Solovyov, 26, has appeared in only three games this season, with the last appearance on Oct. 24 in a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. According to head coach Dan Muse, this decision was more so about getting Solovyov consistent playing time, as was the case the first time he was optioned to WBS this season.
"It's been awhile now. Hasn't played in a bit," Muse said. "So, it's an opportunity to play."
Of note, Solovyov did not have to pass through waivers again because he had not been back with the NHL club for either 30 days or 10 games. He was recalled on Oct. 18 after his initial placement on waivers Oct. 9.
The move shouldn't come as much of a surprise, especially since veteran defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk is back practicing with the team. He played the first five games of the season before going down with a lower-body injury in mid-October, and he's been out ever since. He has not appeared in a game for the Penguins since Oct. 9, the same day Solovyov was waived.
Although van Riemsdyk, 35, has not officially been activated from injured reserve, the Penguins do expect him back soon. But Muse wants to see him ease back into things.
"We're going to get some more practices [is the] plan," Muse said. "Being out there with the team skate, a couple team skates now, some more practice time. So, that's the current plan."
MONTREAL (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche will be without forward Nathan MacKinnon for at least a month and defenseman Cale Makar for around two weeks, coach Jared Bednar told reporters Saturday before a game against Montreal.
Both star players are sidelined with lower-body injuries. It's a blow to a team that's among the Stanley Cup favorites.
MacKinnon and Makar left in the second period of the Avalanche's 4-3 overtime loss in Ottawa on Thursday night.
MacKinnon went down to his knees holding his right hip after being shoved by Senators defenseman Artem Zub while trying to win the puck. Makar left favoring his right leg in what appeared to be a non-contact injury.
Makar, a two-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenseman, has five goals and 18 assists this season. MacKinnon has 10 goals and 20 assists.
The Winnipeg Jets have been surging behind red-hot forwards like Mark Scheifele and Dawson Mercer among others, but one of the top players for their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, is making a case to be considered if the offense slows down again.
Dima Zhilkin, Winnipeg's third-round pick in 2022, has not broken out at the NHL level yet, but he has steadily grown during his time with the Moose. He recorded 24 points in 62 games last season and is already six points shy of matching that total.
Through 16 games this season, Zhilkin has eight goals and ten assists for 18 points. He has at least a point in 11 of those 16 games and is riding a five-game point streak. That puts him on pace to be a potential point-per-game player.
With the Jets looking for offense wherever they can find it, Zhilkin could get a look if the team cools off. Through their first 12 games, Winnipeg's offense was one of the league's worst at 2.33 goals per game. Since then, that number has jumped to 4.13 over the last eight games.
If the offense starts to regress toward its early-season form, the Jets could turn to another young player, as they did with Brayden Yager. After the slow start, Winnipeg called up the former first-round pick after he recorded 12 points in ten AHL games. Yager has been decent so far, with a goal and an assist through five games.
Zhilkin could be a similar option with the 22-year-old having played six games with the Jets last season, so this would be his second stint at the NHL level. After making adjustments in the offseason and looking like a different player this year, he may be worth another look, and he could finally be mature enough to stay in the NHL and become a difference-maker for Winnipeg.
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The Senators haven't exactly followed the traditional development manual with their prized young defenceman Carter Yakemchuk.
The seventh overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft played in the club's first 13 games this season, but as the Senators have gradually returned to full health on the blue line, the 21-year-old has become the odd man out.
Yakemchuk has been a healthy scratch for six of the Senators' last seven games, spending way more time in the press box than on the ice.
Kelsey Surmacz of The Hockey News provides the Pittsburgh preview as the Penguins prepare to host the Senators on Saturday night.
He'll finally get back in there on Saturday night when the Senators visit the Pittsburgh Penguins. He replaces Nikolas Matinpalo on the third defensive pairing alongside Tyler Kleven. That's almost certainly not an indictment of Matinpalo, who's played very well of late. The kid just needs to play.
"We're fortunate we've got 7D that we really like," head coach Travis Green told the Senators social media team. "Yak's just been out of the lineup lately. We felt like it was important to get him back in.
"It's not a slight against (Matinpalo) at all. He's been playing great this year, but we just want to make sure that we're keeping everyone sharp, and Yak's more than capable. We're expecting a big game out of him as well."
