WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson had a goal and two assists, and the Washington Capitals held on for a win in Alex Ovechkin’s final home opener, 5-3 over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.
Anthony Beauvillier, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Alex Tuch and Ryan Leonard also scored for the Capitals, who introduced their roster one by one before the game, saving Ovechkin for last. The Russian star’s two kids handled that announcement, and the crowd gave a standing ovation.
Bryan Rust, Tommy Novak and Nick Robertson scored for the Penguins, who nearly rallied from a 4-1 second-period deficit.
This is the 22nd straight season Ovechkin and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby have played against each other at some point. Only one forward duo in NHL history has clashed in more consecutive seasons: Mark Messier and Ron Francis, who played each other in 23.
JETS 3, AVALANCHE 2
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Kyle Connor broke a tie with a minute left with his second goal of game, Stuart Skinner made 32 saves and Winnipeg beat Colorado for their third straight victory.
Mark Scheifele sent a pass from near the boards across to Connor charging the net and he fired a shot that beat goalie Mackenzie Blackwood. Connor has five goals in four games to tie for the NHL lead.
Connor and Cole Perfetti had second-period goal to give the Jets a 2-1 lead.
Fedor Svechkov tied it for Colorado with 7:25 left in the third.
Jaden Schwartz opened the scoring in the first for the Avalanche. Blackwood stopped 16 shots.
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 7: Alex Tuch #89 of the Washington Capitals recovers a puck after a blocked shot by Trevor van Riemsdyk #57 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during a game at Capital One Arena on September 25, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Pregame
Bryan Rust is able to make his season debut and the Penguins flip Hendrix Lapierre and Nick Robertson between lines for some new looks. Arturs Silovs in net for this one.
Fireworks aplenty early on. On the very first shift, Trevor van Riemsdyk gets in trouble with a bouncing puck and turns it over to Dylan Strome. Strome springs Anthony Beauvillier on a breakaway. 1-0 Washington just 23 seconds into the game on the first shot.
The Penguins get in on the action and score on their first shot at the 1:19 mark. Ben Kindel gets in the zone and feeds Rust, it doesn’t take the veteran long to make his classic power move to the net. Puck goes off Logan Thompson and trickles in to tie the game at 1-1.
Pittsburgh gets into penalty trouble, Ville Koivunen goes to the box first on a tripping call. Nick Robertson soon joins him for clearing the puck over the glass to give the Caps 44 seconds of a 5v3 advantage. van Riemsdyk steps up with some nice shot blocks and the Pens escape the danger.
Not for long, though. Kris Letang collects a puck in his zone and reverses it back behind the net. Turns out to be a bad decision since only Pierre-Luc Dubois is back there. Dubois feeds the puck out front and it’s a 2-1 game.
The Penguins get the next power play, doesn’t go very well. The Caps get two rushes up the ice, the Pens don’t really get much out of it for themselves.
Period comes to an end, shots are 14-4 WSH, though it’s a bit more respectable for 9-4 at even strength. Shot attempts are even uglier at 34-11. Pittsburgh getting mostly outworked and bit by defensive breakdowns in the early going.
Second period
Silovs decides he wants to get in on the costly turnover gambit and his stray behind the net goes straight to the Caps. Declan Carlile doesn’t help the cause by spectating and blocking the goalie’s path back to the crease. Good grief. Tom Wilson returns the favor from the last goal and sets up Dubois to make it a 3-1 game.
The Pens got a strong shift of possession and chances out of their first line, wiped away by a brutal cross-ice pass by Carlile that was easily picked off and turned into a 2-on-0 rush. Wilson set up Alex Tuch and there’s not much a goalie can do about that. 4-1 Washington.
Pittsburgh’s second line comes through to stem the tide of the developing blowout. Egor Chinakhov made a nice pass to Evgeni Malkin. Malkin hits the post, Thompson and the Caps’ defense are all out of sorts. Tommy Novak pounces on the rebound and puts it in the net. 4-2.
The fourth line gets in the act next. Kaeden Korczak puts a shot towards the net that Robertson make a beautiful tip on. Robertson had to eat a cross-check in the back for his troubles, which worked out nicely. 4-3 game all of a sudden.
