NEWARK, NJ - SEPTEMBER 13: New Jersey Devils Ethan Edwards #73 skates with the puck during a game between the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils at RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House at Prudential Center on September 13, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey.(Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils versus the New York Islanders
The Time: 1:00 PM ET
The Broadcast: Local TV — MSGSN/MSG and DAZN Streaming, NHLN; Radio — Devils Hockey Radio
Shaking Out the Lines and Roles
Yesterday, I did a bit of an overview of the trends going on at Devils training camp. In addition to those lines, the third day of camp featured the first look at special teams units.
And here comes the first look at #NJDevils power play unit thinking:
PP1: Jack, Bratt, Nico, Evangelista and Luke
PP2: Timo, Rodrigues, Mantha, Gritsyuk and Dougie
Mercer looks like he's getting ready to sub in on PP2. But isn't going out with the first run.
Hischier — Rodrigues — Pesce —Hughes Glass — Brown — Siegenthaler — Hamilton Boqvist — Noesen — Dillon — Chisholm
Of course, these players will not all play today. Since it is preseason, the Devils only need to play a limited number of veterans, while the rest of players involved will be from Utica. Most of those players will not necessarily be fighting for an immediate NHL job, but for the right to be called up from Utica at some point during the season in case of injuries. Given the looks in camp so far, the true “battles” seem to be:
Amadeus Lombardi vs. Stefan Noesen vs. Jesper Boqvist for the 12th and 13th forward spots
Anton Silaev vs. Vladislav Kolyachonok vs. Seamus Casey vs. Ethan Edwards for the 7th defensive spot
Nico Daws vs. David Rittich for the 2nd goalie spot
Unless someone else really plays out of their mind during pre-season, this is more or less the spread of possibilities for the Devils in camp. They do not have a ton to worry about, but with the injuries to Bjugstad (long-term) and Kovacevic (short-term?), things are a tad more open than they were a few weeks ago.
The Islanders
Today will be our first look at the Islanders for this season. Per Andrew Gross, the Islanders have been using the following forward lines in practice:
Gross also shared the non-NHL lines and pairings, some of which will be featured in today’s game. But the big stories for the Islanders include Matthew Schaefer being tried out on the right side, largely due to the arrivals of Kashawn Aitcheson and Isaiah George, per Peter DeBoer. But they will also be watching Kyle Palmieri, who is returning from injury after missing most of last season after an ACL repair. Palmieri will turn 36 this season, so his rehabilitation will be something to keep an eye on.
Among the forwards, the Islanders have few newcomers. Matias Maccelli and Victor Eklund are the two to watch. Maccelli had 39 points for the Maple Leafs last season, while Eklund will be playing his first full NHL season this year. Last season, Eklund had 24 points in 43 games for Djurgardens of the Swedish Hockey League before scoring 10 points in nine AHL games along with an assist in his NHL debut. Eklund was New York’s first-round draft pick in 2025.
This policy is being met with widespread contempt, especially given the short notice. For people taking bags off of public transit into Newark, they will be forced into using the lockers at the Prudential Center. Hopefully that does not turn into an absolute disaster.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of today’s game? Will you be watching? Who do you want to see on the ice? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at the Bell Centre, and while the Habs had their top six in the lineup, the visitors showed up with a much weaker side, leaving their big guns at home to face the other half of the Canadiens. Habs fans got an entertaining game with a little bit of everything: nice attacking play, big hits, and fights; the crowd liked every minute, including Cole Caufield's overtime game-winner.
While Martin St-Louis’ decision to put Juraj Slafkovsky on the second line to start the preseason might have surprised a few people, the move made the coach look very good in the first game. The three youngsters looked like they'd never stopped playing together and linked up with ease. There’s a predictability there that's hard to deny; they know where they are on the ice. Shots came in from every direction, and without numerous posts, their shot total would have been even higher than seven. Overall, they were the Canadiens’ most visible line.
Speaking about playing with Ivan Demidov, the big Slovak explained:
I know the way he plays; I know what he’s going to do. I feel that’s why it’s working between him and me, because I anticipate what he’s going to do. I think we know where we are; even if sometimes we throw a blind pass or something, we know what moments, which areas, where we are on the ice…I think it’s pretty good, but I feel like there’s so much room to improve; I feel we’re only going to get better.
With Kaiden Guhle being injured to start the season, there’s a job to be won on the blueline, and Arber Xhekaj would love to grab that spot. The hulking blueliner had an interesting game, throwing his body around a lot and logging eight hits. However, at times, that meant he got himself out of the play and was beaten to the net, giving the opponent scoring opportunities.
On the Leafs’ first power-play goal, he finished a check in the corner but let his man beat him to the net. Dobes made that save, but seconds later, Xhekaj pushed his man into the goalie, causing him to lose his stick. He didn’t recover it before Toronto scored. Then, on the Leafs’ go-ahead goal in the second frame, his man got free to set it up from behind the net. This is only the preseason, though, and the coach wasn’t going to hold it against him; he still gave him 21:31 of action, made him kill penalties, even the one in overtime. Commenting on his game, the bench boss explained:
He played to his identity; he played a physical game; he got some reps on the PK; he was good in puck possession. It was a good game for him; he played to his DNA. He’s still a young player. Even though he’s got a lot of NHL experience for his age, the game may have slowed down for him too; it may be easier to make the right reads. Stress normally diminishes for a young player as they gain experience.
On the Jayden Struble – Xhekaj pairing, St-Louis said:
I don’t mind Xhako on the right side; they’re two guys that play a physical game. If Guhles can’t start the season, it’s a scenario that maybe those two play together; some familiarity there, they’ve done it last year. We’ll keep evaluating, but I liked what I saw.
The blueliner seems to have made a conscious decision to shoot more; he tried his luck five times tonight, with two attempts reaching the net. It can only help his case to use that big shot. Yes, he can bring grit and physicality, but he has other attributes he should use as well. Clearly, he’s come to the same conclusion, telling the media post-game that he has to shoot more and can’t always be looking for a pass.
