The Detroit Red Wings have recalled veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins as an insurance option in case young blueliner Simon Edvinsson requires time to recover from a lower body injury sustained during Wednesday’s game against the Calgary Flames. The club has not yet provided a timetable for Edvinsson’s recovery, but the recall signals that his status is at least somewhat uncertain.
Gustafsson has already appeared in one NHL game for Detroit this season. In that outing he logged seventeen and a half minutes, registered two shots on goal and finished minus one in a loss to the last place Nashville Predators. Known as an offensive defenseman, he provided the type of puck movement Detroit expected from him but did not get on the scoresheet during his brief appearance.
There has been growing attention surrounding Gustafsson in recent weeks, with multiple reports linking the former Ranger to New York. Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman has noted that the Rangers are looking for a power play quarterback who can fill in while Adam Fox remains out on long term injured reserve. Friedman included Gustafsson among the players the Rangers have checked in on, and his familiarity with their system plus his affordability makes him a logical short term target.
For the Red Wings the recall could serve several purposes as Edvinsson has already missed time this season due to what was described as an illness, and if the current injury lingers the team may prefer to let him recover fully rather than rush him back. At the same time Gustafsson gets an opportunity to showcase his value at the NHL level. If he performs well Detroit could benefit by boosting his trade stock ahead of a potential move. He has been a productive presence with Grand Rapids where he has recorded twelve assists in thirteen games and has been one of the Griffins’ most reliable veterans.
Gustafsson played 76 games for the Rangers during the 2023-24 season and finished with six goals and 25 assists for 31 points. Across ten NHL seasons he has appeared in 516 games. His best year came with Chicago in 2018-19 when he posted 60 points and established himself as one of the league’s more dynamic offensive defensemen.
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In a subscriber Q&A ran by The Athletic, questions were asked to St. Louis Blues assistant GM Tim Taylor. Questions ranged from prospects attending the world juniors to how some of their youngsters were performing in the AHL with the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Plenty of questions were asked about a boatload of prospects, but the current development trajectory of 2023 first-round picks Otto Stenberg and Theo Lindstein seemed to stand out.
Stenberg's 2025-26 season has been odd. In training camp and pre-season, he was noticeable for all the right reasons and caught the eye of coach Jim Montgomery several times. He demonstrated the skill that earned him the 25th overall selection, but he also showed a genuine desire to win puck battles and engage physically.
He was one of the final cuts during training camp, and the excitement following his strong pre-season was at an all-time high. Expectations grew, and the hope was that he would be a dominant force in the AHL. However, through 20 games, the 20-year-old has scored just two goals and seven points.
Despite that, Taylor and the Blues are happy with Stenberg's development.
"Otto is a very smart player. He doesn’t gain a lot of recognition around the ice because he does things that look easy, and he’s always in the right spot at the right time. He got his feet wet last season, and now he’s going through the trials and tribulations. It’s kind of like his second-year pro, where guys fall off a little bit, but then they get going again. He had a tough time at the start points-wise, but we’re happy with his play. I could see him playing some NHL games this year."
Lindstein, a fellow Swede and the third player the Blues drafted in the first round of the 2023 NHL draft, has also struggled a bit to put up points, but the Blues are big fans of other parts of his game. Taylor was asked if Minnesota Wild's Jonas Brodin was a good comparable for Lindstein, and Taylor was thrilled to see the comparison.
"This fan really knows their hockey — Brodin is a real good example! Theo has taken a big jump since the start of the year. The ebbs and flows of his game, it’s been really good. I thought it was going to be a harder transition, and we’d have to be patient with him. But he’s been a real pleasant surprise in that he’s handled the AHL grind very well. He’s the type of player where his growth is on a high incline from the start of the year until now."
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ELMONT, NY -- New York Islanders forward Jonathan Drouin (lower back) won't return against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night but is expected to return against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon.
"He looks really good," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said following Thursday's morning skate. "We'll see if he's ready to play against Tampa, but I think there's a good chance he will be."
