Category: Sports News

The Columbus Blue Jackets are back at home to face the New York Rangers tonight at 7:00 PM.   

New York Rangers - 6-3-0 - 12 Points - Lost 2 - 2nd in the Metro

Columbus Blue Jackets - 2-3-0 - 4 Points - Lost 2 - 7th in the Metro

Teams Notes Per CBJ PR

• The winning team has scored four-plus goals (including SO goals) 11 times in the last 13 outings overall and in 15 of the last 18 games of the series dating back to Oct. 29, 2021.
• The Jackets have a 24.0 percent power play percentage in the last nine games at Nationwide Arena in the series (6-of-25).

Player Notes Per CBJ PR

• Conor Garland has scored in each of his last two games against New York (2-0-2) and has 7-2-9 in 14 career contests vs. the club.
• Matthew Knies has collected points in five of his six career games vs. the Rangers (3-2-5).
• Sean Monahan has tallied 5-9-14 in 20 career games vs. New York, with points in five of his last six contests (3-3-6).
• Damon Severson has notched 5-18-23 in 48 career GP against New York, with points in back-to-back games against the club (1-2-3) and has points in seven of his past 10 meetings (1-6-7).
• Zach Werenski has recorded 3-19-22with 5 multi-point efforts in 28 career games against New York, who notched 0-3-3 last time out on Mar. 19, 2026, and has 0-7-7 in his past five matchups.

Blue Jackets Stats 

• Power Play - 16.7% - 23rd in the NHL
• Penalty Kill - 61.1% - 30th in the NHL
• Goals For - 15 - 29th in the NHL
• Goals Against - 21 - 15th in the NHL   

Rangers Stats 

• Power Play - 22.2% - 10th in the NHL
• Penalty Kill - 92.9% - 3rd in the NHL
• Goals For - 28 - 7th in the NHL
• Goals Against - 21 - 11th in the NHL

Series History vs. TheRangers

• The Blue Jackets are 26-24-1-7 Overall, and 15-16-0-2 at Nationwide Arena vs. New York. 
• Columbus has earned points in eight of the last 11 meetings against the New York Rangers (5-3-3).
• CBJ have gone 24-of-28 (85.7 pct.) on the penalty kill in the last 12 contests of the series.
• The last matchup between teams oin Mar. 19, 2026 saw 11 combined penalties, the most in the series since 14 recorded on Oct. 24, 2008.

Who To Watch For TheRangers

• Alex Lafreniere leads the Rangers with 7 goals and 11 points. 
• Adam Fox leads NYR with 9 assists. 
• Goalie Dylan Garand is 3-2-0 with a SV% of .915. 

Injured Reserve & Other Injuries

• Dante Fabbro - Broken Hand - IR - 5 Games Missed
• Isac Lundestrom - Achilles Surgery - LTIR - 5 Games Missed
• Ivan Provorov - Lower Body - IR - 5 Games Missed

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 19

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be simulcast on The Blue Jackets Hockey Network and 97.1 The Fan, with Steve Mears behind the mic doing the play-by-play.

TV: CBJHN (Spectrum HD Ch. 320/1320; IP Ch. 349; Prime Video, Fubo)   

Next Up For Columbus: The CBJ take on the New York Rangers tonight at 7:00 PM.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have assigned forward Dakota Joshua to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on a long-term injured reserve conditioning loan, according to the American Hockey League transactions log.

The move, reported Friday, signals progress for the 30-year-old after he opened the 2026-27 season on LTIR with an abdominal/core muscle injury he had been dealing with since the offseason. Joshua participated in training camp but was never able to progress the injury to a point where he could be effective in game action. He was listed as day-to-day early in camp, then week-to-week, before the club formally placed him on LTIR on Sept. 30 alongside Max Domi. That designation requires a projected absence of at least 10 games and 24 days and provided the Leafs with temporary cap flexibility while Joshua recovered.

The earliest Joshua could come off LTIR to be in a Leafs lineup would be Oct. 22 when the club hosts the New York Rangers.

Under the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, an LTIR conditioning loan is distinct from a standard conditioning loan. A regular conditioning loan (CBA Section 13.8) cannot exceed 14 consecutive days, requires the player’s consent, and keeps the player on the NHL roster and payroll while the Commissioner retains the right to investigate any potential circumvention of waivers or the cap. For players already on the bona fide long-term injury/illness exception, the conditioning loan is shorter and more targeted: it is limited to a maximum of six days or three games (whichever comes first), again requires the player’s agreement, and is intended solely to assess fitness to return. The club and player can mutually agree to extend it for up to two additional games. 

Joshua is in the third year of the four-year, $13 million contract ($3.25 million AAV) he signed with the Vancouver Canucks in June 2024. The deal runs through 2027-28, when he will become an unrestricted free agent, and includes a modified no-trade clause. The Leafs acquired him from Vancouver on July 17, 2025, in exchange for a 2028 fourth-round pick, a low-cost addition of physical depth after he had been a Leafs fifth-round selection in 2014 before his rights were moved to St. Louis without him ever signing in Toronto.

