NHL News
Welcome to Atlantic Division Hockey, folks!
The Bruins and Canadiens renew acquaintances in their first match-up of the 2026-2027 season.
Both teams are near the top of the Atlantic Division, so this should be a good one.
Bruins! Canadiens! ON A THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER!
Discuss.
The deployment of young players is a hard part of coaching that is often overlooked.
Coaches need to find a balance between giving young players the ice time they need to learn and develop, without throwing them to the wolves and ruining their confidence.
That is the tightrope St. Louis Blues coach Jim Montgomery is walking right now with 21-year-old Dalibor Dvorsky.
Dvorsky's ice time has plummeted, with his two most recent contests showing 10:14 and 6:36 of ice time. Dvorsky has played in 18 games this season, recording four goals and five points. It hasn't been smooth sailing, and Dvorsky now finds himself on the wing.
There's lots to like about Dvorsky's game, including his shot and defensive awareness, but at times, he's been a non-factor. Some of that is attributed to his skating speed, a question mark that has surrounded him even before he was drafted.
The Blues clearly believe there is another level Dvorsky can take his game to, and Montgomery is trying to help him find it.
“We believe in him," said Montgomery. "He's a big part of us … not only because he's a first-round pick, but he's a talented young man that we all enjoy coaching, he's a really good teammate, and it's just a matter of time."
Tynan Lawrence's Strong NCAA Start Makes Blues Pick Look Like An Early NHL Draft Selection HitTynan Lawrence is off to an electric start to the NCAA season and is quickly looking like an early NHL draft selection hit for the St. Louis Blues. His game continues to improve as he looks to take the next step. If Dvorsky is unable to add speed to his game, he needs to find ways to be effective without it. It's not impossible, as players like Patrice Bergeron, Anze Kopitar, and John Tavares have carved out Hall of Fame careers without being quick. That isn't to say Dvorsky can or can't reach that level, but rather to reiterate that quickness isn't the be-all and end-all.
The Blues don't seem to think demoting Dvorsky to the AHL is the right move. He's shown that he is capable of dominating the AHL and that playing in a league below his level won't do him any good.
If his play continues to slide, it will be interesting to see whether anything changes. For now, the Blues coaching staff hopes to work out the issues from within.
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The Buffalo Sabres have had a roller-coaster season thus far this year. They win a couple of games and make you think they’re a team approaching the Sabres team that dominated the league for most of the 2025-26 regular-season campaign, then they take one or two steps backward by losing two or three in a row. Being consistently above-average is their biggest challenge at the moment, and until that happens, we need to look at them with a skeptical eye and not be fooled by thinking they’re either elite or in serious trouble.
That said, Buffalo’s past two games is a sobering reminder of how far the Sabres have to go before they’re regarded as a truly dangerous squad. Because losing those two games – against the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Tampa Bay Lightning – are an indication that this incarnation of the Sabres has multiple flaws that need addressing.
The losses to the Golden Knights and Lightning – by a combined score of 12-4 – demonstrate that Buffalo is in need of help at both ends of the rink. Indeed, the Sabres presently rank 20th in the NHL with a goals-for average of just 2.94, and their goals-against average of 3.56 ranks 27th in the league. And against Vegas and Tampa Bay, it didn’t matter whether it was Colten Ellis or Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen who was between the pipes for the Sabres – the end result was the same: Buffalo was thoroughly-outclassed by two veteran opponents who weren’t taking the Sabres lightly.
Meanwhile, Buffalo’s special teams have been abysmal this year, with their power-play currently ranked 29th in the NHL at an anemic 15.3 efficiency rate, and their penalty-kill ranked 26th-overall at a dismal 69.8 percent. The Sabres gave up two PP goals against the Bolts, while scoring only one man-advantage goal in that game. And against the Golden Knights, Buffalo surrendered a shorthanded marker in the first goal of the contest to set the tone in Vegas’ favor.