Drouin, 30, rejoined the Islanders for a team skate for the first time since warming up against the Colorado Avalanche a week ago before being a late scratch.
Jonathan Drouin (back) joining #Isles for morning skate. First skate back with the team since taking warmups against the Avalanche. Was a late scratch.
He did not travel with the team for their back-to-back against the Lightning and Florida Panthers this past weekend, as he was getting treatment on Long Island.
One of the biggest challenges of the season awaits the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.
Fresh off an exhilarating, last-minute victory over the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday, the Panthers will complete a back-to-back set when they face off against the NHL-best Colorado Avalanche.
Florida will be searching for a season-high fourth straight victory and are attempting to turn a corner toward positivity following a tough start to their season.
That’s not terribly surprising considering the injury issues that Florida has had to endure.
The Panthers just got forward Eetu Luostarinen back in the lineup over the past week but have still yet to see Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk or Tomas Nosek this season and have lost Dmitry Kulikov, Jonah Gadjovich and Cole Schwindt to in-season injuries they have yet to return from.
Still, despite all that, the Cats are giving off some strong vibes lately, picking up wins over the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders and Mammoth over the past few days.
Now, though, Florida will face a team in the Avalanche who have lost just twice in regulation all season.
Colorado is an eye-popping 21-2-7, with their 49 points keeping them perched high atop the rest of the NHL.
To put that into perspective, no team in the Eastern Conference has even cracked 40 points yet.
As for the Panthers, their recent surge has moved them past Toronto, Columbus and the Ottawa Senators in the standings.
Entering play Thursday, Florida still remains three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the final Wild Card spot and four points back of the Boston Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division.
With so much of the season still in front of them, the Panthers have plenty of time to climb back into a playoff spot.
A good showing against Colorado and a strong showing on their road trip will go a long way toward continuing that mission as Florida moves closer to the holidays.
Goaltending-wise, the Cats are expected to roll with Daniil Tarasov against the Avs after Sergei Bobrovsky played stellar while picking up the win over Utah the night before.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Thursday’s tilt with the Avalanche:
Photo caption: Dec 10, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; The Florida Panthers celebrate a win over the Utah Mammoth after the game at Delta Center. (Rob Gray-Imagn Images)
The Detroit Red Wings seem to be coming back to life after winning their third straight game on Wednesday in a road clash versus the Calgary Flames, where they were sensational to start the game but limped to the finish line in the final period before walking away with the 4-3 victory. It extended the team's winning streak to six games as they look to make it seven in the team's toughest stop of the road trip in Edmonton to take on the Oilers.
Not to mention, it'll be the second leg of a back-to-back which should make it even more challenging for the Wings. You can truly never count out the Oilers thanks to their superstars in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as they proved that once again when facing off against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night when McDavid orchestrated a late comeback with a tying goal in the final seconds. If the Red Wings hope to keep their hot streak alive, they'll need to come together for a complete performance from start to finish, which has been hard for them lately. The Oilers will look to make up for a 4-2 loss to the Red Wings earlier this season in a memorable game which rookie Emmitt Finnie scored his first NHL goal.
Lineup Storylines
Detroit’s win on Wednesday again flipped the narrative, as the Red Wings finally started to get the depth scoring they had been missing. Andrew Copp, who had struggled for much of the season, delivered what was likely his best performance yet.
The Michigan native recorded two assists on his new line with Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane, a combination that has recently begun to find its rhythm. Copp also made several strong defensive plays late in the game. This momentum did not extend to the rest of the team, as Detroit’s defense began to unravel in the final minutes. A shorthanded penalty shot added to the frustration, and despite the Flames picking up speed, the Red Wings offered little resistance.
Goaltender John Gibson did everything he could and has looked much more like the player Detroit expected when they acquired him. Filling in for Gibson will be former Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot, who has started to slow down with his play as of late but has great career numbers going against the team he played for from 2015 to 2019.
