Drake Batherson recorded the third hat trick of his NHL career on Saturday night as the Ottawa Senators defeated the New York Rangers 7-4 at Canadian Tire Centre.

Batherson scored twice in the first two periods before completing his hat trick with an empty-net goal in the final minute. He also assisted on Dylan Cozens' first goal of the season.

Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson and Michael Amadio had the other goals for the Senators, who bounced back from Thursday night's 6-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks. 

The Senators were without starting goaltender Linus Ullmark, who suffered an injury during Wednesday's emotional 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers. With rest not being a factor, it was interesting to see Belleville goaltender Jonas Johansson get his first start as a Senators ahead of Sam Ersson.

The Rangers were also missing their number-one netminder, Igor Shesterkin, who is out for the season.

Batherson probably lost some sleep Thursday night after being robbed of a prime scoring opportunity by San Jose goalie Yaroslav Askarov.

Five minutes into Saturday's game, he found himself with almost the same opportunity from the same spot on the ice. This time, Batherson made no mistake, giving the Sens a 1-0 lead.

Just 32 seconds later, Stützle doubled the lead. Sprinting away from a sluggish backcheck by J.T. Miller, Stützle finished off a gorgeous lateral pass through the blue paint from Fabian Zetterlund.

Early in the second, Batherson struck again. After a Cozens shot from the slot, the rebound bounced right to Batherson, who buried it to make it 3-0.

But the Rangers didn't go quietly.

Will Cuylle got New York on the board at 10:07 as the Senators' power play surrendered its third shorthanded goal in two games. A Cozens giveaway sent the Rangers away on a 2-on-1, and Cuylle ripped a shot past Johansson.

Cozens made amends shortly afterward, restoring the Senators' three-goal lead with his first goal of the season.

But the Rangers scored twice before the second intermission. Miller struck at 12:54, and Alexis Lafrenière followed at 19:34, suddenly making it a 4-3 game heading into the third.

The Senators had watched a comfortable three-goal lead shrink to one in less than 10 minutes. And they were under siege for much of the third period.

Sanderson finally gave the Senators some short-lived breathing room at 13:08, swatting home a rebound with his backhand to make it 5-3. Amadio and Ridly Greig did some excellent work to set that one up.

Pavel Dorofeyev answered for the Rangers just over two minutes later, with a one timer from long distance that fooled Johansson, once again cutting the deficit to one.

Amadio then delivered a huge insurance goal at 18:47. With the Rangers' net empty, Sanderson missed a 200-foot shot, but Amadio got the jump on everyone to negate the icing and tucked in the loose puck after it banked off the end boards.

Batherson completed his hat trick in weird fashion with another empty-net goal with 12 seconds remaining. In the Sens' zone, he blocked a shot from the point that hit his shin pad and travelled 170 feet in the other direction right into the empty cage.

Batherson finished with three goals and an assist, while Sanderson had a goal and two helpers. Cozens also enjoyed a three-point night with a goal and two assists.

The Rangers outshot the Senators on the night, 28-24. It was a bend-don't-break kind of night but the club found a way to secure two important points.

And for Batherson, the Senators' highest-paid player, it was another memorable night in a Senators uniform.

At 8-4 on the young season, the Sens now head west for a five-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Vegas.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Leo Carlsson scored a goal and set up the game-winner against the team that tried to sign him away from Anaheim last summer, as the Ducks overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 on Saturday.

Philadelphia signed Carlsson to a five-year, $80 million offer sheet as a restricted free agent last July, only to have the Ducks match it and retain him. He scored the Ducks’ first goal at 8:38 of the second period on a pass from Cutter Gauthier, who continued to hear vitriolic chants from Philadelphia fans for forcing his way out of Philadelphia three years ago.

Carlsson later assisted on a power-play goal by Beckett Sennecke in the third period, firing a pass toward the net that Sennecke tipped past Flyers goalie Joseph Woll.

Carlsson leads the Ducks in scoring with 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists).

A.J. Greer, Judd Caulfield, and Tristan Luneau also scored for Anaheim, and Lukas Dostal made 28 saves to snap the Ducks’ five-game losing streak.

DEVILS 3, KINGS 1

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Brett Pesce scored the go-ahead goal and Jake Allen made 12 saves as New Jersey beat Los Angeles for their third straight win.

Anthony Mantha and Artemy Gritsyuk also scored for the Devils, who also beat Colorado and Anaheim on their current homestand. New Jersey has won five of six. Allen improved to 5-2-0 this season.

Scott Laughton scored for Los Angeles, which saw its two-game winning streak snapped. Forsberg made 23 saves.

Pesce beat goaltender Anton Forsberg at 8:08 of the third period after the defenseman found a clear lane through traffic in the Los Angeles zone. Luke Evangelista and Gritsyuk assisted on Pesce’s first goal this season.

Before the game, the Devils introduced newly acquired goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. The 33-year-old Hellebuyck won 345 games in 11 seasons with Winnipeg and is a three-time winner of the Vezina Trophy.

HURRICANES 4, BLUES 0

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pyotr Kochetkov made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season and 12th in the NHL in Carolina's victory over St. Louis.

