BOTTOM LINE: The Montreal Canadiens host the Minnesota Wild after Juraj Slafkovsky's two-goal game against the Ottawa Senators in the Canadiens' 6-5 overtime win.
Montreal has a 27-15-7 record overall and a 13-10-1 record in home games. The Canadiens rank fourth in the league with 216 total penalties (averaging 4.4 per game).
Minnesota has a 28-13-9 record overall and a 15-7-3 record in road games. The Wild have a +18 scoring differential, with 158 total goals scored and 140 given up.
Tuesday's game is the first time these teams meet this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Oliver Kapanen has scored 16 goals with 11 assists for the Canadiens. Slafkovsky has six goals and six assists over the past 10 games.
Quinn Hughes has four goals and 39 assists for the Wild. Marcus Foligno has scored six goals and added two assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Canadiens: 6-3-1, averaging 3.8 goals, 6.2 assists, 4.3 penalties and 10.5 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game.
Wild: 4-3-3, averaging 3.5 goals, 6.5 assists, 2.8 penalties and 6.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Canadiens: None listed.
Wild: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to keep a four-game home win streak alive when they take on the San Jose Sharks.
Tampa Bay has a 30-13-4 record overall and a 12-9-0 record on its home ice. The Lightning serve 13.8 penalty minutes per game to rank second in NHL play.
San Jose has a 25-20-3 record overall and a 12-11-0 record in road games. The Sharks have given up 168 goals while scoring 150 for a -18 scoring differential.
Tuesday's game is the second time these teams square off this season. The Lightning won the last matchup 7-3. Darren Raddysh scored three goals in the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jake Guentzel has 21 goals and 28 assists for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov has nine goals and 14 assists over the past 10 games.
Tyler Toffoli has 13 goals and 19 assists for the Sharks. Will Smith has six goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 9-0-1, averaging 4.3 goals, 8.1 assists, 4.9 penalties and 14.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game.
Sharks: 7-3-0, averaging 3.6 goals, 5.8 assists, four penalties and 9.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.5 goals per game.
INJURIES: Lightning: None listed.
Sharks: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights closed their three-game homestand winners of another mid-season trade, but on the losing end of a 2-1 decision at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers.
One day after acquiring defenseman Rasmsus Andersson from the Calgary Flames in a blockbuster trade, the Knights were silenced by a hungry Flyers team that ended a six-game slide.
Travis Konecny scored twice while goaltender Samuel Ersson made 23 saves.
Tomas Hertl scored Vegas' lone goal and goalie made 15 saves Adin Hill
Vegas had its seven-game win streak brought to an abrupt halt.
The Golden Knights had won three straight and six of the previous seven meetings with Philadelphia.
KEY MOMENT
Konecny's second goal of the night, in the third period, was the epitome of how the night was going for the Knights. On the penalty kill, Konecny broke free with the puck and skated in untouched for a short-handed breakaway goal to put Philadelphia ahead 2-1.
KEY STAT
7 - Vegas had a season-high seven power play opportunities but capitalized just on time with a man advantage. During its previous seven-game win streak, the Golden Knights were 8 of 17 on the power play.
WHAT A KNIGHT
Hertl scored his fourth goal while registering his ninth point in five games. Hertl ranks fourth on the team with 43 points, with a co-team high 20 goals and 23 assists.
UP NEXT
The Golden Knights open a four-game road trip in Boston on Thursday.
PHOTO CAPTION: Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period at T-Mobile Arena.
The New York Rangers were unable to build off of their 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, as they kicked off the west coast road trip with a 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
The Rangers put on a strong push to open up the first period, which seemed like a continuation of their impressive performance in the City of Brotherly Love.
Matthew Roberston opened up the scoring, and after a relatively evenly played period, the score was tied 1-1.
Artemi Panarin’s goal toward the beginning of the second frame extended his point streak to 10 games.
Since it was reported that the Rangers don’t plan to give Panarin a contract extension and will look to trade him before the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline, the veteran forward has recorded three goals, two assists, and five points in just two games.
In fact, since Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury sent out what is being called the “Letter 2.0” making clear of the team’s intentions to retool the roster, the Blueshirts have actually played notably better, and specifically more loosely.
