NEW YORK (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored 2:46 into overtime for his second goal of the game, helping the Colorado Avalanche top Artemi Panarin and the New York Rangers 3-2 on Saturday.
MacKinnon finished Colorado’s third win in four games when he beat Igor Shesterkin for his NHL-best 24th goal. He also batted the puck past Shesterkin at 15:26 of the third, lifting the Avalanche to a 2-1 lead.
MacKinnon has 10 goals and five assists in his last nine games.
Parker Kelly also scored for Colorado, and Martin Necas had three assists. The NHL-leading Avalanche bounced back nicely after losing 6-3 at the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
Panarin and Conor Sheary scored for New York, which had won five of six. Shesterkin made 39 saves.
The Rangers trailed 2-1 before Panarin scored his 10th goal at 19:18 with Shesterkin pulled for an extra skater.
The Avalanche jumped in front when Kelly tipped a shot by defenseman Sam Malinsky past Shesterkin at 7:06 of the second.
Sheary tied it at 1 with his first goal as a Ranger at 4:23 of the third. Sheary beat Blackwood with a high shot after outskating Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves for Colorado.
Up next
Rangers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.
Avalanche: Visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.
Nathan MacKinnon scored just 2:46 into overtime, lifting the Colorado Avalanche to a 3–2 win over the New York Rangers in a Saturday afternoon showdown at Madison Square Garden.
But the victory didn’t come without controversy.
New York forced overtime with 42 seconds remaining when Artemi Panarin hammered a one-timer from Mika Zibanejad over the shoulder of Mackenzie Blackwood. Colorado head coach Jared Bednar immediately challenged the play for a missed stoppage, arguing Panarin had made contact with the puck using a high stick earlier in the sequence.
If I'm not mistaken, it's considered high-sticking if it goes above the height of the crossbar. Again, Kiviranta, last I checked, isn't a midget and is just about my height. The stick was clearly above shoulder level.
How you can review that and still get it wrong...#goavsgo…
By rule, high-sticking is defined as making contact with the puck above shoulder height during regular play, or above the height of the crossbar when a goal is scored. The replay appeared to show Panarin’s stick rising well above the shoulders of Joel Kiviranta—listed at 5-foot-11—before the puck struck the ice. Despite what seemed like clear visual evidence, officials upheld the goal, leaving the Avalanche bench momentarily frozen in disbelief as Madison Square Garden thundered in approval.
Despite the added hurdle, the Avs still found a way. MacKinnon capped off the afternoon with two goals, pushing his season total to 24. Parker Kelly added his sixth of the year, and Martin Nečas put together a three-assist performance. Blackwood was sharp as well, turning aside 24 shots.
For the Rangers, Panarin wasn’t the only one to strike—Sheary also found the back of the net—and Igor Shesterkin was brilliant in defeat, finishing with 39 saves.
First Period
At 7:26 of the first period, Cale Makar was sent to the box after delivering a reverse hit on J.T. Miller despite his man not having possession of the puck, resulting in an interference call. The Rangers generated several dangerous looks on the ensuing power play, but Colorado escaped unscathed as both Panarin and Will Cuylle rang shots off the post.
For much of the opening frame, the Avalanche found themselves pinned in their own end. New York’s relentless, punishing forecheck caused repeated problems, and Colorado struggled to cleanly break through the pressure.
Late in the frame, Nečas went on a breakaway, but was denied by Shesterkin.
Second Period
Kelly broke the tie 7:06 into the second period, redirecting a Sam Malinski shot from his knees to give Colorado a 1–0 lead. The entire sequence was sparked by Nečas, who curled behind the net with possession and whipped a sharp backhand pass up the boards to Malinski, setting the play in motion.
Sheary pulled the Rangers even 4:23 into the third period, taking a saucer pass from Vincent Trocheck, deking past Nečas, and fought off Makar before snapping a perfectly placed shot past Blackwood.
Moments later, after Matthew Robertson was called for tripping Valeri Nichushkin, Colorado went to the power play. But the opportunity came with a scare: Trocheck’s attempted clear struck Makar directly in the helmet, sending the defenseman immediately to the bench in visible discomfort. He eventually returned to the ice.
With 4:34 remaining, MacKinnon delivered again. He pounced on a rebound off a Nečas shot, batting the puck out of midair for his 23rd of the season to restore Colorado’s lead at 2–1.
