Anthony Gordon scored his first goal for Barcelona as the Spanish champions extended their perfect start in La Liga with a 3-0 home win over Getafe. The England international opened the scoring in the second minute and Gabriel Jesus added another after half an hour for the league leaders, who have won every match they have played this season.
Jules Koundé tucked home the third from Lamine Yamal’s cross to cap Barça’s solid win at the Camp Nou. Barça moved five points clear of second-placed Atlético Madrid, who won 2-1 at Alavés earlier, and lead Real Madrid, fourth, by nine points before Los Blancos host Villarreal later on.
It was another dreadful performance by the skaters. At one point, the Penguins were being outshot 33-10, and they finished the game outshot 45-22.
Rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov was the only reason why the Penguins stole a point and had a chance to steal the extra one. He was locked in from the drop of the puck and made several massive saves throughout the game to keep the Penguins in it.
In his first two starts, Murashov has made 75 saves on 80 shots, good for a .938 save percentage. He looks like the real deal.
He'll have Saturday off when the Dallas Stars come to town. Arturs Silovs will start in this game and needs a good performance after struggling a little bit in Washington on Wednesday.
The Penguins will play a Stars team that is 2-2 overall and has outscored their opponents 9-0 this week. They're one of the best teams in the league and are a handful to deal with.
If the Penguins want to snap their three-game losing streak, they'll need to get off to a fast start and be way more responsible in their own end. They haven't made things easy for their goaltenders over the last week, and that needs to change.
There's a chance that head coach Dan Muse tweaks the lines after Friday's shootout loss, but this is what they looked like last night:
Forwards
Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Chinakhov-Novak-Malkin
Lapierre-Kindel-Koivunen
Dewar-Lizotte-Robertson
Defensive pairs
Carlile-Karlsson
Girard-Korczak
van Riemsdyk-Letang
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. You can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'
ESPN's Shams Charania first reported the news on X on Saturday, Oct. 10, citing Podziemski's agent, Bill Duffy of WME Basketball. The Warriors have since confirmed the move to USA TODAY Sports. The rookie-scale extension is fully guaranteed with a mutual option in the fifth year and a trade kicker.
The Warriors confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that the team agreed to a new contract with Podziemski.
Podziemski will be playing in the last year of his rookie contract this season. His extension will kick in next season.
What are Brandin Podziemski's stats with Golden State?
Brandin Podziemski has played three seasons in the NBA, all with the Golden State Warriors. He averages 11.6 points, 3.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game.
He played all 82 games last season in the 2025-26 campaign and started 43 times. He averaged 13.8 points, 3.7 assists and 5.1 boards per matchup.
When do the Warriors start the 2026-27 NBA season?
The Golden State Warriors tip off their 2026-27 season on Wednesday, Oct. 21 in an away game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Not many in this Top 25 had the chance to play NHL games for the Devils in the “Jersey Jersey,” but Topias Vilen made his NHL debut in his. | Getty Images
Happy weekend and happy game day, Devils fans. As we wait for our matinee against the Canucks, please feel free to read about another set of our Top 25 Under 25!
The New Jersey Devils’ third pick from the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, selected at 44th overall, kicks off our top 15 this year. Nikita Shcherbakov is already looking like he might be one of the steals of the draft. Last season, Shcherbakov played seven scoreless games with Salavat Yulaev Ufa, spending most of his season in the VHL (Russian second-tier) with Toros Neftekamsk, where he had four goals and six assists in 35 games. He also had 10 assists in 15 games for Tolpar Ufa in the MHL, or Russian juniors. By our expectations, we would have been happy to see Shcherbakov have a good season in the VHL, improving from the slow production he had there last year. We would have been thrilled with some modest production in the KHL.
