Picking up a big road win isn’t as easy these days as it has been in recent seasons.

On Saturday, the Florida Panthers had to dig deep to pick up two points against the Ottawa Senators and begin making up some essential ground in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.

As it stands, Florida is currently three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins, with a game in hand, for the second Wild Card spot in the East, but the Cats are still seven points back of the Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division, also with a game in hand, and nine points behind first-place Detroit with two games in hand, for what it’s worth.

The Panthers are expected to get healthier in the coming days, with both Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk expected to join the team’s forward ranks at some point on their current road trip, which continues on Monday in Buffalo before ending with a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday against Carolina and Washington.

Let’s get to Saturday’s takeaways:

BIG GAME FROM BOBROVSKY

Sergei Bobrovsky gave up two goals on 19 shot against the Senators, which on the surface is nothing to write home about.

His first goal was a shot from the corner that appeared to deflect off his extended blocker and back behind him, and the second goal was a great deflection by Drake Batherson from the doorstep that Bob had no chance on.

In between the tallies, Bobrovsky was downright brilliant.

He made several eye-popping stops to keep the Cats in the game as they erased their early deficit and ultimately scored three straight goals to take control of the contest.

It’s quite impressive how he can keep each goal and each save, every play he makes, completely individual of one another. Nothing that happened during the first period is going to impact him the rest of the game. It’s a testament to his incredibly strong mental fortitude.

“We played really, really hard, and if it didn't go our way, it didn't end our night,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “Like the first goal, Sergei is not going to like that one, but you’ve just seen him do that so many times, if he if a bad one goes in on him early, he just somehow raises his level.”

SPECIAL TEAMS WAS SPECIAL

It makes sense that for Florida to earn a crucial two points on Saturday, they had to come up with an exceptional effort on special teams.

That’s exactly what they did, going a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and popping in a pair of power play goals on four opportunities.

The goals were certainly timely, taking the Cats from down by one to up by one, and the penalty kills were critical, coming at key points of the game that allowed Florida to build the momentum that ultimately carried them to victory.

“Probably over the last three years, the best part of our game has been our penalty kill,” Maurice said. “And it does start with those three big defensemen we have back there (Gus Forsling, Aaron Ekblad and Niko Mikkola), they were just outstanding. (Anton) Lundell, (Sam) Reinhart and (Eetu) Luostarinen are just natural penalty killers that are also elite offensive players, so we live and die by it, but they were great.

“A good night and a fast night,” Maurice continued, this time talking about the power play. “I thought we didn't look like a bunch of guys that had played together, and they were fast, so credit to (assistant coach) Jamie Kompon with those guys, because it can get frustrating. We’ve got four of the five guys that would be on our power play aren't our lineup, so you got a whole bunch of new guys, and there's not a lot of time spent together, because we don't practice with our schedule, but good on them. They were fast tonight and won us the game.”

STRONG DEBUT FOR VILMANIS

Saturday was a big night for 21-year-old Sandis Vilmanis.

Florida’s fifth round selection from the 2022 NHL Draft played his first National League game, and he showed out quite well from a coaching standpoint.

While he didn’t register on the scoresheet, Vilmanis still played 14 solid shifts, racking up 11:48 of ice time, all at even strength, logging a shot attempt and a takeaway in his NHL debut.

“I thought for his first game in the National Hockey League, Sandis Vilmanis held on to some pucks and showed some poise,” said Maurice. “He earned some fans in the coach's room because I thought he played hard, but he didn't play not to make a mistake, he just played the game. So really happy for him.”

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Photo caption: Jan 10, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers left wing Sandis Vilmanis (95) chases the puck in the first period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images)

When Simon Holmstrom scored the overtime winner against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, the New York Islanders improved to 5-0-0 in the five-minute sudden-death frame this season. 

Nov. 10: 3-2 OTW vs. NJ via Mathew Barzal

Nov. 13: 4-3 OTW vs. VGK via Jean-Gabriel Pageau shorthanded

Nov. 14: 3-2 OTW vs. UTA via Matthew Schaefer's first career OT goal

Jan. 3: 4-3 OTW vs. TOR via Schaefer's second career OT goal

Jan. 11: 4-3 OTW vs. MIN via Simon Holmstrom's first career OT goal

As you can see, it's been different characters playing the lead role on these overtime winners. 

Through 14 overtime periods played this season, they have yet to allow a goal, the only NHL team that can say that.  

Last season, the Islanders went 5-9 in overtimes. 

What's changed? 

Outside of getting tremendous goaltending for essentially the entire season, the Islanders have been able to possess the puck much more than they did a year ago. They have more talent for sure, and there's been a keen understanding of what they are trying to accomplish in the overtime period -- it's not just chaos. 

And, most importantly, they have garnered shots on goal, outshooting their opponents 35-19 in the overtime period. 

There was a lot of indecisiveness last season, a lot of questionable shooting or non-shooting decisions, which ultimately gave the opponent more chances to end the game. 

Three of the five OT winners came before the 3-minute mark, the latter of those three coming at 2:05 of the extra frame. The other two came at 3:02 and 4:11 of overtime.

