The Detroit Red Wings already caught a glimpse of what goaltender Michal Postava can do at the NHL level.
Now, he could soon get another crack at it.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Red Wings announced that Postava had been called back up from the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins following an injury to John Gibson during Tuesday's 4-2 setback against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
UPDATE: The #RedWings have recalled Michal Postava from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins under emergency conditions and placed Albert Johansson on IR retroactive to October 24. pic.twitter.com/eWWsi1hFDR
In a corresponding move, defenseman Albert Johansson was placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to Oct. 24.
Gibson, who made 11 saves on the 13 shots he faced in the first period, did not return for the final 40 minutes of play; he was replaced by Daniil Tarasov.
Postava is just over a week removed from having picked up his first career NHL victory, a 4-3 shootout triumph over the high-powered offensive attack of the Edmonton Oilers.
Not only did he stop 25 of 28 shots during regulation and overtime, but he denied two of the NHL's most dangerous players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the subsequent shootout, before capping the night with a save on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to secure the victory.
Postava was called up late last month to the Red Wings under emergency conditions after Tarasov was injured during practice; he was then returned to the Griffins after Tarasov's return.
So far this season in Grand Rapids, Postava is a perfect 5-0 with a sparkling 1.20 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage.
The Red Wings signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2025 to a two-year pact with a salary cap hit of $975,000.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The Sharks dug themselves an early hole against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena, and they weren’t able to climb out as their offensive struggles continued in an eventual 7-2 loss.
San Jose’s third consecutive defeat featured two power-play goals — one from Macklin Celebrini in the second period that ended a six-game goal drought for the Sharks captain, and another by Ivar Stenberg in the third. But in both cases, the damage already had been done.
Celebrini made it 3-1 after the Kings scored on a trio of first-period goals. En route to his fifth career hat trick, Adrian Kempe scored two straight to put Los Angeles up 2-0, and Quinton Byfield gave the Kings a 3-0 advantage with a power-play goal as just over one minute remained in the first period.
Kempe, who entered the game with just three goals on the 2026-27 NHL season, completed his hat trick with just over four minutes left in the second period, scoring on the power play to make it 5-1 Los Angeles. In the third period, Joel Armia and Byfield extended their lead with the Kings’ sixth and seventh goals of the night.
One bright spot despite the loss was defenseman Eric Pohlkamp making his NHL debut after being recalled from the Barracuda on Tuesday afternoon.
“Just a lot of excitement,” Pohlkamp told reporters on Wednesday morning (h/t The Mercury News). “Obviously looking forward to this as a kid for a while, and there’s so many people to thank. Just growing up, the Cedar Rapids (USHL) organization, Denver University, Bemidji State, so I just can’t thank enough people. My family, of course. I’m just gonna enjoy this moment.”
Pohlkamp finished the game with three shot on goal in 17:37 of ice time. Michael Misa finished with a team-high two points after assisting on both Sharks goals, while goalie Yaroslav Askarov finished with a .741 save percentage in the loss.
Despite taking 32 shots on goal compared to the Kings’ 27, the Sharks weren’t able to take advantage of their opportunities. San Jose also went 2-for-6 on power-play opportunities, while Los Angeles was 3-for-5.
The Sharks now have scored just seven goals in their last five games, leading to a 1-4-0 record.
When the Florida Panthers take the ice tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks, Lars Eller will skate in his 1,200th regular-season game.
Eller was originally the 13th overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft, selected by the St. Louis Blues. Eller played just seven games for the Blues before moving on to the Montreal Canadiens.
He had some strong seasons with the Canadiens, but Eller shone brightest with the Washington Capitals. With the Capitals, Eller posted his career-high in goals and points and won the Stanley Cup in 2017-18. Eller was outstanding in that run, scoring seven goals and 18 points in 24 games.
Following his successful tenure with the Capitals, Eller had stops with the Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators and now the Panthers.
Eller has been solid for the Panthers, even if the offense isn't great. In 15 games, he's notched one goal and eight points while averaging 15:39 of ice time. Surprisingly, Eller hasn't been very successful in the faceoff dot, winning just 40.8 percent of his draws.
Although Eller is approaching a major milestone that just 141 other players in the NHL have achieved, Eller is still focused on earning the two points and not underestimating a weaker opponent.
“You underestimate that team, and they can beat us if we're not on top of our game,” said Eller. “We barely got by them in Chicago. I think they're going to be competitive. If we think it's going to be easy, we'll probably lose.”
The 37-year-old is slated to skate on the right wing of the third line with Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell. In the eight games they've spent time together, the Panthers’ third line has posted an expected goals percentage of 72.2 percent, according to moneypuck.com.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source.Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The Chicago Blackhawks (4-9-1) are 0-5-1 on the road, so they begin this road swing looking for their first victory away from the United Center. So far this season, the Blackhawks have been one of the worst teams in the NHL, but they have full belief that they can come out of this funk.
It won't be easy on this trip, as they are playing three of the Eastern Conference's best teams. It starts with the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night, followed by visits to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes.
