Category: NHL

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The Detroit Red Wings wanted to give the sellout crowd at Little Caesars Arena something to cheer for in what would be their final home game until early March, thanks to the upcoming Olympic break. 

Their opponent on Saturday afternoon was the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche, who clearly had other plans.

The Avalanche looked every bit the top-ranked club in the League, handing the Red Wings a frustrating 5-0 setback in the first of a two-game home-and-home series that concludes on Monday evening in Denver. 

It wasn't the way the Red Wings wanted to close out their three-game home stand, which yielded only a single point out of a possible six up for grabs. 
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However, team captain Dylan Larkin explained that Monday evening will be an opportunity for his team to prove that Saturday's loss was an anomaly. 

"We've got two really big games (left before the break)," Larkin explained afterward. "Every team is going through it, playing the same schedule. We've played a lot of hockey, and you get bumps and bruises, illnesses, you're going through it." 

"It (the break) is coming at a good time, and I think it'll be huge for our team, but the beauty of this is that we get to play these guys again."

The Avalanche had experienced a few setbacks of their own in recent games, dropping contests to both the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, both of whom are chasing Detroit in the tightly-packed Atlantic Division standings. 

"They're the number one team in the League, but they're not the best team ever," Larkin said of the Avalanche. "It's not like we're playing against guys that can't be beat, so we have to go into their building with something to prove and start a big two-game swing for us." 

While the Red Wings maintained their second-place status in the Atlantic, the teams behind them have crept even closer in their rear-view mirror.

Slumping Red Wings Buried 5-0 By Avalanche On Home Ice The Detroit Red Wings dropped their third straight game, losing a 5-0 final to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday afternoon.

As of Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres each have 67 points, just three behind Detroit's 70 points, and they play one another later that evening, meaning one of them will be within a point of Detroit by night’s end.

Following Monday's rematch against the Avalanche, the Red Wings will face the Utah Mammoth in their second-ever trip to Delta Center in Salt Lake City, which will then be followed by the Olympic break. 

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PITTSBURGH — The Rangers continue to slide into the Olympic break.

In their second-to-last contest before the NHL pauses for 19 days, the Blueshirts didn’t show up until the third period of what turned out to be their 14th loss — 6-5 at the hands of the Penguins — in their last 18 games Saturday evening.

A reprieve can’t come soon enough for this Rangers team, which looked like it wanted to be anywhere but the PPG Paints Arena ice for 40 of 60 minutes.

“You score five goals and lose the game,” captain J.T. Miller said. “I guess the only positive today is that we didn’t quit, kept pushing, came down to the wire. When you have to score six times, it’s pretty hard to win the game. I like that we didn’t quit. That’s about it.”

Getting up for games has clearly been a struggle amid the organization’s public plans to retool the roster, but the lack of focus, execution and motivation early on in games has been a recurring issue since last season.

The fact that it’s only worsened amid a lost campaign paints a disconcerting picture for the foreseeable future.

Their current situation should not preclude the Rangers from skating with pride.

And yet opponents have feasted on their insecurities, costly mistakes and slow starts on a game-to-game basis.

The Penguins have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL since the end of December.

After members of the 2016 Stanley Cup-winning team were honored in a pregame ceremony, which included Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan and the currently injured Conor Sheary, the energy in the building was palpable from puck drop to the final whistle.

Entering the matinee matchup on a five-game win streak, Pittsburgh picked up where it left off and scored on two of its first four shots.

The multigoal lead was built just over six minutes into the contest, leaving the Rangers in what has been a familiar position this season: chasing from behind.

At a time when attention has shifted to the Rangers youth, the first period was concerning in more ways than one.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND RANGERS STATS

Noah Laba, who missed three games earlier this month with an upper-body injury, absorbed a hit in the corner and was slow to the bench.

After trying to skate it off during the TV timeout, Laba reached for his shoulder and headed to the locker room.

Despite returning for one shift in the second period, Laba was ruled out for the remainder of the game with an upper-body injury.

There was no immediate update on the 22-year-old after the game.

Injury aside, it was a particularly tough opening frame for Scott Morrow.

