The Chicago Blackhawks have been waiting for the moment when Connor Bedard scored a goal assisted by Patrick Kane. It came in the first period of his first game back, as Kane assisted on Bedard's first goal of the season. 

The goal was on the power play, a 5-on-3, and Tyler Bertuzzi also collected an assist. In addition to being special because it was Bedard's first as captain and his first goal assisted by Kane, it also made USA Hockey history. 

GOAL: Connor Bedard snipes his 1st goal of the season on the power play. pic.twitter.com/CRzMsTS4oS

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) October 16, 2026

Kane's assist was the 895th of his incredible Hall of Fame career, and that passed Phil Housley for the most by an American-born forward. Kane already has a ton of American hockey records, and this one is another on a long list. 

and with that assist, Patrick Kane takes the top spot for 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻-𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 in the NHL ‼️ pic.twitter.com/Y8LyB8OJ9Q

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 16, 2026

The goal put the Blackhawks up 1-0 as they look to build momentum now that the team is healthy with Connor Bedard in the lineup. This won't be the last goal that Bedard and Kane combine to score over the next two seasons. 

When the puck entered the net, you can see that Kane was genuinely impressed with Bedard's shot, but it's equally as impressive that he is now the all-time greatest assist man in the history of Americans playing in the NHL. 

Patrick Kane's reaction 😂 https://t.co/zCnrAyk23Npic.twitter.com/lhufKhzXPp

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) October 16, 2026

Tyler Bertuzzi also reached a personal milestone with his assist on the goal. It was the 200th in his NHL career. All sorts of milestones are happening at the United Center. 

with the assist to Connor Bedard's goal, Tyler Bertuzzi notches 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬!! pic.twitter.com/d3MjK4nLmM

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 16, 2026

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The Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League have signed goaltender James Reimer to a professional tryout contract.

With Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury and Joonas Korpisalo’s lower-body injury that’s expected to keep him out for one month, the New York Rangers’ goaltending depth suddenly became thin at both the NHL and AHL levels.

Dylan Garand and Spencer Martin, both called up by the Rangers, left the Wolf Pack with Callum Tung and Gabriel Carriere at the goaltending position.

The addition of Reimer provides the Rangers with more goaltending depth and a potential backup option for Garand until Korpisalo is activated from injured reserve, if the team decides to call him up in place of Martin.

Reimer has 16 years of NHL experience playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators.

The 38-year-old goaltender most recently played for the Senators during the 2025-26 season, recording a 7-4-2 record, a .886 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average.

Already this week, amid the team's dreadful 0-5-3 start to the 2026-27 campaign, it has been reported that many clubs around the NHL have been calling the Philadelphia Flyers for trade talks, presumably looking to buy low from the Eastern Conference's only winless team.

The Flyers have been hit with a swath of injuries early, too, which never helps things, especially when two top-four defensemen, Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen, are out, along with top-six winger Travis Konecny.

All the early adversity aside, the Flyers and their front office are not ready to pull the plug on the season, nor are they ready to begin selling off any quantity of their many struggling players.

But for as long as the winless slide continues, the Flyers will keep getting calls from other NHL teams, and one player, in particular, seems to be a hot commodity around the league.

According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, in a recent article for Sportsnet, rival clubs are pondering the possibility of getting 24-year-old winger Tyson Foerster from the Flyers in a trade.

"While vultures circle the Philadelphia Flyers amid their franchise-worst start, rival teams have been wondering: Is there any way we could get our hands on Tyson Foerster? He seems to be on a list of untouchables. Really impressive player," Seravalli wrote.

Foerster, the 23rd overall pick in the first round of the 2020 draft, has one more year on his current contract remaining at a $3.75 million cap hit before his eight-year, $56.8 million extension ($7.1 million AAV) kicks in on July 1.

Notably, Foerster does not have trade protection of any kind until the 2029-30 season, when he'll have a modified no-trade clause that permits him a 10-team no-trade list.

