COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Columbus Blue Jackets scored a pair of third-period goals in just over a minute and rallied to beat the New York Islanders 4-2 on Sunday for their second straight win.
Kirill Marchenko scored his second goal of the night with 3:19 left in the game, just over a minute after Ivan Provorov knotted the score at 2-2. Cole Sillinger added an empty-netter, and Denton Mateychuk and Sean Monahan both had two assists. Jet Greaves stopped 24 shots.
Max Shabanov and Bo Horvat scored for New York, and David Rittich made 31 saves for the Islanders, who seemed to have the win in hand but instead dropped the first game of their two-stop road trip to end 2025.
Marchenko buried a breakaway at 8:09 of the first period to open the scoring, and Shabanov pulled the Islanders even with 2:44 left in the period when a puck deflected off his knee and slid past Greaves.
The second period started in chaos when Mat Barzal reacted to a Mason Marchment tripping penalty by taking a two-handed chop to Marchment’s right foot, resulting in a major penalty and a game misconduct ejection. Columbus then failed to score on a 3-on-4 power play following Adam Pelech’s tripping penalty on Miles Wood.
Horvat gave New York the lead with 6:36 left in the second period on a wrist shot that marked his first goal since missing five games with a lower-body injury.
Columbus fought back to tie the score on Provorov’s goal with 4:33 left in the third period before Marchenko put the Blue Jackets ahead and Sillinger sealed the win.
When it came to the Montreal Canadiens, Arpon Basu urged the Canadiens to target Calgary Flames forward Blake Coleman.
"The Canadiens nabbed No. 9 on the list when they acquired center Phillip Danault from the Kings one hour before the holiday trade freeze, but they still have trade capital and Coleman plays a hard game, kills penalties, can pitch in on the power play and has Stanley Cup pedigree. But the real beauty is he has one year left on his contract after this one, same as Danault, Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson," Basu wrote.
With the Canadiens being a team on the rise, it is easy to understand why Basu views Coleman as a potential fit for the Original Six club. When looking at the Canadiens' current roster, Coleman could be an excellent fit in their middle six. This is especially so when noting that he can play multiple forward positions, which adds to his appeal.
Coleman would also serve as a nice mentor for the Canadiens' younger players if acquired due to his high amount of experience.
In 38 games so far this season with the Flames, Coleman has recorded 11 goals, seven assists, 18 points, 94 hits, and a plus-11 rating With numbers like these, the 34-year-old forward provides a bit of everything and would have the potential to be a strong pickup for a Canadiens club looking to continue to head in the right direction.
Yet, with Coleman being signed until the end of next season and being exactly the kind of play contenders love to have, the Canadiens would likely need to give up a good amount to land him.
A positive story surrounding the Vancouver Canucks his season has been the play of Max Sasson. After helping the Abbotsford Canucks capture a Calder Cup Championship last year, the 25-year-old has become a key member of Vancouver's lineup. With eight goals and 10 points in 34 games, Sasson continues to deliver in a bottom-six role.
While Sasson played 29 games in the NHL last season, his game has taken a step forward in 2025-26. He has already set new career highs in goals and points, while his 10:56 of average ice time is 36 seconds more than in 2024-25. Sasson's strong play has already earned him an extension, as he signed a two-year contract worth $2 million in mid-December.
"It means a ton, said Sasson. "It's a big vote of confidence and belief in what the organization see in me. I feel really excited about it, and really happy to be in Vancouver. It means the world to me to get another contract."
As mentioned, Sasson is already up to eight goals on the year. As of writing, that is tied for fifth on the current roster. When asked if he had a goal total in his mind before the season started, Sasson mentioned that playing the game the right way was more of a focus in the off-season.
"I try not to think about that stuff. I always hear Nick Saban talking about process, and you have no clue what the results gonna be, but I feel like if you stick to the process long enough, good things will happen, and you got to continue to stick to the process."
One of the players Sasson is tied with in goals is Linus Karlsson. The two were key parts of Abbotsford's run in the playoffs last year and have developed a strong friendship. Sasson was asked about what he has seen from Karlsson this year and the goal-scoring ability both have shown in the NHL.
"Hopefully we both have a bunch, and we keep trying to help the team win, no, but obviously it's fun seeing Linus having success. You know, one of my best friends over the last couple of years in the organization. So it's really fun playing with him and excited to see his success."