The Rangers rookie defenseman committed a costly turnover that led to the Penguins first of two goals from Anthony Mantha before getting called for a late penalty.

Matt Rempe was also on the ice for the first two Penguins goals.

On the second one, Penguins forward Blake Lizotte took the puck right off Rempe’s stick. After that, Sullivan only deployed Rempe for one more shift in the first period.

“Some of it is just the way the flow of the game goes and we’re looking for certain matchups,” Sullivan said. “I try to utilize him in the situations where I think sets him up for success. Those are some of the plays I’m talking about, about execution and decision making. Sometimes, you just got to gain a zone or gain a line. I thought we had opportunities — that was one of them — where we could have got the puck out.”

The Rangers didn’t get on the board until there were just over 1:30 remaining in the second period, but it came on the first of their two total shots in the middle frame.

Pittsburgh, however, scored twice in the span of 20 seconds less than two minutes into the third period.

Not even a four-goal showing over the final 20 minutes was enough for the Rangers to climb out of the hole they dug.

“You can’t. You just can’t. You can’t let up two goals in 20 seconds,” said Vincent Trocheck, who — along with Alexis Lafrenière — led the Rangers with three points (one goal and two assists). “We have to be paying more attention to detail. We were in the right spots a lot of times too, like we’re where we’re supposed to be. We’re just not executing our job. We just have to be better at that. It’s the same giving up six goals, giving up two in 20, you just can’t do it.”

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Mark Scheifele scored the go-ahead goal with 4:14 remaining, lifting the Winnipeg Jets to a 2-1 win over the sliding and short-handed Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Winnipeg was 1-18-2 in games where it trailed entering the third period going into the game, and was down 1-0 with 20 minutes left against the Panthers. But the Jets scored twice in a span of just over seven minutes to take command.

Cole Perfetti scored with 11:26 left to tie the game, then Scheifele got his 27th of the season for what became the game-winner.

Eric Comrie stopped 27 shots for the Jets, including one with 37.1 seconds left on a shot by Matthew Tkachuk. Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett got shots to the net after that as well for the Panthers, but neither got by Comrie and the Jets prevailed for just the third time in their last nine games.

Eetu Luostarinen got the goal for Florida, which has dropped three straight and ended the game eight points back of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers — who have been without Aleksander Barkov all season — played Saturday without Brad Marchand, who is day to day, along with Anton Lundell and Seth Jones, among others.

It was the first time this season that Florida took a lead into the third period and failed to get at least one point out of a game. The Panthers were 17-0-1 in such situations entering Saturday, the fifth-best record in the league.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 shots in the Florida net.

Jets: Visit Dallas on Monday.

Panthers: Host Buffalo on Monday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

It’s going to be a while before the Islanders next see Cal Ritchie. 

Ritchie’s lower-body injury will keep him out through the Olympic break, coach Patrick Roy said Saturday before the Islanders faced the Predators at UBS Arena. 

Including Saturday’s match, the Islanders have just four games left before the three-week break, which will see them return to practice a little over a week before resuming the season in Montreal on Feb. 26. 

Roy said that Ritchie “tried” to skate on his own Friday but it did not go well, so for the time being, he will stay off the ice. 

It’s not clear when exactly Ritchie suffered the injury, as he played his last shift with under three minutes to go in last Saturday’s loss to the Sabres. 

For the time being, however, the injury is allowing the Islanders to punt on what will be a tough lineup decision once the rookie centerman returns. 

After adding Ondrej Palat via trade, and with Bo Horvat back healthy, it’s not entirely clear how the Islanders can make room for Ritchie in their lineup.

Max Shabanov, who had a spot for most of the season, has sat two of three games since the Isles traded for Palat, with his only playing time coming Thursday night when Casey Cizikas was out sick. 

Ritchie, who has generally centered the second or third line, would need to either shift to the wing or the Islanders would need to shift someone else to the wing in order to accommodate him. 

It’s not at all obvious which winger would sit either, at least as long as the fourth line of Marc Gatcomb, Cizikas and Kyle MacLean continues to play well.

Jonathan Drouin has gone a long period without scoring, but the Islanders clearly value the other aspects of his game enough that they are reluctant to make him a healthy scratch. 