Robertson draws a penalty to really open the door, a goal doesn’t come before intermission stops the play.
As usual, no PIT-WSH game is ever truly completely safe for either team. In the ‘two things can be true category’, the Penguins are playing damaging hockey in a self-inflicted way, and yet they find themselves only down by one shot on the road in a game that they have not been very sharp in.
Third period
The Pens can’t score on the carryover power play, then van Riemsdyk goes to the box for a blatant hooking call to prevent a scoring chance. Pittsburgh almost kills it off but Ryan Leonard fires a wrist shot by Silovs at the end of penalty time. Washington’s lead is 5-3.
SOUND THE SIRENS! 🚨
Ryan Leonard gives the @Capitals a two-goal lead with a SNIPE!
Blake Lizotte is the next to head to the penalty box, it’s killed and Lizotte steps back onto the ice sprung on a breakaway that Thompson stops.
The game takes an ugly turn, Dubois puts Carlile into the boards head first, opening up Carlile with some blood. The Pens get a power play and come up empty on it.
Silovs is lifted for the extra skater with plenty of time since the team needs to find two goals. They’re kept mostly to the perimeter and the clock runs out.
Some thoughts
Kindel has replaced Chinakhov on the top power play. Might be for the best, Chinakhov was looking a little lost in space as a left handed shot setting up mostly on the left side.
Rough first period for Letang, 10+ years ago he might have had a chance to cut off Beauvillier on the first goal, tough ask either way for an opponent hitting the seam in full stride when the defenseman positions so wide in the first place. The play on the second goal was even worse, basically deserving an assist on that one.
Easy to beat up on Letang though, each of the first four Washington goals was started or aided by a major miscue of puck management by the Penguins from players all over the lineup. Carlile’s activity on the third and fourth goals against were just as egregious. They’re their own worst enemy right now and most teams are going to accept the gift and make you pay. That’s pretty much the long and short of it right now. These Penguin games are just a race to see whether or not they can out-score the issues they directly create for themselves.
Rust was the only Penguin forward to register a shot in the first period. At least he scored. By midway in the second period the Pens got an offensive zone faceoff and had Rust back on the top line with Crosby and Rakell. Can’t say that was surprising or unwarranted.
As Bob Grove pointed out, Crosby went 6-1 in the faceoff circle in the first period, everyone else on the team was 3-11. Pittsburgh entered the night 27th in the young season in faceoffs (45.5%). Without Crosby (55.7% entering the night), they’d be even further down the list.
Robertson was all over the place. Now a fourth liner, he might be killing more penalties but he’ll need to avoid putting the puck over the glass. Then he scores a goal and draws a penalty late in the second period. Good stuff from a player who got demoted in lines to make an impact.
Another positive so far: Malkin’s passing in this one. He’s mostly a playmaker and chance creator for others at this point of his career and is starting to stand out with that generation.
Mostly though, just negative right now. The mistakes are too numerous and too glaring to expect a positive result at the end of the night. The Pens had a shot with a couple of breakaways and power plays late yet they couldn’t make it happen.
This one is out of the way, the team moves on with a meeting in Columbus on Friday night.
New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafreniere (13) scores a hat trick goal during the third period of a game against the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, N.Y., Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026.
The first goal in Alexis Lafrenière’s eventual hat trick Tuesday showcased what the Rangers have known, the offensive flashes they’ve always tried to make sustainable with the No. 1 pick in 2020.
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But the final two, which occurred 32 seconds apart in the third period of their 5-2 win, captured another step for Lafrenière. His defensive game has earned the trust of head coach Mike Sullivan in 5-on-6 situations — when opponents have their goaltender pulled while trailing late — recently, and during the past two wins, Lafrenière has rewarded that belief.
“It means a lot,” Lafrenière said postgame of Sullivan’s trust in those situations. “You always want to be out there late in games, either when you’re down one, up one, whatever it is.”
That serves as another layer of the phrase Sullivan used Monday, when he said that Lafrenière — after a strong finish last year to a 24-goal, 57-point campaign — still has “untapped potential.” There’s more that the Rangers coaching staff will “try to pull out of him,” Sullivan said.