Detroit will need a stronger defensive effort on Thursday if they hope to slow down Connor McDavid. The offense has little reason for concern as the current lineup continues to find ways to score, and the second line broke out in a big way on Wednesday by scoring three of Detroit’s four goals. With contributions coming from throughout the roster, the top unit with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond no longer has to shoulder all of the pressure and can afford an occasional quiet night.
For the Oilers, the same long-standing issues continue to haunt them, particularly in goal and on the back end. Edmonton has given up the fourth-most goals in the league this season with 104 against, and their goals against per game sits at 3.47 through 30 games, the fifth-worst mark in the NHL. Their offense is still keeping them competitive, as they hold the seventh-best goals per game average at 3.30, but they often struggle to keep pace in high-scoring games and frequently come out on the losing end.
Tuesday’s loss to Buffalo was a prime example as McDavid played hero in the final seconds to force overtime, but the Oilers quickly surrendered the winner to Alex Tuch only 33 seconds into the extra period. If Detroit hopes to come away with another victory, they will need to push the pace offensively and stay aggressive. Scoring early and keeping pressure on Edmonton will be crucial, especially since the Oilers have won four of their last seven games and are always one burst away from catching up. Detroit executed this approach well on Wednesday in Calgary, and a similar effort will be needed again.
The Red Wings have done surprisingly well in this matchup as of late with wins in two straight over the Oilers with two goals against in each of the victories. They'll look to play a strong defensive game that has alluded them over their last few games with seven or more goals in eight of their last ten games.
Their extended history versus Edmonton has included more defensive battles rather than top end goal scoring with six or fewer goals in eight of their last 12 matchups versus the Oilers dating back to January of 2019. This would make sense for Thursday's matchup as Talbot has had extended rest since his last start which was last Thursday and has great numbers in this matchup. Detroit was able to hold an elite Oilers offense to just two goals in their matchup earlier this season with their biggest point of success in the game being that they held McDavid to no points and snapped his nine-game point streak versus the Red Wings.
Edmonton's Stuart Skinner will need to have a solid game if they hope to win and the 27-year-old has lost two straight starts to Detroit. However, the Edmonton native has started to pick things up as of late with a stellar 1.77 goals against average and a .929 save percentage over his last four starts entering Thursday.
Goalie Matchup
Detroit: Cam Talbot (Season: 9-4-2 record, 3.01 GAA, .883 SV% | VS EDM: 4-2-2 record, 2.05 GAA, .934 SV% in nine games)
Edmonton: Stuart Skinner (Season: 10-8-4 record, 2.91 GAA, .886 SV% | VS DET: 1-2-1 record, 2.96 GAA, .911 SV% in four games)
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Akira Schmid will start for Vegas. He last played six days ago when he blanked the Devils, 3-0, on the road.
Hart was in net for the Golden Knights’ last two games, both on the road. He lost to the Islanders, 5-4, in a shootout Tuesday, two days after beating the Rangers, 3-2, in overtime.
“We discussed it, obviously, with him, but that was more us making the decision, that Akira had to get back in pretty soon coming off a shutout,” Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s how we landed on it.”
The Golden Knights did not make Hart available to the media after their morning skate at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
“Carter wants to play every game,” Cassidy said. “That’s one thing, he’s a very competitive guy. … Coming out of the Ranger game, he wanted to get right back in the net. That led to the decision on Long Island.”
Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were found not guilty in July almost a year and a half after being charged with sexual assault, stemming from a June 2018 incident in London, Ontario.
Danny Briere said in September that Hart’s agent contacted the Flyers and pretty much ruled out the possibility of a reunion between the club and goaltender. It’s uncertain if the Flyers had interest in bringing Hart back.
“In light of everything that happened in the last year and a half with Carter, they felt and Carter felt that it was better for them to look for a fresh start,” the Flyers’ general manager said then. “That’s where it’s at and it’s the only comment I’m going to make on it.”
