The Penguins were lethargic for much of the game and couldn't get into an offensive rhythm. It also didn't help that Flames goaltender Devin Cooley was on top of his game and stopped the chances that the Penguins did get.
The Penguins will try to bounce back from that loss against a Boston Bruins team that won 10-2 over the New York Rangers on Saturday. The Bruins got hat tricks from Pavel Zacha and Marat Khusnutdinov in the win. Khusnutdinov, in particular, scored four goals during the game.
David Pastrnak finished the game with six assists, and goaltender Jeremy Swayman finished with a .931 save percentage. Pastrnak now has 19 goals and 55 points this season.
Morgan Geekie suited up for the game, but had to leave early due to a family emergency. Geekie has been spectacular this year, compiling 25 goals and 41 points in 45 games.
Defenseman Charlie McAvoy does it all for the Bruins and is elite in all three zones. He finished Saturday's game with a goal and an assist, and figures to draw the matchup against the Sidney Crosby line.
Speaking of Crosby's line, it's expected to still look a bit different since Bryan Rust is day-to-day with an injury. Tommy Novak replaced Rust on that line against the Flames.
Here's a look at the full lineup after the Penguins tweeted out the lines:
Forwards
Mantha-Crosby-Rakell
Malkin-Hayes-Chinakhov
Novak-Kindel-Brazeau
Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari
Defense
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Kulak-Letang
Shea-Clifton
Arturs Silovs started in goal on Saturday, meaning it's Stuart Skinner's turn for Sunday. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'
Minnesota lost that game in overtime 4-3 on a Simon Holmstrom overtime-winner.
The Wild got the first goal of the game though and it came off the stick of Ben Jones. It was his first NHL goal and his first NHL point in his 49th career NHL game.
Ben Jones and Quinn Hughes were teammates growing up on the Toronto Marlboros.
Tonight, Ben Jones scores his first career NHL goal... with an assist from Quinn Hughes 👏
Jones, 26, had played in 48 NHL games in three seasons in the league. He had no points. He played in 26 games last year for the Wild and had zero points and 51 hits. This season he now has one goal and 51 hits in 21 games this season.
In fact, Jones had the second-longest streak to open a career with out a point (408:11 time on ice), behind only Adam Durish of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2006-07 (463:17).
“Yeah, it wore on me a little bit,” Jones said after the game. “You try not to focus on it. Obviously, that’s not what I do to help the team, but it’s great to contribute. It seemed like people were thinking I was going for some record that I kept getting tagged in, of not getting a point in however many games. But no, it was nice to get the first one, and yeah, a big sigh of relief for sure.”
Jones' goal was a tip-in off a Brock Faber point shot. Quinn Hughes passed it to Faber before he shot it. Jones and Hughes grew up playing hockey together and are the same age. They were good friends then and are still friends now.
A full circle moment for sure.
“He [Hughes] kept saying that he felt like he was going to be a part of the first one, and he made it happen,” Jones said. “So, I was happy to see that.”
Hughes added: “Life works like that. It was a weird one. I had a feeling that would happen.”
Jones had three points waived off earlier in his career with the Wild due to goalie interference calls that actually happened because Jones clipped the goaltender. There is no doubt this one felt good for Jones to finally get on the scoresheet and not see zeros anymore.
“Really happy for Jonesy,” Wild head coach John Hynes said. “He plays so hard for a team. He fits a lot of different roles, and it was a long time coming for him.
"Coming into the game, one of our game plans was, we had to get to the net front, into that area. That was something that we targeted. And he scored the goal, driving right into the high slot for that tip area. So, good for him and happy for him.”
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To wrap up their four-game road trip and while in a standings free fall, the Anaheim Ducks traveled to Western New York to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday evening.
This was a battle between two teams with seasons heading in the opposite direction. The Ducks entered Saturday winless in their previous eight games and had only won two of their last 14 games. The Sabres came into this game looking to extend their winning streak to three games and having won 12 of their last 13 games.
Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba was unavailable for Anaheim in this one, as he returned home to Orange County in anticipation of the birth of his second child. Ducks forward Troy Terry missed his second consecutive game with an upper-body injury.
Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville, in another attempt to manufacture a spark within his lineup, blended his lines and pairs again for this game. Here’s how they lined up to start:
Gauthier-McTavish-Granlund
Killorn-Carlsson-Sennecke
Kreider-Poehling-Strome
Johnston-Washe-Nesterenko
Zellweger-Gudas
LaCombe-Moore
Mintyukov-Helleson
Lukas Dostal got the start in the Ducks’ crease and stopped 27 of 31 shots. He was opposed by Ukko-Pekka Luukonen in Buffalo’s net, who saved 31 of 34.
Game Notes
The Ducks got off to a slow start offensively in this game, struggling to string together multi-shot sequences and sustain pressure. Their start with the puck was compounded by their sizable defensive missteps, especially at the bluelines, which led to another 3-0 hole they had to attempt to climb out of.