All-in-all, you can see why Sabres fans are clamoring for Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekalainen to make a trade of consequence for his team. He’s got $3-million in salary cap space to work with right now, a number that rises to $11 million by this year’s NHL trade deadline on March 1. But if he waits too long to use that cap space, Kekalainen may find the Sabres well down in the Atlantic Division standings – not necessarily out of playoff contention, but nowhere near top spot in the division and with the home-ice advantage that comes with that lofty place in the Atlantic.
The Sabres have got a bit of a break in the schedule in the next five days, with tilts against the brutal Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers as well as the considerably tougher Dallas Stars in the middle of those two soft touches. But before too long, the road for Buffalo will get much tougher, with showdowns against the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers and another game against the Lightning. Buffalo won’t see the Bolts again until games against them on Jan. 2 and April 5, so by then, the Sabres have every opportunity to be a more-cohesive unit.
But as it stands right now, Buffalo is in the second tier of teams – demonstrably better than sad-sack franchises, but clearly not in the same tier of the NHL’s true powerhouse teams. It’s a good news/bad news situation for the Sabres.
And while Buffalo fans shouldn’t be despondent over the state of the organization, the Sabres’ losses against the Lightning and Golden Knights are a clear indication of how far Buffalo has to go before they can be regarded as a legitimate threat to win a championship.
The Avalanche and Ottawa Senators have something in common heading into Thursday night: both are sitting at 11-6-2. Colorado will have a chance to move to three straight wins when the two teams meet at Canadian Tire Centre, but Ottawa will be looking to make a statement of its own on home ice.
It’s an interesting spot for the Avalanche. They’ve been one of the better teams in this matchup over the years, winning seven of the last eight meetings and outscoring Ottawa 45-24. The Senators did get the last laugh, though, beating Colorado 5-2 on January 28. The Avs won’t need much reminding of how that one went.
Ottawa is coming off a 3-2 loss to Washington on Tuesday. The Senators had a 2-1 lead before the Capitals tied the game in the third and won it in overtime. Colorado, on the other hand, is coming off a 6-3 win over Toronto. 13 Avalanche players recorded a point in that game, and Gabriel Landeskog scored twice. More importantly, a win Thursday would give Colorado its third consecutive victory.
The Opponent: Ottawa Senators (11-6-2)
Time: 5:00 p.m. MST
Watch: ALT, ALT+, ESPN+
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
There are a few matchups worth watching. Nathan MacKinnon has given Ottawa plenty of trouble, scoring seven goals in his last eight games against the Senators. Cale Makar has 16 points in 11 career meetings with them, and Artturi Lehkonen has 20 points in 28 games. Lehkonen is also leading the Avalanche with 13 goals this season. MacKinnon has on,y scored one goal on the road this season, which might be contributing to those road slow starts for Colorado. No lineup changes are expected, though, defenseman Alex Gagne is an extra on the trip.
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Jaden Schwartz — Brock Nelson — T.J. Hughes
Gabriel Landeskog — Nazem Kadri — Nicolas Roy
Parker Kelly — Fedor Svechkov — Logan O’Connor
Brett Kulak — Cale Makar
Devon Toews — Sam Malinski
Noah Juulsen — Brent Burns
Ottawa has its own offensive leaders to worry about. Tim Stutzle tops the Senators with 23 points, including 14 assists, while Drake Batherson is tied with him for the team lead in goals with nine. Shane Pinto has chipped in seven goals and 14 points.
Fabian Zetterlund — Tim Stutzle — Dylan Cozens
Philip Tomasino — Shane Pinto — Drake Batherson
Michael Amadio — Ridly Greig — Claude Giroux
Samuel Blais — Stephen Halliday — Hayden Hodgson
Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot — Jordan Spence
Tyler Kleven — Nikolas Matinpalo
The goaltending matchup is another storyline. Scott Wedgewood is expected to start for Colorado, bringing a career 5-1-0 record against Ottawa into the game. His 2.85 goals-against average and .916 save percentage against the Senators are solid numbers, although this season has been more difficult. Wedgewood is 1-3-1 with a 4.02 goals-against average and an .867 save percentage.