When it comes to Sasson, one of the most noticeable parts of his game is speed. According to NHL EDGE, he has hit a maximum speed of 23.15 MPH, which is the second-highest recorded speed on the team. When asked about developing that part of his game, Sasson mentioned that it has been something he has focused on in past off-seasons.
"Honestly, when I got to pro, I kind of thought of the things I'm good at and I want to be elite at them. I don't think you can ever be fast enough. So, the last couple of summers, I've been working on that part of my game. I want to continue to get faster. I want to really be great at my strengths and obviously continue to work on my weaknesses. I think if I can be elite at a few things, it'll really help me."
Recently, Sasson also crossed a significant milestone in his career as he is no longer waiver eligible. This means that he would need to pass through waivers if Vancouver wanted to send him to the AHL. While this milestone may not seem significant, it is a sign that the Canucks have been happy with his play and see him as a consistent part of their lineup for the rest of the season.
"I still always even have the mindset of every day in the NHL is a blessing. I'm never gonna take it for granted. But no doubt, when I was well aware of when I hit 60 games, I'm not gonna lie. I'm happy about it, but at the end of the day, it's day by day still, and I'm looking forward to the next game."
Sasson is the perfect example of hard work paying off. He went from signing as an undrafted free agent to becoming a key part of Vancouver's lineup. If Sasson can keep developing his game, he could be in store for a bigger role later this season.
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The Chicago Blackhawks currently have a 14-17-6 record and are at the bottom of the Central Division. They have also been struggling big time as of late, losing eight out of their last 10 games.
If the Blackhawks do not turn things around quickly and are out of the playoff race near the 2026 NHL trade deadline, they will likely be sellers again. If the Blackhawks do decide to sell, pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) defenseman Matt Grzelcyk could be a popular target.
Due to this, let's look at two teams that could target Grzelcyk if the Blackhawks make him available.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche are simply fantastic this season, as evidenced by their 28-2-7 record. With this, they should be buyers this season, and one area they could look to improve is their blueline depth. If they acquired Grzelcyk, he would give them another option to consider for their bottom pairing. Grzelcyk has also been connected to the Avalanche in the past.
Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings could very well look to add another experienced left-shot defenseman to their roster by the deadline, and Grzelcyk could make sense for them because of it. Grzelcyk would have the potential to provide the Red Wings' defensive group with a nice boost and could be a nice mentor for their younger players.
In an article by The Athletic, NHL insiders Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston played "NHL Trade Matchmaker" with multiple trade candidates. One of those was Andersson, and while LeBrun picked his destination to be Pacific Division opponents, the Vegas Golden Knights, Johnston's pick was the Kings.
Los Angeles explored the potential fit for Calgary's No. 1 D-man over the summer, according to Johnston. During that off-season, Andersson reportedly wasn't ready to sign an extension for the team looking to acquire him in a trade.
A large part of the happenings of this hypothetical trade is whether Andersson, who is a pending UFA, would sign an extension in a sign-and-trade. The Swede is in the final year of a six-year contract that sees him earn $4.55 million against the salary cap.
Nonetheless, with a reluctance over the off-season, Johnston believes that the "Kings remain a sensible destination with a blue line that could use a jolt."
This year, Andersson is on track to have one of the best seasons of his 10-year career. In 38 appearances, the 29-year-old has seven goals and 18 assists for 25 points. He's also averaging a career-high 24:10 of ice time per game, leading the team in that category.
With his production this season, he's on pace to beat his personal bests. In 2021-22, Andersson registered 46 assists and 50 points. In the following campaign, he put up 11 goals and matched that total last season.
The Flames blueliner is on track to finish the year with 15 goals and 54 points. That suggests he'll set new highs in goals and points, and will just be shy in the helpers department. However, all that can change as the midway point of the season approaches.
With Andersson having an exceptional season, it's not going to be a cheap cost for the Kings if they are interested in acquiring the Flames defenseman.
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DETROIT — William Nylander will miss his fifth game this season when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube confirmed that his star forward will not play, despite the player accompanying the club for the one-game trip to Detroit.
Nylander departed in the second period of the club’s 7-5 win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Although Berube didn’t specify the specifics of the lower-body injury, Nylander departed shortly after getting tangled with Senators defenseman Artem Zub.
Nylander scored the game-opening goal on the power play on Saturday. Easton Cowan, who has been a health scratch for the club’s last three games, will draw into his place.