The Ducks began a push around the halfway mark of the game, but it was ultimately too little, too late, despite encouraging signs both on the ice and analytically. At 5v5, they finished the game holding 60.38% of the shot attempts share, 51.92% of the shots on goal share, and 49.21% of the expected goals share, indicating they were funneling pucks to the Buffalo net from the perimeter; however, the Sabres were allowed more dangerous chances.
Rush Defense: When defending in transition, the Ducks’ weak-side defenseman is often too quick to pressure puck carriers on the strong side if their partner gets beaten on a pinch. They’re counting either on that partner to recover and track back through the middle or a back checker to cover. However, a quick scan will often display that there is no such support, and if that defenseman pressures the puck on the strong side of the ice, the middle would be left open.
The Ducks gave up several odd-man rushes in this game, as Buffalo’s wingers often flew the zone when they gained possession deep in the d-zone. Oftentimes, it wasn’t the fault of the pinching defenseman, but of the F3 covering or the F2 tracking back. F3 and F2 would often attempt to engage in the battle created by the pinching defenseman rather than taking a more responsible approach and continuing their trajectory into the neutral zone. The Sabres’ forward on the boards would often simply chip pucks into the neutral zone if they won possession and spring teammates on a 2v1.
Pavel Mintyukov: Mintyukov was a positive factor all game for Anaheim. He displayed his escapability to evade F1 pressure and led clean breakout sequences, often joining in on rushes after. Though he’s much improved in his end since the start of the season, he is still susceptible to failing to tie up his assignment at the crease, leading to them getting a tip on a perimeter shot or allowing them to get to a rebound first.
Beckett Sennecke: With Leo Carlsson’s struggles and Troy Terry’s absence, Sennecke is now the Ducks' most impactful offensive weapon on the roster. He is a threat to score any time he touches the puck; his puck protection has progressed leaps, and he’s diagnosing opposing defenses at an elite NHL level. Buffalo’s third goal proves he has a long way to still in his end, as he tends to lose his activated point man, which, even if done for a split second, can lead to a goal in the NHL. Ultimately, it’s a rookie making a rookie mistake, which is expected, and he’s sanded out a lot of other typical rookie blemishes through the first 45 games of his NHL career. There shouldn’t be too much cause for concern.
The Ducks will return home with a tall task ahead of them, as they’ll be hoping to snap their losing streak against the lethal Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at Honda Center.
The Vancouver Canucks started their Sunday by making three roster moves. Vancouver assigned defenceman Elias Pettersson to the Abbotsford Canucks while recalling defenceman Victor Mancini. The Canucks have also called up Nikita Tolopilo under emergency conditions.
Pettersson has played 38 games in Vancouver this season, but has recently been in and out of the lineup due to healthy scratches. On Saturday, he played 13:58 and finished the game with a plus/minus of -1. Pettersson should get plenty of ice time in the AHL, which should help his overall development.
As for Mancini, he has been one of Abbotsford's top defensemen this season. In 20 games, he has six points and 12 penalty minutes. This season, Mancini has played in five games at the NHL level but has not recorded a point.
Lastly, Tolopilo's call-up is most likely associated with the uncertainty surrounding Thatcher Demko's health. The Canucks goaltender left Saturday's game after the first period with a lower-body injury. Vancouver is currently on a six-game road trip, with their next matchup scheduled for Monday.
Jan 3, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Elias Pettersson (25) handles the puck against the Boston Bruins in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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Zach Werenski said of energy, "I feel like energy can come from guys playing with confidence, making plays. It's contagious. I don't want to say get reckless with it, but we have a lot of guys who can make plays here, and sometimes when we get a lead, we just resort to almost playing too simple and just giving the puck to the other team, and obviously, good teams make you pay."
Former Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson has officially retired from professional hockey and has been hired by the Vancouver Canucks to be a pro scout, the Canucks announced today.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that Laurence Gilman has been named the new Vice President of Hockey Operations. He will help Don Waddell in all aspects of the club’s hockey operations per a team statement.
The undrafted Zamula has played 168 NHL games and has 41 points for the Philadelphia Flyers.
“Egor is a mobile defenseman with good size who sees the ice well and can move the puck very efficiently. We are excited to have him join our hockey club,” said Don Waddell in a press release.
He will sign a one-year deal, per his Agent, Dan Milstein. It will be a prorated 1-million-dollar deal.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed Mason Marchment on IR with an undisclosed upper-body injury, per the club. Assuming they make it retroactive to the 4th, he'll miss all of their current four game road trip.
Marchment was apparently injured in the game last weekend against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It's all the rage amongst Columbus Blue Jackets fans to argue against pulling their goalie late in the game in an attempt to score. Some say it's pointless. Some say it Evason does it too early. Some say he does it too late. Is there a right answer? Yes, there is.
