The Calgary Flames extended their winning streak to three games with a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Calgary opened the scoring late in the first period when Adam Klapka worked the puck out of the corner and found Joel Farabee in front. Farabee made no mistake, one-timing the pass past Detroit goaltender John Gibson to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.
Detroit responded early in the second period. Following an offensive-zone faceoff, Andrew Copp found a loose puck in the scramble and swatted it through Devin Cooley’s legs to tie the game at one.
The Flames regained the lead on the power play, with rookie defenceman Zayne Parekh making his mark. Parekh fired a wrist shot from the blue line that found its way past Gibson off a deflection off the goaltender’s pad, giving Calgary a 2-1 advantage with his first goal of the season.
Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Ryan Strome extended the lead shortly afterward. Morgan Frost found Strome in the middle of the ice, and the veteran forward snapped a shot past Gibson to make it 3-1.
Calgary wasn’t finished. Late in the second period, Matvei Gridin capped off another successful power play by one-timing a pass from Farabee into the net. The goal gave the Flames a three-goal cushion heading into the third period.
With the special teams delivering and Cooley continuing to find ways to win, Calgary took care of business in the final frame to secure its third consecutive victory.
Three Takeaways
1. The power play delivered when it mattered
Calgary went 2-for-2 with the man advantage, getting goals from two of its young players in Parekh and Gridin. Both goals helped swing the momentum in the Flames’ favour, and the ability to capitalize on special teams continues to be an encouraging sign. If Calgary can consistently get this kind of production from its power play, it will give the team another reliable way to win games.
2. Cooley keeps stacking wins
Devin Cooley picked up his third consecutive victory between the pipes. He wasn’t overly tested against Detroit, but he remained composed and gave the Flames a steady presence in net. Goaltending isn’t always about making highlight-reel saves. Sometimes, it’s about keeping things simple, making the stops you’re supposed to make and allowing the team in front of you to play with confidence. Cooley continues to do that.
3. Farabee leads the offensive charge
Farabee finished with a goal and two assists for a three-point night, providing one of his strongest offensive performances in a Flames uniform. He opened the scoring, set up Gridin’s power-play goal and played a key role in Calgary’s offensive attack. His ability to contribute as both a finisher and a playmaker gives the Flames another valuable option as they look to keep their momentum going.
This wasn't how the Detroit Red Wings wanted to remember their final trip to the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.
Coming into the contest with a six-game point streak on the line, the Red Wings saw it come to a close with a 4-1 setback against the Flames, who had lost six of their first seven games of the season.
With the setback, the Red Wings fell to 4-4-3 on the campaign, and 1-1-1 through the first three games of their four-game Western Conference road swing.
Special teams did the Red Wings no favors, as they were unable to convert on either of their power play chances, while allowing the Flames to score twice with the man advantage.
It was the Flames who struck first late in the opening 20 minutes of play, as Joel Farabee was left wide open at the side of the net and one-timed a feed from Adam Klapka past a sprawling John Gibson, giving Calgary the advantage.
The Red Wings appeared to gain some momentum early in the middle frame when Andrew Copp knotted the score with his second goal of the season, only to lose it when the Flames struck on the power play as Zayne Parekh scored his first goal of 2026-27.
Detroit nearly tied the score shortly afterward when Alex DeBrincat, who took the penalty that lead to Parekh's go-ahead goal, partially broke in alone on Flames goaltender Devin Cooley, but had his backhand attempt denied.
Calgary then took a two-goal lead less than 90 seconds apart; Ryan Strome scored his second of the season, followed by a power play goal from Matvei Gridin with Michael Brandsegg-Nygård in the box for delay of game.
Gibson took the loss with 21 saves on 25 shots, while Cooley made 28 saves.
The Red Wings will wrap up their road trip with a stop against former head coach Mike Babcock and the Edmonton Oilers on Monday evening at Rogers Place.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins put forth their best effort of the season in a 4-0 shutout win over the Florida Panthers, as they were clicking on all cylinders for a full 60 minutes. They hoped that game could help right the ship after a poor road trip that saw four straight losses.
And they certainly delivered in the follow-up performance Saturday.
The Penguins bested the Nashville Predators, 3-2, on a late comeback goal by Rickard Rakell and a snipe by Ville Koivunen in overtime to give them their second-straight win in what was a great team effort. Goaltender Arturs Silovs started his third straight game and stopped 24 of 26 Nashville shots on goal.
It was good to see Rakell get on the board, especially since it was just his second goal of the season and because he had two breakaway opportunities to score earlier.
“It felt so good," Rakell said. "The amount of looks I had – first off, in this game – my teammates setting me up for all these chances, it definitely feels good to put one in. It felt like that gave us a lot of momentum going into overtime, and it was a great job by Ville to find the back of the net there.”
The game started out pretty sloppy and choppy for both teams, with not a ton of time and space to work with, especially in the neutral zone. That said, the Penguins still carried most of the play in the first period, but unfortunately, a floating puck in the goal crease hit Steven Stamkos's stick and went in to give Nashville a 1-0 lead midway through the opening frame.
But the Penguins had a quick answer in the second.
Just 18 seconds in, Elmer Soderblom picked off a puck from behind the net and forced it to Dewar low in the right circle, and he was able to outwork his opponent and corral the puck to set up a shot and put it past Saros to tie things at 1-1. For a good chunk of the second period, the Penguins were dominating play.
However, a defensive breakdown in coverage led to a second goal by Nashville. After a faceoff win, defenseman Jayden Struble took a pass from Nils Hoglander, and he was left uncovered in the right circle. He picked his spot and blew one by Silovs to restore the Nashville lead.
Silovs made some big saves at the end of the second and into the third - and the Preds almost got on the board in the final second of the middle frame, but the puck didn't cross the goal line in time - and, in the latter stages of the third period, the Penguins got some legitimate momentum.
During the 6-on-5, the Penguins were cycling the puck in the offensive zone, and Sidney Crosby had the puck in the right circle. He threaded a perfect pass through several sticks over to Rickard Rakell on the left side, and Rakell one-timed it home to tie the game with a minute and six seconds left in regulation.
Then, in overtime, the Penguins pretty much held the puck the entire time. With 1:16 remaining on the clock, Ville Koivunen got the puck in the slot area, and he made a little stutter step move around a defender to give himself prime real estate in the slot. He sniped a shot past the glove side of Saros, and the Penguins went home with a much-deserved two points.
"We get back off that road trip, and everybody is obviously disappointed in the results," head coach Dan Muse said. "We're disappointed in terms of the consistency of play... I look at it as an opportunity for us to, you know, how can we come together? How can we, you know, be able to maybe come out of this thing better than when you go into it?
