NHL News

Now, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions face the challenge of building upon that as they start a four-game road trip Wednesday in Salt Lake City against the Utah Mammoth.

After losing the first three games in regulation and the fourth in overtime, the Panthers finished the homestand with victories on back-to-back days against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday and New York Islanders on Sunday.

Carter Verhaeghe scored twice against Columbus and once versus the Islanders. The forward has four goals in his last three games since his first child was born, which caused Verhaeghe to miss the Dec. 2 home game against Toronto.

The weekend also brought the return of forward Eetu Luostarinen, who missed eight games as he recovered from burns sustained in a grilling mishap.

Having both players back on the ice has provided a much-needed spark, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after Sunday's victory, especially since the team remains without top forwards Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, neither of whom has played a game this season.

"When you miss two of your top six when you've already got two of your top six out, this makes a huge difference in how we look," Maurice said. "Getting those guys back, we're more confident now. Going to be a really tough road trip, but we're playing as well as we've played in quite a while."

Daniil Tarasov stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced Sunday. He could start Wednesday in Utah as the Panthers will play at the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. That move would likely allow Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida's No. 1 netminder, to face the NHL's top team.

With the Blue Jackets last season, Tarasov stopped 32 shots to help Columbus earn a 3-2 overtime victory in Utah on Jan. 31.

The Panthers will be the second of three straight home games for the Mammoth, who fell 4-2 to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.

That was not the biggest blow the Mammoth suffered that day, as the team reported prior to the loss that Logan Cooley, who leads Utah with 14 goals, will be out indefinitely due to a lower-body injury. The 21-year-old center ranks third on the team with 23 points.

Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny was philosophical after Monday's loss about how the team needs to step up in Cooley's absence.

"If you play the way you should play, which is at your full potential, you won't raise anything," he said. "You will just be the best version of yourself. ... There's no other Logan Cooley on our team, so there's nobody who can be a Logan Cooley for the next little while. It's not the way it is. Everybody has to be themselves, but the best version of themselves."

Clayton Keller, who has 28 points to lead the Mammoth, notched his 10th goal and an assist to give him points in four of his last five games.

Karel Vejmelka made 23 saves but saw his two-game winning streak end Monday. The Czech goalie is 1-5-1 in seven career games against the Panthers, with a .912 save percentage and a 3.31 GAA.

The Red Wings, who are coming off Monday's 4-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks, have found themselves back among the collection of clubs vying for top spot in the Atlantic Division.

"We're kind of getting into a rhythm here," said goaltender John Gibson, who posted his first shutout of the season in Vancouver. "Obviously, we're only halfway through (this road trip) and have three big ones left, but just kind of build off this one and take it into the back-to-back coming up."

The Red Wings are three matchups into a six-game road swing that takes them to Edmonton the night after visiting Calgary. Proving how wild the standings are right now, they went from outside a playoff position to first place in the Atlantic by beating the Canucks.

Continuing the trend in which Detroit has cobbled together a 3-0-2 run will require more of what transpired in Vancouver.

While Gibson, acquired in the offseason to solidify the Red Wings between the pipes, made 39 saves, James van Riemsdyk continued showing his hot hand by scoring for a fourth consecutive game. Captain Dylan Larkin added a goal and the club received depth-player scoring from Andrew Copp and Nate Danielson.

"We're happy we got the secondary scoring," coach Todd McLellan said. "We can't keep relying on three or four guys. When they're having dry nights, somebody else has to pick up the slack."

The Flames are looking to continue their climb up from the league's basement. Thanks to a 7-2-1 run capped with a 7-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, they are only a handful of points outside a playoff position.

"I think it's a really big thing we take a ‘W' and win three games in a row," said forward Yegor Sharangovich, who scored twice in a three-point game against Buffalo. "Now we have fun, everyone is smiling and we need to just keep going."

Calgary sat last in the league less than a week ago and had been there for the majority of the first eight weeks of the season. However, the Flames won the first three outings of a four-game homestand and posted a 5-0-1 mark in their last half-dozen clashes at the Saddledome.

Just like the Red Wings, the Flames have no time to fall off the track.

When asked after Tuesday's practice whether he has given his squad a goal or mile marker to focus on, coach Ryan Huska replied, "We have to catch the team in front of us right now. The focus is to end this homestand the right way and try to make it 4-for-4 if we can."

