In the latest edition of The Hockey News, Jared Clinton takes a stab at ranking the defence corps of every NHL team from best to worst. Atop his rankings are the Colorado Avalanche, which has Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Josh Manson, and Brent Burns, followed by the Dallas Stars, who have three projected Olympians on their blueline: Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, and Esa Lindell, and the Florida Panthers round out the top three with Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, and Seth Jones.

Where do you think the Montreal Canadiens stand? Well, they rank sixth. Clinton justifies his decision by the fact that Lane Hutson’s arrival has changed the face of the franchise and that adding Noah Dobson turned the blueline into a position of strength. There’s no arguing with those points, but I think it would have been worth digging a little deeper.

Canadiens’ Montembeault Is Training In Brossard
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To anoint the Canadiens’ defence the sixth best in the league, you have to look past a couple of headliners. There’s no denying that Hutson is a star in the making and that his arrival has made the blueline so much better. Replacing retired right-shot defenseman David Savard with Noah Dobson was a masterclass. The Habs have needed someone there for such a long time that it’s no wonder his arrival has been so celebrated.

Mike Matheson deserves some props as well: he had a significant offensive role in Montreal for a while, has reinvited himself twice in as many seasons, and has agreed to re-up on a team-friendly deal, showing he doesn’t mind not having power-play time and focusing on the penalty kill.

Having these three defensemen makes the Canadiens a real threat in overtime; they give Martin St-Louis a world of possibilities, especially given the depth he has up front.

Once you look past those three, though, you have Kaiden Guhle, who’s a great defenseman on paper. A rare mix of mobility and physicality, but the problem is, he’s not there very often. Injuries are piling on so much that the Canadiens have to have a backup plan at all times for the next time he’ll have to step out.

Then, there’s Alex Carrier, who looked like a saviour when he came in last season, a stabilizing presence to ease the defensive worries. But it’s much tougher for him this year, and he doesn’t look as safe an option as he did. Could it be that Tom Wilson’s hit during the playoffs changed him somehow? Is he worried it could happen again on some level? Hard to say, but his performance has been far from ideal.

As for Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj, they have been competing for the sixth defenseman role for two and a half seasons, and neither has been overwhelmingly better than the other. They’ve been worrying so much about each other that they didn’t realize that Adam Engstrom was coming up fast in their rearview mirror. The Swede has performed incredibly well of late, and he has shown that he can handle many tricky situations on the ice.

That’s without even talking about David Reinbacher, who is improving in Laval and working hard to stay healthy. Sooner or later, the Canadiens will have some choices to make on the back end. There are a lot of bodies and only so many spots in the lineup. Who’s better? Struble or Xhekaj? Can the Habs plan for the long term with Guhle despite the recurring injuries? Despite those questions, the Canadiens deserved that high ranking, at least when everyone is healthy.

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The Philadelphia Flyers closed out the pre-break portion of their schedule with a controlled, 3–1 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

It was the first of two meetings between the teams this season after they split the series last year, and Philadelphia handled the game with the kind of discipline that tends to travel well.

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1. The Flyers’ Top-End Production Stays Red Hot.

Travis Konecny and Trevor Zegras continue to drive offense in ways that go beyond highlight moments. Konecny finished with a goal and an assist—his eighth multi-point game of the season, which leads the team—and recorded the 300th assist of his NHL career. His night was efficient, finding soft ice and making quick decisions when Chicago collapsed low.

Zegras, meanwhile, extended his point streak to nine games with an assist on Philadelphia’s opening goal. Over that stretch, he has totaled 11 points (5G, 6A), and only the Oilers' Connor McDavid enters the break with a longer active point streak. What stands out is how Zegras is influencing games without needing to dominate the puck; his reads off the rush and ability to draw coverage continue to open lanes for linemates.

Trevor Zegras is THRIVING with the @NHLFlyers! 🤩

📺: @NHL_On_TNT & @StreamOnMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3Tpic.twitter.com/Nc0rEtXxy7

— NHL (@NHL) December 24, 2025

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2. Special Teams Provided Separation, Not Just Support.

Noah Cates’ power-play goal proved to be the difference-maker, extending his point streak to four games and putting him one game shy of tying his career-long streak of five. The goal itself wasn’t overly complex, but it reflected better spacing and decisiveness from the Flyers’ power-play unit.

TK's too smooth. 😮‍💨#PHIvsCHI | #LetsGoFlyerspic.twitter.com/MiwmktyjEw

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 24, 2025

Philadelphia didn’t overwhelm Chicago with volume, but they avoided the stalled possessions that have crept into their power play at times this season. The puck moved quickly enough to force the Blackhawks’ penalty killers to collapse, and Cates capitalized from a high-danger area.

Carl Grundstrom’s empty-net goal later sealed the result, continuing a quietly productive stretch. Since entering the lineup on a consistent basis on Dec. 9, Grundstrom and Zegras now share the team lead in goals (five each). For a player slotted primarily into a depth role, Grundstrom’s finishing has added real value to this lineup.

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3. Depth Contributions Reinforced Game Control.

Sean Couturier’s two-assist night pushed him to 16 assists on the season, and both reflected strong positional awareness and timing. Couturier continues to serve as a stabilizing presence in transition, particularly when the Flyers are protecting narrow leads.

