The Pittsburgh Penguins desperately needed something to go their way when they returned home to face the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

Between a four-game road trip that saw them go 0-4 and losing two regular forwards in Ben Kindel and Bryan Rust to injured reserve, they were due for a break.

And they got that and more against the Cats.

In their most complete 60-minute effort of the season, the Penguins defeated the Panthers, 4-0, and never surrendered command of the hockey game. Penguins' goaltender Arturs Silovs recorded his second shutout of the season in the effort, stopping all 25 Florida shots on goal. 

It was a much-needed victory after a week and a half span where nothing went right for them.

"I just think all three periods were consistent," Robertson said. "We didn't let off the gas. Obviously, going into the third with the lead, we wanted to finish it off, and we did."

The Penguins dictated play for the vast majority of the first period. They had an extended power play that included 19 seconds of five-on-three time midway through the period and failed to score, but even outside of that, they spent a whole lot of time in the offensive zone. 

Their labors finally paid off with 4:41 left in the opening frame. Nick Robertson poke-checked Florida defenseman Uvis Balinskis in the defensive zone, forcing a turnover and a rush opportunity the other way. He got the puck back breaking into the offensive zone, toe dragged and faded down the right side, and beat Panthers' goaltender Cooper Black - who made his NHL debut - to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead with his fifth of the season.

ROBBIE RIPS ONE HOME 👏 pic.twitter.com/I4EnACagks

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 22, 2026

The second period began with an assault from Florida, as they outshot the Penguins, 9-1, in the opening six minutes. However, Pittsburgh began to get some momentum back around the midway point, and they were able to capitalize. 

Evgeni Malkin skated center-drive on a three-on-two opportunity, with Ville Koivunen on his left and Hendrix Lapierre on his right. He passed it to Koivunen on the left wall, and under pressure, Koivunen dished a perfect pass to Lapierre, who broke for the net. He deked backhand-to-forehand to put it past Cooper and make it 2-0.

SILOVS ➡️ MALKIN ➡️ KOIVUNEN ➡️ LAPIERRE! pic.twitter.com/uNhvWg8z4M

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 23, 2026

Nearing the end of the second, Arturs Silovs took a double-minor for high-sticking Sam Bennett on a fly-by. The Penguins' penalty kill stepped up big, and Connor Dewar was robbed on a shorthanded breakaway opportunity. Rickard Rakell also had a huge shot block on Bennett with time dying on the clock. 

The Penguins killed off the remaining 17 seconds of power play time for the Panthers to begin the third period, and Silovs came up with a big stop point-blank on Matthew Tkachuk shortly after. Then, a little more than a minute later, Evgeni Malkin took advantage of a miffed pass attempt by teammate Hendrix Lapierre at the offensive blue line and carried the puck in on the rush down the left side.

Malkin slid the puck to himself under a diving Gustav Forsling, and he finished it off to score his team-leading sixth goal of the season and hand the Penguins a commanding 3-0 lead.

You can't stop the Malkamania 💥 pic.twitter.com/eVETGaUyrR

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 23, 2026

The Penguins pretty much shut it down after that, and they were rewarded with another tally at the end, courtesy of a Robertson empty-net goal.

From start to finish, the Penguins put forth a dominant effort in this game against a formidable opponent. And, given the circumstances and the way things were trending following the disastrous road trip, it's hard to imagine they could have played better.

“It's definitely not easy coming off the road when things haven't gone well. So, it's a credit to the locker room. They're the ones that are out there playing,” head coach Dan Muse said. “I really thought we had contributions from throughout the lineup. We’ve talked about consistency, and that’s right up there for me in terms of the most consistent game of the year.”

Dubas: Ben Kindel Had 'Vasovagal Episode' On Team PlanePittsburgh Penguins' general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas cleared up what happened during Ben Kindel's medical episode on the team plane Tuesday, which prompted an emergency landing and required hospitalization.

Here are some thoughts and takeaways from this one:

- Thursday marked Lapierre's first game back in the lineup since a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Oct. 10.

And he and the rest of the second line was very effective for the Penguins, as some lineup shuffling with the injury situation led him to center that line. 

"Four games is a long time," Lapierre said. "I was just super excited. I felt like there was a little bit more adrenaline there. Glad we were able to play a really good game against a really good team. Everyone contributed."

