Here are your Pens Points for this Wednesday morning…
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust has been suspended for three games after the NHL Department of Player Safety deemed he performed an illegal check to the head of Vancouver forward Brock Boeser. Boeser has since entered concussion protocol. PensBurgh]
It appears forward Evgeni Malkin is no worse for wear after he was seen in discomfort on Pittsburgh’s bench after the final horn in Sunday’s game against the Canucks. [PensBurgh]
Penguins prospect Emil Pieniniemi was promoted to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers on Tuesday, a positive next step in his development after the organization lifted his suspension because Pieniniemi failed to report to Wheeling at the start of the season. [Trib Live]
Penguins defenseman Jack St. Ivany will miss approximately the next two months after undergoing hand surgery, the team announced on Tuesday afternoon. [Trib Live]
Updates from around the NHL…
When it rains, it pours in Vancouver: Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko is set to undergo hip surgery that will end his season, general manager Patrik Allvin said Tuesday. [Associated Press]
Sunday’s Stadium Series game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins will pay homage to Tampa’s pirate history. The rink will sit atop a treasure map design covering Raymond James Stadium’s field. [Sportsnet]
Which of the 10 teams that have yet to hoist the Stanley Cup has the best chance of doing so? Who is set up for the best chance at long-term success? [USA Today]
Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane reached another milestone on Tuesday. Kane tied Mike Modano’s record for the most points by an American-born player in NHL history, posting the 1,374th point of his career late in the third period of the Red Wings’ game against the Los Angeles Kings. [Daily Faceoff]
There are only nine days left of action after Tuesday's games, prior to the NHL taking a three-week break for the Olympics. If you are thinking of consummating a fantasy hockey trade in the interim, it's likely best to wait if you are the team going for it (if you are giving up, then make a trade as soon as possible; taking any injury-risk out of play), as you will be able to reassess during the break and possibly avoid a player injured during the Olympics whom you were thinking of obtaining.
Best of luck with your trades this week.
TRADE FOR
Stuart Skinner, G, Penguins (61% rostered)
Skinner has been outstanding since his trade from Edmonton. He was 11-8-4 with a 2.82 GAA and an .891 save percentage over 23 games for the Oilers prior to his mid-December trade to Pittsburgh. He is 7-4-0 in 11 games with the Penguins with outstanding peripherals of a 2.31 GAA and a .906 save percentage. Skinner has won four games in a row, and perhaps the lack of pressure in not playing in his hometown of Edmonton has finally relaxed him enough to be a worthy fantasy asset.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Skinner for Daniil Tarasov and Mattias Samuelsson. (Tarasov is a backup goaltender at best, and while Samuelsson is a serviceable defenseman, I'd rather have the starting netminder.)
Dylan Larkin, C, Red Wings (97% rostered)
Larkin is a solid veteran with 25 goals and 47 points in 54 games this season. The Red Wings are challenging for first place in the Atlantic Division, and Larkin is in line to see his first playoff action since his rookie season in 2015-16 when he was just 19. That's an awfully long time to not have played in the postseason, and Larkin should have a big final third of the season to lead Detroit into the playoffs.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Larkin for Elias Lindholm and Matvei Michkov. (Lindholm is an average center – and there are plenty of them in the NHL – while Michkov has been disappointing this season for the Flyers with 12 goals and 27 points in 50 games, after a 63-point rookie season in 2024-25.)
Vince Dunn, D, Kraken (78% rostered)
Dunn has two goals and nine assists in his last 12 games, including six assists on the power play. He has missed 46 games in his previous two seasons but has remained relatively healthy this season, missing only one game. Dunn has seven goals and 24 assists with 17 points coming via the man-advantage, in 51 games.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Dunn for Jesper Wallstedt. (Wallstedt is a nice player, but he has been relegated to a backup spot in Minnesota, starting only twice in the Wild's last six games.)
TRADE AWAY
Lukas Dostal, G, Ducks (73% rostered)
Dostal has been red-hot of late, winning his last six games in a row, allowing only 12 goals on 173 shots (.931 save percentage). The Ducks have been a streaky team all season and saw their seven-game winning streak end in Edmonton on Monday. If they go on a losing streak, having Dostal on your team isn't going to help, as his peripherals are so-so this season. He has a 3.00 GAA and an .895 save percentage across 35 games and he got those numbers down during his current six-game streak. Dostal had been horrible in his previous six starts, allowing 27 goals on 171 shots, and those stats could repeat themselves if the Ducks go north in the immediate future.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Dostal for Matthew Tkachuk. (Tkachuk is getting himself into playing shape since returning to action Jan. 19. He is a star when healthy, and I expect him to be the remainder of the season. If so, Dostal is a small price to pay at this time.)