Until then, the Flyers can, of course, trade Foerster wherever and whenever they want to, but as Seravalli noted, the Flyers still consider the 6-foot-2 winger untouchable, even with his injury history and recent struggles.

Foerster played just 29 regular season games for the Flyers last season, dealing with upper-body injuries at the start and middle of the season, and while the 24-year-old scored 13 times in those 19 games, Foerster has just two goals - his only two points - in his last 18 games played, including the playoffs, at the time of this writing.

Such struggles before and after a lucrative contract extension could conceivably give any team a bit of reason for pause, though the Flyers, according to Seravalli's latest, are holding strong on the promising winger.

The Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs have made a trade. Vancouver has sent forward Aatu Räty to Toronto in exchange for forwards Brandon Buhr and Jacob Quillan. At the time of the trade, Buhr was assigned to the ECHL, while Quillan had been playing in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies. 

Seeing Räty traded is not unexpected. The 23-year-old center had been a healthy scratch multiple times this season and cleared waivers on Thursday. The return, however, is intriguing, as Vancouver was able to pick up two 24-year-old forwards. 

Starting with Buhr, he wrapped up his NCAA career last year and has made the jump to pro. He was assigned to the ECHL and is waiting for the season to start. Buhr, who is from North Vancouver, was over a point per game last year with Union College and made his AHL debut with the Marlies last season where he recorded two assists in five games. 

Buhr's game revolves around physicality. He is listed at 6'2", 205 lbs, and can use his size to not just throw hits, but win board battles at a high rate. Buhr is also a decent skater and, based on his time in the NCAA, isn't shy about shooting the puck. 

As for Quillan, he already has some experience in the NHL. He has played 24 games for the Maple Leafs, where he has scored one goal and recorded two assists. Before making the jump to the pro level, Quillan spent three years at Quinnipiac University and also had a stop in the BCHL with the Penticton Vees. 

Quillan projects as a bottom-six forward who has decent speed and plays a physical brand of hockey. Over his 24 NHL games, he has recorded 47 hits and won 42.0% of his faceoffs. Quillan is listed at 6'1", 204 lbs, and was part of Toronto's Calder Cup victory in 2026. 

Ultimately, this is an intriguing bet by Ryan Johnson. Both Buhr and Quillan have potential, but also need to be re-signed at the end of the campaign. Overall, it will be interesting to see how both develop and whether either gets called up later this season. 

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Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site: 

Canucks Trade Aatu Räty To The Maple Leafs For Two Forwards

Former Canucks Assistant Coach Brett McLean Lands New Gig In The NHL

Canucks Center Aatu Räty Clears Waivers

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Winless Flyers suffer ninth straight loss, have scored just 1.22 goals per game originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers’ disastrous start to the season reached another low point Thursday night.

The team lost its ninth game in a row by dropping to the Red Wings, 2-1, at Little Caesars Arena.

Rick Tocchet’s club had already set the franchise record for the longest skid to start a season four nights ago when it lost its seventh straight. Now the Flyers are just adding to this ugly mark.

On Thursday night, the Flyers had their first lead since the third game of the season. Matvei Michkov provided it by batting one home with 2:28 minutes left in the opening stanza.

But Detroit tied the game 4:31 minutes into the second period and took the lead with 4:38 left in the third.

The Flyers had a golden opportunity to force overtime with eight seconds to go, but Oliver Bonk’s shot at the doorstep went wide.

This season-opening spiral has been a serious one-eighty.

The Flyers had won 22 of their last 31 games heading into last season’s second-round playoff series against the Hurricanes. Since then, they’ve lost 13 straight — a sweep to Carolina and nine consecutive this season.

Tocchet’s club has been outscored 32-11 in these nine games (excluding shootout goals). The Flyers have scored an unsightly 1.22 goals per game. Last season, Tocchet’s first as the team’s head coach, the Flyers had 24 goals through nine games (2.67 per game) and were 5-3-1.

“I can’t get frustrated,” Tocchet said Wednesday after practice. “If [the players] see me frustrated and getting upset, what’s that going to do? I’ve got to be a teacher. Keep teaching, keep teaching, keep pounding it.”

