DALLAS (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck stopped 16 of the 17 shots he faced to win his New Jersey debut, Nico Hischier scored two goals, and the Devils beat the Dallas Stars 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Hellebuyck, the three-time Vezina Trophy winner, started four days after being traded by the Winnipeg Jets following his suspension for failing to report to training camp. It was his first win since April 9 at St. Louis, 3-2.
The Hughes brothers, Jack and Luke, and Jesper Boqvist, also scored for the Devils, who have won four consecutive games.
Justin Hryckowian scored for the Stars, who had a five-game winning streak snapped. Casey DeSmith, making his third start of the season, made 22 saves after allowing only two goals in each of his previous outings.
The five goals are the season high against Dallas, which went into play leading the NHL with a 1.68 goals-against average.
Hischier, the team captain in his 10th season with New Jersey, provided a 2-0 lead at 2:41 of the first period and 38 seconds into the second. Dallas’ challenge for goaltender interference against Timo Meier on the first goal was denied. Hischier has a team-high seven goals and two two-goal games.
Boqvist made it 3-0 midway through the second. After Hryckowian’s deflection pulled Dallas back within two goals at 16:08 of the second, Luke Hughes answered 28 seconds later.
The Stars’ second-ranked penalty kill went 3 for 3 for 22 consecutive successful kills over six games.
The game was Dallas’ fourth in a season-long six-game homestand and began a road back-to-back for New Jersey.
Stars defenseman Kyle Capobianco was helped off the ice five minutes into the third period with an apparent leg injury and didn’t return.
On the night where Connor Hellebuyck picked up his first victory in the New Jersey Devils' red and black (a 5-1 win), the Winnipeg Jets gave up five goals in a lopsided 5-1 game of their own against to the visiting Florida Panthers.
The Jets played some extremely uninspiring hockey, took sloppy penalties and gave up three goals in the first period - all key pieces to their loss to old friend Paul Maurice and his new-look Tkachuk-filled Panthers on Tuesday.
Photo by Danny Truong/Game On Magazine
And despite there being multiple very willing heavyweight opponents in the Florida lineup, Tyrel Bauer didn't even drop the mitts.
Winnipeg has now lost six-straight games and seven of its last eight outings.
Things do not get any better for the Jets either, who now head out on the road for tests against Eastern Conference juggernauts in Tampa Bay, Florida (again), Montreal (again) and Carolina over the next week.
“Well, go and get the next one," Dylan DeMelo said post-game.
"We’ve got to move on and be ready for a very strong Tampa team, and be ready right from the get-go. That's all we can do, we’ve got to try to learn from our mistakes here and see where we can be better at. But our focus now has to be on the game in Tampa.”
What is currently a six-game losing streak very well could turn into a run of 10-straight, should the favourites come out on top.
Head coach Scott Arniel also very well could hear his name called by GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, signalling the conclusion of his time atop the bench.
Yes, it has been that bad.
Winnipeg's power play went 0/2 on the night, dropping its lowly total to 2/26 in its current dry spell. While Forida managed three goals on the man advantage on Tuesday.
Matthew Tkachuk collected four points, brother Brady had three, while defenceman Seth Jones had three assists in the first period alone for Florida.
Winnipeg got its lone goal off the stick of Adam Lowry, who nearly didn't score. In fact, his pick-pocket play off the stick of goaltender Akira Scmid wasn't originally ruled a goal on the ice, but an NHL-initiated review halted play, to which the Jets' captain was able to celebrate his second goal of the season late in the middle stanza.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t use it as a good reset," Lowry said of the last two games at home. "The first period, just mental errors. Reads, assignments, penalty kill. We give up three goals in three minutes and obviously, you have to give them credit. They did some right things, but we kind of fed all of that offence for them and kind of continue that in the second and the third. A lot of shooting ourselves in the foot right now.
Florida scored three times in the first period and added singles in the second and third frames.
Clay Stevenson was lit up five times on 24 Panthers shots, while Schmid turned aside 24 of the 25 pucks sent his way by Winnipeg.
"Whenever you're not getting goals, and not generating the offence that we want, there's some things that we can do better, exactly what those things are, I'm not fully sure, but I think it's just, it's an array of things," DeMelo reflected.