Of course, he was also asked about his brother’s game in Toronto and looked like a proud teacher when he said: it was sick. I was fired up after watching it and texted him right away; it was a sick fight!
As for the top line, it wasn’t as visible as the Slafkovsky-Kapanen-Demidov unit, but it did have its moments. Having just been brought into the fold, it’s not surprising that Chris Kreider needs to adapt to the Canadiens’ style of play; but we’ve already seen some positive signs. His best play of the night might have been a great cross-zone feed to Caufield, who one-timed it right on the post; a little bit of rust is perfectly normal.
Preseason games mean very little, but if this 4-3 overtime win is anything to go by, the Canadiens’ fans are in for another fun season watching their favourites. Montreal’s next game is Monday, when they’ll face the Ottawa Senators in Trois-Rivières.
The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped both pre-season split-squad games against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. In Montreal, the Canadiens won in overtime with a Cole Caufield game-winning goal. At Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the Habs took the contest 4-1.
With several players debuting for the Maple Leafs and a new style under a new coach, here are the main takeaways from Saturday night.
1. Gavin McKenna Learning, But Not Afraid
In Gavin McKenna's first pre-season game in the NHL, he logged 20:27 of ice time, three shots on goal, two blocks, a minus-one rating and a minor penalty.
"It was good," McKenna said about how he felt. "Obviously, not the result we wanted, but I think it was a good start. There's lots to work on. It's the first game of the year. A little bit scrambly, but I think as we build, it'll get a lot easier.
"I felt pretty good. I thought I created a bit, but also had a couple turnovers, which I think kind of just happens with nerves. But I think it was a good start, and a lot to build on," he added.
He didn't get on the scoresheet, but he wasn't away from the action and had a handful of chances throughout the contest.
"I thought it was good," head coach Jim Hiller assessed McKenna's performance. "In a game where I didn't think there was a lot of offense from either team, you know, he was in on three or four chances, so you'll take that every day. So, yeah, I thought he was good. Good start for him."
At some points in the game, McKenna was distant from the play. But there is no mistake to be made that he is a confident player who knows how skilled he is. And most importantly, he wasn't afraid to make a pass that would thread the needle, or a rink-wide connector in transition. That's proof of a confident individual, especially in his first game wearing NHL colors.
"If I say one thing to him, just to be a little bit closer to the puck, a little bit closer," Hiller said. "We want him to have the puck. And sometimes in the NHL, you've got to just get right there and surround it and then make plays out of that rather than, you know, waiting and seeing if somebody can get it to you. So he'll figure that part of the game out for either side."
"It's not easy," captain Auston Matthews admitted. "You jump into your first game after a very short two practices and then right into a pre-season game in the NHL. But (McKenna's) going to continue to get better as camp goes on, as he gets more comfortable and adjusts to this pace of play. But, you know, obviously he had moments out there where you can tell just how skilled and how talented he is and what he can do."
Matthews played his first NHL game in a long time. His last appearance was against the Anaheim Ducks on March 12.
With an extended summer of rehabbing and recovering from his major knee injury and surgery, he looks to be much faster on the ice than all of last season.
"I think the first, maybe first half of the first period, definitely felt pretty rusty, but as the game went on, it felt better and better," Matthews said after the game. "As we continue to skate and practice and play one more game, I think just the conditioning of the legs kind of get going a little bit more and transition into game shape a little bit.
"But all in all, I mean, it was a good first game. I thought I had some good moments, good opportunities, and take that and go from there and keep building."
Hiller remembers one notable moment from Saturday's game that stood out to him.
"I thought he was really skating," the bench boss said. "I thought he had the puck, and he looked dangerous. I think if I think of one moment in the game was when he rounded the net, came through, kind of sliced through a couple guys end-to-end. You know, I hadn't seen that a lot out of him last year, and so that was a really positive thing to see. He was moving, carrying the puck. It was dangerous, and the goalie and made a couple really good saves on him."
Matthews recorded one assist, played 22:19 of ice time, a minus-two rating and a game-high of six shots on goal.
Despite all that bodily distress over the past year, the shutdown defenseman looked the part and like his usual self on the back end.
Tanev had three blocks in this game, and also notched 18:23 of ice time. It's also worth noting that he and his D-partner, Jake McCabe, were the only skaters for the Maple Leafs to not finish the game with a minus plus-minus rating.
"To me, being out as much as he did, I would have never guessed," Hiller said of Tanev's first performance since his long-term injury. "Played quite a bit of minutes. You see him penalty kill, he's breaking up plays, he's doing what he does. So, yeah, it's just a really important player for us. It's great to have him back out there."
4. Fight Night In Montreal And Nick Blankenburg Paying The Price
While eyes were on McKenna and the rest of the stars that featured in Toronto, there was a feisty game at the Bell Centre, particularly in the early stages of the contest.
Maple Leafs' Michael Pezzetta and Teddy Blueger dropped the gloves with Canadiens' Lucas Condotta and Ethan Samson, with both tilts coming in the first period of the game. Pezzetta accumulated 17 penalty minutes, including a 10-minute misconduct, with his short night complete with 4:50 of ice time.
Beyond the fisticuffs, Nick Blankenburg, who is on a PTO with the Maple Leafs this pre-season, registered eight blocks against the Canadiens and logged 24:47 of ice time, which was three seconds shy of matching Lane Hutson's game-high 24:50.
The 5-foot-9 defenseman certainly found a way to stand out for the side that Daniel Alfredsson watched over in Quebec.