The Red Wings picked up their second win of the season (2-3-2).

• Joseph Woll did his job again, converting 24 saves on 26 shots.

Andrew Copp scored Detroit’s game-winning goal. The Red Wings rimmed the puck into the offensive zone and went to work on the Flyers’ third defensive pair of Simon Benoit and David Jiricek.

In the second period, 13 seconds after the Flyers came up empty on a power play, they surrendered their lead. They gave up a 2-on-1 rush and Anton Johansson took advantage by squeezing a shot through Woll.

Owen Tippett lost the puck as he entered the offensive zone and Bonk was in too deep.

Detroit netminder Daniil Tarasov stopped 17 of the Flyers’ 18 shots.

With 1:16 minutes left in the second period, Tyson Foerster put the Red Wings on a power play. He tripped Alex DeBrincat when the Detroit winger didn’t have a stick.

On the Red Wings’ power play, Noah Cates had a chance to give the Flyers the lead. Tarasov, though, denied Cates’ shorthanded look from the slot with 21 seconds to go in the middle frame.

• The Flyers have at least been more competitive, but they’ve been inept offensively. They’ve been held to one or fewer goals six times and they own a minus-119 shot differential.

As a result, they’ve fallen into one of these dreadful slides again.

In a span of under five years, the Flyers have had the following losing streaks:

13 games — 0-10-3 from Dec. 30, 2021-Jan. 25, 2022
10 games — 0-8-2 from Nov. 18-Dec. 8, 2021
10 games — 0-7-3 from Nov. 10-26, 2022
9 games — 0-6-3 from Sept. 30-Oct. 15 (current)
8 games — 0-6-2 from March 24-April 9, 2024

• Rasmus Ristolainen missed his sixth straight game, but he was able to practice Wednesday.

Tocchet called the defenseman day to day and said he’s “getting better.” Ristolainen is recovering from an injury to his left hand. The Flyers definitely could use his top-pair presence.

Cam York, who’s dealing with an upper-body injury, missed his fourth straight game. The defenseman has been considered day to day.

Travis Konecny also missed his fourth straight game. The winger has a lower-body injury. He’ll be eligible to come off injured reserve next game, but it’s uncertain if he’ll actually be cleared to return then.

Konecny’s absence has probably been the biggest for the Flyers because of their inability to score.

• The Flyers are back in action Saturday when they host the Senators (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Aatu Räty from the Vancouver Canucks in a trade Thursday after the one-time top prospect cleared waivers hours earlier.

Toronto sent fellow forwards Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr to Vancouver for Räty.

“We want to thank Aatu for all he has done for the organization, and we wish him well in Toronto,” Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson said. “By acquiring Jacob and Brandon this move gives our group two new young players to work with as we continue to look for ways to improve our overall depth.”

The Leafs are the third NHL organization for the young Finn, who was drafted in the second round by the New York Islanders in 2021. The Islanders dealt Räty to Vancouver in the winter 2023 as part of the return for Bo Horvat.

Räty, who turns 25 next month, has struggled to produce in the league with just 29 points in 118 games.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired center Aatu Raty from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr, the team announced just before Thursday's game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Raty cleared waivers with the Canucks on Thursday, and he will report straight to the AHL's Toronto Marlies.

Raty was drafted by the New York Islanders in 2021 with the 52nd overall pick in the second round.

The 23-year-old has played a total of 118 regular-season games in the NHL. He scored 14 goals and 15 assists in those appearances across parts of five seasons.

Raty played his first full NHL season in 2025-26, featuring in 66 games. He went on to score four goals and 14 points and averaged 12:01 of ice time.

He's played four games this year with Vancouver, recording one goal and averaging 10:10 of ice time.

He comes in with one year remaining on his two-year contract, earning $850,000 against the salary cap.

His greatest strength comes in the faceoff dot. Over the past two campaigns, Raty has taken 821 draws (the second most on the team in that span) in 70 total games, winning his faceoffs at a 60.2 percent rate, which led the team among forwards to take more than one draw.