Texier was able to net his first career hat trick in his 262nd NHL game, scoring his third goal with just 50 seconds left in the game to power the Canadiens past the visiting Panthers.
Dmitri Voronkov(15), Mason Marchment(9), Kirill Marchenko(15), and Zach Werenski(15) scored the goals for the CBJ, while Jet Greaves could only stop 38 of the Pens' 43 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss.
This was embarrassing. There's really no other way to put it.
Having a 4-1 lead with 39 minutes to play should be almost an automatic win. But if you've watched the Blue Jackets play this season, you know that anything other than having a lead when the final buzzer sounds, isn't automatic.
Zach Werenski(16) and Sean Monahan(6) scored the only goals for Columbus, and Jet Greaves stopped 31 of 34 Sharks shots, including 10 of 11 of the Sharks five power plays, as the Blue Jackets would lose to San Jose 5-2.
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In the late hours of an entertaining Saturday night rivalry, it looked like the Edmonton Oilers had finally pushed through and secured their third straight win. Connor McDavid appeared to end it in overtime, crashing the net and nudging the puck past Los Angeles Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg as Rogers Place erupted.
Not so fast. Instead of it being a huge goal to top off a celebratory evening, many Oilers fans were left wondering what the officials saw that led them to rule the goal not count.
As McDavid took the puck to the net, he was pushed by Drew Doughty, and everyone went crashing into Forsberg. The officials immediately waved the goal off and, after a lengthy review, ruled it no goal due to goaltender interference.
The call stood, the cheers turned to boos, and thanks to a goal by Adrian Kempe -- who wasn't even credited with a shot on net all night -- Edmonton eventually fell 4–3 in a shootout to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Oilers have been searching for a third straight win this season since the puck dropped on the 2025-26 campaign. Good teams need to go on runs, and the Oilers have yet to do so. Another close loss was weighing on a frustrated McDavid as he spoke with the media after the game but kept things short.
“I feel like I have the puck and I’m taking it to the net. I’m getting pushed in. I feel like I also kinda maybe tapped it in on the other side." McDavid noted. "The refs and situation room have to make a call, and they felt differently. That’s the way it goes."
McDavid had already tied the game earlier on a five-on-three power play, extending his career-long point streak to 18 games and totaling 42 points during the run. His good friend, Leon Draisaitl, was also honored pregame for reaching 1,000 NHL points. Wives, parents, friends, and even pets were in the building. The Oilers are about to go on their dads' trip.
Personally, there were plenty of reasons for McDavid to be happy.
But, because wins are all that matters and the Oilers failed to get one, eveyone was frustrated.
Like McDavid and thousands of Oilers fans, head coach Kris Knoblauch thought the goal should have counted too. Knowing that criticizing officials is a no-no, he walked a fine line between not saying too much and explaining what he saw. That was McDavid simply driving the puck around the pad. McDavid was pushed into the crease. The debate became whether the minimal contact with Forsberg happened before McDavid was pushed or afterward.
It doesn't matter now. The Oilers need to start again and try to win three straight, first by getting win over Chicago on Monday, Nashville on Tuesday, and back home against the New York Islanders on Thursday.
Utah Mammoth - 22-20-3 - 47 Points - 6-4-0 in the last 10 - 4th in the Central
Columbus Blue Jackets - 18-19-7 - 43 Points - 4-5-1 in the last 10 - 8th in the Metro
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 17.4% - 22nd in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 76.0% - 29th in the NHL
Goals For - 128 - 21st in the NHL
Goals Against - 150 - 28th in the NHL
MammothStats
Power Play - 15.9% - 27th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 81.8% - 8th in the NHL
Goals For - 137 - 17th in the NHL
Goals Against - 127 - 10th in the NHL
Series History vs. TheMammoth
Columbus is 1-1-0 all-time, and 1-0-1 on the road in Utah.
The Blue Jackets and Mammoth have only played twice in Utah's history.
The CBJ went 1-1-0 vs Utah last season.
Who To Watch For TheMammoth
Clayton Keller leads the team with 28 assists and 41 points.
Dylan Guenther has a team high 21 goals.
Goalie Karel Vejmelka is 20-11-2 with a SV% of .900.
Vitek Vanecek is 2-9-1 with a SV% of .879. His last start was on December 29th.
CBJ Player Notes vs.Mammoth
Zach Werenski has 3 points in 3 games against Utah.
Kirill Marchenko has 2 points.
Sean Monahan has 5 points in 2 games vs. the Mammoth
Injuries
Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body - Missed 36 Games - IR - Expected to practice with the team when the current road trip concludes. But there is no timeline for a return to the lineup.
Isac Lundeström - Lower Body - Missed 8 Games - IR
Brendan Smith - Lower Body - Missed 6 Game IR - Out 3-4 months after having knee surgery.