Philadelphia didn’t overload any single line, and that balance showed. The Flyers were comfortable rolling shifts, maintaining structure through the neutral zone, and forcing Chicago to generate offense from the perimeter. It wasn’t an overly-high-event game, and that suited Philadelphia just fine.

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4. Injuries Cast a Brief Shadow.

The win wasn’t without concern. Denver Barkey did not return for the third period after being hit from behind during a penalty sequence. Head coach Rick Tocchet addressed the situation postgame.

“He got hit from behind on that penalty,” Tocchet told media. “Just get reevaluated from the doctors.”

Later, Travis Sanheim was also pulled from the game with roughly 12 minutes remaining due to concussion spotters. Tocchet offered reassurance afterward, telling media, “I think he’s fine.”

While neither situation overshadowed the result, they’re worth monitoring as the Flyers head into the break. Sanheim, in particular, has been a heavy-minute defender, and any missed time would test the team’s blue-line depth.

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5. The Standings Now Reflect What the Play Has Suggested.

With this win, the Flyers head into the break with 45 points, the third-most in the Eastern Conference. They sit second in the Metropolitan Division, just two points behind the Carolina Hurricanes.

This result against Chicago wasn’t about proving legitimacy—it was about handling an opponent they were expected to beat. Philadelphia did exactly that, without overextending or leaving themselves exposed late.

More importantly, it reinforced something tangible: the Flyers have enough skill and work rate across the lineup to support playoff-level results, and they’re winning games in multiple ways. That combination, paired with their current position in the standings, gives them a clear and realistic path as the season resumes.

Scott Morrow’s time with the New York Rangers has been a rollercoaster ride this season, but there’s one aspect about his character that you can’t take away. 

When the Rangers acquired Morrow from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the sign-and-trade deal involving K’Andre Miller, they were getting a player who was highly successful in the NCAA and American Hockey League level, largely due to his ability to create offense as a defenseman, but he had yet to etch his mark in the NHL. 

Despite failing to make the Rangers’ roster out of training camp, Morrow was called up a couple of times, and once Adam Fox landed on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury, Morrow got the opportunity to step into the lineup and play a prominent role.

When asked about what he wanted to see from Morrow shortly after Fox’s injury, Sullivan gave a blunt answer, a sign that he was simply expecting more out of the young defenseman. 

“Assertive play,” Sullivan said about what he wants to see from Morrow. “Making decisions with conviction and not being in between. Eliminating hesitation from his game.”

Since Sullivan’s request for Morrow to play with more assertiveness, he’s been in the lineup for nine games, which has come with its highs and lows. 

Even though the 23-year-old defenseman has specialized in the power play at practically every level of hockey, Sullivan decided to utilize a five-forward power-play unit upon Fox’s absence. 

At first, Sullivan didn’t fully trust Morrow to quarterback the first power-play unit. 

“We don't think that's the strength of their games to this point,” Sullivan said of why Schneider or Morrow are not playing on the first power-play unit. “We're trying to put a power play together that we think gives us the best opportunity to have success. Obviously, Foxy, I think, is an elite power-play defenseman, with how he distributes the puck up there, the way he sees the game. He's got really good instincts. We don't necessarily think that that's the strength of some of the guys you just mentioned.”

Sullivan did emphasize that Morrow was the most equipped defenseman outside of Fox to play on the man advantage. 

“We’ve made a decision to go with five forwards at this point, but we know that if we were to use a defensemen, he would be the guy because of the instincts that he has,” Sullivan said.

With the five-forward unit failing to produce offense, Sullivan recently added Morrow to that first power-play unit. 

In this role, Morrow has gone through a steep learning curve, committing some costly turnovers in the process, showing that there’s still room for him to grow. 

From an overall standpoint, Morrow has been prone to making some defensive mistakes. Specifically on Saturday afternoon in the Rangers’ game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Morrow committed two costly turnovers, the first one coming on the power play, which led to a shorthanded goal, and the next one taking place in overtime, nearly leading to the game-winning goal. 

Through the mistakes, Morrow has continued to play an assertive game per request from Sullivan, earning his coach’s admiration. 

“What I'll say is, he's an incredible kid, and his ability to shrug off some of the plays and continue to perform out there, I think, speaks volumes for the character of what he's about,” Sullivan said. “He's a young player. He's going to make some mistakes, and let's be honest, we're putting him in some really high-profile positions, whether it be on the power play and overtime, things of that nature. He's playing a significant role here with this group right now, especially with Foxy being out, and so I think he's done a great job with just playing through the ups and the downs. 

Rangers Put Scoring Barrage On Display En Route To Comeback Win Over Capitals In a season filled with scoring woes, the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a> flipped the switch on Tuesday night, scoring five goals in the third period against the Washington Capitals, en route to a 7-3 win.&nbsp;

“I think that's what you get when you deal with young players, especially defensemen. I said this to you guys all the time, I think it's the hardest position to play, but I admire his resilience because that would affect a lot of young players the wrong way. When you watch Scotty play, if he makes a mistake, he shrugs it off, he learns from it. We couldn't be more proud of him for his ability to respond to those situations.”

Sullivan has continued to roll with Morrow on the first power-play unit and give him heavy minutes despite some of his defensive blunders, not trying to punish Morrow for mistakes as he continues to develop. 