“I think there's things that I think we're improving on, as far as the systems go, and being in the right spots and doing the right things, like having the right intentions, but it's just cleaning up the execution is still something we gotta get better at,” Vincent Trocheck said.
In the latter stages of the contest, the Rangers reverted to some of their sloppy tendencies, struggling to move the puck out of their defensive zone, while turnovers also proved to be an issue, which allowed the Ducks to take a 4-2 lead and run away with the victory.
“It’s tough when you turn the puck over the way we turned it over,” Mike Sullivan said. “And when you’re careless with the puck, and you give them those kinds of opportunities, they're going to end up in your net.”
Now that the Rangers have accepted the harsh reality that the playoffs are a long shot, the primary focus must be on making sure the younger players on the roster continue to grow and develop.
Gabe Perreault is starting to find his footing in the NHL and is showing flashes of his offensive potential playing in a top-six role alongside Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller.
His steady strides have not gone unnoticed.
“Gabe had a hell of a game today. I think maybe did a lot of things that people watching don't see,” Miller said. “Obviously, he's a really gifted player with the puck. It's how he's made a name for himself at this point. That being sad, he was in such good spots all over the rink today. You can tell he's learning a lot as he goes.
“He's trying to be a sponge and it's fun to play with. He's just going to get better as he gets going, but I think today, his play without the puck was better. He was good with the puck, but I'm saying his play without the puck really stood out to me.”
The Rangers will be back in action on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings.
While it wasn't pretty early against Vancouver, the Islanders got the win, a 4-3 victory to improve to 3-2-1 on their seven-game road trip with one game to go.
Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves for the Islanders. Kevin Lankinen made 28 saves for Vancouver.
Here's how the game unfolded:
The Islanders couldn't have been more off defensively to start the game.
Their defensive-zone coverage was lackluster, leading to Vancouver striking first at 2:49 of the first courtesy of fourth-line center Max Sasson.
Fortunately for the Islanders, Ilya Sorokin was able to keep the Canucks from adding to their slim 1-0 lead before Anthony Duclair wired home the 1-1 equalizer at 10:11 of the first after a tremendous feed from Tony DeAngelo:
That was Duclair's 10th goal of the season, with Matthew Schaefer notching his 20th assist of the season.
The Canucks did get back on top, with Evander Kane deflecting an Elias Pettersson wrist shot at 14:48 after Maxim Tsyplakov turned the puck over on the breakout.
Matthew Schaefer appeared to tie the game at 2-2 on a glorious effort, but Vancouver won a challenge for offside.
The Islanders scored two unanswered goals in the second period to enter the third period up 3-2.
First, it was Duclair scoring his second goal of the game, this time on the power play from the bumper spot off a nice feed from Ritchie at 14:34 of the second:
Schaefer notched his second straight multi-point game and seventh multi-point game of the season.
Tsyplakov sat for 11:15 in that second period.
The Islanders had a chance to double their lead with a 5-on-3 power play early in the third, but the Canucks killed it off.
DeAngelo got the Islanders that critical two-goal lead. After Anders Lee peeled to the front of the net, his shot banked off Lankinen and went right toward DeAngelo, who buried the rebound at 10:15 of the third:
CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets squared off on Monday night at the United Center for a Central Division battle. This game had some extra juice, however, as Jonathan Toews returned to Chicago for the first time as a road player.
At the first TV timeout, the Blackhawks and their fans honored Toews with a tribute video and a long standing ovation. He took multiple laps to loud cheers from the crowd that adores him so much.
one of the best to wear a Blackhawks sweater... welcome back Jonathan Toews‼️ pic.twitter.com/L2VvLyEOuY
It wasn't for a lack of chances on both sides, but there was no scoring until after the midway point of the second period. At 13:21, Jason Dickinson scored his 6th of the season to make it 1-0 Blackhawks. That lead would hold through the second intermission and into the third period.
That was the end of scoring on a goalie in the contest. Connor Bedard added an empty net goal late in the third, and the Blackhawks skated away with a 2-0 victory over the Jets.
Spencer Knight helped spoil Toews' return, as he earned his third shutout of the season. Knight made 32 saves on 32 shots, outdueling the reigning Hart Trophy winner in Connor Hellebuyck.
Although the fanbase was so engaged with the idea of celebrating Toews, the modern-day Blackhawks came out with a winning mentality, and they earned two big standings points. When they play to their capabilities, they have proven that they can beat anyone.
