New Jersey Devils (8-5, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (9-4-1, in the Pacific Division)
Paradise, Nevada; Friday, 6 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The New Jersey Devils visit the Vegas Golden Knights after Connor Brown scored two goals in the Devils' 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
Vegas has a 6-2-0 record at home and a 9-4-1 record overall. The Golden Knights have a 4-1-0 record in games they convert at least one power play.
New Jersey is 2-2-0 on the road and 8-5 overall. The Devils have gone 8-1-0 when scoring at least three goals.
The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jack Eichel has scored seven goals with 13 assists for the Golden Knights. Mitchell Marner has one goal and 10 assists over the last 10 games.
Arseni Gritsyuk has six goals and four assists for the Devils. Nico Hischier has seven goals and two assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Knights: 6-3-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.4 assists, 3.1 penalties and 7.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
Devils: 7-3-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.1 assists, 2.2 penalties and 5.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
INJURIES: Golden Knights: Parker Wotherspoon: out (upper body), Carter Hart: day to day (undisclosed), Victor Olofsson: out (undisclosed), Kai Uchacz: out (undisclosed).
Devils: Seamus Casey: out (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Washington Capitals (7-4, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Nashville Predators (4-3-5, in the Central Division)
Nashville, Tennessee; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Predators -111, Capitals -111; over/under is 6.5
BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Capitals visit the Nashville Predators after Alex Tuch's two-goal game against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Capitals' 5-2 win.
Nashville is 3-2-2 at home and 4-3-5 overall. The Predators are 3-1-0 in games they have fewer penalties than their opponent.
Washington has a 7-4 record overall and a 1-2-0 record in road games. The Capitals are 3-1-0 in games their opponents serve more penalty minutes.
Thursday's game is the first time these teams meet this season.
INJURIES: Predators: William Trudeau: out (upper body).
Capitals: Rasmus Sandin: out (knee), Patrick Thomas: out (upper-body), Vincent Desharnais: out (abdomen).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Tuch scored his eighth and ninth goals in his first season with Washington, the second into an empty net to help the Capitals seal a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.
Tuch arrived in a trade from Buffalo and signed an eight-year, $84-million contract extension in June. On Wednesday, he became only the second player in Capitals history to score at least nine goals in his first 11 games for the team, joining Dino Ciccarelli, who scored 12 times in his first 11 Caps appearances to close the 1988-89 season.
Jordan Kyrou also scored twice, and Aliaksei Protas added his first goal of the season as Washington completed a five-game homestand with four wins.
Dylan Strome had three assists, and Jack St. Ivany and Pierre-Luc Dubois each had two. Logan Thompson made 23 saves after missing a victory Saturday against Buffalo because of a lower-body injury.
Matvei Michkov scored his ninth goal of the season and fifth on the power play for Philadelphia, which lost its third straight after an overtime defeat to visiting Columbus on Tuesday night.
Sean Couturier leveled it early in the second, and Joseph Woll made 25 stops for the Flyers.
OILERS 4, FLAMES 0
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Tristan Jarry made 24 saves, Connor McDavid had two more points and Edmonton beat Calgary to snap a two-game losing streak.
McDavid extended his season-starting points streak to 13 games, pushingv his NHL-best points total to 36. He also extended his campaign-starting assists streak to 13, setting a record by surpassing the likes of Sebastian Aho, Ken Linseman and Wayne Gretzky for the longest in NHL history.
Mathieu Joseph, Mattias Ekholm, Kasperi Kapanen and Alex Formenton scored to help the Oilers improve to 9-2-2.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also had assists.
Dustin Wolf made 20 saves for Calgary, coming in to replace Devin Cooley (eight saves) after he was injured late in the first period. Cooley was run over in the crease by forward Colton Dach.
The Flames dropped to 5-7-0. They had won four in a row.
AVALNCHE 5, DEVILS 2
DENVER (AP) — Nazem Kadri and Parker Kelly scored in a 1:02 span early in the third period and Colorado beat New Jersey to end it winning streak at four.
Kadri gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 2:45, and Kelly followed at 3:47. Nathan MacKinnon added his eighth goal of the season with eight minutes remaining, and Jaden Schwartz connected 30 seconds later.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 20 saves to help Colorado improve to 7-5-1.
Connor Brown scored twice for New Jersey.