Meanwhile, it's fair to wonder whether this is the ideal development model for a blue-chip prospect.
There's certainly value in having Yakemchuk practice with NHL players, learn from experienced teammates, and get a firsthand look at what it takes to succeed at this level.
But there's also a strong argument that he'd be better served playing big minutes in Belleville, where he'd be the big man on campus, quarterback the power play, and continue working on the quicker feet and defensive details that will determine his NHL future.
Saturday's opportunity will give him another chance to show he belongs.
Senators Projected Lineup
The Senators have announced their line combinations for Saturday's game, and they'll look almost identical to the setup that helped them defeat Colorado 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night.
The only change is Yakemchuk replacing Matinpalo.
Forwards
Fabian Zetterlund – Tim Stützle – Dylan Cozens Phil Tomasino – Shane Pinto – Drake Batherson Michael Amadio – Ridly Greig – Claude Giroux Sammy Blais – Stephen Halliday – Hayden Hodgson
Defence
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub Thomas Chabot – Jordan Spence Tyler Kleven – Carter Yakemchuk
Starting Goaltender
Linus Ullmark
Ullmark will make his second consecutive start after returning from a lower-body injury that had kept him out since October 21.
As strategy goes, given Ullmark's constant battle with injuries and the grind of the long season, it may be worth considering a move to a true platoon situation at some point.
Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lineup
The Penguins are expected to counter with the following combinations, with 22-year-old rookie goalie Sergei Murashov starting in goal.
Forwards
Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Evgeni Malkin Tommy Novak – Ben Kindel – Egor Chinakhov Nicholas Robertson – Hendrix Lapierre – Justin Brazeau Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Rutger McGroarty
Defence
Spencer Stastney – Erik Karlsson Samuel Girard – Kaedan Korczak Declan Carlile – Kris Letang
MacKinnon will miss one month and Makar will miss about two weeks.
Bednar said Makar had been dealing with a soft-tissue injury and "it just kind of started gradually getting worse."
The two were dealing with injuries last season in the Western Conference finals, one of the reasons that the Avalanche were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Avalanche play six games from Saturday night, when they face the Montreal Canadiens, until Nov. 28. That would cover the two weeks without Makar. The team has off from Nov. 20-24.
Colorado plays 13 games during the next month, the time that MacKinnon is expected to miss.
Recent callups forward Gavin Brindley and defenseman Alex Gagne will play in Montreal. Gagne will make his NHL debut and play alongside Brent Burns, who's making his 1,600th appearance.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been showing signs of improvement lately, as they have won two out of their last three games.
A big reason for the Penguins' recent success has been goaltender Sergei Murashov. This is because the 22-year-old netminder has been playing very well for the Metropolitan Division club.
Murashov has not only won each of his last two starts but was excellent during them. In the Penguins' 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 7, Murashov stopped 26 out of 28 shots (.929 save percentage). He then followed that up by saving 34 out of 36 shots he faced against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 11, which equates to a .944 save percentage.
With numbers like these, there is no question that Murashov has been very good for the Penguins lately. The 2022 fourth-round pick is starting to show signs of breaking out, which is undoubtedly encouraging news for a Penguins club that wants to get better.
It will now be interesting to see if Murashov can continue to play this well for the Penguins from here. There is a lot to like about his game right now.
The Senators will begin a two-game road trip in Pittsburgh on Saturday night, and fortunately for them, they were able to get into town before Friday's air travel shutdown in the United States.
The Sens (12-6-2) have won three of their last four games and collected seven of a possible eight points in that stretch.
November 5: Beat Buffalo 2–1
November 8: Beat Utah 4–2
November 10: Lost to Washington 3–2 in overtime
November 12: Beat Colorado 4–3 in overtime
They've climbed into ninth overall in the NHL, despite an ongoing string of injuries that has tested their depth. In the deep Atlantic, where Tampa, Montreal, and Boston have been playing out of their minds in the first quarter of the season, that still only equates to a Wild Card spot at the moment.
Kelsey Surmacz of The Hockey News provides the Pittsburgh preview as the Penguins prepare to host the Senators on Saturday night.