Although the seven goals against the Sabres was a season high for Calgary, which is tied with Seattle as the league's lowest scoring club on a per-game basis, Huska wanted to ensure his players were not thinking that performance was the key to success.

"Some of the games we played when we weren't winning were better than some of the ones we've played over the last little bit -- the last couple of games in particular," Huska said.

As NHL players prepare to return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014, two issues have arisen around the Santagiulia Arena in Milan where both men's and women's hockey is set to take place: the size of the surface rink and the quality of the ice.

According to The Athletic, the 60-meter (196.85 ft x 85.3 ft) by 26-meter surface in Milan, approved by the International Ice Hockey Federation, is more than three feet shorter than the 200-foot length required in the NHL.

Though the Milan surface is a fraction wider than the required NHL specifications, many are reportedly concerned it is not enough to make up for the shorter rink given the frequency of high-speed collisions that are part of the sport.

"While these dimensions differ slightly from a typical NHL rink, they are consistent with IIHF regulations, match the rink size used at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and are fully consistent with the dimensions the NHL requires as part of its Global Series Game arena specifications," the IIHF said in a statement released by the Milano Cortina Foundation.

"All involved, the IIHF, the Organizing Committee, NHL, NHLPA, IOC and the relevant venue authorities agree that the differences in rink specifications are insignificant, and should not impact either the safety or quality of game play."

Additionally, construction issues at the Santagiulia Arena have delayed its completion date to Feb. 2, just three days before the women's ice hockey tournament is set to begin, with testing at the new arena not taking place until Jan. 9-11.

NHLPA assistant executive director Ron Hainsey told Sportsnet on Saturday the players are more concerned about the quality of the ice than the size of the surface, especially considering two regular-season games were successfully played as part of the NHL's Global Series in Stockholm's Avicii Arena, which is similar in size to the Santagiulia Arena surface.

"The health and safety of our players while playing on any surface will not be compromised," he said.

The women's tournament will take place at Santagiulia Arena and Milano Rho Arena from Feb. 5-19. The men's tournament will also split time between the two arenas, kicking off Feb. 11 with five games played in the first 30 hours, and concluding with the gold medal game on Feb. 22.

Daly told reporters Monday at the league's board of governors meetings in Colorado Springs he didn't think the construction issues were "insurmountable" but that the NHL was increasing its efforts to ensure the safety and playability of the ice in Milan.

"We have offered and they're utilizing our ice experts and technicians and outside providers," Daly said. "We're basically moving everybody there to try to help get this done in a way that's acceptable for NHL athletes. And I'm cautiously optimistic it will be fruitful."

Daly said there is no contingency plan if the league's needs aren't met.

"I mean, it kind of is what it is," Daly said. "Having said that, if you're faced with that being the reality, then you have to think about what you do next. ... What I'd say is, I think in emergency-type situations like that in the past, I think we've responded appropriately, came up with good solutions and I have no doubt that we'll be able to come up with good solutions if we're faced with that."

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be co-hosted by Milan and the alpine resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo from Feb. 6-22.

The predicaments are not as similar as they might seem.

New York is coming off successive overtime losses to visiting Colorado and Vegas on Saturday and Sunday, both by scores of 3-2.

Chicago, meanwhile, absorbed blowouts of 6-0 and 7-1, respectively, in Los Angeles and Anaheim on successive nights. The Blackhawks have lost consecutive games by at least six goals for the first time since 1951.

"When you get your butt kicked on the scoreboard two nights in a row like that -- and (Sunday) was a total, total whupping -- your confidence slips," Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said. "But this is a big-boy league, man. You've got to have mental toughness.

"We'll get out of here, fly home and get back out (to practice). But there's lessons to be learned. The one thing I've been impressed (about) with this team is, they've learned lessons."

Chicago looks to have a different mix than the group that last skated at United Center on Nov. 30. The team sent rookie defenseman Sam Rinzel and forward Landon Slaggert to Rockford of the American Hockey League this week.

While the past two losses have been historically one-sided, the Blackhawks actually have been struggling for the past three weeks. They are 2-6-2 in the past 10 games, getting outscored 42-22 over that span.

"We've got a lot of work to do," Chicago forward Andre Burakovsky said, "and we've got to correct some things and just overall be better."

