Everything was going great for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday night until it wasn't.
WBS was up 3-1 on the Utica Comets in the second period before the Comets scored two goals in eight seconds to tie it. The score stayed the same until late in the third period, when Dmitry Osipov scored the game-winning goal with 30.8 seconds left.
The game looked like it was going to OT before Osipov scored to make it 4-3. WBS pulled goaltender Joel Blomqvist and tried to find the equalizer, but ran out of time.
Melvin Fernstrom, Avery Hayes, and Bill Zonnon scored for the Penguins in this game. Hayes continues to torture the AHL and now has six goals and 10 points in seven games.
His goal on Friday came while the Penguins were shorthanded and it was an absolute laser.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Anton Lundell had a hat trick, Seth Jones capped a record-setting month with a goal and two assists, and the Florida Panthers topped the reeling Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Friday night for their sixth win in eight games.
Jones finished October with 18 points — two goals and 16 assists — to break the record for most points by a Florida defenseman in any month. Keith Yandle had 17 points for the Panthers in March 2018.
Sam Reinhart also scored for Florida.
Kyle Connor had his team-best 11th goal for Winnipeg, which dropped both ends of a home-and-home with Florida this week and is winless in its last eight games — going 0-6-2 in that span. Morgan Barron had his first goal of the season midway through the third to get the Jets to 3-2, but Lundell’s second of the night restored Florida’s two-goal edge.
Lundell finished off the hat trick — Florida’s fifth already this season — with an empty-netter with 1:39 left.
Akira Schmid stopped 22 shots for Florida, which remains without standout forwards Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand because of injuries. Both resumed skating this week; Marchand could be back in about three weeks and Barkov in about four, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.
Florida’s Bokondji Imama and Winnipeg’s Tyrel Bauer brawled just 2:04 into the game, a reenactment of sorts of their still-talked-about fight in the AHL in 2024. They went at it for more than a minute Friday and — similar to what happened at the end of their fight two years ago — shared a respectful nod toward the other when it was over.
DEVILS 5, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck stopped 19 shots, Arseny Gritsyuk and Jack Hughes each scored twice and New Jersey beat Vegas.
Hellebuyck, who spent his first 11 seasons in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, had his second win since the Devils acquired him Oct. 23. The three-time Vezina Trophy also was in goal Tuesday night in Dallas in a 5-1 win.
Gritsyuk has scored at least a goal in six of the last eight games and has 10 points during the stretch. Luke Hughes also scored for New Jersey. The Devils improved to 10-1-0 when the Hughes brothers score in the same game.
Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev scored for the Golden Knights, and Adin Hill stopped 26 shots.
Luke Hughes got things going early in the first when he rifled a one-timer from the top of the left circle past Hill.
Stone tied it when he deflected Mitch Marner’s blast from the point past Hellebuyck. Barbashev gave the Knights a 2-1 lead moments later when he tapped Marner’s pass home after a picture-perfect cross-crease pass.
The lead didn’t last one minute, as Gritsyuk took advantage of a turnover and sniped Hill top shelf from the left circle.
Jack Hughes put New Jersey back in front when he stole the puck from Jack Eichel in the neutral zone, then passed it to himself through Stone’s legs before beating Hill.
FLAMES 6, KRAKEN 2
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Matt Coronato had a career-high four points with a goal and three assists to lead Calgary over Seattle.
Joel Farabee added a goal and two assists as the Flames won their fifth straight home game. Morgan Frost and Matvei Gridin each provided a goal and an assist. Aydar Suniev and Ryan Strome also scored for Calgary.
Freddy Gaudreau got his team-leading seventh goal and Mackie Samoskevich also scored for the Kraken, who twice beat Calgary 6-1 during the opening week of the season.
Flames goalie Dustin Wolf, making his first start since Oct. 15, stopped 20 shots to improve to 2-4-0.
Philipp Grubauer started for the Kraken but was pulled after allowing four goals on 14 shots. Joey Daccord made 11 saves in relief.
Mikael Backlund’s assist on Farabee’s goal gave him 610 points (234 goals, 376 assists). That moved Backlund ahead of Johnny Gaudreau into sole possession of fifth place on Calgary’s career scoring list. He is six points behind Joe Nieuwendyk for fourth.
Las Vegas, N.V.— When the Vegas Golden Knights took the ice on Friday at T-Mobile Arena, they did so dressed to the nines in their road whites for their annual Nevada Day game. They played well for much of the first period and even led 2-1. But as the first period drew to a close, a recurring problem reared its ugly head.