The Leafs are 2-2-0 without Nylander in the lineup this season. He missed three games in late October due to a lower-body injury sustained at the hands of Buffalo Sabres forward Jason Zucker on Oct. 24.
Cowan has four goals and seven assists in 26 games this season. Berube insisted there was no message sending to the 20-year-old rookie.
“I've communicated with him very well,” Berube said. “A young guy like that you got to have real good communication and let him know what's going on and why and he's in a good spot."
Cowan for Nylander will be the only change as far as skaters on the ice are considered. Dennis Hildeby is expected to get the start in goal after Joseph Woll started on Saturday. It’s typical for the team to split goaltending duties when playing games on consecutive nights.
The Leafs have won back-to-back games, but face quite a challenge against the Atlantic Division-leading Red Wings. Although satisfied with the club pulling out two points against Ottawa on Saturday, Berube wasn’t pleased with a mistake-filled third period that allowed Ottawa to pull within a goal after Toronto enjoyed a three-goal lead.
“I think you look at the mistakes we made in the third period, they're correctable,” Berube said. “It's things we did well throughout the game that we didn't do well in the third period. But at the same time, we show a lot of going over the good stuff and the puck play and the offensive things that we did well in the game. But you always have to make corrections.”
Earlier in the day, the Leafs sent Henry Thrun to the Marlies. Toronto was allowed to temporarily exceed the 23-player roster limit when they activated Chris Tanev from long-term injured reserve on Dec. 23. Now that the holiday freeze has lifted, the club sent Thrun down to get back to 23 players. The Leafs also placed defenseman Marshall Rifai on waivers. The step was necessary because Rifai sustained a wrist injury in training camp. Although he played in one game with the Marlies on a conditioning stint, waivers were required for him to be sent back down, provided none of the other 31 NHL clubs put in a claim.
D Henry Thrun has been assigned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Boris Katchouk is officially on the move.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that they have traded Katchouk to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Michael Milne.
Katchouk signed a two-way contract with the Lightning this off-season, officially beginning his second tenure with the club. However, his second stint as a Bolt has now come to an early end, as he is heading to Minnesota with this minor trade.
Katchouk played in three games this season with the Lightning before this trade, where he recorded zero points, two blocks, and five hits. He also recorded four goals, six assists, and 10 points in 21 games with the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
The Blackhawks acquired Katchouk during the 2021-22 season as a part of the trade that sent forward Brandon Hagel to the Lightning. From there, Katchouk appeared in 117 games with the Blackhawks from 2021-22 to 2023-24, where he posted 11 goals, 15 assists, 26 points, and 176 hits. His time with the Blackhawks ended when he was claimed off waivers by the Ottawa Senators on March 7, 2024.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they have placed forward Danton Heinen on waivers.
Heinen being placed on waivers comes with forward Blake Lizotte being activated off of injured reserve.
This is the second time that Heinen has been placed on waivers this season, as he also hit the wire in early October. Now, the 30-year-old winger is back on waivers again, and the rest of the NHL has the opportunity to claim him if they wish to.
Heinen has played in 13 games this season with Pittsburgh, where he has recorded one goal, one assist, and a plus-1 rating. This is after he had nine goals, 20 assists, and 29 points in 79 games split between the Vancouver Canucks and Penguins this past season.
If Heinen clears waivers, Pittsburgh will be able to assign him to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Heinen has had plenty of success with the AHL club earlier this season, as he has recorded six goals and 17 points in 12 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2025-26.
In 579 career NHL games over 10 seasons, Heinen has posted 97 goals, 146 assists, and 243 points.
The Montreal Canadiens currently have a 20-12-5 record and are third place in the Atlantic Division standings. Due to this, there is an expectation that they will continue to try to improve their roster after acquiring Phillip Danault from the Los Angeles Kings.
One of the Canadiens' needs right now is another impactful and skilled winger. Due to this, they are now being viewed as a potential fit for one of the NHL's best trade candidates.
In The Athletic's latest NHL trade matchmaker column, insider Chris Johnston named the Canadiens as a potential trade fit for Nashville Predators winger Jonathan Marchessault.
"This is a move that would certainly sit well with Marchessault, which is important given the fact he’s got that NMC in his contract. The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner would bring some experience to the NHL’s youngest roster and should be able to add offensive pop to the Habs’ top-six forward group," Johnston wrote.
