With the ninth-overall pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Buffalo Sabres selected defenseman Radim Mrtka. With the Sabres needing help on the right side of their blueline, they are hoping that the 6-foot-6 defender will be a big part of their roster in the future. 

With Mrtka having high potential, he has now landed a spot on The Hockey News' Top 100 Hockey Players 21-And-Under list. THN's Ryan Kennedy gave Mrtka the No. 37 spot on the rankings. 

Mrtka is showing off his potential this season with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL). In 10 games with the WHL squad so far this campaign, he recorded one goal, 11 assists, 12 points, and a plus-4 rating. This was after he posted three goals, 35 points, and a plus-10 rating in 43 games with the Thunderbirds back in 2024-25. 

Mrtka also played in four games this season with the Rochester Americans, where he recorded one assist, seven penalty minutes, and an even plus/minus rating.

Overall, there is a lot to like about Mrtka, so it is understandable that he has made this list. It will be fascinating to see how he continues to grow his game from here. 

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It's not easy to score three goals on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy during a game, but it's what the Detroit Red Wings managed to do on Saturday afternoon.

The only problem was that once again, they weren't able to keep the puck out of their own net. 

Multiple defensive turnovers spelled defeat for the Red Wings, as they dropped a 6-3 final score at Little Caesars Arena for their third consecutive regulation defeat. 

Perhaps even more worrying is the fact that it was the fourth time in the last five games that the Red Wings have allowed at least four goals. 

While head coach Todd McLellan has repeatedly spoken of essentials like mental fortitude, team captain Dylan Larkin acknowledged that the club is a bit brittle right now. 

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"Even when we were winning games, we were down a goal or two early and right now, we're just a little fragile and mistakes seem to be compounding," Larkin said. "We're finding ourselves down early in games and that's the way it's going right now. There's a blueprint in how we play well and you saw it parts (Friday) but in this league against a team like that, you have to be ready all 60 (minutes) and show what you are made of all those 60."

Among the mistakes in Detroit's end was a misplay on the puck by young defenseman Albert Johansson as he was stripped of the puck from behind by Gage Goncalves, who scored Tampa's second goal a moment later. 

Rookie Nate Danielson inadvertently sent the puck right into his own crease from the slot after getting his stick on a Tampa pass attempt, setting up the first of what would be two goals from Yanni Gourde on the afternoon. 

Finally, Moritz Seider misplayed the puck behind his own net during the third period, leading directly to Jake Guentzel's deflection goal seconds later that put the game out of reach. 

The Red Wings have shown at various points this season that they're capable of putting together consistent, 60 minute efforts. A prime example of it was their victory earlier on Nov. 16 over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, arguably their most complete defensive performance of the campaign. 

Conversely, the Red Wings have also strayed away from what has made them successful at various points, with their recent losses to the NHL-worst Nashville Predators and on Saturday against Tampa Bay being prime examples. 

J.T. Compher, who scored the game’s opening goal, said that although younger players’ fear of making a mistake can sometimes cause exactly that, good players and teams find ways to stay consistent regardless of how long they’ve been in the NHL.

"You're going to learn in this League a bunch of different ways. Even guys that aren't in their first year, it could be their third, fourth, sixth, seventh years. It's a battle to be consistent in this League, and the good players do it, the good teams do it." 

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Former Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno is going to be missing some time.

The Minnesota Wild have announced that they have placed Foligno on injured reserve. In addition, the Wild shared that the former Sabres forward will be out week-to-week due to a lower-body injury. 

This is certainly tough news for Foligno, especially when noting that the 34-year-old forward has been looking to bounce back from a tough start to the season. In 23 games so far this campaign with the Wild, the former Sabre has posted zero goals, two assists, and a minus-10 rating. This is after he recorded 14 goals, 15 assists, 29 points, and a plus-7 rating in 77 games with the Wild this past season.

Foligno kicked off his NHL career with the Sabres after being selected by them with the 104th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. In 347 games over six seasons with the Sabres from 2011-12 to 2016-17, the 6-foot-3 forward posted 49 goals, 67 assists, 116 points, 334 penalty minutes, and 1,023 hits. 

Foligno's time with the Sabres ended when he was traded to the Wild during the 2017 NHL off-season. 

