OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Shane Pinto scored the shootout winner to give the Ottawa Senators a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.
Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson — who tied it with 2:23 left in the third period — scored for the Senators (4-1-0). Linus Ullmark turned away 16 shots.
Jonathan Marchessault and Ross Colton scored for Nashville (2-1-2), while Matt Murray made 18 stops.
The Predators took a delay-of-game penalty for a puck over glass with 13 seconds remaining in regulation providing the Senators the perfect opportunity, but a stagnant power play was unable to capitalize. Ottawa went 1 for 6 with the man advantage.
The game ended a three-game Eastern Canada trip for the Predators.
Defenseman Jayden Struble made his Nashville debut. He was acquired Friday from the Montreal Canadiens.
The Chicago Blackhawks were blown out at home by the Carolina Hurricanes. Of course, it was always an uphill climb with the defending Stanley Cup champions in town for battle, but the Blackhawks didn't have much of a chance.
After a lackluster first period, they were down 1-0. At that point, they likely felt good about being down by only one. Before the second period was four minutes old, however, the Hurricanes added two more to take a 3-0 lead.
At that point, with the way the Blackhawks were defending and the difficulties they had exiting the defensive zone when they did have the puck, it felt like a lead that they couldn't come back from.
Shortly after that, however, the Blackhawks did get themselves on the board. Roman Kantserov earned himself a breakaway and used his speed to create separation before scoring his first career NHL goal. The former KHL superstar is officially on the board.
The good vibes following Kantserov's goal were short-lived, however, as former Blackhawk Taylor Hall scored less than two minutes after that. Four goals were scored between the two teams in five minutes.
At 5:00 of the third period, the Hurricanes made it 5-1 to give it that blowout feeling. Oliver Moore's late goal was a nifty play by him, but it doesn't erase the feeling that the Blackhawks were run out of their own building by the champs.
The Blackhawks were outshot 39-26 in the loss. They came on a bit stronger late in the third, but it was well below the standard of a winning team over the course of 60 minutes.
Roman Kantserov scored Chicago's first goal of the game, but he was also their best forward by far. It wasn't great defensively for any of their forwards, including Kantserov, but he was able to generate some offense.
It's been a tough start to the season for Nick Lardis, but he improved in this game as well. Without Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar in the lineup, it's going to be hard for these guys to carry the weight, but being ready for their return is important.
On defense, four of the six players had lousy performances. The middle pair with Alex Vlasic and Ian Cole were solid, however. So far, they've been the best duo created by Jeff Blashill so far this year.
Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro have spent all but one game in the press box, but it might be time to start rotating them in. If Bowen Byram, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, and Wyatt Kaiser continue to rack up games like that, Blashill won't have a choice.
This game was proof that the Blackhawks are nowhere near any of the top teams in the NHL. There were already suspicions of that reality after playing the Vegas Golden Knights, Buffalo Sabres, and Utah Mammoth, but the sample size is starting to get bigger.
The Chicago Blackhawks have only played two of their six games at the United Center. However, they are staring down another six straight at home following this loss to Carolina. Next up is a match against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.
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The Islanders were defeated by the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-3, on Saturday night.
Here are some takeaways...
-- Tampa Bay dominated the first period, racing out a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Jake Guentzel (unassisted) and Brandon Hagel (assisted by Victor Hedman and Max Crozier).
-- The Isles responded with a huge second period. Some nifty puck possession in the offensive zone combined with a solid screen to block the vision of Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed Tony DeAngelo to get New York on the board with a wrister from the point, assisted by Ondrej Palat. Tampa countered with another Guentzel goal (assisted by Hagel and reigning Hart Memorial Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov), this time on the power play. The Islanders kept plugging away, in part energized by Logan Stanley dropping the gloves with Scott Sabourin.
-- A fantastic first goal of the season for Matthew Schaefer (assisted by Palat and DeAngelo), in which the second-year defenseman dangled around the blue line to create space before firing a wrist shot which found twine, made it 2-3. With a late power play in the period, Brayden Schenn beat the buzzer by seven seconds and tied the game, tapping in a cross-crease pass by Bo Horvat (secondary assist by Matias Maccelli).
-- After a physical third period, Hagel picked up his third point of the night with just under two minutes left in the game, a gut punch of a wrist shot which beat Ilya Sorokin on his low blocker side. Shortly after, Hagel completed the fourth hat trick of his career to seal the 5-3 loss for the Isles.
Highlights
Tony DeAngelo cuts the deficit in half! https://t.co/nvRZAPGhmh
Could the Vancouver Canucks be in contention to acquire Calgary Flames centre Connor Zary?
Whether they actually do or not is up for debate, but according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Vancouver is currently one of a few teams interested in the 25-year-old.
"I don't get the sense anything is imminent right now. The Flames only have one retention spot available, and they don't want to retain money, so it's probably going to take something creative, but I do think Vancouver is one of the teams that has looked at Zary. I think there's a few more, obviously, but I've heard the Canucks are one of the teams that are considering it, and it makes sense," he said on Sportsnet's Saturday-night broadcast.
Zary, the 24th-overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, was placed on waivers by the Flames on Monday, October 5 for the purpose of AHL re-assignment. Calgary waived the centre after two games in 2026-27. He is currently in the second year of a three-year, $3.775M AAV contract.
Since making his NHL debut with the Flames in the 2023-24 season, Zary has put together a grand total of 39 goals and 48 assists in 193 NHL games. He hit his career-high that year with 34 points in 63 games.
Mar 12, 2025; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames center Connor Zary (47) controls the puck against Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek (17) during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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“The Washington Capitals organization is deeply saddened by the passing of alumnus Bobby Gould,” the team posted. “Gould spent eight seasons with the Capitals from 1981 to 1989, appearing in 600 games. A consistent scoring threat, he reached the 20-goal mark four times and recorded a career-high 50 points during the 1986-87 season.”
