Category: NHL

Artemi Panarin pondered the question of whether it would feel like a homecoming of sorts to play on Long Island, and in the moment, he never really answered it. 

“It’s a hard question,” he said. 

Seven-and-a-half hours later came the answer, and it wasn’t to the Islanders’ liking. Panarin won’t return to Madison Square Garden for four more days, but he made UBS Arena feel like his old digs on Broadway anyway, scoring twice before Brandt Clarke’s overtime winner as the Kings beat the Islanders 3-2 on Thursday night. 

“Panarin’s one of the best goal scorers in the world and has been for a decade,” Islanders coach Pete DeBoer said. 

What made the night more frustrating for the Islanders is that there wasn’t really much of anything for them to be upset about aside from the result. They controlled the run of play, had the Kings doubled up on shots on goal for much of the night — finishing with a season-high 43 — and tilted the ice for long periods of time. 

It’s not the first time this year they’ve lacked finishing, and it was the second of Semyon Varlamov’s three starts in which he’s looked rusty. Those two things were the difference much more than Panarin, who twice beat Varlamov when the goaltender was behind the play and looked out of position. 

“I was cheating a little bit,” Varlamov said when asked about the first of those two. “Expecting him to make a pass in the middle, and he beat me short side.” 

By any meaningful statistic except for that on the scoreboard, the Islanders had the better of the night, but those two goals were enough for the Kings to hold a precarious 2-1 lead heading into the last 20 minutes. The Islanders’ lone goal to that point had also come on a goaltending miscue, as Darcy Kuemper mishandled Victor Eklund’s power-play one-timer at 14:06 of the second. 

The Islanders got closer still, tying the game 7:06 into the second on Matthew Schaefer’s first goal of the season, a bullet of a wrist shot from the right circle. 

That belied, though, that the third period was the visitors’ best. Even with Varlamov noticeably sharper after stopping Adrian Kempe’s penalty shot at 10:59 of the second, the Islanders didn’t tilt the ice as much as they had and couldn’t make good on the momentum from Schaefer’s goal. 

The Islanders did retain their points streak — now at five games — by getting to overtime, and no one will complain about a homestand in which they took three of four points. But for the second time in their past four games, the Isles were left with one point thinking they could have had two. 

After Bo Horvat’s shot 17 seconds into overtime that Kuemper gloved down, the Islanders didn’t touch the puck again, and at 2:43 of the extra period, with the Islanders gassed, Clarke scored to end it. 

“I saw an opportunity to shoot through the screen and catch him off guard,” Horvat said. “Just didn’t pick my spot, but it is a possession game in overtime. I gotta do a better job winning that [next] draw.” 

Mostly, this game served for the Islanders as a frustrating two points not to get on home ice, but not much of a big-picture indication of anything. 

To the extent you could pinpoint any concern, it might be Varlamov. His glove side in particular has looked susceptible throughout the preseason and regular season. 

Still, his third start of the season is too early to start wondering about whether two partial knee surgeries will prove too much for him to be an effective backup for the Islanders, especially given he had a .905 save percentage through the first two. The 38-year-old finished the night with 24 saves on 27 shots. 

This was a frustrating way to lose. It wasn’t a particularly indicting one. 

The most prescient analysis came from DeBoer when asked about the state of his 5-3-2 club at the 10-game mark. 

“We break it down, and we look at our game analytically every 10 games, but I’m not looking at points,” he said. “I’m looking at our process right now. I think the points take care of itself, and I like our process.” 

With a .600 points percentage so far, he might just be correct.

It was a really impressive effort from the New York Islanders tonight after going down 2-0 in the first period. Semyon Varlamov wasn’t at his sharpest tonight; both shots that Artemi Panarin got past him weren’t great. But the Isles responded well, especially in the second period, which they controlled offensively in a way we haven’t seen yet this season. It just took a long time to get anything past Darcy Kuemper. Victor Eklund broke Kuemper’s shutout with a power play goal, and then Matthew Schaefer picked up his first of the season to tie the game. That goal also tied him with Bobby Orr for second-most goals by a teenage defenseman, so no big deal there or anything.

Eklund had a really strong game overall, and he’s looking more and more like he fits in the NHL with each game he plays. It’s also extremely funny to see him looking like a little kid out there and taking down big guys like Konstas Helenius. I hope he really starts stringing these good performances together, it’d be awesome to have another young talent take big steps forward.