Kochetkov has won all seven of his starts this season, giving him the NHL’s longest active winning streak and moving him one away from Frederik Andersen’s franchise-record streak to open the 2021-22 season.

Sean Walker, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Logan Stankoven and Nikolaj Ehlers scored to help Carolina improve to 9-2-2.

Joel Hofer stopped 35 shots for St. Louis. The Blues were held scoreless for the first time this season.

CAPITALS 4, SABRES 3, OT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Tuch scored two goals, including the winner in overtime, to lead Washington to a win over Buffalo.

Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves for the Capitals.

Tuch, opened the scoring for Washington when a pass bounced off Tage Thompson’s stick and into his own net. Strome scored 2:59 into the second period, then once more with 2:36 left in the period.

The veteran winger was acquired this summer by the Capitals from the Sabres via sign-and-trade. He signed an eight-year, $84 million deal to help bolster the Capitals’ offense.

Jack Quinn and Josh Doan scored early for Buffalo to put the visitors up by two early. The Capitals’ offense found its footing, though, and turned up the pressure on the Sabres’ defense to gain the lead in the second period, only to have Noah Ostlund tie it once again 2:20 into the third period. The game remained tied through the remainder of the third period, despite multiple power play opportunities and scoring chances for both teams.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 30 saves for the Sabres.

BLUE JACKETS 2, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1, OT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Adam Fantilli scored on a power play 59 seconds into overtime and Columbus beat Vegas, sending the Golden Knights to their third straight loss.

Columbus had its first power-play goal since the opener, snapping an 0-for-22 drought.

Denton Mateychuk also scored and Cam Talbot stopped 26 shots for Columbus, which has won two of its last six games. The Blue Jackets improved to 3-0 in games that have gone beyond regulation.

Tomas Hertl scored for Vegas and Carter Hart stopped 18 shots.

BRUINS 6, SHARKS 4

BOSTON (AP) — James Hagens and David Pastrnak scored in a 40-second span in the third period, and Boston extended their points streak to eight games with a victory over San Jose.

Casey Mittelstadt, Marat Khusnutdinov, Fraser Minten and Will Morgan also scored for the Bruins, who have won seven of their past eight. Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves for his seventh victory.

Michael Misa, Kiefer Sherwood, Dmitry Orlov and Will Smith scored for San Jose, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves. The Sharks had won two in a row.

PENGUINS 3, PREDATORS 2, OT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ville Koivunen scored at 3:44 of overtime and Pittsburgh rallied to beat Nashville.

Koivunen beat Juuse Saros with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.

Rickard Rakell scored the tying goal for Pittsburgh with 1:06 to play in regulation on a cross-ice pass from Sidney Crosby. It was Crosby’s 1,111th career assist, tying Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque for the most with one franchise.

Connor Dewar also scored for the Penguins, who have points in 10 straight and 23 of their last 27 games against Nashville dating to Oct. 21, 2010.

Arturs Silovs stopped 24 shots. The Penguins, who were playing without Evgeni Malkin (illness) and Egor Chinakhov (lower body), have won two straight following a four-game losing streak. Chinakhov has missed four of the last five games.

Steven Stamkos and Jayden Struble scored for Nashville. Stamkos is two goals from passing Dino Ciccarelli for 19th place in NHL history.

SENATORS 7, RANGERS 4

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Drake Batherson had three goals and an assist and Ottawa outscored New York.

Jake Sanderson’s first of the season proved to be the winner and Michael Amadio added an empty-netter. Tim Stutzle and Dylan Cozens also scored and Jonas Johansson stopped 24 shots in his Ottawa debut.

Will Cuylle, J.T. Miller, Alexis Lafreniere and Pavel Dorofeyev scored for the Rangers. Dylan Garand made 17 saves.

MAPLE LEAFS 7, OILERS 2

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — William Nylander scored twice to reach 300 NHL goals, Anthony Stolarz made 30 saves and Toronto routed Edmonton.

Jack Roslovic, Auston Matthews, Troy Stecher, Zack MacEwen and Vinni Lettieri also scored for the Maple Leafs. They have won four straight to improve to 7-4-2.

Leon Draisaitl scored twice for the Oilers to push his NHL-leading total to 12.

Connor McDavid had two assists to extend his season-opening points streak to 11 games — giving him an incredible 33 points in 11 games.

MAMMOTH 5, LIGHTNING 4, OT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) —Dmitri Simashev scored his second goal of the game at 1:44 of overtime as Utah beat Tampa Bay.

Simashev’s first goal tied the game at 4-4 with 2:28 remaining in the second period.

Nikita Kucherov became Tampa Bay’s franchise leader in points when he assisted on Brayden Point’s goal with 7:18 remaining in the first period. That put him at 1,138 career points, one more than former teammate Steven Stamkos, who had held the record since April 2022.

Kucherov has played his entire career with Tampa Bay, starting in 2013.

Kailer Yamamoto, Dylan Guenther and Anders Lee also scored for the Mammoth. Vincent Trocheck had two assists, while Clayton Keller, Andrew Peeke, Mackenzie Weegar and Sergachev each recorded one assist.