The New Jersey Devils came to town high on the acquisition of Connor Hellebuyck. They were already an excellent team, and adding a Vezina-winning goaltender makes them even more dangerous. But on Friday, the Golden Knights once again dug their own grave and fell victim to self-inflicted injuries in an ugly 5-2 loss that detracted from how incredible they looked in their road whites.
“I think our execution for the last 10 days hasn’t been at the level we needed it to be,” said head coach Ryan Craig following the 5-2 loss. “For me, it’s an opportunity for us to continue to push through, right? Are we gonna stay together? Are we gonna continue to do the right things, to work on our execution?
“By that, I mean, support the puck, be in the right areas, help ourselves with that,” Craig continued. “Execution, sometimes, a lot of times, comes down to decision making. And sometimes our execution can be lacking if we’re jamming pucks into there, if the support’s not there, if we’re not in the right areas. It’s not necessarily just the guy with the puck. These are things we’ll look at.”
1. The Iron Knight
Although the Golden Knights didn’t get the result they wanted today, one silver lining is worth mentioning. Brayden McNabb– the all-time leader for games played in a Golden Knights jersey with 662– skated in his 900th career game today.
McNabb’s style of play isn’t easy. He has recorded 1,681 blocked shots and thrown 2,053 hits over his 15-year NHL career. Nothing is guaranteed in life, and players who do their team’s dirty work to the extent that McNabb does don’t often reach 900 career games.
“He means everything [to the team],” said Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev. “He’s been here since day one, and he’s been in the league for many years. He’s a huge part of our team. He’s a leader; when I came here, he helped a lot. I think he still helps a lot of guys. He takes care of the defensemen. He’s just a great player— he blocks shots and just does everything right for our team.”
“He’s been a leader here from the start,” agreed McNabb’s defensive partner Shea Theodore. “He plays a good, hard game. To watch him play in his 900th… It doesn’t go unnoticed, the hard work that he puts in. Good for him.”
2. The Well’s Run Dry
This Golden Knights team is stacked from top to bottom with offensive talent, and they have been for quite some time. However, over the past few years, when they’ve gone through rough patches, it always seems to come back to an inability to consistently finish their chances.
The offensive scoring drought has come back with a vengeance over the past five games. The Golden Knights have a 1-3-1 record and have scored only 11 goals, two of which were empty-net goals in a 4-1 victory against the Ottawa Senators. Just six of those 11 goals have come at 5-on-5.
“I wouldn’t say we’re concerned,” said Golden Knights head coach Ryan Craig after the 5-2 loss. “We’re creating opportunities. We haven’t finished as well, and we haven’t played with the lead as much as we did earlier. Those things, I think, force you to squeeze your stick a little bit. We shouldn’t be concerned about that part of our game, because when we do manage the puck, and we do check, we create opportunities that, if we create enough of them, they’re gonna go in.
“We were up 2-1 at the 18-minute mark of the first period,” Craig finished. “Our guys responded to the first [Devils goal] to get two. We’re in a position there. We just have to stay with it.”
3. A New Devil on the Shoulder
The Golden Knights aren’t too worried about their finishing struggles because they have a much bigger issue at hand. Over the past five games, their losses have been in no small part due to poor puck management.
“There are other parts of our game that we have to work on,” said Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore after today’s 5-2 loss. “It starts defensively. You can’t give up five and expect to win.”
Ten days ago, they kicked off this bad stretch with a 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay where four Lightning goals came directly off of turnovers. Everyone on this team is aware of the issue, and they’ve repeatedly mentioned that they need to manage the puck better. But for some reason, the problem persists.
“We didn’t help ourselves. It starts with our puck play and turnovers,” said head coach Ryan Craig. “The first two [Devils goals] are turnovers… We’ve just got to be better.”
“We just weren’t good enough,” agreed Theodore. “Our execution wasn’t there, our physicality wasn’t there. We weren’t really getting on the forecheck, and we had too many turnovers. Overall, we have to be better.”
For the second time in the young NHL season, the Florida Panthers have won three games in a row.
Florida jumped out a 2-0 lead and never looked back, taking down the Winnipeg Jets for the second time this week, this time by a final score of 5-2.
The first score of the game came the same way Florida has scored many of their goals lately; on the power play.
After a strong sequence of passing to set themselves up in Winnipeg’s zone, the puck found its way to Sam Reinhart along the goal line to the right of Nico Daws.
When no Jets player came to Reinhart, he calmly took a step above the goal line, changed the angle of his shot and fired the puck past Daws, who was down in the RVH covering the near post.
Florida took the 1-0 lead into the second period, where they quickly added to their advantage.
This time it was Anton Lundell, walking into the Jets’ zone and sending a long wrist shot past Daws, who was being screened by Eetu Luostarinen.
