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The Buffalo Sabres adjusted their lineup after a sluggish, inconsistent performance against Ottawa on Wednesday and capitalized on a tired Columbus Blue Jackets squad in a 5-2 win at KeyBank Center on Friday. The Sabres jumped on the Jackets, who beat Dallas 2-1 in a shootout at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, registering the first six shots on goal, with Jack Quinn scoring the opening tally. 

Kent Johnson scored the tying marker for Columbus, but Josh Norris’s first of two goal late in the first seemed to sap whatever energy the Blue Jackets had left. Rasmus Dahlin, Norris, and Josh Doan scored in the middle frame, and the Sabres coasted to their fourth victory in the last five games. 

"With  them  in  a  back-to-back  game,  it  was  important  to  get  off  to  a  good  start,  and  knowing  that they  played  a  tough  contest  last  night. T here's  a  lot  of  times  you  don't  want  to  make  excuses,  but  they've  been  up  against  some  real  good  teams,  and  they've  won  some  hockey  games  against  good  teams.... we  really  wanted  to  play  a  good  first  period,  and  I  thought  we  played  maybe  one  of  our  best."

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Mrtka Looking To Take The Next Step Towards The NHL

Norris finally broke out after registering just three points in 15 games, something that the Sabres are desperate for, as Tage Thompson and Quinn have accounted for nearly 40% of the club’s goals. 

“I thought (he) skated through the neutral zone better, possessed the puck better, (he)got rewarded.” Ruff said. “(He had a) great shot on the 4-on-4 goal, but the next goal, got himself around the front of the net. And when you’re struggling, you’ve got to get inside.”

Buffalo will have a difficult road this week, with a Sunday afternoon matinee against the Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights, and the finale of the homestand against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, before heading out on the road for five games, starting with the second of back-to-back games in Chicago on Thursday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. 

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- How many times have we heard the word “consistency” when it comes to the St. Louis Blues?

Often? Too Many times to count? Not often enough? Well, that last one’s not the case.

When it comes to the Blues, when they harp in on a particular part of their game, another disappears. On Saturday, they were looking for a much better start to the game against the Nashville Predators. They got it, but then things tailed off in the middle of the game. Other times, it would be vice versa.

On Saturday, the Blues started well, played well early, got a lead in this building for the second time in three weeks, but for the second time, succumbed and fell, 3-1, to the surging Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

The Blues (7-8-1) just can’t seem to lock in on the consistency. Thursday in a 5-4 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils, it was a poor start with more jump in the second despite falling behind 4-1 and then a surge in the third period for the second time on this trip that helped them get a point.

On Saturday, it was start well. Check. But then their play tailed off, for whatever inexplicable reason, again, and would up chasing the game before pushing again – not enough – and the Predators (8-4-5) were able to put on a defensive stand and not give the Blues any easy ice.

In the end, it’s a 1-2-1 trip.

Let’s dive into the key points …

* Good first period, bad penalty (I like Jim Montgomery’s answer on Adam Jiricek) – The things that Blues coach Jim Montgomery talked about before the game, being physical, emotional and playing with pace was definitely there in the opening 20 minutes, and the Blues were making a concerted effort of getting bodies to the net.

And when Jimmy Snuggerud scored a power-play goal at 13:07 to make it 1-0 Blues, a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle after some good low to high back to low puck movement after Mason McTavish hit the far post moments earlier, it was a reward for how the Blues managed the period:

Power play goal for St. Louis!

Scored by Jimmy Snuggerud with 06:53 left in the 1st. Assisted by Philip Broberg and Robert Thomas.

NSH: 0 | STL: 1#STLvsNSH#Smashville#StlBluespic.twitter.com/zb2Y1QNkqh

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) November 7, 2026

And let’s be honest here, the line that was leading the way with the physicality especially and leaving their fellow linemates in good areas on the ice was the Pius Suter line with Alexey Toropchenko and Ross Johnston.

“We had guys playing their asses off today,” Blues forward Dylan Holloway said. “I thought there were guys playing good hockey. I think our fourth line, Suter, ‘Torp’ and ‘Boss’ were playing great, leading the way with physicality. That’s just something we’ve got to replicate. We’ve all got to play like that more consistently. It’s a consistency thing and we definitely have to learn from that.”

