Category: NHL

DENVER — For Mackenzie Blackwood, the expectations in Colorado have never really been a secret.

The Avalanche wanted him to establish himself as their starting goaltender, and this season, he’s beginning to look the part.

Blackwood enters Saturday night’s matchup against the Calgary Flames having won four of his last five starts, posting a 2.40 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage over that stretch. More importantly, he’s beginning to show the consistency Colorado has been waiting to see.

Mackenzie Blackwood has now won 4 of his last 5 games started and has not pitched a SV% below .909 in any of the wins.

Last 5 GP:

W - 20 SV (.909 SV%) - tonight
W - 31 SV (.912)
L - 21 SV (.875)
W - 30 SV (.938)
W - 24 SV (.923) https://t.co/iJ4x5FNzlfpic.twitter.com/MVa69oearh

— Beebs Bondy (@Beebsbondy) October 29, 2026

It hasn’t always been that way.

After a difficult outing against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 10, when he surrendered five goals on 22 shots, including three on four shots in the second period, Blackwood has been excellent. That performance has become something of an outlier, as the 29-year-old has responded with some of his best hockey of the season.

There were signs last season that Blackwood was capable of this kind of play. After undergoing offseason surgery to repair a lower-body injury, he began the season on injured reserve and missed all of training camp and the preseason. When he returned, finding consistency wasn’t easy. He struggled at times before beginning to turn things around in November.

Then he made history.

On Nov. 26, 2025, Blackwood became the seventh goaltender in Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history to record consecutive shutouts. He joined an exclusive group that included Patrick Roy, Clint Malarchuk, David Aebischer, Pavel Francouz, Darcy Kuemper and Justus Annunen after blanking the Nashville Predators 3-0 and the San Jose Sharks 6-0 in back-to-back games.

BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS FOR MACKENZIE BLACKWOOD!#GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/UejKFjyhNj

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 2, 2025

It was an impressive stretch, but one that didn’t necessarily signal a smooth path forward. Another lower-body injury sidelined Blackwood a month later, and his play continued to fluctuate throughout the season. There were nights when he looked nearly unbeatable and others when he struggled to find his footing.

Meanwhile, Scott Wedgewood made the most of his opportunities.

When Blackwood was unavailable, Wedgewood stepped in and delivered a remarkable season, finishing 31-6-6 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. His performance gave Colorado a level of stability in net that was difficult to overlook, particularly with Blackwood still trying to put everything together.

The two goaltenders ultimately shared the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals during the regular season.

Blackwood got another opportunity to show what he could do in the postseason. After struggling in the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights, he was given the start in Game 4 with Colorado facing elimination. He stopped 24 of 26 shots, but the Avalanche fell 2-1, ending their season as Vegas advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, where it lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games.

Even through Blackwood’s ups and downs, head coach Jared Bednar maintained that his best hockey was still ahead of him.

There was another level to Blackwood’s game that Bednar believed he hadn’t reached yet. Colorado had seen glimpses of it, but the organization needed to see more than flashes.

That became an expectation heading into this season. Since the start of training camp, Bednar has made it clear that the Avalanche wanted Blackwood to establish himself as the starter and run with the opportunity.

It was a reasonable expectation, but not necessarily an easy one to meet with Wedgewood coming off such a strong season. Wedgewood had established himself as more than a capable backup, and Colorado had two goaltenders coming off a season in which both played significant roles in the team’s success.

Still, there’s a reason the Avalanche made the financial commitment they did to Blackwood. At $5.25 million annually, compared to Wedgewood’s $2.5 million, Colorado needs Blackwood to be more than just one half of a tandem. They need him to establish himself as the guy they can lean on.

So far, he’s doing exactly that.

Bednar acknowledged that Blackwood has been solid throughout the season, pointing to the Toronto game as the one outing where he felt the goaltender could have been better. But he was equally quick to point out how Blackwood responded.

Blackwood starts…LOC out tonight and Juulsen will get the minutes of Manson. Coach says he trusts him and he knows what’s up. pic.twitter.com/IimHrv0GW6

— Marc Moser TV (@RadioMoser) October 31, 2026

“I think Blackie’s been solid all year," he stated Saturday morning at morning skate. "I think he probably should have been better and it could have been better was the Toronto game.  We didn’t give up a ton of chances, but the ones we did were grade-A’s, and they put them in the back of the net, and they were opportunistic, and we weren’t good enough in front of him, and then he bounced right back and his next couple starts were outstanding.”

Bednar also acknowledged that the Avalanche will need both goaltenders, particularly with a back-to-back on the schedule on the horizon on 11/2 and 11/3 when Colorado faces the Chicago Blackhawks and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Wedgewood’s workload has looked a little different from last season, but the coach remains confident in what he can provide when called upon.

“So I like what he’s been doing so far and we’ve had a pretty, you know, at times pretty easy schedule like right now. And then we got a back-to-back coming, so we need both guys, but he’s been handling it great. I think Wedge on the same note is, you know, it’s a little bit different form from last year, but he’s used to it from his whole career and I expect him to be able to go in and give us a real good game here on the road as well.”

For now, Blackwood is doing what Colorado asked of him. The Avalanche have known what he’s capable of for some time. They’ve seen the shutouts, the stretches of brilliance and the performances that made Bednar believe there was another level to his game.

What they’ve been waiting for is consistency.

Blackwood is beginning to provide it, and if he can sustain this level of play, Colorado may finally get the kind of separation in its crease that it envisioned when it made him its starting goaltender.

Saturday’s matchup against Calgary presents another opportunity to keep building on that.

Even if he's had a bit of a slow start to the season, Pittsburgh Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby is still climbing the ranks of NHL history.

And he has just broken another NHL record.