Anthony Cirelli, C, Lightning (41% rostered)
Cirelli has been on fire since taking over for the injured Brayden Point (lower body), centering the top line between Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel. Cirelli has three goals and seven points in his last four games, giving the 28-year-old 15 goals and 35 points in 47 games. Point should be back after the Olympic break, and since the Lightning have only four games left until the break, it's best if you can trade him now.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Cirelli and an eighth-round pick for Rickard Rakell and a fifth-round pick. (While Cirelli will move down the depth chart when Point returns, Rakell is seeing first-line minutes with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust – when Rust isn't being suspended.)
Steven Stamkos, C, Predators (79% rostered)
Stamkos is one of the hottest goal scorers of late, managing 21 goals and 33 points in 30 games since Nov. 26. He started the season off slow with four goals and an assist in 22 games, and there was plenty of scuttlebutt about Stamkos headed elsewhere. I would deal him now while he remains hot, as Stamkos is 35 and it's a longshot that his 26.6 shooting percentage will continue for much longer.)
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Stamkos and Evgeni Malkin for Anthony Stolarz. (Stolarz was a stud last season, as he had the best save percentage in the NHL at .926. He has struggled with injuries this season and finally returned to action last week after missing more than two months. I expect Stolarz to be very good the rest of the way, and I'm not anticipating much from Stamkos and Malkin.)
If you ask the Vancouver Canucks how they felt about tonight’s 5–2 loss to the San Jose Sharks, the reception won't be positive. Not only did both of their goals come from blueliners Tom Willander and Filip Hronek, but Kevin Lankinen was also pulled within the first half of the first period after allowing three goals on six shots faced. Nikita Tolopilo joined the game in relief, stopping 25 of 27 shots faced.
“I don't think we played good anywhere today. I think pretty much every detail was bad. Can't name anything good today,” Willander, who scored the game’s opening goal, said post-game. “Ultimately, I think at least the last few times we had results like this, I think we did a decent job in many parts of our game. But today, I thought it was awful.”
Willander isn’t wrong. Despite scoring first, Vancouver quickly surrendered three goals within the span of five minutes, erasing their lead within a matter of seconds. The very thing Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote had called the team out on a week ago had returned — their penchant for getting down on themselves after things don’t go their way.
“We tried to do too much in the neutral zone [...] kind of got off what we’re all about — getting in deep, fore-checking — and looked like we were just out of sorts for a while there, just chasing.”
As opposed to previous games, Vancouver’s effort just didn’t seem to be there tonight. They spent a good chunk of the third period hemmed in their own zone, unable to generate even a shot on net until finally being able to fully break the puck out.
With trade rumours circulating throughout the past few days, all eyes seemed to be on Evander Kane. While not necessarily just there for Kane, there were 17 scouts in Vancouver’s press box tonight, including two from the Anaheim Ducks and two from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kane did end up on the scoresheet tonight, dropping the gloves with Timothy Liljegren and taking an extra roughing penalty in this sequence.
Tonight marks the third time in four games that Vancouver’s penalty kill has surrendered two power play goals against, as they also allowed two against the New Jersey Devils and the Washington Capitals. In a 10-game span, they have surrendered two or more goals while on the penalty kill five times. One of these goals-against came while Vancouver was down two players.
Vancouver’s power play also capitalized tonight, scoring their second goal of the game a little more than halfway through the third period. However, the man-advantage also got a near-full two-minute 5-on-3 opportunity and was unable to score while on that. This was their first power play goal in six games.
A shout-out needs to be given to Vancouver-based superstar Macklin Celebrini, who recorded his third multi-point game against the Canucks this season. His quick shot tied the game at one goal apiece for the Sharks, with Vancouver’s lapse in defensive-zone coverage leaving Celebrini all alone at the top of the faceoff dot. On San Jose’s second goal, it was Celebrini who took the puck away, keeping it in at the line and allowing former Canuck Adam Gaudette to score. The forward finished the game with four points against his hometown team.
Jan 27, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Drew O'Connor (18) stick checks San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini (71) in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Stats and Facts:
Evander Kane becomes the first Canuck to hit 60 penalty minutes on the season
Elias Pettersson claims sole possession of ninth all-time in assists by a Canucks with 291
Macklin Celebrini registers 2+ points against the Canucks in each of three games against Vancouver this season
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
1:15 - VAN: Tom Willander (3) from Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk
1:51 - SJS: Macklin Celebrini (27) from Will Smith and Sam Dickinson
4:43 - SJS: Adam Gaudette (11) from William Eklund and Macklin Celebrini
5:55 - SJS: Tyler Toffoli (15) from Alexander Wennberg and Sam Dickinson
2nd Period:
9:07 - SJS: Will Smith (15) from John Klingberg and Macklin Celebrini (PPG)
3rd Period:
0:28 - SJS: John Klingberg (10) from Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini (PPG)
9:15 - VAN: Filip Hronek (5) from Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk (PPG)
Up Next:
The Canucks continue their home stand with a matchup against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. Vancouver won their last game against the Ducks by a score of 5–4 in what was a very entertaining offensive battle. Thursday’s puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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Unfortunately
for the St. Louis Blues, it came to fruition and not in a good way.
