Who: Utah Mammoth (8-5-0, 16 points, 2nd place Central Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (5-6-1, 11 points, 6th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Locally televised game on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and Utah16, broadcast in Canada on SN and TVA, streaming for out of market at ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins are hitting the road Saturday for a game against the Montreal Canadiens before returning home next week for a Tuesday game against the Vegas Golden Knights and Thursday game against the Boston Bruins.

Opponent Track: This is the first matchup of a six-game road trip for the Mammoth, which most recently conceded a 3-1 loss to the visiting Minnesota Wild. After starting the season 7-3, Utah hasn’t won in regulation since beating the Penguins back on Oct. 19 (they’re 1-2-0 with an overtime victory since).

Season Series: This will mark the last time the Penguins see the Mammoth this regular season. Pittsburgh is looking to spit the series for a second straight year.

Hidden Stat: Two fights took place in a 90-second span of the Mammoth’s Tuesday loss to the Wild, a game that marked the first Utah game in history featuring three fights. The Mammoth now lead the league with eight fights in 13 games this season.

Getting to know the Mammoth

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Clayton Keller – Nick Schmaltz – Lawson Crouse

Logan Cooley – Vincent Trocheck – Dylan Guenther

Anders Lee – Barrett Hayton – Kailer Yamamoto

Jack McBain – Kevin Stenlund – Liam O’Brien

DEFENSEMEN

Mikhail Sergachev – MacKenzie Weegar

Nate Schmidt – Andrew Peeke

Dmitri Simashev – Nick DeSimone

Goalies: Karel Vejmelka, Sebastian Cossa

Potential scratches: John Marino (week-to-week), Daniil But, Artem Duda

Injured Reserve: Michael Carcone (upper body), Maverick Lamoureux

• Former Penguins defenseman John Marino is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
• Liam O’Brien could be making his season debut against the Penguins after appearing in his first game of the campaign against the Wild. He was one of three players who dropped the gloves Tuesday against the Wild.

Special teams notes

The Mammoth have seen very different results from their different special teams through this early stretch of the season.

Utah is heading into the matchup ranked 29th in the league with a 67.4 percent penalty kill success rate.

Head coach André Tourigny said after his team gave up two power-play goals against in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss his team learning more “discipline” would be key going forward.

The Mammoth are meanwhile overall averaging 3.62 goals per game, a number that is good for the sixth-most in the NHL and that has been inflated by the team’s success on the power play.

Utah ranks second in the NHL with a 34.8 percent power play success rate, although the unit went 0-for-4 Tuesday against the Wild. Nick Schmaltz’s five man-advantage goals in 13 games are still tied for the second most in the NHL.

On the other hand, the Mammoth are tied with the Penguins and two other teams for 11th in 5v5 scoring. Utah is also looking for a rebound performance offensively after being most recently held to just one extra-attacker goal in the final two minutes of regulation in their loss to the Wild.

Season stats
via hockeydb

• The Mammoth rank third in the NHL with a 54.8 percent face-off rate so far this season, while the Penguins rank 30th after going 45.6 from the dot. Vincent Trocheck has won an impressive 62.8 percent of his face-offs over this early stretch.
• Mikhail Sergachev, who is tied with Clayton Keller for the points lead in Utah, is riding a five-game point streak (1-5—6) into tonight’s matchup. Logan Cooley meanwhile has three goals in two games.

Goaltending uncertainty

It hasn’t been a particularly strong start to the season for either Mammoth goaltender. Only the Vancouver Canucks have recorded a lower team save percentage than Utah’s mark of .866. Both Karel Vejmelka and Sebastian Cossa rank bottom-11 in the league (out of 71 goaltenders) in goals saved above expected, per HockeyStats.com.

Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos said last week the Mammoth are not “sold on Karel Vejmelka being the No. 1” who could lead his team on a playoff run (h/t NHL Rumor Report), although Tourigny said after the Tuesday loss to the Wild he felt Vejmelka was “back on track.”

Utah was tied to an interest in Connor Hellebuyck before he was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a haul including four players and two draft picks. How Vejmelka performs as this early stretch of the season continues could impact whether the Mammoth eventually take a swing at upgrading their goaltending ahead of the deadline.

And now for the Pens

Projected lines 

FORWARDS

Tommy Novak – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell

Egor Chinakhov – Ben Kindel – Evgeni Malkin

Andrei Kuzmenko – Hendrix Lapierre – Ville Koivunen

Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Nick Robertson

DEFENSEMEN

Spencer Stastney / Erik Karlsson

Declan Carlile / Kaeden Korczak

Ilya Solovyov / Kris Letang

Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov

Potential Scratches: Rutger McGroarty, Ilya Solovyov

IR: Ryan Graves, Elmer Soderblom

• The Penguins could be getting a few players back from health issues after their four-day break. Sam Girard and Egor Chinakhov are back at practice after missing three and two games, respectively. Ben Kindel looks ready to slot back into the lineup for the first time since the Penguins’ last game against the Mammoth.

