Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj scored his first goal of the 2026-27 season against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night.
It was a nice goal from Xhekaj, too, as he beat Mammoth goalie Sebastian Cossa top shelf with a beautiful one-timer slap shot from the point.
With this goal, Xhekaj is now at the top of the NHL with an impressive stat.
According to NHL Public Relations, Xhekaj has now recorded this season's hardest shot that resulted in a goal. Xhekaj's shot with his goal was 97.22 MPH, which is simply excellent.
After scoring a goal like this, it is clear that Xhekaj should be looking to shoot the puck more from the point. This was undoubtedly a nice goal from the 25-year-old defenseman.
In 245 career NHL games, Xhekaj has now recorded 11 goals and 35 points. The big blueliner may not be known as an offensive defenseman, but he certainly showed with this goal that he can shoot.
It will now be interesting to see how Xhekaj builds off this great goal for the Canadiens from here.
Ben Hutton of the Ottawa Senators skates with the puck in a preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal, Sept. 26, 2026.
The Islanders signed Ben Hutton to a one-year deal Thursday, days after signing the defenseman to a professional tryout contract and hours before facing the Hurricanes at UBS Arena.
Given that Hutton wasn’t needed in the lineup for the 5-3 loss to the Hurricanes, the timing of the announcement was curious. Nevertheless, it is another option in coach Pete DeBoer’s holster for an injury-plagued defense.
Hutton, per PuckPedia, is on a prorated $900,000 salary.
The Senators’ Ben Hutton skates with the puck in a preseason game against the Canadiens on Sept. 26, 2026 in Montreal. Getty Images
For two consecutive games, the Islanders have gone with a two-righty bottom pair of Matt Kessel and Scott Mayfield. Hutton, a lefty, would rebalance things.
“You’re just trying to get him up to speed,” DeBoer said Thursday morning. “He hasn’t taken any real reps with NHL players since training camp. It’s a tough ask to come in midseason like that.
“He’s excited to be here. I think he’s excited to be around the group. You can tell he wants to play hockey. No one likes sitting at home. I can see his enthusiasm about being back in a team environment again. Every day, we’re just trying to get him back up to speed so that, when we do get a chance to look at him, we give him a fair chance.”
That chance may come awfully quickly.
For all the attention and anxiety over the Islanders’ remade power play, which has lately fallen back to earth, it’s their penalty kill that might deserve some plaudits.
Entering Thursday’s game, in which the PK was 2-for-2, the Islanders ranked top five in the league with a whopping 86 percent success rate on the penalty kill, even while taking Matthew Schaefer out of the PK rotation to conserve his minutes and even with injury hits to Ryan Pulock and Alexander Romanov, two defenders prominent in DeBoer’s PK plans.
“Not just the defensemen; I think our group of penalty killers is really good, and they have a history of being good here,” DeBoer said. “If you look back even last year and previous years, some teams are built to have really good power plays, some teams are built to have good penalty kills. And if you can get both, then you’re in a good spot.”
The Islanders debuted their Hometown Remix Fisherman jerseys Thursday. It’s the second time this decade they’ve brought back the infamous design, the first one during the 2022-23 season.
Semyon Varlamov started in net against Carolina, making it a 50-50 split between him and Ilya Sorokin over the past six games. Sorokin has started 10 of the Islanders’ first 15, on pace for roughly 56 starts of 84 games should the current trend hold. Varlamov made 34 saves on 38 shot attempts.
Mathew Barzal (left knee), Pulock (upper body) and Matias Maccelli (lower body) all took part in an optional Islanders morning skate while wearing red noncontact jerseys.
Pete DeBoer saw it first with Joe Thornton when he was in San Jose, then with Joe Pavelski while in Dallas. Now, it is 35-year-old Brayden Schenn on Long Island playing the role, “on the back nine” of his career, of a leading voice and mentor in the dressing room, while maintaining a high level of play in his own right.
“He recognizes he was brought in here as much for his intangibles as what he brings on the ice,” DeBoer said Thursday before Schenn scored a goal and had an assist in the Islanders’ 5-3 loss to the Hurricanes. “I think he understands that. I think he’s taken that piece of it and really embraced it.”
Indeed, as much as Schenn struggled last season upon arriving as the Islanders’ big-ticket acquisition at the trade deadline, one wonders if general manager Mathieu Darche is itching to find the nearest microphone and declare, “I told you so.”
Brayden Schenn dives for a puck near defenseman Mikey Anderson during the Islanders’ loss to the Kings on Oct. 22, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Schenn not only has stepped seamlessly into a leadership role in the Islanders dressing room, he is centering a trio with Emil Heineman and Victor Eklund that’s been the club’s most consistent line of late.
The difference between walking in midseason when cracks were already starting to form in the Islanders foundation and getting to participate in building the foundation from training camp onwards has been massive. Schenn has four goals and five assists through 14 games, has fit like a glove in DeBoer’s system and when asked about all of this Thursday morning, sheepishly replied, “I hate talking about myself.”
That is, of course, exactly how the Islanders want their older, example-setting veterans to respond to such a question. Schenn did acquiesce to explaining the added comfort he has with the Islanders now, as opposed to when he arrived in March.
