NEW YORK (AP) — Connor McDavid extended his NHL-record season-opening assist streak to 14 games by setting up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ second goal, and the Edmonton Oilers opened their road trip by beating the New York Islanders 4-0 on Saturday.
Nugent-Hopkins scored on a power play in the third period to give McDavid his league-best 29th assist. McDavid has a big lead in points with 37 and is on pace for more than 200.
Longtime running mate Leon Draisaitl recorded a pair of assists, including a perfect skate-to-stick exchange that led to Vasily Podkolzin putting the puck into a wide open net. Ilya Sorokin similarly had little chance on Nugent-Hopkins’ shot from point-blank range off a feed from Kasperi Kapanen 68 seconds earlier.
Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry stopped all 18 shots he faced for a second consecutive shutout, and Jason Dickinson scored into an empty net to seal the victory. The Oilers have won 10 of their first 14 games this season, their first with Mike Babcock as coach.
Despite 20 saves from Sorokin, the Islanders’ winning streak ended at two games, with top defenseman Matthew Schaefer getting whistled for two of the team’s five minor penalties. Forward Emil Heineman was ejected less than 2 1/2 minutes in for a knee-on-knee hit that injured Isaac Howard, who put no weight on his left leg as he was helped off the ice and did not return.
New York was without defenseman Ryan Pulock, who was seeing a doctor after leaving Thursday night at Minnesota with what the team called an upper-body injury.
Up next
Oilers: Make their second stop on a three-game visit to the area by playing at the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Islanders: After some time off, host the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.
Having to overcome a pair of two-goal deficits and a third period deficit, where they were 0-6-0 when trailing after two, it appeared the visitors were headed for a losing month of October.
But three goals in a span 4:38, including Aleksanteri Kaskimaki’s first NHL goal that turned out to be the game-winner, and the Blues pulled out an improbable 5-4 win over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
The Blues (7-6-1) thus finish above .500 in the month of October for the first time since the 2021-22 season when they were 6-1-0 and finished that season 49-22-11.
This one wasn’t pretty, and maybe it helps erase the 2-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday when the Blues felt they played a game they should have won and were simply beaten by Montreal goalie Jacob Fowler’s 46-save shutout.
Here, they didn’t play particularly well at all for large swaths of this one but found a way to get two points maybe they didn’t necessarily deserve. The swings of an 84-game season can bring that about.
As for the game itself, let’s delve into it the key moments …
* Three goals in 4:38 – The Blues found themselves down 4-2 with roughly 12 minutes to play and were on their way with what looked like a seventh loss in as many games when trailing after two when they entered the period down 3-2.
But Pavel Buchnevich’s goal at 8:37, after a nifty little backhand sauce from Jake Neighbours entering the zone along the righthand side gave Buchnevich space through the middle of the ice before ripping a shot into the top left corner to make it 4-3:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Pavel Buchnevich with 11:23 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Jake Neighbours.
Justin Barron tied it 4-4 at 12:57 on a play all started by him with a heck of a leap off his skates on a flip out, he catches the puck and all in one motion, spins and moves the puck quickly up to Jimmy Snuggerud, who was able to get the puck into the middle of the ice for Barron to stay in the play and one-time a shot past John Gibson:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Justin Barron with 07:03 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Jimmy Snuggerud.
And just 18 seconds later at 13:15, Kaskimaki put the Blues ahead for good at 5-4 when Pius Suter was able to bring the puck around the wall to Alexey Toropchenko, who quickly put a shot towards the net and Kaskimaki was there on the short side to tip it past Gibson:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Aleksanteri Kaskimaki with 06:45 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Alexey Toropchenko and Pius Suter.
The Blues did a nice job the rest of the way of shutting it down, even after Detroit (6-5-3) pulled Gibson with three minutes to play, including Suter back-checking to break up a potential last-second one-timer at the net with the chance to tie the game.
* Fighting through without Colton Parayko – Parayko did not play and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, which meant the Blues were going to have to get it done with a younger group, including Theo Lindstein, who was recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Friday.
It also meant Parayko’s big minutes (20:49 average time per game) were going to have to be picked up, including on the penalty kill, and yes, Philip Broberg was beat back down the ice that enabled Keegan Kolesar to score on a breakaway and give Detroit a 2-1 lead 41 seconds into the second period, but he and Brandon Carlo were able to play solid shutdown minutes and each finish at plus-2, with Broberg playing a game-high 27:09 and Carlo finishing at 21:22.
Cam Fowler (21:16) was paired with Adam Jiricek (20:22) who I thought had a really solid game playing in some key moments and needing to step into the top four with Parayko out
* Justin Barron continues to impress – What else can be said for a waiver wire pickup? Barron continues to make an impact after having a goal and an assist to give him eight points (two goals, six assists) in his first 11 games in a Blues uniform.
He makes a terrific play on his goal, and also helped set up Dalibor Dvorsky’s opener at 2:29 of the opening period for a 1-0 lead when he had a shot chance but instead chose to make a nice slip pass into the slot for Dvorsky to cut to his backhand:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Dalibor Dvorsky with 17:31 left in the 1st. Assisted by Justin Barron and Dylan Holloway.
Barron played 15:44 and is now up to eight points (two goals, six assists) in 11 games with the Blues this season; he had just nine assists with the Nashville Predators last season in 52 games and has never had more than 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in any NHL season, and that was with the Montreal Canadiens in 2022-23.
At this pace, if Barron plays out the season, he would be on pace to shatter his personal bests with 59 points (15 goals, 44 assists) in 81 games.