Unfortunately, the Isles came up short in overtime. They definitely miss Mat Barzal in 3 on 3 situations. There’s no one on the team that can replace his skillset in general, but it’s especially noticeable in OT. They still picked up a point, and they’ve got points in their last five games, and have still looked solid despite all the injuries up front.

[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]

First Period

The Isles went to an early power play after Scott Laughton was called for holding, but they couldn’t convert. Just a minute later, Artemi Panarin opened the scoring from a tough angle on a shot Semyon Varlamov probably wants back. Emil Heineman’s backhand shot was stopped by Darcy Kuemper right after.

Victor Eklund won the puck along the boards from Konstas Helenius and set up a great chance, with Matt Kessel’s shot getting behind Kuemper. Mikey Anderson had to dive behind him to stop that shot from crossing the line.

Unfortunately, right after that great shift, Panarin picked up his second of the night on another shot Varlamov probably should’ve had, putting the Isles in a 2-0 hole towards the end of the first.

Bo Horvat went to the box for hooking, but then Drew Doughty took a shot at Matthew Schaefer, which led to Logan Stanley fighting Konstas Helenius. Approximately 45 seconds later, Mats Zuccarello was called for slashing, canceling out the Kings’ power play.

Just 40 seconds after that, Tony DeAngelo took a tripping penalty.

Near the end of the period, Varlamov saved shots from Panarin and Doughty to keep just the two goal deficit heading into the second.

Second Period

The Islanders dominated the whole period, outshooting the Kings 17-9, but couldn’t get anything past Kuemper for most of the period.

Heineman and Eklund got a 2 on 1, but the pass option was taken away by Brian Dumoulin and Heineman ran out of time to do anything interesting with the puck. Brayden Schenn tipped a shot off the post, and Simon Holmstrom had a chance in the slot but Kuemper got the save.

Schaefer took down Adrian Kempe on a breakaway and Kempe was rewarded a penalty shot, which Varlamov crucially saved.

Heineman was tripped by Dumoulin a couple minutes after that, and on that power play, Victor Eklund took a shot that trickled past Kuemper to make it 2-1.

Jared Wright got tangled up with Schaefer, and they both went to the box late, for holding and hooking respectively.

Third Period

The Isles didn’t quite keep up the pace from the second period into the third. Varlamov needed to be sharp, making a few critical saves when needed.

Then, 7 minutes into the period, Schenn passed the puck off to Stanley, who found Schaefer with space, and Schaefer scored his first goal of the season to tie the game.

Despite putting up 42(!!) shots on Kuemper in regulation, the Isles couldn’t find the go ahead goal, and so we went off to overtime for the first time this season at UBS Arena.

OT

Bo Horvat’s shot was saved by Kuemper, but once the Kings got possession, they never really gave it up. Adrian Kempe had a great chance saved by Varlamov, but Brandt Clarke put the winner home for LA in a game the Islanders really should have picked up two points from.

Up Next

Next, the Islanders head out to Dallas to take on the Stars on Sunday, October 25, kicking off a three game road trip around the Central Division.

NEW YORK (AP) — Artemi Panarin had two goals, Brandt Clarke scored in overtime and the Los Angeles Kings won a second consecutive game, 3-2 at the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

The Kings have back-to-back victories after losing their first six games. They were the final NHL team without a win before defeating Washington on Tuesday night.

LA was outplayed for much of the Islanders game and outshot 43-26. Panarin beat rusty backup Semyon Varlamov glove side twice, and Darcy Kuemper kept making stops even as his rebound control was lacking, finishing with 41 saves.

Kuemper cracked for the first time with just under six minutes left in the second period when rookie Victor Eklund’s shot squeezed through on a power play. Islanders face of the franchise Matthew Schaefer wired a wrist shot by Kuemper 7:06 into the third.

Clarke scored the winner with 2:18 left in 3-on-3 OT after he and his teammates possessed the puck for several shifts in a row.

Varlamov, the 38-year-old making his first home start since Nov. 25, 2024, following double partial knee replacements, denied Adrian Kempe on a penalty shot and made some big-time saves after giving up the soft goals to Panarin on the Kings’ first five shots.

