Category: Sports News

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. 

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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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."

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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.