On Tuesday night in the Rangers’ 7-3 win over the Washington Capitals, Morrow played arguably his best game of the season. 

He led all Rangers defenseman with a 2.50 Game Score, an analytical stat used to quantify a player's single-game impact, blending goals, assists, shots, penalties, faceoffs, and 5v5 goal/Corsi differentials (shot attempts) into one number, with higher scores indicating better overall performance in that specific game. 

Morrow clearly has the talent to transform into an impactful NHL defenseman. Now it’s about fully adapting to the speed of the NHL game and providing more of a reliable presence for the Rangers, something that should come with time.

It's been almost a week since the Los Angeles Kings traded Phillip Danault to the Montreal Canadiens. Both sides have moved on, and Danault made his season debut for the Canadiens on Tuesday.

Ahead of Danault's return to Montreal, he spoke to the media for the first time since the trade went down.

The 32-year-old veteran did not mince his words when describing his time with the Kings and what ultimately led up to the trade.

"I felt like I had no purpose and that I couldn't bring anything to the team with what I had," Danault said to reporters in French. "I felt helpless and not important. That's how I felt at the end."

This was all before the Habs faced the Boston Bruins. Montreal beat its Atlantic Division rivals 6-2 in Danault's first game back.

In terms of the former Kings' performance, he didn't get his name on the scoresheet.

Danault centered Montreal's third line, with Alexandre Texier on his left wing and Josh Anderson on his right. He finished the contest with 24 shifts and 15:29 of ice time. With Los Angeles earlier this season, he averaged 16:19 of ice time, 50 seconds more than he played on Tuesday.

The Victoriaville, Que., native is still looking for his first goal of the season. He has five assists in 31 appearances this season.

In his five seasons with the Canadiens before joining the Kings as a free agent, he played 360 games, scoring 54 goals and 194 points. He also registered a plus-47 rating and averaged 16:53 of ice time in his first stint with the Habs.

'A Lot Of Hard Feelings': NHL Insider Talks Messy Departure For Danault And The KingsPhillip Danault is no longer a member of the Los Angeles Kings, as he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday. But details about a messy and intense departure are coming out in the aftermath.

Danault costs $5.5 million against Montreal's salary cap and is the sixth-highest-paid forward on the roster in terms of average annual value for this campaign. He has one more year on his current contract after this season.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. —  The Minnesota Wild (22-10-6) set a franchise record in a 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators (16-16-4) for its last game before the Christmas break.

Minnesota scored the first goal of the game but let up the next two goals on the power play to the Preds.

Joel Eriksson Ek was able to tie it up later and the Wild forced an overtime against the Predators. After no shots by the Wild, the Predators came into the attacking zone.

Erik Haula sauced one over the stick of Quinn Hughes and onto the tape of the trailing Steven Stamkos for the game-winning goal in overtime.

It was Stamkos' 17th career overtime goal and moved into a tie for the seventh most in NHL history. But the real history was by the Wild on Tuesday.

With the overtime loss, the Wild recorded their 50th point of the season. They are one of three teams to have 50 points, behind the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche tied the second-fewest games to 60 points in a season in NHL history.

But, it was the first time in franchise history that the Wild entered the Holiday Break with 50 points.

Minnesota has dropped its last two games but has been playing great hockey as of late. The Wild are 19-4-3 since November 1st. They rank third in the NHL in that span with 41 points. The Stars have 42 and the Avalanche have 43 points since then. 

“We’re in a good spot," Filip Gustavsson said after the loss. "We just have to keep winning after the break now and we’re going to be fine.”

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LAS VEGAS -- Frolicking in the holiday spirit, with visions of Christmas-themed costumed fans inside T-Mobile Arena, the Golden Knights extended their point streak against the San Jose Sharks to 12 games with Tuesday night's 7-2 win.

Vegas took a 5-0 lead after one period and never looked back, as six different players found the back of the net before the holiday break.

It marked the first time since Feb. 27, 2025 that Vegas recorded five goals in a period and the third time the team has done it in the first period.

Mitch Marner scored twice, while captain Mark Stone, Colton Sissons, Reilly Smith, Brett Howden and former Shark Tomas Hertl also scored.

GOALS MUST BE ALWAYS 😃 pic.twitter.com/9x1cjSJp0I

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) December 24, 2025

Carter Hart continued his impressive start since making his debut with the Knights, stopping 21 shots to improve to 4-1-2.

The Golden Knights also extended their power-play goal streak to six games, as they now rank second in the league since Dec. 11 at 35% with a man advantage.

Vegas' five-goal barrage stretched across the opening stanza, from the 1:46 to the 18:34 marks, with Howden, Marner, Sissons, Hertl and Stone all scoring goals.

San Jose's Macklin Celebrini spoiled Hart's shutout bid midway through the second period, while Collin Graf added a score late in the third to provide the final margin.

Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov made 12 saves before turning the net over to Alex Nedeljkovic, who made seven saves.

KEY MOMENT

As much as the key moment could have been the moment the Sharks stepped off the team bus, it had to be the game-winner by Sissons, who made it 3-0 a little more than 11 minutes into the first period. Brandon Saad got things started when he grabbed a loose puck in the defensive end and backhanded it down ice to Keegan Kolesar, who skated to the doorstep before sending a pass across the crease for a one-timer tap-in from Sissons.

