Category: NHL

ST. LOUIS – Close, yet not close enough.

That’s sort of been the St. Louis Blues’ motto the past few games: right in the thick of it but in the end, the result has been consistent in a bad way.

The Blues dropped their fourth straight game, this time losing to the Los Angeles Kings, 5-4 in a shootout on a snowy Saturday at Enterprise Center in front of 6,848 people that braved the affects of a big winter storm that hit the area all day Saturday and into Sunday.

The Blues (19-24-9), who fell to the Dallas Stars 3-2 on a last-minute goal in regulation by future Blue (wink, wink) Jason Robertson, have either played as the better team at even strength or battled back the past three games and conceivably could have won each of them, yet found a way to be on the wrong side of each.

“Back-to-back’s are always tough, especially with some travel,” said Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, who scored twice to give him seven points (three goals, four assists) the past seven games. “I thought we battled hard today, especially in the second (period) of that game. We kept bringing it back and I thought we had a good game.”

Dalibor Dvorsky also scored for the second straight game and had a beautiful shootout goal in the third round to extend the shootout, Brayden Schenn scored and Joel Hofer made 24 saves for the Blues, who saw their four-game home winning streak end.

“There’s some things defensively that we need to clean up again,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “You can’t be happy any time you give up four goals.”

Let’s take a look at the game observations:

* Slow start to the game – Not surprising, the Blues did not come out with the energy and jump early.

They were playing the second of back-to-back nights, the Kings (21-16-13) haven’t played since Tuesday and had fresh legs and showed it.

They scored early on Taylor Ward’s goal off a turnover 4:31 into the opening period and carried some of that momentum into the early stages of the second when Brian Dumoulin made it 2-0 at 1:11.

“I did not like our first 10 minutes of the game,” Montgomery said. “I thought they vastly started the game a lot better than we did. Their forwards were skating, we were getting caught from behind, we had too many turnovers at the red line and then I thought in the second period, we came out skating ourselves and we got a little more physical and we started winning more battles. You can say we were playing north really well.”

* Pushback started late in first, carried into second period – Even though they gave up the early goal in the second, I thought the Blues finished the first strong after a lackluster beginning.

You can see they found their legs and it fueled a usually bad second period into a good one Saturday in which they scored three times in 5:56 to erase a two-goal deficit and lead 3-2.

“We found our legs a little more,” Kyrou said. “It was kind of a slow start and then we found it a little bit there at the end of the first and we just picked up from there and continued with that.”

Dvorsky, who scored in Dallas Friday, extended his point streak to three games when he finished off a beautiful passing play after initially winning a puck in the D-zone, then moving up in transition getting it from Mathieu Joseph, then worked a give-and-go with Otto Stenberg before a quick release from the slot beat Darcy Kuemper at 2:14 to make it a 2-1 game:

All the king's horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t stop Dalibor Dvorsky from scoring again. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/kwrWEarF1D

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 25, 2026

“Good play by the whole line on the goal today," Dvorsky said. "'Mojo' carrying it out, Otto gave me a great pass. It's always about the whole line, but yeah, I'm just trying to play with confidence every time I'm out there."

With Kevin Fiala in the box for tripping, the Blues’ power play scored for the third straight game and tied it 2-2 when Schenn finished off a back door play that was also beautifully set up with a zone entry by Pavel Buchnevich, Dvorsky’s little slip pass to Jimmy Snuggerud, who found Buchnevich low before he found Schenn on the right post at 6:30:

Deficit erased. pic.twitter.com/cIfQbcA5gP

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 25, 2026

And Kyrou’s first of the game may have been the best executed goal of the night for the Blues when he made it 3-2 at 8:10 after starting with the puck in his zone, Cam Fowler’s stretch pass up ice to Logan Mailloux enabled the young defenseman to move it across the blue line and find Kyrou with speed, and he did the rest by freezing Kuemper and finishing off the wraparound:

HOLY WRAPAROUND JORDAN KYROU! #stlbluespic.twitter.com/wG9dMDM9bU

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 25, 2026

“Great play by 'Fowls' to find 'Maisy' and then great vision from 'Maisy' to just kick it out to me there," Kyrou said. "I kind of just used my speed and tried to make it happen as quick as I could."

* Tough sequences for Toropchenko – The usually reliable, hard-working Alexey Toropchenko found himself in a couple tough shifts that cost the Blues two goals.

It was his turnover on Ward’s goal when he took a second or two too long to move the outlet pass off the boards, and it got deflected enough and picked off at the blue line and back in:

WARD-O 1-0 pic.twitter.com/TKHzKV2X8h

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 25, 2026

And after your team builds some strong momentum and scores three times to take the lead for the first time, those next shifts are equally as important to solidify that momentum.

But Toropchenko had a chance to check Corey Perry off the puck behind the Blues’ net and didn’t, enabling the Kings veteran forward to wheel the puck back around to the left point, and when the puck was thrown back to Perry behind the net, Toropchenko was caught off position, not covering either Perry behind the net or Alex Laferriere at the opposite side, and when Perry went against the grain feeding Laferriere back behind the left post, Laferriere tied the game 3-3 at 10:18, or 2:04 after the Blues gained the lead stunting any momentum and allowing the Kings to push back:

Laffy ties it! pic.twitter.com/RvvUgSe3Fu

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 25, 2026

* Controversy on fourth goal – Here’s where things really got quirky after the Kings grabbed a 4-3 lead when Trevor Moore poked a puck through Hofer at 11:34 of the third period, a rebound after he initially tipped on goal of Brandt Clarke’s right point shot (oh by the way, did anyone see Jake Neighbours deliver a knockout blow to Clarke in the first period?).