With an assist on an Erik Karlsson power play goal during the first period of Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadiens, Crosby broke the NHL record for most assists with a single franchise at 1,112. He passed Ray Bourque with the assist. 

Later in the game, he also added another helper in the form of a secondary assist on a goal by linemate Tommy Novak. 

Crosby, 39, has spent all 22 seasons of his NHL career with Pittsburgh. In that time, he has amassed 657 and 1,770 points, which puts him one point shy of tying Marcel Dionne for the sixth-most points in NHL history. Last season, Crosby surpassed franchise icon Mario Lemieux for the most points in franchise history, with Lemieux holding the previous record at 1,723. 

He is also just 28 points shy of tying Ron Francis for the fifth-most points in NHL history. 

In 14 games to open the 2026-27 campaign, Crosby has three goals and nine points. As of now, he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the season. 

'We Have To Be A Team That's Harder To Play Against': Penguins Look To Turn Page After Tough LossThe Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to regroup after their tough 4-3 overtime loss to Utah on Thursday.

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The Buffalo Sabres are enjoying their current three-game win streak, a streak that included a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings Saturday afternoon. But before Sabres fans get too giddy, we have to point out the fact that Buffalo’s win streak has come against three teams that, frankly, aren’t very good – at least, at the moment.

The streak began with a 2-0 shutout of the San Jose Sharks, a thoroughly-mediocre team that has a 7-7-1 record and an offense that ranks 26th in the league at an average of just 2.67 goals-for per game. Somehow, despite having one of the most highly-regarded collections of young talent in the league, the Sharks are a Jekyll-and-Hyde team that hasn’t had a win streak or a losing streak of more than two games. So while it was nice to see goalie Colten Ellis thrive with a shutout, it’s hardly a momentous achievement to beat San Jose.

Similarly, Buffalo’s second win in their current streak also came against a club – the Anaheim Ducks – that isn’t on anyone’s list of the better teams in the league right now. The Ducks currently sit in 12th place in the Western Conference with a 5-7-1 record that includes a 3-6-1 mark in their past 10 games. Anaheim is the NHL’s second-worst offensive team (averaging 3.85 goals-against per game), and so it’s no impressive feat for the Sabres to stick them for seven goals in a 7-6 win. Don’t get it twisted – Buffalo’s anemic offense needs all the confidence it can get, but the Sabres’ defense against the Ducks left much to be desired.

Finally, there’s Saturday’s win over the lowly Kings. Buffalo nearly blew a 2-0 lead before a third-period marker gave them a narrow win. But this is L.A. we’re talking about – a squad that’s been arguably the NHL’s most disappointing team this season. The loss to the Sabres dropped the Kings’ record to 4-7-2, and it dropped Los Angeles’ home record to 1-4-0. Again, while Buffalo will certainly be happy with the two standings points they earned Saturday, there are still some signs of trouble with this team.

We’ll have a better indication of the kind of team the Sabres are in their next half-dozen contests. Four of those six games will be against strong teams – the Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars – so the degree of difficulty is going to rise considerably. And the other two games in their next six will be against the sub-par Columbus Blue Jackets and abysmal Chicago Blackhawks. And that means Buffalo will need to take care of business against weak teams and raise their compete level against powerful ones.

It’s Sabres coach Lindy Ruff’s job to produce consistent efforts from his group, and thus far this season, he hasn’t succeeded in that regard. But there’s no time like the present to change that. And the way Buffalo performs in the next two weeks will be the best indicator of what the Sabres are made of.

There may be another long win streak ahead for Buffalo, but we haven’t seen them win more than three in a row – and we have seen them lose three straight, in the games immediately preceding their current win streak. It’s a long season, and there are going to be highs and lows for every team. But the Sabres’ current streak of victories isn’t wowing anyone who’s really paying attention. 

And until they demonstrate they can impose their will on teams that are actually relevant, Buffalo will remain firmly in the league’s mid-tier.

For the first time in twenty-four years, the Colorado Avalanche are hosting a game on Halloween!

Tonight will be a rematch against the Calgary Flames, who have been heating up of late with five wins in their previous six games.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche, looking more Dr. Jekyll than Mr. Hyde, defeated the visiting New Jersey Devils by a 5-2 decision on Wednesday night, avenging their loss at the Prudential Center eight nights earlier. New Jersey, playing the second half of a back-to-back series, started goaltender Jake Allen, who gave up five goals on forty-five shots. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped twenty of twenty-two shots for his sixth win of the season.

Nicolas Roy, who had missed the previous six games with injury, returned to the lineup, registering an assist on Nazem Kadri’s go-ahead goal in the second period. Defenseman Josh Manson, however, did not finish the game. Head coach Jared Bednar announced yesterday that Manson would miss eight weeks with an ankle injury.

Manson’s absence paves the way for increased usage for defenseman Noah Juulsen. Juulsen has played eight games for Colorado this season.

It’s likely that Blackwood closes out the home stand, saving Scott Wedgewood for next week. They kick off another back-to-back pair of road games on Monday in Chicago before heading to Columbus.

MacKinnon still leads all skaters in points (22) and assists (14). Artturi Lehkonen leads the team in goals (10).

A win tonight pulls the Avs within one point of second-place Utah in the Central Division standings. The Avs won the opening game of the season series against Calgary on October 08.

Projected Lineup

Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Gabe Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Nicolas Roy
Jaden Schwartz – Nazem Kadri – T.J. Hughes
Parker Kelly – Fedor Svechkov – Gavin Brindley

Defense:
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Brett Kulak – Sam Malinski
Noah Juulsen – Brent Burns

Between the Pipes:
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Calgary Flames

Calgary’s start to the season was anything but hot: they lost six of their first seven games of the season, including the previously-mentioned 7-3 loss on home ice to Colorado on October 08. During their most recent four game homestand, however, things started to heat up. Thanks to stellar play by goaltender Devin Cooley, Calgary swept all four games, which featured victories over Minnesota, Toronto, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.