Perhaps playing in a system that allows the defensemen to jump into plays and play more aggressively is suiting Barron’s style well with the Blues. So far, so good. He’s been a terrific add thus far.
* Snuggerud goal key to comeback – There’s just certain goals in a game where you say, “Remember that one,” at critical junctures.
When Snuggerud scored with 27.1 seconds left in the second period to cut Detroit’s lead to 3-2, that was the one.
The Blues had just switched up their line combinations to reset to where they were for the majority of the season, and Broberg’s rim around was aggressively forechecked by Robert Thomas, who took the puck to the net hard before Snuggerud was there to deposit the loose change:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Jimmy Snuggerud with 00:28 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Robert Thomas and Philip Broberg.
Yes, Detroit did increase its lead to 4-2 on Emmitt Finnie’s goal early in the third on the power play, but if you’re down 3-1 and that goal makes it 4-1, chances of a comeback are pretty remote.
But getting a late-period goal like that when the Blues had little to no mojo going on can give a group a spark, and it certainly did re-energize a pretty dead group.
* 15 shots gets it done – The Blues had lots of success on Gibson in the past, most notably when he was a member of the Anaheim Ducks. Gibson was 8-16-1 with a 3.39 goals-against average and .895 save percentage against St. Louis for his career.
Getting shots on the veteran goalie would have proved to be beneficial. But when Dvorsky scored, it was the Blues’ only shot for the next 26:36 of the game. Gibson made his first save (on Dvorsky) just over nine minutes into the second period. The Blues were not forechecking to create zone time and the Red Wings were defending what little the Blues had early on well enough.
They had just three shots on goal halfway through the game and finished with 15, but once they started to funnel the few pucks they had at Gibson, they were able to find the back of the net and finished with a robust 33.3 percent shooting for the game on 47 shot attempts.
"The feeling in that locker room right now is pretty special, so we've got to carry on this momentum."
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The Chicago Blackhawks closed out their two-game road trip with a visit to TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins. Two opposite-conference teams off to very different starts met up for the first time this season.
The Blackhawks came in looking to avenge their horrific performance on Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings. Based on the situation with Detroit off the ice, an argument can be made that it was Chicago's worst performance of the season.
In the first period, the Blackhawks got off to another good start. They went up 1-0, which they do often, thanks to a power-play goal scored by Anton Frondell. Jeff Blashill finally put Frondell and his wicked one-timer on the top unit, and it paid off right away.
On the goal, Patrick Kane collected his 900th career NHL assist. He became just the 21st player in league history to reach that milestone. Sidney Crosby is the only other active player to have reached that milestone.
Later in the first period, Pavel Zacha made a brilliant read to spring David Pastrnak, who did not miss with his very nice breakaway move. With the goal, Pastrnak passed Patrice Bergeron for the third most in Bruins history.
The Blackhawks doubled the Bruins in first-period shots, 14-7. However, they were unable to escape the opening period with the lead, as the 1-1 score held.
The second period had all sorts of fireworks. For one, Anton Frondell scored his second goal of the game at 3:21 of the middle frame. Tyler Bertuzzi wisely threw one on net, and it went in off Frondell, who had an incredible game overall.
Eventually, a rush by James Hagens and Casey Mittelstadt off a turnover in the neutral zone allowed the latter to eventually snipe one home. The Blackhawks, once again, came out of a period that they mostly dominated (12-6 in shots) tied. Sometimes, that is expected when a team with less overall talent is playing better. When you're a young squad like the Blackhawks, you have to work even harder to collect wins.
Although each team scored in the second period, the story was the big brawl. Casey Mittelstadt and Alex Vlasic started it in the middle of the ice behind the play before both teams came together for a yard sale. The kicker, however, is that Nikita Zadorov earned himself a 10-minute misconduct when he took a cheap shot punch at Alex Vlasic's face as the brawl ended. Only time will tell if he hears from the league.
Huge scrum involving Vlasic and Mittelstadt. Zadorov comes in and lands a cheap shot: pic.twitter.com/5MWPtKwY6A
In the third period, someone had to be a hero for either team. At 9:38, after a series of saves by goaltender Arvid Soderblom on Charlie McAvoy, Ryan Greene took the puck up the ice and scored his second of the season. The Blackhawks have had trouble holding 3rd period leads, especially against playoff-caliber teams, but this was another chance to try.
Connor Bedard gave the Blackhawks some breathing room with a goal of his own. He won a puck battle to give himself a breakaway, and he made a wonderful move of his own to give his team a two-goal lead.
Less than a minute later, the Bruins got themselves back within one. JJ Peterka made a brilliant feed to Mason Lohrei, who beat Soderblom to make it 4-3. It's never easy in the NHL.
It turned into a nightmare finish on Halloween for the Blackhawks as Morgan Geekie tied the game with 10 seconds remaining. The Blackhawks, in such a short amount of time, went from a team looking like a winner to a team on their heels.
In overtime, the Blackhawks gave themselves a chance to win more than once, but they were unable to solve Michael DiPietro one more time. Before not, Elias Lindholm scored on Arvid Soderblom to give the Bruins a 5-4 win.
Despite being the better team for most of the game, the Blackhawks were unable to secure a solid victory over a good team. Being unable to hold late leads has been the spooky reality for the Blackhawks over the last two years, and it showed on Saturday.
People will look at the box score and see that Soderblom gave up 5 goals and criticize him for it. However, he made multiple grade-A saves and gave the team a chance to win. It might be time to start using him a bit more so that he can stay sharp and give Spencer Knight a break now and again.
