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

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

Colorado Avalanche

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

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

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

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

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

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

Projected Lineup

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

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

Between the Pipes:
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Calgary Flames

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

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

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

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

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

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

Projected Lineup

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

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

Between the Pipes:
Arsenii Sergeev

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

OILERS 4, ISLANDERS 0

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

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

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

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

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

PREDATORS 5, LIGHTNING 4, SO

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

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

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

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

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

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

BLUES 5, RED WINGS 4

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

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

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

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

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

SABRES 3, KINGS 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

SENATORS 5, SHARKS 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

_____

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Up next

Senators: At Anaheim on Sunday night.

Sharks: Host Flames on Monday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Talk about the game with Pens fans here!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“We unequivocally have no intention of trading Nikita.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Up next

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

St. Louis goal!

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

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

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 31, 2026

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

St. Louis goal!

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

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

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 31, 2026

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

St. Louis goal!

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

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

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 31, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

St. Louis goal!

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

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

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 31, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

St. Louis goal!

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

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

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 31, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) October 31, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Watch Every Chicago Goal

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

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 31, 2026

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

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 31, 2026

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

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 31, 2026

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

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 31, 2026

The Chicago Blackhawks 

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

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

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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

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

Final pic.twitter.com/Y1Q2yJRM0H

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The New Jersey Devils closed out October with a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. The win also wrapped up a 2-1 road trip and a 5-1 Western Conference swing. At 9-5 and boasting the second-best record in the Metropolitan Division, the Devils look like contenders and are playing that way as well.

The catch in the Devils' case is that they’ve had these hot starts before. Last season, they started 8-1, and in 2022-23, they went 6-3 in the first month while going 19-4 by the time American Thanksgiving wrapped up. 

The Devils had had these hot starts before where they looked like Cup contenders. Then the injuries or struggles hit them like a brick wall, and they have a disappointing season. It’s been a theme of the Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier era of the Devils, and it’s why there’s a hesitant feeling around this team. 

The Past Is A Reason The Devils Can’t Overreact To The Hot Start

It’s still too early in the season, and a lot can change. The Devils found chemistry in their forward lines, but the rest of the league is still figuring out their rosters. The opponents will be tougher as the season goes on. 

Head coach Sheldon Keefe, who is in the middle of his third season behind the Devils' bench and eighth in the NHL, knows this season is a marathon. “What was today? Game 10? We have 84 of these; consistency is the name of the game. This time last year, we won eight in a row. My first year I was here, we set an NHL record; we had seven games consecutively where we gave up 20 shots or less,” he stated after the 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. 

The Devils Hope Their Core Can Go Up Against Any In The NHLWith games against the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, and Vegas Golden Knights this week, the Devils will find out how good their top-end talent and roster altogether are.

The playoffs feel like an inevitability, and the Devils have their eyes set on more than just that. However, they are far from certain. The Devils know the feeling, especially since they’ve had playoff-caliber teams in recent seasons come up short. 

Why This Start Feels Different

Keefe admitted that the Devils have gotten off to hot starts in the past. He’s also acknowledged that this team is different, a tight-knit group that is coming together and can do something special. 

“I can’t say enough good things about what’s been happening with our game as of late,” Keefe noted after a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars. “Probably equally as important is just what's happening off the ice with the group and how they're talking to one another, and you can really feel us building momentum as a team,” he added.

4 Bright Spots From The Devils' Four-Game Winning StreakThe Devils saw their winning streak end on Wednesday night with a 5-2 loss to the Avalanche, but the streak is a reminder that many factors are working in their favor.

The Devils have the right leaders in the room, whether it’s Hischier, who has matured as the captain, or a third-line glue veteran like Evan Rodrigues. Plus, they’ve come together at the right time, with a road trip that wrapped up the month and prepared them for the stretch ahead. 

Plus, Connor Hellebuyck changes a lot about this team. In the past, the Devils were constantly let down by the struggles in the net. They might have outplayed a team and controlled the pace of play, but a few goals squandered by the goaltender would let them down. Now, they have Hellebuyck, one of the best goaltenders in the game, if not the best, who has looked dialed in from the moment he put on a Devils jersey. 

Golden Knights Provided A Blueprint For The Devils To Go All-InThe Devils wrap up their road trip with a game against the Golden Knights, a team that has shown how to build an effective Cup contender in today’s game.

This doesn’t look like the same Devils team. On the contrary, they look poised to only improve from here on out. The roster is coming together, Hellebuyck is getting up to speed, and there’s always a chance general manager Sunny Mehta has another big move up his sleeve. The Devils provide enough optimism that they’ll be among the best teams by the end of the season. 

The Start Must Be Apprecieted, A Fun Season Can Be Anticipated

With the way the season is playing out, the Devils should expect a great season. Even if they don’t win the Stanley Cup, which is still unlikely, they’ll be in the mix and set up for more success in the seasons to come. 

Plus, more should be anticipated from Mehta. He kicked off the ground running with multiple moves in his first offseason and a big swing just one month into the season. If this team is in playoff position by the trade deadline, another splash might be around the corner. 

