If fans have been paying attention to the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, this one might sound a bit familiar. 

On Saturday, the Penguins suspended newly acquired defenseman Egor Zamula after the 6-foot-3, 200-pound blueliner failed to report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS), Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate. Zamula, 25, was acquired Dec. 31 from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Philip Tomasino.

Zamula appeared in 13 games for the Flyers this season and registered one assist as well as a plus-4. He also spent three games playing with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, where he had two assists and was a minus-3.

In 168 games with Philadelphia across six seasons, he has eight goals and 41 points and is a minus-12. The Chelyabinsk, Russia native is a pending restricted free agent this season, and he is in the second year of a two-year deal that pays him $1.7 million annually. 

As for why this might sound familiar? Zamura is the second defenseman in the Penguins' organization this season to be suspended for failing to report to an affiliate club, as prospect Emil Pieniniemi did the same following training camp. Pieniniemi was supposed to report to the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL, but he never showed and went back to Finland instead. 

Pieniniemi, 20, was selected in the third round (91st overall) by the Penguins in 2023, and he has since reported to Wheeling, where he has played in two games. 

Takeaways: Penguins Put Up Defensive Clinic Against Red Wings, Sweep Home-And-HomeThe Pittsburgh Penguins put together arguably their best performance of the season on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings.

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Brock Nelson scored twice on the power play and Nathan MacKinnon recorded four points (one goal, three assists) as the Colorado Avalanche erased a two-goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5–3 on Saturday night at Lenovo Center.

The comeback victory extended Colorado’s winning streak to 10 games and improved the Avalanche to an NHL-best 31-2-7 on the season. MacKinnon was at the center of the rally, driving the offense as Colorado flipped the game with sustained pressure and special teams execution, while Nelson capitalized twice with the man advantage to swing the momentum decisively in the Avalanche’s favor.

Scott Wedgewood earned the win for the Avalanche, stopping 25 of 28 shots in the victory.

Carolina saw goals from Sebastian Aho, Nikolai Ehlers, and Andrei Svechnikov, while Frederik Andersen made 30 saves on 34 shots in a solid effort despite the loss.

First Period

Victor Olofsson, who had been held without a point in his previous seven games, generated several chances in the final 10 minutes of the first period but was unable to convert, getting a shot away under pressure that Andersen turned aside. Overall, it was his best game in weeks. 

12 minutes into the period, the Avalanche had eight shots on goal and the Canes had seven.

With 8:02 remaining in the period, Josh Manson leveled Jordan Staal as he went after a loose puck, but the hit came just late enough to result in an interference penalty against Manson.

Carolina forward William Carrier was sent to the penalty box with 3:28 remaining in the period for interference.

The Avalanche power play generated several quality looks, including a pair of rebound chances for Artturi Lehkonen, but Andersen’s outstretched pads kept the puck from crossing the goal line.

The final seconds of the man advantage proved costly. Cale Makar turned the puck over at the blue line, springing Aho on a shorthanded breakaway, and Aho beat Scott Wedgewood five-hole to give Carolina a 1–0 lead.

Second Period

Gabriel Landeskog pulled the Avalanche even at 1:47 of the second period, scoring his seventh goal of the season on a smooth wraparound.

Ehlers restored Carolina’s lead at 4:47 of the period, converting on the power play with a quick shot from the slot to make it 2–1.

The Hurricanes extended their advantage at 7:50 when Andrei Svechnikov finished a rush play with a backhand from the top of the crease, pushing the lead to two.

Colorado answered early in the third period, as Nelson cut the deficit to 3–2 at 1:09 with his 17th goal of the season, redirecting a power play feed at the top of the blue paint off a shot from MacKinnon. 

Comeback Complete

Like Avalanche teammates Martin Nečas and Brent Burns, Saturday marked Jack Drury’s first game in Carolina since being acquired by Colorado last season. Burns joined the Avalanche as a free-agent signing in the offseason, while Drury and Nečas were part of the trade that originally sent Mikko Rantanen to the Hurricanes.

Drury delivered a timely response in his return, tying the game at 1:42 of the third period with his seventh goal of the season, snapping a left circle shot past Andersen off a crisp feed from linemate Ross Colton.

Nelson put Colorado in front for good at 7:30 of the third, burying his second power play goal of the night and 18th of the season on a right-circle one-timer set up by MacKinnon to cap a brilliant passing sequence.

MacKinnon sealed the victory at 19:42 with an empty-net goal, his 35th of the season, doubling Colorado’s lead. The tally also marked MacKinnon’s 33rd career game with at least four points, moving him past Joe Sakic for the second-most such performances in franchise history.

Next Game

The Avalanche face the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers tomorrow at 3 p.m local time in their latest back-to-back game.

NEW YORK (AP) — Matthew Schaefer scored twice, including at 4:11 of overtime, and the New York Islanders beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Saturday night.

Adam Pelech and Emil Heineman also scored, and Jonathan Drouin and Mathew Barzal each had two assists for the Islanders, who won for the second time in three games. David Rittich had 18 saves in his seventh straight start, with Ilya Sorokin dressing as the backup for the first time since Dec. 19.