Panarin has four points in two games after four combined over the first six.

LA forward Quinton Byfield was out after getting hurt against the Capitals. Byfield did not take part in the morning skate and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Up next

Kings: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Saturday in the third of five games on their road trip.

Islanders: Open a three-game Western Conference trip Sunday at the Dallas Stars.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Colin Graf had a goal and an assist, Yaroslav Askarov stopped 39 shots and the San Jose Sharks beat the Ottawa Senators 6-2 on Thursday night for their first regulation victory of the season.

Nolan Allan, Tyler Toffoli, Jacob Trouba, Zack Ostapchuk and Ivar Stenberg also scored for the Sharks (6-4-1).

Tim Stutzle and Jordan Spence scored for Ottawa (7-4-0). Samuel Ersson made 23 saves.

Ottawa placed goalie Linus Ullmark on injured reserve Thursday after he suffered a lower-body injury a night earlier.

Spence scored at 6:24 of the third period to make it a two-goal game.

The Senators pulled Ersson while on the power play with under four minutes remaining, but Ostapchuk took advantage of a giveaway and scored an empty-net goal.

Stenberg added a second empty-netter to round out the scoring.

Up next

Sharks: At Boston on Saturday night.

Senators: Host the New York Rangers on Saturday night.

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See AP’s full NHL coverage here

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh's Arturs Silovs stopped 25 shots to spoil the history-making debut of Florida counterpart Cooper Black as the Penguins beat the Panthers 4-0 on Thursday.

Black, who at 6-foot-9 became the tallest goalie ever to appear in an NHL regular season game, made 18 saves but it wasn't enough to stop the Panthers from dropping their second game in as many nights.

Nick Robertson scored twice for Pittsburgh. Hendrix Lapierre and Evgeni Malkin both finished with a goal and an assist as the Penguins shook off a miserable Western Conference road trip in which they were badly outplayed in losses to Chicago, Colorado, Vegas and Utah.

The trip ended with 19-year-old forward Ben Kindel collapsing on Tuesday during the flight back to Pittsburgh. Kindel spent the night in a Salt Lake City hospital for observation and returned to the Penguins’ facility on Thursday. The team placed him on injured reserve but is hopeful may be able to return to practice as early as next week.

Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse shuffled his lines in hopes of a spark, and the Penguins responded by solving the towering Black, a 25-year-old from Michigan, three times.

Black, called up from Florida's AHL affiliate in Charlotte recently after Jacob Markstrom sustained a shoulder injury, was sharp early as the Panthers struggled to find their legs a night after an emotionally charged loss in Ottawa.

Lapierre doubled Pittsburgh's lead at the game's halfway point after taking a pretty feed on the rush from Ville Koivunen and Malkin's third goal in four games was more than enough for Silovs, who was only sporadically challenged while picking up his second shutout of the season and fourth of his career.

Up next

Panthers: Continue their four-game road trip on Sunday in Chicago.

Penguins: Host Nashville on Saturday.

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See AP’s full NHL coverage here

BOSTON (AP) — Michael DiPietro made 28 saves for his first career shutout, David Pastrnak had two goals and two assists, and the Boston Bruins cruised to a 6-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.

Charlie McAvoy had a career-high four assists for Boston, and Casey Mittelstadt, Elias Lindholm, JJ Peterka and Mark Kastelic also scored.

Pastrnak leads the Bruins in goals (six) and assists (10). Boston improved to 6-0-1 in its last seven games, with the only loss coming Tuesday in overtime at Dallas to conclude a four-game trip.

Justus Annunen stopped 25 shots in first start for Nashville since last season. The Predators have lost four of five.

The Bruins went ahead 3:49 into the game when Pastrnak sent a cross-ice pass to Mittelstadt, who fired it past Annunen's right shoulder.

Lindholm made it 2-0 on the power play later in the first. Pastrnak scored midway through the second when he deflected McAvoy's shot past Annunen, and the Bruins captain assisted on Peterka's goal late in the period.

Pastrnak capped the scoring with 5 minutes remaining and became the eighth player in Bruins history with 20 career four-point games.

The Bruins scored six goals for the third time, tied with the Golden Knights, Kraken, Avalanche and Hurricanes for the most in 2026-27.

McAvoy became the fourth defenseman in Bruins history with 10 career games of three assists or more, joining Ray Bourque, Bobby Orr and Brad Park.