Believe this was Carter Hart checking out the arena. He’s back in Philadelphia with Golden Knights.
Uncertain if he’ll play tonight; he has played last two games for Vegas.
The former Flyers goaltender was found not guilty in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial in July. pic.twitter.com/OgKgnh139V
Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
TORONTO — The Sharks can thank Max Mahoney for Sam Dickinson.
The 19-year-old Toronto native will play his first NHL game in his hometown on Thursday when the Sharks visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But if not for Dickinson’s childhood friend, the big defenseman might not even be playing hockey.
“You hear these stories, especially up here, ‘I was on the ice at two.’ Sam as a young kid — five, six — hockey didn’t stick with him. He didn’t like it,” Steve Dickinson, Sam’s father, told San Jose Hockey Now.
After losing their last two games and suffering sizeable defeats over the previous two weeks, the Montreal Canadiens called up Adam Engstrom, Owen Beck, and Jacob Fowler. After yesterday’s practice, Martin St-Louis downplayed the importance of the young goaltender’s being recalled, but given recent events, he wasn’t very successful.
The organization also announced that Jake Evans will leave the team for personal reasons and will rejoin before the team faces the New York Rangers on Saturday night. According to RDS’s Luc Gelinas, Evans has been playing with an injured foot since November 20 and must meet a doctor in Philadelphia. Interestingly, the team chose to evoke personal reasons rather than mention the injury.
The center’s absence has forced St-Louis to shuffle his lines. In Brossard on Monday morning, Zachary Bolduc was back with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield; Juraj Slafkovsky skated with Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen; and newcomer Beck was centring a new line featuring Alexandre Texier and Josh Anderson. Meanwhile, Joe Veleno, Jared Davidson and Brendan Gallagher were reunited.
On the blueline, Engstrom alternated with Jayden Struble on the second pairing alongside Lane Hutson. Struble didn’t have a great game against the Lightning, finishing his night with a minus-two rating and being easily beaten by Brayden Point, who was on his way to score the game’s opening goal. It wouldn’t be shocking if Engstrom were called upon, given the circumstances.
All eyes will be on the Canadiens’ net tonight. Jakub Dobes has started the last three games, Samuel Montembeault has been dealing with an illness and wasn’t exactly sharp in relief of Dobes against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the coach has mentioned that he doesn’t even know if he’ll give a game to Fowler on the road trip.
If I were a betting woman, I’d put money on Fowler starting the first game of his career against the Pittsburgh Penguins nonetheless. Montembeault has a 2-3-1 record against the Pennsylvania outfit with a 3.72 GAA and a .880 save percentage, while Dobes has never taken on Sidney Crosby and co. Either way, since the three duels against them last season came before he was called up after the Christmas break.
As for the Penguins, goaltender Tristan Jarry has an 8-1-1 record against the Habs with a 2.50 GAA and a .911 SV. Meanwhile, Arturs Silovs has never taken on the Canadiens. The Latvian native has split the workload with Jarry this season and has a 4-4-5 record with a 2.98 GAA and a .900 SV.
Up front, the Canadiens will of course need to keep Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby in check; the living legend has 69 points against the Habs in just 52 duels, including 25 goals. The Pittsburgh captain already has 18 goals this season and is on pace for 52 lamplighters, which would be a career high. He scored 51 goals in 2009-10. Unsurprisingly, Evgeni Malkin is not far behind him with 64 points in 52 games, and he’s also having a solid season; he’s got 29 points in 26 games, on pace for 74 points, but he’s currently on the injured reserve list. Defensemen Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang both enjoy taking on the Habs; the former Ottawa Senators captain has 42 points in 52 duels with the Habs, while the lifelong Penguins have 39 points in 47 games.