SO FRESH AND SO CLEAN 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/0GXsz8B5oI

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) December 24, 2025

KEY STAT

13 of 20 ... In taking a 5-0 lead after the first period, 13 of Vegas' 20 skaters had at least one point - the most in a single period in franchise history - for a combined 14 points. The previous high was 11, which was reached on three occasions. Dorofeyev registered two points in the period with assists on Marner and Hertl's goals.

VEGAS FIVE-0 🎰😤 pic.twitter.com/au4Jr65Zea

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) December 24, 2025

WHAT A KNIGHT

Marner extended his point streak to three games and now has three goals in his last two games. It was his second two-goal game since joining the Knights, the first back on Oct. 18 against Calgary.

TOUCHDOWN VGK 🥵 pic.twitter.com/jLklobxnh3

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) December 24, 2025

UP NEXT

The Golden Knights continue their four-game homestand by hosting the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 27.

Earlier this week, on 98,5 Sports, former Montreal Canadiens goalie coach Stephane Waite suggested that it would cause no harm if goaltender Jakub Dobes were sent down to the Laval Rocket.

He’s waiver exempt, so assigning him to the Rocket wouldn’t mean risking losing him, but I disagree that it would cause no harm. I understand that Dobes doesn’t have the “goaltender of the future” label that Jacob Fowler has, but that doesn’t mean that he should pay for Samuel Montembeault’s current issues.

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If you recall, Dobes was off to an excellent start to the season and was even in the conversation for the Calder Trophy early on. But then, despite Montembeault’s poor form, he kept getting starts over Dobes, who, based on performance, would have deserved to be between the pipes. It’s only after Martin St-Louis kept going back to his starter despite his struggles that Dobes appeared to be shaken up.

Sending him down to Laval would once again shake him. He doesn’t deserve to go down to the AHL. He hasn’t had the same issues Montembeault has had, and therefore, he should not go down. Doing that would only achieve one thing: shake him up once more and mess with his head.

Montembeault’s situation is delicate, there’s no denying that, but the NHL is a results business. If the netminder cannot handle internal competition, he won’t last much longer in the league. Granted, a trio of goaltenders is far from ideal, especially when two of them are rookies who need to play. But for me, Fowler is the one who should go down if the Canadiens feel that someone must.

Probably not surprising but hearing that some teams have checked in on Marc-Andre Fleury to see if there’s any chance at all he would consider playing again. Again not surprised teams with goalie needs would want to check on it.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 23, 2025

Waiving Montembeault would mean losing him. Struggles or not, a team would pick him up, hoping that a fresh start would sort him out. According to Pierre LeBrun, GMs are calling Marc-Andre Fleury to ask if he’d consider coming out of retirement; that shows how thin the goalie market is.

As good as Fowler has been so far, he’s still a bit green; this is his first professional season. The 21-year-old needs plenty of ice time, and there is no point in rushing him. No matter how he performs, the Canadiens won’t win the Stanley Cup this season. Leaving him to mature in the AHL only makes sense.

Finish the season with two goalies, and if Montembeault doesn’t find his game, consider moving on from him this summer. That would pave the way for Fowler to see enough action in the NHL. For now, though, let Dobes be; he shouldn’t have to pick up the tab, so to speak.

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For the second time in less than a week, the Florida Panthers entered the nightmares of the Carolina Hurricanes.

On Friday, Florida was down 3-0 to Carolina with less than 10 minutes to go before clawing their way back and earning an exhilarating 4-3 shootout victory.

Four nights later, this time up in Raleigh, the Panthers were down 2-0 entering the third period when they reeled off five unanswered goals to shock the Hurricanes again, skating to a resounding 5-2 win and entering the holiday break on a hell of a run.

Florida has now picked up victories in eight of their past 10 games and will enter the NHL’s holiday freeze sitting in a playoff spot with games in hand of many of the teams still ahead of them.

Let’s get to Tuesday’s takeaways.

MAURICE LETS ‘EM HAVE IT

With the Panthers down 2-0 late in the second period and not looking particularly good, Paul Maurice decided that was a good time to go a little nuclear on his team.

During his four seasons behind Florida’s bench, Maurice has gone this route less than a handful of times.

When he does, though, the team has always responded.

It’s usually something he saves for the playoffs, or when the postseason is a bit closer, but on this night, Mo gave it to his guys.

After the game, when Florida had just turned in a 5-0 third period, Maurice was quick to deflect any credit toward his players, despite the obvious connection to his tongue lashing on the bench.

The Florida Panthers' Head Coach Paul Maurice was giving the team an earful by the bench 👀#CarolinaCulture#TimeToHunt#NHLpic.twitter.com/hGBRmqqIQW

— Queen of the Puck (@rbarkleyhockey) December 24, 2025

“It changed nothing,” Maurice said of his tirade. “That third period, the players, they handled all that. I was responsible for the first two, I didn't have my team ready to play tonight. Credit to them for understanding the importance that even if you're going to lose the game, you have to lose it a certain way, and we hadn't played the way we needed to play. I wasn't very good today, but fortunately, my players were…in the third.”

COMEBACK CATS DO IT AGAIN

There is just something about these Panthers and never giving up.

Maybe it’s Maurice.

Maybe it’s the leadership in the locker room.

