Category: Ice Hockey

The Winnipeg Jets begin their California road trip on Tuesday with an opening matchup against the LA Kings, who are looking to bounce back after losing three of their last five games. The contest will be particularly notable for Jets fans, as it marks the return of captain Adam Lowry, who has been sidelined since offseason hip surgery. Lowry will look to help the Jets secure two much-needed points as they sit just one point behind the Colorado Avalanche for the top spot in the Central Division.

The Kings, meanwhile, are focused on the playoffs. Sitting one point out of a wild card position, they will be eager for a win to get back into the postseason picture. This game will be the 49th all-time meeting between the Jets and Kings. Los Angeles holds the advantage in the series with a 25-14-9 record, strengthened by victories in six of their last nine matchups against Winnipeg.

Newest Jets Injury Report Provides Good And Bad NewsJets bench boss Scott Arniel confirms Cole Perfetti, Dylan Samberg traveling with team, Adam Lowry expected to make season debut Tuesday.

Lineup Storylines

The most obvious storyline surrounding the Jets organization is the return of Adam Lowry, but beneath that is an interesting subplot involving who will play alongside him. His signature third-line trio is no longer intact, as longtime Jet Mason Appleton departed in free agency, leaving a vacancy on the right wing. Lowry will continue to center Nino Niederreiter on the left, and for the first game, it appears Tanner Pearson will take over the right side.

Pearson is not the same physical, net-front presence that Appleton was, but he should complement the line’s puck movement more effectively. The previous unit was successful because of its ability to shut down opponents’ top lines while also contributing timely offense. One memorable example came when Lowry scored the game-winning goal in Winnipeg’s Game 7 victory over the St. Louis Blues in last year’s first round.

This new version of the line may lean more toward generating offense. Lowry will continue to provide his steady and defensively responsible play down the middle, a quality that remains underrated across the league. Pearson’s experience and puck-handling ability should help improve puck possession and flow alongside Niederreiter, even if the group loses some of the grit and forechecking intensity that defined the old trio.

The bottom line was also be a point of focus as the rookie duo of Parker Ford and Brad Lambert recreated a moment out of their days with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL as the duo combined on the Jets' second goal in their 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday for Lambert's first goal of his career. The hope is they can continue to quietly produce together in clutch spots like they did on Saturday.

In Los Angeles, this could be one of the final chances for Winnipeg fans to see veteran center Anze Kopitar in action. The longtime Kings captain is set to retire after this season, closing out a remarkable career highlighted by two Stanley Cup championships. Kopitar is skating alongside several new additions to the Kings’ roster, including seasoned veterans Corey Perry, Joel Armia, Brian Dumoulin, and Cody Ceci, all acquired through free agency. However, the defensive results have been disappointing.

Once known as a defensive powerhouse similar to the Jets, Los Angeles has struggled in its own zone. Dumoulin has been on the ice for 12 goals against, with nine coming at even strength and three on the power play. Ceci has surrendered nine at even strength and two more while short-handed. Another veteran defenseman, Joel Edmundson, has been on for nine goals against as well, split between five on the power play and four at even strength. Even with goals scored while they are on the ice balancing out their plus/minus ratings somewhat, Ceci still holds the worst even-strength goal differential on the team at minus five, with Dumoulin close behind at minus four.

What was once a marquee defensive matchup between two elite teams now looks different, as Winnipeg will try to take advantage of the Kings’ current struggles in their own end.

Jets' Coaching Staff Earns Early Season RecognitionArniel and the Jets' bench bosses earn early season honors. The squad's impressive start ignites playoff hopes after last year's Presidents' Trophy success.

Player & Betting Trends (Presented By BetMGM)

WPG ML (+105) | LAK ML (-125)

WPG +1.5 (-238) | LAK -1.5 (+190)

O/U 5.5 Goals 

The Kings are coming off back-to-back losses and will need to bring their intensity on Tuesday to bounce back. Earlier this season, their defense surrendered three goals to the Jets, and over the past ten games, they’ve allowed 29 goals. Much of that total stems from three games in which they gave up four goals each against the Blues, Blackhawks, and Stars. Outside of those matchups, the Kings have still conceded four or more goals in six of the remaining ten games. Vezina finalist Darcy Kuemper has struggled as well, posting a 3-3-3 record with a .891 save percentage this season. If the Jets can capitalize, the Kings will need to respond quickly.

Recent matchups between Winnipeg and Los Angeles have been low-scoring affairs, with under six total goals in four straight meetings. Tuesday’s game, however, feels poised to break that trend. Offensively, the Kings have scored 23 goals in their last eight games, hitting the three-goal mark in six of those contests. Historically, LA has also found ways to penetrate Winnipeg’s stingy defense, outscoring the Jets 36-28 in their last ten encounters.

Much of the Kings’ offensive firepower comes from Adrian Kempe. Although he has just five goals this season, he also has ten assists for 15 points in 13 games. Kempe has consistently torched Winnipeg, tallying four goals and five assists for nine points in his last five matchups, including four consecutive multi-point games with a goal in each.

Winnipeg will counter with the league’s top scorer, center Mark Scheifele, who has nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 12 games. The 32-year-old from Kitchener has historically performed well against the Kings, recording eight goals and six assists for 14 points in his last 13 games versus LA.

Goalie Matchup

Winnipeg: Connor Hellebuyck Expected (Season: 6-3-0 record, 2.34 GAA, .921 SV% | VS LAK: 7-9-1 record, 3.12 GAA, .902 SV% in 17 Games)

Los Angeles: Darcy Kuemper Expected (Season: 3-3-3 record, 2.85 GAA, .891 SV% | VS WPG: 8-3-0 record, 2.65 GAA, .918 SV% in 13 Games)

Winnipeg's AHL Moose Rollercoaster Start Continues with Another Heartbreaking LossAnother overtime defeat seals the Manitoba Moose's frustrating early season, leaving their offensive struggles and playoff hopes hanging by a thread.