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND ISLANDERS STATS

Depending how circumstances shake out when Ritchie is ready to come back, it wouldn’t be a shock if the Islanders ended up sending him back to AHL Bridgeport to avoid a situation where the 21-year-old is not getting playing time. 

Cizikas was back in the lineup after missing Thursday’s win at the Rangers with illness.

Jonathan Drouin was a late scratch with illness.

That allowed Max Shabanov to stay in the lineup after skating as an extra in the morning.

Since Carson Soucy was traded to the Islanders, he’s taken the bulk of Matthew Schaefer’s penalty kill minutes.

Though the Islanders don’t have a hard target for Schaefer’s minutes, which average 24:02 per night, and Roy certainly has not hesitated to use him extensively, the head coach acknowledged that it would be a positive to lighten his workload on the PK. 

“He’s 18 years old, playing over 25, 27 minutes. At some point it might affect his play,” Roy said. “It’s nice for him to come straight to his five-on-five, the power play.” 

The Seattle Kraken will take on the Vegas Golden Knights on the road as they begin a road trip.

The Kraken have three games before the Olympic break, all of which are on the road. 

The Kraken enter tonight’s game as winners of three straight, defeating the New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tonight, they’ll put their 11-10-4 road record to the test against a Golden Knights team with a 12-7-7 home record. 

The Golden Knights enter tonight’s game as losers of three straight, suffering a 7-1 defeat to the Ottawa Senators, before an overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens, and a 5-4 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars. 

The Golden Knights currently hold the lead in the Pacific Division based on points percentage, as they are tied with the Edmonton Oilers at 64 points. The Kraken own third place in the Division based on points percentage, tied with the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings with 59 points and one point ahead of the San Jose Sharks.

Kraken Rookie To Miss Final Three Games Before Olympic BreakThe Seattle Kraken will be without Berkly Catton for their final three games before the Olympic break.

Kraken's projected lines:

McCann-Beniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Stephenson-Tolvanen
Kakko-Wright-Winterton
Kartye-Gaudreau-Melanson

Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Montour
Evans-Lindgren

Grubauer
Daccord

Extras: Mahura, Fleury,
Injured: Catton

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Saturday night’s matchup between the Ottawa Senators and the visiting New Jersey Devils is a game that neither team can afford to lose.

New Jersey enters the game nine points back of the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot, while the Senators sit 10 points out. It’s not where either club expected to be on the final day of January, and Saturday's loser will almost lose sight of the playoff leaders completely.

Ottawa comes in riding momentum after two of its most complete performances of the season, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche by a combined score of 12–3.

Linus Ullmark was the backup goalie, so he wasn't a direct factor in either win. But the team was pleased to see him return from his month-long personal leave of absence. Six days after returning to the lineup, Ullmark is expected to play his first game since December 27, when he was pulled during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Senators will also welcome back forward Stephen Halliday after he missed Wednesday’s win over Colorado with an upper-body injury. Halliday was in the midst of his strongest NHL performance to date last Sunday against Vegas, recording two goals and an assist, before suffering the injury. To make room for Halliday’s return, Ottawa has reassigned Xavier Bourgault to the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

Ridly Greig, who missed Friday’s practice, is expected to be available for Saturday’s game.

Senators projected lineup (Subject to change)

Drake Batherson — Tim Stützle — Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk — Dylan Cozens — Ridly Greig
Nick Cousins — Shane Pinto — Michael Amadio
Stephen Halliday — Lars Eller — Fabian Zetterlund

Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot — Jordan Spence
Tyler Kleven — Nick Jensen

Linus Ullmark
James Reimer

Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid, Nikolas Matinpalo Injured: David Perron (sports hernia)

Status report

While the Senators are close to full health, the Devils may be without at least one, and possibly both, of their top two centres. Jack Hughes will miss the game with a lower-body injury, though head coach Sheldon Keefe described the issue as “not serious.”

Fellow centre Nico Hischier is under the weather and will be a game-time decision. Forward Cody Glass is expected to return after missing Thursday’s game against Nashville.