The Senators caught a break on Friday, arriving in Pittsburgh before the Trump administration's Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide grounding of flights due to what they claimed were problems with their air traffic control communication.
There was also some concern about whether NHL officials would make it to their assignments. Unlike NHL teams, referees and linesmen generally fly commercially. However, longtime NHL broadcaster John Shannon reported Friday that all referees assigned to the league's 14 games had arrived in their respective cities.
On the ice, the Senators will face a Pittsburgh club that has generally struggled through the opening 19 games of the season, though they did win 2 of 3 on their just completed western swing.
The Pens (7-10-2) sit tied for sixth in the Metropolitan Division and 27th overall in the NHL with just 16 points.
The Senators, meanwhile, have gone 5-4-1 away from Canadian Tire Centre this season.
Saturday's matchup comes less than 48 hours after the Sens earned a dramatic 4-3 overtime victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.
Shane Pinto was the hero, opening the scoring and then delivering the overtime winner. Pinto became the fifth player in Senators history to score an OT winner on his birthday. For those who curiously like to keep track of such things, the other four were Radek Bonk, Mike Fisher, Thomas Chabot and Josh Norris.
With 17 points in 20 games, Pinto stands third in Sens scoring and looks for all the world like he's finally having his breakout season as an NHL scorer.
Thursday also marked the return of Linus Ullmark, who had missed eight games with a lower-body injury. Ullmark has a 8-1-0 record and has generally had the Penguins’ number, posting a 1.62 GAA and .938 save percentage in 11 appearances.
While the Senators have been getting contributions throughout the lineup, Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson continue to lead the charge.
Stützle leads the club with 24 points, while he and Batherson share the team lead with 10 goals. Stützle also enters Saturday's game with two points in each of his last four outings, matching the longest such streak of his NHL career.
Meanwhile, 39-year-old Sidney Crosby stands fourth in team scoring with 13 points in 19 games and seeing him outside the top 100 in NHL scoring is certainly unfamiliar territory.
Pittsburgh's offence is led by former Senators captain Erik Karlsson, who has 19 points in 19 games. He’s one of 11 NHL defensemen moving along at a point per game pace in the first quarter of the season.
But it’s already getting late for the Penguins. They’re eight points and six teams out of the final wild card in the East and the hole they’ve dug for themselves will soon be too deep to get out of.
They're also just home from a week-long western road trip, where they won two of three games, but the first game back home after a long road trip can sometimes be a challenge.
According to Kelsey Surmacz of The Hockey News Pittsburgh, the Penguins will welcome back Marc-Andre Fleury, Larry Murphy, Jim Rutherford, and Jack McGregor and officially add them to the Penguins' Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony.
Following Saturday's game, the Senators will continue their road trip Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.
Puck drop against the Penguins is scheduled for 7 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.
The Vancouver Canucks have a second-period problem. Through their first 21 games, the Canucks have allowed 35 goals in the second period, including four in the middle frame on Friday against the New York Rangers. For comparison, the next highest team in the league is the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have allowed 26 in 21 games.
It would be one thing if Vancouver were also scoring goals in the second period, but that has also been a struggle. The Canucks have only found the back of the net 14 times in the middle frame through 21 games, which ranks tied for 29th in the league. This means that Vancouver is allowing approximately 1.6 goals against while scoring approximately 0.6 goals per game in the second period.
"I think that the story of the second was just our unwillingness or inability to stick to the script," said Head Coach Manny Malhotra after Friday's loss. "But our first period was probably the best we've looked in a long time, just in terms of everything structurally. Created a lot of chances. Scored a great ozone sequence goal. Didn't spend a ton of time in the D zone, so again, coming back to that mindset of simple and direct works for us. And in the second period, it was just a string of turnover after turnover after turnover that feeds transition and doesn't allow us to do the things that make us competitive.
As for Brock Boeser, he spoke about the mistake-filled second period against the Rangers by saying, "It's frustrating. Obviously, I feel like we just haven't played a full game together, and we talk about it, and we talk about it, and it's the same stuff. So we're gonna have to learn eventually."