New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafreniere (13) scores a hat trick goal during the third period of a game against the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, N.Y., Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post
The offensive potential has always been evident with Lafrenière. That was the case again Tuesday, when Mika Zibanejad slid a pass to him from his knees early in the second period and Lafrenière ripped a shot past Semyon Varlamov, off the crossbar and in. Those moments have been fleeting for most of his Blueshirts career, but Sullivan stuck by his top line of Lafrenière, Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault early in the season in hopes of capturing what made them the Rangers’ most dynamic group to end 2024-25. Their production Tuesday, which helped extend their winning streak to four games, was another sign that Sullivan’s strategy has started to pay off.
But then there’s the 5-on-6. The late-game situations. The chance that Sullivan described as an earned responsibility. He flipped the pair of pucks into the Islanders net after the Rangers cleared their zone, and with just over 40 seconds remaining Sunday, Lafrenière blocked a shot by Utah’s Dylan Guenther before drawing a penalty. Through five games, he sits in a tie for third in the NHL with four penalties drawn.
“We think that he’s a guy that’s very capable there, so we’re challenging him there to bring a defensive conscience in those situations — and he gets rewarded with some empty-net opportunities,” Sullivan said postgame Tuesday. “We’re not just handing that stuff to [Lafrenière]. We think he’s earned that, and that’s why we’ve given him that opportunity. … His complete game on both sides of the puck continues to grow and develop.”
Rangers legend Mark Messier dished out plenty of praise for 18-year-old defenseman Alberts Smits — the No. 5 overall pick in June’s draft who proceeded to make the opening night lineup — during the second intermission Tuesday.
“He’s played four games in the National Hockey League,” Messier, now an NHL analyst, said on ESPN, “and he’s looked like he’s playing 400 games in the National Hockey League. His nuances and the subtleties of his game are unparalleled for anybody I’ve seen play this position. … He’s not gonna be on the highlight offensive reels there, but this is the kind of guy you win Stanley Cups with because he does all the subtleties — he’s a shutdown defenseman that’s only 18 years old.”
The Colorado Avalanche did just about everything but finish on Tuesday night.
Colorado outshot Winnipeg 34-19, generated sustained pressure throughout the game and erased two separate deficits, but Kyle Connor’s second goal of the night with one minute remaining lifted the Jets to a 3-2 victory at Canada Life Centre.
Jaden Schwartz and Fedor Svechkov each recorded a goal and an assist for Colorado, while Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 16 of 19 shots. Stuart Skinner was the difference for Winnipeg, turning aside 32 of 34 shots in an outstanding performance.
The loss drops Colorado to 1-5 in its last six road games against the Jets at Canada Life Centre.
Cale Makar following a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.
First Period
Colorado pressed on the gas early—and when we say gas, we mean literally. Cale Makar tattooed a slap shot from the point at 101.9 mph, but Skinner came up with a big save to keep the game scoreless.
More than six minutes into the period, Colorado started creating quality chances. Brock Nelson, a finalist for the Selke Trophy last season as the NHL’s best two-way forward, stripped the puck from Winnipeg forward Cole Perfetti, dangled around a defender and fed Nazem Kadri for a one-timer from the right circle. Skinner, however, made the save in the breadbasket.
Near the halfway point of the period, the Avalanche earned their first power play of the night after Dylan Samberg was called for hooking Artturi Lehkonen. Colorado failed to convert, but spent much of the man advantage in the offensive zone as Skinner continued to impress between the pipes.
With about eight minutes remaining, Colorado continued to press. After Nathan MacKinnon won an offensive-zone faceoff, Kadri wasted no time firing a quick shot on net, but Skinner came up with another sharp blocker save to keep the game scoreless.
Colorado went on its first penalty kill with just under three minutes remaining after Fedor Svechkov was called for delay of game after shooting the puck out of play. Svechkov was acquired in the offseason trade that sent Jack Drury to the Nashville Predators.
The Avalanche killed the penalty, and the first period ended in a 0-0 tie.