- Speaking of that second line, it really seems like Koivunen is beginning to find another gear and is more resemblant of the player who had seven points in eight games to begin his NHL career.

His pass to Lapierre was a thing of beauty. He's connecting on more passes in general. He's stringing some shifts together. And he's developing some legitimate chemistry with Malkin. 

He just keeps getting better with every game, which is something that Muse likes to see. 

"I think he's taken really good steps," Muse said. "You can see with the playmaking. I feel like that it is a big part of his game. He's also finding good spots for himself, too, just making himself available and getting some good looks. His play away from the puck has also been solid. It's been good.

"I think, with him, it's just continue to push. I've liked the direction he's going in."

Penguins Send Kindel, Rust To IR, Recall Two PlayersThe Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled two players from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

- Ilya Solovyov, who played his first game of the season in Utah and was iced again Thursday, has been really solid through two games for the Penguins. And he was particularly solid on the penalty kill Thursday, which was a perfect 4-for-4.

He was tasked with a lot of responsibility on the PK, and he delivered. And, during his five-on-five minutes, the improvements from last season were noticeable. 

"Maybe start to play a little more solid, more confident on the ice," Solovyov said. "I just feel way faster than I was before. Faster mind, like in my mind, how I do everything, my feet, how my feet [are] moving.

"So, I mean, I spent [the] whole summer here and tried to improve that."

The Penguins' blue line, in general, was much better in this game. If they can settle down on the back end and continue to get performances from the penalty kill like this, they'll be in good shape. 

Penguins Prospect Continued Hot Start On Wednesday NightPittsburgh Penguins prospect Carter Sanderson continues to be unreal at the start of the season.

- Rutger McGroarty, recalled Thursday from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) after beginning the AHL season with four goals and nine points in six games, slotted in for Chinakhov.

And he played fairly well.

He was on the second power play unit and also saw some minutes on the penalty kill during a four-minute double-minor for high-sticking by Silovs late in the second and into the third. He did some good things offensively - he even hit the crossbar on an opportunity - but the bulk of what I noticed from him was on the defensive side of the puck.

McGroarty is a really solid 200-foot player. He makes the right reads, he has a nice stick in the defensive zone, and he excels on breakouts. 

It'd be nice to see him get some runway in the lineup. 

- Finally, what a night for Silovs.

It's not as if he had to work extremely hard all night, as the Penguins really limited high-danger chances. But he answered the bell when called upon, particularly on a golden opportunity by Sam Bennett in the first period and a point-blank net-front opportunity by Matthew Tkachuk early in the third.

The Penguins' goaltending has been a bit inconsistent to start the season, but there was nothing inconsistent about a confident performance from Silovs.

How Long Will Holdout Be For Penguins' Top Defensive Prospects?With Pittsburgh's blue line struggling immensely to begin the season - and the numbers backing that up - how long will it be before the Penguins give some of their younger talent on the blue line a look?

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

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh’s Arturs Silovs stopped 25 shots to spoil the history-making debut of Florida counterpart Cooper Black as the Penguins beat the Panthers 4-0 on Thursday.

Black, who at 6-foot-9 became the tallest goalie ever to appear in an NHL regular season game, made 18 saves but it wasn’t enough to stop the Panthers from dropping their second game in as many nights.

Nick Robertson scored twice for Pittsburgh. Hendrix Lapierre and Evgeni Malkin both finished with a goal and an assist as the Penguins shook off a miserable Western Conference road trip in which they were badly outplayed in losses to Chicago, Colorado, Vegas and Utah.

The trip ended with 19-year-old forward Ben Kindel collapsing on Tuesday during the flight back to Pittsburgh. Kindel spent the night in a Salt Lake City hospital for observation and returned to the Penguins’ facility on Thursday. The team placed him on injured reserve but is hopeful may be able to return to practice as early as next week.

Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse shuffled his lines in hopes of a spark, and the Penguins responded by solving the towering Black, a 25-year-old from Michigan, three times.

Black, called up from Florida’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte recently after Jacob Markstrom sustained a shoulder injury, was sharp early as the Panthers struggled to find their legs a night after an emotionally charged loss in Ottawa.

DEVILS 4, DUCKS 1

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Arseny Gritsyuk and Nico Hischier scored first-period goals, Nico Daws made 16 saves and New Jersey beat Anaheim.