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WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 02: Riley Duran #62 of the Boston Bruins skates with the puck against the Washington Capitals in the first period during a preseason game at Capital One Arena on October 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Just the Facts
The Time: 5pm EST
The Place: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Place to Watch: NHLN, NESN Plus
Place to Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub
Game Preview
ITS PRESEASON! ITS TIME TO GET SUPER HYPERBOLIC ABOUT PROSPECT PERFORMANCE BETWEEN GAMES
LETS GET READY TO GET SUPER F#!KING STUPID ABOUT PROVIDENCE THIRD LINERS LETS GOOOO-
Preseason’s new format is enormously truncated; consisting of only two opponents stretched out over a week’s time thanks to the NHL adding two extra games to the regular season schedule. For Boston this year that means playing the Washington Capitals and the Philadelphia Flyers. For tonight’s game, it would probably be more accurate to call what slouches into the TD Garden away locker room as the unholy amalgam of the Hershey Bears and Washington Capitals’ depth.
That’s going to be a harder fight than you might expect, as the H-Bears are perennial AHL Eastern Conference monsters. The Caps have been pretty good at getting promising depth pieces from their central Pennsylvanian club and have only continued to improve with young guns like Lyndon Lakovic and the other Protas, as well as Cole Hutson; Lane’s brother. There’s a lot of “jesus there’s MORE of them!?” on the Capitals depth chart at the moment.
Boston will more than likely be putting a pretty prospect heavy roster out on the ice tonight, and so it will be a major test for many of these young kids and in-betweeners to get consideration for potential call-ups in the future; as the NHL roster, at least from my perspective, seems entirely set in stone at the moment; with only defense being a potential place of ingress for a young hopeful.
If nothing else, it’ll be a good test after five days of camp, and maybe a good preview of what the P-B’s are gonna be like down in Rhode Island. And hey! It might be mostly minor league Bruins hockey, but it is Bruins hockey coming back!
So let’s see how all that offseason training did them! Let’s go B’s!
If the Rangers needed a reminder of what Sean Durzi can provide and how one of their newest defensemen can add needed offense, they only have to look back to a Jan. 5 game against the Mammoth.
Early in overtime, Durzi veered toward the right post after his pass was deflected, received the puck from Nick Schmaltz and deposited the puck past Jonathan Quick.
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He found the pocket of space during the 3-on-3 session, crashed toward the net and found a way to convert.
It marked one of Durzi’s five goals and 27 points last year — below his career-best seasons of 41 and 38 in 2023-24 and 2022-23, respectively, but still emblematic of his high floor — and captured some of the instincts he’ll bring to the Rangers after arriving as part of the return package in the Vincent Trocheck trade July 1.
He’s “gonna be able to eat minutes,” head coach Mike Sullivan said of the former second-round pick in 2018 who has averaged at least 19 minutes of ice time in all five of his seasons.
He’ll get a “long look” as one of the options to quarterback the second power-play unit, too, Sullivan said.
And after a summer that featured the Rangers overhauling their blue line, Durzi has embraced the expectations that accompany his expected top four responsibilities — likely on a pairing with Marcus Pettersson.
“I’ve played top four for the majority of my career,” Durzi told The Post after the Rangers training camp sessions and scrimmage in Tarrytown. “You want that pressure. You put it on yourself to perform, but most importantly, you gotta believe you can do it.”
Durzi is essentially the Rangers insurance policy with Fox.
Sean Durzi, who is now with the Rangers, skates up the ice during the Mammoth’s loss to the Hurricanes on April 11, 2026 in Salt Lake City. NHLI via Getty Images
With Fox limited to 55 games last year, the Blueshirts struggled to replace him on the top pairing alongside Vladislav Gavrikov.
New Ranger Sean Durzi NHLI via Getty Images
Braden Schneider, who received plenty of opportunities as the Fox replacement, was on the ice for a team-worst 63 goals at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick, and has skated on the third pairing of the Rangers’ NHL group in training camp.
Durzi, 27, could help with the transition if Fox misses time this season. Entering the first preseason game Monday night against the Devils, Durzi has skated exclusively with Pettersson — who the Blueshirts acquired from the Canucks and who played with Sullivan in Pittsburgh — and leaned on Pettersson while adjusting to Sullivan.
The Rangers coach, Durzi said, operates with “a lot of honesty.” He knows that Durzi wants to be pushed and feels like he has “more to give” in every area.
“I think he has good offensive instincts,” Sullivan said. “He can pass the puck. We knew that when we got him, and I think that was one of the things that attracted us to him. … I can tell in the first three days he’s a guy that’s gonna be able to eat minutes, and when you have defensemen that are capable of eating minutes, those are good guys to have.”
In addition to getting a chance to audition for the power-play role, Durzi could also help the Blueshirts penalty-kill unit, Sullivan said. He could help them with breakouts — something the Blueshirts struggled with last season. With his skating, Durzi could join the Blueshirts on the rush, too, Sullivan added.
The extent of Durzi’s role with the Rangers will settle into place across the upcoming days and weeks.
They haven’t worked on special teams yet through three sessions of training camp, but they’ll open their exhibition slate Monday night against the Devils.
Then, they’ll open the regular season Sept. 29 against the Bruins. Those nights will serve as hints of Durzi’s role in the present.
His offensive abilities, at least initially, have impressed Sullivan. With two years left on his contract, Durzi will have a chance to carve out a role into the future, too. Given his placement behind Fox on the depth chart and the relatively thin options behind him, his role for the Rangers could become even more vital.
Ontario, C.A.– On Saturday, the Vegas Golden Knights kicked off the preseason with a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in the Empire Classic.
Before I make any observations, I’d like to state the obvious: this is a preseason game, and the first preseason game at that. It was evident— the Golden Knights didn’t make any egregious errors, but there was some “sloppy hockey” that’s typical of a preseason game. Passes didn’t connect, pucks were fumbled, and the overall flow of the game was choppy at times.
Still, the Golden Knights played a structured game. Their penalty kill was excellent, and they stood strong in the defensive zone to prevent the Kings from getting any real sustained offensive pressure. Preseason or not, these are things you want to see.
Without further ado, here are my three takeaways from the Golden Knights’ 4-2 victory over the Kings.
1. The Good
I’d like to preface this by saying that when it comes to positions in hockey, goaltender is by far the one I know the least about. So I try to avoid making grand observations about goaltenders unless someone who knows a lot more about the position than I do shares my opinion.
