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 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.
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.
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.”
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
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.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins will face another tough test against one of the NHL's best teams on Halloween night.
They'll play the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre and will try to end the Habs' four-game winning streak. The Canadiens have only allowed four goals during this streak and are 8-3-2 overall.
Forward Cole Caufield has been electric to start the season, compiling eight goals and 12 points in 13 games. Nick Suzuki is also tied for the team lead in points with 12, but will be out for this game. It's a big deal because he's one of the league's best players and can shut down each team's top line.
Defenseman Lane Hutson does it all and is one of the best at his position. He has three goals and 11 points in 13 games and can take your breath away with his skating.
Don't forget about forward Juraj Slafkovsky, either. He's a fantastic player, and it doesn't take much to get him going.
Goaltender Jacob Fowler will start for the Habs and he's been on fire lately. He leads the NHL with 10.1 goals saved above expected and is 6-1-0 with a .942 save percentage to start the season.
As for the Penguins, Sergei Murashov will start in goal, and it will be his first start in two weeks. Arturs Silovs has been fantastic since Murashov last started, but there's no reason to overwork him.
Murashov has been patient and has had an opportunity work on certain things at practice. It's also a big game. Let's see what he can do.
Here's a look at the expected lines and pairs:
Forwards
Novak-Crosby-Rakell
Chinakhov-Kindel-Malkin
Kuzmenko-Lapierre-Koivunen
Dewar-Lizotte-Robertson
Defense
Stastney-Karlsson
Girard-Korczak
Carlile-Letang
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. You can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'
The Buffalo Sabres finish up their four-game road swing in Los Angeles, in an afternoon tilt against the Kings, who with a 4-6-2 record reside near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Buffalo is coming off a pair of victories against the young San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, and faces a Los Angeles roster that has the oldest average age in the NHL.
In the aftermath of the Connor Hellebuyck melodrama, the focus of chatter throughout the NHL has shifted to a pair of the Sabres Atlantic Division foes, the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Wings have had an issue with former captain Dylan Larkin and defenseman Simon Edvinsson since the summer, but they were paralyzed after the firing of GM Steve Yzerman and the promotion of assistant GM Shawn Horcoff to interim GM.
Larkin, unlike Hellebuyck, reported to training camp and played 10 games after recovering from an injury, but earlier this week, the 30-year-old informed the Wings that he would no longer play for them and would await a trade, for which Detroit suspended him without pay.
The Red Wings and Dylan Larkin will be going their separate ways.
The Sabres, according to both Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, have expressed interest in Tage Thompson’s Team USA teammates, but Larkin at this point is not willing to expand his trade list to include Buffalo or the Montreal Canadiens. The Wings also face a staring contest with RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who has to be signed by December 1 or he cannot play for Detroit or any other NHL club this season.
On Friday, a shock wave hit the league, as reigning Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov revealed that he will not be signing a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning and that he has requested a trade. Lightning GM Julien Brisebois’ reaction to the announcement was that he did not intend to trade the franchise’s leading scorer, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
Both situations will have a detrimental effect on a pair of the Sabres divisional foes, as moves such as this rarely result in the club moving a core player for equal value. Trading Larkin and Edvinsson, the Wings top center and one of their top pairing defensemen, could force Detroit into a second rebuild in less than a decade, similar to what the Sabres were forced into when Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and others asked out of Buffalo.
With Kucherov, the ultimatum could be a tactical move made by the 33-year-old and agent Dan Milstein to force a trade and go to another team to get the payday he is looking for. If Brisebois is true to his word and keeps Kucherov for the rest of the season as an own rental, the reign of the Lightning as a top three club in the Atlantic the last decade is likely over.
The Vancouver Canucks are 15 games into their 2026–27 season and currently sport a record of 3–11–1. Their next game takes place today, on Halloween, when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the spirit of Halloween, here’s a little Canucks-related Trick-or-Treat game.