Brown had a short-handed goal in the first period, and Gabriel Landeskog tied it on a power play in the second.
Jake Allen stopped 39 shots for the Devils. They are 8-5-0.
KRAKEN 5, MAPLE LEAFS 4
SEATTLE (AP) — Defenseman Brandon Montour scored with 34 seconds left and Seattle beat Toronto to spoil No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna’s first two-goal game and three-point night.
After scoring on power plays in each of the first two periods, McKenna helped set up Auston Matthews’ tying goal with 1:30 remaining and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky off for an extra attacker.
Montour then beat Bobrovsky with a slapper from the top of the right circle.
Chandler Stephenson had a goal and an assist to help Seattle improve to 8-4-1. Ryker Evans, Berkly Catton and Josh Mahura also scored, and Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves.
Stephenson gave Seattle a 3-2 lead on a power play at 3:33 of the second period, and assisted on Evans’ goal with 9:02 left.
McKenna has five goals in 15 games this season. Matthews has 10 goals.
Jack Roslovic also scored for the Maple Leafs, cutting it to 4-3 at 8:02 of the third period. Bobrovsky stopped 12 shots as Toronto dropped to 7-6-2.
DENVER (AP) — Nazem Kadri and Parker Kelly scored in a 1:02 span early in the third period and the Colorado Avalanche beat New Jersey 5-2 on Wednesday night to end the Devils' winning streak at four.
Kadri gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 2:45, and Kelly followed at 3:47. Nathan MacKinnon added his eighth goal of the season with eight minutes remaining, and Jaden Schwartz connected 30 seconds later.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 20 saves to help Colorado improve to 7-5-1.
Connor Brown scored twice for New Jersey.
Brown had a short-handed goal in the first period, and Gabriel Landeskog tied it on a power play in the second.
Jake Allen stopped 39 shots for the Devils. They are 8-5-0.
DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche scored four third-period goals to defeat the New Jersey Devils 5-2, bouncing back from a 6-2 road loss to Nashville behind goals from Nazem Kadri, Parker Kelly, Nathan MacKinnon, Jaden Schwartz and Gabriel Landeskog.
Colorado’s offense came alive in the final period, with five different players finding the back of the net to secure the win. Connor Brown scored both of New Jersey’s goals, while Brent Burns recorded two assists to bring his career total to 949 points, moving him into 10th place on the all-time points list among defensemen.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 15 saves for Colorado, while Jake Allen stopped 36 shots in a busy night for New Jersey. Despite Allen’s efforts and Brown’s two-goal performance, the Avalanche pulled away in the third period, scoring four times to put the game out of reach and earn a much-needed bounce-back victory.
First Period
Despite holding an advantage in shots on goal, Colorado struggled to capitalize on its chances, while New Jersey made the most of its opportunity. However, the biggest concern for the Avalanche came late in the period, when defenseman Josh Manson went down near the bench and needed assistance from a trainer to leave the ice.
Nazem Kadri's post-game remarks.
New Jersey’s defense delivered the first major hit of the game as Colorado attempted to generate a rush. Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon caught Nazem Kadri with a heavy check into the boards, leaving the Avalanche center visibly shaken as he took a moment to regain his bearings.
With nine minutes remaining in the opening period, Logan O’Connor nearly gave Colorado the breakthrough. The Avalanche forward found a loose puck in the low slot with the net wide open, presenting a golden opportunity to put his team ahead 1-0. However, Devils defenseman Brett Pesce hooked O’Connor at the last moment, sending him tumbling to the ice and preventing a potential goal.
Although Pesce’s intervention thwarted Colorado’s scoring chance, it came at a cost for New Jersey, as the infraction sent the Avalanche to the power play.
Colorado failed to capitalize on the man advantage, and the ensuing sequence quickly turned disastrous. The Avalanche surrendered possession, allowing New Jersey to break the other way on a two-on-one rush. Connor Brown carried the puck forward, sold the passing option with a convincing fake, and then sent a shot toward the net that banked off goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and crossed the goal line to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.
The goal marked a costly swing in momentum for Colorado, which had been presented with an opportunity to strike first but instead found itself chasing the game.
The Avalanche suffered another concerning setback with just over four minutes remaining in the period when Manson went down near the Colorado bench. While on the ice, Manson made several attempts to open the bench gate but struggled to reach it. He eventually managed to get through, where a trainer immediately assisted him down the tunnel.