Brock Nelson briefly appeared to tie the game just 26 seconds later. The on-ice ruling was a good goal, but video review showed the puck never actually crossed the goal line, wiping the tally off the board and preserving Colorado’s one-goal edge.
The Rangers pulled Shesterkin for the extra attacker with 1:50 to play, setting the stage for a frantic, somewhat controversial finish. Following Panarin’s goal and the failed challenge, the game went to overtime, where MacKinnon delivered as the hero.
Next Game
The Avalanche (20-2-6) finished off a back-to-back on Sunday as they square off against Trevor Zegras and the Philadelphia Flyers (15-8-3) at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Coverage begins at 11 a.m. local time.
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The Detroit Red Wings have been an above-average team thus far this season, posting a 14-11-3 record to keep them in the thick of the hunt for a Stanley Cup playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
One of the key reasons why is that their top-three forwards are doing much of the heavy lifting on offense.
For reference, Red Wings star center and captain Dylan Larkin has 15 goals and 31 points this year. Right winger Lucas Raymond has 21 assists and 31 points, and right winger Alex DeBrincat has 14 goals and 29 points.
All three forwards are putting together points at above a point-per-game pace, which has to make Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman happy. But after that, there are only three other Wings forwards with more than 10 points – right winger Patrick Kane (18 points), left winger Emmitt Finnie (13 points) and center Andrew Copp (11 points).
In the past, the Red Wings' biggest issues in recent years have been in net. But the dropoff after their top point-producers this season has to be concerning.
That brings us to the $16.5-million in salary cap space that Wings GM has to play with right now – a total that would rise to a whopping $52.7-million by the NHL’s March 6 trade deadline.
Sherwood is slated to be a UFA at the end of this season, and the Red Wings have plenty of space to keep him in a Detroit uniform for the foreseeable future. Not to mention, the 30-year-old only costs $1.5 million against the salary cap.
That said, you have to feel for Wings fans who see their team on the precipice of ending their nine-year Stanley Cup playoff drought without seeing Yzerman making notable additions to the roster this season.
It would also help Detroit’s cause if Yzerman made an addition on the back end, but the priority at the moment has to be bringing in scoring help.
The Red Wings have all three of their first-round draft picks for the next three seasons, as well as two second-rounders. So it would behoove Detroit to spend one of those draft assets to acquire a difference-maker. But Yzerman will have to move fast if he wants Sherwood, who has appeal to many teams.
Regardless, the Wings should not stand pat. The Atlantic has five teams within four points of each other at the top of the division, and that competitiveness could remain throughout the season.
But the parity around the league is such that there isn’t a slew of trade options available at this moment, and if Detroit fails to pick up someone like Sherwood, they may have an even tougher time lining up a trade as the season continues to unfold.
There’s no time like the present for the Red Wings to acquire a veteran contributor. The longer they wait, the harder it could be to pick up a needle-mover to help push them into the post-season.
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The Buffalo Sabres 2025-26 season has been defined by their chronic inconsistency. The club, through 28 games, has not managed anything longer than a two-game winning streak, and quickly stages a retreat after making some marginal progress. The Sabres posted consecutive victories over Minnesota and Winnipeg before heading out on a six-game road swing that will likely determine whether they remain competitive for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference or not.
After starting with an underwhelming performance in a 5-2 loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday, the Sabres met the Jets for the second time this week and came out on the short end 4-1. Jason Zucker scored the only Buffalo goal, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed three goals on just 22 shots for his fourth loss of the season, while former Sabre Eric Comrie rebounded from being pulled on Monday with a 34-save victory on home ice.
"If you look at some of those opportunities in the second period, where we had loose pucks right around their net twice, I thought we got outbattled on an opportunity to put a puck in an empty net." Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "We've got one even-strength goal (in the) last six periods of play. You're not going to win any road game if you don't score five-on-five."
The loss has the Sabres tied with Florida at the buttom of the Eastern Conference at 26 points. A big part of that lies in their inability to score and keep the puck out of their net away from KeyBank Center. At home, Buffalo has the seventh-best home record at 9-5-2, but on the road, they are 2-8-2, with just 29 goals scored and 51 allowed. Their -22 goal differential is also the worst in the league.
The club continues their road swing in Calgary against Flames on Monday.