For
the second straight meeting with the Dallas Stars, they fall in a
one-goal game, this time 4-3, due to icing the puck, losing a
defensive zone face-off and seeing a goal scored late in the third
period.
Thomas
Harley scored with 1:07 left and spoiled the Blues’ valiant third
period comeback while playing shorthanded due to injury in another
one-goal loss on Tuesday at Enterprise Center, dropping the home side to 19-25-9.
Down
three goals in the third period and playing without Jake Neighbours
(lower-body injury) and Jordan Kyrou (upper-body injury), Brayden
Schenn scored twice and Robby Fabbri scored his first Blues goal over
six years to erase a three-goal third-period deficit but to no
avail. Jordan Binnington made 20 saves to
fall to 2-10-1 in his past 13 starts.
Let’s
dissect Tuesday’s game observations:
*
Another icing leads to another goal-against for a loss – With the
naked eye, it looked worse than originally thought, but on the play
that led to the Harley goal, Tyler Tucker had full control of the
puck moving up the lefthand side. He goes for a pass off the boards
trying to hit Alexey Toropchenko near the Dallas bench, but on
replay, the puck caromed off the boards, bounded up where Toropchenko
couldn’t corral the puck for an icing.
This
just happened four days ago in Dallas when both Philip Broberg and
Colton Parayko each iced the puck, and ultimately, the Stars won the
draw and Jason Robertson scored with 1:00 remaining in a 3-2 win
denying the Blues of at least a point.
Same
thing here.
Personally,
if Tucker is making that play, I’d like to see a direct pass, and
if Toropchenko doesn’t handle it, then it’s on him. It’s just
dangerous in that situation.
So
it turns into an icing, Dallas can get its top players on the ice,
while the Blues have their fourth line out there with Tucker and
Logan Mailloux.
Nick
Bjugstad loses the draw, and I understand when in each instance along
with Friday, someone can say, ‘Win the face-off.’ Yes, this is
true, but the draw was lost back to the point, and Harley’s shot
caromed off Mathieu Joseph and change direction past Binnington.
Blues
coach Jim Montgomery was not critical of this one as he was of the
plays on Friday.
“We
have complete momentum in the game and that icing actually, I believe
it was Tucker, uses an indirect for us to gain lines like we had been
doing all period,” Montgomery said, “and it hits the boards and
it jumps up five feet. I think [Toropchenko] couldn’t get a stick
on it. That’s a physical thing with the boards. It’s not a mental
mistake. It’s not like we panicked. We actually made a real sound
play. The puck hit the boards toward the end of the period, the
boards are snowy, it hits snow and it’s going to pop like that, and
then you need an Albert Pujols to knock it out of the air there.
“(This
was) very
different. That one was in control of ours; we made a mistake, we
didn’t support the puck. We had support on the puck (Tuesday),
we knew the guy was open. That was a good hockey play.”
Schenn,
who has three goals the past two games, said, “Late
in the game, yeah, poise, if that’s what you’re taking (about).
The Dallas game before and this one, you have to have poise with the
puck, but the forwards or players out there have to support each
other and able to get the red line to not put yourself in those
positions. We did it twice against them and they made us pay for them
both times.”
A
fifth consecutive loss (0-4-1) and a fourth straight game in which
the Blues were in and found a way to lose.
“It
sucks
losing,”
Schenn
said.
“When you battle back like that, play hard for one another and get
rewarded with some goals. Again, same team, same result, losing in
the last minute. It’s
not fun losing, but got to keep on pushing our foot down and trying
to get better. We’re finding ways to lose hockey games and we have
to learn how to win them.”
*
Down
two more players, a third period for the ages comeback was for naught
– When Neighbours left after the first period and Kyrou after the
second, they were not only down to 10 forwards but down three goals.
What’s
the point, right? Wrong.
The
Blues showed some valiant fight, and it started with Fabbri, who
continues to show why the Blues brought him back, scratching and
clawing for
every inch when he’s given the opportunity.
It
looked inconsequential at the time and only drew browning points for
Fabbri scoring his first Blues goal in his second stint since his
last goal on Oct. 17, 2019 before being traded to the Detroit Red
Wings. He made it 3-1 at 3:15 on a play in which he started it with a
strong hit and ensuing shot from the slot off Justin Faulk’s feed:
The
Stats challenged the play for offside and Joseph was in question on
the far side, but the league came back that the play was onside with
the following ruling: It
was determined that Joseph legally tagged up at the blue line before
Faulk entered the offensive zone with
the puck on his stick prior
to Fabbri’s
goal.
“It
definitely feels good to get the first one, but it’s a lot more fun
around
the rink when you’re winning,” Fabbri
said.
“I’ll definitely take more wins after this one.
“Once
you get one on the board, everyone starts to put the foot on the gas
there and we did that. When you start rolling shift after shift and
you kind of get some momentum and the crowd gets into it, the bench
gets into it and it’s just one of those things where we were kind
rolling there and it was a good period, so we’ve just got to build
off that.”