Miles Wood - Lower Body - Missed 5 Games - IR - Week-to-week.
Mason Marchment - Upper Body - Missed 3 Games - Week to week.
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 110
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FANDUEL SPORTS NETWORK. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
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Picking up a big road win isn’t as easy these days as it has been in recent seasons.
On Saturday, the Florida Panthers had to dig deep to pick up two points against the Ottawa Senators and begin making up some essential ground in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.
As it stands, Florida is currently three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins, with a game in hand, for the second Wild Card spot in the East, but the Cats are still seven points back of the Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division, also with a game in hand, and nine points behind first-place Detroit with two games in hand, for what it’s worth.
The Panthers are expected to get healthier in the coming days, with both Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk expected to join the team’s forward ranks at some point on their current road trip, which continues on Monday in Buffalo before ending with a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday against Carolina and Washington.
Let’s get to Saturday’s takeaways:
BIG GAME FROM BOBROVSKY
Sergei Bobrovsky gave up two goals on 19 shot against the Senators, which on the surface is nothing to write home about.
His first goal was a shot from the corner that appeared to deflect off his extended blocker and back behind him, and the second goal was a great deflection by Drake Batherson from the doorstep that Bob had no chance on.
In between the tallies, Bobrovsky was downright brilliant.
He made several eye-popping stops to keep the Cats in the game as they erased their early deficit and ultimately scored three straight goals to take control of the contest.
It’s quite impressive how he can keep each goal and each save, every play he makes, completely individual of one another. Nothing that happened during the first period is going to impact him the rest of the game. It’s a testament to his incredibly strong mental fortitude.
“We played really, really hard, and if it didn't go our way, it didn't end our night,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “Like the first goal, Sergei is not going to like that one, but you’ve just seen him do that so many times, if he if a bad one goes in on him early, he just somehow raises his level.”
SPECIAL TEAMS WAS SPECIAL
It makes sense that for Florida to earn a crucial two points on Saturday, they had to come up with an exceptional effort on special teams.
That’s exactly what they did, going a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and popping in a pair of power play goals on four opportunities.
The goals were certainly timely, taking the Cats from down by one to up by one, and the penalty kills were critical, coming at key points of the game that allowed Florida to build the momentum that ultimately carried them to victory.
“Probably over the last three years, the best part of our game has been our penalty kill,” Maurice said. “And it does start with those three big defensemen we have back there (Gus Forsling, Aaron Ekblad and Niko Mikkola), they were just outstanding. (Anton) Lundell, (Sam) Reinhart and (Eetu) Luostarinen are just natural penalty killers that are also elite offensive players, so we live and die by it, but they were great.
“A good night and a fast night,” Maurice continued, this time talking about the power play. “I thought we didn't look like a bunch of guys that had played together, and they were fast, so credit to (assistant coach) Jamie Kompon with those guys, because it can get frustrating. We’ve got four of the five guys that would be on our power play aren't our lineup, so you got a whole bunch of new guys, and there's not a lot of time spent together, because we don't practice with our schedule, but good on them. They were fast tonight and won us the game.”
STRONG DEBUT FOR VILMANIS
Saturday was a big night for 21-year-old Sandis Vilmanis.
Florida’s fifth round selection from the 2022 NHL Draft played his first National League game, and he showed out quite well from a coaching standpoint.
While he didn’t register on the scoresheet, Vilmanis still played 14 solid shifts, racking up 11:48 of ice time, all at even strength, logging a shot attempt and a takeaway in his NHL debut.
“I thought for his first game in the National Hockey League, Sandis Vilmanis held on to some pucks and showed some poise,” said Maurice. “He earned some fans in the coach's room because I thought he played hard, but he didn't play not to make a mistake, he just played the game. So really happy for him.”
Photo caption: Jan 10, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers left wing Sandis Vilmanis (95) chases the puck in the first period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images)
Nov. 13: 4-3 OTW vs. VGK via Jean-Gabriel Pageau shorthanded
Nov. 14: 3-2 OTW vs. UTA via Matthew Schaefer's first career OT goal
Jan. 3: 4-3 OTW vs. TOR via Schaefer's second career OT goal
Jan. 11: 4-3 OTW vs. MIN via Simon Holmstrom's first career OT goal
As you can see, it's been different characters playing the lead role on these overtime winners.
Through 14 overtime periods played this season, they have yet to allow a goal, the only NHL team that can say that.
Last season, the Islanders went 5-9 in overtimes.
What's changed?
Outside of getting tremendous goaltending for essentially the entire season, the Islanders have been able to possess the puck much more than they did a year ago. They have more talent for sure, and there's been a keen understanding of what they are trying to accomplish in the overtime period -- it's not just chaos.