We're already getting to some very exciting NHL players and prospects as the online countdown of The Hockey News' top 100 hockey players aged 21-and-under continues.

The Hockey News' Prospects Unlimited issue's annual ranking of hockey's youngest talent is compiled by Ryan Kennedy, and while he uses our Future Watch rankings as a resource, this is a completely independent compilation.

Future Watch is based on a survey of NHL scouts, while the PU Top 100 is cobbled together by Kennedy based on his projections of what the players will be once they hit their primes.

Since different positions have different prime years, take that to mean we are projecting how good these forwards will be when they are 23 or 24 years old, the defensemen when they are 24 or 25 and the goalies when they are 25 or 26.

The birth year cutoff for this year’s list is 2004. Ages noted are as of Oct. 1.

As we share the top 100 list on TheHockeyNews.com, you can see the full list with player bios and draft information for each of them right now by being a subscriber to The Hockey News and accessing the Archive or by opening the magazine if you've already received it in your mailbox.

Catch up on the players ranked 41st to 60th, 61st to 80th and 81st to 100th. Here are the next 20.  

40. Ryan Lin, D, 17 years old, Vancouver Giants (WHL)
NHL Draft: 2026

39. Cole Hutson, D, 19, Washington Capitals
Boston Univ. (HE)

38. Ryan Roobroeck, LW, 16, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)
NHL Draft: 2026

37. Radim Mrtka, D, 18, Buffalo Sabres
Seattle (WHL)

36. Sam Rinzel, D, 21, Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago (NHL)

35. Frank Nazar, C, 21, Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago (NHL)

34. Cayden Lindstrom, C, 19, Columbus Blue Jackets
Michigan State (Big Ten)

33. Axel Sandin-Pellikka, D, 20, Detroit Red Wings
Detroit (NHL)

32. Jake O'Brien, C, 18, Seattle Kraken
Brantford (WHL)

31. Roger McQueen, C, 18, Anaheim Ducks
Providence College (HE)

30. Cutter Gauthier, LW, 21, Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim (NHL)

29. Caleb Desnoyers, C, 18, Utah Mammoth
Moncton (QMJHL)

28. Michael Hrabal, G, 20, Utah Mammoth
UMass (HE)

27. Ethan Belchetz, LW, 17, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
NHL Draft: 2026

26. Brady Martin, C, 18, Nashville Predators
Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

25. Will Smith, C, 20, San Jose Sharks
San Jose (NHL)

24. Ryan Leonard, RW, 20, Washington Capitals
Washington (NHL)

23. Carter George, G, 19, Los Angeles Kings
Owen Sound (OHL)

22. Jimmy Snuggerud, RW, 21, St. Louis Blues
St. Louis (NHL)

21. Sam Dickinson, D, 19, San Jose Sharks
San Jose (NHL)

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The Detroit Red Wings said all the right things after their regulation loss to the NHL-worst Nashville Predators on Wednesday evening. 

However, the same kind of defensive miscues that hurt them during that setback were once again at the forefront of Friday afternoon's tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

The Lightning took advantage of multiple giveaways by the Red Wings and made life hard for goaltender John Gibson, who allowed five goals as part of their 6-3 loss at Little Caesars Arena. 

pic.twitter.com/7p8TG1nSga

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 28, 2025

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It was also the fourth time in the last five games that Detroit has allowed at least four goals against. With the loss, the Red Wings, who briefly were the top team in the Atlantic Division earlier this month, fell to 13-11-1 and are now in a fifth-place tie in the division standings.

Detroit found the back of the net first in the opening 20 minutes of play after J.T. Compher beat goaltender Andrei Vasilevsky with a quick blocker-side shot from the face-off circle. 

But the Lightning knotted the score later in the frame after a blast from the point by defenseman Darren Raddysh beat Gibson through the five-hole. 

Gibson’s five-hole was exposed in the opening seconds of the second period when Gage Goncalves stripped the puck from Albert Johansson near the top of the slot and snapped a shot through his pads.

Less than three minutes later, another Detroit defensive miscue set up the first of Yanni Gourde’s two goals on the afternoon. Gourde had multiple whacks at the puck during a goal-mouth scramble before he got the last one to successfully go in. 