Bedard's empty net goal was big for him and the team. He hadn't scored since coming back from injury, but now he has that stress off his shoulder again.
"It matters," Jeff Blashill said after the game on Bedard finding the empty net to get back on track. "He certainly had a number of chances since he's been back. I thought he set up a number of people. He could have more points. Hopefully, that starts a waterfall of production."
Bedard has 20 goals through 36 games played. He is on a 38-goal pace if he plays every game for the rest of the season, which is much more than his career high of 23.
Earning a good home win in front of an incredible crowd was what this team was looking for to end a three-game skid. Knight captured a shutout, Bedard broke out, and they were able to hold onto a lead.
The Blackhawks are back in action on Thursday night. They will pay a quick visit to the Carolina Hurricanes before playing the Tampa Bay Lightning at home on Friday night.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins got off on the right foot to begin their four-game Western road swing on Monday.
And they did it in statement fashion.
Despite several pushes from the other side, the Penguins defeated the Seattle Kraken, 6-3, giving them 57 points on the season and putting them in a tie with the New York Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division standings. The Penguins also created some separation between themselves and the Washington Capitals, who have played two more games than the Penguins and are three points behind them.
Connor Dewar scored two goals for the Penguins, Sidney Crosby registered two points in his 1,400th NHL game, and Stuart Skinner stopped 20 of 23 Seattle shots to earn his fifth win in the last six games.
The Penguins needed this win. And they earned it, too, even if it got a bit hairy at times.
Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon opened the scoring a little less than six minutes into the game with a snipe from the left point for his second of the season. A few minutes later, Brett Kulak took a hooking penalty, and the Penguins headed to the penalty kill. Dewar ended up with a breakaway opportunity on the kill, and he buried the shorthanded goal to give the Penguins the 2-0 lead.
But, then, Seattle began to respond a bit. Ben Meyers cut the Kraken deficit to 2-1 with a goal from the net-front late in the first, and Ryan Lindgren capitalized on a loose rebound given up by Skinner to tie the game at 2-2.
Yet, the Penguins didn't fold. Instead, they responded immediately. Kulak got the puck on his stick after an offensive zone faceoff win by Crosby, walked the blue line, and fired a bullet past Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord to restore the lead for the Penguins.
Justin Brazeau scored off the rush for the Penguins early in the third period to give the Penguins an insurance goal, and - once again - Seattle pushed. Eeli Tolvanen scored a power play goal for Seattle five minutes later to make it 4-3.
But with a little more than three minutes remaining in regulation, Crosby took control of the puck behind Daccord's net, and he found Rickard Rakell - who was waiting on the doorstep - with a connecting pass. Rakell shot from the goal line and banked the puck off of Daccord's pad to give the Penguins another insurance goal.
Dewar added an empty-netter with 30 seconds left to give the Penguins the 6-3 win.
Even if the Penguins weren't at their best throughout the 60 minutes and saw some momentum go the other way, they still found ways to respond, and they shut things down at the end of the game, too.
Here are some takeaways from this huge win in Seattle:
- Even when Seattle was pushing in the second and third periods - and they did have a few periods of sustained momentum - the Penguins always seemed to have a response.
After Lindgren scored to tie the game at 2-2 - and erase the 2-0 lead the Penguins had built - they did not crumble like they had during their December losing streak. Instead, they went right back to work, and Kulak scored his goal just 51 seconds after to give the Penguins back the lead.
Again, after Seattle came out strong to start the third, the third line and Brazeau answered that momentum swing with an insurance goal. And, again, after Tolvanen scored on the power play to make it 4-3, the Penguins and Skinner responded, and Rakell earned his insurance goal later in the period.
This version - the healthier version - of this Penguins' team is relentless. They don't crater when momentum swings the other way, even if they do get burned. Instead, they respond, and it's making a great deal of difference for them.
There's something to all of that.
- Speaking of the third line, I thought this was a much stronger game for them. They were generating chances in the offensive zone all night long, and Brazeau's goal was simply a fruit of those labors finally paying off.
Ben Kindel and Anthony Mantha were doing their part as well. If they can play at the level they did Monday, the third line will, once again, become a formidable threat for Pittsburgh and give them a triple punch as far as scoring depth.
