ST. LOUIS -- The start of a five-game homestand gave the St. Louis Blues a chance to recalibrate after a tough stretch to begin this 2026-27 season in which they played six of their first eight games away from Enterprise Center.

Blues coach Jim Montgomery said Monday the hope was for the Blues to be above .500 when they opened one of their biggest homestands of the season starting with the Winnipeg Jets but that wasn't the case, so they had to start anew and being more dominant at the confines of home would be a good place to start.

And winning a tightly-contested, low-scoring game is not a bad place to start, and against the Jets, that's usually the case, and the Blues prevailed and got back to .500 with a 2-1  win on Tuesday.

Philip Broberg's power-play goal was the difference in the game, and Joel Hofer stopped 32 shots to help the Blues get back to .500 at 4-4-1 while dropping the Jets to 4-3-2, winning for just the second time in the Central Division this season (2-4-0).

Let's get to those key points ... 

* 'Bro' was best player on the ice bar none -- Montgomery referenced Broberg's game on a scale of 1-5 as a "five-plus" on Saturday in their 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators and had even more praise for his No. 1 defenseman, who had his handprints all over this game on both sides of the puck.

"I think he’s gone from neutral to overdrive to Lamborghini style here in the last two games if you’re comparing him to a race car," Montgomery said. 'It’s just so fun to watch because he has so much intensity within him and when you watch him skate, he reminds me of (former Minnesota Vikings running back) Adrian Peterson. He ran like he was mad. This guy skates sometimes like he’s mad. ‘I’m going to take it right through your net,’ and it’s inspiring, I think."

He finished the game playing 23:41, had a game-high six shots on goal and had a hand in both goals scored, including the game-winner when he and Robert Thomas played pitch-and-catch before Broberg stepped into a one-timer from the high slot to beat Stuart Skinner: 

Power play goal for St. Louis!

Scored by Philip Broberg with 11:13 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours.

STL: 2 | WPG: 1#WPGvsSTL#StlBlues#GoJetsGopic.twitter.com/tXFYUFDOpi

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 21, 2026

“Good pass and I just shot it,” Broberg said. “It was good, good to see it go in.

“You try to read where the PK’ers are and where it’s open space and I think ‘Tommer’ and takes a lot of attention to him there, so they drive to him and good pass and I just tried to hit the net there.”

Thomas was just glad to get another opportunity, as he jokingly referenced, to get another chance to tee up a puck for Broberg.

"I’m surprised he passed it back to me," Thomas said. "My first pass was terrible to him. Nice he gave me another opportunity to pass it back to him, but that whole goal starts with 'Snuggy,' 'Holly' and 'Jakey.' We lose the face-off there and that usually that results in a clear and those three guys had great jumps. They kept the play alive and ultimately won us the game by doing it. It was a great all-around effort."

Broberg was also involved in Jimmy Snuggerud's goal at 12:30 of the first period for a 1-0 Blues lead, getting a couple cracks at the net, puck retrievals, one puck saved at the blue line and a direct seam pass to Dylan Holloway, who quietly extended his point streak to five games (one goal, six assists) before Holloway slid a puck to Snuggerud into the slot before it caromed in off his skate:

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Jimmy Snuggerud with 07:30 left in the 1st. Assisted by Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg.

STL: 1 | WPG: 0#WPGvsSTL#StlBlues#GoJetsGopic.twitter.com/2pwGcdIhLN

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 21, 2026

Broberg took shifts in this game with Justin Barron, Colton Parayko and Brandon Carlo. His ability to shut down plays with his skating ability enables him to join the rush simply by using his speed.

"I try to help the team in any way I can," Broberg said. "I like to join the rush and skate with the puck a little bit. I like to play good defensively and join the rush, so I think I just want to keep building on that."

When Broberg, who has scored in back-to-back games, affects the game, he's in fact doing plenty.

"A little bit of everything," Thomas said. "He plays against the top pair a lot of the time a lot of the time. He’s power play, penalty kill, a huge part of the team. You can see it in the … especially the last two games, he’s been a monster out there. He’s starting to gain that confidence that he can be a top defender in the league and it’s super-exciting for us."

Hofer added, "He’s fast. He’s all over the ice. He’s shooting it more, which is great. I keep harping on him to keep shooting it. He’s doing that and he’s getting rewarded.

"I’d say he’s just driving the play. His speed’s obviously the biggest thing. Up and down the ice, he’s been great for us. He’s been very steady back there for us and getting a goal tonight’s great for him too."

* Hofer controlling pucks key -- The Jets are a big, heavy and physical team. When they bog you down in the offensive zone, they like to get traffic at the net and pucks aplenty to the goalie.

For Hofer, who faced 33 shots and stopped 32 of them, only allowing a Cole Perfetti backhand through the wickets 32 seconds into the third that tied the game 1-1, making sure the puck stuck to him like velcro was imperative, or else Winnipeg would be able to convert on those loose pucks when they sent plenty of bodies his way.

"That was in the pre-scout that they go to the net hard and they're hungry around there," Hofer said of his hometown team. 'It was obviously a key point, but I thought our 'D' did a good job boxing out and keeping them to the outside, and if there was a rebound, they didn't get much, so it was good."