"So, you have a stretch of games you don't like, it's a choice: You can feel bad for yourself, you can start to kind of just do your own thing. People can be on their own page or you can come together. We needed to play a better brand of hockey. We still have things to clean up, but I think these last two games have been a step in the right direction."
Here are some thoughts and takeaways from this one:
- This was a really chippy game for both teams. Sticks were getting in every lane, offensive zone time wasn't sustained, pucks were jumping off of sticks, and both defenses played a pretty tight game for the most part.
That said, there were portions of this game that the Penguins just took over. And it felt like they were the much better team.
This happened in the first part of the second period. It happened in the latter part of the third period. For portions of the first period. The Penguins outshot the Predators, 37-26, and it felt like it.
There were still a few too many high-danger opportunities against. But, almost every time, Silovs was there to answer the call. Overall, this was a great performance by the Penguins, and it would have been a disappointment if they didn't get at least a point out of it.
- Speaking of Silovs, this is two really, really good performances from him in a row.
He's played in three straight games, and he seems to be developing a little bit more consistency that has been lacking in the past. There were several huge saves he made in this game to keep the Penguins in it, but one in particular during the second period gave his team a wave of momentum.
The Predators exposed the Penguins on a 2-on-1 opportunity, and Steven Stamkos found Ryan O'Reilly with a wicked dish pass. O'Reilly didn't get all of it, but he, seemingly, got enough — that is, until Silovs went cross-crease right-to-left and made a ridiculous glove save.
Obviously, Sergei Murashov is going to get his fair share of starts, and there's a good chance that, with two young goaltenders, the Penguins are simply going to ride the hot hand. But if Silovs can continue to pile on starts, it will do wonders for his confidence in developing consistency as an NHL starter.
- During the first period, Crosby was approaching the offensive zone, and the linesman went to signal the play onside. He waved his arm and clotheslined Crosby, knocking him to the ice.
Crosby was fine, but he did step out of the faceoff in place of Blake Lizotte for a brief moment.
- What a pass that was by Crosby on Rakell's tying goal. He managed to make that pass and elude three or four sticks in the process. That was a vintage Crosby play.
And we need to see more of it.
Rakell has been playing much better hockey the past few games and was just snakebitten. Crosby, however, has yet to find his hallmark consistency that has defined his NHL career.
Tommy Novak has had a nice start to the season, but he's not the right fit for that first line. It needs young, fresh legs. Some speed, or even just some youth, would do.
Throw Avery Hayes or Rutger McGroarty up there. Even Koivunen. Try Robertson again. Because, at five-on-five, the first line is a problem right now. Even though Rakell had some chances, he's a slow skater, and Crosby has lost a step, too.
They could use some forechecking legs on that line and a guy who will crash the net.
- Soderblom's play down low on Dewar's goal was excellent, and that goal in general was a hard-earned one on both the distribution side of it and the scoring side of it.
I really do think Soderblom makes that fourth line better. The other two guys on it - Dewar and Nick Robertson - certainly have to stay in the lineup as well, but I'm truly not sure who comes out when guys start to get healthy.
- The second line of Koivunen, Hendrix Lapierre, and Hayes was buzzing all night long.
Hayes fit right in on that line in his first NHL action of the season, and one game into the 2026-27 NHL season for him, it's clear as day that this guy is an NHL player. His forechecking is relentless. He drives the net. And, as Muse said later, he's got that "dog on a bone" mentality.
"Maybe just the experience of getting to know him last year and over the training camp this year, just knowing the type of game that he's capable of playing, that kind of dog on a bone type of game, just hunting pucks and getting in there," Muse said. "But he's also a guy who can find space well offensively."
I think Hayes is the perfect hybrid of Bryan Rust and former Penguin and Stanley Cup champion Max Talbot.
And Koivunen and Lapierre are developing some legitimate chemistry, as was Malkin with them Thursday. I keep saying it, but Koivunen is playing some very good hockey right now. He looks confident with the puck, and his puck protection skills have vastly improved. Some actual NHL runway in the top-six, as well as some confidence, has done wonders for him in recent games.
"I think it's a little bit of both," Koivunen said. "Like, [confidence] in yourself a lot, and I want to make plays with the puck."
Muse sees the progress Koivunen is making at the NHL level.
"Koivy's playing really good hockey," Muse said. "I think we've seen that from him, you know, for a number of games. I think his game's just continuing to take steps. So, I think, sometimes with guys, too, it's just a matter of getting, you know, the more time that you get, you need those opportunities to be able to stack some things and stack some games. I think you've seen that now with Koivy."
- This was not a particularly strong game from the top pairing of Spencer Stastney and Erik Karlsson, who actually have been pretty good together in the last couple of games. They were all over the place, as Stastney blew coverage on Struble's goal, and Karlsson blew coverage on the almost-goal at the end of the second.
But the most glaring issue in Saturday's game was the power play. That unit just looks dead in the water right now and, once it finally enters the zone cleanly, just passes along the perimeter and is far too stagnant.
They're missing five regulars on their power play right now, so that's a factor. But, hey, at least Robertson - their co-leader in goals this season with six - got to see some power play time as a result.
Not to throw a cliche in here, but at this point, I think Crosby needs some young, fresh energy on his line.
Throw Hayes or McGroarty up there. Try Robertson again. Even Koivunen.
Novak's fine, but he isn't the fastest. Rakell is slow. They need some youth and/or speed up there https://t.co/LlFiCRSBhg
- The Penguins have a rare big break in their schedule and do not play until Thursday, when the Utah Mammoth come to Pittsburgh to complete the season series between the teams.
Given how short training camp was - and given how many injured players the Penguins have - I think these days will do them some good, especially since they will have three full practice days. Evgeni Malkin was out with an illness in this one, Egor Chinakhov is day-to-day, and Bryan Rust, Ben Kindel, and Sam Girard were all put on injured reserve within the last few days, and they're all starters.
But it's hard to deny the way this team plays when some of its best players go down and the young players actually get a look.
At some point, the youth movement is going to need to happen. Hayes belongs in the NHL. So does McGroarty, so does Koivunen, and so does Soderblom. There's a different kind of energy - a fresh energy - around this team with these guys on it, and the bond between them is palpable.
These last two games were a stepping stone. But it will be interesting to see how the Penguins handle decision-making for their roster should they string together some wins with the lineup they have.
Tough decisions loom. I honestly have no clue what to expect.
ST. LOUIS – Hello humble pie. Welcome to St. Louis, courtesy of the Carolina Hurricanes.
The defending Stanley Cup champions doled out plenty of it to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, winning 4-0 and abruptly ending another modest two-game streak for the Blues (5-5-1), who just can’t seem to win three straight games on a consistent basis.
