Win Over Predators

On Saturday night, the Chicago Blackhawks paid a visit to the Nashville Predators. This comes one night after suffering a 5-1 loss at home to the Washington Capitals. The “stomach bug” caused all sorts of problems for them. 

The bug impacted their lineup on Saturday, too, as Louis Crevier, Colton Dach, Sam Lafferty, Arvid Soderblom, and Spencer Knight were all still missing. Ilya Mikheyev was able to return from his illness. 

The Blackhawks called up Stanislav Berezhnoy to be the backup goaltender, and they gave the start to Drew Commesso. Commesso started in the loss to Washington, but Jeff Blashill went right back to him on no rest. 

That decision worked out for the team, as Commesso earned his first career NHL win. In the process, he also earned his first career NHL shutout with a score of 3-0. Commesso is the first Blackhawks goaltender since Corey Crawford to earn his first win in the form of a shutout. 

This wasn’t a game that the Blackhawks played incredible shutdown defense to help Commesso to a shutout, either. The Predators took 36 shots on goal, and he saved them all. 

Tyler Bertuzzi, Nick Lardis, and Ryan Greene scored the goals for Chicago. Connor Bedard, who was only playing in his second game back from injury, was excellent again. He had two primary assists in the win. 

The Blackhawks are now winners of five games out of six. They are also 6-2-1 since the holiday break ended. This level of success has them back in the Western Conference playoff race once again, which felt impossible a month ago. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Blackhawks are back in action on Monday night when they take on the Edmonton Oilers at the United Center. This will be Connor McDavid’s first visit to Chicago this season. This kicks off four straight at home for Chicago. 

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

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.

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'Forget It, Put It In The Past': Takeaways From Flyers Loss To Strong Lightning Team

The final score tells the truth without offering much nuance. The details, as always, matter more.

The Philadelphia Flyers' 7–2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning was their second defeat in as many meetings this season against a team operating at a very specific, very unforgiving level right now. The Flyers will get one more chance to adjust when the season series concludes Monday, but Saturday’s game made clear how quickly the game slip away when structure slips against a team that thrives on pace, precision, and punishment.

1. This Was Not Purely a Goaltending Loss, Even If the Goaltender Wore It.

Sam Ersson had a difficult night. The goals came in waves, the building grew restless, and the optics were unkind. But inside the Flyers’ room, there was little appetite for assigning blame to the goaltender alone. 

Tampa Bay scored by stretching the ice east-west, attacking seams before coverage could reset, and forcing Ersson into repeated lateral reads with traffic collapsing the crease. Those are high-danger looks even when executed imperfectly; Tampa executed them cleanly.

Ersson’s teammates recognized it immediately. Players went to him during the game to offer encouragement. Postgame, the decision not to make him available was organizational.

“We’ve gotta be better in front of him,” Owen Tippett said postgame. “Those are tough games to play… I don’t know if the sarcastic cheers are really appreciated, but we’ve gotta do a better job in front of him.”

Garnet Hathaway echoed that sentiment, revealing that his message to Ersson was to “keep his head up. I don’t think we played as defensively sound as we needed to. We’re a very offensive-minded team, and that’s not on him. He’s played great all year. So forget it; put it in the past.”

Rick Tocchet, meanwhile, struck a balance between accountability and protection.

“He’s struggling a little bit; you can tell a little bit,” Tocchet said. “You’re gonna have tough nights. If you have an NHL career, sometimes you’re gonna be in the mud, and you’ve gotta get yourself out of it. You’ve gotta work harder, you’ve gotta analyze things—not just [Ersson], anybody.”

Then, pointedly: “We’ve gotta work with him; we’ve gotta help him out, too—whatever we have to do to help him, mental or physical.”

This was a team loss. Ersson absorbed it because goaltenders always do, but the breakdowns began well before the puck reached him.

2. Tampa’s East-West Game Exposed Every Half-Second of Hesitation.

There are teams that beat you by volume. Tampa Bay beats you by speed of decision.

The Lightning punished the Flyers with an unrelenting east-west attack that forced defensive switches, pulled coverage out of shape, and turned small delays into open ice. Once Tampa established rhythm, Philadelphia struggled to disrupt passing lanes early enough to prevent those sequences from forming.

That's not to say the Flyers were completely silent. They had moments—stretches where they generated chances, forced Andrei Vasilevskiy into difficult saves, and even tilted the ice briefly. But against a team this sharp, those windows close quickly.

