Category: Ice Hockey

Don’t look now, but the Florida Panthers are building up some steam.

Playing in their third road game in four nights, the Panthers took down the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Sunday night at United Center, wrapping up a perfect 3-0-0 road trip.

For the second time on this road trip, goals were quite hard to come by for both the Panthers and their opponent.

The first tally of the night came late in the second period, and once again, it was the Cats who went ahead first.

Directly off an offensive zone faceoff win by Cole Schwindt, Toby Bjornfot came down from the blue line and picked up the puck, carrying it behind the net and attempting a wraparound shot on Spencer Knight that squeaked through the goaltender’s legs.

Unfortunately for the Cats, they couldn’t hold the lead and take it into the third period.

A failed zone clear by Florida led to Tyler Bertuzzi banging home an Ilya Mikheyev rebound with just 29.3 on the clock.

It took Florida less than five minutes of third period time to re-take the lead.

Mackie Samoskevich picked up the puck in the right circle and leaned into a wrist shot that was stopped by Knight, just not enough to keep it from crossing the goal line.

They weren’t done there.

Just 2:04 later, Evan Rodrigues drew a gaggle of Blackhawks toward him in the left circle before feeding Carter Verhaeghe in the slot, and Swaggy’s wrister beat Knight over the glove to double the Cats lead with 12:36 to go.

An empty-net tally by Sam Reinhart, his 26th goal and 50th point of the season, cemented the victory for Florida, but Bjornfot added a second of the game off a great feed from Verhaeghe with 22.2 to go just for good measure.

Goaltender Daniil Tarasov was solid when called upon Sunday, finishing with 20 saves to earn his second win on the road trip. He was also in net for Thursday’s victory in Winnipeg.

On to the Mammoth.

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Photo caption: Jan 25, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Tobias Bjornfot (22) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period at United Center. (Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images)

A 3–2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins today was not the biggest concern for the Vancouver Canucks. At the end of today’s game, Brock Boeser found himself on the receiving end of a bad head-shot by Penguins forward Bryan Rust, getting up slowly after. This occurred within the final bit of the third period, during Vancouver’s push for a game-tying goal deep in Pittsburgh’s zone. 

“I think it’s a pretty dirty play, to be honest with you,” Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk said post-game of what had happened to Boeser. 

“Seemed pretty dirty to me watching it on the replay,” Teddy Blueger, who spent five seasons as a member of the Penguins alongside Rust, said. “I don’t think Rusty is a dirty player, but I think it was pretty clear head contact.” 

Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote met with the media post-game, explaining that he has yet to receive an update on Boeser's condition. 

"I don't have an update yet, but I just looked at the hit. It wasn't pretty. It was a headshot [...] I'm sure the league will look at it, because it was. Even though he may have been desperate to get Boes down because it was a scrum at the net, I still think it was something that you had to be in control of your body. I thought it was a little bit of a vicious hit to the head." 

The Canucks resume their eight-game home stand with a match against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm PT. They remain at home for two more games after this, against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, before heading on the road for two games before the Olympic break. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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Goaltender Igor Shesterkin and defenseman Adam Fox have continued skating on their own, but head coach Mike Sullivan didn’t think that their return to practicing with the rest of the Rangers at full capacity would be “imminent.”

Sullivan told The Post after the Blueshirts practiced in Tarrytown on Sunday that their pair of stars had skated “probably upwards of” four or five times.

Shesterkin has been on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and hasn’t played since Jan. 5, while Fox landed on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury and hasn’t played since that same overtime loss to the Mammoth.

Shesterkin is eligible to return, but Fox can’t get activated until the Jan. 31 game against the Penguins.

“They’ve been on the ice a handful of times at this point,” Sullivan said as the Rangers prepared to face the Bruins on Monday at the Garden. “They skated [Sunday] morning, so they’re making progress.”

A full return to practice would mark the final step needed for the Rangers to get their $92 million goaltender and their former Norris Trophy winner back into the lineup.

Without Shesterkin, backup Jonathan Quick has gone 0-5-0 with a .795 save percentage and 23 goals allowed across five starts, while Spencer Martin, who was recalled from AHL Hartford, has gone 1-2-0 with an .881 save percentage in three starts — while also taking over twice when Quick was pulled.