There
had to be some juice on the bench, because as Schenn said in his
remarks postgame, “I
was dishing up pregame today and ‘Binner’ said ‘Fabs’ is
going to score tonight, so I guess ‘Binner’ had the read on that
one.”
Fabbri
replied, “He
actually chose the stick for me to use. Maybe we’ve got something
going there.”
But
for there being not much life in the building, there was a glimpse of
it now, and when Schenn made it 3-2 at 6:22 off a really nice pass by
Jimmy Snuggerud, the place started to get some jump in it:
“I
think Robby Fabbri got us going,” Montgomery
said.
‘He had a big hit right before his goal and then we get the quick
counter, 72 hitting nine, nine has some good poise. And then I think
we got rolling. I really liked the line of [Dalibor]
Dvorsky
between Snuggerud and Schenn. Obviously they got the goals, but they
just seemed to be going and making plays, 10-15 foot passes.”
The
Stars seemed to have a hammerlock on the game late, but a fortuitous
bounce finally went the Blues’ way when Harley’s clearing pass
around the boards off
referee Stephen Hiff right to Snuggerud, who found Schenn in the left
circle and the captain roofed his shot at 15:50 to make it 3-3:
“Just
attitude we’re going to come out in the third period and put a
solid effort together for our fans,” Schenn
said of the comeback.
“At the end of the day, our special teams aren’t helping us right
now and it’s tough falling behind 3-0 in this league against a good
team, but I thought we came out in the third period and played hard
for one another, inspired each other and like I said, close but not
good enough.”
The
couple of older vets (Schenn and Fabbri) and a couple of young pups
(Snuggerud and Dvorsky) fueled a comeback that nobody saw.
“Our
effort, falling behind 3-0 and not quitting, having the perseverance
to keep going,” Montgomery
said.
‘We had lost two forwards; we were down to 10 forwards. It was nice
to see that scrappy,
never-say-die attitude that we had.”
*
Special teams continue to be a problem – As Schenn mentioned above,
the Blues’ special teams are anything but special this season.
They
give up two more power-play goals, the third time in the past four
games and fifth time in 10 games they’ve allowed multiple
power-play markers.
The
first put Dallas up 1-0 when Matt Duchene scored the first of two
goals in 40 seconds at 3:20 of the second period when Mikko Rantanen
found a seam to deliver a dime of a pass to Duchene on the backdoor
through Tucker and past Faulk:
And
although the slashing penalty call by Hiff on Dvorsky was not a good
one at 17:58 of the second, the Blues needed a kill to keep it a
two-goal game and Roope Hintz scored eight seconds later for a 3-0
lead off a face-off win and one-timer from the interior of the right
circle:
So
for the night, the PK was 1-for-3 and the power play went 0-for-3
with one shot on goal. It simply isn’t good enough and it’s cost
this group plenty this season.
The
PK is 29th at 73.9 percent, and the PP is 25th at 16.9 percent.
Again, not nearly good enough.
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Jan 27, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings right wing Patrick Kane (88) handles the puck during the second period against the Los Angeles Kings at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images
Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images
DETROIT — Patrick Kane of the Detroit Red Wings has tied Dallas’ Mike Modano as the highest-scoring U.S.-born players in NHL history.
Kane matched Mike Modano by recording his 1,374th point on an assist on a goal by Alex DeBrincat late in Detroit’s 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night. He got there a couple of months after turning 37, while Modano was 40 when he scored a goal to register point No. 1,374.
“Nothing really went right for us tonight, so it’s tough to really think about (the record) right now, but hopefully next game’s a better result and (I) can move past Mike next game,” Kane said after the game. “That’d be nice, to do that and do it with a win.”
He will have a chance to move ahead of Modano when the Red Wings host the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Kane has been one of the faces of American hockey since getting taken with the first pick in the 2007 draft by Chicago. He helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup three times from 2010-15 as a co-headliner of one of the most successful runs since the league’s salary cap era began in ’05.
Earlier this month, Kane became the 50th player and fifth American to score 500 goals, following Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick and Joe Mullen. Brett Hull, a dual citizen who was born in Canada and played internationally for the U.S., had 741 goals and 1,391 points.
Kane won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in ’07-08, the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2013 and the Hart Trophy as regular-season MVP in 2015-16, when he also led the league in scoring.
Kane has 1,374 points on 500 goals and 874 assists in 1,341 career NHL regular-season games.
Modano retired in 2011 with 561 goals and 813 assists in 1,499 games.
The Chicago Blackhawks needed a big road effort on Tuesday night if they were going to get back on track against a team as good as the Minnesota Wild.
This was a much better game for the Hawks, especially being on the road, and they had a 1-0 lead 1:19 into the game thanks to a goal scored by Teuvo Teravainen. In his return to the lineup, skating on a line with Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard, Teravainen made his presence felt right away.