Watch Every Chicago Goal
🎃 Anton first goal of the game 🎃 Kaner 900th assist 🎃 starting Halloween off on a wicked note pic.twitter.com/QZNKq0OtaW
The Chicago Blackhawks will return home for a one-off Monday night game against the Colorado Avalanche. That is a huge test against an elite team before heading out for three on the road against Eastern Conference Cup contenders: the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Carolina Hurricanes.
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The classic horror movie trope of an antagonist suddenly roaring back to life just when the protagonists think they've finished them off played out on the ice Saturday afternoon - and on Halloween, fittingly enough.
The Detroit Red Wings comfortably led 4-2 over the visiting St. Louis Blues at Little Caesars Arena near the midway point of the third period, only to watch the Blues score three unanswered goals, including two in 18 seconds, to take the lead and ultimately hold on for a 5-4 victory.
It was the Blues who struck first courtesy of a backhander by Dalibor Dvorsky from in tight. But Detroit knotted the score soon afterward when Michael Rasmussen stole the puck from goaltender Joel Hofer behind the net and fed J.T. Compher, who tallied his first goal of the season.
Early in the second period, forward Keegan Kolesar took a pass from Carter Mazur and broke in alone on Hofer, scoring his first goal since being traded to the Red Wings over the summer. Detroit then extended its lead to 3-1 when Lucas Raymond scored his fifth goal in his last six games.
St. Louis cut the deficit to one late in the period when Jimmy Snuggerud poked a loose puck past Gibson at the side of the net.
But Detroit restored its two-goal cushion thanks to a power-play goal from Emmitt Finnie at 3:29 of the third period. The Red Wings appeared to have things well in hand at that point, but the Blues would quickly flip the script.
Pavel Buchnevich sniped a shot past Gibson's blocker at 8:37, followed by another blast from Justin Barron that also beat Gibson on the blocker side.
Just 18 seconds later, Blues forward Aleksanteri Kaskimaki scored the first goal of his NHL career, deflecting a shot from Alexey Toropchenko past Gibson, giving St. Louis the lead and stunning the Red Wings and their fans.
Despite pulling Gibson for the extra attacker, the Red Wings couldn't come up with the equalizer and suffered a disappointing loss.
Gibson finished with 10 saves on the 15 shots he faced; Hofer picked up the win for the Blues after turning aside 24 of 28 shots.
The Red Wings will now head onto the road for two straight divisional matchups starting Monday against the Florida Panthers.
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DENVER — Gavin Brindley’s strong play with the Colorado Eagles has earned him another opportunity with the Avalanche.
The speedy, aggressive forward was recalled Saturday, just nine days after being sent back to Colorado’s AHL affiliate.
The recall comes as the Avalanche prepare to face the Calgary Flames without Logan O’Connor. O’Connor missed Friday’s practice to attend his father Myles’ funeral, and head coach Jared Bednar confirmed at Saturday’s morning skate that the forward would not play.
Brindley has made the most of his time in the AHL, recording four points (one goal, three assists) in four games since his reassignment. He finished October with nine points (two goals, seven assists) in eight appearances, earning recognition as the Eagles’ second star of the month.
In Colorado's October 14 matchup against the Dallas Stars, Brindley appeared to score with a beautiful wrist shot. The goal horn sounded, and the arena briefly celebrated before everyone realized the puck hadn't gone in. Instead, replay showed the puck hitting both posts in what can only be described as one of the biggest cases of rejection in recent hockey memory. The Avalanche went on to lose 3-2 in a shootout, but Brindley came close to giving the team one of the night's best highlights.
He appeared in four games during his initial recall, recording one assist while averaging 8:08 of ice time. His opportunities were limited, as he saw no action on either special-teams unit. Still, his recent production with the Eagles has given Colorado another reason to see what he can do at the NHL level.
The Avalanche acquired Brindley from the Columbus Blue Jackets in June 2025 in the trade that sent Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus. Colorado also received a 2025 third-round pick and a conditional 2027 second-round selection. The Blue Jackets had selected Brindley 34th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Brindley spent most of last season with Colorado, recording six goals and 13 points before being sent to the Eagles in late March. He has since accumulated 14 points in 61 career NHL games.
With another call-up, Brindley gets a chance to turn his strong AHL play into more NHL opportunities. He'll look to make the most of the opportunity as Colorado takes on Calgary.
The Avalanche take on the Flames on Halloween night at Ball Arena. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. local time.
The New Jersey Devils closed out October with a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. The win also wrapped up a 2-1 road trip and a 5-1 Western Conference swing. At 9-5 and boasting the second-best record in the Metropolitan Division, the Devils look like contenders and are playing that way as well.
The catch in the Devils' case is that they’ve had these hot starts before. Last season, they started 8-1, and in 2022-23, they went 6-3 in the first month while going 19-4 by the time American Thanksgiving wrapped up.
The Devils had had these hot starts before where they looked like Cup contenders. Then the injuries or struggles hit them like a brick wall, and they have a disappointing season. It’s been a theme of the Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier era of the Devils, and it’s why there’s a hesitant feeling around this team.
The Past Is A Reason The Devils Can’t Overreact To The Hot Start
It’s still too early in the season, and a lot can change. The Devils found chemistry in their forward lines, but the rest of the league is still figuring out their rosters. The opponents will be tougher as the season goes on.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe, who is in the middle of his third season behind the Devils' bench and eighth in the NHL, knows this season is a marathon. “What was today? Game 10? We have 84 of these; consistency is the name of the game. This time last year, we won eight in a row. My first year I was here, we set an NHL record; we had seven games consecutively where we gave up 20 shots or less,” he stated after the 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
The playoffs feel like an inevitability, and the Devils have their eyes set on more than just that. However, they are far from certain. The Devils know the feeling, especially since they’ve had playoff-caliber teams in recent seasons come up short.