Johnston also mentioned that the Canadiens could move Patrik Laine, who has an $8.7 million cap hit, to the Predators in a hypothetical Marchessault deal to make things work out financially.
It is worth noting that Marchessault is having a down season by his standards with the Predators, as he has recorded seven goals and 10 points in 28 games. Yet, when looking at his resume, there is a clear reason to believe that he should bounce back. Just last season with Nashville, he posted 21 goals and 56 points in 78 games. This was after he had 42 goals and 69 points in 82 games with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023-24.
Marchessault would be more than a rental for the Canadiens if acquired, too. This is because he has a $5.5 million cap hit until the end of the 2028-29 season. Thus, he would have the potential to be a nice part of the Canadiens' forward group for multiple seasons if brought in.
Minnesota sent forward prospect Michael Milne to the Lightning for a veteran power forward Boris Katchouk.
Milne, 23, was drafted by Minnesota in the third round, 89th overall, in the 2022 NHL Draft. He has been very injury prone in every season he has been in the Wild's organization.
The 5-foot-10 forward has appeared in 15 games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild this season, recording two goals and five points. He has played 172 career AHL games, all with Iowa, and has recorded 32 goals and 65 points.
Katchouk, 27, was a second round pick by the Lightning in 2026. He has played in 261 career AHL games and has recorded 64 goals, 90 assists and 154 points. He has played in three NHL games this year and has zero points and five hits.
In 179 career NHL games, Katchouk has 15 goals, 21 assists, 36 points, 310 hits and is a minus-23. The 6-foot-3 forward has played four seasons in the NHL with three different teams and is expected to go to the Iowa Wild.
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Matthew Tkachuk played hockey on Sunday, which was a jolt of long-awaited good news for the Florida Panthers.
How long it’ll take him to go from the practice rink to the game rink remains unclear.
Wearing a yellow non-contact jersey, Tkachuk practiced Sunday for the first time this season and more than four months after he had surgery to repair a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle.
Tkachuk has not played since Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, when the Panthers clinched their second consecutive title by again topping the Edmonton Oilers. He went through the summer trying to rehab — but eventually decided that he needed the surgery knowing it would cost him the first few months of the season.
The wait isn’t over. But it’s close.
“He looks awesome,” Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said. “Good to see him back out there. He brought us some energy today, that’s for sure.”
Now the waiting game shifts to when Tkachuk will play a game. Florida plays host to Washington on Monday and Montreal on Tuesday, then will be the home team for the NHL Winter Classic at the Miami Marlins’ ballpark against the New York Rangers on Friday.
The Panthers are scheduled to practice at the ballpark on Thursday. Other than morning skates, that will be their next practice. And there’s no guarantee that Tkachuk will play Friday. Florida is not going to rush it just for him to be part of an event.
“There’s a whole bunch of things he’s got to get through. The question is, is there enough time,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He might be healthy enough or close to enough that he could play, but we’re not guessing on this. ... As much as we like the spectacle of it and we’d love for him to be a part of it — it would be great for the game to see him out there — the Florida Panthers need him healthy for the rest of the year.”
After the Panthers won their second straight Stanley Cup in June, Tkachuk revealed that he had sustained the injuries while playing for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. He missed the final 25 games of the regular season but returned for Game 1 of the Panthers’ first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tkachuk had 23 points — eight goals and 15 assists — in 23 playoff games, including seven points in the Stanley Cup Final. He’s expected to address reporters later this week and indicated after the practice Sunday that all went well with the workout.
The Panthers have been without a slew of key players all season, including captain Aleksander Barkov. They entered Sunday tied for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, only five points out of the lead in the Atlantic Division.
Florida has gone through this season with the expectation that Tkachuk would be back on a “December-ish” timeline. He has said he wants to play in the Winter Classic, the Panthers’ first outdoor game, and for Team USA at the Milan Cortina Olympics in February.
“We will enjoy the talent upgrade,” Maurice said. “He’s a great player. But it’s the personality more. He’s chirping on the ice, right? He’s giving it to guys. They’re laughing. He’s bringing a little joy to everyone. He’s funny on the bench. He has an incredible emotional IQ in terms of the game of hockey. When nothing needs to happen, he doesn’t do anything. When something needs to happen, he figures out the right way.”