He started his career with the Atlanta/Calgary Flames and played his last season with the Boston Bruins, helping the team reach the Stanley Cup Final in 1990 where they lost to the Edmonton Oilers.
Gould, from Petrolia, Ontario, scored 145 goals and had 159 assists in his career. He also had 572 penalty minutes.
He twice finished third in voting for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for top defensive forward, first after the 1982-83 season, when Philadelphia's Bobby Clarke won it, and again in 1986-87 when it was awarded to the Flyers' Dave Poulin.
“Beyond the rink, Gould was valued for the relationships he built and the positive impact he made on those around him,” the Capitals posted.
After yet another brutal loss, a 5-1 beatdown from the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon, the Philadelphia Flyers remain the only winless team in the Eastern Conference. Things seem to be getting worse before they get better, and the Flyers are now running out of time to salvage a spiraling season.
The Flyers played their best game of the season, an incomplete effort in a 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, on Thursday, then followed it up with arguably their worst game of the season on Saturday, at least given the context.
An 0-3-2 start, losses to multiple Metropolitan Division rivals, ranking among the league's worst in nearly every offensive and defensive category, and rapidly increasing displeasure amongst the loyal fanbase. What's there not to be motivated by for the Flyers?
And yet, they were completely outclassed by the Bruins on Saturday from start to finish, and didn't eclipse three, yes three, shots on goal until over halfway through the second period: 30 minutes of game action. That's an average of one shot on goal every 10 minutes.
Eventually, the Flyers finished the game with a modest 15 shots on goal, thanks to a seven-shot third period. In that third period, they were also out-scored 3-1, so they quickly blew their chance of salvaging the manageable 2-0 deficit they entered the final frame with.
On the bright side, rookie Porter Martone finally made his mark for the Flyers this season, as I predicted in the game preview, scoring the team's second power play goal on a far-side snipe on Jeremy Swayman. Martone's goal was assisted by 22-year-old David Jiricek, who made a nice play at the blueline to draw a Bruins penalty killer out of position.
That's about the only positive to take away from another one of those games for the Flyers, who are now 0-4-2 and about to host Carolina, again, on Sunday night.
Not that it isn't time already, but if the Flyers really start their season winless through seven games, it might be time to raise more important questions.
This once-promising roster is going nowhere fast, and it's not a great environment for players like Martone, Jiricek, and Matvei Michkov to have to develop in if the season continues to spiral this badly out of control.
And, I mean, the Flyers already sacrificed NHL development time for Alex Bump in favor of Michael Bunting, who went unsigned throughout the entire NHL offseason. And journeymen like Carl Grundstrom and Garrett Wilson remain on the roster, too.
The Flyers aren't leaning into player development and they don't look capable of winning a game right now, and that mushy middle is the worst place to be for a team like theirs.
DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon put on a show, slicing through Toronto’s defense with a pair of goals to give the Colorado Avalanche an early lead.
But one superstar’s brilliance couldn’t cover up the cracks elsewhere. Defensive breakdowns and a difficult night in net unraveled Colorado’s advantage, sending the Avalanche to a 5-3 loss against the Maple Leafs.
William Nylander led Toronto with five points, tying a career high with two goals and three assists. Auston Matthews added two goals and two assists, while Nicholas Paul recorded two assists. Easton Cowan and former Avalanche defenseman Nick Blankenburg also scored for the Maple Leafs. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 of 33 shots, while Mackenzie Blackwood allowed five goals on 22 shots.
First Period
Toronto won the opening faceoff, and Blackwood made the first save of the night by denying Jack Roslovic on a one-timer from the slot following a setup from Matthews.
Captain Gabe Landeskog following a brutal loss.
Colorado earned its first power play shortly afterward when Kirill Marchenko was called for tripping Martin Necas. The Avalanche failed to register a shot on the man advantage.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors.
Blankenburg, who departed Colorado in free agency during the offseason, opened the scoring for Toronto. Nylander threaded a pass to the defenseman at the top of the right circle, where he fired a wrist shot over Blackwood’s glove to make it 1-0.
Colorado struggled to generate offense early, managing just one shot on goal through the opening seven minutes as the Maple Leafs controlled the momentum.
Colorado goal!
Scored by Nathan MacKinnon with 04:46 left in the 1st. Assisted by Cale Makar and Martin Necas.
MacKinnon changed the complexion of the game with a spectacular individual effort just past the halfway point of the period. After collecting a pass from Brett Kulak, the superstar accelerated through the neutral zone and weaved past multiple defenders before slipping the puck past Bobrovsky. The goal tied the game at 1-1 and marked his fourth of the season.
There were smiles at one point. Credit: Ron Chenoy - Imagn Images
He wasn’t finished.
With 4:46 remaining, MacKinnon struck again. After taking a pass from Cale Makar, he fought through the forecheck to create time and space before firing a wrist shot through traffic and past the Toronto goaltender. The goal gave Colorado a 2-1 lead.
Colorado goal!
Scored by Nathan MacKinnon with 09:14 left in the 1st. Assisted by Brett Kulak and Devon Toews.
The Avalanche had another opportunity to extend their advantage when Roslovic was called for hooking Nazem Kadri with 1:01 remaining. Colorado carried the power play into the second period.
Second Period
Colorado nearly received an extended two-man advantage to open the period. With nine seconds remaining on the original power play, Troy Stecher was called for tripping MacKinnon, briefly giving the Avalanche a 5-on-3 opportunity. They couldn’t capitalize, with their best chance coming when Necas sent a one-timer over the crossbar with the left side of the net open.
