Mike Sullivan is set to go head-to-head against Martin St. Louis in what should be an entertaining coaching chess match when the New York Rangers take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Over the years, Sullivan has had different experiences with St. Louis. Sullivan coached against St. Louis when he was a player and now in his new role as head coach of the Canadiens. 

What many people may not actually remember is that when Sullivan was an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2007 to 2009 under John Tortorella, he had the distinct opportunity to coach St. Louis. 

During his experience coaching St. Louis, Sullivan got to see his intelligence and love for hockey from a personal standpoint. 

While St. Louis’ rise to coaching fame may surprise some people, Sullivan knew he always had it in him to take this extraordinary step from playing to coaching.

“I'm not surprised one bit,” Sullivan said of if he’s surprised that St. Louis has become a successful NHL coach. “I coached against him, and I coached with him. I coached Marty for a few years, got to know him extremely well. Doesn't surprise me one bit the success he's having. He loves hockey. He's a student of the game, always has been. 

“He had an insatiable appetite to be the best as a player. Was always engaged in the learning process, whether it be video and things of that nature, so it doesn't surprise me one bit. He was a terrific player. He was an even better person to coach.”

As a player, St. Louis was electric, putting his speed and hockey IQ on full display. He runs the Canadiens in a similar fashion. 

Scott Morrow Reflects On Training Camp And Opportunity Currently In Front Of Him With The Rangers With the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/">Rangers</a> dealing with a couple of injuries on the back end, the team called up Scott Morrow from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League.&nbsp;

The Habs play an up-tempo, exhilarating style of hockey. It’s partly due to electrifying young talent, including Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Lane Hudson, but it’s also due to what St. Louis provides as a coach and the system he has implemented.

Since St. Louis took over as the Canadiens’ head coach in 2022, he has helped the franchise navigate through a difficult rebuild, while assisting in changing the culture in Montreal. 

Maybe the Rangers aren’t quite in a rebuild, but Sullivan will look to follow in St. Louis’ footsteps in changing the culture in New York and helping the Blueshirts find a new identity.

In a move that will invariably stir up controversy, the Philadelphia Flyers and head coach Rick Tocchet have decided to put Jett Luchanko in the press box ahead of the team's first matchup with top defense prospect Zeev Buium.

The two 19-year-olds, of course, will be superimposed for the rest of their careers by fans and draft analysts alike.

Notoriously, the Flyers had traded down one spot from 12 to 13 at the 2024 NHL Draft, allowing the Wild to move up and draft the undersized but wildly skilled Buium. The Flyers, extra third-round pick in hand, went with Luchanko one pick later.

That move threw significant flak at the Flyers, as the team opted to go with positional need over another undersized defenseman, citing the presences of Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, and Emil Andrae on the defense already.

Of course, Andrae could be traded for his lack of size and fit with the Flyers' philosophies, while Drysdale, for all his talents, has one point in four games this season.

The 6-foot Buium is still learning the ropes as he goes along, but he's already up to one goal, four assists, and five points in five games with the Wild - all of which have come on the power play.

Aleksei Kolosov Reintroduces Himself to Top of Flyers Prospect PipelineThis top Flyers goalie prospect is kicking off his comeback tour with some stellar play and a commanding shutout, and now we can officially consider him back on the radar.

It goes without saying that the -7 rating is lackluster, but Buium is already playing 20:51 a night in his nascent NHL career. A coach like John Hynes trusting him like that speaks volumes.

As for Luchanko, the speedy center is still without his first professional goal, and has yet to record a point in his first seven NHL games.

The 2024 first-round pick isn't exactly being placed in a position to succeed playing on the fourth line with fellow rookie Nikita Grebenkin and Garnet Hathaway, but the current results are what they are.

Buium has already emerged as a power play specialist, if nothing else, for the Wild, while the Flyers are still deciding what to do with their young prospect in Luchanko on a daily basis.

With Luchanko (and Grebenkin) getting pulled from the lineup, the Flyers announced Saturday that veterans Nick Deslauriers and Rodrigo Abols will enter the lineup.

Additionally, Egor Zamula replaces Adam Ginning on defense.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Anders Lee and Kyle Palmieri scored in the third period to help the New York Islanders top the Ottawa Senators 5-4 on Saturday.