The Chicago Blackhawks just earned their gutsiest win of the season on Saturday night. They woke up after a three-day holiday break, got on a plane, flew to Dallas without Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, and beat one of the best teams in the NHL to snap a six-game losing streak.
Now, on the second half of a back-to-back, the Blackhawks will face the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center. Quickly, the mentality is to turn the losing streak into a winning streak.
Scouting Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a lot of success over the last 20 years. However, they are in a strange phase right now as their aging superstars are still great, but the rest of the team is not good enough to be a playoff team.
At 15-12-9, the Penguins are only three points below the playoff line, but they are the third-to-last team in the conference. Anything can happen, but making the postseason would be a tremendous challenge for them at this point.
Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Mantha-Novak-Brazeau
McGroarty-Kindel-Koivunen
Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Kulak-Letang
Shea-St. Ivany
Silovs
For the last 20 years, everything to do with the Pittsburgh Penguins started and ended with Sidney Crosby. It still does in 2025-26. He leads the team with 20 goals and 38 points in 36 games played.
He will lead their top line alongside Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. This is the line that the Blackhawks will need their best against at all times. Crosby knows how to defend well, be hard to forecheck against, and turn it all into offense.
This forward group has some notable players alongside some young guys looking to establish their games at the NHL level.
They will, however, be missing Evgeni Malkin, who has missed the last 10 games with an injury. He won't return against Chicago, but he did skate before practice on Saturday. Malkin, like Crosby, will be a first ballot Hall of Famer and one of the greatest ever.
On defense, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang are the two leaders. Fittingly, they are aging superstars who will be in the Hall of Fame like Crosby and Malkin, but they still know how to get it done at a high level. In goal for Pittsburgh will be Arturs Silovs.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawks, playing the second half of a back-to-back with travel, have the cards stacked against them in this matchup as well. However, they've proven that they can compete in situations like this. Without Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, it's an even harder challenge, but coach Blashill will have them prepared to give it a good effort.
Bertuzzi-Dickinson-Slaggert
Teravainen-Donato-Burakovsky
Moore-Greene-Dach
Lardis-Toninato-Lafferty
Vlasic-Crevier
Grzelcyk-Levshunov
Kaiser-Murphy
Knight
Captain Nick Foligno has been unable to return over their last couple of games, but every match is a chance for him to come back. If it is in this matchup, you can expect one of Sam Lafferty or Dominic Toninato to take a seat from this group.
Landon Slaggert was called up from Rockford to replace Ilya Mikheyev, who is out due to the birth of his child, but he played so well against the Stars that it would be hard to bench him one night later.
Arvid Soderblom started in goal for the Blackhawks on Saturday night. That means that Spencer Knight will likely get the nod against the Penguins on Sunday.
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found locally on CHSN. Nationally, it can be streamed on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 6 PM CT.
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The Ottawa Senators’ 7–5 loss in Toronto on Saturday night won’t go down as the greatest game ever played in the Battle of Ontario, but it was certainly entertaining. Matthew Knies had two goals and an assist for Toronto, which snapped a five-game losing slide against the Sens.
Neither team seemed to be at their best, which isn’t uncommon following a three-day holiday break when players are completely off skates and – how shall I put this? – their standard nutritional intake is ignored.
In a lot of ways, the game resembled a holiday skate on the ODR, with loads of goal scoring and only a passing interest in defence.
The Senators’ penalty kill proved to be the perfect tonic for Toronto’s 32nd-ranked power play, which went to work early to give the Leafs a 2–0 lead by way of William Nylander, who would later leave the game with a lower-body injury and did not return. Knies got into the act with a snapshot from the bumper position on a nice pass by Max Domi, who finished the night with three assists.
But the Senators fought back to tie the game.
Nick Cousins tucked home his sixth of the year with under three minutes left in the period to make it 2–1. Then, 18 seconds into the middle frame, Ridly Greig charged to the net with the puck with Leafs defenceman Philippe Myers all over him. Greig managed to get the puck to the net, but Myers ended up plowing Greig, the puck, and Leafs goalie Joseph Woll into the Toronto net.
After review, it was determined that Myers was the one responsible for putting the puck into the Leafs’ net, and the goal stood.
With the score now tied and the ship apparently righted, the Sens began taking on water again after Linus Ullmark let in a pair of goals that head coach Travis Green admitted after the game he didn't like.