Manson’s departure cast a shadow over an already frustrating period for Colorado, with his condition unclear as the teams headed toward the intermission.
After 20 minutes, the Avalanche trailed the Devils 1-0 despite holding the edge in shots on goal. Colorado needed a stronger response in the second period, but Manson’s apparent injury added another layer of concern as the team attempted to erase the deficit and get back into the contest.
Second Period
Colorado found its equalizer with 9:02 remaining in the second period, capitalizing on the power play to pull even at 1-1. Jaden Schwartz found Gabriel Landeskog at the doorstep, where the Avalanche captain scored his fifth goal of the season.
The goal came moments after Colorado’s first power-play unit had left the ice. Notably, Nathan MacKinnon did not finish the shift with the rest of the unit, exiting early as Brock Nelson took his place.
MacKinnon’s frustration became more apparent a short time later. Following another difficult shift, the Avalanche star was seen yelling on the bench after slamming his stick against the boards, adding a tense moment to Colorado’s efforts to take control of the game.
The momentum shifted again late in the period when O’Connor was called for cross-checking Jack Hughes into the boards with 1:59 remaining. The penalty sent Colorado to the penalty kill at a critical point in the game.
The situation grew more contentious with 31.4 seconds left, when Brent Burns was called for tripping Luke Evangelista, giving New Jersey a two-man advantage. Boos erupted as the call was announced, and the replay appeared to show Evangelista battling for a loose puck before getting sandwiched between Nicolas Roy and Burns. The sequence appeared to suggest Roy was responsible for knocking Evangelista to the ice, rather than Burns, prompting a strong reaction from the crowd.
The second period ended with the score tied 1-1, but Colorado’s late penalties left the Avalanche in a precarious position. O’Connor had one second remaining on his penalty, while Burns had 1:28 left on his minor, leaving Colorado to begin the third period shorthanded.
The Avalanche also received confirmation between periods that Manson, who had left the game injured in the first, would not return.
Colorado had recovered from its early deficit, but it faced an immediate test to begin the final 20 minutes. With New Jersey holding a 5-on-3 advantage, the Avalanche needed a crucial penalty kill to keep the game even.
Third Period
Colorado passed its first test of the third period, killing off the remaining penalties to neutralize New Jersey’s 5-on-3 advantage and keep the score tied at 1-1.
The successful penalty kill gave the Avalanche an opportunity to seize control, and Kadri wasted little time taking advantage. At 2:45, the Colorado center scored his second goal of the season, burying a rebound off an initial shot from Nicolas Roy to put the Avalanche ahead 2-1.
Just 62 seconds after Kadri’s goal, Parker Kelly struck for his second of the season, firing a shot past Devils goaltender Jake Allen to extend the lead to 3-1. The quick succession of goals transformed a tightly contested game into a two-goal advantage for Colorado and put New Jersey under immediate pressure.
With eight minutes remaining in regulation, MacKinnon delivered another blow to the Devils. Breaking free on a breakaway, the Avalanche star finished the opportunity to make it 4-1, adding to Colorado’s growing lead after a second period in which his frustration had been evident on the bench.
The Avalanche added another goal just 30 seconds later. Schwartz followed up a shot from Sam Malinski by finding the back of the net to push the lead to 5-1, capping a devastating stretch for New Jersey.
The Devils managed to respond with 4:37 remaining, as Brown scored his second goal of the game to cut Colorado’s lead to 5-2. Brown accounted for both New Jersey goals, giving the Devils some late offense after Colorado’s third-period outburst had seemingly put the contest out of reach.
The late goal narrowed the margin, but Colorado maintained its three-goal advantage to secure the victory.
The third period was the difference for Colorado. After surrendering the opening goal and struggling to convert early chances, the Avalanche responded through Landeskog’s second-period power-play goal before breaking the game open in the final frame.
The penalty kill to begin the third was particularly important. Facing a 5-on-3 disadvantage, Colorado prevented New Jersey from reclaiming the lead or building momentum. Kadri’s goal shortly afterward gave the Avalanche their first lead, and Kelly doubled the advantage just over a minute later.
MacKinnon and Schwartz then scored 30 seconds apart to extend the lead to 5-1, completing a four-goal third period for Colorado. Brown’s second goal of the night made the final score 5-2, but it did little to diminish the Avalanche’s decisive response.