The Avalanche entered the game with a perfect penalty kill, having successfully killed every penalty they had faced this season. That streak ended 6:53 into the period.
After Jaden Schwartz was penalized for high-sticking, Gavin McKenna sent a cross-ice pass to Nylander, who deked around Blackwood and slid the puck past him to tie the game at 2-2 just 19 seconds into the power play.
Brock Nelson restored Colorado’s lead with 7:35 remaining after a chaotic sequence in front of the Toronto net. The Olympic gold medalist battled for the puck and got the final touch, lifting it over Bobrovsky’s right shoulder to make it 3-2.
Then the game turned.
Blackwood surrendered consecutive goals in a 46-second span as Toronto seized control. Nylander scored his second of the period to even the score before Cowan found the back of the net to give the Maple Leafs a 4-3 advantage.
Colorado’s defensive struggles continued late in the frame when Makar was called for cross-checking Marchenko. The Avalanche headed to the dressing room trailing by a goal and facing a penalty kill to start the third.
Despite holding a 24-12 advantage in shots on goal through two periods, Colorado had little to show for its offensive pressure.
Third Period
The game returned to even strength after Makar’s penalty expired.
At 6:41, Toronto forward Brandon Duhaime was called for tripping Josh Manson. After the whistle, Zach L’Heureux got into it with Duhaime along the boards, prompting the Toronto forward to respond with a punch. Both players received roughing penalties, while the initial tripping call gave Colorado a power play.
Past the halfway point of the period, MacKinnon was called for tripping Matthews. The Toronto captain made Colorado pay, scoring his second power-play goal of the night to extend the lead to 5-3.
The Avalanche’s penalty troubles continued when Fedor Svechkov was called for tripping Matthews, giving the Maple Leafs another man advantage. Colorado couldn’t find a way back into the game, closing out its one-game homestand with a disappointing loss.
Toronto fans were the only ones celebrating at the end, or a "fan" in this case. Credit: Ron Chenoy - Imagn Images
The defeat marked Colorado’s second regulation loss of the season, despite outshooting its opponent in both games. On Oct. 7, the Avalanche fell 3-2 to the Winnipeg Jets despite holding a 34-19 advantage in shots. Against Toronto, another edge in shots couldn’t make up for defensive breakdowns and five goals allowed.
Next Game
Colorado now turns its attention to a critical back-to-back against the Dallas Stars, beginning Tuesday on the road before the teams meet again Wednesday at Ball Arena. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. local time.
Less than two weeks ago, the New York Rangers placed Dylan Garand on waivers as the young goaltender’s future in the organization was completely up in the air.
Now, with Igor Shesterkin out for the remainder of the 2026-27 season, Garand has suddenly been thrust into the starting goaltending role.
From being placed on waivers to becoming the Rangers’ starter in less than two weeks, how did we get to this point?
Since the Rangers selected him in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, Garand has spent most of his time with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League, appearing in 150 AHL games.
He finally got his NHL opportunity toward the tail end of the 2025-26 season, starting three games and posting a 2-0-1 record, a 1.62 goals-against average, and a .948 save percentage.
Things were looking promising for Garand, who signed a two-year contract extension with the Rangers at the beginning of the offseason and was in line to replace the retired Jonathan Quick as Igor Shesterkin’s backup.
However, the Rangers acquired veteran goaltender Joonas Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins on July 1, and he ultimately beat out Garand for the backup spot.
The 24-year-old was placed on waivers before the regular season began. After clearing waivers and being assigned to the Wolf Pack, Garand was prepared to settle back into Hartford, where he had even bought himself an apartment.
Things changed quickly when Garand was recalled by the Rangers on October 1 after Korpisalo was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
Shesterkin’s season-ending injury has now opened the door for Garand to take over as the Rangers’ starter for the foreseeable future, with Korpisalo expected to remain sidelined for another month.
“You never want to see guys get injured, especially your best player in Igor,” Garand said on Saturday. “He means a lot to the guys in this room and a lot to me personally. At the same time, it’s just next man up, and that’s kind of my approach here. I’m excited for the opportunity, I’m gonna put my heart and soul on the line for these guys and this city every night.”
Garand recorded a shutout in the Rangers’ 2-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings last week. He also entered Friday night’s game against the Washington Capitals in relief of Shesterkin, stopping 11 of 12 shots in a 2-1 loss.
The Rangers are expected to call up goaltender Spencer Martin from the AHL, but Mike Sullivan confirmed that Garand will likely handle the bulk of the workload until Korpisalo returns.
“Dylan is a great kid,” Sullivan said. “He’s another fierce competitor, he loves hockey, and he has aspirations to play in the NHL. He’s a good goalie. Everytime we’ve put him in the net, certainly since I've been here, he's made timely saves. He's given our team a chance to win each and every time he's been in the net. We think he's very capable, and he's going to get an opportunity here.”
Although Garand has limited NHL experience, he has spent the past several seasons as Hartford’s starting goaltender, starting more than 35 games in each of the past three seasons.
“Very ready,” Garand said when asked whether he’s ready to take on the Rangers’ starting role. “I think I have a chip on my shoulder for how my past has been. I’m really excited for this opportunity and ready to battle for these guys.”
While expressing their empathy for Shesterkin during this difficult time, Rangers players have emphasized their belief in Garand and their readiness to “rally” around him.
New York has started the season strong, posting a 4-2 record, but Garand’s performance could play a significant role in determining the team’s trajectory.
After going from the waiver wire to the starting crease in less than two weeks, Garand has a unique opportunity to establish himself in the NHL and become a hero in New York.