“I would say it’s just everything. It’s not one thing,” he said. “You can’t pinpoint one thing and say that’s why. I think it’s, one, coming here, gotta prove yourself every single day in this league. You get a great opportunity to play with great linemates. The organization and the guys in the locker room have been awesome to us since Day 1 we’ve been here. So as you get more comfortable around the room, being around people, it just allows you to be yourself a little more. I still feel like I got better.”
Knowing his teammates and having training camp to develop chemistry makes a huge difference, as has DeBoer’s presence behind the bench.
Los Angeles defenseman Brian Dumoulin and center Brayden Schenn battle for possession on Oct. 22, 2026 at UBS Arena. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“I really enjoy playing for Pete. He’s a smart coach,” Schenn said. “I’ve learned a lot from him. Very good systematically, defensively. With a coach like that, as long as you’re bringing your effort within the system each night, he’s gonna reward the guys who want to do that. I think as a group, as a whole, we have a bunch of guys with complete buy-in who’ve realistically given ourselves a chance in every game.”
DeBoer took notice on a recent off day when he and the injured players were the only people at the facility. When DeBoer left, Schenn pulled in with his car.
“I’m sure he got his kids off to school and headed to the rink after that,” DeBoer said. “You can tell the guys who just love the process of it. He’s one of those guys.”
Indeed, DeBoer added that Schenn has the qualities of a future head coach. Heineman, his linemate, sounded similar notes.
“He [had been] been a captain [in St. Louis] for a long time. It shows on how he acts as a human being in the locker room and on the ice,” Heineman told The Post. “… You can tell right away he has a lot of experience in the league. He’s won [a Stanley Cup]. He knows what it takes.”
NEW YORK — The Flyers relinquished a third-period lead Thursday night and fell to the Rangers, 3-2, at Madison Square Garden.
Rick Tocchet’s club couldn’t nail down a 2-1 advantage.
“That’s inexcusable,” the Flyers’ head coach said. “Being up 2-1 and then you give them those goals we gave, it’s inexcusable.”
The Flyers gave up a game-tying power play goal with 6:08 minutes left. Denver Barkey was in the penalty box for slashing.
Tye Kartye scored New York’s game-winner with 4:39 minutes to go. Jamie Drysdale and Travis Sanheim were both checking up ice on the opposite side. The Flyers’ fourth line was out there. Sean Couturier got caught in the neutral zone, which left Kartye open through the middle.
“We’ve got to reload,” Tocchet said. “If you’re not going to score on your chances — we had breakaways and stuff — when you’re up 2-1, you’ve got to protect the interior of the ice. For whatever reason, when pressure hits us, we forget that.
“You’ve got to protect the interior of the ice. If something bad happens, you give them the outside stuff. It’s something that we’re going to have to continue to preach and go through this. Winning hockey is protect the middle of the ice. And we just gave them two plays in the middle of the ice. Even on the penalty, we can’t let people get to the interior.”
Simon Benoit and Noel Acciari found the back of the net for the Flyers. The goals came in the second period as the Flyers erased a 1-0 deficit.
“I think the third period, we were a little bit more on our heels than we were in the other two periods,” Acciari said. “I think we were trying to defend a lead rather than just play the game and do what made us successful during the other periods.”
The Flyers have lost five of their last six games (1-4-1) and 14 of 18 on the season (4-10-4). They own a minus-21 goal differential (excluding the shootout) and have scored just 2.17 goals per game.
On Thursday night, they were opening a five-game road trip that has them away from home until next Sunday.
“We know we have it in this room, we’ve shown it in periods,” Acciari said. “We’ve just got to, as a group, find a way to bring it for all three periods.”
This was the first of four meetings between the Flyers and Rangers (9-7-1).
“For a while, I thought we were in control of the game,” Tocchet said. “And then all of a sudden, they make a push and that’s when we really have got to dig in. You’ve got to protect the middle of the ice, that’s just Hockey 101 for me.”
• Joseph Woll denied 25 of 28 shots.
The 28-year-old was making his first start in a little over a week.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored New York’s game-tying power play goal. Woll had kept the Rangers off the board for a while until then.
“They’re down, they’re obviously going to push,” Sanheim said. “They get a break on a power play where the puck bounces to the guy in the middle and he makes a good shot. It’s what we do after that that’s kind of frustrating. You hate to give that next one up, you’d like to lock it down and at least get it to overtime and get a point out of it. Lesson learned and we’ll move forward.”
New York struck first just 4:39 minutes into the action on a double deflection. Gabe Perreault got a piece of J.T. Miller’s redirection. The Flyers had gotten stuck in the defensive zone and the Rangers made them pay.
New York rookie netminder Dylan Garand stopped 23 of the Flyers’ 25 shots.
Benoit was the unlikely spark for the Flyers. The 28-year-old defenseman scored just his seventh career NHL goal to tie the game at 1-1.
Just under two minutes later, the Flyers took the lead. Drysdale showed great mobility at the blue line to help set up Acciari’s goal. Barkey had the primary assist with good composure and vision around the net.
• Cole Knuble centered the Flyers’ second line.
Tocchet wanted to move him from the wing to the middle for some added speed.
At morning skate, Knuble was working on faceoffs with Acciari and Couturier. The 22-year-old rookie went 0 for 5 in the dot against the Rangers. But he did some good things.