Linus Ullmark is expected to return for Ottawa after being out since October 21. He was 7-1 with a .945 save percentage before the injury. He has also had decent numbers against Colorado in his career, going 2-1-1 with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
The records say these teams are evenly matched, and Thursday should give us a better idea of where they stand against each other. Colorado has been rolling lately and has a chance to keep that going, but Ottawa already showed it can get the better of the Avalanche this season.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Kings forward Kevin Fiala will make his season debut on Thursday night against the New York Islanders, playing for the first time since breaking his left leg at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Fiala was injured playing for Switzerland in a preliminary round game on February 13, causing him to miss the second half of the NHL season. He then missed training camp and the start of this season after undergoing a follow-up surgery in September.
The Kings are struggling to score, having been held to two goals or fewer in nine of their past 14 games. They are 0-8-1 in those contests and hope the return of Fiala could help address that lack of offense. Fiala had 18 goals and 22 assists in 56 games last season and is expected to play on the second line with center Quinton Byfield and forward Mats Zuccarello.
“Kevin’s been on the ice for a while now, and his game, his conditioning, his ability to create, it looks good to me out there,” coach Peter Laviolette said after practice Thursday.
___
HELSINKI (AP) — Sebastian Aho scored twice in front of the home crowd and the Carolina Hurricanes opened the NHL’s Global Series in the Finnish capital with a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
Left winger Taylor Hall celebrated his 1,000th NHL game in the reigning Stanley Cup champions' victorious return to Helsinki’s Veikkaus Arena after 16 years.
Carolina's Brandon Bussi stopped 12 shots.
Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and an assist, and Aho's fellow Finn, defenseman Juuso Välimäki, also scored for the Hurricanes (15-3-2) who have won seven of their last eight games.
Logan Stankoven had two assists to extend his point streak to six and Jackson Blake got one to improve his career-high point streak to 10.
The dominant Hurricanes jumped to a 2-0 with the goals coming just 1:06 apart in the opening period.
Ehlers put them 1-0 up with 8:16 remaining with a wrist shot from the blue line. Home crowd hero Aho doubled the advantage on a power play moments later after he was fed at the side of the net by Blake. He made it 4-0 on a one-timer from the slot in the final period.
The Finnish scoring leader for the Hurricanes has three goals and seven points in the last three games. With his 321st career goal, Aho tied Olli Jokinen for the fourth place among Finnish players in NHL history.
Frederick Gaudreau scored the lone goal for Seattle (9-7-1) and Philipp Grubauer finished with 26 saves.
The 34-year-old Hall became the first player to skate his 1,000th game overseas. In his 17th NHL season, Hall has 305 goals and 488 assists for a total of 793 points.
The NHL has played games on the European continent as part of its efforts to grow the fan base in hockey-mad countries like Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Thursday's game was the 49th regular-season game outside North America, 12th in Finland and eighth in Helsinki. Only Stockholm and Prague have hosted more.
It was the first regular-season game outside North America for the Kraken, who became the 27th active franchise to do so.
The Hurricanes and Kraken will complete their two-game series in Helsinki on Saturday.
___
The Chicago Blackhawks (4-13-1) have had an eventful week. Whether it was a vote of confidence for Jeff Blashill from the organization, Arvid Soderblom being put on waivers, or a "State of the Union" style press conference for GM Kyle Davidson, things have a different feel.
It is never going to be pretty when a team is 4-13-1. They are in the conversation for the worst team in the league, even though they claimed that this year would be an improvement. So far, they've only gone backwards.
Now, in an effort to bounce back, they will host the Buffalo Sabres at the United Center. Chicago hasn't played since Saturday, when it suffered a 9-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, which sparked the events of the week.
Scouting Buffalo
The Buffalo Sabres (8-7-3), like the Blackhawks, are coming into this game with a sour taste in their mouth. Buffalo was beaten by the Tampa Bay Lightning one night prior by a score of 8-3. The Sabres aren't in as bad a stretch as the Blackhawks, but their start to the season hasn't been what they were hoping for following a massive step forward in 2026-27.