What's been more impressive has been getting posession back. The Islanders have only won the opening overtime face-off twice in their five overtime frames, but have found ways to win puck battles, jump on rebounds, or just force turnovers to get the puck back on their stick. 

They've been bold. 

There's a level of confidence in overtime periods this season that we haven't seen. This group is resilient for sure, but they have just been able to execute. Getting two points rather than a loser point in what's an incredibly tight Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference is going to be the difference between Patrick Roy's squad making the playoffs this season after missing a season ago. 

Saturday night’s game at the Bell Center wasn’t just another duel between the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings; it was also game number 500 for captain Nick Suzuki. While playing 500 games in the NHL is already impressive, it’s even more so when you realize that there were 500 consecutive games.

The center has never missed a game since he joined the Canadiens. It’s not that he’s never had any injury; he played through bumps and bruises and was never rested for a game. His game streak is the second-longest in the NHL, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns holding the longest amongst active players at 969 games. The record belongs to Phil Kessel, who played 1064 consecutive games, but it’s worth noting that he didn’t play as intensely as Burns or Suzuki, often staying away from the dangerous areas.

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In his first 500 games, Suzuki has put up 152 goals and 271 assists for a total of 423 points. Over his seven seasons, he has scored 19 game-winning goals (including seven in overtime), nine of which came in the 2024-25 season.

While he has a cumulative minus-41 rating, it’s primarily because of the team’s struggles in his early years and, as the rebuild progressed, so did his differential. Last season, he finished with a more than respectable plus-19, and he’s currently at plus-16; his excellence on the defensive side of the puck is starting to be recognized across the league as he earns votes for the Frank J. Selke Trophy every year.

Homme de fer et de savoir-faire. Félicitations à notre capitaine!

The truth is... He is Iron Man. Congrats, Nick!#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/V0B8XA70pS

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 11, 2026

The captain may not be the type to make a big deal of reaching game number 500, but his entourage didn’t miss the opportunity to celebrate the feat. During last night’s game, his father, Rob, tweeted, “Congratulations Nick Suzuki on completing the first third of your NHL career.” Given how young the captain was when he started playing in the league, the 1,500-game mark isn’t out of the realm of possibilities, but only 24 players have achieved it in league history. Patrick Marleau has the record with 1,779, followed by the late great Gordie Howe with 1,767 and Mark Messier with 1,756. Mike Modano stopped just short of the milestone with 1,499, but Los Angeles Kings’ captain Anze Kopitar should join the club before retiring at the end of the season, since he currently has 1,491 games to his name.

As for Mrs. Suzuki, she had giant balloons waiting at home for the captain on his return last night. He might not have been as happy as he would have been had the Canadiens won the game, but it was a delicate attention, nonetheless.

Mrs Suzuki had a surprise for the captain when he got back home last night after playing the 500th game of his career #GoHabsGo photo credit: Caitlinn Suzuki Instagram pic.twitter.com/KSeGKj8E8A

— Karine Hains (@KarineHains) January 11, 2026

Despite everything he has accomplished so far in his career, there’s still a lot ahead for Suzuki. He currently has 48 points in 45 games, and he’ll likely improve on his most productive season, which came last year with 89 points. The 90-point mark looks pretty attainable for the skilled forward. The Canadiens have not had a 90-point or more scorer since both Vincent Damphousse and Pierre Turgeon achieved the feat in 1995-96. Next month, Suzuki will also get to compete in his first Olympic Games, and while he may not play as important a role for the national side as he does for the Habs, just cracking Team Canada’s roster is already an impressive feat.

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On Saturday night at the Bell Centre, the Montreal Canadiens were attempting to win a fifth consecutive game at home, and doing so would have meant holding on to the top spot in the Atlantic Division ahead of the Detroit Red Wings, but the visitors had other plans. While the Michigan outfit hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016, it’s having a great season so far, and Todd McLellan’s men have clearly taken a step forward in their rebuild.

On Saturday morning, Martin St-Louis confirmed that 21-year-old netminder Jacob Fowler would be starting what was the Canadiens’ most crucial game of the week, meaning that Jakub Dobes, who hadn’t played since January 1, would remain the only one of the three goalies not to see any action in the last week.

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This is not reassuring for the Czech netminder, especially not since Kent Hughes mentioned earlier this week that we shouldn’t expect the trio of goaltenders to be around for too long. Just like Fowler, Dobes doesn’t have to clear waivers to go down to the Laval Rocket in the AHL, but if he had a say in the matter, it certainly wouldn’t be his choice.

A Suffocating Team

Detroit plays a particular kind of hockey, one that aims to suffocate not only their opponents, but also the fans in the stands. McLellan’s men are quick on the forecheck, and they give little to no time to their opponent to think about their next play; they get on top of them immediately.

It clearly made the Canadiens uncomfortable, as St-Louis’ men struggled to execute effective passing plays and had a lot of trouble getting pucks on net. In the first 20 minutes, they could test John Gibson only 3 times; by 40 minutes, that had risen to 12, which is hardly enough. Montreal pressed a bit more in the third frame, but it was just too little too late and by then, Gibson was oozing confidence.