There are a number of former Buffalo Sabres players scattered throughout the NHL, having a varied level of success this season. Periodically, we will check in to see how their players are faring. Today we start with ex-Sabres playing for the eight teams in the Central Division. The Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals do not have any former Buffalo players currently on their roster, but here are those on the other six clubs.
Carolina
Taylor Hall, Eric Robinson, William Carrier, Mark Jankowski - F: The 34-year-old former Hart Trophy winner is playing for his seventh NHL club and will likely finish out his NHL career in Carolina after signing a three-year extension last April with a no-movement clause. Hall has 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 26 games. Robinson, Carrier, and Jankowski each spent one season in Buffalo, and all are serving in depth roles for the Hurricanes. Robinson has five goals in 20 games, while Carrier and Jankowski each have one goal this season.
NY Rangers
Conor Sheary - F, Will Borgen - D: The veteran winger played two seasons with Buffalo before being traded back to Pittsburgh in 2020. After stops in Tampa and Washington, Sheary was signed to a PTO and earned a one-year contract to play for former Pens coach Mike Sullivan. In 26 games as a checking forward, the 33-year-old has six assists. Borgen played parts of two seasons with Buffalo before being claimed by Seattle in the expansion draft. After four seasons with the Kraken, he was traded to Broadway for Kaapo Kakko. In 22 games for the Rangers, the 28-year-old has four points (2 goals, 2 assists).
Nicolas Deslauriers - F, Rasmus Ristolainen - D: The veteran enforcer played his first four seasons with Buffalo before stops in Montreal, Anaheim, and Minnesota, before settling in with Philadelphia. The 34-year-old has played primarily on the fourth line for 12 games and has no points and 17 penalty minutes. Ristolainen has been out all season recovering from an upper-body injury, but has been on the ice in recent weeks and is hoping to get back in the Flyers lineup before New Year’s.
The tides are beginning to turn for the Nashville Predators toward the end of 2025, as they have won four of their last five games and are on a back-to-back streak.
Thursday, they knocked off the Florida Panthers, 2-1, in overtime for their first victory over the Panthers since the 2023-24 season. Steven Stamkos had the game-winning goal, which was his fourth goal in five games.
The Predators face a hefty task on Saturday in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes to extend their winning streak.
Here is everything you need to know for the Predators Saturday evening tilt.
Game info
Who: Nashville Predators (10-13-4, 8th Central) at Carolina Hurricanes (16-8-2, 2nd in Metropolitan)
When: 6 p.m. CST
Where: Lenovo Center, Raleigh, North Carolina
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South
Radio: 102.5 The Game
Line (via BetMGM): Predators (+1.5) Hurricanes (-1.5). Over/under 6 (-110/-110)
Penalty slayers
The Predators' penalty kill has been impressive all season, but it arguably had its best showing in the win against the Panthers. The unit killed off 6-of-6 penalties en route to the victory.
The performance was so impressive that Steven Stamkos, who scored the game-winner, gave the team's postgame award to the entire PK unit. Nashville's penalty kill is now tied for 10th in the NHL at 82.1%, killing off 69-of-84 penalties.
The effort is even more impressive considering that Cole Smith, one of the unit's top killers, has been out for the last two weeks. In addition, the Predators have been taking fewer penalties compared to the last few seasons.
Nashville has 232 penalty minutes, which ranks 19th in the league. Usually, the Predators are one of the league leaders in that category. The Predators have dropped the gloves only six times so far. At this time last year, there had been 10.
O'Reilly picking up speed
Ryan O'Reilly has been rock-steady for the Predators all season, but has really begun to pick up momentum over the last few games. He has eight points in the last five games after failing to record a point in the previous four games.
He leads the Predators in scoring, sitting at 21 points. O'Reilly had multi-point performances against the Red Wings (three points), Blackhawks (two points), and Panthers (two points). He's truly been living up to his nickname, Factor, over the last few games.
Adding in Steven Stamkos' recent success, recording six points in the last five games, it seems that the Predators are finally finding an offensive identity. Nashville has also scored four goals or more in three of its last five games.
Calming the storm
The Hurricanes have consistently been one of the best teams in the NHL over the past few seasons, but the Predators have their number in the regular season, winning five of their last six against Carolina.