Scouting Florida
The Florida Panthers (8-5-2) were just at the United Center last week. Florida mostly controlled play in that game, but the Blackhawks kept it close on the scoreboard. The game entered the 3rd period tied at 2, but Lars Eller's late goal gave the Panthers a regulation win.
Florida has a belief that they will lose if they don't play hard, regardless of who is on the other side. They are absolutely right, which is part of the reason they have been so successful during the 2020s. It's not easy to be the "Team of the Decade", and Florida may very well be that, depending on how it finishes for them.
Tkachuk – Bennett – Tkachuk
Verhaeghe – Reinhart – Vilmanis
Luostarinen – Lundell – Eller
Imama – Schwindt – Hathaway
Forsling – Ekblad
Mikkola – Jones
Kulikov – Balinskis
Markstrom
This is one of the best defensive teams in the league in terms of personnel on the back end. Gustav Forsling, Seth Jones, and Aaron Ekblad are all-star players because of what they do at such a high level, but Niko Mikkola and Dmitry Kulikov are also very good depth pieces for them who would have much larger roles on different teams.
Jacob Markstrom has been up and down over the last couple of years, but this team in front of him gives him a chance to win, which is improving his confidence.
At forward, they are without their captain and best player, Aleksander Barkov, due to injury, but he will be back this season. Without him, they still have plenty of other players who have been stars in the league for a long time.
Their top line, Sam Bennett centering the Tkachuk brothers, is no fun to play against. They are all high-end scorers who are mean and play on the edge. There is no post-whistle moment when they aren't mixing it up and looking for trouble.
Sam Reinhart is centering the second line, and he has incredible chemistry with Carter Verhaeghe, who has been a top goal scorer in the NHL. Their third line, centered by Anton Lundell, is definitely their checking line, but all three of these players can and will put the puck in the net. With the game being in Florida, Connor Bedard figures to see them a whole lot with the defensive pair of Aaron Ekblad and Gus Forsling out there.
When Barkov comes back, everyone shifts down a spot, which makes the team even deeper. The Blackhawks won't have to deal with him, but it's still incredibly hard to create a forecheck against them, and they can score as well as the best teams in the league.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Blackhawks were very similar to the modern-day Panthers in the 2010s. Everyone on the team could score, and they defended extremely well in front of an above-average goaltender.
These days, not so much. The 2026-27 Blackhawks allow a lot of goals, mostly never control play, and can't score. It's been a struggle, but all they can do is keep working on their game as the schedule continues to come at them in waves.
Kantserov - Bedard - Bertuzzi
Moore - Nazar - Donato
Smith - Frondell - Teravainen
Boucher - Greene - Greenway
Vlasic - Cole
Kaiser - Levshunov
Del Mastro - Rinzel
Knight
With Patrick Kane out due to an upper-body injury, things had to be switched up again. Both Jordan Greenway and Teuvo Teravainen are in, while Andrew Mangiapane is out.
The Blackhawks are also going to allow Dillon Boucher to play. At 29 years old, he will make his NHL debut against the Panthers. Boucher is not going to help the Blackhawks' scoring woes, but he is going to bring some physicality and toughness to the group. Against the Panthers, that may be needed.
The top line is loaded with Tyler Bertuzzi, Connor Bedard, and Roman Kantserov. This is a line that has the potential to do some damage.
On defense, there is still no Bowen Byram, who was placed on IR to make room for Boucher. Kevin Korchinski will remain the scratch, as Ethan Del Mastro will play on the third pair with Sam Rinzel. In goal, Spencer Knight will make his 2nd straight start, and 13th out of 16 games.
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. On television, it's a national broadcast on TNT, TruTV, and HBO Max. The puck will drop shortly after 6:30 PM CT.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.
With just over two and a half minutes left in regulation and the game seemingly decided, the Winnipeg Jets pulled off the latest four-goal comeback in NHL history Tuesday night, erasing a 4-0 deficit to tie the Montreal Canadiens, before then winning in overtime. The loss was also a sour one for Montreal, who were playing their first game in the club's new Hometown Remix jersey.
The moment beat the previous record for the latest start to a four-goal comeback, set by the Los Angeles Kings in November of 2007 when they began their comeback at 52:46, according to multiple sources. Sportsnet Stats also reported it was the fastest four goals against in Montreal Canadiens history.
It was a moment that stunned the hockey world with many interesting statistics and numbers coming out afterwards the further outlined how truly special the moment was.
According to Action Network, Montreal at one point held a 99 percent win probability, when up 4-0 with 2:31 remaining and around this time, Winnipeg's moneyline odds were as high as +7500, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. This means a $10 bet on the Jets to pull of the seemingly impossible would've netted betters $750 profit.
When looking at exceptionally rare the moment was, in 3,257 instances of an NHL team being scoreless and trailing by four or more goals with under three minutes remaining, the Jets were the only team to ever managed to do better than cut the deficit in half, according to OptaStats.
Also, the NHL posted, teams losing by four or more goals entering the final three minutes of regulation, regular season and playoff combined, are now 1-10,300 with the Jets victory on Tuesday.