* Important penalty kill -- Yes, technically the Blues killed Snuggerud's high-sticking penalty that spilled over into the third period by a second, but Perfetti's goal was like a power-play goal, but they had another huge kill to get through when Colton Parayko was whistled for interference with 6:18 to play protecting a one-goal lead.

They did that and then some, minimizing the Jets' zone entry and with Montgomery being so confident in that unit at the start of this season, he was even comfortable enough to utilize Otto Stenberg and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki on it late to cap off an impressive kill that yielded zero shots on goal.

"I'm really comfortable using those two," Montgomery said. "They're smart hockey players, especially on the PK side of things. We have four vets that do a really good job that have been doing it all year, but to have two kids that can spread out the ice time on the bench makes a big difference in how everyone's ice time ends up pretty even."

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EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Evan Bouchard scored on a power play at 3:32 of overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.

Connor McDavid set up Bouchard's goal for his third assist of the game, pushing his NHL-leading points total to 26 and extending his season-opening points streak to nine games.

Leon Draisaitl scored twice, Mathieu Joseph also connected and Devon Levi made 27 saves. The Oilers (7-1-1) have won two in a row and seven of eight.

Joel Eriksson Ek, Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman scored for Minnesota (6-2-2), and Jesper Wallstedt stopped 28 shots. Kaprizov leads the NHL with 11 goals.

Kaprizov and Hartman scored in the third period as Minnesota overcame a 3-1 deficit to force overtime.

Up next

Wild: At Calgary on Thursday night.

Oilers: Host Carolina on Thursday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

The Pittsburgh Penguins' struggles on the blue line to open the 2026-27 season have been well-documented up to this point. Each of the team's regular starters on defense this season have seen some good and some bad, with much of the bad accompanying the Penguins' four-game road trip that ended winless with a 5-4 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Monday. 

Of course, it's still early. The season is only 10 games young, and every NHL team is battling the results of a shortened training camp and preseason, with some seeing more success than others.

But the big question facing the Penguins is how long a leash they'll have with the current defense corps as is before they look to call on some of their younger talent.

Report: Penguins Are Willing To Deal Veterans. What Does That Mean?According to a new report Saturday, the Pittsburgh Penguins and GM Kyle Dubas are ready to open the doors for a youth movement.

Even though a similar situation presents itself on the forward front for the Penguins - and that was made even more interesting with a report from NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman on Saturday claiming the Penguins and GM/POHO Kyle Dubas are willing to trade veteran forwards to make way for youth - the situation on the blue line is, arguably, just as interesting. 

The Penguins have some defensive depth in their system, with prospects Owen Pickering, Harrison Brunicke, and Jake Livanavage, in particular, knocking on the door of NHL opportunity. However, part of the trouble is that the Penguins loaded up on defensemen this summer, subtracting Parker Wotherspoon and Ryan Shea but bringing back Ilya Solovyov and bringing in Declan Carlile, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Kaedan Korczak. 

And during the small runway of the 2026-27 season so far? They've already added two more NHL-fringe blueliners in Spencer Stastney and Ryan Johnson via trade, both left defensemen. 

While defensive depth is great, it doesn't make much difference when the guys playing in the NHL simply aren't getting it done. And it becomes borderline counterproductive and problematic when younger players in the system are playing up to a certain level to earn playing time from struggling vets. 

Penguins' Forward Ben Kindel Hospitalized After Medical Episode On PlaneThe 19-year-old experienced a medical episode on the team plane shortly after takeoff from the Salt Lake City International Airport and is in stable condition at a Utah hospital.

Even though it's unrealistic to expect Erik Karlsson to come out of the lineup unless he has anything to say about leaving the Penguins altogether at some point, the standard for everyone else should not be the same. Solovyov has only played in one game, and Stastney has actually looked pretty good in five games so far for the Penguins, with the most recent outing coming on the top pairing with Karlsson. 

But everyone else? Let's take a look at the list and some of the numbers in the early going (with the emphasis that it's very early):

- Carlile: Despite having three goals and five points in 10 games, the 26-year-old Carlile - who signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Penguins this summer - is a minus-4 and, according to HockeyStatCards, is in the 1st percentile for defense rating at minus-2, making him one of the very worst defensive blueliners in the league through 10 games. And, per Moneypuck, his 4.63 expected goals against per 60 minutes is the second-worst mark on the Penguins to Bryan Rust's 5.81. The left blueliner has made several costly errors in his own zone, and it's becoming a bit too much of a theme at this point. 

- Kris Letang: Surprisingly to some, the advanced stats, defensively, bode well for Letang so far, as HockeyStatCards has him in the 100th percentile for defensive rating this season at plus-2.5. His offense, though, has all but fallen off entirely. He hasn't been the biggest problem to begin the season by any stretch, and objectively, he has been one of the Penguins' better defensemen in a sheltered third-pairing role. But he still leads the team in giveaways (22) and defensive zone giveaways (11), and he'll be turning 40 this season, making load management a reasonable thing to ponder for the veteran right defenseman. 