And, most importantly, they have garnered shots on goal, outshooting their opponents 35-19 in the overtime period.
There was a lot of indecisiveness last season, a lot of questionable shooting or non-shooting decisions, which ultimately gave the opponent more chances to end the game.
Three of the five OT winners came before the 3-minute mark, the latter of those three coming at 2:05 of the extra frame. The other two came at 3:02 and 4:11 of overtime.
What's been more impressive has been getting posession back. The Islanders have only won the opening overtime face-off twice in their five overtime frames, but have found ways to win puck battles, jump on rebounds, or just force turnovers to get the puck back on their stick.
They've been bold.
There's a level of confidence in overtime periods this season that we haven't seen. This group is resilient for sure, but they have just been able to execute. Getting two points rather than a loser point in what's an incredibly tight Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference is going to be the difference between Patrick Roy's squad making the playoffs this season after missing a season ago.
Saturday night’s game at the Bell Center wasn’t just another duel between the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings; it was also game number 500 for captain Nick Suzuki. While playing 500 games in the NHL is already impressive, it’s even more so when you realize that there were 500 consecutive games.
The center has never missed a game since he joined the Canadiens. It’s not that he’s never had any injury; he played through bumps and bruises and was never rested for a game. His game streak is the second-longest in the NHL, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns holding the longest amongst active players at 969 games. The record belongs to Phil Kessel, who played 1064 consecutive games, but it’s worth noting that he didn’t play as intensely as Burns or Suzuki, often staying away from the dangerous areas.
In his first 500 games, Suzuki has put up 152 goals and 271 assists for a total of 423 points. Over his seven seasons, he has scored 19 game-winning goals (including seven in overtime), nine of which came in the 2024-25 season.
While he has a cumulative minus-41 rating, it’s primarily because of the team’s struggles in his early years and, as the rebuild progressed, so did his differential. Last season, he finished with a more than respectable plus-19, and he’s currently at plus-16; his excellence on the defensive side of the puck is starting to be recognized across the league as he earns votes for the Frank J. Selke Trophy every year.
Homme de fer et de savoir-faire. Félicitations à notre capitaine!
The captain may not be the type to make a big deal of reaching game number 500, but his entourage didn’t miss the opportunity to celebrate the feat. During last night’s game, his father, Rob, tweeted, “Congratulations Nick Suzuki on completing the first third of your NHL career.” Given how young the captain was when he started playing in the league, the 1,500-game mark isn’t out of the realm of possibilities, but only 24 players have achieved it in league history. Patrick Marleau has the record with 1,779, followed by the late great Gordie Howe with 1,767 and Mark Messier with 1,756. Mike Modano stopped just short of the milestone with 1,499, but Los Angeles Kings’ captain Anze Kopitar should join the club before retiring at the end of the season, since he currently has 1,491 games to his name.
As for Mrs. Suzuki, she had giant balloons waiting at home for the captain on his return last night. He might not have been as happy as he would have been had the Canadiens won the game, but it was a delicate attention, nonetheless.
Mrs Suzuki had a surprise for the captain when he got back home last night after playing the 500th game of his career #GoHabsGo photo credit: Caitlinn Suzuki Instagram pic.twitter.com/KSeGKj8E8A
Despite everything he has accomplished so far in his career, there’s still a lot ahead for Suzuki. He currently has 48 points in 45 games, and he’ll likely improve on his most productive season, which came last year with 89 points. The 90-point mark looks pretty attainable for the skilled forward. The Canadiens have not had a 90-point or more scorer since both Vincent Damphousse and Pierre Turgeon achieved the feat in 1995-96. Next month, Suzuki will also get to compete in his first Olympic Games, and while he may not play as important a role for the national side as he does for the Habs, just cracking Team Canada’s roster is already an impressive feat.
On Saturday night at the Bell Centre, the Montreal Canadiens were attempting to win a fifth consecutive game at home, and doing so would have meant holding on to the top spot in the Atlantic Division ahead of the Detroit Red Wings, but the visitors had other plans. While the Michigan outfit hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016, it’s having a great season so far, and Todd McLellan’s men have clearly taken a step forward in their rebuild.
On Saturday morning, Martin St-Louis confirmed that 21-year-old netminder Jacob Fowler would be starting what was the Canadiens’ most crucial game of the week, meaning that Jakub Dobes, who hadn’t played since January 1, would remain the only one of the three goalies not to see any action in the last week.
This is not reassuring for the Czech netminder, especially not since Kent Hughes mentioned earlier this week that we shouldn’t expect the trio of goaltenders to be around for too long. Just like Fowler, Dobes doesn’t have to clear waivers to go down to the Laval Rocket in the AHL, but if he had a say in the matter, it certainly wouldn’t be his choice.