• More roster updates: Rutger McGroarty was absent from Wednesday’s session and could be a scratch. Avery Hayes and Chase Pietila were re-assigned to the AHL on Wednesday. Justin Brazeau has also been sent to Wilkes/Barre on a conditioning stint after getting activated from IR, while Elmer Soderblom replaced him on the list.

• The Penguins were running a top power-play unit of Sidney Crosby, Erik Karlsson, Ville Koivunen, Tommy Novak and Rickard Rakell, while slotting Chinakhov and Kindel alongside Andrei Kuzmenko, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin on the second unit at Wednesday’s practice.

It’s fair to say that Jacob Fowler has taken the NHL by storm since being called up from the Laval Rocket. The rookie netminder has gone 6-1-0 since then, including two shutouts and six straight wins. He became just the third Montreal Canadiens goaltender to record at least six consecutive wins before turning 22, after Rogie Vachon and Patrick Roy.

Fowler has also become a road warrior; in three road games, he ranks third in the league in both goals-against average (0.67) and save percentage (.980). Only Colten Ellis, who has played one game, and Jake Oettinger, who has played three games, have better numbers. As things stand, he has well and truly grabbed the number-one role with the Canadiens, and make no mistake: the only reason Jakub Fowler is getting the start on Thursday is that he’s been sitting for over a week. When the Sainte-Flanelle takes on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Mecca of hockey on Saturday night, Fowler will be back between the posts.

Canadiens Must Fix Their Power Play
Canadiens' Fowler Blanks The Blues
Canadiens: Larkin’s Big Dilemma

Many have earmarked him as the Canadiens’ goaltender of the future, but few expected him to climb that high, that fast. Dobes himself may be wondering how he went from leading the team to the Eastern Conference Final last season to getting a front-row seat so quickly, but it’s a results-based business, and the Americans’ recent work speaks for itself.

One man may not be all that surprised, though. After Fowler’s stellar shutout performance against the St. Louis Blues, an excerpt from the team’s 2023 draft documentary started circulating on social media, featuring then-amateur scout Billy Ryan explaining to the Canadiens’ extended brain trust why they need to select Fowler in no uncertain terms.

It’s like watching the Mona Lisa being painted pic.twitter.com/1Tu6fQuocP

— HFTV (@HFTVSports) October 28, 2026

It’s a good thing the Habs hired Ryan in August 2022 to run their amateur scouting department in the USA, but the Canadiens didn't update their website to include him until April 12, 2023 and back then he was simply listed as a scout, but that appears to have been an oversight which was fixed in mid-July 2023. It means that he hadn’t even been in the role for a full year when he defended his stance on Fowler in front of a room full of people.

Fast forward three years, and the Canadiens must be oh so very glad they not only hired Ryan, a former amateur scout with the Florida Panthers for seven seasons, but also listened to him back then. Five netminders were picked before Fowler in 2023: Adam Gajan, Michael Hrabal, Trey Augustine, Carson Bjarnason and Damian Clara. Clara and Bjarnason are in the AHL; Gajan is in the ECHL; Augustine and Hrabal are in their first full AHL season. Fowler is ahead of the curve and slowly but surely making his way into early Calder Trophy discussions.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

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Just the facts

• When: Tonight, 8 PM
• Where: Enterprise Center – St. Louis, MO
• How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
• Opposing perspective: RIP St. Louis Game Time

Know your enemy

• 5-6-1, 11PTS, 6th in the Central Division
• Mason McTavish: 6G-4A-10PTS; Dylan Holloway: 3G-7A-10PTS; Jimmy Snuggerud: 6G-2A-8PTS
• Joel Hofer: 4-3-1, 2.40 GAA, .917 save percentage