When the Blues took down the other Stanley Cup finalist on Thursday, the Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights 6-2, it was a good measuring stick to learn who they are, what they are and how they want to play.
They came out of it wanting to be a more relentless team to play against on a daily basis, but when it comes to relentlessness, the Hurricanes (9-2-2) are the gold standard, and it showed here at Enterprise Center.
“Very humbling,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “Also, (a) tutorial by the Stanley Cup champions about how to play to who you are no matter the score. They were as committed in the third period up 3-0, up 4-0 as they were at the start of the game. It’s an opportunity for us … it’s hard work, but that hard work becomes who you are when you do it every day and in practice and it translates. That’s what we’re trying to grow and grow into. Unfortunately, we expected early in the year with a lot of new faces and I don’t want to say young team because I don’t even know where we are in the scope of ages in the league. … It’s humbling when you see it happen to everyone in our lineup. They stick-check pucks, they go through arms, they’re above us, so that’s an elite team in the league, if not the elite team in the league, and that’s what we’ve got to work towards every day, and we’ll get there.”
The learning lesson from this result is?
“Just grow, learn,” Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. “That’s the standard of the NHL. We played one of the other standards the other night and had a really good game and beat them 6-2. Obviously you’d like to be able to rinse, repeat, come back tonight and beat another really good team. But there’s a lot of humbling nights in this league and a lot of learning lessons and we have one tonight. Nobody’s going to hang their head over it, show up for practice tomorrow, get better and continue to move forward.”
Let’s delve into the game itself …
* Failed early opportunities set the tone – The Blues actually came out of the gates looking like they were going to pick up where they left off Thursday.
They were attacking and pressuring, kind of like the Canes do to teams, and Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud each had Grade A scoring opportunities to get the Blues off and running but were stopped by Pyotr Kochetkov.
The Blues had a 4-1 shots on goal advantage and conceivably could have had a 2-0 lead.
“Right off the bat, I’m pretty sure we had a few good chances and even throughout the second, I think we had a breakaway, we had some good chances ourselves,” Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. “That’s just a part of it. We definitely had our chances, but just kind of got to build and learn, make sure that we continue to push forward.”
Connor McMichael did have a breakaway to begin the second period, in the first couple minutes, of a 0-0 game but was also stopped. Holloway also had another great chance but was poke-checked by Kochetkov before toe-picking and colliding with the goalie.
But as Montgomery said, the game was already slipping away from the Blues.
“I thought it got away in the first, the last half of the first,” Montgomery said. “They just kept playing the same way. I thought the first 10 minutes, I really liked the way we played. They just maintained it (and) we didn’t. And the second period is what happens. Their consistency to who they are and how they play in all three zones. It wears you down and it may look like the second period because that’s where they really did break away on us, but it starts in the first period.”
Was Carolina taking that away from the Blues or did they just get away from it themselves?
“I think it’s a combination,” Montgomery said. “They maintain it because that’s who they are. We’re not at that level yet of being able to maintain it. It’s more mental than physical and some of it is just we fall off because what happens is teams break your spirit. A team like that does.
“When the Blues won that Stanley Cup, that’s what they did that year. I coached against them, it was impressive. It was like, ‘Wow.’ I remember the game in January, they were on a 10-game (winning) streak. We actually won it, but the first period, if it wasn’t for our goalie, it would have been over, but then we were able to match it, and that’s what we’re going to have to do. We’re going to have to find that consistency level. It doesn’t take long to get it, but it’s doing it every day.”
* Canes struck fast and closed this out – Once McMichael didn’t convert his opportunity to give the Blues a lead, Carolina said enough was enough.
Sean Walker and Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s goals 20 seconds apart at 4:45 and 5:05 of the second period made it 2-0. One was on a delayed penalty – although the puck could have been blown dead prior to it – and the other came off a forecheck battle won out on rookie Adam Jiricek and lost coverage by Justin Barron (we’ll get to that below) and as Carolina’s game was growing, the Blues’ was faltering away due to the relentless pressure.
“That’s the standard. We knew that coming in,” Neighbours said. “Even when you know it’s coming, it’s still really hard to play against. They play a very structured game. They’re very predictable to each other and they do it at a very high level. You can learn a lot from a team like that.”
* Stankoven goal was final nail – The Blues were down 2-0 and power plays were obviously going to be hard to come by, but when they were given one courtesy of Carolina having too many men on the ice at 11:24 of the second, it was a chance to get back into the game, and the Blues’ power play was hot coming in with a goal in five straight (6-for-17).
It never happened despite a could looks, and when Barron had his pocket picked by Seth Jarvis, the Carolina forward sprung Stankoven for a breakaway that he sniped at 13:35 to make it 3-0.
“That’s a good team. They play hard obviously. There’s no surprise,” Parayko said. “That’s why they’re a good team and they always are competitive and obviously last year they won it all. They compete hard, they play man to man, they’re tight on everyone all over the ice. Obviously take a lot of time and space away.
“They just take away time and space. I feel like they’re on top of players a lot. … They’re obviously good at what they’re doing.”
* Relentless is Carolina’s standard – The Hurricanes always looked like they had 10 skaters on the ice with their speed and tenacity. It’s in all three zones, and the Blues just simply didn’t handle it well enough as the game wore on, and it was evident on the stat sheet, and as Montgomery noted, the Hurricanes played to the same standard up 3-0 in the third period that grew to 4-0 on Nikolaj Ehlers’ power-play goal at 4:30.
“I don’t think it’s pace, I don’t think we have a problem keeping up with them,” Neighbours said. “It’s just more the competitive edge that they have, their ability to win battles in all areas of the ice and just how they’re on top of you at all times. It’s something that early in my career, I still admire about that team. They give you no time and space, they’re over top of every check all over the ice and it’s almost a man-on-man system from our end all the way to theirs. They do it very well and there’s a lot to learn.”
* Montgomery loading up with Broberg, Parayko – Carolina’s top two lines are very lethal, and even though Barron was coming off a career-high four points (one goal, three assists) against Vegas, Montgomery went with his bread-and-butter defensemen in Broberg and Parayko to face the Sebastian Aho line along with Cam Fowler and Brandon Carlo to fend for the Stankoven line, leaving Barron and Jiricek – two right-handers – to fend for the third pair, and it was that one that was left exposed on the Hurricanes’ second goal.
“I wanted to have those guys out, and I wanted to have Carlo and 17 (Fowler) out against their second line,” Montgomery said. ‘There’s a drop in their third- and fourth-line. Not in work ethic but in play-making ability and goal-scoring ability.”