But then came Nashville’s fifth-ranked power play to do what it does, and it came after a bad slashing minor by Adam Jiricek, a penalty that he will learn from and one he didn’t need to take.

Jiricek seemed to have a beat on the puck along the D-zone wall on Nils Hoglander but decided to take a whack with his stick and was called for slashing, and in the end, Steven Stamkos made the Blues’ sixth-ranked penalty kill pay when the Predators got bodies to the net off Filip Forsberg’s shot, and after a loose puck was swiped away from Joel Hofer, Stamkos deposited a one-timer to tie the game 1-1 at 16:07:

Power play goal for Nashville!

Scored by Steven Stamkos with 03:53 left in the 1st. Assisted by Filip Forsberg and Mavrik Bourque.

NSH: 1 | STL: 1#STLvsNSH#Smashville#StlBluespic.twitter.com/gYEEVrPz7B

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) November 7, 2026

“It’s not a good penalty, but it’s someone that’s competing,” Montgomery said. “He’s taking the penalty because he’s whacking the guy’s stick to give himself more time. It’s not the best penalty, but he competes. He goes after pucks, he wants to be a difference maker.”

Fair enough, and in the first 17 games, it’s evident Jiricek is wanting to be that player. He will be soon enough.

* Offensive zone time, sustained pressure, forecheck disappeared in second period; allow lead on multiple breakdowns – The formula that worked well in the first period was absent in the middle 20.

The Blues had little to no zone time until the Robert Thomas line had a really good shift and chance in the final minute of the period.

The Blues did come out with a bit of a flurry right at the outset and had four of the first five shots at Juuse Saros, including traffic, which was good in the first period, but then disappeared and Nashville would get 12 of the next 13 shots on goal with the Blues doing a lot of defending and puck-chasing.

“It tailed off because we don’t commit to doing things the right way for 60 minutes,” Montgomery said. “We played a good, hard first 20 minutes. It’s a 1-1 game, we’re playing a good hockey team, we’ve got to stick with it, and you’ve got to keep playing the same way. We were very aggressive going to their net, we were physical, and if you keep doing that, you wear teams down, but right now, people can say it’s different things that we’re not doing, but it’s always something different and we need to be better. We need to be more committed to who we are and we need to work at a harder rate more consistently.”

When Nashville’s Ross Colton put the Predators ahead for good at 2-1 at 9:02 of the period, it was the result of too easy of an transition up ice on a cross-ice pass, and when Jake Neighbours trying to intercept the pass at center ice, all three forwards on the line were caught up ice making it for an easy way for Jack Drury to find Colton in the middle of the ice open in the slot and shot over Hofer’s glove hand:

Nashville goal!

Scored by Ross Colton with 10:58 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Jack Drury and Roman Josi.

NSH: 2 | STL: 1#STLvsNSH#Smashville#StlBluespic.twitter.com/0hDrPA7PW4

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) November 7, 2026

“I think it’s the same for every game,” Blues forward Connor McMichael said. “We dominate for 20 or so minutes and then we kind of fall asleep and then at the end of the game, we push again. You see what happens when that happens.

“They’re able to pot a few and then we’re playing from behind again and it’s a lot to come back from in this league. Definitely need to figure that out.”

* Why is consistency an issue with this core group – There are players on this team that are new to this, so they’re just trying to figure things out the right way.

For the players that have been at this for multiple seasons, it’s the same story game in, game out.

You hear the talk, and they say the right things regarding consistency and yet, it’s the word that continually comes back up game after game after game. When they find it, they don’t sustain it, and that’s a problem and has been.

Someone with a voice needs to step up and hold somebody accountable. It’s been beyond time.

“Your leaders need to set the standard, and they need to hold players accountable to it, that’s including coaches and then the foot soldiers in behind them, have to carry that torch as well,” Montgomery said.

“We’re having consistency problems, I’d say,” Holloway said. “We string together a good five minutes and then make some crucial mistakes that affect the game. As a group, we’ve got to worry about our consistency more. We need more for sure. I think guys are trying to pull in the right direction. There’s just some inconsistencies right now that we need to clean up.”

* Net front is trending up – That’s one area that the consistency seems to be on the up and up. The Blues are making an effort to get to the net more. It was evident again. Do they need more of it? Yes. Is it trending up? Yes. Saturday was about finding loose pucks, and it just wasn’t there.