That being said, I liked what I saw out of Adin Hill tonight.
I wasn’t sure what to expect out of Hill in his first start since April 9th. It was probably a bit of a weird night for him— it took the Kings 15 minutes to record their third shot of the game.
But I liked his game. He looked as cool and calm as ever, and he backed it up. Hill made a few really flashy saves, and you can argue that neither of LA’s goals were on him.
Per head coach Ryan Craig, Hill will get another start this preseason. But so far, so good for the netminder.
2. The Bad
The Kings iced only three veteran NHL players tonight: forwards Trevor Moore and Scott Laughton, and goaltender Anton Forsberg. The rest of their roster was made up of younger guys fighting for a roster spot.
This was a game where you really wanted to see a player like Braeden Bowman shine. He didn’t.
He wasn’t awful, and there’s not a lot of reason to read into this. He’s looked great during drills for the first two days of camp, and one mediocre game is no cause for concern.
But the team didn’t give up much defensively tonight. Really, there were very few negatives to take away from the game.
I just wanted to see more from the guy that made a name for himself at last year’s training camp.
3. The Intriguing
I made the drive out to Ontario tonight because I wanted to see Trevor Connelly’s first preseason game. This is a very talented kid, one that everyone in the organization thinks very highly of. And he quietly had a strong game— he generated a couple great looks, created offense at will, and drew a penalty.
But the forward that really stood out tonight was Jackson Hallum.
Hallum’s speed has made him extremely noticeable all camp, but there’s always a difference between commanding attention in a drill and commanding attention in a game or scrimmage. Well, tonight, he stole the spotlight once again. He used his speed to create offense, which led to the game-winning goal in the third period.
“I just try to play the best I can with whatever opportunity I’m given,” said Hallum postgame. “I can’t look at the future; I’ve just got to be where my feet are and make the most of what I’m given.”
The Chicago Blackhawks took a trip up to St. Paul to take on the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. This was each team's first tilt in the 2026 NHL Preseason. Each squad has very specific goals for the 2026-27 season, but this game was each organization kicking things off in a low-key manner.
Both the Blackhawks and Wild took a mostly AHL-caliber group to the ice. There were a handful of veterans in each lineup, but it was mostly a non-NHL group overall. Despite this, each team played a well-played game that ended in overtime, 3-2 in favor of the Wild.
Arvid Soderblom made the start for the Blackhawks, while Calvin Pickard started for Minnesota. Each guy played the whole game, and each played well enough for their team to have a chance at winning.
Jeff Blashill said he was going to give Arvid Soderblom and Spencer Knight all of the preseason reps so that they are fully prepared for the NHL regular season. For Soderblom, this was a decent performance, abliet being against a lower-level lineup. With the extra time, he made 23 saves on 26 shots.
Kevin Korchinski appeared to score Chicago's first goal of the game, but it was later credited to Dominic Toninato on a redirect. It was the type of play where Korchinski was a late man in on the rush before receiving a pass and shooting it.
This assist was only one small part of his game against the Wild. In 25:15 of ice time, which was the most of any player on either team, he made good passes, defended well, and showed poise in his in-game skating.
This match was an example of how good Korchinski can be. It appears right off the bat that he has improved over the summer. You can't help but wonder if he earned himself a shot at playing an exhibition game with the NHL club. He's in a position where a great preseason could earn him a roster spot, but an average (or worse) one will get him sent to Rockford.
Dillon Boucher scored Chicago's second goal, which eventually stood as the goal they needed to get the game pushed to overtime.
AJ Spellacy is one player who deserves some additional praise, despite not being on the scoresheet. Later in his career, he may be a goal-scoring middle-six forward regularly, but if he plays in the NHL this year, he will be on the penalty kill and in the bottom six with a certain role to fulfill.
In this game against the Wild, Spellacy did all of that. He was hard to play against at even strength and was one of their better penalty-killing forwards in the game. The Wild found it difficult to generate offense on the man-advantage when he was out there.
Now that this road game was completed with a mostly AHL-caliber lineup for both sides, you can expect to see some of their stars when they meet next.
The Chicago Blackhawks are officially underway in the preseason. They will match up with the Minnesota Wild again on Monday, but this time it will be at the United Center in Chicago.
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After the 2025-26 season ended, both Mike Sullivan and Chris Drury emphasized the New York Rangers’ need to add a puck-moving defenseman.
They did so by acquiring Sean Durzi from the Utah Mammoth on July 1 in a trade centered on Vincent Trocheck.
Between his time with the Los Angeles Kings and the Arizona Coyotes/Utah Mammoth, Durzi has been known for his puck-moving abilities and takes pride in that part of his game.
“I take pride in giving a flat pass, on the tape, on time,” Durzi emphasised. “I know when that is. The forward knows when that is, and that's something that comes with getting used to the guys… It’s about utilizing my puck-moving ability within our system, and that’s the important thing.”
A key factor in the Rangers going out and acquiring Durzi had to do with his skating skills and high offensive instincts for a blueliner.
Because of Durzi’s mobility, Sullivan expects to utilize him in a multitude of different ways, and envisions him playing a lot of minutes.
“I think he has good offensive instincts, he can pass the puck, we knew that when we got him,” Sullivan said of Durzi. “I think that was one of the things that attracted us to him. He’s a real competitive guy as well. I’ve learned that in the short time that we’ve been together. I think he’s going to help us five-on-five offensively, he’s going to help us with breakouts, getting out of our endzone clearer. I think he’s going to help us with his skating ability, joining the rush. He’s in great shape. I can tell in the first three days, he’s a guy that can eat minutes.”
“As far as how we use him on special teams, he’s a guy who is very capable on a power play. And I think with his competitiveness, he’s got a good stick and mobility, I can see him being a big part of the penalty kill as well.”
Durzi averaged the most time on ice of his career during the 2023-24 season with the Coyotes when he played 22:43 minutes per game, leading all Coyotes players.
