The Buffalo Sabres traded Devon Levi because they didn't have room or use for him in their goaltending system, but four months later, he recorded a shutout for the Edmonton Oilers while Buffalo is struggling in net.

That's got to be a little frustrating.

Levi stopped all 19 shots he faced Saturday night as Edmonton beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 1-0, recording his first NHL shutout and improving to 9-1 since arriving from Buffalo.

The 24-year-old also became the first goaltender in Oilers history to win nine of his first 10 games with the organization, a cool accomplishment for somebody who didn't play a single NHL game last season.

Buffalo traded Levi and a seventh-round pick to Edmonton on July 1 in exchange for a third-round pick, having faith in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis.

Levi had spent much of the previous season in the American Hockey League, and despite once being considered a future star in Buffalo, there didn't seem to be much interest in giving him another opportunity.

The Oilers started their training camp with Frederik Andersen, although his injury gave Levi a prime opportunity to show up and show out. He's taken advantage of it, and currently seems to be the Oilers No.1.

Edmonton needed a much better defensive effort last night compared to their first game against the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, and Mike Babcock's group managed to hold them to 19 shots. Evan Bouchard scored the only goal late in the second period.

Levi Blanks Maple Leafs for First Career Shutout as Oilers Hold On 1-0Devon Levi turned aside every shot to secure a career milestone, getting the shutout in Edmonton’s third straight victory.

Toronto thought it had tied the game early in the third period when John Tavares redirected a puck past Levi, although the goal was overturned after a review determined his stick was above the crossbar.

“I knew it was a high stick. I was surprised how long it took to review, so it must have been close, but I had a pretty good feeling,” Levi said afterward.

The Maple Leafs continued pushing for a goal, including a late opportunity from Auston Matthews, although Edmonton held on their fourth consecutive win.

“It feels good, super special,” Levi said of his first career NHL shutout. “Since I was a kid, I was thinking about getting a shutout in the NHL, so I'm just soaking it in.”

Levi's success is a reflection of the confidence Edmonton's coaching staff has shown in him. He allowed seven goals in his first game with the Oilers, and Babcock went right back to him the following night. Since then, Levi has won nine of 10 starts, missed seven games with a groin injury, returned, and picked up where he left off.

Toronto Prime For The Picking Against OilersThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers#google_vignette">Edmonton Oilers</a> are faced with a prime opportunity to make up for one of their worst games of the season tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“Being a goaltender in the league is a difficult position, and getting your confidence and your shutout is all part of that,” Babcock said. “He's been good for us, and we're happy to celebrate that with him.”

As for Buffalo, the Sabres have been struggling to get consistent goaltending from the players they decided to keep, a problem they didn't foresee when they traded away Levi.

Andersen still hasn't played a game this season, while Tristan Jarry has also been performing well when called upon, leaving Edmonton with some decisions to make once everybody is healthy.

For now, Levi has earned the opportunity to keep starting, and the Oilers have every reason to be pleased with what they've gotten from him.

Buffalo, meanwhile, gave up a 24-year-old goaltender for a third-round pick because it apparently didn't have room for him, but considering how things have been going in the Sabres' net, they could probably use him right about now.

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The Vancouver Canucks have re-called goaltender Nikita Tolopilo up from the AHL ahead of their Sunday night matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. This move comes the day after Vancouver re-assigned forward Jacob Quillan to the Abbotsford Canucks. 

Tolopilo has been off to a strong start in Abbotsford through 2026–27, posting a record of 7–2–4 with a GAA of 2.52. Prior to his start against the Ontario Reign on November 14, he had yet to surrender more than four goals in a game for Abbotsford this season. Tolopilo has yet to make his season-debut for Vancouver and is unlikely to tonight, as he played the night before in Ontario. 

Tolipilo’s call-up comes after a particularly difficult stretch of play for Kevin Lankinen to start the 2026–27 season. In nine games played-in this season, Lankinen has posted a 6.03 GAA and .808 SV%. After a strong start to the year, Leevi Meriläinen’s numbers have cooled as well, dropping down to a 3.16 GAA and .885 SV%. 

Vancouver will take part in the first-half of a back-to-back when they face the Golden Knights tonight. Tomorrow, they'll head to Utah to face the Mammoth, before battling the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. 

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Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:

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Canucks Assign Quillan To The AHL, Thomas Set To Make Debut With Abbotsford

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The worst case scenario has arrived, which will test the Colorado Avalanche in a way they haven’t had to endure in years with expected absences for both Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Prior to the win against Montreal, Jared Bednar announced both his superstar players would be out for the game and for the foreseeable future.

Nathan MacKinnon is out for a month, while Cale Makar is out for the next two weeks. Both were injured against the #Sens earlier this week. Latest for @TheAthleticNHL. https://t.co/N5xk7yUtil

— Julian McKenzie (@jkamckenzie) November 14, 2026

Both Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar left the game in Ottawa in the second period and could not finish the contest as the Avalanche lost in overtime but the biggest loss was the services from both of these key players.