- Korczak: He began the season pretty steady defensively on the right side of the second pairing, but his play has waned along with the Penguins' general play. Acquired over the summer from the Vegas Golden Knights for Wotherspoon, he is signed for four years at $3.25 million per year, so Korczak is likely to have some runway. He has shown some decent ability on breakouts and frequently gets himself in shooting and passing lanes, second only to Carlile (20) in blocked shots with 18. But he hasn't shown that upside two-way ability consistently enough yet. 

- Sam Girard: Offensively, the left-shot Girard has been outstanding for the Penguins so far this season, as he is in the team-leading (among defensemen) 94th percentile league-wide for offense rating, again, per HockeyStatCards, at 1.8. But, the fact that, other than Letang, Girard has been Pittsburgh's most consistent defensive defensemen, too, isn't exactly encouraging, as he is only in the 23rd percentile defensively and still makes some poor own-zone decisions. Still, he's been Pittsburgh's best all-around defenseman through 10 games, and he's on the final year of his current contract paying him $5 million annually.

- van Riemsdyk: The 35-year-old veteran, formerly a Washington Capital, has only played in five games due to a lower-body ailment he is currently on injured reserve for, and his last couple of games did not look so good. However, in the first three games, his veteran-level own-zone stick work was at play, he showed an ability to clear out the net-front, and he was a steadying presence for Letang on the left side despite being a right shot. He signed in free agency for two years and is generally reliable - and his versatility is a plus - but, like Letang, he needs to show the ability to string good performances together despite his age. He's a guy who probably doesn't need to play every night.

Penguins Name Ted Towne New Chief Financial OfficerThe Pittsburgh Penguins have a new Chief Financial Officer.

The moral of the story here is that there has been next to zero game-to-game performance consistency on the blue line for the Penguins this season, Stastney aside. There is, arguably, not a true top-four left blueliner at all on the Penguins' NHL roster, and two guys on the right side are 36 and 39, with respect to Karlsson and Letang.

Because the Penguins have so many new faces on the blue line, it's fair to give the coaching staff some runway to figure out the best pairings and allow guys some time to gel. The sheer number of new faces on the back end is a disadvantage Pittsburgh has had to deal with in comparison to other NHL teams with regards to the shortened preseason and less practice time as a result.

However, the length of the leash on each of these guys should probably not be too, too long. Pickering, 22, is a towering 6-foot-5, 213-pound first-round pick (22nd overall in 2022) who was outstanding for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) down the stretch and into the Calder Cup Playoffs last season. He is the Penguins' best hope in their system as a shutdown-type left blueliner, which is something that the NHL club needs in short order.

Brunicke, 20, is finally AHL-eligible, and he is far and away the best defensive prospect the Penguins have. He was, arguably, WBS's best player in the playoffs last season despite not being with the team for most of the year, and he had three goals and 15 points in 26 combined games between the AHL regular season and playoffs in 2025-26 and has two points in six games, along with a plus-7, to begin this season. He has handled top-pairing minutes well in his short AHL sample, he plays in all situations, and he has improved many of the defensive details the Penguins asked him to.

Penguins Make Pair Of Defensive Roster MovesWith one injury already on the blue line and another possible injury from Saturday, Pittsburgh needed some insurance on the blue line.

Livanavage, 22, was signed to a two-year NHL entry-level contract out of the University of North Dakota near the end of the 2025-26 NHL campaign and has performed a bit under-the-radar. After a pretty impressive camp, he has a goal and five points in five AHL games to start the season, and he has largely been quarterbacking the top power play unit for WBS. He has a booming one-timer and enough two-way upside to be intriguing, even if the defensive side of his game could use some tinkering in the AHL before full-time NHL duties.

In addition, WBS is currently rostering eight defensemen, even after sending Maleek McGowan to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL Wednesday, as David Breazeale came the other way. With Pittsburgh's forward logjam, it's difficult to see them carrying eight defensemen once van Riemsdyk is healthy enough to return. 

The bottom line, though, is this: If the current crop of blueliners on the NHL club can't begin to bring some consistency within the next few weeks, and these three guys earn their opportunities through their AHL play in the meantime, how long will the holdup be for these guys to see NHL action? If Pittsburgh is going to struggle on the back end, it might not be the worst thing for the struggle to be coming from the younger players who are supposed to be part of the future. 

These next couple of weeks will tell a lot about the direction the Penguins are headed this season. Yes, it's early.

But the returns have not been good enough so far, and if things don't improve in short order, youth and development needs to become the priority. 

Several Penguins' Prospects Lighting Up AHL Scoreboard In EarlygoingThe Pittsburgh Penguins have a few players off to hot starts in the AHL so far this season.

---

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Mikko Rantanen finished off a hat trick with the game-winning goal 3:52 into overtime, helping the Stars to a come-from-behind, 3-2 OT win over the Bruins.

Rantanen’s winner came on the power play, with the B’s around 30 seconds away from successfully killing a slashing penalty on Pavel Zacha.

The Bruins got goals from Matthew Poitras and James Hagens, while Jeremy Swayman recorded 22 saves in defeat.

The B’s had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in this game, but seemed to run out of gas and ideas down the stretch.

The loss is the B’s first in more than two weeks and sees them end their road trip with a 3-0-1 record.