And Fox’s absence — his second extended one of the season — forced the Blueshirts to bump Braden Schneider to the top defensive pairing alongside Vladislav Gavrikov and to shift Gavrikov into Fox’s spot on the top power-play unit.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND RANGERS STATS

The Blueshirts struggled mightily with the man advantage when Fox missed 14 games due to a shoulder injury earlier in the year, but they’ve gone 5-for-19 in the eight games since he sustained the latest injury.

Sam Carrick’s job isn’t to score. But in the immediate aftermath of the loss to the Sabres on Jan. 8, Carrick rued his missed chances on offense and was critical of himself for not doing enough to contribute production.

During the Rangers loss to the Sharks on Friday, the fourth-line center collected his third goal of the season and his second across their last six games, an early sign of his starting to turn those opportunities into occasional goals.

“He does a lot of the thankless jobs that help teams win,” Sullivan said. “They don’t necessarily show up on the scoresheet all the time, but he does a lot of the little things, the subtleties of the game that add up to winning. He’s physical. He sticks up for our guys. He takes faceoffs. He’s part of our penalty kill. He’s a momentum guy. He’s a great teammate.”

“And so a player like [him] is able to chip in a few goals, it certainly is a boost of confidence for him, but everybody’s thrilled for him because of all the thankless jobs he does on a daily basis.”

Pregame

Kris Letang gets back into the lineup for the Penguins.

The hosting Vancouver Canucks greet the Pens with this lineup.

First period

The Penguins strike first only to see it get called back on a Vancouver challenge. Egor Chinakhov sneaks a puck in from right in front but he was offside and a step ahead of the play at the blueline so it made for an easy reversal.

Jack St. Ivany leaves the bench in the middle of the period, dropping Pittsburgh down to five defenders.

It becomes the Canucks turn to have a disallowed goal. Conor Garland blasts a slapshot from outside that gets by Stuart Skinner, though the ref immediately washes it out because Teddy Blueger backed all the way into the blue paint of the crease and contacted Skinner with his backside.

Matching no goals makes it a 0-0 score after one. Vancouver is up 9-8 on shots, Skinner made a few nice saves along the way.

Second period

Vancouver gets the first power play of the game when Anthony Mantha smacks a guy in the face. The Pens PK takes care of business, no small thanks to a bunch of saves from Skinner.

The Pittsburgh second line comes through for a goal again, this time it counts. Chinakhov picks the puck off this time, Novak again with the setup to a streaking Evgeni Malkin to lift it home. 1-0 Pens.

Next up, the Ben Kindel show. The 18-year old gets his first goal in 19 games by redirecting a puck from in tight, to the delight of 180 family and friends in attendance.

Kindel turns that goal-drought into a goal-streak with another goal to extend the lead to 3-0. Should get a bonus point for absolutely shattering the camera within the net.

Big time period for the visitors to blow the game open with three goals.

Third period

It takes almost six minutes for Vancouver to get their first shots of the third period, they make them count. Jake DeBrusk follows up a shot and is able to put the puck into the net. 3-1

Say what you will about the Canucks, they didn’t go away quietly. Filip Hronek takes a big slapshot that has enough energy on it to bounce around a few times and go off Teddy Blueger and into the net. 3-2 game with just 6:00 to go.

Goalie Kevin Lankinen is pulled with about 2 minutes left, it’s crunch time for the 6v5 magic that Vancouver looks for. They get a great look that Skinner stymies with a diving save that brings back memories of Marc-Andre Fleury in Detroit.

The Canucks keep throwing everything they can at the net between bodies, sticks, pucks, yet they can’t crack Skinner again before the final buzzer goes off to save the Pens.