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In a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers that snapped a seven-game losing streak, rookie Dalibor Dvorsky scored his first NHL goal.

With the Blues trailing the Oilers 2-0 in the second period and possibly on the verge of losing an eighth consecutive game, their top prospect and 2023 10th overall pick stepped up to shift the momentum. 

The Blues were looking for Dvorsky to show off his excellent shot, and finally, after patience from Robert Thomas and Justin Faulk, Dvorsky got the puck in his wheelhouse and ripped it into the top of the Oilers' net. 

“Obviously, it was awesome,” Dvorsky said. “Nothing else to say. Great pass from Faulk there. Just tried to shoot it, and I'm happy it went in.

The goal came in Dvorsky's third game of the season, and due to his play, the goal always felt near. Whether he was paired with Jordan Kyrou and Mathieu Joseph or Dylan Holloway and Oskar Sundqvist, the 20-year-old was continuously finding ways to affect the game at both ends of the ice. 

Despite his time dropping a bit each game this season, coach Jim Montgomery has given Dvorsky opportunities elsewhere, as he did last night by placing him on the flank of the top power play unit. The move clearly paid off.

Although the goal is the main talking point and will probably be the main reason he gets another game in the NHL, Dvorsky's overall effect on the game has been very positive, especially at 5-on-5. 

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Blues own 67.14 percent of the expected goals with Dvorsky on the ice, 57.14 percent of the high-danger chances (4-3), and have a Corsi For percentage of 61.40 percent. Although the sample size is small, those stats are among the best on the Blues. 

What adds to the intrigue or makes the stats more impressive is that he is doing it while playing center. The Zvolen, SVK, native is a natural center who claims he feels more comfortable playing down the middle. Center is a difficult position to play in the NHL, but so far, Dvorsky has shown he's up for the task and is excelling. 

Dvorsky hasn't locked down his role in the NHL quite yet, but if he continues to perform at this level, Montgomery will be pleased to write Dvorsky's name into the lineup each and every night.

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Observations from Blues' 3-2 Win Vs. OilersDvorsky's first NHL goal fuels comeback; Thomas return was crucial; right place, right time for Suter game-winner; Broberg's challenge to take on McDavid keys to breaking seven-game losing skid for St. Louis

Only a couple of months after signing a new deal that could help him return to the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks have put forward Vitali Kravtsov on unconditional waivers with the intent to terminate his contract. Kravtsov was brought back to the Canucks organization in hopes of bringing some middle-six offensive depth to the team, though the forward was unable to crack the lineup out of training camp and has only played with the Abbotsford Canucks this season. 

Kravtsov is a former first-round pick, selected ninth-overall by the New York Rangers in 2018. He was traded to Vancouver back in 2023, playing in 16 games and putting up a goal and an assist. After his contract expired that year, he returned to the KHL where he spent the next two seasons with Traktor Chelyabinsk. 

Kravtsov’s 2024–25 season was fruitful offensively speaking, as he scored 27 goals and 31 assists in 66 games, leading the Canucks to take one more shot with the forward by signing him during the 2025 off-season. He participated in Vancouver’s training camp this season, skating in a couple of pre-season games, but ultimately didn’t make the impact that the Canucks had hoped he would and was sent down to the AHL. Kravtsov had a goal and three assists in 10 games played with Abbotsford this year. 

The Canucks conduct this move with both their NHL and AHL clubs suffering from depleted lineups. With Vancouver still missing Conor Garland, Teddy Blueger, Filip Chytil, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Nils Höglander, Victor Mancini, and Derek Forbort, the team has needed to pull from an Abbotsford lineup still missing players like Jett Woo, Guillaume Brisebois, and Nikita Tolopilo. With Kravtsov’s contract terminated, the AHL Canucks will look to fill yet another spot in their lineup. 

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It might be hard to believe, but November is already here. With this, the first month of the NHL season has officially passed.

Normally, at this point in the season, fans are starting to get a clearer idea of which teams are likely to make or miss the playoffs. However, this is certainly not the case in the Eastern Conference right now.

Every team in the Eastern Conference currently has a points percentage of .500 or better. That has never happened by Nov. 4 in the history of NHL conferences, which were established in the 1974-75 season.

Even the Philadelphia Flyers, which are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, have a 6-5-1 record and .542 points percentage.

The Boston Bruins once had a 3-6-0 record after losing six straight games in regulation. Yet, they have now improved to a 7-7-0 record after winning each of their last three games. Going by points percentage, they're last in the East at .500.

The Tampa Bay Lightning also struggled out of the gate, but they have turned things around. After starting the campaign 1-4-2, the Bolts are now 6-4-2 after winning five straight. 

And the Pittsburgh Penguins, which many expected to be among the NHL's worst clubs, have instead been one of the league's top teams early on. They have an 8-4-2 record and are second in the Metropolitan Division standings. 

Every Eastern Conference team having a .500 points percentage or better has also led to the standings being very close early on.

The Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Lightning, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators and Bruins each have 14 points.

Meanwhile, the New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Flyers round out the Eastern Conference standings with 13 points each.

At the top of the conference, the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Detroit Red Wings and Penguins have 18 points each. The Habs have played only 12 games and have a .750 points percentage, while New Jersey and Detroit have played 13, and Pittsburgh has played 14.

Five points separate first and last in the East, so things are incredibly packed, and one hot or cold streak can completely change a team's position in the standings.

On Nov. 4, 2024, the Penguins, Islanders, Sabres, Canadiens and Flyers all had points percentages below .500. The year before that, the Flyers, Blue Jackets, Pens and Senators were in that category.

