LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights overcame a two-goal deficit and defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-3, on Thursday in the first of two home games.

After losing starting goaltender Carter Hart and falling behind 2-0 by the midway point of the first period, the Golden Knights scored four unanswered goals, including two from Reilly Smith, en route to their second straight win.

Vegas has now won six of the last eight meetings.

Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Brett Howden also scored for the Knights, while Akira Schmid stopped 20 shots in relief of Hart.

Hart was injured when he twisted his left knee awkwardly, and the only shot he faced, by Boone Jenner, gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead. Kent Johnson gave Columbus a 2-0 lead a little more than two minutes later.

Smith scored the first of his two goals in the first period, and then tied the game 5:19 into the second period.

Eichel gave the Knights a 3-2 lead with his 13th goal of the season and 13th point in his last nine games.

Stone notched his 14th goal of the season - and sixth straight in as many games - with a power-play goal late in the second.

Kirill Marchenko's gave Columbus its final goal with 5:23 left in the game, while Howden's goal with 3:46 left provided the final margin.

Columbus goalie Jet Greaves stopped 21 of the 26 shots he faced.

KEY MOMENT

With the Golden Knights slowly grabbing momentum and the game tied at 2-all, Stone's backcheck in the neutral zone to grab the puck and get play moving in transition led to the game-changing moment. Stone fed Ivan Barbashev, who took the puck at the blue line and found Eichel alone at the top of the left circle, where he skated to the center dot and ripped home what was the go-ahead goal at the moment. Though it wasn't the game-winning goal, it provided the momentum needed at the perfect time.

"Our guys do bounce back," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I thought they'd have the ability to do that, especially at home, and they did. So once we got our game going, I felt pretty good about our chances. You never want to start from behind. ... We're a better finishing team than starting, and that was the case again tonight."

KEY STAT

55% ... After scoring just three goals in his first 29 games, Smith has now scored five goals in his last nine games - a 55% clip.

"He's a leader in here," Howden said of Smith. "He was here since day one, had a little stint going away, but he's back here, and it's like he never left. He's one of our leaders. He's a voice in the room. ... Him tonight, having two big goals, it was great to see."

WHAT A KNIGHT

Other than the goal he let in right after entering the game, Schmid was once again stellar off the bench in relief of Hart. It marked the fourth time he's come into the game cold, and the third time he's earned the win. Schmid has allowed a total of two goals in the four times he's entered for either Adin Hill or Hart.

"Felt good about Akira going in, he's done the job before ... a couple of times this year, so we knew we're probably going to get good goaltending, and that's the way it worked out," Cassidy said. "Probably tells you a little bit about his demeanor. He's just handled it well.

"And I think our guys responded well, too, for the most part. I think the first shot was a bit of a misread on the rush. But after that, we got going and knew we were going to need to score some goals ... and we did. And we have been a little bit lately, so that's a good thing, that's starting to turn a little as well."

UP NEXT

The Golden Knights finish their quick two-game homestand by hosting the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

PHOTO CAPTION: Vegas Golden Knights right wing Reilly Smith (19) congratulates goaltender Akira Schmid (40) after the Golden Knights defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 at T-Mobile Arena. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Filip Forsberg scored the only goal in a shootout to lift the Nashville Predators over the New York Islanders 2-1 on Thursday night.

Ryan O’Reilly evened the score with a short-handed goal late in the second period and Juuse Saros made 30 saves for Nashville before denying all three Islanders attempts in the tiebreaker.

Simon Holmstrom scored midway through the second and David Rittich stopped 26 shots for New York.

In the shootout, Forsberg beat Rittich with a forehand-to-backhand move. Nashville is 3-0 in shootouts this season, all with Saros between the pipes.

Holmstrom scored with 7:46 remaining in the second. Scott Mayfield carried the puck behind the Nashville net and found an unchecked Holmstrom just off the right post, where he scored his second goal in two games.

Holmstrom has three goals and four assists in six career games against the Predators.

O’Reilly has scored two of Nashville’s three short-handed goals this season.

The Islanders have allowed five short-handed goals.

Saros stopped Matthew Schaefer on a breakaway with 20 seconds left in overtime to send the game to a shootout.

Up next

Islanders: Visit the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

Predators: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

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Not only did the Detroit Red Wings remain hot by picking up their seventh victory in their last 10 games, but there was also some notable NHL history made on Thursday evening at Little Caesars Arena. 