Devils projected lineup (Subject to change)

Timo Meier — Dawson Mercer — Jesper Bratt
Lenni Hämeenaho — Cody Glass — Arseny Gritsyuk
Evgenii Dadonov — Paul Cotter — Conor Brown
Maxim Tsyplakov — Luke Glendening — Juho Lammikko

Brett Pesce — Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon — Simon Nemec
onas Siegenthaler — Jonathan Kovacevic

Jake Allen
Jacob Markstrom

Scratched: Colton White Injured: Luke Hughes (shoulder), Zack MacEwen (ACL), Stefan Noesen (knee), Jack Hughes (lower body), Nico Hischier (illness)

Seattle Kraken rookie Berkly Catton will miss the final three games before the Olympic break. 

The 20-year-old was on the receiving end of a head-to-hip collision on Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He left the game after skating in just 3:12 of ice time.

Earlier today, via the Kraken’s PR on X, the team announced that he will miss the final three games with what has been deemed an upper-body injury. The Kraken have not clarified whether the injury he sustained was to the head or neck. 

Either way, Catton won’t see game action until at least Feb. 25 when the Kraken return from the break to take on the Dallas Stars.

The former 2024 eighth overall pick has notched five goals and 11 points in 40 games this season. 

The Kraken have three vital games before the Olympics begin. The Kraken will be on the road for all three games, taking on the Vegas Golden Knights tonight before important playoff seeding battles against the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings. 

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After an ugly loss to the Sabres, the Kings (23-17-13) bounced back with a hard-fought road performance with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers (24-20-10) on Saturday, with a clutch winner from Quinton Byfield. 

Critical Call Dooms Kings To 4-1 Loss Against The Buffalo SabresOne overturned call was the deciding factor in tonight's game, as the Kings were left chasing a 4- 1 loss to the Sabres.

After building an early two-goal cushion in the first period, the Kings held on despite a Flyers push before sealing the game in an extra period. 

TWO POINTS pic.twitter.com/GJIi5McAPu

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 31, 2026

Kempe Strikes Twice In Opening Period

The Kings came out flying, establishing offensive pressure early and capitlzing on the Flyers early mistakes. Adrian Kempe opened the scoring midway through the first period, finishing off the nice feed from Alex Laferriere and Corey Perry, giving LA the early 1-0 lead. 

Just over three minutes later, Kempe struck again, this time off a setup from Perry, burying the quick-release shot from the slot. The Kings dominated possession in the early frame, outshooting the Flyers and keeping Philadelphia from generating offensive pressure. 

Darcy Kuemper was sharp in the early frame, turning aside several shots as the Kings took a 2-0 lead into the second period. 

FEELING EXTRA JUICY TODAY pic.twitter.com/2ieOnVuiDG

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 31, 2026

Flyers respond with Second-Period Push

Philadelphia came out with urgency in the second and cut the deficit just 39 seconds into the frame. Trevor Zegras finished off a crisp passing sequence, beating off Kuemper to make it 2-1 and swing momentum toward the home side. 

The Flyers controlled long stretches of the period, generating pressure off the forecheck and forcing the Kings into extended defensive zone shifts. 

Despite scoring early in the period, the Flyers had only one goal in the second, and Los Angeles entered the third ahead by one, but the momentum had clearly shifted. 

Flyers tie it

Early in the third, Philadelphia capitalized on a Los Angeles turnover and tied the game 2-2. Travis Konecny snapped a shot past Kuemper just 25 seconds into the period, bringing the Wells Fargo Center crowd to life and setting the stage for a tense finish. 

From then on, both teams traded chances in a fast, physical third period, generating quality looks, but the Flyers' goaltender, Dan Vladar, anchored down in the crease, and neither team could score. 

Byfield Delivers in Overtime

Overtime featured end-to-end action, with both teams looking to steal this game. Philadelphia nearly ended it when Konecny rang a shot off the post, but the Kings survived and countered. 

Byfield finished with the overtime winner, skating on the right side off the ice to beat off the Flyers' goaltender and score the dagger to escape with a much-needed win to get Los Angeles back in the win column.

"I was thinking shot all the way."

Good mindset from QB in that situation as he buried the game-winner.

Jim Hiller pointed to seeing that mentality more of late & the quality in his shot when he rips it.