Bo Horvat, Max Shabanov and Emil Heineman also scored for New York in its second consecutive win. Lee added two assists, and Ilya Sorokin stopped 29 shots.

Tim Stutzle had a goal and an assist for Ottawa, which dropped to 1-1 on a four-game homestand. Shane Pinto scored his seventh goal this season, and Linus Ullmark made 18 saves.

David Perron put Ottawa in front with a power-play goal with 2:59 left in the opening period, and Dylan Cozens gave the Senators a 4-3 lead with his third goal with 1:13 to go in the second.

But Mathew Barzal set up Palmieri for the tying goal 6:00 into the third. Lee made it 5-4 with 1:03 remaining, beating Ullmark for his first goal of the season.

Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NHL draft, picked up an assist on Shabanov’s goal in the second. He has one goal and four assists during a five-game point streak.

Up next

Both teams are at home on Tuesday night. The Islanders take on the San Jose Sharks, and the Senators face the Edmonton Oilers.

Flyers come from behind to win low-scoring game in overtime originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers did just enough offensively to rally for a 2-1 overtime win Saturday night over the Wild at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Noah Cates buried the winner in OT.

Owen Tippett tied the game in the final stanza with his third marker of the season. From under the goal line, Tippett banked a low shot off Minnesota netminder Jesper Wallstedt.

After that goal, Rick Tocchet moved Tippett up to Matvei Michkov’s spot on Sean Couturier’s line. Tippett was rolling and Tocchet shortened his bench a good bit.

“We just needed some energy,” Tocchet said. “… I went with the nine [forwards], I thought we started to come. That’s what happens sometimes.”

The Flyers needed a jolt offensively and Tippett provided it with his powerful skating. Tocchet called Tippett the Flyers’ most dynamic play-driver so far.

“He’s the fastest skater ever,” Trevor Zegras said. “It’s awesome. I’ve never played with a guy that has that much speed. He does some wild stuff sometimes. I think he did like a spin-o-rama in the third period. I was just like, ‘Oh my God.’ Somebody so big that skates that fast. It’s fun to watch.”

Through five games, the Flyers (2-2-1) have scored 13 goals, two of which have come on an empty net. But they’ve defended and have gotten some quality goaltending.

The Wild (2-3-1) didn’t have the benefit of a day off like the Flyers did Friday. Minnesota played last night on the road against the Capitals and lost, 5-1, in a game that it was outshot 45-14.

• Everyone knew this opening stretch would be tough for the Flyers when the schedule came out in July.

The Flyers faced the two-time defending champion Panthers twice, a Hurricanes team that has made the playoffs in seven straight seasons, a Jets team that won the Presidents’ Trophy last season and Wild a team that went to the playoffs last season.

• Dan Vladar continued his promising start to the season, converting 15 saves on 16 shots.

The free-agent addition has denied 71 of 76 shots through three games with the Flyers.

Vladimir Tarasenko opened the scoring Saturday night by blasting one past Vladar early in the second period. The Flyers used a coach’s challenge on the goal, claiming Minnesota was offside. But Tocchet and his staff came up empty, which put the Flyers at shorthanded.

Thirty-nine seconds after the Flyers killed off the penalty, Tippett was whistled for tripping. The Flyers killed that one off, too, but the penalties really stalled them offensively as they were forced to defend a lot.

Wallstedt stopped 19 of the Flyers’ 21 shots on the night.

• Tocchet didn’t like his team’s start two nights ago when the Flyers were flat in a 5-2 loss to the Jets.

“Arriving on time with your identity, which we didn’t,” the head coach said Saturday morning. “So that’s going to be a work in progress.

“We’ve got to get to our game right from after the national anthem; not after 20 minutes.”

The Flyers had a better first period against Minnesota. They dictated play more, but didn’t have anything to show for it. However, the Wild had just three shots.

The Flyers, though, followed it up with a poor second period. They were outshot 8-5 in the middle stanza.

• Nicolas Deslauriers and Marcus Foligno dropped the gloves 1:56 minutes into the action.

Two former teammates that can chuck ’em.

• Tocchet went with a more experienced look up front as Deslauriers and Rodrigo Abols drew into the lineup for Nikita Grebenkin and Jett Luchanko.

On the back end, Egor Zamula played in place of Adam Ginning, who sat for the first time this season.