Game notes

• The Bruins continue their mini road trip (road outing? road excursion?) in Missouri, facing the St. Louis Blues. I will not dwell on it, but I don’t think I will ever get over the Bruins losing a Stanley Cup Final to Jordan Binnington.
• Speaking of Binnington, he is pretty solidly the Blues’ back-up at this point, and is now…The Athletic’s top goalie name on the trade market? Slim pickings, I guess.
• Anyways, enough about my 2019 trauma. The Bruins played an OK game in Carolina on Tuesday night, but it wasn’t enough to beat a top-tier Hurricanes team. The Blues are decidedly not top tier, caught somewhere between a full rebuild (i.e. trade Robert Thomas) and a retool (i.e. I don’t know). They have some good young players in guys like Mason McTavish and Jimmy Snuggerud, but still seem to be going in two directions at once.
• Speaking of McTavish, he has been worth the price for St. Louis thus far. Acquired from Anaheim around the time of June’s draft, McTavish leads the Blues in points and is tied for the team lead in goals.
• Speaking of speaking of things, the Blues also traded for a familiar face over the summer: Brandon Carlo! Carlo was a good soldier for the B’s and I feel bad for turning him into The Artist Who Turned Into Fraser Minten, but…it’s Mintenmania Time now. Carlo has featured in all 12 games for the Blues, averaging a little over 17 minutes TOI.
• The Blues have lost two games in a row, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying last time out. They lost to Montreal 2-0 on Tuesday in a game that saw Jacob Fowler make 46 saves and, per our friends at EOTP, steal a win for the Habs. Olé.
• Prior to those two losses, St. Louis won two games in a row, including a 6-2 win over Vegas, so there’s some firepower there.
• In what can only be perceived as an act of aggression against me personally, the Blues will wear their 2019 alternate jerseys tonight. I’m not sure if I’m more mad about the Bruins shooting directly into Binnington’s chest in Game 7 or that 2019 jerseys can now be considered alternate/vintage.
• While Jeremy Swayman was excellent against Carolina, I’d imagine we see Michael DiPietro tonight. He has actually faced the Blues before, dropping a 3-1 decision back in 2022. This means nothing at all, but I included it anyways.
• The Bruins could use a bounceback game from their first line tonight, after that top trio was relatively invisible in Raleigh. I did not see if Seabass#8 made another David Pastrnak comment, but let’s assume they did and the good vibes are back on.

See ya tonight!

The 2026-27 NHL season, which started on Sept. 29, is officially entering its second month.

Though Thanksgiving is considered a better bellwether of whether a team can make the playoffs, the end of the first month is a good time to assess how teams and players are faring.

The New Jersey Devils were already playing well before adding the best goalie in the league, the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes are on a roll and Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid is on fire. Meanwhile, a couple of goalies have outperformed the No. 1 netminders on their teams.

Here's a look at strong starts that we're starting to believe:

It was a much needed four day break for a battered Pittsburgh Penguins team, but now the schedule resumes and it wastes no time throwing the team right back into the fight with another matchup against the Utah Mammoth, the same team that just beat up on the Penguins 11 days ago to close out a rather forgettable Western Conference road trip.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh.

Pens Points…

Trade rumors never cease in the NHL and one Penguin keeps popping up as a possible name of interest for teams. Despite his slow start to the season, Rickard Rakell remains a hot topic of conversation in the rumor mill as some teams reportedly may be inquiring on his services. [Pensburgh]

October is coming to a close and many Penguins prospects are already more than a month into the seasons depending on where they play. This month brought the arrival of college hockey, adding more prospects to the mix, some of which are already scorching hot. [Pensburgh]

A flurry of roster moves were made by the Penguins on Wednesday ahead of their game against Utah. Justin Brazeau has been activated from IR while Elmer Soderblom heads there. Avery Hayes and Chase Pietila were both sent back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as well. [The Hockey News]

Justin Brazeau was one of the early season surprises for the Penguins last season, but so far this season, he has yet to make an appearance for the team. Sidelined by injury since the start, Brazeau is now healthy and ready to lace them up whenever he number gets called. [Trib Live]

Another injured player who seems to be close to a return is defenseman Sam Girard. Though he never went to injured reserve, Girard has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury. [Trib Live]

Nobody was happier to see Ben Kindel back at practice this week than Kindel himself. After suffering a medical episode on the team’s flight home from Salt Lake City, Kindel has been recovering in Pittsburgh and looks to be on track to return sooner rather than later. [Trib Live]

As per tradition, the Penguins players and their loved ones went all out to celebrate Halloween this year. Evgeni Malkin ironically went as a NASA astronaut (IYKYK) while Bryan Rust showed his dad side by dressing up as Bert from Sesame Street. [Penguins]

NHL News and Notes…

It was a long road back to the NHL for Semyon Varlamov, but after nearly two years away from the game battling injuries, the long time Russian netminder recorded his first win since November 2024 earlier this week and was mobbed by his teammates on the ice. [NHL]

It’s no secret that the NHL salary is projected to keep rising to historic heights in the coming years, but exactly how high it will go has not yet been determined. It’s already projected to be $113.5 million next season, with no signs of that pace slowing down. [Sportsnet]

The Islanders conclude their road trip in Minnesota, where it seems they used to have lots of roots. But now Anders Lee is with the Mormons, Brock Nelson is with the alpinemen, and Nick Leddy is…reaching a Zen state in a body of water somewhere, surely.

To repeat the approach in Dallas: The Wild are good and the Isles are trying to be. It comes in fits and starts. They had their moments in Dallas but ultimately couldn’t keep up. They had a great start in Nashville and then blew it, needing a rare shootout sweep to secure the second point.