- What an addition Dewar has been for the Penguins.
When they acquired the 26-year-old forward and defenseman Conor Timmins last season from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the last minute on deadline day, they only gave up a 2025 fifth-round pick to get both. They ended up flipping Timmins for Connor Clifton and a second-rounder, and Dewar - in the month of January - tied his career-highs of 11 goals and 19 points with his empty-net goal.
It's not an exaggeration to say that the Penguins may very well have the best fourth line in hockey. I've sung Blake Lizotte's praises, and Noel Acciari has been very, very good this season in his role on that line and on the penalty kill.
But Dewar - not unlike Brazeau, except in a bottom-six role - has been a revelation. And the Penguins, if they make the playoffs, should consider extending the pending-RFA just like they extended Lizotte.
- One of the only negatives to come out of Monday was the power play. It was 0-for-3, and it had trouble generating much of anything, even if the second unit had a few looks.
I think this unit really misses Erik Karlsson. They're struggling with zone entries right now, and he really helps in that regard. Karlsson made the trip, so hopefully, he'll be back sooner rather than later to aid the first unit.
And as for the second unit, Egor Chinakhov is playing the left flank, but I'm not so sure this is the best use of his deployment. He gets a lot of touches on the power play, and his shot is his greatest weapon. Yet, when he receives the puck, he has to reset in order to set himself up for a shot, and oftentimes, it gives the opposition an opportunity to obstruct.
If he's going to get a lot of touches, the Penguins should put him in the best position to use that weapon of a shot. He should either be on the left wall or in the slot. I feel like this is, kind of, a no-brainer at this point.
- This is the second straight game in which the first line was very effective for the Penguins. And it's nice to see Rakell getting on the board again, as this was his second straight game with a goal directly set up by Crosby.
The Crosby-Rakell connection has always been special, and Rakell has looked much more himself in the last several games. Once Rakell gets his goal-scoring traction back, it will only make the top line - and the Penguins - that much more dangerous.
So, hopefully, he can continue what he's doing and continue to make any trade talk moot.
- Kulak really deserves a lot of credit for the way he's been playing lately. It took him a couple of weeks to settle in, but now that he has, the Penguins - and Kris Letang - all of a sudden look a whole lot better on the blue line.
Once Karlsson comes back - and if Kulak and Letang can sustain their level of play - the Penguins should have a pretty good top-four. There are still a lot of questions that remain on their bottom pairing, but if they're still in the playoff picture come the trade deadline, that's an area they can look to add to without spending too much.
But, in any case, good for Kulak. He was in the midst of one of the worst stretches of hockey in his career when he left the Edmonton Oilers, and it's nice to see him looking like his reliable-with-some-offensive-upside self lately.
- The Penguins will travel to Alberta to take on the Calgary Flames on Wednesday before facing the Oilers on Thursday in the second half of the back-to-back. Then, they will conclude their Western trip against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
Two wins on this road trip feels like a must, but it sure would be nice to take three of these four games. No other team in the Metro - other than the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes - are playing particularly great hockey right now, so it's a great opportunity for the Penguins to beat two non-playoff teams in Calgary and Vancouver and create some separation.
But, beyond that, this is when you also start looking at the regulation wins column. Regulation wins is the first tiebreaker when it comes to the standings, and right now, the Penguins have 19. While that's more than the 17 the Islanders have, it's not more than Washington's 21, Florida's 22, Boston's 21, or Buffalo's 20. And those are all teams in the wild card picture.
Look: The best path to the playoffs is always being one of the three best teams in your division. That much is clear. But the East is so tight, and teams have been so inconsistent this season that it's critical for the Penguins to check as many of the "tiebreaker" boxes as possible.
We're approaching the end of January as well as the Olympic break, when many teams will determine their trade deadline strategy. These things really matter.
So, it can't be stressed enough how important this road trip is for the Penguins. They need to collect as many points as possible - and they need to do it in regulation.
DENVER — Alex Barré-Boulet didn’t just answer the call — he made it count.
The 28-year-old forward, the Colorado Eagles’ leading point producer and a key contributor for the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, was summoned on short notice to replace Valeri Nichushkin, who was ruled out of Monday afternoon’s game against the Washington Capitals. Nichushkin was scratched after sustaining minor injuries in a multi-car accident while en route to the arena, forcing the Avalanche into a last-minute lineup adjustment.