Anthony Mantha restored the two-goal lead with 6:33 left in the third, and Jack Hughes added an empty-netter with 6.1 seconds remaining. New Jersey won its second straight to improve to 6-4-0, while Anaheim dropped its fifth in a row to fall to 4-6-0.

Gritsyuk and Hischier each scored their fifth goal of the season, with Jesper Bratt assisting on both scores. Hughes assisted on Gritsyuk’s goal.

Tim Washe scored for Anaheim on a tip at 8:20 of the third period. Ville Husso made 25 saves for the Ducks.

Gritsyuk opened the scoring at 4:38 of the first, connecting from close range off Bratt’s centering pass. Hischier scored off a rebound on a power play with 41 seconds left in the period.

BRUINS 6, PREDATORS 0

BOSTON (AP) — Michael DiPietro made 28 saves for his first career shutout, David Pastrnak had two goals and two assists, and Boston cruised to a victory over Nashville.

Charlie McAvoy had a career-high four assists for Boston, and Casey Mittelstadt, Elias Lindholm, JJ Peterka and Mark Kastelic also scored.

Pastrnak leads the Bruins in goals (six) and assists (10). Boston improved to 6-0-1 in its last seven games, with the only loss coming Tuesday in overtime at Dallas to conclude a four-game trip.

Justus Annunen stopped 25 shots in first start for Nashville since last season. The Predators have lost four of five.

The Bruins went ahead 3:49 into the game when Pastrnak sent a cross-ice pass to Mittelstadt, who fired it past Annunen’s right shoulder.

Lindholm made it 2-0 on the power play later in the first. Pastrnak scored midway through the second when he deflected McAvoy’s shot past Annunen, and the Bruins captain assisted on Peterka’s goal late in the period.

Pastrnak capped the scoring with 5 minutes remaining and became the eighth player in Bruins history with 20 career four-point games.

SHARKS 6, SENATORS 2

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Colin Graf had a goal and an assist, Yaroslav Askarov stopped 39 shots and San Jose beat Ottawa for its first regulation victory of the season.

Nolan Allan, Tyler Toffoli, Jacob Trouba, Zack Ostapchuk and Ivar Stenberg also scored for the Sharks (6-4-1).

Tim Stutzle and Jordan Spence scored for Ottawa (7-4-0). Samuel Ersson made 23 saves.

Ottawa placed goalie Linus Ullmark on injured reserve Thursday after he suffered a lower-body injury a night earlier.

Spence scored at 6:24 of the third period to make it a two-goal game.

The Senators pulled Ersson while on the power play with under four minutes remaining, but Ostapchuk took advantage of a giveaway and scored an empty-net goal.

Stenberg added a second empty-netter to round out the scoring.

MAPLE LEAFS 5, RANGERS 4

TORONTO (AP) — Troy Stecher scored with 26.3 seconds left in regulation and Toronto outlasted the New York Rangers for its third straight victory.

Brandon Duhaime had a goal and two assists, and Teddy Blueger, Kirill Marchenko and Easton Cowan also scored for Toronto (6-4-2).

Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves. Zack MacEwen added two assists. Blueger also had an assist for a two-point night.

Mika Zibanejad, with a goal and an assist, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Tye Kartye and Alexis Lafreniere replied for New York (7-4-1), which got 31 stops from Dylan Garand. Adam Fox had four assists.

Stecher’s winner came on a delayed penalty after he took a pass from Morgan Rielly and ripped a high shot.

Bobrovsky tied former Rangers star Henrik Lundqvist for the most wins by a non-North American goalie with 459.

KINGS 3, ISLANDERS 2, OT

NEW YORK (AP) — Artemi Panarin had two goals, Brandt Clarke scored in overtime and Los Angeles won a second consecutive game, beating the New York Islanders.

The Kings have back-to-back victories after losing their first six games. They were the final NHL team without a win before defeating Washington on Tuesday night.

LA was outplayed for much of the Islanders game and outshot 43-26. Panarin beat rusty backup Semyon Varlamov glove side twice, and Darcy Kuemper kept making stops even as his rebound control was lacking, finishing with 41 saves.

Kuemper cracked for the first time with just under six minutes left in the second period when rookie Victor Eklund’s shot squeezed through on a power play. Islanders face of the franchise Matthew Schaefer wired a wrist shot by Kuemper 7:06 into the third.