The other consequence of the Wings’ suffocating play was that it also suffocated the fans. A crowd that had been so noisy in the last couple of games, launching waves after waves in TV timeouts, seemed in stupor tonight, watching their favourite be unable to solve their divisional rival. While it’s true that the fans aren’t the ones playing the game, taming the Bell Centre crowd on a Saturday night is still something that can give momentum to a team.

A Disaster In The Faceoff Circle

Hockey is a puck possession game, and if you don’t win draws, you spend an incredible amount of time just chasing the puck. Over 40 minutes, the Canadiens won only 28% of the faceoffs, and by the end of the game, they had won only 42%.

Even faceoff specialist Phillip Danault had a wretched night in that department; after 40 minutes, he had only a 25% success rate (33% by the end of the night). Meanwhile, Nick Suzuki had only won 21% of his draws through two periods, but he improved to 41% in the third. That stat certainly didn’t help the Canadiens put more shots on net, and if you don’t shoot, you don’t score.

On The Blueline

With Kaiden Guhle returning to the lineup, Jayden Struble found himself on the outside looking in as the healthy scratch, which meant that Arber Xhekaj kept his place in the lineup.

Once again on Saturday night, Xhekaj played a solid game, true to his identity, with eight hits, several of which were bone-crushing. Furthermore, he proved to the coaching staff that he could also do well as a lefty playing on the right side, which could favour him in his duel with Jayden Struble in their battle for the 6th blueliner’s role.

He was patient, wasn’t rushing his plays, made sound decisions, avoided unnecessary risks, and finished his checks without taking himself out of the play. In other words, he played to his identity, as St-Louis had said he needed to keep doing earlier that day.

Unfortunately for the Canadiens, the Wings were very opportunistic, scoring their first goal of a weird bounce on the boards, capitalizing on a power play opportunity, and striking as quickly as lightning early in the third frame, before sealing the deal with an empty netter with just over a minute left. The smart money says it wasn’t the kind of game Suzuki wanted his team to play on the 500th game of his career, but you don’t get to decide these things.

Ray Ray opens the scoring! pic.twitter.com/f7efvPPmcS

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 11, 2026

This 3-0 defeat is the first in five games at the Bell Centre, but the Canadiens won’t have much time to dwell on it since they’ll be back in action on Monday night when they’ll host the Vancouver Canucks.

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The Los Angeles Kings (19-15-10) once proved that they can go toe-to-toe with any team in the league, including the Edmonton Oilers (22-16-7), grinding out a dramatic 4-3 shootout win in Rogers Place after a back-and-forth battle that featured momentum swings and late-game controversy. 

In a matchup that felt like a playoff game, the Kings were resilient on both ends of the floor. Missing their key players tonight, they stopped Conor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl from threatening to take over the game in the final moments of regulation. 

THAT'S AN LA KINGS DUB#GoKingsGopic.twitter.com/nWa9Jegtpx

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 11, 2026

Perry Strikes In Familiar Territory

Edmonton opened the scoring midway through the second period after an ill-timed Kings turnover left Leon Draisaitl alone in the slot, burying his 22nd goal of the season, reminding everyone why he continues to be one of the elite players in the league. 

But the Kings would respond later in the frame. 

Following the high-sticking penalty called on Darnell Nurse, Corey Perry, returning to Edmonton for the first time since leaving the Oilers, jammed home a rebound on the power play to tie the game 1-1. 

The first period looked evenly matched, both teams trading shots and goals, but the question was: could the Kings keep this pace up, or would they fold the same way they always do against their heated rival? 

Kings Depth Answers

Draisaitl struck again early in the second period, winning a face-off and sprinting into open space before scoring his second goal of the night to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead. 

Once again though the Kings had an answer for the Oilers.

Midway in the period, Andre Lee, the new King, who was recalled from Ontario, capped off a strong transition play, scoring his first goal of the season to tie the lead again, 2-2. 

Despite Edmonton putting more pressure on the ice in the late stages of the period, the Kings escaped out of the intermission with an even game, setting the stage high for a final period in regulation. 

Laferriere Gives Kings the Lead

The Kings finally grabbed their first lead of the night early in the third when Alex Laferriere diverted a Brandt Clarke shot to give Los Angeles its first lead. 

The Oilers didn't go away though. 

With Andrei Kuzmenko already in the box after serving a high-sticking penalty, Adrian Kempe was whistled for slashing, giving Edmonton a brief 5-on-3. A few seconds later, McDavid snapped a wrist shot to score his first goal of the game, tying the game 3-3 and reigniting the building.

Forbserg Slams the Door in OT and Shootout

Overtime belonged to Anton Forsberg, who turned aside multiple high chances of the Oilers scoring, especially from McDavid and Draisatil who had a lot of open shots to win the game, but Forsberg countered them. 

In the shootout, Adrian Kempe delivered the decisive goal to win the game, while Forsberg denied all of Edmonton's shots to seal the game. 

SHUT. 'EM. DOWN. pic.twitter.com/12wwKundrP

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 11, 2026

Final Takeaway

A couple of things to note: Los Angeles was good on the power play tonight, finishing 1/2, and it was the first power-play goal in over a week, a game they also won against Minnesota last Saturday.