To the highlights!

After the B’s forced a turnover, Frederic Brunet threaded a perfect pass through to Poitras, who didn’t miss to make it 1-0 Bruins early in the first.

Speaking of turnovers, the Bruins managed to give the puck away about five times in five seconds, the last of which ended up on the stick of Rantanen. He followed his own shot to make it a 1-1 game early in the second period.

Five minutes after the Rantanen goal, Hagens beat Miro Heiskanen to the top of the crease and tapped home a great pass from Casey Mittelstadt to make it 2-1 Bruins.

The Stars began to tilt the ice in their favor in the third period, and they finally got what felt like an inevitable goal with around six minutes left. Rantanen was the beneficiary of a deflected puck, and he wasted no time firing it on net. 2-2 game.

The B’s were bady outplayed in the last five minutes of regulation and played a dreadful overtime (save for Swayman, who was great) that was capped by (guess who) Rantanen, who finished a standout night with a hat trick winner.

In the words of Jack Edwards, “a torture chamber goal.”

Bruins lose in OT, 3-2 final.

Game notes

• You can’t help but feel for Swayman, as he made two OT breakaway saves on Wyatt Johnston only to find Rantanen alone at the top of his crease for the winner. NOT IDEAL. Swayman’s play helped extend overtime by a minute or two, and his ability to hang in there in the third period helped the Bruins at least earn a point.
• While the B’s had some impressive passages of play in this game, they spent pretty much the last 25 minutes holding on for dear life. Dallas tying the game in the third period felt like an inevitability.
• To illustrate the point above: the Bruins went the final 13ish minutes of regulation and all of overtime without recording a shot on goal. To be frank, I’m not sure I really remember them coming all that close to even attempting a shot on goal during that stretch.
• The power play went back to being a sore spot for the Bruins, as they went 0-for-4 on the night. They weren’t without their chances and Jake Oettinger made a couple of big stops, particularly in the second period, but this was one of those games where a PPG would have gone a long way and the B’s couldn’t muster one.
• It was a night to forget for David Pastrnak. He finished without a shot on goal (a rarity for Pastrnak), though it wasn’t for a lack of attempts. His misplay of the puck/a bad bounce at the attacking blue line led to Johnston’s first breakaway in OT and was essentially the beginning of the wheels really falling off. This certainly isn’t meant to suggest Pastrnak lost the game for the B’s, just that it wasn’t his night.
• If you were looking at this game as a measuring-stick game against a legitimate Cup contender, there are positives to take away from it. For example, the youths (Hagens, Marat Khusnutdinov, and Fraser Minten, in particular) had stretches of play where their speed and tenacity gave Dallas trouble, the B’s had a handful of occasions where the speed and crispness (for lack of a better word) of their breakouts caught Dallas by surprise, etc.
• Having said that, this game also illustrates what can happen when you get a little too passive/tentative against a good team. There seemed to be a point where the B’s decided they had to circle the wagons and hunker down instead of push back, and that rarely goes well. I don’t think this was an intentional strategy on Sturm’s part, just that Dallas started skating downhill and the B’s couldn’t muster a response. Live and learn.
• You’re likely not feeling charitable at the moment, but going 3-0-1 on this road trip is a great result for the B’s. Maybe you will feel better in the morning. If not, that’s fine too.

The B’s will head back to the East Coast (best coast) Tuesday night and will host the Nashville Predators at TD Garden on Thursday night.

DALLAS (AP) — Mikko Rantanen scored in overtime to complete a hat trick, and the Dallas Stars beat Boston 3-2 on Tuesday night to snap the Bruins' five-game winning streak.

It was the 11th career three-goal game for Rantanen and his first in the regular season since joining the Stars in a trade during the 2024-25 season. He became the fourth Stars player with an overtime hat trick since the team moved to Dallas for the 1993-94 season.

Rantanen got his first goal early in the second period to tie the game at 1-all, and he tied it again in the third. His winner came on the power play at 3:52 of overtime when he did some nifty stick work in close and fired a shot past the left shoulder of Jeremy Swayman, who earlier in the extra period stopped Wyatt Johnston on two breakaway attempts 10 seconds apart and finished with 22 saves.

Jake Oettinger stopped 18 shots for Dallas (5-3-1) in its third straight win.

Matthew Poitras and James Hagens scored for the Bruins (7-2-1), who concluded their Western Conference trip at 3-0-1. Boston went 0 for 4 on the power play against Dallas, which came in allowing an NHL-best 1.5 goals per game and had the fourth-best penalty kill in the league. The Stars have allowed one power-play goal on opponents' last 25 chances.

Roope Hintz had a shot from in close deflect off the leg of Boston’s Charlie McAvoy, and the loose puck ricocheted directly to Rantanen, who poked it past Swayman with 6:22 left in regulation to tie it at 2-all.

Up next

Bruins: Host Nashville on Thursday.

Stars: Host Winnipeg on Thursday.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Philip Broberg scored on a power play at 8:47 of the third period to break a tie in the St. Louis Blues' 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.

Robert Thomas set up Broberg's slapper from the middle of the ice above the faceoff circles. Thomas has 332 career assists, one short of matching Brian Sutter for fourth on the Blues’ list.