In their last meeting, on March 26 in Raleigh, Luke Evangelista scored twice and Juuse Saros recorded his 200th career win, making 34 saves in a 3-1 victory. It's a matchup the Predators have dominated even if both teams are in different spots in the standings.
Unlike Nashville, Carolina has struggled as of late, dropping three of its last five, including a 5-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. Toronto had a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period before it scored three unanswered goals.
The Hurricanes are still one of the better teams in the league, sitting at second in the Metropolitan Division with 34 points. Seth Jarvis is tied for 10th in goals with 16 in 26 games played.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins continued their winning ways over Lehigh Valley on Friday night.
WBS defeated Lehigh Valley 6-2 and got contributions from all over the lineup. Aidan McDonough, Avery Hayes, Tristan Broz, Sam Poulin, Danton Heinen, and Atley Calvert all scored in the win. Sergei Murashov was also great in goal, stopping 34 of 36 shots.
Murashov has been lights out since the Pittsburgh Penguins sent him back to WBS, showing why he has a bright future in the organization. He made his NHL debut back on Nov. 9 against the Los Angeles Kings and played in four games before the Penguins sent him back. In those four games, he had a .913 save percentage and a 1.90 goals-against average.
He has played in 10 games for WBS this year, compiling a 1.73 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage.
Heinen, McDonough, and Broz were named the three stars of the game. Heinen finished with a goal and an assist, McDonough had a goal and two assists, and Broz had a goal and an assist.
— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) December 6, 2025
Broz made his NHL debut on Nov. 26 against the Buffalo Sabres before he was sent back to WBS a few days later. He was close to making the NHL roster out of training camp and was one of the final cuts. If he keeps up his strong play, it won't be long until he gets a second NHL look.
McDonough has also enjoyed a nice season, racking up four goals and 14 points in 21 games. It's his first season with the organization after he was signed over the summer.
Hayes now has six goals and 12 points in 16 games and could also get a call-up to the big squad later in the season. Like Broz, he was really close to making the NHL team out of camp.
WBS is now 16-5-1 and has 33 points through 22 games. They are in first place in the Atlantic Division, one point up on the Providence Bruins. WBS will be back in action on Saturday against the Hershey Bears, another top rival.
The
St. Louis Blues enter their matchup on Saturday against the Ottawa
Senators 30th in the NHL in goal scoring (2.54 goals per game) and
scoring two or fewer in nine of the past 10 games.
And
in an ever-changing lineup for the Blues (9-12-7) where consistency
seems to be a monumental task of achieving, the coaching staff
continues to search for combinations that they hope get them out of
the doldrums of scoring. But when you're also 29th in goals against (3.50) per game, it makes it awfully tough to secure wins, and the Blues are the only team in the league with single-digit wins at this point of the season.
Saturday
was an optional skate, but according to the team, there will be
changes throughout the forward group (listed below).
The
only actual lineup change will be Matthew Kessel going back in on
defense for Tyler Tucker, and with the Blues set for a back-to-back
this weekend, including a Sunday night game against the Montreal
Canadiens, Joel Hofer will get the start on Saturday, with Jordan
Binnington then slated to go on Sunday.
The
Blues’ come-from-behind win against the Senators was their only one
of the season when trailing after two periods, when they were down
2-1 and rallied to score three in the third, a rarity of scoring more
than one goal in a period of late.
Aleksanteri Kaskimaki-Oskar
Sundqvist-Mathieu Joseph
Philip Broberg-Colton Parayko
Matthew Kessel-Justin Faulk
Cam Fowler-Logan Mailloux
Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan
Binnington will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Tyler Tucker
and Matt Luff.Jimmy Snuggerud (wrist), Alexey Toropchenko (leg
burns) and Nathan Walker (upper body) are out.
- - -
Senators Projected Lineup:
Brady Tkachuk-Tim Stutzle-Fabian
Zetterlund
David Perron-Dylan Cozens-Drake
Batherson
Michael Amadio-Ridly Greig-Claude
Giroux
Nick Cousins-Stephen Halliday-Hayden
Hodgson
Jake Sanderson-Artem Zub
Tyler Kleven-Jordan Spence
Nikolas Matinpalo-Nick Jensen
Linus Ullmark will start in goal;
Leevi Merilainen will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Kurtis
MacDermid and Dennis Gilbert. Thomas Chabot (upper body), Lars Eller
(undisclosed) and Shane Pinto (lower body) are out.