The rally began when Tyrel Bauer scored the first goal of his NHL career. The 24-year-old former sixth round pick spent the last four seasons with the AHL's Manitoba Moose and finally made the jump to the pros this season.
It was a big night for the Cochrane, Alberta native, who added his first career assist on Winnipeg's second goal to further provoke a comeback. In 214 AHL games, Bauer posted 21 points and 401 penalty minutes.
Winnipeg scored five goals in total, with the final one coming in overtime. According to the NHL, it is only the fourth time a goaltender has allowed five goals after the 50-minute mark, and the first time it has happened in the final five minutes of a game.
The collapse marked the second straight game in which Canadiens goaltender Jacob Fowler allowed four or more goals. He has now done so just six times in 26 career NHL starts, having done it only four times before this week.
The win snapped a nine-game winless streak for the Jets, their longest drought since an 11-game losing streak stretched from mid-December to early January last season.
It was a truly historic moment and brought fans back to Winnipeg's memorable two-goal comeback in Game 7 of the first round in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs when under two minutes left in the game, the Jets scored twice with Cole Perfetti scoring the tying goal with 1.6 seconds left in the game before captain Adam Lowry won the game in overtime.
It was another stellar effort by a Jets group that never says die and will look to keep momentum going Thursday when hosting the Vancouver Canucks.
The Vegas Golden Knights may have found the formula to turn a frustrating stretch into something far more promising.
And it starts with special teams.
Two games into their four-game road trip, the Golden Knights have collected three of a possible four points, showing renewed resilience after a difficult stretch in which victories had become increasingly elusive.
Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguinswas particularly revealing. Vegas didn't dominate offensively, didn't overwhelm Pittsburgh with scoring chances and certainly didn't make things easy on itself.
But when the game demanded execution, its power play and penalty kill delivered.
Tomas Hertl scored twice with the man advantage, including the winner with 35 seconds remaining, as Vegas converted two of four power-play opportunities. The Golden Knights have now scored at least one power-play goal in four consecutive games, helping a unit that ranks sixth in the NHL at 29.4 percent, converting 15 of 51 opportunities.
The bigger development, however, may be happening at the opposite end of special teams.
After struggling to prevent power-play goals earlier this season, Vegas successfully killed all six Pittsburgh opportunities, including a critical 1:22 two-man disadvantage late in the third period.
The sequence changed everything.
Rather than surrendering a potentially devastating goal, the Golden Knights survived the two-man disadvantage without allowing a shot on goal. Pittsburgh's Tommy Novak was subsequently penalized for tripping, and Hertl delivered the winner.
The performance was particularly encouraging considering Vegas entered the road trip with one of the NHL's least effective penalty kills.
Tuesday's perfect effort lifted that figure to 73.9 percent, with the Golden Knights having successfully killed 34 of 46 opposing power plays. That leaves Vegas tied for 21st in the league, hardly an elite ranking but a meaningful step toward establishing greater defensive reliability.
There is still work ahead. Vegas has surrendered too many quality opportunities and continues searching for the defensive consistency that defined its better stretches.
But the Golden Knights are beginning to demonstrate something equally important: the ability to survive difficult moments without allowing them to dictate the outcome.
With Detroit awaiting Thursday, the special teams may be providing the foundation for a much-needed turnaround.
Connelly delivering in big moments
Trevor Connelly is rapidly establishing himself as more than an exciting young prospect.
The 20-year-old has scored game-tying goals in consecutive games, including a breakaway finish midway through the third period on Tuesday after Pittsburgh took a 2-1 lead.
His assist on Hertl's first-period power-play goal Tuesday extended his personal point streak to 11 games, giving him 16 points during that stretch.
Marner's vision and ability to create shooting opportunities have been especially valuable on the man advantage, where his chemistry with Hertl and Mark Stone continues to develop.
With Jack Eichel also collecting two assists against Pittsburgh, Vegas has the offensive foundation necessary to sustain its production.
The challenge now is translating that creativity into more consistent five-on-five scoring.
Three points earned, more work ahead
The Golden Knights enter Thursday's game at Detroit with a 10-5-2 record and three points from the first two games of their four-game trip.
Perhaps more important than the results has been their response to adversity.
Vegas rallied to force overtime in Boston before surviving Pittsburgh's third-period comeback attempt the following night.
Adin Hill stopped 23 shots Tuesday, while the Golden Knights demonstrated the defensive determination necessary to survive a late two-man disadvantage.
After losing five of six games, Vegas has an opportunity to build momentum rather than simply stop the bleeding.
Thursday's matchup with Detroit offers another chance to demonstrate that the improved execution and resilience are becoming sustainable.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring the game-winning power-play goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at PPG Paints Arena.
In just a few more weeks, teams around the NHL will open for trade business as they find out who and what their rosters really are, and the Philadelphia Flyers, who will have to make an important decision in that regard themselves, have been busy scouting around the league.
Typically, around Thanksgiving, NHL teams tend to assess if they are playoff-caliber or not, and plan their future business accordingly.