So, who would have expected that Shcherbakov would already have two goals and four assists in 14 games for his KHL club? For a KHL rookie, Shcherbakov positions himself aggressively enough to contribute to the offense. Of course, this might not last forever. According to the KHL website, Shcherbakov only plays about 10:06 per game, and he has neither received penalty killing nor power play shifts to this point. Still, he has a chance to make history. In the 18 years that the KHL has existed, the all-time leading scorers among 18-year old defensemen are Anton Silaev and Mikhail Gulyaev, who had 12 points in 63 and 64 games, respectively. The all-time leading per-game scorer among 18-year old defensemen is Shakir Mukhamadullin, who had 10 points in 39 games.
While he did slip a bit in these rankings, Shane Lachance still has a very good chance of making the NHL. At 6’5” and 218 pounds, Lachance’s easiest path to the big club is by establishing himself as a consistent netfront presence. Last season, we saw a glimpse of that when he scored a preseason goal against the Capitals with the Devils’ power play, but Lachance played one game for the New Jersey Devils in the regular season. On a floundering Utica Comets team for most of that season, Lachance only had 10 goals and 15 assists in 62 games after having a goal and an assist in two games for them in 2024-25 upon his departure from Boston University. It was hard not to notice that players like Lachance and Cam Squires looked outstanding immediately after leaving their juniors or college teams only to have strongly disappointing full seasons with Utica.
This season, we hope for more from Lachance. The team as a whole is built far more competitively, including multiple former NHLers such as Vladislav Kolyachonok and Colin White along with higher-scoring AHLers such as Ben Steeves and Riley Tufte. Having multiple layers of scoring threat built throughout that lineup means that games no longer hinge on whether players like Lachance, Melovsky, and Hameenaho are the absolute key to whether they win or lose, as opponents will be forced to make tougher matchup decisions. Utica played their first game eight days ago, but their season finally resumes this evening. Let’s hope for a display of improved skating and high-danger scoring from the big Lachance.
13. Matyas Melovsky (RH C) — Last Rank: 16 — Age: 22 — Team: Utica Comets (AHL)
Prior to Sunny Mehta’s trade of Jacob Markstrom for Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist, I would have thought that Matyas Melovsky was a strong candidate to make the NHL this season as a fourth-line center. The Czech right-hander was drafted in 2024 as a double-overage selection by the Devils in the sixth round, and this move has proved to be a rather solid one. Melovsky grew as a goal scorer over time in the QMJHL, going from a pure playmaker to a dual-threat with two-way success that made him one of the best players in the league at the time. Last season, in his professional debut for the Utica Comets, Melovsky had 10 goals and 16 assists in 55 games while having some of the best on-ice results on the team.
This year, Melovsky is off to a good start with an assist in Utica’s only game to date, as he got the primary assist on a goal by Ben Steeves. What makes Melovsky so easy to project into the NHL is his skating ability and positioning. He always seems to be making the right plays, far from being a selfish player. The New Jersey Devils might not have an easy way for Melovsky to get onto the team this season, but I expect him to be the regular number one center for Utica, above Schmelzer, White, and McLaughlin, by November. Of course, I think he should already be there.
Continuing the theme of this entry of the Top 25 Under 25 being dominated by Utica Comets, Topias Vilen is the prospect in this section who played the most games in the NHL last season. Those two games might not stand out, but Vilen held his own in his cup-of-coffee NHL experience. Personally, I was not surprised by this, as Vilen has been playing professional hockey since he was 17, when he played in the Finnish Liiga. Since coming to the AHL in 2023, Vilen has been very consistent with 24 or more points in each season and a total of 80 points in 174 games.
This season, Vilen has to contend with a more stacked left side of the defense in Utica. Playing with Anton Silaev and Ethan Edwards, Vilen’s best chance of getting 20 minutes a game would necessitate him playing on the right side where Vladislav Kolyachonok is currently slated (especially while Seamus Casey remains out). Along with Kolyachonok, Vilen was among the final cuts from the New Jersey Devils’ roster going into the regular season, so there is a chance that we see him again this season. But if injuries arise, Mehta and Keefe will need to decide whether they prefer the steadiness of Vilen’s game or the potential of the speedy Edwards, the giant Silaev, or the NHL-experienced Kolyachonok.
