Category: NHL

The subtle double-fisted flex Pavel Dorofeyev made after scoring the Rangers’ game-tying power-play goal Thursday night said it all. 

Not only did the Blueshirts need it to eventually pull out a 3-2 win over the Flyers at Madison Square Garden, Dorofeyev needed his first big Rangers moment to muffle the concerns that have stemmed from his snakebitten play through his first 17 games as a Blueshirt. 

“It obviously helps,” the Russian wing said after the win, which was secured by Tye Kartye’s bullet shot off the rush with 4:39 left in regulation. “I just gotta keep focusing on my game, trying again and again. Hopefully, it’s going to come, like post and in, at some point.” 

It’s a good sign that Dorofeyev, who added a smile at the end of his remarks, can poke fun at the fact that he leads the NHL in posts/crossbars hit with seven. 

Aside from the situation in goal, the first five and a half weeks of this season have been consumed by figuring out where the 26-year-old fits best in the Rangers lineup. Head coach Mike Sullivan has run through numerous forward combinations to try to shake things up to help Dorofeyev start connecting on the abundance of scoring chances he’s generated. 

Sullivan even turned to former Rangers coach John Tortorella, who had Dorofeyev in Vegas last season. 

“He’s tried to offer me some insight on some of the things that he did when he was coaching him that he felt helped Pav move in the right direction,” Sullivan said of his “multiple” conversations with Tortorella. “I’m trying to utilize some of those insights, and it’s a work in progress. My experience has been, when a player changes teams like that, signs a fairly decent contract, sometimes there’s a little bit of an adjustment process that players go through. … I think Pav is going through that process with us right now, trying to figure out we’re a different team than what he was on. He’s playing with different players.” 

Thursday counted as the Rangers’ first comeback win of the season, and they were the last team in the NHL to record one. Playing with leads has been a strength of this Rangers team to start this campaign, but climbing out of any hole has been a lofty task. 

The Rangers broke that trend Thursday night and improved to 9-1 when scoring the first goal of the game. 

In their third straight game without Sean Durzi, who was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury before puck drop, the Rangers defense gave up few grade-A opportunities in the first period to make life a little easier on rookie goalie Dylan Garand in his 12th consecutive game. 

J.T. Miller helped get the Rangers on the board less than five minutes into the game when the captain got a stick on a Marcus Pettersson shot and the puck ricocheted in off Gabe Perreault. 

Once the home team’s energy waned, however, the Flyers were opportunistic with what was given. 

With Noah Cates screening in front, Simon Benoit’s shot from the blue line beat Garand above his right shoulder. Swarming the Rangers net just under two minutes later, Noel Acciari tapped in a turnaround feed from Denver Barkey to give his team its first lead of the night. 

“We started on time today,” Dorofeyev said. “Game slipped [away] in the second, but then we regrouped after second and dug in there and came back in the game.” 

NEW YORK (AP) — William Carrier scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 5-3 on Thursday night.

Logan Stankoven, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Andrei Svechnikov also scored for Carolina, which won for the fourth time in five games. Sebastian Aho had two assists, and Brandon Bussi finished with 24 saves. Jalen Chatfield added an empty-net goal in the final minute of the third.

Brayden Schenn had a goal and an assist, and Mitchell Chaffee and Viktor Eklund also scored for the Islanders, who lost their second straight game. Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves.

Aho fired a shot from the left wall, and Carrier buried the rebound with 5:08 remaining in regulation.

The Hurricanes jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first 3:20, scoring on two of their first three shots.

Carolina took advantage of a New York miscue when forwards Anthony Duclair and Jean-Gabriel Pageau over-skated a bouncing puck, and Stankoven sent a wrist shot between Varlamov’s pads. Jackson Blake extended his point streak to eight games with the primary assist on the opening goal.

Matthew Schaefer tried to keep a play alive in the offensive zone late in a shift and was caught up ice. Jordan Martinook found Kotkaniemi behind the Islanders defense for an easy redirection 3:20 into the first to give Carolina a 2-0 lead.

New York responded with two goals in the first 5:44 of the second, tying the game.

Chaffee redirected Schaefer’s shot from the point for his first of the season, and Schenn converted a wraparound just over two minutes later to tie it.

Sixty seconds later, Svechnikov finished a feed from Aho to put Carolina in front.