Maybe it’s just a stockpiling of lucky breaks that will eventually even out (or perhaps this is the evening out after decades of despondence).

However you want to frame these things, no matter how many times the Panthers pull off one of these come-from-behind wins, they don’t get any less astounding.

Florida’s coach tried to make it make sense after Tuesday’s win.

“When you get on a roll in this league, emotion is such a huge part of it,” Maurice began. “A goal from the fourth line, right? Those guys work so hard, and they haven't had a lot to show for their hard work, so that had a lot to do with it. We played a third period in Colorado, we were down 5-1, and we were in one to say the least, but we played hard in that third period, and that started a four game winning streak for us. So it was really, really important, whether we won or lost the game, that we could find a way to right the ship and play a hard, smart third period. That was their task, and they accomplished it.”

CLIMBING BOB

Another game, another milestone for Sergei Bobrovsky.

Florida’s starting netminder won his sixth consecutive start on Tuesday. He’s allowed only 10 combined goals over his past five outings and enters the holiday break tied for the league lead in wins.

His latest victory was also the 445th of his career, moving Bob into a tie for eighth place on the all-time wins list with Terry Sawchuck.

Bobrovsky now trails seventh place Curtis Joseph by nine wins, and Henrik Lundqvist is only five ahead of that, so it’s conceivable that Bob moves into sixth place sometime this season.

Between the names he’s chasing and the legends he’s just passed, like tenth place Jacques Plante and eleventh place Tony Esposito, it’s beyond impressive what Bobrovsky is accomplishing in his career, while showing no signs of slowing up.

“The names that he's surrounded by are the names that I grew up as a kid, listening to my dad telling me about the greatest goalies that ever played, and Sergei Bobrovsky is now among those names,” Maurice said. “To get a chance to be a part of his career – I’ve got nothing to do with him stopping the puck, I'll be clear about that – but I get to be a part of it and get to know him a little bit, so it's a real honor for me to have worked, not worked with him, worked beside him, worked alongside Sergei, and watched his professionalism. It’s an honor.”

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Photo caption: Dec 23, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) celebrate their victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center. (James Guillory-Imagn Images)

Without having played a significant role so far this season, Philadelphia Flyers rookie Nikita Grebenkin has endeared himself to local fans with his personality and style of play. That reach, of course, extends far beyond his nascent NHL career.

Grebenkin, 22, has been playing pro hockey since the 2021-22 season having played 120 games across three seasons with KHL outfit Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

Ex-Metallurg sports director Sergei Gomolyako, who knows the exciting Flyers rookie well, has expressed his support from across the pond, reflecting on his experiences with Grebenkin and backing him for further success in Philadelphia.

"I think Nikita will soon start scoring more goals and, accordingly, get more playing time. He's ready for the NHL and is proving he can play at a high level," Gomolyako was quoted as saying by Metaratings via Championat.

"I remember calling him to Metallurg last season, when he'd left for Toronto and was playing in the AHL. But Nikita made it clear right away that he intended to use his tremendous tenacity and desire to break through and play in the NHL. And I supported him in that endeavor. Now he's in Philadelphia, teamed with Michkov. Nikita has his role, even if he's currently playing on the fourth line, but that's for now. The guy's goal is not only to play consistently in the NHL but also to become the best hockey player in the league. And he'll work toward that, just like he did with us in Magnitogorsk."

Flyers Embrace Philosophy Change with Denver Barkey's NHL Debut, BreakoutLess than halfway through the 2025-26 season, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> are already icing a much different team than the one they started the year with.

Rick Tocchet's recent decisions to bench veterans Nick Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway has thrust Grebenkin back into the Flyers' lineup on a regular basis, and the Russian immediately took advantage of the extended opportunity with a decisive two-point (one goal, one assist) performance in a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.

Grebenkin's goal, a deflection of Emil Andrae's initial attempt, stood as the only goal between the two sides through the first two periods, and he would later earn a primary assist on Carl Grundstrom's third-period goal to put the Flyers up 2-0.

"Nikita is a great hockey player and a great person. He's a fun guy, a comedian, and the life of the team. I think he'll be just as effective there, despite the language barrier," Gomolyako continued. "He's a bright guy not only on the ice but also in interviews. So I'm keeping an eye on Nikita and I'm happy for his success. I hope he succeeds." 

After suffering four consecutive losses - one in overtime and three in the shootout - the Flyers, driven by Grebenkin and the new-look fourth line, head into the holiday break as winners of two straight, knocking off Vancouver and Chicago by a combined score of 8-3.

Ex-Flyers Coach John Tortorella Shuts Down Talk of NHL Return... For NowFormer <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> head coach John Tortorella isn't close to throwing in the towel on his coaching career, but the veteran bench boss was well prepared to say any talk of an NHL return right now is premature.

Earning Tocchet's trust has been a non-linear process for the affable winger, but the NHL is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league.

What Grebenkin has done lately for the Flyers is help transform the fourth line into a playable unit, and that goes a long way for a Flyers team hoping to see the postseason for the first time since 2020.

For one last time before the Christmas break, the Montreal Canadiens were lacing up their skates to take on the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night. While some games are played with less intensity when everyone is looking forward to their time off, that wasn’t the case with this tilt. For a second time in a row between the two rivals, there was a fight right from puck drop and another one before the first frame was over.