The two-goal lead didn’t last long for Florida, though.
A questionable call on a delay of game penalty taken by Dmitry Kulikov was challenged by Panthers head coach Paul Maurice, and replay appeared to show the puck hitting off Cole Koepke’s stick, but after a long review, officials came on the mic and announced the call was confirmed.
To their credit, Florida nearly pulled off a kill of the full two-minute 5-on-3, but Kyle Connor snuck a shot over Akira Schmid’s glove to put the Jets on the scoreboard.
It didn’t take long for the Panthers to restore their two-goal advantage, and they did it with another power play goal.
Defenseman Seth Jones continued his torrid start to the season by firing a laser of a wrist shot from between the circles that beat Daws with 4:36 left in the middle frame.
Seth Jones now all alone in 3rd place among NHL defensemen in scoring with 18 points. pic.twitter.com/91aSdMX2JS
Despite the Jets adding a third period goal to cut Florida’s lead back to one, the Panthers kept their skate on the gas and picked up another crucial insurance goal.
Florida’s fourth goal came at even strength, with Lundell popping home a Lars Eller rebound to give the Cats a 4-2 lead with 6:27 to go.
For Lundell, it was his second goal of the night and third of the season, ending a six-game scoring drought.
But he wasn’t done there.
With Daws on the Winnipeg bench for an extra attacker, Lundell scored from about 150 feet away to log the first hat trick of his career.
ANOTHER HATTY IN FLORIDA 🎩
Anton Lundell gets his third of the game and that is now FIVE hatty's this season for the Panthers 😳 pic.twitter.com/YoBeFwrbSK
Photo caption: Oct 30, 2026; Sunrise,Florida, USA;FloridaPantherscenter Anton Lundell (15) celebrates with goaltender Akira Schmid (40) after the game against the Winnipeg Jets at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 30: Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils scores a goal against Adin Hill #33 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period at T-Mobile Arena on October 30, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
First Period
The New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights started this evening’s game a bit slowly, feeling each other out for a few shifts without a shot on goal. This all changed when the third line hit the ice after the five-minute mark, with Jesper Boqvist making moves through the neutral zone to set his team up. The Devils got the puck low in the zone after Boqvist’s continued his hard work, allowing Anthony Mantha to win the puck on the wall. Mantha took the puck around the net and picked Luke Hughes up cutting down, feeding him a one-timer chance. And he scored! The Devils took a 1-0 lead again before Connor Hellebuyck had even touched a shot.
A couple minutes later, Noah Hanifin took a rare illegal equipment penalty when a puck off Arseny Gritsyuk’s stick broke his. Hanifin immediately played the puck with his shaft, perhaps not realizing the blade had popped off. The first unit of the power play had a rather strong shift, with Adin Hill robbing Nico Hischier in front early before stopping a Jack Hughes one-timer at the end of their shift. The second unit got 42 seconds to work with after the following faceoff, but they did not generate anything in their time.
Towards the end of the period, Luke Evangelista took a tripping penalty on Mitch Marner. This one hurt them. Glass won the draw, but Mark Stone got to the puck first and sent it to the point before redirecting the shot past Hellebuyck. It was a high deflection that was set to go wide before Stone tapped it to make it 1-1.
Right after the goal against, Connor Hellebuyck made a huge glove save on Tomas Hertl after Jesper Boqvist made a careless turnover in the defensive zone. The Devils would not learn. Hischier and Meier both went to block a shot from the point, forcing Dougie Hamilton to cover two Knights in front. He couldn’t get across to stop a shot from Ivan Barbashev, and the Knights took a 2-1 lead.
The Golden Knights would return the defensive favor. The Knights were skating like a school of fish, all in the same spot as Bratt and Hughes were sprung on a rush. The Knights blocked the initial chance, but Arseny Gritsyuk was left all alone with too much time, sniping a shot past Adin Hill to tie the game back up.
Second Period
The Devils went back to the power play early in the second period when Marner went to the box for crosschecking. The power play struggled a bit again, but Timo Meier had a chance at the end when he shot on Hill from the side of the cage.
Jack Hughes got going after the man advantage, though. Jack Hughes took the puck away at center ice and went into the offensive zone, dancing around Mark Stone and putting the puck through Stone’s legs, beating Adin Hill in a beautiful move! The Devils retook the lead just 3:49 into the period! Thankfully, Braeden Bowman allowed the Devils to keep the lead when he had a wide open net and shot the puck straight through the crease a few minutes later.
Adin Hill made the save of the game a bit past halfway through the period after he came out to stop a Dougie Hamilton wrist shot. Well out of the crease, Hill had to scramble when Jack Hughes got the puck back in the left faceoff dot and fired on the open net. Hill went old-school, cartwheeling and making a shoulder save on Jack.