Eklund answered with a one-timer from the slot with less than three minutes remaining in the period to even the score at 3.

The Islanders signed veteran defenseman Ben Hutton to a one-year contract Thursday. Hutton, 33, had joined New York on a professional tryout Monday after recording 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 55 games with the Vegas Golden Knights last season.

Up next

Hurricanes: Host Chicago on Saturday.

Islanders: Host New Jersey on Saturday.

The Islanders overcame a horrible start to make it a game, a winnable game even, against the defending Cup champion Hurricanes, but in the end mistakes killed them on the way to a loss

The Islanders hadn’t been in action for five days and looked it when the Canes pounced to a 2-0 lead in the first 3:20. They steadily got their bearings and though they hit the first intermission still trailing by two, they got two quick ones to make it a game again in the first six minutes of the second.

After trading goals once more, things looked possibly headed to overtime until William Carrier outmuscled J-G Pageau for a rebound to score the winner with 5:08 to go.

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

Varly: Semyon Varlamov had a solid game facing Carolina’s trademark shot barrage, stopping 34. With Varly pulled for a sixth attacker, the Islanders had a decent chance to get set up but the refs errantly whistled play down for what they thought was too many men. Though the refs mitigated the error by not calling a penalty, that added to the frustration the Isles felt for the refs and the setting on through the final horn.

6-on-5: With Varlamov pulled, Jordan Martinook lost a stick but the Isles let an even better opportunity slip away as the bouncing puck eluded Brayden Schenn, who was checked out of the play by the stickless Martinook, while Jalen Chatfield chopped the puck the length of the rink and into the empty net.

Special teams: The Islanders’ power play was its usual mess on its four missed opportunities, but the penalty kill held up its end. Neither Brayden Schenn (who had a nice wraparound goal) nor Adam Pelech liked their tacky yet justifiable penalty calls, but their kill of Pelech’s penalty late in the second and at the beginning of the third — right after Victor Eklund tied the game at 3-3 — was huge.

The difference: At least, of course, until Carrier’s goal made it moot. Varlamov gloved the point shot through traffic, but Pageau was slow to react in a stick battle with Carrier, who beat Pageau and then Varlamov for his first of the season.

On balance, with the mistakes the Isles made, a regulation loss was the deserved result. But it stings more since the Isles erased their bad start and hung with the champs all game.

Up Next

After that bizarre November layoff in an 84-game season, the Islanders host the streaking Devils on Saturday before hitting the road for the California triangle.

Roster notes: Will Ben Hutton make an appearance? The Isles announced his signing before the game, though he did not play. They did not need all 10 days of the PTO to decide he needs to figure in their blueline depth.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Ilya Mikheyev scored twice to back Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Thursday night to remain perfect at home this season.

Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh also scored. Vasilevskiy made 24 saves, allowing only Roman Kantserov's goal with 49 seconds left.

The Lightning are 8-0-0 at home and 10-3-2 overall, while the Blackhawks are 0-7-1 on the road and 4-12-1 overall.

Arvid Soderblom stopped 31 shots for Chicago.

Hedman opened the scoring on a power play at 4:12 of the first period. The defenseman has four goals this season.

Mikheyev connected with 1:38 in the opening period.

McDonagh scored on a slap shot at 2:38 of the third, and Mikheyev added his second of the game and fourth of the season on a tip at 5:07.

Up next

Blackhawks: At Carolina on Saturday night.

Lightning: At Minnesota on Saturday night to open four-game trip.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

DETROIT (AP) — Trevor Connelly broke a tie with 1:42 left and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Thursday night.

Braeden Bowman tied it for Vegas at 4:20 of third, and Carter Hart made 25 saves.

Playing the third game of four-game trip, the Golden Knights improved to 11-5-2 with their second straight victory.

Anton Johansson scored for Detroit at 2:02 of the third.

Daniil Tarasov stopped 32 shots for the Red Wings in their lone home game in a seven-game span. They have lost two in a row to fall to 7-7-3.

Up next

Golden Knights: At Buffalo on Sunday.

Red Wings: At Colorado on Saturday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Pregame

The Penguins get Evgeni Malkin back from injury and scratch Andrei Kuzmenko. Arturs Silovs gets the start.

Boston shows up with this lineup and backup Michael DiPietro in net.