Cole Knuble, who is playing center tonight, going over faceoffs with Sean Couturier. pic.twitter.com/EMCPYabTYA
The Buffalo Sabres returned home after a successful road trip with a 2-1 loss to the division-rival Ottawa Senators in the opener of a four-game homestand on Wednesday. If you look at the overall NHL standings, the Sabres are ranked 16th, which is slightly below expectations for a club that came within one goal of making the Eastern Conference Final, but their 7-5-3 record has them tied with Detroit in the basement of the Atlantic Division standings.
Just over a month into the regular season, every team in the Atlantic is over .500, and the margin between first place Boston and the Sabres/Red Wings is six points. With a .567 winning percentage, Buffalo would be in fifth place in the Metropolitan, tied for fifth in the Central, and in fourth place in the Pacific.
Injuries and absences have been a factor with many of the clubs in the division. Montreal has been without captain Nick Suzuki for more than two weeks, Ottawa has been without former Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark for the same, Florida has been without Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand for all but two games, Toronto are without center John Tavares and winger Kirill Marchenko, and Detroit is without RFA blueliner Simon Edvinsson and former captain Dylan Larkin, but the Sabres have been relatively healthy, other than a three-game upper body tweak to Rasmus Dahlin.
Can the Sabres find their mojo after a sluggish start of the season?
The Boston Bruins are proving that last year’s playoff berth was not a fluke, as they currently lead the division with an 11-4-1 record, and two clubs (Toronto and Florida) that missed the postseason by a wide margin, have thus far shown that they are improved and capable of competing for a playoff spot.
The issues with the Sabres are simple. They have not shown the same level of consistency, and same attention to defensive detail they displayed last season. Their offense is not as dependable without Alex Tuch, and the young forwards who they were relying on to pick up the slack, have not done so. The goaltending, primarily Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, has been spotty, and without Alex Lyon they have been forced to rely more on Colten Ellis.
Buffalo is just a few points out of a playoff spot, so their sluggishness out of the gate is not fatal, but it is a legitimate cause for concern.
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 08: Pavel Zacha #18 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his first period goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 8, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Welcome to Thursday Night Hockey, folks!
After an exciting win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, the Bruins will travel to Pennsylvania for a meeting with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins aren’t off to the best start, but they’ve still got plenty of talent, so this should be a good game.
The Buffalo Sabres seemed to find their stride on their four-game road trip, earning seven of a possible eight points with an overtime loss to Washington and three victories over San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles, but that success did not translate in the opening of their four-game homestand against the Ottawa Senators.
The Sabres looked sharp wearing their new “Hometown Remix” jerseys, but did not play as they appeared, managing only 25 shots on Senators backup Samuel Ersson and one goal on a Peyton Krebs deflection of a Tage Thompson late in the second period. Buffalo relied on a strong performance by goalie Colten Ellis, but defensive lapses led to Shane Pinto’s tying goal and Michael Amadio’s game-winner with 3:09 left.
"I can sum it up this way: I thought we got outskated, I thought that we got outworked. We gave up six or seven odd-numbered rushes and the game-winning goal was an odd-numbered rush," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said. “sure. " I thought we weren't skating well, some of the puck play wasn't very good. I'm not going to sit here and making excuses. We weren't good enough. (Ottawa) won more puck battles. They created more odd-numbered situations. They were smarter than us."
Is Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen still the Sabres goalie of the future?
The Sabres have earned points in seven of their eight games on the road (4-1-3) and are averaging 3.63 goals per game (8th in the NHL), but on home ice, where teams need to have success to make the playoffs, they are under .500 and are averaging 2.14 goals per game (27th in the NHL).
"We talked this morning about being better in this building. We won't better, and I think with three minutes left, we've taken a lot of pride in not giving up something like that when points mean big points, and you give up an odd-man rush again." Ruff said. “had "When we started getting a little bit going, it was more, net- front battles. You win a puck battle, you come off the wall, you're going to get some type of chance if you make the right play. I just feel that we didn't win enough battles."
The loss leaves the Sabres tied for the bottom spot in the Atlantic with 17 points and the second-worst goal differential in the Eastern Conference (-7), but the bigger concern is their lack of scoring. Tage Thompson (10 goals) and Jack Quinn (8 goals) account for 40% of the club’s offense.
Other than Noah Ostlund, no one has tallied more than three goals, which brings into focus the failure of GM Jarmo Kekalainen to address the offensive gap created by the departures of Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram, and why the Sabres are reportedly on the hunt for scoring help.
A former Buffalo Sabres goalie is available for the taking on the waiver wire.
This is because former Sabres goalie James Reimer has been placed on waivers by the New York Rangers, as reported by The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno.
Reimer signed a one-year contract with the Rangers late last month. Now, less than two weeks after signing with the Rangers, the former Sabres goalie has already been placed on waivers.
Reimer being placed on waivers come with Rangers goalie Joonas Korpisalo nearing his return from injury.
Reimer made one appearance for the Rangers on Oct. 26 against the Los Angeles Kings, and it was a nightmare. The former Sabres goalie allowed three goals on just eight shots in the first period before being pulled by the Blueshirts.
Reimer appeared in 22 games with the Sabres during the 2024-25 season. During them, he posted a 10-8-2 record, a .901 save percentage, and a 2.90 goals-against average.
This would be Reimer's lone season with the Sabres, as they opted not to re-sign him during the 2025 off-season.
The Chicago Blackhawks (4-11-1) are coming off another horrific loss. On Wednesday night, they were defeated on national television by the Florida Panthers. This will be their first back-to-back situation of the season.