Forward Patrick Kane scored the 499th and 500th goals of his illustrious career as part of a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, improving Detroit's record to 26-15-4 and keeping them near the top of the Atlantic Division standings. 

#REDWINGS WIN!!!! #LGRWpic.twitter.com/ouahj3Pw6G

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 9, 2026

Kane not only scored a power-play goal in the opening 20 minutes of play, but made no mistake with Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen lifted for an extra attacker late in regulation. 

Following the historic goal, which made Kane just the 50th player in NHL history to reach the milestone, the rest of his teammates poured off the bench to share in the celebration with him, while the fans gave him a rousing standing ovation. 

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.  

It was Kane who scored Detroit's first goal of the game while the Red Wings enjoyed a five-on-three power-play opportunity.

Rookie defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka increased Detroit's lead to 2-0 early in the second period with a perfectly placed shot from the slot past the blocker of Lankinen after taking a feed from James van Riemsdyk.

While the Canucks got a bit of life thanks to a power-play goal from Jake DeBrusk, that momentum was quickly snuffed out after van Riemsdyk dished out another nifty assist, this time to J.T. Compher all alone in front of the net for what was his first goal in 19 games. 

Not long after Kane's historic 500th goal late in the third period, Lucas Raymond would score his second goal in as many games, increasing the lead to 5-1. 

John Gibson was solid in the victory for Detroit, making 23 saves. Lankinen countered with 20 saves.

The Red Wings will next head out on the road Saturday evening to face the Montreal Canadiens, which has now become a clash of two of the top teams in the Atlantic Division with 56 points each. 

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Patrick Kane has been a thorn in the Vancouver Canucks side for years. Now, he has made history against the franchise as he became the 50th player in NHL history to score 500 goals. Kane's historic goal came on Thursday night when the Detroit Red Wings winger scored into Vancouver's empty net at 16:07 of the third period. 

Over the year's Kane has caused the Canucks plenty of pain. In 51 regular-season games, he has scored 17 goals while recording 47 points. Overall in his career, Kane has recorded 1,369 points, which is tied for 28th all-time. 

As of writing, Kane ranks seventh among active players for points against Vancouver. The only players who have more are Jordan Eberle, Corey Perry, Anže Kopitar, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Thursday could be Kane's last time playing the Canucks, as the 37-year-old is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. 

While Kane has been successful in the regular season, he is more known for what he has done against Vancouver in the playoffs. Kane's 22 career playoff points in 19 games against the Canucks are the third most by a player in franchise history. The only two ahead of Kane are Al MacInnis, who had 25 points in 28 games and Wayne Gretzky, who recorded 29 points in 15 games. 

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On Thursday night, Detroit Red Wings forward and Chicago Blackhawks legend became the 50th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals. This goal, his second of the game, was an empty-netter that sealed the victory over the Vancouver Canucks. 

SHOWTIME'S GOT 500 NHL GOALS‼️ pic.twitter.com/PQfeu7TTLk

— NHL (@NHL) January 9, 2026

446 of Kane’s 500 came as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. 5 came as a member of the New York Rangers, and 49 were as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. 

Kane now also has 869 assists and 1367 points in his Hall of Fame career. Of course, he also has 3 Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe, Hart, Calder, and Art Ross Trophy. He will be a first ballot Hall of Famer with all of these accolades. 

showtime gets his 500th🥹

congratulations @88PKane !!🎬 https://t.co/fLLaLbfrev

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 9, 2026

Kane’s 500th goal was always coming, but now that it’s here, it is another checkmark on his resume that has him in the conversation for the greatest American player of all time. 

Next up for the man known as “Showtime” is leading the Red Wings back to the playoffs and becoming the highest scoring American of all time. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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LAS VEGAS -- Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart left Thursday night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first period with what appeared to be a left leg injury.

Hart appeared to fall backward while awkwardly twisting his left leg/knee at the same time.

Play resumed as Hart struggled while on his knees, and the Blue Jackets took advantage with Boone Jenner giving Columbus a 1-0 lead.

Per the NHL's official rule book (Rule 8.1), "when a player is injured so that he cannot continue play or go to his bench, the play shall not be stopped until the injured player's team has secured control of the puck. If the player's team is in control of the puck at the time of injury, play shall be stopped immediately unless his team is in a scoring position.

"In the case where it is obvious that a player has sustained a serious injury, the Referee and/or Linesperson may stop the play immediately."