Second Period
Jaden Schwartz broke the tie 2:51 into the period when he pounced on a puck the Jets mishandled in front of their net. He stepped into the loose puck and fired it past Skinner to give Colorado a 1-0 lead.
Colorado goal!
Scored by Jaden Schwartz with 17:09 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Fedor Svechkov and Brent Burns.
The advantage didn’t last long, as Kyle Connor scored off a deflection to tie the game at one. It was his fourth goal of the season and the 14th of his career against the Avalanche.
With just under six minutes remaining in the period, Devon Toews stepped into a one-timer, but Skinner came up with the pad save. At that point, Colorado had outshot Winnipeg 27-12.
The Jets regained the lead with 1:44 remaining when Cole Perfetti redirected a shot with his left skate, sending the puck through Blackwood’s five-hole to make it 2-1. It was Perfetti’s third goal of the season, extending his goal streak to three games, and the fourth of his career against Colorado.
Despite trailing after 40 minutes, the Avalanche held a commanding 27-17 edge in shots.
Jets star Josh Morrissey also suffered an upper-body injury, possibly to his wrist, late in the period and did not return.
Third Period
Colorado found itself shorthanded during another critical stretch when Brock Nelson was assessed a cross-checking penalty at 8:19 after sending Jets defenseman Jack St. Ivany into the end boards.
The Avalanche killed off the penalty and eventually found their equalizer with 7:25 remaining.
Svechkov jumped on a loose puck in front of the net following a shot from Brett Kulak and poked it past Skinner for his first goal as an Avalanche and the 13th of his NHL career. Schwartz picked up an assist on the play.
With one minute remaining, Connor struck again on an odd-man rush. Mark Scheifele fed him a perfect pass in the low slot, and Connor fired it past Blackwood’s left pad to put Winnipeg back in front 3-2.
The Avalanche pushed for another equalizer but couldn’t find one, falling by a 3-2 final despite holding a 34-19 advantage in shots.
Colorado will look to bounce back Thursday against the Calgary Flames at the legendary Saddledome. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. local time, with Scott Wedgewood slated to make his first start of the season.
The phrasing, in the middle of a preseason broadcast interview, was notable from Tye Kartye.
It would’ve been understandable if he wanted to prove the Kraken wrong, and publicly stated as such, after the organization who inked him to an entry-level deal as an undrafted forward — and then watched him get named the AHL’s top rookie and climb his way to the NHL — dumped him on waivers in February.
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But, Kartye said that night during the intermission interview, he wanted to prove the Rangers right for taking a chance on him instead of proving Seattle wrong.
Head coach Mike Sullivan called him a “dog on a bone on the puck,” and Kartye’s ability to win possession — something shaping his game since juniors — has allowed him to seamlessly mesh with Pavel Dorofeyev, their $77 million offseason splash, and J.T. Miller.
“When it happened,” Kartye told The Post on Monday of getting waived, “I kinda move from the last team that I was on and I focus on the team that I’m on now — and doing everything that I can to be successful here and help the team win here.”
He opened training camp last month on the fourth line, producing a goal in multiple training camp scrimmages and flashing his offensive instincts again in the final exhibition — when he sent a shot past the Islanders’ Semyon Varlamov.
Then, during the win in Detroit last week, Sullivan swapped Kartye and Oliver Bjorkstrand, attempting to ignite his second line with the speed and tenacity of Kartye.
Tye Kartye skates up ice during the Rangers’ win over the Islanders on Oct. 6, 2026 at Madison Square Garden. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
They’ve become the Rangers’ top forward combination in terms of expected goals for percentage (69.79), according to Evolving-Hockey, and sit 10th leaguewide among forward lines with at least 20 minutes together. Kartye doesn’t want to change his identity, either.
He’s relied on it since his first year in juniors with the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds, when he went from not making the team to trying to carve out a role — with his goal totals climbing from four to 25 and then 45 in his three seasons there.
The Greyhounds worked to enhance his shot, Jamie Tardif, a former Greyhounds assistant and an assistant with AHL Hartford from 2022 through last season, told The Post.
They helped it become one that could thrive in tight and high-danger areas of the ice. And along the way, Kartye developed the type of game that “can move up and down your lineup,” Tardif said.