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The New York Rangers couldn’t overcome their blunderous start on Saturday night, leading to a 7-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
The Rangers were coming off a 5-4 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a performance Mike Sullivan described as “uncharacteristic” due to the Rangers’ lack of defensive structure.
That performance carried into the start of Saturday night's game, as the Blueshirts gave up two goals less than 10 minutes into the contest, with poor defensive play in their own zone and failures to break out the puck at the forefront of the team’s struggles.
“I would have liked to have hoped that we were ready from the drop of the puck,” Sullivan said. “We weren't overly excited about our overall team effort in our last game also. Give them (the Senators) credit, they started well.”
By about the middle of the second period, the Rangers found themselves in a 4-1 deficit, with seemingly little hope to cling onto.
However, the Rangers made a late-period push, powered by Sullivan’s line changes. Oliver Bjorkstrand was put on a line with Tye Kartye and J.T. Miller, while Pavel Dorofeyev was switched onto Will Cuylle and Noah Laba’s line, with Eeli Tolvanen playing on the fourth line.
“I thought it changed the momentum for sure. When I made the switch, we scored right away, and I thought it changed the momentum of the game from our standpoint,” Sullivan said about the impact of the line changes. “I think from that point on it felt like we started to get some juice, and so I just didn't think we had enough going, and so we decided to tweak some lines to see what we could get.”
Bjorkstrand, who’s been utilized in both a top-six and bottom-six role to start the season, made an instant impact after Sullivan’s line changes, assisting on J.T. Miller’s goal in the second period.
Dorofeyev had just two goals in 12 games leading into Saturday night, and he remained snake-bitten despite moving between the two top-six lines and holding a role on the first power-play unit.
For the first time this season, Dorofeyev scored one of his signature goals, snapping the puck top shelf past Jonas Johansson in the third period.
“This is what I said to him this morning, I had a conversation with him. Pav's had a lot of chances,” Sullivan said. “He's hit a lot of posts. If a certain percentage of the ones that hit the posts have gone in the net, we wouldn't be having this conversation. That's the nature of hockey. If he wasn't getting the chances, it would be a different conversation. He got a nice goal tonight. It's a goal scorer's goal. We're hoping that might get him going.”
The Rangers managed to cut Ottawa’s lead to one goal twice and played their best period of the game in the final frame, tilting the ice into the Senators’ zone and generating numerous high-quality scoring chances, but they failed to rally back.
Through their two-game road trip, in which the Rangers went 0-2, they went away from their well-structured defensive identity that had galvanized this team to a hot 7-3-1 start to the season.
“I think the moral of the story is some of the looks they got were still too high quality for me,” Sullivan said. “That might be a similarity to Toronto, and we just gave them too much off the rush tonight.”
The Rangers will now look to bounce back at home, where they've started a perfect 6-0, as they host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
Drake Batherson recorded the third hat trick of his NHL career on Saturday night as the Ottawa Senators defeated the New York Rangers 7-4 at Canadian Tire Centre.
Batherson scored twice in the first two periods before completing his hat trick with an empty-net goal in the final minute. He also assisted on Dylan Cozens' first goal of the season.
Dylan Cozens spoke on Saturday morning about his quest for goal number one this season (Senators YouTube).
Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson and Michael Amadio had the other goals for the Senators, who bounced back from Thursday night's 6-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks.
The Senators were without starting goaltender Linus Ullmark, who suffered an injury during Wednesday's emotional 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers. With rest not being a factor, it was interesting to see Belleville goaltender Jonas Johansson get his first start as a Senators ahead of Sam Ersson.
The Rangers were also missing their number-one netminder, Igor Shesterkin, who is out for the season.
Batherson probably lost some sleep Thursday night after being robbed of a prime scoring opportunity by San Jose goalie Yaroslav Askarov.
Five minutes into Saturday's game, he found himself with almost the same opportunity from the same spot on the ice. This time, Batherson made no mistake, giving the Sens a 1-0 lead.
Just 32 seconds later, Stützle doubled the lead. Sprinting away from a sluggish backcheck by J.T. Miller, Stützle finished off a gorgeous lateral pass through the blue paint from Fabian Zetterlund.
Early in the second, Batherson struck again. After a Cozens shot from the slot, the rebound bounced right to Batherson, who buried it to make it 3-0.
But the Rangers didn't go quietly.
Will Cuylle got New York on the board at 10:07 as the Senators' power play surrendered its third shorthanded goal in two games. A Cozens giveaway sent the Rangers away on a 2-on-1, and Cuylle ripped a shot past Johansson.
Cozens made amends shortly afterward, restoring the Senators' three-goal lead with his first goal of the season.
But the Rangers scored twice before the second intermission. Miller struck at 12:54, and Alexis Lafrenière followed at 19:34, suddenly making it a 4-3 game heading into the third.
The Senators had watched a comfortable three-goal lead shrink to one in less than 10 minutes. And they were under siege for much of the third period.
Sanderson finally gave the Senators some short-lived breathing room at 13:08, swatting home a rebound with his backhand to make it 5-3. Amadio and Ridly Greig did some excellent work to set that one up.
Pavel Dorofeyev answered for the Rangers just over two minutes later, with a one timer from long distance that fooled Johansson, once again cutting the deficit to one.
Amadio then delivered a huge insurance goal at 18:47. With the Rangers' net empty, Sanderson missed a 200-foot shot, but Amadio got the jump on everyone to negate the icing and tucked in the loose puck after it banked off the end boards.
Batherson completed his hat trick in weird fashion with another empty-net goal with 12 seconds remaining. In the Sens' zone, he blocked a shot from the point that hit his shin pad and travelled 170 feet in the other direction right into the empty cage.
Batherson finished with three goals and an assist, while Sanderson had a goal and two helpers. Cozens also enjoyed a three-point night with a goal and two assists.
The Rangers outshot the Senators on the night, 28-24. It was a bend-don't-break kind of night but the club found a way to secure two important points.
And for Batherson, the Senators' highest-paid player, it was another memorable night in a Senators uniform.
At 8-4 on the young season, the Sens now head west for a five-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Vegas.
Oct 20, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) looks on against the Vegas Golden Knights in the second period at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images
Candice Ward/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
SALT LAKE CITY — Nikita Kucherov became the Tampa Bay Lightning’s career points leader with an assist in the first period against the Utah Mammoth on Saturday night.
Kucherov fired a shot on the power play and Brayden Point poked in the rebound, giving Kucherov his 10th assist of the season. The Lightning immediately spilled onto the ice to congratulate him. It was the reigning Hart Trophy winner’s 1,138th point (405 goals, 733 assists) in his 890th game to surpass the franchise mark held by Steven Stamkos (1,137 points over 1,082 games).