WILD 5, KRAKEN 1

SEATTLE (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov scored 26 seconds into the game and Minnesota defeated Seattle.

Blake Coleman scored twice and Olli Maatta and Joel Eriksson Ek scored 1:27 apart to help the Wild (7-3-2) return to the win column after consecutive losses. Jesper Wallstedt made 22 saves in his 11th start of the season.

Berkly Catton had the only goal for the Kraken (7-4-1). Joey Daccord stopped 31 shots in his fourth consecutive start conceding at least three goals.

FLAMES 4, RED WINGS 1

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Joel Farabee had a goal and two assists and surging Calgary made it three straight victories with a win over Detroit.

Making his third straight start, Devin Cooley continued his hot play with 28 saves to improve to 3-2. He has stopped 100 of 104 shots over his three-game winning streak.

Zayne Parekh, Ryan Strome and Matvei Gridin, who also had an assist, rounded out the scoring for Calgary (4-6-0). Matt Coronato had two assists.

Farabee has a four-game points streak and leads the club with nine points in 10 games.

Andrew Copp had the lone goal for Detroit (4-4-3). The Red Wings lost in regulation for the first time in seven games.

John Gibson stopped 21 shots for Detroit.

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — William Nylander scored twice to reach 300 NHL goals, Anthony Stolarz made 30 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs routed the Edmonton Oilers 7-2 on Saturday night.

Jack Roslovic, Auston Matthews, Troy Stecher, Zack MacEwen and Vinni Lettieri also scored for the Maple Leafs. They have won four straight to improve to 7-4-2.

Leon Draisaitl scored twice for the Oilers. He's tied with Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov for the NHL goals lead with 12.

Connor McDavid had two assists to extend his season-opening points streak to 11 games — giving him an incredible 33 points in 11 games.

The Oilers dropped to 8-2-1. They had won three in a row.

Tristan Jarry made 25 saves in the loss.

Up next

Maple Leafs: At Calgary on Monday night.

Oilers: Host Detroit on Monday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

On Saturday, the Vegas Golden Knights dropped their third straight game, losing 2-1 in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Golden Knights have struggled with their starts over the two-game losing skid, and that continued tonight. It took them nearly five minutes to record their first shot on net, and they looked lethargic and out of sync. 

The Golden Knights drew the first power play of the game, but their zone entry struggles continued, and nothing came of it. That was their only power play opportunity of the night.

The Blue Jackets broke the ice at 11:51 in the first period. Rasmus Andersson tried to clear the zone, but the puck took a lively hop off the boards right onto Valeri Nichushkin’s stick. Nichushkin sent it in for Kent Johnson, who threaded a pass to Denton Mateychuk, who was streaking toward the net undetected. Mateychuk got around Howden and beat Carter Hart forehand-backhand.

Mateychuk’s go-ahead goal seemed to rouse the Golden Knights from their slumber. They responded well and outshot the Blue Jackets 9-4 in the period. 

The Golden Knights netted the equalizer at 17:13 in the first. Trevor Connelly picked Carson Soucy’s pocket at center ice and drove into the offensive zone. Connelly found Braeden Bowman between the hash marks; Cam Talbot made the save in close, but Tomáš Hertl was there to pot the rebound.

In the second period, the Blue Jackets had some jump offensively and outshot the Golden Knights 8-5. However, goaltender Carter Hart made key saves, and the score remained 1-1 heading into the third.

The Golden Knights played well in the third period and outshot the Blue Jackets 13-5. Nic Dowd and Jeremy Lauzon took penalties early in the period, but the Golden Knights came up with the kills. Jack Eichel and Trevor Connelly had several high-danger chances, but Blue Jackets’ goaltender Cam Talbot answered the bell. 

Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore took a penalty just 8 seconds into overtime, sending the Blue Jackets to their third straight power play. Charlie Coyle found Adam Fantilli down low, and Fantilli beat Carter Hart with a sharp-angle slapshot.

“It was better,” said Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin following the 2-1 overtime loss. “We had a few chances, and their goalie made some big stops at key moments… We checked decently, and that’s something to build off of. We just have to bear down a little bit more.”

Stats of the Knight

Carter Hart made 18 saves and recorded a .900 save percentage. 

This was the first time this season that the Golden Knights scored fewer than two goals. 

The Golden Knights have allowed a power play goal in five consecutive games.

Jack Eichel led the way with six shots on goal.

Trevor Connelly recorded an assist on Tomáš Hertl’s first-period goal. He is once again tied for the rookie scoring lead with eight points.

Shea Theodore recorded four shots on goal and four blocked shots.

The Golden Knights have not converted on six straight power play opportunities.

OTTAWA — The Rangers’ first trip to Canada this season was a humbling one. 

After suffering a 5-4 loss in a track meet against the Maple Leafs earlier this week, the Blueshirts chased all game once again in a 7-4 loss to the Senators on Saturday night to fall to 1-5-1 on the road to start the 2026-27 season. 

Despite managing to cut what ballooned to a three-goal deficit to one by the third period and again later in the final frame, the Rangers never found the equalizer. 

The strong starts to games have quickly dissipated lately, leaving the Rangers frantically trying to make up for early mistakes for the rest of the contest. It has certainly factored into the team dropping four of their last five games, during which they have given up at least five goals three times. 