Up next

Predators: At Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Bruins: Host San Jose on Saturday.

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See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Pregame

Lots of changes for the Penguins who are playing without Bryan Rust and Ben Kindel tonight, including the surprise omission of Egor Chinakhov who misses another game with a lower body injury. That means Elmer Soderblom, Hendrix Lapierre and the newly called up Rutger McGroarty get the chance to play tonight. Arturs Silovs gets a second start in a row.

The visiting Panthers look to rebound from last night’s 5-1 loss in Ottawa with this lineup. It’s the first look in the NHL for 6’9” goalie Cooper Black, who sets an NHL record for the tallest netminder in league history.

First period

Good start for the Penguins, they control most of the early play and get the first handful of shots (the Panthers do nab an excellent first shot and a great save by Silovs). Sidney Crosby nearly scores in front off a rebound but a Florida defenseman blocks it. A little later, Crosby springs Rickard Rakell for a breakaway and he gets hooked. Rakell is able to get the shot away so the infraction results in a power play and not a penalty shot.

The first group gets lots of zone time, little of quality chances. The second group forces Florida to clear the puck over the glass for a brief 5v3 and another power play. Doesn’t result in a goal.

Pittsburgh eventually finds that first goal at even strength, courtesy of Nick Robertson’s fifth goal of the season on a nice curl and drag move to get the puck away from the defender while also changing the angle on Black.

Shots are 8-5 Pittsburgh, very quality first period for them with very few lapses and plenty of pressure and puck control. Silovs’ save on the first shot was strong and other than that it was just about all Pens.

Second period

Florida responds with a better showing to start the second and earn their first power play of the game when Evgeni Malkin gets the gate for tripping. Silovs makes another good stop on a Seth Jones shot with his blocker and the Pens PK takes care of business.

Florida ends up with 10 of the first 13 shots of the period, the Pens score on the 14th overall shot of the frame. Silovs gets the play started by punching the puck out to start a rush the other way. Malkin dishes to the side for Ville Koivunen. Koivunen sauces a pass in for Lapierre, who does a nice job to keep control of the rolling puck on his backhand before flipping to and beating Black on on the forehand. 2-0

The third line builds on that, McGroarty and Andrei Kuzmenko cause all kinds of havoc in front of the net and get Black scrambling around but the goalie recovers with an assist from a desperate defensive player sprawled out in the crease. More Penguin pressure leads to Garnet Hathaway making a very Garnet Hathaway move to hit Kuzmenko from behind into the boards, Pens go to a power play with Kuzmenko needing to see the trainers.

The third Penguin power play ends up empty like the others.

Silovs gets his stick up and clips Sam Bennett, taking a four-minute penalty as a result. The team picks him up with a strong kill, McGroarty lifts a puck way up the ice for Connor Dewar to get a breakaway rush. Rakell and Robertson get a look on a 2-on-1. Neither score though gotta love the effort all over the place.

Pittsburgh survives most of the long PK to end the period, shots on the game are 17-15 FLA. The Panthers were a lot better in the second, the Pens found a way to weather that storm while extending their lead going into the second intermission.

Third period

The Pens kill off the short time on the carryover power play, then Silovs makes a good stop on Matthew Tkachuk from in front of the net. It pays off a minute later, Malkin puts the puck through a sliding Gustav Forsling, who doesn’t get a piece of it. Malkin recovers quickly and snaps the puck by Black on that sort of broken play. 3-0 with 18:23 to go.

Time is ticking off, everything looks in control, Koivunen loses a puck and resorts to taking a player down that (though easy enough to say from the keyboard) he probably didn’t need to do with coverage behind him and far from the net. Florida gets a power play and chance to crawl back into the game with 5:59 to play.

The Panthers even pull the goalie to gain a 6v4 advantage. They hit a post but don’t come any closer to scoring.

Florida gets a o-zone faceoff so they keep the goalie pulled. Robertson scores another on a long-range shot. 4-0 with 2:26 to go.

Rest of the game ends quietly enough, Silovs gets his second shutout of the season and the Pens end their losing streak.