The Avs are without Nathan MacKinnon
and Cale Makar in the third.#NHLpic.twitter.com/8GWoSsiM1Q

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 13, 2026

For Makar, the outlook is a bit more hopeful as he’s only expected to miss two weeks. Bednar revealed that it’s an ongoing issue that is ailing Makar, which makes sense since he left Colorado’s last practice back in Denver before the road trip with some discomfort. Another reason for optimism is that the schedule for the Avalanche is very light through the Thanksgiving holiday with only three games between now and turkey day. After that, a back-to-back starting in Minnesota and then a five-game east coast road trip beckons, which hopefully Makar could join the team for.

Avs coach Jared Bednar said Cale Makar has a soft tissue injury that he's been playing through, but it got worse in Ottawa. He's not concerned about it lingering beyond this recovery period.

— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) November 14, 2026

MacKinnon’s ailment is more of a mystery as he had been resting more than usual missing practices and morning skates but that doesn’t necessarily mean it was due to injury. Clearly, the incident in Ottawa will sideline him now and the club is expecting the center to miss at least a month, which hopefully means he returns by the Christmas break and Winter Classic on New Year’s Eve.

Both absences are big shoes to fill and the Avalanche will do it by committee. Sometimes adversity galvanizes as group in the sort term but in the long term depth will be tested and veterans will get taxed. Alex Gagne made his NHL debut last night and could get an extended look on the backend with Makar out. Gavin Brindley got to finish out the road trip as help on the forward side but with MacKinnon out longer perhaps there’s a different idea for a replacement player, perhaps a center.

The Montreal Canadiens announced on Sunday morning that they had called up David Reinbacher from the Laval Rocket. Nobody was sent back down in a corresponding move, which likely suggests Mike Matheson will not be making the trip to New York to face the Rangers.

The veteran, who was a game-time decision, missed the last game with a nagging injury and has already missed 11 of the team’s 20 games this season, so it wouldn’t be wise to go on the road with just six healthy defensemen.

Canadiens Fail to Avoid Trap And Lose 4-1 To Colorado
Canadiens Could Use Hage Now More Than Ever
Canadiens Hutson Is A Man Of Many Talents

Having Reinbacher in the lineup also gives Martin St-Louis a balanced defense corps with three left-handed and three right-handed players. The Austrian has seven points in 15 games in Laval so far this year and played one game with the Habs on October 17, a 4-3 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres, in which he was held off the scoresheet.

Whether he plays or not, the youngster is ready to work hard, and if he gets a chance to play, he’ll be happy to step in. Unlike most people, Reinbacher didn’t find out he was called up early Sunday morning; he learned the news Saturday night on the bus ride home from Rochester, where they lost 5-4 in overtime to the Americans despite Sasha Pastujov scoring a hat trick.

If Reinbacher does get to play, it would make sense for him to start on the third pairing, once again alongside Xhekaj. There’s no point in throwing him in the deep end right away. St-Louis seems to like playing Lane Hutson with Noah Dobson. Kaiden Guhle plays his best hockey on his natural side, and last season Alexandre Carrier played better when he wasn’t paired with Xhekaj. It would therefore make sense to start with those pairings. If Reinbacher can handle more, you can tinker with the pairs if needed. That’s provided the Austrian does play and isn’t just an insurance policy.

---

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Leevi Meriläinen has had an interesting start to his career with the Vancouver Canucks. After being claimed off waivers from the Ottawa Senators during the pre-season, the 24-year-old has been thrust into the starter's job with 13 starts through the team's first 21 games of the campaign. So far this season, Meriläinen has a 2-9-1 record, an .885 save percentage, and a 3.52 goals-against average. 

While Meriläinen has been a bona fide starter before, it has never happened at the NHL level. Before being claimed, the Finnish goaltender had started just 32 games and had never played more than 20 games in an NHL season. In an interview with The Hockey News, Meriläinen was asked how beneficial getting a long run of games is as he adjusts to life with the Canucks. 

"Game-wise, yeah," said Meriläinen. "I bet every goalie wants to play almost every night, or that's what they would tell you. I'm sure of it. So yeah, it helps."

Playing for a rebuilding team that is still learning new systems is never easy, especially for goaltenders. No team in the league has given up more high-danger chances at even strength this year, while problematic positioning on the penalty kill has led to scoring chances that few goalies in the league would be able to stop. While his numbers aren't where he wants them to be, Meriläinen feels his game is trending in the right direction. 

"Fairly happy with it for sure. I feel like it's been going all right myself. But at times, you need to find more saves to win some games here. No one's ever happy with (losing). It's never good enough to lose this much. So still need to work on my game. That's for sure. Lots to learn."