The gap between Vilen and Ethan Edwards, in my opinion, is razor-thin. Honestly, going by pure production, Vilen is probably a bit better. Edwards is nearly a year older and was a four-year college player, where he was never a huge point producer at the University of Michigan. But Edwards’s skating has always been extremely intriguing. He has good edges and straight-line speed with the potential to be a good two-way defenseman that can close gaps quickly and join the attack. Last season, Edwards even had 10 goals for the Utica Comets, though his total of 23 points in 69 games still lagged well behind Vilen’s overall pace.
Edwards has one very big issue to take care of this season, though. In the 2025-26 season, Edwards had the third-worst on-ice goal rates out of 10 defensemen who played 10 or more games for the Utica Comets. And with most of the power play time last season going to Calen Addison, Seamus Casey, and Topias Vilen, Edwards was unable to push for power play time, while having significantly less success in extended penalty killing minutes than Vilen. First and foremost, Edwards needs to get his five-on-five play under control, proving that he can put his excellent skating to good use. Second, Edwards needs to find a special teams niche in the AHL, whether it is on the power play or penalty kill. If he can do that, he might put himself in position to push for a roster spot by next year. With Edwards being ranked so high, we are betting big on physical tools and athleticism.
The Vote
See below for the tally today.
As I mentioned yesterday, we are at the point where the variance in rankings has reduced significantly. The true average ranks for each of these players sat between 12 and 14.33, while the worst individual rank for any of them was 20 and the best individual ranks were as high as 9. This is where the slight disagreements came from everyone:
I had Nikita Shcherbakov (17->15) and Shane Lachance (16->14) in the top 20.
James had Matyas Melovsky (16->13) in the top 20 and Lachance (9->14) in the top 10.
Jared had Ethan Edwards (10->11) and Shcherbakov (9->15) in the top 10.
Jackson had Topias Vilen (17->12) in the top 20.
Tim had Lachance (20->14) in the top 20 and Melovsky (10->13) in the top 10.
The community had Shcherbakov (20->15) in the top 20 and Edwards (9->11) in the top 10.
We are largely in consensus over the general range of these prospects. By this point of the rankings, we are hoping that at least three of the five players here turn into true NHLers. They might not be superstars at this range (though Jared may have been onto something ranking Shcherbakov so high when he did), but there should be NHL depth, third pairing defensemen, or bottom six forwards of the future here. After these five, the expectations take another jump.
Your Thoughts
What did you think of today’s rankings release? Who are you excited to follow throughout this season? What do you think of Shcherbakov’s historic start in the KHL? Do you think Melovsky or Lachance will appear for the Devils this season? Do you think Vilen or Edwards might serve as injury fill-ins at some point? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
Ahead of Saturday afternoon's road game against the Boston Bruins, the Philadelphia Flyers announced a slew of unfortunate injury updates that will have major impacts on the team's short- and long-term plans.
According to Flyers general manager Danny Briere, forward Travis Konecny (lower-body) and Cam York (upper-body) are both day-to-day and will not play against the Bruins on Saturday.
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who accompanied the Flyers for their three-game road trip, has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 3, making him eligible to return as soon as he is ready to play.
With Ristolainen on injured reserve, the Flyers activated defenseman Helge Grans, who started the season on season-opening injured reserve due to a lower-body injury suffered in the preseason.
With York and Ristolainen out, Grans will make his season debut against the Bruins on Saturday on a defense pairing with Simon Benoit.
The most significant and unfortunate piece of injury news comes from a player who has hardly played in the last seven months, a trend that will linger into the foreseeable future.
Energetic young winger Nikita Grebenkin, who has not played a competitive game for the Flyers since March 21, will be out a minimum of four months after undergoing back surgery.