“I'm excited,” Garand said. “Obviously it's a dream to play in the NHL. I'm just trying to embrace that mentality and have a lot of gratitude for this opportunity. I love being part of this group and I love the guys in this room. So I really just want to work my nuts off and battle for these guys and help the team keep winning.”
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 10: Pavel Zacha #18 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his first-period goal against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 10, 2026, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Bruins got points from 11 different skaters on Saturday afternoon, extending Philly’s season-opening misery with a 5-1 win at TD Garden.
Fraser Minten led the way for the B’s, with the youngster recording a goal and two assists.
Casey Mittelstadt, Pavel Zacha, Marat Khusnutdinov, and Mason Lohrei recorded the other Bruin goals.
Jeremy Swayman didn’t have a ton to do in this one, as he made just 14 saves in the win.
In spite of outshooting the Flyers 22-8 through two periods, the B’s kind of let Philly hang around at just 2-0 down; however, they outscored the Flyers 3-1 in the third period to salt this one away.
The loss extended the Flyers’ season-opening losing streak to six games, giving Rick Tocchet one of the hotter seats in the hockey world at the moment.
Zacha’s goal, his first of the season, kind of epitomized Philly’s start to the season: the play only came about because Owen Tippett knocked the puck back into his own zone, directly to David Pastrnak.
Zacha’s shot somehow trickled past Dan Vladar, and it was 1-0 Bruins early in the first.
The score would remain the same until the final three minutes of the second period, when Lohrei cashed in on a well-executed 4-on-2 rush to make it 2-0 Bruins.
Porter Martone got one back for Philly five minutes later, as the B’s gave the young forward too much space on the power play, and he didn’t miss. 3-1 Bruins.
However, Mittelstadt would reestablish the three-goal lead just three minutes later, tucking home a great pass from Elias Lindholm to make it 4-1 Bruins.
After an afternoon spent dishing the puck out, Minten got a goal of his own late in the third, speeding past multiple Flyers before getting a bit of a fortuitous bounce to beat Vladar five-hole and make it 5-1 Bruins.
By my count, Minten has had three three-point games as a Bruin, and two of them have been against the Flyers. Along with today’s effort, Minten had a 1G-2A game against Philly on January 29; his other three-pointer was a 2G-1A outing in the B’s 10-2 blowout win over the Rangers on January 10.
On a day when the scoring was spread around, the only other Bruin with a multi-point day was JJ Peterka. The forward was credited with primary assists on both Lohrei’s and Minten’s goals.
Speaking of the Minten goal, that one will not be going on the Noel Acciari Highlight Reel. The former Bruin got caught getting back on defense in the neutral zone, and he barely got a sight of Minten as he sped past. Adios.
James Hagens, who ended up with an assist on the goal as well, made a great play at his own blue line prior to Mittelstadt’s goal. He was able to cleanly corral an outlet pass with his skate, then immediately turn the puck up ice and hit a teammate in stride. That started the clean zone entry, and the rest was history.
Unfortunately, the B’s did not, in fact, maintain power play momentum from the Utah game in this one, going 0-for-2 on the afternoon.
If you’re a Flyers fan, this game probably epitomizes your season thus far. The Flyers turn it over at the blue line and Zacha’s shot somehow trickles in, a blocked shot leads to a 4-on-2 the other way, Minten’s shot ends up banking five-hole and in instead of getting stuck, etc. One of those stretches for Philly, I guess.
Minten actually ended his afternoon shortly after his goal, as he was given 2-and-10 for tangling with Martone after a hit on Hampus Lindholm that Minten didn’t like. I’m not sure he was actively angling for the Gordie Howe Hat Trick, but he came pretty close.
The B’s will now make their annual sojourn out to California, as they’ll play the Sharks, Ducks, and Kings on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, respectively.
The bad news is that the Rangers current backup goaltender is 31-year-old Spencer Martin, who has a career 87.5 percent save percentage through 72 games played in the NHL, and was only recently cleared from a lower-body injury of his own.
Behind Martin is emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) Remmington Keopple, a 24-year-old who played 19 NCAA games across four seasons at Cornell between 2022 and 2026.
With this in mind -- assuming that the Blueshirts can't convince Jonathan Quick or Connor Ingram to come out of retirement, and don't have the leverage to swing a trade for an established NHL goaltender such as Connor Hellebuyck -- let's take a look at three realistic options the Rangers could bring in to serve as Garand's backup, including two third-string goalies under one-year contracts with other NHL teams and one current free agent.
Matt Murray
32-year-old Canadian Matt Murray is very familiar with Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan. As a rookie with Sully's Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015-16, he replaced legendary veteran Marc-André Fleury in the first round of the playoffs, posting a .923 save percentage and 2.08 GAA across 15 games as the Pens emerged as 2016 Stanley Cup Champions.
Murray spent five years in Pittsburgh, two seasons in Ottawa, and three seasons in Toronto, which included a 21-month absence due to bilateral hip surgery. Last season, he started four games for the Seattle Kraken as the third-choice goaltender behind Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer. A small sample size, yes, but Murray recorded strong marks in both save percentage (.922) and goals against average (2.21).
That serious hip injury could be the reason why Murray remains an unrestricted free agent, but with proven NHL experience and familiarity with the Rangers' head honcho, he could be worth a flier.
Remi Poirier
25-year-old Remi Poirier has yet to make his NHL debut, but in my opinion, that's no fault of his own. A sixth-round pick in 2020 by the Dallas Stars, Poirier was unsurprisingly unable to dislodge either of the members of a premier goaltender tandem in the form of Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith, who have been the team's unquestioned starter and backup for three seasons running. Last season with the AHL's Texas Stars, Poirier was something of a bell cow, starting 52 games and recoding a .912 save percentage alongside a 2.61 GAA.