First period

The Bruins are the better team early, with it looking like David Pastrnak is in full ownership of the puck. It takes the Penguins nine minutes to get a shot on goal, which at least also comes with a goal. Justin Brazeau finds a soft spot to sit down in, Hendrix Lapierre finds Brazeau with a pass and the big man quickly whips the puck into the net. 1-0.

Scoring that early goal has the effect of kicking a hornet’s nest based on Boston’s response with three goals before the whistle. First up, the Bruins win a wall battle and the puck gets down low to Pastrnak. You could tell he was on the cusp of scoring or setting up a goal all night, and he does the latter with a beautiful sauce pass that Pavel Zacha elevates to the top of the net. 1-1.

A little later, Boston wins another puck battle, this time after a faceoff. They get the puck back to Frederic Brunet at the point and he puts a shot on net that Mark Kastelic expertly deflects down and to the other side of the net from where the puck was tracking. Bruins pull ahead 2-1.

Self-inflicted damage pops up for the third goal. Erik Karlsson tries to pass the puck right through Elias Lindholm, which Lindholm easily accepts the gift and is able to score on the forehand. Woof. 3-1.

To make matters worse, Sidney Crosby took a routine looking slash to the arm and immediately skated off the ice and walked right to the lockerroom about ten seconds before this goal. Earlier, Declan Carlile was injured when a Pastrnak shot attempt hit him somewhere around the jaw or chin.

Not great stuff for the Pens early on. Shots are 10-5 Boston.

Second period

Whatever was said in the intermission was effective for Pittsburgh, they play much better and start getting a lot of shots and chances. One such chance is turned into a goal when Nick Robertson tips a Kaedan Korczak shot in. 3-2 game.

It’s also helpful that Crosby and Carlile are able to return for the second period, which is perhaps more surprising for the latter considering he blocked a shot with his head.

The Pens keep pushing, the offensive machine Korczak almost helps generate another goal but the deflection goes off the post. Pittsburgh has all the momentum and just when it looks like they might tie it up, Boston gets a 2-on-1 rush and Zacha scores again. JJ Peterka sets Zacha up and it’s another great pass and shot combo directly to the top of the net and now 4-2. Crosby screams a vulgarity in frustration.

It doesn’t get any better, Ville Koivunen is the next to try a low-percentage pass, to predictable results. The Bruins pick it off and quickly spring Morgan Geekie on a clear breakaway. 5-2.

The shame is it actually looked like the Pens for a while were in serious contention to make it a 3-3 game for a while there. Turns out, that is not the direction this game took. Boston up 5-2.

Third period

Not too much really going on, a Penguin falls down and Boston is off a on a 2-on-1. Fraser Minten called his own number and ripped a wrister far-side on Silovs. 6-2.

Both teams play out the stretch, Boston is coasting and Crosby almost sets up Ben Kindel for a goal but the teenager hits the post hard since there will be no nice things for the Penguins on this night. Clock drains away to 0.

Some thoughts

• The Penguins had their hands full tonight, as I’m sure we all figured that they would. Sam Girard and Erik Karlsson were hanging on for dear life and loosing grip against the Pastrnak line (it’s a rough watch for both of them on the first and fourth Boston goal). Beyond that, it might have been Kuraly, Kastelic and Jeannot on the fourth line that was even harder to handle with their size and physicality.
• One player who is really coming into his own right now is Korczak. Two assists for the second game in a row puts him up to 10 on the year. Nothing overwhelming but good things are happening with him on the ice and the puck on his stick, which you can’t really say about too many players on the team these days.
• While staying briefly positive, it was good to see Brazeau hit the back of the net and get on the board in only his second game of the season. Getting some secondary scoring would be a nice new layer for the team’s attack if he can keep it going.
• Zacha is a player who always sneaks onto our annual summer Penguin killer list, he did some damage to start making his case for next year already by scoring two goals tonight. I don’t know if it’s even realized that since 2021-22, the players with more total points vs. PIT go Kreider (25), McDavid (24), Kucherov (23) then Zacha tied with MacKinnon with 22. I forgot myself for the preview this morning to point out Zacha’s propensity for production. Both his goals were supreme class starting with the setups made to him and then perfect shots. If he played against the whole league the way he does against the Pens, Zacha would be a superstar.
• Can’t really say much about Silovs tonight, he didn’t have a chance. No goalie anywhere would be able to keep the score down in front of a team that is giving up so many easy and clean looks to the opposition. No point to even analyze the goaltending in this one when he was so hung out to dry.
• You could sum this game up by a play in the third period when Lapierre got the puck on a 2-on-1. It was looking promising, not that the result was going to change with the score already at 6-2. But Lapierre couldn’t get a shot or pass away, Brunet a third pair defender ended up working hard to get back pressure and disrupt the play. The Bruins scored, what three or four goals on odd-man rushes and no Penguin was able to do the same. In a nutshell that tells the tale of each team’s drive/ability/determination whatever word you want to use there.
• Normally a note here would point out that going out on the road, like the Pens now will do, could be a galvanizing type of bonding experience to turn things around. Then you remember their last Western swing ended up being an 0-4-0 trip. (On the bright side, at least they’re going to play three teams that are not above .500 this time around..)
• Speaking of that, what are the odds of a players’ only meeting happening? Has to be pretty high, for having so many older and veteran players it sure seems like the right time now to shut the doors, yell and scream a little and let everyone vent it out and hopefully turn a fresh page.