New York couldn't hold a one-goal lead in the last minute of regulation on Sunday but nonetheless took positives from a brief, two-game homestand against Colorado and Vegas, which both entered Tuesday as top-five teams in the Western Conference.

The Rangers are 5-1-2 in their past eight games after earning 10 wins over their first 23 games.

"We're starting to do a lot of the right things more on a consistent basis, especially against the top teams in the league," New York forward J.T. Miller said Sunday. "We looked at this week as a really good challenge. Dallas, Ottawa and these two (games), eight points were up for grabs, and we got six. I think we'll take that any day of the week.

"I think we're getting rewarded by getting team points. We're hanging in there. It's a hard part of the schedule, every team goes through it, and we're trying to grind. I love that we're playing some of the top teams in the league right now. It's an unreal challenge for our group to kind of see where we're at."

New York has especially shown resilience with All-Star defenseman Adam Fox (upper body) on long-term injured reserve.

"I think we're moving towards the identity that we're trying to build and the game that we want to play. And we've just gotta continue to stay hungry and continue to work at it," Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think once again, when you play some of the better teams in the league like we have most recently, and the guys perform the way they have, I think it provides a lot of evidence. And I think that reinforces belief in what we're doing and how we're going about it."

The Blackhawks and Rangers split two meetings last season, with New York outscoring Chicago 7-4.

Malkin, 39, did not play in Sunday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars after recording two goals and an assist in Pittsburgh's 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

Penguins head coach Dan Muse initially said Malkin was day-to-day with the injury. He is now considered week-to-week.

Also headed to IR with an upper-body injury is forward Blake Lizotte. It's unclear when Lizotte suffered the injury.

Lizotte had an assist, two hits and two blocks in 13:59 minutes of ice time against the Stars on Sunday.

In corresponding moves, the Penguins recalled forwards Danton Heinen and Sam Poulin from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.

The second overall pick of the 2004 NHL Draft, Malkin led the league in points (2008-09, 2011-12) and earned the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP in 2012. He won three Stanley Cup Championships with the Penguins (2009, 2016, 2017).

In 26 games this season, he is second on the team with 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) and has a plus-5 rating. He has 1,375 points (522 goals, 853 assists) in 1,239 career games, all with the Penguins.

Lizotte has five points (three goals, two assists) in 27 games this season. He has 131 points (51 goals, 80 assists) in 406 games with the Los Angeles Kings (2018-24) and Penguins.

McMann received a match penalty for high-sticking during a break in play early in the third period of Toronto's 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning Monday. His action came in response to a cross-check from Lightning forward Oliver Bjorkstrand.

McMann, 29, has 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 28 games this season.

He has totaled 73 points (43 goals, 30 assists) and a plus-24 rating in 168 career games with the Maple Leafs.

The Oilers enter the contest having won two straight and four of their past six games (4-2-0) after losing four of their previous five (1-3-1).

They skated to a 6-2 home victory against the Winnipeg Jets in their most recent outing on Saturday. That was preceded by a 9-4 triumph against the visiting Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

"We look a lot more connected, we look a lot faster," Edmonton center Leon Draisaitl said. "Obviously, we're looking to take steps and continue to get better. Sometimes you lose confidence in your own ability and the ability of the group a little bit, and then it takes a little (while) to get out of it. Hopefully, we can string a couple together here."

Edmonton's offense has come to life of late, scoring at least four goals in each of the past four wins and managing three in one of the two losses. At the end of their five-game struggle on Nov. 20, the Oilers were averaging 2.96 goals. Entering the Tuesday slate, their goals-per-game average of 3.31 has vaulted them up to seventh in the league.

"I think we're starting to get that feeling back," Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "You could see (during the skid) the way that we want to play creeping into our game, and it's never gonna go super smooth, but we know what we're capable of and it takes a lot of work. We're at our best when it's simple and we're working hard, and then our skill takes over from there."

The Sabres arrive in the Alberta capital having hit the halfway point of a season-high six-game road trip, still in search of a win on the trek.

Their latest setback came Monday in Calgary, a 7-4 defeat against the Flames. Buffalo cut a two-goal deficit in half four times but failed to pull even each time, and the Flames added a pair of empty-net tallies late in the third period.