A Suffocating Team
Detroit plays a particular kind of hockey, one that aims to suffocate not only their opponents, but also the fans in the stands. McLellan’s men are quick on the forecheck, and they give little to no time to their opponent to think about their next play; they get on top of them immediately.
It clearly made the Canadiens uncomfortable, as St-Louis’ men struggled to execute effective passing plays and had a lot of trouble getting pucks on net. In the first 20 minutes, they could test John Gibson only 3 times; by 40 minutes, that had risen to 12, which is hardly enough. Montreal pressed a bit more in the third frame, but it was just too little too late and by then, Gibson was oozing confidence.
The other consequence of the Wings’ suffocating play was that it also suffocated the fans. A crowd that had been so noisy in the last couple of games, launching waves after waves in TV timeouts, seemed in stupor tonight, watching their favourite be unable to solve their divisional rival. While it’s true that the fans aren’t the ones playing the game, taming the Bell Centre crowd on a Saturday night is still something that can give momentum to a team.
A Disaster In The Faceoff Circle
Hockey is a puck possession game, and if you don’t win draws, you spend an incredible amount of time just chasing the puck. Over 40 minutes, the Canadiens won only 28% of the faceoffs, and by the end of the game, they had won only 42%.
Even faceoff specialist Phillip Danault had a wretched night in that department; after 40 minutes, he had only a 25% success rate (33% by the end of the night). Meanwhile, Nick Suzuki had only won 21% of his draws through two periods, but he improved to 41% in the third. That stat certainly didn’t help the Canadiens put more shots on net, and if you don’t shoot, you don’t score.
On The Blueline
With Kaiden Guhle returning to the lineup, Jayden Struble found himself on the outside looking in as the healthy scratch, which meant that Arber Xhekaj kept his place in the lineup.
Once again on Saturday night, Xhekaj played a solid game, true to his identity, with eight hits, several of which were bone-crushing. Furthermore, he proved to the coaching staff that he could also do well as a lefty playing on the right side, which could favour him in his duel with Jayden Struble in their battle for the 6th blueliner’s role.
He was patient, wasn’t rushing his plays, made sound decisions, avoided unnecessary risks, and finished his checks without taking himself out of the play. In other words, he played to his identity, as St-Louis had said he needed to keep doing earlier that day.
Unfortunately for the Canadiens, the Wings were very opportunistic, scoring their first goal of a weird bounce on the boards, capitalizing on a power play opportunity, and striking as quickly as lightning early in the third frame, before sealing the deal with an empty netter with just over a minute left. The smart money says it wasn’t the kind of game Suzuki wanted his team to play on the 500th game of his career, but you don’t get to decide these things.
This 3-0 defeat is the first in five games at the Bell Centre, but the Canadiens won’t have much time to dwell on it since they’ll be back in action on Monday night when they’ll host the Vancouver Canucks.
The Los Angeles Kings (19-15-10) once proved that they can go toe-to-toe with any team in the league, including the Edmonton Oilers (22-16-7), grinding out a dramatic 4-3 shootout win in Rogers Place after a back-and-forth battle that featured momentum swings and late-game controversy.
In a matchup that felt like a playoff game, the Kings were resilient on both ends of the floor. Missing their key players tonight, they stopped Conor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl from threatening to take over the game in the final moments of regulation.
Edmonton opened the scoring midway through the second period after an ill-timed Kings turnover left Leon Draisaitl alone in the slot, burying his 22nd goal of the season, reminding everyone why he continues to be one of the elite players in the league.
Following the high-sticking penalty called on Darnell Nurse, Corey Perry, returning to Edmonton for the first time since leaving the Oilers, jammed home a rebound on the power play to tie the game 1-1.
The first period looked evenly matched, both teams trading shots and goals, but the question was: could the Kings keep this pace up, or would they fold the same way they always do against their heated rival?
Kings Depth Answers
Draisaitl struck again early in the second period, winning a face-off and sprinting into open space before scoring his second goal of the night to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead.
Once again though the Kings had an answer for the Oilers.
Midway in the period, Andre Lee, the new King, who was recalled from Ontario, capped off a strong transition play, scoring his first goal of the season to tie the lead again, 2-2.
Despite Edmonton putting more pressure on the ice in the late stages of the period, the Kings escaped out of the intermission with an even game, setting the stage high for a final period in regulation.
Laferriere Gives Kings the Lead
The Kings finally grabbed their first lead of the night early in the third when Alex Laferriere diverted a Brandt Clarke shot to give Los Angeles its first lead.
With Andrei Kuzmenko already in the box after serving a high-sticking penalty, Adrian Kempe was whistled for slashing, giving Edmonton a brief 5-on-3. A few seconds later, McDavid snapped a wrist shot to score his first goal of the game, tying the game 3-3 and reigniting the building.
Forbserg Slams the Door in OT and Shootout
Overtime belonged to Anton Forsberg, who turned aside multiple high chances of the Oilers scoring, especially from McDavid and Draisatil who had a lot of open shots to win the game, but Forsberg countered them.
