Worldwide Sports News

The Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to get forward Blake Lizotte back very soon, perhaps as early as Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Lizotte returned to practice for the Penguins on Saturday and was a full participant. Head coach Dan Muse confirmed to reporters after the session ended that Lizotte has been cleared for contact, and his final clearance for Sunday's game is still pending. 

Lizotte was back in his usual spot on the fourth line with Connor Dewar and Noel Acciari. He has missed the last nine games with an undisclosed injury and hasn't played since Dec. 7 when the Penguins lost 3-2 to the Dallas Stars in a shootout.

The Penguins have won only one of the nine games Lizotte has missed. No, Lizotte isn't a cure-all to the Penguins' problems, but he has still been really missed in the lineup, especially on the penalty kill. 

Before getting hurt, this was a Penguins kill that ranked in the top 10 of the entire NHL. Heck, it was top five back in mid-November. Fast forward to now (Dec. 27), and it ranks 14th in the league at 81.1%. Part of that slide in the rankings is due to the Penguins going through a stretch from Dec. 14-18 when they killed only 7 of 12 penalties against the Ottawa Senators, Edmonton Oilers, and Utah Mammoth. All three games resulted in losses and contributed to the Penguins' eight-game losing streak. 

Lizotte is a puck hound on the PK, and the rest of the players on the top unit feed off it. He consistently applies pressure and doesn't give opposing players any time in the offensive zone. He's always in position and can also block a ton of shots. 

Since going down with his injury, the PK has been much more passive, allowing opposing PP units to do whatever they want in the offensive zone. The PK has also been giving up free zone entries and isn't boxing players out effectively at the front of the net. 

Switching gears to 5v5 play, Lizotte is a big part of the fourth line. I still maintain that Dewar is the straw that stirs the drink on that line, but Lizotte's speed, tenacity, and forechecking ability open up a lot of things for his line. He helps the line cycle down low in the offensive zone and is a handful along the boards when trying to win puck battles. 

Penguins Notebook: Lizotte Full Participant In First Practice After Holiday BreakThe three-day holiday break was a much-needed hiatus and reset for the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>, who had won just one of their previous 10 games and <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/5-things-the-penguins-should-ask-for-this-holiday-season">are 3-5-4 in the month of December</a>.

Even if those plays aren't resulting in goals, they help to sustain momentum, something that Penguins head coach Dan Muse likes a lot. He's super excited to get Lizotte back soon. 

"I think it starts with just that energy he plays with," Muse said after Saturday's practice. "I mean, it's contagious. And I think he's able to, because of the way he plays, a lot of times, he's creating momentum for our team. Whether it's the way he tracks and strips, or just stays on pucks, blocks shots, he does a lot of little things there that go a long way and that are greatly appreciated in the locker room."

This is Lizotte's second season with the Penguins after signing a two-year deal with them during free agency in 2024. He finished the 2024-25 season with 11 goals and 20 points in 59 games and has three goals and five points in 27 games so far this season. 

Digging a bit deeper, Lizotte has played 294:54 at 5v5 this season and has been on the ice for 53.5% of the shot attempts, 53.8% of the expected goals, 54.8% of the scoring chances, and 54.3% of the high-danger chances. 

He drives play in the bottom six, and the Penguins are hoping that he can pick up from where he left off before getting hurt. This is a Penguins team that has lost nine of their last 10 games and finds themselves three points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

They can cut the deficit down to one point with a win over the Blackhawks on Sunday evening.

(Data via Natural Stat Trick). 

---

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!  

The Kings and Ducks backed into Saturday’s rivalry game at Crypto.com Arena.

The Kings came out of the NHL’s three-day holiday break having lost six of their last seven, scoring just 11 goals over that span. Only two teams in the Western Conference have been worst in December.

The Ducks hadn’t been much better, though, having won just two of their last seven to give up their lead in the Pacific Division. But the league rules said somebody had to win Saturday and that proved to be the Kings, who rode a four-goal first period and Alex Laferriere’s first career hat trick to a dominant 6-1 victory that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated.

Read more:Adrian Kempe explains why he chose the Kings over a bigger payday in free agency

Drew Doughty put the Kings in front to stay just three minutes after the opening faceoff, finding open ice on the edge of the crease, where he took a pass from Quinton Byfield and deflected it past Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal. The second assist on the goal went to former Duck Corey Perry.

Trevor Moore doubled the lead less than a minute later, redirecting in a feed from Brian Dumoulin in the left circle. Ducks coach Joel Quenneville responded by calling a 30-second timeout in an effort to settle his team.

That didn’t work, with Laferriere blasting a one-timer by Dostal from just outside the crease to make it 3-0 with  9:39 left in the first period. When Byfield scored on a power play in the final minute, the Kings had their first four-goal period of the season and their first four-goal game in nearly three weeks.

After being booed off the ice at the end of their last game, a 3-2 loss to Seattle on Wednesday, the Kings left to cheers for the first intermission.

The Ducks finally got on the board when Mason McTavish scored on the power play midway through the second period. They worked hard for that goal, outshooting the Kings 12-1 in the period, yet coming away with just the one score.

Laferriere wound up matching that less than five minutes into the third period, scoring on a breakaway to give him the third multi-goal game of his career and his first this season. Dumoulin and Anze Kopitar both got their second assists on the goal.

And Laferriere wasn’t done, scoring his 10th goal on a one-timer from the high slot at 13:15 of the final period. The six goals for the Kings matched their season high and was one short of what they had scored in their last four games combined.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are back at home after the Christmas break to take on the New York Islanders at 5 PM. 