During that season, Durzi served as the team’s No. 1 defenseman on the power play, so while Fox will preside over that spot with the Rangers, Durzi is in a prime position to earn a role on the second power-play unit.
The 27-year-old defenseman emphasized that he feels comfortable playing on both phases of special teams.
“I played it (the power play) my whole career in the NHL,” Durzi said. “I take pride in special teams, power play and PK. If I'm needed there, blocking shots has been a strong suit of mine. Whatever the situation is, if I'm playing power play, if I'm playing PK, I'm here to you know do it to the best of my ability.”
Over the first three days of training camp, Durzi has been paired with Marcus Pettersson, who was also acquired by the Rangers over the summer.
Durzi and Pettersson will likely make up the Rangers’ second defensive pairing to kick off the season, as Sullivan has taken an extensive look at them playing alongside each other at training camp.
“I think they’ve been one of the better pairs that we’ve had together out there,” Sullivan said. “They seem to complement each other really well. They defend well, they made some plays, they made some outlet plays. They are not just out the glass and out guys I think just their ability to move the puck has been evident and on display for the first few days here.
“We were going to explore it and see what it looked like, and so far we’ve liked what we’ve seen. I would anticipate them getting some looks in these exhibition games and then we’ll make decisions.”
Last season, the Rangers were lacking a reliable second pairing behind Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov, but the duo of Durzi and Pettersson provides an option to take pressure off of the team’s top pairing.
Durzi is pleased with the chemistry he’s been able to build with Pettersson so far in a short sample size.
“It’s been awesome,” Durzi said of playing with Pettersson. “I think the most important thing is, after every shift out here and every rep in practice, we're talking about it. ‘What do you think about that play? I should be here. I like the puck to be in that area.’ Just questions about the D-zone and the neutral zone, things like that. It's been great to have him. He's made the transition that much easier.”
Since being drafted in 2018, Durzi has been traded three separate times, so he’s grown accustomed to the business side of hockey.
After being able to decompress in the couple of months since being traded to New York, Durzi expressed his excitement to embark on this next chapter with the Rangers.
“Hockey-wise, I’m excited. There’s not much more you can ask for: original six team, a lot of history,” Durzi said. “Guys play with their hearts on their sleeves when you play for the Rangers, and that’s what I love to do. I’m pumped to be here. I’m focused and ready to go.”
MARYLAND
HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Maddox
Dagenais had only one regret going into his first NHL action –
albeit a preseason game – on Saturday for the St. Louis Blues
against the Dallas Stars.
His
father, former NHL player Pierre Dagenais, was supposed to fly in and
see his son play. Unfortunately, his flight got canceled but
he will be able to watch the game on the Blues website.
Other
than that, the first-round pick (No. 16 overall) in the 2026 NHL
Draft was just going to let it rip on Saturday and soak in the
experience, take back with him whatever knowledge he can and make
marked improvements while playing for Quebec of the Quebec Major
Junior Hockey League for the third season.
“Yeah
for sure. There’s some veterans with us,” Dagenais said before
the Blues hosted the Stars in their preseason opener. “Just
ask some questions, how is it to play in an NHL rink. Just have fun.
When you have fun, you always play good.”
Dagenais
has been good in his first pro training camp.
Blues
coach Jim Montgomery said, “he’s a little bit of a 10 to 2 skater
on a clock and his feet are going that way and that makes it hard
because the angles are completely different and he’s going to be
very deceptive, I think.”
And
that playing in Saturday’s game, “gives
him a taste of what it’s really like, the speed of it, the electric
building, our fans, and then also what the strength and speed of what
the opposition is and what they can build towards.”
It’s
been a relatively smooth transition for the 18-year-old, who’s fit
in well in his first training camp. The 6-foot-4, 194-pound forward
was a bit of a sleeper pick by the Blues at No. 16 who is eager and
anxious to make good on the Blues investing in him.
“It’s
nice to see the pro guys and how they act, how they go to the gym,”
Dagenais
said.
“It’s nice to meet them also. I think it’s been going well.
“I
think there’s a lot of different areas of the game that I’m just
trying to ask the coaches and also the players. It’s (going
to be) my
third year in junior and I’m trying to be a leader out there. I
think the game’s also faster. I’m just trying to bring that pace
over there and show an example.”
Montgomery
has high praise for the kid but also wants to make sure everyone is
guarded before adding too much pressure on the teenager.
“It’s
real early, you know what I mean,” Montgomery
said. “I’m
obviously excited that he can score goals, that he’s an offensive
player because you can teach defense, but it’s real early for me to
be overly excited. But I’ve really liked what I’ve seen.”
Dagenais,
who was a point-per-game player last season with the Remparts (30
goals, 32 assists in 62 games), wants to continue to use the tools
that’s gotten him to this point.
“I’m
just trying to use what I’m good at for sure,” he
said.
“I’m just trying to work on everything in my game.”
As
for what’s to come after the 2026-27 season, that will be up to the
Blues and Dagenais. College is always an option but so is turning
pro.
“I’m
not there yet. I think I’m taking a day at a time,” Dagenais
said. “This year, right now I’m in St. Louis and making it as far
as possible. If I’m going back to Quebec for sure, our goal is to
win this year and next year’s going to be next year. I’m focusing
on this year.”
Dagenais finished with three shots on goal and one hit in 14:23 of ice time in a 2-1 loss.
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For the first time in nearly a year, Pyotr Kochetkov is in line to be back playing on NHL ice.
Obviously the stakes aren't as high as it was 274 days ago, given that Sunday's game against the Florida Panthers is the Carolina Hurricanes' preseason opener, but regardless, it's a huge step for the Russian netminder who has missed so much time.
"I'm excited of course because last season was not too good, not too fun for me," Kochetkov said. "Now I just see not too far. Just taking it day-by-day and wait for preseason games. After that, just live step-by-step."
Kochetkov, 27, underwent hip surgery in December of 2025 to address a nagging injury and by the time he was cleared to return, the playoffs were already underway and there was no time to get him back up to speed.
