Category: NHL

Last Friday, when the Chicago Blackhawks had the Montreal Canadiens in town, there were a couple of people in the press box acting as “scouts”. One of them was Keith Jones, who is the current President of Hockey Operations for the Philadelphia Flyers. 

Currently, the Flyers are 3-7-3 through 13 games played. That is good for the worst points percentage in the Eastern Conference and 4th-worst in the entire NHL. This comes one year after not only making the playoffs, but also winning a series.

Is Keith Jones out scouting? Are any of his other scouts or executives flying around to take a look at certain players across different leagues? We’ll see how quickly they become aggressive sellers if the losing continues. 

Was Jones there to see the Hawks or the Habs? Well, the Montreal Canadiens are a lot closer to contending. The Flyers have a few pieces that may be worth acquiring for future assets if you’re Montreal and looking to win now. 

With that said, the Flyers may also be a great trade partner for the Blackhawks at this stage. When it comes to executives in Philadelphia, there is no true hot seat right now. However, they may be feeling some heat in Chicago after their 3-8-0 start.

Some teams make changes to the coaching staff whenever these things happen, but would they really fire Jeff Blashill right now? It doesn’t make a ton of sense. Instead, a big trade could help them get back on track. The Flyers have veterans who could help this young Blackhawks group. 

The most notable of the bunch is Travis Konecny. He is a veteran forward who has had 7 seasons in which he scored 20+ goals. In 2 of them, he eclipsed 30. In most of those 20-goal seasons, Konecny has had 50+ points as well. There is also an edge that he plays with, which can be extremely difficult to go up against. If there is any sort of issue going on between the Flyers and this player, he could be moved sooner rather than later. 

Owen Tippett, Cam York, and Rasmus Ristolainen are a few other names that could find themselves in trade rumors down the line as well. As long as those guys get healthy, they make sense for a Blackhawks team looking for a spark. 

Whether it's getting Connor Bedard another linemate at even strength or on the power play, or adding a veteran who can help calm the waters, nothing should be off the table. 

The Hawks are not in a position to be considered a buyer, or even close, but they need something to spark change within their group. They can’t keep getting blown out whenever they play a good team. If one of these guys can help, it’s worth considering. 

What might the Flyers want from the Blackhawks? Well, young players that the Blackhawks don't feel will be part of the long-term future could be in play. Is Kevin Korchinski going to stay in the press box forever? All of the forwards they like on the NHL and AHL roster can't play for Chicago at once. There are plenty of moves that could be made. 

Matvei Michkov Makes Perfect Sense For Blackhawks To ConsiderThe Chicago Blackhawks could consider Matvei Michkov if he is available for trade.

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The New York Islanders acquired forward and then-captain of the St. Louis Blues, Brayden Schenn, at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline.

However, the Islanders almost never got the chance to land the veteran forward.

Elliotte Friedman revealed back in January on the 32 Thoughts Podcast that the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Blues reached a deal for Schenn.

The Leafs would've sent their-then top-two prospects, Easton Cowan & Ben Danford, along with a first-round pick in exchange for Schenn.

The story recirculated social media in the last 24 hours, as Easton Cowan has lit the NHL: aflame with six goals and 13 points in 14 games to start the season with Toronto.

Danford, meanwhile, continues to impress in the AHL

The trade the Leafs and Blues discussed would've gone done at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, with Toronto then in place to contend.

One year later, the Islanders acquired Schenn in exchange for a first-round pick (Colorado's), goaltender prospect Marcus Gidlof, Jonathan Drouin, and a 2026 third-round pick (New Jersey's).

The Blues bought out Drouin over the summer.

That package is significantly lighter than what the Leafs would've sent. The Leafs essentially sent a Brock Nelson-level package. A top prospect, first-round pick, and more.

Schenn, 35, has posted three goals and eight points through the season's first 11 games.

In 19 games after the trade deadline last season, Schenn notched six goals and 11 points. 

Schenn has been a great add for the team's offense, producing at a solid top-six rate, while also serving as a leader. He is one of the Islanders' rotating alternate captains for the 2026-27 season.

That he then waived his no-trade clause for the Islanders after refusing to for the Maple Leafs?

It says a lot about the Islanders as an organization, a true destination, thanks to Matthew Schaefer.