"I thought that it was a good line," head coach Jeff Blashill said after the game. "[Bedard] and [Nazar], I haven't seen them play a lot together. I thought they were really good. They showed a lot of skill, they fed each other in good spots, had a lot of chances, and scored with [Teravainen]. I thought that was a real dynamic line."
Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev helped build on the lead with goals of their own to make it 3-0 by the time the game was half over.
The Blackhawks didn't totally collapse, but they allowed the Wild to crawl back. It started with Yakov Trenin scoring his fourth of the season to get them on the board. That 3-1 score held through two periods.
Joel Eriksson Ek scored at 3:57 of the third period on a rebound created by Quinn Hughes. This gave the Wild the confidence they needed to begin their quest for a comeback.
With the goalie pulled, Jared Spurgeon tied it up at 17:58. Spurgeon now has five goals in his last six games against the Blackhawks, and this one was as big as any of them.
No scoring took place in overtime, and Kirill Kaprizov was the only scorer in the shootout, giving the Wild the comeback 4-3 victory.
This was a mostly well-played game by the Blackhawks, but the Wild came back and found a way to win after going down 3-0.
Mistakes and tough puck management in the late stages of the game allowed the Wild to slowly but surely get back in the game, but Minnesota had to work for this win.
The penalty kill stayed hot, but they hardly had any work to do with just one kill. The power play, which is an entirely different story, continued its struggles with no goals on five tries. Jeff Blashill said after the game that he thought it did better at generating quality chances, but there were still no goals to show for it.
"I thought it was better," Blashill said. "We've walked away from other days where I just didn't feel it was dangerous at all. I thought we had a good number of chances [in this game]."
The power play needs a goal badly. If they keep drawing penalties and moving the puck the way they did against the Wild, eventually they will score. Once they get one, the unit as a whole may get back on track. A power play goal on one of their five tries would have likely won this game.
The Blackhawks are back in action on Thursday night. They have a road date with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Steel City.
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The Chicago Blackhawks were fortunate enough to select Patrick Kane with the first overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft. To say he lived up to that pick would be an understatement. He was everything the Blackhawks needed him to be and more.
After leaving the Blackhawks and a quick cup of coffee with the New York Rangers, Patrick Kane landed with the Detroit Red Wings.
On Tuesday, while playing for Chicago's century-old rival, Kane earned a secondary assist on a goal scored by another former Blackhawk, Alex DeBrincat. This isn't just any assist, though.
On this goal, Kane earned career point number 1374, tying him with Mike Modano for the most ever by an American-born player. One more will make him the USA's all-time leading NHL scorer.
Modano is expected to be in the building when Kane breaks his record, which will surely cement him as the greatest American-born player in league history. Add all of the championships and personal accolades on top of his gaudy statistics, and it leaves no doubt where he stands in history.
Kane will look to break Modano's mark on Thursday night, when the Red Wings host the Washington Capitals. Whenever it happens, it is sure to be a special moment for Kane, USA Hockey, and the many folks who helped him reach that milestone.
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The Los Angeles Kings (22-16-13) delivered one of their more complete team performances tonight against the Detroit Red Wings (32-17-5), beating them on the road 3-1 at Little Caesars Arena.
After losing the last matchup against the Red Wings on Oct. 30 in a shootout at home, the Kings were looking to flip the script tonight on the road.
Behind great performances from Samuel Helenius and Andrei Kuzmenko, and a late goal down the stretch from Corey Perry to seal the deal, Los Angeles showed discipline and structure tonight with their depth and beat a very good Detroit team, which was 8-1-1 over its last 10 games, starting its road trip off on a high note.
Despite both teams starting 0-0 in the opening period, the Kings controlled possession and dictated the pace. The Kings fired 9 shots on goal, while limiting Detroit to just 5, usings trong defensive pressure and forechecking to disrupt the Red Wings' zone exits.
The fourth line of Samuel Helenius, Taylor Ward, and Jeff Malott stood out early, hounding the puck below the goal line and drawing penalties. The pressure from the Kings' line made it tough for Detroit to generate any offense, as Anton Forsberg was also great early on, turning away all five shots he faced in the opening frame.
Helenius Sets the Tone
The Kings broke the tie in the second period when Samuel Helenius scored his second goal of the season after Los Angeles won the puck battle and fed Helenius to the center, where he finished past John Gibson, giving the Kings a 1-0 lead.
Los Angeles continued to pressure Detroit in the period, forcing turnovers in all three zones. Detroit struggled to establish any rhythm offensively in the first 40 minutes of the game, while Forsberg denied several Red Wings' shots to keep the Kings ahead.
King's Power Play Delivers
The Kings extended their lead early in the third period on the power play. Andrei Kuzmenko buried the low shot that beat Gibson, with Kevin Fiala picking up the assist off the nice pass.
The goal marked Kuzmenko's 11th of the season and capped off a good movement with the puck that dismantled Detroit's penalty kill.
Meanwhile, Detroit continued to struggle on the power play, finishing the night 0-for-4, while Los Angeles went 1-for-3 and controlled the special teams battle.
Detroit finally showed some life late in the period with under two minutes remaining when Alex DeBrincat scored to cut the deficit to 2-1, infusing life into the building after the boos were heard in the stadium. However, any momentum was short-lived.
Just over a minute later, Corey Perry restored the two-goal cushion with a dagger goal after the faceoff win from Los Angeles. Perry hit the puck from deep down the ice to seal it in the empty net.
Los Angeles showed some fight today on the road, where they've been good all season, compared to at home, where they're 8-10-7, while they're 14-6-6 away from Crypto.com Arena.
The Kings were also very physical, with 21 hits to Detroit's 11 and blocked 16 shots to the Red Wings' 15. So, Los Angeles was clearly the more physical team tonight and the better defensive team, holding Detroit to just one goal for the first time in two weeks.
LA is now 2-0 in their six-game road trip and will look to continue this long stretch away from Crypto.com on Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres at 4 P.M. PT.
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The Detroit Red Wings returned home from a successful 2-0-1 road trip, hoping to carry that momentum into another win against the Los Angeles Kings at Little Caesars Arena.
Instead, the Kings avenged their 5-2 loss to Detroit from exactly one year earlier (as well as Detroit's 4-3 shootout win in Los Angeles on Oct. 30), stifling the Red Wings’ offense in a 3-1 victory.
Andrei Kuzmenko scored what proved to be the game-winning power-play goal at 6:46 of the third period, doubling what had been a 1-0 lead.
Alex DeBrincat gave the Red Wings life with his 28th tally of the season late in regulation, but Detroit proved unable to come up with the equalizer.
With an assist on DeBrincat's goal, Patrick Kane tied Mike Modano with 1,374 career points and is only one point away from becoming the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history.
While the Red Wings remain in second place in the Atlantic Division standings despite the loss, things got even tighter thanks to victories by both the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres.
Following a scoreless 20 minutes of play, the Kings found the back of the net first, exactly 10 minutes into the second period, as fourth-line forward Samuel Helenius beat goaltender John Gibson with a quick shot through the five-hole.
Detroit had multiple chances that were stymied by Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg, leading up to Kuzmenko's power-play tally in the third period.
Despite a late push by Detroit following their first and only goal of the night, longtime Red Wings nemesis Corey Perry delivered the knockout blow with an empty-net goal with 1:13 left in regulation.
Gibson saw his winning streak come to a close, making 19 saves. Meanwhile, Forsberg was especially sharp in the third period, finishing with 27 saves.
Detroit, which suffered just its second regulation loss in its last 11 games, also went 0-for-3 on the power play.
The Red Wings will next host the Washington Capitals on Thursday evening.
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TORONTO (AP) — Rasmus Dahlin had the first hat trick of his NHL career to go along with two assists and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-4 on Tuesday night.
Tage Thompson, with a goal and an assist in his 500th NHL game, Josh Doan, Alex Tuch and Jack Quinn also scored for Buffalo, which has won four straight.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed two goals on five shots before leaving with a lower-body injury in the first period. Colten Ellis made 16 saves in relief. Mattias Samuelsson added three assists.
Auston Matthews and Max Domi each had a goal and two assists for Toronto. Bobby McMann, with a goal and an assist, and Matthew Knies also scored. Joseph Woll stopped 24 shots.
The Maple Leafs came home last week off a successful road trip, but finished their disastrous five-game homestand with a solitary point (0-4-1) and have dropped seven of eight overall.
The club entered play six points back of the second wild-card spot and are now eight adrift of the Sabres in the Atlantic Division. The Sabres have an NHL-best 19-3-1 record since Dec. 9.
Former Maple Leaf Darryl Sittler was honored before puck drop in a ceremony marking 50 years since he set an NHL record with 10 points in a game. The former Toronto captain had six goals and four assists in an 11-4 victory over the Boston Bruins on Feb. 7, 1976.
Doan scored his first goal since signing a seven-year contract extension. Doan’s father, Shane, is a special adviser to Toronto general manager Brad Treliving.
Up next
Sabres: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
Maple Leafs: At the Seattle Kraken on Thursday in the opener of a six-game trip.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Mikhail Sergachev scored in the third period to put Utah ahead to stay, and the Mammoth held on for a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
Nick Schmaltz, Sean Durzi and Barrett Hayton also scored goals for the Mammoth, who have won nine of their last 11 games and played without top goal-scorer Dylan Guenther, who has a lower-body injury. Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves and Durzi also had an assist.
Sandis Vilmanis, Cole Schwindt and Carter Verhaeghe scored goals and Sergei Bobrovsky made 16 saves for Florida, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Sergachev's goal with 8:55 to play gave Utah a 3-2 lead and Hayton made it 4-2 with an empty-netter with 56 seconds to play. Verhaeghe scored with 16 seconds left to pull the Panthers within 4-3, setting up a frantic final few seconds.