The Devils shut the Knights down from there on. By the end of the period, the Devils were outshooting Vegas at one point by a near-two-to-one margin, but this wasn’t the team’s highlight of the second half of this period. Right after the Hischier line flubbed a three-on-two with a bad pass to a trailing Dougie Hamilton, the Hughes line came on. Arseny Gritsyuk, not to be so easily outdone by his linemate, came down with a head of steam and backhanded a shot on Hill. Before the Knights could react, Gritsyuk backhanded his rebound through to make it 4-2!
Third Period
The New Jersey Devils nearly got their fifth of the game less than three minutes into the final period when Amadeus Lombardi beat his man on the rush and sent a pass across for Cody Glass. The pass was just a touch too late, as Glass came crashing down on Hill, forcing the puck to sail the net.
A bit past the halfway point, there was a shaky moment for the Devils when Jonas Siegenthaler fell flat on the ice in a two-on-two, forcing Dougie Hamilton to defend the net alone. Ivan Barbashev got a nice shot off, but Hellebuyck came up with a mask save to keep it out. Play continued, and Jack Hughes made a perfectly time intervention in the slot to stop a wide-open scoring chance later in the sequence.
As the period came to its final minutes, the Devils continued to enforce their defensive will on the Golden Knights. After Luke Hughes caused a stoppage by losing an edge and taking the net off the moorings, the Knights pulled Hill for a six-on-five. On Vegas’ 20th shot of the game, Connor Hellebuyck made a cool glove save. After the following stoppage, the Devils continually disrupted the Knights’ puck movement. Doug Hamilton (this is what I’m starting to call him sometimes when he makes big defensive plays) saw a loose puck in the crease and cleared it up the wall, forcing Vegas back to their defensive zone for a breakout. Unfortunately for them, they passed right to Jack Hughes in the neutral zone, who came in and backhanded the empty net goal to ice the game.
To be honest, I was not very big on the defensive effort that the Devils were giving in the first period. It felt like, once the Knights got one chance, the Devils just started forcing things out on the ice. That familiar sinking feeling came to me when Barbashev scored Vegas’ second goal of that period, as I wondered whether the Devils would have a good response in the second period.
As it turned out, we would not have to wait, for Arseny Gritsyuk was there to tie the game before the first intermission struck.
From then on, the Devils looked like a completely different team — the one that had a big winning streak through that Dallas game. What was a collection of individual efforts at the end of the first period turned into true team defense, and Vegas just looked like they were deflating with each passing minute. This is what these Devils can do to good teams: how many Eastern teams are going out west and putting up 16 shots in the second period?
And once the Devils went up multiple goals, they went into shutdown mode. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Golden Knights had nine shot attempts in the third period. If you are wondering if you read that right, and if I typed that correctly, never fear: these Devils are a team that truly know how to shut a game down.
Moving On
After the Devils’ three-day Halloween break, the team is going to take Edmonton on at home on Tuesday night. It is an ESPN+ game, so it is technically a national game without a local broadcast. Aside from the Devils’ two games against Colorado, this is going to be their best test yet: Edmonton is 9-2-2 right now, and they are playing two-way hockey for seemingly the first time in forever.
Given the way the Devils played tonight, I feel good about the coming matchup. The Devils are a team that can handle top matchups, and their offense is clicking at a blistering rate: they have not scored fewer than two goals since October 17 against the Capitals, and they have scored four or more in four of their last six games.
Believing in Keefe’s Style
While last season left a difficult taste in a lot of our mouths, it is really good to see the team executing what looks like the Sheldon Keefe gameplan with increasing efficiency. I don’t think that everyone was at their best tonight by any means, but it’s a lot easier to hide those warts when the team sticks together and frustrates the opposition. So while there are some lingering areas to improve in, such as special teams, I am personally back to feeling confident in the team before the puck drops each night.
I would think that Connor Hellebuyck is feeling pretty good about the defense he’s seeing in front of him, too! Through two games, Hellebuyck has only had to face 39 shots. That’s good — he’s going to need that rest for Tuesday night.
Until then…
Your Thoughts
What did you think of tonight’s game? Did you feel good about the Devils’ effort? What did you think of the highlight reel goals? Which was your favorite? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and thanks for reading.
LAS VEGAS --- The Vegas Golden Knights had the lead, the momentum and an opportunity to build on their previous victory.
Instead, turnovers and defensive breakdowns turned a promising start into another frustrating finish.
Jack Hughes scored twice, including a dazzling go-ahead goal in the second period, and Arseny Gritsyuk added two goals as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Golden Knights 5-2 on Friday at T-Mobile Arena.
