Category: NHL

Logan O’Connor was getting close to returning to the ice. Now, hockey can wait.

The Colorado Avalanche announced Thursday that O’Connor’s father, Myles, had died suddenly at age 59. The news came just hours before Colorado was set to face the Calgary Flames.

Myles had played in the NHL himself. A defenseman, he spent time with the New Jersey Devils and the then-Anaheim Mighty Ducks between 1990 and 1994. He appeared in 43 NHL games, recording three goals and four assists.

He continued playing after leaving the NHL, eventually heading to Japan to join the Nippon Paper Cranes. In the 1997-98 season, he had four goals and 11 assists in 31 games.

His son went on to make his own mark in hockey. Logan played at the University of Denver before making his NHL debut with the Avalanche in the 2018-19 season. He was also part of Colorado’s Stanley Cup run in 2022.

Since then, O’Connor has put up 45 goals and 60 assists in 356 regular-season games. Colorado signed him to a six-year extension in September 2024.

He had been working his way back from a lower-body injury and was in contention to make his season debut against Calgary. That return is on hold as he steps away to be with his family.

The Avalanche shared their condolences with O’Connor and his family. The team will look to honor Myles during Thursday’s game.

Colorado lost 3-2 to Winnipeg on Wednesday, despite putting 34 shots on goal to the Jets’ 19. The Flames are next, with less than 24 hours between games.

Colorado has had the better of Calgary lately, winning 12 of their last 15 meetings. Last season, the Avalanche won all three matchups and outscored the Flames 15-4.

Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas combined for 14 points in those games. Kadri will face his former team, while Scott Wedgewood is expected to make his first start of the season in goal.

Now the mission is to win one for Myles.

The injury bug continues to plague the Minnesota Wild, with Olli Maatta joining Filip Gustavsson, Brock Faber, and Nick Foligno on the injured list.

The Wild PR revealed that Maatta would miss tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a lower-body injury, just half an hour before puck drop.

In three games this season, Maatta has recorded one assist and is averaging the team's third-most ice time at 21:22.

David Spacek is entering the lineup for the Wild in place of the injured Maatta. The 23-year-old defenseman is making his season debut tonight and is dressing in just his third career NHL game.

Spacek played both of his NHL games in January 2026. In those games, Spacek failed to record any points and averaged 10:45 of ice time. 

Spacek has spent the last three seasons with the Iowa Wild in the AHL. Last season, Spacek scored seven goals and tallied 36 points in 59 games. In the pre-season, Spacek beat out Carson Lambos for a roster spot.

At six feet, 174 pounds, Spacek is a confident defender who excels with the puck on his stick. Drafted by the Wild in the fifth round (153rd overall) in 2022, Spacek has been a great developmental story and now has the chance to make his mark in the NHL. 

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Winless Flyers lose fifth straight, but it feels like a step forward originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers suffered another loss with a 2-1 decision Thursday night to the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.

But despite being 0-3-2, the Flyers will hope this loss was a step in the right direction.

Sure, call it a moral victory, but the Flyers have been desperate for just some positive signs. And they had some against Ottawa (more on that below).

Carter Yakemchuk scored the game-winning goal on a power play for the Senators with just under seven minutes left in the action.

Matvei Michkov tied the game at 1-1 in the second period. His goal snapped an 0-for-12 start for the Flyers’ power play. Michkov tapped in a loose puck behind Ottawa netminder Linus Ullmark.

Rick Tocchet’s club had a golden opportunity to grab the lead in the third period with a 5-on-3 power play for 27 seconds. The Flyers couldn’t convert, though, and came up empty at 5-on-4, too.

The Flyers have dropped five in a row to start the season for the first time since 2008-09, when they lost six straight out of the chute (0-3-3). That team ended up making the playoffs, finishing with 99 points at 44-27-11.

Thursday night was the Senators’ home opener. Ottawa improved to 3-1-0.

• Joseph Woll continued to do his part, converting 24 saves on 26 shots.

The 28-year-old had a massive stop with a 11:06 minutes left in the third period when Michael Amadio had a shorthanded breakaway. A little over two minutes later, with the game back at even strength, Woll turned away Fabian Zetterlund in close.