Toronto gives up Quillan, who has played 24 NHL games with the Leafs, 23 of which came last season. He scored one goal and three points in 2025-26, averaging 10:16 of ice time.

The 24-year-old put up great numbers in the American League, registering 14 goals and 36 points in 40 games, as well as becoming a Calder Cup champion with the Marlies last year.

In other news, Miles Wood, left winger acquired in the Kirill Marchenko trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, has been placed on IR. He has yet to play a game for the Maple Leafs or the Marlies.

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Former New York Islanders top prospect Aatu Räty has been traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for prospects Jacob Quilan and Brandon Buhr: 

Räty traded. https://t.co/ZXcKBiU1C8

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) October 15, 2026

Räty, 23, who was selected by the Islanders in the second round (No. 52) of the 2021 NHL Draft, was dealt to the Canucks along with forward Anthony Beauvillier and their 2023 first-round pick in exchange for Bo Horvat, who is now the Islanders' captain. 

The Finnish forward, who had just one goal in four games this season, was placed on waivers Wednesday but went unclaimed. 

In 118 NHL games, Räty has 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points. 

The Rangers are adding some veteran goaltending depth to their organization in the wake of Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury and Joonas Korpisalo’s presence on long-term injured reserve. 

James Reimer, the 38-year-old who has played in 539 career NHL games, signed a professional tryout agreement with AHL Hartford, the Wolf Pack announced Thursday. Reimer can play in up to 25 games before they’d need to make a call on his future, and Hartford’s depth has been thinned with Dylan Garand and Spencer Martin — who began the season as the Blueshirts’ top two AHL options — now in the NHL. Callum Tung and Gabriel Carriere have been the Wolf Pack’s goaltenders so far. The Rangers said Saturday that Korpisalo would miss another four weeks. 

Reimer hasn’t started more than 25 games in a season at the NHL level since 2022-23. Last season, he appeared in 14 with the Senators — including 13 starts — while posting a 7-4-2 record, an .886 save percentage and a 2.42 goals against average. For his career, which began with the Maple Leafs in 2010-11, Reimer has recorded a .909 save percentage and 2.87 goals against average. 

His is not a splashy name to drastically alter the Rangers’ goaltending picture, but Reimer will get a chance to carve out a place on the depth chart that has already experienced an overhaul since opening night. Before the Blueshirts’ second game of the season, Korpisalo was ruled out with a lower-body injury. Just over a week later, Shesterkin sustained a season-ending right knee injury.

That forced Garand — who’d lost the backup competition in training camp and was sent to Hartford after clearing waivers before getting recalled when Korpisalo sustained his injury — to become the starter. 

Garand has thrived with his chance so far, winning both of his starts since Shesterkin’s injury entering Thursday’s match with the Devils. He has collected a .951 save percentage and 1.15 goals against average through his four appearances, with both numbers leading NHL goaltenders with at least three appearances. 

Back in 2024-25, two years before Justin Dowling centered the Rangers’ fourth line Thursday, he was in a similar spot with the Devils. An early-season injury led to his recall from the AHL. He capitalized on the opportunity, carving out a role on New Jersey’s fourth line and skating in a career-high 52 NHL games that season. 

He’s facing a similar chance this year with the Blueshirts. Joe Veleno, who opened the season as the fourth-line center, was projected by the team Sunday to be out another 3-3 ¹/₂ months with a lower-body injury. Cole Beaudoin, the 20-year-old acquired in the Vincent Trocheck trade, skated in four games before getting assigned to the Wolf Pack on Wednesday — allowing him to log more minutes in the AHL. 

That brought Dowling, who skated in two games with the Rangers last year, back to the Blueshirts as the next option. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jaroslav Chmelar skated alongside him against the Devils. 

“He’s a veteran guy,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “He has some experience. He understands what he is. I think he can play within himself. He’s a smart player. He can move the puck. He sees the ice pretty well. He brings an element of experience, I think, that will help us.” 