Clarke scored the winner with 2:18 left in 3-on-3 OT after he and his teammates possessed the puck for several shifts in a row.

BLUES 6, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Justin Barron had a goal and three assists, Dylan Holloway had two goals and an assist and St. Louis beat Vegas.

Jimmy Snuggerud had a goal and an assist and Pavel Buchnevich and Mason McTavish also scored for the Blues, who improved to 3-0-1 at Enterprise Center this season. Joel Hofer made 27 saves.

Brett Howden and Jack Eichel scored and Aidan Hill made 25 saves for the Golden Knights, who dropped their second straight game.

Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner didn’t play because of what the club called “a family matter.” His wife, Stephanie, was due to give birth to their second child, someone with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the specific reason wasn’t announced.

Marner has a seven-game point streak and has recorded 12 points in 11 games for the season. Alexander Holtz replaced him in the lineup.

STARS 3, JETS 2, OT

DALLAS (AP) — Roope Hintz scored on a breakaway 3:47 into overtime after his game-tying goal with 2 minutes left in regulation and Dallas beat Winnipeg.

Wyatt Johnston scored his first goal of the season for Dallas, after 45 last season, and had an assist. Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen each had two assists.

Rantanen, who two nights earlier had a hat trick for every Stars goal in a 3-2 overtime win against Boston, passed to Hintz from behind the net for the late regulation goal.

Hintz had been denied a tying goal at the end of the second period after he got his stick on a puck from the side of the net behind Stuart Skinner, who made an incredible save reaching back with his glove to smother the rolling puck before it could cross the line.

Skinner finished with 35 saves.

Gabriel Vilardi and Kyle Connor scored goals less than 2 minutes apart in the second period for the Jets, who have lost four one-goal games in a row.

FLAMES 2, WILD 1

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Devin Cooley made 36 saves and Calgary scored two power-play goals in the first period in a victory over Minnesota.

Aydar Suniev scored with 9:11 left in the first and Joel Farabee struck just over three minutes later to help the Flames (3-6-0) win their second straight on home ice.

Michael McCarron scored for the Wild (6-3-2). Jesper Wallstedt made 20 saves.

Suniev’s goal, his third of the season, was his first career power-play goal. Farabee beat Wallstedt on a rebound for his first goal of the campaign.

The Flames were without captain Mikael Backlund, who’s listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Former Wild center Ben Jones made his season debut for Calgary.

OILERS 6, HURRICANES 5, SO

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid forced overtime with a late goal for his fifth point of the night, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had the lone shootout score and Edmonton beat Carolina.

McDavid had two goals and three assists to give him a whooping 31 points in the first 10 games of the season. He joined Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky as the only NHL players to reach the 30-point mark in 10 games or fewer.

Leon Draisaitl also had two goals and three assists, and Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist.

Edmonton tied it with 1:28 and goalie Devon Levi off for an extra attacker. McDavid sent a shot on net that deflected off Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s skate for his eighth goal.

The Oilers (8-1-1) have won three straight and seven of their last eight. Levi made 22 saves.

Jackson Blake, Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Logan Stankhoven and Juuso Valimaki scored for the the Hurricanes (8-2-2). The defending Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes have lost two of their last three.

Brandon Bussi made 16 saves for Carolina.

RED WINGS 5, CANUCKS 2

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Lucas Raymond scored twice and added an assist to help Detroit give Vancouver its ninth straight loss.

William Wallinder, Michael Rasmussen and Emmitt Finnie also scored for the Red Wings (4-3-3), and Victor Arvidsson and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard each had a pair of assists.

John Gibson stopped four of the five shots he faced in the Detroit net before leaving the game with an upper-body injury. He was replaced by Michal Postava to start the third period and the Czech netminder logged seven stops in his NHL debut.

The Canucks (2-9-1) got a goal and an assist from Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and Elias Pettersson scored his fourth of the season on a first-period power play.

Vancouver goalie Kevin Lankinen struggled early, giving up three goals in the first nine minutes of the game. He finished with 26 saves.

KRAKEN 5, MAMMOTH 3

SEATTLE (AP) — Mackie Samoskevich scored with 5:25 left, and Seattle, despite blowing a multiple-goal third-period lead for the second game in a row, beat Utah.