It’s only early November but it sure feels like this is going to be the longest season in a while to endure. Boston out-classed the Penguins, which is one thing. Persistent mistakes and misplays are not going away, perhaps only increasing, which is a troubling sign for this team.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj scored his first goal of the 2026-27 season against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night.

It was a nice goal from Xhekaj, too, as he beat Mammoth goalie Sebastian Cossa top shelf with a beautiful one-timer slap shot from the point. 

With this goal, Xhekaj is now at the top of the NHL with an impressive stat. 

According to NHL Public Relations, Xhekaj has now recorded this season's hardest shot that resulted in a goal. Xhekaj's shot with his goal was 97.22 MPH, which is simply excellent. 

After scoring a goal like this, it is clear that Xhekaj should be looking to shoot the puck more from the point. This was undoubtedly a nice goal from the 25-year-old defenseman. 

In 245 career NHL games, Xhekaj has now recorded 11 goals and 35 points. The big blueliner may not be known as an offensive defenseman, but he certainly showed with this goal that he can shoot. 

It will now be interesting to see how Xhekaj builds off this great goal for the Canadiens from here. 

Arber Xhekaj evened the contest for the @CanadiensMTL on this season's hardest shot resulting in a goal so far according to NHL EDGE.#NHLStats: https://t.co/deMKaA98Qhpic.twitter.com/mlZD7XYhT6

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) November 6, 2026

The Islanders signed Ben Hutton to a one-year deal Thursday, days after signing the defenseman to a professional tryout contract and hours before facing the Hurricanes at UBS Arena. 

Given that Hutton wasn’t needed in the lineup for the 5-3 loss to the Hurricanes, the timing of the announcement was curious. Nevertheless, it is another option in coach Pete DeBoer’s holster for an injury-plagued defense. 

Hutton, per PuckPedia, is on a prorated $900,000 salary. 

For two consecutive games, the Islanders have gone with a two-righty bottom pair of Matt Kessel and Scott Mayfield. Hutton, a lefty, would rebalance things. 

“You’re just trying to get him up to speed,” DeBoer said Thursday morning. “He hasn’t taken any real reps with NHL players since training camp. It’s a tough ask to come in midseason like that. 

“He’s excited to be here. I think he’s excited to be around the group. You can tell he wants to play hockey. No one likes sitting at home. I can see his enthusiasm about being back in a team environment again. Every day, we’re just trying to get him back up to speed so that, when we do get a chance to look at him, we give him a fair chance.” 

That chance may come awfully quickly. 

For all the attention and anxiety over the Islanders’ remade power play, which has lately fallen back to earth, it’s their penalty kill that might deserve some plaudits. 

Entering Thursday’s game, in which the PK was 2-for-2, the Islanders ranked top five in the league with a whopping 86 percent success rate on the penalty kill, even while taking Matthew Schaefer out of the PK rotation to conserve his minutes and even with injury hits to Ryan Pulock and Alexander Romanov, two defenders prominent in DeBoer’s PK plans. 

“Not just the defensemen; I think our group of penalty killers is really good, and they have a history of being good here,” DeBoer said. “If you look back even last year and previous years, some teams are built to have really good power plays, some teams are built to have good penalty kills. And if you can get both, then you’re in a good spot.” 