Grebenkin, 23, missed most of training camp with his injury but eventually returned to skate in a yellow no-contact jersey before playing against, ironically, the Bruins in a preseason game on Sept. 24.
In that game against the Bruins, Grebenkin was apparently injured by a collision along the wall, but eventually returned to the game. The Russian forward has been out since then.
Updated Flyers lineup
With the slew of injuries mentioned above, here's how the Flyers are expected to line up against Boston on Saturday, and potentially Carolina on Sunday night, too.
Christian Dvorak - Trevor Zegras - Tyson Foerster
Owen Tippett - Sean Couturier - Matvei Michkov
Denver Barkey - Noah Cates - Porter Martone
Garrett Wilson - Noel Acciari - Michael Bunting
Travis Sanheim - Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler - David Jiricek
Simon Benoit - Helge Grans
Having a back-to-back this weekend complicates things, as the Flyers have just one spare healthy skater on the roster in Carl Grundstrom.
Grundstrom did not play against Ottawa on Thursday night and will remain out in favor of the long-time tough guy Wilson as the Flyers face the hosting Bruins in the most important game of their winless 0-3-2 season thus far.
⚽ Updates from the 5.30pm BST kick-off at Old Trafford ⚽ Scores | Table | Mail Scott
Spurs get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Stretford End in this first half.
The teams are out. Manchester United in their famous red, white and black, Tottenham in second-choice dark blue with diagonal multi-coloured neon nonsense. Meanwhile here’s the first line of a song ringing out loud from all four corners of Old Trafford: “You know what you are.” No prizes for guessing the rest of the lyrics, or which club they’re serenading. Don’t look back in anger? Good luck with that! We’ll be off in a minute.
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 5: Ebuka Okorie #23 of the Detroit Pistons is interviewed after the game against the Phoenix Suns during a preseason game on October 5, 2026 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The NBA preseason is a great time to work out some kinks, give reserves more opportunities to thrive, and for players to get their legs back under them. The Detroit Pistons did most of that in their first preseason win over the Phoenix Suns.
Detroit travels to the nation’s capital in a matchup with 2026 first overall pick AJ Dybantsa and the Washington Wizards. The Detroit key players only played around 20 minutes Monday night. Let’s see if J.B. Bickerstaff ramps that up a bit and gets Jalen Duren out there, or will it be the Ebuka Okorie show.
GAME VITALS
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
When: 7:00 PM EST
Watch: TV20 Detroit/DAZN-DET
Odds: Pistons (-4.5)
Bickerstaff said Duren will play in the preseason and could make his debut tonight. Duren said he wants to improve as a rim and pick-and-roll defender. If he does suit up for a bit tonight, he’d have plenty of opportunities to show PnR growth with Trae Young, Anthony Davis, and Deandre Ayton spamming actions. Washington has downhill guards he can sway away from the basket if they manage to get by Detroit’s perimeter defenders.
Ausar Thompson showed growth in his biggest swing skill for this Pistons build to work: creation. His jumper is always at the top of the conversation, but being a legit playmaker next to Cade Cunningham unlocks this team.
Ausar was aggressive getting to the rack, keeping his options open versus the Suns. He’d rim run to score or to throw dimes to Paul Reed and spot-up shooters. Seeing his midrange jumper drop spoke to his mindset in that outing. The makes were cool, but the attempts were better. Getting them up to gain the defense’s respect will aid his playmaking chops.
Ron Holland attempted the most shots on the squad. Some were good looks, some were out of control, but his game-wrecking defense was there as always. Holland flew around the court terrorizing Phoenix backups. The Wizards have a ton of guards with off-the-bounce juice. Holland will see plenty of Tre Johnson, Tre Mann, and maybe Young tonight.