The Kraken (7-3-1) carried a 3-1 lead into the third against Utah (7-4-0). On Tuesday. Seattle was up 3-0 heading into the final 20 minutes against Detroit before winning in a shootout, 4-3.

Jordan Eberle and Brandon Montour each had a goal and an assist. Matty Beniers and Frederick Gaudreau also scored, Gaudreau’s going into an empty net with 1:00 left in the game for his team-leading sixth of the season.

Logan Cooley had two goals for the Mammoth, and Vincent Trocheck scored once.

Philipp Grubauer made 33 saves for Seattle.

With the scored tied at 3-3 after each team had a goal taken down in the third on successful offside challenges, Bobby McMann stole the puck near center ice and skated down the left side His shot was deflected wide but the rebound bounced in front of the net. McMann finally got a stick to it, tapping it over to Samoskevich, who pushed it in for his fifth of the year.

The Vegas Golden Knights have gone from dictating games to chasing them, and the defensive breakdowns that surfaced earlier this week followed them on the road Thursday night.

Dylan Holloway scored twice, and the St. Louis Blues defeated Vegas 6-2 at Enterprise Center, handing the Golden Knights consecutive identical-score losses after Tuesday's defeat to Tampa Bay.

Vegas (8-4-0) has surrendered 12 goals in two games, with turnovers, defensive-zone coverage and an inability to sustain momentum emerging as recurring problems.

“I think it's a good opportunity for us all to look in the mirror and know we have to be better as a group,” Jack Eichel said. “I don't want to say concerning, because obviously we know we have it in this room, but you don't want to give up that many goals in back-to-back games.”

Brett Howden and Eichel scored for Vegas, which twice pulled within one goal but couldn't build on either opportunity.

Pavel Buchnevich and Jake Barron gave St. Louis a 2-0 first-period lead before Howden scored at 5:38 of the second. Mason McTavish answered less than three minutes later.

Eichel brought Vegas within 3-2 early in the third, but Jimmy Snuggerud restored the Blues' two-goal advantage before Holloway scored twice to put the game away.

Coach Ryan Craig said his team has drifted from the connected, aggressive defensive structure that helped produce its strong start.

“When you have a chance to close, we want you to go,” Craig said. “The four other guys are reading off you. ... Through the first ten games we had done a real good job and know what that feels like. We've gotten away from it a little bit here now.”

Defenseman Brayden McNabb pointed to the team's slow start and ineffective penalty killing.

“They got to their game right away and we didn't,” McNabb said. “It's humbling the last couple games, so we got to get better.”

Craig said he expects a response rather than allowing two difficult performances to become a larger trend.

“We're not pleased with this. Expect a response,” Craig said. “When we push, we're a good team.”

KEY MOMENT

The Golden Knights twice trimmed a two-goal deficit to one, but St. Louis answered each time. Jack Eichel's goal at 4:08 of the third period made it 3-2, only for Jimmy Snuggerud to restore the Blues' two-goal cushion at 8:21. Dylan Holloway scored just 2:08 later, stretching the lead to 5-2 and effectively ending Vegas' comeback hopes. St. Louis scored three times in the final period, including Holloway's second goal at 16:05.

“We made it 2-1. They made it 3-1. Made it 3-2. They made it 4-2,” coach Ryan Craig said. “Give them credit. They pushed back and responded well when we were able to chip away there.”

KEY STAT

The Golden Knights have surrendered 12 goals in consecutive 6-2 losses after allowing just 24 through their first 10 games. St. Louis scored twice on the power play, while Vegas was outshot 31-29 despite delivering 36 hits to the Blues' 13. The defensive issues have been particularly glaring considering Vegas allowed only six combined goals during its three-game winning streak immediately preceding the losses.

“You don't want to give up six back-to-back games, so that's something we're going to have to look at,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “It's humbling the last couple games, so we got to get better.”

WHAT A KNIGHT

Alexander Holtz provided one of the few encouraging developments in his season debut, recording an assist on Brett Howden's goal at 5:38 of the second period. Holtz helped generate offense by attacking the middle of the ice and showing the willingness to battle in traffic that Craig felt was missing from portions of Vegas' overall performance. The Golden Knights struggled to establish a consistent net-front presence against Blues goaltender Joel Hofer, who finished with 27 saves, but Holtz's energy stood out.