Some thoughts

• Novak’s play in the neutral zone has been great lately. Whether it’s skating the puck and gaining the zone or blocking breakout attempts he’s been everywhere. It’s been paying off in big ways like the setup for the Malkin goal, it’s also all over the place to be on the puck constantly.
• Two goals for Kindel! He’s still been playing well all over the ice without the puck despite the lack of goals lately, popping in two for the homecoming of the Vancouver native in his first game there was a special moment for him to create.
• Between the team’s rookie party and seeing his family in a luxury box, how expensive was the weekend for Kindel? The old joke about playing for free might have some level of truth to it, he’d probably take it for the two goals, including the GWG.
• The Bob Grove stat of the day: today was game 1,000 (including playoffs) of the Big 3 all in the lineup together.
• St. Ivany only took three shifts (playing 2:54) before leaving with what was announced as an upper body injury. That meant the Pens basically went the distance with only five defenders for the balance of the game tonight.
• They still found a way to ease Letang back into the lineup, though you wouldn’t tell it from his overall ice time (16:50 through two periods, overall for the game). Letang wasn’t used on the PK. He hasn’t been a huge PK guy this season (averaging 1:27 per game), but that still ranked fourth among Pittsburgh defenders for a somewhat regular shift or turn in the rotation.
• Another quality start in the books for Skinner, as has become his norm as of late. There were times he didn’t have a lot of action, though at the start of the game and the Canuck power play early in the second he had to be good, as was. Moneypuck had Vancouver with over 2 expected goals at the halfway point of the game. Thanks to Skinner it was 0 actual at that point. Could it have been another OT/SO loss and three-goal third period lead blown for the Pens? It was trending that way until Skinner’s late game heroics.
• Maybe when the Penguins come back East they will find some power plays back at home. Pittsburgh only had six total power plays over the four-game western swing, including zip, zero tonight.
• Can’t complain with the results though, four games on the trip end up as four wins. Big time results there.

The Penguins gotta be looking around seeing if the NHL has any more teams for them to play out in the northwest. Sadly, they do not, the team will return home and look to bottle up the momentum for their next game on Thursday against Buffalo.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack St. Ivany exited the team's Jan. 25 contest against the Vancouver Canucks after suffering an upper-body injury. 

St. Ivany was limited to only three shifts during the Penguins' matchup against the Canucks, where he recorded one block in 2:54 of ice time. 

Before suffering this injury, St. Ivany was in the middle of a nice hot streak for the Penguins. The right-shot defenseman had back-to-back two-assist games for the Penguins on Jan. 21 against the Calgary Flames and then on Jan. 22 against the Edmonton Oilers. With this, the timing of this injury is certainly tough for St. Ivany. 

In 17 games so far this season with the Penguins, St. Ivany has recorded zero goals, seven assists, and a plus-7 rating. 

Defenseman Jack St. Ivany (upper body) will not return to tonight's game.

— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) January 26, 2026

The San Jose Sharks are going to be a very interesting team to watch at the 2026 NHL trade deadline. They have already shown that they are not afraid to be buyers, as they brought in forward Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks earlier this month. Yet, with the team also focused on the future, several of their pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) have also come up in the rumor mill.

The most notable Sharks pending UFA who has been creating chatter as a trade candidate is defenseman Mario Ferraro. With Ferraro being a steady top-four defenseman who plays a heavy game, there is no question that he has the potential to generate a ton of interest from contenders. But should the Sharks really consider trading him? 

With the Sharks being in the Western Conference playoff race, trading a defenseman like Ferraro would come with some clear risk. He is one of the Sharks' best blueliners, and there is no question that moving on from him would create a major hole on their defense. 

Given how important a player Ferraro is to the Sharks' roster, it would make a lot of sense for them to try to extend him before potentially dealing him. At 27 years old, he is right in his prime and could continue to be a great fit on a Sharks club that is on the rise if extended.

However, if Ferraro still does not have an extension once we get closer to the deadline, that is where things could get interesting. He may be too valuable an asset for the Sharks to potentially lose for nothing this off-season through free agency.

Nevertheless, it is going to be intriguing to see what happens between the Sharks and Ferraro this season from here. 

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Stephen Halliday had two goals and an assist, Dylan Cozens also scored twice and the Ottawa Senators routed the road-weary Vegas Golden Knights 7-1 on Sunday night.

Senators goalie Linus Ullmark returned to to the active roster from a personal leave, backing up Mads Sogaard. Ullmark was the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner.

Halliday scored his second and third career goals, and added the assist for a three-point game in his first season in the NHL.

Fabian Zetterlund, Jordan Spence and Nick Jensen also scored, and Brady Tkachuk had three assists. Sogaard stopped 19 shots.

Rasmus Andersson scored in third period for Vegas, making it 7-1. It was the defenseman'sfirst goal in two games with the Golden Knights following a trade with Calgary.

Vegas played for the third time in four nights. The Knights lost 4-3 at Boston on Thursday night to open a four-game trip, then topped Toronto 6-3 on Friday night.

Golden Knights: At Montreal on Tuesday night.

Senators: Host Colorado on Wednesday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

It will surely go down as one of the more shocking results of the NHL season.

Playing their second game in less than 24 hours, the Ottawa Senators called up minor-league goaltender Mads Søgaard to start against the rested Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday evening.