Similar in many ways to Garand, Poirier was waived by the Stars in late September, but unlike Garand, Poirier was claimed by another team. Now the third-choice for the New Jersey Devils behind Jake Allen and Nico Daws, Poirier's $850,000 contract expires at season's end, when he's set to become a restricted free agent.
With Poirier yet to make a start for the Devils, a crosstown trade to the Rangers could give him the chance to prove he's got what it takes to be a full-time NHL backup.
Brandon Halverson
Drafted by the Rangers at the tail end of the 2014 NHL Draft's second round, 6'5" American netminder Brandon Halverson has made just two NHL starts since. And yet, the 30-year-old's stock is seemingly on the rise.
Halverson struggled mightily during his time in the Rangers organization following the draft, bouncing around from the OHL to the AHL and even the ECHL (one tier below the AHL). After a brief stint in Germany's second-tier, he was signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning and dominated the AHL during the last three seasons, saving 91 percent of the 2421 shots on goal he faced with the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
A free agent this past offseason, Halverson earned the third-choice gig in Dallas with the AHL's Texas Stars, and as I mentioned earlier, Dallas's AHL starter is merely an insurance policy for Oettinger and DeSmith.
On a one-year, $850,000 contract, trading for Halverson to serve as Garand's backup could be a low-risk, high-reward reclamation project for the Rangers.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 10: Jake Allen #34 of the New Jersey Devils is congratulated by teammate Jack Hughes #86 after the win over the Vancouver Canucks at Prudential Center on October 10, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. The New Jersey Devils defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-1. This game was Allen's 500th NHL game. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
First Period
After putting together four good shifts to start the game, the New Jersey Devils took a bad penalty when Anthony Mantha went to the box for hooking in the neutral zone four and a half minutes in. Cody Glass won the first draw on the penalty kill, allowing the Devils to clear the puck. The forwards did well early on, but Dougie Hamilton was screening Jake Allen a bit when Linus Karlsson took a shot from the side of the high slot near halfway into the kill, as the Canucks went up 1-0.
The Devils went to the power play when Jonathan Lekkerimaki was called for high sticking Brett Pesce a couple minutes later. Hischier won the draw, but Bratt’s weak pass to the point was immediately picked off and cleared. The Devils took three turns to get full possession back in the offensive zone, wasting most of the first unit’s time. But when they did get back in, completing passes, Nico Hischier took a pass in the bumper and scored his 200th NHL goal to tie the game!
After a hard Luke Hughes slap shot, Kevin Lankinen had to replace Leevi Merliainen due to Merlialinen’s skate blade being broken. With the equipment crew unable to fix the skate, Lankinen was forced to enter. This would prove costly to the Canucks. Filip Hronek was skating backwards with the puck in their defensive zone and fanned on a pass, allowing Amadeus Lombardi to shoot on Lankinen. Lankinen allowed the shot to leak through, and Jesper Boqvist smacked the puck into the net! The Devils went up 2-1 as Lombardi picked up his first career point.
Second Period
The Canucks gained Leevi Merliainen back in their net to start the second period. Yet again, the Devils looked like they were outclassing the Canucks at five-on-five to start this period. Thankfully, they didn’t take a back-breaking penalty. But Brock Boeser would take a hooking penalty for Vancouver, sending the Devils back to the power play a few minutes into the period.
Nico Hischier won the draw, but the Devils were forced back. When they regained possession, Jesper Bratt cut across for a backhand, but Merliainen made the save. The Devils were forced back again, but the first unit stayed on. Jack Hughes made a nice feed to Nico Hischier, but Merliainen blocked it with his pad. Nico poked at it, and Jesper Bratt came in from behind to shoot the puck through Filip Hronek to give the Devils a 3-1 lead!
This power play did not look very good early on, but the last minute of the period featured a lot of in-zone time for them. Here, they broke the Canucks down as Dougie Hamilton was quarterbacking the power play. With 9.6 seconds to play, Nico Hischier scored at the side of the net when Jack Hughes feathered a pass across the crease after Bratt drew defenders to the slot and sent the puck down low.
After the goal, at center ice, Evan Rodrigues knocked Marco Rossi down with his stick when Rossi hit him with his glove. Rodrigues was reviewed for a spearing major. He was gifted a four-minute double minor instead of the major, but it looked to me like he deserved a game misconduct.
Evan Rodrigues has been assessed a double-minor for "high-sticking" on Marco Rossi 😬 pic.twitter.com/r8RzBZ0Khv
The Devils set out to kill the remaining 3:51 of the Rodrigues penalty to start the second period, sending out Cody Glass, Dawson Mercer, Brett Pesce, and Brenden Dillon. Glass won the draw, and Dillon cleared down to Vancouver. Glass was strong on Vancouver’s entry, allowing Mercer to force them back to center. After another entry, Glass cleared down the ice and went off for Hischier and Bratt. Siegenthaler and Hamilton came on for Dillon and Pesce. Hamilton got the next clear to allow the Devils more breathing room before disrupting Vancouver’s next entry, allowing Hischier to clear the puck and change. Gritsyuk and Meier went on with Dillon and Pesce as the Devils ramped the pressure up on Vancouver, drawing a penalty to negate the remaining 1:51 of the Canucks penalty. Brock Boeser went off for hooking Timo Meier.
At four-on-four, Luke Hughes stripped the puck on the wall and sent his brother Jack ahead. He did not get his best shot on goal, but it still went forced Merliainen to smother it under his arm. Declan Chisholm later picked off a pass to Filip Hronek right in front of Allen on the other end. A couple shifts after the penalties expired, Paul Cotter threw a big hit on Evan Rodrigues, but the two did not fight despite exchanging words at several points.