The victory provided a strong rebound after Colorado’s 6-2 road loss to Nashville. The Avalanche showed resilience after a difficult opening period and turned a close game into a convincing win with a relentless offensive surge.
Manson’s injury remained a concern, however, after the defenseman left in the first period and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest. His status will be worth monitoring as Colorado moves forward.
For the Avalanche, the win offered a much-needed return to form. Landeskog supplied the equalizer, Kadri and Kelly delivered the go-ahead and insurance goals, and MacKinnon and Schwartz finished the rally in emphatic fashion. Brown provided both goals for New Jersey, but Colorado’s four-goal third period ultimately proved decisive in the 5-2 victory.
Through the last five games, the Kings managed to steal three wins away from Los Angeles. Was this road trip a success or does it bring up the same flaws with the team?
During this five-game stretch, the Kings showed a fair share of improvements. Especially the goaltenders who played better than they did in the first 6 games.
Darcy Kuemper recorded a .953 save percentage against the Islanders, which was his best game of the season. He also notched a .938 save percentage against the Capitals, which is tied for his second-highest rating.
Anton Forsberg also had an impressive showing in the two games he started. Forsberg recorded a .926 save percentage against the Blackhawks and a .920 save percentage against the Devils.
Both goaltenders had two games with a .920 save percentage or higher, which helped the defense drastically. The Kings had four games where they allowed 2 goals or fewer and only 1 game with 3 goals. The Kings allowed fewer goals in the five road games than their average 3.36 goals allowed per game.
Although Los Angeles had improved their goaltending, there were still issues the team displayed. The Kings showed the same struggles on offense and continued to generate limited shots on goal.
In four of the previous five games, the Kings had fewer shots on goal than their opponents. The other game was against the Rangers where both teams had 26 shots on goal.
So far this season, the Kings have racked up a total of 297 shots in 11 games. This ranks as the sixth-lowest total number of shots in the entire league.
Lack of shots was evident as not once did the Kings record 30 shots on the road trip. The offense is still a question mark the Kings have to answer as they head back to Los Angeles.
While the limited shots on the net is still a concern, the road trip was still something to behold. The Kings actually racked up some wins, something that didn't happen through the first six games.
Questions are still present about the offensive production but the Kings at least improved in protecting the net. As shown on this road trip, that can lead to winning hockey and building momentum.
Not only did the Kings break their win-less streak, but they had a winning record. The three wins showed that Los Angeles can rely on their goaltending.
Before these last five games, the Kings had no signs of hope on offense, defense or goaltending. After those five games, Los Angeles built up some wins and had stable goaltending. Therefore, the Kings showed some progression and had an overall successful road trip.
The first involves the health of Sean Durzi, who took a third maintenance day since Oct. 21 at Tuesday’s practice and who head coach Mike Sullivan said postgame Monday is “battling through some stuff physically.”
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And the second, if Durzi remains in the lineup as he has for all 14 Blueshirts games this season entering Sunday’s match with Edmonton, involves the status of his pairing with Marcus Pettersson after they were split up in the loss to the Kings.
Durzi and Pettersson have been nearly inseparable since they were acquired in separate July 1 trades — Durzi from the Mammoth in the Vincent Trocheck deal, Pettersson from the Canucks.
They skated together from the first day of training camp and were a “pretty solid pair” over the Rangers’ first seven or eight games, Sullivan estimated.
Sean Durzi handles the puck during the Rangers’ loss to the Maple Leafs on Oct. 22, 2026 in Toronto. NHLI via Getty Images
But then in the first period Monday, Sullivan started using Pettersson with Braden Schneider and Durzi with 18-year-old rookie Alberts Smits.
“I think they were more effective,” Sullivan said Tuesday when asked what the Durzi-Pettersson pair did better earlier in the season. “I thought they defended well. I thought their execution with the puck, helping us get out [of] our end, executing tape-to-tape passes, things of that nature. In particular, I think they were defending the rush much better.”
The Rangers have struggled defensively in front of their goaltenders in the wake of Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury, especially when it comes to containing opposing teams on the rush, but Sullivan has avoided any major change with his defensive pairings since the start of training camp.
