Category: Ice Hockey

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a notable list of injuries at the moment. Going into Tuesday's outing against the Colorado Avalanche, the team provided updates on the five players who are currently unavailable.

The newest updates are on center Colton Sissons and defenseman Morgan Rielly, who both picked up injuries this past weekend. 

Sissons is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, which made him unable to finish Sunday's game against the New Jersey Devils.

Rielly is listed day-to-day, also with a lower-body injury. He was forced out of Saturday's clash against the Montreal Canadiens.

Maple Leafs Provide New Injury Update On Center Colton SissonsThe Toronto Maple Leafs have lost a few players as of late due to injury, including center Colton Sissons, who is the latest member of the team to become unavailable.

In addition to those key players, star right winger Kirill Marchenko hasn't upgraded from his week-to-week status. He is also dealing with the lower-body injury that he sustained against the Calgary Flames back on Oct. 26.

Tuesday's game against the Avalanche will mark the sixth consecutive game that Marchenko has missed for Toronto. In his first 14 games of the season, the 26-year-old has notched six goals and 14 points.

Maple Leafs Defenseman Morgan Rielly's Injury Status Revealed Ahead Of Avalanche ClashToronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly missed the team's last game on Sunday against the New Jersey Devils with a lower-body injury. It was the first game he missed this season, and he won't be playing on Tuesday against the Colorado Avalanche either.

Defensemen Marshall Rifai and Nick Blankenburg were also labelled as week-to-week.

Rifai hasn't featured for the Maple Leafs since the day he scored his first NHL goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 20. Playing two games for Toronto this season and five games in his career, the 28-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury.

Blankenburg, 28, also hasn't been in the lineup in a little while. The last game he appeared in was on Oct. 22 against the New York Rangers. He was hit hard into the boards by Will Cuylle, left the game after that, and has been out since with an upper-body injury.

All those players listed will not be available to play against the Avalanche on Tuesday. Toronto's next game comes on Thursday at home against the Minnesota Wild, and after that, the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

'I Don't Agree With It': Chris Tanev Is Not A Fan Of The Maple Leafs' Plan To Load Manage The Veteran DefensemanTanev, who missed nine games with an upper-body injury before missing his 10th due to a club plan to rest the veteran, says he understands where the decision comes from. But he doesnt have to like it.

On the positive side, right winger Jack Roslovic will feature against Colorado after being a surprise scratch in Sunday's game with a lower-body injury.

Also, Chris Tanev, who was also out in that Devils game for "planned maintenance," is back on the back end for Toronto, paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson at morning skate.

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The New York Islanders dropped a fourth straight game Monday night, falling 3-2 in a shootout to the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center.

The loss once again featured a ridiculous performance from Matthew Schaefer, playing over 30 minutes again while registering another point.

That extends his new points streak to three games, and gives him points in 9 of the Islanders' last 10.

He's up to 5 goals and 17 points in 17 games.

As ridiculously good as he is, his ice time deployment should ring some alarm bells.

It's not realistic to call on the 19-year-old to continually play over 30 minutes. Through 17 games, Schaefer's average time on ice is over 27 minutes.

Thus far, Schaefer has shown he can handle it, but the question of burnout and fatiguing the defenseman should be at the forefront of any conversation.

Right now, the Islanders have played 17 games. They've won 7 and lost 10.  In the games where Schaefer has played 27 minutes or more, the Islanders are 2-3-3.

They've yet to win in regulation when Schaefer's above 27 minutes of ice time.

It's not proven to be a winning formula. Below 27 minutes the Islanders are 5-3-1, a better record.

It's not just about Schaefer, either.

Entering this season, Schaefer's partner Logan Stanley never averaged above 17 minutes per game.

Over 17 games with the Islanders, he's averaged more than 21 minutes. While Stanley's been a complete and total resounding success for the Islanders, the question quickly becomes whether or not this is sustainable over the course of a full season.

The Islanders are also leaning heavily on Adam Pelech, especially during penalty kills with no other defenseman having the trust he's got on the backend in those situations.

While Pelech's ice time is in line with his career averages, he needs help on the kill.

Tony DeAngelo, who has played in the top four all year, has also wound up overextended especially since the Ryan Pulock injury.

Pulock left early in the first period against the Minnesota Wild. The Islanders won that night in overtime.

Since then, the team is 0-2-2 in his absence.

When DeAngelo played 18+ minutes, the team is 1-3-3 on the year.

No one stat can be a catch-all for something like that, but it's showing where New York's weaknesses lie.

Overextending their defensemen, on the whole, is hurting more than it's helping.

The team needs to add a defenseman the team and Head Coach Peter DeBoer trusts.

Ben Hutton could be that. He scored last night, and played over 14 minutes in a game. In his season debut Saturday, he topped 16 minutes.

Still, Hutton's last topped 15 minutes per night in 2023-24, where he played just 41 games.

Matthew Kessel's done that twice in his 11 games, while Scott Mayfield has not done it in his six games. He came close once, playing 15:51, but has four of six games below 13 minutes in ice time.