One reason the Canucks have struggled in the second period is a lack of shots on net. Vancouver has been outshot 225-138, with their -87 shot differential the highest by any team in a single period so far this season. As for the rest of the game, the Canucks' shot differential by period reads as -70 in the first, -24 in the third and +4 in overtime.
At this stage, it is hard to understand why Vancouver continues to struggle in the second period. The problem is even perplexing to the players and Malhotra, who don't seem to have an answer as to why this issue persists. Ultimately, the Canucks' second-period play is costing the team almost nightly and is a prime example of Vancouver playing "losing hockey".
Nov 13, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Linus Karlsson (94) and forward Marco Rossi (23) battle with New York Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider (4) in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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Heading into the 2026 Global Series in Helsinki, Finland, it was clear that Sebastian Aho was going to be the biggest star.
The Rauma native has long been one of his country's brightest stars, from winning gold at the 2016 World Junior Championships to helping lead the team to a bronze medal finish at this year's Winter Olympics to being already one of the all-time highest scoring Finnish born NHL players at just 29 years old.
All the focus was on Aho heading into these games and in Thursday's opening match, he delivered with a dominant, two-goal performance.
Aho scored both the game-winning goal and the final dagger as part of the Carolina Hurricanes' 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken at Veikkaus Arena, much to the joy of the home crowd.
"I was actually a little nervous before the game," Aho said. "You obviously hope to win that game, for sure, that's the main thing, but I'd be lying if I said that that didn't feel good. It was nice to score in that game, for sure."
And funny enough, the goals came on the 10th anniversary of his first career NHL goal, but even crazier than that is the fact that he scored that first goal against Philipp Grubauer as well.
"That's a cool little thing to happen for him," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour. "It's a great memory for him and I think he's going to remember this for his whole career. You couldn't really make it any better.
"You knew it meant a lot to him. You could see it all week that we've been here that he's just been extremely happy and he wanted to do what he did tonight. It was great to see."
Not only did Aho put on a performance he'll remember for the rest of his life, but he also reached a pair of milestones with his goals in the process too.
First, Aho passed Olli Jokinen for the fourth most goals all-time by a Finnish born player (322).
Second, he also tied Eric Staal for the most goals ever by a member of the Carolina Hurricane, doing so in 133 fewer games.
Ron Francis holds the franchise record with 382 goals, but no Carolina Hurricane has ever scored more than Aho has now.
The Hurricanes' franchise centerman still has many more years to come in the NHL, so it will be fun to see where he winds up when he finally decides to call it a career.
"I've been fortunate to be with him since he came into the league," Brind'Amour said. "I remember his first development camp practice when he showed up and I remember talking to some of the guys being like, 'I don't know if he's going to make it' because he was just a kid. He was so little. But he just willed himself into becoming the player he is."
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Former Minnesota Wild forward Kevin Fiala is finally back in the NHL after a frightening injury kept him sidelined for nine months.
The Los Angeles Kings announced Thursday that Fiala had been activated from injured reserve and made his season debut against the New York Islanders. He notched an assist in the 5-2 loss.
Fiala had not played since suffering a serious injury while representing Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February. The injury brought his Olympic tournament to an abrupt end and forced him to miss an extended period of action.
Now, nine months later, the former Wild standout is finally returning to the ice.
Fiala spent parts of four seasons with Minnesota after being acquired from the Nashville Predators in February 2019 in exchange for Mikael Granlund.
His best season came in 2021-22, when he recorded a career-high 33 goals and 85 points in 82 games. Fiala finished second on the Wild in scoring that season, trailing only Kirill Kaprizov.
That summer, Minnesota traded Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and defenseman Brock Faber.
The trade ultimately helped shape Minnesota's future, with Faber developing into one of the Wild's most important defensemen.
For Fiala, the move to Los Angeles provided an opportunity to continue his career as a top offensive contributor.
However, his career was put on hold following the frightening injury during the Olympics.
His return marks a significant milestone after a lengthy recovery process that kept him out of NHL action for approximately nine months.
While it remains to be seen how quickly Fiala can regain his offensive form, his return is welcome news for the Kings and hockey fans who watched him develop into a star during his time in Minnesota.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins (7-10-2, 16 points) will look to build on their winning 2-1 California road trip Saturday when they take on the Ottawa Senators (12-6-2, 26 points) at home.