Some thoughts

• Robertson up to six goals on the season, tied with Malkin for the team lead. Despite the three forwards leaving the lineup for this game, Robertson didn’t get a promotion in role/line. That might be a minor footnote at this point since the team can rely on Robertson+Dewar to be the core of their important defensive line. Despite that informal designation, Robertson did what he does best – use his finishing ability to score goals. It seems like he is something of an untapped asset for the team while not being utilized in a more marquee role, but to his credit, he’s showing that he doesn’t need prime minutes or plum offensive-minded, skilled linemates to be productive.
• Two of those players in such a role playing with Evgeni Malkin made a play tonight. Koivunen had the time on the rush to use his vision and playmaking to setup Lapierre. Lapierre, who is not much of a finisher with just now 15 career NHL goals in 165 games, showed some nice hands to score. That’s what the team wants, and seriously needs to see out of guys like that making the most of an opportunity with players like Rust, Kindel and Chinakhov unavailable tonight.
• Speaking of Malkin, that’s three goals in the last four games and six in 11 to start the season. Not bad at all for a 40-year old!
• Loved the game from Silovs on a variety of fronts. Naturally, there’s the fact he stopped all the shots (hot analysis: always great when a goalie does that). Made a few really quality saves when the game was close too. Beyond that, he was active in playing the puck, notably on the sequence that resulted in the Lapierre goal and in other instances besides that. Good on him for elevating and helping the team out as more than just a shot stopper and getting actively involved in helping out in other areas.
• Also was impressed by the Pens strategy playing such a tall goalie. Being 6’9” and 250 pounds has its obvious advantages for blocking out a lot of the net. It’s also a challenge to be that size and be in the goalie crouch. The Pens were shooting a lot (see the Lapierre and Robertson goals) in the areas above the leg pads and under the arms. Dewar shot there on his breakaway too. A lot of times the default at the NHL level is to elevate to the top shelf, be it coincidence or plan on this night the Pens were frequently looking to exploit a different type of area on a different type of goalie than they’d usually see.
• One thing about Kuzmenko is that he’s no stranger to trying difficult but pretty passes. (I always think back to this setup from 2025 when he was with the Kings as the quintessential play of his). A lot of times with the Pens, he’ll wire a pass into an area where there isn’t even a teammate. If there was it would be a big time chance. So maybe it’s low percentage plays in a sense, but in some ways it’s like he operates on a different plane mentally than a lot of his teammates. And, after a 35 assist rookie campaign in 2022-23 he usually gets a rate of about 25 assists per season, so that’s been a problem stretching several teams now. It’s a challenge to rectify how such a skilled player doesn’t produce compared to the talent level.
• That said, one of the best and most noticeable games by Kuzmenko this season. It doesn’t look like he’s going to be the type of force multiplier that changes games on his own but at this point it’s nice to see him look like he’s getting on track a little more.
• It looks good to turn in any direction after a performance like this, one area where the Pens really took control was the penalty kill. Florida had nearly six minutes in the second period on the power play, Pittsburgh yielded all of two shots on goal against (and zero in the nearly four minute stretch late in the period). While no one can be faulted for feeling no lead is ever safe with this team late in a game, at that point they were showing about full control on this game.
• The Penguins improved to 17-2-7 in the last 26 instances in games where the opponent played the prior night and they did not, per Bob Grove. Can only play what the schedule makers give you, gotta feast in those situations (because heaven knows with a league-high 15 b-2-b games of their own this season, the show will end up on the other foot enough times). Florida did look a little depleted and not at their best after the emotional game in Ottawa last night, but hey, they had plenty of shots and chances to turn the game around tonight and failed to do so.

Good time for the Penguins to play one of their most complete games since the opener. Goalie was great, team defense was very mindful and clean, offense was opportunistic and provided more than enough of a cushion. Coming back home did them well after a dreadful road trip, the good news for them is they have a couple more at PPG Paints, next one coming up Saturday night against Nashville.

The San Jose Sharks were in the Canadian capital on Thursday night as they visited the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata. 

Michael Amadio nearly scored on a breakaway chance for the Senators' first shot of the night, but Yaroslav Askarov came up big with a massive save.

German forward Tim Stutzle continued his hot start to the season while the Sharks had a delayed penalty, beating Askarov on his glove side to give the Senators an early 1-0 lead less than halfway through the first period. Considering the Senators were coming off of an emotional game the previous night, this was a worst-case scenario start for San Jose. They needed to take advantage of the Senators' tired legs early in the game, yet they trailed early.