The Wild are tied with their long-time alpine nemeses for the top of the West, 14 games in. By my math, that means they have 70 games to go, which was a full NHL season once upon a time.

First Islanders Goal picks go here.

Islanders News

• Previewing tonight vs. the Wild. [Isles]
• Semyon Varlamov was full of appreciation for everybody after his momentous win. [Isles]
• Victor Eklund continues to earn Pete DeBoer’s trust. [Newsday]
• Despite that blown lead in Nashville, DeBoer liked the response. [Post]
• Hey, Carson Soucy is available and can be had for cheap! [THN]

Elsewhere

• Bill Guerin is not losing sleep over the Quinn Hughes question. Sure. [NHL]
• This is pretty brilliant, if you’re familiar with the Ozzy Osbourne mug shot. [NHL]
• The league is trying to ensure the jumps in the salary cap are smooth rather than sudden. [Sportsnet]
• The Canadiens, or their fans at least, want Dylan Larkin. [Sportsnet]

DENVER — Jared Bednar has said he wants self-motivating individuals, players who know what the team needs without a daily push from their coach.

After a frustrating loss in Nashville, the Colorado Avalanche gave him a good example of that Tuesday night, erupting for a four-goal third period in a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Colorado looked more comfortable offensively, and five different players scored. Even before the third-period surge, Bednar liked what he saw. He called the second his favorite offensive period the team has played this season, despite Colorado scoring just once.

“I think the growth for me was there was a simplicity to our offense,” Bednar said. “It was highly effective, and it’s not just because it was the Devils, but in the way they play, I think it’s repeatable, regardless of your opponent.”

Bednar had referenced Bill Belichick's philosophy of wanting “self-motivated individuals” after practice Tuesday, saying his veteran players already know what the Avalanche should look like when they're playing well. Tuesday, they didn't seem to need much convincing.

Gabriel Landeskog tied the game with a power play goal in the second period. Colorado then killed a New Jersey 5-on-3 to start the third, and Kadri gave the Avalanche the lead at 2:45 by putting away a rebound off a Nicolas Roy shot.

Parker Kelly made it 3-1 just 62 seconds later. MacKinnon and Jaden Schwartz followed with goals 30 seconds apart, turning a close game into a comfortable lead. Connor Brown scored twice for New Jersey, but the Avalanche had already done the damage.

"It was great. It felt like that's the way it should be. Thought our line was great to night. It takes three guys on a line and two d-men to work... that's the recipe for success"

Parker Kelly picked up his 2nd goal of the year, and the game winner in COL's 5-2 win over NJ pic.twitter.com/zGrnwAwAqq

— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano) October 29, 2026

“I think it’s definitely a complete game from us,” Bednar said. The coach has seen his team put together good stretches this season, but wanted to see that level of play carry through a full game.

Kelly, who scored 21 goals last season, had a goal and an assist against New Jersey. He credited his linemates and the defensemen behind them for making the line effective.

PARKER KELLY DOES IT HIMSELF WITH A SHORT SIDE SNIPE #GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/BSGxfb7zuZ

— PrimeMakar8 (@retro_colorado) October 29, 2026

“It takes three guys on the line and two D-men to make things work,” Kelly said. “And I thought when we were out there, it was a great five-man unit.”

There was a little payback in the win, too. When Colorado and New Jersey met on Oct. 20, the Avalanche were playing the second half of a back-to-back after losing to Philadelphia the night before. The Devils took advantage that time.

“They took advantage of us on a back-to-back, so it was nice to, you know, give them the favor back and take advantage of them when they’re on a back-to-back, right?” Kelly said.

The Avalanche were coming off a 6-2 loss to Nashville, so a response was needed. Kelly said the players felt they had been controlling the game against New Jersey for a while before the goals started coming.

“Everyone in the room here felt pretty confident that we’d been owning the game for a bit,” Kelly said. “And if we just stuck to it, you know, things are gonna start going our way.”

That's how the third period played out. Colorado stayed with its game, got the key stop on the 5-on-3 and took advantage of its chances. Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 15 saves, while Jake Allen stopped 36 shots for New Jersey.

“Everyone can leave the rink today feeling good about their game,” Kelly said.

The win gives Bednar something to point to when he talks about trusting his veteran group to recognize what needs to change. The Avalanche didn't need a complicated answer after Nashville. They needed to play better, and against New Jersey, they did. Whether they can keep that going is the bigger question.

New Jersey Devils (8-5, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (9-4-1, in the Pacific Division)

Paradise, Nevada; Friday, 6 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: The New Jersey Devils visit the Vegas Golden Knights after Connor Brown scored two goals in the Devils' 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Vegas has a 6-2-0 record at home and a 9-4-1 record overall. The Golden Knights have a 4-1-0 record in games they convert at least one power play.