Unfortunately, Cooley’s heater came to an abrupt end this past Wednesday after sustaining an injury from a collision with Edmonton’s Colton Dach. Calgary wound up losing by a 4-0 decision, but rebounded last night on home ice with a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Goaltender Dustin Wolf recorded his first win in over two weeks, saving twenty-five of twenty-seven shots against.

Calgary, who has been without left wing Jonathan Huberdeau after he underwent hip resurfacing surgery last season, is seeing injuries continue to pile up. Left wing Samuel Honzek, who last played against Colorado, is listed as week-to-week. Brennan Othmann also was injured during the Edmonton game after a fight with Ty Emberson.

With Cooley also listed as week-to-week, goaltender Arsenii Sergeev has been called up from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers to back up Wolf. Maxim Tsyplakov, who had been a healthy scratch for Calgary’s previous five games, returned to the lineup against Seattle.

Joel Farabee and Matt Coronato lead all Calgary skaters in points (14). Rookie Matvei Gridin leads the team in goals (5), while Coronato leads the team in assists (11). Right wing Adam Klapka leads all Calgary skaters in penalty minutes (37), second only to Ottawa’s Nick Cousins (42) across the League.

Tonight’s game marks the start of a three game road trip for Calgary, and is their only visit to Denver. They return home to start a three game homestand on Thursday.

Projected Lineup

Forwards:
Joel Farabee – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Aydar Suniev – Morgan Frost – Yegor Sharangovich
Matvei Gridin – Martin Pospíšil – Ryan Strome
Maxim Tsyplakov – Jonathan Castagna – Adam Klapka

Defense:
Kevin Bahl – Šimon Nemec
Jake Middleton – Zach Whitecloud
Yan Kuznetsov – Zayne Parekh

Between the Pipes:
Arsenii Sergeev

NOTE: Don’t forget to download the new SB Nation app for a more mobile-friendly way to follow tonight’s action and engage with Mile High Hockey’s match threads. Commenting and interacting with your communities is easier than ever before with the Game Chat feature. The app is currently available in the U.S. and Canada on iOS and Android devices.

BOSTON (AP) — Elias Lindholm scored in overtime as the Bruins rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to top the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 and extend Boston’s home winning streak to five games.

Mason Lohrei scored to pull Boston within a goal and Morgan Geekie’s second goal of the season with 12 seconds left in the third period sent the game into overtime.

Ryan Greene and Connor Bedard scored in the third period as the Chicago Blackhawks took a 4-2 lead. Anton Frondell had his second career two-goal game for Chicago.

The Blackhawks came into the game with the worst power play in the NHL, converting on 4 of 40 opportunities and were 0 for 11 on the power play on the road. However, it took Frondell just 11 seconds to give Chicago the lead after Will Borgen was whistled for a delay-of-game penalty.

Goaltender Michael DiPietro kept Boston in the game with key saves as the Bruins were outshot 28-13 in the first two periods. He stopped a Bedard shot from the slot with 2:09 left in the first period. Geekie, who hasn’t scored in his previous nine games, hit a shot off the post late in the first period.

David Pastrnak scored on a breakaway in the first period for his 428th career goal, passing Patrice Bergeron and moving into sole possession of third place on the Bruins’ career goal-scoring list. Casey Mittelstadt and Mason Lohrei also scored for the Bruins.

OILERS 4, ISLANDERS 0

NEW YORK (AP) — Connor McDavid extended his NHL-record season-opening assist streak to 14 games by setting up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ second goal, and Edmonton opened their road trip by beating New York.

Nugent-Hopkins scored on a power play in the third period to give McDavid his league-best 29th assist. McDavid has a big lead in points with 37 and is on pace for more than 200.

Longtime running mate Leon Draisaitl recorded a pair of assists, including a perfect skate-to-stick exchange that led to Vasily Podkolzin putting the puck into a wide open net. Ilya Sorokin similarly had little chance on Nugent-Hopkins’ shot from point-blank range off a feed from Kasperi Kapanen 68 seconds earlier.

Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry stopped all 18 shots he faced for a second consecutive shutout, and Jason Dickinson scored into an empty net to seal the victory. The Oilers have won 10 of their first 14 games this season, their first with Mike Babcock as coach.

Despite 20 saves from Sorokin, the Islanders’ winning streak ended at two games, with top defenseman Matthew Schaefer getting whistled for two of the team’s five minor penalties. Forward Emil Heineman was ejected less than 2 1/2 minutes in for a knee-on-knee hit that injured Isaac Howard, who put no weight on his left leg as he was helped off the ice and did not return.

PREDATORS 5, LIGHTNING 4, SO

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored the tying goal in regulation and the only goal of the shootout to lead Nashville to a victory over Tampa Bay.

Reid Schaefer, Adam Edstrom and Jayden Struble also scored and Justus Annunen made 22 saves in regulation and overtime for the Predators, who had lost two straight. Filip Forsberg and Nick Perbix each had a pair of assists.

Just one day after reportedly asking to be traded, Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov had three assists. John Carlson had a goal and an assist, Jake Guentzel, Victor Hedman and Conor Geekie also scored and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves for the Lightning, losers of three of four.

Nashville had lost their first five games that had extended past regulation this season before Saturday.

Stamkos, the former Lightning captain, made it 4-4 with a power-play goal at 7:27 of the third.

It was the 246th power-play goal of Stamkos’ career, tying him with Phil Esposito for sixth in NHL history.

BLUES 5, RED WINGS 4

DETROIT (AP) — Aleksanteri Kaskimaki scored his first career NHL goal to cap St. Louis' rally from a two-goal, third-period deficit in a victory over Detroit.