Los Angeles also outshot the Oilers 30-24, but struggled with turnovers, giving the puck away 19 times, which is why the game came down to the wire, despite the Kings getting more shots up. But it was still a great quality win for a shorthanded Los Angeles team, coming off a terrible loss to the Winnipeg Jets last night, with no rest, against a fully rested Oilers team and one of the best offenses in the NHL. 

Up next, Los Angeles will begin their three-game home stand against the Dallas Stars on Monday, Jan. 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET, a team that will look to get revenge on after losing on their home ice last month. 

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The Nashville Predators (20-20-4) ran into a historic performance in goal Tuesday night, falling to the Chicago Blackhawks (19-19-7) at home.

Blackhawks rookie goaltender Drew Commesso recorded a shutout in his first NHL victory.

Commesso stopped every shot he faced to become the fourth goaltender in Blackhawks franchise history to post a shutout in his first career win, joining Corey Crawford, Craig Anderson, and Paul Goodman.

It was a 36-save shutout.

The Predators generated offensive-zone time and had some pressure throughout the night but were unable to convert against a goaltender who grew more confident as the game progressed.

Nashville created chances at five-on-five and around the net, but failed to find a breakthrough as Chicago played from ahead. According to MoneyPuck.com, the Predators had 4.38 expected goals.

“We came out in our first eight minutes or so, and I liked our game…and then we got really sloppy with the puck,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said postgame. “Our execution was fairly poor by our standards, and it didn't allow us to get to our game. We pushed a little bit at the end, but I think the whole game, I'm not sure if we thought it'd be a little bit easier than it was. Then we got frustrated with it and seemed to compound, which we haven't done that often. Regardless, we weren't sharp. They were the better team for most of the game.”

The Predators will finish the weekend back-to-back with the Washington Capitals on Sunday.

Well, it appears that the Pittsburgh Penguins will not go undefeated in the calendar year of 2026.

Despite a late push on Saturday afternoon, the Penguins lost to the Calgary Flames, 2-1, to earn their first loss since Dec. 23 and snap their six-game win streak. Egor Chinakhov scored his second goal in a Penguins' uniform, while Arturs Silovs made some key saves for the Penguins, stopping 23 of 25 Calgary shots on goal. 

Just like the Penguins have been doing with frequency lately, the Flames got off to a quick start in this one. Just two and a half minutes into the game, the Penguins were pressuring in the offensive zone, and defenseman Ryan Shea tried to send a cross-ice pass to his partner, Jack St. Ivany, at the offensive blue line. Unfortunately, Calgary forward Connor Zary disrupted the pass and took off for a breakaway opportunity, beating Silovs five-hole and putting the Flames up, 1-0. 

The Flames got the better of the Penguins for the entirety of the first period, and they carried the 1-0 lead into the second. Nearing the halfway point of the middle frame, the Penguins were finally starting to gain some momentum, and Ben Kindel made a play to get the puck to Chinakhov in the neutral zone. Chinakhov and Evgeni Malkin entered the zone on a two-on-one, and a give-and-go between the two resulted in a one-time bomb from Chinkahov in the right circle to tie the game at 1-1.

The Penguins carried much of the play for the remainder of the second period, but unfortunately, the Flames scored early in the second. Matt Coronato shot the puck through a bit of a screen after a nice move, and he put the Flames back on top. 

With around eight minutes remaining in regulation, the Penguins appeared to tie the game when Tommy Novak executed a perfect wraparound and buried the puck past Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley. However, goaltender interference was called on Sidney Crosby for impeding Cooley's ability to make the save, and the Penguins did not challenge the play.

Penguins' Scoring Forward Out For Saturday's Game Against CalgaryThe Pittsburgh Penguins announced Saturday that top-line forward Bryan Rust is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, which is a blow to the team's scoring depth.

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Here are some thoughts and takeaways from this one:

- Dan Muse said following the game that they did not challenge the goaltender interference call on Novak's goal because he did not think there was a high chance of the call getting overturned. I agree with him.

However, Crosby certainly didn't agree with the call. 

In fact, the Penguins' captain was a little bit more blunt than usual when discussing the play after the game.

"I think it looks bad, but being in the play, I thought I did my best to avoid the goalie, and I got pushed into him," Crosby said. "I mean, the explanation had something to do with being in the crease, but you're allowed in the crease as long as you don't impede the goalie. And I was trying to get through there and got pushed back into him.

"He did a good job selling it. I grazed him, and he went down pretty easy. I mean, what are you going to do? That's a hard one to challenge, and it doesn't look great. But just being part of the play, I know I was going to get around him if I didn't get pushed."

Sid on goalie interference ruling: “He sold it well.”

— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) January 10, 2026

It's not often that I don't necessarily see eye-to-eye with Sid on anything. However, I'm not so sure that wouldn't have been called back even if the call was a goal on the ice. Even if Crosby was shoved - and if Cooley embellished a bit - it kind of looked like, accidentally or not, that Crosby leaned into the contact just a bit. 

In any case, I do think Muse made the right call in not challenging that. The Penguins had all the momentum, and it wasn't worth risking a potential penalty kill late in the game. 

- For the second consecutive game, the Penguins had a less-than-inspiring start in the first period. They were sloppy, they were disjointed, they were slow, they were outshot 9-6, and they surrendered the first goal of the game for the first time since Dec. 23, which is the last time they had lost a hockey game. 