The Western Conference, meanwhile, does not have the same parity.

The Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets lead the way with 19 and 18 points, respectively. While the East has six teams with a points percentage of more than .600, the West has seven. And five squads sit below .500: the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames.

With all of this, there is no question that parity in the Eastern Conference is incredibly high right now. While things will almost certainly change on that front, fans are being treated to some exciting, very competitive hockey early on.

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After Saturday's loss to the New York Rangers, the Seattle Kraken were in desperate need of a bounce-back performance.

The result against the Rangers wasn't bad; picking up a point in any game is vital, but the process of getting the point was poor. They were thoroughly outplayed and were almost no threat offensively outside of the two goals they scored. 

Against the Chicago Blackhawks, they were able to flip the script.

The Blackhawks threatened more frequently than the Kraken did, but the Kraken took their chances well and beat the Blackhawks 3-1.

The final shot total was 30-24 in favor of the Blackhawks, but despite holding a two-goal lead in the third period, the Kraken outshot the Blackhawks 9-6. The Blackhawks had the advantage in high-danger chances at 5-on-5 (14-12) and the expected goals (3.16-1.78) according to Natural Stat Trick. Still, an outstanding performance from Joey Daccord and timely goals were enough.

Jamie Oleksiak started the scoring in the second period with a seeing-eye shot from the point. Berkly Catton was centimetres away from deflecting in his first NHL goal. Matty Beniers would add to the lead on the power play about five minutes later, scoring his second goal of the season.

About halfway through the third period, former Kraken winger Andre Burakovsky scored his fifth goal of the season to cut the lead in half. Burakovsky was ravaged by injuries during his time in Seattle, and it played a big part in why the Kraken felt the need to deal him away in the off-season. With five goals and 10 points in 12 games playing alongside Connor Bedard, the move has seemingly paid off for both sides.

Andre Burakovsky has goals in three straight games🔥 pic.twitter.com/YLxcscgDHn

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 4, 2025

The Blackhawks' attempt at a comeback was stymied by captain Jordan Eberle's fifth goal of the season.

With the two points, the Kraken have sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division, but the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights have a chance to regain their claim tonight as both teams are in action.

The Kraken are back in action on Wednesday when they host the San Jose Sharks in the final contest of their current five-game homestand. 

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TORONTO - If you want to win a hockey game in the NHL, you gotta play all 60 minutes. Or, in the case of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night, a good 20 will do.

The Leafs came back from the dead against the high-flying Pittsburgh Penguins for an improbable 4-3 victory after being down 3-0 after two periods of lifeless hockey that saw them being outshot 25-8.

A pessimist would say the game was a symptom of a flawed Toronto team that just isn't the same since Mitch Marner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights over the summer. An optimist might say the Leafs found themselves in that third period.

"It shows how good we can be," said right winger Bobby McMann, who scored the game-winning goal. "That third period is how we need to play all the time. We need to be smart with our puck decisions, continue to work hard and with speed, be competitive and hungry."

Outside of McMann, Toronto's other goals came from their superstars: Auston Matthews got the comeback started, while William Nylander notched the next two to stun the Penguins, which had been sailing along through 40 minutes.

Nylander had returned to the lineup after a brief injury, and his presence was obvious.

"He's a gamer," McMann said. "He knows how to play in those big moments and contribute and he did just that tonight."

Just as impressive was Matthews' performance. Not only did he help offensively, but he was a demon on the PK during a crucial kill in the third period, one which could have turned the tide back in favor of Pittsburgh. Matthews was tenacious on the puck-carrier and used his big frame to bully Pittsburgh's point man out of the zone to relieve pressure.

"He's blocking shots, snapping draws back, getting his stick in lanes and disrupting plays," said goalie Anthony Stolarz. "For him to lead by example is huge for us."

Penguins' Ben Kindel Is Playing His Way Off The Canadian World Junior TeamPittsburgh Penguins rookie Ben Kindel continues to strengthen his case to stick around in the NHL, which could be bad news for Canada's world junior squad.

So what happened between the second and third period? How did the Leafs turn things around so dramatically?

"Just energy, passion and emotion," Matthews said. "The first two periods weren't pretty, we couldn't really get much going on either side of the puck. The message for the third period was 'Go work, get one goal and see what happens.' I'm proud of the way we fought back, but obviously you don't want to put yourself in that position to begin with, so that's something we want to clean up right away."

That second intermission also featured players and coach Craig Berube voicing displeasure regarding what had occurred to that point.

" 'Chief' came in and said a few things - you can use your imagination on that," Stolarz said. "We're big boys, we knew that wasn't our game."

So now the Maple Leafs find themselves top-three in the Atlantic Division after a scuffling start to the campaign.

Will they take the lessons they learned in the Pittsburgh win and build off them? That would certainly go a long way in helping this particular Toronto squad establish an identity.

There's a lot of hockey to be played, but if the Leafs have begun to figure out who they are and what will make this cast successful, they'll be playing more than just regular-season games once again.

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Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Pius Suter had a career year with the Vancouver Canucks in 2024-25. In 81 games with the Canucks this past season, he set new career highs with 25 goals, 21 assists, and 46 points in 81 games.

Due to his strong season, Suter landed a nice two-year, $8.25 million contract with the St. Louis Blues in free agency this summer. So far, he is off to a good start with his new club. 

In 13 games so far this season with the Blues, Suter has recorded five goals, three assists, eight points, and a plus-2 rating. He also has been heating up as the season rolls on, as he has two goals and four points over his last four games. This included him scoring the game-winning goal for the Blues in their most recent matchup against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 3.

With all of this, Suter is certainly making an impact during the early days of his Blues tenure. This is especially so when noting that he is currently on a 31-goal and 50-point pace. 

Suter kicked off his NHL career with the Blackhawks during the 2020-21 season. In 55 games that campaign for Chicago, he recorded 14 goals, 13 assists, and 27 points. This would be his lone season with the Blackhawks, as he signed with the Detroit Red Wings during the 2021 NHL off-season. 

The Minnesota Wild began this season looking to take the next step toward Stanley Cup contention.

That hope was buoyed by their pre-season re-signing of superstar left winger Kirill Kaprizov to an eight-year contract extension.

Entering November, however, the Wild find themselves near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They still have enough time to regain their footing, but GM Bill Guerin has reportedly turned to the trade market to find some help for his struggling roster.

On Oct. 31, Daily Faceoff's Anthony Di Marco reported a team source claimed Guerin was shopping for a forward to add some scoring punch among the Wild's middle six forwards. Di Marco suggested Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri and Boston Bruins forwards Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt as trade targets.

All three have surfaced in recent trade speculation, especially Kadri and Zacha. However, the Flames and Bruins haven't gone into sell mode yet as they hope to salvage the season.

Zacha and Mittelstadt would be the more affordable in terms of salary. They're also younger than Kadri, making them better potential long-term fits than the Flames center. If any of them become available, it'll likely be in the second half of the season. However, that could be too late to help the Wild.

The Athletic's Joe Smith and Michael Russo expressed doubt that Guerin will find a suitable impact trade that can provide immediate help to the Wild. Given the limited talent available, they feel that this club has little choice but to look within to improve their performance.

NHL Rumor Roundup: Updates On Bruins' Zacha, Blue Jackets' Chinahkov And BluesThe Bruins' struggles continue to make Pavel Zacha the subject of trade speculation, along with Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov. The Blues, meanwhile, remain patient with their core players.

Turning to the Buffalo Sabres, their goaltending logjam had Daily Faceoff's Carter Hutton and Jeff Marek recently pondering the future of Devon Levi. The 23-year-old was considered the Sabres' goalie of the future, but he's had difficulty cracking the lineup.

The Sabres podcast After The Whistle (hosted by former NHLers Craig Rivet and Andrew Peters) claimed that Levi was rumored to have asked to be moved before he was returned to the Sabres' AHL affiliate in Rochester.

Since then, there's been no additional reports claiming Levi wants a trade, or any indication that the Sabres are entering trade offers for the young netminder. Nevertheless, this could be a situation worth watching given the limited depth of available goalies in this season's trade market.

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The Detroit Red Wings wrap up their Western road trip on Tuesday with one of their toughest matchups of the season against the Vegas Golden Knights. With star power across the ice including Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Mark Stone, breakout winger Pavel Dorofeyev, and several others, Detroit will have a major challenge on its hands. The Red Wings will look to stay hot and build on their recent surge, having won four of their last five games, a stretch that began with their dramatic comeback from a 4-0 deficit to defeat the St. Louis Blues two weeks ago.

During that run, winger Alex DeBrincat has been one of the NHL’s hottest players, tallying four goals and four assists for eight points in five games. His strong play has also helped sophomore center Marco Kasper snap out of an early-season slump, highlighted by his two-goal performance against the LA Kings last Thursday. The duo will aim to keep their momentum going as they adjust to playing alongside Mason Appleton while veteran Patrick Kane remains sidelined.

Red Wings Could Target Familiar Face From Stanley Cup Contender To Bolster Blue LineDetroit eyes a reunion with a dependable defenseman from a Stanley Cup contender to shore up their struggling blue line.

Lineup Storylines

It's been impressive to see the Red Wings continue to edge their way out of tough spots and earn much needed wins. Their offense has done most of the heavy lifting with the defense struggling to keep the puck out of their net. Over their five-game hot streak, they've battled to stay on top of their goal differential with 18 goals scored but also 16 goals allowed. Their recent performances against the Blues and Sharks where they allowed just two goals need to be more consistent as it's difficult to ask the offense to continually get four or five goals a night. 

The loss of Patrick Kane hasn't been evident just yet but as they are continue to battle their way through games, once the offense starts to cool down in certain areas, they'll need a player like Kane that can come in and keep them in a game with clutch scoring. His current replacement in a guy like Mason Appleton, isn't necessarily built to score goals but to be impactful in other areas of the ice. 

Other players in the lineup have also started to slow down, putting more pressure on DeBrincat, captain Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond to continue producing. Veteran winger James van Riemsdyk was brought in for his sharp consistency at producing 40 or more points a season, yet so far he has just one goal and an assist. After four standout games, J.T. Compher is now without a point in five games despite being a 40-50 point player and Andrew Copp has gone 11 games without a goal. 

The Red Wings will need a balanced attack on Tuesday if they hope to defeat a Golden Knights team that ranks among the league’s top seven offenses, averaging 3.55 goals per game. That number climbs even higher at home, where Vegas scores an impressive 4.60 goals per game. The Golden Knights have been one of the NHL’s toughest home teams, posting a 59-22-6 record with the fifth-best home offense since the start of the 2023-24 season, averaging 3.51 goals per game in that span.

Vegas distributes its scoring as well as any team in the league, with Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner leading separate lines, while veteran Brandon Saad and former 43-goal scorer William Karlsson provide firepower deeper in the lineup. Colton Sissons and Keegan Kolesar anchor one of the NHL’s best fourth lines, giving the Golden Knights a dangerous scoring threat on every shift. Detroit’s defense will need to tighten up considerably after allowing 27 goals over its last seven games, the second-most in the league during that stretch.

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

Player & Betting Trends (Presented By BetMGM)

DET ML (+) | VGK ML (-)

DET +1.5 (-) | VGK -1.5 (+)

O/U 6.0 Goals

The Red Wings and Golden Knights have squared off just 13 times with Detroit surprisingly holding the upper hand historically with a 7-6-0 record, including wins in three of their last five matchups. Vegas has struggled to maintain their home ice advantage in this matchup with just a 3-3-0 record in home matchups versus Detroit. These matchups have waivered from low- to high-scoring with just seven of their 13 matchups totaling six or more goals so we can't pin down a trend for how this matchup will go. 

Patrick Kane is someone the Red Wings would've loved to have in this spot as he performs well against the Golden Knights like his three-point performance in Detroit's last matchup versus Vegas where he was involved in all three of the Red Wings' goals in a 6-3 loss. They will instead turn to Dylan Larkin, who has also put up solid numbers versus the Golden Knights with a pair of goals and ten assists for 12 points over his 12 career games versus Vegas, including points in eight of their last ten matchups with three multi-point games. 

The Golden Knights will bring plenty of offensive firepower into this matchup, but one player the Red Wings won’t be thrilled to face again is a familiar name from their Atlantic Division days, Mitch Marner. The 28-year-old winger, formerly with the Toronto Maple Leafs, has been a consistent thorn in Detroit’s side, racking up 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points in just 28 career games against them. That includes 11 multi-point performances and a current streak of five straight heading into Tuesday’s contest. Over his last 12 games versus the Red Wings alone, Marner has tallied 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points, making him a player Detroit’s defense must key in on to avoid getting burned yet again. 

Goalie Matchup:

Detroit: John Gibson Expected (Season: 4-3-0 record, 3.32 GAA, .875 SV% | VS VGK: 6-18-5 record, 3.37 GAA, .905 SV% in 30 Starts)

Vegas: Akira Schmid Expected (Season: 5-1-0 record, 2.73 GAA, .892 SV% | VS DET: 0-1-0 record, 5.00 GAA, .833 SV% in One Start)

Detroit’s AHL Griffins Break Record Not Seen in 24 YearsGrand Rapids win on Sunday marks the first time since the 2000–01 IHL season that the Griffins are the league’s last remaining undefeated team.

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ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues are giving Milan Lucic ample opportunities to earn an NHL contract.

They took that next step on Tuesday by assigning the veteran forward to Springfield of the American Hockey League on a professional tryout.

The 37-year-old joined the Blues on a PTO, but not long into training camp, he suffered a groin strain and kept him out a week before resuming skating and playing in the final three preseason games; he had a goal and an assist.

The Blues were on the verge of making a decision to sign him to a contract or not but decided to keep him around to condition and get healthy from the injury and have taken the next step here to see if there's a path to consummate a contract or not.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound veteran will report to Springfield immediately.

If the Blues do in fact sign Lucic, there will have to be a roster decision made, with the likeliest path being a forward getting put on waivers. It's unlikely that Dalibor Dvorsky, a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, gets sent back to the Thunderbirds considering he's played really well since his recall from Springfield last week. Dvorsky scored his first NHL goal on Monday in a 3-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers and it was a beauty.

The Blues still have Jake Neighbours (right leg) on injured reserve but he is not expected back before the end of November.

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New York Islanders No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer has been unreal to begin his NHL career. 

Through 12 games entering Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins, the 18-year-old has 10 points, with five goals and five assists, leading all defenseman in the goals department. 

Here's his advanced metrics courtesy of Sportslogiq which are mind-boggling. 

Sportlogiq (@Sportlogiq) on XWhat an impressive start for Matthew Schaefer 🔥 🔵 1st among all @NHL players in screened shots on net 🟠 3rd in controlled exits among defensemen 🔵 4th in controlled entries among defensemen 🟠 5th in OZ Possession time among defensemen 🔵 9th in passes to the slot among

Schaefer, who already was named Rookie of the Month for October is off to a red-hot start to November after his first career two-goal performance. 

How many points do you think he'll have this month?

Welcome to this edition of the Vancouver Canucks post-game analytics report. This recurring deep dive breaks down the analytics behind each Canucks game as recorded by Natural Stat Trick. In this article, we look back on Vancouver’s most recent 5–4 overtime win against the Nashville Predators. 

Early on in the game, Vancouver took the lead in even-strength scoring chances for, putting up nine in the first period compared to Nashville’s seven. However, after that, it was all Nashville in regulation, who had 20 after three periods. The Canucks dominated in overtime, keeping possession throughout the extra frame and putting two scoring chances up on the Predators. By the end of the game, Nashville led in scoring chances by a lead of 20 to 15. Nashville also led in high-danger chances for, putting up nine against Vancouver’s six. 

Vancouver was all over the place according to last night’s heat map, though most of their chances were taken a decent distance from the net. Their warmest position on the map was near the top of the faceoff dot. On the other hand, Nashville’s chances came predominantly from in front of Thatcher Demko, indicating that these issues that have persisted throughout the season still remain. 

In his first game back from injury, Quinn Hughes had some good setups and looked as dynamic as usual when attempting to generate offence, which is backed up by analytics. While the defenceman finished the game with a 5-on-5 corsi-for of 40%, putting him at ninth on the team, he also placed fourth on Vancouver with 54.17% in all situations. He also put up an xGF% of 63.45% in all strengths, putting him third among the Canucks. Tom Willander finished the game with the highest value in this category with an impressive 76.44%. 

With their road trip now over, the Canucks will head back to Vancouver to embark on a four-game homestand featuring games against the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche, and Winnipeg Jets. Their next game will take place on Wednesday, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 pm PT. 

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

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Less than a quarter into the 2025-26 season, Philadelphia Flyers fans are already having difficulty coping with the team's lifeless offense and overall struggles under new head coach Rick Tocchet.

This isn't necessarily to say that Tocchet can't turn things around in Philadelphia, because we're 12 games in, but his teams have historically always played like this.

A Sportsnet infographic that has gone semi-viral online has shown that, in his last four seasons as a head coach, including this season and excluding 2022-23, Tocchet's teams have ranked no higher than 26th in the NHL in shots per game.

The good news for Tocchet is that his assistant coach pick, Todd Reirden, has the defense humming despite a considerable talent gap relative to most competitive teams around the league.

Goalies Dan Vladar and Aleksei Kolosov, who have been below-average NHL netminders statistically throughout their young careers, have save percentages of .924 and .929, respectively.

https://t.co/TmLZcp0gf6pic.twitter.com/YmroeHjkue

— J (@jceezz) November 3, 2025

To an extent, Tocchet's system is working, but the results are the results. The Flyers, at the time of this writing, are in last place in the Eastern Conference, have scored the fourth-fewest goals, and don't have a win on the road yet.

All of these factors have made some fans appreciate Tortorella more, and there are some who have yet to see it that way.

The truth is that Tortorella's fingerprints are all over this roster, debacles with Cam York and Sean Couturier aside.

Noah Cates and Bobby Brink both made the jump from inconsistent players who may or may not play to lineup staples relied upon to perform in an important checking role.

Tyson Foerster has quietly emerged as one of the league's best defensive wingers while taking on a new role as a penalty killer, while Owen Tippett, too, is adding more responsibility to his game.

Under Tortorella, Tippett went from an unwanted prospect to a three-time 20-goal-scorer, with a career-best 28 goals, 25 assists, and 53 points coming in his second year under the former Flyers boss in 2023-24.

Ex-Flyers Coach John Tortorella Recounts Golden Matvei Michkov StoryTortorella dished on Michkov's surprising but enthusiastic penalty box strategy, which goes to show how well the two understood each other while they were together on the Flyers.

Travis Sanheim experienced a career rebirth playing for Tortorella and ultimately leveled up as a player, and his partner in crime, Travis Konecny, also had the three most prolific years of his career over the last three seasons.

Of course, the 5-foot-9 Emil Andrae blossomed with the guidance of Tortorella, of all people, only to fall behind the likes of Egor Zamula, Adam Ginning, and Noah Juulsen with Tocchet in charge. And that's almost exclusively due to his diminutive stature.

On top of that, Tortorella helped weed out underachieving talents in Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee while dealing with key losses at the trade deadline in consecutive years.

The most important part of this is Matvei Michkov, the Flyers' franchise player who expressed on record his disappointment for seeing his first NHL coach leave after just one season of working with him.

Tortorella, despite the healthy scratches, benchings, and heated verbal exchanges, helped guide a 19-year-old (turned 20 midseason) Michkov to a successful 26-goal, 63-point rookie campaign that saw the Russian pace all rookies in goals.

That same Michkov, only a handful of months later, has just one goal in 12 games under Tocchet, and his ice time has dramatically decreased from 16:41 a game to 14:58.

The Flyers star is shooting less, scoring less, and playing less under Tocchet, and he just lined up against the Calgary Flames next to Rodrigo Abols, of all players.

That's no slight against Abols, but he's a career journeyman who scratched and clawed his way onto the roster and has sat out some games to start this season.

The lack of ice time for Nikita Grebenkin - who also hasn't played every game - despite Tocchet's acknowledgement that the forward needed to play more, has been a similarly frustrating pain point for many.

Matvei Michkov Says He Was 'Very Upset' When Flyers Fired John TortorellaThe relationship between star <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> rookie Matvei Michkov and fired head coach John Tortorella was much better than many have made it out to be.

A player as prodigious as Michkov, and a player who has a knack for making plays like Grebenkin, should be playing with similarly skilled players, but it didn't happen.

Plus, Michkov hasn't been able to recreate the magic he had with Sean Couturier and Konecny last season, though the latter has drastically improved his own play over the last week.

That said, the only Flyers forward who has been a consistent proprietor of offense this season has been Trevor Zegras, who has impressively tallied 13 points in 12 games to kick off his Flyers career.

Tortorella, for better or for worse, didn't have that kind of support at center over the last three seasons.

Speaking of centers, it can also be noted that Jett Luchanko objectively took a step back this season.

The 2024 first-round pick averaged 14:03 a game in four matches under Tortorella, but that plummeted to 8:58 last month under Tocchet.

Maybe a then-18-year-old Luchanko wasn't ready for the NHL, but at least Tortorella had a plan for him and mostly executed it before the team collectively pulled the plug.

How John Tortorella Protected Matvei Michkov in Flyers Debut, Rookie SeasonJohn Tortorella may not be the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers anymore, but in his short time coaching rookies Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko, the polarizing bench boss left his mark.

With Luchanko, and with the rest of the team, it's still wait-and-see mode with Tocchet, but a dreadful back-to-back on home ice this past weekend is already affirming fans' fears and increasing impatience with the club icon.

After all, the Flyers handed the Toronto Maple Leafs their first road win of the season on Saturday, then lost to the worst team in the NHL in the Flames on Sunday, scoring just two goals at even strength between both games.

Few view Tortorella as a coach who aided a rebuild, but perhaps his Flyers tenure wasn't so bad after all.

The road has not been particularly kind to the Florida Panthers so far in the early stages of the new NHL season.

Despite holding a strong 5-1-1 record on home ice, Florida has faltered when traveling away from Sunrise.

So far through five road games, the Panthers are just 1-4-0 while being outscored 18-8, and now they’re starting a west coast trip that could just as easily chew them up and spit them out.

The first if four games out west begins on Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks.

Anaheim has been one of the surprise teams of the Western Conference early this season.

They enter play Tuesday holding one of the three playoff spots in the Pacific Division, skating to an impressive 7-3-1 mark through their first 11 outings.

The Ducks have currently won three straight games, five of their past six overall and are 5-1-1 over their past seven, a stretch that includes last Tuesday’s 3-2 shootout win over the Panthers in Sunrise.

Youngster Cutter Gauthier has been on fire of late, riding a six-game point streak in which he’s logged four goals and nine points.

Veteran Chris Kreider, one of the newest Ducks this season, has started his career in Anaheim with six goals over his first seven games, including tallies in each of his past two outings.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Tuesday’s tilt with the Quackers:

Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand

Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Jesper Boqvist

A.J. Greer – Cole Schwindt – Noah Gregor

Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones

Dominic Sebrango – Jeff Petry

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Photo caption: Oct 28, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing Troy Terry (19) scores a goal past Florida Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov (40) during an overtime shootout at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)

ST. LOUIS – Boy, did they need that.

It looked ominous, like a franchise-tying eighth consecutive defeat, but the St. Louis Blues showed some resolve, got a little puck luck, some clutch goaltending from Jordan Binnington, a first NHL goal and a victory for the first time in 16 days.

Pius Suter’s go-ahead goal with 1:23 remaining in regulation capped off a two-goal rally by the Blues, who ended a seven-game losing skid with a 3-2 win against the two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers at Enterprise Center on Monday.

Dalibor Dvorsky scored his first goal in the NHL in his fifth game, Robert Thomas had a goal and an assist in his return after missing four games with an upper-body injury, and Binnington stopped 24 shots for the Blues (4-7-2), who were 0-5-2 their past seven games.

“We needed it, but I think we’re a process-oriented team,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “We believer that if the things that we believe, we have to be good at, whether it’s habits or details or certain parts of our process of the game, winning net front battles. And then the results that come from that is Grade A chances and then game management was really good tonight. And that belief leads to good results. For me, this was the third good hockey game in a row that we’ve played, and if we keep playing like this, we’re going to in a lot of hockey games.”

They were finally able to shed the gorilla on their backs despite Connor McDavid becoming the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 1,100 points with two assists. McDavid only trails Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy in that department.

Let’s look at Monday’s game observations:

* Congratulations to Dvorsky, and his goal was clutch – It was definitely coming, and we predicted it here that Dvorsky’s first one was on the cusp.

Down 2-0 on goals by Jack Roslovic (PPG) and Andrew Mangiapane, the Blues didn’t cower down and go away.

They got a late power-play in the second period when McDavid upended Colton Parayko, and Dvorsky made them pay.

His one-timer from the right circle when Justin Faulk put it on a platter for him has been on display the first couple games, but this one found the bar and down short side on Calvin Pickard at 16:08:

Congratulations Dalibor Dvorsky on your first career NHL goal. Many more to come. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/QqXd3cOk4J

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 4, 2025

“Obviously it was awesome,” Dvorsky said. “Nothing else to say. Great pass from Faulk there. Just tried to shoot it and I'm happy it went in.

“To be honest, I wouldn't care if I kicked the puck in or shoot it. The first goal is the first goal. I'm happy it went in this way, but whatever, first goal, doesn't matter how I scored.”

The first of many. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/sa32yt343v

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 4, 2025

What it did was bring a bit of a lifeless crowd into the game needing – and looking – for something to happen. They got it, and the Blues channeled their energy and momentum in the right direction because Thomas would tie the game 2-2 at 18:38.

“That’s a massive goal for us,” Thomas said. “You see the way we just kept on rolling after that goal. Some you need a big power play. That was a wicked shot. Definitely should get a lot of credit for really changing the tide of the game.”

The Blues weren’t necessarily playing bad, but they were victims of an unfortunate Oskar Sundqvist holding penalty late in the first period that the Oilers turned into a power-play goal by Roslovic eight seconds later at 18:38, and then after a Parayko shot was blocked at the blue line, a fortuitous carom into the neutral zone led to a 4-on-2 odd-man rush where Mangiapane made it 2-0 at 2:27 of the second period.

The Blues, once again, were missing some high Grade A scoring opportunities, and they had three in succession prior to Mangiapane’s goal from Suter, Brayden Schenn and Philip Broberg but couldn’t convert.

“On the bench, I felt we were pretty confident,” Montgomery said. ‘Yeah, we’re down 2-0 and yeah, they’ve made some high-end plays, but we had three odd-man rushes before they scored the goal to make it 2-0. So that gave us a lot of positive talk on the bench and then the power play came through.

“Great job by the kid cranking it home. What a shot. You get your first goal, that’s one you want to talk about. I went bar down on a one-timer. Pretty cool.”

Dvorsky and Jimmy Snuggerud were bookend flanks on power-play unit No. 1. Get used to seeing it now and into the future, because these two have tremendous shots and they’re not afraid to use them.

“Coaches, all the guys (preach shoot) as well,” Dvorsky said. “When I have the opportunity to shoot, I should do it. It was probably a good thing I shot that puck.

“We played a great team game, so I felt like our overall team game kind of got the fans going. I just try to do my best every time I’m out on the ice. I get so much help from my teammates here. I love being here and playing here.”

* Puck luck – The Blues received some good puck luck on Thomas’ tying goal when he finished off a play from a sharp angle that hit the near post, off Pickard’s stick and his body and back into the net to tie the game 2-2:

WE ARE TIED, EVERYBODY pic.twitter.com/KnG7njlSGO

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 4, 2025

Good, solid shifts following the Dvorsky goal led up to the goal and momentum scoring twice late in the second.

“A little lucky, off the post, off the goalie and in,” Thomas said. “We’ll take it. … Sometimes you get those bounces and that was a big one.