“[Us being in these games is] a good sign, I guess, but we want to win,” captain J.T. Miller said after posting a goal and an assist in the loss. “We don’t want to just be in these games. We’re doing a lot of good, I just feel like sometimes we’re hurting ourselves a little bit because even the Toronto game, we had a lot of scoring chances also in that game. Really like the fight at the end. We were that close to tying it. Goofy bounce for them at the end of that power play. 

“It’s funny how the game works. … Once we got our legs under us halfway through the first period I thought we played a good game. We [have] got to learn a lesson from that.” 

At times, it felt as if last year’s Rangers somehow showed up and took the ice at the Canadian Tire Centre. 

The real inverse of the two seasons has been their success at home and their struggles on the road, but some of the damning habits that plagued the Rangers last season are proving to still be present. 

It was one of the Rangers’ worst first periods of the 2026-27 campaign thus far, if not the worst. 

Trailing by two going into the first intermission for the first time this season, the Rangers also didn’t register their first shot on goal until they were on the power play just under halfway through the opening period. 

The visitors already were down 1-0 at that point after Jake Sanderson found Drake Batherson for a shot that beat Dylan Garand blocker side. 

On the Rangers’ first power play of the game, however, Pavel Dorofeyev retaliated to getting repeatedly cross-checked in the back by Ridly Greig but was the only one penalized for high-sticking. It negated their man advantage and allowed the Senators to continue hemming the Rangers in their zone. 

Miller later made an errant pass that Braden Schneider fumbled at the blue line to send the Senators the other way. Fabian Zetterlund fed Tim Stützle off the rush to put the Rangers behind by two just 6:40 into the game. 

“I would’ve liked to have hoped that we were ready from the drop of the puck,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “[The Senators] were coming off a loss, they’re in their home building. They’re going to try to respond. As we were trying to do the same thing because we weren’t overly excited about our overall team effort in our last game. Give them credit. They started well. They played well early on, but I think the positive takeaway is just our compete level and our fight to get back in the game.” 

The Rangers struggled mightily with clearing the puck and breaking it out of their zone, which led to Batherson’s second of the game less than two minutes into the second period. 

Sullivan then began shuffling his lines a bit. Replacing Dorofeyev with Oliver Bjorkstrand on the second line, Sullivan finally started getting a bit more out of his top six, especially once the third period began. 

Will Cuylle managed to get the Rangers on the board with a short-handed goal later in the frame, but Batherson’s backhanded pass from the corner went in off Dylan Cozens in front and regained the three-goal lead for the Senators shortly after. 

Ultimately holding a slight edge in shots on goal through the middle frame, the Rangers scored twice more to make it a one-goal game heading into second intermission. 

Miller batted in his third goal of the season off an Adam Fox feed before the Rangers captain fed Alexis Lafrenière off the rush during 4-on-4 play at the tail end of the second period. 

Despite spending a good portion of the final 20 minutes in the Senators zone, Sanderson was the only player to break through in the third period. After Garand made the initial save on Greig, Sanderson swooped in and backhanded the rebound in for his first goal of the season. 

“The first two goals he had no chance on,” Sullivan said of Garand’s seventh consecutive start. “The game-winner is a 2-on-1 that’s a rebound. He makes the initial save. I try to look at it objectively and say, ‘Hey, is he giving us a chance to win? Is he making the saves he’s supposed to make?’ I thought Dylan made a lot of good saves for us tonight. We’ve got to do a better job in front of him making sure that we cut down on some of the quality of the chances that we’re giving up by having more discipline in positional play.”

Pregame

Evgeni Malkin’s illness leads to his first missed game of the season, Avery Hayes gets called up from the AHL and hops right into Malkin’s spot in the lineup. Arturs Silovs gets his third game in a row in net.

Nashville comes to town with this lineup for the night.

First period

Nashville scores first 9:24 into the game, unfortunate bounce for the Pens when the puck goes off Steven Stamkos’ skate and in. 1-0.

Elmer Soderblom draws a penalty, power play doesn’t cash in.

Pretty decent period for the Penguins, a bad bounce has them down on the scoreboard but they’re only one shot away after 20 minutes.

Second period

It takes 18 seconds to tie the game. Connor Dewar fights through to the middle of the ice and smacks a puck by Juuse Saros. 1-1.

The Pens get a lot of pressure but it’s Nashville that scores next. Spencer Stastney doesn’t play a puck cleanly behind his net, it makes its way out to Jayden Struble and the defender takes a quick shot to the top of the net. 2-1 NSH.

The Predators try to build on it, Silovs makes a big save on Ross Colton then has to deny Ryan O’Rielly on a 2-on-1.

More Pittsburgh pressure leads to Ville Koivunen setting up Hayes for a nice chance in tight. Saros is playing well and makes the save.

The Pens keep pushing, in the very dying seconds the Preds get on the counter-attack. Silovs comes way out of the crease to make a save, he does but leaves a rebound. Jack Drury finds it and jabs the puck into the open net, luckily for Pittsburgh it goes in just tenths of a second after the clock hits 0.0

Again, mostly not bad from the Pens. The difference in the game has been Saros playing really well. He’s stopped 24 of 25 Pittsburgh shots through 40 minutes.

