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It appears that one of the top prospects for the Pittsburgh Penguins will see his first game as a healthy scratch Tuesday.

Head coach Dan Muse said that 19-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke will not play against the Anaheim Ducks Tuesday as part of the development plan the team has laid out for him. 

Muse mentioned that these planned scratches are part of the team's process for both Brunicke and fellow teenage rookie Ben Kindel, who is just 18 years old and was drafted 11th overall by the Penguins this summer. 

"We're looking at what's best for him and his development," Muse said. "It's all part of a plan for them laid out by management and the coaching staff. They're in a different position because of their age, and we want to put them in the best position to succeed."

It's Only Been Three Games. But Kindel And Brunicke Should Be In Pittsburgh To Stay.Going into Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp this season, it's safe to say that most folks did not have 2025 11th overall pick Ben Kindel making the NHL roster out of the gate.

Brunicke registered his first NHL goal on Thursday in a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders and has one point in three NHL games to start his career. Kindel has the same exact stat line, as he scored his first NHL goal Saturday against the New York Rangers, which is his lone point on the season so far.

In the first three games this season, Brunicke worked on the third defensive pairing with Caleb Jones, and Kindel has been centering the third line. Kindel is expected to play against Anaheim.

Penguins At Ducks Preview: Penguins Looking To Bounce Back After Saturday's LossThe Pittsburgh Penguins will start their run through California on Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks. 

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Sometimes, an NHL team needs their goaltender to be the best player on the ice. For Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot, that was exactly the case on Monday afternoon against the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Talbot backstopped the Red Wings to their second consecutive victory over the Maple Leafs with a spectacular 38-save performance, singlehandedly keeping Detroit alive in their contest that saw Toronto largely dominate play. 

By the time everything was said and done, the Maple Leafs had a 40-15 advantage in shots, but it was the Red Wings who secured the two points in the standings thanks to a 3-2 final score. 

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“I felt good from the get-go," Talbot explained of his performance. "Made a couple big stops early and confidence grows, especially after last game. I’m just trying to make the saves I’m supposed to make and give our team a chance to win. I feel like I was able to do that tonight.”

Talbot made 20 saves on the 23 shots he faced as part of Detroit's 6-3 victory over the Maple Leafs at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday evening, which was his first start of the new campaign. 

He likely earned himself another start with his clutch play in both games.

The Red Wings struck first thanks to a first period power-play goal from Dylan Larkin, and later increased that lead to 2-0 in the third period thanks to a strong power move to the net by first-year Detroit forward James van Riemsdyk, who was making his Red Wings debut. 

While the Maple Leafs managed to pull even with goals from Matthew Knies and Calle Jarnkrok, the Red Wings stunned the crowd at Scotiabank Arena with the game-winner from another first-year Red Wings forward, Mason Appleton, with just 45 seconds left in regulation. 

It was Appleton who took teammate Lucas Raymond's spot on the top line after the latter departed the contest following a heavy hit into the boards from Toronto's Chris Tanev. 

"That's A Good Sign": Red Wings Find Positives In Win Despite Being Outshot Getting outshot by a 40-15 margin and constantly getting hemmed into their defensive zone wasn't the strategy for the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings">Detroit Red Wings </a>on Monday afternoon, and yet things still worked out for them thanks to a superhuman performance from goaltender Cam Talbot.&nbsp;

Talbot highlighted how other Detroit players stepped up in the absence of Raymond, which, combined with his 38 saves, resulted in Detroit's victory. 

“We’ve put together a couple good ones here, and we knew this was going to be a tough one and that we were going to need everybody," Talbot said. "You lose Ray at some point during the game, and other guys have to step up.

"You throw Apps on that top line, and he buries a big one for us with 45 seconds left. That’s how good teams win hockey games, and we had contributions from everyone tonight.”

"We gave up a two-goal lead and didn’t quit. It didn’t look like we were real polished, but we didn’t quit. That’s a good sign.”

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Oct 14, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron (47) celebrates with forward Cole Smith (36) after scoring a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second period at Scotiabank Arena. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

After a 4-1 victory in Ottawa against the Senators Monday afternoon, the Nashville Predators faced their first test of finishing a back-to-back on the road.

Tuesday night, the Preds traveled to Toronto for the second of a four-game swing through Canada. They fought hard, but came up short in a 7-4 loss to the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.

Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, John Tavares, Bobby McMann, Auston Matthews (2) and William Nylander scored for the Maple Leafs.

Michael Bunting, Erik Haula, Roman Josi and Nick Perbix tallied the Preds' goals.

HAULLLLAAAAAAAA pic.twitter.com/HEhtxpURC7

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) October 15, 2025

The Maple Leafs were coming off two consecutive losses to the Detroit Red Wings, and took out their frustrations on the Predators. They built a 2-0 lead before the Preds roared back early in the second with two goals in 44 seconds to tie the score.

The Leafs answered with three goals of their own and staved off a spirited comeback by the Predators, who suffered their first loss in regulation and fall to 2-1-1 for the season.