It's very easy to spout off that the Islanders need to make an addition and acquire a defenseman.

However, it's become more necessary.

Alexander Romanov's season-ending injury has once again left the Islanders in a spot where they now lean heavily on their top four, while the bottom pairing becomes relatively untrusted.

If Pelech, Stanley, or Schaefer ever have to miss time, the Islanders would have significant trouble filling those voids.

This isn't an article where it says the Islanders should go out and land Simon Edvinsson, though he'd be a significant help.

This is just as simple as finding a blueliner the team can trust to handle minutes, and in case of an injury, play an even larger role.

Maybe Hutton is that, but he hasn't played a top-four role since the 2020-21 season, which he split with the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs.

It's easier said than done, for sure, but the Islanders could desperately use some blue line insurance.

Pulock's return will help restore some balance. The question then becomes whether or not it brings enough.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Not Monday night for the injured trio of Islanders, but a return could come for Mathew Barzal, Ryan Pulock and Matias Maccelli at some point this week in California. 

And no, an expected reduction in their win probability was not one of the reasons the Islanders waited. 

“I think that’s why we brought them,” coach Pete DeBoer said, asked whether any of the three might play on this trip. “There’s a potential. That’s not a guarantee, but there’s a potential. 

“We also felt we had a better opportunity to work with them with the group, which is the point they’re at now. They need to start reintegrating with the group.” 

While Pulock was a full-contact participant in Monday’s morning skate, Barzal and Maccelli were back to wearing red noncontact jerseys, having not done so ahead of Saturday’s loss to the Devils. 

“That tells you that he’s obviously closer,” DeBoer said. “The reason he’s on this trip is because he’s closer. We’ll see. He’ll do some extra work here today.” 

DeBoer added that the next step for all three of them was to “get some physical contact and see how they respond,” with the plan being for all three to do so while working with the extras after morning skate on Monday. 

Barzal has yet to play this season due to inflammation around a left kneecap injury he suffered two seasons ago. Pulock is dealing with an upper-body injury and Maccelli with a lower-body injury. 

The Islanders have two days between Monday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Sharks and Thursday’s game in Los Angeles against the Kings, with one practice scheduled. Thursday would be two weeks from the day Pulock got hurt, and in line with his initial 2-4 week timeline, while it would be closer to the end of Maccelli’s 2-4 weeks after he left the Oct. 17 match in Toronto. 

Calum Ritchie, who is not on the trip, was given a 4-6 week timeline after being hurt in the same win over the Maple Leafs. 

The Islanders kept the same forward lines intact that they finished Saturday’s game with, meaning Simon Holmstrom was on the top line with Bo Hovat and Kyle Palmieri; Emil Heineman on the second line with Brayden Schenn and Victor Eklund; and Ondrej Palat was with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Duclair on the third line. 

Adam Pelech moved to the top pair with Matthew Schaefer while Logan Stanley skated on the second pair with Tony DeAngelo. Ben Hutton and Matt Kessel remained as the third pair. 

The Islanders came into Monday with five consecutive wins over the Sharks and 12 games in a row against San Jose without a regulation loss.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are back at home for a three-game homestand and will face the Florida Panthers tonight at 7:30 PM.   

Florida Panthers - 9-7-2 - 20 Points - Loss 2 - 5th in the Atlantic

Columbus Blue Jackets - 7-8-0 - 14 Points - Lost 1 - 6th in the Metro  

Teams Notes Per CBJ PR

• The Blue Jackets are led in goals, points, points-per-game (1.07), game-winning goals, and multi-point performances (three games) by 24-year-old Kent Johnson with 8-8-16 and two GWGs in 15 contests this season.
• Johnson has recorded points in seven straight games (4-7-11) for the longest run on the team this season and is one game shy of his career-high (4-5-9 in 8 GP from Jan. 20 to Feb. 4, 2025). He is one of 11 skaters in the NHL to have an active streak of seven games or more.
• 2025-26 Norris Trophy winner, Zach Werenski, has picked up where he left off after scoring in back-to-back games, stretching his points streak to six-straight games (2-6-8).

Player Notes Per CBJ PR

• Cole Sillinger has notched 4-2-6 in 12 career GP vs. FLA, who scored on Oct. 13 for 3-1-4 in his last 5 against FLA.
• Zach Werenski has notched 7-9-16 with three career multi-point efforts in 28 GP vs. Florida and has 5-5-10 in 15 career matchups when playing at Nationwide Arena.
• Damon Severson notched two assists on Oct. 13 vs. Florida to improve to 4-13-17 in 30 career matchups.
• Valeri Nichushkin has collected 2-5-7 and two multi-point outings in 14 career games vs. Florida, with all points notched in four of his last five meetings against the club.
• Sean Monahan has 8-7-15 with five multi-point efforts in 23 career matchups and has notched 5-5-10 in 12 career home contests vs. Florida.
• Kent Johnson has posted 2-2-4 in 11 career matchups against the Panthers with 1-1-2 in his last three games after scoring on Oct. 13.
• Charlie Coyle has posted 10-8-18 in 34 career games vs. the Panthers, with 6-5-11 in 18 career home matchups and assists in three of his past four games against Florida.