The game also marked Phillip Danault’s debut with the Habs since he was (re)acquired from the Los Angeles Kings right before the Christmas roster freeze. Wearing his familiar number 24, the centerman looked right at home wearing the bleu, blanc, rouge.

Canadiens’ Montembeault Is Training In Brossard
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Fowler Spectacular

While the game started with a lot of intensity, the host still largely dominated the first frame, not only in shots but in the quality of shots and opportunities. Within 15 minutes, Boston had 14 shots, several of which were not easy to deal with.

Odd-man rushes, power play chances from in close, one-timers, Jacob Fowler faced it all. Even though the Bruins finished the first period with a 2-1 lead, Fowler’s heroics would have made the situation much more dire.

Ideally, the goals conceded wouldn’t have come when they did, just over a minute after the Habs had taken the lead and with 18 seconds left in the frame, but given that Fowler almost stood on his head all period long, he cannot be blamed.

Jacob *Wowler#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/kjyuiyP8pS

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 24, 2025

A Momentum Killer

After the Canadiens had tied up the game on a fantastic Ivan Demidov goal on a breakaway, Montreal thought it was about to get back in front when Boston was assessed a four-minute penalty for high-sticking.

... pic.twitter.com/UzMIDf4Jkv

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 24, 2025

Unfortunately for the Canadiens, it was not to be, as they failed to find the back of the net and created only one really menacing opportunity when Cole Caufield went in alone on Jeremy Swayman. Still, the masked man easily pushed aside his shot.

I cannot for the life of me understand why Demidov wasn’t on the first wave of the power play anymore, having given his spot to Zachary Bolduc. I imagine it’s to try and get the latter going while improving his chemistry with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, but that can be done at even strength. In such a tight Eastern Conference race, it's imperative to capitalize on opportunities.

Demidov’s creativity is a tool which the Canadiens cannot afford to do without. Even though he was still on the second unit, his chemistry with Noah Dobson is nowhere near as good as what he has with Lane Hutson, and the sophomore blueliner looked like he missed him dearly at times.

Not scoring on that four-minute man advantage was an absolute momentum killer and something the Canadiens just couldn’t afford, had the Bruins continued playing well, of course.

The Elephant In The Room

Over the course of the last few games, the team’s dynamic duo, Caufield and Suzuki, have looked a bit off. Almost as if they had both lost a great deal of confidence. It was never as apparent as when the two escaped on an odd-man rush. The captain passed the puck to the sniper, who elected to send it back to him, something he wasn’t expecting, and the scoring chance died right there—neither actually looked like they wanted to shoot on that play.

Thankfully for Martin St-Louis, Boston decided to give Montreal another go on the power play, and things unravelled for them. An unsuccessful coach challenge brought about the first trip to the sin bin, but before it was even over, Tanner Jeannot took another minor for cross-checking. Minutes later, the hosts were also assessed a tripping call.

The result? Two power play goals, both of which came with Demidov on the ice with Caufield, Suzuki, and Slafkovsky. One was scored by Caufield, who put on quite a stickhandling display to fool Jeremy Swayman, and the other by Suzuki, who hit a home run, batting the puck mid-air. Hopefully, that might have been just what the doctor ordered for the two forwards.

DÉGUEUUUX

DISGUSTAANG#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/lWBLdnsdOS

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 24, 2025

In just over five minutes, the Habs scored four goals, two on the power play and two at even strength. It might have been a 6-2 win, but the score is misleading. As mentioned above, Fowler didn’t have it easy in the first frame, and he had a big hand in the win, but so did Hutson and Dobson with three assists each, while the captain got a goal and an assist.

The young netminder’s performance, which follows on from his first career shutout, won’t make life easy for the Canadiens’ organization; how could they send him down to the Laval Rocket after this?

With that win, the Canadiens climb up to second place in the Atlantic Division, but the win came at a cost, with Alexandre Texier leaving the game because of an upper-body injury. The Habs now have a much-deserved Christmas break, and they’ll get back on the ice on Saturday at 5:00 PM when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the traditional Florida trip over the holidays.

---

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To put it plainly, the Detroit Red Wings are getting far more than they would have ever expected out of rookie forward Emmitt Finnie so far in his rookie campaign.

Finnie, Detroit's seventh-round pick (201st overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft, tallied his ninth goal on Tuesday evening as part of his club's 4-3 overtime win over the Dallas Stars at Little Caesars Arena, their ninth win in December. 

Finnie scored a power-play goal in the third period, knotting the score at 2-2.

9 on the season for Finnie! pic.twitter.com/8klNO9r9tB

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 24, 2025

The Red Wings would eventually need to rally back from a 3-2 deficit, which they did on consecutive goals from Dylan Larkin late in regulation and then in overtime. 

Larkin, who has skated alongside Finnie on the club's top line for much of the season, couldn't say enough of the impact that the rookie has had. 

“It's unbelievable, I’ve talked about him a lot, and I could talk about him all day if you guys allowed me,” Larkin said of his rookie linemate with a grin. “He's such a great kid, and playing with him the majority of the (year) up until Christmas, he's such a good linemate."

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

This February will mark the first time that NHL players have participated in Olympic competition, and Larkin is a major contender to be included on the Team USA roster as he was last February in the Four Nations Face-Off tournament. 