"S--t game. Horrible game," said Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin, who had a goal and an assist. "That's all I can say. The result, how the game ended. A lot of errors."

The Sabres are 2-9-2 on the road this season, the worst away record in the NHL. Both of their road wins went beyond regulation -- an overtime decision against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 15 and a shootout triumph against the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 29.

"We need to win a game," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said.

The penalty kill has been a strength for the Sabres since the start of the season, ranking among the top three in the NHL. However, it has taken a bit of a hit on the trip, allowing four power-play goals on 11 opportunities. The Sabres took five penalties on Monday, and Calgary converted twice right after 5-on-3 opportunities became 5-on-4s.

"We've been pretty good all year not getting caught on 5-on-3," Ruff said. "You've got to eliminate that. We know going into (Tuesday's) game ... we can't give Edmonton five or six power plays."

The Lightning dropped their fourth straight game on Monday night with a 2-0 setback to the host Toronto Maple Leafs,. Tampa Bay has been shut out in its past two games and totaled four goals in the four-game skid.

Montreal will look to bounce back from a 4-3 home loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday that followed consecutive shootout wins. The Canadiens are not lighting the lamp at a rapid pace either, scoring just 10 goals while going 2-3-0 in their past five games.

Against the Maple Leafs, Lightning goalie Jonas Johansson stopped 22 of 23 shots before Toronto clinched it with an empty-net goal. Tampa Bay could not connect on any of its 29 shots and has now gone more than 128 minutes since its last goal.

"It was one of those ones where it looked like whoever scored first was going to win, and that's pretty much how it ended," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of the Monday contest. "A little unfortunate for us because we've been playing pretty well and unfortunately losing, and tonight I thought we took a step back honestly."

It was the first time the Lightning took consecutive shutout losses since November 2023.

Tampa Bay center Brayden Point played 18:48 and had four shots on goal in his return after missing seven games with an undisclosed injury. Winger Nikita Kucherov, who had missed one game due to an undisclosed ailment, played a team-high 24:38 and had two shots on goal.

Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy (undisclosed injury) was placed on injured reserve ahead of the Monday game, so Brandon Halverson could make his first appearance of the season, and the third of his NHL career, on Tuesday.

Halverson got in a game off the bench for the New York Rangers on Feb. 17, 2018, then took a 6-4 loss while starting for the Lightning against the Utah Mammoth on March 22, 2025.

The Canadiens had a day off following their stumble against the Blues. Noah Dobson had a goal and an assist while Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson also scored for Montreal. With goalie Sam Montembeault a late scratch due to an illness, Jakub Dobes started for the second straight day and made 14 saves.

"I felt good," Dobes said. "The legs were fine, the mind is probably the one part that gets overused the most. But I felt pretty decent. I felt like I made pretty good reads, maybe one mistake on the third goal, but everyone makes mistakes, so it happens."

The Canadiens led 2-1 after the first period, but the Blues scored two goals in 39 seconds early in the second period to take the lead for good.

"It's not rocket science, really," Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson said. "It's two breakdowns that led to two quick goals, and that was the difference."

Caufield brings a career-high-tying 11-game point streak (four goals, nine assists) into the Tuesday game. Hutson, a defenseman who had six goals in 82 games last season, already has five goals through 17 games this season.

Meanwhile, Montreal rookie Oliver Kapanen has one goal in his past nine games after opening the season with seven in his first 19.

The teams are meeting for the first time this season. Montreal took two of three from Tampa Bay in 2024-25.

It was the 25th career shutout for Gibson and his first since Jan. 4, 2023, when he led the Anaheim Ducks to a 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars. Gibson shut out the Canucks for the fourth time in his career -- his top total against any NHL team.

James van Riemsdyk, Andrew Copp, Nate Danielson and Dylan Larkin scored goals and defenseman Axel Sandlin-Pellikka had two assists for Detroit, which extended its point streak to five games (3-0-2) with its second straight win.

Kevin Lankinen stopped 10 of 13 shots for Vancouver before giving way to rookie Nikita Tolopilo at the start of the third period. Tolopilo finished with six saves for the Canucks, who lost for the eighth time in 10 games (2-7-1).

Maple Leafs 2, Lightning 0

Dennis Hildeby stopped 29 shots to earn his first career shutout as Toronto defeated visiting Tampa Bay.