Preds head coach Andrew Brunette scratched Brady Martin for the second game in a row. He told reporters earlier in the day this was part of Martin’s development plan.

With Martin sitting, Tyson Jost skated on a line with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly. Ozzy Wiesblatt made his season debut and collected two assists on the night.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

The Preds Showed A Lot Of Heart

Toronto was desperate to play well in front of the home crowd, and showed it in the opening period.

The Preds couldn’t register a shot through the first six minutes, but finally began narrowing the gap and ended the frame with eight shots to Toronto’s nine. Problem was, two of the Leafs’ shots went into the net, and built a 2-0 lead.

The second period saw the Preds outshoot the Leafs 14-6, with McCarron and Haula bringing them even 2-2 with goals just 44 seconds apart.

Once again, Toronto refused to give in, and the Preds found themselves sinking in quicksand despite showing grit throughout the game.

The two teams traded a total of four goals in the final four minutes of the game. The Preds tallied eight goals in their first two road games, twice the number they scored in the first two home games combined. They left Toronto without a win, but didn't allow the Leafs to run away from them.

Big Juice Was Outdueled

It was a battle of the backup goalies, with Justus Annunen getting his first start of the young season. Cayden Primeau was in net for the Leafs.

It was Primeau who came out on top, stopping 22 of 26 shots. Annunen saved 18 of 23 Leafs shots.

While Annunen kept the game from getting completely out of hand, he was out of position on McMann’s goal after Brady Skjei made a great defensive play on the initial shot. That gave the Leafs their two-goal lead back after the Predators had worked hard to get back in the game.

Juuse Saros has been virtually unstoppable through his first three games, posting a 2-0-1 with a 1.64 goals-against average and .947 save percentage. No one is expecting Annunen to be Saros's equal, and the No. 1 guy has to be rested once in a while.

One game is too small a sample size to judge, but Big Juice will need to have some big games to keep hopes of a turnaround season alive for the Preds.

The Power Play Has Lost Power

Stop us if you’ve read this before: the Preds’ power play was stalled again.

The unit seems to be more inclined to pass rather than take a shoot-first approach. They’re failing to get penetration and find consistent chances to score.

Nashville came into the game a paltry 1-for-15 with the man advantage, an Tuesday did nothing to raise that percentage. They didn't have as many opportunities as they did against the Sens the day before, but failed in both their tries against the Leafs.

The penalty-kill unit didn’t have to work as hard, either, compared to the penalty fest in Ottawa. They successfully killed off both penalties and are now 11-of-12 through four games.

Their only blemish on the young season came Monday against Ottawa, when they gave up an empty-net goal on a 6-on-4. Otherwise, they are perfect in 5-on-4.

While it may seem a little much to pronounce an NHL team's fourth game of the season a must-win game, considering the start the Buffalo Sabres have gotten out to this season -- losing all three games and generating only two goals in that span -- it's safe to say the Sabres desperately need a win when they take on the Ottawa Senators Wednesday in Buffalo.

That said, the Senators also need a win in a bad way. Ottawa has dropped its past two games, losing to the Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators.  So if the Sabres think the Sens will be a soft touch for them, they should think again. The injury-rattled Senators still could put a-hurtin' on the Sabres, and if that's what happens, Buffalo will be pointless in the first five percent of the season. And at that point, the vultures will start to stretch their muscles and prepare to encircle the Sabres.

There has to be a legitimate change for the Sabres -- an urgency -- or it won't matter who's next up in their schedule. The results are going to remain the same, and the anger of Buffalo fans is going to surge. You can only listen to the same skipping record before madness sets in, and that's where Sabres fans are at right now.

It's fine and dandy if you're part of a moderately-successful NHL team and you're asking fans for their patience as the team navigates through a tough stretch. But when it's been nothing but tough stretches for the past 14 years when there's been not a single Stanley Cup playoff game that included the Sabres, you'll have to forgive Buffalo fans if they're testy with the organization.

More Misery For Sabres As Buffalo Loses Third Straight Game To Start New SeasonAny way you want to frame it, losing three straight games to start the season is a disaster for the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres' third straight defeat came Monday at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche -- a legitimate Stanley Cup frontrunner -- and once again, offense was a problem for Buffalo.

The Sabres are in show-don't-tell territory, and they'll be in that territory until they string together not just a solid week, and not just a solid month or two, bu rather a solid season. Until then, fans and pundits will be in the right to question their direction. 

You can't spell goodwill without "will", and Buffalo has run out of goodwill as they've shown they don't have the will to deliver a playoff season to Western New York. Well, maybe talent also has something to do with that result. But no amount of excuses will change the mood around the Sabres if they can't pull out of this early tailspin. They have to come through with some wins, or deal with the consequences.

Injury-Plagued Sabres Having Worst-Case-Scenario Start To SeasonThe news from Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was about as bad as it can get for a hockey team -- Buffalo's first-line center, Josh Norris, will be on the sidelines for the foreseeable future after being injured in the Sabres' first game of the season Thursday.

Only sustained success from now through mid-April will keep the buzzards at bay in Buffalo. If not, it's going to make the '25-26 season agonizingly-long for the Sabres.