Here's the full replay of the Carter Hart injury. pic.twitter.com/iZQmUIiZ1k

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) January 9, 2026

Hart remained down on the ice before being helped from the ice. He appeared to be writhing in pain as he needed assistance down the tunnel to the locker room.

The Golden Knights are already missing starter Adin Hill, who suffered a lower-body injury against the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 20. Hill has been skating with the team, however, and could be close to returning.

Roughly two minutes later, the Blue Jackets increased their lead to 2-0 when Kent Johnson beat Akira Schmid, who replaced Hart.

Vegas would answer two minutes later when Reilly Smith beat Jet Greaves to cut Columbus' lead in half.

PHOTO CAPTION: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) is helped off the ice by left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) and center Tomas Hertl (48) after sustaining an injury against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period at T-Mobile Arena.

Another day, another loss for the Winnipeg Jets.

This time it was a crushing defeat to the rival Edmonton Oilers, who swept the season series 3-0 by way of a come-from-behind 4-3 road victory on Thursday.

After jumping out to a 3-1 lead through 20 minutes of play on goals from Kyle Connor, Tanner Pearson and Josh Morrissey, the Jets took their collective foot off the gas, allowing the Oilers back into the game.

Connor McDavid got things started for Edmonton with a goal in the final 20 seconds of the second period, before Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard put it away.

The loss was Winnipeg's 11th-straight defeat.

"It's a lot of mental mistakes by all of us," defenceman Neal Pionk said. "So look to regain our confidence tomorrow."

Connor opened the scoring 11:11 into the period, putting a Mark Scheifele offering past Winnipegger Calvin Pickard for his 21st of the season.

Edmonton responded with three minutes left in the period, with Vasily Podkolzin firing home a slick setup from Kasperi Kapanen to tie the game at ones.

But Winnipeg was not content with a tie game through 20 minutes. 

The Jets added not one but two more tallies before the frame came to a close.

First, it was Pearson, who jammed home his fifth of the season with 1:44 to play on a solo effort from behind the Oilers' net. Recent AHL call-up Danny Zhilkin caused problems in front of Pickard, allowing the puck to bounce its way through. 

Then, one-upping the Pearson marker was a slow-motion point shot from Morrissey that bounced and trickled its way off multiple Edmonton players before sliding past the goal line 40 seconds later. Despite some initial hesitation, the five-man group on-ice determined it was Morrissey's goal - his seventh of the season.

Winnipeg led 3-1 after 20 minutes and 11-7 on the shot chart to begin the second period.  

Things got a little heated in the second period, with Logan Stanley throwing down in a spirited tilt with Trent Frederic. 

Despite the low-scoring middle stanza, Connor McDavid reminded 14,373 gathered at Canada Life Centre why he's the best player in the world. Taking a Leon Draisaitl pass off the outside of his inside foot, McDavid accepted a bouncing pass in stride and fooled Connor Hellebuyck, cutting Winnipeg's lead to just one goal with 20 seconds left in the period. 

“Obviously, he’s one of those guys who you pay close attention to when he plays," Pearson said of his foe. "There’s a few guys like that in the league. It’s Connor, but I think we did a good job for the most part. Obviously the one at the second hurts, but yeah, it sucks.”

The Oilers pulled ahead on the shot chart in the frame, before pulling ahead on the scoreboard in the third.

Zach Hyman got the game-tying goal 8:19 into the third period, ripping a wrist shot past Hellebuyck, top-shelf for the 3-3 marker.

It didn't take much longer for the Oilers to strike again.

This time it came via power play. 

With Nino Niederreiter in the box for the second time, Edmonton's No. 1 ranked power play made him pay. Bouchard gave the visitors a 4-3 lead with 9:23 left in the period.

Earning a power play of their own, the Jets failed to capitalize, but did use some different player combinations, including that of Jonathan Toews on the first unit and Logan Stanley on the wing of the second player grouping.

At this point, you can't lose more than the game, can you?

Well, on Thursday night, the Jets certainly lost the game.

An extra attacker with Hellebuyck on the bench didn't do much to muster any additional offence, as the Jets hit a wall, unable to put the puck into the net. 

"I think we are all getting mental right now in the sense that it’s in everybody’s head," head coach Scott Arniel said. "But at the end of the day, we have a job to do, we have to play and our best players have to be our best players in a game like that, our role players have to play their roles.