Okorie was thrown into the fire with 10 minutes to go and did not disappoint. His defensive effort was there. The microwave scoring was as good as advertised. We should get used to those extended finishes. Okorie uses every bit of his 6-foot-8ish wingspan and turbo jets to get by defenders and finish from different angles. Bickerstaff praised the 19-year-old’s ability to finish at that age. He’s ahead of the curve.
Alex Sarr is questionable after missing Washington’s first preseason game. He’s a do-it-all big that Isaac Jones, John Collins (who had a Detroit-like debut), and Reed will deal with in their minutes. Jones was more than solid defensively Monday night. He set advantage-creating screens that freed up himself and his teammates.
Preseason is like a practice test. See what you got wrong and drill those principles for the real thing. The starters came out flat offensively, but Bickerstaff acknowledged that a new offense takes longer to click than defense. Use this game to get going.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, John Collins, Jalen Duren
Washington Wizards: Trae Young, Kyshawn George, AJ Dybantsa, Alex Sarr, Anthony Davis
QUESTION OF THE DAY
What do you want to see from Jalen Duren the most this season?
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is out for the season after injuring his right knee Friday night in a game at Washington, the team announced Saturday.
Shesterkin did not put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the ice by teammates after an awkward fall into his own net against the Capitals.
Shesterkin came well out of his crease to challenge a shooter midway through the second period and fell as he scrambled back to the net. The 30-year-old Russian jammed his right skate into the right post as he slid back into the crease and collapsed into the net in pain.
“It's awful, you know? He's a pillar of this team. It stinks," Rangers captain J.T. Miller said following the 3-1 loss to the Capitals.
Coach Mike Sullivan said after his team's four-game winning streak was snapped: “He's an elite goaltender and you never want to see anyone get hurt. Obviously, he's an important player for us.”
The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner missed a month last season with a lower-body injury, contributing to the Rangers finishing last in the Eastern Conference.
Shesterkin was off to a strong start this season with a 3-1 record and 1.76 goals-against average. Last week, he became the first Rangers goalie to score a goal when he lofted the puck the length of the ice into an empty net late in New York’s home opener against Tampa Bay.
“We're not going to let that take the wind out of our sails,” Miller said about Shesterkin's injury. “We love the way we're playing most of the time.”
Shesterkin stopped 13 of 14 shots and left with the score tied 1-all. He was replaced by 24-year-old backup Dylan Garand, who gave up the go-ahead goal late in the second but finished with 11 saves on 12 shots.
It was the fifth NHL appearance and second this season for Garand, recalled last week from Hartford of the American Hockey League after clearing waivers. Garand made 22 saves in a 2-0 shutout at Detroit last Friday with the Rangers playing their second game in two nights.
Garand went 2-0-1 with a 1.62 goals-against average and .948 save percentage in three starts for the Rangers last season.
New York acquired veteran goaltender Joonas Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins last summer to be Shesterkin’s backup. But the 32-year-old Finn was placed on injured reserve last week and was week to week with a lower-body injury.
HONOLULU, HI - OCTOBER 4: Brandin Podziemski #2 of the Golden State Warriors shoots a free throw during the game against the LA Clippers during the 2026 NBA Preseason game on October 4, 2026 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Jay Metzger/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
It’s safe to say that Brandin Podziemski has been the star of training camp for the Golden State Warriors. The fourth-year guard earned rave reviews at the start of camp for his play, looks to be in pole position for a starting job, and has shined in the team’s preseason games. And now he’s getting paid.
On Saturday morning, ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news that Podziemski and the Warriors had agreed on a contract extension for five years and $110 million. Per ESPN’s Anthony Slater, the first year of Podziemski’s deal (2027-28) will pay him $18.9 million, with subsequent pay raises pushing him to $20.4 million, $22 million, $23.5 million, and $25 million. The final year of the deal (2031-32) is a mutual option and, like most large NBA deals, the contract also includes a trade kicker, meaning Podziemski will receive a pay bump if the Warriors trade him (though the kicker can be waived to facilitate a deal).