Cycling back through some old stuff, thought this would be a fun little look on an off day. The Penguins played a game a year ago to the day last October 27th. Let’s look at the lineup, and some of the details of that season and see how things have either stayed the same or changed since this point last year.

Pittsburgh downed St. Louis 6-3 last October 27th, to improve their record on the season to 7-2-1. Here was the lineup on the night.

Then, now and as ever, there were some injury absences. Rickard Rakell’s name isn’t seen above, he was out injured. Kevin Hayes, Rutger McGroarty, Caleb Jones and Jack St. Ivany were others unavailable due to injury. Connor Clifton and Philip Tomasino were healthy scratches for the game one year ago today.

What’s changed in a year? Certainly the blueline. Four of the six defensemen who dressed one year ago today for the Pens aren’t currently on the NHL roster, three of them are out of the organization completely. That’s more than the three forwards who have departed the team.

That brings up a common theme with the Penguins: what in the world are they doing with the plan for their defense? That question is only going to grow now that Erik Karlsson is in the final year of his contract. It’s nice the team has added some pieces like Declan Carlile and Kaeden Korczak, but they have a lot of heavy lifting and building to do in terms of adding big-time talent to this spot. That’s been the case for a while, still remains the same today. It’s going to be interesting to see in the next 1-2-3 years what the Pens do to replace Karlsson and Kris Letang for players to take key roles. Presumably, the answer to that question has not been found yet.

Some pieces and faces have changed with the forwards, but it’s easy to see how that group is more or less the same in theory as it was 12 months ago. You’ve got Crosby leading a line, Malkin doing the same, Kindel on a third line and then Dewar+Lizotte as the core of a fourth line. That’s exactly how things have remained this year when everyone has been healthy at the same time, though Malkin has now shifted over to a wing position as his role evolves with age to add a slightly new twist to the mix.

This lineup shows some of the non-linear progression of young players, Koivunen played (as he would in many more NHL games this season) but didn’t have a lot of success at carving out a niche or much production. Fast forward a year and it looks like the pieces are slowly starting to come together for him now. Brunicke was getting his first taste of NHL action and has journeyed from the WHL to AHL in the last 12 months, slow progress but progress nonetheless for a young defenseman. McGroarty, hurt at the start of last season, has experienced similar stops and starts that have so far defined his young career. Ben Kindel, after the Oct 27th game last year, had two goals and no assists in the first eight games of his career – it very much wasn’t known at this point he would go onto be a key player as an 18-year old for a full season but he’s been on the steadiest path of all the young players in the organization.

Overall, it was a team led by veterans last year, as it remains this season. One commonality is a red hot start for Evgeni Malkin. At this time last year, Malkin had 16 points (3G+13A) in the first 10 games. Those numbers are down a bit this season, but Malkin (6G+3A) is the highest scoring forward on the team again on October 27th. Sidney Crosby was off to a better start last year (7G+7A), though it may be worth pointing out that Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell had 15 points in 19 combined games between the two of them last October 27th. Those two veteran wingers only have 10 combined points in 19 games to start this season. Erik Karlsson has been similarly productive, last October 27th he had 9 points (all assists), this year Karlsson has a goal and 11 assists in the first 12 games of the season.

In other news, Crosby scored his 1,700th NHL point a year ago today. He’s up to 1,768 now. This was also the game where a fan fell from the upper concourse of the arena (hope things are well there!) in a story that seems like it happened both just the other day and also 5+ years ago simultaneously.

Last year the Pens were 7-2-1 on October 27th, out to a surprising start. This year the results have lagged with a 5-6-1 record that gives them a lot of work to do following an 0-4 road trip. You can’t really take that trip away and hold the rest up as similar, it counts just the same, but it does show perhaps some hope for the present day that this team can find a way to keep moving through the year in a positive manner like they did last season.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are back at home to face the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at 7:00 PM.     