Third period

A frenetic third period sees chances at both ends. Dewar takes a penalty to send Nashville to their first power play of the night. It’s Rickard Rakell who gets the best chance during it, though Saros stops him on a breakaway.

The Pens pull Silovs with a little over two minutes to play. It pays off with a 6v5 goal. Sidney Crosby wires a pass through the zone, Rakell is there to one-time it off Saros’ shoulder and into the net. Tie game with 1:06 remaining.

Overtime

The Pens hold onto the puck for almost all of overtime, until Koivunen ends it. He finds the extra space to wheel around in the o-zone, get to the middle of the ice and fire a wrister past Saros. 3-2 OT win.

Some thoughts

• Down three top-six forwards (Malkin, Chinakhov, Rust) and two defensemen from the opening night lineup (Girard, van Riemsdyk), not to mention Kindel, it was always going to be an uphill climb for the home team tonight. Didn’t help that Saros can be one of the top goalies in the league when he’s on his game and he was certainly on his game tonight. Saros was the reason this wasn’t a Pittsburgh regulation win, it’s a shame for him to give up two late goals and end up taking the L as a result. He didn’t truly deserve that.
• Had a note written up here about the struggles for Rakell, highlighted by his denial on a breakaway in the third period. Luckily he was able to tie the game late and shake that off. Captain obvious statement, but that ended up being a really, really big goal. Without it the Pens might have lost in regulation at home to a team that isn’t exactly a powerhouse and fall to a 4-7-1 record on the season. Rising up to 5-6-1 might not sound THAT much better on the surface but the difference is a swing from a .375 points% to a .458% and is pretty sizeable.
• That nice play aside, the first line is in shambles. Crosby didn’t have a shot on goal for the second game in a row. Rakell was able to come through when it mattered most in a 6v5 situation, brings little elsewise. Novak, for his talents, hasn’t given a boost there. Great to see Crosby create the game-tying goal late in the third period, it was a frustratingly quiet game for him up to that point. About the only notable moment for him was the linesman accidentally judo chopping the captain in the face.
• It’s a minor note, yet still something to point out that the Lapierre-Koivunen pairing has been impressing. Lapierre is good at holding pucks and rotating all over the ice in the offensive zone. Koivunen does about the same. It looks like the two of them operate on the same level, mentally. Nice little connection there. The Pens didn’t have a lot of options for a 3v3, but credit the coaches for throwing that pair out there in OT. It ended up winning them the game.
• Similarly, it can be hit or miss but liked the flashes at times from Soderblom. He drew the only Pittsburgh power play of the night. He got an assist, his first point on the season. He made a couple of dekes and power moves to use his size and reach in the offensive zone. That all happened in the first half of the game and then Soderblom wasn’t standing out much in the latter part. As close as it seems sometimes for him to fully break out and start to make progress then sometimes it seems like he recedes into the background too much.
• Avery Hayes has the gift in making you want to see more of him. That always seems like the case and surely was tonight in his NHL season debut. Five shots on goal, three hits and a takeaway in under 13 minutes of action. His game is simple, yet he’s going to be a factor with the high energy level he brings. As we’ve said before and will say again, there’s a lot of Tyler Kennedy in his game for an up-tempo player that never passed up an opportunity to put the puck on target when the chance pops up. A lot happens in Hayes’ minutes. Most of it is good for his team.
• It’s been rare for a goalie for the Penguins to start three in a row like Silovs did tonight. Based on his efforts, wouldn’t be surprised or against him getting a fourth on Monday. Silovs made a couple of the important saves that he needed to make to hold his team in the game. It ended up paying off in the end. Another strong effort for him and nice way to build off the last game.

This was a gutsy effort by a depleted team, and now they get a respite from the schedule with four days off before Utah comes to town on Thursday. That’s coming up at the right time and hopefully the Pens can get some bodies back by the next time they have to play. Tonight, it wasn’t the prettiest, but taking two points at the end of the night is the most you can ask for.

They say it’s sometimes the trades that you don’t make that make the team better. 

But other times, the trades you don’t make have a negative impact. And now that the trade for star goalie  Connor Hellebuyck has been completed, we have to ask – why weren’t the Buffalo Sabres ready, willing and able to beat the offer the New Jersey Devils gave to the Winnipeg Jets to make Hellebuyck a Sabre?

Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen spoke out this week about his goaltending situation – almost as if he were doing some pre-emptive damage control. But when you look at the meagre trade package the Jets got for Hellebuyck – a mid-level forward in Dawson Mercer; a young prospect in Alexander Command; a couple meaningless draft picks, and a forward in Nick Bjugstad who may not play a game for Buffalo – it’s not unfair to ask, was that all it took to land a Hart Trophy and a three-time Vezina Trophy?

It’s true Kekalainen tried to make a major transaction last season when he attempted to acquire defenseman Colton Parayko from the St. Louis Blues. Parayko wound up kiboshing the trade thanks to his no-trade clause. And to be fair, he did pull off a heist when he traded defenseman Bowen Byran for the fourth-overall draft pick. 