Podziemski, who averaged a career-high 13.8 points per game last year while playing in all 82 of the team’s games (and starting 43 times), is in the final year of his first-round rookie scale contract. While the lefty made it clear that he was more focused on basketball than on future deals, there was a little bit of urgency in getting an extension sorted out because of the timeline. Players entering the final year of their rookie-scale contract have until the eve of the season to sign an extension; if a deal is not agreed upon by then, it cannot be signed during the season, and the player will enter restricted free agency in the offseason.
The deal makes lots of sense for both sides. For the Warriors, it’s a fair rate when you account for both the player Podziemski currently is, and the player the team hopes he can continue to develop into, while also locking him in for a great price if he has a breakout season, and keeping him from running up the price in a free agent bidding war. For the 23-year old Podziemski, it gives him a hefty pay raise (he’ll make $5.7 million this year), and also offers him security from any setbacks this year, such as injuries.
We’ll see if Podziemski celebrates by going off in tonight’s preseason game against the Sacramento Kings.
Vítor Matos praised his Swansea side for overcoming a lack of training as they strengthened their position at the top of the Championship with a 2-1 comeback win over Norwich. Second-half goals from Moussa Yeo and the Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah wiped out Jacob Wright’s strike just before the half-hour mark.
It was the third time Swansea had come from behind this season to win, and, after West Ham’s draw the previous night, it gave them top spot in the table. Idah, though, limped out of the action and could be a doubt for Tuesday’s visit to Millwall.
The Montreal Canadiens made an early-season trade on Friday, dealing defenseman Jayden Struble to the Nashville Predators for a second-round pick.
With the Canadiens having a defensive logjam on their left side, it seemed likely that one of their defensemen would be moved. Now, Struble is the player that they have decided to part ways with.
With the Canadiens trading Struble, let's look at two more Montreal players who could be on the move next.
Kirby Dach
Questions about Kirby Dach's future with the Canadiens have come up for a while now. He has been the subject of early-season trade rumors, and he could be a good trade chip for Montreal to dangle to upgrade their roster elsewhere.
Dach is signed for the 2026-27 season and is a pending unrestricted free agent. Thus, if the Canadiens do not view him as a long-term part of their plans, it would not be too surprising if he got moved this season.
In four games so far this season, Dach has one assist and a minus-2 rating.
Samuel Montembeault
Samuel Montembeault will be sidelined for the next 10 to 14 days due to injury. Although this is the case, he is still a goalie who should be watched as a trade candidate this season
Montembeault is a pending unrestricted free agent, and the Canadiens have Jacob Fowler waiting in the wings. With that, it would not be surprising if Montembeault is traded to another team by the deadline. This is especially so if he has a solid year for Montreal once he returns from injury.
The Senators are getting one of their injured forwards back just as another heads to long-term injured reserve.
Andre Burakovsky is expected to make his Senators debut on Saturday night when they host the Nashville Predators at Canadian Tire Centre.
The veteran winger's return comes at an important time for the Senators, who just placed William Eklund on long-term injured reserve after a serious ankle injury in Thursday night's 2-1 home-opening victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
During training camp, newcomer Andre Burakovsky, who will make his Sens debut on Saturday, looked back at his tough finish to the season in Chicago last season (Senators YouTube).
Eklund was hurt in the first period after taking a hit from Flyers defenceman Simon Benoit and awkwardly jamming his skate into the base of the boards. He needed help getting off the ice and was unable to put any weight on his left leg.
The Senators haven't confirmed the exact nature of the ankle injury or provided a timetable for his return, but head coach Travis Green said Eklund will be out for "an extended period of time."
The move to LTIR means Eklund must miss at least 10 games and 24 calendar days from the date of his injury.
Based on the morning skate combinations, it looks like Green will plug Burakovsky right into Eklund's spot alongside Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson.