The netminder did dress for parts of the Stanley Cup Final following Frederik Andersen's injury, but he has yet to step foot into the crease for an actual NHL game since his procedure.
Mentally, the inactivity has been tough.
Kochetkov has dealt with injuries before, having dealt already with a myriad of issues in his short NHL career, but a midseason surgery was a new one for him.
"It was tough," Kochetkov said. "I was very happy for the guys, but if you ask about how I felt, of course it was tough. Never in my career have I played only 10 games. First time in my career where I lose so much time. It was so tough mentally, but I have motivation this season to show who I am."
However, the time off has also given him a different perspective on his career and his game.
"After last season, I never think about 'I want this many games.' or stuff like that," Kochetkov said. "I just try and think about practice, recovery and next day. Nothing more because all my career, I looked too far every time. At first, I want to go to the NHL. After that it's I want to be first goalie, I want to play more, blah, blah. When you're older and you see a little bit of a different angle of your life and your game, now I just want to be excited for what I do and play games. That's what I think about."
That attitude is going to be a helpful one for him to have, especially given the fact that the unorthodox goalie will be entering a relatively new situation in net.
For first time in Kochetkov's career, there's not an established veteran in front of him.
Even though tandem mate Brandon Bussi is older than him by a year, Kochetkov has five years of NHL experience compared to Bussi's one, making him the veteran presence now.
But Kochetkov doesn't see it as anything different. He's just ready to play when his name is called.
"For me, not much changes," Kochetkov said. "Whether it was [Frederik Andersen], [Antti Raanta], now [Brandon Bussi], I have my own individual [thoughts] about what I think about myself. For me, it's just play game and coach think who play next game. For me, nothing changes between this season, last season and the seasons before."
Regardless, this season is a huge opportunity for Kochetkov to reestablish himself as a long-term option for the team though.
The Russian goalie has arguably the highest ceiling amongst all of the organization's netminders, having posted already 11 career shutouts (nearly 10% of his total games played) and carrying the load in multiple seasons already.
However, he's also been very inconsistent at times too, falling victim to multi-game slides and confidence struggles throughout his career.
Finding a way to up the overall consistency factor and be a dependable asset night in and night out will be the biggest key for Kochetkov and it's going to be especially important for himself too as he's entering the final year of his contract.
"For me, it's an interesting season," Kochetkov said. "I have last season on my contract and so I'm excited. We have lots of games soon and hopefully I'll have lots of game time."
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The Carolina Hurricanes have made their first cut of training camp, reassigning goaltender Zach Jovanovski to Guelph Storm of the OHL.
The 2026 draftee was skating with the C1 group, which primarily consists of the NHL regulars and so this will allow Pyotr Kochetkov and Brandon Bussi to get the full reps for the remainder of camp.
Before the opening of camp, Jovanovski took part in the 2026 Prospects Showcase, playing in one game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The 18-year-old netminder was never in any consideration to play at any part of the preseason, but he got a bit of experience with the big boys and hopefully he picked up some pointers he can carry with him.
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 09: Gabriel Landeskog #92 of the Colorado Avalanche is recorded by TNT during the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Following a spirited day one of training camp when the 2026-27 Colorado Avalanche held their first official on-ice team activity, the squad was back after it on day two and three. Every training camp day follows the same basic schedule with the roster of 56 players (minus the injured folks) split into two groups with a mix of NHL regulars, AHL contracts, young prospects and Avalanche hopefuls. Each session lasts close to 90 minutes with a lunch break in between. The structure of the practice is a third for warm up drills, a third for controlled 5v5 and then the last third is some small area work around the net.
There was a focus and purpose in executing the drills Jared Bednar laid out for the players. Many returnees are already familiar with the system but the reality is a preseason game is just days away and they must prepare for it.
The groups were switched for this session and the Group 2 roster was on the ice in the morning. This collection is more of the depth players and they bring a bit more physicality. Zach L’Heureux has consistently shown he has a different energy and approach to the game. Fabian Lysell had a few more aggressive moments than he did on the first day. Jaden Schwartz also showed he can make some skillful plays.
Cale Makar joined the first group again in the red non-contact jersey as part of his rehab on the lower-body injury he suffered. The superstar defenseman did stay out longer than he did the previous day and looked good completing drills, he should be back to full-go soon.
Zachary L'Heureux has a very good shift in this 5v5 drill. Lots of discipline. He attacks below the net to put the pressure on and then heads straight to the front of the net. 🙌 #Avs#GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/sSujIbwOfy
It was a surprise that to conclude the practices on this day there still was a mandatory skate which consisted of a few heats of speed skating style figure-eights and then the traditional mountain. There are new rules in the CBA about fitness testing and conditioning in training camp but perhaps there are certain parameters where it’s still accepted.
Saturday Skate
To conclude the official camp portion of the new season’s preparations, a smaller group of Avalanche players gathered. Taylor Makar, Nikita Prishchepov, Alex Gagne and Ilya Nabokov were given the day off as they are expected to participate in both of the upcoming back-to-back preseason contests.
With Trent Miner injured and not even taking shots in his rehab sessions yet, one name to watch has been goaltender Nikita Novosyolov. Ever since development camp he’s been consistently solid and showing improvement. He’s going to see a fair bit of AHL action with the Colorado Eagles if he keeps this up.
Nikita Novosyolov, who signed an ELC this summer, has been look great during camp. Over the last couple of weeks he has been working closing the 5-hole and squaring to the puck. #Avs#GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/m1tuKaNidN
Cale Makar didn’t skate as it was a scheduled day off for him. The goal is for him to keep skating and get in a game at the end of the week. Speaking of, how the Avalanche manage their two sets of back-to-back games this week will be interesting as new CBA rules prevent anyone with 100 games of NHL experience cannot play in more than two preseason games. This impacts even a guy like Fedor Svechkov who is over the threshold. Bednar also indicated the Avalanche regulars would more likely play at home, which includes Sunday’s home game against the Utah Mammoth at 5:00 p.m. MT.