Not only did they lose, but the NHL on TNT crew carved them up in front of the entire hockey-watching community in the United States. Now, they are playing a team equally as good in what promises to be a very tough environment.
Scouting Tampa Bay
The Tampa Bay Lightning (9-3-2) are one of the best teams in the National Hockey League right now, especially with that record. However, they are one of the teams in the NHL that is going through incredible turmoil that they did not see coming entering the season.
Last week, news broke that Nikita Kucherov informed the Lightning that he has no intention of signing an extension after this season, and his preference is to be traded. He will not miss games for them, however, due to the situation.
Kucherov is one of the greatest players in the history of the National Hockey League. In addition to winning the Stanley Cup twice, with four appearances in the Final, he has won the Hart Trophy 2 times, the Art Ross Trophy 3 times, and has been an All Star 7 times. In 893 career games, Kucherov has 405 goals, 739 assists, and 1144 points.
At 33 years old, it’s more than conceivable that he has 5 to 6 more years of being an incredible producer of offense. Kucherov was never the fastest player who uses his speed to dominate; it’s all about his brain and how he sees the game. That ability is not going away any time soon. It’s not like the Lightning lack talent around Kucherov, either.
Guentzel - Point - Kucherov
Hagel - Cirelli - Goncalves
Mikheyev - James - Holmberg
Viel - Geekie
Moser - Crozier
McDonagh - Cernak
Hedman - Carlson
D’Astous
Vasilevskiy
Hildeby
At forward, Braden Point, Jake Guentzel, Anthony Cirelli, and Brandon Hagel are all above-average, Olympian type of players. Again, there is no shortage of skill around Kucherov. The situation is not his issue. Feeling disrespected is his issue.
One of Tampa’s depth pieces may be familiar to Blackhawks fans, as they now have Ilya Mikheyev, who was an outstanding forward during his time in Chicago. Proving himself as a great 5-on-5 contributor and penalty-kill savant earned him a nice contract with Tampa.
Whether it’s JJ Moser, Ryan McDonagh, or Victor Hedman, the Lightning have a strong left defense. Whether it's the future Hall of Famer Andrei Vasilevskiy in net or backup Dennis Hildeby, they play well enough in front of them to make it easier for them to play their position.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks got a good game out of Frank Nazar on Wednesday. He scored two goals in the loss, both coming in the third period. If he can start turning up the heat offensively, the Blackhawks will have a much better chance of coming out of their funk.
Kantserov-Bedard-Bertuzzi
Moore-Nazar-Donato
Smith-Frondell-Teravainen
Mangiapane/Boucher-Greene-Greenway
Vlasic-Cole
Kaiser-Levshunov
Del Mastro/Rinzel/Korchinski
Soderblom
Knight
We are learning fast that this group was built with a flawed philosophy. For one, not enough veterans are key players on the team. All 4 centers are 23 or younger, and only Connor Bedard is advanced enough to be considered a true center at this time.
Patrick Kane is out with an injury and should be back soon, but other veteran forwards like Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, and Ryan Donato are not helping the young guys take steps with their own play.
On defense, it's a mess. Bowen Byram is still out. Ian Cole is a veteran, but he isn't at the top of his game like he once was, and the rest of the group is right around college age.
During warmups, we'll find out who the scratches are. The lines above have projections with certain players who may be rotated in. This post will be updated with answers. Unless Jeff Blashill goes back to Knight for the second evening in a row, Arvid Soderblom should make his 4th start of the season.
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 6:00 PM CT.
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 26: Nathan MacKinnon #29, Gabriel Landeskog #92 and Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche react after the team's 2-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Four of the Western Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on May 26, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Denver, CO — The final horn rang as I waited with members of the media to enter the room for the scrum after Colorado’s 5-2 win over the visiting New Jersey Devils. As the wait dragged on, I thought about the three goals that had happened since I moved from the press box to the locker room line.
Nathan MacKinnon added another page to his book of patented speed-burst, net-driving goals, Jaden Schwartz hammered home a rebound, and the Avalanche gave up another goal to Connor Brown.
If I’m being honest, I didn’t think Nathan MacKinnon had his best game that night, but it’s hard to say after he beat two defenders and Devils goalie Jake Allen in highlight fashion on the way to victory.
For much of the contest, the team still felt a bit disjointed. We saw errant passes, one-and-done offensive possessions, breakdowns, and yet another shorthanded goal against.
I felt the Avalanche might fall into yet another game where they outshot their opponent but still lost. Something Avalanche fans have seen time and time again.
Instead, the Avalanche gained a bit of steam while the Devils hit a wall in the second of a back-to-back. Gabe Landeskog and the second power-play unit tied it at one goal apiece, and Nic Roy made a beautiful pass to Nazem Kadri, who gave the Avalanche a lead that they wouldn’t give up.
Now, make no mistake: the shot log showed the Avalanche were getting more shots on net and, in general, controlling play, but that control and effort weren’t translating into scoreboard results, which, given the earlier struggles, was a bit concerning.
My train of thought was interrupted as the press door opened for the locker room scrum, but I ended up thinking about the question: will the Avalanche see this as a good all-around performance, or another mediocre night that benefited from a tired NJ team?
When questions came to Gabe Landeskog, who wore the player-of-the-game chain (a blinged-out chain with an Avalanche pendant), I got the sense the win eased some of the anxiety and that the captain was overall happy with their performance.