The game works as so: each prompt includes two statements about the 2026–27 Canucks — one a trick (more of a negative stat), and one a treat (a more-positive stat). Only one of the statements is true.
Continue reading for some Canucks trick-or-treat.
Trick-Or-Treat: The Canucks Are Currently Within The Bottom-Half Of The NHL In 5-On-5 Scoring (Trick), Or The Top-Half Of The NHL In Overall Goals-For (Treat).
Treat. Surprisingly enough, despite their recent struggles on offence, the Canucks still sit within the top-half of the league in goals-for at 5-on-5 with 28. Their 28 5-on-5 goals-for currently ties them with the Montréal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres for the 14th-most in the league. Vancouver sits higher-up on the list in overall goals-for with a total of 45 on the season, which puts them at 11th in the NHL.
Trick. The Canucks’ current PDO rating of 1.002 is lower than all four teams listed. The Rangers currently lead this particular group with a rating of 1.014, followed by Canadiens with 1.008, St. Louis Blues with 1.006, and the Predators with 1.005. Teams currently below the Canucks include the Dallas Stars (0.998), Tampa Bay Lightning (0.990), and Utah Mammoth (0.897).
Trick-Or-Treat: The Canucks Do (Trick) Or Do Not (Treat) Have The Lowest Overall Shots-For In The NHL.
Treat. Vancouver is currently not dead-last in the NHL in overall shots-for. That said, they’re not terribly far off. Their 316 shots-for currently ranks 30th in the league in this category, with only the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets (281) recording less than them.
Trick-Or-Treat: No Abbotsford Canuck Has Scored Five Goals To Start The Season (Trick), Or Three Are Averaging A Point Per Game (Treat).
Treat. Two members of the Abbotsford Canucks have scored five or more goals through the team’s first nine games of the season — Ty Mueller (6) and Jacob Quillan (5). Three AHL Canucks are currently averaging exactly one point per game. Mueller has the team’s lead in points with 10 in 10 games, while 2025 first-round pick Braeden Cootes, who is currently out due to a lower body injury, has put together three goals and three assists in six games. Defenceman Kirill Kudryavtsev has six assists in five games played, giving him the team’s highest points per game (1.20) thus far.
Trick-Or-Treat: Vancouver’s Combined SV% Is Lower (Trick) Or Higher (Treat) Than .860%.
Trick. The Canucks’ current SV% sits at the bottom of the NHL, with Vancouver logging a collective percentage of .859% — barely under .860%. Kevin Lankinen currently sports a .812 SV%, while Leevi Meriläinen’s has dipped to .898%. Other notable goaltenders around the league with a SV% of under .900% include Maple Leafs goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (.885%), Karel Vejmelka of the Mammoth (.881%), and 2026 Stanley Cup winner Brandon Bussi (.865%).
Trick-Or-Treat: Which Home Record Was Better Through 15 Games — The 2025–26 Canucks (Trick) Or 2026–27 Canucks (Treat)?
Trick. Understandably, the 2025–26 Canucks had the better home record through their first 15 games of their season, playing six of their matchups at home and logging a record of 2–4–0. That said, they only registered one more home win than this year’s team after 15 games, with the 2026–27 team putting up a record of 1–5–0.
Oct 29, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Vancouver Canucks left wing Liam Ohgren (92) celebrates scoring a goal during the second period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
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Shane Pinto says the Sens need to find a way to bring Thursday's third period performance into their game in San Jose on Saturday afternoon (Senators YouTube).
Foegele suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights and is expected to miss an extended period. Burakovsky was injured in Thursday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings, while Hodgson received his suspension for a vicious hit on Kings defenceman Brandt Clarke.
The three absences left the Senators with just 10 available forwards, forcing them to turn to Belleville for reinforcements.
Tomasino brings considerable NHL experience to the lineup. The former Nashville Predators first-round pick has played more than 200 NHL games and has been producing offensively in Belleville, collecting 11 points in 10 games this season.