Why This Start Feels Different
Keefe admitted that the Devils have gotten off to hot starts in the past. He’s also acknowledged that this team is different, a tight-knit group that is coming together and can do something special.
“I can’t say enough good things about what’s been happening with our game as of late,” Keefe noted after a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars. “Probably equally as important is just what's happening off the ice with the group and how they're talking to one another, and you can really feel us building momentum as a team,” he added.
The Devils have the right leaders in the room, whether it’s Hischier, who has matured as the captain, or a third-line glue veteran like Evan Rodrigues. Plus, they’ve come together at the right time, with a road trip that wrapped up the month and prepared them for the stretch ahead.
Plus, Connor Hellebuyck changes a lot about this team. In the past, the Devils were constantly let down by the struggles in the net. They might have outplayed a team and controlled the pace of play, but a few goals squandered by the goaltender would let them down. Now, they have Hellebuyck, one of the best goaltenders in the game, if not the best, who has looked dialed in from the moment he put on a Devils jersey.
This doesn’t look like the same Devils team. On the contrary, they look poised to only improve from here on out. The roster is coming together, Hellebuyck is getting up to speed, and there’s always a chance general manager Sunny Mehta has another big move up his sleeve. The Devils provide enough optimism that they’ll be among the best teams by the end of the season.
The Start Must Be Apprecieted, A Fun Season Can Be Anticipated
With the way the season is playing out, the Devils should expect a great season. Even if they don’t win the Stanley Cup, which is still unlikely, they’ll be in the mix and set up for more success in the seasons to come.
Plus, more should be anticipated from Mehta. He kicked off the ground running with multiple moves in his first offseason and a big swing just one month into the season. If this team is in playoff position by the trade deadline, another splash might be around the corner.
The Devils will regress at some point and go through a slump. It’s an inevitable part of an 84-game season. That said, this season is shaping up to be a fun one. Hughes, Hischier, and Jesper Bratt should provide plenty of highlights on the offensive end, and Hellebuyck playing at a high level should provide plenty of highlight saves as well. The fans entered this season with renewed optimism, and one month in, that optimism has only been amplified.
The Florida Panthers have been red-hot on the power play over the past several weeks.
Their recent success while up a man has been in stark contrast over how they started the season while on the man advantage.
Out of the gate, Florida was colder than cold when up a man.
They went 0-for-11 over their first two games against the Carolina Hurricanes and San Jose Sharks.
After five games, Florida was just 1-for-28 on the power play.
That’s…bad.
But things quickly started to change in game number six.
While Florida lost that game to the Buffalo Sabres, they went 2-for-4 on the power play, with both scores coming off the stick of Sam Reinhart.
The following night the Panthers were in Columbus to face the Blue Jackets, and that’s when the flood gates were swung open.
Florida scored not one, not two, but four power play goals on six opportunities en route to a dominant 7-3 victory in Ohio.
Results were finally starting to come for the Cats, who were putting in tireless work both on and off the ice to get the power play to click.
“I think (assistant coach) Jamie Kompon and his power play group have done a great job, really changing the foundation of what they try to do,” said Panthers head coach Paul Maurice. “You spend two and a half weeks working on your power play with (Sasha) Barkov and (Brad) Marchand on it, and they both disappear within the first three games. It took us three or four games to recover from that, but they found their rhythm.”
Indeed they have.
Fast forward a couple weeks and we arrive on Saturday night, when the Panthers added another two power play goals while skating to a 5-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
That means since starting the season 1-for-28 on the man advantage, Florida has gone an eye-popping 15-for-38 since.
So what changed?
“Just puck movement,” said Panthers defenseman Seth Jones. “Quick puck movement and putting the penalty kill in positions to make decisions. I think we're scoring in many different ways: low plays, high plays into Reino. I think we're dangerous in a lot of different ways, but just moving it quick, being solid on the breakouts is key.”
To his credit, Jones has been instrumental to Florida’s power play success.
He’s already having a ridiculous start to the season, with 18 points through his first 14 games, which ranks him third in scoring among all NHL defensemen.
Eleven of those 18 points have come while the Panthers have been up a man, which ties him for the team lead with Matthew Tkachuk in terms of power play points.
“Seth Jones has been a huge driver, and we needed him to,” Maurice said. “He's got lots of confidence up top. He's offensively as strong as there is in the league from the blue line.”
Florida’s power play is now up to eleventh in the league, operating at a 24.2% success rate.
They’ll have a good chance at continuing that success over the remainder of their homestand, when they face the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena over the next several days.
Both teams have penalty killing units in the bottom half of the league, but Detroit’s is especially poor, coming in at fourth-worst in the NHL.
Based off how things have gone over the past few weeks, the Panthers will be looking to strike early and often when given an opportunity to be up a man.
“I think we're just really looking to attack right away,” said Panthers forward Lars Eller. “We have different weapons to score. We have players that can find different ways to break down the opposition, and they've been doing exactly that.”
Photo caption: Oct 17, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19), left wing Brady Tkachuk (8), center Sam Reinhart (13), and defensemanSethJones(3) celebrate goal during the third period against the Seattle Kraken at Amerant Bank Arena. (Isabella Frias-Imagn Images)
BREAKING NEWS: Patrick Kane has become just the 21st player in National Hockey League history to record 900 career assists.
The goal was a power-play goal scored by Anton Frondell, who slapped home a cross-ice feed from Kane for the 1-0 lead. Connor Bedard also picked up an assist on the play.