“Whether Tye’s on a top line or a fourth line, his role and his identity as a player does not change,” Tardif said. “So everyday, Tye is a very predictable hockey player. … To me, it’s no secret why he’s in that role, he’s in the top six, because he’s predictable, he’s dependable and guys want to play with him.”
Across three years with the Kraken, Kartye skated in 180 games and collected 20 goals and 41 points while also getting his first taste of postseason hockey during the 2023 playoffs.
Tye Kartye (right) battles Matthew Schaefer for the puck during the Rangers’ win over the Islanders. NHLI via Getty Images
He went from undrafted to one of the sport’s biggest stages before, less than three years after those playoff games, hitting waivers in the middle of February with his hockey career again uncertain.
Then the Rangers gave him a fresh start. As a restricted free agent in the offseason, Kartye’s opportunity to be in the top six also doubles as an audition to play his way into the future of the organization.
Kartye likely won’t recapture the 40-goal output from his final year of juniors. He might not score with the same consistency as he did in those scrimmages and exhibitions, either.
But the Blueshirts don’t need that from him. They just need the version of Kartye that prompted Sullivan’s first tweak of the top six this season in the first place. The puck pursuit. The forecheck. The under-the-radar variables that, in turn, can help unlock the rest of the line.
“Without a doubt, we always have conversations with players like that that get moved up the lineup,” Sullivan said Monday. “ ‘Don’t change your game just because you moved up the lineup. You got moved up the lineup because of the game that you’re playing. Bring that element to the line, and everything will work.’ ”
Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson releases his letter “Dear Ducks Fans.” NHLI via Getty Images
Three days before the Ducks had their season opener against the Vegas Golden Knights, Carlsson released a letter to the Anaheim fans, titled “Dear Ducks Fans,” to let them know why he accepted the offer.
But also informed them that his heart was in Anaheim.
“The contract negotiations over the summer were a lot to deal with for everybody, but when all is said and done, Anaheim is ultimately where I want to be for the rest of my life,” Carlsson wrote in the letter. “That to me was always a no-brainer. This was a unique situation, but I of course always wanted to be here.”
Carlsson went on to say that he loves the restaurants, the people, the weather and the environment that is Orange County.
“I don’t think it’s going to be anything crazy, to be honest. That’s just what I think,” Carlsson said to Stephens. “Obviously, a couple of my chirps here and there probably. And then I just have to show it with my game as well. See how it is.”
While it’s only two games into the season, Carlsson already has five points on the year, and had a goal in their home opener against the Florida Panthers.
Leo Carlsson receives a loud roar of applause from Anaheim Ducks fans during their home opener. AP Photo/Kyusung Gong
Ducks fans have appeared to have put what happened in the summer in the past, as Carlsson received a roaring round of applause from the Anaheim fans when his name was called during pregame introductions.
“We have great fans here,” Carlsson said to Stephens. “It feels great every time that happens. You know, you feel like you’re doing something good. I love the fans. Hopefully they love me as well, so it’s fun.”
Anaheim Ducks’ center Leo Carlsson calls out any doubters he has after signing extension to make him the highest paid player in the NHL. NHLI via Getty Images
With Carlsson and the Ducks getting his lengthy stall of contract negotiations behind them, he currently has the highest cap hit of any player in the NHL ($18 million), as Macklin Celebrini (18.8 million AAV) and Cale Makar ($20.4 million AAV), who both signed contract extensions, will surpass Carlsson starting next season.
“[It’s] the organization and me having the idea to just really show everybody that I really want to be here if there’s still any doubters out there,” Carlsson said to Stephens. “Got a great response from it as well. Happy I did it.”
While Nils Hoglander had a career year with the Vancouver Canucks during the 2023-24 season, he has yet to duplicate that performance. Now a member of the Nashville Predators, the 25-year-old winger is off to a hot start and is showing signs of the player we saw three years ago.
In the aforementioned 2023-24 season, Hoglander set career highs in both goals and points. He lit the lamp 24 times for the Canucks, which remains the only time he's surpassed the 20-goal threshold in his NHL career. In total, he had 36 points that season as well, another number he hasn't even come close to reaching a second time.