Meanwhile, Gallagher is the Canadiens’ top scorer against the Pens with 15 points in 31 games, followed by Suzuki with 11 points in 15 games, and Mike Matheson has 10 points in 19 games against his former team. Anderson is the only other Hab to reach double digits against the Pens; he has 10 points in 26 games. Meanwhile, Caufield, who just saw his 11-game point streak come to an end against Tampa, only has five points in 11 tilts.
Thursday night’s duel will be the first of three between the two teams this season, with the other two scheduled for December 20 and 21, just over a week from now. The Penguins have won seven of the last 10 duels, including the three from last season when they outscored the Habs 18-6.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on SN-PIT, TSN2, and RDS. The Canadiens don’t have a practice this morning, but there will be media availabilities at 11:45 AM at the team’s hotel. Will St-Louis show his hand, goaltending-wise, then? It remains to be seen.
On Wednesday night, former New York Islanders forward Zach Parise, former Islanders assistant coach Scott Gomez, and Long Island native Bruce Bennett, the greatest hockey photographer of all time, were part of the 2025 Induction class into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
Joe Pavelski and Tara Mounsey were the other two inductees.
Parise, who played 19 NHL seasons, two with the Islanders, sits ninth all-time in goals by an American, with 434.
A 19-season NHL career defined by leadership and elite play. Welcome to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Zach Parise! pic.twitter.com/JshflbwSWt
He scored the tying goal in the 2010 Gold Medal game against Team Canada, before Sidney Crosby's infamous golden goal:
Gomez, who served as the Islanders' assistant coach from 2017-19, became the first Alaskan inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. He played 1,079 NHL games and was a two-time Stanley Cup Champion (2000, 2003) with the New Jersey Devils.
A Calder Memorial Trophy recipient, two-time Stanley Cup champion and the definition of a team-first competitor. Welcome to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Scott Gomez! pic.twitter.com/c9HKg10wDx
Bennett, the Levittown native who, as an 18-year-old, began taking pictures during the New York Rangers' 1973-74 season, has photographed 45 Stanley Cup clinching moments and became the first-ever photographer to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
Bruce Bennett has captured more than 5,600 games across 58 arenas, including 45 Stanley Cup clinching matchups. His lens has given us some of the most iconic images in our sport, and now he becomes the first photographer ever inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/chU5ekpaoT
Ottawa Senators - 13-12-4 - 30 Points - 4-6-0 in the last 10 - Lost 3 straight - 7th in the Atlantic
Columbus Blue Jackets - 13-11-6 - 32 Points - 3-3-4 in the last 10 - 8th in the Metro
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 18.9% - 16th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 72.3% - 29th in the NHL
Goals For - 87 - 19th in the NHL
Goals Against - 102 - 26th in the NHL
Senators Stats
Power Play - 24.7% - 5th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 70.7% - 31st in the NHL
Goals For - 87 - 17th in the NHL
Goals Against - 96 - 22nd in the NHL
Series History vs. TheSenators
Columbus is 19-20-2-3 all-time, and 12-7-1-2 at home vs. Ottawa
The Jackets are 8-1-2 against Ottawa in the last 11 home games.
The CBJ went 1-2 vs. the Sens last season.
Who To Watch For TheSenators
Drake Batherson & Tim Stützle both have 12 goals and 26 points to lead the team.
Jake Sanderson leads the team with 18 assists.
Goalie Linus Ullmark is 10-8-4 with a SV% of .877. His last start was on December 9th.
Leevi Meriläinen is 3-4-0 with a SV% of .876. His last start was on December 4th.
CBJ Player Notes vs.Senators
Zach Werenski has 19 points in 19 career games against Ottawa.
Kirill Marchenko has 5 points in 9 games.
Sean Monahan has 19 points in 31 games vs. the Sens.
Injuries
Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body - Missed 22 Games - IR - No timeline for a return
Boone Jenner - Upper Body - Missed 14 Games - IR - Could return this week
Mathieu Olivier - Upper Body - Missed 7 Games - IR- No timeline for a return
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 59
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FANDUEL SPORTS NETWORK. Bob Wischusen will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 THE FAN, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
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After the Montreal Canadiens lost Tuesday night’s game 6-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the organization decided to call up three players from the Laval Rocket: Adam Engstrom, Owen Beck, and Jacob Fowler. It’s the goaltender’s presence amongst the recalls that raised more than a few eyebrows.