“I thought it was great,” Landeskog mentioned. “We didn’t get rewarded until the third period, but I thought we did a good job of sticking with it.” Colorado’s recent struggles were clearly top of mind. “We wanted to make sure we just bounced back and played our game…”
The scrum then moved to Nazem Kadri, who stood at his stall for questions. “I think a lot of guys have chemistry in here.” Naz mentioned, when asked about the chemistry he seemed to have with Nic Roy on his goal, “I think that’s a great part of our team,” he added.
Parker Kelly was the subject of the final player availability and was asked what was said between the second and third period to inspire the comeback victory, “Nothing really; just stick with it. I think everyone in the room here felt pretty confident that we’d been owning the game for a bit, and if we just stuck to it, things were gonna start going our way.” When asked if he saw this victory as a get-right-win, “Yeah, for sure, I think everyone can leave the rink today feeling good about their game.”
Press members then made the trek from the locker room back to the press lounge where Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar sat comfortably waiting for us to get started.
When asked about what changed between phases of the game, Bednar said, “I liked our first period, actually. We didn’t create as much in the first offensively, but on the defensive side I thought we were really good.” Bednar saw strong defensive effort for 40 minutes.
So what in the world was I picking up on regarding this contest? I was half expecting more of a “yeah we got the win, but it’s still not good enough,” and instead I got, “That was our best 60 minutes of hockey all year.”
Well, I think it’s important to consider how the victory frames successes, delegitimizes criticism, and whether that’s always appropriate. Part of what I just said is common sense, but I am a detail-oriented guy, and that approach leaves me a bit confused at times, since the details suggest not much has been solved for Colorado.
A whopping 20 giveaways against the Devils in a victory is four more than the 16 everyone was up in arms about against the Flyers in defeat.
A 50% power play is great, but the context- the first unit giving up a shorthanded goal and the second unit breaking through- isn’t as uplifting. That’s a net-zero advantage, as far as I’m concerned.
Moreover, in the days since the presser I just detailed, the Avalanche have fallen right back into their road woes, going down 2-0 to the lowly Blackhawks before staging a comeback. Then they got right back to it against Columbus, who dominated the Avs from start to finish.
The underlying metrics suggest my eyes may have been fooled by Nathan MacKinnon, who had a strong 5-on-5 expected goals percentage (73.57%) and the best 5-on-5 Corsi percentage (80.56%) among Avalanche skaters that night against the Devils.
Still, I stand behind my eye-test observations of Nathan MacKinnon, who is undoubtedly one of the most talented hockey players in the world. That fact shouldn’t make him immune to criticism, and I haven’t seen as much consistency in the effort department as I’m used to.
Keep in mind that I’ve seen Nathan MacKinnon play on just about every stage there is, from the Olympic Gold Medal Game or Stanley Cup Clincher to game 14 of the regular season. The version of Nate that the Avalanche have seen so far this year can always affect a game, but doesn’t always seem engaged in doing so.
Of course he won’t skate in game 14 of the regular season as he does in the gold medal game, but the gap between those two versions of Nate feels too large right now.
Nathan MacKinnon has 27 points in the 16 games played so far, which is elite-level production. It’s hard to admonish someone with that stat line, but in more than half of Colorado’s seven losses, MacKinnon has been held pointless.
I understand a matured MacKinnon has no need to will his team to victory this early in the season, but this is the same group that harkened back to “good habits” and didn’t flip the switch while chasing a Presidents’ Trophy last season. MacKinnon also said something at training camp that has stuck with me ever since: “We have to find ways to make the regular season enjoyable.”
So what is this team’s identity in the here and now?
Are they going with the 2025-26 Vegas approach, taking it easy in 2026 so they have the legs in 2027, or does the expectation never change because they have to build on good habits?
It’s time for the Avalanche to pick a lane, as it feels like we have learned nothing about them in terms of the big-picture concerns we may have. They still fall behind early, still give up short-handed goals, and still don’t start on time.
They outscored their problems against a tired New Jersey squad, and did the same against a lesser Blackhawks team. It was tough to get more than seven against the Blue Jackets, though.
I’m curious to see what sort of shake ups we see after #Avs head coach Jared Bednar mentioned “changing his approach” as it pertained to ice time.
These are the groupings we grown accustomed to:  LEHKONEN — MACKINNON — NECAS LANDESKOG — KADRI — ROY SCHWARTZ — NELSON —…
In my first installment of ‘Readin the Room,’ I mentioned that at camp the Avalanche were jovial, with little tension or panic in the room. I ended that work with “let’s see how that changes throughout the season,” and well, as we sit today, it’s gotten a bit tighter around the collar.
Conversations with other press members have shifted from critiquing little things to contemplating philosophical approaches and taking turns answering the question, “what’s going on with this team?”
If this article feels slow to get to you folks, it’s because I thought about not posting it at all after the Avs won two straight. I thought to myself, Adrian, you are getting caught up in the short-term results; just let it go.
Well, I tried to let this article go, but once I heard Jared Bednar say, “We’re a fifth of the way through the year now, so now I have to change my approach,” on the heels of an embarrassing 7-2 defeat, in talks with Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette, I had to fire it off.
Clearly Bednar is seeing a bit of what I’m talking about as well.
Wedgewood had a "shit" night. Jared Bednar wasn't about to put it all on his goalie, though.
He's seen this far too often early on from his #GoAvsGo.
"It's hot, cold, hot, cold right now, so it's about consistency. Now I have to change my approach."https://t.co/jFr0gP1k2p
On Altitude Sports Radio, Jared Bednar elaborated on his quote with this: “Well, it just means I can’t be too patient on the bench if I notice a player, a line, a D pair, a defenseman, like if we’re not going on a certain night and I know we’re not going, I can’t be too patient and keep playing guys to see if they’re going to come around because the results aren’t coming with it, you know what I mean?”
After last night's 7-2 loss, Coach Bednar said he needs to change his approach to distributing ice time.
What does that mean, exactly?
"If we're not going on a certain night…I can't be too patient & keep playing guys to see if they're going to come around."#GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/diUUVx2yIU
— 92.5 FM – Denver's Altitude Sports Radio (@AltitudeSR) November 4, 2026
It sounds like the leash is shortening, and that we may see more obvious benching and demotion-style usage if things don’t start to turn around soon.
We will see exactly what that looks like tonight against the Nashville Predators back on home ice.
Let us know what you think of the Colorado Avalanche’s current state in the comments!
The Colorado Avalanche have plenty of problems to sort out right now, but one in particular keeps coming back to haunt them. His name is Ryan O’Reilly, and the former Avalanche forward has been nothing short of a nightmare for his old team over the last two meetings.
Nashville has won two straight against the Avalanche, outscoring them 13-5 in the process. The Predators aren’t considered to be a playoff threat, but they’ve looked like bonafide Stanley Cup contenders against the Avalanche as of late.
Leading the charge has been a familiar face.
O’Reilly, who was selected first overall by Colorado in the 2009 NHL Draft and spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the organization, has turned into an absolute headache for his former club as of late.
The 35-year-old has scored five goals in 10 career games against the Avalanche. But here’s where things get a little ridiculous: all five have come in the last two meetings.
O’Reilly first put on a show at Ball Arena on January 16, recording a hat trick as Nashville cruised to a 7-3 victory.
The two clubs met again nearly two weeks later at Bridgestone Arena, and the result wasn’t much different.
Nashville routed Colorado again defeat, this time by a score of 6-2. O’Reilly was once again right in the middle of everything, finding the back of the net twice.
Combined, O'Reilly has racked up five goals and three assists for eight points in Nashville's last two meetings against Colorado.
Nobody is suggesting the Avalanche should throw the entire defensive game plan out the window just to chase one player around the ice. Hockey doesn’t work that way. But when O’Reilly has had a hand in four of Nashville’s seven goals at Ball Arena and four of its six in the rematch, it’s hard to ignore the pattern.
And perhaps that’s a bigger problem than it initially appears, because the Avalanche (9-6-1) are beginning to reach an interesting crossroads. Are they still a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, or are we starting to see a team that’s far more vulnerable than its reputation suggests?
The frustrating part is that Colorado has shown it can look like just about anybody in the league. At its best, this team is breathtaking. The speed, skill, physicality and overall execution can make the Avalanche look like an unstoppable force. But at its worst? Well, there’s a pretty uncomfortable contrast.
Watching Colorado this season has been a case of strong whiplash. One night, you’re standing in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral, admiring something absolutely breathtaking: colorful, intricate, beautiful and almost impossible to look away from.
The next night, you’re looking at Chernobyl. It’s either a masterpiece or a nuclear meltdown, and the inconsistency is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook.
The last thing Colorado needs is another disaster against Nashville. And if the Avalanche are serious about getting back on track, it might have to start with finding a way to get physical with their former first-round pick and make life a little more difficult for O'Reilly.
The Avalanche take on the Predators Thursday night at Ball Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. local time.
The Bruins are having another strong year, posting an 11-4-1 record through 16 games and leading the Atlantic Division. Every time I think the Bruins will take a step back, they do the complete opposite.
David Pastrnak is still ridiculous, racking up eight goals and 20 points in 16 games. He's not only one of the NHL's best goal scorers, but also an excellent playmaker.
James Hagens is also off to a great start in his first full NHL season with six goals and 12 points in 16 games. He made his debut last year and very much looks the part this year.
Elias Lindholm is second on the team in points with 13, while Morgan Geekie, JJ Peterka, Fraser Minten, Pavel Zacha, and Casey Mittelstadt have also had strong starts to the season.
Defensively, Charlie McAvoy does everything in all three zones and is one of the best at his position. The Sidney Crosby line will likely get a healthy dose of him in this game.
In goal, Jeremy Swayman ranks sixth in the NHL with 7.3 goals saved above expected and has a .913 save percentage in 12 appearances this season. He's one of the league's best goaltenders, so it will be paramount for the Penguins to get traffic in front of him.
The Penguins will get back Evgeni Malkin for this game after he missed Tuesday's game with an undisclosed injury. Arturs Silovs will start in goal after another strong showing on Tuesday.
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. You can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'
Drake Batherson knows a thing or two about being a late bloomer in hockey. But compared to his former junior teammate, Dillon Boucher, the Senators forward was practically an overnight success.
Boucher made his NHL debut Wednesday night at the age of 29 with the Chicago Blackhawks against the Florida Panthers, completing one of the more unlikely roads to hockey's highest level.
Drake Batherson discusses playing on a line with Shane Pinto and Philip Tomasino (Senators YouTube).
It was a moment that didn't go unnoticed by Batherson, who took to Instagram to congratulate his old friend.