Matt Rempe and Scott Morrow were the Rangers’ scratches for Thursday’s game. … Garand made his third consecutive start.

When the Florida Panthers pulled the trigger on a Seth Jones trade, fans around the NHL had mixed reactions.

While Jones was a highly touted prospect heading into the 2013 NHL draft and was stellar in the early parts of his career, Jones failed to live up to expectations with the Chicago Blackhawks. Blackhawks and NHL fans heavily scrutinized him before the trade, which is why reactions were so mixed.

But since joining the Panthers prior to the 2025 trade deadline, all Jones has done is arguably perform as the Panthers' best defenseman.

Jones has taken over the top power-play unit and is the team's best offensive threat on the man advantage and at 5-on-5 from the blueline. In 80 regular-season games since joining the Panthers, Jones has notched 10 goals and 48 points. He also leads the team in average time on ice in that period, playing 24:12.

In 2026-27, his 25:52 of ice time ranks seventh in the NHL and leads the Panthers by more than four minutes. While Gustav Forsling deservedly earns praise for his defensive game, Jones has morphed into the team's No. 1 defenseman.

On Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a former team of Jones, the 32-year-old recorded four assists, matching a franchise record.

This was just another great night in what's becoming quite routine for Jones. 

“I’ve played with a lot of great players this year,” Jones said after the win. “I try to do my part and be the best player I can be out there – whether it’s 5-on-5 or special teams. I’m making some plays to some great players, and they’re putting the puck in the net.”

Brady Takchuk Picks Up Hat Trick, Matthew Tkachuk Logs Five Assists As Panthers Dominate In ColumbusA historic second-period surge saw the Tkachuk siblings rewrite record books as Brady’s natural hat trick fueled a blowout victory during a masterclass of family chemistry in Columbus.

While Jones was modest in his response, coach Paul Maurice and teammate Brady Tkachuk were quick to acknowledge his stellar start to the season.

“He had a great summer of training with Aaron Ekblad,” Maurice said. “They spent the entire time here, for the most part, in Florida. They trained hard. He’s a fit, fit man. He’s a little faster with everything he does and has got a little more confidence.”

“He's been excellent all year,” said Tkachuk. “He's played some big minutes for our team.”

Jones has been eating up minutes for the Panthers, and he's had a positive impact. He's recorded one goal and seven points in seven games, ranking tied for fifth in points among defensemen. 

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Somehow, some way, the Philadelphia Flyers need to find a way to win a game, especially after squandering a golden opportunity to come back against Seattle before ultimately falling to 0-5-3 on the season.

On Thursday night, the Flyers will face the 1-3-2 Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit at 7:30 p.m., a squad just one point ahead in the standings despite a -6 goal differential that is significantly better than Philadelphia's -21.

The Flyers are expected to return an unchanged lineup from Thursday's 3-2 shootout loss to Seattle, with the exception of Joseph Woll starting in place of Dan Vladar as the goalie rotation continues.

Of note, defensemen Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen and forward Travis Konecny remain out for the undermanned Flyers due to injury, while the Red Wings will be without Marco Kasper, J.T. Compher, Mason Appleton, and Simon Edvinsson (RFA).

The Flyers are 2-3-0 in their last five games against the Red Wings, getting out-scored 20-16 across that span.

Flyers lines vs. Red Wings

Trevor Zegras - Sean Couturier - Owen Tippett

Denver Barkey - Christian Dvorak - Tyson Foerster

Porter Martone - Noah Cates - Matvei Michkov

Michael Bunting - Jack Studnicka - Noel Acciari

Travis Sanheim - Oliver Bonk

Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale

Simon Benoit - David Jiricek

Joseph Woll (S), Dan Vladar

Red Wings lines for Flyers game

Viktor Arvidsson - Dylan Larkin - Nate Danielson

Alex DeBrincat - Emmitt Finnie - Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

Andrew Copp - Michael Rasmussen - Lucas Raymond

Andreas Englund - Sheldon Dries - Keegan Kolesar

Ben Chiarot - Moritz Seider

Anton Johansson - Axel Sandin-Pellikka

Albert Johansson - Justin Faulk

Daniil Tarasov (S), John Gibson

Flyers special teams

Power play: 2-for-24, 8.3% (31st)

Penalty kill: 25-for-31, 80.6% (16th)

Red Wings special teams

Power play: 4-for-20, 20% (16th)

Penalty kill: 14-for-21, 66.7% (28th)

How to watch the Flyers game

Thursday night's Flyers game can be found on Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, and Sportsnet+.