New Jersey is 2-2-0 on the road and 8-5 overall. The Devils have gone 8-1-0 when scoring at least three goals.

The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jack Eichel has scored seven goals with 13 assists for the Golden Knights. Mitchell Marner has one goal and 10 assists over the last 10 games.

Arseni Gritsyuk has six goals and four assists for the Devils. Nico Hischier has seven goals and two assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Knights: 6-3-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.4 assists, 3.1 penalties and 7.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.

Devils: 7-3-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.1 assists, 2.2 penalties and 5.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.

INJURIES: Golden Knights: Parker Wotherspoon: out (upper body), Carter Hart: day to day (undisclosed), Victor Olofsson: out (undisclosed), Kai Uchacz: out (undisclosed).

Devils: Seamus Casey: out (knee).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Washington Capitals (7-4, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Nashville Predators (4-3-5, in the Central Division)

Nashville, Tennessee; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT

LINE: Predators -111, Capitals -111; over/under is 6.5

BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Capitals visit the Nashville Predators after Alex Tuch's two-goal game against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Capitals' 5-2 win.

Nashville is 3-2-2 at home and 4-3-5 overall. The Predators are 3-1-0 in games they have fewer penalties than their opponent.

Washington has a 7-4 record overall and a 1-2-0 record in road games. The Capitals are 3-1-0 in games their opponents serve more penalty minutes.

Thursday's game is the first time these teams meet this season.

INJURIES: Predators: William Trudeau: out (upper body).

Capitals: Rasmus Sandin: out (knee), Patrick Thomas: out (upper-body), Vincent Desharnais: out (abdomen).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Tuch scored his eighth and ninth goals in his first season with Washington, the second into an empty net to help the Capitals seal a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.

Tuch arrived in a trade from Buffalo and signed an eight-year, $84-million contract extension in June. On Wednesday, he became only the second player in Capitals history to score at least nine goals in his first 11 games for the team, joining Dino Ciccarelli, who scored 12 times in his first 11 Caps appearances to close the 1988-89 season.

Jordan Kyrou also scored twice, and Aliaksei Protas added his first goal of the season as Washington completed a five-game homestand with four wins.

Dylan Strome had three assists, and Jack St. Ivany and Pierre-Luc Dubois each had two. Logan Thompson made 23 saves after missing a victory Saturday against Buffalo because of a lower-body injury.

Matvei Michkov scored his ninth goal of the season and fifth on the power play for Philadelphia, which lost its third straight after an overtime defeat to visiting Columbus on Tuesday night.

Sean Couturier leveled it early in the second, and Joseph Woll made 25 stops for the Flyers.

OILERS 4, FLAMES 0

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Tristan Jarry made 24 saves, Connor McDavid had two more points and Edmonton beat Calgary to snap a two-game losing streak.

McDavid extended his season-starting points streak to 13 games, pushingv his NHL-best points total to 36. He also extended his campaign-starting assists streak to 13, setting a record by surpassing the likes of Sebastian Aho, Ken Linseman and Wayne Gretzky for the longest in NHL history.

Mathieu Joseph, Mattias Ekholm, Kasperi Kapanen and Alex Formenton scored to help the Oilers improve to 9-2-2.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also had assists.

Dustin Wolf made 20 saves for Calgary, coming in to replace Devin Cooley (eight saves) after he was injured late in the first period. Cooley was run over in the crease by forward Colton Dach.

The Flames dropped to 5-7-0. They had won four in a row.

AVALNCHE 5, DEVILS 2

DENVER (AP) — Nazem Kadri and Parker Kelly scored in a 1:02 span early in the third period and Colorado beat New Jersey to end it winning streak at four.

Kadri gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 2:45, and Kelly followed at 3:47. Nathan MacKinnon added his eighth goal of the season with eight minutes remaining, and Jaden Schwartz connected 30 seconds later.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 20 saves to help Colorado improve to 7-5-1.

Connor Brown scored twice for New Jersey.

Brown had a short-handed goal in the first period, and Gabriel Landeskog tied it on a power play in the second.

Jake Allen stopped 39 shots for the Devils. They are 8-5-0.

KRAKEN 5, MAPLE LEAFS 4

SEATTLE (AP) — Defenseman Brandon Montour scored with 34 seconds left and Seattle beat Toronto to spoil No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna’s first two-goal game and three-point night.

After scoring on power plays in each of the first two periods, McKenna helped set up Auston Matthews’ tying goal with 1:30 remaining and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky off for an extra attacker.

Montour then beat Bobrovsky with a slapper from the top of the right circle.

Chandler Stephenson had a goal and an assist to help Seattle improve to 8-4-1. Ryker Evans, Berkly Catton and Josh Mahura also scored, and Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves.