On Wednesday, the Penguins capped off the three-game swing with a 3-2 shootout win over the San Jose Sharks. A 34-save effort by rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov led the way, and it was his second win of the road trip as well as the second-most saves he made in a game this season, the most being when he stole the Penguins a point against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 9 with 45 saves on 47 attempts.
Even though a lot of the on-ice play was still a mixed bag for Pittsburgh - and their goaltender was outstanding enough to steal them a game yet again on Wednesday - they are some things to build off of. Their lineup seems to be gaining momentum, they are now near the top of the league in defensive zone giveaways with the third-fewest at 107, and they are actually beginning to see some synergy in their lineup.
The advanced stats back up the Penguins playing better five-on-five hockey as of late, too. They are fourth in the league in expected goals for per 60 with 2.88, their PDO is seventh-lowest in the league this season at 97.79 to indicate some poor luck, and their Corsi (shot attempts share) is eighth in the league at 52.67 percent amongst a bunch of playoff-positioned teams.
It remains to be seen if head coach Dan Muse keeps the same lineups together, but they did swap a few things around at Friday's team practice. After one game in the top-six, Nick Robertson was slid back down to the third line in place of Ville Koivunen in the lineup, while Hendrix Lapierre slotted back in at third-line center and youngster Rutger McGroarty remained in, taking line rushes on the fourth line with Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar.
Muse did not commit to a goaltender for Saturday's game in Friday's media availability, but he did like what he saw from Murashov on the road trip. And injured defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk did skate with the team Friday, but he was on the fourth pairing with Ilya Solovyov, perhaps an indication that he will not be in the lineup Saturday.
The team's first game back home will also be its 'Hall of Fame Game', when they will welcome back Marc-Andre Fleury, Larry Murphy, Jim Rutherford, and Jack McGregor and elect them to the Penguins' Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony. The first two will be inducted as players, while Rutherford will be inducted in the Builder category and McGregor in the Contributor category.
As for the Ottawa Senators, they are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games and 5-4-1 on the road this season. They have fallen a bit in the standings to the first wild card position, but they are still a younger team with some weapons.
The Penguins have struggled against the Senators in recent years, going 2-5-3 with a minus-16 goal differential in their last 10 games head-to-head.
Chinakhov's stat line might not look like much, as he has just three goals and five points in 15 games played for the Penguins. But the stat line is no indication of the way he's played. He's struck iron on several occasions, and his 4.9 shot attempts per game is the third-highest mark on the team behind only Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell. He has developed some chemistry on the second line with Ben Kindel, and both have been playing better. It feels like when one goes in for Chinakhov, a bunch will follow.
Rutger McGroarty
McGroarty, 22, looks to be earning his second consecutive game after being called up during the Western trip and putting forth a nice effort in the 3-2 win over the Sharks. He may not be lighting up the scoresheet, as he has no points in three NHL games this season, but he is contributing on the defensive side of the puck and creating enough havoc in chance creation that he's still doing things to help the team win. The Penguins want to get younger, and McGroarty figures to be part of that mix — but he needs to keep forcing the Penguins' hand as far as keeping him in the lineup over others.
Pittsburgh Penguins (7-10-2, 16 points):
Points:
Erik Karlsson: 3-16-19 in 19 GP Evgeni Malkin: 6-11-17 in 17 GP Tommy Novak: 7-7-14 in 19 GP Sidney Crosby: 6-7-13 in 19 GP Rickard Rakell: 6-5-11 in 19 GP
Goaltenders:
Arturs Silovs: 5-6-1, .873 save percentage Sergei Murashov: 2-4-1, .891 save percentage
Mar 26, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark (35) makes a save on a shot from Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Egor Chinakhov (59) in a shootout at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images
Ottawa Senators (12-6-2, 26 points):
Points:
Tim Stutzle: 10-14-24 in 20 GP Drake Batherson: 10-9-19 in 20 GP Shane Pinto: 9-8-17 in 20 GP Michael Amadio: 6-5-11 in 20 GP Dylan Cozens: 4-7-11 in 20 GP
Goaltenders:
Samuel Ersson: 3-3-2, .885 save percentage Linus Ullmark: 8-1-0, .938 save percentage
Game Information:
Start time: 7:00 p.m. ET Venue: PPG Paints Arena Television: Sportsnet Pittsburgh Radio: 105.9 The X
The Columbus Blue Jackets are back at home for the final game of a three-game homestand and will face the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at 7:00 PM.