• The Flyers wrap up their four-game homestand Monday when they welcome the Kraken (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

Flyers come from behind to win low-scoring game in overtime originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers did just enough offensively to rally for a 2-1 overtime win Saturday night over the Wild at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Noah Cates buried the winner in OT.

Owen Tippett tied the game in the final stanza with his third marker of the season. From under the goal line, Tippett banked a low shot off Minnesota netminder Jesper Wallstedt.

“We knew we were in the game all along,” Tippett said. “Low-event game, low-shot game and we were just waiting for one to break through.”

After that goal, Rick Tocchet moved Tippett up to Matvei Michkov’s spot on Sean Couturier’s line. Tippett was rolling and Tocchet shortened his bench a good bit.

“We just needed some energy,” Tocchet said. … “I went with the nine [forwards], I thought we started to come. That’s what happens sometimes.”

The Flyers needed a jolt offensively and Tippett provided it with his powerful skating. Tocchet called Tippett the Flyers’ most dynamic play-driver so far.

“He’s the fastest skater ever,” Trevor Zegras said. “It’s awesome. I’ve never played with a guy that has that much speed. He does some wild stuff sometimes. I think he did like a spin-o-rama in the third period. I was just like, ‘Oh my God.’ Somebody so big that skates that fast. It’s fun to watch.”

Through five games, the Flyers (2-2-1) have scored 13 goals, two of which have come on an empty net. But they’ve defended and have gotten some quality goaltending.

The Wild (2-3-1) didn’t have the benefit of a day off like the Flyers did Friday. Minnesota played last night on the road against the Capitals and lost, 5-1, in a game that it was outshot 45-14.

“We had a day off yesterday, so we were not tired,” Zegras said. “We knew that this was a back-to-back for them, so we tried to stick to the game plan and make it as hard for them as possible.”

• Everyone knew this opening stretch would be tough for the Flyers when the schedule came out in July.

The Flyers faced the two-time defending champion Panthers twice, a Hurricanes team that has made the playoffs in seven straight seasons, a Jets team that won the Presidents’ Trophy last season and a Wild team that went to the playoffs last season.

Tocchet’s club was able to pick up at least a point in three of those five games.

• Dan Vladar continued his promising start to the season, converting 15 saves on 16 shots.

“I thought tonight we were structurally good and obviously Vladdy was fantastic,” Nick Seeler said. “I think those are things to build on.”

The free-agent addition has denied 71 of 76 shots through three games with the Flyers.

“Just a real confident, solid goalie,” Tocchet said. “He comes by the bench, cheers the guys on. He has really done a nice job for us.”

Vladimir Tarasenko opened the scoring Saturday night by blasting one past Vladar early in the second period. The Flyers used a coach’s challenge on the goal, claiming Minnesota was offside. But Tocchet and his staff came up empty, which put the Flyers at shorthanded.

Thirty-nine seconds after the Flyers killed off the penalty, Tippett was whistled for tripping. The Flyers killed that one off, too, but the penalties really stalled them offensively as they were forced to defend a lot.

“I thought we did a good job, that’s a good hockey team over there,” Seeler said. “It’s nice to hold them to that many shots and play good defensively.”

Wallstedt stopped 19 of the Flyers’ 21 shots.

• Tocchet didn’t like his team’s start two nights ago when the Flyers were flat in a 5-2 loss to the Jets.

“Arriving on time with your identity, which we didn’t,” the head coach said Saturday morning. “So that’s going to be a work in progress.

“We’ve got to get to our game right from after the national anthem; not after 20 minutes.”

The Flyers had a better first period against the Wild. They dictated play more, but didn’t have anything to show for it. However, Minnesota had just three shots.

The Flyers, though, followed it up with a poor second period. They were outshot 8-5 in the middle stanza.

“We fought in the third and fought in OT,” Cates said. “If we just stay consistent and play north, we can take down a lot of good teams.”

• Nicolas Deslauriers and Marcus Foligno dropped the gloves 1:56 minutes into the action.

Two former teammates that can chuck ’em.

• Tocchet went with a more experienced look up front as Deslauriers and Rodrigo Abols drew into the lineup for Nikita Grebenkin and Jett Luchanko.

On the back end, Egor Zamula played in place of Adam Ginning, who sat for the first time this season.

• The Flyers wrap up their four-game homestand Monday when they welcome the Kraken (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

After an eye-opening training camp, a top Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltending prospect is enjoying a hot start to his AHL season.