Morgan Rielly scored in the first period for the Maple Leafs, who have won four of five. Auston Matthews added an empty-net goal with one second remaining in the game.

With Andrei Vasilevskiy landing on injured reserve earlier in the day because of an undisclosed injury, Jonas Johansson started in goal for Tampa Bay and stopped 22 shots. It was the opener of a four-game road trip for the Lightning, who have lost four in a row and have been shut out in back-to-back games.

Flames 7, Sabres 4

Yegor Sharangovich scored twice in a three-point game while Nazem Kadri tallied once and added two assists to lead host Calgary to a season-high goal total and a victory over slumping Buffalo.

Yan Kuznetsov logged a goal and an assist while Rasmus Andersson, Jonathan Huberdeau and Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary, which has won three straight games. Matt Coronato notched two assists, and Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf made 25 saves.

Rasmus Dahlin posted a goal and an assist while Tage Thompson, Owen Power and Alex Tuch each had a goal for the Sabres, who have lost three straight. Josh Norris and Jason Zucker recorded two assists apiece. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen saved 17 of 22 shots before Alex Lyon made four saves in the third period.

Kings 4, Mammoth 2

Joel Armia scored two goals for Los Angeles in a win against Utah in Salt Lake City.

Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, Anze Kopitar also scored, Kevin Fiala had two assists and Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves for the Kings, who have won two in a row following a 2-3-3 stretch.

Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist, Dylan Guenther also scored and Karel Vejmelka made 23 saves for the Mammoth, who have lost six of their past eight games.

Wild 4, Kraken 1

Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and two assists as Minnesota defeated host Seattle.

Marcus Johansson, Kirill Kaprizov and Vladimir Tarasenko also tallied and goaltender Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves for the Wild, who went 2-2-0 on their four-game trip.

Jordan Eberle scored for the Kraken, who lost their sixth straight (0-5-1). Philipp Grubauer stopped 25 of 27 shots but took his first regulation defeat of the season (4-1-1).

Marcus Johansson, Kirill Kaprizov and Vladimir Tarasenko also tallied, and goaltender Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves for the Wild, who went 2-2-0 on their four-game trip.

Jordan Eberle scored for Seattle, which lost its sixth straight (0-5-1). Philipp Grubauer stopped 25 of 27 shots but suffered his first regulation loss of the season (4-1-1).

Johansson, who played with the Kraken in their expansion season of 2021-22, tallied the go-ahead goal at 8:12 of the third period on an acrobatic move in front of the net. Eriksson Ek got to a loose puck on the right-wing boards and backhanded it toward the top of the crease. Johansson jumped and tipped the puck between his own legs in one motion, with the redirection sailing over Grubauer's shoulder and into the far upper corner of the net.

Kaprizov and Tarasenko scored empty-net goals at 18:45 and 19:00, respectively, to clinch the victory. Kaprizov's goal was his team-leading 18th of the season.

Minnesota opened the scoring at 1:18 of the second period as Jacob Middleton kept the puck in the offensive zone and Matt Boldy drove the puck down the left-wing boards and behind the net. Eriksson Ek skated to the low slot and Boldy found him for a snap shot that left Grubauer little chance.

The Kraken tied it on the power play at 6:48 of the period after Chandler Stephenson won a faceoff in the offensive zone. Jared McCann tapped the puck back to defenseman Vince Dunn at the left point, who returned it to McCann. The forward sent a cross-ice pass to Stephenson, who had moved from the left to the right faceoff circle, and he spotted Eberle at the far post for a tap-in. It was Eberle's team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Dunn put a jarring shoulder-to-shoulder hit on Wild forward Mats Zuccarello at the blue line with about five minutes left in the first. Zuccarello took a hard fall with his helmet bouncing off the ice and went straight to the locker room and didn't return. Minnesota's Danila Yurov came to Zuccarello's defense and received a double-minor for roughing in a slight scuffle with Dunn, who got two minutes for roughing.

Seattle rookie forward Berkly Catton, a first-round pick in 2024, missed the game with an upper-body injury and is considered week to week. Catton blocked a shot with his right hand late in Saturday's 4-3 loss to Detroit.

It was the 25th career shutout for Gibson and his first since Jan. 4, 2023, when he led the Anaheim Ducks to a 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars. Gibson shut out the Canucks for the fourth time in his career -- his top total against any NHL team.