The first restored Toronto's lead when a slow-moving puck trickled through Ullmark's legs and sat exposed near the goal line. Bobby McMann whacked it into the vacant net. On the next one, Ullmark gave up a big rebound, which fell right to Auston Matthews, who was standing near the crease right beside Thomas Chabot. Let completely untouched, Matthews crammed in the rebound for one of the easiest goals of his career, which would be the end of Ullmark’s night.
He certainly wasn’t good on Saturday, allowing four goals on 14 shots, but he didn’t get much help either. Backup Leevi Merilainen was scored on with the first shot he faced from Nicholas Robertson.
Down 5-2, the Senators came out and made a game of it in the third.
Drake Batherson scored 14 seconds in, taking a pass from Dylan Cozens in the slot and roofing a beauty over the top of Woll. Tim Stützle then made it 5–4 just over five minutes into the third, cutting into the slot and ripping a wrist shot that Woll got a big piece of, but not enough to stop it from going in.
That momentum didn’t last even a minute, as Knies scored his second of the game to put Toronto back up 6–4.
Jordan Spence made it 6–5 when his wrist shot hit Claude Giroux on the skate, which stung the veteran, but the puck bounced right back to Spence, who had all kinds of room to reload and shoot to make it 6–5.
Giroux, despite the bruise, ended up with two assists in his 1,300th NHL game.
Ottawa continued to push in the late going, but John Tavares put it away with an empty-net goal with 1:16 to play.
Now that the Sens have shaken off the eggnog, they’ll be back home to host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night to kick off a four-game homestand that take them into 2026 and finish off the first half of their regular season.
By Steve Warne The Hockey News Ottawa
Read more Ottawa Senators news and features at The Hockey News:
Steve Warne is the Ottawa Senators site editor at The Hockey News. Steve has covered the Senators since day one, first as Sports Director for Rogers Radio in Ottawa on AM 1310 and FM 105, then as the long-time host of the morning show at TSN 1200 radio, the Sens' flagship station. Steve is also the owner and host of TheSens Nation Podcast.
Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier (61), center Mason McTavish (23), right wing Beckett Sennecke (45), defenseman Olen Zellweger (51), and right wing Frank Vatrano (77) celebrate after scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 7 at Honda Center. (Ethan Swope / Associated Press)
R.J. Prewitt has been a Ducks fan since the first puck dropped in Anaheim, so he’s known good times and bad.
He was there when the team won the Stanley Cup in 2007, for example, and when it took another final to a seventh game four seasons earlier. But he was also there through each of the last seven seasons, when the Ducks never placed higher than sixth in the Pacific Division and finished a combined 74 games under .500.
“It's my team,” said Prewitt, wearing a white-and-orange Ducks’ sweater as he waited to enter the Crypto.com Arena for Saturday night’s game with the Kings. “I'm going to have faith no matter what.”
That faith is getting another stern test this month. Because after entering December atop the division standings for the first time in more than a decade, the Ducks have lost six of their last eight, with the most ignominious loss coming Saturday in a 6-1 thrashing by their neighborhood rivals and winger Alex Laferriere, who got his first career hat trick.
Ducks left wing Alex Killorn skates with the puck during a loss to Kings Saturday at Crypto.com Arena. (Katie Chin / Associated Press)
For the Kings, the season-high six goals comes at the end of a slide that had seen them lose six of their last seven, averaging less than two goals a game over that stretch.
Laferriere scored more than that by himself Saturday.
The Kings’ first two goals, from Drew Doughty and Trevor Moore, came in the first four minutes. Laferriere got his first midway through the first period and when Quinton Byfield scored on a power play just before the intermission, the Kings took a 4-0 lead into the locker room at the break.
For the Ducks, who have been plagued by slow starts — 11 of their 21 wins came in games in which they trailed; only the Philadelphia Flyers have more — that deficit was too much to overcome.
“That’s unacceptable,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “You’re not going to make the playoffs being at that level. So we’ve got to make sure that we recapture that feeling of what it takes to be consistent.”
Ducks coach Joel Quenneville yells instructions to his players during a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 19. (Paul Beaty / Associated Press)
Yet despite Saturday’s loss, the Ducks and their fans still have a lot of positives to celebrate — especially given the team’s recent history.
The Ducks’ 21 wins are still most in the division; they didn’t get their 21st win until Jan. 28th last season. And their 130 goals through 38 games — an average of nearly 3 ½ a night — rank fourth in the NHL. They were in the bottom three in scoring in each of the last three seasons.