"Full five man units out there trying to do the right things, and I’m sure we'll turn it around. But, we’ve got to stay with it and stay together and not go off script, or iso-ball it. We’ve got to continue to do it together, and do the right things, and that's the only way to turn it around.”
The Jets will now look to turn things around on a gruelling road trip, as they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Panthers again, the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes, before returning home to face Vancouver next week.
The Florida Panthers put an exclamation point on their four-game road trip thanks to a big win on Tuesday night.
Florida jumped out to a 3-0 lead midway through the first period and never looked back, wrapping up their roadie with a resounding 5-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.
A pair of early penalties by the Jets helped propel Florida to a quick multi-goal lead.
First, it was Carter Verhaeghe on the power play, jumping on a loose puck after two quick attempts at the net by Brady Tkachuk and Seth Jones, both of whom ended up with assists on the game’s opening goal.
Just 75 seconds later, Niko Mikkola’s long wrist shot deflected off Jets’ defenseman Mario Ferraro’s stick and into the net, quickly doubling Florida’s lead.
They weren’t done there.
A second power play came for the Panthers just over a minute later when Winnipeg was called for too many men, and once again it would be Verhaeghe who capitalized.
Coming down with the puck from the point, Verhaeghe sent the puck down to Brady for a quick back-and-forth, clearing up room to walk into a wrist shot that beat Clay Stevenson to give Florida a commanding 3-0 lead.
Jones and Matthew Tkachuk continued their respective hot starts to the season as Jones assisted on all three goals and Tkachuk helped on two.
The game’s next two goals both came with Florida on the power play about midway through the second period.
First, Adam Lowry scored after catching Akira Schmid out of the net, a goal that was not called initially on the ice, but later deemed true after a video review showed the puck completely crossing the line despite a valiant effort by Schmid to get back in the net.
Fortunately for the Panthers, they remained on the power play and quickly regained their three goal advantage.
A pretty passing play saw the puck go from Matthew Tkachuk to younger brother Brady to Sam Reinhart in the slot in the blink of an eye, and Reinhart knew what to do from there.
His sixth goal of the season put Florida ahead 4-1, a lead they took into the final frame.
The Tkachuk brothers teamed up for an even strength goal with just under eight minutes to go, as Brady reached out and with one hand on his stick, deflected a pass from Matthew over Stevenson’s glove to give the Cats a commanding 5-1 lead.
For Matthew, his four-assist evening gave him 20 points in 13 games so far this year, while Brady is now up to 15 points over his past eight games after logging a goal and two helpers on Tuesday.
Next up for Florida will be three straight games at home, starting on Friday night with a rematch against Winnipeg.
Photo caption: Oct 27, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN;FloridaPantherscenter Carter Verhaeghe (23) celebrates a goal against the Winnipeg Jets withFloridaPantherscenter Sam Reinhart (13) in the first period at Canada Life Centre. (James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images)
DALLAS (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck stopped 16 of the 17 shots he faced to win his New Jersey debut, Nico Hischier scored two goals, and the Devils beat the Dallas Stars 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Hellebuyck, the three-time Vezina Trophy winner, started four days after being traded by the Winnipeg Jets following his suspension for failing to report to training camp. It was his first win since April 9 at St. Louis, 3-2.
The Hughes brothers, Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes, as well as Jesper Boqvist, also scored for the Devils, who have won four consecutive games.
Justin Hryckowian scored for the Stars, who had a five-game winning streak snapped. Casey DeSmith, making his third start of the season, made 22 saves after allowing only two goals in each of his previous outings.
The five goals are the season high against Dallas, which went into play leading the NHL with a 1.68 goals-against average.
Hischier, the team captain in his 10th season with New Jersey, provided a 2-0 lead at 2:41 of the first period and 38 seconds into the second. Dallas’ challenge for goaltender interference against Timo Meier on the first goal was denied. Hischier has a team-high seven goals and two two-goal games.
Boqvist made it 3-0 midway through the second. After Hryckowian’s deflection pulled Dallas back within two goals at 16:08 of the second, Luke Hughes answered 28 seconds later.
The Stars’ second-ranked penalty kill went 3 for 3 for 22 consecutive successful kills over six games.
The game was Dallas’ fourth in a season-long six-game homestand and began a road back-to-back for New Jersey.
Stars defenseman Kyle Capobianco was helped off the ice five minutes into the third period with an apparent leg injury and didn’t return.
CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks had one final home game at the United Center to close out a seven-game homestand. This time, they welcomed the Los Angeles Kings, who played one night prior - a win at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.
The Blackhawks lost two straight games heading into this one against the Kings, but they came in with fresher legs, hoping to finally break out of the slump. The Kings are close to the Blackhawks in the standings, which is a change from the recent run of Stanley Cup contenders on the opposite bench, but every team in the NHL presents a challenge.
The game started extremely poorly for the Chicago Blackhawks. Not only did they give up the first goal of the game, but there was also a long sequence to open the game where they were simply buried in their own end. Breaking pucks out of their own end has been a serious problem for them all season, and it was on full display in the first half of the opening frame.
About halfway through, something changed for them. They started forechecking strongly, creating turnovers in their own end when the Kings tried to break out, and actually looked like a hockey team with the ability to generate chances.
Chicago did not score a goal and was down 1-0 going into the first intermission, but the way the period ended made you believe that they were going to have a much better effort for the rest of the game.
In the second period, the Blackhawks looked much better overall. The play was much more even from start to finish, but the important part for them was the fact that they tied the game. After a power play that had some good looks ended, they drew another one quickly, and got it done this time.
Roman Kantserov took a nice centering feed from Connor Bedard and tied the game. This was Chicago's first power-play goal in a while, a marker they definitely needed. In this league, you have to score power-play goals to be successful, and it allowed them to tie it here. The 1-1 tie held through the second intermission.
To begin the 3rd, the Blackhawks had to kill off a carry-over penalty from the end of the second period, and they did so with style. The PK as a whole is starting to round into form.
At 7:17 of the final frame, Patrick Kane made a pass to Frank Nazar, who made a nifty move to slide one to Wyatt Kaiser, who scored his first goal of the season. This goal that gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead fired up Kaiser, as they team entered the final stages of the game with a chance to win.
The 2-1 score held as the final for the Blackhawks, who improve their record to 4-8-0. Their 7-game homestand ends on a high note as they are going to hit the road for the first time in a long time.
Spencer Knight made the start for Chicago, his 7th in a row, and 10th out of 12 games. To say he was excellent in this one would be an understatement. He made 25 saves on 26 shots, including some high-danger chances in the first period while the Blackhawks were trapped in their own zone. If he doesn't hold it down during that time, there is no way they win this game.
The Blackhawks preach a lot about the process. Well, if their process from this game continues, they will start to win a lot more. The first five minutes were ugly, and they rebounded to find their legs, and skate out of town with two points.
The Chicago Blackhawks will now hit the road. They will make their way to Michigan for their one visit to Little Caesars Arena, where they will take on the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. On Saturday, it will be a matinee game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
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Vegas Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart was ruled out for Oct. 27's game against the Ottawa Senators, with the goalie exiting during the morning skate on Tuesday.
Vegas coach Ryan Craig confirmed Hart would miss the Golden Knights' home game and Adin Hill would start in his place. Hart has a 2.76 goals against average in this fledgling season and an .889 save percentage.
Craig would not provide further updates.
Carter Hart injury update
Hart exited the morning skate on Oct. 27 with what appeared to be a lower body injury, as he moved with a noticeable limp.
It is unknown what the extent of Hart's injury is.
Adin Hill stats
Hill has played five games this season, posting a 2.96 goals against average and a save percentage of .882.
New York Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand (33) makes a save in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026.
There must have been so many days when the NHL felt so far away. There must have been so many nights when Dylan Garand felt like his time would never come.
But just one month after the 24-year-old was sent down to begin his fifth straight season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Garand’s lifelong dream has been granted — and twisted by necessity.
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The rookie has played in each of the Rangers’ nine games since Igor Shesterkin suffered a season-ending injury, including Monday’s 6-3 loss to the Kings, when Garand played more than 38 minutes in relief of the struggling and debuting James Reimer.
“It’s been challenging,” Garand said following Tuesday’s practice. “There’s so many games. You play a game and almost the next day you gotta get ready for another game, so it’s almost a never-ending thing. That’s something that I’m learning and going through now. I’m just trying to handle it the best that I can.
“I think I played nine games in 18 days, so that’s quite a bit. It’s definitely the first time I’ve ever gone through it. I’m definitely trying to embrace that challenge and work my hardest every day. … It’s gonna be good for me in my career moving forward.”