The Blues immediately challenged for offside, and without looking at it, offside challenges are usually won by the challenging team; it’s rare that the goal is awarded because they’re so cut and dry:

WELCOME BACK MOOREZY pic.twitter.com/Qmp9gFdIW4

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 25, 2026

Well, not in this case.

When officials quickly came back with the rendering that the play was onside, the goal stood.

The question at hand from the Blues was if Joel Armia was offside. The Blues felt like he was, at least according to their interpretation of Rule 83.1, which states:

A player is on-side when either of his skates are in contact with the blue line, or on his own side of the line, at the instant the puck completely crosses the leading edge of the blue line. For the purposes of this rule, a “skate” is to be considered the blade of the skate only. On his own side of the line shall be defined by a “plane” of the blue line which shall extend from the leading edge of the blue line upwards. If a player’s skate has yet to break the “plane” prior to the puck completely crossing the leading edge, he is deemed to be onside for the purpose of the off-side rule.

Here’s Montgomery’s explanation on their thought process:

“They changed the wording of the rule book and I’ve got to get confirmation from the league,” Montgomery said. “But it reads both skates need to be on the neutral side of the blue line, so the leading edge, and we saw one on one. The year before, it did not say both skates needed to be, so we need to get clarification. I talked to the linesman, they were great. They explained it’s no doubt, in their mind, it’s one foot.”

Montgomery continued, “Lawyers write the books for rule books, and I don't think like a lawyer. And obviously a lawyer would love facing me in court. But I talk hockey, and both skates to me means two. I thought (video coach) Elliott Mondou did a great job because the rule had changed. I was unaware of the wording change. So to us, if you change the wording, it's because you want both skates versus one skate and we've just got to get clarification on that.”

Unless I’m missing something in the rule book, the above interpretation clearly states one skate has to be touching up the blue line, with control of the puck, and the league ruling was: Video review supported the call on the ice that Los Angeles’ Joel Armia had possession and control of the puck when entering the attacking zone and was on-side prior to Trevor Moore’s goal.

* Hofer not at his best – Hofer has been solid for the Blues for the better part of nearly two months and the numbers back it up.

I didn’t think Saturday was one of his best.

Yes, he made a terrific save in overtime on Clarke that extended the game:

MORE LIKE JOEL NO-FER. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/D2ftFAnv6r

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 25, 2026

But it just felt like he was fighting the puck for good chunks of the game.

I initially thought he missed a cover on the Moore goal but replay showed Moore’s clever deflection initially enabled the puck to be freed up.

But it just didn’t feel like Hofer was as assertive as he’s been in recent past.

* Finally, a sixth-attacker plus – Blues fans have such a warm feeling when either Hofer or Jordan Binnington get pulled for an extra attacker. They know what usually happens next: an empty-net goal against.

Not this time. This time, the Blues delivered, and Kyrou got it when he one-timed a rebound of Justin Faulk’s point shot from the left circle at 17:50 of the third that tied the game 4-4:

IT DOESN'T GET MUCH MORE CLUTCH THAN THAT. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/IN2PD8X2OG

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 25, 2026

It was just the second time this season (Schenn vs. the New York Rangers on Nov. 24, 2025) the Blues scored with the goalie pulled while they’ve allowed 10.

“That was really good to see that execution," Montgomery said. "The Schenn line went out right after the time out and there was 2:43 left. They got an icing, and there's 2:06 left, and that's good. The other team's tired, they got 30 seconds there. 'Buchy' wins the draw, we go right to the spread there that we wanted to, and I love the play by Dvorsky. Dvorsky sends it in there, Kyrou's on the backdoor, all the execution that we wanted to create a little bit of havoc and chaos at their net, and that happened, and then we got the loose puck, went up top and we brought it right back to the net, and we got that good rebound goal."

* Dvorsky nearly delivers – Montgomery mentioned it above, but Dvorsky nearly delivered a picture-perfect ending, not only for the team but also for himself.

The Blues did not have the puck for the first portion of overtime, but once they did, it was a chance to end it, but Kuemper just got a right toe on Dvorsky’s breakaway chance at 1:42.

“It would have been great if we won the game on Dvorsky’s breakaway (in overtime),” Montgomery said. “That would have really capped off a really solid hockey effort by our team.”

Dvorsky did extend the shootout with a really nice backhand goal to extend it to a fourth round.

“I was kind of deciding between shot or doing that,” Dvorsky said. “I saw he was out pretty far so I deked it, went to backhand and happy that went in.”

* Shootout goes Kings’ way – Unfortunately for the Blues, they fell to 1-9 on the season in either overtime or a shootout (1-3 in shootouts).