“We get chances, but if you get the chances and you’re not scoring, it doesn’t really matter,” Holloway said. “It’s a results-based business. We need to start finding our way to put those in. Our mindset to get to the net more, it showed last game. We were able to string a couple goals together but didn’t get the result we wanted. And then tonight I thought we were generating chances, but the consistency is the problem for us.”

“I think when we’re at the top of our game, we’re keeping it simple,” McMichael said. “I think we’re a heavy team that is usually good on the forecheck. Whenever we stray away from that, that’s when we get into trouble, get a little too cute and a little too soft. Just stick to our game and that’s what we need to do.”

But it was evident in this game when Nashville got the lead, the Predators, who beat the Blues here 5-2 on Oct. 17, were committed to defending and protecting the lead, clogging up the middle of the ice and not giving the Blues any free ice.

“You can accept the middle of the ice being clogged up or you can travel through it,” Montgomery said. “We need to travel through it.

“Not (enough traffic) in the second period. First period, yes. In the third period when you’re trailing, there should be more opportunities than we had.”

Nick Perbix added the nail in the coffin with an empty-net goal at 18:31 to seal it after the Blues pulled Hofer.

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SEATTLE — To say the Rangers got Joonas Korpisalo back in their 18th game of the season Saturday afternoon wouldn’t be entirely accurate, considering the team barely had the Finnish netminder to begin with. 

Korpisalo dressed as the Rangers’ backup for one singular game — the season-opening shutout loss in Boston — before a foot infection sidelined him for the next month. The Rangers announced the 32-year-old’s timeline to return simultaneously with the season-altering news of Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury, which unfolded just five games after the team put Korpisalo on injured reserve. 

So for the first five and a half weeks of the season, the Blueshirts had to endure and adapt without their original goaltending plan. 

“It’s tough,” head coach Mike Sullivan said before Korpisalo made his Rangers debut against the Kraken. “That presents a unique challenge when both of your goalies get hurt for as long as they have to this point. I give the guys a lot of credit. They never look for excuses. It’s next-man-up mindset. Dylan Garand has done a real good job in goal for us, kind of taking the lead with respect to that. To get Korpy back is huge for us. He’s obviously a quality goaltender. It gives us the ability to share the workload a little bit. We’re excited to get him back in the mix, but I think the guys did a great job. 

“Nobody’s looking for excuses. We’re trying to win with the group that we have, and the expectations don’t change. That’s the mindset. That’s the approach we’ve all taken.” 

Entering Saturday’s game at Climate Pledge Arena, the Rangers had gone 5-5-1 since losing Shesterkin to a right knee injury that consisted of more than one structural issue. Shesterkin underwent his surgery, according to a source, and Sullivan has said he’s been around the team. 

Garand was the one to relieve Shesterkin in net in Washington, and the rookie netminder had appeared between the pipes in every single game for the Rangers since then — even when that wasn’t the intention. 

It’s been a big ask of a 24-year-old who came into the season with just three NHL games to his name. 

Among the 11 NHL goaltenders who have appeared in at least 12 games so far this season entering Saturday’s slate of games, Garand’s .906 save percentage ranks fourth behind only the Wild’s Jeremy Wallstedt (.922), the Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman (.913) and the Stars’ Jake Oettinger (.909). 

His 2.52 goals-against average is also good for the fourth-best in the league, currently beating out the likes of Andrei Vasilevskiy (2.75). 

While rebound control and stopping pucks off the rush have sometimes been a challenge, Garand has mostly delivered under the circumstances. The immense workload and emotional whiplash of the start to the season would overwhelm most players, but Garand has shown a maturity and mental fortitude befitting a full-time goaltender in the NHL.

That’s an encouraging sign for a Rangers team that may have to rely on a rookie in goal for the remainder of the season. 

The Rangers are banking on Korpisalo stabilizing the team’s schedule in goal and, at the very least, alleviating some of Garand’s workload. When Sullivan tried to do so following Garand’s seventh straight start, the organization signed James Reimer off his professional tryout with the team’s AHL affiliate in Hartford and put him in against the Kings. 