The Islanders debuted their Hometown Remix Fisherman jerseys Thursday. It’s the second time this decade they’ve brought back the infamous design, the first one during the 2022-23 season. 

Semyon Varlamov started in net against Carolina, making it a 50-50 split between him and Ilya Sorokin over the past six games. Sorokin has started 10 of the Islanders’ first 15, on pace for roughly 56 starts of 84 games should the current trend hold. Varlamov made 34 saves on 38 shot attempts. 

Mathew Barzal (left knee), Pulock (upper body) and Matias Maccelli (lower body) all took part in an optional Islanders morning skate while wearing red noncontact jerseys.

Pete DeBoer saw it first with Joe Thornton when he was in San Jose, then with Joe Pavelski while in Dallas. Now, it is 35-year-old Brayden Schenn on Long Island playing the role, “on the back nine” of his career, of a leading voice and mentor in the dressing room, while maintaining a high level of play in his own right. 

“He recognizes he was brought in here as much for his intangibles as what he brings on the ice,” DeBoer said Thursday before Schenn scored a goal and had an assist in the Islanders’ 5-3 loss to the Hurricanes. “I think he understands that. I think he’s taken that piece of it and really embraced it.” 

Indeed, as much as Schenn struggled last season upon arriving as the Islanders’ big-ticket acquisition at the trade deadline, one wonders if general manager Mathieu Darche is itching to find the nearest microphone and declare, “I told you so.” 

Schenn not only has stepped seamlessly into a leadership role in the Islanders dressing room, he is centering a trio with Emil Heineman and Victor Eklund that’s been the club’s most consistent line of late. 

The difference between walking in midseason when cracks were already starting to form in the Islanders foundation and getting to participate in building the foundation from training camp onwards has been massive. Schenn has four goals and five assists through 14 games, has fit like a glove in DeBoer’s system and when asked about all of this Thursday morning, sheepishly replied, “I hate talking about myself.” 

That is, of course, exactly how the Islanders want their older, example-setting veterans to respond to such a question. Schenn did acquiesce to explaining the added comfort he has with the Islanders now, as opposed to when he arrived in March. 

“I would say it’s just everything. It’s not one thing,” he said. “You can’t pinpoint one thing and say that’s why. I think it’s, one, coming here, gotta prove yourself every single day in this league. You get a great opportunity to play with great linemates. The organization and the guys in the locker room have been awesome to us since Day 1 we’ve been here. So as you get more comfortable around the room, being around people, it just allows you to be yourself a little more. I still feel like I got better.” 

Knowing his teammates and having training camp to develop chemistry makes a huge difference, as has DeBoer’s presence behind the bench. 

“I really enjoy playing for Pete. He’s a smart coach,” Schenn said. “I’ve learned a lot from him. Very good systematically, defensively. With a coach like that, as long as you’re bringing your effort within the system each night, he’s gonna reward the guys who want to do that. I think as a group, as a whole, we have a bunch of guys with complete buy-in who’ve realistically given ourselves a chance in every game.” 

DeBoer took notice on a recent off day when he and the injured players were the only people at the facility. When DeBoer left, Schenn pulled in with his car. 

“I’m sure he got his kids off to school and headed to the rink after that,” DeBoer said. “You can tell the guys who just love the process of it. He’s one of those guys.” 

Indeed, DeBoer added that Schenn has the qualities of a future head coach. Heineman, his linemate, sounded similar notes. 

“He [had been] been a captain [in St. Louis] for a long time. It shows on how he acts as a human being in the locker room and on the ice,” Heineman told The Post. “… You can tell right away he has a lot of experience in the league. He’s won [a Stanley Cup]. He knows what it takes.”

‘That's inexcusable' — Flyers cough up third-period lead in loss to open important trip originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW YORK — The Flyers relinquished a third-period lead Thursday night and fell to the Rangers, 3-2, at Madison Square Garden.

Rick Tocchet’s club couldn’t nail down a 2-1 advantage.

“That’s inexcusable,” the Flyers’ head coach said. “Being up 2-1 and then you give them those goals we gave, it’s inexcusable.”

The Flyers gave up a game-tying power play goal with 6:08 minutes left. Denver Barkey was in the penalty box for slashing.

Tye Kartye scored New York’s game-winner with 4:39 minutes to go. Jamie Drysdale and Travis Sanheim were both checking up ice on the opposite side. The Flyers’ fourth line was out there. Sean Couturier got caught in the neutral zone, which left Kartye open through the middle.