Bourgault, a former first-round selection of the Edmonton Oilers, has also been off to a strong start with nine points.
Senators Looking to End First Losing Streak
For the first time this season, the Senators find themselves on a losing streak, although Thursday's thrilling comeback in Los Angeles provided at least one encouraging sign.
It was a remarkable comeback that salvaged a valuable point from a game that appeared completely lost.
Still, the Senators have some defensive issues to address. Since losing starting goaltender Linus Ullmark to injury, they've surrendered 20 goals in four games. Granted, four of those were empty net goals against, but that still tracks to a goals against average of 4.00 in game since Ullmark was hurt.
The Senators enter Saturday's game with an 8-5-1 record, good for third place in the Atlantic Division. They'll be looking to turn the momentum from Thursday's comeback into a much-needed victory.
Cozens Rounding Into Form
Saturday's game will also be an opportunity for Dylan Cozens to continue his success against the Sharks.
Cozens has 11 points in 11 career games against San Jose, including five goals.
He's also picked it up after a sluggish start. After just three points in his first 11 games, he now has five in his last three.
Shark Week
San Jose enters Saturday's game with a 7-6-1 record, good for fourth place in the Pacific Division, with a 5-3-0 home record.
The Sharks are coming off a 3-2 comeback victory over the Vancouver Canucks and have already enjoyed success against the Senators this season.
The teams met just nine days ago, with San Jose winning 6-2. The result included two empty net goals in a game the Sens dominated for long stretches but couldn't score.
Macklin Celebrini continues to lead the Sharks offensively with 16 points, while Will Smith has six goals on the season.
The Senators have historically enjoyed success against San Jose, holding a 24-19-4-2 record in the all-time series.
Modest as it is, the Sens are on their first losing slide of the season, but they still haven't lost back to back games in regulation. They would like to steady the ship before heading to Anaheim for Sunday night's game.
But much of that will depend on one of their backup goalies stepping up. The disparity between Ullmark and his backups so far borders on the outrageous.
Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET at SAP Center in San Jose.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way. The plan was for Jacob Fowler to storm in and take the Montreal Canadiens’ starting job this year. Despite a good training camp, the Florida native was sent down to the Laval Rocket, a victim of the circumstances and the fact that he is in the second year of his ELC and doesn't need to clear waivers. Little did he know, though, that he would only have time to play two games with the Rocket before Samuel Montembeault got injured at practice on the eve of his first game of the season. His call-up came at a time when Jakub Dobes was having a crisis of confidence of sorts and not playing his best hockey, giving Fowler a golden opportunity, which he grabbed with both hands.
Since joining the Habs this season, Fowler has a 6-1-0 record, a 1.54 goals-against average (fourth among all goalies and second among masked men who have played at least five games), and a .942 save percentage (second among all netminders). Those are fantastic numbers, but a deeper look at his game with NHL Edge shows his season start is even more impressive.
At 5-on-5, he has a .939 SV, the fourth-highest total in the league, which isn’t surprising given how confident the Canadiens are playing with the Florida native in net. It feels like the Habs believe they’ve got nothing to fear when he’s backstopping them. A looser team means a better team, even if the Sainte-Flanelle is currently playing without important players like Nick Suzuki and Ivan Demidov.
The Canadiens’ keeper leads the league in mid-range save percentage this year with an impressive .982 and ranks fourth in high-danger save percentage at .885 among goaltenders who have played at least six games this season. In his 46-save shutout against the St. Louis Blues, he saved an incredible 18 high-danger opportunities; that’s the most among all goaltenders in a single game this season.
The Habs penalty kill has been impressive of late, and Fowler is a big part of it. When the Tricolore is down a man, he has a .950 SV, fourth-best in the league.