21-year-old netminder Sergei Murashov - selected in the fourth round (118th overall) by the Penguins in 2022 - seems to be carrying over his dominance from the pre-season and from last season. After a 5-2 win by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins over Hartford on Friday, Murashov is 2-0 with a .944 save percentage and a 1.50 goals-against average so far on the young season.

The promising goaltender continues to turn heads after an NHL pre-season in which he was - across the board - the Penguins' best goaltender. He went 2-0-1 and owned a .935 save percentage and 1.71 goals-against average in three appearances, which led all Penguins' goaltenders with multiple appearances in pre-season play.

And dominance is a trend that has followed Murashov throughout his professional career. He broke WBS's rookie record for consecutive wins last season with 11, and he had a .922 save percentage across 26 appearances in the ECHL with the Wheeling Nailers last season as well. In addition, he never posted a save percentage below .925 in the KHL prior to arriving in North America last season.

As is the case with every other player in the Penguins' organization, it's very early in the season. However, Murashov appears as though he has not skipped a beat this season, and if he continues his high level of play in the AHL, Pittsburgh may very well see him sometime this season - especially with the goaltending battle at the NHL level wide open this season.

Should Silovs Be The Penguins' Starting Goaltender?Heading into the 2025-26 season, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' head coach said Dan Muse that he didn't have a concrete plan for the goaltending split between Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs.&nbsp;

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The recent struggles of Florida Panthers continued on Saturday in Buffalo.

Florida entered the game having scored just four goals over their past three games, all losses, and things didn’t get much better against the Sabres.

Florida put up 32 shots on goal, but they were all stopped by former Cats goaltender Alex Lyon as the Panthers dropped their fourth straight outings by a 3-0 final score.

This one didn’t have much to write home about from a Panthers perspective.

Niko Mikkola left the game early in the second period and did not return. The team ruled him out for the game due to an upper-body injury.

It may or may not have been from an incident in which Mikkola was tied up with Sabres forward Tyson Kozak and ended up faceplanting on the ice.

Niko Mikkola gets tangled up with Tyson Kozak and slams his face on the ice 😬🤕 pic.twitter.com/GhLYzE4cIS

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 18, 2025

Afterwards, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice did not have anything to update on Mikkola’s status.

The Panthers are off on Monday so there won’t be any updates until the team’s morning skate on Tuesday in Boston.

We'll see if the Cats can salvage any points out of this disaster of a road trip before they return home for a matchup with Pittsburgh on Thursday night. 

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Photo caption: Oct 18, 2025; Buffalo, New York, USA; Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) dives to try and make a save on Buffalo Sabres center Peyton Krebs (19) during the second period at KeyBank Center. (Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images)

The Vancouver Canucks recent dominance over the Chicago Blackhawks can now be considered historic. With the Canucks' 3-2 shootout victory over the Blackhawks, Vancouver has now won 11 straight against Chicago, dating back to January 31, 2022. The Canucks have also set a new franchise record as their seven straight victories against the Blackhawks on the road surpassed he previous record. 

Prior to Friday's win, Vancouver's longest road winning streak against a single opponent was a three-way tie. The Canucks had two separate six-game road winning streaks against the San Jose Sharks, as well as one against Chicago. The two win streaks against San Jose occurred from November 7, 2013, to March 31, 2016 and January 29, 2020, to November 3, 2023.

As for the current 11-game win streak against the Blackhawks, that is tied for the longest win streak against a single opponent in franchise history. Vancouver also has 11 game win streaks against the Toronto Maple Leafs (January 10, 2006 to November 2, 2013) and the Sharks (January 18, 2020 to November 20, 2023). The Canucks will have a chance to establish a new franchise record on November 5 when Chicago visits Rogers Arena for the only time this season. 

Lastly, Vancouver's 11-game win streak against the Blackhawks is the fourth-longest active win streak against a single opponent in the NHL. The current record is held by the Nashville Predators, who have won 14 straight against San Jose. As for second place, that is held by the Florida Panthers and the Colorado Avalanche, who have both beaten the Sharks 12 times in a row. 

The Canucks will play their third game in four straight days on Sunday in an early-morning tilt with the Washington Capitals. Vancouver won their last matchup against the Capitals by a score of 2–1, during which defenceman Elias Pettersson made his NHL debut. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 am PT and will be available on Sportsnet. 