“We’ve got to reload,” Tocchet said. “If you’re not going to score on your chances — we had breakaways and stuff — when you’re up 2-1, you’ve got to protect the interior of the ice. For whatever reason, when pressure hits us, we forget that.

“You’ve got to protect the interior of the ice. If something bad happens, you give them the outside stuff. It’s something that we’re going to have to continue to preach and go through this. Winning hockey is protect the middle of the ice. And we just gave them two plays in the middle of the ice. Even on the penalty, we can’t let people get to the interior.”

Simon Benoit and Noel Acciari found the back of the net for the Flyers. The goals came in the second period as the Flyers erased a 1-0 deficit.

“I think the third period, we were a little bit more on our heels than we were in the other two periods,” Acciari said. “I think we were trying to defend a lead rather than just play the game and do what made us successful during the other periods.”

The Flyers have lost five of their last six games (1-4-1) and 14 of 18 on the season (4-10-4). They own a minus-21 goal differential (excluding the shootout) and have scored just 2.17 goals per game.

On Thursday night, they were opening a five-game road trip that has them away from home until next Sunday.

“We know we have it in this room, we’ve shown it in periods,” Acciari said. “We’ve just got to, as a group, find a way to bring it for all three periods.”

This was the first of four meetings between the Flyers and Rangers (9-7-1).

“For a while, I thought we were in control of the game,” Tocchet said. “And then all of a sudden, they make a push and that’s when we really have got to dig in. You’ve got to protect the middle of the ice, that’s just Hockey 101 for me.”

• Joseph Woll denied 25 of 28 shots.

The 28-year-old was making his first start in a little over a week.

Pavel Dorofeyev scored New York’s game-tying power play goal. Woll had kept the Rangers off the board for a while until then.

“They’re down, they’re obviously going to push,” Sanheim said. “They get a break on a power play where the puck bounces to the guy in the middle and he makes a good shot. It’s what we do after that that’s kind of frustrating. You hate to give that next one up, you’d like to lock it down and at least get it to overtime and get a point out of it. Lesson learned and we’ll move forward.”

New York struck first just 4:39 minutes into the action on a double deflection. Gabe Perreault got a piece of J.T. Miller’s redirection. The Flyers had gotten stuck in the defensive zone and the Rangers made them pay.

New York rookie netminder Dylan Garand stopped 23 of the Flyers’ 25 shots.

Benoit was the unlikely spark for the Flyers. The 28-year-old defenseman scored just his seventh career NHL goal to tie the game at 1-1.

Just under two minutes later, the Flyers took the lead. Drysdale showed great mobility at the blue line to help set up Acciari’s goal. Barkey had the primary assist with good composure and vision around the net.

• Cole Knuble centered the Flyers’ second line.

Tocchet wanted to move him from the wing to the middle for some added speed.

At morning skate, Knuble was working on faceoffs with Acciari and Couturier. The 22-year-old rookie went 0 for 5 in the dot against the Rangers. But he did some good things.

• Matvei Michkov lost some ice time later in the second period. Earlier in the period, he had an extended shift and also iced the puck.

But he got back out there for a power play with 1:58 minutes left in the middle stanza and he started the third period.

• Rasmus Ristolainen participated in morning skate. The 32-year-old defenseman is recovering from an injury to his left hand.

“It’s going to come to pain tolerance for him,” Tocchet said, “but that is a step in the right direction.”

Ristolainen has missed 14 of the last 15 games.

• The Flyers are back in action Sunday when they visit the Flames (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

The Buffalo Sabres returned home after a successful road trip with a 2-1 loss to the division-rival Ottawa Senators in the opener of a four-game homestand on Wednesday. If you look at the overall NHL standings, the Sabres are ranked 16th, which is slightly below expectations for a club that came within one goal of making the Eastern Conference Final, but their 7-5-3 record has them tied with Detroit in the basement of the Atlantic Division standings. 

Just over a month into the regular season, every team in the Atlantic is over .500, and the margin between first place Boston and the Sabres/Red Wings is six points. With a .567 winning percentage, Buffalo would be in fifth place in the Metropolitan, tied for fifth in the Central, and in fourth place in the Pacific.