Those are impressive numbers, and if the youngster stays the course, he will no doubt receive votes for the Calder Trophy. As things stand, Toronto Maple Leafs’ Gavin McKenna leads the rookies in scoring with 11 points in 15 games, but Boston Bruins’ James Hagen is hot on his tail with 10 points in 14 games, and two other players have nine points (Vegas Golden Knights’ Trevor Connelly and San Jose Sharks' Ivar Stenberg). McKenna isn’t running away with it.
In the year Lane Hutson won the Calder Trophy, he scored 66 points in 82 games, and the runner-up was goaltender Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames, who posted a 20-16-8 record, a 2.64 GAA, and a .910 SV. The last goaltender to win the Calder was Steve Masson in 2008-09, when he posted a 33-22-7 record, a 2.29 GAA, and a .916 SV. Fowler currently eclipses those stats, and he’s miles ahead of the other rookie netminders. The New York Rangers’ Dylan Garland ranks second in GAA (2.69) and SV (.899). Granted, it’s still early, but if nobody separates themselves from the lot among the skaters and Fowler holds the starting job in Montreal and leads the team to the playoffs, he’ll be a serious contender.
CALGARY, CANADA - OCTOBER 08: Morgan Frost #16 of the Calgary Flames and Brett Kulak #27 of the Colorado Avalanche battle for the puck during the third period at the Scotiabank Saddledome on October 08, 2026 in Calgary, Alberta. (Photo by Leah Hennel/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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 (7-5-1)
The Opponent: Calgary Flames (6-7-0)
Time: 8:00 P.M. MDT/10:00 P.M. EDT
Watch: ALT, ALT+ (Avalanche Local Broadcast Area), ESPN+, NHL Center Ice (Outside Regional Broadcast Area – US), SN, SN+ (Canadian National Broadcast)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
In their previous outing 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 in the second game of a back-to-back series, started goaltender Jake Allen (newly-acquired goaltender Connor Hellebuyck played the previous evening in Dallas, earning his first win with New Jersey), 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, who has played eight games for Colorado this season, has made a surprising but positive impression with Bednar.
“I love his attitude,” Bednar said to reporters Friday. “He wants to do anything he can to help. He’s a real positive guy, and he’s played great for us, so, yeah, we’re going to need him, obviously, with [Manson] being out for eight weeks.
“It’s nice to have. We’ve had a lot of years here where we’ve just had six ‘D’ here, and our seventh is a recall guy, and it’s nice to have him here because he’s with our group every day, you know? There’s no bringing guys up to speed, he just jumps right in and continues to play well.”
It’s likely that Blackwood closes out the home stand and Wedgewood starts when the Avs go on the road next week. They kick off another back-to-back pair of road games on Monday in Chicago before heading to Columbus the following day.
MacKinnon still leads all skaters in points (22) and assists (14). Artturi Lehkonen leads the team in goals (10).
A win tonight can pull the Avs within one point of second-place Utah (who won’t play until Sunday) 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 – Logan O’Connor
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 a 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 the 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.
With Wolf playing on Friday, signs point to Sergeev making his first start of the season tonight. Sergeev has only one prior NHL start in his career, a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on April 16 last season.
When asked last night how much confidence he might have in Sergeev’s abilities to step up while on the road, head coach Ryan Huska said, “He did a really good job last year when he came up and played a game for us. He made a lot of saves that he probably shouldn’t have made, so I have a lot of confidence in his ability.”
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 is the start of a three game road trip for Calgary, and marks their only visit to Denver. They return home to the Saddledome for 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
The Columbus Blue Jackets are on the road to face the Dallas Stars tonight at 8:00 PM.
Dallas Stars- 7-5-1 - 15 Points - Won 2- 4th in the Central
Columbus Blue Jackets - 5-6-0 - 10 Points - Lost 1 - 7th in the Metro
Player Notes Per CBJ PR
Zach Werenski has notched 5-8-13 in 21 career GP with the game winning goal in the last outing against the Stars.