For everyone in the league, the Blackhawks present an opportunity to "get right". When the Blackhawks visited Buffalo back on October 3rd, the Sabres won 4-3. Now, they are looking for the season sweep, as this will be the last matchup between the two this year.
Krebs - Norris - Thompson
Benson - Ostlund - Quinn
Zucker - McLeod - Doan
Malenstyn - Kozak - Carrick
Dahlin - Samuelsson
Zellweger - Power
Timmins - Crevier
Ellis
Luukkonen
Whether it's their superstar forward in Tage Thompson or superstar defenseman in Rasmus Dahlin, or someone else, they have guys who can make massive impacts offensively. Jack Quinn is the type of forward who has never met a shot he doesn't like, but the whole group is going to make life hard on the Chicago defense with a relentless forecheck.
Behind Dahlin, Buffalo has a solid group of defensemen. Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, and Olen Zelweger form a high-end top six when everyone is playing well.
Matt Grzelcyk won't be making his return to the United Center as he is injured, but this will be a chance for Louis Crevier to face his former team in his old home.
Buffalo certainly could get more from their goaltending if they want to get back on track. They made a chance in the third period during Wednesday's game, but we'll see who gets the nod once warmups begin.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks have no excuse. The GM played that final card of small changes and a press conference. Now, it is on the players to save some jobs.
Patrick Kane is going to return to the Blackhawks lineup in time to play against his hometown team. Teuvo Teravainen will come out.
Kantserov-Bedard-Bertuzzi
Mangiapane-Frondell-Kane
Moore-Nazar-Donato
Smith-Greene-Greenway
Vlasic-Cole
Del Mastro-Levshunov
Kaiser-Rinzel
Knight
Commesso
With the Blackhawks being off for a couple of days, expect to see Spencer Knight in between the pipes. Drew Commesso will soon get his season debut, but Knight is sure to start this one. The morning skate was optional, so we won't know for sure until warmups.
Bowen Byram took the optional skate and went in a non-contact sweater. He won't return for this game, but it does seem like he's getting closer. Nobody within the organization will say anything other than that he's day-to-day.
Kane will jump on the second line with Andrew Mangiapane and Anton Frondell. That line should have a nice balance of everything that makes a line go. They are sure to see a lot of Tage Thompson and Josh Norris. Tyler Bertuzzi will continue to skate on the top line with Connor Bedard and Roman Kantserov.
The bottom six will feature a lot of speed and toughness. It's on the veterans in this group to step up if the team is going to get the most out of their young players.
With Buffalo in the second half of a back-to-back with travel, their goalie uncertainty, and Chicago being as fresh as possible, there are no excuses for a bad effort in this one. If they get blown out again, this time at home, the negative narrative will only continue to get louder.
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. It can be seen locally on CHSN. Nationally, you can stream it on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 7:00 PM CT.
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Last month, the Montreal Canadiens traded defenseman Jayden Struble to the Nashville Predators in exchange for the Vegas Golden Knights' 2027 second-round pick.
The Canadiens' decision to trade Struble was understandable. While he was a solid defenseman for Montreal, their blueline was crowded. Thus, it made sense that the Canadiens flipped him for a second-round pick.
Now, Struble is making an impact for the Predators, as the former Canadiens defenseman just had a strong game for them.
During the Predators' most recent contest against the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 11, Struble scored a goal and recorded an assist. With this, Struble has now recorded his first multi-point game in the NHL.
Struble's contributions for Nashville against the Ducks were also important. His goal tied the game at 1-1 during the first period, while his assist was on Nils Hoglander's goal that gave Nashville a 2-1 lead in the second period.
With this multi-point game, Struble now has three goals and one assist in 15 games for Nashville since being traded by the Canadiens. He is also making an impact with his physicality, as he has recorded 41 hits for the Central Division club.
It will now be interesting to see if the former Canadiens defenseman can build off his strong game for Nashville from here.
Following some early-season success, the Detroit Red Wings are now in a funk, having dropped their last four contests, all in regulation.
During two of those games, they held the lead in the third period, but were unable to close things out. Additionally, they've scored a total of five goals during that four-game stretch, which included a shutout loss against the former rival Colorado Avalanche.