Stephenson gave Seattle a 3-2 lead on a power play at 3:33 of the second period, and assisted on Evans’ goal with 9:02 left.

McKenna has five goals in 15 games this season. Matthews has 10 goals.

Jack Roslovic also scored for the Maple Leafs, cutting it to 4-3 at 8:02 of the third period. Bobrovsky stopped 12 shots as Toronto dropped to 7-6-2.

DENVER (AP) — Nazem Kadri and Parker Kelly scored in a 1:02 span early in the third period and the Colorado Avalanche beat New Jersey 5-2 on Wednesday night to end the Devils' winning streak at four.

Kadri gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 2:45, and Kelly followed at 3:47. Nathan MacKinnon added his eighth goal of the season with eight minutes remaining, and Jaden Schwartz connected 30 seconds later.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 20 saves to help Colorado improve to 7-5-1.

Connor Brown scored twice for New Jersey.

Brown had a short-handed goal in the first period, and Gabriel Landeskog tied it on a power play in the second.

Jake Allen stopped 39 shots for the Devils. They are 8-5-0.

Up next

Devils: At Vegas on Friday night.

Avalanche: Host Calgary on Saturday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

All Times EDT

Thursday, Oct. 29

NFL

Carolina at Green Bay, 8:15 p.m.

NBA

Cleveland at Atlanta, 8 p.m.

Sacramento at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

Memphis at Portland, 10 p.m.

NHL

Columbus at Carolina, 7 p.m.

Utah at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.

Winnipeg at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.

Chicago at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

Boston at St. Louis, 8 p.m.

Montreal at Dallas, 8 p.m.

N.Y. Islanders at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Washington at Nashville, 8 p.m.

Buffalo at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

Ottawa at Los Angeles, 10 p.m.

Vancouver at San Jose, 10 p.m.

WNBA - Playoffs

Finals - Game 6

Golden State at Atlanta, 12:30 p.m.

_____

DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche scored four third-period goals to defeat the New Jersey Devils 5-2, bouncing back from a 6-2 road loss to Nashville behind goals from Nazem Kadri, Parker Kelly, Nathan MacKinnon, Jaden Schwartz and Gabriel Landeskog.

Colorado’s offense came alive in the final period, with five different players finding the back of the net to secure the win. Connor Brown scored both of New Jersey’s goals, while Brent Burns recorded two assists to bring his career total to 949 points, moving him into 10th place on the all-time points list among defensemen.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 15 saves for Colorado, while Jake Allen stopped 36 shots in a busy night for New Jersey. Despite Allen’s efforts and Brown’s two-goal performance, the Avalanche pulled away in the third period, scoring four times to put the game out of reach and earn a much-needed bounce-back victory.

First Period

Despite holding an advantage in shots on goal, Colorado struggled to capitalize on its chances, while New Jersey made the most of its opportunity. However, the biggest concern for the Avalanche came late in the period, when defenseman Josh Manson went down near the bench and needed assistance from a trainer to leave the ice.

New Jersey’s defense delivered the first major hit of the game as Colorado attempted to generate a rush. Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon caught Nazem Kadri with a heavy check into the boards, leaving the Avalanche center visibly shaken as he took a moment to regain his bearings.

With nine minutes remaining in the opening period, Logan O’Connor nearly gave Colorado the breakthrough. The Avalanche forward found a loose puck in the low slot with the net wide open, presenting a golden opportunity to put his team ahead 1-0. However, Devils defenseman Brett Pesce hooked O’Connor at the last moment, sending him tumbling to the ice and preventing a potential goal.

Although Pesce’s intervention thwarted Colorado’s scoring chance, it came at a cost for New Jersey, as the infraction sent the Avalanche to the power play.

Colorado failed to capitalize on the man advantage, and the ensuing sequence quickly turned disastrous. The Avalanche surrendered possession, allowing New Jersey to break the other way on a two-on-one rush. Connor Brown carried the puck forward, sold the passing option with a convincing fake, and then sent a shot toward the net that banked off goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and crossed the goal line to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.

The goal marked a costly swing in momentum for Colorado, which had been presented with an opportunity to strike first but instead found itself chasing the game.

The Avalanche suffered another concerning setback with just over four minutes remaining in the period when Manson went down near the Colorado bench. While on the ice, Manson made several attempts to open the bench gate but struggled to reach it. He eventually managed to get through, where a trainer immediately assisted him down the tunnel.

Manson’s departure cast a shadow over an already frustrating period for Colorado, with his condition unclear as the teams headed toward the intermission.

After 20 minutes, the Avalanche trailed the Devils 1-0 despite holding the edge in shots on goal. Colorado needed a stronger response in the second period, but Manson’s apparent injury added another layer of concern as the team attempted to erase the deficit and get back into the contest.