But failing to put together a trade package that would appeal to the Jets borders on criminal for Kekalainen and the Sabres. It’s not as if Buffalo is bereft of trade capital. The Sabres currently have some dynamic young players, and that’s great. But what they do not have is a superstar netminder with a track record for doing big things, both in the NHL and on the international stage. 

And the thing that really ought to grind the gears of Sabres fans is that Hellebuyck is a cost-controlled asset on a very team-friendly contract paying him $8-million for another four seasons after this one. That contract is highly-likely to look better and better as the salary cap ceiling continues to rise in the coming years. And Buffalo’s inability to acquire a true difference-maker like Hellebuyck is an indictment of Kekalainen and a form of trade paralysis that doesn’t serve the Sabres well at all.

At some point, Buffalo fans are going to start demanding that a needle-mover gets acquired. Kekalainen can talk all he wants about trusting and believing in his current group of players. But fans are a different story, and long-suffering Sabres fans deserve to have a legitimate star acquired via trade. That just doesn’t happen, though, so it’s clear why Buffalo fans would be let down that the Sabres couldn’t beat the Devils’ offer.

Hellebuyck is a workhorse who would’ve easily amped up the confidence level of Buffalo players. Instead, it’s the same old story when it comes to acquiring an elite player – ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda’ – and Sabres fans are no doubt exhausted by all the excuses.

Sabres fans – the paying public – would’ve been elated to welcome Hellebuyck to Buffalo. And imagine how a Hellebuyck trade would’ve invigorated the Sabres’ dressing room. But now, seeing what the Devils gave up for him, it’s fair for Sabres fans to say ‘how come we couldn’t beat that offer?’ It’s not every day a top-level netminder comes available, and Buffalo could’ve swooped in at any point in the off-season or now with a strong trade package that Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff couldn’t say ‘no’ to. 

Instead, the Sabres turned out again to be the bridesmaid and never the bride when it comes to acquiring a high-profile NHLer like Hellebuyck. And if Kekalainen doesn’t pull off a trade that brings a name-brand player to Buffalo, the Sabres will rightly be ripped by media and fans alike.

You can’t blame Buffalo fans to have been envisioning Hellebuyck in a Sabres uniform. And another GM – say, Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka – would’ve moved heaven and earth to acquire a player of Hellebuyck’s stature. But meek little Buffalo just shrugs their shoulders and plugs away with the cast they’ve got. If you’re a Sabres fan, it all feels so underwhelming. And not finding a way to beat New Jersey’s offer is a significant error and missed opportunity for Buffalo.

A former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman is on the move. 

This is because the Washington Capitals have claimed defenseman Jack St. Ivany off of waivers from the Winnipeg Jets. With this news, the former Penguins defenseman is now a member of one of Pittsburgh's biggest division rivals. 

St. Ivany played in four games this season with the Jets before being claimed off waivers by the Capitals. During them, he recorded zero points, five blocks, six hits, and a minus-1 rating. 

St. Ivany will provide the Capitals with more defensive depth with this waiver claim. The 27-year-old will now be looking to impress with the Capitals from here.

St. Ivany spent each of his first three NHL seasons with the Penguins from 2023-24 to 2025-26. In 53 games with the Penguins over that span, he posted nine assists, 63 blocks, 116 hits, and a plus-1 rating. His best season with Pittsburgh was this past campaign, though, he recorded a career-high seven assists in 20 games.

The Penguins traded St. Ivany to the Jets this off-season in exchange for forward David Gustafsson. Now, with this news, his time in Winnipeg is already over. 

DALLAS — The day before a game in which he’s set to be the main character, Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer was typically understated regarding his own return here. 

“I’ve done this a few times [in] a few different spots,” DeBoer said after the Islanders practiced Saturday. “Your first game back’s always a little special. Just because a lot of people you spend time with and work with and players. So it was a great chapter in my coaching career. I’m now coaching the Islanders and focused on that.” 

Some exits are smoother than others, though, even in a profession where you are hired to be fired. 

DeBoer’s exit from Texas might be described as memorable for the wrong reasons. 

After coaching the Stars to the Western Conference Final for the third time in as many seasons, DeBoer’s club fell behind 3-1 in the series and 2-0 on the Oilers’ first two shots of Game 5, prompting him to shockingly pull star goaltender Jake Oettinger for Casey DeSmith. 

The Stars lost anyway. In the game’s immediate aftermath, DeBoer, in essence, tossed Oettinger under the bus. 

“We had talked endlessly in this series about trying to play with a lead, and obviously, we were in a 2-0 hole right away,” DeBoer told reporters. “I didn’t take that lightly, and I didn’t blame it all on Jake, but the reality is: If you go back to last year’s playoffs, he’s lost six of seven games to Edmonton. And we gave up two goals on two shots in an elimination game. So it was partly to spark our team and wake them up. And partly knowing that status quo had not been working and that’s a pretty big sample size.” 

Less than a week later, the Stars let go of DeBoer. 

Having already stated regret about those comments in a September 2025 interview with the NHL’s website, saying he “should have redirected the topic to reflect that this wasn’t about [Oettinger], this was about all of us,” when questions about the goaltender came up, it’s not altogether shocking that DeBoer didn’t want to get into it Saturday. 