“Even their second goal, we come out that period, we’re playing well, we have a ton of chances, they block a shot and end up with a 4-on-2 and they’re able to score and we just keep going right back at them. For me to jump in the lineup and have the guys playing like that, have that mentality, it wasn’t too hard for me.”

* Suter right place, right time again – The Blues didn’t have a ton going in the third period but defended pretty well.

They had just three shots on goal until Suter made it 3-2, but Suter and Schenn each had another glorious scoring chance early to give the Blues a lead.

So it’s only fitting that Suter, who Montgomery had stated previously is always in the right spots on the ice, worked himself back into the play after Schenn found Parayko for a one-time shot from the blue line that Suter corralled and deposited past Pickard with Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard lurking nearby:

YEAHHHH SUTES!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/o8qi3ww3k2

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 4, 2025

“I’m seeing him teeing it up,” Suter said of Parayko. “He’s got a hard shot. I saw a guy I think trying to block it, so kind of was in the way of both sides. I just stayed there and hopefully the bounce and the rebound goes there.

“I’m just kind of trying to be around where I was before. Both sides of the puck. Some guys are faster, so you’ve just got to be in a good position.”

And he was again, and Montgomery explains why.

“He knows where he scores goals from the hash marks down to the goal line and he finds his way there,” Montgomery said. ‘He has impeccable timing. When you’re his size, you can’t plant yourself in front of the net like a Jake Neighbours or like a [Alexey] Toropchenko can. You have to get there when the puck’s arriving. That’s what happened on the game-winning goal. It was a real good shift by that line, who I thought was a really good against the [Leon] Draisaitl line tonight. They got that game-winning goal, which was huge for us.”

* Thomas return important – It’s no secret that the Blues missed their No. 1 center, for obvious reasons. But not only does Thomas add scoring for the Blues, he also draws the top assignments – like he did against McDavid on Monday – and takes many of the important draws.

“Obviously massive,” Suter said. “He’s such a good player. Top speed, confidence, holds on to pucks. He just gets us going.”

There’s just certain parts of the game Thomas touches that other skaters on this squad can’t, and it was obvious from the opening puck drop.

“Well, the puck possession would be one,” Montgomery said. ‘The offense that he generated tonight, that line was really good. But the important thing was I was matching him up against McDavid and for the most part, they hit a knob on a 4-on-2 and that’s the only goal they gave up. Went the other way 4-on-2 and they made a bang-bang play. Theirs went in, ours hit a knob, and that’s why I like the resolve (and) resilience that we had after that. When you’re talking about Thomas, when you lose your No. 1 center and you get him back, you see the difference. Talk about people being deployed; he played 19 minutes, our second-line center played about 17, Dvorsky played about 15 and our fourth-line played about 12. That’s good balance.”

Thomas and linemates Snuggerud and Pavel Buchnevich held McDavid without a shot on goal for just the 28th time in his 726 regular-season game career.

“’Pary’ does a great job,” Thomas said of Parayko. “It’s hard. He’s got a ton of speed. It’s impossible to really contain him. We’ve got one of the best shutdown D’s in the league and he always steps up and is big in these games.”

* Broberg accepts challenge – Montgomery said this of containing McDavid despite the two assists.

“I thought that we were very aware when he was on the ice,” Montgomery said. “We didn’t really shut him down; he had two assists. He’s kind of like Michael Jordan, you keep him under 30 and you’re happy, right? But that’s what generational players do. I thought that we were able to negate his speed at our blue line by our up-ice awareness of marking him up.”

But when McDavid was able to gain the zone – as he often does with his speed element – it seemed as if Broberg was there waiting for the challenge, either killing a play, standing up to the talented Oilers center or just neutralizing him and not giving him the time and space.

“I thought that this morning Broberg was looking for that challenge because we showed a lot of clips obviously of him and Draisaitl,” Montgomery said. ‘We have an acronym MDM, most dangerous man, and I added a ‘W’ for [McDavid] because he’s the most dangerous man in the world in our sport, and when I looked up and I said it, ‘Broby’ was like really intense, like looking forward to the challenge intense, which is what you want from your players.”

Broberg finished with an assist, a plus-1 rating in 21:38 with three shots on goal, two takeaways (both on McDavid) and two blocked shots playing alongside Parayko.

“It’s an element (a shutdown role) that we’ve talked to him about starting this year,” Montgomery said of Broberg. “He’s on the first PK. That goes hand-in-hand with that kind of shutdown role. Now that he’s with Parayko, I don’t know if it stays that way, but that’s a good pairing right now and I like the pairing of [Cam] Fowler and [Justin] Faulk the way they’ve been moving the puck, but we’ll see how the pairs continue to evolve here. But I guarantee you Broberg and Parayko will be playing together in Washington (Wednesday).”

* Binnington’s key, timely saves – It’s no secret that looking at the numbers, they haven’t been good for Binnington and Joel Hofer.

But on Monday, Binnington followed up Hofer’s strong start Saturday in Columbus and did what was needed of him to give the Blues a chance: make those saves in key moments.

There was a sequence where Binnington made consecutive stops, one with the blocker on Vasily Podkolzin at 7:33 of the second, then Noah Philp from the right circle three seconds later before finishing a sequence of saves off at 8:10 on Mangiapane from the slot. If any one of those get in, it’s 3-0 and likely game over.

“Those two saves after it went 2-0 were huge,” Montgomery said. ‘It really elevated our bench. A lot of people on the bench, a lot of players, I remember someone saying, ‘Binner’s fighting for us.’ That’s what he does. He gives you the confidence that you’re never out of a game because of the competitive spirit he has in the crease.”

“He had some big saves,” Thomas said. “There was one on Mangiapane right in the slot. Those are saves that make a huge impact on the game and that’s what we’re used to from ‘Binner.’”

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.