Screenshot via Drake Batherson/Instagram.
Batherson and Boucher are former teammates from their days with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
Both players are Nova Scotia natives, but since they played together in the Q nearly a decade ago, their careers couldn't be more different.
Batherson is now in his ninth NHL season. Boucher has been grinding away in Canadian University hockey and then the minors, never giving up on the dream.
It's been quite a road.
Following his time in the Q, according to Hockeydb.com, Boucher spent another season playing Junior A hockey with the Miramichi Timberwolves in the Maritime Junior Hockey League. For most players, that might signal the end of an NHL dream.
But Boucher wasn't finished.
The native of Head of Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia, went on to play four seasons of university hockey at Dalhousie, continuing to develop his game while earning an education.
From there, he worked his way into pro hockey, spending two full seasons with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL, where he eventually became team captain. He put up 35 points and 242 penalty minutes in 151 games before making the jump to Chicago's AHL team.
He returned to Rockford to begin this season, chasing the dream that must have still felt like a long shot.
But on Tuesday, he got the call. The Hawks recalled Boucher from Rockford, and he made his NHL debut on Wednesday against the Florida Panthers.
Boucher isn't the kind of player who makes his living putting up offence. Not unlike Hayden Hodgson, he's a rugged, physical forward who brings energy and a willingness to drop the gloves.
Last season, Boucher was involved in a couple of epic brawls with Tyrel Bauer in the AHL. Interestingly, Bauer had a memorable NHL moment of his own Tuesday night, recording a Gordie Howe hat trick while helping spark Winnipeg's historic comeback against Montreal.
For Batherson, as his instagram story shows, watching Boucher reach the NHL must have been satisfying.
Batherson's own road to the NHL wasn't exactly conventional. He was initially passed over in both the QMJHL and NHL drafts before the Sens took a shot on him as a 19 year old in round four of the 2017 draft.
But once Batherson got his opportunity, his career took off pretty quickly during a Sens' rebuild/youth movement. He's now among the league's better-paid players and an established offensive force with the Senators.
But Boucher's trek required patience. A lot of it.
There were no guarantees during his four years at Dalhousie, no assurances during his time in Wichita, and certainly no promises that his time in Rockford would ever lead to the show.
But he kept battling and believing.
And on Wednesday night, at 29 years old, he became an NHL player.
PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 22: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Declan Carlile (72) skates with the puck during the third period in the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Florida Panthers on October 22, 2026, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Declan Carlile has been a big topic of discussion this season, and especially lately given how he seems to be at the center of a lot of things that go wrong.
Especially in high-leverage situations, in big moments, late in games.
It happened against Utah when Logan Cooley tied the game.
It happened against Vegas when Tomas Hertl won the game.
It has happened so often that Carlile has been on the ice for more goals against during 5-on-5 play this season (19) than any other player on the Penguins roster. The next closest player is Erik Karlsson, who has only been on the ice for 15 goals against despite playing 15 more minutes than Carlile. Nobody else on the team has been on the ice for more than 13 goals against during 5-on-5 play.
Whether that is all Carlile’s fault is certainly up for debate. What is not up for debate is that is a lot of goals.
Given the issues, and the timing of them in a lot of cases, it was naturally a point of discussion with head coach Dan Muse on Wednesday. And Muse had no interest in throwing his defenseman under the bus and put together a very passionate defense of him.
“Declan Carlile is typically the first guy out on that penalty kill every time,” Muse said. “If you go back earlier in (Tuesday’s) game, that same exact play happened and Declan Carlile, he ends up stopping the play. It rolls in there, (goaltender Arturs Silovs) holds onto it. Almost the exact same thing.
“We’re going to talk about this because at the end, it ended up being a goal against. But I think you’re also missing some of those other things. You (media) weren’t complaining about his play on the penalty kill until last night. He was getting the job done, he was out there. If you go through the goals against, there might have been one where we had it marked down in terms of being on him. Either that or last night was the first one. Those things are there.
“If you want to put blame on him, I think it’s a misstep by you (media) and everybody else because there’s also some other things that he’s doing really well. And he’s a guy who played (46) NHL games prior to this year. He’s come in here. Is he taking on bigger responsibilities? He is. Is that part of it? Is that something that sometimes players need in order to grow and get better? It is. There’s going to be times too where, if you want guys to continue to grow, they’re going to be in some situations where — and there’s been plenty of them — it’s become the penalty kill with him this year where he’s come up with a big block or a big clear or a big moment there. Last night wasn’t one of them. So, we learn from it. We get better.
“But you go through the game tape, he was in that same exact moment (earlier) and he had some good plays in the game as well. He’s a guy who’s younger in this league. There’s still plenty of room for growth but I also see there’s really good qualities and good things that he has done as well and he’ll continue to grow.”
I actually like a lot of that answer, and there are a lot of things in there he is completely right about.
(Or, at the very least, things I agree with.)
Specifically the nature of us (media and fans) focussing on the plays that don’t work and ignoring the ones that do. He’s right to point out that Carlile successfully defended a nearly identical play earlier in the game that went largely unnoticed. It went unnoticed because the puck didn’t end up in the back of the net. We even tend to overlook the mistakes that happen that don’t result in a goal. It usually just results in a quick “well he really got away with that one,” comment and then everybody forgets about it like it never happened.