Luke Hughes also scored for the Devils.
The loss spoiled Brayden McNabb’s 900th NHL game, a milestone for the original Golden Knight who assisted on Ivan Barbashev’s first-period goal.
Mark Stone and Barbashev scored for Vegas, which led 2-1 before Gritsyuk tied the game late in the first period.
The Golden Knights waste no time on the power play ⏱️
The Devils took control in the second, while Connor Hellebuyck finished with 19 saves. Adin Hill stopped 26 shots for Vegas.
“We didn’t help ourselves tonight,” Golden Knights coach Ryan Craig said. “Now, New Jersey is a good team and capitalizes on that. It starts with our puck play and turnovers, and then when we didn’t have it, I didn’t think we checked well enough tonight.”
Defenseman Shea Theodore echoed those concerns.
“Our execution wasn’t there. Our physicality wasn’t there,” Theodore said. “We weren’t really getting on the forecheck, getting too many turnovers.”
KEY MOMENT: Hughes Turns Turnover Into Highlight-Reel Goal
Jack Hughes made the Golden Knights’ defense look downright foolish with a spectacular individual effort that broke a 2-2 tie in the second period.
Hughes stripped Jack Eichel of the puck in the neutral zone, accelerated toward the Vegas defense, slipped the puck through Stone’s legs to himself and beat Hill.
The sequence exposed the Golden Knights’ poor puck management and defensive positioning in a matter of seconds.
Gritsyuk subsequently extended New Jersey’s lead before Hughes added an empty-netter.
“We just gave them too much space,” Barbashev said of the Devils’ top line.
KEY STAT: Six Goals at Five-on-Five in Five Games
Vegas has scored just 11 goals over its past five games, including only six at five-on-five, an alarming slowdown for a team that entered Friday with three players - Eichel, Stone and Mitch Marner - combining for 49 points.
The Golden Knights managed only 21 shots against Hellebuyck, struggling to generate sustained pressure after the opening period.
“We didn’t test him enough,” Craig said. “He saw a lot of those pucks. … Just wasn’t enough consistency.”
Craig also acknowledged that execution has slipped over the past 10 days, with poor decision-making and inadequate puck support contributing to the team’s struggles.
WHAT A KNIGHT: Ivan Barbashev
Barbashev provided one of Vegas’ few offensive highlights, finishing a slick first-period passing sequence with Marner and McNabb to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead.
The goal was Barbashev’s second of the season after entering Friday with 10 points through 14 games. His offensive contributions have remained valuable, but his postgame assessment was particularly revealing.
“I think it’s, to be honest, just on us,” Barbashev said. “We didn’t play well enough today. There’s been some good moments in the first period, but that was it. I think they just shut us down in the second and third.”
Absolute dimes from Brayden McNabb and Mitch Marner and Ivan Barbashev gets a nice easy tap in.
The Golden Knights open a four-game road trip Monday in Boston, hoping to correct the defensive lapses and inconsistent execution that have plagued them.
Craig said the team would practice Saturday before heading east, emphasizing the importance of staying together.
“Are we going to stay together?” Craig asked. “Are we going to continue to do the right things to work on our execution?”
PHOTO CAPTION
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) reaches for the puck with his stick against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at T-Mobile Arena.
With nearly $13 million in cap space already in the bank, the Philadelphia Flyers have the ability and long-term flexibility to go out and sign any top NHL player when the time comes, but it takes two to tango.
That much has been true on both sides of the coin for the Flyers this year. The Flyers, of course, signed Leo Carlsson to a $90 million offer sheet with an $18 million AAV in the summer, and conversely, Dylan Larkin refuses to add Philadelphia to his list of approved trade destinations.
The good news is that another superstar forward could shake loose: on Friday, it was revealed that Nikita Kucherov had requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The bad news is that ensuing reporting indirectly indicates the Flyers aren't going to be a fit when it comes down to it.
"Negotiations between the Lightning and Nikita Kucherov’s camp remained far apart. He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer, and is due for potentially double his $9.5 million AAV," ESPN NHL insider Emily Kaplan reported Friday night. "Kucherov let his teammates know of his decision today. He has a modified no trade clause, which allows him to give a list of 10 approved teams."
The kicker is that, even with his trade protection, Kucherov has an idea of where he wants to go, and that will deter teams, such as the Flyers, from paying major assets for a player who won't re-sign with them.
Of course, the Flyers are winless in 12 of their first 15 games this season, so while they might be able to satisfy Kucherov's financial wishes, they are a massive downgrade from the Lightning in their current state on the ice.