Neighbours and Kyrou barely got any shots off, waiting too long to decide on what to do, and L.A., which has played the most overtime/shootout games (21) in the league this season, made good on goals from Adrian Kempe and Moore in the fourth round before Kuemper stopped Jimmy Snuggerud:

THE GOAL! THE SAVE! THE CELLY! pic.twitter.com/lXnvMZMiRF

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 25, 2026

“The games are close,” Dvorsky said. “For sure, we just need to stay with it. For sure, it’s going to turn to our favor for sure. We’ve just got to keep grinding and keep doing the right things and keep playing our game.”

* Shoutout to the brave fans – There were 6,848 of you that braved the weather and were in attendance, a number I thought was much higher than expected.

That's roughly a third of building capacity but you were loud, you were enjoying yourselves and were treated to an entertaining game.

Of course, you were looking for a Blues victory but you got to see plenty of good, some not-so-good, and in the end, a chance to see a victory that fell just short.

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.

Connor McDavid scored 46 seconds into overtime, Evan Bouchard had his first NHL hat trick and three assists, and the Edmonton Oilers held on for a 6-5 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.

Bouchard's six-point game came in his 400th regular-season contest. McDavid had a goal and three assists in regulation, Zach Hyman scored and Leon Draisaitl contributed three assists for the Oilers.

Edmonton netminder Connor Ingram gave up three goals on 12 shots before being replaced by Tristan Jarry midway through the second period. Jarry made 13 saves to close out the victory.

Washington got off to a slow start and didn’t register a shot on goal until the final minute of the first period. Connor McMichael had a goal and an assist, while Aliaksei Protas, Justin Sourdif, Dylan Strome and Anthony Beauvillier all got goals. Charlie Lindgren stopped 34 of the 40 shots he faced.

Washington was coming off a 3-1 win over the Flames in Calgary on Friday, and is now 1-4-0 in its last five games.

Washington’s first goal came just 22 seconds after Bouchard opened the scoring and the visitors leveled the score again two minutes and 37 seconds after his second of the night.

The Capitals climbed back into the game despite going down a defenseman late in the first period after Rasmus Sandin was hurt blocking a shot in the dying seconds of the opening frame and had to be helped off the ice. He did not return.

Draisaitl registered his 600th regular-season assist on Bouchard’s second goal. He is the fourth player in franchise history with 600 assists, following McDavid, Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.

Capitals: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

Oilers: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Brad Marchand scored twice, with his second coming 3 minutes into overtime, and the Florida Panthers won their third-straight road game with a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

Sam Reinhart had a goal and assist, Sam Bennett also scored, and the Panthers improved to 5-2 in their past seven. Reinhart's goal was his 25th of the season, marking the sixth straight year and seventh time overall he's scored that many.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots for his 207th career road win, and he moved into third on the NHL list behind only Martin Brodeur (310) and Marc-Andre Fleury (246). Bobrovsky began the day tied with Ed Belfour.

Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy had a goal and assist each, while Joel Eriksson Ek also scored for Minnesota. Filip Gustavsson stopped 30 shots in dropping to 9-2-4 in his past 13.

Marchand, who also added an assist, decided the game in being set up by Carter Verhaeghe on a 2-on-1 break. Verhaeghe gained control of the puck after Boldy was unable to control a pass from Quinn Hughes in the Florida end.

Boldy, in his first game after missing four with an upper-body injury, put the Wild ahead 3-2 with a short-handed goal with 7:51 left in regulation. Bennett, however, tied it 62 seconds later on the same Panthers’ power play.

Florida improved to 15-0-3 in games decided by one goal this season.

Kaprizov extended his points streak to five games, in which he’s combined for three goals and nine assists.

Minnesota’s John Hynes, who is from Rhode Island, coached his 800th career game, becoming the NHL’s fourth U.S.-born coach to reach that plateau.

Panthers: At Chicago on Sunday night.

Wild: Host Chicago on Tuesday night.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

BOSTON (AP) — Morgan Geekie scored his 100th career goal with 5:53 remaining to break a tie and give the Boston Bruins a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Geekie’s winner, his second goal of the night, came on the power play just 12 seconds after Fraser Minten fired a backhander that beat Montreal goalie Samuel Montembeault to tie the game at 3-3.

Viktor Arvidsson also scored a goal and Charlie McAvoy had three assists for Boston, which has won 10 of its last 12 and seven straight on TD Garden ice. Jeremy Swayman had 22 saves.

Cole Caufield had his second career hat trick for Montreal while Montembeault made 17 saves. Caufield now has 29 goals this season and is the first Montreal skater to have a hat trick in Boston since 1997.

Caufield’s first goal extended his point streak to five games and came at 6:36 of the opening period. His second goal while on the power play broke a 1-1 tie in the second period and featured a one-timer from just below the left circle.

Geekie’s first goal squared it at 2-2 and marked the third of four power-play goals between the teams in the second period. David Pastrnak carved out some space before delivering a pinpoint pass that Geekie hammered home from close range.

Caufield’s third goal gave the Canadiens a 3-2 lead and was a carbon copy of his second — below the circle and on point with his shot into a tight corner on the power play.

MAMMOTH 5, PREDATORS 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kailer Yamamoto had a goal and an assist and Utah extended its winning streak to five games with a 5-2 victory over Nashville.