Barré-Boulet Serves as Late Call-Up for Nichushkin
Barré-Boulet, who has recorded 12 goals and 25 assists for a team-leading 37 points in 36 games with the Eagles, received the call roughly two hours before puck drop. Unlike in boxing, where late replacements can decline a fight, hockey doesn’t afford that luxury. When the call comes, you go.
And Barré-Boulet made the most of his opportunity.
He recorded an assist in Colorado’s 5–2 victory, earning his first NHL point in more than two years. Just under six minutes into the opening period, Barré-Boulet left a pass for Parker Kelly at the top of the zone. Kelly carried the puck in, slammed on the brakes, and fed Cale Makar for a point shot that Kelly deflected past Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren to give Colorado a 1–0 lead.
The goal marked Kelly’s ninth of the season — a career high for the 26-year-old — but it carried added significance for Barré-Boulet. It was his first NHL point since December 21, 2023, when he scored for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 5–4 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Credit: Jonathan Dyer. Barré-Boulet's last NHL goal to date.
Perhaps even more notable, Barré-Boulet hadn’t dressed for an NHL game in well over a year.
Barré-Boulet Makes an Impact
Making an impact on such short notice did not go unnoticed by head coach Jared Bednar.
“I liked him. That line did some good things for us. They drew a few icings, had a good forecheck, drew a penalty,” he stated. “They were able to sustain some o-zone time in the second period. We were able to jump out our top guys and get a favorable matchup a couple times.
“Short notice for sure and he came in and did a nice job. (Washington) shortened their bench a little bit, so did we. So they didn’t see a lot of ice time in the second half of the game.”
Prior to Monday night, Barré-Boulet had not appeared in an NHL game in more than 15 months. His last outing came on October 10, 2024, when he suited up for the Montreal Canadiens against the Boston Bruins in the final game of a brief two-game stint. He recorded no points and picked up two penalty minutes during that stretch.
Since then, Barré-Boulet has spent the bulk of his time with Montreal’s AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, where he enjoyed a strong 2024–25 campaign. In 64 regular-season games, he posted 22 goals and 41 assists for 63 points, then added three goals and 11 points in 13 playoff appearances.
Barré-Boulet was reassigned to the Eagles following the game, but he returned to the AHL having reinforced what the Avalanche saw during the preseason. His two-way play is no fluke. He has shown he is more than just a scorer — he is committed to rounding out every aspect of his game, a standard he has set throughout his professional career.
That approach will likely be rewarded with another call-up down the line when the Avalanche need him again.
TORONTO (AP) — Marcus Foligno had his first NHL hat trick to double his season goals total, Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice and the Minnesota Wild beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Monday night.
The 34-year-old Foligno in the second period at even strength and on a power play, then into an empty net in the third.
Ryan Hartman added a goal and an assist, and Kirill Kaprizov and defensemen Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber each had two assists. Hughes has two goals and 18 assists in 18 games with the Wild since being acquired from Vancouver on Dec. 12.
Filip Gustavsson stopped 27 shots. The Wild have won two straight to open a three-game trip after being swept on a three-game homestand. They beat Buffalo 5-4 in overtime Saturday.
Auston Matthews scored his 25th goal of the season and had an assist for Toronto. John Tavares and Nicholas Robertson also scored. Joseph Woll allowed five goals on 29 shots in two period. Dennis Hildeby stopped nine shots in the third.
The Maple Leafs had won seven in a row a home.
Foligno gave Minnesota a 3-1 lead at 6:53 of the second, Tarasenko followed with his second of the game at 8:24 and Foligno made it 5-1 on a power play with 46 seconds left in the period.
Goalie fights are rare in the NHL nowadays because linesmen try to keep combative netminders apart.
But there was one Monday night because Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky charged down the ice and went after the San Jose Sharks' Alex Nedeljkovic before anyone could react.
The scrap happened during the third period after Florida's Evan Rodrigues hit Vincent Desharnais, who had tripped the Panthers' Mackie Samoskevich. Nedeljkovic left the crease to join the scrum, which drew the ire of Bobrovsky.
Bobrovsky had the gloves off and Nedeljkovic dropped his, and both masks came off. Nedeljkovic eventually took Bobrovsky down.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Brandon Bussi made 17 saves for his 18th win of the season, Seth Jarvis scored the go-ahead goal on a power play early in the third period and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Monday.