Blue Jackets Stats 

• Power Play - 17.6% - 26th in the NHL
• Penalty Kill - 75.6% - 20th in the NHL
• Goals For - 38 - 32nd in the NHL
• Goals Against - 47 - 5th in the NHL   

Panthers Stats 

• Power Play - 23.5% - 10th in the NHL
• Penalty Kill - 85.7% - 6th in the NHL
• Goals For - 56 - 15th in the NHL
• Goals Against - 55 - 19th in the NHL

Series History vs. ThePanthers

• The Blue Jackets are 27-22-8 Overall, and 17-8-4 at Nationwide Arena vs. Florida. 
• Four of the past seven meetings between the Jackets and the Panthers have been decided by a single goal.
• The teams have combined for seven or more goals in 10 of the last 16 meetings since Jan. 15, 2022.
• The winning team has scored four or more goals in 18 of the past 22 games of the series.
• The winning team has won by multiple goals in 15 of the last 20 meetings of the series, including 12 instances by three-plus goals.

Who To Watch For ThePanthers

• Matthew Tkachuk leads Florida with 22 assists and 26 points. 
• Brady Tkachuk leads the Panthers with 10 goals
• Jacob Markstrom is 4-3-1 with a SV% of .886%. His last start was on November 8th. 
• Akira Schmid is 5-3-1 with a SV% of .886%. His last star was on November 7th. 

Injured Reserve & Other Injuries

• Isac Lundestrom - Achilles Surgery - LTIR - 15 Games Missed - Lightly skating. Could return soon.
• Conor Garland - Upper Body Injury - No timeline for a return.

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 39

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be simulcast on ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+, and on 97.1 The Fan, with John Buccigross calling the play-by-play.  

TV: ESPN+/HULU/Disney+   

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Sergei Murashov might have a new friend to greet when the Penguins play the visiting Calgary Flames later this month.

Murashov shouted out Flames netminder Devin Cooley, who has gone viral for postgame interviews in which he has offered thoughts on the psychology behind goaltending, after the Penguins’ Saturday win at the Los Angeles Kings.

“I want to pass a media message to Devin Cooley. I saw he was really popular recently, and I think most of the goalies going through something like he’s talking about, but not a lot who actually speaks aloud. So thank you to him for what he’s saying. It helps. It genuinely just helped me a little bit too,” Murashov said Saturday.

Cooley was then asked about Murashov’s comments after the Flames claimed an overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers the following day.

“I heard about it from multiple people telling me. I heard it was awesome,” Cooley said Sunday. “I’ve gotten messages from other guys in the league that have reached out, too. I’m like, ‘Man, that’s really cool.’”

He laughed, “I’m glad I can do something instead of just play a sport, because that doesn’t really make a huge impact on humanity.”

Cooley added Monday he had gotten a chance to watch Murashov’s interview and that it would “be great to meet him,” per CalgaryFlames.com’s Chris Wahl.

Cooley went viral last month when he said in an interview he “felt nothing” during a 34-save win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“The problem with me is that I have a lot of fun playing, but when I start having too much fun it makes me from an unconscious goalie to a conscious goalie,” Cooley explained. “And my conscious brain is really bad at playing goalie, so I have to let my unconscious brain do the work, because it reacts a lot quicker.”

Murashov has been put in a tough situation for his first season as a full-time NHLer. He has been regularly shelled (Murashov ranks 16th in shots against per 60 minutes) behind a defense that has given up the fourth-most high-danger shots in the NHL so far this season, per MoneyPuck.

The Penguins will hope Cooley’s insight can help their rookie goaltender adjust to that demanding workload as his team looks to bounce back from their ongoing 1-4-1 stretch over the five games remaining before a Nov. 25 matchup against Cooley and the visiting Flames.

Welcome to this edition of the Vancouver Canucks "3 Standouts From The Game." In this recurring series, The Hockey News' Canucks team will do a deep dive into three standouts from Vancouver's last game. This article will focus on the Canucks' most recent 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki

Jonathan Lekkerimäki was one of Vancouver's most notable forwards. He scored the Canucks' only goal and finished the night with five shot attempts. One of those attempts almost tied the game late as Lekkerimäki beat Dan Vladař, but the puck hit the crossbar and stayed out. 

Lekkerimäki's development has been a positive storyline this season. The Swedish forward looks more comfortable with the puck on his stick and is already up to seven goals on the campaign. If Lekkerimäki keeps ripping pucks as he did on Monday, he should finish near the top of the team's goal list this year. 

Ian Beckenstein And Andrew Shaw

For those who may not know, Ian Beckenstein and Andrew Shaw are Vancouver's Video Coach and Assistant Video Coach. The two came in clutch for the team on Monday, identifying an offside that nullified a Flyers goal early in the third period. With the goal called back, the Canucks are now 1-0 on Coach's Challenges this year.

After the game, Head Coach Manny Malhotra credited Beckenstein and Shaw for a job well done. "Yeah, they did a great job of pulling up the different angles that they had and saw that the weak-side defenseman was off. So we weren't holding our breath too much on that one."

Filip Hronek

It felt like Filip Hronek never left the ice on Monday. The right-shot defender set a new career high in ice time for a regular-season game with 31:11 and logged 22:10 at even strength. For comparison, only center Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Zeev Buium had more total minutes than Hronek played at even strength.  

Unsurprisingly, Hronek has been a workhorse for Malhotra this season. He is averaging 26:21 a night and has played at least 27 minutes on nine occasions. This year Hronek, ranks eighth among NHL defensemen in power play minutes at 67:53 and ranks second in total ice time among NHLers with 526:56. 

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.

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:

Canucks Losing Streak Hits Six After 3-1 Defeat To The Flyers

Canucks Prospect Ivchenko Finding His Groove In The MHL

Canucks Prospect Gabriel Chiarot Re-Assigned To OHL

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While they are still wading through the on-ice and mental obstacles that have bedeviled them all season long, the Philadelphia Flyers finally managed to record their fifth win of the season, besting the lowly Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Monday night in a contest that had the potential to be scary.

Before this game even started, though, Flyers head coach made a pair of intriguing lineup changes that weren't exactly expected. Scrappy winger Michael Bunting replaced Cole Knuble, and after three weeks on the bench, prospect defenseman David Jiricek drew in for Simon Benoit.

The Bunting move, in particular, paid off, as he opened the scoring with a strong effort chasing down a bouncing puck in a mad scramble, eventually popping one past Canucks goalie Leevi Merilainen to open the scoring just over two minutes in.

Overall, the first period was predictably boring, as the Flyers out-shot the Canucks 9-4, and neither team did anything of consequence at either end of the ice. Bunting's goal was fortunate, but he's on the team to be on the right side of those plays at this point in his career.

In the second period, the Canucks didn't bother showing up, recording just two shots on goal to the Flyers' six.

On the somewhat controversial topic of shift lengths and ice time, Matvei Michkov overstayed his shift on the power play and made it count, delivering a nifty short-side pass to the second unit's Travis Konecny for a power play goal, doubling the Flyers' lead to 2-0.

But, that's not the second period Michkov moment that's going to be talked about the most.

Flyers' Matvei Michkov Reacts to Russia's Impending International ReturnAfter a new court ruling, budding Philadelphia Flyers star Matvei Michkov is ready to live out his dream of playing for Russia internationally.

With the Flyers already up 2-0, Michkov again possessed the puck, wheeling through traffic and doing his signature floater shot from the center of the ice, which was saved comfortably by Merilainen.

Defenseman Nick Seeler, who activated from the left point, was calling for the puck from Michkov and tapping his stick on the ice before skating away to defend in transition and apparently turning to say something to Michkov on his way back.

At the other end, Michkov backchecked to stick lift Canucks defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, who was primed for a one-timer on a 3-on-2 opportunity, making an amazing defensive play.

During the subsequent TV timeout, cameras spotting Michkov and Seeler having a heated exchange on the bench, where Michkov slammed a water bottle against the bench and had to be restrained by teammates Noel Acciari, Porter Martone, and Noah Cates at different points in the bust-up.

We'll discuss this more in the future, to be sure, but it certainly didn't fire the Flyers up...

In the third period, the Flyers were out-shot by the Canucks 13-2, with the Flyers' first shot of the period being Travis Sanheim's empty-net goal with 59 seconds left.

A Bunting high-stick penalty gave the Canucks a power play, which allowed Jonathan Lekkerimaki to bang in his seventh of the season.

The Canucks certainly gave the Flyers a scare and had their chances to tie it, but they were dreary with the extra attacker, and that allowed Sanheim to ice the game at 3-1.

Unheralded Flyers Prospect Has Taken a Massive Leap ForwardThis underrated Philadelphia Flyers prospect is quietly feasting in one of the best hockey leagues in the world.

This third period is just one piece of the bigger picture for the Flyers, who continue their habit of coming up completely limp in the third periods of games.

Needless penalties from Bunting and Konecny, on top of a penalty on Joseph Woll for knocking his own mask off, put the Flyers in disadvantageous positions with the Canucks pressing for goals.

And, much like the Calgary game one night ago, these are mistakes made by players who should know better, especially against an awful team like Vancouver.

This shows that the Flyers, for better or worse, are very much in the same category as the dreadful Canucks.

Fortunately, Woll played a very solid game, stopping 18 of 19 shots, while Michkov and Porter Martone looked like their usual selves. With a two-assist game, Christian Dvorak deserves a lot of credit, too, on the second leg of this back-to-back.

And, despite rotting away for three weeks, Jiricek didn't look out of place and fired two shots on goal, with a few others getting blocked. He, Michkov, Bunting, and Martone were the only Flyers with multiple shots on goal against the bottom-feeding Canucks.

So, the Flyers got their much-needed win to again lower the temperature building around the organization, though another Michkov incident and an epically bad third period loom large.

Then, on Wednesday, they'll have to figure out how to handle the Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid, who is currently on pace for 49 goals and 213 points this season. Gulp.

Very little has gone right for the Pittsburgh Penguins through 18 games this season, but one of the most glaring issues has been the special teams play. What was a strength of the team last season that helped propel them back to the Stanley Cup playoffs, has become a major liability that is burying them near the bottom of the standings. If the Penguins are to turn around their 2026-27 campaign, it starts with improving the special teams. [Pensburgh]

Pens Points…

If the Penguins season keeps going at the trajectory we have seen thus far, they’re going to be sellers at the trade deadline and perhaps even before. With a veteran-laden roster, the Penguins have plenty of pieces to ship out, but some may need to waives contract clauses to do so. [Pensburgh]

One of the most recognizable and beloved names in Penguins history is set to take his place among the franchise greats this season. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is set to be inducted into the Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Fame in a ceremony that is sure to be memorable. [Penguins]

Not many of the moves the Penguins made this offseason have paid off in any meaningful way, but the poor results may help the Penguins get to a place they need to be for a successful rebuild to happen. [PPG]

NHL News and Notes…

Cutter Gauthier notched a hat trick against the Penguins on Sunday to go along with his hat trick earlier in the week and was named First Star of the Week by the NHL. Second Star honors went to Jack Hughes and Juuse Saros was named Third Star. [NHL]

There’s more drama brewing between the Winnipeg Jets and Connor Hellebyuck despite the Jets granting the goalie’s trade request a few weeks ago. Since news broke that Hellebyuck will not play in his return to Winnipeg on Tuesday, the Jets head coach had a few choice words. [Sportsnet]

Tampa Bay Lightning (11-4-2, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (8-6-3, in the Atlantic Division)

Buffalo, New York; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Buffalo Sabres after Pontus Holmberg's two-goal game against the Winnipeg Jets in the Lightning's 4-3 loss.

Buffalo has an 8-6-3 record overall and a 2-1-2 record in Atlantic Division play. The Sabres have a -6 scoring differential, with 50 total goals scored and 56 given up.

Tampa Bay has a 1-0-0 record in Atlantic Division games and an 11-4-2 record overall. The Lightning are 6-2-0 in games they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponents.

The matchup Wednesday is the first meeting this season between the two clubs.

TOP PERFORMERS: Noah Ostlund has scored four goals with six assists for the Sabres. Jack Quinn has seven goals and five assists over the last 10 games.

Jake Guentzel has 10 goals and eight assists for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov has four goals and 10 assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Sabres: 5-3-2, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.6 assists, 4.3 penalties and 10 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game.

Lightning: 6-2-2, averaging 4.2 goals, 6.5 assists, 3.5 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game.

INJURIES: Sabres: Matt Grzelcyk: out (lower-body), Konsta Helenius: out (upper-body), Justin Danforth: out (upper-body), Alex Lyon: out (upper-body).

Lightning: Brayden Point: day to day (undisclosed).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Utah Mammoth (10-7-1, in the Central Division) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (12-5-2, in the Pacific Division)

Paradise, Nevada; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights host the Utah Mammoth after Tomas Hertl's two-goal game against the Buffalo Sabres in the Golden Knights' 4-1 win.

Vegas has a 12-5-2 record overall and a 6-3-0 record in home games. The Golden Knights have gone 6-3-0 when they commit fewer penalties than their opponent.

Utah has gone 6-5-1 in road games and 10-7-1 overall. The Mammoth have an even scoring differential this season, scoring and allowing 63 goals.

The matchup Wednesday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Mark Stone has 10 goals and nine assists for the Golden Knights. Hertl has five goals and two assists over the past 10 games.

Logan Cooley has 11 goals and 10 assists for the Mammoth. Dmitriy Simashev has scored three goals over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Knights: 5-3-2, averaging 2.8 goals, 4.4 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.

Mammoth: 4-5-1, averaging 3.2 goals, 5.5 assists, four penalties and 9.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.9 goals per game.

INJURIES: Golden Knights: Parker Wotherspoon: out (upper body).

Mammoth: Maveric Lamoureux: out (shoulder), Nate Schmidt: out (upper body), Kailer Yamamoto: out (upper-body), John Marino: out (upper body).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

EDMONTON, Alberta — Alberts Smits is considered week to week with an upper-body injury, the Rangers announced Monday.

The rookie defenseman had appeared in all 17 games for the Rangers before he was a last-minute scratch for the win over Seattle on Saturday. Despite taking warmups against the Kraken, Smits ultimately didn’t dress and watched from the press box with the other scratches for the first time this season.

“I don’t know exactly when it happened,” head coach Mike Sullivan said before the Rangers fell 3-1 to the Oilers at Rogers Place on Monday. “It wasn’t during warmup, but yes, obviously, he was dealing with it. I don’t know the exact time.”

Smits is the second Rangers defenseman to go down with an injury this season, after the Rangers put Sean Durzi on injured reserve with a lower-body injury last week. Durzi participated in an optional morning skate Monday in a red noncontact jersey, which indicates the 28-year-old blueliner is progressing toward a return after missing his fifth straight game.

Since his injury is retroactive to Oct. 26, however, Durzi can be activated and slot back into the Rangers lineup at any time.

Their pair has been a bit of a weak spot for the Rangers this season, but Smits continues to adjust to the NHL game.

Among the 46 defense pairs who have logged at least 140 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time, Braden Schneider and Smits’ 3.63 expected goals against per 60 is the second highest, per Natural Stat Trick.

The only duo with a higher rate is the Sharks’ Michael Kesselring and Darnell Nurse (3.82 xGA/60).

“I think Smitty’s learning curve has been steep,” Sullivan said. “I think he’s getting better and better with every game he’s played. I’ve said to you guys all along, I think No. 1, playing defense in this league is the hardest position to play for so many reasons. That’s a huge challenge for an 18-year-old kid to step into the NHL and play that position. I think he’s done an admirable job. He’s big, he’s strong, he has a good stick, he has mobility, he closes on people, he has a quiet confidence about him. He’s learning on the job, so to speak. We think he’s getting better and better. We’re excited about potentially where his game will eventually grow to.”

With Smits and Durzi both unavailable again, defensemen Scott Morrow and Matthew Robertson both remained in the lineup.

After he was scratched the last time the Blueshirts were in Edmonton, Robertson played in front of his home crowd for the first time.
“It’d be super, super meaningful,” he said. “Be a really cool experience getting to play in front of your hometown, family and friends in the building. It’s a game I’ve really wanted to play for a long time. It’s something you dream of growing up, playing in front of your hometown.”

Luke Glendening returned to the Rangers lineup Monday night after serving as a healthy scratch the past three games.

As a result, Matt Rempe was the odd man out for the 14th time this season.

Bobby Sheehan, who played a notable role in the Rangers’ run to the 1979 Stanley Cup Final, died Saturday at his Massachusetts home, the Canadiens announced.

He was 77 years old. A cause of death was not revealed.

“We join the hockey community in mourning the loss of Bobby Sheehan, who played an integral role in helping the Rangers advance to the Stanley Cup Final in 1979,” the Rangers said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with Bobby’s family, friends, and former teammates during this difficult time.”

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The fourth loss in a row for the Islanders was more alarming than the first three for two big reasons.

First, the Sharks are not the Oilers, Hurricanes or Devils. Talented they may be, but the club that beat the Islanders 3-2 in a shootout at SAP Center on Monday night is not a Stanley Cup contender. San Jose is now 8-11-1, still very much figuring itself out.

Second, the Islanders played poorly for most of this game, and it’s not the first time lately. They were hemmed in their zone frequently, they gave up chances in the middle of the ice, they struggled to hang onto possession of the puck or generate a forecheck. It was, in other words, not Pete DeBoer hockey.

“We’re giving up too many chances, we’re giving up too many shots,” captain Bo Horvat said. “It’s just not sustainable for 84 games. We got to get back to the way we were the first 10 games, and that’s playing well defensively, reloading hard and making it tougher on teams. Right now, we’re giving up too many shots.”

That was excusable against the league’s top class. Against the Sharks, less so, even if it took a shootout winner from Ivar Stenberg to put San Jose over the top.

Even had the Islanders gotten away with a win — and to be fair, they were close to doing so — this was still a performance that invited scrutiny.

“I think we both played smart for stretches and we both played really badly for stretches,” DeBoer said. “… The self-inflicted parts of the game where we didn’t stick with it costs us.”

Of course, the big-picture outlook comes with the massive caveat that there is “potential,” as DeBoer has said, for Mathew Barzal, Matias Maccelli and Ryan Pulock to return from injury by the end of this trip. That ought to be a game-changer, and there is no doubt at all that a lot of what’s happened over the past week-plus has been about the collective toll of the injuries catching up with the Islanders.

Still, they were bossed around for long stretches on Monday, particularly by San Jose’s top line of Michael Misa, Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. Even when they weren’t, it often looked like a track meet and not the detailed hockey the Islanders want to play.

The clubs were tied at two entering a heated third period after Kyle MacLean’s hit on Stenberg provoked Ty Dellandrea to fight MacLean and Barclay Goodrow to fight Mitchell Chaffee off the ensuing faceoff.

That did at least seem to wake the Islanders up a little bit as they started the third on the front foot. 

Maybe, after the fury at officials in Saturday’s Islanders loss, there was some karmic justice as well, after a Victor Eklund hit on Kiefer Sherwood initially called a major was reversed into a roughing double minor on Mason Marchment, handing the Islanders a four-minute power play midway through the third.

The fledgling momentum, though, was squandered when Anthony Duclair and Ondrej Palat both took penalties trying to stop a shorthanded San Jose rush, putting the Islanders at four-on-three and, eventually, leaving both teams scoreless on their respective power plays.

“That’s the game right there,” DeBoer said of those sequences in the third. “I loved how we started. I think we had five or six grade-A looks in the first five minutes of the third period. You gotta stick one in the net.”

There was no missed call to complain about this time at three-on-three, only a frenetic five minutes without resolution. Ilya Sorokin, strong all evening with 37 saves, was terrific in overtime, and it took the Sharks eight rounds of the shootout to beat him.

Problem was, the Islanders couldn’t get anything by Yaroslav Askarov either.

“I didn’t think, overall, it was our best game system-wise or on the little details,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau told The Post. “I thought there were some good parts and we need to focus on those, and try to be better where we didn’t. I’m not worried about the process or anything.”

The best minutes of the game for the Islanders were the first handful. After Ben Hutton opened a 1-0 lead by getting to a deflected Simon Holmstrom pass first, the Sharks started pressing, and the visitors never quite recovered their mojo, even as the game stayed close — with Stenberg, Eklund and Tyler Toffoli all trading goals.

“Mentally, we have to commit to playing the same way every night,” Horvat said. “We know what it’s gonna take to be successful. We know what our really good game looks like. Just, we haven’t been doing it these last five games for a full 60.”

The New York Islanders failed to snap their three-game skid on Monday night, falling 3-2 to the San Jose Sharks in an eight-round shootout. 

The Islanders failed to score on their first seven shots, with rookie Ivar Stenberg winning it for San Jose.

IVAR STENBERG WITH THE SHOOTOUT WINNER IN ROUND EIGHT 🦈 pic.twitter.com/POLdvQ80eC

— NHL (@NHL) November 10, 2026

Ilya Sorokin was brillaint denying 37 of 39 shots that came his way. Yaroslav Askarov was just as good if not better turning aside 30 of 32. 

Here's how it happened: 

Ben Hutton scored his first goal with the Islanders in his second game after Simon Holmstrom found him cutting to the net at 6:14 of the first period: 

HUTTON OPENS UP THE SCORING. pic.twitter.com/ymV0EGT3t6

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) November 10, 2026

The Sharks answered with ivar Stenberg deflecting a Tyler Toffoli wrist shot from the low slot past Sorokin's blocker at 16:41 of the first:

👌 pic.twitter.com/KI1kDzozZ7

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 10, 2026

Victor Eklund, who had three hits in the first period, found the back of the net on the power play, finishing off a Brayden Schenn backhand feed from the slot at 1:11 of the second period:

POWER-PLAY GOAL. pic.twitter.com/GHz36PEMzF

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) November 10, 2026

But, at 12:12 of the second, Toffoli ripped a shot off Adam Pelech's visor and in to tie the game at 2-2:

Off the dome and in. 😬 pic.twitter.com/j3QJGsFEPs

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 10, 2026

Before the second period came to a close, Mitchell Chaffee fought Barclay Goodrow while Kyle MacLean fought Ty Dellandrea. 

Islanders while on double-minor PP took two penalties of their own giving San Jose a 2-minute 4-on-3 but the Islanders got the kill.

UP NEXT: The Islanders battle the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday at 10 PM ET

The Vancouver Canucks extended their losing streak to six games after falling 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night. Jonathan Lekkerimäki scored the only goal for Vancouver, which came in the third period on the power play. As for Leevi Meriläinen, he stopped 14 of the 16 shots he faced in the loss. 

Another night, another frustrating performance by the Canucks. Despite facing a tired Flyers team that blew a lead on Sunday before losing in overtime, Vancouver failed to generate any form of offence through the first two periods. By the second intermission, the Canucks had registered just six shots, which was the same total Philadelphia had in the second period alone. 

"I think the level of frustration is high," said Drew O'Connor post-game. "No one's happy with losing. No one's happy with how we're playing. I think over the last little stretch, there's probably been some games that we've played pretty well. And then, you know, look at Winnipeg. We were really bad in Winnipeg. We have a decent response. Played pretty good in Edmonton, and then kind of more the same tonight. Just not good enough."

Poor effort and lack of compete has been a common theme for Vancouver this year. For whatever reason, the team has struggled to put forth a full 60-minute effort, which has contributed to their losses in 16 of their last 17 games. Post-game, Head Coach Manny Malhotra once again sounded frustrated as he explained some of the problems from Monday's loss. 

"The most frustrating part was our start," said Malhotra. "When you know the topic of discussion for the game is you want to stress a team early that's coming in on a back to back, and the message is we have to have that same level of intensity that we played with the other night. And to come out as flat as we did, and make the same mistakes, and take dumb penalties, it's concerning. It's frustrating. It's becoming a problem." 