Dakota Joshua goes Zadorov for his hit on John Tavares 💥🤛
pic.twitter.com/n4OsW90g1s

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) March 25, 2026

His injury history has limited his availability since the extension. In 2024-25 with the Canucks he missed the start of the season after surgery for testicular cancer and later dealt with a leg injury, finishing with 14 points in 57 games. Last season, his first in Toronto, he recorded 10 goals and 18 points in 55 games while averaging just over 12 minutes a night. A lacerated kidney in late December cost him 19 contests, and he also sat out the final four games of the regular season with an upper-body issue.

Getting into AHL games will give the Leafs a clearer read on whether the core injury has healed enough for Joshua to return to his physical, forechecking style and contribute in a bottom-six role. With the club already navigating other injuries and a rebuilt supporting cast under coach Jim Hiller, a successful stint could accelerate his activation once the medical staff clears him.

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Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (3-4-1, 7 points, 6th place Metropolitan Division) @ Vegas Golden Knights (7-2-0, 14 points, 1st place Pacific Division)

When: 10 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Locally televised game on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and SCRIPPS, streaming for out of market at ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: The road trip continues Monday in Salt Lake City. The Penguins then have two days off before returning to Pittsburgh for a three-game homestand, starting Thursday against the Florida Panthers.

Opponent Track: The Pens are about to take on one of the hottest teams in the NHL. The Golden Knights have won six of their last seven games, most recently including consecutive wins over the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames in which the team outscored their opponents by a total of 11-4.

Season Series: The Penguins won’t have to wait long for another meeting with the Golden Knights, which are coming to Pittsburgh Nov. 3.

Hidden Stat: Only the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers have spent a higher percentage of their game time in the offensive zone than the Golden Knights so far this season, according to NHL Edge.

Hidden Stat II: The Penguins haven’t won on the road against the Golden Knights since January 2022, when Jason Zucker, Teddy Blueger and Jake Guentzel led the Pens to a comeback victory.

Getting to know the Golden Knights

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mark Stone

Brett Howden – William Karlsson – Mitch Marner

Trevor Connelly – Tomas Hertl – Raphael Lavoie

Braeden Bowman – Nic Dowd – Marc Gatcomb

DEFENSEMEN

Brayden McNabb / Shea Theodore

Jeremy Lauzon / Rasmus Andersson

Noah Hanifin / Dylan Coghlan

Goalies: Carter Hart, Adin Hill

Potential scratches: Ville Heinola, Parker Wotherspoon (week-to-week, upper body)

Injured Reserve: Victor Olofsson

Season-ending LTIR: Alex Pietrangelo

• Parker Wotherspoon won’t be reuniting with his former teammates tonight. The Golden Knights announced Monday the defenseman is week-to-week with an upper body injury after starting the season on the team’s second pairing alongside Rasmus Andersson.
• The Golden Knights’ top power play unit of Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Tomas Herl and Shea Theodore has been dangerous so far this season. Vegas is one of seven NHL teams that has converted on more than 25 percent of their power play opportunities so far this season.
• Carter Hart has made the bulk of starts for the Golden Knights so far this season. After a rocky 18-game campaign last season he has a .911 save percentage and 2.35 GAA through six appearances in net.

Season stats
via hockeydb

• Mark Stone is heading into tonight fresh off a natural hat trick in the third period of the Golden Knights’ win over the Flames. He has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his first nine games of the season.

• Jack Eichel is second only to Connor McDavid for the NHL production lead with 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) through nine games. His latest tally was a shorthanded strike against the Flames.

• The Penguins will need to be alert early. Brett Howden scored the eighth-fastest goal in Golden Knights history when he opened scoring just 25 seconds into Thursday’s game.

And now for the Pens

Projected lines 

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Ville Koivunen – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin

Andrei Kuzmenko – Ben Kindel – Nick Robertson

Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Elmer Soderblom

DEFENSEMEN

Declan Carlile / Erik Karlsson

Sam Girard / Kaeden Korczak

Spencer Stastney / Kris Letang

Goalies: Sergei Murashov (Arturs Silovs started Friday)

Potential Scratches: Hendrix Lapierre, Ryan Johnson, Egor Chinakhov (?)

IR: Ryan Graves, Justin Brazeau, Trevor van Riemsdyk

• Sidney Crosby made NHL history in Friday night’s loss with his 1,110th career assist.

• Egor Chinakhov was a late scratch ahead of Friday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins said he’s being evaluated for a lower-body injury. If he can’t skate tonight, Ville Koivunen could slot into the lineup again in his place.
• Sergei Murashov is likely slated for the start tonight after Arturs Silovs made 27 saves on 32 shots from the Avalanche.

Darren Raddysh logged a team-high 27:09 of ice time, recorded an assist on Kirill Marchenko’s power-play goal and posted a game-high plus-3 rating in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena.

The numbers reflect a promising individual night for the 30-year-old defenceman, who finished with three shots on goal, three blocked shots, one hit and a power-play assist while skating 31 shifts. Raddysh was on the ice for Marchenko’s first goal at 13:10 of the opening period, when he and John Tavares set up the right winger’s finish that gave Toronto a 2-1 lead. That assist extended Raddysh’s point total to four in eight games this season.