For Thursday's matchup against the Panthers, the Red Wings are making a lineup change, with forward Michael Rasmussen sitting in the press box at Amerant Bank Arena while Carter Mazur returns.
The lineup change was confirmed by Detroit Free Press beat writer Helene St. James, who is on the scene in Fort Lauderdale.
lol excuse my fingers.
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) November 12, 2026
Rasmussen is a healthy scratch tonight for red wings at Florida https://t.co/IwSUySgzRn
According to head coach Todd McLellan, Rasmussen has recently found himself "in the wrong spot at the wrong time" over the last few games.
"Michael's played really strong; the last few haven't been as good," McLellan said via St. James. "He's ended up in the wrong spot at the wrong time, at the scene of the crime. We just want to give Maz a chance to go."
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Rasmussen has one goal and three assists in 17 games played so far this season, and has a minus-nine rating while averaging 15:51 of ice time per game. He's also been caught out of position on the game-winning goals in Detroit's recent setbacks against the Vegas Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues.
Mazur draws back into the lineup against the Panthers; earlier this month, he scored his first career goal against Florida in Detroit's most recent win 10 days prior on Nov. 2.
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The Avalanche are back on the road Thursday night, taking on the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre after picking up a 6-3 win over Toronto earlier this week.
Gabriel Landeskog scored twice, while Brock Nelson, Devon Toews, Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas also scored. 13 Avalanche players recorded at least one point, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 28 saves on 31 shots.
Colorado has been getting production throughout the lineup, with 13 players recording a point in Tuesday’s win. They’ll face a Senators team coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to Washington. Ottawa held a 2-1 lead in that game before Pierre-Luc Dubois tied it in the third period and Cole Hutson scored the winner in overtime.
The Senators beat Colorado 5-2 the last time these teams met, back on January 28 in Ottawa. That result was one of the exceptions in a matchup the Avalanche have generally controlled. Colorado has won seven of the last eight meetings, outscoring Ottawa 45-24 over that stretch.
Nathan MacKinnon has been particularly productive against the Senators, with seven goals in his last eight games against them. That includes the four-goal performance in Colorado’s 6-4 win on December 21, 2023. Cale Makar has 16 points in 11 career games against Ottawa, while Artturi Lehkonen has 20 points in 28 games. Lehkonen also leads the Avalanche with 13 goals this season.
Ottawa has some players capable of making things difficult, too. Tim Stutzle leads the Senators with 23 points and 14 assists, and his nine goals are tied with Drake Batherson for the team lead. Batherson has 18 points, while Shane Pinto is next with 14 points and seven goals.
Scott Wedgewood will start for Colorado. He’s had success against Ottawa over his career, going 5-1-0 with a 2.85 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in seven appearances. His numbers this season haven’t been nearly as good, though. Wedgewood is 1-3-1 with a 4.02 goals-against average and an .867 save percentage. Mackenzie Blackwood has taken on more of the workload, leaving Wedgewood in a different role than he had a season ago.
Linus Ullmark is set to return for Ottawa, making his first appearance since October 21. He was off to a strong start before the injury, going 7-1 with a .945 save percentage. Ullmark has a 2-1-1 career record against Colorado, with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. He hasn’t beaten the Avalanche in nearly four years.
The January meeting showed Ottawa can make Colorado pay when given the opportunity. The Avalanche have had the upper hand in this series, but they’ll be looking to avoid another result like that one as they continue their road trip.
Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. local time at Canadian Tire Centre.
Carolina Hurricanes veteran forward Taylor Hall is set to reach a massive career milestone, as he's in line to play in his 1,000 career NHL game on Thursday.
And to make the moment even more special, it's coming in the middle of the NHL Global Series as the Hurricanes are currently in Helsinki, Finland taking on the Seattle Kraken.
"I'm lucky to have played in the league this long. It's cool. For different guys it means different things and I think it's really exciting for me to do it [with Carolina] a team with which we a Stanley Cup and there are some really good memories here. Had a son born here and all that and just a lot of really good things have happened here, so to play 1,000 games with this team is very cool."