Detroit gained some life after Michael Rasmussen poked a loose puck past Vasilevsky a moment after Compher's shot rang off the post, but Gourde capitalized by firing the puck past Gibson, who wasn't properly set after Nate Danielson inadvertently knocked Tampa's Zemgus Girgensons into him. 

A quick shot through the five-hole of Vasilevsky by Dylan Larkin late in the period cut the deficit to one, but Tampa would once again take advantage of a defensive miscue by a Red Wings defenseman to restore their two-goal bulge. 

Jake Guentzel's deflection goal at 12:37 of the third period following a turnover by Moritz Seider effectively put the game out of reach; the Lightning then added insult to injury with an empty-net tally from Brandon Hagel at 17:13.

The goals-against average and save percentage of Gibson, which were both already at pedestrian levels coming into today's game, weren't helped after he allowed five goals on 27 shots. Meanwhile, Vasilevskiy picked up the win by making 33 saves.

The Red Wings will now travel to Boston for the first of two straight matchups against the Bruins, who will be in Detroit on Dec. 2. 

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Sharks' thrilling win over Canucks caps off November to remember on home ice originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Shark Tank is back. The beloved venue once revered as one of the NHL’s greatest home-ice advantages appears to be finding its groove once more.

San Jose’s thrilling 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday at SAP Center marked the seventh victory on home ice in November, tying a franchise record for most home wins in a calendar month. It’s the sixth time the Sharks have accomplished this feat, with the last occurrence coming in November 2019.

Will Smith, William Eklund and Adam Gauddette each scored a goal while Yaroslav Askarov delivered yet another scintillating performance in net to put the Sharks at 27 points through 25 games of the 2025-26 NHL season.

The Sharks will finish the month with a 7-1-1 record at SAP Center, racking up wins against quality teams like the Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings. Their only two losses over that span came in close contests, a 3-2 defeat to the Ottawa Senators and a 3-2 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

Askarov has been at the forefront of San Jose’s incredible form on home ice, posting a 6-0-0 record at the Tank while allowing just 1.83 goals per game this month. That continued Friday with another dominant showing as Askarov recorded 32 saves in the win, including a couple of key stops in the game’s final minute to secure the win for Team Teal.

Askarov’s November currently places him among the NHL’s best netminders this month, ranking second in games played (10) tied for first in wins (eight), eighth in goals against average (1.88) and fourth in save percentage (.947). Askarov’s eight wins in November tied Evgeni Nabokov’s franchise record for most wins by a rookie in a calendar month.

The 23-year-old’s trademarked jubilance was on full display at the end of Friday’s win over the Canucks, as Askarov made sure to show some love to the 17,435 fans who packed the house for the Sharks’ third consecutive sellout.

“Appreciate you guys, thank you again,” Askarov said during his postgame interview with NBC Sports California’s Tara Sloane. “You’re the best again. Let’s go Sharks!”

While Askarov and the home crowd are paramount to the outcome of Friday’s game, the story cannot be told without an emphasized focus on the heroic play of the Sharks’ special teams.

Two of the Sharks’ three goals came on power plays, with both serving as crucial equalizers that got San Jose back into the game after trailing.

Smith tied things at 1-1 with 10:35 left in the first period after Alex Wennberg put the puck on a silver platter as the 20-year-old lurked unmarked on the weak side of the net.

Eklund then followed that up with a screamer of a one-timer to bring the Sharks even at 2-2 with 5:58 remaining in the second period.

After the win, Eklund highlighted the Sharks’ improved effort at retrieving pucks during their spells of advantage, leading to more shots on net and a pair of key goal conversions against the Canucks.

“Good power plays, they shoot a lot of pucks and get a lot of chances out of that,” Eklund told reporters. “I think we’ve been better at retrieving pucks after we shoot and helping out with each other and that’s why we scored on the power play.”

While the power play served a crucial role, it was San Jose’s penalty kill that was flawless in the 3-2 victory. The Sharks killed all nine of the Canucks’ power plays, including a hectic final minute in the third period where Vancouver had six skaters to San Jose’s four after going with an empty net in pursuit of a game-tying goal.

The Sharks are 8-4-3 on home ice this season, a far cry from last season when San Jose didn’t log its eighth win at SAP Center until January.

After years of SAP Center serving as a playground for visiting teams, a trip to San Jose once again is one that opponents will have to respect, and dare I say even fear?