In the shootout, Adrian Kempe delivered the decisive goal to win the game, while Forsberg denied all of Edmonton's shots to seal the game.
A couple of things to note: Los Angeles was good on the power play tonight, finishing 1/2, and it was the first power-play goal in over a week, a game they also won against Minnesota last Saturday.
Los Angeles also outshot the Oilers 30-24, but struggled with turnovers, giving the puck away 19 times, which is why the game came down to the wire, despite the Kings getting more shots up. But it was still a great quality win for a shorthanded Los Angeles team, coming off a terrible loss to the Winnipeg Jets last night, with no rest, against a fully rested Oilers team and one of the best offenses in the NHL.
Up next, Los Angeles will begin their three-game home stand against the Dallas Stars on Monday, Jan. 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET, a team that will look to get revenge on after losing on their home ice last month.
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Blackhawks rookie goaltender Drew Commesso recorded a shutout in his first NHL victory.
Commesso stopped every shot he faced to become the fourth goaltender in Blackhawks franchise history to post a shutout in his first career win, joining Corey Crawford, Craig Anderson, and Paul Goodman.
It was a 36-save shutout.
The Predators generated offensive-zone time and had some pressure throughout the night but were unable to convert against a goaltender who grew more confident as the game progressed.
Nashville created chances at five-on-five and around the net, but failed to find a breakthrough as Chicago played from ahead. According to MoneyPuck.com, the Predators had 4.38 expected goals.
“We came out in our first eight minutes or so, and I liked our game…and then we got really sloppy with the puck,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said postgame. “Our execution was fairly poor by our standards, and it didn't allow us to get to our game. We pushed a little bit at the end, but I think the whole game, I'm not sure if we thought it'd be a little bit easier than it was. Then we got frustrated with it and seemed to compound, which we haven't done that often. Regardless, we weren't sharp. They were the better team for most of the game.”
The Predators will finish the weekend back-to-back with the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Well, it appears that the Pittsburgh Penguins will not go undefeated in the calendar year of 2026.
Despite a late push on Saturday afternoon, the Penguins lost to the Calgary Flames, 2-1, to earn their first loss since Dec. 23 and snap their six-game win streak. Egor Chinakhov scored his second goal in a Penguins' uniform, while Arturs Silovs made some key saves for the Penguins, stopping 23 of 25 Calgary shots on goal.
Just like the Penguins have been doing with frequency lately, the Flames got off to a quick start in this one. Just two and a half minutes into the game, the Penguins were pressuring in the offensive zone, and defenseman Ryan Shea tried to send a cross-ice pass to his partner, Jack St. Ivany, at the offensive blue line. Unfortunately, Calgary forward Connor Zary disrupted the pass and took off for a breakaway opportunity, beating Silovs five-hole and putting the Flames up, 1-0.
The Flames got the better of the Penguins for the entirety of the first period, and they carried the 1-0 lead into the second. Nearing the halfway point of the middle frame, the Penguins were finally starting to gain some momentum, and Ben Kindel made a play to get the puck to Chinakhov in the neutral zone. Chinakhov and Evgeni Malkin entered the zone on a two-on-one, and a give-and-go between the two resulted in a one-time bomb from Chinkahov in the right circle to tie the game at 1-1.
The Penguins carried much of the play for the remainder of the second period, but unfortunately, the Flames scored early in the second. Matt Coronato shot the puck through a bit of a screen after a nice move, and he put the Flames back on top.
With around eight minutes remaining in regulation, the Penguins appeared to tie the game when Tommy Novak executed a perfect wraparound and buried the puck past Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley. However, goaltender interference was called on Sidney Crosby for impeding Cooley's ability to make the save, and the Penguins did not challenge the play.
Here are some thoughts and takeaways from this one:
- Dan Muse said following the game that they did not challenge the goaltender interference call on Novak's goal because he did not think there was a high chance of the call getting overturned. I agree with him.
However, Crosby certainly didn't agree with the call.
In fact, the Penguins' captain was a little bit more blunt than usual when discussing the play after the game.
"I think it looks bad, but being in the play, I thought I did my best to avoid the goalie, and I got pushed into him," Crosby said. "I mean, the explanation had something to do with being in the crease, but you're allowed in the crease as long as you don't impede the goalie. And I was trying to get through there and got pushed back into him.
"He did a good job selling it. I grazed him, and he went down pretty easy. I mean, what are you going to do? That's a hard one to challenge, and it doesn't look great. But just being part of the play, I know I was going to get around him if I didn't get pushed."
Sid on goalie interference ruling: “He sold it well.”