Second Period

Colorado found its equalizer with 9:02 remaining in the second period, capitalizing on the power play to pull even at 1-1. Jaden Schwartz found Gabriel Landeskog at the doorstep, where the Avalanche captain scored his fifth goal of the season.

Schwartz finds Landy on the backdoor 🍎 pic.twitter.com/mHZyuYgqer

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 29, 2026

The goal came moments after Colorado’s first power-play unit had left the ice. Notably, Nathan MacKinnon did not finish the shift with the rest of the unit, exiting early as Brock Nelson took his place.

MacKinnon’s frustration became more apparent a short time later. Following another difficult shift, the Avalanche star was seen yelling on the bench after slamming his stick against the boards, adding a tense moment to Colorado’s efforts to take control of the game.

The momentum shifted again late in the period when O’Connor was called for cross-checking Jack Hughes into the boards with 1:59 remaining. The penalty sent Colorado to the penalty kill at a critical point in the game.

The situation grew more contentious with 31.4 seconds left, when Brent Burns was called for tripping Luke Evangelista, giving New Jersey a two-man advantage. Boos erupted as the call was announced, and the replay appeared to show Evangelista battling for a loose puck before getting sandwiched between Nicolas Roy and Burns. The sequence appeared to suggest Roy was responsible for knocking Evangelista to the ice, rather than Burns, prompting a strong reaction from the crowd.

The second period ended with the score tied 1-1, but Colorado’s late penalties left the Avalanche in a precarious position. O’Connor had one second remaining on his penalty, while Burns had 1:28 left on his minor, leaving Colorado to begin the third period shorthanded.

The Avalanche also received confirmation between periods that Manson, who had left the game injured in the first, would not return.

Colorado had recovered from its early deficit, but it faced an immediate test to begin the final 20 minutes. With New Jersey holding a 5-on-3 advantage, the Avalanche needed a crucial penalty kill to keep the game even.

Third Period

Colorado passed its first test of the third period, killing off the remaining penalties to neutralize New Jersey’s 5-on-3 advantage and keep the score tied at 1-1.

The successful penalty kill gave the Avalanche an opportunity to seize control, and Kadri wasted little time taking advantage. At 2:45, the Colorado center scored his second goal of the season, burying a rebound off an initial shot from Nicolas Roy to put the Avalanche ahead 2-1.

Nic Roy making his presence known 👀 pic.twitter.com/vSIhh5tKwF

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 29, 2026

Colorado was not finished.

Just 62 seconds after Kadri’s goal, Parker Kelly struck for his second of the season, firing a shot past Devils goaltender Jake Allen to extend the lead to 3-1. The quick succession of goals transformed a tightly contested game into a two-goal advantage for Colorado and put New Jersey under immediate pressure.

Kelly pulls up and SNIPES 🎯 pic.twitter.com/X0NHUUYhDp

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 29, 2026

With eight minutes remaining in regulation, MacKinnon delivered another blow to the Devils. Breaking free on a breakaway, the Avalanche star finished the opportunity to make it 4-1, adding to Colorado’s growing lead after a second period in which his frustration had been evident on the bench.

The Avalanche added another goal just 30 seconds later. Schwartz followed up a shot from Sam Malinski by finding the back of the net to push the lead to 5-1, capping a devastating stretch for New Jersey.

The Devils managed to respond with 4:37 remaining, as Brown scored his second goal of the game to cut Colorado’s lead to 5-2. Brown accounted for both New Jersey goals, giving the Devils some late offense after Colorado’s third-period outburst had seemingly put the contest out of reach.

The late goal narrowed the margin, but Colorado maintained its three-goal advantage to secure the victory.

FIRST STAR NAZEM KADRI ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/wdyt1POTG6

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 29, 2026

Takeaways

The third period was the difference for Colorado. After surrendering the opening goal and struggling to convert early chances, the Avalanche responded through Landeskog’s second-period power-play goal before breaking the game open in the final frame.

The penalty kill to begin the third was particularly important. Facing a 5-on-3 disadvantage, Colorado prevented New Jersey from reclaiming the lead or building momentum. Kadri’s goal shortly afterward gave the Avalanche their first lead, and Kelly doubled the advantage just over a minute later.

MacKinnon and Schwartz then scored 30 seconds apart to extend the lead to 5-1, completing a four-goal third period for Colorado. Brown’s second goal of the night made the final score 5-2, but it did little to diminish the Avalanche’s decisive response.

The victory provided a strong rebound after Colorado’s 6-2 road loss to Nashville. The Avalanche showed resilience after a difficult opening period and turned a close game into a convincing win with a relentless offensive surge.

Manson’s injury remained a concern, however, after the defenseman left in the first period and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest. His status will be worth monitoring as Colorado moves forward.