Philadelphia Flyers - 3-7-3 - 16 Points - Lost 1 - 7th in the Metro

Columbus Blue Jackets - 4-5-0 - 8 Points - Won 1 - 8th in the Metro

Team Notes Per CBJ PR

• The CBJ have earned points in eight of the last nine meetings of the series overall (7-1-1) as well as the past five straight at Philadelphia (4-0-1). 
• The road team has earned points in 14 of the last 19 in the series since Feb. 20, 2020 (10-5-4).  
• The clubs have combined for seven or more goals in four of the past eight games at Xfinity Mobile Arena  

Player Notes Per CBJ PR

• Charlie Coyle has posted 11-11-22 in 36 career games against the Flyers, including 5-3-8 in his last 10 contests.   
• Adam Fantilli Has posted 1-6-7 in 10 career GP vs. the Flyers with points in five- straight meetings (1-4-5).   
• Kent Johnson has 3-4-7 in 11 career GP, points in two of his past four games (1-1-2), and 2-3-5 in his last seven contests against the Flyers.
• Matthew Knies has 3-4-7 in nine career GP and has points in five of his past six games against Philadelphia (2-4-6).  
• Sean Monahan has 14-7-21 in 25 career GP, with 4-4-8 in his last 11 overall, and has totaled 6-4-10 in 14 career games at Philadelphia.  
• Damon Severson has 10-15-25 in 48 career GP, including assists in three-straight (0-4-4) and 3-5-8 in his past eight overall.
• Zach Werenski has 9-14-23 in 28 career GP with four multi-point efforts in his last five games (3-5-8).
• Jet Greaves has gone 4-0-0 with a .956 SV% and 1.23 GAA in four appearances vs. the club. 

Blue Jackets Stats 

• Power Play - 11.5% - 30th in the NHL
• Penalty Kill - 71.0% - 24th in the NHL
• Goals For - 21 - 32nd in the NHL
• Goals Against - 30 - 4th in the NHL   

Flyers Stats 

• Power Play - 16.3% - 25th in the NHL
• Penalty Kill - 82.6% - 11th in the NHL
• Goals For - 24 - 28th in the NHL
• Goals Against - 41 - 28th in the NHL

Series History vs. TheFlyers       

• The Blue Jackets are  2-19-3-4 overall, and 14-13-1-2 on the road in Philadelphia. 
• Columbus went 3-0-0 in 2025-26. 
• Columbus has won five straight games against Philadelphia and the last three on the road against the club.  

Who To Watch For TheFlyers     

• Matvei Michkov leads the Flyers with 8 goals and 10 points. 
• Trevor Zegras leads Philly with 7 assists and 10 points. 
• Goalie Dan Vladař is 2-3-1 with a SV% of .900. His last start was on 10-21. 
• Joseph Woll is 1-4-2 with a SV% of .904. His last start was on 10-24.

Injured Reserve & Other Injuries

• Dante Fabbro - Broken Hand - IR - 9 Games Missed - Skating and could return tonight
• Isac Lundestrom - Achilles Surgery - LTIR - 9 Games Missed
• Ivan Provorov - Lower Body - IR - 9 Games Missed - Lightly skating.

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 31

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be simulcast on The Blue Jackets Hockey Network and 97.1 The Fan, with Steve Mears behind the mic doing the play-by-play.

TV: CBJHN - Spectrum HD Ch. 320/1320; IP Ch. 349; Prime Video, Fubo. DirecTV Ch. 660 (streaming), 660-1 (satellite). U-Verse (1735/735)

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Once upon a time, many thought playing under the magnifying glass of the Montreal Canadiens’ market might be too much pressure for many players. Nowadays, it seems to be quite the opposite. Habs sniper Cole Caufield recently appeared on NHL First Shift on NHL Network, and he spoke about the Habs’ fanbase:

“It’s really a feeling like no other. I tell everybody to try to experience it once, if they can, and to be a part of that city during that time; it makes you really want to get back to that moment and definitely pushes our group a lot to get back there. There’s no better feeling than seeing the fans so passionate, and they deserve to see a winning team.”

The Canadiens Kept Their Focus Despite The Fanfare
Fowler Steals The Show As Habs Fly Away With Two Points
Canadiens Alumni Best Jets Alumni Ahead Of Heritage Classic

If Kent Hughes ever needs to sell the Montreal market to another player, Caufield could be his best option. Clearly, the diminutive winger relished the frenzy that took Montreal by storm in the last playoffs and soaked up every minute of it. He was also glad to reach the 50-goal milestone in front of the dedicated fans:

It was for sure stressful a little bit, but I think just playing in Montreal, you get that kind of pressure. It’s a good thing because they know kind of more things than I guess most fans do. But you know, I just wanted to get it done for them and kind of for my teammates to stop worrying about it or stop passing me the puck. It was obviously a cool feeling, and it was really special to do it at the Bell Centre and at home in front of the fans; that was a pretty surreal moment. And you know, I got to have my dad there too, which was cool.