Somehow, the Sens took down the Knights 7–1 at Canadian Tire Centre (17,025).

Sogaard was named the game's first star, making 19 saves, and had a chance to address the crowd afterward in a live post game interview with TSN. The Great Dane, who's dealt with so many injuries, spoke about how appreciative he was to play again for the fans in Ottawa.

"It's been a really long road back here and a lot of hard work a lot of really hard days," Sogaard told the media after the game. "But I have an amazing support system and they're the ones who helped me to get here. So I'm very thankful to get the opportunity and then super thankful for the guys to play as hard as they did."

Rookie Stephen Halliday led the way offensively with two goals and an assist, though he unfortunately left the game in the third period after being hit into the stanchion near the players’ bench. Halliday's head struck the stanchion and he fell hard to the ice, requiring some help to get up and head for the locker room.

Brady Tkachuk chipped in with three assists, Dylan Cozens scored twice, and Søgaard, appearing in just his second NHL game of the season, lost his shutout bid with less than five minutes left in the third period on a goal by newcomer Rasmus Andersson.

With the Senators playing the second game of a back-to-back, 37-year-old James Reimer was given the night off, while Linus Ullmark returned to Ottawa’s lineup after missing most of the past month while dealing with mental health issues. He served as Søgaard’s backup.

The Senators are back at it on Tuesday, hosting the Colorado Avalanche.

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The sky is the limit for Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond, who has not only emerged as one of the club's best players but has also proven to be a blessing in disguise after they inexplicably fell to fourth place in the 2020 Draft Lottery. 

Raymond, whom the Red Wings selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, has reached an offensive mark that hasn't been seen since their most recent Conn Smythe Trophy winner in Henrik Zetterberg. 

With his assist against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night, Raymond reached 40 assists on the season, becoming the first Red Wings skater since Henrik Zetterberg to record three consecutive seasons with at least 40 assists.

FYI: Lucas Raymond is the first #RedWings skater with three consecutive 40-assist seasons since Henrik Zetterberg, who had five from 2007-08 to 2011-12. pic.twitter.com/yAzNXMHajf

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 25, 2026

Zetterberg reached the 40+ assist mark in five consecutive seasons from their Stanley Cup-winning campaign of 2007-08 to 2011-12, which was the final season in the career of Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom. 

Not only did Raymond pick up an assist against the Jets, but he also tallied his 18th goal of the season and extended his point-streak to five games. 

If Raymond continues on his current trajectory, he's on pace to easily establish what would be a new career-high in points. 

Following his two-goal performance in Detroit's previous game, a 4-3 overtime setback against the Minnesota Wild, Raymond attested to how seriously he takes his work and constantly strives to improve. 

“Every year and offseason, you try to take steps towards being a better player,” he explained. “And for me, it’s no different. It’s about being curious and wanting to work on your craft to hopefully see your results.

I’m just trying to play my game and keep developing.”

J.T. Compher Scores Twice As Red Wings Ground Jets With 5-1 Victory The Detroit Red Wings ultimately earned five of a possible six points on their three-game road trip with Saturday evening's 5-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

The Red Wings, who moved back into first place in the Atlantic Division, continue to reap the benefits of what has proven to be an absolute steal of a selection by GM Steve Yzerman in the 2020 NHL Draft. 

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

SEATTLE (AP) — Matty Beniers and Berkly Catton scored 18 seconds apart in the third period, Joey Daccord made 27 saves and the Seattle Kraken beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Sunday.

Ryker Evans and Jordan Eberle also scored for Seattle, which has won three of their last 10 games. Beniers was playing in his 300th career NHL game.

Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes scored for the Devils. Jacob Markstrom stopped 15 shots in his sixth start in New Jersey’s last seven games. The Devils conclude their four-game Pacific Division road trip with a 3-1-0 record.

Hamilton opened the scoring 8:11 into the first period with a clean shot on the power play. Scoring his sixth goal of the season, Hamilton now has eight points in his last nine games.

Evans tied the game at 7:37 in the second period. The shot hit Johnathan Kovacevic’s stick and slipped through Markstrom’s pads, who appeared to be heavily screened.

Beniers and Catton scored back-to-back for Seattle, with their goals coming at 7:04 and 7:22 in the third period, respectively.

Hughes gave New Jersey its second power-play goal of the game at 8:14, benefiting from a bounce off Adam Larsson’s leg.

