It’s been a tough few days for the Florida Panthers.

Playing their first road games of the season, Florida has lost each of the past three games they’ve played.

The three defeats have all come over the past four days, and each one saw the game either tied or a one-goal contest late into each affair.

There will be plenty for the Cats to clean up after Thursday’s loss, and they won’t have long before getting back at.

Next up for Florida is a 1 p.m. matchup with the Sabres in Buffalo on Saturday.

Before we get to that, here are Thursday’s takeaways:

TARASOV SHINES AGAIN

It’s now been two strong starts for goaltender Daniil Tarasov this season.

The Panthers were keen on Tarasov when they acquired him over the summer, and now we’re starting to see why.

He’s turned a strong training camp and preseason into a pair of steady outings for Florida.

With Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice and his staff looking to limit starting goalie Sergei Bobrvosky to around 50-55 starts, having a reliable backup is a must if Florida wants to keep Bob fresh for what they hope is another long playoff run.

“He's been great,” Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said of Tarasov. “I think we all kind of expected it, seeing him in preseason, training camp, stuff like that. He’s given us a chance (every game) and we haven't supported him too great in his two starts. But yeah, I don't think any of us are surprised.”

NOT MUCH LEFT IN THE TANK

Playing their third road game in four nights, the Panthers had a rough time finding their legs late in Thursday’s game.

To the Devils’ credit, they look to play a similar style to Florida and did a good job of limiting the Panthers time and space.

At the same time, Jersey also utilized their time with the puck and kept Tarasov very busy. If not for him, the game could have gotten away from Florida far sooner.

“He was fantastic,” said Maurice. “A lot of lateral plays that he got across on and gave us a chance to stay in that game, especially in the back half of that game when the wheels fell off the cart for us. We didn't have much we could do, and he was great, so that's a great sign for us.”

TOO MANY BLOCKED SHOTS

One area that the Panthers will be looking to improve on is in the shots on goal department.

Florida put up only 21 and 22 shots in Detroit and New Jersey, respectively, which is a low number for this team.

It doesn’t help that over the two games, the Red Wings and Devils blocked over 40 of the Panthers shot attempts.

“You’ve got to get near the net, to start, and then you’ve got to get a puck near the net,” said Maurice. “I think we had 23 blocked tonight, 25 blocked last night, so either heat ‘em up or get ‘em by them, one of the two.”

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After a highly entertaining home opener on Tuesday night, the Montreal Canadiens were hoping to keep their game winning streak going by hosting the Nashville Predators at the Bell Centre.

Without the tribute and the home opening ceremony, the 2025-26 introduction video took center stage, and I must say it’s nice to see the torch projected on the ice for every game; seeing the rink light up in flames gets to me for some reason. As for the video itself, it’s an interesting change of pace; there are a lot of bone-crushing hits in there, and no longer just spectacular goals and saves.

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Taking More Shots

For a second game in a row, the shot clock stayed relatively low throughout the first 20 minutes. On Tuesday, Montreal could muster only four shots in the first frame, and on Thursday, they managed just six, the same amount as the Predators.

It’s not that the Habs played poorly, but at times, they’re trying one too many passes out there. Nashville aborted multiple chances, sticks getting in the passing lanes that shouldn’t have been tried since there was a good shot opportunity available. There’s something to be said about keeping things simple sometimes.

In all fairness, though, since training camp, the Canadiens haven’t focused that much on offense, something the coach has been quite open about:

Where we can improve the most is in the offensive zone; it’s not about spending more time there, but it’s about being more efficient. We die with the pucks in the corner. I think we can do a better job of it. We’ve worked so much on the other side of the game since the start of training camp that we’re a bit behind on that side, but I’d rather be behind on that side.

- St-Louis on what his team can improve

With all the offensive talent he has at his disposal, that declaration makes sense. Tightening that side of the game was urgent, as falling behind and conceding five or six goals a game would be worse than missing some scoring chances.

Dobes’ Composure

Say what you will about Jakub Dobes, but he’s always ready when he gets the call, and he’s a calm and reassuring presence in the net. While he wasn’t tested too often in the game, when he was, he was sharp.

In the first frame, he made a great save on an odd-man rush, which resulted from Noah Dobson fanning on a shot at the opposing blueline. In the middle stanza, there was a weird bounce off the boards that nearly led to a goal, as he had come out to play the puck. Jayden Struble prevented the goal, but Dobes got back in a hurry to lend a hand.

When the Preds opened the score on a power-play goal off a Kaiden Guhle semi-block, he looked at his blueliner as if to say, 'It happens.' He stayed even keel; he has a way to handle himself that sends the message to his teammates that there’s no problem, they’ll get the goal back.