Rick Tocchet’s assessment was that he "didn’t mind half the game. You’re gonna have those kinds of games, but we do need some better efforts. A couple of our guys that we count on to score turned the pucks over a little too much. You can’t play that way.”

3. The Flyers Generated Chances—They Just Didn’t Finish Them.

One of the more frustrating aspects of the loss was that it wasn’t devoid of offensive opportunity. The Flyers scored twice—Garnet Hathaway’s first goal of the season and Owen Tippett’s power-play marker, his 14th—but they left several other chances on the table.

Christian Dvorak extended his point streak to three games with an assist, while Noah Juulsen and Rodrigo Abols also contributed helpers. The offense existed, and noticeably so, but the execution did not.

Some of that credit belongs to Vasilevskiy, who was calm, square, and efficient. Some of it belongs to Tampa’s ability to recover defensively after initial breakdowns. And some of it falls on Philadelphia’s inability to capitalize when the game was still within reach.

Garnet Hathaway (19). (Megan DeRuchie-The Hockey News)

4. This Game Was a "Learning Lesson."

The Flyers will play Tampa Bay again on Jan. 12, and both players and coach highlighted the importance of having short memories and taking this game as a learning opportunity so they can be better against the Lightning next time around.

“Everybody’s tired of hearing it, but it’s a learning lesson,” Tocchet said. “You learn, you apply it, and be better, which our team has done.”

What matters now is not how they felt leaving the ice, but what they retain from it—about puck management, defensive spacing, and how quickly games can get away from you when structure slips.

The Flyers didn’t lose because they stopped trying. They lost because Tampa never took their foot off the gas. That distinction is uncomfortable, but can be ultimately useful with such a quick turnaround. 

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Wisconsin hands No. 2 Michigan its first loss, 91-88

Saunders tied his career high with 14 rebounds as the Cougars (15-1, 3-0 Big 12) won their 12th straight game. Terence Brown scored 25 points for Utah but turned the ball over in the corner with 8.9 seconds left when his team had a chance to tie. Saunders was fouled and clinched the game with two free throws.

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Pope, Swain and Mark come up big as Texas stuns No. 13 Alabama 92-88 in Tuscaloosa

Jordan Pope scored 28 points, Dailyn Swain added 18 and a huge block in the waning seconds, and Texas stunned No. 13 Alabama 92-88 on Saturday night for its first Southeastern Conference win of the season. Tramon Mark also scored 18 for the Longhorns (10-6, 1-2 SEC), who avoided a three-game skid to open league play. Mark's layup with 23 seconds remaining gave Texas some cushion in crunch time.

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Oweh scores 22, Moreno adds 17 to help Kentucky beat Mississippi State 92-68

Otega Oweh scored 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting and had five of Kentucky's season-high 14 steals to help the Wildcats rally from a 12-point deficit and beat Mississippi State 92-68 on Saturday night. Malachi Moreno made 8 of 10 from the field and finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals for Kentucky (10-6, 1-2 SEC). Denzel Aberdeen added 16 points and Kam Williams scored 14 points.

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Broberg Leaves Blues Game Vs. Golden Knights With Upper-Body Injury

The St. Louis Blues lost defenseman Philip Broberg early in the first period against the Vegas Golden Knights with an upper-body injury.

The 24-year-old, who signed a six-year, $48 extension earlier in the day on Saturday, was checked along the defensive zone boards by Vegas captain Mark Stone, who used his left left to make sure Broberg upended and land on his backside and back of his head.

Broberg was slow to get up but wound up skating off and slowly walking down to the team's locker room; he played 55 seconds and had an assist on a goal by Robert Thomas 53 seconds into the game that gave the Blues a 1-0 lead.

Broberg, who has two goals and 12 assists in 46 games this season, has averaged a career-high 23:18 time on ice per game. He was selected to Sweden's Winter Olympic hockey team last week.

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SEE IT: Mets' Luisangel Acuña has three-home run game in Venezuelan Winter League

While the rest of us continue to deal with the cold winter months, Mets infielder Luisangel Acuña is red-hot.

Playing in the Venezuelan Winter League for the Cardenales de Lara, Acuña had a historic night on Saturday by hitting three home runs in the same game. 

The first long ball came in the second inning, a three-run shot off a right-hander which gave Acuña's team a 6-4 lead. The next two, one off a lefty and one off a righty and both solo shots, came in the later innings with the infielder's team up big.