We notice the ones that DO end up in the back of the net, because we notice goals, because goals win and lose games, and then we spend all of our time analyzing what went wrong on that particular play. That same detail isn’t being put into the 15 plays earlier in the game that don’t have that result.
I also don’t expect a coach to publicly throw his player under the bus just because everybody wants a pound of flash to satisfy their anger after a tough loss. Maybe he is being more critical behind closed doors. He probably is. He almost certainly is. But when it comes to facing the public and putting things on the record, most coaches aren’t going to be John Tortorella or Rick Bowness or Mike Babcock and absolutely skewer a guy for being responsible for a goal (or several goals).
Muse also touched on something that is going to drive me nuts this season, even though I wasn’t necessarily expecting Carlile to be one of the subjects of it.
It’s the part where he talks about Carlile entering this season with less than 45 games played in the NHL, taking on a bigger role, and dealing with mistakes and struggles that come with that.
That is something that I don’t think a lot of Penguins fans are prepared for, especially as the team has an eye on the future and starts working in younger players.
Even though Carlile is 26 years old, he’s still relatively unproven as an NHL player, and especially as a defenseman being tasked with playing big minutes for the first time ever. Inexperienced players, whether they are at a young age or simply haven’t played much in a certain role at a certain level, are going to make mistakes. If you want the Penguins to get younger, play younger players, and put younger players into bigger roles, you can’t just immediately toss them aside the second something doesn’t work.
Sergei Murashov is going to have some crappy games this season. It doesn’t mean he stinks and won’t be good.
Ville Koivunen is going to make mistakes. He hasn’t even played a full season’s worth of NHL games. It doesn’t mean he won’t or can’t be a good NHL player.
Ben Kindel is going to make some mistakes. His age still ends with “teen” and
If you’re expecting these guys to just show up and immediately play clean hockey from the start, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. You can’t have it both ways. If you want to see the development, you have to experience the growing pains. It’s been a long time since we’ve had to do this here.
Even though Carlile isn’t really coming from the same place as them as a prospect, he’s still a guy with limited NHL ice time playing a role and minutes he’s never played before. There are going to be mistakes.
The question you have to ask, especially with a player like Carlile, is whether or not there is an upside here that is worth playing through those growing pains. Maybe there is. Carlile was basically replacing Parker Wotherspoon this season, not only in terms of role, but also fitting the same profile of a mid-20s player with limited NHL experience that was waiting for a bigger role. As good as Wotherspoon turned out to be last season by the end of it, he did have some mishaps early in the year. There were some rocky moments before he really started to solidify himself in that role. He was also two years older than Carlile with about 50 more games of NHL experience. Does that mean Carlile is destined to put it all together the same way and figure it out? Absolutely not. But Muse isn’t wrong about the process.
Having said that….
That doesn’t mean the criticism of Carlile and his usage is off-base at this point. Results are what they are, and you can’t hide from it. It also doesn’t mean you can’t make adjustments based on situations. If you see a guy that keeps getting beat in high-leverage roles or high-leverage situations (and there is a trend here with Carlile in those moments), you can pull them back from for a bit. It doesn’t mean you never revisit it. It doesn’t mean they never get a chance at it. It just means you try something different if Plan A is not working.
A young player can sit for a game or two and get a different perspective. It doesn’t have to be a punishment. It can be a reset and a fresh set of eyes. It can simply be giving somebody else a different role and a different opportunity.
Carlile has not played as well as hoped. Maybe he never will. You are right to be critical of that. You are right ot want to see different players on the ice in a big moment in the closing minutes. Maybe you should see a different player in that spot the next time it arises. Dan Muse is also right to have a bigger picture viewpoint of it and defend his player the way he did.
On Tuesday, TSN's Darren Dreger made an interesting report on the situation between the Detroit Red Wings and center Dylan Larkin.
The NHL insider said on the show Insider Trading, the Red Wings have yet to receive an offer from a team on Larkin's trade list that they could take to the 30-year-old and say, "this is a deal we can make."
Instead, Detroit has reportedly received an offer from an undisclosed team that is not on Larkin's list, one that interim GM Shawn Horcoff is reportedly willing to accept, according to Dreger. Larkin's camp, however, still believes better offers are out there from teams on his initial ten-team list.
The report brings another one into focus as earlier this week on Monday, TSN's Chris Johnston said on The Chris Johnston Show that the Buffalo Sabres made a "pretty big offer at one point" but were told Larkin wasn't willing to waive his no-move clause to go there.
Buffalo came up again when Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said on his 32 Thoughts podcast on Thursday that some teams are pushing hard to get onto Larkin's trade list, citing the Sabres as one of them. Larkin will need some convincing, but Buffalo appears to be one of the teams on the outside looking to make a massive push to get in.
The Sabres have plenty of young forwards, especially at the NHL level. They also made a strong push for Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck before he was dealt to New Jersey, and they may view Larkin as their next top target.
Buffalo has more than enough assets to put together a solid offer, and Detroit is likely already willing to accept one. The only caveat is that Larkin won't waive his no-move clause.
The Sabres have first-round picks in each of the next three years and young centers like Zach Benson, Konsta Helenius and Noah Östlund. They also have a potential top-six center option in Josh Norris, as well as notable prospects like forward Ilia Morozov and defenseman Radim Mrtka.
If Larkin were to expand his list to include Buffalo, a deal might already be done. With the Sabres not making the cut so far, Horcoff still appears to have his work cut out for him in getting a trade done.
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