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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A former New Jersey Devils forward has hit the waiver wire. 

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Chicago Blackhawks have placed former Devils forward Joey Anderson on waivers. 

Anderson kicked off his career with the Devils, as the Metropolitan Division club selected him with the 73rd overall pick of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. From there, Anderson played his first two NHL seasons with the Devils from 2018-19 to 2019-20, where he posted eight goals, five assists, 13 points, 58 hits, and a minus-6 rating in 52 games. 

Anderson's time with the Devils ended when he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2020 NHL off-season in exchange for forward Andreas Johnsson. 

Anderson is currently in his fourth season with the Blackhawks organization. In 18 games with the Blackhawks this past season, the former Devils forward posted one assist and a minus-2 rating. He also played in 33 games this past season with the Blackhawks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, where he posted 17 goals and 27 points.  

The Pittsburgh Penguins will wrap up their annual California trip in San Jose on Saturday night. 

The Penguins are fresh off a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday and are 3-2-0 heading into this game. They were down 2-0 entering the second period before scoring four unanswered goals in the final 40 minutes. Filip Hallander's first career NHL goal in the third period ended up being the game-winner. 

That win over the Kings snapped a two-game losing streak since the Penguins started the road trip with a loss in Anaheim against the Ducks. They will face a winless Sharks team (0-2-2) on Saturday night, after the latter lost to the Utah Mammoth on Friday night.

Yaroslav Askarov started in goal for the Sharks on Friday, so there's a good chance former Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic will be in the net on Saturday. 

The Penguins held a practice in Los Angeles on Friday before flying to San Jose, and based on the lines, it appears that Benjamin Kindel will be back in the lineup and Philip Tomasino will be scratched. 

Forwards

Rakell-Crosby-Rust

Mantha-Malkin-Brazeau

Novak-Kindel-Hallander

Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari 

Defensemen

Wotherspoon-Karlsson

Shea-Letang

Jones-Brunicke

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Tristan Jarry was the first goaltender off during Saturday's morning skate, a sign that he will be in goal for the Penguins. Assuming he gets the nod, this will be his third start of the year. 

Puck drop for this game will be at 10 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also tune into the game on the Penguins' flagship station, 105.9 'The X.' 

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The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 Thursday night at Honda Center to remain the last undefeated team in the NHL.

Frederik Andersen made 23 saves in the win, Seth Jarvis and Shayne Gostisbehere each had three points and Alexander Nikishin scored his first NHL goal.

After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour, along with Andersen and Nikishin spoke with the media in Anaheim. Here's what they had to say:

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Rod Brind'Amour

On the win: I thought our penalty kill was great tonight and when we had little breakdowns, Freddie was really good. It might have been one of the better games he's played for us, because we needed it. There were a couple really good grade-As that they had and he was able to shut the door and allow us to cruise through it. Special teams though was probably the difference in the game.

On the power play cashing in: It was weird. [The power play] was spotty, but it was a huge goal for us at the time, and [Jarvis] with a rocket shot. It was all just talent there. Blake made a nice play too. It's slowly coming. We need that group to be a little more dynamic, but overall, we'll take the two points, for sure.

On Alexander Nikishin's growth: Well you definitely know the talent is there. We talk about it all the time. It's the NHL. It's a really tough league to just get thrown into and with learning the language, but I really think he's just scratching the surface. There's a lot of raw ability there and that was a big goal to kind of put the game away.

On the team already looking 'tremendous': Well, I appreciate that. I don't know if I would totally agree with you, but especially with Jaccob Slavin out, our best defender... he's a huge part of what we're doing. There's a lot of good, but there's a lot of room to get better for our group.

On starting the road trip off with two wins: You're hitting teams that everybody predicts to be right there at the end, so we had to get a couple wins in here, which is huge, but they all count the same. This time of year, all 82 games, you have to get off to a good start, which we have, so it's nice to get those points in the bank.

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Frederik Andersen

On the game: I definitely thought special teams was good. The D was great today and it was fun to see Niki get his first goal too. That was awesome. But yeah, I thought we were just continuing to build on what we had going on in San Jose and how we ended that game. Good team win.

On playing in Anaheim: I don't know what it is, but I'm obviously pretty familiar with the rink. That always helps, but I just try to focus in on getting on a little bit of a roll and settling in better. Felt good today.

On the keys to the team's 4-0 start: I think we're still building. We know we can better in certain areas, but I think we're looking at it in a positive way and continuing to move forward, I think we know there's going to be some ups and downs, so it's nice to bank some points early, especially on this long road trip. It's a good start.

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Alexander Nikishin

On the keys to the team's hot start: [Nikishin] I think every day, work, block shot, forecheck and shots on goal.

On scoring his first NHL goal: [translated by Andrei Svechnikov] He said, 'The goal was amazing.' Obviously a special moment for him.

On how the team has welcomed him in: [translated by Andrei Svechnikov] He said he's very happy when the boys help him out like that and when they're getting excited. He's pretty happy, yeah.

Alexander Nikishin Scores First Career NHL GoalRookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin nets his first NHL goal, a thrilling moment in his young career.

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The Nashville Predators are looking to cap off a four-game road trip with a high note, taking on the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg. 

The Predators have a 1-1-1 record on this road trip so far, defeating Ottawa, losing to Toronto in regulation and most recently falling to Montreal in overtime on Thursday.

Against the Canadiens, the Predators gave up the game-tying goal with 20 seconds left in the game and the game-winning goal with three seconds left in overtime. 

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the Predators' final game of the road trip against the Jets. 

Game day 

Who: Nashville Predators (2-1-2)  vs. Winnipeg Jets (3-1-0) 

When: 6 p.m. CST at Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada 

TV: FanDuel Sports Network South

Radio: 102.5 The Game 

Line (via BET MGM): Nashville +1.5 Winnipeg -1.5. Over/Under: 5.5 (-120/+100). 

Starters: Nashville - TBD, Winnipeg - TBD 

Thinning down the roster 

Ahead of Thursday's game, the Predators sent another player down to Milwaukee. 

Joakim Kemell, who has only played in two of the Predators' first four games of the season, was assigned to the Admirals. He logged 12:22 minutes of ice time in the season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets and 9:46 minutes of ice time against the Senators on Oct. 13. 

There are two more players who could be reassigned in the near future: Brady Martin and Nick Blankenburg. 

Martin has not played since the Predators' game against the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 11, which the Predators say is a part of Martin's development plan. He gets nine games before the Predators decide if he should be reassigned to juniors. 

Blankenburg was scratched in the Predators game against the Canadiens for Statsney. He has yet to play a game this season, but has been practicing and traveling with the team. 

Nashville Predators assign Joakim Kemell to Milwaukee Admirals After playing in two of the Nashville Predators' first four regular-season games, forward Joakim Kemell has been assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals.

Losing moments in winnable games 

The Predators could very easily be sitting at 4-1-0 heading into this divisional matchup against the Jets. 

Two of their losses this season have been in winnable games, and an argument could even be made that the 7-4 loss to Toronto was a winnable game as well. 

Against the Utah Mammoth, the Predators lay back in the third period, allowing the Mammoth to tie the game. In overtime, the Mammoth dominated possession and found an easy way to win. 

The loss to Montreal saw the Predators give up a late goal in a situation where Jonathan Marchessault had an empty-net opportunity blocked. Nashville was also seconds away from moving the game into a shootout before Cole Caufield scored the game-winner. 

As for the Toronto game, the Predators were within striking distance late in the third period, but gave up two empty-net goals to inflate the final result. 

Momentary lapses costing Nashville Predators from playing complete gamesThe Nashville Predators could be looking at a 4-1-0 record through five games, but have given up key moments, most recently falling to Montreal in overtime on Thursday.

Scouting Winnipeg

The Jets are off to a strong start, winning three straight games and holding a 3-1-0 record to start the season. Their only loss was to Dallas, 5-4, on Oct. 9. 

Mark Scheifele leads the Jets with eight points in four games, which is tied for seventh in the league. Kyle Connor also has seven points in four games, scoring a hat trick in the Jets' loss to the Stars. 

Reigning Vezna Trophy and Hart Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck is off to a slower start with a 3.02 goals against average and .895 save percentage in three games played. 

Red-Hot Jets Return Home Seeking Fourth Straight Win Against Slumping PredatorsJets chase fourth straight win behind potent offense, while Predators seek spark against surging Winnipeg.