Of course, there is a lot else going right for the Penguins, but when they play the league's better teams, they're not going to get away with slow starts. They didn't on Saturday against one of the league's bottom teams. 

The Penguins have a pretty manageable schedule for the rest of January in terms of their competition. Only four teams of the 10 they play are currently in a playoff spot. So, they need all the points they can get, and they can't afford to take the first period off in any of these games. 

Penguins' Defenseman Nearing Return To LineupPittsburgh Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones - on injured reserve since Oct. 25 - is finally back practicing with the Penguins and figures to rejoin the lineup soon.

- Penguins didn't start much better in second period (or the third period, for that matter). But a play late in the Penguins' penalty kill on Kevin Hayes's hooking minor seemed to give them some semblance of life. 

Rickard Rakell - who has looked the part on the PK - generated a shorthanded chance down low that Blake Lizotte nearly finished at the net-front. The Penguins killed off the rest of the penalty with ease, then about 20 seconds after the penalty expired, Kindel made that hard-working play to get the puck to Chinakhov initially and set the goal sequence in motion.

Rakell's and Lizotte's play was a small play, but it gave the Penguins the life they needed - at least, temporarily - to tie the game in a contest in which they were largely lifeless and sloppy.

- I've seen some pretty funny things happen this season across the hockey world (with the Joel Hofer "hiding" incident topping the list).

But, man, was that Malkin roughing penalty after Chinakhov's goal something. 

The Russian connection executes a perfect give-and-go, Zary pulls up right between Malkin and Chinakhov along the boards, and Malkin just decks him for next to no reason on the way to celebrate the goal with Chinakhov, resulting in a roughing penalty for Malkin.

CHINNY TIES IT 💪 pic.twitter.com/fzbx05QvCd

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 10, 2026

I mean, aside from Malkin's signature slap shot breakaway goal - and that entire sequence - against the Philadelphia Flyers way back when, can you think of a more perfect Malkin sequence of events?

- I haven't been impressed with the Justin Brazeau, Anthony Mantha, and whoever line in the last couple of games. Not having Tommy Novak or Evgeni Malkin centering those guys showed on Saturday. Hayes's lack of footspeed definitely showed, and it was hard for them to generate much. 

If Rust is going to be out, I'm not really sure what to do with that line. Novak is definitely a top candidate to bump up with Crosby, and the second line really had something going on Saturday. 

What I would do is consider breaking up Brazeau and Mantha until Rust returns, bump Brazeau up with Crosby, and put Novak back as the third-line center. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Chinakhov get some reps with Crosby, either, since his skillset would probably complement Crosby well. And you could have Malkin, Kindel, and Brazeau on a line.

But I'm intrigued by that second line right now and want to see how Chinakhov continues to look playing with Malkin and Kindel.

- Speaking of Kindel, I thought he played an outstanding game on Saturday.

Yes, there are still a few hiccups, as there are with any young player. But he just does so many little things right, and that was on full display against the Flames. He made the play happen in the neutral zone to set the scene for Chinakhov's goal. On a second-period power play, he made two or three plays where he won a puck battle or forced a turnover to keep the play alive down low. He made a few nice passes as well.

'I'm Lucky To Be Able To Play With Him': Penguins' Rookie Relishes Opportunity To Center All-Time GreatPittsburgh Penguins' rookie Ben Kindel is experiencing a rare opportunity to center an all-time great NHL player in Evgeni Malkin - and he hopes to make the most of it.

This kid is just so impressive, and - as mentioned previously - he's only going to get more productive playing with Malkin and Chinakhov. 

- It's actually pretty crazy how Silovs tends to get better the later it is in a game. 

He could have made a breakaway save on Zary, but that one was basically 50-50. He could have made a save on Coronato, but there was a partial screen, and the Penguins' defense gave him way too much space there. But he kept this team in the game late once again, and he made some saves in the first period, too, to do the same thing. 

Silovs tends to be at his best when the stakes are raised. I thought he played pretty well Saturday, even if his team didn't get the result. 

- Next up for the Penguins is the Boston Bruins, who just squashed the New York Rangers, 10-2, on Saturday. Both teams will be playing on the second of a back-to-back.

The Bruins have won two straight and have been a bit better in recent games. The Penguins need to get rolling early in this one. 

Bruins Humiliate Original Six Foe, 10-2, In Thrilling Saturday MatineeBOSTON -- The Boston Bruins (24-19-2) thoroughly routed the New York Rangers 10-2 (20-20-6) on Saturday afternoon inside TD Garden.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Simon Holmstrom scored his second goal of the game 1:34 into overtime and the New York Islanders beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Saturday night.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Casey Cizikas also scored for the Islanders, who improved to 3-0-1 in their last four games. Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves, including 17 in a scoreless third period.

Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov and Ben Jones scored for Minnesota in its third loss in four games (1-1-2). Quinn Hughes assisted on all three Wild goals and Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots.

In the extra period, Holmstrom circled into the slot and fired a backhander that beat Gustavsson to give the Islanders the win.

Minnesota took a one-goal lead three times in the first two periods, including Jones’ first NHL goal to open the scoring early in the first. But the Islanders answered each time to even the score.

