Category: Sports News

The Buffalo Sabres are hoping to get some of their injured players back on the ice. At practice at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, wingers Zach Benson, Jordan Greenway, and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen took part, but defenseman Mattias Samuelsson did not participate. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff also provided an update on blueliner Michael Kesselring.  

Benson, who suffered a nasty gash to his left cheek during practice last Wednesday, wore a full face, and skated with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch. According to Ruff, the diminutive winger could play on Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators.

"I just went and got stitches and kind of kept blowing up on me." Benson said.  "(It) got to a point where I thought it'd be best (to go to) the emergency room, and thankfully I did. I had to get some some blood removed on my face." 

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Greenway practiced for the first time since having a second surgery to repair a mid-body injury, and said that a followup procedure was necessary after there was still some lingering discomfort. Luukkonen, who missed the start of training camp and played one period in the Sabres home preseason finale against Pittsburgh before encountering some discomfort, which is no longer present. Ruff did not rule out the possibility that he could go down to AHL Rochester for a rehab assignment. 

Ruff said that Samuelsson’s injury was not as series as thought and he was day-to-day, but the defenseman was not on the ice on Tuesday, which puts his status for Wednesday’s contest against the Sens in question. Kesselring, who is on injured reserve with an unspecified injury, is progressing according to Ruff. 

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While we already discussed Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael Hage last weekend after another standout offensive performance with the Michigan Wolverines, Marco D’Amico published an article on Research Ground yesterday that is highly interesting. In an exclusive interview with the prospect, D'Amico was told in no uncertain terms that the Canadiens are grooming Hage to be a pivot in the NHL.

For those who had their doubts, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound center told RG that he has worked hard this offseason to build himself into a player who can cope with the strain of playing down the middle in the NHL. That’s not all he’s worked on, though. The way he speaks about the importance of playing a two-way game sounds like he’s already a member of the Canadiens.

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His outlook on the game and the fact that he needs to play defense at both ends of the ice when he doesn’t have the puck sounds like a page right out of Martin St-Louis’ book, a true testament to the fact that all parts of the organization Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are building are communicating with each other like a well-oiled machine.. While it’s not always easy to “reprogram” players to play that way, the bench boss will certainly be grateful if Hage joins the Canadiens and has already mastered the art of 200-foot defense.

The piece also mentions that former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty is now part of the Michigan coaching staff and is playing a mentoring role with the 19-year-old. While Pacioretty came up a bit short when it came to being the Canadiens’ captain, he never did as a hockey player. He was an excellent scorer, a hard worker, and had remarkable longevity, skating for 17 years in the NHL (939 games). Had it not been for the numerous injuries he had to deal with, especially at the later stage of his career, he would have played over a thousand games.

Pacioretty spent 10 years in Montreal, and in that sense, he can be an excellent resource for Hage, but the youngster doesn’t want to fast forward to the pros and playing for the Canadiens; he’s focused on winning a national championship for Michigan, an experience that would also be beneficial as he matures into a complete hockey player.

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The Vancouver Canucks will be making two roster moves ahead of their upcoming five-game road trip. Vancouver will be reassigning forward Braeden Cootes to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL while recalling forward Max Sasson from the Abbotsford Canucks. Head Coach Adam Foote also confirmed that forward Teddy Blueger and defenceman Pierre-Oliver Joseph, who are both injured, will join the team on the road.

"After practice, we had a discussion with the staff, and we're going to reassign Cootsy to Seattle today," said Foote. "So he will not be on the road trip with us, but we're proud of what he's done. It's not been his play at all. He's a smart hockey player. We just think it's the right thing for his development. You know, this is going to be condensed, long, heavy season. He's a guy that's really good with touch pucks, touches with the puck. We have a young team. So it's hard to have a lot of support around them for his age at this moment. So I think it's the right thing for his development."

This season, Cootes played in all three games for the Canucks. He went five for 13 in the faceoff dot while averaging 10:47 of ice time. For fans who want to watch Cootes live, the next time he will be playing close to Vancouver is when the Thunderbirds take on the Vancouver Giants at the Langley Events Centre on February 16, 2026. 