“He’s arguably the smartest player I’ve ever coached,” said coach Jon Cooper, who took over the Lightning in March 2013 and has led them to two Stanley Cup titles. “He’s always multiple steps ahead.”
Cooper recalled a moment when he was breaking down video with Kucherov.
“I’m like, ‘All right, I’ve got him here about some learning thing.’ He’s like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa’ and he makes me back the clip up,” Cooper recounted. “He’s like, ‘Well, look at this, this, this,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, yeah, you’re right.’ His mastery of his skill set and his deception out there, it’s uncanny what he can do.”
The 33-year-old Kucherov scored his first NHL point on his first shot when he scored against the New York Rangers and Hall of Fame goaltender Henrik Lundqvist on Nov. 25, 2013. One month later, Kucherov, a second-round pick in 2011, recorded his first assist on his way to becoming the franchise’s leader in the category.
“He’s a wizard with the puck,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s not that he’s a scorer, but his puck distribution, the way he handles the puck, the way he’s able to slow it down off the rush, or an O-zone play, and buy himself time and time for his teammates to get open, is elite.”
Kucherov finished with 44 goals and 86 assists last season in an MVP-winning season. He’s off to a four-goal, 10-assist start this season.
What Colorado defenseman Josh Manson appreciates is the ease of Kucherov’s game.
“He just gets the puck and calms things down,” Manson said. “He doesn’t look at you, and you think you have him, but you don’t. You have to be on your toes and cautious because he’s always looking to find a lane. He’s always looking to slip by you, and he’s very deceptive. I think deception is a real key to his game.”
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Leo Carlsson scored a goal and set up the game-winner against the team that tried to sign him away from Anaheim last summer, as the Ducks overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 on Saturday.
Philadelphia signed Carlsson to a five-year, $80 million offer sheet as a restricted free agent last July, only to have the Ducks match it and retain him. He scored the Ducks’ first goal at 8:38 of the second period on a pass from Cutter Gauthier, who continued to hear vitriolic chants from Philadelphia fans for forcing his way out of Philadelphia three years ago.
Carlsson later assisted on a power-play goal by Beckett Sennecke in the third period, firing a pass toward the net that Sennecke tipped past Flyers goalie Joseph Woll.
Carlsson leads the Ducks in scoring with 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists).
A.J. Greer, Judd Caulfield, and Tristan Luneau also scored for Anaheim, and Lukas Dostal made 28 saves to snap the Ducks’ five-game losing streak.
DEVILS 3, KINGS 1
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Brett Pesce scored the go-ahead goal and Jake Allen made 12 saves as New Jersey beat Los Angeles for their third straight win.
Anthony Mantha and Artemy Gritsyuk also scored for the Devils, who also beat Colorado and Anaheim on their current homestand. New Jersey has won five of six. Allen improved to 5-2-0 this season.
Scott Laughton scored for Los Angeles, which saw its two-game winning streak snapped. Forsberg made 23 saves.
Pesce beat goaltender Anton Forsberg at 8:08 of the third period after the defenseman found a clear lane through traffic in the Los Angeles zone. Luke Evangelista and Gritsyuk assisted on Pesce’s first goal this season.
Before the game, the Devils introduced newly acquired goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. The 33-year-old Hellebuyck won 345 games in 11 seasons with Winnipeg and is a three-time winner of the Vezina Trophy.
HURRICANES 4, BLUES 0
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pyotr Kochetkov made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season and 12th in the NHL in Carolina's victory over St. Louis.
Kochetkov has won all seven of his starts this season, giving him the NHL’s longest active winning streak and moving him one away from Frederik Andersen’s franchise-record streak to open the 2021-22 season.
Sean Walker, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Logan Stankoven and Nikolaj Ehlers scored to help Carolina improve to 9-2-2.
Joel Hofer stopped 35 shots for St. Louis. The Blues were held scoreless for the first time this season.
CAPITALS 4, SABRES 3, OT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Tuch scored two goals, including the winner in overtime, to lead Washington to a win over Buffalo.
Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves for the Capitals.
Tuch, opened the scoring for Washington when a pass bounced off Tage Thompson’s stick and into his own net. Strome scored 2:59 into the second period, then once more with 2:36 left in the period.
The veteran winger was acquired this summer by the Capitals from the Sabres via sign-and-trade. He signed an eight-year, $84 million deal to help bolster the Capitals’ offense.
Jack Quinn and Josh Doan scored early for Buffalo to put the visitors up by two early. The Capitals’ offense found its footing, though, and turned up the pressure on the Sabres’ defense to gain the lead in the second period, only to have Noah Ostlund tie it once again 2:20 into the third period. The game remained tied through the remainder of the third period, despite multiple power play opportunities and scoring chances for both teams.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 30 saves for the Sabres.
BLUE JACKETS 2, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1, OT
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Adam Fantilli scored on a power play 59 seconds into overtime and Columbus beat Vegas, sending the Golden Knights to their third straight loss.
Columbus had its first power-play goal since the opener, snapping an 0-for-22 drought.
Denton Mateychuk also scored and Cam Talbot stopped 26 shots for Columbus, which has won two of its last six games. The Blue Jackets improved to 3-0 in games that have gone beyond regulation.
Tomas Hertl scored for Vegas and Carter Hart stopped 18 shots.
BRUINS 6, SHARKS 4
BOSTON (AP) — James Hagens and David Pastrnak scored in a 40-second span in the third period, and Boston extended their points streak to eight games with a victory over San Jose.
Casey Mittelstadt, Marat Khusnutdinov, Fraser Minten and Will Morgan also scored for the Bruins, who have won seven of their past eight. Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves for his seventh victory.
Michael Misa, Kiefer Sherwood, Dmitry Orlov and Will Smith scored for San Jose, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves. The Sharks had won two in a row.
PENGUINS 3, PREDATORS 2, OT
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ville Koivunen scored at 3:44 of overtime and Pittsburgh rallied to beat Nashville.
Koivunen beat Juuse Saros with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.
Rickard Rakell scored the tying goal for Pittsburgh with 1:06 to play in regulation on a cross-ice pass from Sidney Crosby. It was Crosby’s 1,111th career assist, tying Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque for the most with one franchise.
Connor Dewar also scored for the Penguins, who have points in 10 straight and 23 of their last 27 games against Nashville dating to Oct. 21, 2010.
Arturs Silovs stopped 24 shots. The Penguins, who were playing without Evgeni Malkin (illness) and Egor Chinakhov (lower body), have won two straight following a four-game losing streak. Chinakhov has missed four of the last five games.
Steven Stamkos and Jayden Struble scored for Nashville. Stamkos is two goals from passing Dino Ciccarelli for 19th place in NHL history.