At 24, Meriläinen is still developing his overall game. This includes working with Goaltending Coach Marko Torenius and teammate Kevin Lankinen whenever he gets the opportunity. As Meriläinen explained, he is always looking for ways to improve his game that will help him not just today, but for the foreseeable future.  

"There's almost quite a lot. We've been going over a lot, and I think we've done a pretty good job at that for now. And of course, it's a long-term thing. You can't learn things overnight, but I think we're starting to see some progress on those. Yeah, there's been quite a few things."

It will be interesting to see how heavily Vancouver leans on Meriläinen throughout the rest of the season. He has started eight of the last nine games, but as mentioned, has never been tested to this extent at the NHL level. If Meriläinen can keep sharpening his skills, the results should eventually flip in his favour. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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The Islanders ended up taking five of six points from their California trip with the final game against the playoff-positioned Anaheim Ducks being the smoothest cruise of the lot.

Mat Barzal’s much-awaited return featured an assist on the opening goal just 1:55 into the game — a Logan Stanley shot that took a double deflection — but the Islanders broke the game open in the second period after entering the middle frame with a 1-0 lead.

Simon Holmstrom scored two on his way to a hat trick, and Mitchell Chaffee scored his second as an Islanders to make it 5-1 by the game’s midpoint. Cutter Gauthier got one back to add to his stunning start to the season before Holmstrom completed his hattie early in the third, set up by fellow “The Swedes Do Disneyland” participant Victor Eklund.

A few other notes:

• Stanley left the game half way after taking a shot, so a status update is likely on Monday.
• Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 shots for his first regulation win in a couple years.
• Barzal lined up at center, between Ondrej Palat and Anthony Duclair; J-G Pageau remained out with injury.

The Islanders now head back home and will host the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.

Islanders News

• Takeaways: Lots of scoring balance beyond the Holmstrom hattie, and Matthew Schaefer breaks another franchise mark, becoming the youngest to have three assists in a period. [Isles]
• Helmet and oar awardees to Schaefer and Holmstrom. [Isles]
• Recaps: It was a top performance all around. [Post | Newsday | NHL]
• Barzal reflects on his long road back, dark times, and helpful visits from Mom. Promisingly, he thinks he and doctors have found an approach that will keep him from being in constant rehab mode like he was last season. Also: His decision to play in Anaheim “about 45 minutes” before morning skate essentially triggered Kyle MacLean hitting waivers. [Isles | Newsday | Post]
• Casey Cizikas reflects on what it took to reach 1,000 regular season games. [Newsday]

Elsewhere

• Sebastion “the other” Aho savors his Canes’ sweep of the Kraken on their Finland trip. [NHL]
• The Oilers are trending up on defense, boosted by Devon Levi’s return. [Sportsnet]
• Rick Bowness is stepping away, maybe temporarily, from the Blue Jackets for health reasons. [Athletic]
• The Penguins are finally facing their fate; what’s that mean for Sidney Crosby? [Sportsnet]
• Some Flyers fans have gone the billboard route to call for Rick Tocchet’s firing. [Yahoo]
• Can the Leafs save their season? [Athletic]

Sign No. 10,000 that it’s going to be a long, harsh winter for the Penguins was on display last night. After the team returned from a successful trip to California and winning two games, Pittsburgh managed all of 17 shots last night against Ottawa.

I think this was a tighter game,“ Sidney Crosby said, “a little more physical, and we have to be able to produce chances in that type of game. They just played better, you know? That’s basically what it comes down to.”

The last two sentences really get to the heart of the matter. For all the pixels spilled about the plight of the Penguins, that concise message is all you need to know. The other team usually does play better than the Pens on a given night. It’s showing in the standings as teams get to the 20-game mark.

Carolina (2-0-0): The Hurricanes went over to Finland this week for the NHL’s Global Series and proceeded to do what they do and choke out Seattle for 4-1 and 5-1 victories abroad. Same old, same old for the defending champs out in cruise control- on any continent.

New Jersey (3-1-0): The only blemish on their record this week was, predictably, losing in Winnipeg after stepping into the mess and releasing a clunky statement about benching Connor Hellebuyck against the Jets. As long as the Devils can stay away from that drama, the rest of the season is unfolding really nicely. Two wins this week over the Capitals by a combined 12-6 score puts NJ firmly in control of being the second-best team in the division right now.

NY Rangers (2-1-0): New York took a Western trip where they lost against the best team they saw (3-1 to Edmonton) and beat the two lesser teams (3-1 vs Calgary and 5-1 vs Vancouver). The sliding public perception of Adam Fox should be tipping back in the positive direction, he’s been amazing in the first quarter of the season.