“I thought Holtzy had some jump,” Craig said. “Attacked the interior of the ice, went right in there with Carly and Howie and did a good job. One of our better players tonight.”

UP NEXT

The Golden Knights continue their road trip Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena, with puck drop scheduled for 4 p.m. PT. Vegas will look to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season after opening 8-2-0. The immediate priorities are improving defensive-zone coverage, eliminating turnovers that fuel opposing rushes and restoring the aggressive five-man structure that characterized the team's early success.

“We're not pleased with this. Expect a response,” Craig said. “We're gonna get a lot of teams' best games on each and every night because of what these guys have accomplished here last season. So we have to be ready for that push.”

PHOTO CAPTION

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) makes a save against St. Louis Blues defenseman Philip Broberg (6) during the second period at Enterprise Center.

After starting the season 0-4-2, the Los Angeles Kings (2-4-2) have now won two impressive back-to-back road games, defeating the Washington Capitals on Tuesday and, today, winning a thrilling overtime match against the New York Islanders. 

The fear was that the way Los Angeles had been playing to start the season, this five-game road trip starting on Tuesday would potentially end their season because of how horrid they've looked, and traveling on the road against quality teams would drop them to potentially 0-10. 

Forward Artemi Panarin showcased his presence and reminded everyone why he's still an impactful player in the league, finishing with two goals and two points, putting the Kings' offensive engine under his belt. 

After nearly blowing a two-goal lead, the visiting team took care of business in the extra period, with Brandt Clarke scoring the game-winner to give the Kings a 3-2 win at UBS Arena. 

"These are vital points. We don’t want to drop these; we want to capitalize on our chances, Clark said after getting a 3v3 win. "The coaches emphasized capitalizing and crisscrossing, as Juice and I did there. We’ve been working on it. I was happy to capitalize.”

CLARKIEEEEEEEE pic.twitter.com/7imMrNgGdx

— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 23, 2026

New York outshot and outscored LA on the power play throughout the game, which isn't a surprise given how poor the Kings' shot selection and power play have been to start the season.

Still, the Kings prevailed, with Clarke's clutch overtime goal and goaltender Darcy Kuemper having a great night, finishing with 41 saves on 43 shots, including several big saves in the final period and overtime. 

What the Kings have got in these back-to-back victories is an offense that's looking increasingly comfortable, especially the Panarin-Adrian Kempe-Quinton Byfield line, despite missing tonight's game with injury, and a defense that's looking more organized. 

LA jumped to a 2-0 first-period lead on back-to-back goals from Panarin, putting pressure on New York at home to crawl back. We headed into the second and third periods, where the Islanders each scored one goal to tie the score 2-2. 

It looked like the Kings would blow another lead, as they've been accustomed to in seasons past, especially in overtime, but this time they stayed calm and let Kempe drop the pass to Clarke, who finished the play to end the game. 

‼️ KINGS DUB ‼️@twiliopic.twitter.com/eAoJhmeACM

— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 23, 2026

Los Angeles will continue its five-game road trip against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at 12:30 PM. 

The Rangers have signed veteran forward Luke Glendening to a one-year contract, president and general manager Chris Drury announced on Thursday.

Glendening, 37, appeared in 70 games last season, splitting time with the Devils (52) and Philadelphia Flyers (18). He tallied nine points (two goals, seven assists) while averaging 10:32 of time on the ice and finished a minus-7.

In 10 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs with Philadelphia last year, he recorded one goal and was a plus-3, while averaging 13:56 time on the ice.

The 13-year NHL veteran has stops along the way with the Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, and Tampa Bay Lightning before last season's two-city campaign. In his 934 career games, he has 175 career points (85 goals, 90 assists) while averaging 13:23 of ice time. He has seven goals and four assists over 60 postseason games.

His speciality is the face-off with a 55.6 career win percentage, including 57.2 percent with the Flyers last season. Since the 2020-21 season, Glendening's 57.5 face-off win percentage is good enough for ninth in the league among skaters with a minimum of 1,000 face-offs. 

Later on Thursday, the Blueshirts fell 5-4 to the Maple Leafs in Toronto.

Artemi Panarin pondered the question of whether it would feel like a homecoming of sorts to play on Long Island, and in the moment, he never really answered it. 

“It’s a hard question,” he said. 