Inactive players 

Nashville: Nicolas Hague (upper body)

Winnipeg: Adam Lowry (hip), Cole Perfetti (ankle), Dylan Samberg (wrist) 

The Vancouver Canucks are five games into the 2025–26 season and have collected a total of six points. With their shootout win against the Chicago Blackhawks last night, Vancouver is officially back in a playoff spot. Here’s how they’re performing compared to the rest of the NHL five games into the season. 

Team Stats 

As mentioned, the Canucks are back in a playoff spot after last night’s win against Chicago. With their three wins and two losses, they are currently tied with 12 other teams for seventh in the NHL. They are tied for 13th in the NHL with the Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild in goals-for with 15 on the season, while their goals-against of 14 sits at the same position alongside the Montréal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. Their least-favourable stat is their faceoff winning percentage, (44.6%), which sits 29th in the league. 

Individual Skaters

Vancouver’s most notable individual skater stats are in blocks, TOI, and hits. Tyler Myers is the only player to crack the top-five in the NHL in the listed stat categories, as he is tied for fifth in the league in shots blocked with 14. Quinn Hughes leads the team in minutes played so far this season with 133:06, which puts him at sixth in the NHL. Last year’s hit king, Kiefer Sherwood, currently places sixth in the league in said stat with 24 on the season. 

Goaltenders

Thatcher Demko leads Vancouver’s goaltending department in individual stats, which is unsurprising given that he has started more games than Kevin Lankinen. While the eye test indicates that both goaltenders have been stellar to start the season, stats-wise, Demko’s stats are more towards the middle. His SV% of .929 is 16th in the NHL, while his 2.03 GAA is 19th. Where Demko stands out the most is in high-danger saves, making 27 to tie him for sixth in the league. For reference, he has faced 29 high-danger shots (T-12th in the NHL). 

It’s still very early on in the season, so fans shouldn’t take too much stock into where the Canucks’ stats place them within the NHL. However, as the team plays more and more games, these stats will be a good indicator as to how Vancouver stacks up against the rest of the league. 

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 Calgary Flames (1-4-0) will travel to Sin City to take on the Vegas Golden Knights (3-0-2) for a Saturday night NHL tilt.

The Flames earlier did battle with the Knights on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at home where Calgary jumped up 2-0 in the first period only to give up four unanswered goals in the final two periods to lose the contest.

That has kind of been the theme for the Flames in the past three games: they get an early lead by the end of the first period, but fail to hold on to it by the final whistle. In ALL of their games, their collapse began in the third period except for their last game against Utah where the downfall started in period number two.

The good news is that in their last outing against Vegas, the Flames tied with their season-high shots on goal with 29, which they had established the game before against the Blues.

However, they also gave up the most total shots against the Golden Knights with 69 (20 blocked shots, 19 missed shots, 30 shots on goal).

There is a big contrast between how many times both teams have been shorthanded. While Calgary does rank higher than Vegas on the penalty-kill, the Flames have been undermanned on the ice 20 times (third-highest in the league), while the Golden Knights have been forced on the PK only 12 times (tied for fourth-lowest).

Speaking of special teams, Vegas' Pavel Dorofeyev is tied with the most power play goals with four, and individual goals in the league with six.

Vegas are getting their money's worth with the recent Jack Eichel contract extension as the four-time All-Star is currently leading the league with 11 points in five games.

Mark Stone is right behind with nine points, but with all of them beings assists, he is currently topping the league in that department.

Defensively, it's not going to be easy either. Both the pairings of  Jeremy Lauzon-Kaeden Korczak and Brayden McNabb-Shea Theodore are ranked in the top four in the league for giving up the least Expected Goals Against (xGA) for pairings that have logged in at least 60 minutes of ice-time.

Perhaps the only weakness for the Flames to take advantage of would be of Vegas goalie Adin Hill, who is expected to be in net, and his poor start to the season. He carries an 0-0-2 record with a save percentage of 0.845. In their last game, the Flames scored two goals on him in 10 shots in the first period before Akira Schmidt stepped in for the last two periods and shut out Calgary.

Also, Jonathan Huberdeau makes his return for the Flames, so Calgary will be hoping his presence will be a difference-maker this time around.

Bottom Line

I've said it before and I'll say it again: You need to finish out the game, even if it means you have to win ugly.

But with going into Vegas' turf this time? Easier said than done.