Eberle scored his 18th goal of the season on an empty net with 1:12 remaining in the game.

Up next

Kraken: Host Washington on Tuesday.

Devils: Host Winnipeg on Tuesday.

The most interesting moment of the Toronto Maple Leafs' 4-1 loss against the Colorado Avalanche didn't come on the ice.

During the third period of Sunday's game, TSN's broadcast panned up to the press box, where the Maple Leafs' scratches and injured players were sitting. Pictured were Philippe Myers, Calle Jarnkrok, Chris Tanev, Dakota Joshua, and William Nylander.

Just before the broadcast cut away from the players' box, Nylander spotted the camera and, with a smile, stuck up the middle finger.

LOL pic.twitter.com/qn8txRDMzJ

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) January 25, 2026

Hours after the game concluded, Nylander issued an apology, via his Instagram.

“Only love for Leafs Nation. Sorry about my moment of frustration today,” he wrote on his Instagram story. “Didn’t mean to upset anyone. Looking forward to being back on the ice and not in the stands. Love Willy.”

The 29-year-old is currently dealing with a groin injury, which he re-aggravated in Toronto's 6-5 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 15. Nylander scored a goal and an assist in the game but only played 2:17.

He's missed the last five games due to the ailment.

Nylander originally picked up the groin injury against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 27. It's unknown how the forward suffered the injury, which eventually forced him to miss six straight games before returning against the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 10.

The forward skated on Saturday, the first time he's been on the ice since re-aggravating the injury against the Golden Knights. Nylander and Joshua skated for 20 minutes before leaving the ice.

"We'll see where he progresses, and how he felt," said head coach Craig Berube on Saturday. "Hopefully, he can keep getting on the ice here and be ready to go. I can't give you a timeline on [his return] yet."

Despite missing 11 games from Dec. 27 to now, Nylander still leads the Maple Leafs with 17 goals and 48 points in 37 games. John Tavares is second among Toronto players with 19 goals and 44 points in 52 games.

Toronto's loss to Colorado was its fourth straight home defeat. The Maple Leafs have picked up just one point during that stretch, in an overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.

The Maple Leafs currently sit five points away from the second wild-card spot, held by the Boston Bruins. Toronto plays the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, and it's now arguably one of the biggest games of their season.

"We got to fix the execution part for me," said Berube after Sunday's loss to the Avalanche. "And then the battle level. When you get down in a game, we got to come together as a team and we got to fight through that, because it's going to happen. We all know that.

"But I think losing at home here, it's worn on our team a little bit. But that's pro sports and we got to all pull together here and get ready for Tuesday. We need a win."

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Linus Ullmark was in uniform as the backup goalie for the Ottawa Senators’ game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.

Mads Sogaard will start in net for Ottawa.

Ullmark has not played since Dec. 27 after taking a personal leave of absence from the team. The 32-year-old netminder missed 14 games. He's 14-8-5 with a 2.95 goals-against average this season.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but a former Philadelphia Flyers goalie is dominating for one of the NHL's hottest teams, and it may not be who you expect.

The Flyers were, at one point, one of those teams, though Dan Vladar has since gotten injured and slowed down overall.

They now find themselves five points back of the second wildcard spot and two points off third in the Metropolitan Division; either result would be satisfactory.

But, over the last few weeks, the once-lowly Buffalo Sabres exploded into third in the Atlantic Division from the bottom of the Eastern Conference, buoyed by a 10-game win streak that carried them into the New Year.

Leading the charge has been ex-Flyers goalie Alex Lyon, who signed with Buffalo this past offseason.

Flyers Playoff Odds Spike with Sensational Win vs. AvalancheThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> might have just saved their season with a sensational road trip punctuated by a 7-3 thrashing of the NHL's best team, the Colorado Avalanche.

Lyon, 33, has racked up an impressive 12-6-3 record for the Sabres this season to the tune of a 2.70 GAA and .911 save percentage, complemented by two shutouts.

For the sake of comparison, Lyon won a career-high 21 games with Detroit in 2023-24 and now has a clear opportunity to set a new personal best, so long as he can fend off Sabres teammates Colten Ellis and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for ice time.

Lyon shouldn't have too much of an issue doing that if he keeps up the way he's been playing, though.

Dating back to Dec. 9, the 6-foot-1 netminder has won nine straight appearances, and eight straight starts, including a 24-save effort in a 5-3 win against the Flyers on Dec. 18.