The Canucks fittingly showed little fight throughout the rest of the game, as the Devils just missed on several chances to extend their lead as Jake Allen’s workload calmed down over the last 20.
Giving up just one screened goal in his 500th NHL game, Jake Allen faced just over 2 expected goals from the Vancouver Canucks this afternoon and came up big with some strong saves and steady positional play in the crease. Allen goes up to 2-1-0 this season, 38-40-4 as a Devil, and 227-206-45 in his total career with today’s win. Through the first four games of the season, Allen has been stronger than not in his three appearances, though I suspect that things are going to slow down for him a bit from here. The Devils have been able to play him in these three out of four because of how many rest days they’ve had, as he had four and then three rest days between starts. He will have to settle for just one or two to the next game, as the Devils play four games in six days from Monday to next Saturday.
Nico 200
Jake Allen turned out to be only one of the Devils to reach a career milestone today, as Nico Hischier scored his 200th and 201st career goals in a three-point game. In Devils franchise history, Hischier ranks fifth on the all-time scoring list, though he will tie Bobby Holik and Travis Zajac for tied-third all-time with his next goal. Meanwhile, with a secondary assist on Nico’s second goal, Jesper Bratt passed Travis Zajac to take sole possession of fifth place all-time on the Devils’ assist leaderboard at 349.
The Devils have needed Nico to get going with the goal scoring, as he was held scoreless through the team’s first three games. Two of those goals helped the Devils go three-for-four on the power play today, though it was practically a three-for-three considering their last power play spanned 11 seconds. So, after the power play started 1-for-14 (7.14%), they are now officially 4-for-18 (22.22%). That’s a world of difference.
Better Penalty Kill?
The Devils went two-for-three on the penalty kill today. Technically, that isn’t great, but it is better than their 62.5% kill rate over the first three games. What I found encouraging, though, was how well they approached the penalty kill after the Rodrigues penalty. They were able to pressure the puck on entries and along the wall, forcing the Canucks to try and make good passes. The frustration they inflicted on Vancouver led to Brock Boeser’s second penalty of the game, and they did it by rolling three forward units on the kill who were able to change frequently due to the number of times they cleared the defensive zone. More of that in the future will lead to better results.
Two Games, Two Goals for Boqvist
While I am still not convinced that the right players are centering the third and fourth lines, I am really encouraged by the chemistry that Amadeus Lombardi and Jesper Boqvist have built over two games together so far. Boqvist had four shots on goal today, including the game-winning goal, while Lombardi and Rodrigues had a shot each. Lombardi’s, of course, led to Boqvist’s goal in the first period as Lombardi got his first career point. But just like that, this is already the hottest start to a season Boqvist has ever had. He’s never scored two goals in the first five games played of a season, and his career-best was two assists in the first three games he played for Florida in 2024-25. In the two seasons Boqvist had 10 goals for the Devils, it took him 17 and nine games to get on the scoresheet for the team. Hopefully, by getting on the board early and often, Boqvist can get going on a big year, as he has historically been a high-percentage shooter when he actually gets shots on goal.
Keep Your Stick Down
I was incensed by Evan Rodrigues’s spearing penalty on Marco Rossi at the end of the second period. I was sure it was going to be called a five-minute major, as Rodrigues made direct contact with Rossi during the incident. I was angry for three reasons. First and foremost, Evan Rodrigues is 33 years old. He should know better. Second, the Devils had just gone up three goals. Putting his team at risk of having to kill a five-minute major penalty was incredibly thoughtless of Rodrigues. Third, I would hate to see a team take runs at the Devils’ stars because a bottom six player made a really bad decision.
Thankfully, for the Devils, the Canucks looked like they wanted no part of making the Devils pay for what Rodrigues did. And for that matter, the only Canuck who really gave it to Rodrigues was Paul Cotter, who threw a big check on him and seemed ready to get going with a fight. If this incident were flipped, where a Devils player was speared and the team did not fight afterwards for him, I could not imagine how upset this board would be at the lack of toughness on display by the team. So, I am not sure how Canucks fans are feeling right now, but I was shocked that nobody even tried to drop the gloves on Rodrigues or really rough him up after a whistle. He got away with it this time, but I would hope that this never repeats as long as he’s a Devil.
Your Thoughts
But what did you think of this afternoon’s game? Did you think the Devils missed some opportunities? What did you think of the late-second period lull before the power play? What did you think of the spearing penalty? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and thanks for reading.
The Vancouver Canucks’ penalty killing woes continued in their 4–1 loss to the New Jersey Devils today. All but one of the Devils’ goals today came while Vancouver was on the penalty kill. Linus Karlsson scored the lone goal for the Canucks while on the power play, while Leevi Meriläinen made 31 stops on 34 shots faced in today’s effort.
Vancouver opted to make some changes to their lineup after Thursday’s loss, taking Aatu Räty and Victor Mancini out of the lineup in exchange for Brendan Gallagher and Luke Schenn respectively. With Räty being taken out of the lineup, Vancouver was down to three natural centres. Drew O’Connor skated down the middle on Vancouver’s third line as a result.
The biggest component to today’s game was Vancouver’s struggling penalty kill. The Canucks allowed a goal on almost every single penalty they took today (3), bringing their season’s PK total down to 52.2%.
A couple of minutes after Vancouver opened the game’s scoring with Karlsson’s power-play goal, Jonathan Lekkerimäki took a high-sticking penalty that put the Canucks on the penalty-kill. Still appearing to be experimenting with their penalty-killing units, a duo of Brock Boeser and Liam Öhgren came onto the ice for Vancouver on the Devils’ first goal.