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Earlier
this week, news that the Winnipeg Jets would host the Montreal Canadiens at
Princess Auto Stadium on October 25, 2026, leaked online after a post on the
Jets’ official website announced the event, only to be taken down. Clearly, the
league wasn’t ready to announce the news, but it is indeed happening.
It’s been
quite a few years since the Canadiens played outdoors. The last time they did
it was in the league’s NHL 100 Classic back in 2017 when they took on the
Ottawa Senators at Lansdowne Park. In front of 33,959 fans, the Habs were shut
out 3-0 by the Sens. The temperature at puck drop was minus eleven Celsius, and
it got colder as the game went on. Montreal was outshot 38-28 and could only
win 29% of the faceoffs. Carey Price, who was making his 10th consecutive
start, played well, but he couldn’t score any goals.
The Habs’
performance was a stark contrast with the 2016 Winter Classic in Foxboro, where
the visiting Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 5-1. Brendan Gallagher was one of
the stars of the game, putting up a goal and an assist in what was his return
to action after missing 17 games because of two broken fingers, which needed
surgery. Paul Byron (2), David Desharnais, and Max Pacioretty had scored the
other goals, but it was the then 23-year-old who had sparked the Habs to life. Even
more impressive was the fact that the Canadiens were without star goalie Price
and that Mike Condon, a Holliston, Massachusetts native, was manning the net.
At the
Canadiens’ practice on Friday, the winger was asked about the upcoming Heritage
Classic by RDS’ Luc Gelinas and was surprised to hear about it:
Awesome, it
will be nice and warm, he said with a big grin, before adding: That’s great,
that’s a lot of fun. I still remember those games, some of the most fun hockey
games; it reminds you of your childhood experiences, so I’m excited for these
guys to experience it.
- Gallagher on the upcoming Heritage Classic
The veteran
also recalled that when the Canadiens played the first Heritage Classic in
Edmonton in 2003, he had tickets to the game, but his dad decided he should go
with his team to Fort McMurray to play their game rather than go watch. His
team had won by 15 or 16 goals; I’m not sure they needed us there. He laughed
it off, adding that his decision might have been motivated by the extreme cold
that day.
The game was
held to commemorate the Edmonton Oilers' 25th anniversary in the NHL and the 20th
anniversary of their first Stanley Cup win, in front of 57,167 fans at
Commonwealth Stadium. In a polar-temperature game, the Habs won a 4-3 thriller
in which Jose Theodore saved 34 of 37 shots and famously wore a toque over his
mask.
On this day in 2003, the Canadiens and Oilers braved the cold and played the Heritage Classic, the NHL’s first regular season outdoor game #Habs365#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/kcK39cLe7E
Eight years
later, the Sainte-Flanelle took on the Calgary Flames at McMahon Stadium in Alberta
and were shut out 4-0 by Mikka Kiprusoff. Funnily enough, soon-to-be Hab Rene
Bourque had scored two of the four goals while Alex Tanguay, a former Hab, also
scored.
The Canadiens
have a 2-2-0 record in outdoor games and will be hoping to win a third match in Winnipeg next October.
One has to wonder if the NHL will ever give the Habs a chance to play an
outdoor home game, but for now, they’ll have to make do with being the road
warriors.
The Chicago Blackhawks have been one of the NHL's most pleasant surprises this season. After entering the season expected to be among the bottom NHL clubs again, the Blackhawks instead have a 12-9-6 record and are fifth in the Central Division.
One major reason for the Blackhawks having such a solid start to the season has been the incredible play of goaltender Spencer Knight. In 19 games so far this campaign, the 2019 first-round pick has recorded a 9-5-5 record, a .919 save percentage, and a 2.44 goals-against average. With numbers like these, he is well on his way to having a breakout season for the Blackhawks.
Knight is only continuing to shine as this season continues, too. During his most recent start against the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 4, he saved 26 out of 27 shots in Chicago's 2-1 win. With this, there is no question that the young goalie is impressing.
With the way Knight has been playing for the Blackhawks, it is clear Chicago's decision to acquire him from the Florida Panthers in the Seth Jones trade is looking like a home run. Knight is proving that he can be an impactful NHL starting goaltender, and he should be a huge part of Chicago's roster as they look to continue to head into the right direction.