Furthermore, in the overtime period, the Predators got a two-on-zero, and the goalie stood tall; without that stop, there wouldn’t have been a game-winning goal with two seconds left.

On The Dynamic Duo

When Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield started playing with the Canadiens, they were both known as offense-first players, but a few years down the line, they are so much more than that. Suzuki receives Selke Trophy votes now, and as for Cole Caufield, his growth as a complete player has been phenomenal since St-Louis' arrival.

In Thursday night’s game, we saw Caufield shine at both ends of the ice. Not only did he score the game-tying and the game-winning goal, but in the extra frame, when Mike Matheson broke his stick and the Habs were essentially down to two players instead of three, it was the diminutive forward who put the pressure necessary to lead to the whistle and allowed the Canadiens to survive a tricky situation. Just a year ago, that broken stick would have put an end to the night, but not anymore.

Speaking to the media after the game, Hutson explained how he feels the chemistry between the two reminds him of the Patrick Kane-Johnathan Toews combination. Since he grew up a Chicago Blackhawks fan, that’s quite a compliment from the youngster, and one that makes sense.

In the dying minutes of overtime, Suzuki missed a good scoring chance, and when the puck came to him again, he didn’t try for the shot; instead, he passed it to his partner in crime. Caufield made no mistake, scoring his second goal of the night and his fifth of the season. This duo makes the Canadiens an exciting team to watch, and it appears to be the case for the foreseeable future, with this young core locked up for years to come.

After two Hollywood-style wins in as many games at home, one has to wonder if the Canadiens forgot to introduce the script writer when they introduced the staff on Tuesday night. No moment was more impressive than when Hutson made a save in front of the empty net. For half a quarter of a second, he looked like he was thinking, “ouch, that hurt,” but then, gamer mode kicked in, and he launched the perfect pass to send Caufield on his way to to tie up the game. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that Struble did very well in his first game of the season. He spent nearly 14 minutes on the ice and made quite a few noticeable defensive plays, showing no sign of rust whatsoever.

The Canadiens will have a well-deserved day off on Friday before getting back to work on Saturday morning, ahead of their duel with the New York Rangers at the Bell Center.

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Anthony Stolarz's mask was popped off via a shot late in the third period against the New York Rangers, and instead of calling for an official, he bounced back up to make a save on J.T. Miller.

"I kind of just saw the rebound go to the side, and as I was going, the helmet kind of flew off, so just trying to be a competitor and slide across," Stolarz said after Toronto's 2-1 overtime win over the Rangers. "Obviously, it's not an ideal situation, but at that stage of the game, you're just trying to do anything to keep the puck out of the net."

Rule 9.6 (Helmets) in the NHL rulebook states: "When a goalkeeper has lost his helmet and/or face mask and his team has control of the puck, play shall be stopped immediately to allow the goalkeeper the opportunity to regain his helmet and/or face mask. When the opposing team has control of the puck, play shall only be stopped if there is no immediate and impending scoring opportunity."

It's a situation that could have gone horribly wrong had the shot come up and gotten Stolarz in the head area. Luckily, it didn't. But it's not the first time a goaltender has lost their mask and had to make a save this season.

lost his mask and kept going to make the save pic.twitter.com/fUVHSK5N4d

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 17, 2025

Vegas Golden Knights netminder Adin Hill took a slapshot off the mask on Oct. 14 against the Calgary Flames. The play continued, with Hill sliding across to make a stop on the rebound. The goaltender remained in the game for the rest of the first period before exiting the game.

When discussing the play post game, Stolarz brought up the Hill incident.

"Hopefully, we can find a compromise. It's not like goalies are trying to knock our helmets off. I mean, without the buckle, you can't really see the puck. You can't really track or do anything because as soon as you move your head, it falls off," Stolarz said.

"So, hopefully, the league can kind of look at it, talk to some goalies or people who have knowledge of the position, and we can kind of come to some sort of compromise where our safety isn't put at risk there."

just another day at the office pic.twitter.com/3S2GjeYUp5

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) October 17, 2025

Stolarz wasn't the only player on the Maple Leafs who shared their dislike for the rule.

"I didn't know about (the rule) until they came over and explained it to us," Auston Matthews said.

"I mean, I don't know. It's tough because his helmet's off and J.T. Miller's coming down the slot with a one-timer. I don't know. Thankfully, he didn't hit him there. But yeah, I was completely unaware of the rule. I thought the second the helmet's off, the play was going to be dead."