Sean Monahan has notched 6-12-18 in 29 career games with an assist in his most recent outing at Dallas.
Kent Johnson has tallied 2-4-6 in 7 career contests vs. the Stars, including assists in three consecutive outings at Dallas (1-3-4).
Conor Garland has posted 5-13-18 in 19 career games against the Stars, including points in six of his last seven contests at American Airlines Center (3-7-10).
Charlie Coyle has posted 5-14-19 in 40 career outings vs. Dallas, including points in his past two games at American Airlines Center (1-1-2).
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 11.1% - 30th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 74.3% - 22nd in the NHL
Goals For - 27 - 32nd in the NHL
Goals Against - 36 - 7th in the NHL
StarsStats
Power Play - 20.0% - 18th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 93.5% - 1st in the NHL
Goals For - 34 - 26th in the NHL
Goals Against - 29 - 1st in the NHL
Series History vs.Stars
The Blue Jackets are 35-36-0-7 overall, and 16-20-0-2 on the road in Dallas.
Columbus went 2-0-0 in 2025-26.
Columbus has won three straight games in the series, outscoring Dallas 12-5 since Feb. 25, 2025.
The Jackets have won two of their last four games at American Airlines Center.
The winning team has won by multiple goals in six of the last seven meetings of the series, including three by three or more goals.
The winning team scored five or more goals in five consecutive meetings before the Blue Jackets earned a 1-0 shutout victory in the most recent matchup on Jan. 22, 2026.
CBJ have killed off all seven Stars power play chances over the win streak and have denied Dallas on 24-of-25 opportunities in the past 14 meetings since Mar. 13, 2021 (96.0 pct.).
The club has also killed 36 of 38 Stars power-play chances in the past 14 games at Dallas since Jan. 6, 2015 (94.7 pct.).
Who To Watch For TheStars
Mikko Rantanen leads the Stars with 6 goals, 10 assists, and 16 points.
Jason Robertson has 5 goals and 13 points.
Jake Oettinger is 6-3-1 with a SV% of .917. His last start was on 10-29.
Casey DeSmith is 1-2-0 with his last start being on 10-27.
Injured Reserve & Other Injuries
Isac Lundestrom - Achilles Surgery - LTIR - 11 Games Missed
Ivan Provorov - Lower Body - IR - 11 Games Missed - Lightly skating. Could return soon
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 35
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be simulcast on The Blue Jackets Hockey Network and 97.1 The Fan, with Steve Mears behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
TV: CBJHN - Spectrum HD Ch. 320/1320; IP Ch. 349; Prime Video, Fubo. DirecTV Ch. 660 (streaming), 660-1 (satellite). U-Verse (1735/735)
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The Vancouver Canucks (3-11-1) return from a two-game road trip on Saturday to face the Toronto Maple Leafs (7-6-2). Vancouver enters this game after losing its last matchup, while the Maple Leafs have fallen in two straight games. Last year, Toronto won the season series as they picked up victories in both games.
Every year, the night against the Maple Leafs is one of the most electric at Rogers Arena. There are usually challenging chants, with fans from Toronto filling a good portion of the stands. Add in the fact that some fans will be in costume to celebrate Halloween, and Saturday's game could be one of the most exciting games to experience in terms of atmosphere this season.
As for on the ice, the Canucks can't afford another sloppy third period. Vancouver looked in control on Thursday night before once again collapsing in the final frame. If the Canucks can establish a lead after 40 minutes, they need to keep their foot on the gas until the final horn sounds.
Players To Watch:
Tom Willander:
Tom Willander continues to develop into a solid defender. The 21-year-old leads the team in even-strength ice time and recorded three shots on goal in Thursday's loss. It appears that Willander has earned the trust of the coaching staff and is projected to see plenty of ice time against the Maple Leafs.