NY Islanders (2-0-1): The Islanders completed a California trip like the Penguins did recently. In NYI’s case, they lost a shootout game (whereas the Pens were able to defeat SJ in a shootout). The Islanders beat the Kings and then one-upped the Pens’ performance by beating the Ducks. Even better for them is the upcoming schedule for the rest of the month (games against: CBJ, WIN, DET, TOR, STL, WIN and PHI) are about as easy as it comes.

Philadelphia (2-0-2): It’s never going well when the team president and a rep of the owners have to fly out to Edmonton to settle down a situation with the team’s most talented player butting heads with fellow players and coaches. Matvei Michkov may or may not be looking for a trade but the Flyers team is in full turmoil now. Despite all the noise, they had a good week results-wise. Let’s see if that continues with a tough upcoming schedule (games against EDM, BUF, OTT and MON).

Pittsburgh (1-1-1): As written above, there just isn’t quite enough effective play there and the bad games are out-numbering the good one. And (Jerry Seinfeld voice) what’s the deal with the schedule? Pittsburgh plays three times in 12 days from Nov 9-20. They’ll play seven times in the 11-day stretch that starts at that point. Always weird to play two times a week, as happens next week, and then four times after that. It hasn’t been a very smooth, steady spacing of games early in the season.

Columbus (0-3-0): Bad week for the Blue Jackets, and they haven’t had their coach behind the bench for the last two games as he goes through a medical leave that we all hope works out well. There could be some hope on the horizon with an upcoming game against Chicago, who are even worse of a side and an opportunity to get a victory.

—

Playoff Models

Now that the season is getting to the quarter-pole, let’s take a look at how the models are seeing the Penguins. There might not be room to even bother including these too far into the future with the way this season is going.

The Athletic: 11% chance of playoffs
Moneypuck: 2.7%
Hockey-Reference: 14.1%

The Hockey Viz model might be the most forgiving/believing in the Pens that I’ve seen out there. It has Pittsburgh still under the playoff cut line but on track for a 89-point projection this season and fourth place finish.

The New Jersey Devils showcased their resilience on Saturday night, overcoming multiple deficits to defeat the Washington Capitals 7-4 at Capital One Arena. Connor Hellebuyck made 43 saves on 47 shots to improve his record to 7-0-0, while 2024 first-round pick Anton Silaev made his NHL debut amid a series of injuries and illnesses affecting the New Jersey lineup.

“[Silaev] is probably getting this opportunity sooner than we had thought that he would, and it is just a symptom of the injuries that we have here now with injuries and illness,” head coach Sheldon Keefe told NJD.TV before the game.

New Jersey was without defensemen Brett Pesce and Vladislav Kolyachonok, both of whom were sidelined with an illness.

Silaev, a 20-year-old defenseman recalled from the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League, found himself in the middle of the action early in his NHL debut. During his second shift of the game, Washington opened the scoring when Pierre-Luc Dubois collected the puck between the rookie's skates and beat Hellebuyck. 

It took Silaev a couple of shifts to find his footing, but the rookie defenseman settled into his NHL debut, finishing with 12:45 of ice time and six hits.

Go get 'em, kid. #NJDevils | #MadeInJerseypic.twitter.com/8Z4ylRSPXX

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 14, 2026

Silaev’s Comets teammate Lenni Hameenaho responded by tying the game with his second goal in as many nights. The 22-year-old scored off a pass from Cody Glass, while Jesper Boqvist also picked up an assist.

Ryan Leonard restored Washington’s lead at the 14:34 mark, scoring his seventh goal of the season. Leonard has now found the back of the net in every matchups against New Jersey this season.

The Devils answered on the power play when Connor Brown tied the game at 2-2. The goal was initially reviewed to determine whether Brown had directed the puck into the net with a distinct kicking motion, but it ultimately stood. Jesper Bratt recorded his 17th assist of the season, while Luke Hughes picked up his sixth.

With his primary assist, Bratt extended his point streak to eight games.

In the waning minutes of the opening period, Anthony Beauvillier scored to give Washington a 3-2 advantage heading into the first intermission.

New Jersey responded in the second period, with Boqvist tying the game at 3-3 at the 10:33 mark. Boqvist capitalized on a rebound after Charlie Lindgren stopped Hameenaho's initial attempt.

The Devils took their first lead of the night when Timo Meier scored his second power-play goal of the game at 16:18, giving New Jersey a 4-3 advantage heading into the third period.

The Devils added to their lead just 56 seconds into the final frame. Nico Hischier scored a shorthanded goal off a pass from Brown to make it 5-3.

Washington answered on the power play when Ilya Protas scored at 1:22, cutting New Jersey's lead to one.

Evan Rodrigues restored the two-goal cushion at 3:18. He later added an empty-net goal at 16:45 to seal the 7-4 victory.

Hischier's shorthanded tally and New Jersey's two power-play goals proved particularly important in a game where the Devils needed their special teams to deliver. Hellebuyck also came up with several key saves, including 24 in the third period, to help his team withstand Washington's offensive pressure.