SENATORS 7, RANGERS 4
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Drake Batherson had three goals and an assist and Ottawa outscored New York.
Jake Sanderson’s first of the season proved to be the winner and Michael Amadio added an empty-netter. Tim Stutzle and Dylan Cozens also scored and Jonas Johansson stopped 24 shots in his Ottawa debut.
Will Cuylle, J.T. Miller, Alexis Lafreniere and Pavel Dorofeyev scored for the Rangers. Dylan Garand made 17 saves.
MAPLE LEAFS 7, OILERS 2
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — William Nylander scored twice to reach 300 NHL goals, Anthony Stolarz made 30 saves and Toronto routed Edmonton.
Jack Roslovic, Auston Matthews, Troy Stecher, Zack MacEwen and Vinni Lettieri also scored for the Maple Leafs. They have won four straight to improve to 7-4-2.
Leon Draisaitl scored twice for the Oilers to push his NHL-leading total to 12.
Connor McDavid had two assists to extend his season-opening points streak to 11 games — giving him an incredible 33 points in 11 games.
MAMMOTH 5, LIGHTNING 4, OT
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) —Dmitri Simashev scored his second goal of the game at 1:44 of overtime as Utah beat Tampa Bay.
Simashev’s first goal tied the game at 4-4 with 2:28 remaining in the second period.
Nikita Kucherov became Tampa Bay’s franchise leader in points when he assisted on Brayden Point’s goal with 7:18 remaining in the first period. That put him at 1,138 career points, one more than former teammate Steven Stamkos, who had held the record since April 2022.
Kucherov has played his entire career with Tampa Bay, starting in 2013.
Kailer Yamamoto, Dylan Guenther and Anders Lee also scored for the Mammoth. Vincent Trocheck had two assists, while Clayton Keller, Andrew Peeke, Mackenzie Weegar and Sergachev each recorded one assist.
WILD 5, KRAKEN 1
SEATTLE (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov scored 26 seconds into the game and Minnesota defeated Seattle.
Blake Coleman scored twice and Olli Maatta and Joel Eriksson Ek scored 1:27 apart to help the Wild (7-3-2) return to the win column after consecutive losses. Jesper Wallstedt made 22 saves in his 11th start of the season.
Berkly Catton had the only goal for the Kraken (7-4-1). Joey Daccord stopped 31 shots in his fourth consecutive start conceding at least three goals.
FLAMES 4, RED WINGS 1
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Joel Farabee had a goal and two assists and surging Calgary made it three straight victories with a win over Detroit.
Making his third straight start, Devin Cooley continued his hot play with 28 saves to improve to 3-2. He has stopped 100 of 104 shots over his three-game winning streak.
Zayne Parekh, Ryan Strome and Matvei Gridin, who also had an assist, rounded out the scoring for Calgary (4-6-0). Matt Coronato had two assists.
Farabee has a four-game points streak and leads the club with nine points in 10 games.
Andrew Copp had the lone goal for Detroit (4-4-3). The Red Wings lost in regulation for the first time in seven games.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — William Nylander scored twice to reach 300 NHL goals, Anthony Stolarz made 30 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs routed the Edmonton Oilers 7-2 on Saturday night.
Jack Roslovic, Auston Matthews, Troy Stecher, Zack MacEwen and Vinni Lettieri also scored for the Maple Leafs. They have won four straight to improve to 7-4-2.
Leon Draisaitl scored twice for the Oilers. He's tied with Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov for the NHL goals lead with 12.
Connor McDavid had two assists to extend his season-opening points streak to 11 games — giving him an incredible 33 points in 11 games.
The Oilers dropped to 8-2-1. They had won three in a row.
The Golden Knights have struggled with their starts over the two-game losing skid, and that continued tonight. It took them nearly five minutes to record their first shot on net, and they looked lethargic and out of sync.
The Golden Knights drew the first power play of the game, but their zone entry struggles continued, and nothing came of it. That was their only power play opportunity of the night.
The Blue Jackets broke the ice at 11:51 in the first period. Rasmus Andersson tried to clear the zone, but the puck took a lively hop off the boards right onto Valeri Nichushkin’s stick. Nichushkin sent it in for Kent Johnson, who threaded a pass to Denton Mateychuk, who was streaking toward the net undetected. Mateychuk got around Howden and beat Carter Hart forehand-backhand.
Mateychuk’s go-ahead goal seemed to rouse the Golden Knights from their slumber. They responded well and outshot the Blue Jackets 9-4 in the period.
The Golden Knights netted the equalizer at 17:13 in the first. Trevor Connelly picked Carson Soucy’s pocket at center ice and drove into the offensive zone. Connelly found Braeden Bowman between the hash marks; Cam Talbot made the save in close, but Tomáš Hertl was there to pot the rebound.
In the second period, the Blue Jackets had some jump offensively and outshot the Golden Knights 8-5. However, goaltender Carter Hart made key saves, and the score remained 1-1 heading into the third.
The Golden Knights played well in the third period and outshot the Blue Jackets 13-5. Nic Dowd and Jeremy Lauzon took penalties early in the period, but the Golden Knights came up with the kills. Jack Eichel and Trevor Connelly had several high-danger chances, but Blue Jackets’ goaltender Cam Talbot answered the bell.
Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore took a penalty just 8 seconds into overtime, sending the Blue Jackets to their third straight power play. Charlie Coyle found Adam Fantilli down low, and Fantilli beat Carter Hart with a sharp-angle slapshot.
“It was better,” said Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin following the 2-1 overtime loss. “We had a few chances, and their goalie made some big stops at key moments… We checked decently, and that’s something to build off of. We just have to bear down a little bit more.”
Stats of the Knight
Carter Hart made 18 saves and recorded a .900 save percentage.
This was the first time this season that the Golden Knights scored fewer than two goals.
The Golden Knights have allowed a power play goal in five consecutive games.
Jack Eichel led the way with six shots on goal.
Trevor Connelly recorded an assist on Tomáš Hertl’s first-period goal. He is once again tied for the rookie scoring lead with eight points.
Shea Theodore recorded four shots on goal and four blocked shots.
The Golden Knights have not converted on six straight power play opportunities.
PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 24: Juuse Saros #74 of the Nashville Predators makes a save on a shot by Ville Koivunen #41 of the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on October 24, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Pregame
Evgeni Malkin’s illness leads to his first missed game of the season, Avery Hayes gets called up from the AHL and hops right into Malkin’s spot in the lineup. Arturs Silovs gets his third game in a row in net.
The Pens get a lot of pressure but it’s Nashville that scores next. Spencer Stastney doesn’t play a puck cleanly behind his net, it makes its way out to Jayden Struble and the defender takes a quick shot to the top of the net. 2-1 NSH.