Later, during the second period, Vancouver surrendered yet another power-play goal on a hooking penalty taken by Boeser, this time with a unit of Gallagher and Max Sasson on the ice for the goal-against. This was followed-up by a third power-play goal-against scored by Nico Hischier after a dominant, possession-filled power play for New Jersey.
Today’s game also featured an odd occurrence that resulted in both Canucks goaltenders being in net for the second-consecutive game. While Meriläinen started today, with around five minutes left in the first period, a shot from Luke Hughes hit the Canucks goaltender’s skate and knocked the blade out. After a TV time-out, Kevin Lankinen came into the game in Meriläinen’s place. Despite his skate blade coming out yet another time, Meriläinen came out for the second period and played out the remainder of the game.
New Jersey’s lone even-strength goal came at the end of the first period. Filip Hronek boggled the puck while attempting to re-set, allowing Jesper Boqvist and Amadeus Lombardi to pounce on the opportunity. While Lankinen made the initial stop, Boqvist was able to jump on the rebound to give his team the lead.
Because of the fact that Lankinen allowed the goal that ultimately won New Jersey the game, today’s loss is credited to him instead of Meriläinen, despite Meriläinen starting the game and playing in nearly the entire matchup. Lankinen played in a total of 5:27 minutes today.
Towards the end of the second period, Marco Rossi made a move to push Devils forward Evan Rodrigues out of the faceoff dot, prompting Rodrigues to spear the Canucks centre in the throat. Vancouver was given a four-minute power play for the sequence. While they had a little more than two minutes on the man-advantage to start the third period, another hooking call taken by Boeser cancelled out the power play. Because of the slight overlap at the end of Rodrigues’ double-minor, the Canucks spent nine seconds on the penalty kill. This technically gave Vancouver their first successful penalty kill of the game.
As a whole, Vancouver wasn’t quite able to establish genuine offence in today’s game. New Jersey played the Canucks well, jumping on their opportunities and smothering Vancouver when they could. On the flip side, however, Vancouver gave the Devils ample opportunities to seize the puck by giving it away or turning it over.
Oct 10, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) takes a shot against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Salus-Imagn Images
Stats and Facts:
• Vancouver allows a power-play goal-against in six consecutive penalty kills
• None of the Canucks’ four centres recorded a faceoff win rate higher than 50%
• Leevi Meriläinen plays in his first career game against the New Jersey Devils
• Brock Boeser ties Andre Boudrias for 16th all-time in Canucks history in power-play assists (89)
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
5:27 - VAN: Linus Karlsson (1) from Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk (PPG)
8:03 - NJD: Nico Hischier (1) from Arseny Gritsyuk and Luke Hughes
16:24 - NJD: Jesper Boqvist (2) from Amadeus Lombardi
2nd Period:
4:36 - NJD: Jesper Bratt (1) from Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes (PPG)
19:50 - NJD: Nico Hischier (2) from Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt (PPG)
3rd Period:
No Scoring.
Up Next:
Vancouver Canucks @ New York Rangers, October 11, 3:30 pm PT
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TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 25: Brock Nelson #11 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates a goal during the first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on January 25, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After coming home with a split on the road, the Colorado Avalanche are back on home ice for another Saturday night showdown!
Tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs make their only regular season visit to Denver, with a few new faces in their lineup!
Colorado Avalanche (3-1-0)
The Opponent: Toronto Maple Leafs (2-2-1)
Time: 5:00 P.M. MDT/7:00 P.M. EDT
Watch: ALT, ALT+ (Avalanche Local Broadcast Area), NHL Network, NHL Center Ice (Outside Regional Broadcast Areas – US), SN+ (Canadian National Broadcast)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
The Avs return home after splitting their first pair of back-to-back road games. They lost 3-2 on a (literal) last minute goal this past Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets, but rebounded with a strong showing against the Calgary Flames in a 7-3 victory this past Thursday. The loss in Winnipeg was the first for Mackenzie Blackwood this season, while Scott Wedgewood earned his first win in his season debut against Calgary.
Jaden Schwartz scored three goals across both contests. Fedor Svechkov scored his first goal in an Avalanche sweater against Winnipeg. Zachary L’Heureux, acquired with Svechkov from Nashville in the offseason, made his Avalanche debut against Winnipeg and recorded his first assist on Nathan MacKinnon’s eventual game-winning goal in Calgary. L’Heureux also had his first fight for the Avs in a short bout with Calgary’s Matt Coronato.
Devon Toews, who had a career-low three goals last season, scored a pair of goals against Calgary. His defensive partner in Cale Makar also scored a pair of goals against his hometown team.
T.J. Hughes also recorded his first point of his NHL career, assisting on Schwartz’s first goal on against Calgary.
While the Avs remain perfect on the penalty kill, the power play has gone three games without a goal since going 4/5 in the season opener against Los Angeles on September 30.
MacKinnon leads all skaters in points (8) and assists (5), while also sharing the team lead in penalty minutes (5) with L’Heureux. He also leads the team in goals (3), along with Makar, Schwartz, and Artturi Lehkonen.
The Avs have split every season series against Toronto going back to the 2017-2018 season. Their last victory on home ice came against Toronto was in a 7-3 victory on March 05, 2025.
Projected Lineup
Forwards: Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas Gabe Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Nazem Kadri Jaden Schwartz – Fedor Svechkov – T.J. Hughes Parker Kelly – Nicolas Roy – Zachary L’Heureux
Defense: Devon Toews – Cale Makar Brett Kulak – Sam Malinski Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Between the Pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood Scott Wedgewood
Toronto Maple Leafs
The lottery balls finally bounced Toronto’s way this offseason, giving them the first overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft. At the draft in June, they selected left-wing Gavin McKenna, whom many projected to be the top pick of the draft.