Reimer, who had been training with two junior teams, gave up two goals on the first two shots he saw before getting the hook after letting up three on eight shots. 

Sullivan put his hand up for putting Reimer in an almost impossible position, which subsequently deprived Garand of the rest he desperately needed at that moment in time. As a result, Garand played in 12 consecutive games before he got this break on Saturday. 

On Saturday, the Rangers put Reimer on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination. 

The addition of Korpisalo, however, should provide some much-needed relief in goal. How the Rangers deploy both Korpisalo and Garand moving forward is yet to be seen, but it will naturally be based on performance. 

“Well, there was buildup, obviously, to Korpi’s return to play, just as far as workload in practice and then getting 10 people in front of him in a game situation,” Sullivan said. “That’s sometimes difficult to simulate in practice. Based on the progression of the workload, that’s when we felt that, from a readiness standpoint, that Korpi is in a position to succeed.”

Anyone who followed the Montreal Canadiens in the 2010s will remember Carey Price and P.K. Subban celebrating team wins with their trademarked celebration, “the triple low five,” until Michel Therrien forbade it, calling it too individualistic. Therrien couldn’t control the players’ friendship or the close bond that linked Price and Subban.

As two high-profile athletes in Montreal, big pieces of the Canadiens back then, they both attracted a lot of attention and coverage, and when Subban spoke to NHL.com last week, he made a valid point about just how big Price was in Montreal:

Game 17 – Canadiens vs. Leafs: A Second In A Row In Toronto?
Canadiens Sniper Makes History
Canadiens Coach St-Louis’ Aware Of The Big Decisions He’ll Have To Make

I don’t think the Canadiens will see a goaltender who will be talked about more than Carey Price until someone wins a Stanley Cup in that city. And even then, it may not happen. To come into the NHL the way he did, to be in the net at that young age, to go through everything that, as a young professional, he went through, to be under the microscope in Montreal?

Nobody -- nobody who reads this -- would be prepared to deal with that. They have no idea what it’s like to be in that position. He handled all that stuff, and he performed. To me, that’s remarkable. That’s more of a testament to who he is as a person than even hoisting the Stanley Cup, to a certain degree.

The former blueliner isn’t wrong. Back then, when you went to the Bell Centre for a game, you could see jerseys numbered 31 left, right, and center. At one point, Price said he couldn’t even go food shopping anymore, and it seemed like a lot for him, but he kept going and dealt with it. Lesser men would have called it quits and asked for a trade, saying they couldn’t deal with the pressure anymore, but not Price. Yes, he did once tell the media to “chill out” in a memorable preseason post-game scrum, but most of the time it looked like none of it affected him, no matter how much pressure or attention he got.

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New look, old rival: the Colorado Avalanche debut their Hometown Remix jersey collection as their two game home stand wraps up against the visiting Detroit Red Wings.

The new threads may be a fresh coat of paint for the Avs, but perhaps revisiting a decades-old rivalry could bring them some new life to go with them.

Colorado Avalanche

The rivalry with Detroit is a far cry from what it used to be, but another late start won’t go over well in the eyes of many who believe that the Red Wings do, in fact, suck.

The Avalanche are coming off of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators as they head into tonight’s contest. Former Avs forward Ross Colton put the Avs down early, but Jaden Schwartz responded to tie things up. After trailing 2-1 to start the second period, Parker Kelly scored to tie things up again. Minutes after overtime began, Devon Toews would be called for a questionable hooking penalty, leading to the eventual game-winner. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped twenty-two of twenty-five shots in the game.

Over the course of the week, the Avs been forced to play catch-up to the opposition. While they were able to overcome an early two-goal deficit to Chicago on Monday, they couldn’t duplicate the same results against Columbus or Nashville. The entire first line of Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Martin Nečas have not scored a goal since Halloween. Even a slight bump in production from any of these players could have meant the difference in a close game like Thursday’s against Nashville.

In speaking to reporters yesterday, head coach Jared Bednar emphasized the importance of better defensive play over offensive output. “I would give up some [offensive] production over the first sixteen games for a better defensive effort,” he said. “That’s where I’m at. I think the offense will take care of itself.