Yakemchuk’s game-winner on the power play was off a blast from deep with traffic.

After being acquired in the offseason, Woll has denied 102 of 110 shots through his first three starts. He has a .927 save percentage.

The Flyers had a pretty solid start, outshooting the Senators 6-1 through the opening 6:39 minutes. But they totally stalled the momentum by committing four consecutive penalties. The infractions came in a span of 6:30 minutes. Travis Sanheim had two of them, while Michkov and Simon Benoit had one apiece.

Tocchet’s club survived the first period with just a 1-0 deficit. The Flyers were burned by a tough bounce just after they killed off the first penalty. Cam York was unable to take away the stick of Nick Cousins, who deflected one past Woll.

Ullmark stopped 28 of the Flyers’ 29 shots.

• The Flyers at least created some chances offensively and shored things up defensively. They worked harder and they were more connected.

Those were all positives. We didn’t really see those things from this team through the first four games.

The Flyers entered Thursday night with a head-scratching minus-81 shot differential. They had just 19.3 shots per game and were allowing 39.5.

But against Ottawa, the Flyers had a plus-3 shot differential and 10 more shots than what they were averaging. They started to look more like the team from down the stretch last season.

• Travis Konecny was shown on the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast going up the tunnel with around nine minutes left in the third period. But he was able to return to the game and finished with 17:04 minutes.

The Flyers’ alternate captain appeared to be shaken up after taking a check to his right leg.

• Michael Bunting had the costly penalty that set up the Senators’ game-winning goal. He was whistled for hooking.

Two days after signing with the Flyers, the 31-year-old winger joined the fourth line and played 10:56 minutes. He had a couple of shots and was noticeable, but the penalty came at a bad time.

The Flyers switched up their line combinations and defensive pairs in an attempt for a spark.

Trevor Zegras moved to the wing on a line with Christian Dvorak and Owen Tippett. Denver Barkey played down the middle between Michkov and Tyson Foerster.

On the back end, Jamie Drysdale joined Sanheim on the top pair. York played alongside David Jiricek.

• Rasmus Ristolainen missed a second straight game after taking a shot to his left hand last Saturday night.

The defenseman joined the Flyers for this three-game road trip, so the injury appears to be more short term than long term.

• The Flyers wrap up their trip Saturday when they visit the Bruins (1 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

The Rangers will carry the longest active win streak in the NHL (four games) into their matchup with the Capitals on Friday night in Washington, D.C. 

At this point in the season last year, the walls of the 2025-26 campaign were already beginning to close in on the Blueshirts as they went their first three home games without a single goal and had already lost three of their first five games by infuriating margins. 

Head coach Mike Sullivan can already feel how the early success has affected his team. 

“I think it makes a world of difference,” the second-year Rangers coach said before the club ventured to the nation’s capital following practice. “When you can stack wins on top of one another, it breeds confidence. Confidence is required to have success. I think the group has done a great job in just buying into the team game. Everybody’s accepting of the roles we’ve cast them in. There’s a level of enthusiasm around the group that, for me, is a whole lot of fun to be a part of. 

“We can feel it. We can feel it in the locker room. We can feel it inside of our confines. When we go out, we’re playing the game, it’s tangible. You can hear it on the bench. An indication of it for me, you look at our third periods. Playing with leads. Just our continued ability to play on our toes and bring an aggressive approach in a responsible way. Not playing not to lose. We’re playing to win.

“It’s fun to watch these guys play and perform that way. I think there are great lessons in that. We’re going to try to continue to encourage them in some of the things we’re doing well and why we’re having success. There are areas where we know we can grow and improve and get better, and we’re working with those as well. 

“This is the journey, every year, when you go to start training camp and it’s a clean slate. A new season. It’s a whole new journey. It’s been a whole lot of fun to coach these guys to this point.” 

It’s still early in the season, but the Rangers have led (184:15) or been tied (111:58) in 296:14 of 300 minutes so far. 

The shutout loss in Boston to open the season has been an outlier compared to the other four games the Rangers have had. 

With the 20-year-old Cole Beaudoin recalled from Hartford, the Rangers officially have the youngest roster in the NHL with an average age of 26.47. 