"I don’t care what the scenario is, when you are out on the ice you are playing a game, something you have done your whole life and we are in a situation like that, however you go about it you have to find a way to get yourself over the hump. We are so close, but at the end of the day, we shoot ourselves in the foot within those moments that kind of happen in the game."

Hellebuyck turned aside 26 of the Oilers' 30 shots on the night, while Pickard turned things around after a tough first period and made 13 saves on Winnipeg's 16 shots on goal.

Next up for the Jets is the second half of the back-to-back as the Los Angeles Kings roll into town on Friday for the third test of the five-game homestand. That game also features a 7:00 PM central start time. 

The Calgary Flames faced the Boston Bruins on Monday night but couldn’t slow down a rested opponent, falling 4–1 and extending their losing streak to four games.

Yegor Sharangovich appeared in his 400th career NHL game, while Dustin Wolf made his eighth consecutive start with Devin Cooley still unavailable due to illness.

Boston set the tone early, outshooting and outplaying a fatigued Flames group in the opening period. Sean Kuraly opened the scoring after stepping into the high slot and snapping a shot past Wolf. Former Flame Elias Lindholm followed later in the frame, finishing off a crisp three-way passing sequence with a one-timer to give the Bruins a 2–0 lead after 20 minutes.

The second period saw chances at both ends, but Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo came up with several highlight-reel saves. Late in the frame, Mason Lohrei held the puck at the blue line, waited out two sliding Flames defenders, and fired a shot through traffic and past a screened Wolf to make it 3–0.

Boston added another early in the third when Casey Mittelstadt pounced on a rebound and lifted it over Wolf to extend the lead to four.

Connor Zary responded moments later with a strong individual effort, circling out from behind the net, cutting to the net, and finishing backhand to forehand for his seventh goal of the season. That would be the lone bright spot offensively, as Calgary was unable to mount a comeback.

Three Takeaways

1. Fatigue showed early and often

After arriving at the team hotel around 3:00 a.m. following a game in Montreal, the Flames struggled to establish consistency on the second night of the back-to-back. Boston capitalized on Calgary’s lack of jump, controlling play early and building a lead the Flames couldn’t recover from.

2. Wolf’s workload continues to climb

Dustin Wolf made back-to-back starts and has now started eight straight games, tied for the most starts by any NHL goaltender this season (34). While he battled, Wolf didn’t appear to have his usual explosiveness and looked unsettled after contact around the crease. A breather may be beneficial as the Flames manage his workload.

3. Coleman’s early exit raises concern

Blake Coleman was forced to leave the game after suffering an injury and was unable to finish despite attempting to return. Head coach Ryan Huska indicated postgame the decision was largely precautionary, but his status will be worth monitoring moving forward

NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Doan scored, Colten Ellis made 30 saves in his first game in a month and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Thursday night to give them 12 victories in their past 13 games.

The Sabres last did that from Nov. 23 to Dec. 19, 2005. Buffalo moved into the second Eastern Conference wild-card slot by winning its 43rd game, making this the latest point in a season the team has been in a playoff spot since Feb. 24, 2023, through 57 games played.

While the organization with the NHL’s longest playoff drought is still a long way from making it for the first time since 2011, there were a few positive signs about the ability to keep this run going. Bowen Byram made everything happen to set up Alex Tuch’s goal, and Jason Zucker scored off his back on a power play in his second game back in the lineup following a lengthy absence.

Most notably, the Sabres held on when the ice was tilted in their direction, clinging to a one-goal lead in the third period. Ellis stopped the final 12 shots he faced after allowing a bad goal to Vincent Trocheck in the first minute of the third period, and Mattias Samuelsson scored short-handed seconds after teammate Peyton Krebs’ double-minor for high-sticking put Buffalo on a 4-minute penalty kill.

Ryan McLeod sealed it with an empty-netter with 1:30 remaining.

The Rangers, playing without injured No. 1 goaltender Igor Shesterkin and top defenseman Adam Fox, have lost two in a row and five of seven. Jonathan Quick allowed four goals on 20 shots, and New York lost for the 15th time in 20 home games this season.

Referee Peter MacDougall left midway through after taking a puck to the face and did not return.

Up next

Sabres: Open a five-game homestand Saturday night against Anaheim.

Rangers: Visit the Boston Bruins on Saturday in an Original Six matinee.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin scored a power-play goal in his return from an upper-body injury and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Thursday night for their sixth straight victory.