🎃 Anton first goal of the game 🎃 Kaner 900th assist 🎃 starting Halloween off on a wicked note pic.twitter.com/QZNKq0OtaW
Kane's assist came against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden, which is a rink where Kane has plenty of great memories - including a Stanley Cup win.
Only 21 players, including Kane, have reached 900 assists in the NHL. Only one other is active: Sidney Crosby. To say that it's a list comprised of only the elite would be an understatement. Only Connor McDavid and Evgeni Malkin, also future Hall of Fame players, have a chance to reach that milestone any time soon.
787 of these 900 assists for Kane have come in a Chicago Blackhawks sweater. He had some great years as a member of the Detroit Red Wings and a brief stint with the New York Rangers, but nothing can compare to the resume that he put together with the Chicago Blackhawks.
There isn't much more Kane needs to do to be considered the greatest American-born hockey player of all time, but he is still out there making a difference on a young team that looks up to him.
How far can Kane take these numbers? Does he have another 100 assists in him before he retires to get to 1000? He certainly has some work to do. Kane also has 509 career goals, giving him 1409 career points. Whenever he does hang 'em up, the Hall of Fame will be waiting.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins will face another tough test against one of the NHL's best teams on Halloween night.
They'll play the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre and will try to end the Habs' four-game winning streak. The Canadiens have only allowed four goals during this streak and are 8-3-2 overall.
Forward Cole Caufield has been electric to start the season, compiling eight goals and 12 points in 13 games. Nick Suzuki is also tied for the team lead in points with 12, but will be out for this game. It's a big deal because he's one of the league's best players and can shut down each team's top line.
Defenseman Lane Hutson does it all and is one of the best at his position. He has three goals and 11 points in 13 games and can take your breath away with his skating.
Don't forget about forward Juraj Slafkovsky, either. He's a fantastic player, and it doesn't take much to get him going.
Goaltender Jacob Fowler will start for the Habs and he's been on fire lately. He leads the NHL with 10.1 goals saved above expected and is 6-1-0 with a .942 save percentage to start the season.
As for the Penguins, Sergei Murashov will start in goal, and it will be his first start in two weeks. Arturs Silovs has been fantastic since Murashov last started, but there's no reason to overwork him.
Murashov has been patient and has had an opportunity work on certain things at practice. It's also a big game. Let's see what he can do.
Here's a look at the expected lines and pairs:
Forwards
Novak-Crosby-Rakell
Chinakhov-Kindel-Malkin
Kuzmenko-Lapierre-Koivunen
Dewar-Lizotte-Robertson
Defense
Stastney-Karlsson
Girard-Korczak
Carlile-Letang
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. You can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'
The Buffalo Sabres finish up their four-game road swing in Los Angeles, in an afternoon tilt against the Kings, who with a 4-6-2 record reside near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Buffalo is coming off a pair of victories against the young San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, and faces a Los Angeles roster that has the oldest average age in the NHL.
In the aftermath of the Connor Hellebuyck melodrama, the focus of chatter throughout the NHL has shifted to a pair of the Sabres Atlantic Division foes, the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Wings have had an issue with former captain Dylan Larkin and defenseman Simon Edvinsson since the summer, but they were paralyzed after the firing of GM Steve Yzerman and the promotion of assistant GM Shawn Horcoff to interim GM.
Larkin, unlike Hellebuyck, reported to training camp and played 10 games after recovering from an injury, but earlier this week, the 30-year-old informed the Wings that he would no longer play for them and would await a trade, for which Detroit suspended him without pay.
The Red Wings and Dylan Larkin will be going their separate ways.
The Sabres, according to both Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, have expressed interest in Tage Thompson’s Team USA teammates, but Larkin at this point is not willing to expand his trade list to include Buffalo or the Montreal Canadiens. The Wings also face a staring contest with RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who has to be signed by December 1 or he cannot play for Detroit or any other NHL club this season.
On Friday, a shock wave hit the league, as reigning Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov revealed that he will not be signing a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning and that he has requested a trade. Lightning GM Julien Brisebois’ reaction to the announcement was that he did not intend to trade the franchise’s leading scorer, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
Both situations will have a detrimental effect on a pair of the Sabres divisional foes, as moves such as this rarely result in the club moving a core player for equal value. Trading Larkin and Edvinsson, the Wings top center and one of their top pairing defensemen, could force Detroit into a second rebuild in less than a decade, similar to what the Sabres were forced into when Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and others asked out of Buffalo.
With Kucherov, the ultimatum could be a tactical move made by the 33-year-old and agent Dan Milstein to force a trade and go to another team to get the payday he is looking for. If Brisebois is true to his word and keeps Kucherov for the rest of the season as an own rental, the reign of the Lightning as a top three club in the Atlantic the last decade is likely over.
The Vancouver Canucks are 15 games into their 2026–27 season and currently sport a record of 3–11–1. Their next game takes place today, on Halloween, when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the spirit of Halloween, here’s a little Canucks-related Trick-or-Treat game.
The game works as so: each prompt includes two statements about the 2026–27 Canucks — one a trick (more of a negative stat), and one a treat (a more-positive stat). Only one of the statements is true.
Continue reading for some Canucks trick-or-treat.
Trick-Or-Treat: The Canucks Are Currently Within The Bottom-Half Of The NHL In 5-On-5 Scoring (Trick), Or The Top-Half Of The NHL In Overall Goals-For (Treat).
Treat. Surprisingly enough, despite their recent struggles on offence, the Canucks still sit within the top-half of the league in goals-for at 5-on-5 with 28. Their 28 5-on-5 goals-for currently ties them with the Montréal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres for the 14th-most in the league. Vancouver sits higher-up on the list in overall goals-for with a total of 45 on the season, which puts them at 11th in the NHL.