Allowing two or fewer goals in all four games he’s played, the most among all goaltenders so far this season, Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin is off to an electric start. 

Since the 2019-20 season, the 172 times Shesterkin has allowed two or fewer goals rank fifth among all NHL goalies. He has also allowed one or fewer goals 94 times in his career, which amounts to the third most among goalies in that same span.

The Islanders’ first crack a lineup without Alexander Romanov came with a reshuffling instead of a call-up. 

Coach Pete DeBoer kept Matthew Schaefer on the right and inserted Scott Mayfield into the lineup for Thursday’s match against the Blackhawks at UBS, moving Logan Stanley to the top pair alongside Schaefer and Tony DeAngelo to his off side on Mayfield’s left. 

Those were the first and third pairs; the second featured the reunion of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock. 

“We’re gonna start this way, and we’ll see,” DeBoer said. “And then from there, nothing’s set in stone. We might move guys around, so I think probably a lot like our line combinations, I’m not married to anything. But I think the initial thought was, we’ve got puck movers with guys that think defense first.” 

With Romanov likely to miss the entire season after tearing his ACL in Tuesday’s loss to the Rangers, it’s a safe bet this is only the first attempt at sorting out the defense pairs. It’s instructive, though, that DeBoer kept Schaefer on the right, which Schaefer said came after a conversation between the two. 

That is another sign in a series of them that the organization might see Schaefer as a long-term option on the right — which would be a way of balancing out a lefty-heavy pool of defensemen both on the roster and in the prospect pipeline. 

“Of course [DeBoer’s] gonna talk [to me] and see what I feel comfortable with,” Schaefer said. “At the end of the day, I like just being on the ice. If it’s left, if it’s right, whatever makes the boat go faster. It’s gonna be awesome.” 

DeBoer, for his part, said he’s comfortable with Schaefer anywhere — so much so that he can build the rest of the lineup first and then insert the defenseman on whichever side is needed. 

With Schaefer on the right and Romanov done for the year, the left side has quickly become much thinner than it looked just a few weeks ago, a fact underscored by Stanley playing on the top pair so soon after signing. 

DeBoer and teammates alike used words such as “devastating” in relation to Romanov, who was just three games into his return from shoulder surgery and now needs to spend another season rehabbing. 

“I just feel awful for him,” Bo Horvat said. “It’s been two tough years for him in that sense. I just feel sick for him. I know how hard he worked in the summertime to get back into the shape that he’s in, and he looked great. A couple games in, I’m heartbroken for him.” 

For Mayfield, this is also a critical chance to earn back a lineup spot he failed to defend in training camp, resulting in three consecutive healthy scratches to start the season. 

The veteran defenseman might be called into action on the penalty kill as well, should DeBoer want to continue keeping Schaefer off the 4-on-5 unit in an attempt to keep the 19-year-old’s minutes at least somewhat in check. 

“Obviously not playing, all you want to do is be out there with the guys and be competing,” Mayfield said. “Excited to be out there tonight.” 

A strong showing right away would do a lot for Mayfield given there is plenty of internal competition. Matt Kessel, another righty, is on the roster too. Isaiah George and Kashawn Aitcheson, both lefties, are in AHL Hamilton but could be in line for call-ups should a need arise. 

“What I like about [Mayfield], he didn’t pout about the situation,” DeBoer said. “He handled it like a pro. He’s got great leadership, and he worked hard. Now, he’s got an opportunity to get back in. That’s all part of hockey, it’s how you respond to adversity.”

It's cozy season.

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, the NHL partnered with PacSun and The Wild Collective to release a 15-piece women's merchandise collection. The items available are boxy T-shirts ($45), longsleeve polos ($65) and fleece hoodies ($90) from the Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals.

Instead of going the stereotypical "pink it and shrink it" route, the pieces utilize the team colors and embrace the current trend of oversized silhouettes. The hoodies are especially of note, as the logos and wordmarks are the same color as the base, giving fans a fashion-forward monochromatic look.

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The Wild Collective brand is founded by Whitney Bansin and has been licensing sports apparel for nearly a decade. She got her first sports gig with the Vegas Golden Knights when the team debuted in Sin City in 2017. The brand has since worked with the NFL, NBA and WNBA and has partnerships with Target and Anthropologie.