In fact, Taylor Hall will be the only player in NHL history to play their 1,000 career game outside of North America and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman pointed out too that Hall's first ever NHL game came on the same date as the Hurricanes' last international trip to Finland (Oct. 7, 2010).
Despite being a first overall pick in 2010, Hall has been through his fair share of ups and downs, being on quite a few bad teams and also dealing with some major injuries.
"If you go first overall, I feel like you've gotta play a lot of games," Hall said. "I started when I was 18 and I was able to have the opportunity right away. I'm definitely grateful that my body has held up after some injuries and all that and hopefully I have a lot more to go."
However, he's had a career resurgence in Carolina, which wound up with him securing the Stanley Cup last season.
"Early in his career, it was more about the talent," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Lately, certainly since he's gotten here, he's more so morphed into a good, solid, all-around player that still has a lot of that talent. He's adapted to his game to doing what we needed him to do and he's done a great job with it."
And the secret to Hall's longevity?
"I think, to be cliche, you just have to enjoy every day. There's so many good things that can happen from playing hockey in general and when you get to play it at this level, on a team like this, you don't take it for granted because one day you're not going to have this. That's what I relish the most."
Shayne Gostisbehere Continuing To Be Key Offensive Dynamo For Carolina Hurricanes
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Hurricanes Captain Returns To Practice Nearly One Month Since Injury
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When the Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the Chicago Blackhawks back in mid-October, in large part due to a bad late goal surrendered by Sergei Murashov, it seemed to break his confidence a little bit. He did not have a good game to begin with, and that goal seemed to be the one that really pushed him over the edge. His next two starts, against the Vegas Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens, were ugly. Very ugly. He allowed five goals in each start, had a sub-.800 save percentage, and looked like a young goalie that was struggling to find himself.
That seems to be changing over his past two starts. That was especially true in Wednesday’s 3-2 shootout win against the San Jose Sharks, where he stopped 34-of-36 shots through overtime, and then stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout.
It was a breakout game of sorts for him, and one of the best starts of his (very) young career.
Things started to turn around for him in the first game of this road trip in Los Angeles when he stopped 26-of-28 shots in a 5-2 Penguins win. The two goals he allowed were more flukey than anything else, with both coming off weird bounces (one off the glass behind the net that fell right in Corey Perry’s lap, and another that took a weird bounce off Penguins defenseman Kaedan Korczak). I will not go as far as to say he stole the game, but he was really good. He did what he needed to do, played a strong game, and took a big step forward.
On Wednesday night in San Jose, he was closer to stealing it.
Not only did he make the 34 saves (again, on 36 shots) through overtime and the three shootout saves, he bailed out an especially leaky defense on several occasions, made some high-level saves on Grade-A scoring chances, and perhaps most importantly, seemed to play with sky-high confidence. He not only looked really good, he looked in control. It was a highly, highly encouraging start, continuing an encouraging stretch of starts for him, and an producing an even better result.
I have been saying all along this season that goaltending will be one of the big wild-cards that determines the success of this team, and you have to be prepared for some ups-and-downs with them. Especially Murashov, given that he is a 22-year-old rookie in his first full season of NHL hockey. There are going to be some highs and lows. Goalies are the most volatile position in the sport, and it is even more true with young goalies.
Murashov has already had a lot of the peaks and valleys.
Including Wednesday’s game in San Jose, he has had four starts this season where his save percentage topped .914, while he combined to save 6.54 goals above expected in those starts. That is really, really good. Top-level starter kind of stuff. He has also had three starts where his save percentage has been .815 or lower, and was minus-6.62 in goals saved above expected. Obviously, not as good. That is a young goalie for you, though. You just have to have some patience here.
I am not going to go as far as to say he completely stole Wednesday’s game, because that would unfairly undersell the chances the Penguins created offensively. Even though they only scored two goals through overtime, they did create a lot of opportunities. The goalie at the other end of the ice, Yaroslav Askarov, was just as good as Murashov in that game and easily took a few potential goals off the board for the Penguins. They could have absolutely scored four or five goals in that game.