Exactly the way it ought to be.

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Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy will be a player to watch if the Original Six club ends up being sellers at the 2025 NHL trade deadline. This is because the right-shot defenseman is a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) and would be a popular target for playoff clubs. The Blackhawks also have several promising young defensemen in their system.

Due to this, let's look at three teams that could be fits for Murphy if the Blackhawks decide to shop him. 

Vegas Golden Knights 

One of the Golden Knights' objectives this season should be to improve the depth on the right side of their defense. Due to this, a player like Murphy could be a strong addition to their roster. He could work well on their bottom pairing and penalty kill if brought in. 

Winnipeg Jets 

The Jets should also be on the hunt for another right-shot defenseman this season. Due to this, it would be understandable if they made a push to land Murphy. He would provide them with a defensive defenseman with size, which is never a bad thing to have. 

Detroit Red Wings 

The Red Wings could use more help on the right side of their defense, so it would make a lot of sense for them to pursue Murphy. He would give them an upgrade for the right side of their bottom pairing. 

Flyers avoid wasting strong start, stay perfect in shootout at 5-0 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers probably didn’t anticipate going to a shootout Friday when they were up 3-0 on the Islanders.

But that’s where they found themselves. And that’s where they found another win.

Rick Tocchet’s club hung on to beat New York, 4-3, in the skills competition at UBS Arena.

The Flyers improved to 5-0 in the shootout. They lead the NHL with 11 shootout wins over the last two seasons.

Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny provided the Flyers’ tallies after regulation. Zegras is a blistering 17 for 25 lifetime in the shootout.

Samuel Ersson picked up his 12th career shootout win in 15 opportunities.

Zegras, Tyson Foerster and Sean Couturier staked the Flyers to a 3-0 lead, which was erased before second intermission.

But the Flyers (13-7-3) were able to survive some dicey moments and get to overtime. They’ve earned at least a point in nine of their last 11 games (7-2-2). They’re 2-1-0 on this four-game road trip, which spans six days.

The Flyers are 2-0-0 in their four-game regular-season series against the Islanders (13-9-3). They beat New York, 4-3, in a shootout a little over a month ago at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

• Ersson really battled, recording 28 saves on 31 shots. Nine of his saves came in the third period and three in OT.

The Flyers didn’t manage the puck well after jumping out to that 3-0 advantage. They also had to kill off a Matvei Michkov high-sticking penalty that put the Islanders on a four-minute power play in the third period of a 3-3 game.

After a turnover by Emil Andrae led to New York’s first goal, Tocchet could be seen on the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast saying “f—ing freebies.” Andrae wasn’t aware of a banged-up Kyle Palmieri behind the play. The Islanders’ veteran forward stripped the Flyers’ young defenseman and started the sequence for Emil Heineman’s goal.

That gave New York life as the Flyers’ lead was trimmed to 3-1 in the second period. The Islanders built on the momentum and had things tied up heading into the third period.

New York backup David Rittich stopped 18 of the Flyers’ 21 shots.

In five of their previous eight games, the Flyers had fallen behind 2-0. But not in this one.

The Flyers raced out to a 2-0 lead just 8:52 minutes into the action. Foerster and Couturier scored just 22 seconds apart, which was eerily similar to how the Flyers closed out their 4-2 win Wednesday night over the Panthers.

Zegras padded the Flyers’ lead to 3-0 on the power play just 1:55 minutes into the middle stanza.

• After holding Matthew Schaefer scoreless in the first meeting, the Flyers couldn’t slow down the 2025 top overall pick this time.

The 18-year-old defenseman skated into the circle and blasted one past Ersson to make it 3-2. Garnet Hathaway was unable to clear the puck, which kept the Islanders in the offensive zone.

Schaefer then picked up a secondary assist on Anders Lee’s power play goal. That tied the game at 3-3 with 47 seconds left in the second period.

• Foerster has been on a roll going back to March 22 of last season.

Over that span, he has 18 goals, seven assists and a plus-10 rating in 31 games.

The 23-year-old winger has shown his upside as a goal scorer.

• The Flyers are right back at it Saturday when they visit the Devils (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

Since last season, the Flyers have gone just 1-12-2 in the second game of back-to-back sets.