More than just the fans and the market, though, Caufield is also grateful for the Canadiens’ current core:

It’s pretty special times in Montreal right now. With the guys that we have locked up for the next couple of years, it’s pretty special, and you can just tell those guys want to be there and really push each other every day to be better, and it’s just a really contagious feeling in Montreal right now.”

Hearing that part of the interview about the players really wanting to be there right now, it’s hard not to think about the fact that the Detroit Red Wings are often scouting the Canadiens (assistant GM Kris Draper has taken in a lot of Habs hockey lately) in the hope that Dylan Larkin changes his mind and puts Montreal on his list of approved teams. If he did, though, would that change the vibe? After all, he'd be almost forced to go there to get out of Detroit; it’s doubtful he could look his new teammates in the eye and say he really wanted to come and win in Montreal. For Caufield, though, it’s not just about the electric ambiance in Montreal; wherever the Canadiens go, the fans seem to follow. On Sunday in his post-game interview after the Heritage Classic, he made an interesting claim that did create some controversy:

Best fans in the league, I think; they obviously travel well. You know, we might be Canada’s favourite team.

Fans of other Canadian teams would probably disagree, but there’s no denying that wherever the Canadiens play in Canada, or even in the USA, they always have a lot of support. Plenty of red jerseys fill the stands, and “Go Habs Go!” chants echo through the arena. At a time when so many American players want to head back home, the Canadiens’ 15th overall pick at the 2019 draft is happy to stay right where he is.

Cole Caufield just called the Habs "Canada's Favourite Team" 😳

2 apples for #13 in the #HeritageClassic 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Z4wvLrn8al

— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) October 26, 2026

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

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It’s still a few days before we see the Pittsburgh Penguins back in action, but after looking at the injury list, no one will be complaining about the team getting an extra few days off to rest and recover. Bodies have been dropping all over for the Penguins as of late, and the less games they have to play while some of these guys heal up then it’s all for the better. In the meantime, fans will have to sit tight and hope once the Penguins do return to action on Thursday, some help arrives in the form of fresh bodies.

Pens Points…

Coming off a few tough weeks of hockey to begin the season, the Penguins are granted some much needed rest this week, getting four days off with only a pair of contests on the schedule later in the week. Adding to that, when action does resume, reinforcements could be coming as well. [Pensburgh]

It’s been a difficult start to the season for Rickard Rakell with only two goals to his name through the first 12 games. Saturday against Nashville was easily Rakell’s best game of the season to date and the kind of game the Penguins will need more out of their top line winger. [Pensburgh]

An array of injuries up and down the Penguins roster has opened opportunities for players being called up to make an impression. Although he’s waiting for his NHL debut, defenseman Chase Pietila is hoping to make the most of his time with the big club. [Trib Live]

NHL News and Notes…

An Edmonton Oiler not named Connor McDavid is the NHL’s First Star of the Week for the latest edition of the weekly honors. Leon Draisaitl went 6-3-9 for the Oilers this week to take home the top spot. Joining Draisaitl among the honorees were goaltenders Devin Cooley and Jacob Fowler. [NHL]

Connor Hellebuyck was granted his wish and has been traded away by the Winnipeg Jets. Now with his new team in New Jersey, Hellebuyck is back on the ice and ready to debut for the Devils, but the exact date for his big moment remains up in the air. [NHL]

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The Detroit Red Wings wrapped up their four-game road trip Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers by giving Michal Postava the start in net after calling him up from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins due to an injury to Daniil Tarasov.

It was proven to be the correct choice. 

Making his first NHL start, Postava turned aside 25 shots in both regulation and overtime before staring down Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the shootout, denying all three and securing a 4-3 comeback victory for his club. 

Michal. Postava.@MichelobULTRA | #ULTRAmomentspic.twitter.com/OAYxqQcgrn

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 27, 2026

In doing so, he became the third goaltender over the last 25 years of Red Wings history to win his first NHL start, joining Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek. 

Following the game, it felt as though he was a youngster again. 

"It's amazing, I feel like a kid," Postava said afterward. "I just watch all the NHL games when I was young. I just, I don't expect that one day, I'd be one day in the net and win the game. I'm just so happy."