And speaking of on the ice, their roster construction won't be up to par, either.
Added Kaplan: "Believe Kucherov has his eyes set on playing with another one of the league's top superstars and has a few players/teams in mind. We’ll see what moves the Lightning can, or are willing to, pull off."
To be frank, the Flyers very clearly do not have one of the NHL's top superstars. Unless Kucherov is chasing strictly money, the Flyers don't have much they can offer, and even then, teams with similar amounts of cap space, namely Carolina, can make a competitive offer in the same vein.
The closest thing the Flyers have to a superstar is 21-year-old winger Matvei Michkov, who plays the same position as Kucherov with a near-identical style of play.
Kucherov, who is now 33, would surely inhibit Michkov's growth by stepping into a featured role at 5-on-5 and on the power play - the exact kind of move the Flyers should be avoiding in the position they're in.
Considering everything - age, salary demands, competitive aspirations, and star teammates - the Flyers are plainly not a fit for Kucherov.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck stopped 19 shots, Arseny Gritsyuk and Jack Hughes each scored twice and the New Jersey Devils beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 on Friday.
Hellebuyck, who spent his first 11 seasons in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, had his second win since the Devils acquired him Oct. 23. The three-time Vezina Trophy winner was also in goal Tuesday night in Dallas in a 5-1 win.
Gritsyuk has scored at least a goal in six of the last eight games and has 10 points during the stretch. Luke Hughes also scored for New Jersey. The Devils improved to 10-1-0 when the Hughes brothers score in the same game.
Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev scored for the Golden Knights, and Adin Hill stopped 26 shots.
Luke Hughes got things going early in the first when he rifled a one-timer from the top of the left circle past Hill.
Stone tied it when he deflected Mitch Marner’s blast from the point past Hellebuyck. Barbashev gave the Knights a 2-1 lead moments later when he tapped Marner’s pass home after a picture-perfect cross-crease pass.
The lead didn’t last one minute, as Gritsyuk took advantage of a turnover and sniped Hill top shelf from the left circle.
Jack Hughes put New Jersey back in front when he stole the puck from Jack Eichel in the neutral zone, then passed it to himself through Stone’s legs before beating Hill.
Gritsyuk scored his second goal by backhanding his rebound after Hill blocked his first attempt.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ottawa Senators forward Hayden Hodgson has been suspended two games for charging and boarding Los Angeles Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke.
The 30-year-old playing his 24th game in the league lined up Clarke from several strides away and drove his opponent’s head into the glass midway through the teams’ game Thursday night in LA. Hodgson was given a five-minute major penalty for boarding and ejected with a game misconduct.
Clarke did not return but was on the ice for practice Friday.
Hodgson was fined $2,018, the maximum allowed under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, in October 2025 for boarding Montreal's Alex Newhook in a preseason game. He has a long history of suspensions — 20 games worth — in the American Hockey League for elbowing and other offenses over the past five seasons.
He’ll forfeit $8,763 in salary as a result of the suspension. He'll miss games Saturday at San Jose and Sunday at Anaheim. He's eligible to return Wednesday at Buffalo.
The Senators recalled wingers Xavier Bourgault and Philip Tomasino from Belleville of the AHL.
New York Rangers goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) plays during the first period of an NHL preseason game against the New Jersey Devils, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026.
Goalie Joonas Korpisalo rejoined the Rangers for practice Friday for the first time since contracting a foot infection at the beginning of the season.
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Participating for around 30 minutes, Korpisalo saw plenty of shots and got some work in before heading off the ice a bit earlier than the rest of the team. The 32-year-old only just resumed skating last weekend, to put his abbreviated practice in perspective.
“It’s a big step for Korpy,” head coach Mike Sullivan said after practice. “He’s still under the guise of the workload management with our medical department, so it was by design he didn’t stay the whole time out there today. It’s a big step for him, joining the team.”
Shortly after the Rangers put Korpisalo on injured reserve, the Finn was given a four-week timeline to return.
New York Rangers goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) plays during the first period of an NHL preseason game against the New Jersey Devils, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
If he’s on schedule, Korpisalo could play his first game of the season as soon as the Rangers’ upcoming road trip to Seattle, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. Once Korpisalo makes his Blueshirts debut, he will have played for five NHL organizations.
Eeli Tolvanan again did not participate in practice due to personal reasons.
After missing Tuesday’s practice due to an upper-body injury, goalie James Reimer returned to the ice as well.
Among defense pairs who have logged at least 150 minutes of five-on-five ice time entering Friday’s slate of games, Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov’s 11.01 expected goals is the fifth best in the NHL. The only duos they trail are the Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin and Jalen Chatfield (14.71), the Golden Knights’ Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore (13.72), the Mammoth’s MacKenzie Weegar and Mikhail Sergachev (11.62) and the Devils’ Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler (11.41).