After the game, Keefe credited his team's resilience, particularly its ability to overcome stretches when things weren't going according to plan.

"Just resilience," Keefe told NJD.TV. "The whole bend don't break piece of it. We have been talking here about nights when you don't quite have it, your special teams got to carry you a bit, and two power play goals, a shorthanded goal, and great goaltending."

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The Ducks will want to put their most recent game behind them as quickly as possible. Luckily, they can do that thanks to a home back-to-back this weekend. Saturday's performance, a 6-2 loss to the New York Islanders, was a disjointed effort almost from the moment the puck dropped. The Islanders scored within the first two minutes of both the first and second periods and when the Ducks scored to draw within one in the second period, the Islanders answered with another goal 30 seconds later.

"I thought they played really well. We just didn't show up ready to play," Ducks forward Alex Killorn said postgame. "I think they were a lot more prepared than us to play a game and they just got off a great start. (We) had a little bit of momentum in the second. We put a couple good shifts together in the O-zone, but it was a too little, too late."

"You score and then you give up a goal on the following shift, and that's happened a couple times recently, which is not good if you're trying to get some momentum going in the game," Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said. "We gave them too high quality of opportunities that were basically golden, A-plus chances. We've gotta work in some areas."

---

---

Sunday's game marks the fourth and final matchup of the season for the Ducks against the Calgary Flames. The Ducks currently lead the season series 2-1.

"Nice part is we play (again) in less than 24 hours, so it's a great opportunity to get two points," Killorn said.

"We get to respond to (this performance), that's the best part of it," Quenneville said.

The Flames will be on the second game of a back-to-back (SEGABABA) after beating the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Saturday. It's the third opponent on a SEGABABA that the Ducks have faced in the last seven days.

Ville Husso and Devin Cooley are expected to start for the Ducks and Flames respectively after Lukáš Dostál and Dustin Wolf both started on Saturday. Dostál struggled for the second consecutive start and has now allowed nine goals on his last 36 shots faced. Husso relieved Dostál after one period in his last start prior to Saturday--which was against the Flames--and stopped 10 out of 10 shots as the Ducks rallied to beat the Flames 5-3.

---

Ducks Projected Lines

Cutter Gauthier - Leo Carlsson - Judd Caulfield
Beckett Sennecke - Mikael Granlund - Troy Terry
Jeff Malott - Tim Washe - Frank Vatrano
Nikita Nesterenko - Roger McQueen - Alex Killorn

Jackson LaCombe - Drew Helleson
Pavel Mintyukov - Noah Warren
Tyson Hinds - Tristan Luneau

Ville Husso (projected)

Flames Projected Lines

Joel Farabee - Mikael Backlund - Matt Coronato
Matvei Gridin - Martin Pospíšil - Ryan Strome
Yegor Sharangovich - Morgan Frost - Adam Klapka
William Strömgren - Jonathan Castagna - Aydar Suniev

Yan Kuznetsov - Zayne Parekh
Joel Hanley - Šimon Nemec
Jacob Middleton - Zach Whitecloud

Devin Cooley (confirmed)

With Johnathan Kovacevic on the injured reserve and Vladislav Kolyachonok out with an illness, the New Jersey Devils called up Anton Silaev. The 20-year-old defenseman made his NHL debut against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 14 and showed why he’s a top prospect in the system. 

The Devils defeated the Capitals 7-4, and the offense stood out. However, Silaev showed flashes and made a strong case to stay in the lineup. The question is whether the Devils keep him or send him back to the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League to continue developing. 

Silaev’s Statline: Zero points, 12:45 ice time, two shots, one blocked shot, six hits. 

The stats don’t reveal much, and Silaev was the defenseman the Devils limited and protected in his NHL debut. He played on the third pair and didn’t play in crucial situations, whether on the power play or the penalty kill, which the recent game had plenty of.

It's worth adding that Silaev isn't a scoring defenseman and isn't developing into one either. The Devils hope he becomes the next stay-at-home defenseman that they can build around, someone who is a contrast to Luke Hughes. 

New Jersey Devils Keep Proving They Can Win High-Scoring DuelsThe 7-4 win over the Washington Capitals is the latest case in point. When the games speed up and become high-scoring, the New Jersey Devils have the edge.

That said, Silaev still showed flashes. The hits stand out, as he had a team-leading six on the night. The rest of the defense had six hits combined. It shows what the 6-foot-7, 211-pound defenseman provides to the blue line. 

Silaev’s Skills On Display In Debut

Silaev is being developed as a shutdown defenseman, someone who can deliver big hits and clean up pucks near the net. It has turned him into one of the best players on the Comets and an easy choice to call up.