The Flyers, who have won just four of their first 17 games this season, are obvious candidates to become sellers up to and through the NHL trade deadline in March. All signs indicate that general manager Danny Briere and Co. will remain patient with the current Flyers roster until the end of the month before making any big decisions.
In preparation of having to make a tough call on some players, the Flyers have been out and about around the NHL, taking in all kinds of different games.
Previously, we noted that Flyers president Keith Jones had traveled to watch recent games, including Devils-Senators, Rangers-Kings, and Blackhawks-Canadiens.
The latter is especially interesting, given that, on Tuesday night, the Flyers had a heavy contingent in attendance for another Montreal Canadiens game.
According to The Hockey News's own Karine Hains in Montreal, Flyers assistant general manager Alyn McCauley, as well as Lehigh Valley Phantoms coaches John Snowden, Nick Schultz, Terrence Wallin, and Patrick McDonough, were all on-site to watch the Canadiens take on the Winnipeg Jets.
Now, the Phantoms crew isn't terribly unusual, given that the Phantoms will be playing against the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, on Wednesday night.
In McCauley's case, though, this is the second time in recent weeks the Flyers have had an executive - McCauley and Jones - at a Canadiens game.
Despite the Canadiens' epic choke in an eventual 5-4 overtime loss to the Jets, they're still sixth in the NHL with a 9-3-3 record, and second in the Atlantic Division behind the 11-4-1 Boston Bruins.
So, if anything, that loss to the Jets reinforces the fact that the Canadiens are in prime position to be buyers on the trade market throughout the year, something the Flyers could help them with.
Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj has long been linked to the Flyers in trade rumors; that seems to be the most obvious connection between the two teams.
The Flyers, in need of centers themselves, aren't in a position to offer the Canadiens an important piece behind Nick Suzuki, though Montreal would surely appreciate Philadelphia's breadth of wingers for depth purposes.
Again, we're still at least 2-3 weeks away from trade season officially getting underway around the NHL, but it's notable that, as they continue to flounder, the Flyers are obviously taking notes around the NHL, doing their due dilligence.
And the longer these struggles continue, the more likely the Flyers are to aim for a big change somewhere along the food chain.
PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 24: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates during the game against the Nashville Predators at PPG PAINTS Arena on October 24, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Another night, another winnable game flushed down the toilet for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
They played a strong 5-on-5 game against one of the best teams in the league, but went 0-for-6 on the power play, failed to record a shot on goal on an extended 5-on-3 with three minutes to play in regulation, immediately took a penalty after, and then allowed Vegas to score its second power play goal of the game in the closing seconds to turn a 2-1 third period lead into a 3-2 regulation loss.
Honestly, a brutal night, and continues a start that has seen the Penguins win just two of their first 15 games in regulation (and only five games overall) and sit in 15th place (by points percentage) in the Eastern Conference and in 28th place across the NHL.
A few thoughts on all of that.
1. I said this a couple of weeks ago in a similar random thoughts post, but if you were on the train of the Penguins having a down year for draft pick positioning to get the potential future star they need, this might be your year.
We are more than a month into the season.
American Thanksgiving is just a couple of weeks away.
Teams that start off like the Penguins have do not typically make the playoffs. It is getting very late, very early in that regard.
When the season began there were a lot of variables that were going to make or break the Penguins outlook for the 2026-27 season. There was a reasonably high ceiling if a lot of things went right. There was a reasonably low floor if a lot of those things went in the opposite direction. Right now a lot of them are not going right.
2. High on that list is the play of defenseman Declan Carlile. It seems like every time something bad happens, he is at the center of it. That is especially true late in games, in high-leverage situations. The Penguins coaching staff seems to have complete trust in him, and there is not much at this point to validate that trust. I could see what the Penguins were doing with him when they signed him, and what the hope was. I had some hopes for it and thought he had a chance to be a good player. So far, it’s going poorly and I’m not sure how you keep running him out there.
3. Next on the list is Andrei Kuzmenko, and this one is becoming an especially big problem because you do have other people that can easily step in and replace him.
Look, I want the guy to do well. For a lot of reasons. But right now, no matter what spot they put him in, it’s an empty spot. They are not getting anything out of it. He has one assist and nine shots on goal in 11 games. Avery Hayes can bring some energy. Rutger McGroarty could use another look. Hell, even when Elmer Soderblom is healthy enough to play again he should be an option for something in the lineup.
4. If there is a positive development through all of this, and including Tuesday’s game, it is that the first line seems to have found some life. The past two games from them have been, by far, their two best games of the season, and Sidney Crosby has looked more like Sidney Crosby. And now that they seem to be back, everything else has fallen off. Not ideal.
5. Going back to the first point here, I have been workshopping a theory that the best path forward for a rebuild (and I will still argue with anyone in a steel cage match that this IS a rebuild, even if it is not what you thought it would look like in terms of gutting everything down to the ground) is having a random bad year with a roster that isn’t completely gutted. I still need to look into this more. I still need to research it more. But the theory is mostly based around the idea that a lot of this is just luck and good timing.
It’s not enough to just intentionally get really bad for a year or two and get a No. 1 overall pick and a few more high picks around that and wait for Stanley Cups to roll in.