Seven-and-a-half hours later came the answer, and it wasn’t to the Islanders’ liking. Panarin won’t return to Madison Square Garden for four more days, but he made UBS Arena feel like his old digs on Broadway anyway, scoring twice before Brandt Clarke’s overtime winner as the Kings beat the Islanders 3-2 on Thursday night. 

“Panarin’s one of the best goal scorers in the world and has been for a decade,” Islanders coach Pete DeBoer said. 

What made the night more frustrating for the Islanders is that there wasn’t really much of anything for them to be upset about aside from the result. They controlled the run of play, had the Kings doubled up on shots on goal for much of the night — finishing with a season-high 43 — and tilted the ice for long periods of time. 

It’s not the first time this year they’ve lacked finishing, and it was the second of Semyon Varlamov’s three starts in which he’s looked rusty. Those two things were the difference much more than Panarin, who twice beat Varlamov when the goaltender was behind the play and looked out of position. 

“I was cheating a little bit,” Varlamov said when asked about the first of those two. “Expecting him to make a pass in the middle, and he beat me short side.” 

By any meaningful statistic except for that on the scoreboard, the Islanders had the better of the night, but those two goals were enough for the Kings to hold a precarious 2-1 lead heading into the last 20 minutes. The Islanders’ lone goal to that point had also come on a goaltending miscue, as Darcy Kuemper mishandled Victor Eklund’s power-play one-timer at 14:06 of the second. 

The Islanders got closer still, tying the game 7:06 into the second on Matthew Schaefer’s first goal of the season, a bullet of a wrist shot from the right circle. 

That belied, though, that the third period was the visitors’ best. Even with Varlamov noticeably sharper after stopping Adrian Kempe’s penalty shot at 10:59 of the second, the Islanders didn’t tilt the ice as much as they had and couldn’t make good on the momentum from Schaefer’s goal. 

The Islanders did retain their points streak — now at five games — by getting to overtime, and no one will complain about a homestand in which they took three of four points. But for the second time in their past four games, the Isles were left with one point thinking they could have had two. 

After Bo Horvat’s shot 17 seconds into overtime that Kuemper gloved down, the Islanders didn’t touch the puck again, and at 2:43 of the extra period, with the Islanders gassed, Clarke scored to end it. 

“I saw an opportunity to shoot through the screen and catch him off guard,” Horvat said. “Just didn’t pick my spot, but it is a possession game in overtime. I gotta do a better job winning that [next] draw.” 

Mostly, this game served for the Islanders as a frustrating two points not to get on home ice, but not much of a big-picture indication of anything. 

To the extent you could pinpoint any concern, it might be Varlamov. His glove side in particular has looked susceptible throughout the preseason and regular season. 

Still, his third start of the season is too early to start wondering about whether two partial knee surgeries will prove too much for him to be an effective backup for the Islanders, especially given he had a .905 save percentage through the first two. The 38-year-old finished the night with 24 saves on 27 shots. 

This was a frustrating way to lose. It wasn’t a particularly indicting one. 

The most prescient analysis came from DeBoer when asked about the state of his 5-3-2 club at the 10-game mark. 

“We break it down, and we look at our game analytically every 10 games, but I’m not looking at points,” he said. “I’m looking at our process right now. I think the points take care of itself, and I like our process.” 

With a .600 points percentage so far, he might just be correct.

It was a really impressive effort from the New York Islanders tonight after going down 2-0 in the first period. Semyon Varlamov wasn’t at his sharpest tonight; both shots that Artemi Panarin got past him weren’t great. But the Isles responded well, especially in the second period, which they controlled offensively in a way we haven’t seen yet this season. It just took a long time to get anything past Darcy Kuemper. Victor Eklund broke Kuemper’s shutout with a power play goal, and then Matthew Schaefer picked up his first of the season to tie the game. That goal also tied him with Bobby Orr for second-most goals by a teenage defenseman, so no big deal there or anything.

Eklund had a really strong game overall, and he’s looking more and more like he fits in the NHL with each game he plays. It’s also extremely funny to see him looking like a little kid out there and taking down big guys like Konstas Helenius. I hope he really starts stringing these good performances together, it’d be awesome to have another young talent take big steps forward.

Unfortunately, the Isles came up short in overtime. They definitely miss Mat Barzal in 3 on 3 situations. There’s no one on the team that can replace his skillset in general, but it’s especially noticeable in OT. They still picked up a point, and they’ve got points in their last five games, and have still looked solid despite all the injuries up front.