Cizikas scored a short-handed goal to tie it 3-3 late in the second period, completing a 2-on-1 rush with Holmstrom by slipping the puck between Gustavsson’s pads.

The Wild were playing their first home game since Dec. 23. They went 4-1-2 on a seven-game road swing that coincided with the Twin Cities hosting the World Juniors Championships.

Up next

Islanders: At Winnipeg on Tuesday.

Wild: Host New Jersey on Monday.

On Saturday night, the Chicago Blackhawks paid a visit to the Nashville Predators. This comes one night after suffering a 5-1 loss at home to the Washington Capitals. The “stomach bug” caused all sorts of problems for them. 

The bug impacted their lineup on Saturday, too, as Louis Crevier, Colton Dach, Sam Lafferty, Arvid Soderblom, and Spencer Knight were all still missing. Ilya Mikheyev was able to return from his illness. 

The Blackhawks called up Stanislav Berezhnoy to be the backup goaltender, and they gave the start to Drew Commesso. Commesso started in the loss to Washington, but Jeff Blashill went right back to him on no rest. 

That decision worked out for the team, as Commesso earned his first career NHL win. In the process, he also earned his first career NHL shutout with a score of 3-0. Commesso is the first Blackhawks goaltender since Corey Crawford to earn his first win in the form of a shutout. 

This wasn’t a game that the Blackhawks played incredible shutdown defense to help Commesso to a shutout, either. The Predators took 36 shots on goal, and he saved them all. 

Tyler Bertuzzi, Nick Lardis, and Ryan Greene scored the goals for Chicago. Connor Bedard, who was only playing in his second game back from injury, was excellent again. He had two primary assists in the win. 

The Blackhawks are now winners of five games out of six. They are also 6-2-1 since the holiday break ended. This level of success has them back in the Western Conference playoff race once again, which felt impossible a month ago. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

another power play goal from #⃣5⃣9⃣✅ pic.twitter.com/iKZIN5QbWl

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 11, 2026

the kids are alright😌 pic.twitter.com/d6Ewg13GID

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 11, 2026

Unselfish play by Tyler Bertuzzi to give the empty-netter to Ryan Greene, who snaps a 19-game goal drought. #Blackhawkspic.twitter.com/NFum98SMyB

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 11, 2026

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Blackhawks are back in action on Monday night when they take on the Edmonton Oilers at the United Center. This will be Connor McDavid’s first visit to Chicago this season. This kicks off four straight at home for Chicago. 

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 final score tells the truth without offering much nuance. The details, as always, matter more.

The Philadelphia Flyers' 7–2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning was their second defeat in as many meetings this season against a team operating at a very specific, very unforgiving level right now. The Flyers will get one more chance to adjust when the season series concludes Monday, but Saturday’s game made clear how quickly the game slip away when structure slips against a team that thrives on pace, precision, and punishment.

---

1. This Was Not Purely a Goaltending Loss, Even If the Goaltender Wore It.

Sam Ersson had a difficult night. The goals came in waves, the building grew restless, and the optics were unkind. But inside the Flyers’ room, there was little appetite for assigning blame to the goaltender alone. 

Tampa Bay scored by stretching the ice east-west, attacking seams before coverage could reset, and forcing Ersson into repeated lateral reads with traffic collapsing the crease. Those are high-danger looks even when executed imperfectly; Tampa executed them cleanly.

Ersson’s teammates recognized it immediately. Players went to him during the game to offer encouragement. Postgame, the decision not to make him available was organizational.

Sam Ersson was requested for postgame, but didn’t end up talking to the media. Flyers PR said it was a team decision to not make him available.

— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) January 11, 2026

“We’ve gotta be better in front of him,” Owen Tippett said postgame. “Those are tough games to play… I don’t know if the sarcastic cheers are really appreciated, but we’ve gotta do a better job in front of him.”

Garnet Hathaway echoed that sentiment, revealing that his message to Ersson was to “keep his head up. I don’t think we played as defensively sound as we needed to. We’re a very offensive-minded team, and that’s not on him. He’s played great all year. So forget it; put it in the past.”

Owen Tippett and Sean Couturier said the Flyers have to be better in front of Sam Ersson. Tippett said the sarcastic cheers weren’t appreciated. Several Flyers players went to Ersson during the game to give some encouragement.

— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) January 11, 2026

Rick Tocchet, meanwhile, struck a balance between accountability and protection.

“He’s struggling a little bit; you can tell a little bit,” Tocchet said. “You’re gonna have tough nights. If you have an NHL career, sometimes you’re gonna be in the mud, and you’ve gotta get yourself out of it. You’ve gotta work harder, you’ve gotta analyze things—not just [Ersson], anybody.”

Then, pointedly: “We’ve gotta work with him; we’ve gotta help him out, too—whatever we have to do to help him, mental or physical.”

This was a team loss. Ersson absorbed it because goaltenders always do, but the breakdowns began well before the puck reached him.

---

2. Tampa’s East-West Game Exposed Every Half-Second of Hesitation.

There are teams that beat you by volume. Tampa Bay beats you by speed of decision.