Flyers player to watch

First-line forward Trevor Zegras played a big part in the Flyers getting at least a point against Seattle on Thursday night, scoring a goal, recording five shots on net, and starting beef with goalie Philipp Grubauer that injected some life into a lifeless team.

While head coach Rick Tocchet has already moved the 25-year-old back to left wing with Sean Couturier playing center, Zegras has shown that he can remain effective when provided with ample opportunity... and when his teammates are at least somewhat on their game.

In his career against the Red Wings, Zegras has five goals, six assists, and 11 points in 10 regular season games while averaging 18:50; Zegras played 21:43 against Seattle on Thursday.

If the Flyers are to ever get going offensively, Zegras, Matvei Michkov, and the dreaded power play will have to lead the charge.

Matching up with a mediocre Red Wings team that boasts an awful penalty kill unit, the Flyers are in as good a position as ever to earn their first win of the season, but they need to play like they smell the blood in the water.

Sharks pull off ‘best game of the year' in thrilling shootout win vs. Predators originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Sharks have been successful in overtime so far during the 2026-27 NHL season — but no one thought it would even come to that against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena.

But despite a deflating third period where San Jose easily could have given up, a heroic performance in net by Alexander Nedeljkovic and a determined score by Macklin Celebrini gave the Sharks a 3-2 shootout win.

“We just stuck with it. You know, I thought even when [the Predators] had some momentum throughout the game, not just in the third, throughout the game, we responded well with our own good shift in their end,” Nedeljkovic said on “Sharks Postgame Live” after the win. “And after [Nashville’s first goal], they were feeling it then. They had the momentum, the energy. The crowd was back into it, and we just stuck with it. Unfortunately, a little too much time left and they tied up there. But then in overtime, you know, we stick with it again.

“They’re going to get chances. We got some. We got our own chances. Got a few bounces, some blows tonight. You know, you got to be lucky to win in this league, and we just we stuck with it, found a way. … I thought that was probably our best game of the year.”

After San Jose led for 2 1/2 periods, things crumbled in the third as Nashville scored two goals, ending with an improbable game-tying, empty-netter with 0.8 seconds left in the third period to make it a 2-2 game and force OT.

Following a wild back-and-forth bout in extra time where neither side scored despite eight total shots, things went to a shootout that ended in a 3-2 win for San Jose — including a shootout score by Celebrini, who had two missed shots in OT, and a perfect three saves by Nedeljkovic. Nedeljkovic also had five saves in the OT period.

Before things got wild, the Sharks took an early 1-0 lead in the first period on Mason Marchment’s second goal of the season, with Tyler Toffoli and Alex Wennberg assisting.

San Jose scored again in the third period, making it 2-0 after Will Smith’s wrister found the back of the net with assists from Michael Kesselring and Igor Chernyshov.

Things quickly fell apart for the Sharks in the game’s final 10 minutes. Ryan O’Reilly put the Predators within one with 9:06 left on the clock before Steven Stamkos’ last-second goal played spoiler — but it was the Sharks who walked away with two points in the end and snapped a two-game skid.

After starring in the Sharks’ OT win against the St. Louis Blues with 24 saves during his first start of the season last week, Nedeljkovic excelled yet again Thursday with a stellar 32 saves, including the final, most important stop of the game.