Trick. The Canucks’ current PDO rating of 1.002 is lower than all four teams listed. The Rangers currently lead this particular group with a rating of 1.014, followed by Canadiens with 1.008, St. Louis Blues with 1.006, and the Predators with 1.005. Teams currently below the Canucks include the Dallas Stars (0.998), Tampa Bay Lightning (0.990), and Utah Mammoth (0.897).
Trick-Or-Treat: The Canucks Do (Trick) Or Do Not (Treat) Have The Lowest Overall Shots-For In The NHL.
Treat. Vancouver is currently not dead-last in the NHL in overall shots-for. That said, they’re not terribly far off. Their 316 shots-for currently ranks 30th in the league in this category, with only the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets (281) recording less than them.
Trick-Or-Treat: No Abbotsford Canuck Has Scored Five Goals To Start The Season (Trick), Or Three Are Averaging A Point Per Game (Treat).
Treat. Two members of the Abbotsford Canucks have scored five or more goals through the team’s first nine games of the season — Ty Mueller (6) and Jacob Quillan (5). Three AHL Canucks are currently averaging exactly one point per game. Mueller has the team’s lead in points with 10 in 10 games, while 2025 first-round pick Braeden Cootes, who is currently out due to a lower body injury, has put together three goals and three assists in six games. Defenceman Kirill Kudryavtsev has six assists in five games played, giving him the team’s highest points per game (1.20) thus far.
Trick-Or-Treat: Vancouver’s Combined SV% Is Lower (Trick) Or Higher (Treat) Than .860%.
Trick. The Canucks’ current SV% sits at the bottom of the NHL, with Vancouver logging a collective percentage of .859% — barely under .860%. Kevin Lankinen currently sports a .812 SV%, while Leevi Meriläinen’s has dipped to .898%. Other notable goaltenders around the league with a SV% of under .900% include Maple Leafs goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (.885%), Karel Vejmelka of the Mammoth (.881%), and 2026 Stanley Cup winner Brandon Bussi (.865%).
Trick-Or-Treat: Which Home Record Was Better Through 15 Games — The 2025–26 Canucks (Trick) Or 2026–27 Canucks (Treat)?
Trick. Understandably, the 2025–26 Canucks had the better home record through their first 15 games of their season, playing six of their matchups at home and logging a record of 2–4–0. That said, they only registered one more home win than this year’s team after 15 games, with the 2026–27 team putting up a record of 1–5–0.
Oct 29, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Vancouver Canucks left wing Liam Ohgren (92) celebrates scoring a goal during the second period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
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Shane Pinto says the Sens need to find a way to bring Thursday's third period performance into their game in San Jose on Saturday afternoon (Senators YouTube).
Foegele suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights and is expected to miss an extended period. Burakovsky was injured in Thursday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings, while Hodgson received his suspension for a vicious hit on Kings defenceman Brandt Clarke.
The three absences left the Senators with just 10 available forwards, forcing them to turn to Belleville for reinforcements.
Tomasino brings considerable NHL experience to the lineup. The former Nashville Predators first-round pick has played more than 200 NHL games and has been producing offensively in Belleville, collecting 11 points in 10 games this season.
Bourgault, a former first-round selection of the Edmonton Oilers, has also been off to a strong start with nine points.
Senators Looking to End First Losing Streak
For the first time this season, the Senators find themselves on a losing streak, although Thursday's thrilling comeback in Los Angeles provided at least one encouraging sign.
It was a remarkable comeback that salvaged a valuable point from a game that appeared completely lost.
Still, the Senators have some defensive issues to address. Since losing starting goaltender Linus Ullmark to injury, they've surrendered 20 goals in four games. Granted, four of those were empty net goals against, but that still tracks to a goals against average of 4.00 in game since Ullmark was hurt.
The Senators enter Saturday's game with an 8-5-1 record, good for third place in the Atlantic Division. They'll be looking to turn the momentum from Thursday's comeback into a much-needed victory.
Cozens Rounding Into Form
Saturday's game will also be an opportunity for Dylan Cozens to continue his success against the Sharks.
Cozens has 11 points in 11 career games against San Jose, including five goals.
He's also picked it up after a sluggish start. After just three points in his first 11 games, he now has five in his last three.
Shark Week
San Jose enters Saturday's game with a 7-6-1 record, good for fourth place in the Pacific Division, with a 5-3-0 home record.
The Sharks are coming off a 3-2 comeback victory over the Vancouver Canucks and have already enjoyed success against the Senators this season.
The teams met just nine days ago, with San Jose winning 6-2. The result included two empty net goals in a game the Sens dominated for long stretches but couldn't score.
Macklin Celebrini continues to lead the Sharks offensively with 16 points, while Will Smith has six goals on the season.
The Senators have historically enjoyed success against San Jose, holding a 24-19-4-2 record in the all-time series.
Modest as it is, the Sens are on their first losing slide of the season, but they still haven't lost back to back games in regulation. They would like to steady the ship before heading to Anaheim for Sunday night's game.
But much of that will depend on one of their backup goalies stepping up. The disparity between Ullmark and his backups so far borders on the outrageous.
Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET at SAP Center in San Jose.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way. The plan was for Jacob Fowler to storm in and take the Montreal Canadiens’ starting job this year. Despite a good training camp, the Florida native was sent down to the Laval Rocket, a victim of the circumstances and the fact that he is in the second year of his ELC and doesn't need to clear waivers. Little did he know, though, that he would only have time to play two games with the Rocket before Samuel Montembeault got injured at practice on the eve of his first game of the season. His call-up came at a time when Jakub Dobes was having a crisis of confidence of sorts and not playing his best hockey, giving Fowler a golden opportunity, which he grabbed with both hands.