James van Riemsdyk, Andrew Copp, Nate Danielson and Dylan Larkin scored goals and defenseman Axel Sandlin-Pellikka had two assists for Detroit, which extended its point streak to five games (3-0-2) with its second straight win.

Kevin Lankinen stopped 10 of 13 shots for Vancouver before giving way to rookie Nikita Tolopilo at the start of the third period. Tolopilo finished with six saves for the Canucks, who lost for the eighth time in 10 games (2-7-1).

Detroit took a 1-0 lead at 14:14 of the first period when van Riemsdyk extended his goal streak to a career-high four games. J.T. Compher got the primary assist, winning a board battle behind the net and then making a one-arm pass to van Riemsdyk in front of the crease. van Riemsdyk backhanded in his own rebound for his sixth goal in the last seven games.

The Red Wings extended the lead to 3-0 near the end of the second period with two goals in the span of 37 seconds. Copp, on the left doorstep, got the first at 15:15 when he tipped in a crossing pass from the right circle by Sandlin-Pellikka. Danielson, stationed in front of the crease, got the next one when he redirected Sandlin-Pellikka's one-timer through Lankinen's pads.

Vancouver pulled Tolopilo for an extra attacker with 5:16 remaining, and Larkin sealed the win with an empty-netter with 4:31 to go, his team-leading 16th goal of the season.

Yan Kuznetsov logged a goal and an assist while Rasmus Andersson, Jonathan Huberdeau and Mikael Backlund also scored for Calgary, which has won three straight games and produced a season-high goal total. Matt Coronato notched two assists, and Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf made 25 saves.

Rasmus Dahlin posted a goal and an assist while Tage Thompson, Owen Power and Alex Tuch each had a goal for the Sabres, who have lost three straight outings. Josh Norris and Jason Zucker recorded two assists apiece.

Buffalo's starting goalie, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, surrendered five goals on 22 shots. Alex Lyon took the net for the third period and stopped all four shots he faced.

Sharangovich opened the scoring just before the midway point of the first period when MacKenzie Weegar's point shot ricocheted off his arm and into the net.

Andersson doubled the lead during a 5-on-3 power play, converting with an off-speed point shot. His stick broke as he unloaded, and the puck bounded off a defender and into the cage.

Thompson gave the Sabres life with a power-play goal, a top-shelf wrist shot at 4:24 of the second period from the right circle to snap his personal six-game goal drought. That tally began a wild game of chase.

Huberdeau restored Calgary's two-goal edge with another man-advantage marker, a tap-in tally set up by Coronato at 7:05 of the middle period. Power again pulled Buffalo within one goal with a long wrist shot at 13:43 to snap a 13-game goal drought.

Kadri replied 31 seconds later to make it a 4-2 game, finishing a perfect three-way passing play. However, Dahlin again made it a one-goal game at 16:32 with a neat redirect for his first goal in 15 games.

Kuznetsov put the hosts again ahead by a pair 55 seconds later by driving to the net and burying a loose puck, but it was not over.

Tuch's power-play goal with 2:31 remaining in the third -- on a deflection -- again pulled Buffalo within one goal, but empty-net goals by Backlund and Sharangovich quashed the Sabres' comeback hopes.

Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, Anze Kopitar also scored, Kevin Fiala had two assists and Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves for the Kings, who have won two in a row following a 2-3-3 stretch.

Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist, Dylan Guenther also scored and Karel Vejmelka made 23 saves for the Mammoth, who have lost six of their past eight games.

Both teams killed power plays in the first seven minutes before the Kings took a 1-0 lead at 7:50.

Kempe entered the Utah zone with speed after receiving a pass from Fiala. He raced around defenseman Nate Schmidt and through the slot before scoring from in close.

Armia scored on a breakaway after receiving a pinpoint stretch pass from Fiala to extend the lead to 2-0 at 10:08 of the opening period.

A minute later, Mammoth forward Brandon Tanev appeared to score on a breakaway, but the Kings challenged that he was offside prior to the goal and that was confirmed after a replay review.

Utah went on its second power play of the first period when Andrei Kuzmenko was called for interference on Dylan Guenther with 1:17 left.