"It was through that initial collection with the Golden Knights that really just sparked it all," she told NBC's 3 News in Las Vegas. "I had no intention of going down the sports route. I had no intention of getting every league and doing programs for everyone. That was just not in the forefront. I just wanted to make cool stuff that people in Vegas could wear to these games."

The NHL collection continues the growing movement to invest in women's merchandise that reflects a diversity of style and taste. Jasmine Maietta founded Round21 in 2020 to bring together sports and art with an emphasis on women. Kiya Tomlin and Kristin Juszczyk have been creating women's merchandise for NFL fans for several years. Juszczyk went viral in 2024 when Taylor Swift wore a jersey jacket she designed. Her OffSeason brand now creates merchandise for multiple sports entities, including the WNBA and Formula 1.

The world of hockey is also embracing women fans and players like never before. On Thursday, the Professional Women's Hockey League revealed the jerseys and color combinations for its four expansion teams. The league, which will have 12 teams, will host its first All-Star event in March in Toronto.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: See new NHL women's merch for Red Wings, Ducks, Avs that's not pink

The Toronto Maple Leafs are visiting the Vegas Golden Knights for their first road game of the season on Tuesday. 

In the buildup to this matchup at morning skate, former Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner was mentioned to Auston Matthews and John Tavares, and they were asked about the Golden Knights' playoff campaign last year, specifically Marner's contribution.

Vegas advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup final but fell short in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes. In all that, Marner led the NHL in playoff scoring in that campaign with 29 points in 22 post-season games.

"Personally, as a friend, I was happy for him," Matthews said of Marner. "We still keep in touch. He's a great, great person. Great teammate and great friend. Personally, I was really happy for him. We stay in touch all the time, so it will be nice to see him tonight."

Maple Leafs Make Change With Middle-Six Forwards In Preparation For Golden Knights Clash In VegasThe Toronto Maple Leafs have made a small alteration to their forward group ahead of their first road game of the season against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Marner was a member of the Maple Leafs for nine seasons and was teammates with Matthews for all those years, and linemates for a good chunk of his tenure in Toronto. He was also teammates with Tavares for seven years, beginning in 2018-19.

"Saw him a good amount over the summer, even though it was extremely short for him," Tavares said of Marner. "Obviously a good friend, amazing memories playing together, but we have to go out there and battle against him tonight."

Former Maple Leafs Star Mitch Marner Comments On Toronto's 2026 NHL Off-SeasonEx-Toronto Maple Leafs right winger Mitch Marner comments on the busy off-season his former team had in the 2026 off-season.

He was impressed with Marner's performance in the playoffs, but based on what he's seen from the ex-Leaf firsthand, he wasn't really surprised by what he accomplished.

"I think he was just due," Tavares said. "He's just too good of a hockey player, impacts the game in so many different ways. He's a very unique, really special player, the way he thinks the game with and without the puck is as good as any player in the game."

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Sharks overcome ‘adversity' in OT road win vs. Blues without Macklin Celebrini originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Sharks have what it takes to be a winning NHL team, and they showed Thursday that they can be one no matter who’s on the ice.

In the midst of some early season adversity, San Jose defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime at Enterprise Center, spoiling their opponent’s home opener and grabbing a gutsy win without injured superstar Macklin Celebrini.

Darnell Nurse scored his first goal in a Sharks uniform to give San Jose the victory — their third win of the 2026-27 NHL season, all of which have come in OT.

The Sharks, battling without their captain, beat the odds on the road in a back-and-forth bout that ended in glory on the national stage.

“It’s a totally different season for us,” Tyler Toffoli told ESPN’s Kevin Weekes during second intermission. “There’s a lot more expectations for us coming into the season, and obviously with Mack going down, missing a couple games here. Hopefully he’s not out for too long, but a little adversity for us, and we’ve got to show that we can play without him for right now.”

Thursday’s contest marked the second consecutive game Celebrini has missed as he deals with a lower-body injury the Sharks are labeling as day-to-day. Celebrini participated in morning skate Thursday but wasn’t on the ice for warmups, though Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters earlier this week the ailment isn’t anything new, and the team has been managing it before his late scratch before Monday’s loss.