New York Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand (33) makes a save in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Garand, who entered the season with just three career NHL appearances, initially exceeded expectations when he stepped in for Shesterkin, going 4-1-1 in his first six starts while boasting a .929 save percentage and 1.85 goals against average.
But the former fourth-round pick has allowed five goals in each of his past two starts — and two more goals Monday — as the Rangers (7-6-1) have dropped five of their past six games.
Garand entered Tuesday ranked 15th in the league in goals against average (2.69) and 21st in save percentage (.899).
“It’s a little frustrating [because] my work ethic and my compete-[level] is there,” Garand said. “I’m really trying hard. I’m just making a couple mental errors and mental mistakes by not executing at the level I know I’m capable of … you look at the last three weeks, I’ve played some really good hockey.
“I think the last couple games, I don’t really love my execution. I think I could’ve been a little better, but it’s part of it. I’m trying to be ready for every opportunity in every game that’s coming.”
Head coach Mike Sullivan acknowledges how much the team has asked of a goalie with such limited experience, noting that Garand will benefit from the team’s current five-day break more than any other player.
Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand (33) looks on as teammate Marcus Pettersson (26) and Maple Leafs’ Jack Roslovic, left, battle for a rebound during the third period of game in Toronto, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP
Soon, Garand’s workload may decrease significantly, with Joonas Korpisalo expected to return from injury in the next week or two.
Soon enough, Garand may be wondering when his next opportunity will come.
The next start can’t come soon enough.
“Playing in the NHL you gotta zoom out a little bit and never take it for granted and enjoy it, and I do,” Garand said. “I enjoy playing and going to battle with the guys in this room every night. The last week or so we haven’t been playing our best and that’s disappointing, but I have full trust in this group and in myself.”
After finishing the 2025-26 season at the top of the Atlantic Division, the Buffalo Sabres are having a tough start to this campaign.
At the time of this writing, the Sabres are sporting a 4-4-3 record and have lost each of their last three games. With this, they are also at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings.
Now, as the Sabres continue to struggle early on, they are reportedly looking to upgrade their roster.
"Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen is believed to be exploring the trade market for some additional goalscoring, TFP’s David Pagnotta reported on TSN 690 in Montreal during his weekly Tuesday appearance," The Fourth Period wrote.
With the Sabres moving on from Alex Tuch through a big sign-and-trade with the Washington Capitals this off-season, it makes sense that they are looking to add another forward to their roster. The Sabres could use another skilled winger to solidify their top nine.
The Fourth Period did not specify any specific wingers who the Sabres are looking at, but there are some intriguing names in the rumor mill right now.
The Athletic's Chris Johnston recently included wingers like Jake DeBrusk (Vancouver Canucks), Rickard Rakell (Pittsburgh Penguins), Dmitri Voronkov (Columbus Blue Jackets), and Ivan Miroshnichenko (Washington Capitals) on his latest trade board.
Other wingers who could be interesting players for the Sabres to pursue are Brock Boeser (Canucks), Bryan Rust (Penguins), and Joel Farabee (Calgary Flames).
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if the Sabres can strike a deal for a new winger soon.
As if Senators fans needed another reason to dislike Brady Tkachuk, Sens owner Michael Andlauer just gave them one.
During an appearance on the Coming in Hot podcast on Tuesday morning, Andlauer discussed Tkachuk's return to Ottawa and dropped a nugget that's sure to irritate Sens fans even further.
Travis Green looks ahead to Tuesday's game against Vegas after Saturday's win over the New York Rangers (Senators YouTube).
When Tkachuk faced the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre last Wednesday, this time as a member of the Florida Panthers, he was booed relentlessly from the pregame warmup until he left the game with a double minor penalty late in the third period.
We knew the fans would be furious with Tkachuk, but even the players seemed extra ticked off. He was their captain, the guy who talked about winning Cups here someday and went around scolding people for daring to question his commitment to Ottawa.
Then he asked for a trade with two years still remaining on his contract.
The hostility surrounding Tkachuk's return was greater on the ice than most people expected. And now we may have another reason why.
According to Andlauer, when Tkachuk opened the scoring in the first period, he had the nerve to skate past the Senators' bench, chirping the teammates he'd left behind and bragging about his scoring prowess.
"Some things never change, eh boys?"
That's what Andlauer says Tkachuk told the Senators' bench.