Murashov did, however, bail out their defensive play.
It was an interesting goalie matchup because Askarov, now 24, is not that far removed from being in the position that Murashov is in now. He arrived in San Jose in a trade with the Nashville Predators (with a first-round pick going the other way) and figured to be a key part of their rebuild. He has had a lot of inconsistencies and struggles playing behind a really bad defense (and a mostly bad team). He is starting to figure out and put things together and has actually been a bright spot for the Sharks this season, having stopped 5.2 goals above expected through Wednesday’s game. The fact the Sharks are still so bad in the standings is more of a testament to how bad the rest of the team is and how bad their defense still is than anything regarding Askarov.
I would still like to see Murashov be further ahead than where Askarov is two years from now, and be a better player as he gets to that point, but it does kind of show just how unpredictable and how much of a process this is. Remember, Marc-Andre Fleury was not an immediate success his first couple of years in the league. There were a lot of growing pains in there, and even some trips back to the minors. Granted, he was even younger than Murashov is now, and I am not expecting Murashov to have Fleury’s career, but the point remains the same — expect some of this. Nothing should be a surprise here.
The Penguins have improved their farm system significantly over the past two years, creating some real prospect depth and some young players that have a chance to be NHL regulars. The problem is there really is not anybody that projects to be a superstar level player. At least not yet.
In terms of skaters, Ben Kindel is probably the closest, and while I do think we are underselling his upside a bit, even if he becomes a star-level player in the future, he is most likely not going to be on that top-tier list among NHL players. Maybe an All-Star. Not quite a superstar.
Murashov is probably the one guy in the organization that has a chance to be that sort of superstar, game-changing level player. It just so hard to project it because of the position and the volatility of it. His ceiling is probably higher than any young player they have. His floor is also potentially lower than most of them. But if he does get to that ceiling? Or even close to it? That would be significant. Having one of your home-grown players that turns out to be a star-level playing being a goalie is a big development. They just have to get him there.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have added another player from the Toronto Marlies to its roster.
The club called up forward Brendan Brisson and the forward was on the ice for the club's optional skate ahead of their game against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
Brisson, the son of NHL super agent Pat, is the Marlies' leading scorer with eight goals and nine assists in 14 games this season. The Leafs signed Brisson to a one-year, two-way contract on Sept. 4, 2026, that pays him the NHL minimum of $850,000 at the NHL level and $300,000 at the AHL level, per PuckPedia.com.
To make room for Brisson on the club's 23-player roster, the Leafs moved Colton Sissons to injured reserve. The player sustained a lower-body injury in a 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.
Leafs have called up Brendan Brisson from the Marlies this morning. @Ozoon_CAhttps://t.co/ndc4GfkXff
— David Alter (@davidalter) November 12, 2026
It's not clear at the moment if Brisson will play. Zack MacEwen, who was injured in the club's most recent game on Tuesday against the Colorado Avalanche, did not practice on Wednesday and was seen wearing additional support around his wrist during the club's optional skate.
Brendan Brisson on the ice at Leafs skate @TSN_Sportspic.twitter.com/gqnfUxSJnR
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 12, 2026
More will be clear following the skate.
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The Columbus Blue Jackets are back at home for a three-game homestand and will face the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at 7:00 PM.
Tampa Bay Lightning - 12-4-2 - 26 Points - Won 1 - 2nd in the Atlantic
Columbus Blue Jackets - 7-9-0 - 14 Points - Lost 2 - 7th in the Metro
Series History vs. TheLightning
Player Notes Per CBJ PR
Blue Jackets Stats
Lightning Stats
Who To Watch For TheLightning
Injured Reserve & Other Injuries
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 41
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)
*Thursday's game will be available via simulcast in the following markets: Cleveland (WUAB, MyNet, 43.1), Cincinnati (WXIX, Rock Entertainment Sports Network, 19.3), Dayton (WZCD, Rock Entertainment Sports Network, 32,1). Lima (WFND, Rock Entertainment Sports Network, 19.1), Louisville (WDRB, MyNet, 41.2 or WBKI, CW, 58.1), Lexington (WKYT, CW, 27.2), Charleston-Huntington (WSAZ, MyNet, 3.2), and Bluefield-Beckley (WVVA, MyNet, 6.3).