Burakovsky participated in Saturday's morning skate wearing a regular jersey, as did defencemen Artem Zub and Kurtis MacDermid. While that's encouraging news on the injury front, Zub isn't ready to return against Nashville.
For Burakovsky, it's a great chance to turn the page on a very rough finish to last season.
The Senators acquired the former Stanley Cup champion from Chicago during the offseason, hoping a change of scenery might help him rediscover some of the offensive production that once made him a valuable top-six forward.
His final stretch with the Blackhawks was especially tough. Burakovsky managed just four points in his final 32 games last season, despite spending much of that time playing alongside Connor Bedard. But he started the year with 29 points in his first 43 games, and the Sens would be thrilled with that version of the player.
The Senators enter Saturday's game with a 3-1 record, having won their first two games on the road against Toronto and Boston before looking tired and stumbling in Detroit.
They bounced back Thursday against Philadelphia, with rookie defenceman Carter Yakemchuk scoring the game-winning goal on a third-period power-play one-timer.
Unfortunately, injuries have been a recurring theme in the Sens' victories this season. Jake Sanderson was injured in the opener against Toronto, Linus Ullmark left the Boston game as a precaution following a collision, and Eklund went down against Philadelphia.
Ullmark returned Thursday and was excellent, stopping 28 of 29 shots in the victory.
Nashville will provide the opposition on Saturday. It's the Predators' final stop of a three-game trip through eastern Canada, and they've already collected three of a possible four points.
They opened the trip Tuesday with a 5-4 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs before bouncing back Thursday with a 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
On Friday, the Predators acquired 25-year-old Canadiens defenceman Jayden Struble in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick originally belonging to Vegas.
Struble, who was a healthy scratch for Montreal on Thursday, brings a strong, physical element to Nashville's blue line. He was on the ice with the Predators at Saturday's morning skate, so he's a good bet to play against the Senators.
Here's how the Sens are projected to line up on Saturday night.
Forwards
Andre Burakovsky – Tim Stützle – Drake Batherson Ridly Greig – Dylan Cozens – Fabian Zetterlund Michael Amadio – Shane Pinto – Claude Giroux Warren Foegele – Stephen Halliday – Nick Cousins
Defence
Thomas Chabot – Jordan Spence Tyler Kleven – Carter Yakemchuk Hoyt Stanley – Nikolas Matinpalo
Goaltenders
Linus Ullmark Samuel Ersson
Zub rotated in with Matinpalo and Stanley during Saturday's morning skate, but his return doesn't appear imminent. MacDermid also participated in a regular jersey.
But the biggest lineup development, of course, is Burakovsky's debut. For the Swedish veteran, there's no better time to start proving that a change of scenery was exactly what he needed.
Jaden Schwartz has never scored 30 goals in an NHL season, but four games into this year, he’s making that milestone look like a distant memory. The Colorado Avalanche forward has six points already, and he’ll look to keep it going Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Ball Arena.
Toronto is coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to Vegas on Thursday. The Leafs built a 3-0 lead in the first period but couldn’t hold on. Saturday marks their only trip to Denver this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Auston Matthews
Matthews has given Colorado trouble throughout his career. He has 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 18 games against the Avalanche, including two goals and an assist in his last four appearances at Ball Arena.
He scored a hat trick in Toronto’s 8-3 win over Colorado on Dec. 1, 2021. The Avalanche were 11-7-1 at the time, months before winning the Stanley Cup.
William Nylander
Nylander has 13 assists in 17 career games against Colorado. He’s been effective at setting up teammates in this matchup, and the Avalanche will need to keep him from finding too much room.
Gavin McKenna and Easton Cowan
McKenna, the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, has one goal and two assists through five games. Cowan scored on a breakaway against Vegas on Thursday.
Both players have the speed to take advantage of turnovers. Colorado has given the puck away at times early this season, and those mistakes could give Toronto some dangerous chances.