Larkin delivered a consequential endorsement of Finnie's style of play, saying that he would try and emulate that if he's ultimately chosen to represent the United States on the international stage. 

"If I was able to go to the Olympics and play on the wing, I would probably try to play like Emmitt Finnie," Larkin said. "I’d be a good supporting player who digs out pucks and gets them to guys, and goes to the hard areas. He's a special player, and a special guy.”

"It's a great story." 

Head coach Todd McLellan, who has been on the job in Detroit for exactly 363 days now, confirmed that Finnie has exceeded all expectations that the club could have had for him coming into the season. 

"I'd be flat out lying to you if I said, 'Hey, we put his name on the board, and we popped him into the lineup right there and never thought twice about playing him against the League's best,'" McLellan explained. "But as Dylan said, he's earned a seat at the table with his teammates and the coaching staff....just the way he carries himself. He's done a real good job." 

Finnie's nine goals are ranked third-most in the NHL among rookie players, trailing only Montreal Canadiens forward  Oliver Kapanen and Anaheim Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke, who both have 11 goals each. 

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Sharks don't look like a playoff-caliber team after loss to Golden Knights originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.

LAS VEGAS — Last Tuesday, the Sharks looked poised to make a playoff run.

Riding high off a historic 6-5 overtime comeback victory at the Pittsburgh Penguins, they stomped the Calgary Flames out in their first game back at home, 6-3.

Since then, the Sharks have gone on a streak, but not the one that they wanted. Instead, the 17-17-3 squad has lost three in a row.

“The two games before this, I thought we deserved to win, did some really good things and bad bounces went in our net, and that’s just how it goes sometimes,” alternate captain Tyler Toffoli said. “Tonight was not the case, and we just didn’t play good enough.”

That’s a fair assessment: San Jose was good enough to win against the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken to close the homestand. And it was the opposite of that against the Las Vegas Golden Knights in a 7-2 loss on Tuesday night.

Read the full article at San Jose Hockey Now

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January has traditionally been the harshest time of the year for the Kings, who haven’t had a winning record in that month the last three seasons. But winter grew dark and gloomy a little earlier than usual because December has hardly been a walk in the park.

With Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken, the Kings head into the NHL’s three-day Christmas break having lost six of their last seven. And things aren’t getting easier any time soon: when the team returns to the ice Saturday, it will play host to the Ducks, who lead the Pacific Division in wins, before closing out 2025 Monday on the road against the Colorado Avalanche, who lead the NHL in wins.

“It's not going the way we all want to,” forward Kevin Fiala said. “But you know, that's going to happen for everybody. So it's us who have to do something about it. Who can pull us out of it? Nobody else.

“I'm not worried. Like, I'm sure we're gonna get out of this. But it's not acceptable right now.”

Read more:Kings struggle to stop Blue Jackets on the power play in loss

And if it doesn't change right now, the rest of the season will be as cold as a winter frost for the Kings. 

It’s not just that the team is losing, but how it's losing that is most concerning. The Kings (15-12-9) are 31st in the 32-team NHL in scoring, 30th on the power play and have scored more than two goals just twice in 11 games this month. That’s negated a defense that is second in the league in goals allowed.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to make sense of things,” coach Jim Hiller said when asked to explain a slide that has dropped the Kings into the middle of the division standings. “We just feel like we haven't had a good run of games where we felt like, win or lose, we really like how we're playing.

“That's something that we'll keep driving towards. We just haven't had it yet.”

Last season, Hiller’s Kings tied franchise records for wins and points in the regular season and had the best home mark in team history. This season, they’re 4-8-4 at Crypto.com Arena, the second-worst home record in the Western Conference. And that has general manager Ken Holland answering questions about Hiller’s future behind the bench.

“I expect him to be here the rest of the season,” said Holland last week, not exactly a full-throated vote of confidence.

Yet for all their struggles, December has just been a continuation of the things that have plagued the Kings all season.

“We all have high expectations for ourselves,” Hiller said. “We just haven't hit our stride yet. That's the part that we're chasing. That's what we have to focus on. We have to hit that stride.

“It’s a difficult time right now, for sure.”

On Tuesday, Hiller tried to shake things up by mixing up his lines, most significantly pairing Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko with center Alex Turcotte. And while Fiala and Kuzmenko both responded with goals, they didn’t come until the Kraken had taken a 3-0 lead.

The first goal came from Jordan Eberle, who was left alone in front of the Kings’ net, giving him plenty of space to settle a pass from Matty Beniers before lifting the puck around goaltender Pheonix Copley and under the crossbar for his 13th goal of the season. It was the fourth power-play goal the Kings had allowed in the last two nights and the sixth in four games.

The Kraken doubled their lead on a quirky goal less than eight minutes later, with Copley misjudging a deflected shot from Seattle’s Frederick Gaudreau, allowing the puck to knuckle off his glove then trickle through his legs for the goal.

Ben Meyers extended Seattle’s lead to 3-0 with less than four minutes left in the second before the Kings finally got on the board with an unassisted goal from Fiala, his 13th of the season, 11 seconds later.

Now the Kings will have three days to think about that, although Fiala said he’d gotten over the game by the time he finished showering.