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

Speaking in a heavy Czech accent reminiscent of former Red Wings goaltender and fellow Czech native Dominik Hasek, Postava said his main goal was to enjoy the experience and help his teammates.

"Just go to enjoy the game and help the guys, make some saves," he said. 

Former Oilers head coach Todd McLellan, who gave Postava the starting responsibilities against the high-powered Edmonton offense, said that the performance of the young goaltender was indicitive of how he's played with the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins. 

"We had a pretty good idea that Postava was what we saw tonight, and he was outstanding last year; the start to the season was really good," he said. 

Of course, the preseason schedule for 2026-27 shrunk to just four games, meaning that a young player like Postava wouldn't have as much of a chance to show what he could do at the NHL level. 

Dylan Larkin Scores Late, Michal Postava Backstops Red Wings To Comeback S/O Win Over Oilers In his first NHL start, Detroit Red Wings goaltender Michal Postava turned in an impressive performance, stopping all three Edmonton Oilers shootout attempts and helping his club secure a 4-3 shootout win.

But that hasn't stopped the Red Wings from expressing confidence in his abiliites, which he's already put on full display in Grand Rapids and now has done so in the NHL. 

"Unfortunately, the way the exhibition schedule is set up now, these goaltenders don't get a lot of runway, which I think sucks for them - but yeah, we've liked him all along, and he's continued to work," McLellan continued. "The goaltending coaches are very confident in him. So are the players."

The Red Wings got goals in regulation from Viktor Arvidsson, Emmitt Finnie, and the game-tying marker from Dylan Larkin with 1:17 left while Postava was pulled for an extra attacker. 

They'll return home to face the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, who now have former Red Wings forward Patrick Kane back in the fold, at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday evening. 

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Los Angeles Kings (3-5-2, in the Pacific Division) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (3-8, in the Central Division)

Chicago; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDT

LINE: Kings -123, Blackhawks +101; over/under is 6

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Blackhawks take on the Los Angeles Kings after losing three in a row.

Chicago is 3-4-0 at home and 3-8 overall. The Blackhawks have gone 1-3-0 in games they have more penalties than their opponent.

Los Angeles has a 2-2-2 record in road games and a 3-5-2 record overall. The Kings have gone 1-1-2 in one-goal games.

The teams meet Tuesday for the first time this season.

INJURIES: Blackhawks: Ryan Ellis: out for season (back), Bowen Byram: day to day (upper-body).

Kings: Jakub Dvorak: out (upper-body), Quinton Byfield: day to day (upper body), Mats Zuccarello: out (upper-body), Kevin Fiala: out (leg), Jan Jenik: out (undisclosed), Alex Turcotte: out (undisclosed).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Lucas Raymond scored the only goal of the shootout and had a pair of assists in regulation as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Monday night.

Viktor Arvidsson, Emmitt Finnie and Dylan Larkin scored in regulation for the Red Wings, who went 2-1-1 on a four-game road trip.

Michal Postava made 25 stops in regulation and three more in the shootout to earn the win in his first career start. The 24-year-old undrafted netminder from Czechia was appearing in his second career game, after replacing John Gibson in the third period of a 5-2 win against Vancouver last Thursday.

Vasily Podkolzin, Isaac Howard and Colton Dach scored for the Oilers, who have lost two straight as well as forward Zach Hyman to what looked to be a concussion.

Tristan Jarry made 26 saves for Edmonton.

Connor McDavid had an assist to extend his season-starting points streak to 12 games, now with an NHL-best 34 points. He set a team record for most points before Nov. 1, and also matched the longest season-opening assist streak in NHL history, matching Sebastian Aho, Ken Linseman and Wayne Gretzky.

Detroit fell behind three times and tied the game for a third time with 1:17 remaining in the third and their goalie pulled as a bouncing puck came to Larkin in front and he shoveled in his second of the season.

Up next

Red Wings: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.

Oilers: Host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

The Rangers got off to such strong starts at the beginning of the season that the team didn’t give up a single first-period goal until their seventh game.