The move was one of many offseason transactions for Toronto. They sent a fifth round pick in this year’s draft to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Darren Raddysh on June 19; Raddysh signed an eight-year, $68 million dollar contract with Toronto as part of the transaction. Toronto also acquired center Nick Paul from Tampa in exchange for goaltender Dennis Hildeby and a pair of draft picks in 2027 & 2028 on July 01.
Free agent goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky signed a three-year, $21 million dollar contract (more on him later). That same day, noted Avalanche killer Colton Sissons also signed to a two-year, $8.5 million dollar contract, and former Avalanche forward Brandon Duhaime also signed a three-year $7.8 million dollar contract.
Shortly before the start of the season, Toronto made their biggest move: they acquired right-wing Kirill Marchenko, goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, and former Avalanche forward Miles Wood from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for left-wings Matthew Knies and Steven Lorentz, defenseman Emil Andrei, and a 2027 second round pick.
Toronto 2-2-1 to start the season, and are coming into tonight’s game off a 4-3 defeat against the Vegas Golden Knights this past Thursday. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, Toronto did the Leafiest thing possible in allowing Vegas to score three unanswered goals to tie the game and lose in the shootout round.
Hiller also mentioned that he does not expect John Tavares to play against Colorado tonight due to the birth of his son Tucker on Friday.
Toronto’s last victory over Colorado came on January 12th, a 4-3 overtime victory at Ball Arena last season.
Projected Lineup
Forwards: Kirill Marchenko – Auston Matthews – Jack Roslovic Easton Cowan – Nick Paul – William Nylander Gavin McKenna – Teddy Blueger – Colton Sissons Brandon Duhaime – Zack MacEwen – Bo Groulx
Defense: Jake McCabe – Chris Tanev Morgan Reilly – Darren Raddysh Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Troy Stecher
Between the Pipes: Sergei Bobrovsky Anthony Stolarz
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.
The Kings are looking for their 1st win of the 2026-27 NHL season as they set their sights on Vegas in tonight's matchup. The Kings are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, and in that game, Alex Laferriere was the Kings' lone goal scorer. The Kings have had a slow start to the season, with a 0-2-1 record. The Kings are looking to change that tonight against Vegas.
Projected Kings Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Kings tonight:
Artemi Panarin - Quinton Byfield - Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore - Erik Haula - Alex Laferriere
Joel Armia - Scott Laughton - Jared Wright
Andre Lee - Samuel Helenius - Corey Perry
Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin - Drew Doughty
Mikey Anderson - Cody Ceci
Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg
Projected Golden Knights Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Golden Knights tonight:
Ivan Barbashev - Jack Eichel - Mark Stone
Brett Howden - William Karlsson - Mitch Marner
Trevor Connelly - Tomas Hertl - Raphael Lavoie
Marc Gatcomb - Nic Dowd - Braeden Bowman
Shea Theodore - Brayden McNabb
Parker Wotherspoon - Rasmus Andersson
Jeremy Lauzon - Noah Hanifin
Carter Hart
Adin Hill
Game Notes
The Kings will miss Mats Zuccarello (upper-body injury), Alex Turcotte (undisclosed), and Kevin Fiala (leg surgery) tonight. They also scratched Erik Gustafsson. The Golden Knights are without Victor Olofsson (undisclosed), and they have scratched Dylan Coghlan.
Tonight's matchup pits Darcy Kuemper of the Kings against Carter Hart of the Golden Knights. The Kings need to be at their best, as the Golden Knights are coming off a 4-3 shootout win over the Maple Leafs, including a comeback from a 3-0 deficit. The Kings take on the Golden Knights tonight at 10:00 PM EST as they look for their first win of the season.
Oct 9, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) is helped off the ice after being injured against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
NEW YORK — New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is out for the season after injuring his right knee Friday night in a game at Washington, the team announced Saturday.
Shesterkin did not put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the ice by teammates after an awkward fall into his own net against the Capitals.
Shesterkin came well out of his crease to challenge a shooter midway through the second period and fell as he scrambled back to the net. The 30-year-old Russian jammed his right skate into the right post as he slid back into the crease and collapsed into the net in pain.
“It’s awful, you know? He’s a pillar of this team. It stinks,” Rangers captain J.T. Miller said following the 3-1 loss to the Capitals.
Coach Mike Sullivan said after his team’s four-game winning streak was snapped: “He’s an elite goaltender and you never want to see anyone get hurt. Obviously, he’s an important player for us.”
The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner missed a month last season with a lower-body injury, contributing to the Rangers finishing last in the Eastern Conference.
Shesterkin was off to a strong start this season with a 3-1 record and 1.76 goals-against average. Last week, he became the first Rangers goalie to score a goal when he lofted the puck the length of the ice into an empty net late in New York’s home opener against Tampa Bay.
“We’re not going to let that take the wind out of our sails,” Miller said about Shesterkin’s injury. “We love the way we’re playing most of the time.”
Shesterkin stopped 13 of 14 shots and left with the score tied 1-all. He was replaced by 24-year-old backup Dylan Garand, who gave up the go-ahead goal late in the second but finished with 11 saves on 12 shots.
It was the fifth NHL appearance and second this season for Garand, recalled last week from Hartford of the American Hockey League after clearing waivers. Garand made 22 saves in a 2-0 shutout at Detroit last Friday with the Rangers playing their second game in two nights.
Garand went 2-0-1 with a 1.62 goals-against average and .948 save percentage in three starts for the Rangers last season.
New York acquired veteran goaltender Joonas Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins last summer to be Shesterkin’s backup. But the 32-year-old Finn was placed on injured reserve last week and was week to week with a lower-body injury.