If Tkachuk ever had any respect for his former teammates, he'd go into this game feeling some remorse about the way he ended things, which doesn't mean playing the game any differently than he normally does. But after you've let your teammates down so profoundly, trying to dunk in their face in your first game back is as about as tone-deaf as it gets.
As we know now, the Senators had the last laugh. Hell, they're still laughing a week later. They trampled Tkachuk's new team and no returning player has ever had a rougher welcome home.
"I don't think that (comment) motivated our players much," Andlauer said sarcastically, with a smile.
The Senators scored five unanswered goals to win 5-1.
In fairness, Tkachuk's comment wasn't totally off-base. He was still out there taking undisciplined penalties while grotesquely gnawing away at his mouthguard like a dog with a chew toy.
The Chicago Blackhawks are off to a lousy start in 2026-27. They came in with the expectation that young players would take a step forward and that they'd be playing more meaningful games in March.
They weren't unrealistic and saying it's playoffs or bust, but they wanted to stay much closer to the playoff line as the season moved along.
That isn't trending to be the case for the Blackhawks after about a month of the season. They are already well below .500 and are more points out of the playoffs than they are in the standings. That's never a good sign, even early.
When that is the case, teams start to look ahead to the upcoming draft. The Blackhawks would never admit it, but they are trending towards having another top pick. In 2022, they picked 7th. In 2023, they picked 1st. In 2024, they picked 2nd. In 2025, they picked 3rd. In 2026, they had the 4th overall pick but traded it. There have also been other first-round picks sprinkled in there from trades.
On Monday, NHL Central Scouting revealed its preliminary rankings for the 2027 NHL Draft. If the season continues on its current path, the Blackhawks will make it a 5th straight year with a top-5 pick.
You can see the prospect ranking from NHL Central Scouting here. The most notable name here that you will see as many people's projected number one is Michigan defenseman Landon Dupont. If the Blackhawks were to win the 2027 NHL Draft Lottery, they would absolutely consider him.
Highly anticipated prospect Landon DuPont was among players to earn an A rating on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list for the 2027 #NHLDraft.
Other prospects include Nazar Privalov, Alexis Joseph, Sergei Skvortsov, and Carter Meyer, among others. All of them have an A grade, which means that they are receiving a first-round grade. B grades are for second and third-round grades; C grades are for fourth and fifth-round grades, and W grades for for sixth and seventh round grades. LV means "limited viewing", which means that the league's scouts would like to view the player before giving him a grade.
Of the A-grade players, 21 are forwards, 5 are defensemen, and 1 is a goalie. That is a drastic difference from the preliminary ranking of the 2026 class, which had 15 forwards, 10 defensemen, and no goalies.
The goaltender is Vilmer Salen Forsberg, who currently plays for the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs. It is unlikely that the Blackhawks will draft a goalie high due to having Spencer Knight and Drew Commesso in the mix, but they do have some recent ties to Brantford when it comes to drafting.
Only time will tell how these projections play out as the season goes along. For the Blackhawks, they would prefer to not be thinking about the draft so soon, but their performance isn't doing them any favors. At some point, the losing will force the reality that one of these top prospects will be a possibility.
With NHL Central Scouting releasing its preliminary list of players to watch from the 2027 draft class, @theTonyFerrari breaks down some of the noteworthy names and where they currently stand among this crop of talent: https://t.co/ougXG50TMi
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And when their power play fails, like it did on Tuesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, it’s a 2-0 loss.
Here are three takeaways from tonight:
Life Apart for WillMack?
For Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, there’s life apart from each other. WillMack were split up for the first time this season, aside from the two games that Celebrini was hurt earlier this year.
Celebrini, put in perhaps more of a primary shooting role because of his more pass-first linemates Collin Graf and Ivar Stenberg, registered three 5-on-5 shots. He had just one in his last two games combined and zero against the Boston Bruins on Saturday, with both contests coming on the heels of Igor Chernyshov’s injury.
That’s not normal for the usually shot-happy Celebrini, who hasn’t been held to zero 5-on-5 shots in consecutive games since his rookie campaign in February 2025.
So it’s good to see him shoot more. Celebrini also fed Graf in the blue paint for what looked like an open-net goal, but Graf couldn’t quite elevate the shot about Colten Ellis’s left pad.