New York Islanders - 21-13-4 - 46 Points - 6-3-1 in the last 10 - 2nd in the Metro

Columbus Blue Jackets - 15-15-6 - 36 Points - 3-6-1 in the last 10 - 8th in the Metro  

Blue Jackets Stats

• Power Play - 20.7% - 12th in the NHL
• Penalty Kill - 74.3% - 30th in the NHL
• Goals For - 104- 23rd in the NHL
• Goals Against - 124 - 25th in the NHL

Islanders Stats

• Power Play - 15.7% - 27th in the NHL
• Penalty Kill - 82.1% - 11th in the NHL
• Goals For - 106 - 20th in the NHL
• Goals Against - 100 - 6th in the NHL

Series History vs. TheIslanders

• Columbus is 27-23-1-7 all-time, and 18-7-1-4 at home vs. New York.
• The home team is 10-3-1 in the last 14 games of the series.
• The Blue Jackets have won 3 of the last 5 overall against the Isles.
• The CBJ have not had a power play against the Islanders since 2023.

Who To Watch For TheIslanders

• Bo Horvat leads the Islanders in goals(19) and points(31).
• Mathew Barzal leads the team with 19 assists.
• Goalie Marcus Hogberg is 2-6-3 with a SV% of .878.
• David Rittich is 9-3-2 with a SV% of .919. He started last night and shut out the New York Rangers.

CBJ Player Notes vs. Islanders

• Mason Marchment has 4 points in 9 games vs. the Islanders.
• Boone Jenner has 16 points in 33 games.
• Charlie Coyle has 15 points in 25 career games against NYI.

Injuries 

• Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body - Missed 28 Games - IR - No timeline for a return
• Zach Werenski - Lower Body - Missed 1 Game
• Isac Lundeström - Lower Body

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 73

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FANDUEL SPORTS NETWORK. Bob Wischusen will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 THE FAN, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play. 

Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more!

Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News and never miss a story. 

Let us know what you think below.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Defenseman Jakob Chychrun scored in overtime and Logan Thompson made 35 saves as the Washington Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Saturday night.

Chychrun beat Devils netminder Jake Allen with his 15th goal 4:06 into the extra session to lift Washington to only its second win in its last eight games. New Jersey lost its third straight.

Aliaksei Protas also scored and added two assists for Washington. Anthony Beauvillier and Alex Ovechkin also scored for the Capitals, who are 11-1-0 in their last 12 visits to Prudential Center.

The visitors led 2-1 entering the third period before the Devils scored twice in a 32-second span to move ahead. Ovechkin then tied the game at 3 with his 15th goal, the NHL-record 912th of his career at 9:17.

Jesper Bratt — who had just one goal since Nov. 6 — scored twice for New Jersey. Cody Glass also scored for the Devils, who have lost 13 of their last 20 games.

Protas opened the scoring with less than a second left in the first, tapping in a pass from Ovechkin for his 14th goal.

Bratt tied the contest 1-1 at 4:56 of the second on the power play.

Beauvillier snapped the puck past Allen for his seventh goal at 17:33 of the middle period to put Washington ahead 2-1.

Bratt tied the contest again at the seven-minute mark of the third with his second goal of the game and eighth of the season. Glass then put New Jersey ahead at 7:32 with his seventh before Ovechkin tied the game for a third time.

Washington rebounded from Tuesday’s 7-3 home loss to the Rangers.

The Devils were coming off Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Islanders at UBS Arena and last Sunday’s 3-1 home loss to Buffalo.

Allen made 29 saves in defeat.

Up next

Devils: Visit Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

Capitals: Visit Florida Panthers on Monday.

Former Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux has hit a new career milestone, as he played in his 1,300th career NHL game during the Ottawa Senators' matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 27.

While Giroux is now 37 years old and in his 19th NHL season, there is no question that the former Flyer is still a very impactful player. In 37 games so far this campaign with the Senators, he has posted seven goals and 26 points. These are solid offensive numbers from Giroux, and he is a key part of the Senators' forward group because of it. 

Giroux is now just the 76th player in NHL history to play in 1,300 career regular-season games. That is certainly a big accomplishment for the former Flyer. 

Giroux was selected by the Flyers with the 22nd overall pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. The Hearst, Ontario native played 1,000 of his career NHL games with the Flyers, where he recorded 291 goals, 609 assists, 900 points, and a plus-27 rating. The seven-time All-Star also served as the Flyers' captain from 2012-13 until he was traded to the Florida Panthers during the 2021-22 season. 

NEW YORK (AP) — David Rittich made 27 saves for his ninth career shutout, Anders Lee scored less than a minute into the game, and the New York Islanders blanked the New York Rangers 2-0 on Saturday night.

Lee’s unassisted goal 58 seconds in extended his point streak to five games as the Islanders won their second straight. Simon Holmstrom added an empty-netter with 16 seconds left in the game.

The Islanders’ Bo Horvat returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games with a lower-body injury.

Igor Shesterkin finished with 24 saves, but the Rangers were shut out for the seventh time this season.

Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy turned the puck over behind Shesterkin, allowing Lee to capitalize for his 10th goal of the season.

Rittich denied Will Cuylle on a two-on-one opportunity midway through the first period to preserve the one-goal advantage. He also stopped Artemi Panarin on a breakaway in the second to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard.

Soucy was awarded a penalty shot after Cal Ritchie slashed him on a breakaway, but Rittich turned aside the attempt in the third period.

The Islanders went 0 for 5 on the power play.

The Islanders placed starting goaltender Ilya Sorokin on injured reserve before the game, but the Russian netminder is expected to travel with the team on the upcoming two-game road trip to close out the calendar year.

Up next

Rangers: Visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.

Islanders: Visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday to open a two-game road trip.