Clayton Keller, Michael Carcone, Barrett Hayton and JJ Peterka also scored, Mikhail Sergachev had three assists and Karel Vejmelka made 27 saves for Utah.

Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault scored and Juuse Saros made 26 saves for the Predators, who have lost three of four.

Stamkos scored the game’s first goal at 3:43 of the opening period.

With the Predators on a power play, Roman Josi sent a pass from the slot to Stamkos at the left faceoff dot, where he beat Vejmelka with a one-timer.

Stamkos, who had a hat trick Thursday, has four goals in two games. He has eight power-play goals on the season to lead Nashville.

SABRES 5, ISLANDERS 0

NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Tucker scored twice and Alex Lyon stopped 26 shots and tied a Buffalo record with his ninth straight victory as the Sabres beat the New York Islanders.

Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch also scored as the Sabres won their third straight and for the fifth time in seven games. Ryan McLeod and Mattias Samuelsson each had two assists.

Lyon, who signed with the Sabres in July after two seasons with Detroit, recorded the sixth shutout of his career and tied the Buffalo record of Gerry Desjardins (1976-77) with nine consecutive wins.

Buffalo improved to 18-3-1 in its last 22 games.

BLUE JACKETS 8, LIGHTNING 5

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Mason Marchment recorded his third career hat trick, and Columbus beat Tampa Bay, ending its streak of 15 straight games without a regulation loss.

Charlie Coyle scored his 200th career goal and added two assists. Adam Fantilli had a goal and two assists, Dmitri Voronkov and Sean Monahan scored, and Zach Werenski added two assists. Jet Greaves stopped 24 shots for Columbus, whose four-goal first period was its highest total in an opening frame since March 15, 2003.

Jake Guentzel scored twice and had an assist, Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists, Anthony Cirelli added a goal and two assists, and Brandon Hagel had two assists. Darren Raddysh also scored, and Jonas Johansson made 23 saves for Tampa Bay.

Erik Cernak left the game after a hit by Mathieu Olivier with 2:15 left in the first period, and Charle-Edouard D’Astous left after a blue-line collision at 7:46 of the third.

Cole Sillinger opened the scoring at 5:47 of the first period, grabbing a neutral-zone turnover, but Tampa Bay tied it 2:01 later when Greaves’ clearing attempt deflected off Isac Lundestrom’s skate and into the net. Guentzel was credited with the goal, extending his point streak to 17 straight games against Columbus.

HURRICANES 4, SENATORS 1

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — William Carrier, Seth Jarvis and Taylor Hall scored in the first period and Carolina beat Ottawa to take the Eastern Conference lead.

Rookie goalie Brandon Bussi 35 saves for the victory.

Jalen Chatfield’s cross-ice pass sprung Mark Jankowski on an odd-man rush, where he fed Carrier cross-slot for an easy backhand tap-in to open the scoring just four minutes into the game. Only two minutes later, Jarvis beat James Reimer cleanly with a top-corner snipe from the faceoff circle.

Andrei Svechnikov made it 4-0 in the second.

Tim Stutzle scored for Ottawa.

RED WINGS 5, JETS 1

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — J.T. Compher scored twice as Detroit defeated Winnipeg in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,225.

The Red Wings rebounded from a 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota on Thursday and now have points in their last five games. The Jets have lost four of their last five.

Lucas Raymond and Marco Kasper added a goal and assist, and Alex DeBrincat also scored for the Red Wings, who scored four times in the third period.

John Gibson made 26 saves to earn his 21st win of the season. Gibson has now earned victories in eight straight starts.

Cole Koepke scored for the Jets, and Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves in his fourth consecutive loss.

KINGS 5, BLUES 4, SO

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Trevor Moore scored the deciding goal in the shootout and had a goal in regulation in his first game since being activated off injured reserve to help Los Angeles beat St. Louis.

Alex Laferriere, Taylor Ward and Brian Dumoulin also scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 25 saves for the Kings, who have not lost in regulation in five games.

Jordan Kyrou scored twice, Brayden Schenn and Dalibor Dvorsky added one goal each, and Joel Hofer made 24 saves for St. Louis, which has lost four consecutive games for the first time since the opening month of the season.

Moore, who missed 11 games with an upper-body injury, scored in the fourth round of the shootout. Then Kuemper denied Blues forward Jimmy Snuggerud to help the Kings improve to 8-13 in overtime games and shootouts this season.

PANTHERS 4, WILD 3, OT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Brad Marchand scored twice, with his second coming 3 minutes into overtime, and Florida won its third-straight road game with a victory over Minnesota.

Sam Reinhart had a goal and assist, Sam Bennett also scored, and the Panthers improved to 5-2 in their past seven. Reinhart’s goal was his 25th of the season, marking the sixth straight year and seventh time overall he’s scored that many.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots for his 207th career road win, and he moved into third on the NHL list behind only Martin Brodeur (310) and Marc-Andre Fleury (246). Bobrovsky began the day tied with Ed Belfour.

Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy had a goal and assist each, while Joel Eriksson Ek also scored for Minnesota. Filip Gustavsson stopped 30 shots in dropping to 9-2-4 in his past 13.