Yet the Leafs (3-3-2) could not hold a 4-2 advantage heading into the third period. Buffalo (4-3-1) scored twice in a span of just over two minutes to tie the game before Owen Power won it at 3:14 of overtime on a feed from Jack Quinn. Toronto managed only four shots in the third period after generating 15 and 11 in the first two frames, respectively. Overall, the Sabres outshot the Leafs 35-30.

Raddysh told The Hockey News after the game Thursday that the Leafs felt good entering the final regulation period after controlling play and forcing turnovers earlier.

“I just think we sat back a little bit. They’re a good rush team and take great chances from our mistakes. And I think when we saw that in the third period there, we just kind of sat back and let them come at us.”

Kirill Marchenko goes BETWEEN THE LEGS to score for the Leafs! pic.twitter.com/J30tXlOg2n

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 15, 2026

He described the shift in approach as the difference between the first 40 minutes and the third.

“We made a mistake by sitting back. We just can’t give them an inch, and we kind of gave it to them. The first two periods, we played in their end, made them make the mistakes and give us the puck, and we kind of did that in the third period for them.”

Prior to the third, Raddysh felt the Leafs’ defensive structure was effective when they stayed aggressive and used their skating.

“Just trying to get up in the rush, trying to move our feet and defend with our feet and be skating,” he said. “We did that good. They were turning the pucks over to us and flipping them out to us, and we were just going right back at them.”

HOW COULD YOU EVER DOUBT THE SABRES DOWN TWO HEADING INTO THE THIRD PERIOD

MATTIAS SAMUELSSON IS THE GREATEST GOAL SCORER WE'VE EVER SEEN

WHAT A RUSH

WE HAVE A TIE GAME

WHAT A SHOT

DON'T LET HIM CHARGE UP pic.twitter.com/KRLxcSSGfw

— Crossing Swords ⚔️ (@CrossSwordsPod) October 16, 2026

Raddysh’s comments about sitting back in the third period certainly reflect what was seen on the ice as many fans and observers of the Leafs saw the same thing. But at least Raddysh, Toronto’s most prized defensive acquisition in the offseason, had an effective game. With ongoing uncertainty on the back end in the wake of Chris Tanev’s downgrade of an upper-body injury to a week-to-week timeline, getting the most from Raddysh will be key to helping the Leafs improve in many aspects on the ice. 

“Not the result we wanted, but learn from your mistakes and get better for next game,” he said.

The Leafs host the New York Islanders on Saturday.

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Through nine games, the Philadelphia Flyers are the worst offensive team in the NHL, but the good news is that they could get a big boost from their top prospects if and when they deem necessary. 

As we have been harping on for the better part of two weeks, the Flyers at least partially put themselves in this position by their own doing.

Top winger prospect Alex Bump was a healthy scratch just four games into the season, and soon after he was replaced by veteran Michael Bunting on the NHL roster.

Bunting, in five games, has no points, four penalty minutes, and just six shots on goal as the fourth line continues to flounder.

Meanwhile, Bump, since being sent down, has recorded a goal in each of the four games he's played in for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Overall, the 22-year-old has five goals, two assists, and seven points in four AHL games this season, and is quickly proving to the Flyers that his demotion was a mistake.

Surging alongside Bump is 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko, who did not make the Flyers' NHL roster out of training camp for the first time in three seasons since being drafted.

Jett Luchanko taking a major leap?

The 20-year-old is quickly finding his groove in his first professional season, having already tallied a goal - his first as a professional player - and five assists in six games for the Phantoms.

In 14 AHL games across parts of two seasons, Luchanko has a goal, eight assists, and nine points, and that doesn't include the six points he recorded in seven Calder Cup playoff games in 2025.

Overall, Luchanko has 15 points in 21 games at the AHL level and, well, he might very well end up being one of those players who excels more at the pro level than the junior level because of the differences in how the game is played.

Indeed, Luchanko is not an offensively-oriented high-wire act, but he brings hockey IQ, superb attention to detail, speed, and playmaking to the table at his best. And, with years of the Flyers hammering the point home, it looks like the former 13th overall pick is finally taking initiative to shoot the puck, too.

There is a case to be made that, maybe the Flyers shouldn't break up a good thing with the Phantoms and instead just take their licks with the players they have for now.

Bump, Luchanko, and Cole Knuble have all played well early in the season, and the older prospects, like Hunter McDonald and Jacob Gaucher, have complemented them in kind.

The Flyers also learned last year that weakening the farm team too fast can have consequences, as the Phantoms crashed and burned out of playoff contention without Bump and Denver Barkey, combined with a slew of injuries that depleted them further.

At the same time, the Flyers called up Oliver Bonk and immediately thrust him into top-pair duties, and now it doesn't look like the 21-year-old will be returning to the AHL level any time soon.

It's a tough judgment call for the Flyers to make, as they generally prefer to let their young players to develop at an appropriate pace.

In Bonk's case, he proved and has continued to prove that he is ready for the NHL level, and it is now a matter of when, and not if, Bump and Luchanko do the same.