[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]

First Period

The Isles went to an early power play after Scott Laughton was called for holding, but they couldn’t convert. Just a minute later, Artemi Panarin opened the scoring from a tough angle on a shot Semyon Varlamov probably wants back. Emil Heineman’s backhand shot was stopped by Darcy Kuemper right after.

Victor Eklund won the puck along the boards from Konstas Helenius and set up a great chance, with Matt Kessel’s shot getting behind Kuemper. Mikey Anderson had to dive behind him to stop that shot from crossing the line.

Unfortunately, right after that great shift, Panarin picked up his second of the night on another shot Varlamov probably should’ve had, putting the Isles in a 2-0 hole towards the end of the first.

Bo Horvat went to the box for hooking, but then Drew Doughty took a shot at Matthew Schaefer, which led to Logan Stanley fighting Konstas Helenius. Approximately 45 seconds later, Mats Zuccarello was called for slashing, canceling out the Kings’ power play.

Just 40 seconds after that, Tony DeAngelo took a tripping penalty.

Near the end of the period, Varlamov saved shots from Panarin and Doughty to keep just the two goal deficit heading into the second.

Second Period

The Islanders dominated the whole period, outshooting the Kings 17-9, but couldn’t get anything past Kuemper for most of the period.

Heineman and Eklund got a 2 on 1, but the pass option was taken away by Brian Dumoulin and Heineman ran out of time to do anything interesting with the puck. Brayden Schenn tipped a shot off the post, and Simon Holmstrom had a chance in the slot but Kuemper got the save.

Schaefer took down Adrian Kempe on a breakaway and Kempe was rewarded a penalty shot, which Varlamov crucially saved.

Heineman was tripped by Dumoulin a couple minutes after that, and on that power play, Victor Eklund took a shot that trickled past Kuemper to make it 2-1.

Jared Wright got tangled up with Schaefer, and they both went to the box late, for holding and hooking respectively.

Third Period

The Isles didn’t quite keep up the pace from the second period into the third. Varlamov needed to be sharp, making a few critical saves when needed.

Then, 7 minutes into the period, Schenn passed the puck off to Stanley, who found Schaefer with space, and Schaefer scored his first goal of the season to tie the game.

Despite putting up 42(!!) shots on Kuemper in regulation, the Isles couldn’t find the go ahead goal, and so we went off to overtime for the first time this season at UBS Arena.

OT

Bo Horvat’s shot was saved by Kuemper, but once the Kings got possession, they never really gave it up. Adrian Kempe had a great chance saved by Varlamov, but Brandt Clarke put the winner home for LA in a game the Islanders really should have picked up two points from.

Up Next

Next, the Islanders head out to Dallas to take on the Stars on Sunday, October 25, kicking off a three game road trip around the Central Division.

NEW YORK (AP) — Artemi Panarin had two goals, Brandt Clarke scored in overtime and the Los Angeles Kings won a second consecutive game, 3-2 at the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

The Kings have back-to-back victories after losing their first six games. They were the final NHL team without a win before defeating Washington on Tuesday night.

LA was outplayed for much of the Islanders game and outshot 43-26. Panarin beat rusty backup Semyon Varlamov glove side twice, and Darcy Kuemper kept making stops even as his rebound control was lacking, finishing with 41 saves.

Kuemper cracked for the first time with just under six minutes left in the second period when rookie Victor Eklund’s shot squeezed through on a power play. Islanders face of the franchise Matthew Schaefer wired a wrist shot by Kuemper 7:06 into the third.

Clarke scored the winner with 2:18 left in 3-on-3 OT after he and his teammates possessed the puck for several shifts in a row.

Varlamov, the 38-year-old making his first home start since Nov. 25, 2024, following double partial knee replacements, denied Adrian Kempe on a penalty shot and made some big-time saves after giving up the soft goals to Panarin on the Kings’ first five shots.

Panarin has four points in two games after four combined over the first six.

LA forward Quinton Byfield was out after getting hurt against the Capitals. Byfield did not take part in the morning skate and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Up next

Kings: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Saturday in the third of five games on their road trip.

Islanders: Open a three-game Western Conference trip Sunday at the Dallas Stars.