“We could have easily just kind of folded and put our heads down and let them walk away with the extra points,” said Nedeljkovic, who described himself as “locked in” during his two starts this season. “So you never know this time of the year what’s going to come back to bite you in the butt in April. Obviously last year we left some points on the board in the first month of the season, so we’re finding ways to get those extra ones and get some wins now.”

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In light of injury updates, the Minnesota Wild have made another roster transcation.

The club has recalled defenseman Carson Lambos from the AHL's Iowa Wild and has assigned forward Justin Kirkland to the AHL. 

Kirkland was recalled when Nico Sturm suffered a head injury and was placed on the injured reserve.

With additional injury updates to Jared Spurgeon and Olli Maatta, the Wild have elected to recall an extra defenseman rather than an extra forward. 

Kirkland is a 6-foot-3, 30-year-old center with 50 games of NHL experience. In his NHL career, he's scored 3 goals and 10 points. This season in the AHL, Kirkland has recorded two assists in four games.  

As for Lambos, he will likely serve as the seventh defenseman tonight and until an injured defenseman is ready to return. Lambos has scored one goal and two points in four AHL games this season. The 23-year-old has only played one NHL game in his career and lost the battle for an NHL roster spot to fellow 23-year-old David Spacek. 

Wild's Jared Spurgeon, Olli Maatta To Miss Thursday's Game With InjuriesMinnesota’s blue line faces another blow as injury woes mount. With seven players sidelined in seven games, Matt Kiersted joins a depleted defensive corps lacking clear recovery timelines.

With the injuries and call ups, the Wild's lines are a bit all over the place. The Wild's projected lines could appear as:

Kirill Kaprizov - Joel Eriksson Ek - Matt Boldy
Blake Coleman - Danil Yurov - Maxim Shabanov
Rieger Lorenz - Ryan Hartman - Bobby Brink
Tyler Pitlick - Michael McCarron - Yakov Trenin

Quinn Hughes - Jonas Brodin
Matt Kiersted - Zach Bogosian
Daemon Hunt - David Spacek

Jesper Wallstedt (projected starter)
Calvin Pickard

The Wild take on the St. Louis Blues at home tonight, looking to get back in the win column.

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The Calgary Flames are back in action Thursday night as they travel to Las Vegas to take on the Golden Knights.

Calgary is coming off its first win of the season, a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. After opening the year 0-5-0, the Flames finally got rewarded for a more complete effort, showing better consistency at both ends of the ice.

They will look to build on that performance against a much tougher opponent in Vegas. The Golden Knights enter Thursday’s matchup with a 6-2-0 record, sitting atop the Pacific Division.

The Flames will also see a familiar face on the other side of the ice in defenceman Rasmus Andersson. The longtime Calgary blueliner was traded to Vegas last season and will face his former team for the first time this season.

Thursday’s contest marks the first of four meetings between the Flames and Golden Knights during the 2026-27 season.

Projected Flames Lineup

Calgary held an optional morning skate at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. With limited lineup information available, the Flames are expected to stick with the same combinations, according to Derek Wills.

Optional morning skate at T-Mobile Arena, but it looks like #Flames will stick with same line-up vs. #VegasBorn ⬇️

Suniev-Frost-Coronato
Sharangovich-Backlund-Farabee
Gridin-Pospisil-Strome
Tsyplakov-Castagna-Klapka

Bahl-Nemec
Kuznetsov-Whitecloud
Middleton-Parekh

Wolf… pic.twitter.com/PPCukG6isB

— Derek Wills (@dwillsnhl) October 15, 2026

Forwards

Suniev – Frost – Coronato

Sharangovich – Backlund – Farabee

Gridin – Pospisil – Strome

Tsyplakov – Castagna – Klapka

Defence

Bahl – Nemec

Kuznetsov – Whitecloud

Middleton – Parekh

Goaltenders

Dustin Wolf (projected starter)

Cooley

What to Watch

The Flames will need another consistent effort to keep pace with a Vegas team that has gotten off to a strong start. Tuesday’s win in Anaheim was a positive step, but Calgary will be looking to show it can carry that performance into a difficult road matchup.