Even with Scott Morrow waiting as the other right-handed defenseman on the roster — and a healthy scratch for every game. Even with Matthew Robertson on the roster to start the year, then in AHL Hartford after clearing waivers and now back as the other left-handed defenseman.
The Rangers’ three defensive pairings have remained the same at the start of each of their 14 games this season. But that could change by Sunday.
After Joonas Korpisalo, who continued skating on his own Tuesday, eventually returns from the lower-body injury that has kept him sidelined since the season opener, he’ll become the fifth goalie to appear in a game for the Blueshirts this season — joining Shesterkin, Dylan Garand, Spencer Martin and, for all of eight shots and three goals Monday,James Reimer.
It’ll mark the first time the Blueshirts have used at least five goaltenders in one season since 2009-10, when Henrik Lundqvist, Chad Johnson, Steve Valiquette, Alex Auld and Matt Zaba all logged time in net for them.
Before that, it hadn’t happened since 2003-04 (Mike Dunham, Jussi Markkanen, Jason LaBarbera, Jamie McLennan and Valiquette).
Connor McDavid made a bold claim ahead of the Amazon Prime Sports matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. He called Evan Bouchard the best defenseman in the NHL last season, saying, "He shouldn't have been a finalist last year; he should have won."
McDavid was, of course, talking about the Norris Trophy. Bouchard was overlooked after scoring the most points as a defenseman in the NHL during the 2025-26 campaign. The finalists were Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, and Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Werenski walked away with the honors.
Bouchard, who led all NHL blueliners with 95 points (21 goals, 74 assists) and a +25 rating during the 2025–26 season, was snubbed.
"He got off to a bad start, no question. Our whole team did, " said McDavid. "I did. Everyone did here in Edmonton. But he is a special player. Makes great plays with the puck. Nobody sees the game better than he does. Plays a lot of minutes. Plays on the kill. Does everything that's asked of him.":
"So as I said, he shouldn't have been a finalist. He should have won."
NHL superstar Connor McDavid is adamant that his teammate Evan Bouchard should've won the Norris in 2025-26. 🏆😤
Given the start to Bouchard's 2026-27 season, one could make an argument he won't be ignored this season. It's early, but Bouchard is tied for fourth in NHL points. He leads all defensemen.
Bouchard's progression has been worth watching. He was once labeled an offensively elite d-man, but not defensively strong; he's since shaken that label. He's not just reliable and solid at both ends of the ice; he's being asked to bring other defensemen along.
As the Oilers showed when they played the Red Wings and he paired with Shakir Muhkamadullin, Bouchard can carry less-defensive partners without hurting his own game.@bcurlok writes, "Coaches should bookmark that. Give the man the responsibility."
Is McDavid correct? Or, is this the case of a teammate being bias?
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Through 12 games of the Detroit Red Wings' season, a few players have broken out in a big way, and none more so than rookie Michael Brandsegg-Nygård. The 15th overall pick in 2024 has impressed in his first extended run at the NHL level, recording two goals and six assists for eight points in 12 games.
His counting stats beyond scoring are just as strong with his 54 hits ranking sixth in the NHL, and his five takeaways are tied with Lucas Raymond and Emmitt Finnie for second on the team. The underlying numbers also look good, with 13 high-danger shots on net, twice the league average and good for the 92nd percentile.
His play has pushed the Norwegian winger into the top eight of the Calder Trophy betting odds on BetMGM. Toronto Maple Leafs winger and recent first overall pick Gavin McKenna leads the pack at +270, even though he is tied with Brandsegg-Nygård at eight points and has played two more games.
Not far behind is Montreal's Jacob Fowler at +425. Fowler has broken out as the Canadiens' lead goaltender, going 6-1-0 with a 1.54 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage through seven games.
Brandsegg-Nygård sits at +1300 and trails other rookies like San Jose's Ivar Stenberg, Washington's Cole Hutson, Chicago's Roman Kantserov, Vegas' Trevor Connolly and Boston's James Hagens.
He is ahead of several other elite rookies, however, including Chicago's Anton Frondell, Philadelphia's Porter Martone, who was among the preseason favorites, New York's Dylan Garand and Winnipeg's Viggo Bjorck.
It's safe to say the 21-year-old's start has been noticed, and the hope in Detroit is that he can keep it going all season long.
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Things didn’t get better for the Flyers on Wednesday night.