Sergei Bobrovsky was impressive in Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, so head coach Jim Hiller may give the two-time Stanley Cup champion another start. The 38-year-old has a 12-6-2 record in 21 career games against the Avalanche, with a 2.79 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.
Colorado Avalanche
Jaden Schwartz
Schwartz has three goals and three assists through four games, including two goals in Thursday’s 7-3 win over Calgary.
He’s never scored 30 goals in an NHL season, but his current pace has him on track for 63. It’s still early, but Schwartz has been outstanding and is giving Colorado another scoring threat alongside its star players.
Nathan MacKinnon
MacKinnon has eight points through four games this season, including a goal and two assists against Calgary. He’s also had plenty of success against Toronto, with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 24 career games.
He’s recorded seven points in his last four meetings with the Maple Leafs.
Cale Makar
Makar had two goals and an assist against Calgary. He has 10 points in 12 career games against Toronto, including five in his last four matchups.
Brock Nelson is another player to watch. He scored a hat trick in Colorado’s 4-1 win over Toronto on Jan. 25, 2026. Martin Necas has 14 points in 16 career games against the Leafs, although 12 of those came during his time with Carolina.
Colorado has been finding the net with little trouble, but Toronto has the speed to make the Avalanche pay for mistakes. If Colorado can limit the turnovers, it will have a good chance to keep its hot start going at home.
If we have to make an educated guess, Mackenzie Blackwood will probably get the nod in between the pipes. The 29-year-old has a record of 2-2-1 in seven games with a goals against average of 3.52 and a save percentage of .886 against the Maple Leafs in his career. However, he has two out of his last three starts against Toronto.
Scott Wedgewood hasn't fared much better. However, he has not played against the Maple Leafs since he was a member of the Dallas Stars. The 34-year-old is 1-3-2 in six appearances with a goals against average of 4.15 and a sub.900 save percentage against the Leafs.
Ipswich produced a dramatic turnaround to beat Fulham 2-1 after late goals by Abdoul Ouattara and Dara O’Shea extended Álvaro Arbeloa’s winless start to six Premier League matches.
The former Real Madrid manager had been on course to toast a maiden league victory in charge of the Cottagers after Ryan Sessegnon’s sweet 55th-minute strike put the visitors ahead. It would have eased the pressure on Arbeloa, but the Spaniard watched his team collapse, with Ouattara producing a spectacular 30-yard equaliser with two minutes left before O’Shea, the Ipswich captain, headed home in stoppage time to spark wild celebrations at Portman Road.
Bo Horvat was back on the ice with the team for Saturday’s morning skate despite taking a dirty open-ice hit from Chicago Blackhawks winger Frank Nazar late in Thursday night’s win.
Horvat was evaluated by doctors and New York’s training staff during their off day, and he’s deemed himself ready to go for Saturday night’s meeting with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“Hits like those you never know, right,” the captain said. “Anytime the principal point of contact is my head it’s always scary, but I feel fine -- the right side of my head hurts a little bit, but other than that I feel pretty good.”
Horvat, of course, took Nazar’s shoulder directly to the head after burying an empty-netter, sending him twisting in the air before landing directly on his side.
Nazar was dealt a major penalty and game misconduct for the hit, and later received a two-game suspension after meeting with the NHL Department of Player Safety.
Horvat, though, didn’t view the dangerous play as anything done intentionally.
“It was just a chain of unfortunate events,” he explained. “I definitely didn’t see him, but I don’t think he’s the type of player to go looking for that -- it just ended up working out that way.”
Either way, the Islanders are thrilled their leader won’t have to miss any time.
“It’s a huge relief,” head coach Pete DeBoer said. “Felt it was a dangerous hit, but obviously the league dealt with it -- on our end, I’m just thankful that he’s available because sometimes headshots like that you can lose a guy for a while.”
Horvat has scored four times and added an assist over New York’s first four games.