You have to get the RIGHT No. 1 overall pick, and it has to be in the right situation.
This is especially true with the new lottery format and the new lottery rules where the worst record could result in you picking as low as third overall.
Or not being quite bad enough to finish with the worst record to even guarantee that. Maybe you’re only the second-or third-worst team in the league and end up picking fifth or sixth.
If you get your team down to the studs in the hopes landing that next franchise player, it has to be a true generational talent like a Crosby, an Ovechkin, or a McDavid.
Even a really good, or potentially “great” player (Connor Bedard? Rasmus Dahlin?) isn’t going to be enough to make up for how far your organization has to come back. I think that’s why you’re seeing so many of these teams that have gone into these full-scale tanking rebuilds over the past 10-15 years that have never been able to claim out of it. Or are still so far away from climbing out of it. Chicago. San Jose. Detroit. These teams still mostly stink. Look at how long it took Buffalo. It’s taken Ottawa eight years just to become a fringe wild-card team. Anaheim has great young forwards, but it’s not close to a contender.
The closest player any of those teams have to a Crosby/Ovechkin/McDavid level player is Macklin Celebrini, and while he is GREAT, he is still a tier below those guys.
The key, I think, is having one of those bad years that isn’t necessarily an “intentional” tank, getting yourself a top pick, and having that pick come into an environment where there are still NHL-caliber players around and there isn’t as much building to be done.
That’s kind of what happened with Colorado and when it landed Nathan MacKinnon.
That’s kind of what happened with Carolina when it ended up with Andrei Svechnikov.
That’s kind of what happened with Tampa Bay and Steven Stamkos.
Even though those teams ended up with really high picks and franchise players, they were not situations where it was a full-scale tear down. They were not coming into situations where it was going to take a decade to build it back up around them. Those teams still had really good NHL players on them, and were reasonably competitive teams within the previous two or three years.
That’s kind of why I am intrigued by the Islanders with Matthew Schaefer and Toronto with Gavin McKenna. They got their superstars, but they didn’t intentionally light their entire organization on fire to do it. It just kind of happened naturally, and there are still good players around them. They might not be contenders right now, but I want to see how the next few years go for them as opposed to, say, Chicago.
I know Penguins fans like to point to how the Penguins landed Mario Lemieux and Crosby, but those are NHL environments that no longer exist, and circumstances that can never be duplicated. The Crosby situation was an insane sequence of events that had a different lottery format than now, and required a completely lost season from the league to give them the lottery odds they needed … and it all happened around the best prospect since Lemieux entering the league. It was a perfect storm you will never, ever duplicate. You can not. You will not.
Lemieux happened before the draft lottery (and even then it took six years to pay off on a team level).
You are never repeating that again.
Teams that try to repeat aren’t succeeding.
Maybe this Penguins team is bad. Maybe it gets a lottery puck. If it does, they are still going to have competent NHL players on the roster around it and a nearly clean salary cap slate in the coming seasons.
Maybe this team being organically bad is the best thing that could possibly happen.
TAHOE, NV - FEBRUARY 20: Lawn chairs around a fire pit in the snow during the Bridgestone NHL Outdoor game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, February, 20, 2021 at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Lake Tahoe, Nev. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
In what was the longest teaser campaign in NHL history including multiple leaks and even an unfortunate one suggesting the Altitude TV logo was getting repurposed, the official Hometown Remix sweater for the Colorado Avalanche is now revealed!
The “fully frosted” concept has been realized with icy blue hue throughout the sweater including a color gradient on the numbers. Aside from those details, this is pretty much the last reverse retro in a new color scheme or a remake of Colorado’s first stadium series look.
These jerseys are easy on the eyes, they won't be easy on the pocketbook.
Premium jerseys with a player name are $300.00, while blank jerseys are $260.00. The authentic version is a staggering $550.00. #GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/amAq21n1gx
After all this hype, the club is only scheduled to wear the threads on six occasions beginning with the upcoming game against Detroit on Saturday, November 7th. Perhaps the Red Wings will bring their Hometown Remix sweater with them on the road, too?
As we turn the calendar into November, here’s one last glimpse at the Halloween festivities including newcomers Fedor Svechkov and Zach L’Heureux enjoying a haunted house on Peak Access along with the usual highlights of games in October.
The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that they displayed resolve and resilience against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday evening.
The bad news is that their first half of the contest was extremely sluggish, which ultimately cost them a chance at points in the standings.
The Lightning badly outshot the Red Wings in the opening 20 minutes of play, getting a pair of goals from forward Brayden Point en route to what was a 4-2 win at Benchmark International Arena.
Making matters even more complicated for the Red Wings is that goaltender John Gibson departed after the first period with an injury and did not return; Daniil Tarasov took over.
Against a team like the Lightning, essentially taking an entire period off isn't going to cut it.
"Today, I think probably only about 30 minutes of hockey that was good enough to get points, and that’s too good of a team to spot them a first period like we did tonight," said forward J.T. Compher, who scored early in the third period. "We didn’t execute well enough. We weren’t quick enough. We weren’t battling hard enough. And you’re going to have stretches of that, but it can’t be periods - maybe a couple of shifts in a row and then snap back into it.