William Nylander: "I think, it's a goalie without his helmet, I mean, that's so dangerous. It should be blown off right away. I mean, I guess you could argue that sometimes a goalie can try and shake his helmet off or whatever, but I mean, I think that's pretty dangerous."

Matthew Knies said he was "a little scared" when Stolarz's mask came off and there was no whistle blown right away. "I don't know how it came to that. I thought it was supposed to be blown, but I don't know. It was a shocker for sure, for everyone, I think."

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Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube shared the same sentiment as the players: blow the play dead once a goaltender's mask is off.

"It's a tough call. I mean, your goalie loses his mask. He's in a very vulnerable position. And a position to get really hurt. I don't think anybody wants to see that, ever. So in my opinion, blow it down. But that's me."

Despite that scare in the third period, Stolarz was strong for Toronto. The 31-year-old stopped 28 of 29 shots in the win over the Rangers, improving his record to 2-2-0, and his save percentage to .907 through four games.

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Ivan Provorov(1) scored the only goal for the Blue Jackets, and goalie Elvis Merzļikins played very well for most of this game. Ultimately, the Blue Jackets would lose 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche. Merzļikins would end the game, stopping 

The first period was very fast, with both teams flying up and down the ice, giving each other lots of scoring chances. Both goalies had to be sharp and were, with Elvis Merzļikins getting most of the work. The Avs put 12 shots on goal and had 30 shot attempts, while the Jackets had 7 and 20, respectively. The Blue Jackets had a power play, but couldn't convert, so the period ended with neither team being able to beat each other's goalie. 

The Jackets held on as long as they could in the second period. After Ivan Provorov scored to make it 1-0, Makar and Nelson scored 1:12 apart to crush the CBJ. The law of averages caught up to the Jackets in the second. The Avs will shoot the puck, from anywhere, from anyone, and do it in short order. The Jackets thought they tied the game late in the second period when a puck went in off of Dmitri Voronkov's chest, but it was disallowed because the referee thought he had gloved it in. He did not glove it in, but it did go in off a body part, which is illegal. The Avs then scored a third goal with four seconds left on the clock to make it a 3-1 game after two periods. That goal, at the time, seemed like the nail in the coffin. 

The third period was more of the Avs just trying to end the game more than anything. The CBJ had a few chances, but the Avs shut pretty much everything down. On a good note, the Jackets killed off an Avs power play, which is something they have struggled to do this season through three games. Late in the third, the Jackets looked to have pulled to within one goal, but again the goal was disallowed due to a hand pass. The Avs would add an empty net goal to make it a 4-1 final at Nationwide Arena. 

The Blue Jackets will be fine. It's only been four games, but it's obvious where the help is needed, and that's scoring. We saw a glimpse of that against the Minnesota Wild in game two of the season when they poured in seven goals. The CBJ goalie tandem has been playing lights out for the most part, and that's a very good sign. 

The Blue Jackets honored the great Cam Atkinson before this game. Earlier in the day, Atkinson held a press conference where he signed a one-day NHL contract and then formally announced his retirement from the NHL. After warmups, Atkinson came back to the ice, dressed in his familiar #13 Blue Jackets jersey, and made a lap around the ice as the Nationwide Arena faithful went nuts. As he worked his way around the arena, he stopped to slap the glass at fans and give fist bumps through the glass as well. At one point, he even kissed the CBJ crest on the jersey, just before pointing up the Johnny Gaudreau banner that hangs on the east side of the arena. He stopped to say hi to his wife and kids and then finished his lap, as the Avs were coming onto the ice. He stayed on the ice for the National Anthem and then disappeared down the hallway. Later in the game, a couple of tribute videos were shown, most of which featured his former teammates from years past in Columbus. After one of those videos, Cam was seen chugging a beer with a massive smile on his face. Cam Atkinson was a legend for Columbus, and the fans of the CBJ should be honored to have been able to watch him play all those years. 

Even before Cam Atkinson officially retired, the #13 was never going to be worn again, but after Cam took the ice wearing it one more time, it's safe to say that that number, although not officially retired by the Jackets, will never be worn again. 

Final Stats

Player Stats

• Ivan Provorov played in his 700th career NHL game. He also scored his first goal of the season.
• Kirill Marchenko tallied an assist, his first of the season.
• Zach Werenski had 3 shots on the night.
• Elvis Merzļikins stopped 32 of 35 Colorado shots.

Team Stats

• The Jackets' power play went 0/2 against the Avs.
• The Columbus PK stopped the only Avs man advantage they had on the night.
• Columbus won 45.3% of the faceoffs.

Up Next: The Tampa Bay Lightning visit Columbus on Saturday night. 

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