Hoglander's offensive production fell off a cliff during the 2024-25 season, but he wasn't the only one in Vancouver to do so. The team as a whole underperformed to the point where management decided to fire then head coach Rick Tocchet at the end of the season. Injuries then hampered Hoglander's only season under new coach Adam Foote and he was traded earlier this summer.
The Predators gave up a 2029 third-round pick that originally belonged to the Colorado Avalanche to bring Hoglander into the mix, and it's looking like a major bargain so far.
After being kept off the scoresheet in the Predators' season opener against the Minnesota Wild, Hoglander scored the game-winning goal against the Dallas Stars to help Nashville pick up their first, and to date, only win of the 2026-27 season.
Then, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was impossible not to notice Hoglander. Even though the Predators were ultimately defeated after taking a 3-0 lead, the Swedish winger scored twice and helped Nashville pick up a point as the game went to overtime.
Sometimes it's the small additions that make a major impact for an organization, and so far, that's been the case for Nils Hoglander and the Nashville Predators. Now the only question remaining is whether or not he can keep the momentum rolling.
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 12: Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun (6) crashes into the goal net and goalie Logan Thompson (48) while pursuing Penguins right wing Rutger McGroarty (2) during the Pittsburgh Penguins versus Washington Capitals National Hockey League game on April 12, 2026 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Entwistle was injured during the pre-season, but this waiver placement indicates that the 27-year-old is now ready to return to action. However, before he can be assigned to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, he must clear waivers.
Entwistle is entering his third season with the Panthers organization. Since then, he has played exclusively at the AHL level with the Checkers. In 49 games last season with Charlotte, the former Blackhawks forward posted five goals, 11 points, 41 penalty minutes, and a plus-7 rating.
Entwistle played four NHL seasons with the Blackhawks from 2020-21 to 2023-24. In 193 games with the Original Six club over that span, he posted 15 goals, 20 assists, 35 points, 86 penalty minutes, and 404 hits. Overall, he was a bottom-six, energy forward for the Blackhawks during his time with the team.
Entwistle has not played in an NHL regular-season game since his time with the Blackhawks came to a close.
In each file, we’re spotlighting three different things: the Best Thing: the top statistic, player, or narrative Sabres fans will enjoy. Secondly, we’ll pick out the worst thing from every game from a Sabres perspective. And we’ll finish by wrapping up our thoughts on the game, and preparing readers for Buffalo’s game – a tough showdown on Thursday when the Sabres host the Dallas Stars.
With that said, here’s this writer’s thoughts on the Sabres’ 3-2 comeback overtime win over the Minnesota Wild:
The Score: Sabres 3, Wild 2
Best Thing: The comeback
The Sabres dug themselves a two-goal hole in this game, but in an approximately six-minute span early in the third frame, they evened things up on goals from Noah Ostlund (with his first of the season) and Tage Thompson (with his second of the year). And with goalie Colten Ellis stopping 18 of 20 Minnesota shots to give his team a chance to win the game, Buffalo got the overtime victory on Owen Power’s first marker of the year.
The goal gave Power his fifth point of the season, while Thompson now has four points on the season. But it was the Sabres bending, but not breaking that was the biggest positive takeaway from this game. There are going to be nights where Buffalo just doesn’t have it on offense, and there are going to be nights where they trail for most of the game.
But hanging in there and keeping the deficit to two goals was a big reason why the Sabres’ comeback ended in victory. And they’re now 2-1-0 to start the season at a time they could’ve been 1-2-0 and negative Nancys would’ve ruled the day. Winning makes you forget a lot of negatives, but Buffalo needs to remember their fighting spirit, because that’s what delivered the ‘W’ against a Wild team many are predicting big things from this year.
Worst Thing
The Sabres’ power play has yet to generate a single goal in 10 opportunities this season, and that includes two man-advantages against the Wild. Buffalo had the NHL’s 21st-best power play in 2025-26, but they’ve started the 2026-27 campaign unable to do any damage at all with the extra man.