The Devils will regress at some point and go through a slump. It’s an inevitable part of an 84-game season. That said, this season is shaping up to be a fun one. Hughes, Hischier, and Jesper Bratt should provide plenty of highlights on the offensive end, and Hellebuyck playing at a high level should provide plenty of highlight saves as well. The fans entered this season with renewed optimism, and one month in, that optimism has only been amplified. 

The Florida Panthers have been red-hot on the power play over the past several weeks.

Their recent success while up a man has been in stark contrast over how they started the season while on the man advantage.

Out of the gate, Florida was colder than cold when up a man.

They went 0-for-11 over their first two games against the Carolina Hurricanes and San Jose Sharks.

After five games, Florida was just 1-for-28 on the power play.

That’s…bad.

But things quickly started to change in game number six.

While Florida lost that game to the Buffalo Sabres, they went 2-for-4 on the power play, with both scores coming off the stick of Sam Reinhart.

The following night the Panthers were in Columbus to face the Blue Jackets, and that’s when the flood gates were swung open.

Florida scored not one, not two, but four power play goals on six opportunities en route to a dominant 7-3 victory in Ohio.

Results were finally starting to come for the Cats, who were putting in tireless work both on and off the ice to get the power play to click.

“I think (assistant coach) Jamie Kompon and his power play group have done a great job, really changing the foundation of what they try to do,” said Panthers head coach Paul Maurice. “You spend two and a half weeks working on your power play with (Sasha) Barkov and (Brad) Marchand on it, and they both disappear within the first three games. It took us three or four games to recover from that, but they found their rhythm.”

Indeed they have.

Fast forward a couple weeks and we arrive on Saturday night, when the Panthers added another two power play goals while skating to a 5-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

That means since starting the season 1-for-28 on the man advantage, Florida has gone an eye-popping 15-for-38 since.

So what changed?

“Just puck movement,” said Panthers defenseman Seth Jones. “Quick puck movement and putting the penalty kill in positions to make decisions. I think we're scoring in many different ways: low plays, high plays into Reino. I think we're dangerous in a lot of different ways, but just moving it quick, being solid on the breakouts is key.”

To his credit, Jones has been instrumental to Florida’s power play success.

He’s already having a ridiculous start to the season, with 18 points through his first 14 games, which ranks him third in scoring among all NHL defensemen.

Eleven of those 18 points have come while the Panthers have been up a man, which ties him for the team lead with Matthew Tkachuk in terms of power play points.

“Seth Jones has been a huge driver, and we needed him to,” Maurice said. “He's got lots of confidence up top. He's offensively as strong as there is in the league from the blue line.”

Florida’s power play is now up to eleventh in the league, operating at a 24.2% success rate.

They’ll have a good chance at continuing that success over the remainder of their homestand, when they face the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena over the next several days.

Both teams have penalty killing units in the bottom half of the league, but Detroit’s is especially poor, coming in at fourth-worst in the NHL.

Based off how things have gone over the past few weeks, the Panthers will be looking to strike early and often when given an opportunity to be up a man.

“I think we're just really looking to attack right away,” said Panthers forward Lars Eller. “We have different weapons to score. We have players that can find different ways to break down the opposition, and they've been doing exactly that.”

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Photo caption: Oct 17, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19), left wing Brady Tkachuk (8), center Sam Reinhart (13), and defensemanSethJones(3) celebrate goal during the third period against the Seattle Kraken at Amerant Bank Arena. (Isabella Frias-Imagn Images)

BREAKING NEWS: Patrick Kane has become just the 21st player in National Hockey League history to record 900 career assists. 

The goal was a power-play goal scored by Anton Frondell, who slapped home a cross-ice feed from Kane for the 1-0 lead. Connor Bedard also picked up an assist on the play. 

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

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 31, 2026

and that makes 𝟗𝟎𝟎 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐒 for 8️⃣8️⃣ 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/dMR1Ti5UFf

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 31, 2026

Kane's assist came against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden, which is a rink where Kane has plenty of great memories - including a Stanley Cup win. 

Only 21 players, including Kane, have reached 900 assists in the NHL. Only one other is active: Sidney Crosby. To say that it's a list comprised of only the elite would be an understatement. Only Connor McDavid and Evgeni Malkin, also future Hall of Fame players, have a chance to reach that milestone any time soon. 

787 of these 900 assists for Kane have come in a Chicago Blackhawks sweater. He had some great years as a member of the Detroit Red Wings and a brief stint with the New York Rangers, but nothing can compare to the resume that he put together with the Chicago Blackhawks.

There isn't much more Kane needs to do to be considered the greatest American-born hockey player of all time, but he is still out there making a difference on a young team that looks up to him. 

How far can Kane take these numbers? Does he have another 100 assists in him before he retires to get to 1000? He certainly has some work to do. Kane also has 509 career goals, giving him 1409 career points. Whenever he does hang 'em up, the Hall of Fame will be waiting. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay up to date on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.