More Pittsburgh pressure leads to Ville Koivunen setting up Hayes for a nice chance in tight. Saros is playing well and makes the save.
The Pens keep pushing, in the very dying seconds the Preds get on the counter-attack. Silovs comes way out of the crease to make a save, he does but leaves a rebound. Jack Drury finds it and jabs the puck into the open net, luckily for Pittsburgh it goes in just tenths of a second after the clock hits 0.0
Again, mostly not bad from the Pens. The difference in the game has been Saros playing really well. He’s stopped 24 of 25 Pittsburgh shots through 40 minutes.
Third period
A frenetic third period sees chances at both ends. Dewar takes a penalty to send Nashville to their first power play of the night. It’s Rickard Rakell who gets the best chance during it, though Saros stops him on a breakaway.
The Pens pull Silovs with a little over two minutes to play. It pays off with a 6v5 goal. Sidney Crosby wires a pass through the zone, Rakell is there to one-time it off Saros’ shoulder and into the net. Tie game with 1:06 remaining.
The Pens hold onto the puck for almost all of overtime, until Koivunen ends it. He finds the extra space to wheel around in the o-zone, get to the middle of the ice and fire a wrister past Saros. 3-2 OT win.
Down three top-six forwards (Malkin, Chinakhov, Rust) and two defensemen from the opening night lineup (Girard, van Riemsdyk), not to mention Kindel, it was always going to be an uphill climb for the home team tonight. Didn’t help that Saros can be one of the top goalies in the league when he’s on his game and he was certainly on his game tonight. Saros was the reason this wasn’t a Pittsburgh regulation win, it’s a shame for him to give up two late goals and end up taking the L as a result. He didn’t truly deserve that.
Had a note written up here about the struggles for Rakell, highlighted by his denial on a breakaway in the third period. Luckily he was able to tie the game late and shake that off. Captain obvious statement, but that ended up being a really, really big goal. Without it the Pens might have lost in regulation at home to a team that isn’t exactly a powerhouse and fall to a 4-7-1 record on the season. Rising up to 5-6-1 might not sound THAT much better on the surface but the difference is a swing from a .375 points% to a .458% and is pretty sizeable.
That nice play aside, the first line is in shambles. Crosby didn’t have a shot on goal for the second game in a row. Rakell was able to come through when it mattered most in a 6v5 situation, brings little elsewise. Novak, for his talents, hasn’t given a boost there. Great to see Crosby create the game-tying goal late in the third period, it was a frustratingly quiet game for him up to that point. About the only notable moment for him was the linesman accidentally judo chopping the captain in the face.
It’s a minor note, yet still something to point out that the Lapierre-Koivunen pairing has been impressing. Lapierre is good at holding pucks and rotating all over the ice in the offensive zone. Koivunen does about the same. It looks like the two of them operate on the same level, mentally. Nice little connection there. The Pens didn’t have a lot of options for a 3v3, but credit the coaches for throwing that pair out there in OT. It ended up winning them the game.
Similarly, it can be hit or miss but liked the flashes at times from Soderblom. He drew the only Pittsburgh power play of the night. He got an assist, his first point on the season. He made a couple of dekes and power moves to use his size and reach in the offensive zone. That all happened in the first half of the game and then Soderblom wasn’t standing out much in the latter part. As close as it seems sometimes for him to fully break out and start to make progress then sometimes it seems like he recedes into the background too much.
Avery Hayes has the gift in making you want to see more of him. That always seems like the case and surely was tonight in his NHL season debut. Five shots on goal, three hits and a takeaway in under 13 minutes of action. His game is simple, yet he’s going to be a factor with the high energy level he brings. As we’ve said before and will say again, there’s a lot of Tyler Kennedy in his game for an up-tempo player that never passed up an opportunity to put the puck on target when the chance pops up. A lot happens in Hayes’ minutes. Most of it is good for his team.
It’s been rare for a goalie for the Penguins to start three in a row like Silovs did tonight. Based on his efforts, wouldn’t be surprised or against him getting a fourth on Monday. Silovs made a couple of the important saves that he needed to make to hold his team in the game. It ended up paying off in the end. Another strong effort for him and nice way to build off the last game.
This was a gutsy effort by a depleted team, and now they get a respite from the schedule with four days off before Utah comes to town on Thursday. That’s coming up at the right time and hopefully the Pens can get some bodies back by the next time they have to play. Tonight, it wasn’t the prettiest, but taking two points at the end of the night is the most you can ask for.
They say it’s sometimes the trades that you don’t make that make the team better.
But other times, the trades you don’t make have a negative impact. And now that the trade for star goalie Connor Hellebuyck has been completed, we have to ask – why weren’t the Buffalo Sabres ready, willing and able to beat the offer the New Jersey Devils gave to the Winnipeg Jets to make Hellebuyck a Sabre?
Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen spoke out this week about his goaltending situation – almost as if he were doing some pre-emptive damage control. But when you look at the meagre trade package the Jets got for Hellebuyck – a mid-level forward in Dawson Mercer; a young prospect in Alexander Command; a couple meaningless draft picks, and a forward in Nick Bjugstad who may not play a game for Buffalo – it’s not unfair to ask, was that all it took to land a Hart Trophy and a three-time Vezina Trophy?
It’s true Kekalainen tried to make a major transaction last season when he attempted to acquire defenseman Colton Parayko from the St. Louis Blues. Parayko wound up kiboshing the trade thanks to his no-trade clause. And to be fair, he did pull off a heist when he traded defenseman Bowen Byran for the fourth-overall draft pick.
But failing to put together a trade package that would appeal to the Jets borders on criminal for Kekalainen and the Sabres. It’s not as if Buffalo is bereft of trade capital. The Sabres currently have some dynamic young players, and that’s great. But what they do not have is a superstar netminder with a track record for doing big things, both in the NHL and on the international stage.
And the thing that really ought to grind the gears of Sabres fans is that Hellebuyck is a cost-controlled asset on a very team-friendly contract paying him $8-million for another four seasons after this one. That contract is highly-likely to look better and better as the salary cap ceiling continues to rise in the coming years. And Buffalo’s inability to acquire a true difference-maker like Hellebuyck is an indictment of Kekalainen and a form of trade paralysis that doesn’t serve the Sabres well at all.
At some point, Buffalo fans are going to start demanding that a needle-mover gets acquired. Kekalainen can talk all he wants about trusting and believing in his current group of players. But fans are a different story, and long-suffering Sabres fans deserve to have a legitimate star acquired via trade. That just doesn’t happen, though, so it’s clear why Buffalo fans would be let down that the Sabres couldn’t beat the Devils’ offer.