Over their past seven contests, however, the Blueshirts have allowed a combined nine first-period goals while scoring only five. The high level of energy they had at puck drop earlier this season has steadily slipped, most recently resulting in a two-goal deficit by the first intermission on the way to a 6-3 loss to the Kings on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

“The biggest thing for me was I didn’t love the start,” head coach Mike Sullivan said after the loss. “I just didn’t think, from a mindset standpoint, I don’t think we had enough guys that were ready to play from the drop of the puck. So we’ve got to fix that fast. The onus is on each individual to get himself ready for when the puck drops. It wasn’t everybody, but we just didn’t have enough.”

After giving up two goals on the first two shots he faced, veteran goalie James Reimer heard sarcastic applause from the MSG crowd for making his first save in a red, white and blue sweater.

The very first Kings goal came off a Drew Doughty leading feed to Taylor Ward, who split Rangers defensemen Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson for a breakaway goal.

Sullivan ended up splitting Durzi and Pettersson later in the game after they were on for the Kings second goal as well.

Durzi took some shifts next to Alberts Smits, while Pettersson skated alongside Braden Schneider.

“It was an accumulation of events over time,” Sullivan said of what led to the decision. “We felt as a coaching staff, for the first probably seven or eight games, Marcus and Durz were a pretty solid pair for us. They get hard minutes, they get a lot of D-zone starts against top players. That pair has been pretty solid for us. I think the last five or six it’s been a little bit of a struggle for them, for whatever reason. Durz is battling through some stuff physically and I’m sure that might be part of it.

“But we just felt to affect a little bit of change, maybe we’ll split the pairs and see what we get. It wasn’t a reaction to the game tonight, it was an accumulation of events over the course of the last probably four or five games.”

Ex-Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette returned to MSG on Monday for the first time since his April 2025 firing.

“I really enjoyed being here,” said Laviolette, who is now head coach of the Kings. “I love being at Madison Square Garden. I mean, the New York fans were just awesome. I can’t tell you how many times I was around the country and somebody would come up to me and say, ‘I’m the biggest Rangers fan ever.’ And I’m like, ‘They’re all the biggest Rangers fans ever.’ And I think they are. They talk about the history of how their grandfather took them to a game like 50 years ago, and they’re 60 years old and now they’re taking their grandkids. Because it’s been around for 100 years, you get stories like that. “You can feel the passion from the people and the fans, and it’s pretty cool to be in a city like this. It’s one of the greatest cities in the country. It’s a huge sports market. It’s Madison Square Garden. It’s the New York Rangers. There was a lot of things that I loved about being here and part of New York.”

Adam Fox skated in his 500th NHL game and extended his home point streak to seven straight games (one goal, eight assists).

The reality without Igor Shesterkin is beginning to dawn on the New York Rangers. That harsh reality was made even more apparent after their 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.

In the wake of Shesterkin’s season-ending injury, Garand had started in seven consecutive games, and while he began without a hitch, the cracks in his game were becoming increasingly evident, as he gave up a total of 10 goals through the Rangers’ most recent two-game road trip.

Sullivan noted that he was mindful of Garand’s workload, as Garand had only started in three NHL games prior to this season, but was the team’s best option in net with both Shesterkin and Joonas Korpisalo injured.

Korpisalo resumed skating on Sunday, but it’s still unclear when he’ll be able to return from a lower-body injury that has kept him out for multiple weeks.

In an attempt to give Garand a rest, the Rangers signed veteran goaltender James Reimer to a one-year, $850,000 contract and started him on Monday night against the Kings.

The gamble on Reimer did not go as planned. The 38-year-old goaltender gave up three goals on just eight shots and was pulled for Garand after the first period.

Mike Sullivan took accountability for throwing Reimer into a situation that he wasn't necessarily prepared for.

“Let's just acknowledge we're in a difficult circumstance when our top two goalies are injured. We're trying to find a way to shore this thing up as best we can,” Sullivan said. “I think Dylan has given us some really good games. His workload is mounting. For Reims, to come in the way he has in short order and come into a game like this, it's not an easy challenge. It's a tough challenge and I just felt like the way the game was going, I just felt like maybe Reims needs a little bit more preparation before we put him in that circumstance. I put him in a tough spot. That's on me.”

In relief of Reimer, Garand was forced to jump into action and made 15 saves on 17 shots, but was unable to change the momentum of the game.

Due to the Rangers’ lack of goaltending depth behind Garand at the moment, he’s been put into a difficult spot, not only presiding over the starting goaltending position but also taking on a heavy workload that is both physically and mentally taxing for any goalie, let alone one with very minimal NHL experience.