Auston Matthews had two goals for the Maple Leafs, setting the franchise career record with 421. Nicholas Robertson also scored and Joseph Woll finished with 21 saves.

In the extra period, Barzal found Schaefer all alone in the high slot and the 18-year-old rookie defenseman wired a shot past Woll for the win.

Matthews scored twice in the second period to move past Hall-of-Famer Mats Sundin for the franchise mark. His first tied Sundin at 420 when he beat Rittich at 9:30. He broke the record with his 20th of the season with 2:41 left in the period on a one-timer to give Toronto a 2-1 lead.

After Schaefer tied the score with 8:50 left in the third, Nicholas Roy set up Robertson for a go-ahead goal 1:02 later after a turnover by Heineman in the Islanders’ defensive zone.

The Swedish forward redeemed himself with the tying goal on a power play with 2:45 remaining in regulation, scoring on a one-timer off a feed from Barzal.

Pelech opened the scoring for the Islanders at 1:10 of the second period.

With the milestone, Matthews became the first United States-born player to lead a Canadian franchise in career goals and joined Mike Modano as one of the only U.S.-born players to hold a franchise goal-scoring record with a minimum of 50 goals.

Up next

Maple Leafs: Host Florida on Tuesday night.

Islanders: Host New Jersey on Tuesday night.

Former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Egor Zamula has been suspended by the Pittsburgh Penguins organization before spending a single second on the ice for his new club.

On Saturday, the AHL transactions log reflected a new entry showing that Zamula, 25, had been suspended by the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

The ex-Flyers defender has yet to appear in a single game since being traded by Philadelphia on Dec. 31 and is currently believed to be refusing to report to the Penguins.

Zamula was officially registered as a Wilkes-Barre player the same day of the trade, per the transactions log.

Update: according to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, Zamula was suspended for failure to report.

It is worth noting that the formerly undrafted Russian recently switched agents and began being represented by Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, which occurred shortly after the Flyers assigned Zamula to the AHL.

The goal, we can only assume, was to find Zamula an opportunity to play in the NHL, but that is clearly something that was not being afforded by the Penguins right away.

Flyers Defenseman Benched After Struggles, Agent's Criticism of TeamJust two games into the season, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> defenseman Egor Zamula has already been benched for his continued struggles.

Previously, it was reported that Zamula's camp offered a mutual contract termination to the Flyers as a potential solution to the situation, but that the Flyers had preferred a trade for a player to help the organization.

They got that in Phil Tomasino, but it would appear that Zamula and/or Milstein aren't happy with the final outcome of the trade.

Earlier in the season, Penguins prospect Emil Pieniniemi had also been suspended after refusing to report to the ECHL Wheeling Nailers, though that suspension has been since lifted.

The 25-year-old Zamula has one year remaining on his contract at a $1.7 million cap hit and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season.

We knew a loss for the Buffalo Sabres was coming – the Sabres weren’t going to win their final 53 games of the NHL’s current regular-season, and they fell to the last-place-in-the-Eastern-Conference Columbus Blue Jackets by a 5-1 score on Saturday. But Buffalo’s 10-game winning streak has only gotten them back in the Stanley Cup playoff conversation, as their 11-14-4 start to the season dug them a considerable hole to claw their way out from. 

And even now, after winning ten straight, the Sabres (a) are not in a playoff position, and (b) they’re only four standings points ahead of the Blue Jackets. This tells you all you need to know about the overall parity/mediocrity in the league, but it also tells you that the ultimate judgement on the Sabres’ season will be in how they respond to their loss in their latest game. 

If the Sabres suddenly swing the other way on a five-or-six-game losing streak, they’ll almost assuredly be back in the Eastern basement again, and all this goodwill they’ve built up between the start of the 10-game win streak back on Dec. 9 will melt away in the heat of fan resentment. However, if they bounce back, not only could they catch the third-place Montreal Canadiens (who are only four points ahead of Buffalo), but the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning (five points ahead of the Sabres) and first-place Detroit Red Wings (six points ahead of Buffalo) are also realistic targets for the Sabres.

So it’s not how the streak ended that’s the issue. It’s the response Buffalo has in their final 42 games that will dictate whether 14 years of fan anger will extend another year, or whether the Sabres can finally get over the hump and give their paying customers the satisfaction they’ve deserved by getting into the playoffs.

In 2026, The Goal For The Sabres Couldn't Be Clearer: It's Playoffs-Or-Bust For BuffaloThe Buffalo Sabres ended the calendar year 2025 on a high. But in 2026, Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen has to do everything in his power to get his team into the Stanley Cup playoffs and end Buffalo's 14-year playoff drought. And that means going all-in by or before the trade deadline.

As we’ve argued, Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekalainen should be going all-in on a playoff spot this season. And the good news is that the slate is now clean after this 10-game win streak. There’s no more deficit to worry about. The opportunity is there for the taking for the Sabres, and their next game – on Tuesday, against the lowly Vancouver Canucks – is one they absolutely have to win, less the worrywarts in Buffalo’s fan base have more material to dwell on.

The Sabres’ 10-game streak gave Sabres fans legitimate hope that this team may at long last be different. Now it’s on Buffalo to demonstrate they can shake off a one-off, keep their eyes on the prize, and put together win streaks on the regular the rest of the way this year.