Broberg also assisted on Jimmy Snuggerud’s first-period goal, and Joel Hofer stopped 32 shots as the Blues opened a five-game homestand. Snuggerud has five goals this season.

St. Louis snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 4-4-1.

Cole Perfetti tied it at 1 for Winnipeg at 32 seconds of the third with his sixth goal of the season.

Stuart Skinner made 27 saves for the Jets.

Up next

Jets: At Dallas on Thursday night.

Blues: Host Vegas on Thursday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

The Islanders won their second game in a row for the first time in this young season, casting aside their injury woes for a night and beating a team they probably needed to.

The 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks was made mostly comfortable by holding a two-goal lead for most of the game, though at 3-1 they missed a chance to finish the game with the empty net, and that nearly came back to bite them.

With under three minutes to go and a sixth attacker in effect, Alex Killorn converted a Leo Carlsson pass — the $90 million man’s ninth assist — to cut the Isles lead to 3-2 and make things nerve wracking. The Ducks also hit the post in the dying seconds, but tragedy was averted.

[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]

Ilya Sorokin only needed 15 saves for the win, but some of them were critical and one of them was outstanding and led to the Isles’ first goal. The Isles went the other way, benefited from a fortunate bounce in the neutral zone, and three rejuvenated old men combined on a pretty play to open scoring at 13:39 of the first: Anthony Duclair with the nifty slip pass to J-G Pageau, who delivered a cross slot feed to Ondrej Palat, who settled a bouncing puck to beat Lukas Dostal.

Is…is Palat good again? At least for the moment, yes.

PAGER TO PALAT. pic.twitter.com/X7vSWYzCpa

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 20, 2026

The Isles doubled their lead five minutes later. After a Matt Kessel pinch, Victor Eklund got up from losing a size mismatch battle in the corner and sprinted to the net to backhand a rebound of a point shot for his second NHL goal.

Eklund with the REBOUND!! pic.twitter.com/tLPFQbkqdl

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 20, 2026

The Ducks got one back quickly from Frank Vatrano, who was back from doing a thing in Jersey, but Simon Holmstrom restored the two-goal lead before the end of the period. He tipped in a Matthew Schaefer point shot on the power play, Schaefer’s eighth assist of the season.

The second period was scoreless and low event (outside of a fight from Mitchell Chaffee in his Isles debut) the third period even less so. Pete DeBoer’s dream of a smothering, frustrating team defense may be sinking in.

#Isles Pete DeBoer: "The last two games are probably our most complete 60-minute games. Other than sticking the puck in the net, we couldn't have done much more. We did let them hang around because of our lack of finish."

— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) October 21, 2026

Up Next

The other LA team, the one-win Kings, are in town on Thursday.

MONTREAL (AP) — Macklin Celebrini scored his second goal of the game on a power play at 2:13 of overtime to give the San Jose Sharks a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.

Celebrini fired a one-timer into the top-left corner after goalie Jakub Dobes was called for interference on Colin Graf.

Celebrini added an assist and Tyler Toffoli and Michael Misa also scored to help San Jose (5-4-1) rebound from a 3-1 loss to Toronto on Monday night.

Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 31 shots.

Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist each as Montreal (4-3-2) surrendered a two-goal advantage for the fourth time this season. Dobes made 26 saves.

Misa, who hit the post earlier in the period, cut into the Canadiens' lead at 5:36 in the third, finishing a feed from Kiefer Sherwood after Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson turned the puck over.

Toffoli tied it with 8:51 remaining in regulation when he buried Celebrini's pass on the power play with Arber Xhekaj in the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Up next

Sharks: At Ottawa on Thursday night.

Canadiens: At Chicago on Friday night.

___

See AP's full NHL coverage here

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Declan Chisholm scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period and Jake Allen made 31 saves as the New Jersey Devils beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Chisholm scored his first goal for the Devils at 12:33 on a power play, putting New Jersey in front to stay after the teams traded goals in the first.

Luke Evangelista, Arseny Gritsyuk and Jesper Boqvist also scored for the Devils, who recovered from a 4-2 loss at Washington in their previous game.

The 34-year-old Allen, honored before puck drop for playing his 500th career game earlier this month, improved to 4-2-0.

Gabriel Landeskog scored and Artturi Lehkonen added two late goals for the Avalanche, who lost for the third time in four games. Colorado was beaten 3-2 at Philadelphia on Monday.

Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood made 37 saves against his former team. He entered 5-0-0 with a 1.52 goals-against average versus the Devils.

Evangelista opened the scoring at 6:40 of the first with his third goal.

Landeskog tied it at 14:32 with his fourth of the season. The Avalanche captain missed more than three seasons following major right knee surgery. He returned to score 14 goals in 60 games last season.

Gritsyuk’s fourth goal came at 4:39 of the third. Boqvist scored an empty-netter at 16:05 to make it 4-1.

Lehkonen scored at 16:46, then added his team-leading eighth goal with 3.5 seconds left.

New Jersey won for the fourth time in six home games.

Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns played his 1,015th consecutive game. The 41-year-old is 49 games from tying Phil Kessel for the NHL ironman record. Burns has played 1,589 career games.