First Cuts
If that wasn’t enough news to digest, the Avalanche announced their first wave of cuts, trimming the training camp roster by 11 and a reduction of the active players to 45. The AHL contracted Jayson Megna, Yanick Turcotte, Jake Wise Hank Kempf and goaltender Nikita Novosyolov were sent to the Colorado Eagles camp. Also, Shawn Carrier, Teddy Lechner, Ondrej Ruml, Linus Funck, Alexandre Raymond and Tobias Tvrznik were sent back to their junior clubs. This means that Beckett Hamilton is still with the Avalanche and should get in an upcoming preseason game.
The following players have been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL) training camp:
Hank Kempf, D Jayson Megna, C Nikita Novosyolov, G Yanick Turcotte, LW Jake Wise, C
Additionally, the following players have been reassigned to their respective junior clubs:
The Buffalo Sabres played a split squad scrimmage in front of about 3,000 fans at Key Bank Center on Saturday afternoon, giving the club a workout before setting out on their abbreviated preseason in Pittsburgh on Monday. The two sides were divided equally with likely NHLers and players bound for the AHL Rochester Americans, and Team Gold won the three-period scrimmage 3-1, but Team Blue won the shootout 3-2.
Noah Ostlund, Mattias Samuelsson, and Jack Quinn scored for the Gold squad, while Beck Malenstyn scored for the Blue. In the shootout, Tage Thompson, Josh Doan and Owen Power scored for the Blue, while Josh Norris and Rasmus Dahlin tallied for the Gold.
After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff, who watched the game from the press box, said he was happy with the pace of the contest.
Noah Ostlund signs eight-year deal with the Sabres
The scrimmage marked the debut of defenseman Olin Zellweger, who was acquired from Anaheim in June. The 22-year-old was paired with Owen Power and flashed a nice spin move in the second period. The Sabres are hopefully that Zellweger can fill some of the gap created by the departure of Bowen Byram.
"I thought (Olin) closed really well. I think you're looking at guys trying to get used to how we play or want to play and how we close.” Ruff said. “I thought he closed in a lot of plays. I thought offensively , he tried to jump up in that third period where their team needed a goal. He joined on several occasions, where I thought he deferred to maybe a little bit of too much of a fancy play where I thought he probably could have delivered, but a lot to like there for sure.”
The contest also marked the return of Jiri Kulich, who played only 12 games last season due to a blood clot issue. The 22-year-old was able to get back on the ice in July, and the Sabres seem to be easing him back into the lineup, as he has been skating on a fourth-line unit with Sam Carrick and Malenstyn.
"I thought as the game went on, he looked more and more comfortable. Made some good plays, had a couple great chances." Ruff said. "I think there are opportunities. There's a few more plays out there he could have made, but I thought overall he skated really welll (and)he was noticeable.”
Throughout the careers of most NHL players, there are, at least, a few different uniforms that they sport until the day they decide to hang up the skates. Some are NHL legends themselves, and some have the rare opportunity to suit up next to NHL legends on teams that folks talk about for a long, long time.
For new Pittsburgh Penguins Hendrix Lapierre and Trevor van Riemsdyk, having legends as teammates and being part of winning organizations is the only thing they've known.
The 24-year-old Lapierre was dealt to the Penguins from the Washington Capitals a few days prior to free agency this summer, which means he's had the opportunity to skate with the two biggest stars of their respective generation in Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. The same goes for the decade-older van Riemsdyk, who was the first confirmed signing of NHL free agency this summer with his two-year, $8 million deal and who also won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015 during his rookie season.
Lapierre and van Riemsdyk are good friends, so when they learned they were both going to Pittsburgh - a very familiar foe - it eased the transition.
"It's always a nice thing to have a familiar face when you go somewhere new," van Riemsdyk said. "My first day here, I walked in with Hendrix, so I felt a little less... I don't even know how to describe it. But it's always good to have a buddy."
Granted, both just arrived in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago, and they are still new to everyone and everything here. But, given the air of living hockey legends and the respective places Washington and Pittsburgh find themselves directionally, they see similarities between the organizations, their veteran players and their approach to competitive rebuilding.
After winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, the Capitals experienced four consecutive first-round exits before missing the playoffs in 2023 - the same year that Pittsburgh had their first miss since 2006. The Penguins were also ousted in the first round four times in a row beforehand, and when the early playoff exits became a pattern, both teams started to hold onto higher-value draft picks.
The Caps got a bit more ahead of it than the Penguins, as they selected Alexander Alexeyev (31st overall), Connor McMichael (25th overall), and Lapierre (22nd overall) in consecutive drafts from 2018-20, although none of them are still with the club. They traded their first in 2021 and have kept every first since, selecting left wing Ivan Miroshnichenko (20th in 2022), right wing Ryan Leonard (eighth in 2023), right wing Terik Parascak (17th in 2024), left wing Lynden Lakovic (27th in 2025) and center Oliver Suvanto (18th in 2026) consecutively.
The Penguins didn't start keeping their first-round picks with some consistency until 2022, when they took Owen Pickering 22nd overall. They selected center Brayden Yager with their 14th pick in 2023 - he was later traded to the Winnipeg Jets one-for-one for a different first-round selection in Rutger McGroarty - before dealing their 2024 first for Erik Karlsson, although they probably got first-round value out of one of their second-rounders in Harrison Brunicke (44th overall). Then, the last two years, they have selected Ben Kindel (11th overall) and Liam Ruck (22nd), both of whom figure to be part of their future.
Pittsburgh may be a bit behind Washington timeline-wise with how they're building out, but the approach is the same: Keep the NHL roster competitive with a few all-time great veterans and acquisitions, and make sure they're mining gold in the drafting, scouting and development departments along the way despite lacking lottery-zone picks.