"Just really good shots. Nice finish, nice goal. Shoot the puck, kid!" https://t.co/0Ka3i0HruG

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) January 31, 2026

Key player stats 

Adrian Kempe led the way with two goals and three points, continuing his strong stretch and extending his point streak to six games. Byfield finished with the overtime winner, while Perry chipped in two assists ina strong playmaking performance.

Kuemper had a solid game, stopping 19 of 21 shots to earn the win. Despite giving up those two goals very early in the second and third periods, he still came up big in the clutch. 

Kopitar returned today for the first time since Jan. 5, when he exited the game against the Minnesota Wild with an upper-body injury. In the 11 games, Kopitar missed, Los Angeles went 4-3-3 without him, clearly missing him, and tonight, though, despite coming back and playing 16 minutes on ice, he wasn't much of a factor. 

It was definitely some rust shown for Kopitar, finishing with just one shot on goal, and was a -1 on ice, so hopefully he gets back to his regular self at the end of the Kings road trip. 

The Kings will look to build on this overtime victory as they are now 3-1 on their six-game road trip and will continue it tomorrow afternoon against the Carolina Hurricanes at 12 P.M. PT. 

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The Detroit Red Wings discussed the importance of coming out strong against the high-flying Colorado Avalanche, who have been the NHL's best team thus far this season. 

Instead, the Avalanche broke out of a mini-funk by taking it to the Red Wings on the scoreboard. 

The Avalanche defeated the Red Wings by a 5-0 score, tallying twice in each of the first two periods before adding another in the final frame.

Final pic.twitter.com/R3dV5aTAxz

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

The Red Wings have now dropped three straight games after having picked up five of six points during their recent three-game road swing. 

As time ticked away in regulation, only a few thousand fans hadn't already gotten a head start on the traffic after watching a downer of a contest, and they let their frustrations be known with some noticeable booing. 

Detroit had a chance to take an early 1-0 lead when leading goal-scorer Alex DeBrincat broke in on a two-on-one opportunity, but sailed a shot over the net. 

Just minutes later, Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns, who is the oldest player in the NHL, rushed down the right wing and roofed a shot past the glove of John Gibson, breaking the ice. 

Colorado soon increased their lead at the midway point of the frame after superstar forward Nathan MacKinnon beat Gibson on a screened shot from the slot.

Not long after the second period began, a missed defensive assignment left Ross Colton all alone in front of Gibson, and he scored a slam-dunk–style goal off a feed from behind the net by Brock Nelson, extending Colorado’s lead to 3–0.

MacKinnon scored again later in the period following a turnover in front of Gibson. Left alone at the side of the net, he took a feed from Artturi Lehkonen and had a wide-open goal to fire at, and he made no mistake. 

After making 13 saves, Gibson was replaced for the third period by Cam Talbot, who allowed Parker Kelly to bang home his own rebound for Colorado’s fifth goal.

Colorado's MacKenzie Blackwood made 28 saves for his third shutout of the season. 

The Red Wings and Avalanche will face one another again on Monday evening, this time at Ball Arena in Denver. 
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After losing their last two losses against the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, the Colorado Avalanche got back in the win column against the Detroit Red Wings today, by a final score of 5-0. Mackenzie Blackwood earned a 28-save shutout and Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals to put him at 40 on the season.

Let’s take a look at the action from this afternoon!

First Period

The Avs would score first, and they would be the only team to score in this game, for that matter. Brent Burns would be the one to get the scoring going, as Nathan MacKinnon would find him with a great pass as Burns went flying into the zone down the wing, and Burns picked his spot against John Gibson, making it 1-0.

After that, Colorado wouldn’t slow down for the rest of the game, as MacKinnon would get his first goal of the afternoon, by putting a puck on net from the top of the zone, and Gibson was never able to pick it up through traffic.

Second Period

Ross Colton would score his second goal in as many games next, as Brock Nelson was able to find him all alone in front of the Detroit net with a phenomal pass to set Colton up for a tap-in goal.