We spotted them a period, and we weren't able to battle all the way back."
The Red Wings began flipping the script at the midway point of the second period when Lucas Raymond tallied his sixth goal of the season. They had multiple chances in the third period to knot the score after Compher cut the lead to one goal at the 5:29 mark, but couldn't come up with the equalizer.
"I think early in the game, we weren't skating hard enough to draw penalties, and in the third, our details and work ethic were much better and gave us some chances," Compher said. "But we weren't able to capitalize."
“Obviously, we were the second-best team. We would’ve been the third-best team if there was three playing, but not a lot of jump or pop right off the bat, we took some penalties, so their best players began to feel really good about the game.
We defended with basically one player at a time, the other four were basically standing still, and they're (Lightning players) in constant motion," he said. "Real tough start for us, but on the bright side, it didn’t look good, but we found a way to claw back in there.”
The Red Wings return home to face the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday evening.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Korpisalo, the veteran goaltender who has been sidelined since the season opener with a foot infection, will begin a conditioning stint with AHL Hartford on Wednesday against Hershey, according to The Post’s Mollie Walker.
Access the Rangers beat like never before
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting withMollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.
It’s unclear how many games the 32-year-old will need before being ready for an NHL match, but in an early portion of the season that has already been filled with goaltending chaos, this marked another encouraging sign for the Rangers.
After resuming skating on his own in late October, Korpisalo returned to practice — for a portion of the session — Friday and gradually built up to being a full participant from there.
He has been a regular presence on the ice since, including during the Rangers’ morning skate before their win against the Blues on Tuesday.
Head coach Mike Sullivan said on multiple occasions this week he was still uncertain about a concrete timeline for Korpisalo playing in games in the near future, but he reiterated that they’ve been encouraged with his recovery to this point.
Rangers goalie Joonas Korpisalo will begin a conditioning stint with AHL Hartford. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Now, that plan has started to come into focus.
The Rangers acquired Korpisalo from the Bruins in exchange for 2028 fourth-round pick and forward prospect Kalle Vaisanen in the summer.
He went 14-9-6 with an .894 save percentage last year in Boston and has collected a .900 save percentage, along with a 3.06 goals against average, across his 334-game NHL career.
Joonas Korpisalo (70) of the New York Rangers traps a puck against the post during a game against the New Jersey Devils in New York, Sept. 24, 2026. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Dylan Garand, a 24-year-old rookie, has appeared in 11 consecutive games with Igor Shesterkin out for the season and Korpisalo on long-term injured reserve, with James Reimer serving as the current backup for Garand after turning a professional tryout agreement with the Wolf Pack into an NHL deal.
In the only game Reimer starter, he allowed three goals on eight shots and was pulled in favor of Garand, who was supposed to be getting the night off given his heavy workload.
As the Detroit Red Wings and interim general manager Shawn Horcoff continue to work through the Dylan Larkin trade situation, more reports have shown a lack of motivation among some teams on Larkin's ten-team trade list to go out and acquire the two-way center.
On Monday, TSN's Chris Johnston said on his podcast, The Chris Johnston Show, that some of the teams on the list are "not desperate to get something done." He singled out the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils and Utah Mammoth as teams sharing that feeling, saying they are cautiously waiting to see what Larkin would cost.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said this past Saturday on Rogers Saturday Night Hockey, during his Saturday Headlines segment, that teams showing little interest may be removed from the list in favor of other interested parties.
According to Friedman and a collection of other reports, those teams include the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights. That could open the door for reportedly interested teams like the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues to get their offers in front of Larkin.
As of Wednesday, however, reports haven't indicated that any change has been made to his list. Other reports from Friedman suggest the new price tag for Larkin is young centers, whether in the NHL or on the verge.
More reports have backed up the lack of action among the teams already on Larkin's list. Insider Pierre LeBrun, appearing on TSN's Insider Trading on Tuesday, said the Red Wings have "exhausted every option" with the teams on the list, and that a change to the list would be welcomed by Detroit, since it would let the team explore better options and better return packages.
Two offers are currently reported to be on the table. According to LeBrun, the Capitals have offered young winger Ilya Protas, a former 2024 third-round pick who is not a center.
The Minnesota Wild's offer has long been rumored to center on young forward and former first-round pick Danila Yurov, along with multiple first-round picks, according to Friedman.
With a change to Larkin's list potentially coming soon, those two clubs may be motivated to improve their offers before another team comes along and lands the 30-year-old Michigan native.
Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Since Connor Hellebuyck joined the New Jersey Devils, he’s been rock solid and hasn’t missed a beat despite missing training camp. He’s 3-0 as a starter, allowing the Devils to move to 10-5 for the season.
An elite goaltender changes the dynamics of a team and raises the ceiling. It also changes how the opponent plays, knowing they won’t find many easy goals. “He’s a big, solid goaltender who reads the play well. He’s athletic, all the things a goalie needs to be; he has it,” Edmonton Oilers forward Jason Dickinson noted after the 4-3 Devils win in a shootout.