Erik Karlsson pushed his career-best home points streak to nine games with a goal, while Connor Dewar and Blake Lizotte also scored for Pittsburgh. The Penguins have points in 26 of the 33 games Lizotte has played.

Sidney Crosby extended his points streak to eight with two assists and surpassed Wayne Gretzky for the second-most assists with one franchise in NHL history. It’s Crosby’s first eight-game points streak since the 2012-13 season. Crosby, who has four straight multipoint games, has five goals and 14 points in his last eight games.

Stuart Skinner made 25 saves for the Penguins, who have won six straight games for the first time since December 2022. Pittsburgh has won seven of eight following an eight-game losing streak.

Luke Hughes scored a power-play goal for the Devils, who lost their third straight. New Jersey has dropped seven of its last nine games.

Simon Nemec played after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury.

Jake Allen stopped 25 shots for the Devils.

Before Hughes scored, the Devils allowed 14 straight goals. That includes Pittsburgh’s first three goals, a 9-0 loss at the New York Islanders on Tuesday and two goals allowed against Carolina on Sunday.

Up next

Devils: At Winnipeg on Sunday.

Penguins: Host Calgary on Saturday.

History was made on Thursday night as the Vancouver Canucks surrendered two goals to Detroit Red Wings forward, Patrick Kane, who scored career goal number 500 to become the 50th NHL player to achieve the feat. Vancouver dropped the game by a score of 5–1, with Jake DeBrusk being the lone Canuck to score. In net, Kevin Lankinen stopped 20 of 24 shots faced. 

Continuing their run of domination throughout 2026, the Canucks’ power play scored yet again tonight, doing-so for their fourth straight game. While they didn’t convert on their first opportunity, which was given to them only 20 seconds into the game after Simon Edvinsson hooked DeBrusk, Vancouver managed to turn the man-advantage into a good chunk of productive O-zone time. It was DeBrusk who capitalized on the Canucks’ second power play of the game, scoring his third power play goal in Vancouver’s past four matches. 

Vancouver’s jump at the start of the game was something the team desperately needed after admitting that their opening effort was less-than-ideal last game. However, after spending over half of the first period with momentum, the Canucks took a total of three penalties — two near the same time, putting Detroit on a 5-on-3 power play — to neutralize whatever possession time they’d had. After nearly one period of hard work, and a scrambly three-man penalty kill, untimely penalties resulted in the Red Wings escaping with the lead. 

Nils Höglander has been a player on many peoples’ radar as of late, as the forward still has yet to register his first point of the 2025–26 season. He began the game with Aatu Räty and Drew O’Connor and was playing noticeably well, making skilled offensive plays and attempting to bring the puck into the O-zone with his speed. His efforts earned him a look on Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser’s line, on which he was able to help generate five scoring chances-for in only 1:30 minutes at 5-on-5. The forward has been playing well as of late; if he continues playing the way he has been, he should get his first point of 2025-26 in no time.  

In Höglander’s place came Evander Kane, who joined Räty and O’Connor for part of the second period and the entire third. This line didn’t fare too poorly for Vancouver, generating six chances during their 7:22 5-on-5 minutes spent together. O’Connor in particular had a fair bit of jump for this line and throughout the game, putting up three shots on goal.  

At the end of the day, the Canucks got their chances throughout all three periods, but were unable to convert on enough of them to earn the win. It’s a storyline that has followed Vancouver throughout virtually the entire season. With four more games on the docket for their current road trip, Vancouver will want to scrape together at least one win before heading back to Rogers Arena.  

Stats and Facts: 

• With his seventh and eighth goals of the season tonight, Patrick Kane becomes the 50th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals 
• Vancouver has yet to go a game without scoring a power play goal in 2026 
• Jake DeBrusk scores his 11th power play goal of the season, ties Leon Draisaitl for second-most in the NHL 
• John Gibson registers his 15th career win against the Canucks 

Scoring Summary: 

1st Period: 

19:31 - DET: Patrick Kane (7) from Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin (PPG) 

2nd Period: 

5:09 - DET: Axel Sandin-Pellikka (5) from James Van Riemsdyk and J.T. Compher 

7:03 - VAN: Jake DeBrusk (12) from Kiefer Sherwood and Brock Boeser (PPG) 

10:10 - DET: J.T. Compher (5) from James Van Riemsdyk and Axel Sandin-Pellikka 

3rd Period: 

16:07 - DET: Patrick Kane (8) from Andrew Copp (ENG) 

18:10 - DET: Lucas Raymond (13) 

Up Next: 

Vancouver’s next stop on their current road trip takes them back into Canada, where they’ll face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. This will be the first of two times that they face the Maple Leafs this January, as Toronto will also make the trip out to Vancouver on January 31. Puck drop for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 4:00 pm PT. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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It’s been a rough start to the Florida Panthers’ season-long road trip.