“It’s a good test for everybody to step up,” Toffoli told Weekes.

The Sharks did just that against the Blues, with Toffoli leading the charge from the jump. After Connor McMichael put St. Louis ahead 1-0 with a first-period goal, Toffoli answered back with a game-tying wrister in the second that served as the first sign of life from San Jose.

After Dillon Dube scored to push the Blues back ahead in the third period, Collin Graf made it 2-2 with his first goal of the year before Nurse called game in OT.

Toffoli led the Sharks with two points on the night thanks to his assist on Graf’s goal, and Alex Nedeljkovic had a stellar game in net with 24 saves — 10 in the first period alone.

“I think first off, Ned was huge for us in the first period,” Nurse told ESPN after the win. “He made some big, timely saves. I mean, he did it throughout the game, but in that first period, he held that one. And obviously, we had gone through not having our captain last game. You don’t want to have [Celebrini] out, but you’ve got to pick it up by committee. …

“[The Blues] came out hard, and we responded really well. This is a young group, a hungry group, and a very, very exciting group to play with. So this was a big win for us.”

It’s safe to say Nurse is enjoying his new home with San Jose after joining Team Teal in an offseason trade. He certainly won the hearts of Sharks fans with his game-winner Thursday, and now the team will head back to SAP Center to face off against Nurse’s former team, the Edmonton Oilers, on Saturday.

And whether or not Celebrini is back on the ice, the Sharks have shown they’re more than up to the challenge.

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The Buffalo Sabres take on the Dallas Stars at KeyBank Center on Thursday in the third game of their five-game homestand, with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen getting the start in goal after backup Colten Ellis started and won 3-2 in overtime over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. 

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff made line changes in the third period to provide a spark, and kept those combos at practice on Wednesday, with Jiri Kulich and Peyton Krebs skating with Tage Thompson, and Josh Norris moving down in the lineup. 

Injured veterans Jason Zucker and goalie Alex Lyon were on the ice on Thursday for an optional morning skate. 

Lyon spoke to the media on Tuesday, and Zucker followed suit on Thursday, providing an update on his status of recovery from core muscle surgery, saying that things are on track and progressing, but there is no specific timeline for when he will be able to return.   

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Mrtka Looking To Take The Next Step Towards The NHL 

" I'm  progressing,  making  sure  that  it's  getting  strong  enough,  going  up  the  way  it  needs  to.  I  feel  good  on  the  ice, feels  where  it  needs  to  be.” Zucker said. “We're  making  sure  that  we are sticking  to  the  timeline  and  the  plan  that  we  put  together,  and  then, we  have  some  stuff  in  the  back  of  our  mind  that  we're  looking  at,  but  it's  a  very  soft  date  at  this  point." 

The 34-year-old winger had 24 goals last season, but missed 20 games, and struggled to score at a similar rate in the playoffs. Zucker did not have surgery until early August, which kept him out of training camp and the exhibition schedule, but indicated that as much as he wants to get back in the lineup, he knows that he has to be at full strength to avoid re-injury.

"Luckily  or  unluckily.... I've  done  this  far  too  many  times  throughout  my  career. I  know  that  rushing  it  never  works  out  in  your  favor.  You're  always  going  to  come  back.  You're  going  to  feel  it  within  a  couple  of  games.  You're  going  to  go  backwards," Zucker said.  "It's  just  kind  of  understanding  that  it's  part  of  the  healing  process.  You  need  to stick  to  the  timeline  and  make  sure  that  it's  100% T here's  certain  things  you  can  play  through  at  80 or  90%.  Then there's  other  things, t ypically post-surgeries,  you  have  to  get  back  to  100%  before  you're  going  to  come  back  and  play." 

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo 

Nick Foligno will join the Minnesota Wild's injury list, as coach John Hynes confirmed today that the veteran forward will miss tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Saturday's game against the Florida Panthers with an upper-body injury.

Foligno is considered day-to-day, and the team hopes he can return to the lineup on Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights. 

Foligno played just 3:29 before exiting in the first period against the Buffalo Sabres. In three games this season, Foligno has scored one goal and fired three shots on goal. 

The 38-year-old dealt with injury issues last season during his split season between the Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks.