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Ahead of Wednesday night's 3-2 overtime loss to the Oilers, Flyers general manager Danny Briere met with the team and asked them to focus on hockey amidst the Matvei Michkov trade rumors. And despite the loss, the team played like it had something to prove.
Naturally, playing against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers is a tough task for anyone, especially with McDavid putting up video game numbers with his 49 points in 20 games this season.
McDavid's only assist came on the power play, as he and Draisaitl combined for just two assists in the contest.
"I think we, especially against a team like that, don't want to open up the game, and you want to stick to the game plan and be patient. I thought, for most part of the night, we did a good job at creating plays, putting pucks deep when we needed to, and making plays when we had to," said Flyers captain Sean Couturier.
To start the game, the Flyers played a pretty strong first period, out-shooting the Oilers 13-6. Michkov nearly picked up an assist on a no-look pass to Jamie Drysdale, but Oilers goalie Tristan Jarry made a great save going post to post.
In the second period, a tough sequence from Oliver Bonk led to an Oilers goal. The rookie Flyers defenseman stood guard in front of Dan Vladar, but lost track of his man, Zach Hyman.
A missed slap shot from long range caromed off the boards and right to Hyman, who shook Bonk and deposited past Vladar for an easy goal while falling.
Just under 10 minutes later, Hyman put the Oilers ahead 2-0 on the power play, scoring in the blue paint and cashing in on an interference penalty from Bonk.
Fortunately, the Flyers were able to fight back a bit, as Tyson Foerster sniped a shot past Jarry in the dying seconds of a Flyers power play to bring Philadelphia within a goal with 3:11 left in the second.
Flyers Don't Want to Trade Matvei Michkov; What Steps Are Next?In the aftermath of the Matvei Michkov trade rumors, the Flyers face the difficult task of finding calm in the storm.Through two periods, the Flyers were out-shooting the Oilers 28-13, and the 2-1 deficit they carried was certainly uncharitable to how they played.
Tasked with tying the game, the Flyers had a surprisingly ineffective third period, getting out-shot 9-4 by the Oilers. Coming to the rescue, defenseman Travis Sanheim scored his third of the year, powering his way to Jarry's crease and stuffing the puck in to tie the game at 2-2.
Rasmus Ristolainen, who returned from injury for the second time this season, picked up his first assist of the season on Sanheim's goal, and Michkov added a secondary assist.
"Felt alright, obviously practicing and skating. Never the same [as] playing a game, but, obviously, it was fun to be back and be in the battle with the guys," Ristolainen said after the game
Overtime, unfortunately, was more of the same for the Flyers. Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard ended the game in just 47 seconds, taking advantage of an unfortunate bounce off the stick of Drysdale, who initially made a nice play to break up a pass.
Leading to the Oilers' game-ending possession, Owen Tippett made an unusual line change, advancing the puck into the the Edmonton zone, fumbling his handle, and handing the puck off instead of regrouping and getting off the ice.
Christian Dvorak, who was left to battle the Oilers 3-on-1 by himself, hucked the puck blindly up the boards to McDavid, who raced down the other way and helped orchestrate the winner.
"There's not much I can say other than the guys played really good hockey. Structured, we had some chances," head coach Rick Tocchet assessed postgame. "I guess the only negatives are, overtime is something... we gotta figure this out. But that's the only negative for me. The whole game was real positive."
Vladar made 21 saves on 24 shots in the contest, while Ristolainen played 18:24 in his return to action. Notably, Michkov led all Flyers forwards in ice time with 20:44, including 4:43 on the power play.
Veteran forward Noel Acciari suffered an injury after being tripped by Jarry late in the second period, and the Flyers subsequently ruled him out for the night with an upper-body injury. Tocchet did not have an update on Acciari after the game.
Avry Lewis-McDougall of The Hockey News contributed to this story.