After falling 4-1 on Tuesday in Toronto, the Panthers again fell behind and couldn’t come back Thursday night in Montreal, losing to the Canadiens 6-2.

It didn’t take long for Montreal to get on the scoreboard and get their fans buzzing.

Directly off a faceoff in Florida’s end, Oliver Kapanen won the puck back to Mike Matheson, and he set up Noah Dobson for a booming one-timer that went bar-down on Sergei Bobrovsky to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead just 2:59 into the game.

Later in the period, Kapanen scored one of his own to double Montreal’s lead heading into the intermission.

A loose puck in the corner was kicked to the slot by Juraj Slafkovský, and Kapanen backhanded a fluttering shot over Bobrovsky’s blocker to make it 2-0 for the home side.

Florida finally got themselves on the board during the opening minutes of the second period thanks to a bad misplay by Montreal’s goaltender.

After A.J. Greer dumped the puck into the Habs’ zone and behind their net, Samuel Montembeault came out make a play behind the net.

He was quickly pressured by Carter Verhaeghe and sent a blind backhand toward the corner, where a defenseman was waiting, but the pass went above the goal line where Sam Bennett was waiting to one-time the puck into an empty net.

Alex Texier made it 3-1 Montreal with 6:19 to go in the period, getting his stick on a backdoor deflection after a great feed by Alex Carrier.

With 12:34 to go in the third period, Texier picked up another goal to extend the Habs lead to 4-1.

Perhaps taking a cue from Texier, Bennett picked up his second goal of the game about four minutes later. He slammed home an Evan Rodrigues rebound with 8:37 to go, breathing a little life into the Cats.

An empty-net goal by Slafkovský with 2:01 to go followed by a hat-trick tally by Texier in the final minute sealed the deal for the Canadiens and sent Florida to their fourth loss in five games.

On to Ottawa.

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Photo caption: Jan 8, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Samuel Montembeault (35) makes a save against Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer (10) during the second period at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)

The Buffalo Sabres has served as host of the annual NHL Draft Combine for over a decade and has hosted three NHL Drafts in the last 35 years. According to a report from Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, the club is putting in a bid to host the draft again. 

The Sabres last hosted the NHL Draft in 2016, when the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Auston Matthews with the first overall selection, and hosted the annual event twice in the 90’s; at the Marine Midland Arena (KeyBank Center) in 1998, and at the Memorial Auditorium in 1991, when Hall-of-Famer Eric Lindros was selected by the Quebec Nordiques and refused to put on their jersey.

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 The decentralized 2025 Draft last June in Los Angeles was widely considered a fiasco by fans, media, and reportedly by some in the NHL hierarchy, but National Hockey League GM’s pushed back on the criticism and doubled-down on the format that has team representatives staying at their home cities– similar to the structure of the NBA and NFL – instead of the 32 clubs sending their management to the host city to serve as a yearly convention. 

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported last month that a host city, which is normally announced right after the previous draft, had yet to be decided, but that three or four cities were in the mix, including Montreal, which hosted every draft from 1963 to 1984, and five times from 1986 to 2022. 

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Flyers fall to Leafs in OT, lose Konecny to upper-body injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers lost Travis Konecny for the third period Thursday night and then lost their lead as they fell to the Maple Leafs, 2-1, in overtime at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Old friend Scott Laughton was fired up after he tied the game for Toronto at 1-1 in the final stanza with a shorthanded goal.

The Flyers came up empty on back-to-back power play opportunities, a golden chance to cushion their advantage and pretty much put the Maple Leafs away.

“That’s the biggest thing right now, is just execution,” Travis Sanheim said. “I think we’ll start to get better if we can continue to get working on it.”

Easton Cowan won the game for Toronto in OT after Matvei Michkov hit the post at the other end.

“Who converts wins,” Rick Tocchet said. “We had, what, three or four chances, we didn’t convert. They had the one, they score. That’s it.”

Konecny provided the Flyers’ lone goal. The Flyers dropped to 7-4-8 in games decided by one goal.

“Could have gone either way,” Owen Tippett said. “I think we’ve just got to capitalize a bit more on our chances.”

The Flyers (22-12-8) missed out on a chance to win their third straight. But Tocchet’s club has earned at least a point in 23 of its last 30 games (16-7-7).

The Flyers are 0-1-1 against the Maple Leafs (21-15-7) this season with one more matchup to go March 2 in Toronto.

• Konecny missed the final 20 minutes because of an upper-body injury.

The 28-year-old alternate captain was on the ice when the second period ended and appeared to be fine.

“Something was bugging him, I guess, early on, I think he fell or something,” Tocchet said. “I don’t know the whole details.”

The Flyers really can’t afford to lose Konecny for any period of time. He’s too important for them.

• Dan Vladar dropped to 16-6-4. The 28-year-old made 21 saves on 23 shots.

The Flyers did a good job killing off back-to-back penalties in the second period to maintain their 1-0 lead.

But no Konecny hurt in the third period and Laughton jumped on the opportunity to tie it against his former club.

Maple Leafs netminder Dennis Hildeby stopped 22 of the Flyers’ 23 shots. He denied a Trevor Zegras breakaway in overtime.

• With an assist on Konecny’s 14th goal of the season, Christian Dvorak picked up his 27th point (nine goals, 18 assists).

The 29-year-old center came in on pace for 52 points, which would have him blow past his career high of 38.

“I’ve just loved my time being here,” Dvorak said this week after signing a five-year contract extension. “It’s a great group of guys, we have a lot of fun and it has been a good fit for me. I just like where the team’s headed, we’ve been playing some good hockey this year and I think we’re headed in a good direction here. That’s really important to me.”

• The Flyers were without Bobby Brink and Jamie Drysdale after they each took a big hit in the Flyers’ 5-2 win Tuesday night over the Ducks.

There hasn’t been an update on the timeline for their upper-body injuries.

Michkov was Brink’s replacement. The 21-year-old winger was back in the lineup after missing his first game of the season because of a foot injury.

Noah Juulsen entered the lineup for Drysdale and gave the Flyers solid third-pair minutes.

“T.K. going down, we had a short bench, Brinker out, Drysy out, I think you’ve got to give guys credit,” Tocchet said. “They hung in there. I will take the positive of that, for sure.”

• Laughton played his first game in Philadelphia as a visiting player. Not only did he score the game-tying goal with 5:56 minutes to go, but he also won 19 of his 20 faceoffs.

The 31-year-old was dealt to Toronto at last season’s trade deadline after spending 12 years with the Flyers. He was heavily involved in the community here and developed into one of the Flyers’ leaders.

“I’ve got some people coming to the game from some of the charities that I worked with, got some family here in town,” Laughton said after the Maple Leafs’ morning skate. “Just some relationships that I built throughout the years here, those people are coming down. It’ll be nice to see the crowd again and be a part of it.”

A video tribute and salute for Scott Laughton in his return to Philly with Maple Leafs. pic.twitter.com/ABURD4Ycrt

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) January 9, 2026

• The Flyers are back in action Saturday when they host the Lightning (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

Former Edmonton Oilers goalie Laurent Brossoit is on the move. 

The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that they have traded Brossoit, Nolan Allan, and a 2028 seventh-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Jake Furlong, a 2028 fourth-round pick, and Ryan Ellis' contract. 

Seeing Brossoit get traded is not surprising. With the Blackhawks having goaltenders Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom on their NHL roster, it was known that the Original Six club was looking to find Brossoit a new home. Now, he has gotten just that and will give the Sharks another veteran goalie. 

The Sharks currently have Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic as their two NHL goaltenders. While this is the case, having a goalie with good experience like Brossoit for insurance is certainly not a bad thing for a Sharks club that is right in the playoff race. 

Brossoit played in six games for the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, this season, where he had a 3-3-0 record, a .901 save percentage, and a 3.38 goals-against average. This was his first action since the 2023-24 season, as he missed all of this past season due to injury. 

Brossoit played his first four NHL seasons with the Oilers from 2014-15 to 2017-18. In 28 games with the Oilers over that span, he had a 7-13-2 record, a .897 save percentage, and a 2.98 goals-against average.