Meanwhile, Smith didn’t play as much — his 16:20 time on ice was on the lower side — but he was part of one of the Sharks’ more dangerous 5-on-5 sequences tonight. Smith picked up a Mason Marchment pass that was behind him in the slot, calmly turned around instead of forcing a weak shot toward the net and passed it back to Michael Misa. Misa and Michael Kesselring pounded the net in tight for three shot attempts, with a couple of them blocked.
Smith benefiting from less attention away from the Celebrini line and being the offensive engine of a more sheltered line isn’t a bad thing for a Sharks squad that sorely needs an offensive lift from anywhere.
And Warsofsky can reunite Celebrini and Smith late in the game, whenever he needs more of an offensive push.
Oct. 19 at the Toronto Maple Leafs (.935 save percentage) and Oct. 22 at the Ottawa Senators (.953), Askarov’s last two games, marked the first time since last calendar year — Dec. 16 and 20 (.900 versus the Calgary Flames and .903 versus the Seattle Kraken) — that Askarov had a .900 save percentage or better in consecutive games.
The last time that Askarov had three straight games with a .900 or better save percentage? You’ll have to go back to his November hot streak last year, when he went 8-2-0 with a .947 mark. From November 1-23, for eight consecutive consecutive contests, Askarov peeled off a .900 or better save percentage.
That will be tough for Askarov to match, but the Sharks will take it.
Punchless Without the Power Play?
The Sharks entered tonight 30th in the NHL with 1.69 5-on-5 Goals per 60. In contrast, their power play was sixth in the league, but it went 0-for-3.
They’re now 31st in the NHL in 5-on-5 scoring — their 1.55 Goals per 60 only above the Philadelphia Flyers’ 1.36.
Of greater concern, San Jose isn’t generating enough chances, but they also are giving up too many. Per Natural Stat Trick, Buffalo out-chanced them 15-10 at 5-on-5 High-Danger.
The Sharks did pick it up after a first period where they were bullied net-front, another area of concern heading into tonight. But overall, they did not play a game that was deserving of a win.
Trouba Takes the “A”
With Alex Wennberg out with a week-to-week upper-body injury, the Sharks needed a new alternate captain.
Jacob Trouba, who captained the New York Rangers from 2022 to 2025, was a natural choice to take Wennberg’s spot.
Good Call?
Last time in this space, I complained about the Sharks overusing their playoff introduction. That’s the slow descent of the Shark Head, accompanied by the clanging of Hans Zimmer’s “Do You Think I’m Saxon?”. It’s truly one of the classic intros in hockey.
The Sharks used it on opening night (that’s special), the next home against the Los Angeles Kings (still opening weekend, I guess?), and after a couple games on the road, a week later against the Edmonton Oilers.
It is no secret that the Montreal Canadiens have been linked to disgruntled Detroit Red Wings star center Dylan Larkin for a while now. However, the Canadiens are still not among the teams on Larkin's trade list, even after he expanded it to 10 clubs.
Although this is the case, the Canadiens have not given up on their pursuit of Larkin. Furthermore, one of Montreal's top Atlantic Division rivals are also being connected to Larkin.
"He’s indicated a willingness to waive his no-trade clause for 10 teams and may yet have to expand that list further to facilitate a deal that nets Detroit the right mix of assets in return. The Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres are two teams not currently on his trade list that have interest," Johnston wrote.
Hearing that the Canadiens still have interest in Larkin is not difficult to understand. They need another star center, and he would form a perfect one-two punch with the currently sidelined Nick Suzuki if acquired by Montreal. Thus, it would not be surprising if the Canadiens continue to show interest in Larkin and hope that he eventually becomes open to a trade to Montreal.
It would certainly sting for the Canadiens to see Larkin get traded to the Sabres, though. The Sabres are one of the Canadiens' division rivals, so it would not be good for Montreal if they won the Larkin sweepstakes. However, as Johnston noted, Larkin does not have Buffalo on his trade list right now.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what will happen with Larkin.
Well, they never really had a chance to be cocky Tuesday night.
A brutal first period ultimately cost the Flyers as they fell to the Blue Jackets, 4-3, in overtime at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Kent Johnson scored the winner for Columbus on a 2-on-0 rush.
The Flyers erased a 3-0 deficit. Jamie Drysdale tied the game with 11 seconds left in regulation when the Flyers emptied their net for the extra attacker.