Kaskimaki tapped in an Alexey Toropchenko pass with 6:45 remaining to complete the comeback after Pavel Buchnevich and Justin Barron scored earlier in the period. The 22-year-old from Finland was playing in his 11th NHL game.

Jimmy Snuggerud scored his team-high eighth goal and Dalibor Dvorsky added the Blues’ other goal. Joel Hofer made 24 saves in the opener of St. Louis’ four-game road trip.

Lucas Raymond had a goal and an assist to lead the Red Wings. J.T. Compher and Keegan Kolesar scored the first goals of the season for Detroit. Kolesar’s goal was his first point in 14 games since he was acquired from Vegas in an offseason trade.

Emmitt Finnie added a power-play goal for the Red Wings, while John Gibson made 10 saves.

SABRES 3, KINGS 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tage Thompson scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 6:20 remaining, and Buffalo beat Los Angeles to extend their road point streak to seven games.

Jack Quinn had a goal and an assist, Zach Benson and Rasmus Dahlin each had two assists, and the Sabres won their third straight overall. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves.

Corey Perry had a power-play goal, Andre Lee also scored and Anton Forsberg stopped 28 shots for the Kings.

Thompson put the Sabres back in front on a one-timer off a pass from Quinn on a power play at 13:40 of the third period. Buffalo had controlled long stretches of the game before allowing the Kings to get back into it by taking some unnecessary penalties.

Buffalo controlled the first period but only led 1-0 on Quinn’s eighth goal when he scored on a power play at 6:35.

Even with Los Angeles gaining momentum in the second half of the second period, the Sabres made it 2-0 on Thompson’s ninth with 4:22 left.

SENATORS 5, SHARKS 1

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Tim Stützle and Dylan Cozens each had a goal and an assist and Ottawa defeated San Jose.

The Senators snapped a two-game skid and matched the franchise record for October victories with their ninth, equaling the mark set in 2007-08. Ottawa lost the first two games of a five-game trip that continues in Anaheim on Sunday.

Drake Batherson, Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto also scored for Ottawa, while Samuel Ersson made 21 saves.

Michael Misa scored the lone goal for the Sharks and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 30 shots.

Ottawa broke open a 1-1 game with three second-period goals. Batherson put the Senators ahead at 5:04 before Stützle and Greig scored 1:23 apart midway through the stanza.

Cozens opened the scoring at 13:25 of the first period, and Misa tied it at 16:06 with his third goal of the season.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Tim Stützle and Dylan Cozens each had a goal and an assist and the Ottawa Senators defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-1 on Saturday.

The Senators snapped a two-game skid and matched the franchise record for October victories with their ninth, equaling the mark set in 2007-08. Ottawa lost the first two games of a five-game trip that continues in Anaheim on Sunday.

Drake Batherson, Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto also scored for Ottawa, while Samuel Ersson made 21 saves.

Michael Misa scored the lone goal for the Sharks and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 30 shots.

Ottawa broke open a 1-1 game with three second-period goals. Batherson put the Senators ahead at 5:04 before Stützle and Greig scored 1:23 apart midway through the stanza.

Cozens opened the scoring at 13:25 of the first period, and Misa tied it at 16:06 with his third goal of the season.

Stützle finished October with nine goals and 12 assists, extending his franchise record for points in the month to 21. He finished one goal shy of Bob Kudelski’s team October record, established in 1993.

Batherson extended his point streak to seven games, scoring his ninth goal of the season. Cozens scored for the third time in two games after scoring twice in Thursday’s 6-5 overtime loss at Los Angeles.

Ersson earned his first victory of the season after entering 0-3-1. Ottawa has been without injured goaltender Linus Ullmark.

The Senators improved to 9-5-1 and split the two-game season series after losing 6-2 at home on Oct. 22.

San Jose fell to 7-7-1 and lost for the third time in four games.

Up next

Senators: At Anaheim on Sunday night.

Sharks: Host Flames on Monday night.

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See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Talk about the game with Pens fans here!

The San Jose Sharks were able to steal a win against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night and they were looking to bounce back with a more convincing performance against the Ottawa Senators in a Halloween matinee. Instead, the Sharks starred in a horror movie of their own.

Much like they did in the majority of the game against the Canucks, the Sharks looked lost for most of the night. It seemed like they had no clue what they were supposed to be doing and their play reflected that. Players were often caught out of position, puck watching, or just clueless at times. As a result, they were defeated by the Senators in very convincing fashion.

The Senators came out of the gate with an immense amount of pressure, controlling the game for quite a while in the opening minutes. The Sharks took eight minutes to get their first shot on goal, which was a dump from the neutral zone that went to Senators netminder Sam Ersson. That did seemingly start some momentum for the Sharks, as they started showing more signs of life during the middle of the period.

Despite the Sharks starting to look better, Dylan Cozens scored the game's opening goal at 13:24 of the first period. On the rush, he scored five-hole on Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, who certainly would've wanted that one back.

The Sharks tied things up at 16:06 in the period, as Jacob Trouba and Kiefer Sherwood were relentless on the forecheck and forced a turnover. Trouba then found Michael Misa in front of the net, who slotted the puck past Ersson to make it a 1-1 hockey game. The Senators had quite a bit of pressure at the end of the period, but the Sharks were saved by the bell as time expired before they were able to get a go-ahead goal. 

The second period started similarly to the first, with the Senators controlling most of the play. Unsurprisingly, Drake Batherson, who has been on a heater as of late, broke the tie with his ninth goal of the season. Once again, it was a goal that Nedeljkovic would certainly want back, as it bounced off of his glove and into the back of the net. 