Up next

Avalanche: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday.

Devils: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.

Here is how the Islanders can survive whatever injuries come: Play like they did Tuesday.

Play territorial, tight hockey, hound the puck relentlessly and outwork teams that are still easing into the season. Play with intensity and emotion, make quick, crisp, correct decisions with the puck. Do all of that and the players who are missing from the lineup will not be so front of mind.

Do all of that, and there will be a lot more games like Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Anaheim, in which the Islanders played their most complete 60 minutes of the season to improve their record to 5-3-1 with the hapless Kings coming into town Thursday.

“I think what guys really respect and are buying into this team is everyone has a role and everyone feels important,” Brayden Schenn told The Post. “[Coach Pete DeBoer] plays everyone. And it’s a tight defensive system where we know if we play that way, we give ourselves a chance to win every night with the goalies we have. So far it’s looking pretty good.”

This was a near-perfect showcase of how the Islanders can make it through the next few weeks, and really, much longer than that. The philosophy showcased Tuesday would be the right one even if Mat Barzal, Calum Ritchie and Matias Maccelli received clean bills of health tomorrow.

The Islanders weren’t perfect, and missed chances to put away Anaheim in the second period, but they were hardworking and, mostly, smart with the puck.

They owned the neutral zone, suffocating Anaheim for shifts at a time. They backchecked. They looked all game like the faster team, despite being the far older team — a sign of preparedness if there ever was one.

“Other than sticking the puck in the net, we probably couldn’t have done much more,” DeBoer said. “We did let them hang around because of our lack of finish. That was the only issue I had with the game.”

Indeed, despite their efforts, the Islanders held a 3-1 lead late into the third, owning the puck while failing to tack on a needed insurance goal.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s short-handed attempt that drew iron came closest, but even as the Islanders rarely looked troubled — the Ducks had just two shots on net in the third period when they emptied their net with 3:32 to go — they were playing with fire.

Alex Killorn’s one-timer in the slot threatened to make them pay for it, with Anaheim pulling back to 3-2 at 6-on-5 with 2:40 to go. The Islanders needed to scramble to hang on with Anaheim’s net empty, and though they did so successfully, that may serve as a warning of sorts.

Still, it does nothing to erase what was, in sum, a terrific performance.

“We know that’s the way we need to play to be successful,” Ryan Pulock told The Post. “From training camp it’s been something we’ve been trying to build. I think we’re giving ourselves a chance every night to win just from playing good defense. That leads to offense.”

The four goals in the first period had all come in a 5:05-long flurry, starting with Ondrej Palat burying Pageau’s feed off the rush. Victor Eklund doubled the Islanders lead off Emil Heineman’s rebound before Frank Vatrano pulled one back for the Ducks, having been lost in the crease by Tony DeAngelo.

The Islanders got their third on the power play with Matthew Schaefer’s bullet from the top of the zone that was tipped in by Simon Holmstrom, denying No. 48 his first goal of the season, albeit happily so.

Kyle MacLean and Mitchell Chaffee, the two injury-induced additions to the lineup, both had solid nights on the fourth line with Casey Cizikas. Chaffee dropped gloves with A.J. Greer, the latter challenging him after a legal hit on Vatrano along the boards.

While DeAngelo had a few too many questionable decisions in his own end, there was little overall to nitpick in the Islanders’ play. Adam Pelech and Pulock had one of their better games as a pair. Schaefer was impeccable. Matt Kessel had his best game of the season. All four lines contributed.

This was, in whole, the closest the Islanders have come to DeBoer’s vision of what they can be.

“I think you see it right now,” Schenn said. “It’s reloads, it’s defense. It’s taking away the middle of the ice, playing the right way. Taking care of pucks. The little details and habits of the game that ultimately win you hockey games.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Ondrej Palat, Viktor Eklund and Simon Holmstrom scored first-period goals and the New York Islanders beat the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2, on Tuesday night for their second-straight victory.

Ilya Sorokin made 15 saves to help the Islanders improve to 3-0-1 in their last four games.

Frank Vatrano and Alex Killorn scored for Anaheim, which lost its fourth-straight game. Lukas Dostal finished with 22 saves.

Palat opened the scoring with 6:21 left in the first period. Jean-Gabriel Pageau found Palat streaking toward the net, and the forward fired a wrist shot past Dostal.

Eklund doubled the lead less than three minutes later. Emil Heineman floated a wrist shot from the blue line, and Eklund corralled the loose puck and buried it for his second goal of the season.

Vatrano pulled the Ducks within a goal 49 seconds later, lifting a backhander past Sorokin off a feed from A.J. Greer.

Holmstrom restored New York’s two-goal advantage with a power-play goal with 1:18 left in the first, deflecting Mathew Schaefer’s shot from the point past Dostal.

Killorn pulled Anaheim within a goal with 2:40 remaining in the third.

Up next

Ducks: At New Jersey Thursday night.

Islanders: Host Los Angeles on Thursday night.

On Tuesday night, Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin reportedly expanded his trade list to ten teams, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

The teams already known to be on Larkin's list were the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals. Three new clubs have now been added, and some of them are surprising.