Hellebuyck is a workhorse who would’ve easily amped up the confidence level of Buffalo players. Instead, it’s the same old story when it comes to acquiring an elite player – ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda’ – and Sabres fans are no doubt exhausted by all the excuses.
Sabres fans – the paying public – would’ve been elated to welcome Hellebuyck to Buffalo. And imagine how a Hellebuyck trade would’ve invigorated the Sabres’ dressing room. But now, seeing what the Devils gave up for him, it’s fair for Sabres fans to say ‘how come we couldn’t beat that offer?’ It’s not every day a top-level netminder comes available, and Buffalo could’ve swooped in at any point in the off-season or now with a strong trade package that Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff couldn’t say ‘no’ to.
Instead, the Sabres turned out again to be the bridesmaid and never the bride when it comes to acquiring a high-profile NHLer like Hellebuyck. And if Kekalainen doesn’t pull off a trade that brings a name-brand player to Buffalo, the Sabres will rightly be ripped by media and fans alike.
You can’t blame Buffalo fans to have been envisioning Hellebuyck in a Sabres uniform. And another GM – say, Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka – would’ve moved heaven and earth to acquire a player of Hellebuyck’s stature. But meek little Buffalo just shrugs their shoulders and plugs away with the cast they’ve got. If you’re a Sabres fan, it all feels so underwhelming. And not finding a way to beat New Jersey’s offer is a significant error and missed opportunity for Buffalo.
A former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman is on the move.
This is because the Washington Capitals have claimed defenseman Jack St. Ivany off of waivers from the Winnipeg Jets. With this news, the former Penguins defenseman is now a member of one of Pittsburgh's biggest division rivals.
St. Ivany played in four games this season with the Jets before being claimed off waivers by the Capitals. During them, he recorded zero points, five blocks, six hits, and a minus-1 rating.
St. Ivany will provide the Capitals with more defensive depth with this waiver claim. The 27-year-old will now be looking to impress with the Capitals from here.
St. Ivany spent each of his first three NHL seasons with the Penguins from 2023-24 to 2025-26. In 53 games with the Penguins over that span, he posted nine assists, 63 blocks, 116 hits, and a plus-1 rating. His best season with Pittsburgh was this past campaign, though, he recorded a career-high seven assists in 20 games.
The Penguins traded St. Ivany to the Jets this off-season in exchange for forward David Gustafsson. Now, with this news, his time in Winnipeg is already over.
New York Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer watches play against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period of an NHL hockey game at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.
DALLAS — The day before a game in which he’s set to be the main character, Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer was typically understated regarding his own return here.
“I’ve done this a few times [in] a few different spots,” DeBoer said after the Islanders practiced Saturday. “Your first game back’s always a little special. Just because a lot of people you spend time with and work with and players. So it was a great chapter in my coaching career. I’m now coaching the Islanders and focused on that.”
Some exits are smoother than others, though, even in a profession where you are hired to be fired.
DeBoer’s exit from Texas might be described as memorable for the wrong reasons.
After coaching the Stars to the Western Conference Final for the third time in as many seasons, DeBoer’s club fell behind 3-1 in the series and 2-0 on the Oilers’ first two shots of Game 5, prompting him to shockingly pull star goaltender Jake Oettinger for Casey DeSmith.
The Stars lost anyway. In the game’s immediate aftermath, DeBoer, in essence, tossed Oettinger under the bus.
“We had talked endlessly in this series about trying to play with a lead, and obviously, we were in a 2-0 hole right away,” DeBoer told reporters. “I didn’t take that lightly, and I didn’t blame it all on Jake, but the reality is: If you go back to last year’s playoffs, he’s lost six of seven games to Edmonton. And we gave up two goals on two shots in an elimination game. So it was partly to spark our team and wake them up. And partly knowing that status quo had not been working and that’s a pretty big sample size.”
New York Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer watches play against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period of an NHL hockey game at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Having already stated regret about those comments in a September 2025 interview with the NHL’s website, saying he “should have redirected the topic to reflect that this wasn’t about [Oettinger], this was about all of us,” when questions about the goaltender came up, it’s not altogether shocking that DeBoer didn’t want to get into it Saturday.
“I did run into Jake and chatted with Jake; yep,” DeBoer said.
Having been out of the league until the Islanders hired him with four games to go last season, that would have been the only immediately obvious opportunity for the two to speak. DeBoer didn’t go into any of that detail, but Oettinger was far from the only one of his former players he ran into while in Italy.
“You’re running into all kinds of players. I had [Marek] Zidlicky, who I coached at the New Jersey Devils; he was coaching with the Czech team. I ran into him in the meal room,” DeBoer said. “I ran into all the Finns, obviously, that I coached in Dallas. We had a big contingent of Finnish players that I really enjoyed working with. So I ran into all of them. Just about everybody.”
With the Islanders, DeBoer so far is thriving. Heading into a three-game trip that begins Sunday against the Stars, the Isles had points in five in a row and looked like a noticeably more detailed team under his tutelage.
“I think right now, you just keep building your game,” Ryan Pulock said. “I think we keep working on all our little details in practice, talking about them daily. You’re starting to see it in game: limiting chances, limiting time spent in our own zone, doing a good job in the neutral [zone].
“We played some skilled, fast teams and we’ve controlled the neutral zone pretty well. I think what he brings in is his structure, his leadership. Everything that he preaches, guys listen. It’s really starting to show in the way we’re playing.”
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Brett Pesce scored the go-ahead goal and Jake Allen made 12 saves as the Devils beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-1, on Saturday for their third-straight win.
Anthony Mantha and Artemy Gritsyuk also scored for the Devils, who also beat Colorado and Anaheim on their current homestand. New Jersey has won five of six. Allen improved to 5-2-0 this season.
Scott Laughton scored for Los Angeles, which saw its two-game winning streak snapped. Anton Forsberg made 23 saves.
Pesce beat Forsberg at 8:08 of the third period after the defenseman found a clear lane through traffic in the Los Angeles zone. Luke Evangelista and Gritsyuk assisted on Pesce’s first goal this season.
New Jersey included goaltender Nico Daws, who won against Anaheim on Thursday, in the trade for Hellebuyck on Friday. Remi Poirier, who has yet to play an NHL game, dressed as Allen’s backup on Saturday.
Laughton scored at 15:57 of the second, driving the puck past Allen for his second goal.
Mantha tied the game about three minutes later with his third goal.
Gritsyuk scored his team-leading sixth goal into an empty net at 18:55.
The Kings had a power-play chance when New Jersey’s Timo Meier was called for tripping at 12:59 of the third but were unable to tie the game.
Los Angeles was coming off road wins over Washington and the New York Islanders to start its four-game trip after losing its first six games.