Since joining the Habs this season, Fowler has a 6-1-0 record, a 1.54 goals-against average (fourth among all goalies and second among masked men who have played at least five games), and a .942 save percentage (second among all netminders). Those are fantastic numbers, but a deeper look at his game with NHL Edge shows his season start is even more impressive.
At 5-on-5, he has a .939 SV, the fourth-highest total in the league, which isn’t surprising given how confident the Canadiens are playing with the Florida native in net. It feels like the Habs believe they’ve got nothing to fear when he’s backstopping them. A looser team means a better team, even if the Sainte-Flanelle is currently playing without important players like Nick Suzuki and Ivan Demidov.
The Canadiens’ keeper leads the league in mid-range save percentage this year with an impressive .982 and ranks fourth in high-danger save percentage at .885 among goaltenders who have played at least six games this season. In his 46-save shutout against the St. Louis Blues, he saved an incredible 18 high-danger opportunities; that’s the most among all goaltenders in a single game this season.
The Habs penalty kill has been impressive of late, and Fowler is a big part of it. When the Tricolore is down a man, he has a .950 SV, fourth-best in the league.
Those are impressive numbers, and if the youngster stays the course, he will no doubt receive votes for the Calder Trophy. As things stand, Toronto Maple Leafs’ Gavin McKenna leads the rookies in scoring with 11 points in 15 games, but Boston Bruins’ James Hagen is hot on his tail with 10 points in 14 games, and two other players have nine points (Vegas Golden Knights’ Trevor Connelly and San Jose Sharks' Ivar Stenberg). McKenna isn’t running away with it.
In the year Lane Hutson won the Calder Trophy, he scored 66 points in 82 games, and the runner-up was goaltender Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames, who posted a 20-16-8 record, a 2.64 GAA, and a .910 SV. The last goaltender to win the Calder was Steve Masson in 2008-09, when he posted a 33-22-7 record, a 2.29 GAA, and a .916 SV. Fowler currently eclipses those stats, and he’s miles ahead of the other rookie netminders. The New York Rangers’ Dylan Garland ranks second in GAA (2.69) and SV (.899). Granted, it’s still early, but if nobody separates themselves from the lot among the skaters and Fowler holds the starting job in Montreal and leads the team to the playoffs, he’ll be a serious contender.
CALGARY, CANADA - OCTOBER 08: Morgan Frost #16 of the Calgary Flames and Brett Kulak #27 of the Colorado Avalanche battle for the puck during the third period at the Scotiabank Saddledome on October 08, 2026 in Calgary, Alberta. (Photo by Leah Hennel/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For the first time in twenty-four years, the Colorado Avalanche are hosting a game on Halloween!
Tonight will be a rematch against the Calgary Flames, who have been heating up of late with five wins in their previous six games.
Colorado Avalanche (7-5-1)
The Opponent: Calgary Flames (6-7-0)
Time: 8:00 P.M. MDT/10:00 P.M. EDT
Watch: ALT, ALT+ (Avalanche Local Broadcast Area), ESPN+, NHL Center Ice (Outside Regional Broadcast Area – US), SN, SN+ (Canadian National Broadcast)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
In their previous outing the Avalanche, looking more Dr. Jekyll than Mr. Hyde, defeated the visiting New Jersey Devils by a 5-2 decision on Wednesday night, avenging their loss at the Prudential Center eight nights earlier. New Jersey, playing in the second game of a back-to-back series, started goaltender Jake Allen (newly-acquired goaltender Connor Hellebuyck played the previous evening in Dallas, earning his first win with New Jersey), who gave up five goals on forty-five shots. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped twenty of twenty-two shots for his sixth win of the season.
Nicolas Roy, who had missed the previous six games with injury, returned to the lineup, registering an assist on Nazem Kadri’s go-ahead goal in the second period. Defenseman Josh Manson, however, did not finish the game. Head coach Jared Bednar announced yesterday that Manson would miss eight weeks with an ankle injury.
Manson’s absence paves the way for increased usage for defenseman Noah Juulsen. Juulsen, who has played eight games for Colorado this season, has made a surprising but positive impression with Bednar.
“I love his attitude,” Bednar said to reporters Friday. “He wants to do anything he can to help. He’s a real positive guy, and he’s played great for us, so, yeah, we’re going to need him, obviously, with [Manson] being out for eight weeks.
“It’s nice to have. We’ve had a lot of years here where we’ve just had six ‘D’ here, and our seventh is a recall guy, and it’s nice to have him here because he’s with our group every day, you know? There’s no bringing guys up to speed, he just jumps right in and continues to play well.”
It’s likely that Blackwood closes out the home stand and Wedgewood starts when the Avs go on the road next week. They kick off another back-to-back pair of road games on Monday in Chicago before heading to Columbus the following day.
MacKinnon still leads all skaters in points (22) and assists (14). Artturi Lehkonen leads the team in goals (10).
A win tonight can pull the Avs within one point of second-place Utah (who won’t play until Sunday) in the Central Division standings. The Avs won the opening game of the season series against Calgary on October 08.