In wake of Foligno's absence, Hynes has altered his lines.

Marcus Foligno will move onto the third line with Ryan Hartman and Bobby Brink. Yakov Trenin will slide down to the fourth line with Michael McCarron and Nico Sturm, who is entering the lineup in place of Foligno.

Yesterday, the Wild recalled 34-year-old right-handed forward Tyler Pitlick from the AHL. He’ll serve as the 13th forward until Foligno returns or if another injury occurs. 

Up against the Lightning tonight, the Wild will have to slow down Nikita Kucherov, who has potted one goal and racked up four points in three games. The Wild will avoid 2025-26 Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy, but they will face Dennis Hildeby, a 6-foot-6, 25-year-old Swedish netminder who has played 26 NHL games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

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A familiar face from the Colorado Avalanche’s 2022 Stanley Cup championship run is facing an extended absence after a hard hit left Detroit Red Wings forward J.T. Compher sidelined.

Compher was injured Sunday during Detroit’s 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets after being driven into the boards by Jets defenseman Tyrel Bauer in the first period. He did not return to the game, and the collision was followed by a fight between Bauer and Red Wings defenseman Keegan Kolesar.

While that altercation quickly drew attention, Detroit’s bigger concern was the health of Compher. Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan had no significant update Wednesday, saying Compher was not skating and remained day-to-day. The Red Wings have since placed him on injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least 10 games.

For Avalanche fans, Compher’s absence is an opportunity to remember just how valuable he was during Colorado’s championship years.

Selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round of the 2013 NHL Draft, Compher did not make his NHL debut until March 2, 2017, when he suited up for the Avalanche. He went on to spend parts of seven seasons in Colorado, appearing in 423 regular-season games and recording 88 goals and 106 assists for 194 points.

But Compher’s impact went beyond his regular-season production. During Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup run, he became one of the team’s most reliable depth contributors. He appeared in all 20 playoff games, scoring five goals and adding three assists.

Those eight points only tell part of the story. Compher consistently delivered timely goals and important plays throughout Colorado’s run to the championship, establishing himself as one of the roster’s most dependable depth pieces.

After the 2023 season, Compher left Colorado in free agency and signed a five-year, $25.5 million contract with Detroit. He has not replicated the success he enjoyed with the Avalanche, but his contributions to Colorado’s championship run remain an important part of his legacy.

Now, the Red Wings will have to move forward without him as they await further clarity on his injury.

The Vegas Golden Knights could see a slightly different-looking Toronto Maple Leafs lineup when the two teams meet Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Toronto used its morning skate to make some adjustments up front, with the biggest changes coming in the middle six. The Maple Leafs arrive in Vegas with a 2-2-0 record, while the Golden Knights have opened the season 3-1-0.

As reported by Andre Leal of The Hockey News, rookie Gavin McKenna is expected to return to the third line with Nick Paul and Colton Sissons. McKenna spent time alongside John Tavares and William Nylander during Toronto’s overtime victory over Nashville.

Easton Cowan is now projected to occupy the left-wing spot on the second line with Tavares and Nylander. Toronto’s first and fourth lines are otherwise unchanged, while the defensive pairings are also expected to remain intact.

The adjustments follow a wild 5-4 overtime win over the Predators, when Toronto coach Jim Hiller shuffled his forward combinations throughout the game. McKenna made headlines by scoring his first NHL goal, finishing a play set up by Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic.

Toronto is also expected to change goaltenders.

Sergei Bobrovsky, who won two Stanley Cups as a member of the Florida Panthers is projected to get the start against Vegas after Anthony Stolarz handled the crease against Nashville. Bobrovsky, who struggled in his final year by the beach, is still looking for his first victory as a Maple Leaf after beginning the season 0-2-0, with a .887 save percentage and 3.06 goals-against average.

His career numbers against Vegas are considerably stronger. Bobrovsky is 8-3-0 in 11 appearances against the Golden Knights, posting a .913 save percentage and 2.40 GAA.

Vegas is expected to counter with Adin Hill, who will make his second start of the season after stopping 18 of 20 shots in a 3-2 win over Vancouver.