Lapierre has confidence in the way Pittsburgh is building because he's seen it happen with some success so far in Washington, even if the Capitals missed the playoffs last season. He said that all the organizations have known is winning, so they know how to add playoff assets and grow young talent simultaneously.
"You can kind of see both teams trying to add some good players, some assets to try to make the playoffs," Lapierre said. "At the same time, I didn't know much about the young players here, and watching them play, I'm super impressed. And it was the same thing in Washington. So, I think it's two teams that are kind of doing the same thing, which is very good.
"In the last couple of years, the good trades that have happened around the league, or the good contracts, a lot of them involve these two teams. So, I think they're just very two well-driven, good-cultured teams, and they've had success for a number of years because of that."
Of course, the success the organizations have had in staying relevant and generally competitive as long as they have starts with the championship culture that has been cultivated in the last two decades.
And that tone is set by some of those NHL legends mentioned earlier.
"[The Penguins] have core players that have been here for 20-plus years. Same thing in Washington," van Riemsdyk said. "I think people probably expected both organizations to fall off maybe a little bit more than they have. I know, two years ago in Washington when we had a great season, I don't think many people were expecting that from us. And then, last year here in Pittsburgh, I don't think many people predicted the season that they had, and they had a ton of guys step up.
"It just shows with both organizations how much that culture can carry you even when there's a lot of turnover in players."
It's worth repeating that the Penguins are a few years behind the Capitals in terms of what they're trying to accomplish. Washington's hand was forced two summers ago when longtime veteran forwards Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie both hit long-term injured reserve and, eventually, retirement, giving them cap room to acquire defensemen Jakub Chychrun and Matt Roy as well as forward Pierre-Luc Dubois. Those guys helped elevate them to a first-place finish in the East with 111 points during the 2024-25 season.
This summer - after taking a step back last season - Washington decided to take advantage of the rising-cap environment and use some of its assets and young players, including McMichael, to acquire high-end talent up front in veterans Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch and Boone Jenner. The Caps are at a point where they have infused their system with enough talent that they can begin to take swings in the trade market to help keep them competitive, perhaps even after Alex Ovechkin calls it a career.
As for the Penguins, they find themselves facing some decisions about moving on from key veterans in Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson in order to infuse a similar youth movement both internally and externally. They have some key complementary young pieces on the verge of full-time NHL minutes, but they still need some elite young talent at center and on defense in addition to promising young players in Kindel, Brunicke, and goaltender Sergei Murashov, who could be core pieces for them moving forward.
Like the Caps, eventually, they will probably need to say goodbye to some of their good young players and those veterans not named Crosby - like Ovechkin in Washington - in order to reach a point where their cornerstone generational talent marries with the organization's youth and high-end talent acquired via trade to build a true winner, hopefully, with said living legend still on the roster.
But the bottom line for both teams is this: Neither organization plans to go the traditional route of "tear-it-to-the-studs" in order to accomplish sustainable contention. They both have young pieces in place and plan to keep adding them as the timing, acquisition cost and market make sense.
And that culture of refusal to "lose in order to win" still makes both places a favorable destination for players - even if both teams, to different degrees, have some work to do in building toward consistent Cup contention, even if unconventionally.
"Obviously, when you get traded like me, you don't really have the option to choose which team you're going to. But, I think being a free agent, or even just getting traded, you're super happy to come [to Pittsburgh]," Lapierre said. "I've only been here for a week and a half or two weeks, but it seems like it's super well-ran."
And, as a 35-year-old free agent veteran who had a ton of say in where he ended up, there are a couple of reasons why van Riemsdyk signed with the Penguins so quickly: the organization's promising outlook for the future played its part, but so did the guys who have always made it a winner's destination - and could continue to.
"Obviously, I was part of a Cup team my rookie year. It's 13 years later now, and haven't gotten back," he said. "You realize how hard it is, and when you get older, you realize the chances are going to be limited. So you want to go places where success is on the forefront, and here, it is always like that. Sid is always pushing guys, Geno, Karl, Tanger... they've been part of great teams.
"As long as they're around, I think they're always going to be pretty damn successful."
Ahead of their first preseason game of 2026 on Monday, the Philadelphia Flyers did some major trimming to the training camp roster, cutting 15 players who will either head to the minors or go back to junior hockey.
The headliner of the 15-player group is 2026 first-round pick Maksim Sokolovskii, who practiced mostly with NHLers in Group A to start training camp.
Sokolovskii, 18, did not feature in Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage and instead skated with Group C, which has now been eliminated entirely with the exception of injured forward Nikita Grebenkin.
On Saturday, the Flyers cut Devin Kaplan, Alex Ciernik, Zayde Wisdom, Brady Berard, Nathan Quinn, KJ Sauer, Owen McLaughlin, Ilya Pautov, Luke Vlooswyk, Jackson Edward, Andrew Perrott, Marek Sklenicka, Martin Psohlavec, and Brek Liske from the roster, going from 57 players to 42.
From a prospects perspective, it is interesting that Devin Kaplan, who already has a game of NHL experience under his belt, did not even earn himself an opportunity to play in a preseason game.
Kaplan has been leap-frogged on the depth chart by Noah Powell, who survived the first round of cuts, as well as veterans (and some newcomers) like Garrett Wilson, Zach Aston-Reese, Danila Klimovich, and Nolan Foote.
Also of note, 2025 second-round pick Matthew Gard survived the first round of cuts. He's the only prospect the Flyers could have sent back to juniors but chose not to.
Additionally, Pautov, who could go to the QMJHL this season, is going to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' training camp for now.
Pautov, 20, signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Flyers back on June 1, and while he can go play in the AHL, the Russian winger was drafted eighth overall by the Gatineau Olympiques in the most recent CHL import draft.
That's a high pick to burn on a player who may not play for your team, whereas someone like Adam Nemec, a 17-year-old eligible for the 2027 NHL Draft, went 13th overall to Brantford.
In any event, the Flyers have now clearly established which players are still in the running for an NHL job, as well as which prospects they are presently most interested in seeing in preseason action.