“There’s a lot of things in [Thursday] night’s game where I’m like, ‘Man, we could be so much better offensively,’ and that’s what I’m talking about. Like, the defending side was good, now, what do we do with the puck? So, they’ll see some of the good defensive stuff because it leads to like, okay, now we’re off. Now, what are we doing with it offensively. […] We have to keep expecting a lot from our team offensively, and we’re going to expect a lot from them on the defensive side and try to build it to where it’s really consistent in our game.”

Bednar didn’t have much of an update regarding the injured Zachary L’Heureux, other than to say that it was a long-term injury and doesn’t have a timeline for his return.

Blackwood returns to the crease tonight to wrap up the home stand.

MacKinnon still leads all skaters in points (27) and assists (18). Lehkonen leads the team in goals (12).

With the exception of Winnipeg, all Central Division teams are in action tonight. A win tonight can keep the Avs within reach of Utah and Dallas, while remaining ahead of Nashville, St. Louis and Chicago in the Central Division standings. The Avs split the season series against Detroit last year, winning by a 5-0 margin on the road on January 31.

Projected Lineup

Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Gabe Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Nicolas Roy
Jaden Schwartz – Nazem Kadri – T.J. Hughes
Parker Kelly – Fedor Svechkov – Logan O’Connor

Defense:
Cale Makar – Brett Kulak
Devon Toews – Sam Malinski
Noah Juulsen – Brent Burns

Between the Pipes:
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Detroit Red Wings

Rather than leaning into the decades-long rivalry against Colorado, Detroit has had its hands full with a rivalry with one of their own. Captain Dylan Larkin, who’s trade demands request remains unfulfilled, informed Detroit’s front office on October 29 that he would not play for the team. The team responded by suspending Larkin without pay the same day.

“Dylan Larkin has informed us that he will no longer play for the Detroit Red Wings,” The organization announced in a statement on social media. “We are disappointed by his decision, particularly given his obligations to the organization and his teammates. We have therefore suspended Dylan without pay.”

The ongoing situation cost Steve Yzerman his general manager title over the summer, with Shawn Horcoff being named interim general manager in his place. The thirty-year old Larkin has five years remaining on his contract.

Despite the drama hanging over the team regarding their captain, Detroit has tried to soldier on as best as possible. Horcoff was especially busy as free agency began on July 01. Left wing Alex DeBrincat signed a seven-year, $91 million dollar contract extension, while free agents Viktor Arvidsson and goaltender Daniil Tarosov signed a two-year, $10 million dollar contract and a one-year, $2 million dollar contract, respectively. Right wing Keegan Kolesar was acquired via trade from the Vegas Golden Knights the same day.

Even with the moves made in the offseason, Detroit has struggled to find its footing. They sit in last place in the Atlantic Division with a 7-7-3 record and having lost three of their last four games, their most recent coming this past Thursday at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights at Little Caesars Arena by a 2-1 decision. Neither team scored until Anton Johansson scored early in the third period, but Vegas countered with two goals of their own to secure the win. Tarasov, playing in the place of the injured John Gibson, stopped thirty-one of thirty three shots on goal.

Gibson, who sustained a lower body injury during Detroit’s 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning this past Tuesday, returned to practice yesterday. His status is currently unknown as of this writing. Barring any updates as the day progresses, Tarasov will likely get the start again tonight against Colorado.

Tonight marks the beginning of a four game road trip for Detroit before hosting Boston at home on November 18. Prior to Thursday’s home game against Vegas, Detroit played in a back-to-back pair of games against Tampa and Florida to start the month.

DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond lead all Detroit skaters in points (16). Arvidsson leads the team in goals (8), while Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider lead the team in assists (10). Defenseman Ben Chiarot leads all Detroit skaters in penalty minutes (21), with Kolesar a close second (20).

Detroit defeated Colorado by a 2-0 decision during their previous visit to Denver on February 02.

Projected Lineup

Forwards:
Alex DeBrincat – Emmitt Finnie – Viktor Arvidsson
Michael Brandsegg-Nygård – Andrew Copp – Lucas Raymond
Michael Rasmussen – J.T. Compher – Nate Danielson
Carter Mazur – Sheldon Dries – Keegan Kolesar

Defense:
Ben Chiarot – Moritz Seider
William Wallinder – Justin Faulk
Andreas Englund – Anton Johansson

Between the Pipes:
Daniil Tarasov
Michal Postava