Adrian Kempe, who is one of the biggest names to be a UFA at the end of this season, is still without a contract extension.

Kempe currently earns a $5.5-million cap hit, but it’s expected that the Swedish right winger will receive a healthy increase in salary on his next deal. This is his final season of his four-year, $5.5-million contract that he signed in the 2022 off-season.

The Los Angeles Kings and GM Ken Holland are under some pressure to bang out a new contract for Kempe, the team’s leading scorer after the first four games of the season.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman provided the latest reports during The Fan hockey Show about the negotiations between the Kings’ front office and Kempe’s representation.

Friedman said that there was a pause in negotiations between the two parties, but talks should start up again soon.

According to the Sportsnet insider, there was a bit of a gap between Kempe and the Kings. In terms of money and average annual value, it seemed that Los Angeles was at the $9 million AAV mark, while the player was around the $10 million AAV area.

However, since then, the Winnipeg Jets signed left winger Kyle Connor, the Edmonton Oilers signed center Connor McDavid, and the Minnesota Wild signed Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history.

With all that to consider, it’s understandable that the asking price has gone up in the meantime. 

Furthermore, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported earlier in the month that Toronto Maple Leafs right winger William Nylander is a contract comparable to Kempe’s situation.

Nylander currently earns $11.5 million against the salary cap, and that will continue for the next seven seasons, including this campaign.

Despite the current gap between the team and player, Friedman said he believes that Kempe wants to remain a member of the Kings.

Kings 2025-26 Player Preview: Adrian KempeAs the 2025-26 season approaches, one thing that will continue to follow the Los Angeles Kings around, until it is completed, is the pending contract situation for star forward, Adrian Kempe.

With that said, Kempe holds all the leverage in these negotiations as one of the most important players on the Kings’ roster. 

The 29-year-old has led Los Angeles in scoring for the last two seasons. In addition, he’s scored 35-plus goals in three of the last four campaigns, including a 41-goal season in 2022-23.

It’s tough to say that the Kings are a better team without Kempe in the lineup, and that leads Friedman to believe that it’s in Holland’s best interest to get this deal done on the first chance he gets.

With the return of Tyler Kleven on Monday afternoon, the Ottawa Senators suddenly found themselves carrying eight defensemen on their NHL roster, and that was one too many for their liking. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the team has opted to place Donovan Sebrango on waivers as of Tuesday.

Sebrango had served as Kleven’s direct replacement in the Senators’ first two games down in Florida, but with Kleven now healthy, it appears the Sens have decided to send Sebrango back to Belleville of the American Hockey League, where he’s spent most of the past two seasons. His two games with Ottawa over the past week have now doubled his career games played total at the NHL level. He made his NHL debut with the Sens back in January.

Behind Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, and Kleven, Sebrango is generally seen as the next man up on the left side of the organization's depth chart. That much was made clear in the first two games of the season.

But he may soon have some competition. The Sens recently strengthened the left side of the B-Sens blue line by signing free agent Scott Harrington to a two-year AHL deal. Harrington brings more than 250 games of NHL experience. Everyone else on the left side in Belleville, and we'll include Sebrango's four games of NHL experience, have combined for four games of NHL experience.

If Sebrango clears waivers and reports to Belleville, head coach David Bell will suddenly have his own left side surplus on the back end. In Ottawa, the Sens appear to favour one extra defenseman and one extra forward.

Drake Batherson is set to be activated from injured reserve in time for Wednesday night’s road game against the Buffalo Sabres. So he'll likely be replaced on the IR by Brady Tkachuk after the captain suffered a right-hand or wrist injury during Monday’s home opener. The Sens are saying Tkachuk might be out for a month or more and haven't ruled out surgery.

Senators Captain Brady Tkachuk Likely To Miss A Month Of Action (At Least)Following an uninspiring 6-2 drubbing at the hands of the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers on Saturday, Ottawa Senators fans were hoping for an inspiring bounce-back performance in the team's home opener on Monday afternoon.

Sebrango was acquired by the Senators in July 2023 as part of the Alex DeBrincat trade. DeBrincat was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Sebrango, Dominik Kubalik, a conditional first-round pick, and Detroit’s 2024 fourth-round selection. That first-round pick was later part of the trade package sent to Boston for goalie Linus Ullmark.

Still just 23, Sebrango—a former World Junior player with Team Canada—could draw interest from other NHL teams on the waiver wire. The Ottawa-born defenseman likely has a soft spot for his hometown club, but with three quality left-shot defensemen under contract for at least the next two seasons, his path to full-time NHL status appears blocked for the foreseeable future.

More Sens Headlines at The Hockey News Ottawa Senators Site:
Tkachuk Injured As Senators Drop Home Opener To Nashville
Another Tough Break For Former Senator Josh Norris
Senators Injuries: Kleven And Batherson Provide Health Updates
Yakemchuk Reflects On Playing First Pro Game Saturday
Senators Mauled By Florida 6-2, Penalty Killing Struggles Continue
Jordan Spence: A Healthy Scratch For Sens Season Opener