Philadelphia Flyers- 5-10-6 - 16 Points - OT Loss 1 - 7th in the Metro
Columbus Blue Jackets - 7-10-0 - 8 Points - Lost 3 - 8th in the Metro
Series History vs. TheFlyers
The Blue Jackets are 33-19-3-4 overall, and 18-6-2-2 at home vs. Philadelphia.
Columbus beat the Flyers in Philadelphia in October.
Columbus has won six-straight games against Philadelphia overall and has earned points in nine of the last 10 in the series since Jan. 4, 2024 (8-1-1).
The CBJ have won consecutive home games and five of the past seven at Nationwide Arena dating back to Nov. 10, 2022.
The road team has earned points in 15 of the last 20 in the series since Feb. 20, 2020 (11-5-4).
The clubs have combined for eight or more goals in three of the last four played in Ohio and seven-plus in six of the last nine at Nationwide Arena.
Player Notes Per CBJ PR
Kent Johnson has 5-5-10 in 12 career GP, including notching 2-1-3 and the OT GWG on Oct. 27.
Zach Werenski has 9-16-25 in 29 career GP, with five multi-point efforts in his last six games overall (3-7-10) as well as points in four-straight home contests (5-3-8) and five of the past six at NWA (6-4-10).
Matthew Knies has 3-5-8 in 10 career GP and has points in his past in each of his past three home contests against the team (1-3-4).
Sean Monahan has 14-7-21 in 26 career GP, with 4-4-8 in his last 12 overall, including points in four straight home contests (3-2-5).
Damon Severson has 10-15-25 in 49 career GP, including points in three of his past four games at Nationwide Arena (2-2-4).
Adam Fantilli has posted 2-7-9 in 11 career GP vs. the Flyers with points in six-straight meetings (2-5-7) after posting 1-1-2 in the Oct. 27 matchup.
Jet Greaves has gone 4-0-0 with a .956 SV% and 1.23 GAA in 4 appearances against the Flyers.
Charlie Coyle has posted 11-11-22 in 37 career games against the Flyers and has posted points in three of his last four home outings (3-2-5).
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 18.6% - 26th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 73.9% - 24th in the NHL
Goals For - 40 - 32nd in the NHL
Goals Against - 54 - 8th in the NHL
FlyersStats
Power Play - 18.8% - 25th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 79.4% - 12th in the NHL
Goals For - 47 - 28th in the NHL
Goals Against - 68 - 25th in the NHL
Who To Watch For TheFlyers
Matvei Michkov leads the Flyers with 10 goals and 15 points.
Trevor Zegras leads Philly with 10 assists.
Goalie Dan Vladař is 3-4-4 with a SV% of .879. His last start was on 11-11.
Joseph Woll is 2-6-2 with a SV% of .902. His last start was on 11-09.
Injured Reserve & Other Injuries
Isac Lundestrom - Achilles Surgery - LTIR - 17 Games Missed - Lightly skating. Could return soon.
Conor Garland - Upper Body Injury - 2 Games Missed - No timeline for a return.
Sean Monahan - Lower Body Injury - Day to day
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 43
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be simulcast on The Blue Jackets Hockey Network and 97.1 The Fan, with Steve Mears behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
TV: CBJHN - Spectrum HD Ch. 320/1320; IP Ch. 349; Prime Video, Fubo. DirecTV Ch. 660 (streaming), 660-1 (satellite). U-Verse (1735/735)
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Amid all the Matvei Michkov drama, and controversies surrounding other well-known stars around the NHL, one former Flyers defenseman with over 1,000 games of experience in the league has planted his flag with an authoritative, disapproving stance.
Since the 2026 Winter Olympics, an increase of players have requested trades away from their teams. Notably, former Senators captain Brady Tkachuk was shipped off to Florida, and Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck ended up in New Jersey after holding out into the 2026-27 regular season.