“He was playing like I’ve seen his play in Utica as well. Using his big body and a good game from him playing to his strengths,” Lenni Hämeenaho, another call-up for the Capitals matchups, stated after Saturday’s win. Silaev wasn't the scoring defenseman for the Comets, but he would deliver big hits and break up plays in the defensive zone. 

He uses his size to his advantage, not just as an intimidating presence but also to make an impact on the game. He skates hard and joins the play quickly because of his speed. “He plays hard, he’s a big man, and he’s a great kid. I definitely don’t want to play against him,” Nico Hischier added after the game. 

Devils Prospect Anton Silaev Has Strengths To Fill In For Injured Kovacevic The Devils placed defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic on injured reserve and called up their top prospect, Anton Silaev, as a result, hoping he steps up in his first NHL action.

The biggest takeaway is how comfortable Silaev looked in his first NHL game. Usually, it takes time for defensemen to acclimate to the NHL when they are called up from the AHL, especially if they are coming from an overseas background. Silaev was on the ice for the Capitals' first goal of the night, when Pierre-Luc Dubois picked up the loose puck on a rebound and powered it past the Russian defenseman. Otherwise, he fit right in. 

“I thought he was excellent. I thought he looked really good, confident, and assertive,” head coach Sheldon Keefe noted after the game, adding, “He goes into people, he ends plays, and I thought he had some good puck plays as well.” Silaev’s play with the puck allows him to join the offense and make an impact in the offensive zone, which also helps in the long run, especially since the defense is searching for more offense. 

Will Silaev Remain On The Defense?

It’s doubtful Silaev will remain with the Devils for the rest of the season. Ideally, this is a season that he spends with the Comets and focuses on his development. In the AHL, he’ll have more ice time and work on his play in the defensive zone. 

Should The Devils Let The Kids Play? For Now, It’s Happening RegardlessThe New Jersey Devils are turning to some of their prospects as injuries take their toll. Maybe it’s a sign that they should lean on the youth to improve the roster.

That said, if the defense continues to battle injuries, the Devils will have a tough time sending him down. For now, the Devils need him to round out the defense. They can turn to Kolyachonok as well, but Silaev has proven he’s not a liability.

On the contrary, he proved in his debut why he’s a high-upside defenseman, and why some talent evaluators who have seen him think he’ll be a problem when he’s ready for the NHL. While it will take time before Silaev is a prime shutdown defenseman, he’s already proven he can be a significant contributor. 

Though the Toronto Maple Leafs collected zero points for the sixth straight game with a 1-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, the effort and ability to keep the puck out of their own net were clear.

This was the first time in four games that Toronto allowed fewer than four goals in an outing. Defenseman Chris Tanev missed two of those four games due to "planned maintenance" and was evidently frustrated by the team's decision to be cautious with his workload.

However, specifically in the Edmonton loss, his influence on the back end can't be ignored, even at the age of 36. Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller pointed to his performance as something that's been missing in particular moments in this terrible homestand.

"He's been frustrated at times, he's told you guys that," Hiller said after the game. "I know there was four in my mind that I saw, and probably more where we made a mistake and he was there to clean it up, and that's been part of our problem over the stretch is we've made a mistake and we've made another mistake, and maybe even sometimes another one, and it ends up in the back of your net. So, you know, the value of that sometimes is as important as scoring a goal, but it doesn't get counted like that the way we think about the game."

In some ways, it felt like a statement from Tanev to the Maple Leafs' management group regarding the plan to manage his workload. 

How Does Gavin McKenna's Rookie Campaign With Maple Leafs Compare With Auston Matthews' First NHL Season?With rookie campaigns 10 years apart, how does Gavin McKenna's first quarter of the year compare to Auston Matthews' first 21 games in 2016-17?

He also made sure to point out post-game that this was Toronto's best defensive performance in quite some time, and against a top-three team in the NHL with several superstars and game-breakers on the other side.

"We defended well against a obviously very good offensive team," Tanev said. "I think it's the first time we've given up less than four goals in two weeks. I mean, you could correct me if I'm wrong, but that part of our game was really good today."

For reference on the Maple Leafs' defensive performance, the Oilers rank third in the NHL in goals scored, with 3.86 per game. That's up against Toronto's 75 goals against in 22 games, which is the third-most in the NHL.

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The Vancouver Canucks (3–17–1) will play in the first of three road games when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights (13–5–3) later tonight. Vancouver enters this game after suffering a 5–1 loss to the New York Rangers on Friday, with this being their 17th loss of the season. Vegas also last played on Friday, losing to the Nashville Predators by a score of 3–2 in a shootout. 

The Canucks’ last game against Vegas — on October 4 — saw Vancouver put up a solid full-game effort, though they ultimately ended up losing the game by a score of 3–2. In that particular game, the Canucks opened the scoring thanks to Paul Cotter, though Vegas scored two consecutive goals before retaking the lead after Jonathan Lekkerimäki tied things up at two.  