Marchand, who also added an assist, decided the game in being set up by Carter Verhaeghe on a 2-on-1 break. Verhaeghe gained control of the puck after Boldy was unable to control a pass from Quinn Hughes in the Florida end.

OILERS 6, CAPITALS 5, OT

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid scored 46 seconds into overtime, Evan Bouchard had his first NHL hat trick and three assists, and Edmonton held on for a win over Washington.

Bouchard’s six-point game came in his 400th regular-season contest. McDavid had a goal and three assists in regulation, Zach Hyman scored and Leon Draisaitl contributed three assists for the Oilers.

Edmonton netminder Connor Ingram gave up three goals on 12 shots before being replaced by Tristan Jarry midway through the second period. Jarry made 13 saves to close out the victory.

Washington got off to a slow start and didn’t register a shot on goal until the final minute of the first period. Connor McMichael had a goal and an assist, while Aliaksei Protas, Justin Sourdif, Dylan Strome and Anthony Beauvillier all got goals. Charlie Lindgren stopped 34 of the 40 shots he faced.

_____

On Saturday night, the Los Angeles Kings (21-16-13) kicked off a six-road trip in St. Louis in what would be a barn burner against the Blues (19-24-9). The Kings entered St. Louis coming off a victory over the Rangers on Tuesday. Not only are they coming off of a win, but they also entered Saturday's action riding a four-game point streak.

That streak would grow to five with perhaps the most resilient victory for the Kings all season long. After blowing two separate leads, including allowing a goal in the dying minutes of regulation, the Kings were able to hold strong and start the road strip off with two massive points.

KICKING OFF THE TRIP WITH A W@twiliopic.twitter.com/k521XfMkNw

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 25, 2026

Kings Jump Out to Early Lead

The Kings needed a quick start in this one and that is exactly what they got. Just under five minutes into the opening frame Los Angeles found themselves having a 1-0 lead.

A strong forecheck by Samuel Helenius allowed Jeff Malott to keep the puck in the Blues zone, Helenius then grabbed the loose puck and found Taylor Ward in the slot who wasted no time firing a wicked snap shot by Joel Hofer. Ward now has goals in back-to-back games and continues to improve as his stint in the NHL continues.

The first period came to a close and after two power play opportunities for both teams, the Kings held their 1-0 heading into the second period.

Once again, Los Angeles struck early in the period as they doubled their lead just over a minute into the middle frame. Brian Dumoulin gave his team a 2-0 with a blistering shot from the point for his long awaited first goal as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. Alex Laferriere and Adrian Kempe were credited with the assists.

Blues Score Three Unanswered Goals

The Kings early period momentum came to a screeching halt as the Blues found themselves quickly back into the game thanks to Dalibor Dvorsky's ninth goal of the season. Dvorsky was able to muscle through three Kings defenders as he fired a snap shot past the right shoulder of Darcy Kuemper, cutting the Kings lead in half. 

Shortly after the Blues goal, Samuel Helenius found himself just a goal away from the elusive 'Gordie Howe Hat Trick' after a solid scrap with Nick Bjusgtad. Helenius challenged the Blues veteran after he caught Brandt Clarke with a solid check along the boards.

Now all of a sudden, St. Louis had the momentum, and it showed. After Kevin Fiala is called for tripping the Blues were headed to the power play where they then evened the score thanks to their captain. Brayden Schenn knotted things up as he fired his 10th of the year past Kuemper off a nice pass from Pavel Buchnevich.

Not eve two minutes later, the Kings found themselves trailing after Jordan Kyrou scored his first of the game and 10th of the season. All props go to Kyrou on this one as he used his all world speed to pull off a terrific wrap around goal, giving Kuemper no chance. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, the Kings went from leading by two early in the second period, to down by a goal in less than 10 minutes.

Why The Kings Shouldn't Pursue Artemi PanarinThe New York Rangers are retooling and have made Artemi Panarin available ahead of this year's NHL Trade Deadline. The Los Angeles Kings are among a plethora of teams with interest in acquiring the four time all-star. However it may not be the best course of action for the Kings to take.

Kings Score Twice as Seesaw Battle Continues

However, the Kings responded well as they generated chances and were able to even the game just over two minutes after falling behind. 

Laferriere evened the score with his 13th of the year. After receiving a slick dish from Corey Perry, 'Laffy' was able to beat the unsuspecting Hofer, giving the Kings some much needed life and the game would enter the third period tied at 3-3.

The score would remain the same throughout the first half of the third period, and it wasn't until Trevor Moore buried a loose puck off a Brandt Clarke point shot. 

In his first game since December 29th, Moore's sixth of the season gives the Kings a 4-3 lead as they look to close out a hectic game in St. Louis. 

Kyrou Strikes Again

In the dying minutes of regulation St. Louis was pushing hard to battle back and even the score, while the Kings defended the Blues barrage.  

With their goalie pulled, it began to look inevitable that the Blues would tie the game, and Kyrou did just that with his second of the game. The Kings fail to hold a late game lead and this on his headed to overtime.

NHL Rumors: Kings Linked To Multiple Centers Amid Positional StrugglesAs the NHL trade deadline approaches, trade rumors have been heating up, and there's no exception with the Los Angeles Kings. Players such as Elias Pettersson, Nazem Kadri, and others have linked to L.A.