The Oilers were the first test for Hellebuyck. They entered the game with an offense that averaged 4.20 goals per game, and while they only generated 21 shots on net, they forced him to make plenty of difficult saves. The Oilers were also the first team this season to provide a blueprint for the rest of the league to beat Hellebuyck.
Oilers Provide A Blueprint To Score On Hellebuyck
Hellebuyck sees the initial shot and makes the easy saves. Moreover, he tracks the play and anticipates where the puck is going better than most goaltenders in the game. In short, he has the mind and the athletic ability to stop any offense.
Opponents know it. “When you’ve got a good goalie, you’ve got to make it hard on him. I thought our first goal was exactly that,” Oilers head coach Mike Babcock stated after the game. The first goal saw the Oilers move the puck around in the offensive zone, and a cross-ice pass to defenseman Evan Bouchard allowed him to fire it to the back of the net as Hellebuyck was skating laterally.
The Oilers tried to find open looks with Hellebuyck out of position, and similarly, they wanted to get into his sightlines and deflect pucks to the back of the net. “You gotta find ways to make him move a bit more than he wants to, get in his eyes to make him fight to see more pucks, and make his night harder for him,” Dickinson added.
Hellebuyck thrives on reading the play, and when he can’t see it, it’s harder for him to do so. Likewise, the quick passing that sets up open looks and shots in the slot results in goals. Those are easier to find on the power play, which the Oilers did in the recent game, scoring two of their three goals on the man advantage.
It’s Easier Said Than Done, Especially With The Way The Devils Defense Has Played
The Oilers have the second-best offense in the NHL and the talent to generate these open looks on the net. Not many teams do. Connor McDavid has 40 points in 16 games, and Evan Bouchard has nine goals as a defenseman. They not only open things up for the rest of the skaters on the ice, but they also find the back of the net themselves when needed.
Even in a league where offense is trending up, with 22 teams averaging over three goals per game, few have the high-end talent to create these open looks. Hellebuyck not only can stop these teams but can take over games against them, making the Devils one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and the NHL.
The Devils are also a different team since Hellebuyck’s arrival. They’ve played with more energy and, more importantly, with more confidence on the defensive end, knowing the goaltender behind them can make the big save.
“I think since Hellebuyck’s arrival, it's given the team an extra boost for sure, standing a little bit taller,” Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe stated after the win over the Oilers. The defense is playing Keefe’s system with more discipline and is working around Hellebuyck’s strengths, knowing he can make the easy saves. It allowed them to limit the Dallas Stars to one goal in a 5-1 win on Oct. 27 and halt the Vegas Golden Knights to two goals on Oct. 30, in Hellebuyck’s previous two starts.
It’s The Playoffs When The Devils Must Be Weary Of Hellebuyck
The Oilers played the type of game offensively that many teams in the playoffs do. They didn’t just pepper Hellebuyck with shots; they made the smart passes to generate scoring chances.
In the playoffs, teams know Hellebuyck is one of the elite goaltenders and plan their game accordingly. They not only move the puck effectively; they also pick their targets, specifically, with top-shelf shots while Hellebuyck is moving. Bouchard scored his goal with a high slapshot to the far-side post, while McDavid scored in the shootout by putting the puck past the glove.
Most teams in the playoffs have offenses that can generate these looks on the net. It’s why Hellebuyck, despite all of his regular-season success, has come up short in the playoffs, only reaching the conference final round once in his career.
For the Devils, the key is playing the same defensively in front of Hellebuyck and limiting those chances. It’s not something they can achieve overnight, but it’s something they can work towards. With a long season ahead, it’s a task they will look to accomplish, allowing them to enter the playoffs prepared and ready for a run.
There aren't many people who would have stuck around for all of it.
For a while, being an Edmonton Oiler meant spending April cleaning out your locker and watching the playoffs from home, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins lived through it all. And now, 15 years after arriving in Edmonton as an 18-year-old first-overall pick, he's played more games in an Oilers uniform than anyone else in franchise history.
Nugent-Hopkins passed Kevin Lowe's record of 1,037 games last night against the New Jersey Devils, adding another accomplishment to a career that began when Edmonton selected him in the 2011 NHL Draft.
And what a career it's been.
When Nugent-Hopkins arrived in Edmonton, the Oilers were coming off consecutive last-place finishes. Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle were supposed to help lead the organization out of its rebuild, and the 18-year-old from Burnaby was another piece of that plan.
He scored in his NHL debut against Pittsburgh, finished his rookie season with 52 points in 62 games, and became one of Edmonton's most promising young players.
Nugent-Hopkins went his first five NHL seasons without a playoff appearance, played through the final years of the Decade of Darkness, including coaching changes, questionable roster decisions, and plenty of empty seats at Rexall Place.
The Oilers drafted Nail Yakupov first overall in 2012, then Hall got traded to New Jersey in 2016, Eberle left for the Islanders a year later, and Nugent-Hopkins eventually became one of the few remaining players from that original rebuild.
Of course, he was also there when Connor McDavid was drafted.