Tim Stutzle doubled the Senators' lead at 10:54 of the middle frame after Michael Misa was laid out in the neutral zone, giving the Senators a strong opportunity on the rush. 

The Sharks got their first power play of the night shortly after the halfway point of the game, as Fabian Zetterlund sat for a bench minor too many men penalty. 39 seconds into the power play, Ridley Greig scored Ottawa's fourth goal of the night, and his first shorthanded goal of the season, on the rush to make it a 4-1 game. 

At 3:46 in the third period, both Jacob Trouba and Sam Dickinson each took a penalty, giving the Senators a full two minutes of 5-on-3 hockey which the Sharks penalty kill was able to survive.

Shane Pinto then added an empty net goal, increasing the Senators' lead to 5-1 and securing the victory. 

It was another poor performance by the Sharks and this time they weren't able to rally enough to steal a victory from the jaws of defeat. 

As more players get healthy, more roster spots are required, but what the Philadelphia Flyers did with their latest transaction was simply the wrong move, and it sends a terrible message to the future of the team.

In anticipation of Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny returning from injured reserve, the Flyers needed to cut one player from the roster to make adequate space, with Jacob Gaucher having already been sent back to the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

That one player was inexplicably Hunter McDonald, the brolic rookie defenseman whose physical play has quickly endeared him to Flyers fans, teammates, and coaches alike... or at least we thought.

McDonald, 24, filled in admirably for the Flyers in the face of injury, appearing in five games, including two of the team's three wins on the year, in a depth role on the bottom defense pair.

In his second game of the year against Buffalo, the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder laid a vicious open-ice hit on Sabres forward Ryan McLeod, prompting Mattias Samuelsson to chase him down the ice and initiate a fight.

In the third period, nursing a 3-1 lead, McDonald's physicality was valuable, as Samuelsson's instigator penalty gave the Flyers two minutes of power play time to help sand away the remaining time on the clock.

That 3-1 win was the last win of a three-game streak: the Flyers' only three wins of the season, led by the youth.

Then, in the very next game against Anaheim, McDonald did the same, taking a big chunk out of Ducks forward Sam Colangelo along the wall. Colangelo got tagged for roughing, and A.J. Greer got tagged for instigating.

The Flyers got a 5-on-3 from the pair of penalties, and Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone scored on the ensuing 5-on-3 and 5-on-4 opportunities, respectively, to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead.

Flyers Nearing Full Strength with Injured Top Forwards Set to ReturnTwo big reinforcements have entered the chat.

Of course, the Flyers eventually blew the game and lost 5-4 in regulation, but a good team seals the deal, and McDonald's play would have effectively bought them a win with those two power play goals.

This isn't a good Flyers team, though, and despite their insistence on a rebuild and a youth movement, it isn't happening.

In his brief stint with the Flyers, especially while playing in a limited role, McDonald did everything the Flyers could have reasonably expected of him.

Instead, after seemingly establishing himself in the role he will play as a full-time NHLer in the future, the Flyers demoted McDonald back to the AHL outright, while veteran journeyman Simon Benoit returns to the lineup for the first time since the aforementioned Buffalo game.

Aside from the fact that McDonald has been straight-up better than Benoit this season, the Flyers should be prioritizing NHL reps for their young players.

Seriously, they are 3-8-4 and sit 30th in the NHL with 10 points in 15 games.

Despite that fact, 22-year-old David Jiricek, if indeed a healthy scratch on Sunday vs. Utah, will sit for his fifth game in a row, and McDonald is now headed back to the AHL, where he's already over 160 total games.

McDonald's demotion sends a terrible message from the Flyers to their young players. You can do everything the coaches and the team ask, seek improvement on small details, such as fighting, and out-perform peers, but still not get rewarded because of roster politics.

The Flyers talk a lot about having to earn a spot, and how nothing is guaranteed, but actions speak louder than words, and they just showed the fans and the players themselves the exact opposite.

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said star right winger Nikita Kucherov wants to stay in Tampa Bay — at least for this season — despite the bombshell trade request on Friday.

Cooper said Saturday that Kucherov is “committed ” to the current group, but the coach did not say anything about future seasons.

“Kuch is 100 percent a part of this team. He wants to be a part of this team for this season, and he is committed to be with the group that loves him and the group he loves,” said Cooper told reporters Saturday’s matchup against the Predators.

Kucherov, an unrestricted free agent next summer, was in the lineup for the Lightning on Saturday. The 2025-26 Hart Trophy winner entered the game in Nashville with 15 points (good for second on the Lightning), four goals and 11 assists in 12 games.

The two-time Hart winner has spent all 13 of his NHL seasons with Tampa Bay, winning the Stanley Cup twice and contributing to a decade of dominance under Cooper.

Kucherov, 33, initially told the Lightning — which surfaced Friday night — that he would not sign another contract with them. The three-time scoring champion will turn 34 at the start of next season. He also has a limited no-trade clause, and he gave Tampa Bay a list of teams he’d approve being moved to.

“We are aware of the media reports regarding the future of Nikita Kucherov with the Lightning,” general manager Julien BriseBois said in a statement released Friday night.

“We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita.”

Even with the back-and-forth off the ice, Cooper sees no changes in game for Tampa Bay.

“I will sit here and tell you nothing has changed in what our goals are this year. Just, maybe, the context of how it is going to go about,” Cooper said. “What happens after our season is over, that’s Kuch’s right and he has earned that right for whatever happens. For us, it probably made the team stronger.”

Kucherov, in the final year of his $76 million contract, leads the way among impending free agents for Tampa Bay. Second-line winger Pontus Holmberg will also be an unrestricted free agent once the season concludes.

NEW YORK (AP) — Connor McDavid extended his NHL-record season-opening assist streak to 14 games by setting up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ second goal, and the Edmonton Oilers opened their road trip by beating the New York Islanders 4-0 on Saturday.