Gavin McKenna:
Fans in Vancouver will catch a glimpse of what almost was as Gavin McKenna hits the ice at Rogers Arena for the first time. The 2026 first-overall pick is having a solid start to his NHL career with 11 points through his first 15 games. Currently skating on Toronto's first line, McKenna will make the Canucks pay if they give him time and space with the puck.
Vancouver Canucks (3–11–1):
Points:
Elias Pettersson: 4–12–16
Jonathan Lekkerimäki: 6–6–12
Brock Boeser: 4–8–12
Filip Hronek: 1–10–11
Linus Karlsson: 3–6–9
Goaltenders:
Leevi Meriläinen: 2–4–1
Kevin Lankinen: 1–7–0
Toronto Maple Leafs (7-6-2)
Points:
Auston Matthews: 10-13-23
William Nylander: 9-10-19
Jack Roslovic: 6-9-15
Kirill Marchenko: 6-8-14
Easton Cowan: 6-8-14
Goaltenders:
Anthony Stolarz: 4-1-0
Sergei Bobrovsky: 3-5-2
Game Information:
Start time: 4:00 pm PT
Venue: Rogers Arena
Television: Sportsnet
Radio: KiSS West Coast
Jan 31, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk (74) handles the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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MONTREAL, QUEBEC - DECEMBER 20: Jacob Fowler #32 of the Montréal Canadiens makes a save against Rickard Rakell #67 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period of a game at Bell Centre on December 20, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Reuben Polansky-Shapiro/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Who:Pittsburgh Penguins (5-6-2, 12 points, 6th place Metropolitan Division) @ Montreal Canadiens (8-3-2, 18 points, 2nd place Atlantic Division)
When: 7:00 p.m. ET
How to Watch: Broadcast in Canada on SNE, SN1 and TVAS and locally on Sportsnet Pittsburgh, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins are back home next week for a Tuesday matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights and Thursday game against the Boston Bruins. The Pens then hit the road for a West Coast swing that starts next weekend with a back-to-back in Los Angeles and Anaheim.
Opponent Track: The Canadiens are riding a four-game win streak into Saturday despite losing captain Nick Suzuki to injury ahead of their recent road trip. The Habs have outscored opponents 13-4 over that away stretch, which was capped off Thursday by a 5-2 win at the Dallas Stars.
Season Series: The Penguins started out the season series earlier this month by blowing a four-goal lead before Tommy Novak scored in overtime to salvage a 6-5 win in Montreal. These two teams will meet for a final time this season Jan. 9 in Pittsburgh.
Hidden Stat: The Canadiens are on the longest win streak in the NHL thanks to their 4-0-0 run through their recent road trip.
Getting to know the Canadiens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Cole Caufield – Alex Newhook – Juraj Slafkovsky
Chris Kreider – Oliver Kapanen – Josh Anderson
Zack Bolduc – Phillip Danault – Alexandre Texier
Florian Xhekaj – Jake Evans – Kirby Dach
DEFENSEMEN
Lane Hutson / Noah Dobson
Kaiden Guhle / Alexandre Carrier
Arber Xhekaj / Adam Engstrom
Goalies: Jakub Dobes, Jacob Fowler
Potential scratches: Mike Matheson (day to day)
Injured Reserve: Ivan Demidov, Sam Montembeault, Nick Suzuki
The Canadiens announced last week Suzuki would miss two to four weeks with an upper-body injury. Star winger Ivan Demidov is toward the latter end of his own two-to-four week injury timeline, while former Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson missed the Habs’ last game with a lower-body injury.
Jakub Dobes was the star of the Canadiens’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals last spring, but he struggled to start the season before bouncing back in Thursday’s win in Dallas. It’s been Jacob Fowler who has stepped up most for the Canadiens, and given that Dobes started against the Stars it could be Fowler back in net against the Pens.
Alex Newhook, who has replaced Suzuki as the Habs’ first-line center in the short term, is coming off his most productive game of the season following a two-goal outing in Dallas.