It's not often that I don't necessarily see eye-to-eye with Sid on anything. However, I'm not so sure that wouldn't have been called back even if the call was a goal on the ice. Even if Crosby was shoved - and if Cooley embellished a bit - it kind of looked like, accidentally or not, that Crosby leaned into the contact just a bit.
In any case, I do think Muse made the right call in not challenging that. The Penguins had all the momentum, and it wasn't worth risking a potential penalty kill late in the game.
- For the second consecutive game, the Penguins had a less-than-inspiring start in the first period. They were sloppy, they were disjointed, they were slow, they were outshot 9-6, and they surrendered the first goal of the game for the first time since Dec. 23, which is the last time they had lost a hockey game.
Of course, there is a lot else going right for the Penguins, but when they play the league's better teams, they're not going to get away with slow starts. They didn't on Saturday against one of the league's bottom teams.
The Penguins have a pretty manageable schedule for the rest of January in terms of their competition. Only four teams of the 10 they play are currently in a playoff spot. So, they need all the points they can get, and they can't afford to take the first period off in any of these games.
- Penguins didn't start much better in second period (or the third period, for that matter). But a play late in the Penguins' penalty kill on Kevin Hayes's hooking minor seemed to give them some semblance of life.
Rickard Rakell - who has looked the part on the PK - generated a shorthanded chance down low that Blake Lizotte nearly finished at the net-front. The Penguins killed off the rest of the penalty with ease, then about 20 seconds after the penalty expired, Kindel made that hard-working play to get the puck to Chinakhov initially and set the goal sequence in motion.
Rakell's and Lizotte's play was a small play, but it gave the Penguins the life they needed - at least, temporarily - to tie the game in a contest in which they were largely lifeless and sloppy.
- I've seen some pretty funny things happen this season across the hockey world (with the Joel Hofer "hiding" incident topping the list).
But, man, was that Malkin roughing penalty after Chinakhov's goal something.
The Russian connection executes a perfect give-and-go, Zary pulls up right between Malkin and Chinakhov along the boards, and Malkin just decks him for next to no reason on the way to celebrate the goal with Chinakhov, resulting in a roughing penalty for Malkin.
I mean, aside from Malkin's signature slap shot breakaway goal - and that entire sequence - against the Philadelphia Flyers way back when, can you think of a more perfect Malkin sequence of events?
- I haven't been impressed with the Justin Brazeau, Anthony Mantha, and whoever line in the last couple of games. Not having Tommy Novak or Evgeni Malkin centering those guys showed on Saturday. Hayes's lack of footspeed definitely showed, and it was hard for them to generate much.
If Rust is going to be out, I'm not really sure what to do with that line. Novak is definitely a top candidate to bump up with Crosby, and the second line really had something going on Saturday.
What I would do is consider breaking up Brazeau and Mantha until Rust returns, bump Brazeau up with Crosby, and put Novak back as the third-line center. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Chinakhov get some reps with Crosby, either, since his skillset would probably complement Crosby well. And you could have Malkin, Kindel, and Brazeau on a line.
- Speaking of Kindel, I thought he played an outstanding game on Saturday.
Yes, there are still a few hiccups, as there are with any young player. But he just does so many little things right, and that was on full display against the Flames. He made the play happen in the neutral zone to set the scene for Chinakhov's goal. On a second-period power play, he made two or three plays where he won a puck battle or forced a turnover to keep the play alive down low. He made a few nice passes as well.
This kid is just so impressive, and - as mentioned previously - he's only going to get more productive playing with Malkin and Chinakhov.
- It's actually pretty crazy how Silovs tends to get better the later it is in a game.
He could have made a breakaway save on Zary, but that one was basically 50-50. He could have made a save on Coronato, but there was a partial screen, and the Penguins' defense gave him way too much space there. But he kept this team in the game late once again, and he made some saves in the first period, too, to do the same thing.
Silovs tends to be at his best when the stakes are raised. I thought he played pretty well Saturday, even if his team didn't get the result.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Simon Holmstrom scored his second goal of the game 1:34 into overtime and the New York Islanders beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Saturday night.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Casey Cizikas also scored for the Islanders, who improved to 3-0-1 in their last four games. Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves, including 17 in a scoreless third period.
Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov and Ben Jones scored for Minnesota in its third loss in four games (1-1-2). Quinn Hughes assisted on all three Wild goals and Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots.
In the extra period, Holmstrom circled into the slot and fired a backhander that beat Gustavsson to give the Islanders the win.
Minnesota took a one-goal lead three times in the first two periods, including Jones’ first NHL goal to open the scoring early in the first. But the Islanders answered each time to even the score.
Cizikas scored a short-handed goal to tie it 3-3 late in the second period, completing a 2-on-1 rush with Holmstrom by slipping the puck between Gustavsson’s pads.
The Wild were playing their first home game since Dec. 23. They went 4-1-2 on a seven-game road swing that coincided with the Twin Cities hosting the World Juniors Championships.