Nugent-Hopkins scored on a power play in the third period to give McDavid his league-best 29th assist. McDavid has a big lead in points with 37 and is on pace for more than 200.

Longtime running mate Leon Draisaitl recorded a pair of assists, including a perfect skate-to-stick exchange that led to Vasily Podkolzin putting the puck into a wide open net. Ilya Sorokin similarly had little chance on Nugent-Hopkins’ shot from point-blank range off a feed from Kasperi Kapanen 68 seconds earlier.

Edmonton’s Tristan Jarry stopped all 18 shots he faced for a second consecutive shutout, and Jason Dickinson scored into an empty net to seal the victory. The Oilers have won 10 of their first 14 games this season, their first with Mike Babcock as coach.

Despite 20 saves from Sorokin, the Islanders’ winning streak ended at two games, with top defenseman Matthew Schaefer getting whistled for two of the team’s five minor penalties. Forward Emil Heineman was ejected less than 2 1/2 minutes in for a knee-on-knee hit that injured Isaac Howard, who put no weight on his left leg as he was helped off the ice and did not return.

New York was without defenseman Ryan Pulock, who was seeing a doctor after leaving Thursday night at Minnesota with what the team called an upper-body injury.

Up next

Oilers: Make their second stop on a three-game visit to the area by playing at the New York Rangers on Sunday.

Islanders: After some time off, host the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.

It wasn’t looking for there for the St. Louis Blues on Saturday afternoon against the Detroit Red Wings.

Having to overcome a pair of two-goal deficits and a third period deficit, where they were 0-6-0 when trailing after two, it appeared the visitors were headed for a losing month of October.

But three goals in a span 4:38, including Aleksanteri Kaskimaki’s first NHL goal that turned out to be the game-winner, and the Blues pulled out an improbable 5-4 win over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

The Blues (7-6-1) thus finish above .500 in the month of October for the first time since the 2021-22 season when they were 6-1-0 and finished that season 49-22-11.

This one wasn’t pretty, and maybe it helps erase the 2-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday when the Blues felt they played a game they should have won and were simply beaten by Montreal goalie Jacob Fowler’s 46-save shutout.

Here, they didn’t play particularly well at all for large swaths of this one but found a way to get two points maybe they didn’t necessarily deserve. The swings of an 84-game season can bring that about.

As for the game itself, let’s delve into it the key moments …

* Three goals in 4:38 – The Blues found themselves down 4-2 with roughly 12 minutes to play and were on their way with what looked like a seventh loss in as many games when trailing after two when they entered the period down 3-2.

But Pavel Buchnevich’s goal at 8:37, after a nifty little backhand sauce from Jake Neighbours entering the zone along the righthand side gave Buchnevich space through the middle of the ice before ripping a shot into the top left corner to make it 4-3:

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Pavel Buchnevich with 11:23 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Jake Neighbours.

DET: 4 | STL: 3#STLvsDET#LGRW#StlBluespic.twitter.com/rn05L6IOmy

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 31, 2026

Justin Barron tied it 4-4 at 12:57 on a play all started by him with a heck of a leap off his skates on a flip out, he catches the puck and all in one motion, spins and moves the puck quickly up to Jimmy Snuggerud, who was able to get the puck into the middle of the ice for Barron to stay in the play and one-time a shot past John Gibson:

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Justin Barron with 07:03 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Jimmy Snuggerud.

DET: 4 | STL: 4#STLvsDET#LGRW#StlBluespic.twitter.com/9GEeH54Puu

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 31, 2026

And just 18 seconds later at 13:15, Kaskimaki put the Blues ahead for good at 5-4 when Pius Suter was able to bring the puck around the wall to Alexey Toropchenko, who quickly put a shot towards the net and Kaskimaki was there on the short side to tip it past Gibson:

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Aleksanteri Kaskimaki with 06:45 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Alexey Toropchenko and Pius Suter.

DET: 4 | STL: 5#STLvsDET#LGRW#StlBluespic.twitter.com/MIa2ugin74

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 31, 2026

The Blues did a nice job the rest of the way of shutting it down, even after Detroit (6-5-3) pulled Gibson with three minutes to play, including Suter back-checking to break up a potential last-second one-timer at the net with the chance to tie the game.

* Fighting through without Colton Parayko – Parayko did not play and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, which meant the Blues were going to have to get it done with a younger group, including Theo Lindstein, who was recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Friday.

It also meant Parayko’s big minutes (20:49 average time per game) were going to have to be picked up, including on the penalty kill, and yes, Philip Broberg was beat back down the ice that enabled Keegan Kolesar to score on a breakaway and give Detroit a 2-1 lead 41 seconds into the second period, but he and Brandon Carlo were able to play solid shutdown minutes and each finish at plus-2, with Broberg playing a game-high 27:09 and Carlo finishing at 21:22.

Cam Fowler (21:16) was paired with Adam Jiricek (20:22) who I thought had a really solid game playing in some key moments and needing to step into the top four with Parayko out

* Justin Barron continues to impress – What else can be said for a waiver wire pickup? Barron continues to make an impact after having a goal and an assist to give him eight points (two goals, six assists) in his first 11 games in a Blues uniform.

He makes a terrific play on his goal, and also helped set up Dalibor Dvorsky’s opener at 2:29 of the opening period for a 1-0 lead when he had a shot chance but instead chose to make a nice slip pass into the slot for Dvorsky to cut to his backhand:

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Dalibor Dvorsky with 17:31 left in the 1st. Assisted by Justin Barron and Dylan Holloway.