MacKinnon would score his second of the afternoon next, as Detroit would turn the puck over in their own zone to Artturi Lehkonen, and Lehkonen found MacKinnon with a great pass, and MacKinnon put a one-timer past Gibson for his 40th on the season and to make it 4-0 Colorado after two periods.

Third Period

Parker Kelly would add another goal in the third period to make it 5-0, as he was able to walk down right in front of the Detroit net, and had the patience to outwait Gibson, and score his 12th goal of the year. The Avs only needed 21 shots on goal to earn a 5-0 win in Detroit.

Takeaways

Safe to say that looked more like Colorado Avalanche hockey, especially when compared to the last two games against the Senators and Canadiens. The Avs definitely had more jump today, and it certainly showed in the final score. It was really nice to see players from all over the lineup contribute, as both your top players and depth guys managed to get on the scoresheet this afternoon. It was also awesome to see Ross Colton score a goal for the second game in a row, especially with how much he’s struggled to score as of late. Colorado will get to see Detroit once again in a couple of days, and the Red Wings likely will want some revenge for being shut out in their home arena. Hopefully, the Avs can withstand that and sweep the regular-season series against Detroit on Monday.

Upcoming

The Red Wings visit Denver on Monday for the conclusion of the home-and-home as well as the regular-season series between the Avs and Wings. Puck drop will be at 7:00 p.m. MT.

The Philadelphia Flyers still do not appear to have a clear or cohesive plan when it comes to utilizing Matvei Michkov and harnessing his talents.

Michkov, 21, has seen his sporadic offensive production come in spurts this season. The Russian phenom scored against Boston on Thursday night and racked up two goals and an assist against Colorado on Jan. 23, but for all his skills, still sits at 28 points on the season.

In Thursday's game against Boston, one where the Flyers trailed for all but the first 9:49, Michkov received just 12:49 of ice time--the least of any Flyers player besides Nick Deslauriers (12:12).

In the Flyers' very next game against Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, Michkov played a season-low 10:21, still ahead of only Deslauriers (10:21) and Garnet Hathaway (9:02).

To spell it out, the Flyers are using their 2023 No. 7 overall draft pick like a fourth-liner and continue to pay the price offensively.

With Trevor Zegras going cold for much of the last month, Travis Konecny has been the sole consistent proprietor of offense for a team spinning its wheels and tumbling out of the playoff picture.

The Flyers are just 2-6-2 in their last 10 games and now find themselves seven points back of third in the Metropolitan Division and nine points back of the second wildcard spot; either of which would get them to the postseason.

NHL Rumors: Flyers Have Target To Consider In Canucks ForwardThe Flyers could use another bottom-six center and should consider targeting this Canucks forward because of it.

The reality is that the Flyers are 21st in the NHL in goals per game (2.91) and 22nd in goals against per game (3.2).

Benching Michkov or limiting his ice time to play a more responsible and detailed game isn't working for the team or player, and we're about to be in February, here.

An argument can be made as to whether the Flyers coaches are having Michkov return to the bench early, or if the 21-year-old is doing that on his own accord, since the shift totals are generally not too far off from those of his teammates who double as penalty killers.

Either way, isn't that bad? That the coaching staff either wants Michkov to keep his shifts short, or Michkov himself is either actively avoiding the possibility of making a mistake or doesn't feel he can make a difference?

The state of Michkov's athletic conditioning has been a point of contention, well, training camp, but as I said above, it's about to be February. He's not a fast skater anyway, and his entire game is built on making dexterous plays in small areas or in open space.

Bailey: The Flyers Still Have No IdentityThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> went from rebuilder to playoff dark horse... or so they thought, and now the team and its loyal but increasingly impatient fans are paying the price.

It would be hard to believe that his conditioning is so poor that his average 5-on-5 shift length against Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon was 31 seconds, according to Natural Stat Trick, which was comfortably lower than virtually every other Flyers forward.

Sean Couturier, who is not a world-renowned skater, averaged a 47-second shift at 5-on-5, second only to Travis Konecny's 48-second average.

Regardless of which of the three points above is the most accurate or believable, Michkov has objectively regressed in a season where the Flyers had much greater aspirations, both on a player development level and on the team level.

The best use of the remaining three months of the season would be remedying the worsening issues at hand while developing a plan to start over in the offseason.