Injuries and absences have been a factor with many of the clubs in the division. Montreal has been without captain Nick Suzuki for more than two weeks, Ottawa has been without former Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark for the same, Florida has been without Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand for all but two games, Toronto are without center John Tavares and winger Kirill Marchenko, and Detroit is without RFA blueliner Simon Edvinsson and former captain Dylan Larkin, but the Sabres have been relatively healthy, other than a three-game upper body tweak to Rasmus Dahlin. 

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The Boston Bruins are proving that last year’s playoff berth was not a fluke, as they currently lead the division with an 11-4-1 record, and two clubs (Toronto and Florida) that missed the postseason by a wide margin, have thus far shown that they are improved and capable of competing for a playoff spot. 

The issues with the Sabres are simple. They have not shown the same level of consistency, and same attention to defensive detail they displayed last season. Their offense is not as dependable without Alex Tuch, and the young forwards who they were relying on to pick up the slack, have not done so. The goaltending, primarily Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, has been spotty, and without Alex Lyon they have been forced to rely more on Colten Ellis.    

Buffalo is just a few points out of a playoff spot, so their sluggishness out of the gate is not fatal, but it is a legitimate cause for concern. 

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo  

Welcome to Thursday Night Hockey, folks!

After an exciting win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, the Bruins will travel to Pennsylvania for a meeting with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins aren’t off to the best start, but they’ve still got plenty of talent, so this should be a good game.

Bruins! Penguins! IN PENNSYLVANIA!

Discuss.

The Buffalo Sabres seemed to find their stride on their four-game road trip, earning seven of a possible eight points with an overtime loss to Washington and three victories over San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles, but that success did not translate in the opening of their four-game homestand against the Ottawa Senators. 

The Sabres looked sharp wearing their new “Hometown Remix” jerseys, but did not play as they appeared, managing only 25 shots on Senators backup Samuel Ersson and one goal on a Peyton Krebs deflection of a Tage Thompson late in the second period. Buffalo relied on a strong performance by goalie Colten Ellis, but defensive lapses led to Shane Pinto’s tying goal and Michael Amadio’s game-winner with 3:09 left. 

"I  can  sum  it  up  this  way: I thought we  got  outskated, I thought that we got  outworked.  We  gave  up  six  or  seven  odd-numbered  rushes  and the game-winning  goal was an  odd-numbered  rush," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said. “sure. " I  thought we weren't skating  well,  some  of  the  puck  play  wasn't  very  good.  I'm not going to sit  here and  making  excuses.  We  weren't  good  enough.  (Ottawa)  won  more  puck  battles.  They  created  more  odd-numbered  situations.  They  were  smarter  than  us."

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Mrtka Looking To Take The Next Step Towards The NHL

The Sabres have earned points in seven of their eight games on the road (4-1-3) and are averaging 3.63 goals per game (8th in the NHL), but on home ice, where teams need to have success to make the playoffs, they are under .500 and are averaging 2.14 goals per game (27th in the NHL).

"We talked this morning about being better in this building.  We  won't  better,  and  I  think  with  three  minutes  left,  we've  taken  a  lot  of  pride  in  not  giving  up  something  like  that  when  points  mean  big  points,  and  you  give  up  an odd-man rush  again." Ruff said. “had "When  we  started  getting  a  little  bit  going,  it  was  more, net- front  battles. You win a puck battle,  you come off the  wall,  you're  going  to  get  some  type  of  chance  if  you  make  the  right  play.  I  just  feel  that  we  didn't  win  enough  battles."

The loss leaves the Sabres tied for the bottom spot in the Atlantic with 17 points and the second-worst goal differential in the Eastern Conference (-7), but the bigger concern is their lack of scoring. Tage Thompson (10 goals) and Jack Quinn (8 goals) account for 40% of the club’s offense. 

Other than Noah Ostlund, no one has tallied more than three goals, which brings into focus the failure of GM Jarmo Kekalainen to address the offensive gap created by the departures of Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram, and why the Sabres are reportedly on the hunt for scoring help.   

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A former Buffalo Sabres goalie is available for the taking on the waiver wire. 

This is because former Sabres goalie James Reimer has been placed on waivers by the New York Rangers, as reported by The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno.

Reimer signed a one-year contract with the Rangers late last month. Now, less than two weeks after signing with the Rangers, the former Sabres goalie has already been placed on waivers.

Reimer being placed on waivers come with Rangers goalie Joonas Korpisalo nearing his return from injury. 