Andrei Svechnikov had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who have won three straight and secured at least one point for the eighth time in their past nine games. Sebastian Aho assisted on both of Carolina’s goals, giving him nine in five games.
Bussi improved to 18-3-1 and now has the most victories for a goaltender in his first 22 NHL starts. Six of his saves came on U.S. Olympian Tage Thompson, including a highlight-reel glove stop and another with two seconds remaining.
Rasmus Dahlin scored for the Sabres, who have lost back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 5 and 8. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 26 of 28 shots as Buffalo began a five-game road trip.
The Hurricanes have a 13-game home winning streak against the Sabres, the league’s longest active streak of its kind.
AVALANCHE 5, CAPITALS 2
DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist to reach 1,100 career points and Colorado beat Washington.
Parker Kelly, Victor Olofsson and Artturi Lehkonen also scored to help Colorado bounce back from a 7-3 loss to Nashville on Friday night — the Avalanche’s first home regulation loss of the season.
MacKinnon joined Hall of Famer Joe Sakic as the only players in franchise history to reach 1,100 points. Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves, including several big ones in the third before Colorado scored two late goals.
Jakob Chychrun and Ethen Frank scored for the Capitals in the opener of a six-game trip. Alex Ovechkin added an assist to give him 1,665 points. He’s four away from tying Wayne Gretzky for the fifth-most in NHL history by a player with one franchise (Gretzky had 1,669 with Edmonton in the NHL, and another 104 with the Oilers in the WHA).
PENGUINS 6, KRAKEN 3
SEATTLE (AP) — Brett Kulak broke a second-period tie with his first goal of the season, and Pittsburgh beat Seattle.
Several other unlikely offensive contributors chipped in for the Penguins (23-14-11). Fellow defenseman Parker Witherspoon got the scoring started with a wrister from the point that slid past Seattle goalie Joey Daccord for his third of the season.
Pittsburgh center Connor Dewar scored short-handed in the first period and added an empty-net goal with 29.6 seconds remaining. Dewar’s first goal marked the third straight game the Kraken (21-18-9) have yielded a short-handed goal.
SHARKS 4, PANTHERS 1
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Will Smith scored in his second consecutive game after missing a month because of injury, and San Jose spoiled Matthew Tkachuk’s season debut by beating the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers in a game highlighted by a rare goalie fight.
Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky beelined out of his crease and all the way down the ice to take on San Jose’s Alex Nedeljkovic, who had inserted himself into a scrum in the corner with 14 minutes left. Fans chanted, “Bobby! Bobby!” and cheered the netminder nicknamed “Bob” who has backstopped the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles.
The second meeting between the teams this season, and first since Nov. 8, got increasingly chippy with pushing and shoving after whistles and more than a few punches thrown.
Between the whistles, the Sharks also got goals from defensemen Vincent Desharnais and Mario Ferraro and 36 saves from Nedeljkovic. Barclay Goodrow sealed it with an empty-netter, and San Jose won hours after general manager Mike Grier signaled his team is going for it this season following a lengthy rebuild by acquiring winger Kiefer Sherwood in a trade with Vancouver.
Tkachuk skated just under 21 minutes and had three shots on goal in his first game since helping Florida repeat and hoisting the Cup in June. The 28-year-old winger, who was picked to play for the U.S. at the Olympics next month in Milan, underwent surgery last summer to deal with a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle.
Eetu Luostarinen scored the Panthers’ goal. Bobrovsky allowed three on 27 shots, giving up several juicy rebounds that San Jose capitalized on.
DENVER — Valeri Nichushkin was a late scratch Monday night against the Washington Capitals, as the Colorado Avalanche announced just before puck drop that the forward had suffered an upper-body injury.
Following the game, head coach Jared Bednar revealed that the 30-year-old was involved in a multi-car accident on his way to the arena.
CREDIT: GUERILLA SPORTS. Jared Bednar's post-game media availability.
To fill the void in the lineup, the Avalanche recalled Alex Barre-Boulet, who received the call roughly two hours before puck drop.