Is that partly because of the departure of star winger Alex Tuch? Not really. Tuch produced seven power-play goals and nine power-play-points last season – decent numbers, but nothing that would’ve created a gaping hole on the power play that the team hasn’t been able to adequately fill.
Special teams success isn’t going to bail you out each night if you’re not doing good things at even strength. But failing to generate a single PP goal in four games is something that will soon be an issue for Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.
The Wrap-Up:
Winning three straight games after losing Game 1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets is an impressive achievement, and one that should infuse Sabres fans with confidence. The Wild were hurting without injured star defenseman Brock Faber, but that’s still a well-constructed Minnesota squad, and Buffalo deserves full credit for absorbing a couple body blows and punching back just as hard, if not harder.
Now attention turns to the Sabres’ Thursday game against the Stars. Dallas has a 1-2-0 record thus far this season, losing to the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators before beating the San Jose Sharks on Monday for their first win of the season. Dallas has produced only six goals this season, and five of them were against San Jose. So if the Sabres can clamp down on the Stars in Buffalo’s defensive zone, and if Buffalo’s offense can get more volume of goals, the Sabres have a chance to stake out a very strong start to the year.
Like every team, Buffalo has its flaws. But the Sabres have to be opportunistic, and finding a way to eke out a win over the Wild now gives Buffalo a chance to make people forget about their stumble out of the gate in 2025-26. And that has to be a big win for Ruff and GM Jarmo Kekalainen.
Much to the chagrin of an increasingly impatient fanbase amid an 0-2-2 start, the Philadelphia Flyers have not gotten very far in their attempts to acquire a No. 1 center, or otherwise any kind of game-changer to help right the ship.
Throughout the offseason, and even into training camp, the Flyers have been reported to be seriously interested in Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin, a center who submitted a trade request and was stripped of his captaincy heading into the season.
Larkin, 30, made his season debut for the Red Wings on Tuesday night, turning boos from loyal fans every time he touched the puck into cheers with a one-goal, two-point performance in Detroit's first win of the season.
That win by the Red Wings left the Flyers as the only team in the Eastern Conference, and one of three teams in the NHL, without a win, and Larkin is reportedly still giving the Flyers the cold shoulder with his trade request still pending.
"Philly's checked in. They've repeatedly checked in, but my understanding is, the answer is still no to Philly," NHL insider David Pagnotta reported on Daily Faceoff's most recent episode of "DFO Insider". "For now. Buddies with [Trevor Zegras], the longer this goes, maybe he changes his mind in another month and adds to [the trade list]. Going into this week, Philly was still a no."
Will the Flyers ever find a No. 1 center?
With Dylan Larkin (middle) still off the table, the Flyers have limited trade options at center. (Photo: Kyle Ross, Imagn Images)
That's discouraging for the Flyers, to say the least, having already struck out on Leo Carlsson on an aggressive offer sheet at the top of the offseason, and with someone like Noah Cates seemingly taking a step back with the team struggling early this season.
The Flyers' center depth was already average at best, but with pretty much the whole team struggling to do anything at either end of the ice, the issue is exacerbated even further.
Pagnotta was adamant that Flyers general manager Danny Briere was not going to "sit on his hands" and stand idle, but despite the organization's insistence on improving the defense, taking a big swing, and finding a No. 1 center, none of those things have materialized.
As Pagnotta mentioned, the longer the saga between Larkin and the Red Wings drags out, the better a chance the Flyers will have at getting themselves involved.
Larkin still has five years remaining on his contract, including this one, at an $8.7 million cap hit, so finding a destination he's happy with will be important for the player, and he'll utilize the penultimate year of his full no-trade clause to make that happen.
Until something changes, the Flyers are fully at the mercy of Larkin, the Red Wings, and likely any other player or team they want to trade for or with, especially given how dire their current situation is.
The Vancouver Canucks will skate in Game 1 of their first road trip of the 2026–27 season on Thursday. This upcoming slate of games will be the second-longest stretch Vancouver takes part in throughout this season as they’ll also take part in a seven-game road trip in mid-January.
Last year, Vancouver’s road numbers got off to a stronger start than their time on home-ice, but as how the rest of the season went, things slid downhill pretty quickly. They finished the season with a road record of 16–22–3, good for 28th in the league ahead of only the Chicago Blackhawks, Seattle Kraken, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Calgary Flames.