New York’s most recent skid, in which they’ve lost three consecutive games, cannot entirely be blamed on their goaltending play, though.

To start the season, the Rangers played a highly structured defensive brand of hockey that helped translate to an impressive 7-3 start to the season.

Recently, the Blueshirts have strayed away from the identity that they prided themselves on, giving up more high-danger scoring chances and struggling to play a tight defensive game over the course of their past few games.

“The last little stretch here has been trending the wrong way,” J.T. Miller said. “We need to go back to playing to our identity. We're playing the opposite of that right now. We're making it too easy. We're lacking physicality.”

The Rangers are not an overly dynamic offensive team, which is why they are not built to win in the high-scoring affairs they’ve found themselves in recently or come back from multi-goal deficits.

A key to the Rangers’ success to start the season was the way they were able to capture an early lead and protect it by effectively playing a strong shutdown defensive style.

However, they’ve recently put themselves in deficits, largely due to their faulty defensive play, and have had to chase the game, losing their identity in the process.

“I think our guys have played really well with the lead throughout the course of this early part of the season,” Sullivan said. “There's no doubt that that has been in fact the case. If you get down multiple goals in the game, it's hard because then you're chasing it… I think we've given up multiple goals and that's a challenge because now you're digging out of the hole, and that's tough.”

All of these issues go back to the root problem of Shesterkin’s absence.

The Rangers’ entire identity and style of play center around Shesterkin, whom Sullivan described as “arguably our best player.”

“When you look at the makeup of our group, we have an elite goalie in Shesty, and if we build a good team, solid team game in front of him, defend hard, we are going to be in a lot of hockey games,” Sullivan said after the Rangers’ Oct. 4 win over the Utah Mammoth.

Over the years, many of the Blueshirts’ flaws have been covered up by Shesterkin, but without him, the team’s weaknesses are only magnified.

These recent struggles have been a combination of the Rangers failing to put together a consistent defensive effort and their goaltending problems without Shesterkin catching up to them.

The Rangers won’t play again until Sunday, giving the team a much-needed rest and reset as they look to overcome this skid and get back on track.

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The way Detroit Red Wings goaltender Michal Postava stared down two of the NHL's best forwards, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, made you think he'd done this more than a few times already. 

Postava, in his first NHL start, helped backstop the Red Wings in a 4-3 shootout comeback win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place, earning his first NHL victory. 

ENDED THE ROAD TRIP WITH A W‼️ pic.twitter.com/DYoapyR2ZD

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 27, 2026

After making 25 saves in regulation and overtime, including a game-saving stop in the waning seconds of OT on defenseman Evan Bouchard, Postava denied McDavid, Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the shootout, capping the final save with an emphatic fist pump in celebration as he was surrounded by his teammates. 

Michal Postava in his first NHL start gets the win! pic.twitter.com/g3Nu83DGSp

— Detroit SportsNet (@WatchDSN) October 27, 2026

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

The Oilers struck first thanks to a fortunate bounce off the skate of Vasily Podkolzin, who was credited with his eighth goal of the season in the game's opening period. 

Former Oilers forward Viktor Arvidsson, who played one season in Edmonton in 2024-25, knotted the score at 1-1 with his fifth goal of the campaign, converting on the power play with a one-timed shot past goaltender Tristan Jarry off a feed from Lucas Raymond.

The Oilers and Red Wings traded goals 30 seconds apart in the early goings of the third period, as Emmitt Finnie responded a half minute after former Michigan State Spartan Isaac Howard gave Edmonton the lead. 

It appeared as though Edmonton had scored the game-winning goal late in the frame after Colton Dach deflected a shot from Ryan Shea past Postava, who was soon pulled for an extra attacker.

Instead, it was Dylan Larkin who buried a loose puck past Jarry from the top of the crease with 1:17 left in regulation, knotting the score at 3-3. 

Michal Postava To Start 1st Career Regular Season Game For Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings announced on Monday that Michal Postava will get his first NHL start against the Edmonton Oilers.

Following a scoreless overtime, Lucas Raymond was the only shootout goal scorer, ensuring Detroit got the extra point in the standings. 

While Postava made 25 saves for his first NHL win, Jarry stopped 26 Detroit shots. 

The Red Wings, who finished their four-game road swing with a 2-1-1 record, return home to face former teammate Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday evening at Little Caesars Arena. 