But what had been the most remarkable turnaround in the league through the first three months has suddenly hit a rough patch, challenging the narrative that new coach Quenneville had finally taken the team from pretenders to contenders.
“Well, we’ve got to prove it,” Quenneville said after Saturday’s humiliation, the Ducks’ most lopsided loss of the season. “We can talk about [how] we want to be a harder-working team this season. But the game tonight didn’t indicate that at all.
“The tenaciousness and the relentless has to go be part of our identity. But we can’t talk about it. We’ve got to prove that.”
Quenneville has been here before. In 2008, he took over a young Chicago Blackhawks team that hadn’t been to the playoffs in five seasons and guided it to the conference finals. A year later, it won the Stanley Cup.
Then in 2019, he took over a young Florida Panthers’ team and led it to the franchise’s first playoff appearance in three seasons.
Both teams had to learn to win, had to believe they could win, before they actually did so. Now Quenneville’s young Ducklings are having their beliefs tested by their worst eight-game stretch of the season.
“I’ve never been on a winning-record team in the NHL. And I’m not the only guy,” said 22-year-old center Mason McTavish, one of six Ducks younger than 23. “It’s a learning curve for sure.
“But at the same time we know how good we are. And this last six, eight games, it’s not been up to our standard. We’ve taken a huge step this year. But that’s not our end goal. We want to make the playoffs. We want to win the Stanley Cup.”
The Ducks will have to become a lot more consistent to have a chance to make that happen. Because while they’re one of the league’s top scoring teams, only the St. Louis Blues have allowed more goals than the Ducks, who have a minus-2 goal differential. And they’ve been outscored 34-19 in their last eight games.
The slump, then, is looming as a test of character and resolve. At a similar point in Quenneville’s first season in Chicago, the Blackhawks lost five times in an eight-game stretch. But they rebounded by winning nine of their next 12 and never looked back.
McTavish, who had his team’s only goal Saturday, said the Ducks have to do the same thing if they hope to show the playoffs are now a realistic goal for a franchise that hasn’t had a winning record in seven seasons.
Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal is congratulated by Nikita Nesterenko and Mason McTavish after blocking a shot by Panthers center Evan Rodrigues to win during a shootout on Oct. 28 in Sunrise, Fla. (Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
“We have to come out the next game and really prove to ourselves that we can play with the top teams in the league,” he said. “And beat them.”
The Ducks long-suffering supporters are also ready for the pain of the last seven seasons to ease.
“Yes, yes, yes. I believe,” said Daniel Núñez of Bakersfield who, like Prewitt, has been a fan from the first season. “We have a good shot, I think, to win the Pacific Division. We have a really good team.”
“Whatever they're doing,” Prewitt agreed “I'm there with them.”
After snapping their eight-game losing streak against the Montreal Canadiens last Sunday, the Penguins lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Tuesday, their final game before the holiday break. The Penguins and Leafs were tied at three early in the third period before Max Domi walked around Brett Kulak for the game-winning goal. The Leafs added two empty net goals to seal the win.
The Penguins will take on a Blackhawks team that's fresh off a 4-3 shootout win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. It was a win they really needed since they came into the game on a six-game losing streak.
They'll still be without star forward Connor Bedard on Sunday after getting hurt against the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 12. Bedard has been fantastic this season and is trying to make the Team Canada Olympic roster, compiling 19 goals and 44 points in 31 games.
Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom started on Saturday, meaning that the Penguins will see Spencer Knight on Sunday. Knight is having an outstanding season, saving 17.8 goals above expected with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
Tyler Bertuzzi is second on the Blackhawks in goals with 18 and has 28 points in 34 games. He's on the top line, which is currently being centered by Jason Dickinson.
Arturs Silovs was the first goalie off at the morning skate, and Penguins head coach Dan Muse confirmed to reporters after the skate that Silovs will start in goal.
Blake Lizotte could make his return to the Penguins' lineup after fully practicing on Saturday. He was in his usual spot on the fourth line with Connor Dewar and Noel Acciari and has missed the last nine games with an injury.
Here's how the rest of the practice lines looked:
Forwards
Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Mantha-Novak-Brazeau
McGroarty-Kindel-Koivunen
Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari
Defensive pairs
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Kulak-Letang
Shea-St. Ivany
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'