The 2025–26 Canucks finished tied with the Florida Panthers for 29th in points on the road with 35, ahead of only Toronto and Calgary. They also finished 29th in the NHL in save-percentage on the road with .8774%. The Panthers (.8624%), Ottawa Senators (.8632%), and San Jose Sharks (.8755%) were the only three teams to register lower numbers.
Vancouver’s goal differential on the road (tracked by actual goals scored, not by final game scores) wasn’t the worst in the league (-46), though they did have the highest goals-against with 156 allowed. The Flames had the league’s worst road goal differential with -59. Where Vancouver made up ground in the goal differential department was in goals-for, with their 110 goals-for on the road ranking 27th.
Part of what helped Vancouver make up the difference in goal differential was their power play, which heated up after the 2026 Olympic Break and finished with an effectiveness rate of 24% on the road. By the end of the 2025–26 season, only seven other teams had a higher road power-play percentage than the Canucks: the Boston Bruins (24.5%), Vegas Golden Knights (26.6%), New York Rangers (27.9%), Dallas Stars (28.1%), Minnesota Wild (28.2%), Montréal Canadiens (28.2%), and Edmonton Oilers (34.7%).
Individually, two Canucks led their team in goals scored on the road in 2025–26 — Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk, each of whom scored 13 away from Rogers Arena. Boeser was also tied for the team lead in points with Elias Pettersson, with both players recording 25. Filip Hronek led Vancouver in two different categories on the road — assists (22) and time on ice (1015:55 minutes).
Dec 14, 2025; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6) skates with the puck while defended by New Jersey Devils right wing Stefan Noesen (11) during the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
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The Buffalo Sabres stayed unbeaten in the second game of their five-game homestand against the Minnesota Wild, a 3-2 overtime victory at Key Bank Center on Tuesday. The game played out similarly to the 4-3 win over Chicago last weekend, as the Sabres trailed entering the third period, but tied the game on goals by Noah Ostlund and Tage Thompson, before Owen Power scored the game-winner with 38 second left in overtime.
Power, who scored a career-low 29 points last season, leads the Sabres with five points in three games, making up for some of the offensive gap created by the departure of Bowen Byram to Chicago.
"He's really got himself off to a good start. Really skating well, moving the puck well. He's finding people." Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "He's breaking the puck out really well. I really like where he's got his game. He's stronger. He's faster. He's really moving up there."
Colten Ellis made 18 saves for his first win of the season, but at practice on Wednesday, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was playing at the home end of the ice, providing the first indicator that he will be the starter against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
One change implemented by Ruff on Tuesday was shaking up his line combos in the third, moving Peyton Krebs and Jiri Kulich up to the top line with Tage Thompson. That combo combined for Thompson’s tying goal midway through the third, a point-blank scoring chance that Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt robbed Thompson on late in the third, and Power’s game-winner.
That unit remained intact at practice on Wednesday, with Josh Norris moving back with Ryan McLeod, and Konsta Helenius, and a fourth line unit of Beck Malenstyn, Justin Danforth, and Josh Doan. Ruff indicated after the game that Doan, who had 25 goals last season, has been struggling with a lower-body issue lately.
Former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexander Romanov is going to be out of action for a long time.
The New York Islanders announced on Wednesday that Romanov needs to undergo surgery for an ACL tear and will be out for the next six to eight months because of it.
With this news, Romanov is set to miss a significant chunk of the season, at a minimum. If his recovery takes six months, he could return in April during the final stretch of the regular-season. Yet, if he ends up needing eight months to recover, that would likely be the end of his year unless the Islanders go on a long playoff run.
This is terrible news for Romanov. The former Canadiens defenseman was limited to only 15 games last season due to injury. Now, he is missing a significant amount of time again for the Islanders.
Romanov was selected by the Canadiens in the second round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. In 133 games over two seasons with the Habs, he posted four goals, 15 assists, 19 points, and 365 hits. His time with the Canadiens ended when he was traded to the Islanders following the 2021-22 season.