In the opening stanza, Tocchet’s club gave up more goals than it had shots. The Flyers were staring down a 3-0 hole with 6:16 minutes still left in the period. They surrendered the three goals in a span of just 2:46 minutes. They finished the period with only two shots.
The Flyers woke up in the middle stanza with a concerted push. Noah Cates tapped home a loose puck in the crease after Porter Martone fired a shot on net.
After the goal, Matvei Michkov had a couple of close looks right at the doorstep of the post. He couldn’t seem to corral the puck, though, for a deflection.
Trevor Zegras trimmed Columbus’ lead to one with 4:56 minutes to go in the third period.
The Flyers (3-7-4) have just 10 points over their first 14 games. Last season, Tocchet’s first as the team’s head coach, the Flyers had 17 points through 14 games (8-5-1).
This was the first of four matchups between the Flyers and Blue Jackets (5-5-0).
• Dan Vladar was unable to mask the Flyers’ mistakes like he has before. He made 11 saves on 15 shots.
He denied Columbus on a 2-on-0 rush in OT, but then had to face another one. The Blue Jackets capitalized on the second opportunity.
The Flyers were sloppy. The first 2-on-0 was a result of Michkov being stripped. On the second, Michkov, Cam York and Denver Barkey were all caught in deep.
Vladar had given up just four goals over his previous three starts. That was good for a 1.30 goals-against average and .953 save percentage.
But in the first period Tuesday night, Columbus struck three times.
The first goal was at 4-on-4. The Flyers lost Adam Fantilli in front when Noah Cates and Oliver Bonk both converged on Johnson.
Johnson added to the Blue Jackets’ lead with a deflection. Bonk committed a turnover in the defensive zone and the puck then found its way to Zach Werenski for a shot.
Fifty seconds later, Columbus made it 3-0. Denton Mateychuk skated into a shot after Drysdale and York lost a puck battle along the back boards.
Cam Talbot, the 39-year-old former Flyer, stopped 28 of 31 shots for the Blue Jackets.
• Hunter McDonald exited briefly with 5:54 minutes left in the second period. The rookie defenseman was favoring his shoulder after taking a hit behind the net from Mathieu Olivier.
McDonald, though, was able to return before the period ended.
He replaced Rasmus Ristolainen, who was out because of a reinjury to his left hand. More on his status here.
Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett remained out. Konecny has missed the last nine games because of a lower-body injury. Tippett has missed the last five with an upper-body injury.
• The Flyers are right back at it Wednesday when they visit the Capitals (7:30 p.m. ET/NBCSP+).
Matthew Tkachuk might not be the most aesthetically pleasing player to watch. He doesn't burn you with blistering speed or routinely rifle pucks into the top corner, but he outsmarts almost everyone.
With deft hands, incredible vision, and the ability to read and process the play faster than any teammate or opponent, Tkachuk is always in an advantageous position.
When he finds himself in those positions, he's skilled enough to make a play that, more often than not, results in a goal for the Florida Panthers.
Through 12 games, the 28-year-old has scored four goals and 16 points. He's currently averaging an assist per game, ranking tied for seventh in the NHL. Ahead of tonight's matchup against the Winnipeg Jets, coach Paul Maurice was asked about what makes Tkachuk such a great playmaker.
“It's his hands," Maurice started his well-thought-out answer. "He is so good in that department. I would say his brain first, but as it kind of informs what he does with his hands. He's one of the rare people that doesn't tip pucks. And I don't know, I'm just going to use my words. He doesn't tip pucks. He directs them. Like he's putting them in a place, and I've seen him do it."
Tkachuk's game has evolved so much since he made his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames in the 2016-17 season. When he first started in the NHL, Tkachuk was used as a net-front presence, using his 6-foot-2, 202-pound frame to make plays around the net. He was extremely effective because he could make plays in tight areas.
Since coming to Florida, Tkachuk looks to play in other areas. On the power play, the team uses Tkachuk on the right flank. He continuously threads passes into high-danger areas, looking for deflections or one-timers.
"One thing about Matthew is he's better this year than he's ever been," said Maurice. "He's faster than he's ever been. So he's improved. It's also the first summer in four where he actually got to train, because he was injured on the two others. He rehabbed, but he didn't train.