The Senators thought they had doubled their lead just over two minutes later, as a wrist shot from the point by defenseman Carter Yakemchuk trigged a goal celebration, but after a short review, it was ruled that the puck went off the crossbar and never crossed the goal line. Just seconds before the halfway point of the opening frame, the Senators hit a post once again. 

The Sharks were able to get an equalizer off the stick of a pinching Nolan Allan, who fired a snap shot over the glove of Samuel Ersson at 11:04 in the first period. After their goal, the Sharks seemed to take a step up and were controlling the game a bit more. 

Igor Chernyshov blocked a shot with his arm and immediately went down the tunnel to the Sharks' dressing room just moments before the Sharks began their first power play after Amadio tripped Darnell Nurse.  During the intermission, the Sharks announced that Chernyshov was considered doubtful to return and ultimately missed the remainder of the game:

Young Sharks Forward Suffers Injury Against Senators, Doubtful to ReturnLate in the first period of the San Jose Sharks' game against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, Sharks forward Igor Chernyshov blocked a shot off of his arm and was in clear pain as he skated off the ice. He struggled to even carry his stick following the blocked shot and after a moment on the bench, he went down the tunnel into the Sharks' dressing room.

There was another scary moment for the Sharks around the midway point of the second period, as Jake Sanderson had a knee-on-knee collision with Will Smith. Sanderson got two minutes for tripping, while Smith was able to get back on his skates quickly. Unlike on their first opportunity, the Sharks took advantage of the man advantage as Tyler Toffoli found the back of the net with a wrist shot from the point, giving the Sharks a 2-1 lead. 

Roughly a minute and a half after the go-ahead goal, Darnell Nurse went to the penalty box for roughing, handing the Senators their first power play of the night. During the penalty kill, a diving Collin Graf was able to redirect a Ty Dellandrea pass into the back of the net for a shorthanded goal, doubling the Sharks' lead. 

Just seconds after Nurse left the penalty box, Graf picked up his second point in 1:18 as he connected with a wide-open Jacob Trouba in front of the net. Trouba tipped the puck past Ersson, giving the Sharks a 4-1 lead.

Dmitri Orlov was penalized for a hold on former Shark Fabian Zetterlund during a puck battle in the corner, giving the Senators a power play opportunity with just over two minutes remaining in the middle frame. Askarov made a tremendous save on Drake Batherson, denying an almost certain goal during the penalty kill, maintaining the Sharks' three-goal lead. 

The Senators would eventually break through and cut into that lead, as Jordan Spence fired a shot from the slot past Askarov at 6:24 in the third period. 

The Sharks had another forward in major discomfort near the midway point in the period, as Ty Dellandrea blocked a shot that left him in some pain. Wisely, he cleared the puck down for an icing call, allowing him to change due to the injury while his teammates had to stay out. 

Macklin Celebrini took down Yakemchuk with just under four minutes remaining in the game, sending the Senators to the power play. Ottawa then opted to pull their netminder as well, making it a 6-on-4. Almost immediately, Zack Ostapchuk fired the puck down the ice and into the empty-net, restoring the Sharks' three-goal lead. Ivar Stenberg then scored another empty-netter, making it 6-2.

For the first time this season, the team in teal were able to hang on to a lead in regulation, securing a 6-2 victory

TORONTO — The correlation between Alexis Lafrenière’s expanded role and the strongest start of his NHL career is evident. 

It wasn’t until his seventh season that the 2020 No. 1 overall pick was deployed on the top line, skated on the first power play unit and logged nearly 20 minutes of ice time a night, almost every night, from Day 1 of a new campaign. 

There’s no use in rehashing all the reasons why it unfolded this way. The logjam of top-six forwards ahead of him when he was drafted is well documented and the inconsistencies in his game that made it difficult to entrust him with such assignments are known. 

Through his first three and a half weeks with such responsibilities, however, Lafrenière has thrived. 

“I think he’s opened up — or developed — other aspects of his offensive game,” head coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday before Lafrenière scored a goal in the Rangers’ 5-4 loss to the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. “In particular, his grind game down low in the offensive zone. He’s always been a guy that’s been dangerous off the rush. He’s a talent. He’s a talented player. Rush offense tends to be talent-driven. But one of the things that I try to challenge him with, when I first became the coach here, was the better teams in the league a lot of times they get numbers back, they take the rush away. So then what? How do you produce offense, right? I try to challenge him on his down-low game. 