Did he run into Oettinger when both were in Milan for the Olympic Games last February? 

“I did run into Jake and chatted with Jake; yep,” DeBoer said. 

Having been out of the league until the Islanders hired him with four games to go last season, that would have been the only immediately obvious opportunity for the two to speak. DeBoer didn’t go into any of that detail, but Oettinger was far from the only one of his former players he ran into while in Italy. 

“You’re running into all kinds of players. I had [Marek] Zidlicky, who I coached at the New Jersey Devils; he was coaching with the Czech team. I ran into him in the meal room,” DeBoer said. “I ran into all the Finns, obviously, that I coached in Dallas. We had a big contingent of Finnish players that I really enjoyed working with. So I ran into all of them. Just about everybody.” 

With the Islanders, DeBoer so far is thriving. Heading into a three-game trip that begins Sunday against the Stars, the Isles had points in five in a row and looked like a noticeably more detailed team under his tutelage. 

“I think right now, you just keep building your game,” Ryan Pulock said. “I think we keep working on all our little details in practice, talking about them daily. You’re starting to see it in game: limiting chances, limiting time spent in our own zone, doing a good job in the neutral [zone]. 

“We played some skilled, fast teams and we’ve controlled the neutral zone pretty well. I think what he brings in is his structure, his leadership. Everything that he preaches, guys listen. It’s really starting to show in the way we’re playing.”

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Brett Pesce scored the go-ahead goal and Jake Allen made 12 saves as the Devils beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-1, on Saturday for their third-straight win.

Anthony Mantha and Artemy Gritsyuk also scored for the Devils, who also beat Colorado and Anaheim on their current homestand. New Jersey has won five of six. Allen improved to 5-2-0 this season.

Scott Laughton scored for Los Angeles, which saw its two-game winning streak snapped. Anton Forsberg made 23 saves.

Pesce beat Forsberg at 8:08 of the third period after the defenseman found a clear lane through traffic in the Los Angeles zone. Luke Evangelista and Gritsyuk assisted on Pesce’s first goal this season.

Before the game, the Devils introduced newly-acquired goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. The 33-year-old Hellebuyck won 345 games in 11 seasons with Winnipeg and is a three-time winner of the Vezina Trophy.

New Jersey included goaltender Nico Daws, who won against Anaheim on Thursday, in the trade for Hellebuyck on Friday. Remi Poirier, who has yet to play an NHL game, dressed as Allen’s backup on Saturday.

Laughton scored at 15:57 of the second, driving the puck past Allen for his second goal.

Mantha tied the game about three minutes later with his third goal.

Gritsyuk scored his team-leading sixth goal into an empty net at 18:55.

The Kings had a power-play chance when New Jersey’s Timo Meier was called for tripping at 12:59 of the third but were unable to tie the game.

Los Angeles was coming off road wins over Washington and the New York Islanders to start its four-game trip after losing its first six games.

Up next

Kings: At the New York Rangers on Monday.

Devils: At Dallas on Tuesday.

The injury woes of the Pittsburgh Penguins continue to pile on only 11 games into the 2026-27 regular season.

And, this time, it's affecting their blue line.

With defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk already on injured reserve (IR), the Penguins added to the list Saturday, placing the left-shot Samuel Girard on IR with an upper-body injury. He was injured during the Penguins' 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 17 and has not appeared in a game since.

The placement of Girard on IR gives the Penguins three forwards and three defensemen officially on the IR shelf, with forward Egor Chinakhov also designated as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. In addition, forward Evgeni Malkin will miss Saturday's game against the Nashville Predators with an illness. 

Defenseman Sam Girard has been placed on Injured Reserve. 
 
Forward Avery Hayes has been recalled from the @WBSPenguins (AHL). pic.twitter.com/tKFocB7Nxm

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 24, 2026

In a corresponding move to Girard, the Penguins recalled forward Avery Hayes from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS), and he is expected to be in the lineup Saturday.

The 24-year-old forward has five goals and nine points in nine AHL games to start the season, and he registered five goals in 16 games at the NHL level last season. The 5-foot-10, 189-pound native of Westland, Mi. is in the final year of his two-year entry-level contract and has yet to play an NHL game in 2026-27. 

Including Hayes, the Penguins - without Malkin and Chinakhov - have just 12 healthy forwards and one extra defenseman, as they recalled right-shot blueliner Chase Pietila from WBS Thursday.

Pittsburgh Penguins V. Nashville Predators Preview: Lineups, Where To WatchThe Penguins are 7-0-2 in their last nine games against the Predators.

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!   

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Saturday evening marks the final time the Detroit Red Wings will face the Calgary Flames at the historic Scotiabank Saddledome, which is set to close following the 2026-27 NHL season.

The Flames have called the venue home since October 1983 but will soon move to the nearby Scotia Place, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open next fall.

The occasion is reminiscent of a decade ago, when the Red Wings were playing their final season at historic Joe Louis Arena, which had served as their home since 1979.

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

The Saddledome has been the scene for several memorable moments in Red Wings history, including the October 1995 debut of the Russian Five. It marked the first time in NHL history that five Soviet/Russian-born players took the ice together as one unit.