Media and pundits alike had previously operated under the assumption that Fowler, who is primarily seen as the Canadiens’ goaltender of the future, would be spending the entire season honing his skills and getting used to the pro level in the AHL. That assumption led them all to conclude that the move was a desperate move stemming from Samuel Montembeault’s and Jakub Dobes’ performances this season.
But after Tuesday morning’s practice, coach Martin St-Louis was a man on a PR mission. He said several times that the plan had always been to see what Fowler could do at the NHL level this year, and that now was as good a time as any, given the schedule, adding that he would have been surprised if the youngster didn’t get a game in the NHL this season.
When told that the move was primarily seen as a panic move because of the Habs’ current goalie predicament, St-Louis dismissed the idea. He argued that the situation the Canadiens find themselves in was caused by poor collective play, by the way the team played in front of the goaltenders, rather than by their own performances.
While he has a point about the team not consistently playing well in front of the masked men, taking the responsibility away from the goaltenders serves one specific purpose: to make it clear that Fowler is not coming in as the saviour of the team. This is a smart move, especially considering that the Montreal market is a pressure cooker for any player, but even more so for the netminders.
The coach added that he didn’t know if Fowler would play in the upcoming road trip, but that if he didn’t, he would still gain valuable experience just being around the team. Still, I believe the rookie will get a game sooner rather than later and hopefully, the rest of the team will play well in front of him, giving him a real chance to show what he can do.
Things got dicey for the Detroit Red Wings in the third period of Wednesday evening's game against the Calgary Flames, but they would ultimately walk away with the two points.
With their 4-3 win, the Red Wings moved back into the top spot in the Atlantic Division with a 17-11-3 record through the first 31 games of their centennial campaign.
The Red Wings built up a comfortable 4-0 lead by the end of the second period, and appeared in good position to keep their opponent off the scoresheet for the second consecutive game. However, the Flames refused to quit and made the Red Wings sweat for the entire final 20 minutes, which included the loss of defenseman Simon Edvinsson to a lower-body injury.
It was Alex DeBrincat who scored the game's first tally just 62 seconds after the opening puck drop, while rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka increased the lead to 2-0 just three and a half minutes later.
Detroit then struck twice in short order in the game's middle frame thanks to the second of the game from DeBrincat followed by the team-leading 17th tally of the season from Dylan Larkin.
Goaltender John Gibson was in the zone again, looking just as comfortable in net as he did during Monday evening's 39-save performance in a 4-0 shutout win over the Vancouver Canucks.
But Calgary began chipping away at Detroit's lead in the third period beginning with a penalty shot goal from Joel Farabee, followed by a goal from Matt Coronato just 1:05 later.
With 5:20 left in regulation, the Flames drew back to within a goal after defenseman MacKenzie Weegar's shot through traffic found its way past Gibson.
Despite a late furious attempt to knot the score by the Flames with goaltender Devin Cooley on the bench for an extra attacker, their efforts would fall short.
Gibson won his third straight contest for Detroit, stopping 34 shots, while Cooley countered with 23 saves.
The Red Wings will be back at it on Thursday evening with a matchup against the Edmonton Oilers from Rogers Place.
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They were gifted a power play with 17 seconds left in regulation, and instead of keeping the puck away from the Ducks, they allowed rookie Beckett Sennecke to get it and skate around Bryan Rust and Kris Letang for the game-tying goal with .1 seconds left on the clock. Sennecke sent a centering pass into the goal crease, and Erik Karlsson's glove deflected it in.
The Penguins went on to lose in a shootout, and this loss comes on the heels of Sunday's shootout loss to the Dallas Stars. The Penguins dominated play in that game as well, only to allow the tying goal with less than two minutes left in regulation.