Kuemper, Kempe, Moore Shine in Shootout

Both teams had a series of chances in the five minute overtime period but neither squad was able to capitalize and a shootout was necessary. 

Kempe opened the shootout with a goal, while Kuemper stopped three of the four Blues skaters he faced. Which lead to Trevor Moore playing hero in his return, scoring in the fourth round to give the Kings a massive 5-4 victory.

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 Ottawa Senators got a first-hand look at how playoff-bound teams protect multi-goal leads on Saturday night.

The Carolina Hurricanes jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then expertly shut things down the rest of the way, skating to a 4–1 win at Canadian Tire Centre. Seth Jarvis led the way for Carolina with a goal and an assist, while Brandon Bussi, a Canes' waiver claim earlier this season, stopped 35 shots.

Ottawa has now lost four of its last five games, and three of the losses feature multi-goal Sens leads. The shot clock did little to tell the real story, as despite outshooting the Hurricanes 36–19, the Senators were never truly in the game.

William Carrier opened the scoring less than four minutes into the game. The Senators were in the middle of a wholesale line change, and Jordan Spence drifted way out of position, allowing an easy 2-on-0 rush that Carrier finished off for his sixth goal of the season.

Less than two minutes later, Jarvis was left all alone in the slot. Alex Nikishin threaded a pass to him through traffic, and Jarvis beat James Reimer to make it 2–0. Before the period was over, Taylor Hall made it 3–0 with his 12th of the season on what looked like a harmless wrist shot from distance, one Reimer would likely want back.

The score held until midway through the second period. After a sketchy tripping call on Claude Giroux, Carolina had a five-on-three advantage, and Svechnikov scored his 18th of the season by simply floating a puck toward the front of the net. It went in off Tyler Kleven and through Reimer to make it 4–0.

Tim Stützle finally got the Senators on the board with his 23rd of the season, a close-range wrist shot after a nice pass from Jake Sanderson. That would be the final goal of the night, as Carolina completely shut the door over the final 28 minutes.

The Senators now sit nine points out of the final wild-card spot and ten points back of the Atlantic Division’s top three, which is perhaps a sign it’s time to stop checking the playoff standings altogether.

Things don’t get any easier for the locals. Ottawa hosts the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday at 5:00 p.m., followed by the top-ranked Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News - Ottawa

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — J.T. Compher scored twice as the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,225 on Saturday night.

The Red Wings rebounded from a 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota on Thursday and now have points in their last five games. The Jets have lost four of their last five.

Lucas Raymond and Marco Kasper added a goal and assist, and Alex DeBrincat also scored for the Red Wings, who scored four times in the third period.

John Gibson made 26 saves to earn his 21st win of the season. Gibson has now earned victories in eight straight starts.

Cole Koepke scored for the Jets, and Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves in his fourth consecutive loss.

Koepke opened the scoring at 10:08 of the second period. The goal snapped a scoreless drought for Winnipeg at 5-on-5 dating back to Jan. 17 against Toronto — a span of 235 minutes, 48 seconds.

Detroit responded with 4:10 left in the period when Compher batted home a loose puck in the crease. Former Jet Andrew Copp picked up the assist.

Raymond scored his 18th of the season to extend his point streak to five games. The goal stood following video review for a high stick.

The Red Wings swept the season series 2-0. Detroit won the first game on home ice, 2-1, on Dec. 31.

Red Wings: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

Jets: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — William Carrier, Seth Jarvis and Taylor Hall scored in the first period and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Saturday night to take the Eastern Conference lead.

Rookie goalie Brandon Bussi 35 saves for the victory.

Jalen Chatfield’s cross-ice pass sprung Mark Jankowski on an odd-man rush, where he fed Carrier cross-slot for an easy backhand tap-in to open the scoring just four minutes into the game. Only two minutes later, Jarvis beat James Reimer cleanly with a top-corner snipe from the faceoff circle.

Andrei Svechnikov made it 4-0 in the second.

Tim Stutzle scored for Ottawa.

Before the game, the Senators honored former coach Jacques Martin for his induction into the Senators’ Ring of Honor.

Hurricanes: Host Utah on Thursday night.

Senators: Host Vegas on Sunday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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It was another successful road trip for the Detroit Red Wings, who collected five of a possible six points, capped by a 5–1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night.

THAT'S ANOTHER #REDWINGS DUB! pic.twitter.com/MyMfRAOynC

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 25, 2026

Led by a pair of goals from J.T. Compher, the Red Wings moved back into first place in the Atlantic Division standings, overtaking the Tampa Bay Lightning, who were in action at the same time but beaten 8-5 by the Columbus Blue Jackets.  

It was also the second straight game the Red Wings played without defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who is unavailable because of a lower-body injury. 

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.  

There was no score in the opening 20 minutes of play at Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg, but the ice was broken midway through the second period by Jets forward Cole Koepke, who backhanded a loose puck off a shot from Logan Stanley past goaltender John Gibson. 

However, the Red Wings would knot the score late in the frame thanks to the first of two goals on the night from Compher. He banged the puck past Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck right in front of the crease after taking a feed from Andrew Copp.

Compher then scored what ultimately proved to be the game-winning goal in the third period, capitalizing on a pretty three-way passing play with James van Riemsdyk and Emmitt Finnie, who now has points in consecutive games. 