For Dustin Wolf, the focus will be on building off the team’s first win and finding some stability early in the season. Meanwhile, the matchup against Andersson adds another storyline to a game that will test Calgary against one of the Pacific Division’s early frontrunners.

The Flames have their first win behind them. Now, they will look to turn it into something more.

There’s a sense of déjà vu in what’s happening with the Montreal Canadiens this season. As in the last campaign, the guy labeled the number-one choice goaltender just isn't delivering. Last season, Martin St-Louis and co. gave Samuel Montembeault plenty of opportunity to find his footing before finally turning to Jakob Dobes. So much so that by the time they turned to him, Dobes himself was going through a crisis of confidence. By the end of the season, though, he had regained his confidence and had wrestled the starting job away from Jacob Fowler.

Fast forward to the current season, and Dobes emerged as the number-one choice, the guy earmarked to start. Montembeault looked good in training camp, certainly good enough to be the backup, and Fowler, on his ELC, could be sent down to the Laval Rocket, so that’s what the Canadiens did.

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Dobes had a strong first game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but for some reason he struggled afterward. He posted a .929 save percentage on opening night and followed it with two subpar performances: a .800 SV against the Pittsburgh Penguins and a .844 against the Carolina Hurricanes. At that stage, the plan was for the backup to get a start, because your number one netminder can’t play 84 games, but Montembeault was injured.

As a result, Fowler was recalled and stepped into the crease, since Dobes wasn’t meant to start anyway. However, two nights later, Dobes didn’t get his net back; after losing his first game against the Nashville Predators, Fowler got a second straight game against the Detroit Red Wings and shut them out through 65 minutes and a six-round shootout. After that performance, St-Louis decided to put Fowler in net once again, and the youngster won again.

With a second game in as many days, the coach went back to Dobes on Wednesday night, and unfortunately for the Czech netminder, he struggled again. Giving up five goals in just 24 shots. With the next game only on Saturday, Dobes will probably have time to reset before the Habs take on the Sabres for a second time this season, but it seems the Canadiens have learned from last year’s debacle. They want to go with the hot hand; they won’t give Dobes as long a leash as they gave Montembeault because, in the end, the Quebecer ended up hanging himself with it, which Dobes won’t have the opportunity to do.

The Canadiens are no longer a rebuilding team; it’s not about development or the process anymore, it’s about getting the two points, climbing the standings, and ultimately being in as good a position as possible come playoff time. Come Saturday night, they need a win, so who are they likely to go to? The masked man oozing confidence right now, or the one who can’t seem to make the big saves when he needs to? The answer seems simple enough, but what happens when Samuel Montembeault returns from injury?

Kent Hughes said at the golf tournament that he didn’t want a “ménage à trois” this season. Sending Fowler down at the end of September was easy because he was on his ELC and hadn’t outplayed the others in training camp. Now, though, for a second season in a row, Fowler came to the rescue and grabbed his opportunity with both hands. Can Hughes really send him back down if he’s the one giving the Canadiens the best chance to win every night? It seems doubtful.

Having three goalies is far from ideal, but both Montembeault and Dobes would have to go through waivers to be sent down to the AHL. Fowler's play may force Hughes to move faster to solve his goaltender conundrum. The GM signed Dobes to a new contract; Fowler is earmarked as the goaltender of the future, and Montembeault’s contract expires at season's end. The answer seems simple enough…once he’s healthy, Hughes will ne need to find him a new home, because Fowler has now shown that he is the hot hand, the one who gives the team the best opportunity to win, and at the end of the day, this is a results-based league.

Could things change before Montembeault returns? Perhaps Dobes could rebound, but it seems unlikely Fowler will falter. As St-Louis often said about Montembeault last season, Dobes hasn’t forgotten how to play goal. However, the Canadiens have the luxury of a young netminder waiting in the wings to step into the number-one role; they shouldn’t hold him back. Will the pressure be too much when chatter about him as the number-one goaltender picks up? Time will tell, but he had no problem starting three games in a row…

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