Cole Caufield is another player who’s stepped up amid the Canadiens’ current injury absences. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn reported Caufield has gone from a 22.6 percent contested lose puck recovery rate, a number at which he’s spent most of his career, to ranking fifth in the NHL by recovering 44 percent of his contested loose puck battles so far.
One thing the Canadiens haven’t been able to figure out with Suzuki and Demidov is their power play, which has sunk to 31st in the league after converting on just 10.3 percent of opportunities so far this season. The Penguins will hope to take advantage of that as one of five teams with multiple shorthanded goals so far this season.
Habs keep leads, Pens blow them
The Penguins could learn something from how the Canadiens reacted to failing to close out games earlier this season.
The Habs were struggling with blown leads early this fall, most recently in an Oct. 20 loss during which the Canadiens gave up a two-goal third-period advantage in an overtime defeat by the San Jose Sharks.
The Canadiens responded by claiming four straight regulation wins and successfully weathering multiple late comeback attempts on their recent road trip.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Tommy Novak – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell
Egor Chinakhov – Ben Kindel – Evgeni Malkin
Andrei Kuzmenko – Hendrix Lapierre – Ville Koivunen
The Penguins stuck with their same lines in Friday’s practice following Thursday’s late-game collapse against the Mammoth.
Erik Karlsson (949 career points) is one point away from tying Brent Burns for a spot on the NHL’s list top-10 list of most productive defensemen.
Sidney Crosby (1,111 career assists) is one assist away from passing the Boston Bruins’ Ray Bourque for the most helpers with a single team in NHL history.
The Montreal Canadiens will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second time this season, and this time, they’ll hope to do it right. In the second game of the season, the Habs dug themselves into a 5-1 hole before mounting an impressive comeback, only to lose in overtime. The goal came on an odd-man rush sparked by a bad line change.
While the Canadiens are on a four-game winning streak, the Penguins are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games and are currently 14th in the Eastern Conference. Still, the Pens have won eight out of the last 10 games between the two teams, including the last two duels.
At the time of writing, it is unclear who will be in net for the Canadiens. Will Jakub Dobes get a chance to avenge his early-October loss, or will Jacob Fowler be back after a night off in Dallas? Dobes played very well on Thursday, but Fowler feels like he's earned the right to be in net Saturday night; he’s still hot and only sat to let the Czech netminder get some action. Fowler is 2-0-0 against the Pens with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. Meanwhile, Dobes has a 0-0-2 against the visitors with a 4.35 GAA and an .852 SV.
As for the Penguins, Arturs Silovs has a 2-0-0 record against the Habs with a 3.79 GAA and a .840 SV, hardly impressive numbers, but he still won his two games. It’s a different story for Sergei Murashov; the 22-year-old has only nine NHL games to his name and has never faced the Canadiens.
Chris Kreider is the Canadiens’ highest scorer against Dan Muse’s men; he has put up 40 points against them in 48 games. Captain Nick Suzuki is a distant second with 17 points in 19 duels, but he’s still out of the lineup. Alternate captain Josh Anderson is next with 12 points in 30 tilts. It remains to be seen whether Mike Matheson (11 points in 23 games against the visitors) will be back in the lineup after missing Thursday night’s game with a mysterious lower-body injury; chances are he won’t, since he needed further evaluation. There are still no words on Samuel Montembeault and Ivan Demidov. The former should be back by now, according to the initial timeframe, while the latter should be nearing a return.
Unsurprisingly, Crosby is the Pens’ most productive player against the Habs with 73 points in 56 games, followed by Evgeny Malkin, who’s on 67 points in 53 games. Erik Karlsson comes in third with 46 points in 56 games, just ahead of Kris Letang, who has 43 points in 51 games. The Pens are still without Bryan Rusk, Elmer Soderblom, and Trevor van Riemsdyk, who are all injured.