Flyers' High-Upside Prospect Changes Teams to Salvage Lost SeasonHaving played just 35 total games across the last two seasons, a high-upside <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> draft pick has made a move and decided to change teams in order to salvage a lost season of development.

Lyon did do his old Flyers club a favor by posting a 26-save shutout of the New York Islanders on Saturday in just his second game of January, but, with how inconsistent Sam Ersson and Aleksei Kolosov have been behind Vladar, we can be sure the Flyers would just prefer to have Lyon on their roster helping them directly instead of indirectly.

Anyhow, the Sabres have quickly become the story of the NHL this season after transforming a dismal start into a chance to become a rousing success should they reach the postseason.

Lyon, even through injury and a three-goalie rotation, has been at the forefront of that transformation.

1. Did Chris Drury have to announce that he's looking to peddle Breadman Panarin? Absolutely not! 

2. Hockey author and Seattle Kraken reporter Glenn Dreyfuss agrees that Drury is in error. "Exposing an asset you wish to trade goes against sports dealmaking," says Dreyfuss.

3. When The Maven asked Dreyfuss to amplify, he graciously added: "Never tell the world you want to make a trade; that diminishes the value of the player."

4. The fact that the Rangers had to reach out for goaltending help and haul in Spencer Martin, a KHL alumnus, tells you how bare the Blueshirts AHL cupboard is in Hartford.

5. Vic Morren, co-host with Neil Smith on the excellent podcast "NHL Wraparound," asks an interesting question about Alexis Lafrenière: "Do you see a buyout possibility here? This (Lafrenière) may be one of the most useless players in the NHL."

6. Hey, what if The Breadman decides he loves living in The Big Apple so much he wants to stay here in New York. "The Rangers got to get Panarin to change his mind," says Jess Rubenstein. "Right now he's not interested in waiving his no-movement clause."

7. Jess adds: "I'm guessing that Panarin is looking to extract either a new contract BEFORE any trade or to punish Drury for what he did to the core of the team."

8. You don't need analytics to figure these equations: With Sid Crosby, Geno Malkin and Kris Letang, Pitt coach Mike Sulllivan missed the playoffs for three straight years. With an aging Sid, Geno and Kris, and rookie coach Dan Muse – the Penguins are hell bent for a playoff berth.

9. I don't have to tell what a wonderful job Sully has done with The Beloved Blueshirts. The Pitt-Rangers comparison says it all!

10. Not that this falls into the "Surprise" category, but guess how The Athletic NHL staff graded the Rangers at the halfway mark of the season?

11. "F," as in Failure!

TORONTO (AP) — Brock Nelson scored twice in a 1:12 span in the first period and sealed his fifth career hat trick with an empty-netter in the Colorado Avalanche's 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.

Jack Drury also scored to help NHL-leading Colorado improve to 35-6-9. MacKenzie Blackwood made 32 saves.

Colorado became the fourth team in NHL history with six or fewer regulation losses through 50 games, joining the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers (35-3-12), 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens (38-5-7) and 1975-76 Canadiens (36-6-8).

The last team with at least 77 points through 50 contests was the 2022-23 Boston Bruins (38-7-5), who went on to set the NHL record for wins in a season with 65.

Max Domi had a late power-play goal for Toronto, and Joseph Woll stopped 33 shots. The Maple Leafs are 24-19-9.

The Maple Leafs had a 4-3 overtime victory in Denver on Jan. 12, but have dropped six of seven (1-4-2), including an ugly 0-3-1 start to their current five-game homestand following an 8-0-2 run.

Colorado became just the fourth team in NHL history with six or fewer regulation losses through 50 games, joining the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers (35-3-12), 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens (38-5-7) and 1975-76 Canadiens (36-6-8).

The last team with at least 77 points through 50 contests was the 2022-23 Boston Bruins (38-7-5), who went on to set the NHL record for wins in a season with 65.

Nelson opened the scoring at 6:19 of the first on a 2 on 1 before adding his second just over a minute later on a sneaky pass off the stick of Artturi Lehkonen from behind Woll’s net. He has 27 goals this season.

Nelson tied Alex DeBrincat and Kyle Connor — both with eight — for the third-most 25-goal seasons among active American players. The list is led by Patrick Kane (11) and Toronto captain Auston Matthews (10).

Avalanche: At Ottawa on Wednesday night.

Maple Leafs: Host Buffalo on Tuesday night.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl