By and large, things have been going quite well for prospects in the Pittsburgh Penguins' organization this season, as many of them have either overachieved or appear to be ahead of schedule.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case for everyone.
On Monday, Penguins' forward prospect Melvin Fernstrom - acquired as part of the deal that sent Marcus Pettersson to the Vancouver Canucks prior to last year's trade deadline - was called back from his SHL club, Orebro HK, after struggling to begin his season there. Fernstrom, 19, could join the Penguins' organization in some capacity, whether that's with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL or the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins of the AHL.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound right winger produced just three goals and four points in 36 SHL games this season for Orebro, which was in stark contrast to last season - eight goals and 17 points in 48 games - when he earned SHL Rookie of the Year honors. According to the Tribune Review's Seth Rorabaugh, he was loaned to AIK of the HockeyAllsvenskan - Sweden's league a step below the SHL - on Jan. 15, but Fernstrom did not see any playing time there.
The decision was officially announced in a press release by Orebro on Monday, in which they said that Fernstrom was not going to receive adequate playing time in Sweden.
The Penguins signed Fernstrom to a three-year entry-level contract last summer, and he was loaned to Orebro this season. The forward - selected by Vancouver in the third round (93rd overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft - still needs to pass through immigration, per Rorabaugh's report, and a decision on where he will spend the remainder of the 2025-26 season has not yet been made.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Mattias Ekholm scored a hat trick and the Edmonton Oilers rode a dominant second period to a 7-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.
Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid each added a goal and an assist for the Oilers, Spencer Stastney scored his first in an Edmonton jersey and Darnell Nurse also scored.
Leon Draisaitl contributed four assists and Tristan Jarry stopped 36 of the 40 shots he faced.
Three of Anaheim’s four goals came from Mikael Granlund on the power play, starting with his 10th tally of the season 3:24 into the game.
His linemate Alex Killorn added an even-strength tally 55 seconds into the middle frame, Beckett Sennecke notched two assists, and Ville Husso made 25 saves in the loss.
The result snapped a seven-game win streak for the Ducks, who downed the Calgary Flames 4-3 in overtime on Sunday.
The Oilers got some fresh faces into the lineup with winger Kasperi Kapanen returning after missing three games with an injury and center Josh Samanski made his NHL debut.
Cutter Gauthier helped out on Granlund’s first goal of the night and extended his point streak to five games with three goals and four assists across the stretch.
The Chicago Blackhawks are showing clear signs of improvement this season. The Blackhawks currently have a 21-23-8 record and are sixth in the Central Division standings. This is after they finished the 2024-25 season with a 25-46-11 record.
While the Blackhawks still have more work to become a playoff team again, they are heading in the right direction. One reason why the Blackhawks have improved this season is that multiple of their youngsters are making a big impact. Louis Crevier is one of them, as he has been enjoying a nice breakout year for the Original Six club.
Crevier has not only cemented himself a spot on the Blackhawks' NHL roster this season but has also played on Chicago's top pairing with Alex Vlasic. When noting that Crevier has shown that he can be a very solid shutdown defenseman, he has certainly earned this opportunity with Chicago.
In 49 games so far this season with the Blackhawks, Crevier has recorded new career highs with four goals, 10 assists, 14 points, and 79 hits. Overall, he has been a nice part of the Blackhawks' roster and is undoubtedly creating more excitement from fans about his future with the team because of it.
It will now be interesting to see how Crevier builds on his breakout season with the Blackhawks, but the 6-foot-8 defenseman has been quite a nice story so far.
William Nylander said he’s sorry, but the NHL is making sure that he’s really sorry.
The league handed Nylander a $5,000 fine for “making an inappropriate gesture” after he flipped the middle finger to a TV camera that had been pointed in his direction during Sunday’s Maple Leafs game against the Avalanche.
The TSN broadcast had its cameras pointed at the press box, where Nylander and other Leafs players not suited up for the game had been seated, when he gave it the middle finger and then started laughing.
Leafs players in the press box realized they were on the tv broadcast and William Nylander flipped the bird? pic.twitter.com/be70R2GuX0
William Nylander gives the middle finger to a broadcast camera during an Avalanche-Maple Leafs game. X @GinoHard_
“Nylander directed an inappropriate gesture at a television camera operator while the camera was directed at Mr. Nylander and his teammates in the press box. The gesture was shown live on-air during the game broadcast,” NHL senior vice president of player safety George Parros said in a statement. “This serves as a reminder the code of conduct governing Players extends throughout the arena at NHL games and in public game situations.”
Nylander did apologize for his actions in a post on social media on Sunday, as well as while speaking with reporters on Monday after the Leafs practiced.
He said he made the gesture out of frustration and that it wasn’t directed towards anybody in particular.
“I just wanted to apologize for my actions yesterday. It was out of frustration, so I’m sorry about that,” Nylander said.
William Nylander #88 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates with teammates after a goal during the first period against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on January 15, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NHLI via Getty Images
Nylander has been dealing with a groin injury and will miss his sixth game on Tuesday night when the Sabres visit the Maple Leafs.
The Leafs have lost four of the five games that he’s been out with the injury.
Leafs coach Craig Berube seemed ready to move on from the middle finger incident.
“He made a mistake. He owned up to it,” Berube said. “Things happen. People make mistakes. Players make mistakes. Coaches make mistakes. It happens. He knows it’s wrong and he owned up to it.”
NEW YORK (AP) — Matthew Robertson scored at 3:53 of overtime as the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Monday night to snap a three-game losing streak.
Will Cuylle, J.T. Miller and Will Borgen also scored for the Rangers, and Jonathan Quick got his 408th career win — passing Hall of Fame goalie Glenn Hall for 12th place on the NHL list. Quick made 21 saves and assisted on the overtime winner.
The Rangers, last in the Eastern Conference, took two of three against Boston this season. They improved to 6-13-4 at home and won for only the third time in 14 games overall.
Elias Lindholm had two goals and Morgan Geekie also scored for the Bruins. David Pastrnak added three assists to reach 900 career points. He has nine assists in his last five games. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 24 shots.
Cuylle opened the scoring midway through the first period with his 12th of the season. Borgen’s wrist shot tied the game at 3 with 6:17 remaining in the third.
The Rangers celebrated their 1994 championship team before the game as part of the franchise’s centennial celebration.
Up next
Bruins: Host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
Rangers: Visit the New York Islanders on Wednesday.
The Buffalo Sabres have been one of the NHL's biggest surprises this season. After having a cold start to the campaign, the Sabres now have a 29-17-5 record and are third in the Atlantic Division standings.
There are many reasons for the Sabres being in this good of a position right now, and goaltender Alex Lyon is undoubtedly one of them. The 33-year-old goaltender has been fantastic for the Sabres this season and is only getting better as the campaign rolls on.
In 23 games on the season so far with the Sabres, Lyon has recorded a 12-6-3 record, a 2.70 goals-against average, a .911 save percentage, and has tied his career-high in shutouts with two. With this, he has certainly been making a big impact for the Sabres this campaign.
Lyon has also won each of his last nine appearances for the Sabres, which has tied him for the longest winning streak in franchise history with Gerry Desjardins. That is incredibly impressive stuff.
When noting that Lyon has a bargain $1.5 million cap hit until the end of the 2026-27 season, it is absolutely clear that he has been a complete steal for the Sabres.
The Islanders came into Philadelphia on Monday night outmanned and reeling, having lost their past two games by a combined score of 9-1.
For a team that hadn’t lost three straight games in regulation since the first three games of the season, and for a team that would have gone below the playoff cutline with a defeat, this was a game they needed in the worst sort of way.
Down Simon Holmstrom, Cal Ritchie and Ryan Pulock with a combination of illness and injury, the Islanders showed their resilience anyway, defeating the Flyers 4-0 at Wells Fargo Center.
“We approached the game like it was a playoff game,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau told reporters after a two-goal performance. “And I thought we played an extremely solid game. Of course, when your goalie gives zero, it helps a lot.”
This performance had so much of what the Islanders have lacked recently.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau #44 of the New York Islanders celebrates his first period shorthanded goal against the Philadelphia Flyers with Casey Cizikas #53 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on January 26, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NHLI via Getty Images
The Islanders dominated on special teams. They held the puck in the offensive zone and played off the cycle. They cut down on high-danger chances around Ilya Sorokin’s crease, helping him to a 21-save shutout.
That is what they will need to do, again and again, if they are going to stay above the playoff cutline and make some noise in the tournament itself.
Coach Patrick Roy’s constant reshuffling of the lines finally seemed to land on some combinations that did the trick here. Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair had exactly the right response to their third-period benching on Saturday, playing most of the night up ice on a line with Jonathan Drouin. The trio produced a goal when Barzal tipped Isaiah George’s shot from the right point past Sam Ersson to make it a 2-0 game 5:41 into the second.
That was sandwiched between a pair of special teams goals, the first of which came from Pageau shorthanded at 14:29 of the first. Pageau took Casey Cizikas’ expertly spun feed off the wall and went bar-down to open the scoring.
Barzal then got his second point of the night on the power play, assisting Tony DeAngelo off the rush to make it 3-0 at 12:50 of the second. Ironically, that counted for DeAngelo’s first power play goal as an Islander. And, as Roy noted, the play was sprung by an active backchecking effort from Duclair.
Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13) in action against the Philadelphia Flyers in the second period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Flyers didn’t come up with much as far as a potential comeback, and Pageau’s second goal of the night made it a 4-0 game at 13:38 of the third. Maxim Tsyplakov’s feed off the wall to set up Pageau was just his second point and first assist of the year.
The reunited fourth line of Marc Gatcomb, Cizikas and Kyle MacLean did its usual good work, while Emil Heineman and Bo Horvat clicked well on the second line. Max Shabanov got better alongside them as the game went on, as did Tsyplakov with Pageau and Anders Lee. The Islanders will hope that Tsyplakov — filling in for Holmstrom, who was a late scratch with illness — gets a much-needed confidence boost from putting a point on the board.
“That’s one of his best games this year,” Roy told reporters of Tsyplakov. “… Might not be easy at times, but he played really well.”
Sorokin, for once, was not under fire all night. His sixth shutout of the year required just 21 saves for comparatively little stress.
Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin (30) makes a save against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The injuries are starting to pile up for the Islanders, who pulled the trigger on reinforcements in the form of Carson Soucy. The Islanders officially announced the deal after the game which sent a 2026 third-round pick down 495 and across the East River to the Rangers in exchange for the left-handed defenseman.
If Pulock’s upper-body injury has him miss serious time, though, Soucy won’t be enough. And Ritchie, who was called day to day with a lower-body injury, is suddenly a concern as well.
The way everything was piling up, a loss Monday would have felt like a crisis point in the season.
Turning in an all-around performance and a commanding win over the team directly below them in the standings instead was certainly a good way to take the pressure off.
“I thought we had a really good process,” Tony DeAngelo told reporters. “That’s how you win games: process. It was probably our best 60-minute game from start to finish in a little while here.”
The Montreal Canadiens have one of the most exciting prospect pools in the NHL. Among their notable promising youngsters is defenseman Adam Engstrom, as the 2022 third-round pick has the potential to emerge as a solid NHL defenseman.
Engstrom played his first American Hockey League (AHL) season with the Laval Rocket during this past campaign. In 66 games with the AHL club, he posted five goals, 22 assists, 27 points, and a plus-14 rating. Overall, the left-shot defenseman demonstrated plenty of promise with Laval this past season but has been taking another step forward with his play so far in 2025-26.
In 28 games so far this season with Laval, Engstrom already has seven goals, 15 assists, and 22 points. With numbers like these, there is no question that the young defenseman has provided Laval with some solid offense from the point this campaign.
Engstrom is continuing to make an impact with Laval as the season rolls on, too. Over his last nine games with Laval, he has two goals and six points. This included him recording a goal and an assist in Laval's Jan. 24 contest against the Calgary Wranglers on Jan. 24.
The Canadiens will be hoping that Engstrom can continue to impress as the season rolls on. If he does, he certainly has a chance of getting another look on the NHL roster soon.
There were some lineup swaps tonight with Cal Ritchie (lower body injury) and Simon Holmstrom (illness) out. Max Tsyplakov and Marc Gatcomb drew into the lineup, giving both of them an opportunity to make an impression after a tough game for the Islanders against Buffalo.
The Islanders bounced back tonight in Philadelphia, with JG Pageau scoring twice, including one shorthanded goal, Mat Barzal responding well to his third-period benching with a goal and an assist, and Ilya Sorokin recording his league-leading sixth shutout this season.
Early on in the first, though, Tsyplakov’s impact was just a hooking penalty, which the Islanders killed.
Noah Cates went to the box for holding, and we were treated to two very bad mixed up power play units, which bumped Barzal to the second unit, separated from Bo Horvat and Matthew Schaefer. That power play went poorly, and the Flyers killed it.
Then, the other swap in the lineup, Gatcomb, went to the box as well, but JG Pageau scored short handed, assisted by Casey Cizikas.
In the second period, the Flyers got an early power play after Adam Boqvist was called for high sticking. Before that started, Ilya Sorokin was down in the crease, but seemed to shake it off, after a Matvei Michkov shot hit him in the back of the leg and went in after the whistle blew.
With 30 seconds left on that power play, Scott Mayfield and Owen Tippett were both sent to the box for slashing and crosschecking respectively. The Islanders killed all of that, despite being down two defensemen.
Later, Barzal got a tip on an Isaiah George shot, putting it past Samuel Ersson after some cycling in the Flyers zone.
Cam York was called for tripping, and the Islanders took advantage of a shorthanded turnover at the blue line and Anthony Duclair passed the puck to Barzal who set up Tony DeAngelo to make it 3-0.
At the end of the second, Jonathan Drouin took a puck to the face and went right down the tunnel. Drouin came back for the third with some stitches, but otherwise was fine.
Emil Heineman collided with a ref behind the play and labored to the bench, but it wasn’t anything more serious as he played his normal shifts the rest of the game.
Schaefer drew a high sticking penalty, sending Tippett to the box, but the Isles couldn’t convert on the man advantage.
Tsyplakov then set up Pageau for his second of the night (and Tsyplakov’s first assist of the season!) to make it 4-0 and entirely bury any chance of a comeback from the Flyers.
The Islanders closed out the game and Ilya Sorokin picked up his sixth shutout of the season and extended his franchise record total, while Barzal, Duclair, and Pageau each scored two points (1G/1A, 2A, 2G respectively) and Isaiah George got his first assist of the season in just his second game back up in the NHL.
Up Next
Next, the Islanders have a home-and-home back-to-back with the New York Rangers starting Wednesday at UBS Arena. There’s been a rare trade between these two teams (not yet officially-official at time of posting, but Carson Soucy to the Islanders for a 2026 3rd round pick) so Soucy will likely debut against his old team and become the stable bottom pair defenseman this team has been missing almost all season.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ilya Sorokin stopped 21 shots for his NHL-best sixth shutout of the season and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored two goals to lead the New York Islanders to a 4-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.
Mathew Barzal and Tony DeAngelo also scored for the Islanders. The Islanders scored power-play, short-handed and even-strength goals.
A game after they were shut out for the first time this season, Pageau snapped the scoreless streak with his ninth goal of the season on a short-handed shot past Samuel Ersson.
The Flyers allowed their fifth short-handed goal of the season.
Pageau smashed home his second goal late in the third to finish off a listless Flyers team.
Barzal tipped-in Isaiah George’s shot for his 12th of the season at 5:41 into the second and DeAngelo — a former Flyer — added a power-play goal later in the period to help send the Islanders to their first win over the Flyers in three games this season.
The Flyers’ surprising season that had them in a playoff spot just three weeks ago took a detour with a six-game losing streak. The Flyers rebounded to win two of three on the road — including a 7-3 stunner at Colorado, who boast the best record in the NHL — but failed to carry that momentum with them home.
The Flyers never made Sorokin work with tough shots on goal and were just flat in front of a sparse crowd largely affected by a massive winter storm.
The few Flyers fans that stayed until the end chanted “at least get one!”
No luck. Sorokin earned his third shutout this month and second in four starts.
The Islanders snapped a two-game losing streak and kept third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Up next
Islanders host the Rangers on Wednesday, and the two teams play the next night at Madison Square Garden.
The New York Islanders rebounded after a 5-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 on Monday night.
They scored a shorthanded goal, added two 5-on-5 goals, and got a power-play goal in the win. Ilya Sorokin made 21 saves for his sixth shutout of the season. Flyers netminder Sam Ersson made 19 saves.
With the win, the Islanders extended their lead on the Flyers to four points as they sit third in the Metropolitan Division, just two points back of the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Islanders are acquiring LHD Carson Soucy from the New York Rangers for a 2026 third-round pick, per Emily Kaplan and Vince Mercogliano.
Here's how the game unfolded:
After a failed power play, the Islanders found themselves on the penalty kill. That's when a basic dump-in by Jean-Gabriel Pageau made its way back to him courtesy of a no-look pass from Casey Cizikas to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 14:29 of the first:
That was Pageau's ninth goal of the season and third shorthanded goal of the 2025-26 campaign.
Mathew Barzal extended the Islanders' lead to 2-0 at 5:41 of the second period after he deflected an Isaiah George point shot past a screened Ersson, who had Jonathan Drouin stationed right in front of him:
Barzal and Anthony Duclair each recorded their second points of the night.
The Islanders added a fourth goal, as Pageau scored his second of the game and 10th of the season off the rush after finishing a feed from Maxim Tsyplakov at 13:38 of the third:
Notes: Forward Calum Ritchie did not play as he is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Forward Simon Holmstrom missed the game due to illness. Defenseman Ryan Pulock, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, missed his second straight game.
Up Next: The Islanders battle the Rangers at UBS Arena on Wednesday before heading to Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
Soucy was held out of the lineup on Monday night against the Boston Bruins due to roster management.
This would mark the first trade between the Rangers and Islanders since 2010, when the Rangers acquired defenseman Jyri Niemi in exchange for a sixth-round pick.
The Rangers acquired Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline in exchange for a third-round pick, so this reported trade essentially nullifies what they gave up.
In 46 games this season, the 31-year-old defenseman has recorded three goals, five assists, and eight points, while averaging 17:13 minutes.
By all indications, the Michigan State Spartans are set to welcome a highly touted goaltending prospect to their crease, which could have major implications for the career trajectory of one of the most exciting prospects for the Detroit Red Wings.
As reported by current NHL Insider (and longtime former NHL goaltender in his own right) Kevin Weekes, the Spartans are expected to welcome 2025 first-round (30th overall) pick Joshua Ravensbergen to the club next season.
This opens the door for Trey Augustine, Detroit's second-round (41st overall) pick from the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, to begin his professional career next season, likely with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Augustine has enjoyed a spectacular season in East Lansing, having gone 17-5 with a sparkling 1.73 goals-against average, a .938 save percentage, and three shutouts.