Vancouver’s second-period struggles were prominent in Friday’s loss. The Canucks surrendered four goals to the Rangers, including three within the span of 3:10 minutes, to ultimately allow New York to win the game. Those four goals that the Rangers scored vaulted Vancouver’s overall season total to 35 goals allowed during second periods. What made this even worse is the fact that Vancouver actually played well during the first period, once again emphasizing the need for the team to put in a full 60-minute effort. 

Players To Watch: 

Paul Cotter

After a hot start to the 2026–27 season, Cotter’s offensive flair has since cooled. The forward’s last goal came against none-other than Vegas in their first matchup of the season. He’s only recorded two assists since then, bringing his season total up to eight points in 20 games. Vancouver’s forward depth as a whole has been inconsistent as of late, with the bulk of the team’s offence coming from veterans Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser. A spark of offence from Cotter or the rest of Vancouver’s depth would give the Canucks a better look at potentially securing their next win.  

Victor Olofsson 

Olofsson was one of three Vegas players to find the back of the net in Vancouver’s last matchup against the Golden Knights, scoring the second goal to give his team the lead at the time. Historically, he’s played well against the Canucks, putting up six goals and seven assists in 14 career games against Vancouver. The Golden Knights forward has also put up two goals and three assists in his past four games since returning from an injury sustained on October 6.  

Vancouver Canucks (3–17–1): 

Points: 

Elias Pettersson: 5–16–21

Brock Boeser: 7–11–18

Jonathan Lekkerimäki: 7–8–15

Filip Hronek: 1–12–13

Jake DeBrusk: 5–5–10

Goaltenders: 

Leevi Meriläinen: 2–9–1

Kevin Lankinen: 1–8–0

Vegas Golden Knights (13–5–3): 

Points: 

Jack Eichel: 9–17–26

Mitch Marner: 3–21–24

Mark Stone: 10–10–20

Tomáš Hertl: 9–7–16

Ivan Barbashev: 4–12–16

Goaltenders: 

Adin Hill: 7–2–1

Carter Hart: 6–3–2

Game Information: 

Start time: 7:00 pm PCT

Venue: T-Mobile Arena 

Television: Sportsnet

Radio: KiSS West Coast

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site: 

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It took a major trade rumor scare, but it seems like the Flyers, from the front office down to the players themselves, are finally outwardly embracing young star Matvei Michkov as the future of the franchise.

Previously, it was reported that Michkov, 21, would prefer to explore a trade elsewhere due to internal frustrations within the team, though he denied it, the Flyers denied it, and his agent denied it.

The report, however, sent the Flyers into high alert, and Flyers GM Danny Briere scrambled from the NHL GMs meetings in Toronto to meet his team in Edmonton to address the situation.

Naturally, Briere met with the team prior to their game against the Oilers, and met with Michkov himself, as did Flyers president Keith Jones. Over the last few days, things seem to be trending in a positive direction.

In his latest "Saturday Headlines" segment for Sportsnet, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Flyers remain steadfast in their commitment to Michkov, and even sought out the opinions of his similarly-aged peers to reinforce their ambitions.

"One of the big stories of the week was Matvei Michkov and the relationship between him and the Flyers and some of his teammates," Friedman began.

Flyers' Matvei Michkov Draws Intriguing Comparison to NHL SuperstarIf the Flyers are correct in their assessment of Matvei Michkov, they will reap big rewards in the future.

"On their road trip and in Edmonton this week were Daniel Briere, the GM, Keith Jones, the president of hockey operations, and Dan Hilferty, the CEO of Comcast Spectacor, the parent company. Jones met with Michkov face-to-face, Briere met with Michkov face-to-face. . . The one thing they made clear to him, with a couple days now to figure it all out, is that he's part of the team's future and he's not getting traded. 

"The other thing I believe they did was they asked around with some of the younger players who are closer in Michkov's age about how they felt about him as well, and I think the feedback was positive. So, they are going to build this around Michkov and his young teammates. That is their goal here. They told him he was not in danger of being traded."

After scoring on a breakaway in a 4-3 win against the Blue Jackets on Saturday night, Michkov increased his team-leading goal tally to 11, and his 16 total points also pace the Flyers.

Over the course of this season, we have seen Michkov grow closer to rookie teammate Porter Martone, and the bond with his long-time center, Noah Cates, is still there, too.

Highly-publicized bust-ups with veterans like Travis Konecny and Nick Seeler had casted doubt over Michkov's future and fit with the Flyers, but as this story continues to develop, it's clear the Flyers are prioritizing the opinions of their stars of tomorrow.

Michkov, drafted seventh overall in the 2023 draft, is in the last year of his entry-level contract and is a pending restricted free agent in need of a contract extension from the Flyers.