The game is set for 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on TVA Sports in French and Sportsnet in English. Kendrick Nicholson and Pierre Lambert will ref the game, while Andrew Smith and Jeremy Faucher will be the linesmen. If you are heading to the Bell Centre, don't forget to dress up; that's the only way to enjoy Halloween in the Mecca of hockey.
The Chicago Blackhawks (4-9-0) are in a bad way. They are 0-5-0 on the road, and they face another tough test against the Boston Bruins (9-4-1) at TD Garden. This will be the second of two straight road games before they return home for a game against the Colorado Avalanche.
Right now, the Blackhawks face multiple issues. For one, they can’t score goals. They are dead last in the league with 27. Connor McDavid has more assists than the Blackhawks have goals. Under no circumstances should that stat ever be true, but it is.
Chicago also struggles defensively. They have allowed 48 goals this season, which gives them a -21 goal differential. When they don’t have the puck, they spend significant portions of the time hemmed in their own defensive zone. They mostly find it very hard to gain possession back, and when they do, it can be a major struggle to break out.
Sometimes things are better when they are against a lesser opponent, but the Bruins are one of those top teams capable of making things very difficult. Their forecheck is as relentless as anyone that the Blackhawks have played so far.
Scouting Boston
The Boston Bruins had mixed expectations coming into 2026-27. Some thought they could build on their rebound season a year ago, and some predicted regression. Well, those who were on the side of the Bruins having a good year are off to a good start. The Bruins roll 4 lines that all contribute and matter to the overall attack. However, they also have a superstar scorer to be that “game breaker,” in David Pastrnak.
Peterka-Zacha-Pastrnak
Khusnutdinov-Minten-Geekie
Mittelstadt-Lindholm-Hagens
Jeannot-Poitras-Kastelic
Lindholm-McAvoy
Zadorov-Borgen
Lohrei-Clifton
Swayman
DiPietro
The Bruins have a few other good, established forwards in JJ Peterka, Pavel Zacha, and Morgan Geekie, among others, but they also have their fair share of young players who have hit the ground running. Examples include Fraser Minten, Marat Khusnutdinov, James Hagens, and Matthew Poitras.
On defense, Charlie McAvoy is their Olympic-caliber number one who contributes to their success at even strength and on special teams. Hampus Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov lead the depth from there. When they’re at their best, it’s a goalie-friendly team, so both Jeremy Swayman and Michael DiPietro are in a good situation.
In the case of Swayman, however, we are talking about a Vezina-caliber superstar. He can steal games if the Bruins have a weaker day. For the Blackhawks, who have a hard time scoring as is, beating either netminder would be a tremendous challenge.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NHL, but they also allow goals at a high clip. Is it the lineups or is it the systems? One way or another, we will find out this season.
On offense, everything they do goes through Connor Bedard. He is their best player, and he brings a high level of play regardless of what his teammates are doing. It won’t be until some of his peers start to break out that their overall attack is good enough to win.
Kantserov-Bedard-Teräväinen
Bertuzzi-Frondell-Donato
Moore-Nazar-Kane
Smith-Greene-Greenway
Vlasic-Cole
Kaiser-Levshunov
Korchinski-Rinzel
Soderblom
There is a chance that Bowen Byram returns from injury. If that were the case, expect Kevin Korchinski to come out. Even if Byram can’t go, it would not be a surprise if Jeff Blashill goes to Ethan Del Mastro for a game, either.
If the Blackhawks don’t start Arvid Soderblom, it would be very surprising. It’s been over 20 days since his last appearance, and Spencer Knight has started for 8 straight games. Even with it being the excellent Boston Bruins, it’s time for Soderblom to get a look.
These lines and defense pairs are from their last time out in Detroit. We won’t know any more details until warmups. When the lineup and how they strategize their lines are revealed, an update will be posted here.
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. It can be seen locally on CHSN. Nationally, you can stream it on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 12:00 PM CT.
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.