DET: 0 | STL: 1#STLvsDET#LGRW#StlBluespic.twitter.com/g56m6HFxcM

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 31, 2026

Barron played 15:44 and is now up to eight points (two goals, six assists) in 11 games with the Blues this season; he had just nine assists with the Nashville Predators last season in 52 games and has never had more than 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in any NHL season, and that was with the Montreal Canadiens in 2022-23.

At this pace, if Barron plays out the season, he would be on pace to shatter his personal bests with 59 points (15 goals, 44 assists) in 81 games.

Perhaps playing in a system that allows the defensemen to jump into plays and play more aggressively is suiting Barron’s style well with the Blues. So far, so good. He’s been a terrific add thus far.

* Snuggerud goal key to comeback – There’s just certain goals in a game where you say, “Remember that one,” at critical junctures.

When Snuggerud scored with 27.1 seconds left in the second period to cut Detroit’s lead to 3-2, that was the one.

The Blues had just switched up their line combinations to reset to where they were for the majority of the season, and Broberg’s rim around was aggressively forechecked by Robert Thomas, who took the puck to the net hard before Snuggerud was there to deposit the loose change:

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Jimmy Snuggerud with 00:28 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Robert Thomas and Philip Broberg.

DET: 3 | STL: 2#STLvsDET#LGRW#StlBluespic.twitter.com/ePBzLxTwoF

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 31, 2026

Yes, Detroit did increase its lead to 4-2 on Emmitt Finnie’s goal early in the third on the power play, but if you’re down 3-1 and that goal makes it 4-1, chances of a comeback are pretty remote.

But getting a late-period goal like that when the Blues had little to no mojo going on can give a group a spark, and it certainly did re-energize a pretty dead group.

* 15 shots gets it done – The Blues had lots of success on Gibson in the past, most notably when he was a member of the Anaheim Ducks. Gibson was 8-16-1 with a 3.39 goals-against average and .895 save percentage against St. Louis for his career.

Getting shots on the veteran goalie would have proved to be beneficial. But when Dvorsky scored, it was the Blues’ only shot for the next 26:36 of the game. Gibson made his first save (on Dvorsky) just over nine minutes into the second period. The Blues were not forechecking to create zone time and the Red Wings were defending what little the Blues had early on well enough.

They had just three shots on goal halfway through the game and finished with 15, but once they started to funnel the few pucks they had at Gibson, they were able to find the back of the net and finished with a robust 33.3 percent shooting for the game on 47 shot attempts.

"The feeling in that locker room right now is pretty special, so we've got to carry on this momentum."

Hear from Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Justin Barron and Jim Montgomery following a comeback win in Detroit. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/RvVLcZ1lqy

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) October 31, 2026

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The Chicago Blackhawks closed out their two-game road trip with a visit to TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins. Two opposite-conference teams off to very different starts met up for the first time this season. 

The Blackhawks came in looking to avenge their horrific performance on Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings. Based on the situation with Detroit off the ice, an argument can be made that it was Chicago's worst performance of the season. 

In the first period, the Blackhawks got off to another good start. They went up 1-0, which they do often, thanks to a power-play goal scored by Anton Frondell. Jeff Blashill finally put Frondell and his wicked one-timer on the top unit, and it paid off right away. 

On the goal, Patrick Kane collected his 900th career NHL assist. He became just the 21st player in league history to reach that milestone. Sidney Crosby is the only other active player to have reached that milestone. 

Later in the first period, Pavel Zacha made a brilliant read to spring David Pastrnak, who did not miss with his very nice breakaway move. With the goal, Pastrnak passed Patrice Bergeron for the third most in Bruins history. 

The Blackhawks doubled the Bruins in first-period shots, 14-7. However, they were unable to escape the opening period with the lead, as the 1-1 score held. 

The second period had all sorts of fireworks. For one, Anton Frondell scored his second goal of the game at 3:21 of the middle frame. Tyler Bertuzzi wisely threw one on net, and it went in off Frondell, who had an incredible game overall. 

Eventually, a rush by James Hagens and Casey Mittelstadt off a turnover in the neutral zone allowed the latter to eventually snipe one home. The Blackhawks, once again, came out of a period that they mostly dominated (12-6 in shots) tied. Sometimes, that is expected when a team with less overall talent is playing better. When you're a young squad like the Blackhawks, you have to work even harder to collect wins. 

Although each team scored in the second period, the story was the big brawl. Casey Mittelstadt and Alex Vlasic started it in the middle of the ice behind the play before both teams came together for a yard sale. The kicker, however, is that Nikita Zadorov earned himself a 10-minute misconduct when he took a cheap shot punch at Alex Vlasic's face as the brawl ended. Only time will tell if he hears from the league. 

Huge scrum involving Vlasic and Mittelstadt. Zadorov comes in and lands a cheap shot: pic.twitter.com/5MWPtKwY6A

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) October 31, 2026

In the third period, someone had to be a hero for either team. At 9:38, after a series of saves by goaltender Arvid Soderblom on Charlie McAvoy, Ryan Greene took the puck up the ice and scored his second of the season. The Blackhawks have had trouble holding 3rd period leads, especially against playoff-caliber teams, but this was another chance to try. 

Connor Bedard gave the Blackhawks some breathing room with a goal of his own. He won a puck battle to give himself a breakaway, and he made a wonderful move of his own to give his team a two-goal lead. 

Less than a minute later, the Bruins got themselves back within one. JJ Peterka made a brilliant feed to Mason Lohrei, who beat Soderblom to make it 4-3. It's never easy in the NHL. 

It turned into a nightmare finish on Halloween for the Blackhawks as Morgan Geekie tied the game with 10 seconds remaining. The Blackhawks, in such a short amount of time, went from a team looking like a winner to a team on their heels. 

In overtime, the Blackhawks gave themselves a chance to win more than once, but they were unable to solve Michael DiPietro one more time. Before not, Elias Lindholm scored on Arvid Soderblom to give the Bruins a 5-4 win. 