The venue also holds significance for Mike Vernon, the 1997 Conn Smythe Trophy winner who began his NHL career with Calgary and helped the Flames win the Stanley Cup in 1989.

"He's Feeling Good": Lucas Raymond Heating Up For Red Wings Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond now has three goals in his last two games, including a two-goal performance on Thursday in Detroit's 5-2 win over the Canucks.

In 2004, Martin Gelinas ended Detroit’s season with an overtime goal in the Western Conference Semifinals. Three years later, Johan Franzen scored the series-winning goal in double overtime to send the Red Wings to the next round.

In regular season play, the Red Wings have a record of 30-32-2-2. 

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After snapping a four-game skid on Thursday in a commanding 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers, the Pittsburgh Penguins will look to build on that when they take on the Nashville Predators Saturday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins played a full 60 minutes Thursday, getting contributions from up and down their new-look lineup. They were without the services of forwards Bryan Rust and Ben Kindel - who were both placed on injured reserve Thursday - and it appears they will be without another forward Saturday.

Forward Evgeni Malkin, who missed Friday's team practice with an illness and who registered a goal and two points in Thursday's win, was ruled out by Penguins' head coach Dan Muse after the morning skate, which Malkin participated in. Forward Egor Chinakhov, who is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, is expected to miss his second consecutive game.

In addition, defenseman Sam Girard was officially placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, and the Penguins recalled forward Avery Hayes from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) to fill Malkin's hole in the lineup. 

Goaltender Arturs Silovs - who posted a 25-save shutout Thursday - will get his second consecutive nod in goal Saturday.

There were no line rushes during the Penguins' optional morning skate, and it is difficult to tell where Hayes will fit into a lineup that was already shorthanded to a pretty large degree. He has had some legitimate chemistry with Rutger McGroarty in WBS, and both had nine points in six AHL games, so it won't come as a surprise if they begin the game on the same line.

Takeaways: Penguins Deliver Near-Perfect 60-Minute Effort In 4-0 Win Over Panthers To Snap Four-Game Losing StreakAfter a disastrous, winless four-game Western road trip, the Penguins put together their best effort of the season Thursday against Florida.

Here are the projected lines from THN - Pittsburgh for Saturday's game:

Forwards
Tommy Novak-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell
Andrei Kuzmenko-Hendrix Lapierre-Ville Koivunen
Avery Hayes-Blake Lizotte-Rutger McGroarty
Elmer Soderblom-Connor Dewar-Nick Robertson

Defense
Spencer Stastney-Erik Karlsson
Declan Carlile-Kaedan Korczak
Ilya Solovyov-Kris Letang

The Predators are coming into this one 3-3-3 to start the season, and the Penguins are 7-0-2 in their last nine games against Nashville. They currently sit seventh in the Central Division standings and have a minus-7 goal differential. 

36-year-old center Steven Stamkos has started the season hot with four goals and 10 points in nine games, and projected starting goaltender Juuse Saros is 3-2-2 with a .906 save percentage in seven appearances.

Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. You can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X."

Former Penguins' Defenseman Placed On WaiversLost in the headlines for the Winnipeg Jets Friday was the placement of an ex-Penguin on the waiver wire.

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!  

The Florida Panthers had some new-look forward lines when they took the ice on Saturday in Chicago.

Fresh off a pair of lopsided defeats in Ottawa and Pittsburgh, the Panthers will be looking to get back on track when they face the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon at United Center.

Florida head coach Paul Maurice was not pleased with his players following the back-to-back losses and said he would be looking for a way to turn things back around ahead of Saturday’s skate.

“I think it looked the way I thought it did from the bench,” Maurice said. “We’ve got some things we’ve got to clean up in our game and we have an opportunity to do that tomorrow.”

When the team took the ice, it was apparent that Maurice had done some tinkering with the forward groupings.

The top line and the fourth line remained the same, but Maurice made a not-so-subtle move to his middle six.

Exciting young forward Sandis Vilmanis was bumped up to the second line, where he skated alongside Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe.

Vilmanis was a healthy scratch on Thursday.

“It’s just a little different look,” Maurice said. “When he was with Lundell and Luostarinen, I liked it early on but it’s starting to fall off a bit for me. We gave him a little bit of a reset, so he should have some good legs and good urgency in this game.”

Dependable forward Lars Eller, who Maurice has complimented several times during the early stages of the season, was on the left side of the Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen line.

In terms of defensive pairings, Radko Gudas was back with Dmitry Kulikov after being a healthy scratch during Thursday’s loss to the Penguins.

That was the only change on the blue line, as the top two pairings remained intact.

Between the pipes, Florida will turn back to Akira Schmid after giving rookie Cooper Black his first taste of NHL action on Thursday.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s showdown in Chitown:

Brady Tkachuk – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Reinhart – Sandis Vilmanis

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Lars Eller

Boko Imama – Cole Schwindt – Garnet Hathaway

Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones

Dmitry Kulikov – Radko Gudas

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Photo caption: Jan 10, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Florida Panthers left wingSandisVilmanis(95) chases the puck in the first period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images)