Lucas Raymond doubled the lead when his wraparound attempt deflected into the air, off the crossbar, off Hellebuyck’s back, and into the net. While the Jets thought that Marco Kasper may have high-sticked the puck before it entered the net, replays showed that wasn't the case. 

Detroit then salted the game away with an empty-net goal from Alex DeBrincat. Patrick Kane picked up an assist on the play, moving him within one point of Mike Modano for the most points by a U.S.-born player in NHL history.

Kasper then added a goal on a two-on-one rush with Dylan Larkin just 32 seconds later, giving him his fifth goal of the season; he now has points in four of five games after a lengthy drought. 

Gibson continued his impressive streak for the Red Wings, making 25 saves. Hellebuyck, a Commerce Township, Mich. native who will be teammates with Larkin next month during the Winter Olympics, made 26 saves.

The Red Wings will return home for three straight contests, starting on Tuesday evening against the Los Angeles Kings. 

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The Rangers’ baffling unreadiness at pivotal moments in a game dates back to last season.

It is, of course, easily identifiable, but Mike Sullivan clocked it as a reflection of the team’s shortcomings in situational play. The first-year Rangers head coach has rattled off several instances this season, such as the start and end of periods, after a goal is scored and after a fight.

Those are critical moments in games, he’s pointed out numerous times, in which teams have an opportunity to build or stifle momentum.

Friday night at San Jose saw the Blueshirts give up their 14th goal of the season within at least the first 2:18 of a period. That includes overtime, in which they have surrendered the game-winner within the first 1:33 on three occasions.

The onus will always fall on the players who are actually taking the ice, but Sullivan took accountability from behind the bench as well.

“I think we got to have a readiness from the drop of the puck,” Sullivan said after the 3-1 loss to the Sharks on Friday night. “And trust me, I’ve thought about it because lately I think the last few games, we haven’t had the best starts. So I got to do a better job preparing them for it. I got to find a way to make sure they’re ready from the drop of the puck.”

The 14 goals do not even include the multitude of occasions the Rangers were caught slipping at the end of period.

Falling on the right side of momentum-changing moments has been a point of concern for this Rangers team. There’s a certain level of focus that is required to manage games effectively, and they have repeatedly blown critical moments.

Unable to avoid what’s gone on outside the locker room since the 2024 offseason, the Rangers’ on-ice product undoubtedly has been affected. Team confidence is so clearly fractured. There doesn’t appear to be much internal drive. It feels like they are anticipating defeat most nights.

As much as roster construction and chemistry are to blame as well, no club can function properly under the circumstances the Rangers have faced in the last 19 months or so.

It has been evident for some time that the team needs some fresh faces, hence the retooling announcement in “The Letter II.”

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND RANGERS STATS

The Rangers would like to believe that clarity on the organization’s status would alleviate pressure.

Mika Zibanejad talked about enjoying the time they still have with each other as a group.

Captain J.T. Miller noted that all the “B.S.” is out in front of them now, and they can try to enjoy the game again.

A team psyche, however, doesn’t always work so simply.

The Rangers might want to begin with starting games on time.

“It’s just they came out with more urgency,” Miller said of the Sharks. “We’re not ready to play, I don’t like saying that. Like, we were ready to play the game, but they won a couple more battles early on. They worked harder, they drew more penalties in those certain instances and capitalized on their power play. So, I mean, that was basically the start of the game. I mean, when we took the timeout, I think it was 3 ¹/₂ minutes into the game and was basically short-handed up until that point. So it’s kind of hard. But like I said, they earned their power plays in the beginning of the game, and they were just a little more urgent than we were.”

Due to the impending snowstorm, the Rangers canceled their Alumni Classic that was scheduled to take place Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

According to a news release, the organization assured that tickets purchased through Ticketmaster or directly at the MSG Box Office would be automatically refunded to the original method of payment.

Word is there are no current plans to reschedule the event, which was set to feature notable alumni such as Adam Graves, Derek Stepan, Mike Richter, Dan Girardi, Henrik Lundqvist, Marc Staal, Brian Boyle and Sean Avery.

The Islanders made the long-awaited move to call up Isaiah George before Saturday’s game, but did so in the sort of context they would have preferred to avoid.

Ryan Pulock was out with an upper-body injury and called day to day by coach Patrick Roy.

That meant instead of replacing Adam Boqvist in the lineup — which would have been the likely move had the Islanders brought home a fully healthy defensive corps from Wednesday’s 4-1 loss in Seattle — George was on a pair opposite the Swede.

Scott Mayfield moved up to the top pair in Pulock’s usual spot, reprising the role he played at the start of the season on the right side of Matthew Schaefer.

“I thought it was good,” George said of his performance across 13:56 of ice as the Islanders lost 5-0 to the Sabres. “Thought I had some moments, obviously, wish you had better shifts, but I felt comfortable out there. Getting back to the groove of things but I felt like I was handling the puck pretty well. Felt like I was seeing the ice.”

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND ISLANDERS STATS

Before the game, Roy went through the list of players from Bridgeport the Islanders have given a chance this year: Travis Mitchell, Marshall Warren, Cole McWard and now George. Left unsaid was that part of the reason four defensemen have been called up is not one of them has seized a job for good.