Some, like Dylan Larkin, are still waiting for their turn. As for Michkov, he's in the last year of his entry-level contract, and despite the turmoil internally and externally, the Flyers have refuted reports that their young star wants to play elsewhere.
Former Flyers defenseman Erik Johnson, who played with Michkov in his rookie season in 2024-25 and with Flyers GM Danny Briere in Briere's last season in the NHL in 2014-15, has called out all Larkin and all the NHL players looking to leave their teams in the middle of their contracts during a pre-game segment for ESPN.
Johnson, 38, went through this kind of situation nine years ago in the prime of his playing career, when top forward Matt Duchene asked out of Colorado.
"The core guys of the team, Gabe Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, we went to [Avalanche GM] Joe Sakic, we said, 'Get him out of here. We want to be a part of the Avs, we want to be a part of the solution.' We ended up being rewarded for that [with a Stanley Cup], Johnson noted.
The Avalanche obliged, and Duchene ended up in Ottawa as part of a three-team trade, and Colorado ended up with a 2018 first-round pick that later became Bowen Byram.
"Now, Dylan Larkin, I can't stand these guys halfway through their contracts that they signed in good faith with their team now bailing ship and wanting to go for greener pastures," said Johnson. "As a former player, I don't like these guys abandoning their teams mid-season, mid-contract."
The other wrinkle of Johnson's comments is that many players, like Larkin and Hellebuyck, have no-trade and no-movement clauses that allow them to dictate where they will accept a trade to.
For the Flyers, if it comes down to it, that won't be the case with Michkov, though his status as a pending free agent will undoubtedly play a factor for inquiring teams.
Reports have indicated that the Flyers are not the most happy with the play of their veteran players; players like Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, Travis Sanheim, and Christian Dvorak all have full trade protection, while Owen Tippett has a 10-team no-trade list.
As things develop in Philadelphia, this could make for a potentially interesting situation a few weeks and months down the road. And the feelings of experienced pundits, like Johnson, are clear as this trade drama becomes more and more commonplace around the NHL.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 2: Claude Giroux #28 of the Ottawa Senators skates with the puck against Erik Karlsson #65 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third period during the game at PPG PAINTS Arena on February 2, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Who:Ottawa Senators (12-6-2, 26 points, 4th place Atlantic Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (7-10-2, 16 points, 6th place Metropolitan Division)
When: 7:00 p.m. ET
How to Watch: Locally televised game on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and SN1/TVAS2, streaming for out of market at ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins have four days off before their next home game Thursday against the St. Louis Blues. The Pens are then hitting the road for a back-to-back the following weekend in Nashville and Dallas.
Opponent Track: The Senators have won three of their last four games, most recently claiming a 4-3 overtime victory Thursday against the visiting Colorado Avalanche.
Season Series: The Penguins will see the Senators twice more this season, starting with a New Year’s Eve matchup in Ottawa and ending with a March 9 rematch in Pittsburgh.
Hidden Stat: The Senators are tied for the NHL lead in shorthanded goals against after giving up four in 20 games.
Getting to know the Senators
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Fabian Zetterlund – Tim Stützle – Dylan Cozens
Philip Tomasino – Shane Pinto – Drake Batherson
Claude Giroux – Ridly Greig – Michael Amadio
Sammy Blais – Stephen Halliday – Hayden Hodgson
DEFENSEMEN
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot – Jordan Spence
Tyler Kleven – Nikolas Matinpalo
Goalies: Linus Ullmark, Samuel Ersson
Potential scratches: Nick Cousins, Carter Yakemchuk, Jackson Parsons
Injured Reserve: William Eklund, Warren Foegele, Andre Burakovsky
The Senators got Ullmark back Thursday after the netminder missed nine games with a lower-body injury. Ullmark, who has been strong for the Sens this season, stopped 26 of 29 shots in his return to the lineup.
Ullmark has a career 8-0-1 record, 9.26 save percentage and 2.34 goals against average in nine contests against the Penguins dating back to his stints with the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins.
Ottawa is still dealing with some significant injury absences from the lineup. The Senators added Eklund, Burakovsky and Foegle this offseason as part of an effort to replace the production lost from the lineup when Brady Tkachuk was traded this offseason to the Florida Panthers, but all three are now on injured reserve.