The first is the Utah Mammoth, who have been one of the league's hottest teams, opening the season with wins in seven of their first ten games. The second is the Carolina Hurricanes, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The third is the New Jersey Devils, perhaps the most intriguing addition.

Per @HeleneStJames, Dylan Larkin has expanded his trade list to 10 teams:

Panthers
Wild
Golden Knights
Stars
Capitals
Hurricanes
Mammoth
Lightning
Devils
Avalanche pic.twitter.com/eILyLzYNrt

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 21, 2026

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Larkin has said he wants to compete for a Stanley Cup, but he is reportedly interested only in joining an American market. That restriction leaves one notable team off the list in the Montreal Canadiens.

Montreal is coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance and has the assets to facilitate a deal, yet it remains absent from Larkin's list.

On the ice, Larkin returned to the Detroit lineup and made an immediate impact, recording a goal and an assist in a multi-point game. His production has cooled since, with one assist and no goals over his last five games.

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For this column, we’re going to construct a potential reality for you: first, let’s presume the Buffalo Sabres don’t wind up winning the sweepstakes for disgruntled Winnipeg Jets star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. The Sabres are reported to have interest in Hellebuyck, and really, who can blame them? We’re talking about a Hart Trophy winner as the NHL’s most valuable regular-season player and a Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie. If you’re a team like the Sabres who could be seeking an upgrade in net, there may be no better upgrade than Hellebuyck.

But just because you want your first choice between the pipes, that doesn’t mean you’re going to get it. So let’s also presume another team outbids Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen for Hellebuyck’s services. If that turns out to be true, will Buffalo just ride out the season with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Colten Ellis and Alex Lyon as their three-headed goalie monster? Given that Luukkonen currently has a .860 save percentage, and Ellis has an .864 SP, that doesn’t sound like the best solution for the Sabres.

(And yes, we’ve heard Kekalainen speak of his confidence in his current goalies. What should we expect him to say – that he sees what the rest of us see, which is that there are definitely better options for the Sabres in net? He’d be sabotaging every shred of leverage he’d need to consummate a trade for a goalie. So let’s go forward with the understanding that Buffalo will still pursue a goalie.)

So, we’re proposing a different target if the Sabres don’t land Hellebuyck: Minnesota Wild veteran Filip Gustavsson. Of course, the 28-year-old Gustavsson has yet to play a game this season as he recovers from off-season hip surgery. But with young netminder Jesper Wallstedt currently thriving for the Wild, Gustavsson is likely to be the best available goalie after Hellebuyck.

Indeed, Gustavsson would be a major upgrade for the Sabres. He’s a workhorse who’s averaged 51 appearances per year in the past three seasons. He’s averaged a .911 SP in 219 career regular-season NHL games, and he’s averaged a 2.67 GAA in that span. And perhaps the best part – he’s in the first year of a five-year contract extension paying him $6.8-million per season. That’s the type of cost-certain asset that would allow Buffalo to spend in other areas.

The Wild aren’t simply going to hand Gustavsson to the Sabres. They’ll have to pony up something of value, but that’s Kekalainen’s job – he has to figure out how to sell Gustavsson on Buffalo as a team, and he’s got to sell Minnesota counterpart Bill Guerin on dealing Gustavsson to the Sabres.

That said, we see plenty of value in Gustavsson. He signed his contract extension before Wallstedt established himself as the Wild’s starter, and he no doubt is a proud veteran who doesn’t want to be relegated to the bench as Wallstedt’s understudy. In Buffalo, he’d be the clear-cut No. 1, and he’d be in that role for the long-term.

Thus, if you’re a Sabres fan and Buffalo fails to acquire Hellebuyck, don’t be despondent – there are other options out there. And from this writer’s point-of-view, the best goalie option probably available via trade – at least, right now – is most definitely Gustavsson.

Scott Wedgewood has done everything in his power to keep the Avalanche in the game, but Colorado’s defensive breakdowns and lack of offensive production have left it chasing New Jersey through 40 minutes.

Gabe Landeskog’s first-period equalizer briefly erased an early deficit, but an unfortunate own goal from Brock Nelson put the Devils back in front, leaving the Avalanche trailing 2-1 while being outshot 32-13 heading into the third period.

First Period

The Avalanche were outplayed, outshot and on their heels for much of the opening period, but Gabe Landeskog ensured they had something to show for it on the scoreboard. Despite surrendering 14 shots and managing just four of their own, Colorado escaped the first 20 minutes tied 1-1 with the New Jersey Devils, thanks to Landeskog’s late equalizer.

The defensive issues that plagued Colorado against the Flyers carried over into its matchup with the Devils. New Jersey came out flying, recording seven shots on goal in the opening five minutes while the Avalanche failed to register a single shot of their own.

Nathan MacKinnon endured a difficult start as well, getting knocked to the ice in his own defensive zone by Devils forward Dawson Mercer while away from the puck. Despite what appeared to be a clear interference penalty, no call was made.

New Jersey broke the deadlock at 6:40, capitalizing on a defensive miscue by Colorado. MacKinnon was unable to corral a loose puck in the defensive zone, allowing the Devils to regain possession. The puck eventually found Luke Evangelista, who fired it past Scott Wedgewood to give New Jersey an early 1-0 lead.