Here are videos of all three home runs:

Acuña finished the game 3-for-5 with five RBI and five runs scored, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances thanks to two errors. He's just the second player in Cardenales de Lara's history to hit three dingers in the same game.

The 23-year-old has enjoyed a ton of success in Venezuela this winter and will look to carry that into spring training for the Mets starting next month after an inconsistent first full season in the majors where he slashed .234/.293/.274 in 95 games.

After bursting onto the scene as a September call-up in 2024 where he hit three home runs in 39 at-bats (.966 OPS), Acuña's power disappeared in 2025 (.567 OPS) and he was more valuable with his defensive versatility and speed on the bases (16 steals on 17 attempts). 

However, if he's ever able to tap into his raw power that he displayed on Saturday night and briefly in 2024 on a more consistent basis in the majors (like his older brother Ronald Acuña Jr.), it would open up his game to another level.

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Red Wings Avenge Opening Night Loss To Canadiens With 4-0 Road Shutout Win

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The Detroit Red Wings made sure that their second meeting of the season against the Montreal Canadiens had a far happier ending than the first. 

The Red Wings put together one of the most complete road efforts of their centennial campaign, defeating the Canadiens by a 4-0 final score at Bell Centre in what was a complete reversal of Montreal's 5-1 win in Detroit on Oct. 9. 

Goaltender John Gibson, who has been nothing short of clutch for the Red Wings since the start of December, picked up his third shutout of the season and 27th of his NHL career. 

With the victory, the Red Wings have taken sole possession of the top spot in the tightly-packed Atlantic Division. 

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

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After a scoreless first period, the Red Wings opened the scoring when Lucas Raymond buried his third goal in as many games. He capitalized on a fortunate bounce as the puck deflected off the stanchion and popped out in front of the vacated Montreal net while goaltender Jacob Fowler had gone behind the goal to play the puck. 

The lead was then increased to 2-0 after a power-play goal by Dylan Larkin just seconds after the face-off in Montreal's zone. 

Alex DeBrincat put the game out of reach in the third period with his 23rd goal of the campaign, while Andrew Copp put the finishing touches on the scoring with an empty-net tally late in regulation. 

Several of Gibson's 27 saves were on high-danger chances for the Canadiens, who were often left frustrated after he turned aside everything they threw at him. 

The Red Wings will return home to host the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night, before which the franchise will officially retire Sergei Fedorov's iconic No. 91 and raise a banner to the rafters at Little Caesars Arena. 

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Panthers hold on for big win in Ottawa after dropping first two games on road trip

Battered, bruised and struggling, the Florida Panthers arrived in Canada’s capital city on Saturday badly needing a victory.

Thanks to a strong outing by Florida’s special teams units, the Panthers were able to take down the Ottawa Senators 3-2 and pick up a crucial two points.

An early power play for the home team would prove beneficial.

Fabian Zetterlund scored a sharp angle goal that Sergei Bobrovsky would want to have back just one second after the penalty to Evan Rodrigues ended, giving Ottawa a 1-0 lead at the 4:03 mark of the opening period.

Later in the period, Florida was able to take advantage after receiving a power play of their own.

With Artum Zub in the penalty box for high-sticking Anton Lundell, Evan Rodrigues corralled the puck in the slot, waited for a lane to open and wired a shot past Leevi Merilainen to knot the score at one with 8:26 left in the first.

Florida’s power play wasn’t done there.

Later in the period, with Thomas Chabot in the box for roughing Mackie Samoskevich, Gus Forsling slid a cross-zone pass to Carter Verhaeghe, and his long wrist shot went off the far post and into the net, sending the Panthers into the second intermission with a 2-1 lead.

Forsling wasn’t done with just a primary assist, though.

Under four minutes into the third period, Forsling took a pass from his defensive partner Aaron Ekblad just inside the blue line, took a few strides toward the net and blasted a slapshot over the glove of Merilainen to give Florida a 3-1 lead 3:28 into the final frame.

It proved to be an important goal, as Claude Giroux scored with 1:42 on the clock and Merilainen on the bench, but that’s as close as the Senators would get.

Florida finished the game with goals on two of their four power plays while going a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.

On to Buffalo.

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Photo caption: Jan 10, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a save on a shot from Ottawa Senators right wing Michael Amadio (22) in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images)