The Canucks deserve credit for how they played in the third. After allowing a goal that was called back for offside at the start of the period (shoutout Video Coaches Ian Beckenstein and Andrew Shaw), Vancouver controlled play the rest of the way and outshot the Flyers 13-2. Unfortunately, the Canucks could not find an equalizer on a late power play as instead, they surrounded an empty net goal late in the period. 

"There's a number of things that go into that," said Malhotra when asked about the third-period push. "Obviously, they did do a good job of pushing back. Yes, they were a tired team on the other side. Give our group some credit for applying that pressure, but again, the lesson being we wait so long. Those are the types of efforts and mentality we need out of the gate. And when we discuss it prior to going out on the ice, and we don't see it, it's extremely frustrating."

While long losing streaks during rebuilds are expected, Vancouver's nightly effort level is shocking. Everyone sounds frustrated, but as Malhotra mentioned in his post-game, the same mistakes are happening night after night. With just three wins through their first 20 games, the Canucks need to find a way to become a cohesive unit; otherwise, they could find themselves on the wrong side of NHL history. 

Stats and Facts:

• Brock Boeser records point 499 of his NHL career
• Filip Hronek logs a career-high 31:11 of ice time
• Canucks have given up a power play goal against in 16 of their 20 games this season
• Jamie Oleksiak, Luke Schenn, Filip Hronek and Guillaume Brisebois all finished the night with three blocked shots

Scoring Summary: 

1st Period: 

2:03- PHI: Michael Bunting (1) from Christian Dvorak and Nick Seeler

2nd Period: 

3:05- PHI: Travis Konecny (2) from Matvei Michkov and Christian Dvorak (PPG)

3rd Period: 

12:44- VAN: Jonathan Lekkerimäki (7) from Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson (PPG)

19:01- PHI: Travis Sanheim (2) (ENG) (SHG)

Up Next: 

Vancouver Canucks vs New York Rangers, November 13, 2026, 7:00 pm PCT

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The Islanders and Sharks were trading chances in a pond hockey Monday night when an old-time hockey game broke out. These are not very good teams, but they can be fun teams to watch, particularly with their recent top-of-the-draft picks (most of which, obviously, are on the persistently tanking Sharks side).

Fittingly, it ended in the longest shootout of the season thus far, where the first 15 attempts were stopped until Ivar Stenberg finally beat Ilya Sorokin for a Sharks shootout win, while Yaroslav Askarov stopped all eight Isles attempts.

[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]

The teams took turns with power play goals — one coming off a terrible call against Kyle MacLean when Macklin Celebrini fell in the neutral zone — before the gloves came off at the end of the second period with the game knotted at 2-2.

Shoves were exchanged, threats were made, and then MacLean fought Ty Dellandrea and Mitchell Chaffee fought Barclay Goodrow. Chaffee had control over Goodrow, while Dellandrea cut MacLean’s cheek open.

That set the stage for an eventful third that ignited after Victor Eklund, who had a nice power play one-time goal in a great game for him, threw a check into Kiefer Sherwood’s body, then fell on top of the Shark. The irony is that Sherwood, who wears gloves within his gloves and so cannot legally fight, picked Eklund out of a scrum at the end of the second period to demonstrate his superiority over a teenager.

Anyway, Mason Marchment, demonstrating the hockey um, intelligence that is in his DNA, initiated a scrum and started throwing ungloved punches at Eklund while the Isles teenager was tied up by, among others, the linesman. The refs procedurally called a five-minute major on Eklund so that they could review his hit on Sherwood, then decided no penalty was warranted for him but Marchment received a double-minor.

But then after the Islanders power play returned to its normal level of incompetence, the second unit took one penalty — Ondrej Palat with the lazy hook after a turnover — and then received a second one on the same play, Anthony Duclair called for tripping after the play should’ve been blowed dead when he knocked away a Sharks pass in the slot.

With great work from Ilya Sorokin, J-G Pageau, Bo Horvat and Adam Pelech, the Islanders killed off the ensuing two-minute 4-on-3. The game was still stuck at 2-2 with under 10 minutes to go.

The teams each had some half-chances the rest of the way, including an uncomfortable rush and wraparound try by Ivar Stenberg right before the horn, but overtime and then a shootout was their shared destiny. Sorokin made some nice saves in OT, and Horvat had backhand chance all alone that he sent just wide, but nothing could prevent us from the breakaway drill.

Nobody could do a damn thing in the shootout, though we had the novelty of seeing Matthew Schaefer’s first career shootout attempt, and it wasn’t so good. Sorokin and Askarov were both in a zone, so it was somewhat interesting to see the shooters try to divine a new approach that would work.

Other notes

One of the frustrating things in this game was how often the Sharks defense simply pinched down the blueline to cut off Islanders breakout passes. Again, and again, and again, with no adjustment.

Kyle Palmieri had a ton of good chances, a few that he created on his own. Coming off ACL surgery, he’s got just one goal in his last 10 games, but at least tonight he looked like more goals are near. Ah, but the less said about his unconvincing shootout approach, the better.

Up Next

Now it’s south, for games in Anaheim and L.A. on Thursday and Saturday to complete the trip.