Schmaltz scored an unassisted short-handed goal with 4:14 to play in the first period when he picked up a loose puck just inside his own blue line, skated in alone and backhanded it past Bobrovsky.
The second short-handed goal of Schmaltz's NHL career (the first was on March 26, 2024, against Columbus) gives him 15 points in his last 14 games (7 goals, 8 assists).
Vilmanis' goal 2:52 into the second was the first of his NHL career and tied it at 1-1. The team's fifth-round draft choice in 2022 was playing in his ninth NHL game.
The Panthers went scoreless on the power play in four chances.
Florida's A.J. Greer played in his 300th career game
Up next
Mammoth: Play at Carolina on Thursday night in the final game of a four-game road trip.
DETROIT (AP) — Anton Forsberg made 26 saves and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Red Wings 3-1 on Tuesday night as Detroit winger Patrick Kane moved into a tie with Dallas' Mike Modano as the highest-scoring American-born players in NHL history.
Kane matched Modano by recording his 1,374th point on an assist on a goal by Alex DeBrincat late in the third period. He accomplished the feat just a couple of months after turning 37, while Modano was 40 when he scored a goal to register point No. 1,374. For his career, Kane has 500 goals and 874 assists in 1,341 NHL regular-season games. Modano retired in 2011 with 561 goals and 813 assists in 1,499 games.
Samuel Helenius, Andrei Kuzmenko and Corey Perry scored for the Kings, who won their third straight game.
Detroit's John Gibson made 19 saves and had his eight-game win streak halted, surrendering a goal midway through the second period and a power-play score early in the third.
The Kings have earned points in their last six games (3-0-3). The Red Wings lost for just the second time in six games and third time in their last 11.
Helenius got Los Angeles on the board at the 10-minute mark of the second period, scoring his second of the season by converting a feed from Jeff Malott from behind the net.
Kuzmenko extended the lead to 2-0 for the Kings at 6:46 of the third period, scoring on the power play on assists from Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala. The goal was the 24th of the season with a man advantage for the Kings, who rank last in the NHL on the power play.
DeBrincat scored and pulled Detroit within 2-1 at 17:45 of the third period after the Red Wings pulled Gibson for the extra skater. Kane and Moritz Seider assisted.
The Kings iced the game when Perry scored into an empty net at 18:47.
Up next
Kings: At Buffalo on Thursday in the third game of a six-game trip.
Red Wings: Host the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
MONTREAL (AP) — Jake Evans scored at 3:58 of overtime, leading the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.
Cole Caufield, with his 30th goal of the season, and Phillip Danault also scored for Montreal, as the Habs halted a two-game losing skid.
Mike Matheson ran his point streak to a season-long five games with an assist on Caufield’s goal.
Jakub Dobes made 32 saves in his first career start against Vegas. The 24-year-old boasts a 6-0-1 record over his past seven games, with his last regulation loss coming against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 9.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored both goals for the Golden Knights, who lost their third straight game against Montreal, dating back to last season.
Akira Schmid stopped 23 shots in the losing effort. The Swiss netminder lost for the second time in as many starts against Montreal this season.
Caufield, who had a hat trick in his team’s 4-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday, has scored in six straight games, the longest streak of his career. Caufield has nine goals over that six-game stretch.
Noah Hanifin skated in his 800th career NHL game for the Golden Knights. The 29-year-old Boston native became the first player of the 2015 draft class to reach the milestone.
Up next
Golden Knights: Host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
Canadiens: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
The performance wasn't among the Detroit Red Wings' best, but there was still a milestone to celebrate as Patrick Kane tied metro Detroit native (and former Red Wing) Mike Modano for most points in NHL history by a U.S.-born player.
The Los Angeles Kings, who are fighting for a playoff spot, had the better start and middle in their only appearance of the season at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 27. It wasn't until the third period that the Wings looked like they had some pop to them and got on the scoreboard, but they couldn't undo the slow start and lost, 3-1.
Red Wings playoff picture
That kept the Wings at 69 points, with a 32-17-5 record. The Tampa Bay Lightning (70 points) were idle, and still have three games in hand on the Wings atop the Atlantic Division. Kane's next chance to pass Modano will come with a notable record-holder in the building: Alex Ovechkin, who holds the NHL's all-time goals record, with 918, and the Washington Capitals visit Little Caesars Arena on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+/HULU). After that, the Wings will host Colorado at 1 p.m. ET Saturday in their last home game until March 4.
The Kings, whose scheduled game on Monday against the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio, was postponed because of snow, looked like they had the fresher legs, even though both teams had been off since Saturday. They scored their second goal while defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker was in the penalty box early in the third period, with Andrei Kusmenko scoring on a low shot. Goalie Anton Forsberg, who had a good night, denied Alex DeBrincat in the final minutes.
The Wings pulled goalie John Gibson with about 3½ minutes to play for an extra attacker, and during that stretch, DeBrincat did succeed, edging the Wings within a goal with 2:15 on the clock. Kane's assist gave him 1,374 career points.