Landeskog responded with 5:28 remaining in the period, bringing the Avalanche back even. Cale Makar shook off a defender before slipping a backhanded pass to Landeskog at the top of the right circle. Landeskog fired on goal and buried his own rebound to tie the game at 1-1.

Colorado’s defensive struggles continued late in the frame when Artturi Lehkonen was called for delay of game after shooting the puck over the glass with 1:38 remaining. The Devils immediately pressured the Avalanche net, crashing the crease and forcing Wedgewood to come up with several difficult stops to keep the game tied.

After 20 minutes, the score remained 1-1, but the shots on goal told a different story. New Jersey held a commanding 14-4 advantage, leaving Colorado with plenty to clean up heading into the second period.

Second Period

The second period brought more of the same, with Colorado struggling to generate offense as New Jersey continued to dictate the pace and pile up scoring chances.

Seven minutes into the period, the Devils held an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal, keeping Wedgewood under relentless pressure. The Avalanche netminder stood tall, turning aside one shot after another to prevent New Jersey from extending its lead.

As the period approached its midpoint, Parker Kelly provided a rare spark for Colorado. Coming off the bench, Kelly drove hard to the net and attempted to slip a puck past Devils goaltender Jake Allen with one hand, but Allen turned him away.

New Jersey eventually regained the lead with 7:29 remaining in the period, though the goal came on an unfortunate bounce for Colorado. Declan Chisholm unleashed a slap shot from the point that deflected off Brock Nelson and into the Avalanche net, giving the Devils a 2-1 advantage.

Colorado struggled to mount a meaningful response as the period wound down, leaving Wedgewood with little margin for error despite his strong performance between the pipes.

After 40 minutes, New Jersey held a 2-1 lead and a staggering 32-13 advantage in shots on goal. Wedgewood has kept the Avalanche within striking distance, but Colorado will need a much stronger third period offensively and a significant improvement defensively to avoid letting this one slip away.

Third Period

The Avalanche came out with more life to start the third, generating a flurry of chances. Martin Necas tested Jake Allen with a backhand before setting up a one-timer that led to a rebound opportunity for Nathan MacKinnon. Cale Makar even dove into the crease trying to jam the loose puck home, but Colorado couldn’t find the finish.

That brief burst of hope was cute while it lasted. Arseny Gritsyuk then picked MacKinnon’s pocket, skated past Necas, shrugged off Devon Toews, and buried a backhand past Scott Wedgewood to make it 3-1. A defensive disaster from start to finish, and another reminder that New Jersey had no intention of letting Colorado back into the game.

The Avalanche finally earned their first power play of the night with 11:17 remaining after Evan Rodrigues was called for hooking Gabriel Landeskog, giving Colorado a chance to claw its way back into the game.

The Utah Mammoth have called a player up from the AHL for the first time this season, and it’s one of their top defensive prospects.

On Tuesday, the team recalled Artem Duda from the Tucson Roadrunners. The defenseman has three points in six games with the Roadrunners this season. He is tied with Zac Jones for the team lead in points among defensemen. Duda is also a plus-six, the best plus-minus rating on the team.

This is Duda’s first-ever NHL call-up. He was originally drafted in the second round in 2022 by the Arizona Coyotes. Last season, Duda only played 27 games, producing 13 points before suffering a season-ending injury that resulted in knee surgery.

However, the defenseman worked hard over the summer to regain strength in his leg before having an impressive rookie camp and a very solid training camp. He was one of the final cuts, alongside Ben McCartney, as the Mammoth sent him down right before the season started.

Duda has mentioned that he has never felt better, and early results have shown that he’s not lying.

“I feel like I’m the strongest person I’ve ever been,” Duda said. “Everything is good. The knee is good. I’m skating and playing physically. I just have to keep going like that.”

ARTEM DUDA pic.twitter.com/FsG3WJFs9E

— Tucson Roadrunners (@RoadrunnersAHL) October 10, 2026

The Mammoth are currently starting to deal with injuries. John Marino did not play in Monday’s game vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, forcing Nick DeSimone to sub in his place. Michael Carcone was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday with an upper-body injury. The forward has not played since Oct. 8 in a game against the Boston Bruins.

It’s unclear if Duda will actually play in his first NHL game during this call-up. Last season, the Mammoth called up Maksymilian Szuber, Kevin Connauton, Scott Perunovich, Dmitri Simashev, and Maveric Lamoureux throughout the season. Only the latter two names appeared in games with the Mammoth.

Duda is also ineligible for waivers, meaning he doesn’t have to clear them to be returned to the Roadrunners, which could mean a quick return to the AHL if needed. It could be a reason why the Mammoth opted to call him up over someone like Jones, who has to clear waivers. 

The Roadrunners will likely play their first two games without Duda this weekend as they travel to Nevada to play the Henderson Silver Knights. They have options to fill that void with Cal Thomas and Brandon Holt, both deserving of the opportunity to play.

The Mammoth will play their next game on Thursday as they travel to Climate Pledge Arena to take on the Seattle Kraken.