In fact, he was recently suggested as a prime candidate for consideration for the Mike Richter Award, given to the best goalie in NCAA Division I men's hockey, by NHL.com correspondent Mike Divver.
He's also enjoyed success on the international stage by backstopping the United States to consecutive gold medal victories in 2024 and 2025.
This past summer, he was listed as fifth overall in an NHL ranking of the best goaltenders aged 25 or younger.
Speaking of goaltenders within the Red Wings' system, Sebastian Cossa has made the most of what he described before the season as an important opportunity with the Griffins.
His 18-2-2 record for the Griffins this season is the best of any starter in the American Hockey League; he's also posted equally impressive stats of a 1.77 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage, along with four shutouts.
Widely regarded as Detroit's goaltender of the future, Cossa could conceivably begin next season as the backup to John Gibson in the Red Wings' crease, which would also clear the way for Augustine to begin getting starts in the AHL.
Playing in the final season of his current contract with a $863,333 cap hit, Cossa will be re-signed and will challenge for the backup position at the NHL level in the fall when Training Camp begins.
The future of 38-year-old veteran Cam Talbot, who is in the second and final year of his deal with the Red Wings, remains to be seen.
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Alex Lyn (left); Auston Matthews (right) -- (Timothy T. Ludwig USA TODAY Images)
After their 10-game win streak ended on New Year’s Eve, the Buffalo Sabres could’ve gone in one of two directions – either down the standings by going on a losing streak, or by pushing further up the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division standings and moving into a top-three spot in the division.
To the utter elation of Sabres fans, Buffalo has risen to third place in the Atlantic with a 29-17-5 record. And since that 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets ended their 10-game win streak, the Sabres have gone 8-2-1. It’s now clear that initial surge was no fluke, and that Buffalo is a legitimate Stanley Cup playoff contender.
"The Big Show"
But that sustained excellence still needs to be sustained the rest of the way this year. And that’s why Buffalo’s next game – against the Toronto Maple Leafs, on Tuesday night in Toronto – feels like a must-win.
For one thing, the Sabres need to win this game to send a message to the sputtering Leafs, who trail them by six points. You want to snuff out any possibility of a resurgence by Toronto, and the way you do that is by beating the Leafs on Tuesday.
Thus, the Sabres can’t take their foot off the gas. If they are going to end their playoff drought at 14 years, Buffalo has to assert themselves in the coming days, weeks and months. And beating a longtime rival in the Leafs would send a message to Toronto and the rest of the NHL.
That message: “We didn’t get where we are this season by a fluke. We’re good because we’re good.” And losing to Toronto, which has been absolutely terrible in recent days, would send another message – “We can’t be relied on to put our foot on the necks of our opponents”.
The Leafs game will be a great metric of where the Sabres are. Toronto is desperate for a win, and if Buffalo beats them, it’ll be another nail in the Leafs’ coffin.
That would send Sabres fans over the moon with glee. But it’s up to Buffalo whether they pounce on a weak opponent. The Sabres have to be the alpha-dog, and that process has to be continuing against a wobbly Leafs team.
BOSTON (AP) — Bruins forward David Pastrnak became the sixth Boston player with 900 career points when he picked up his third assist in Monday night's game against the New York Rangers.
The 29-year-old Pastrnak assisted on Elias Lindholm's goals in the first and second periods at Madison Square Garden and reached the milestone on Morgan Geekie's score at 8:52 of the second that gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead.
Pastrnak, from the Czech Republic, was the 25th overall pick by the Bruins in the 2014 draft. He joins Ray Bourque (1,506), Johnny Bucyk (1,339), Patrice Bergeron (1,040), Phil Esposito (1,012) and Brad Marchand (976) in Boston's 900-point club.
In 48 games this season, Pastrnak has 21 goals, 46 assists. In 804 career games, he has 412 goals and 488 assists.
Rust To Have Hearing For Hit To Head Against CanucksBryan Rust will have a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety on Tuesday. 