Reimer made one appearance for the Rangers on Oct. 26 against the Los Angeles Kings, and it was a nightmare. The former Sabres goalie allowed three goals on just eight shots in the first period before being pulled by the Blueshirts.

Reimer appeared in 22 games with the Sabres during the 2024-25 season. During them, he posted a 10-8-2 record, a .901 save percentage, and a 2.90 goals-against average. 

This would be Reimer's lone season with the Sabres, as they opted not to re-sign him during the 2025 off-season. 

The Chicago Blackhawks (4-11-1) are coming off another horrific loss. On Wednesday night, they were defeated on national television by the Florida Panthers. This will be their first back-to-back situation of the season. 

Not only did they lose, but the NHL on TNT crew carved them up in front of the entire hockey-watching community in the United States. Now, they are playing a team equally as good in what promises to be a very tough environment. 

Scouting Tampa Bay

The Tampa Bay Lightning (9-3-2) are one of the best teams in the National Hockey League right now, especially with that record. However, they are one of the teams in the NHL that is going through incredible turmoil that they did not see coming entering the season. 

Last week, news broke that Nikita Kucherov informed the Lightning that he has no intention of signing an extension after this season, and his preference is to be traded. He will not miss games for them, however, due to the situation. 

Kucherov is one of the greatest players in the history of the National Hockey League. In addition to winning the Stanley Cup twice, with four appearances in the Final, he has won the Hart Trophy 2 times, the Art Ross Trophy 3 times, and has been an All Star 7 times. In 893 career games, Kucherov has 405 goals, 739 assists, and 1144 points. 

At 33 years old, it’s more than conceivable that he has 5 to 6 more years of being an incredible producer of offense. Kucherov was never the fastest player who uses his speed to dominate; it’s all about his brain and how he sees the game. That ability is not going away any time soon. It’s not like the Lightning lack talent around Kucherov, either.

Guentzel - Point - Kucherov 

Hagel - Cirelli - Goncalves 

Mikheyev - James - Holmberg

Viel - Geekie

Moser - Crozier 

McDonagh - Cernak 

Hedman - Carlson 

D’Astous

Vasilevskiy 

Hildeby

At forward, Braden Point, Jake Guentzel, Anthony Cirelli, and Brandon Hagel are all above-average, Olympian type of players. Again, there is no shortage of skill around Kucherov. The situation is not his issue. Feeling disrespected is his issue. 

One of Tampa’s depth pieces may be familiar to Blackhawks fans, as they now have Ilya Mikheyev, who was an outstanding forward during his time in Chicago. Proving himself as a great 5-on-5 contributor and penalty-kill savant earned him a nice contract with Tampa. 

Whether it’s JJ Moser, Ryan McDonagh, or Victor Hedman, the Lightning have a strong left defense. Whether it's the future Hall of Famer Andrei Vasilevskiy in net or backup Dennis Hildeby, they play well enough in front of them to make it easier for them to play their position. 

Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago

The Blackhawks got a good game out of Frank Nazar on Wednesday. He scored two goals in the loss, both coming in the third period. If he can start turning up the heat offensively, the Blackhawks will have a much better chance of coming out of their funk. 

Kantserov-Bedard-Bertuzzi

Moore-Nazar-Donato

Smith-Frondell-Teravainen

Mangiapane/Boucher-Greene-Greenway

Vlasic-Cole

Kaiser-Levshunov

Del Mastro/Rinzel/Korchinski

Soderblom

Knight

We are learning fast that this group was built with a flawed philosophy. For one, not enough veterans are key players on the team. All 4 centers are 23 or younger, and only Connor Bedard is advanced enough to be considered a true center at this time. 

Patrick Kane is out with an injury and should be back soon, but other veteran forwards like Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, and Ryan Donato are not helping the young guys take steps with their own play. 

On defense, it's a mess. Bowen Byram is still out. Ian Cole is a veteran, but he isn't at the top of his game like he once was, and the rest of the group is right around college age. 

During warmups, we'll find out who the scratches are. The lines above have projections with certain players who may be rotated in. This post will be updated with answers. Unless Jeff Blashill goes back to Knight for the second evening in a row, Arvid Soderblom should make his 4th start of the season. 

How To Watch

The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. It can be seen locally on CHSN. Nationally, you can stream it on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 6:00 PM CT. 

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