Barre-Boulet, an unoriginally undrafted forward who hails from Montreal, made the drive from Loveland and arrived in time to make his Avalanche debut, recording a point in Colorado’s 5-2 win. It marked his first NHL point since December 21, 2023, when he scored a goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Meanwhile, Nichushkin is scheduled to be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
“It was a fender bender, but serious enough to keep him out of the lineup today,” Bednar said. “The roads were icy when the guys were coming in this morning and slick, and there was a multiple vehicle accident.”
The absence marks Nichushkin’s second injury-related setback this season. He previously missed eight games with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot in a November 11 game against the Anaheim Ducks, a 4-1 Avalanche win. Through 38 games this season, Nichushkin has recorded 11 goals and 27 points.
The San Jose Sharks picked up a big 4-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Monday. With this, the Sharks have improved to a 25-20-3 record and are now third in the Pacific Division standings.
The Sharks' victory against the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions also featured a goalie fight.
Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky dropped the gloves, much to the excitement of the fans in attendance.
With 14 minutes left in the third period, the Sharks and Panthers players got into a scrum after the whistle behind San Jose's net. This led to Bobrovsky charging down the ice and going after Nedeljkovic. From there, the two goaltenders had their fight.
Goalie fights don't happen too often, but when they do, they are always a treat for fans. Nedeljkovic ended up having the upperhand in the scrap, too, as he landed the takedown on Bobrovsky.
Alex Nedeljkovic vs Sergei Bobrovsky
First goalie fight since Mike Smith vs Cam Talbot (Battle of Alberta) on Feb 1, 2020 pic.twitter.com/1EgMnUwNyr
Besides having a good fight, Nedeljkovic also had a strong game between the pipes for the Sharks. He stopped 35 out of 36 Panthers shots he faced, which equates to a .972 save percentage. With this, there is no question that he had a great performance for the Sharks in this one.
Crosby had a strong performance in this game, recording two assists and now has 1,742 career points. He also compiled his 512th multi-point game, good for fifth-most in NHL history.
He's one away from tying Mark Messier and Marcel Dionne for the third-most multi-point games in NHL history.
Sidney Crosby has recorded 1,742 points through 1,400 games, which is the third most through the milestone contest in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky (2,772) and Marcel Dionne (1,771).#NHLStats: https://t.co/NALxdZXR1Jpic.twitter.com/IBU2W7QHPn
This win catapulted the Penguins to second place in the Metro, at least for the time being. The New York Islanders will have the chance to retake that spot if they get at least a point against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.
The Penguins will be back in action on Wednesday against the Calgary Flames.
The Florida Panthers played their first home game in weeks on Monday night but ultimately couldn’t come up with a win.
Florida started out strong, but the game quickly got away from them as the San Jose Sharks skated to a 4-1 win at Amerant Bank Arena.
Both teams skated to a scoreless first period, one that saw Florida lead 10-8 in shots but get clobbered 22-13 in attempts.
San Jose ride that momentum into an early goal in the second period.
After some early extended zone time, Sharks defenseman Timothy Liljegren fired a long shot on net that was stopped by Sergei Bobrovsky, but super sophomore Will Smith was right there to gobble up the rebound and deposit it behind Bob just 50 seconds into the middle frame.
They weren’t done there.
Another rebound goal, this one off the stick of Vincent Desharnais, quickly made it a 2-0 game at the 2:41 mark.
Less than four minutes after that, another rush play and another rebound ended up in the back of Florida’s net, this one scored by another Sharks defenseman, Mario Ferraro.
It took until the opening minute of the third period before the Panthers could finally get one on the board.
Florida cycled the puck through the offensive zone, eventually leading to Eetu Luostarinen taking a long shot from just inside the blue line that beat Alex Nedeljkovic on the blocker side just 42 seconds into the final frame.
A crazy sequence occurred a few mintues later.
It started with Vincent Desharnais tripping Mackie Samoskevich and Evan Rodrigues cross checking Desharnais in the corner to the right of Nedeljkovic.
A scuffle ensued and for whatever reason, Nedeljkovic jumped out of his net and joined the fray, throwing punches at Panthers players involved in the scrum.
Bobrovsky saw that and made a beeline 200 feet down the ice for Nedeljkovic, not hesitating to toss off his gloves and start throwing punches at the Sharks netminder.
Photo caption: Dec 7, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) moves the puck against Florida Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling (42) during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