The Oilers returned to the playoffs in 2017, ending an 11-year drought, though another two seasons without postseason hockey followed. Through it all, Nugent-Hopkins continued to play whatever role Edmonton needed.
Originally drafted as a top-line centre, he eventually moved to the wing, became a regular on the penalty kill, and developed into an important piece of Edmonton's power play. He's played alongside McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, centred his own line, and done just about anything else asked of him
His willingness to adapt has probably cost him some individual recognition over the years.
There was, however, that 2022-23 season.
Nugent-Hopkins scored 37 goals and 104 points in 82 games, becoming the third member of Edmonton's offence to reach 100 points that year. It was his first 100-point season, coming more than a decade after he entered the league.
He now has 294 goals, 517 assists, and 811 points in an Oilers uniform. He ranks among the franchise's all-time leaders in each category, despite spending much of his career playing behind some of the greatest talents the organization has ever had.
Nugent-Hopkins played an important role in Edmonton's runs in 2024 and 2025, finally getting the opportunity to compete for a cup after spending his early twenties rarely making the playoffs.
He still hasn't won the Cup, something that would certainly complete a career that has already given him just about everything else.
Plenty of players have come through Edmonton over the past 16 seasons, some by choice and others through trades that were supposed to improve the team. Nugent-Hopkins has remained through all of it, signing an eight-year extension in 2021 that made his intentions to finish his career in Edmonton pretty clear.
"This was the dream when I got drafted, and I haven't wavered throughout my whole career that I want to be an Edmonton Oiler," Nugent-Hopkins said on Tuesday. "Start my career here, finish my career here. It means a ton to me."
McDavid, who has spent his entire NHL career alongside Nugent-Hopkins, also acknowledged what his teammate has meant to the organization.
"You think early in his career, they missed the playoffs for however many years, and not a lot of guys get to see a rebuild all the way through and see the other side of it," McDavid said. "He's done that, and it's a big credit to him for his commitment to the city, to the organization, and to the fanbase."
It's fitting that Nugent-Hopkins now holds a record previously belonging to Lowe, another player whose career was closely tied to the Oilers organization.
Lowe won five Stanley Cups in Edmonton and was part of the franchise's greatest era. Nugent-Hopkins has spent his career trying to help bring another cup back to this city.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source.Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
On Tuesday, the Chicago Blackhawks did not have practice ahead of leaving for their road trip. They will begin the trip with a match against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise. Florida is still a very good team and already has a win over the Blackhawks this season.
For this trip, the Blackhawks will be without Patrick Kane, who was injured (upper body) in Monday's loss to the Colorado Avalanche at the United Center.
To make sure that they have enough forwards with them on the trip, the Blackhawks called up forward Dillon Boucher from the Rockford IceHogs. To make room on the roster, they placed Bowen Byram on Injured Reserve. The transaction is retroactive to 10/15, so Byram can return at any time.
Boucher is not someone who is going to come in and help the Blackhawks offensively. He has 0 points in 7 games played with Rockford and has been a healthy scratch over their last few games. He is an enforcer who is not afraid to drop the mitts, but it would be surprising if he dresses at all for the Blackhawks unless there is another injury on the trip.
When Kane went down, the initial plan was to call Nick Lardis back up. Lardis started the year in the NHL after a strong finish last year and a good camp/preseason, but was sent down after a slow start to the regular season. That was unable to be the move due to the fact that Lardis is now injured. Rockford announced on Tuesday that Lardis would miss 1-2 weeks with a lower-body injury.
Lardis would have been a good call-up, as he has started to get going with his point production in the AHL. He just needed to regain some confidence, and it appears to be back. In 7 games played, he has 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points.
Boucher being the call-up is surprising, but the Blackhawks likely know that whoever they call up isn't going to play, and there are certain players that they would rather suit up for the IceHogs during that time.
For one, Dominic Toninato and Landon Slaggert, who are usually the top-two call-up candidates, but there might be something to them helping the IceHogs win instead of sitting in an NHL press box.
Three prospects, Sacha Boisvert, AJ Spellacy, and Marek Vanacker, entered camp hoping to eventually play in the NHL this season. Boisvert made his NHL debut last spring, while the other two are waiting for that day.
It hasn't been the start to their 2026-27 AHL season that they had hoped for. They went in trying to force their way up to the NHL, but that hasn't happened. All of them bring something a little bit different, but they are all players who are expected to contribute offensively. The reality is that all three players have a combined 0 points.
Points are not everything, but the Blackhawks would like their top three AHL prospects to get on the board and start to build a resume worthy of a look in the NHL. Of course, being a sound defensive player is first and foremost when trying to carve an NHL career, but you also have to contribute a little bit if you're going to stick around.
On Thursday, the IceHogs will visit the Iowa Wild. On Saturday, they will host the Grand Rapids Griffins in Rockford. During this stretch, these three prospects would love to score. That would also help the IceHogs improve on their lousy 4-6-0-0 start. Their 8 standing points already have them 10 behind the Griffins for first in their division. Without contributions from these young players, they will fall way out of it quickly.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.