The NHL’s Central Division is proving to be the toughest in the league, with three teams at the top – the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild – that are the top four teams in the entire league.
The Avalanche have the NHL’s top record at 19-2-6, while the Stars are just behind them with the league’s second-best record at 19-5-5, and the Wild are fourth overall at 15-8-5. Those three teams are not separated by much, and the Avs, Stars and Wild are all well on their way to locking up a Stanley Cup playoff spot.
However, if the question is “which of these three teams is under the most pressure to translate their hot start into playoff success?” in this writer’s point of view, it's the Stars.
First, we have to acknowledge some other truths. For starters, it’s clear the Avalanche have absolutely gone all-in this season, and they couldn’t have asked for a better start – including their 8-1-1 record in their past 10 games. We did pick Colorado as our Stanley Cup pick, and we haven’t seen anything to change our minds.
Meanwhile, Minnesota has also gone 8-1-1 in its past 10 games, getting arguably the best goaltending from its tandem of rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt and Filip Gustavsson. And Minnesota’s mix of young and old talent has been effective in a way we have to give them credit for.
Now that the Avalanche and Wild have gotten their flowers, we’re going to tell you why we believe the Stars are under the most pressure in this division.
That discussion starts with the terrible luck they’ve had this week with injuries – specifically, veteran center Tyler Seguin, who is projected to be out for the season after getting hurt Tuesday in a game against the New York Rangers.
With Seguin now sidelined potentially until next season, there’s a major hole in Dallas’ lineup, and it can’t be easily filled, even if there were several above-average forwards on the trade block, which there isn't.
The Stars are built to win now, but in the Jamie Benn and Seguin Era that began in 2013-14, Dallas hasn’t been able to put it all together and win a Cup.
Yes, the Stars advanced to the Cup final against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019-20, and made it to the Western Conference final for the past three seasons. But success in the third and fourth rounds has eluded the Stars.
If Dallas does take a step backward and lose in the first or second round this season, Stars GM Jim Nill might need to take a long, hard look at changing things up in the hope they’ll find the right championship mix. And that's if he signs another contract with the team, as he's in the final year of his deal.
Now, the beauty of where Dallas is at the moment is that, by-and-large, the Stars can be a playoff team and a legitimate Cup threat for many years to come.
Even goaltender Jake Oettinger, defenseman Miro Heiskanen, and left winger Jason Robertson are just 26 years old, and Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz are 29 years old. So there’s no sense that this Stars team will crumble into dust anytime soon.
That said, there are also Stars that need success sometime soon. Dallas captain Benn is 36 years old, center Matt Duchene is 34, and center Seguin is 33, although, has won a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011.
Nonetheless, time is of the essence right now. And that sense that Father Time is counting down on some key veterans is only increasing.
Don’t get it twisted – if the Avalanche get knocked out of the post-season in the first or second round, there could be significant changes for them next summer, same goes for the Wild.
But Nill has built his Stars team to win right away. So, in the coming weeks and months, the Stars must continue to deliver positive results, or Dallas may suffer consequences that Minnesota or Colorado may avoid.
The Stars’ lineup is the envy of many teams. But there’s an attendant pressure on Dallas that comes with having so many talented players. That’s why the Stars are under the most amount of pressure to stick the landing and win their first Cup since the 1998-99 campaign.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a nice start to the 2025-26 season. After entering the campaign expected by many to be among the worst teams in the NHL, they have started the year with a 14-7-5 record. With this, they are currently third in the Metropolitan Division standings.
If the Penguins continue to stay on the right side of the standings and are in a playoff spot near the deadline, it would be understandable if they looked to add to their roster. One specific area they could look to improve in this scenario is the left side of their defense.
Because of this, one player whom the Penguins should seriously consider pursuing is Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram.
If the Penguins landed Byram, he would instantly give the left side of their top four a major boost. Furthermore, he would also provide the Penguins another option to work with for both their power play and penalty kill if acquired.
Byram also stands out as a potential fit for the Penguins because he is still young at 24 years old. Thus, he could work well on a retooling club like Pittsburgh if brought in.
In 28 games so far this season with the Sabres, Byram has posted six goals, seven assists, 13 points, and 34 blocks.
The six-game road swing for the Detroit Red Wings continues with a matchup on Saturday evening against the Seattle Kraken.