The Wolf Pack named Marc Del Gaizo the 16th captain in franchise history earlier this week.
Since signing a two-year, two-way deal with the Rangers in July, Del Gaizo has skated on Hartford’s top pair.
Forwards Anton Blidh, Justin Dowling and Glenn Gawdin were also named alternate captains. The plan is for the trio to rotate wearing the ‘A’ during the season.
Nikita Kucherov (86) of the Tampa Bay Lightning plays against the Winnipeg Jets in Tampa, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026.
Add Nikita Kucherov to the list of disillusioned NHL stars.
The 2025-26 Hart Trophy winner has requested a trade from the Lightning, with whom he’s spent his entire 13-year career, according to a report by SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The report didn’t include a reason for Kucherov requesting the trade, but he has told teammates and the organization that he will not be re-signing at the end of the season and wants out.
The two-time MVP is in the final year of an eight-year, $76 million deal.
Nikita Kucherov (86) of the Tampa Bay Lightning plays against the Winnipeg Jets in Tampa, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. NHLI via Getty Images
The Lightning, hours after the trade request surfaced, responded that they have no plans to trade the star.
“We are aware of the media reports regarding the future of Nikita Kucherov with the Lightning,” general manager Julien BriseBois said in a statement. “We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita.”
The trade request is the latest shocker in an NHL season that has been full of them. Red Wings star Dylan Larkin is currently suspended by the team without pay after he told the team he wouldn’t play unless he was traded.
Goalie Connor Hellebuyck, the 2024-25 Hart Trophy Winner, was suspended by the Jets for the same reason to open the season before a trade to the Devils last week.
Former Senators captain Brady Tkachuk requested a trade during the offseason and joined his brother, Matthew, on the Panthers in June.
While Larkin’s frustration with the Red Wings came from the organization’s lack of playoff success in his career, Kucherov’s request raises more eyebrows. The Lightning have won two Stanley Cups with him on the top line and have generally been contenders year after year.
Kucherov, the Lightning’s all-time scoring leader, is in the middle of what is for him a low-scoring season — with four goals in 12 games — despite averaging over a point per game on the season for the 10th straight year.
In 13 seasons with the Lightning, Kucherov has 405 goals and 734 assists. He’s led the league in scoring three times.
Selected by Calgary in the first round (No. 24 overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Zary has dealt with a history of knee injuries dating back two seasons, which have significantly impacted his development and progression.
While the surgery was successful, another extended recovery raises questions about Zary’s ability to get back on track and establish himself as a consistent NHL contributor.
If he can return healthy and regain his previous form, he could eventually become a trade candidate. However, his recent injury history and dip in production may make it difficult for the Flames to find a suitable market.
The Senators are getting some much-needed reinforcements for their forward lines.
According to the AHL transactions page, the Sens have called up forwards Philip Tomasino and Xavier Bourgault from their American Hockey League affiliate ahead of Saturday afternoon's road game against the San Jose Sharks (4pm Eastern).
Sens captain Thomas Chabot talks about the Sens rash of injuries and how guys keep stepping up (Senators on YouTube).
The callups come after the Senators lost Warren Foegele to a lower-body injury Tuesday in Vegas, followed by Andre Burakovsky in Thursday's wild 6-5 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
Making matters worse, Hayden Hodgson is likely to be suspended for a bad hit on Kings defenceman Brandt Clarke on Thursday night.
Hodgson's ejection, combined with Burakovsky's first-period departure, has left the Senators with just 10 forwards as they get ready for back to back games in San Jose and Anaheim this weekend.
The situation has become a nightly game of roster whack-a-mole for Green. Just when the Senators appear to be getting healthy, another player goes down.
Foegele is expected to miss an extended period with his injury, while the severity of Burakovsky's latest setback is still unclear. Burakovsky had already missed four games earlier this season with an upper-body injury.
The Senators are also without William Eklund, who remains sidelined following ankle surgery.
Tomasino and Bourgault have been fantastic in the AHL this season. Both are former NHL first-rounders and have combined for 20 points in 10 games in Belleville. With Burakovsky scuffling again this season with zero points in 8 games, the duo must have been wondering if an NHL opportunity might be looming.
Tomasino is certainly one to watch. Not only does he have 11 points in 10 games with Belleville, but he also has 218 games of NHL experience with Nashville and Pittsburgh.
In a corresponding move, the B-Sens have signed Ottawa native Kyle McDonald to a PTO. The 6-foot-5, 210 pound winger spent the past three years with the AHL's Texas Stars.