The Lightning punished the Flyers with an unrelenting east-west attack that forced defensive switches, pulled coverage out of shape, and turned small delays into open ice. Once Tampa established rhythm, Philadelphia struggled to disrupt passing lanes early enough to prevent those sequences from forming.

That's not to say the Flyers were completely silent. They had moments—stretches where they generated chances, forced Andrei Vasilevskiy into difficult saves, and even tilted the ice briefly. But against a team this sharp, those windows close quickly.

Rick Tocchet’s assessment was that he "didn’t mind half the game. You’re gonna have those kinds of games, but we do need some better efforts. A couple of our guys that we count on to score turned the pucks over a little too much. You can’t play that way.”

---

3. The Flyers Generated Chances—They Just Didn’t Finish Them.

One of the more frustrating aspects of the loss was that it wasn’t devoid of offensive opportunity. The Flyers scored twice—Garnet Hathaway’s first goal of the season and Owen Tippett’s power-play marker, his 14th—but they left several other chances on the table.

Christian Dvorak extended his point streak to three games with an assist, while Noah Juulsen and Rodrigo Abols also contributed helpers. The offense existed, and noticeably so, but the execution did not.

Some of that credit belongs to Vasilevskiy, who was calm, square, and efficient. Some of it belongs to Tampa’s ability to recover defensively after initial breakdowns. And some of it falls on Philadelphia’s inability to capitalize when the game was still within reach.

---

4. This Game Was a "Learning Lesson."

The Flyers will play Tampa Bay again on Jan. 12, and both players and coach highlighted the importance of having short memories and taking this game as a learning opportunity so they can be better against the Lightning next time around.

“Everybody’s tired of hearing it, but it’s a learning lesson,” Tocchet said. “You learn, you apply it, and be better, which our team has done.”

What matters now is not how they felt leaving the ice, but what they retain from it—about puck management, defensive spacing, and how quickly games can get away from you when structure slips.

The Flyers didn’t lose because they stopped trying. They lost because Tampa never took their foot off the gas. That distinction is uncomfortable, but can be ultimately useful with such a quick turnaround. 

The St. Louis Blues lost defenseman Philip Broberg early in the first period against the Vegas Golden Knights with an upper-body injury.

The 24-year-old, who signed a six-year, $48 extension earlier in the day on Saturday, was checked along the defensive zone boards by Vegas captain Mark Stone, who used his left left to make sure Broberg upended and land on his backside and back of his head.

Broberg was slow to get up but wound up skating off and slowly walking down to the team's locker room; he played 55 seconds and had an assist on a goal by Robert Thomas 53 seconds into the game that gave the Blues a 1-0 lead.

Broberg, who has two goals and 12 assists in 46 games this season, has averaged a career-high 23:18 time on ice per game. He was selected to Sweden's Winter Olympic hockey team last week.

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The Detroit Red Wings made sure that their second meeting of the season against the Montreal Canadiens had a far happier ending than the first. 

The Red Wings put together one of the most complete road efforts of their centennial campaign, defeating the Canadiens by a 4-0 final score at Bell Centre in what was a complete reversal of Montreal's 5-1 win in Detroit on Oct. 9. 

SATURDAY SHUTOUT IN MONTREAL pic.twitter.com/ODoJ1aQsIu

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 11, 2026

Goaltender John Gibson, who has been nothing short of clutch for the Red Wings since the start of December, picked up his third shutout of the season and 27th of his NHL career. 

With the victory, the Red Wings have taken sole possession of the top spot in the tightly-packed Atlantic Division. 

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

After a scoreless first period, the Red Wings opened the scoring when Lucas Raymond buried his third goal in as many games. He capitalized on a fortunate bounce as the puck deflected off the stanchion and popped out in front of the vacated Montreal net while goaltender Jacob Fowler had gone behind the goal to play the puck. 

The lead was then increased to 2-0 after a power-play goal by Dylan Larkin just seconds after the face-off in Montreal's zone. 

Alex DeBrincat put the game out of reach in the third period with his 23rd goal of the campaign, while Andrew Copp put the finishing touches on the scoring with an empty-net tally late in regulation. 

Several of Gibson's 27 saves were on high-danger chances for the Canadiens, who were often left frustrated after he turned aside everything they threw at him. 

The Red Wings will return home to host the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night, before which the franchise will officially retire Sergei Fedorov's iconic No. 91 and raise a banner to the rafters at Little Caesars Arena. 

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With a 5–0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, the Vancouver Canucks’ losing streak has officially hit six games. Despite Vancouver outshooting Toronto, the Canucks were unable to defend efficiently against the Maple Leafs’ onslaught of offence. Thatcher Demko started the game for the Canucks but was replaced by Kevin Lankinen after the first period, with the latter ultimately making 17 saves on 18 shots against. 

The Canucks were given a plethora of opportunities to score during the first period, as the Maple Leafs took four different penalties including two too-man-men calls. However, things went catastrophically for the Canucks, as their power play went 0-for-4 during the first period despite putting up their best chances while playing at 4-on-3. Their fifth and sixth power plays, awarded during the second and third period respectively, nearly deepened their deficit after surrendering multiple shorthanded chances to the Maple Leafs. To make matters worse, Toronto scored twice while on the power play. 