If anyone bought tickets to see the Colorado Avalanche’s stars at the Bell Centre on Saturday night, they were likely disappointed, as the Avs were missing two of their best players against the Montreal Canadiens: Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Meanwhile, the Habs were without Chris Kreider, who suffered a lower-body injury in Thursday night’s game and who’ll be out for the next six to eight weeks. However, one man’s loss is another man’s gain, and it gave Florian Xhekaj a chance to play alongside Jake Evans and Josh Anderson, which could conceivably be one of the Sainte-Flanelle’s future lines.

If some thought the Habs would make short work of the Avs without MacKinnon and Makar, they must have been very surprised. The Canadiens fell right into the trap set for them and lost 4-1 (with an empty-net goal) to a team that was better on the ice, if not on paper.

Canadiens Hutson Is A Man Of Many Talents
Game 20: Canadiens vs. Avalanche: Without MacKinnon And Makar
Canadiens’ St-Louis Is Climbing The Ladder

Suzuki The Spark Plug

The Canadiens were going nowhere until captain Nick Suzuki scored a fantastic goal that mixed a spin-o-rama with a backhand on a Juraj Slafkovsky assist. While most Habs players didn’t seem focused on the game Saturday night, the pivot was as sharp as ever, and his goal seemed to breathe new life into his teammates.

NICK SUZUKI SPIN-O-RAMA!! 😱 pic.twitter.com/O8pfsb5c6G

— NHL (@NHL) November 15, 2026

In addition to his goal, Suzuki won 63% of his faceoffs and landed two hits. He participated in every aspect of the play and led by example, as always. Unfortunately, the Canadiens couldn't build on the momentum he gave them with his second-frame lamplighter. The night might have ended differently if Alex Newhook's lamplighter wasn't taken away because the puck was tipped too high, but we'll never know. 

Alex Newhook's goal comes off the board following a review for a high stick pic.twitter.com/qqpDAFAjFa

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 15, 2026

Another Tough Night For Dobson

The highest-paid player on the Sainte-Flanelle isn’t Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson or Ivan Demidov; no, it’s Noah Dobson, and he’s not playing like it so far this season. Once again tonight, he made questionable decisions about when to pinch and help the attack, along with some very soft plays in his zone.

When the Canadiens were in the Avalanche zone, he unleashed a few booming shots, but over 40 minutes, none were on target. When Dobson became available in the 2025 offseason, Kent Hughes jumped on the opportunity to acquire a big-right shot defenseman, and he had no qualms about giving him a big contract, but now it’s Dobson’s turn to deliver.

After 60 minutes, the right-shot had nine attempts on net; four were blocked, and five missed the net altogether. While credit must be given to the visitors, who had very active sticks, Dobson’s decision-making and timing to unleash his shots weren’t great.

Where Has Dobes’ Confidence Gone?

While Jakub Dobes didn’t have a bad game per se, he made 23 saves on the 26 shots received, he doesn’t look as confident as he once did in the net. During the playoffs, much of his success came from his confidence level and his swagger. He had a Patrick Roy-like competitiveness and oozed confidence, but that’s not the kind of goaltender we saw on Saturday night. Starting the game and giving up a goal is hardly a good confidence builder:

"I mean, just a bounce; I don’t feel any different. I feel like every time we start a game, they somehow get one in. I mean, it’s hard to start a game like that, but last time against Cooley, maybe I could have played differently. But today, it got deflected. I don’t know what else I can do. The shooter had nothing to shoot at, but it was just unfortunate. We’ll talk about it, and we’ll start better next game."

Unsurprisingly, he was also asked if there was a period of adaptation to the fact that games don’t come his way quite as often this season, and he explained:

"Obviously, I wish I could play more, but, like, that’s the situation, and I've got to adjust to that and take the most out of it. I’ll keep working, and we’ll get a better result next time."

That was an interesting answer by the netminder. I would have expected him to say something along the lines of “I’ll work hard, and the starts will start coming my way”; that would have shown he had some fight in him, but his answer almost sounded like he had accepted the idea that he’s now second on the depth chart.

It was about as surprising as the start of the third frame, when the Avalanche scored a little over four minutes in on the power play; Dobes looked like he thought he'd been beaten twice on two different occasions before that goal. His body language made it seem like the puck was in the net even though it wasn’t; he didn’t agree with our assessment on that after the game, but that’s what it looked like from up above.

Did the Canadiens think it would be easy to beat the Avalanche tonight? Hard to say, but there was definitely a problem with the execution. Players were getting chances, but they weren’t shooting or moving the puck fast enough; by the time they decided what to do, the opportunity was gone. In the end, the Avs took the two points, and for the first time in 13 games, Montreal didn’t get a single point.

The Habs will practice in Brossard tomorrow before traveling to New York to kick off a three-game road trip that will include a back-to-back. Will the Canadiens get reinforcements on their trip? That’s unknown for now, as the coach said when asked whether Ivan Demidov would be traveling with the team.

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