And then he put a lot of good work in this summer, so a little quicker. And in the game of hockey, we're talking about five or six inches. If you can create that, if you can find it, you can make that. These guys can make that play, and that's what we're seeing from him."
Tkachuk agreed with Maurice's claim, and the NHL EDGE skating data backs that up. He's recorded the third-highest skating speed of his career, and although he still ranks below the 50th percentile in every skating statistic, he's made improvements.
The Panthers will need Tkachuk to maintain this elite level of play to compete in the Atlantic Division.
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The Ottawa Senators open a five-game road trip Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET on TSN5). The Senators (8-4-0) enter the game sitting second in the Atlantic Division with 16 points, while the Golden Knights (8-4-1) are second in the Pacific with 17 points.
As it was against the New York Rangers on Saturday, it's a battle of two teams off to good starts, but now dealing with the loss of their top goalie.
Travis Green looks ahead to Tuesday's game against Vegas after Saturday's win over the New York Rangers (Senators YouTube).
The Senators appear to have made an interesting decision about their temporary number-one netminder.
After making his first start of the season in Saturday's 7-4 victory over the New York Rangers, Jonas Johansson will get the call again Tuesday. Or as Travis Green put it, "JoJo will go."
Johansson needed all of one start to displace Sam Ersson in the pecking order, at least for the time being, while Linus Ullmark recovers from an injury suffered against Florida last Wednesday.
Ullmark is expected to miss at leats another week, and because Ersson hasn't been all that reliable yet as his backup, Travis Green is just going to ride the hot hand for now.
The Senators are coming off a Saturday win against the Rangers, highlighted by Drake Batherson's third career hat trick. Batherson also assisted on Dylan Cozens' first goal of the season.
Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson and Michael Amadio also scored as the Sens bounced back from Thursday's 6-2 loss to San Jose.
Stützle continues his hot start with 16 points through 12 games, which is a 112-point pace. Batherson has also been producing, with six goals and 11 points over his last ten games.
On the injury front, Senators captain Thomas Chabot appears to be getting closer to returning. Chabot has resumed practicing in a regular jersey after suffering an injury earlier this month. William Eklund remains sidelined with an ankle injury suffered three weeks ago against Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are looking to snap a three-game losing streak where they've been outscored 14-5.
They're coming off Saturday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Tomas Hertl scored the Golden Knights' only goal before Adam Fantilli won it for Columbus on a power play in overtime.
Getting a point (and being able to defend a little) probably felt like a victory after they were clobbered in both of their previous two games, 6-2, by Tampa Bay and St. Louis.
Jack Eichel leads the Knights with 19 points through 13 games. Ex-Senator Mark Stone has 15. After missing two games, Mitch Marner returns to the lineup after his wife, Stephanie, gave birth to their second child last week.
Vegas had an unexpected development at Tuesday's morning skate when goaltender Carter Hart suffered an apparent injury. Just like Ullmark, Hart was hurt while making a save and slowly limped off the ice.
Knights head coach Ryan Craig confirmed that Adin Hill would start against the Senators. Hill was trampled Thursday in St. Louis, where he allowed six goals on 31 shots.
"No update. (Hart) left the morning skate. He’s being evaluated. He’s in good hands," Craig said. "We’ve got a plan here moving forward either way. We’ll be ready for tonight."
According to Jesse Granger from The Athletic, if the Knights have to call up a goalie it would likely be Cameron Whitehead, who grew up in Orleans and has never played in the NHL. In the AHL with Henderson this season, Whitehead has been popping in his first three games, posting a 1.72 goals against average and a .944 save percentage.
Project Senators Lineup
Fabian Zetterlund – Tim Stützle – Claude Giroux Warren Foegele – Dylan Cozens – Drake Batherson Ridly Greig – Shane Pinto – Michael Amadio Nick Cousins – Stephen Halliday – Andre Burakovsky
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub Tyler Kleven – Jordan Spence Nikolas Matinpalo – Carter Yakemchuk
Jonas Johansson Sam Ersson
Projected Vegas Lineup (Credit: Hannah Kirkell, The Hockey News)
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mark Stone Brett Howden – William Karlsson – Mitch Marner Trevor Connelly – Tomáš Hertl – Braeden Bowman Marc Gatcomb – Nic Dowd – Jonas Røndbjerg
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore Jeremy Lauzon – Noah Hanifin Ville Heinola – Rasmus Andersson