George, who played 33 games with the Islanders last season, may have the best chance of doing so. Word is that the 21-year-old put on serious muscle mass since his stint with the Isles a year ago, addressing one of the issues that prevented him from finishing the season on Long Island.

The Oakville, Ontario native impressed last season with his poise and skating, but the NHL seemed to wear on him over time, in particular the physicality of the league. Roy also said that a concussion, sustained in Toronto that caused George to miss a few games, had to do with some of his struggles.

This season, George has missed time with a pair of injuries, but has impressed since returning from the latest one a couple of weeks ago in particular. In his last game before getting called up last Monday, George had two assists.

“Obviously, you’d rather not be hurt,” George said. “You want to be playing, playing good, so that was obviously a tough situation. But I’m just happy with the way I stuck with it, kept working. I feel like the last couple weeks it’s kind of gone my way.”

Bo Horvat played 19:20 and recorded four shots on net in his return from a lower-body injury.

“I felt pretty good,” Horvat said. “I think, obviously, can be better in certain areas and timing-wise and legs, but overall felt pretty good. Felt confident.”

Marchand, you ready? Good, cause you’re going!

When the Florida Panthers took the ice for pregame warmups on Saturday night in Minnesota, there was an unexpected surprise that emerged from the locker room.

Brad Marchand, who has missed each of the past seven games with an undisclosed injury, joined his teammates for warmups.

Marchand lined up on the right side of a line with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen.

Panthers line rushes…@ScrippsSports 📺 now for @FlaPanthers vs Wild pic.twitter.com/SDAKhxuUOG

— Steve Goldstein (@goldieonice) January 25, 2026

A.J. Greer was moved alongside the duo of Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett, while Sam Reinhart slid to a line with Carter Verhaeghe and Evan Rodrigues.

Florida will seek their fifth road win in six tries against the Wild before heading straight to Chicago to complete a back-to-back set on Sunday.

Despite missing the chunk of time, Marchand remains tied for the team lead in assists and one point back of Sam Reinhart for the team lead in points. He’s been an integral part of Florida remaining in contention during their injury woes.

👀 pic.twitter.com/1YRlMimYw6

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) January 25, 2026

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Photo caption: Jan 6, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at Scotiabank Arena. (Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images)

The Buffalo Sabres made the first trade under new GM Jarmo Kekalainen Saturday. But if Sabres fans were hoping for a blockbuster, they were sorely disappointed, as Saturday’s deal sent prospect forward Viktor Neuchev to the Carolina Hurricanes in return for veteran American League defenseman Gavin Bayreuther. Neuchev will begin his Canes career with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, while Bayreuther will report to the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

However, there’s still plenty of time for Kekalainen to make a trade of significant consequence for his team. And whether it happens before the NHL’s Feb., 4 OIympic roster freeze, or by the league’s March 6 trade deadline, it absolutely has to happen.

Maybe it’s St. Louis Blues star center Robert Thomas the Sabres should pursue in a trade. Or maybe Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri should be Kekalainen’s focus. 

But wait, there’s more: recently-acquired Flames defenseman Zach Whitecloud may not be long for Calgary. So why shouldn’t Kekalainen bolster his blueline and add Whitecloud to Buffalo’s defense corps? Or what about New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck? We put this out there a couple of weeks ago, and it makes even more sense today.

And heck, if we’re talking about the Sabres stepping up and taking big swings on the trade front, it still makes sense for Kekalainen to try to acquire Vancouver Canucks star center Elias Pettersson. Or another Vancouver veteran – rugged winger Jake DeBrusk – could improve Buffalo’s attack.

Sabres' Lucrative Deal For Youngster Doan Is A Gamble – But A Good One The Buffalo Sabres signed young winger Josh Doan to a lucrative contract extension. The deal is a gamble for the Sabres, but it's a good one,

You can see, then, why there’s really no excuse for the Sabres to stand pat. You want to reward Buffalo’s current players for saving their season, and you don’t do that by sitting on your hands and falling short of the Stanley Cup playoffs because you were too timid to take leap of faith and get the most out of your roster. 

No, the best move for Kekalainen & Co. is for him to throw caution to the wind and get ahead of competing teams for experienced veterans of note. Long-suffering Sabres fans deserve to be on the good end of trades, because for too long, they’ve been on the wrong end of them. 

Steep Price Sharks Paid For Sherwood Should Be Price Sabres Are Willing To Pay To Make Their Own Major MoveThe San Jose Sharks made a big move, acquiring Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks. But the price the Sharks paid to improve should be the same type of price the Buffalo Sabres should be willing to pay to make their own major move. Because standing pat isn't an option for this Sabres squad.

Is there a chance a major trade doesn’t work out as hoped for Buffalo? Of course. If there were a risk-free way to improve your team, everybody would be doing it. Thus, the Sabres have to forget about the potential downside of a big trade and embrace the upside of one.

If Saturday’s minor-league trade is all Kekalainen does, Buffalo fans will rightfully be irate. The Sabres have no shortage of potential ways to be a better team by the trade deadline. And the sooner they take a chance on a brand-name player in a big deal, the better they’re likely to be.