While they were annoying losses, there were a couple of big, bright spots in them, including Tommy Novak's play. He deflected a Kris Letang shot into the goal for a 2-1 Penguins lead in the second period of Sunday's game before tying the game late in the second period against the Ducks on Tuesday. Novak banked the puck off Ducks goaltender Ville Husso and into the net during Tuesday's game.
I bring these two instances up because Novak has been outstanding over the last couple of weeks. At the end of November, I wrote about how the Penguins needed more out of him because he had been a bit inconsistent to start the season. He was fighting it a bit and was second-guessing himself.
At the time, he had been pointless in his last four games and five out of six. However, since then, he has put together some excellent performances, scoring three goals and adding seven points in his last seven games. He's on a four-game point streak and will try to extend it to five on Thursday when the Penguins welcome the Montreal Canadiens to PPG Paints Arena.
Novak was especially great against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 28, a big reason the Penguins came back to win in overtime. He banked a pass off the boards to Sidney Crosby, leading to the tying goal before setting up Kris Letang for the overtime winner. They were both nifty feeds.
He scored against the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 1 before adding two assists against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 4, including the game-winning one on Evgeni Malkin's second goal that made it 4-3. He found Malkin at the side of the net for an easy one-timer.
Beyond the raw production, Novak's versatility has been on full display. He has looked excellent next to Malkin, and even when Malkin got hurt following the game against the Lightning, he went up to Crosby's wing and hasn't looked out of place. Per Natural Stat Trick, Novak and Crosby have played 39:36 at 5v5 together this season and have been on the ice for 59% of the shot attempts, 74.8% of the expected goals, 71.4% of the scoring chances, and 88.2% of the high-danger chances. It's a small sample, but they're making life extremely difficult for the opposition when they're in the offensive zone.
Novak has also played with first-round pick Ben Kindel on the third line, and they have looked solid together at times. It's been more mixed compared to Novak's play with Malkin and Crosby, but he's still an option to go down to the third line once Malkin and Rakell are back from their respective injuries. Malkin is currently week-to-week, while Rakell is getting closer to a return.
I said it over the offseason, and I'll repeat it here: Novak is a jack-of-all-trades player who can play up and down the lineup and in almost any situation. He doesn't kill penalties, but he's been featured on both power play units outside of his usual 5v5 minutes.
He's been a solid playmaker with an underrated release throughout his career, and you're seeing both of those qualities shine as of late. He makes the Penguins a much scarier team when he's on top of his game. Let's see if he keeps it up.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltending situation has certainly been an interesting one to follow as a whole this season.
Tristan Jarry is having his best season in recent memory and is now involved in some trade speculation. Arturs Silovs started off the year well and was involved in some Rookie of the Year conversations until a recent slide in play.
But it's hard to ignore what top goaltending prospect Sergei Murashov is doing in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS), too. And his most recent performance was, perhaps, his most impressive and dominant of his AHL career so far.
On Wednesday, Murashov posted a 34-save shutout - which included 20 saves in the first period - en route to a 3-0 WBS victory against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
And his latest performance is only the latest example of the spectacular AHL season that he's putting together.
In 11 appearances this season for WBS, the 21-year-old Murashov is 8-2 with two shutouts, a 1.56 goals-against average, and a .943 save percentage. Both his goals-against average and save percentage are the top marks in the AHL by a decent margin, as Sebastian Cossa of the Grand Rapids Griffins is second in both categories at 1.76 and .935, respectively.
Simply put, Murashov is dominating the AHL this season. He put together a pretty good run of games at the NHL level earlier this season, too, as he was 1-1-1 with a shutout, a 1.90 goals-against average, and a .913 save percentage.
It will be interesting to see how the Penguins' goaltending situation at the NHL level shakes out the rest of the season. Regardless, they could just have a long-term answer waiting in the wings at WBS.