They lost to the Capitals, 5-2, at Capital One Arena. They trailed for the majority of the game.
Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov provided the Flyers’ goals. Michkov pulled the Flyers to within 3-2 in the third period with a power play marker.
But Washington responded 3:07 minutes later and then added an empty-netter.
The Flyers (3-8-4) have followed up their three-game winning streak with a three-game skid. They’ve lost 12 of their first 15 games and have scored just 1.93 goals per game. They own a minus-21 goal differential (excluding shootout goals).
Last season, the Flyers were 8-5-2 through 15 games, had scored 2.67 goals per game and owned a plus-1 goal differential.
This was the first of four matchups between the Flyers and Capitals (7-4-0).
The Flyers were playing the second game of a back-to-back set, while Washington hadn’t played in three days. The Capitals were better. The Flyers had ill-timed penalties and couldn’t sustain momentum.
• Joseph Woll made 25 saves on 29 shots.
Not even two and a half minutes after Couturier tied the game at 1-1 in the second period, Trevor Zegras committed a bad penalty. He had to slash Alex Tuch as the Washington winger beat him up ice in transition. The Capitals took advantage on the power play to regain their lead.
The Flyers didn’t take any momentum from the Couturier goal because they had to go on the penalty kill three times the rest of the second period.
Washington extended its lead to 3-1 with 3:13 minutes left in the middle stanza. Aliaksei Protas was left alone at the side of the net for a deflection.
Logan Thompson stopped 23 of the Flyers’ 25 shots. The Capitals’ netminder robbed Zegras of a game-tying power play goal with 8:17 minutes to go.
Jordan Kyrou rewarded his goalie 1:08 minutes later when he collected a whacky bounce and scored to make it 4-2.
• The Flyers gave up the game-opening goal just 1:50 minutes into the action. Tuch coasted through the slot untouched to bury a big rebound.
The early deficit came a night after the Flyers had a brutal first period on home ice and fell to the Blue Jackets, 4-3, in overtime.
Against Washington, the Flyers at least had a quicker response. They generated 11 shots in the first period. However, they had just four in the second period and lacked discipline.
• There’s no doubt the Flyers have missed Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett.
Konecny was their top point man last season and Tippett led them in goals.
Konecny has missed the last 10 games because of a lower-body injury. Tippett has missed the last six with an upper-body injury.
The Detroit Red Wings will play two straight home contests following a four-game road swing beginning on Thursday evening against the Chicago Blackhawks at Little Caesars Arena.
It will mark the return of former Red Wings forward Patrick Kane, who departed the organization to rejoin the club that selected him first overall in 2007 and that he helped win three Stanley Cup championships.
But while Kane will be back in Detroit on Thursday, the Red Wings will remain shorthanded.
According to head coach Todd McLellan, both Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton are still at least two weeks away from being able to play. Kasper hasn't played since the club's season opener against the New York Rangers on Oct. 2, while Appleton hasn't played since facing his former Winnipeg Jets teammates on Oct. 4.
Meanwhile, the Red Wings did get forward J.T. Compher back in the lineup following a prolonged absence; he had also been unavailable since Oct. 4 against the Jets.
At practice on Wednesday, goaltender Daniil Tarasov was back on the ice after suffering an injury during the road trip; the expectation is that Michal Postava, who picked up his first career NHL victory on Monday against the Edmonton Oilers, will be returned to the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins.
And while Dylan Larkin was absent from practice, McLellan confirmed that it was just a maintenance day.
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The Buffalo Sabres needed to a way to get in the win column after losing three straight and a number of narrow losses in the opening month of the season, and goalie Colten Ellis provided that push with a 23-save shutout in a 2-0 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
The Sabres goalie made an Olen Zellweger second period goal stand up, and Buffalo iced the win with Zach Benson scoring his first of the season late in regulation with Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov pulled for the extra attacker.
“Put (Ellis’ performance) in the excellent category. We mishandled the puck early, about a minute and a half into the game, and he made a great save….making a save like that early, probably helps a goalie.” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. “(Colten is) a competitive kid. He’s given us some good hockey games. Today he gave us an excellent game. He made some timely saves at really big moments, that could’ve generated some energy for (San Jose) and he took it away from them.”
Is UPL the goalie of the present and future for the Sabres?