The Canucks kick off their five-game road trip on Thursday when they battle the Dallas Stars. During the road trip, Vancouver will face the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators. Game time for Thursday is scheduled for 5:00 pm PT and will be broadcast on Sportsnet. 

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, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.

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The Wraparound is here with more NHL and hockey topics in rapid-fire segments.

Will The Bruins Or Penguins Defy Expectations? by The Wraparoundundefined

Here's what Emma Lingan, Michael Augello and Stephen Kerr discussed in this episode:

0:00: Was the Lane Hutson extension a huge win for the Montreal Canadiens?

4:25: Could Pavel Dorofeyev be one of the league’s next best goal-scorers?

8:29: Should the Colorado Avalanche be concerned about how much they might have to end up paying Martin Necas?

12:55: How will Aleksander Barkov’s LTIR placement impact the Florida Panthers’ season-long plans?

16:04: Do the Boston Bruins or Pittsburgh Penguins have a better chance of defying expectations this season?

18:55: Will the Washington Capitals end up keeping John Carlson beyond this season?

21:45: Has Juuse Saros shown early signs of a potential resurgence with the Nashville Predators?

27:15: Can the Ottawa Senators stay afloat without Brady Tkachuk in their lineup for at least the next four weeks?

See below for where to subscribe to the show for future episodes.

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New York Islanders' No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer stars in the NHL's "Welcome To The NHL' Part 2, which premieres this Friday on the league's YouTube channel.

This episode highlights Schaefer’s journey to the NHL, from draft day to development camp and his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Islanders fans also get a look at No. 17 pick Kashawn Aitcheson as well, as he's a character that fans are going to fall in love with, if they haven't already.

Enjoy the trailer and be sure to check out the episode in a few days. 

Tocchet wants Michkov to play through slow start, be ready for more minutes originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

VOORHEES, N.J. — Rick Tocchet, for a couple of reasons, isn’t too fixated on Matvei Michkov’s ice time just three games into the season.

His club has been in the penalty box way too often. The Flyers have committed five penalties in each game. Those 30 total penalty minutes have taken away from Michkov’s minutes because the young winger doesn’t play when the Flyers are shorthanded.

And when you beat the two-time defending champion Panthers, it’s tough to complain about Michkov not playing the final seven and a half minutes. He still finished with a comprehensible 14:56 minutes and he wasn’t the only player to lose ice time down the stretch of the Flyers’ 5-2 home-opening win Monday night.

“I’ve got to get people on the ice, so I get it,” Tocchet said Tuesday. “But he’s playing 15 minutes and we won the hockey game, so we’ve got to kind of move past that.

“We’re killing five penalties a game, so the game shrinks to 50 minutes. You’ve got to get people out there, I get it, but we’re a balanced type of team, we’re not a one-line team, we’re not a team that plays guys 25 minutes if we’re going to win.”

Michkov doesn’t have a point through the Flyers’ 1-1-1 start. After Monday’s morning skate, Tocchet divulged that Michkov dealt with an ankle issue at some point this offseason, which limited some of his training.

But the 20-year-old still looked like his dynamic self in training camp and the preseason.

“He had some stuff in the summer that he couldn’t really train and he’s behind the eight ball,” Tocchet said, “so we’ve got to get him skating.”

The head coach liked the way Michkov skated Monday night and Tuesday in practice.

“There’s two good days together,” Tocchet said. “We’ve just got to stack some days for him.”

Matvei Michkov sets up Bobby Brink goal in 2-on-1 drill. pic.twitter.com/QsLGHNX567

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) October 14, 2025

Last season, Michkov played 80 of 82 games and was one of the NHL’s top rookies. The Flyers wanted to be careful with a teenager from Russia making the jump to the NHL. As part of the process, former head coach John Tortorella sat Michkov for two games in November and cut his minutes at different times of the season.

Tocchet was asked about the thought of healthy scratching players to give them a mental or physical reset. It doesn’t sound like he’ll go that route with Michkov, especially this early in the season.

“No,” Tocchet said. “For a guy like him, he has got to play through it.”