“He’s a lean guy, but he’s hockey strong. He’s so capable of creating offense from below the goal line, hanging on to pucks, rolling off of checks, and making next plays, getting inside at the net and creating off of a loose puck at the net front. He’s got a great stick. He sees it extremely well and he’s strong. We’ve tried to challenge him as a coaching staff in developing that aspect of his game. I think when you look at the second half of the season last year and continuing through this year, that’s the biggest area of his game that I think we’ve seen the biggest growth.” 

Not only was Lafrenière tied for seventh in the NHL with seven goals entering Thursday’s game, but the 25-year-old led the Rangers in goals and points (13). He had posted at least one point in seven of his prior eight games, including a six-game point streak that tied the longest of his career. 

His four multipoint games this season — including an empty-net abetted hat trick against the Islanders earlier this month — were the most of the Blueshirts and tied for the 11th most in the league. 

Sullivan said he thinks Lafrenière has “made a concerted effort” in the game down low since the start of the season. 

Now, Lafrenière is averaging just under a minute and a half more ice time than last season. His increased involvement in the Rangers’ game has led to an increased output of production and on-ice impact. 

“I don’t think there’s any question, I think [his expanded role] helps,” Sullivan said. “One of the things that I said to him when I became the coach was … we had a long conversation before we even stepped on the ice. We all wanted to try to help him build his game and get his game to another level, and he agreed. Part of my job, I think as the coach, is I got to provide a pathway for that player to do so. And so that’s what I’ve tried to do. 

“He’s getting significant power play time, he’s playing in the top six. And to his credit, he’s taken advantage of it. He’s done a terrific job.” 

The Minnesota Wild will be without forward Maxim Shabanov for Thursday night's game due to an upper-body injury.

Wild head coach John Hynes indicated following Thursday's morning skate that the team had one game-time decision among its forwards. That player turned out to be Shabanov, who will not suit up tonight.

The 26-year-old Russian winger has appeared in all 10 games for Minnesota this season, recording two goals and four assists for six points while averaging 14:57 of ice time per game.

Shabanov has been a productive contributor for the Wild early in the 2026-27 season, ranking fifth among Minnesota players in points.

Over his last five games, Shabanov has recorded one goal and two assists for three points. He scored against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 12 before registering assists in consecutive games against the St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets.

He was held off the scoresheet in Minnesota's 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

Shabanov is in his second NHL season after joining the Wild from Russia. Through 54 career NHL games, the 5-foot-9 winger has recorded seven goals and 17 assists for 24 points.

His absence leaves Minnesota without another offensive contributor as the Wild continue to navigate injuries throughout their lineup.

The severity of Shabanov's injury and whether he will miss additional time beyond Thursday's game remain unclear.

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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Florida Panthers goalie Cooper Black skated onto the PPG Paints Arena ice alone during pregame warmups on Thursday night, a time-honored hockey tradition given to rookies everywhere.

It took Black fewer strides to make the memorable lap than most.

Call it one of the upsides of being 6-foot-9.

Black made NHL history in his first career start when he became the tallest goaltender to ever appear in a regular-season game. Black is listed as two inches taller than Ben Bishop, Ivan Fedotov, Mads Sogaard and Mikko Koskinen, all 6-foot-7.

The 25-year-old from Alpen, Michigan, who started playing when he was 8 and had a 5-inch growth spurt between his junior and senior years in high school when he shot up from 6-0 to 6-5 and kept right on going, was excellent in his first period.

Black, called up from Florida's AHL affiliate in Charlotte recently after Jacob Markstrom went down with a shoulder injury, stopped Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang with his blocker pad on a wrist shot about two minutes in. He also turned aside a breakaway opportunity by Penguins forward Rickard Rakell before giving up a goal to Nick Robertson, who beat Black to the glove side.

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice praised Black's development in recent years. Florida signed Black as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2024. Black blossomed last season in Charlotte, posting a 25-13-4 record with a 2.47 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

“A man that size, it takes a long time to grow into that body,” Maurice said before adding with a laugh, “I think he’s done.”

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