PITTSBURGH — Players with an upside are the top target of this Rangers retooling initiative, and the club made its first pickup via the waiver wire on Saturday. 

Defenseman Vincent Iorio is headed to New York after the Blueshirts claimed him off waivers from the Sharks, the team announced.

At 23 years old, Iorio has 30 career NHL games of experience and is thought to have potential as a mobile right-handed blueliner. 

His 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame also makes him an intriguing addition to the Rangers defense corps.

The waiver claim comes less than a week after defenseman Carson Soucy was dealt to the Islanders.

In anticipation of more trades before the March 6 trade deadline, which could include the departure of another member of the back end in Braden Schneider, the Rangers filled an expected need. 

Drafted 55th overall by the Capitals in 2021, Iorio registered a career high and skated in 21 games for the Sharks this season.

He only appeared in nine contests over two seasons for the Capitals before the organization waived him in October. 

During the 2024-25 AHL season, Iorio’s 20 points in 67 games with the San Jose Barracuda ranked third among his fellow D-men.

The Buffalo Sabres take on the Montreal Canadiens for the final time this season on Saturday. Both clubs are tied for third place in the Atlantic Division with 67 points and Buffalo has won the last two meetings against the Habs, after losing at the Bell Centre in October. The Sabres have two games in hand on second-place Detroit and hope to move within one point of the Wings, who lost to the Colorado Avalanche Saturday afternoon. 

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff spoke to the media following the morning skate Saturday morning and provided updates on injured defenseman Jacob Bryson and winger Jordan Greenway. Bryson suffered. Bryson suffered an upper-body injury in Montreal last week and was placed on injured reserve, but took to the ice and is considered day-to-day. 

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Greenway, who has struggled with the lingering effects of a mid-body injury that was surgically repaired last offseason, has not played since the contest at the Bell Centre on January 22nd. Earlier this week, Ruff had indicated that the injury is not preventing the big forward from skating, but that he would likely be undergoing further medical evaluation. 

Alex Lyon, who set a club record with his 10th consecutive victory against Los Angeles on Thursday, occupied the home net at the morning skate and is expected to start, while Jakub Dobes is the likely starter for Montreal. 

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Stunned to the very core, the Beleaguered Blueshirts have to wonder whether –  s the fabled Chicken Little predicted.

You have to wonder – kidding, of course – whether the American Hockey League would allow an even-up trade, Hartford Wolfpack for the New York Rangers? (Just a joke Jim.) 

Losing all four games to the Islanders this season – last one on Thursday night had to be the utter humiliation.

Remember, The Hockey News Yearbook pegged the Blueshirts to finish fourth in the Metro and the Islanders seventh. (Doesn't look like that scenario will happen, does it?)

Most compelling will be the Rangers latest passion play unfolding today in Pittsburgh. Let's not forget The Hockey News Yearbook also had the Penguins in eighth place; ergo the cellar, where the Seventh Avenue Skaters happen to be shoveling coal. (Oops! It hit the goal post.)

Here's the fact that blows up in the Blueshirts' mug. Last summer the Pitt brass dumped Mike Sullivan and hired former Ranger aide Dan (Dan Who?) Muse to rule the Penguins' bench.

The result is that the musical Muse has his Pens hellbent for a playoff berth and  while we know where Salad-Quote-Sully has his losers,

Even with Sidney Crosby, Geno Malkin and Kris Letang, Sully could do nothing. Zippo, nada playoffs for three straight years; four if you count this Sighted-Sub-Sank-Same imitation of a major league team.

Now, all of a sudden, the trio of future Hall of Fame Penguins are swimming up to a winning iceberg that almost resembles a Stanley Cup.

The Maven asked his favorite Pitt hockey guru Vince Comunale to compare Muse with New York's Great Pretender, Sullivan.

"Muse lets his guys play to their strengths – and not try to fit them into a style that Sullivan wanted to play," says Comunale. "Dan has put his players in roles where they can thrive."

Sully has put his players in a position where they don't know Madison Square Garden from The Planet Mars.

And if you don't believe me, check out the game today at PPG Paints Arena. WARNING: It may move you to tears!