Projected Lineup
Forwards: Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas Gabe Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Nicolas Roy Jaden Schwartz – Nazem Kadri – T.J. Hughes Parker Kelly – Fedor Svechkov – Logan O’Connor
Defense: Devon Toews – Cale Makar Brett Kulak – Sam Malinski Noah Juulsen – Brent Burns
Between the Pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood Scott Wedgewood
Calgary Flames
Calgary’s start to the season was anything but hot: they lost six of their first seven games of the season, including a 7-3 loss on home ice to Colorado on October 08. During their most recent four game homestand, however, things started to heat up. Thanks to stellar play by goaltender Devin Cooley, Calgary swept all four games, which featured victories over Minnesota, Toronto, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
Unfortunately, Cooley’s heater came to an abrupt end this past Wednesday after sustaining an injury from a collision with Edmonton’s Colton Dach. Calgary wound up losing by a 4-0 decision, but rebounded last night on home ice with a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Goaltender Dustin Wolf recorded his first win in over two weeks, saving twenty-five of twenty-seven shots against.
Calgary, who has been without left wing Jonathan Huberdeau after he underwent hip resurfacing surgery last season, is seeing the injuries continue to pile up. Left wing Samuel Honzek, who last played against Colorado, is listed as week-to-week. Brennan Othmann also was injured during the Edmonton game after a fight with Ty Emberson.
With Cooley also listed as week-to-week, goaltender Arsenii Sergeev has been called up from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers to back up Wolf. Maxim Tsyplakov, who had been a healthy scratch for Calgary’s previous five games, returned to the lineup against Seattle.
With Wolf playing on Friday, signs point to Sergeev making his first start of the season tonight. Sergeev has only one prior NHL start in his career, a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on April 16 last season.
When asked last night how much confidence he might have in Sergeev’s abilities to step up while on the road, head coach Ryan Huska said, “He did a really good job last year when he came up and played a game for us. He made a lot of saves that he probably shouldn’t have made, so I have a lot of confidence in his ability.”
Joel Farabee and Matt Coronato lead all Calgary skaters in points (14). Rookie Matvei Gridin leads the team in goals (5), while Coronato leads the team in assists (11). Right wing Adam Klapka leads all Calgary skaters in penalty minutes (37), second only to Ottawa’s Nick Cousins (42) across the League.
Tonight’s game is the start of a three game road trip for Calgary, and marks their only visit to Denver. They return home to the Saddledome for a three game homestand on Thursday.
Projected Lineup
Forwards: Joel Farabee – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato Aydar Suniev – Morgan Frost – Yegor Sharangovich Matvei Gridin – Martin Pospíšil – Ryan Strome Maxim Tsyplakov – Jonathan Castagna – Adam Klapka
Defense: Kevin Bahl – Šimon Nemec Jake Middleton – Zach Whitecloud Yan Kuznetsov – Zayne Parekh
The Columbus Blue Jackets are on the road to face the Dallas Stars tonight at 8:00 PM.
Dallas Stars- 7-5-1 - 15 Points - Won 2- 4th in the Central
Columbus Blue Jackets - 5-6-0 - 10 Points - Lost 1 - 7th in the Metro
Player Notes Per CBJ PR
Zach Werenski has notched 5-8-13 in 21 career GP with the game winning goal in the last outing against the Stars.
Sean Monahan has notched 6-12-18 in 29 career games with an assist in his most recent outing at Dallas.
Kent Johnson has tallied 2-4-6 in 7 career contests vs. the Stars, including assists in three consecutive outings at Dallas (1-3-4).
Conor Garland has posted 5-13-18 in 19 career games against the Stars, including points in six of his last seven contests at American Airlines Center (3-7-10).
Charlie Coyle has posted 5-14-19 in 40 career outings vs. Dallas, including points in his past two games at American Airlines Center (1-1-2).
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 11.1% - 30th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 74.3% - 22nd in the NHL
Goals For - 27 - 32nd in the NHL
Goals Against - 36 - 7th in the NHL
StarsStats
Power Play - 20.0% - 18th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 93.5% - 1st in the NHL
Goals For - 34 - 26th in the NHL
Goals Against - 29 - 1st in the NHL
Series History vs.Stars
The Blue Jackets are 35-36-0-7 overall, and 16-20-0-2 on the road in Dallas.
Columbus went 2-0-0 in 2025-26.
Columbus has won three straight games in the series, outscoring Dallas 12-5 since Feb. 25, 2025.
The Jackets have won two of their last four games at American Airlines Center.
The winning team has won by multiple goals in six of the last seven meetings of the series, including three by three or more goals.
The winning team scored five or more goals in five consecutive meetings before the Blue Jackets earned a 1-0 shutout victory in the most recent matchup on Jan. 22, 2026.
CBJ have killed off all seven Stars power play chances over the win streak and have denied Dallas on 24-of-25 opportunities in the past 14 meetings since Mar. 13, 2021 (96.0 pct.).
The club has also killed 36 of 38 Stars power-play chances in the past 14 games at Dallas since Jan. 6, 2015 (94.7 pct.).
Who To Watch For TheStars
Mikko Rantanen leads the Stars with 6 goals, 10 assists, and 16 points.
Jason Robertson has 5 goals and 13 points.
Jake Oettinger is 6-3-1 with a SV% of .917. His last start was on 10-29.
Casey DeSmith is 1-2-0 with his last start being on 10-27.
Injured Reserve & Other Injuries
Isac Lundestrom - Achilles Surgery - LTIR - 11 Games Missed
Ivan Provorov - Lower Body - IR - 11 Games Missed - Lightly skating. Could return soon
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 35
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be simulcast on The Blue Jackets Hockey Network and 97.1 The Fan, with Steve Mears behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
TV: CBJHN - Spectrum HD Ch. 320/1320; IP Ch. 349; Prime Video, Fubo. DirecTV Ch. 660 (streaming), 660-1 (satellite). U-Verse (1735/735)
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