One of Vancouver’s biggest struggles tonight was their defensive coverage. Turnovers resulted in two of the Maple Leafs’ three first-period goals, while lapses in coverage while shorthanded gave Toronto the opening goal. All five Canucks players skating on one side of the ice gave Max Domi the opportunity to tear down the ice and score Toronto’s second less than 10 minutes later. Toronto’s final goal of the first period came after a turnover in Vancouver’s own zone gave William Nylander and Steven Lorentz a chance off the rush. While not entirely his fault, the three goals-against resulted in Lankinen coming into the game for Demko by the start of the second period. 

Tonight was also not a good night for Vancouver’s performance in the faceoff dot, as collectively, the Canucks averaged a faceoff winning percentage of only 30.4%. No natural Canucks centre finished with a faceoff winning percentage above 40%, with Aatu Räty and David Kämpf being the only two to hit higher than 30%. 

While this game was primarily negative, there were a couple of individual performances that stood out. Nils Höglander, who has performed well throughout his past few games despite not yet registering his first point of the season, played with some jump tonight. The forward made sure to get the puck to the net when he could, skating well and getting into the zone early. 

As well as Höglander, Drew O’Connor had himself yet another noticeable game for the Canucks, putting up two quality chances during the first-half of the first period. The forward also made his presence known by getting into a tussle with some of the Maple Leafs after heading to the net to try and grab any errant pucks for a tip-in. The forward also took a tough tumble along the boards during the second period, resulting in him heading to the dressing room, though he returned to the ice a little while later. 

With tonight’s loss and the Winnipeg Jets’ win yesterday, Vancouver officially ranks last in the NHL’s standings. Their losing streak increases to six-straight games, with the team still looking for their first win of 2026. 

Stats and Facts: 

• Canucks allow three goals in the first period for the first time in 2025–26
• Marcus Pettersson registers his second fight of the season and second as a Canuck 
• After going 0-for-6 on the man-advantage, Vancouver’s power play goal streak ends at four games  

Scoring Summary: 

1st Period: 

8:03 - TOR: Matias Maccelli (7) from William Nylander and Auston Matthews (PPG) 

16:31 - TOR: Max Domi (5) from Troy Stecher  

19:40 - TOR: William Nylander (15) from Steven Lorentz and Brandon Carlo 

2nd Period: 

13:07 - TOR: John Tavares (16) from William Nylander 

3rd Period: 

19:46 - TOR: Nick Robertson (10) (PPG) 

Up Next: 

The Canucks continue their east-coast swing with a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday, taking on the Montréal Canadiens on January 12. Like Vancouver, Montréal was also shut-out tonight, dropping their game against the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 4–0. Puck drop for Monday’s game is scheduled for 4:30 pm PT. 

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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Battered, bruised and struggling, the Florida Panthers arrived in Canada’s capital city on Saturday badly needing a victory.

Thanks to a strong outing by Florida’s special teams units, the Panthers were able to take down the Ottawa Senators 3-2 and pick up a crucial two points.

An early power play for the home team would prove beneficial.

Fabian Zetterlund scored a sharp angle goal that Sergei Bobrovsky would want to have back just one second after the penalty to Evan Rodrigues ended, giving Ottawa a 1-0 lead at the 4:03 mark of the opening period.

Later in the period, Florida was able to take advantage after receiving a power play of their own.

With Artum Zub in the penalty box for high-sticking Anton Lundell, Evan Rodrigues corralled the puck in the slot, waited for a lane to open and wired a shot past Leevi Merilainen to knot the score at one with 8:26 left in the first.

Florida’s power play wasn’t done there.

Later in the period, with Thomas Chabot in the box for roughing Mackie Samoskevich, Gus Forsling slid a cross-zone pass to Carter Verhaeghe, and his long wrist shot went off the far post and into the net, sending the Panthers into the second intermission with a 2-1 lead.

Forsling wasn’t done with just a primary assist, though.

Under four minutes into the third period, Forsling took a pass from his defensive partner Aaron Ekblad just inside the blue line, took a few strides toward the net and blasted a slapshot over the glove of Merilainen to give Florida a 3-1 lead 3:28 into the final frame.

It proved to be an important goal, as Claude Giroux scored with 1:42 on the clock and Merilainen on the bench, but that’s as close as the Senators would get.

Florida finished the game with goals on two of their four power plays while going a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.

On to Buffalo.

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Photo caption: Jan 10, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a save on a shot from Ottawa Senators right wing Michael Amadio (22) in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images)

The Edmonton Oilers have announced that they have assigned defenseman Riley Stillman to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. 

Stillman was called up to the Oilers' roster last month after starting the season with the Condors. In four games with the Oilers so far this campaign, the left-shot defenseman has recorded zero points, four blocks, seven hits, and a plus-1 rating. 

Now, after being sent back down to the Condors' roster, Stillman will once again be an important part of the AHL club's blueline. In 22 games with the Condors so far this season, Stillman has posted two goals, five assists, seven points, and 41 penalty minutes. 

In 167 career NHL games over seven seasons split between the Florida Panthers, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, and Oilers, Stillman has recorded four goals, 22 assists, 26 points, 111 penalty minutes, 202 blocks, and 333 hits.