MIKE MODANO HAS COMPANY 🇺🇸
Patrick Kane is now tied for the most all-time points by a U.S.-Born player in NHL history 👏 pic.twitter.com/GG0gYoiuI4
Gibson was tested right away, by Warren Foegele. Midway through the first period, the Wings were assessed back-to-back penalties, to Albert Johansson and Dylan Larkin. It was while killing off the Larkin penalty that Moritz Seider was tripped, sending the Wings on a power play, as Larkin was released 6 seconds later. But the Wings got nothing out of the man advantage, running around chasing pucks and failing to generate a good chance against Forsberg. It was reflective of the Wings' first period overall: Sloppy.
That didn't improve much when the second period began, and sure enough, midway through, the Kings scored. Jeff Malott was in a forecheck when he got his stick on the puck and fired a backhand pass out to Samuel Helenius in the slot for a 1-0 lead.
A second power play wasn't enough to generate momentum for the Wings, who squandered the last 1:39 of the second period again running around accomplishing little. The Wings had 10 shots on goal after 40 minutes.
Both teams play on Jan. 27 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The last time these two played each other was when the Sharks won 6-3 on Dec. 27. Sharks had goals from Macklin Celebrini, Igor Chernyshov, William Eklund, Collin Graf, John Klingberg and Ryan Reaves.
That game for the Canucks, Sherwood had five shots on goal and a missed shot in 16:22 on the ice.
Sherwood is expected to miss this reunion with his former team as it's been reported that he will not play tonight, according to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.
Sherwood, 30, has scored 23 points (17 goals, six assists) in 44 games in the 2025-26 regular-season for the Canucks. He led the team in goals, was third in points, and ranks second in the NHL in hits with 210.
In 2018, he signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks as an undrafted free agent after playing three years of college hockey at Miami University.
His first career point and win was against the Sharks in 2018. Now, Sherwood looks forward to joining to franchise he began his hockey career facing.
"It's great. I know the facility is pretty new, so I'm coming at a good time," Sherwood told reporters. "It's been great. I'm really excited to join this group. And just love the energy so far, and looking forward to get going."
Sherwood, a 6-foot, 194-pound native of Columbus, Ohio, joins a Sharks team that is young, but aims to make strides towards the NHL Playoffs.
Sherwood leaves a Canucks team that is 17-30-5 and scored 39 points for a Sharks organization with a 26-21-3 record and 55 points scored that is also on the cusp of a wild-card playoff spot.
"I'm just excited. I looked at the standings right away. And, you know, obviously you just want to be able to compete and be in the hunt," Sherwood said. "So that's something that, you know, I'm really looking forward to helping this team and pushing forward in the second half."
Sherwood has an upper body injury that has sidelined him from Sharks games, but when he comes back players know that they are getting an impact player added to their squad.
"I mean, he's a dog, just the way he competes, the way he battles," Celebrini said. "He's hard to play against, and that's something that I respected, playing against them, just anytime you match up against them, you know, it's not going to be easy. And, I mean, I'm happy to have that on our team."
"I think it's great. I think it's great. That's what we want in this locker room, is to add pieces that will hopefully help us win," Celebrini added. "He's an awesome guy, and I think we're all just excited for him to get into the lineup and start playing."
Some standout moments from Sherwood early on in the 2025-26 regular-season has been recording two hat tricks this season. Once on Oct. 30 at the St. Louis Blues and later on Dec. 19 at the New York Islanders.
Over the course of his NHL career with the Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators and Canucks, Sherwood has appeared in 309 NHL games, scoring 121 points (60 goals, 61 assists).
In a seven-game stretch from Nov. 8 to Nov. 20, Sherwood tallied three goals and four assists. He has scored three consecutive 10-goal seasons. He currently has 17 goals on the season, his career-high for a season in 19.
Known for his physical play, Sherwood is excited to bring his tenacity and talents to Northern California and the Bay Area.
"Yeah, that's I want to make us hard to play against and do whatever I can to do that, whether that's being physical or being verbal or emotional or mental, whatever it is, you know, kind of the game within the game, I want to make it hard to play against us, and try to add different and complement some of the identity that I know that the team is building," Sherwood said.
Sherwood said he looks to help bring the team energy by occasionally "stir things up" but also being a "glue guy."
He's eager to get out there.
"I know the Shark Tank is a special place when it gets buzzing," Sherwood said. "There's so many things about Northern Cali and what San Jose has to offer. And obviously, the players are, there's some special players brewing. And, you know, I think it's an exciting time to be part of that. And you know, they're building a great culture moving forward. And I'm just getting, you know, excited to get to know everyone and kind of ruffle some feathers when I can, you know, and and whatnot."
He is excited to join them and their fight for playoffs. Both, literally and figuratively.
He took notice of the Sharks' since-viral goalie fight between Sharks' goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky on the night of the trade.