The Golden Knights will also welcome Raphael Lavoie into the lineup for the first time this season. He’ll replace Victor Olofsson, who was injured in Vegas’ most recent game against Seattle. Olofsson’s absence is a notable one after he opened the season with four goals in the Golden Knights’ first four games.

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Hockey fans across North America may have to be night owls at points this season to see their team play, thanks to a move by three Canadian provinces to stay on daylight saving time.

Alberta, home of the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, Manitoba with the Winnipeg Jets and British Columbia with the Vancouver Canucks decided not to move clocks back an hour in November and ahead in March, a shift that throws a few wrinkles into an NHL schedule that is driven by media rights holders.

“It’s out of our control,” Calgary president and chief executive officer Robert Hayes told the Canadian Press. “I’ve always said in my business career, ‘Let’s focus on the things we can control,’ and we can’t control that. A decision was made by the province ... and decisions were made by others that this is the time we’re going to start hockey games.”

For the Flames, that means the puck will drop at 9 p.m. local time for eight games, including two at home (Dec. 26 and Jan. 16).

“Professional athletes got to do what we got to do to get ready,” said Flames captain Mikael Backlund. “There’s caffeine out there.”

Edmonton has seven games starting at 9 p.m. Defenseman Jake Walman doesn't think he will have as many family members watching at home, while teammate Trent Frederic expects to adjust his sleep routine to go to bed, nap and eat lunch later than normal.

“The naps are big, or at least they are for myself," Frederic said. "A lot of times after games, the later games, you’re going to bed late, you’re still wired, so it’s just important to kind of stick with getting the good naps.”

Manitoba announced its decision on Sept. 17, the same day players hit the ice for NHL training camps. The next day, the NHL issued changes to a dozen Winnipeg Jets home games, pushing them back an hour, but none later than 7:30 p.m. local time. Manitoba will be on the same time as Toronto on Nov. 1.

The Canucks have some quirky road puck drops, including one trip in January with five different start times ranging from noon to 6 p.m.

"It’s going to be different,” winger Brendan Gallagher said. “It’s something that we’ve never really been through. Even having an 8 p.m. game to start the season, a little bit different, but we’ll get used to it.

At the Stanley Cup Final in June, Commissioner Gary Bettman joked that nobody asked the league what it thought about the time zone changes.

“Not that they should have, but we’ll deal with it,” Bettman said, foreshadowing the impact on some start times for Canada's Western Conference teams. “We’ll deal with just as we deal with whatever things come our way that we don’t get to control.”

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After losing to the Connor Bedard-less Chicago Blackhawks, the St. Louis Blues could face the Macklin Celebrini-less San Jose Sharks.

Celebrini was a late scratch on Monday against the Dallas Stars, where the Sharks lost 5-0, and tonight, Celebrini's participation is in jeopardy.

The 20-year-old captain did partake in the optional skate this morning, but his status for tonight's game against the Blues is a game-time decision. Celebrini did not participate in any of the previous two team practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

It's an encouraging sign for the Sharks, but nothing is definitive yet.

As for the Blues, taking on a Celebrini-less Sharks is a much more favorable matchup, but if Tuesday's loss to the Blackhawks proves anything, it's that any NHL team can beat another on any given night. 

The Blackhawks hosted the Blues with a 0-3-0 record and 15 goals against, but they limited the Blues to just two goals and 27 shots. 

The Sharks have a 2-1-0 record, but they are allowing four goals a game and 29 shots. Despite off-season blueline additions, they remain vulnerable defensively.

Can Blues' Robert Thomas Breakout Against the Struggling Blackhawks?Robert Thomas is yet to produce a point through the first two games, but with a matchup against the struggling Chicago Blackhawks, can the St. Louis Blues captain break out?

Without Celebrini, they are also vulnerable offensively. Against the Stars, the Sharks mustered just 13 shots on goal. Even without Celebrini, the Sharks still boast a forward group of Will Smith, Michael Misa, Ivar Stenberg, Igor Chernyshov, Colin Graf, and other veterans, so it's no free pass.

The Blues are still looking to get some players going, notably the top line of Robert Thomas, Dylan Holloway, and Jimmy Snuggerud. They'll convert chances soon, and tonight against the Sharks is another opportunity to do so. 

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