The Chicago Blackhawks are a lousy 4-9-0 to open the 2026-27 season, and it looks like another year destined for last place in the Central Division. This was supposed to be a year in which they took a step, and they show no sign of doing that.
They have tons of young talent, but that talent isn't growing together into a winning team. It still could, and should, happen, but they need a spark. Whether it's a coach, front office executive, or a roster move, change is likely coming at some point.
One change that could save their rebuild is the addition of a generational forward. One of them may be available, as Nikita Kucherov has requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning. He informed them that he would be re-signing with them once his contract is up, and his preferred choice is to be traded.
It may be 100% impossible, as Kucherov has a 10-team list of approved destinations, but that doesn't mean the Blackhawks shouldn't check in on the situation. He is also a free agent with the right to sign with any of the other 31 teams on July 1st. His age may keep him from being the highest-paid forward in the league on his next contract, but he will certainly be paid handsomely.
Although he isn't 25, Kucherov is still a top-tier NHL player. At 33 years old, he is coming off his second career Hart Trophy-winning season. During that campaign, he had 44 goals and 86 assists for 130 points. His career high in assists is 100, which puts him in elite company in terms of NHL history, as very few players have ever reached that number.
In Kucherov's 891-game NHL career, he has 405 goals and 734 assists for 1139 points. He is dangerous as both a shooter and playmaker, which has allowed him to put up such prolific numbers. Kucherov has won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer three times in total and is a two-time Stanley Cup champion.
A player like this, with such a rich resume, would be a great veteran for young players like Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, Frank Nazar, and Oliver Moore, among others, to have around. As a winger who could line up next to any one of those centers, Kucherov would help them become prolific during a very important time in their development.
There is also the Roman Kantserov factor. Russian players do enjoy having a countryman to work with, which is exactly what this duo would be. Kucherov has an incredible ability to make plays, which would help a sniper like Kantserov get even better if given the chance.
Besides the Kantserov factor, the Blackhawks are a young team with a lot of talent trying to come together. Kucherov has been a part of a franchise dealing with the same motions as the Lightning were coming up in the mid-2010s. If he saw the potential there, he may think he could be of help. You never know what a player who has already won and made money is thinking.
Again, it's a hope and a prayer for an idea. However, if it somehow happened, it would potentially be a "rebuild-saving" move. Would not getting a trade like this done mean that they can't save their rebuild? No, absolutely not, but they have to think about big moves to get back on track.
It's hard to gauge what a trade for Kucherov would look like. With him being a pending UFA and the news of his request being out, it's not the typical value that a player of his caliber should have. The market will become more clear as reports start to come out in the coming days, weeks, or months.
At the end of this saga, someone is going to get one of the five best forwards to walk the earth during his era.
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Toronto has put up a 1-2-0 record on this Western Conference road trip, with this clash in Vancouver being the last stop. After that, they'll return to base for a six-game home stand, beginning on Tuesday.
Friday marked the second time the Maple Leafs were able to practice on this road trip. The only other time was in Calgary, the day before Monday's game.
"We've practiced maybe two or three times in the last month, so it's really, really been something that I believe has hurt our game," Leafs head coach Jim Hiller said after Friday's practice. "So we took some time today to go a little slower and work through some things. And November is going to set up pretty well for us that way. I'm not going to tell you what they were, but I think we made some progress in some areas that we've been struggling."
The bench boss may not have shed some light on what needs to be improved by the team ahead of meeting the Canucks, but a couple of the players know what needs to be better.
"I think turning the puck over," defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson admitted. "I think we gave him a little bit too many easy looks that ended up in our net. So that's an area that I think we have to clean up. And if we do that, that will help us out. Obviously, going the other way, I think, playing with the puck a little bit more. But yeah, turning a little bit too many pucks over the last two games."
The Maple Leafs had 27 giveaways in the past two outings, nine of which were in the defensive zone, according to MoneyPuck. As of Thursday, Toronto are among the top 10 for the most giveaways to their opponent and giveaways in the defensive zone.
"I think there's something you can always change up," Troy Stecher said. "We didn't really sustain in the O-zone, but I think if you look at our season, you'd be like, 'oh, we score a lot of goals.' So it's like a catch-22."
"I think we do need to improve offensively, neutral zone, I don't think we've been getting as many stops as we would like. It almost seems like we kind of default to our squad. And then defensively, I think any team in the league would always want to improve on their system just naturally. It's still early in the year, so I think we have a conscious effort of trying to improve in all aspects right now," Stecher added.
The Maple Leafs meet the Canucks, who are last place in the NHL and have allowed the most goals in the league to this point, with 68 goals against in 15 games.
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