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NEW YORK (AP) — Drew Doughty had a goal and two assists, and Artemi Panarin added a power-play goal and an assist as the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers 6-3 on Monday night.

The Kings won for the third time in their last four games — all on the road — after going winless over their first six games of the season.

Los Angeles jumped on New York early, chasing goaltender James Reimer after one period. Reimer was pulled in his Rangers debut after allowing three goals on eight shots. Reimer played just one previous game this fall, a 35-save shutout in the American Hockey League on Saturday night, before signing an NHL contract for the rest of the season.

Taylor Ward opened the scoring 1:15 into the game on the Kings’ first shot. Brandt Clarke made it 2-0 at 4:52 of the first, tipping in a rebound off Joel Armia’s slap shot.

J.T. Miller got New York on the board when a Tye Kartye slap shot deflected off his skate and past Darcy Kuemper.

Mikey Anderson and Taylor Ward added second-period goals for the Kings before Adam Fox cut the deficit to 5-2 on the power play with 6:55 to play in the second. Kartye got the Rangers within two at 16:08 of the third period, before Joel Edmundson scored in an empty net for his first goal of the season for Los Angeles.

Kuemper made 23 saves to pick up his third win of the season. After replacing Reimer, Dylan Garand stopped 15 of the 17 shots he faced.

FLAMES 5, MAPLE LEAFS 2

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Matvei Gridin scored twice as surging Calgary made it four straight wins with a victory over Toronto.

Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary, while Joel Farabee and Martin Pospisil added empty-netters. Farabee, who also had an assist, and Matt Coronato, who had a pair of assists, extended their point streaks to five games.

Easton Cowan and William Nylander scored for the Leafs, whose four-game win streak came to an end. Auston Matthews had an assist on Nylander’s goal for his 800th NHL point. He is the fastest player in Leafs history to reach that milestone and the second-fastest U.S.-born player to reach 800 career points, doing so in 703 games.

Devin Cooley made 26 stops to improve to 4-2-0.

Sergei Bobrovsky had 29 saves for Toronto.

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Matvei Gridin scored twice as the surging Calgary Flames made it four straight wins with a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.

Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary, while Joel Farabee and Martin Pospisil added empty-netters. Farabee, who also had an assist, and Matt Coronato, who had a pair of assists, extended their point streaks to five games.

Easton Cowan and William Nylander scored for the Leafs, whose four-game win streak came to an end. Auston Matthews had an assist on Nylander’s goal for his 800th NHL point. He is the fastest player in Leafs history to reach that milestone and the second-fastest U.S.-born player to reach 800 career points, doing so in 703 games.

Devin Cooley made 26 stops to improve to 4-2-0.

Sergei Bobrovsky had 29 saves for Toronto.

Calgary grabbed control of the game midway through the first period on goals less than two minutes apart by Gridin and Backlund. Backlund returned after missing two games with an upper-body injury.

Gridin’s first goal at 10:05 came from a sharp angle off the left wing when he picked the top corner on Bobrovsky’s short side.

Gridin’s second of the night was scored on the power play 25 seconds into the second period. It was another top corner snipe, this one over Bobrovsky’s other shoulder.

Toronto's Kirill Marchenko (lower body) left the game early in the second period after he went into the boards awkwardly after a hit from Yegor Sharangovich.

Calgary beat Toronto for the first time since Feb. 10, 2022. The Leafs had won the last eight meetings. It was Toronto’s longest active winning streak against any opponent.

Up next

Maple Leafs: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night.

Flames: Visit the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

All Times EDT

Tuesday, Oct. 27

MLB - Playoffs

World Series - Game 4

Milwaukee at Tampa Bay, 8 p.m.

NBA

Brooklyn at Boston, 7:30 p.m.

Detroit at New York, 8 p.m.

Sacramento at San Antonio, 8 p.m.

Portland at L.A. Lakers, 11 p.m.

NHL

Columbus at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Boston at Carolina, 8 p.m.

Florida at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.

Los Angeles at Chicago, 8 p.m.

Montreal at St. Louis, 8 p.m.

N.Y. Islanders at Nashville, 8 p.m.

New Jersey at Dallas, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Utah, 9 p.m.

Ottawa at Vegas, 10 p.m.

Vancouver at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

Buffalo at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

_____