Their most recent tilt was a 6-5 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday evening, a wild back-and-forth affair that saw multiple Detroit comebacks that ultimately fell just short.
Part of the comeback effort was the 496th career goal from forward Patrick Kane, who knotted the score at 4-4 in the third period with a patented wrist shot from the top of the slot that beat goaltender Elvis Merzlikins.
Kane, who is hot on the trail of Mike Modano to become the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history, did pass Modano in one specific category with his performance on Thursday. He registered his 359th career multi-point game, passing Modano for the most by a U.S.-born player:
Patrick Kane just recorded his 359th career multi-point game, passing Mike Modano (358) for the most by a US born skater in NHL history! #LGRWpic.twitter.com/EvACkgTAvc
Kane's goal was his fourth of the season and first since mid-November, but he's also added 14 assists, giving him 18 points in 19 games.
He missed multiple games earlier this season when he was felled by an upper-body injury that he suffered late in Detroit's 2-1 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in mid-October.
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Columbus is 26-21-0-6 all-time, and 10-14-0-2 on the road vs. Florida.
The CBJ are 2-8-2 in the last 12 against Florida.
The Jackets went 0-2-1 last season against the Cats.
Who To Watch For ThePanthers
Brad Marchand leads the Panthers with 15 goals and 27 points.
Anton Lundell leads Florida with 14 points.
Sergei Bobrovsky is 10-8-1 with a SV% of .886. His last start was on December 4th.
Daniil Tarasov is 2-4-1 with a SV% of .907. His last start was on November 28th.
CBJ Player Notes vs.Panthers
Zach Werenski has 15 points in 25 career games against Florida. He also has a hat trick against Bobrovsky
Charlie Coyle has 15 points in 30 games.
Sean Monahan has 14 points in 19 games vs. the Panthers.
Injuries
Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body - Missed 19 Games - IR - No timeline for a return
Boone Jenner - Upper Body - Missed 11 Games - IR - Could return this week
Mathieu Olivier - Upper Body - Missed 4 Games - IR- No timeline for a return
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 50
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
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The Philadelphia Flyers are going to have to make a trade and clear bodies from the winger position at some point in the near future, but, until then, they're reportedly trying to cool the noise surrounding one player in particular.
Talented young forwards Tyson Foerster, Matvei Michkov, and Porter Martone figure to be three of the Flyers' four top-six wingers of the future, which leaves room for only one more top dog.
Travis Konecny, who is in the first year of his eight-year, $70 million ($8.75 million AAV) contract, is assured that final spot, almost by default, though he is coming off a career-best 76 points in 2024-25.
The odd men out, at least for the more premium roles on the team going forward, are going to be Owen Tippett and Bobby Brink.
Tippett, 26, has been the popular name in trade talks due to his rare combination of size and speed, his inconsistency, and a $6.2 million cap hit through 2031-32 on a contract that sees its modified no-trade clause kick in on July 1, 2026.
But, Tippett quietly does have nine goals and 18 points in 26 games this season, which puts him on pace for 28 goals and a career-high 56 points. It's not 40 or even 30 goals, no, but the Flyers apparently believe the former No. 10 pick has even more to give.
“I think the Flyers are trying to do everything they can to calm the noise around him. I think it’s bothered him a little bit. I think he’s definitely heard it," NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said of Tippett in his latest episode of "32 Thoughts."
"I think the Flyers are trying to say, ‘Look, this is not our doing.’ I do think the Canucks asked about him. I don’t think that’s going to be happening."
The Canucks, of course, come into play based on the connections between them and first-year Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet, who coached a plethora of Vancouver players of interest to the Orange and Black, headlined by Quinn Hughes.
Hughes to the Flyers is all crazy talk right now and would require the Flyers to pay up with an eye-watering package of futures, prospects, and young NHL players, and that would immediately bite them if Hughes were not to re-sign beyond 2027, when his current contract expires.
It is fascinating, though, that the finger-pointing towards Tippett has reached such a fever pitch that the Flyers have to go out of their way to tell the player the opposite is true, and that this information comes from the top NHL insider in Friedman.
Time will tell if the Flyers trade Tippett before his trade protection kicks in on July 1, if at all, but the situation is worth monitoring, especially if and when Martone arrives to squeeze his fellow winger off a featured role.