The victory moved Buffalo into a tie with Detroit for seventh place in the Atlantic at 5-4-3 (13 points), with two games against Anaheim and Los Angeles left on their four-game Western road swing. The question will now be if the Sabres give Ellis another start after a good performance against the Ducks on Thursday. The club has struggled with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen over his five consecutive starts, allowing 30 or more shots in the four of his five straight starts and going 1-1-3.
In other Atlantic Division news, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost winger Kirill Marchenko with a knee injury in a 5-2 loss in Calgary on Monday and on Wednesday it was announced that he will be out week-to-week. Marchenko had 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 14 games.
The Senators placed defenceman Cameron Crotty on waivers Wednesday afternoon, a move that strongly suggests captain Thomas Chabot is ready to return from injury.
Crotty, the 27-year-old Ottawa native, has appeared in just three games for the Senators this season, recording no points, a plus-one rating and averaging 11 minutes and nine seconds of ice time.
After Monday's skate, Thomas Chabot described his recovery and how the Sens have fared in dealing with injuries (Senators YouTube).
With all the injuries, the 6-foot-3, 212-pound right-shot defenceman probably would have logged even more NHL playing time if not for an illness that briefly landed him on injured reserve.
If Crotty clears waivers Thursday afternoon, he's expected to be assigned to the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League, where he'll have an opportunity to play more regularly.
Originally selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the third round, 82nd overall, of the 2017 NHL Draft, Crotty played his college hockey at Boston University before turning professional.
Crotty played six games for the Senators last season, collecting his first NHL point. He even made his Stanley Cup playoff debut against the Carolina Hurricanes last spring.
While Wednesday's news isn't good for the hometown boy, it does suggest that Chabot is ready to return to face the LA Kings on Thursday night.
Chabot has been out since suffering an upper-body injury during the Senators' 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on October 17. He's appeared in seven games this season, recording four points, along with a plus-five rating.
He opened the season with a goal and an assist in the Senators' 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, his first game since being named the club's new captain.
Chabot is coming off an injury-shortened 2025-26 season where he had 31 points in 57 games. While Jake Sanderson has emerged as the Senators' top defenceman, Chabot remains one of their most important players. .
The Senators have managed to get by during Chabot's absence, as they have with all their injuries this season. They're still without starting goalie Linus Ullmark, winger William Eklund, and as of Tuesday night, Warren Foegele, who suffered a knee injury in Vegas.
If Chabot returns on Thursday in LA, it'll be the first time all season the Sens have had their top six defensemen all healthy on the same night.
Naturally, that will allow the D to settle back in with partners, ice time and matchups that are more familiar and appropriate.
With the way the Sens' season is going injury-wise, it may not be long before Crotty is needed again. So, from that perspective, it's important to get him back playing again. Crotty hasn't suited up in almost two weeks and the return to Belleville will at least allow him to get back to playing meaningful minutes.
But now there are several roster issues at hand.
Will Crotty get claimed by another NHL club?
Which defenseman heads to the press box on Thursday? Sanderson, Chabot, Zub, Spence, and Kleven are all locked in. So either Olympian Nikolas Matinpalo or former first-rounder Carter Yakemchuk will have to come out.
And how will they replace Foegele? Will it be Hayden Hodgson or will someone from Belleville get called up for a look?
In recent days, the Washington Capitals have reportedly been shopping forward Ivan Miroshnichenko and the Detroit Red Wings may be interested.
The 20th overall pick in 2022, who has been off to a slow start to his NHL season with six goals and eight assists for 14 points in 55 games. At 22, Miroshnichenko has yet to make his mark at the NHL level, despite seeing his role grow as high as the top line in Washington, but he has still been unable to break through with one goal but no assists through three games this season.
The Russian left winger could slot into Detroit's top six, where he could experiment in roles alongside Emmitt Finnie and Alex DeBrincat, or with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond.
Risk would be minimal adding Miroshnichenko as he carries a very manageable $925,000 cap hit this season and next, so he shouldn't cost much to acquire, and if it doesn't work out, Detroit could part ways with him without much trouble.
The Red Wings would not be alone in their interest. Several teams have reportedly already inquired about Miroshnichenko, including the Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, Seattle Kraken, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks.
Detroit would be joining a loaded group and may have to outbid others for a chance to land him, but if successful could find a cheap solution and key piece to their lineup.
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