“If you win five in a row or lose five in a row or whatever, it's forgotten. It's in the past,” he said. “I think we take the good things with us and the bad things we hopefully analyze and get better at.”

For Hiller, the break couldn’t come at a better time. Or a worse time since the team’s current seven-game slump is its deepest since the winter of 2023-24. That one cost coach Todd McLellan his job.

“I hope the players are able to relax and refresh themselves,” Hiller said. “It's been from September till now, with the schedule and how busy it is. And 85% of our games, we’ve been playing within one goal.

“It's taxing physically and mentally. So I'm sure those guys need a break.”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

CHICAGO - With a break looming, the Chicago Blackhawks welcomed in the Philadelphia Flyers for a tilt at the United Center on Tuesday night. 

Losers of six straight games, all in regulation, the Blackhawks entered this game in last place in the entire National Hockey League. A couple of key injuries are contributing to the struggles, but the Blackhawks are looking for a win in any way that they can get it. 

Without Connor Bedard and now Frank Nazar, the Blackhawks are a team struggling to gain the offensive zone cleanly, make plays offensively if they do find possession in the zone, and, of course, perhaps most important, score goals. 

By the time the game was half over, the Hawks were down 2-0 thanks to goals scored by Travis Konecny and Noah Cates. Going down 2-0 is never a recipe for success, but it gets even harder when the team down is already struggling to find the back of the net. 

With 1:30 remaining in the middle frame, however, Ryan Donato threw one into traffic, and it found twine. This 4-on-4 goal put the Blackhawks back within one heading into the third period. 

The confidence seemed to be back in their game during the third, as they controlled play for a large portion of it. They were never able to find the back of the net again, though, and a Flyers empty net goal sealed the deal. This 3-1 defeat is the Blackhawks' 7th straight loss. 

Spencer Knight did his job keeping the Blackhawks in it, but the team in front of him didn't provide enough on the scoresheet to make an impact. He finished the game with 23 saves on 25 shots. One of the goals he gave up was at even strength, and one was a power play goal. 

This was a much better game played for the Blackhawks as they defended better and didn't give up nearly as much as they did during their eastern Canadian road trip, but the slump continues due to poor execution on offense. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

a delivery just in time for the holidays📦 pic.twitter.com/1YZpwPo1bF

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 24, 2025

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Chicago Blackhawks, along with the rest of the National Hockey League, will observe a three-day break on December 24th, 25th, and 26th. Action will resume on Saturday, December 27th. The Blackhawks will head down south to take on the Dallas Stars. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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In a season filled with scoring woes, the New York Rangers flipped the switch on Tuesday night, scoring five goals in the third period against the Washington Capitals, en route to a 7-3 win. 

Going into this matchup, the Rangers were coming off a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators, where the team displayed a lack of pride, as Vincent Trocheck described it.

The first 20 minutes of play were relatively even with the Capitals holding a 6-5 edge in shots on net, but it was Taylor Raddysh who scored the only goal, which was his first goal since Oct. 30. 

“It's always in the back of your mind,” Raddysh said of his scoring drought. “You want to contribute as much as you can, whether it's offensively or defensively. For me, it has obviously been a few games since I scored my last one, so to get one there and right here before the break, just to kind of relax and get ready to go for the second half.”

In the second period, the Capitals provided some pushback and put the Blueshirts on their heels. 

With the score tied 1-1, Igor Shesterkin robbed Dylan Strome with an improbable glove save. However, after replay review, it was determined that Shesterkin’s glove was across the red line, so it was called a goal in what was a bizarre sequence. 

“Yeah that was pretty insane to even think he had a chance of making that save,” Raddysh said. “That's the only thing that sucks about cameras. You can't really hide from anything. That one, I guess, just crossed the line, but it was a heck of a save by him.”

During the middle frame, New York struggled to generate offense and was outplayed by the Capitals, who had a 15-5 edge in shots while dominating time of possession. 

If the Rangers were going to rally back in the nation’s capital, they would have to show pride and learn from their blunder in Nashville just two nights before. 

The Rangers truly put on a scoring barrage on display in the third period with the team scoring five unanswered goals from Raddysh, Alexis Lafrenière, Artemi Panarin, and two from Trocheck, including one empty-net goal.

J.T. Miller Placed On Injured ReserveThe New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a> will be without their captain for at least the next few games, if not longer.&nbsp;

It felt like the floodgates broke wide open for the Rangers. As the goals continued to pile up, the Rangers began to play more loosely and with a newfound sense of confidence. 

It’s been a long and grueling stretch for the Rangers. They’ve played four games, and on top of it all, injuries and a highly contagious case of the flu have plagued this team. 

The Rangers showed their character in an identity defining period. Now it’s about maintaining this momentum and finding an element of consistency to their game moving forward. 

“I was happy for the players,” Mike Sullivan said. “They've worked so hard to try to generate more offense. It's nice to see the puck in the net for them. I thought we responded really well in the third obviously, just scored as many goals as we did…

“I was happy for our guys and proud of our guys for how we competed and just hung in there. I'm real happy for the players. I know that we've played a lot of hockey. We've dealt with whether it's illnesses or injuries, whatever it may be. These guys don't look for excuses. They're just trying to find ways to win every night. I'm happy for them that they were able to score some goals tonight.”

The Rangers will be back in action on Saturday night against the New York Islanders.