Nick Cousins has also been on the sideline since taking a hit in a Tuesday matchup against the Washington Capitals that Sens coach Travis Green later said knocked him unconscious.
Both the Senators and Penguins are coming off of extra-time wins that salvaged blown leads in regulation. The day after the Penguins recovered in a shootout after surrendering a late lead to the San Jose Sharks, Shane Pinto scored in overtime against the Avalanche after the Sens gave up a tying goal with four minutes left in regulation.
Tim Stutzle is currently on track for a second straight point-per-game season after leading the Sens with 24 points in 20 games.
The Senators have been running one of the worst power plays in the NHL since Tkachuk’s departure. Ottawa ranks 31st in the NHL with an 11.8 percent success rate on the power play so far this season.
The team has made up for that deficiency in part due to strong defense at 5v5. Ottawa has outscored opponents 41-30 at 5v5, per Natural Stat Trick.
While The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun speculates the Penguins will sell at the deadline, The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie is envisioning a different path for the Sens. McKenzie recently theorized a trade for an impact forward could provide a crucial boost for a team that has proven to be strong defensively but ranks 17th in the NHL in goals scored per game.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Evgeni Malkin
Tommy Novak – Ben Kindel – Egor Chinakhov
Nick Robertson – Hendrix Lapierre – Justin Brazeau
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Rutger McGroarty
DEFENSEMEN
Spencer Stastney / Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard / Kaeden Korczak
Declan Carlile / Kris Letang
Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov
Potential Scratches: Andrei Kuzmenko, Ilya Solovyov, Ville Koivunen
IR: Ryan Graves, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Elmer Soderblom, Bryan Rust
The fourth line is the only one that looked the same at Friday’s practice after Wednesday’s win against the San Jose Sharks. Nick Robertson is back in the bottom six, and Hendrix Lapierre could be back in the lineup as Ville Koivunen rotated with the bottom six during Friday’s practice, per Michelle Crechiolo.
Declan Carlile needed stitches after taking contact to the mouth in practice Friday, per Trib Live’s Seth Rorabaugh.
Carlile needed some stitches in his mouth. He reported being fine, even with a little blood and slurred speech. https://t.co/tcDhuWBGcP
Tonight marks the Penguins’ annual Hall of Fame Game, during which Jim Rutherford, Marc-Andre Fleury, Larry Murphy and Jack McGregor will be celebrated in a pregame ceremony starting around 7 p.m. ET. Fleury will be the first Penguins player since 2005 to join the team HOF after he was unanimously voted in during his first year of eligibility.
When Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton hired Martin St-Louis to take the reins of the Montreal Canadiens, some thought it was a joke. How could a coach with no head-coaching experience in professional hockey find himself in perhaps the most high-profile coaching role in the NHL? Others thought he'd be Hughes and Gorton’s eyes and ears in the dressing room until the end of the season, and that would be it. Needless to say, both groups of people were very wrong.
St-Louis is now coaching his sixth season in town, and while at first he was only relied on to help develop young players, now the Canadiens are playing for keeps. It’s about the results; they want to win and reach their ultimate goal: the Stanley Cup. The bench boss has now been in charge of 384 Canadiens games, and he’s won 175. While that may not seem like a big number, it’s the seventh-most wins a coach has with the Sainte-Flanelle.
With the 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins last night, St-Louis overtook Pat Burns in seventh place. He still has quite a way to go to tie Toe Blake, who has 500 wins, but it’s conceivable he'll be in fifth place by the end of the season. The Canadiens still have 65 games to play, and Cecil Hart, who’s sixth, has 196 wins, while Claude Julien has 201. The Laval native only needs 27 wins in those last 65 games to overtake Julien. He’ll then be able to set his sights on Michel Therrien, who has 271 triumphs.
At this stage, it’s hard to imagine St-Louis leaving this Canadiens team; it looks like a match made in heaven, and the contract extensions keep on coming.
Pittsburgh Penguins' Gameday Preview: Pens Look To Continue Momentum Against Ottawa Senators In Hall Of Fame GameThe Penguins will attempt to put aside their recent struggles against the Senators Saturday. 