Despite being the better team for most of the game, the Blackhawks were unable to secure a solid victory over a good team. Being unable to hold late leads has been the spooky reality for the Blackhawks over the last two years, and it showed on Saturday. 

People will look at the box score and see that Soderblom gave up 5 goals and criticize him for it. However, he made multiple grade-A saves and gave the team a chance to win. It might be time to start using him a bit more so that he can stay sharp and give Spencer Knight a break now and again. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

🎃 Anton first goal of the game
🎃 Kaner 900th assist
🎃 starting Halloween off on a wicked note pic.twitter.com/QZNKq0OtaW

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 31, 2026

second career multi-goal game for ﹟1️⃣6️⃣ 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Veahx1RG1a

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 31, 2026

all greene, all the way 🙂‍↕️ pic.twitter.com/GHs8K4itwq

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 31, 2026

🫵 YOU GET A BEDSY GOAL https://t.co/Gdrg4hvDxppic.twitter.com/hvANs53UsJ

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 31, 2026

The Chicago Blackhawks 

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Chicago Blackhawks will return home for a one-off Monday night game against the Colorado Avalanche. That is a huge test against an elite team before heading out for three on the road against Eastern Conference Cup contenders: the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Carolina Hurricanes. 

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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The classic horror movie trope of an antagonist suddenly roaring back to life just when the protagonists think they've finished them off played out on the ice Saturday afternoon - and on Halloween, fittingly enough.

The Detroit Red Wings comfortably led 4-2 over the visiting St. Louis Blues at Little Caesars Arena near the midway point of the third period, only to watch the Blues score three unanswered goals, including two in 18 seconds, to take the lead and ultimately hold on for a 5-4 victory.

Final pic.twitter.com/Y1Q2yJRM0H

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 31, 2026

With the setback, the Red Wings dropped to 6-5-3 through the first 14 games of the season, and 4-4-1 at home. 

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

It was the Blues who struck first courtesy of a backhander by Dalibor Dvorsky from in tight. But Detroit knotted the score soon afterward when Michael Rasmussen stole the puck from goaltender Joel Hofer behind the net and fed J.T. Compher, who tallied his first goal of the season. 

Early in the second period, forward Keegan Kolesar took a pass from Carter Mazur and broke in alone on Hofer, scoring his first goal since being traded to the Red Wings over the summer. Detroit then extended its lead to 3-1 when Lucas Raymond scored his fifth goal in his last six games.

St. Louis cut the deficit to one late in the period when Jimmy Snuggerud poked a loose puck past Gibson at the side of the net.

But Detroit restored its two-goal cushion thanks to a power-play goal from Emmitt Finnie at 3:29 of the third period. The Red Wings appeared to have things well in hand at that point, but the Blues would quickly flip the script. 

Dylan Larkin’s Suspension Is Costing Him Five Figures Per DayForward Dylan Larkin, who was officially suspended by the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, stands to lose an eye-opening amount of money each day.

Pavel Buchnevich sniped a shot past Gibson's blocker at 8:37, followed by another blast from Justin Barron that also beat Gibson on the blocker side.

Just 18 seconds later, Blues forward Aleksanteri Kaskimaki scored the first goal of his NHL career, deflecting a shot from Alexey Toropchenko past Gibson, giving St. Louis the lead and stunning the Red Wings and their fans. 

Despite pulling Gibson for the extra attacker, the Red Wings couldn't come up with the equalizer and suffered a disappointing loss. 

Gibson finished with 10 saves on the 15 shots he faced; Hofer picked up the win for the Blues after turning aside 24 of 28 shots. 

The Red Wings will now head onto the road for two straight divisional matchups starting Monday against the Florida Panthers. 

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DENVER — Gavin Brindley’s strong play with the Colorado Eagles has earned him another opportunity with the Avalanche.

The speedy, aggressive forward was recalled Saturday, just nine days after being sent back to Colorado’s AHL affiliate.

The recall comes as the Avalanche prepare to face the Calgary Flames without Logan O’Connor. O’Connor missed Friday’s practice to attend his father Myles’ funeral, and head coach Jared Bednar confirmed at Saturday’s morning skate that the forward would not play.

Brindley has made the most of his time in the AHL, recording four points (one goal, three assists) in four games since his reassignment. He finished October with nine points (two goals, seven assists) in eight appearances, earning recognition as the Eagles’ second star of the month.

In Colorado's October 14 matchup against the Dallas Stars, Brindley appeared to score with a beautiful wrist shot. The goal horn sounded, and the arena briefly celebrated before everyone realized the puck hadn't gone in. Instead, replay showed the puck hitting both posts in what can only be described as one of the biggest cases of rejection in recent hockey memory. The Avalanche went on to lose 3-2 in a shootout, but Brindley came close to giving the team one of the night's best highlights.

He appeared in four games during his initial recall, recording one assist while averaging 8:08 of ice time. His opportunities were limited, as he saw no action on either special-teams unit. Still, his recent production with the Eagles has given Colorado another reason to see what he can do at the NHL level.

The Avalanche acquired Brindley from the Columbus Blue Jackets in June 2025 in the trade that sent Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus. Colorado also received a 2025 third-round pick and a conditional 2027 second-round selection. The Blue Jackets had selected Brindley 34th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Brindley spent most of last season with Colorado, recording six goals and 13 points before being sent to the Eagles in late March. He has since accumulated 14 points in 61 career NHL games.

With another call-up, Brindley gets a chance to turn his strong AHL play into more NHL opportunities. He'll look to make the most of the opportunity as Colorado takes on Calgary.

The Avalanche take on the Flames on Halloween night at Ball Arena. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. local time.