Cap got da chain⛓️ pic.twitter.com/VMMqrcAiO6

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 29, 2026

For the Avalanche, the win offered a much-needed return to form. Landeskog supplied the equalizer, Kadri and Kelly delivered the go-ahead and insurance goals, and MacKinnon and Schwartz finished the rally in emphatic fashion. Brown provided both goals for New Jersey, but Colorado’s four-goal third period ultimately proved decisive in the 5-2 victory.

Through the last five games, the Kings managed to steal three wins away from Los Angeles. Was this road trip a success or does it bring up the same flaws with the team?

During this five-game stretch, the Kings showed a fair share of improvements. Especially the goaltenders who played better than they did in the first 6 games.

Darcy Kuemper recorded a .953 save percentage against the Islanders, which was his best game of the season. He also notched a .938 save percentage against the Capitals, which is tied for his second-highest rating.

Anton Forsberg also had an impressive showing in the two games he started. Forsberg recorded a .926 save percentage against the Blackhawks and a .920 save percentage against the Devils.

Both goaltenders had two games with a .920 save percentage or higher, which helped the defense drastically. The Kings had four games where they allowed 2 goals or fewer and only 1 game with 3 goals. The Kings allowed fewer goals in the five road games than their average 3.36 goals allowed per game.

Although Los Angeles had improved their goaltending, there were still issues the team displayed. The Kings showed the same struggles on offense and continued to generate limited shots on goal.

In four of the previous five games, the Kings had fewer shots on goal than their opponents. The other game was against the Rangers where both teams had 26 shots on goal.

So far this season, the Kings have racked up a total of 297 shots in 11 games. This ranks as the sixth-lowest total number of shots in the entire league.

Lack of shots was evident as not once did the Kings record 30 shots on the road trip. The offense is still a question mark the Kings have to answer as they head back to Los Angeles.

While the limited shots on the net is still a concern, the road trip was still something to behold. The Kings actually racked up some wins, something that didn't happen through the first six games.

Questions are still present about the offensive production but the Kings at least improved in protecting the net. As shown on this road trip, that can lead to winning hockey and building momentum.

Not only did the Kings break their win-less streak, but they had a winning record. The three wins showed that Los Angeles can rely on their goaltending.

Before these last five games, the Kings had no signs of hope on offense, defense or goaltending. After those five games, Los Angeles built up some wins and had stable goaltending. Therefore, the Kings showed some progression and had an overall successful road trip.

When the Rangers return from their five-day stretch without a game, they’ll have questions to answer with their blue line.

The first involves the health of Sean Durzi, who took a third maintenance day since Oct. 21 at Tuesday’s practice and who head coach Mike Sullivan said postgame Monday is “battling through some stuff physically.”

And the second, if Durzi remains in the lineup as he has for all 14 Blueshirts games this season entering Sunday’s match with Edmonton, involves the status of his pairing with Marcus Pettersson after they were split up in the loss to the Kings.

Durzi and Pettersson have been nearly inseparable since they were acquired in separate July 1 trades — Durzi from the Mammoth in the Vincent Trocheck deal, Pettersson from the Canucks.

They skated together from the first day of training camp and were a “pretty solid pair” over the Rangers’ first seven or eight games, Sullivan estimated.

But then in the first period Monday, Sullivan started using Pettersson with Braden Schneider and Durzi with 18-year-old rookie Alberts Smits.

“I think they were more effective,” Sullivan said Tuesday when asked what the Durzi-Pettersson pair did better earlier in the season. “I thought they defended well. I thought their execution with the puck, helping us get out [of] our end, executing tape-to-tape passes, things of that nature. In particular, I think they were defending the rush much better.”

The Rangers have struggled defensively in front of their goaltenders in the wake of Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury, especially when it comes to containing opposing teams on the rush, but Sullivan has avoided any major change with his defensive pairings since the start of training camp.

Even with Scott Morrow waiting as the other right-handed defenseman on the roster — and a healthy scratch for every game. Even with Matthew Robertson on the roster to start the year, then in AHL Hartford after clearing waivers and now back as the other left-handed defenseman.

The Rangers’ three defensive pairings have remained the same at the start of each of their 14 games this season. But that could change by Sunday.

After Joonas Korpisalo, who continued skating on his own Tuesday, eventually returns from the lower-body injury that has kept him sidelined since the season opener, he’ll become the fifth goalie to appear in a game for the Blueshirts this season — joining Shesterkin, Dylan Garand, Spencer Martin and, for all of eight shots and three goals Monday,James Reimer.

It’ll mark the first time the Blueshirts have used at least five goaltenders in one season since 2009-10, when Henrik Lundqvist, Chad Johnson, Steve Valiquette, Alex Auld and Matt Zaba all logged time in net for them.

Before that, it hadn’t happened since 2003-04 (Mike Dunham, Jussi Markkanen, Jason LaBarbera, Jamie McLennan and Valiquette).