The power play carried over to the second period and Keller tapped the puck back to Guenther, who scored 34 seconds into the period with a one-timer from the high slot to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Kopitar made it 3-1 when a loose puck came to him in the slot and he lifted it into the net at 3:27 of the third period.

Keller fired a backhand into the far top corner from the right circle to bring the Mammoth back within 3-2 at 12:15 of the final period.

Armia sealed the win by scoring into an empty net with 1:38 left.

Utah announced earlier Monday that the team's leading goal-scorer, Logan Cooley, would be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury sustained Friday against the Vancouver Canucks.

Morgan Rielly scored in the first period for the Maple Leafs, who have won four of five. Auston Matthews added an empty-net goal with one second remaining in the game.

With Andrei Vasilevskiy landing on injured reserve earlier in the day because of an undisclosed injury, Jonas Johansson started in goal for Tampa Bay and stopped 22 shots.

It was the opener of a four-game road trip for the Lightning, who have lost four in a row and have been shut out in back-to-back games.

The Maple Leafs, who were playing the second game of five straight at home, are 4-0-1 in their past five games.

Tampa Bay pressed early in the first period and Toronto defenseman Troy Stecher came to the rescue by clearing the puck just before it could bounce over the goal line.

Toronto scored against the flow of the game at 16:26 of the first. John Tavares approached the left circle, then dropped a pass between his legs to Easton Cowan, who directed the puck to Rielly off a Lightning defender's skate. Rielly scored on his second swat at the puck, a backhand as he sprawled toward the net.

Toronto had a better start to the second period and played tighter defensively. Johansson made a snappy glove save at 2:35 of the middle frame on Calle Jarnkrok's uncontested shot from the slot. Tavares rang a shot off the left goal post 21 seconds later.

Tampa Bay's Gage Goncalves was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for kneeing Dakota Mermis at 3:00 of the third. That resulted in a fight between Toronto's Dakota Joshua and Tampa Bay's Max Crozier. The Maple Leafs' Bobby McMann was given a match penalty for high-sticking.

Mermis was injured and went to the dressing room.

Toronto went on an unsuccessful power play at 15:03 of the third.

With Johansson removed for an extra attacker, Hildeby made a big stop on Darren Raddysh's knuckling shot through traffic in the final minute.

Lightning forward Brayden Point was back in the lineup after missing seven games with an undisclosed injury. He finished with a minus-1 rating and four shots on goal in 18:48 of ice time.

The two teams on opposite trajectories meet in Nashville on Tuesday night for the first of two games in five days. They also play Saturday night in Colorado.

The Predators have the fewest points in the NHL (24), half of the Avalanche's total. Although Nashville has only 10 wins, four have come in the last two weeks during a 4-2-0 stretch. The Predators are coming off a 6-3 loss Saturday night at Carolina that stopped a two-game winning streak.

Head coach Andrew Brunette lamented his team's seven penalties that led to six power-play chances, including a 5-on-3 for the Hurricanes.

"We're giving them freebies, free momentum," Brunette said. "We keep doing this to ourselves. It was self-inflicted."

Nashville killed off four of those power plays but its penalty kill, at 81.1%, ranks 16th in the NHL. It is one of the reasons the Predators are tied for fourth in goals allowed (100) entering Monday, while their 73 goals ranked 30th in the league.

Nashville is led by former Colorado center Ryan O'Reilly, who has 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists). Filip Forsberg (10 goals, nine assists) and Luke Evangelista (four goals, 15 assists) share second in scoring and Michael Bunting stands fourth with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists).

The Avalanche won the first meeting, 3-0 on Nov. 22 at Nashville, during a 10-game winning streak. Colorado has just two regulation losses and has earned at least one point in 19 of its last 20 games.

Not surprisingly, the Avalanche lead the NHL in goals (115), goals against (63) and goals allowed per game (2.17). An already potent lineup got another weapon with the return of Valeri Nichushkin last week after missing eight games with a lower-body injury.

Nichushkin had the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory Sunday at Philadelphia.

Nathan MacKinnon had an assist in Sunday's win to add to his NHL lead in points. MacKinnon, who has two goals and an assist in the first three games of a road trip that wraps up Tuesday night, has 49 points (24 goals, 25 assists). He got his 24th goal in overtime Saturday at the New York Rangers.

MacKinnon is compiling an MVP-caliber season by piling up points in different ways.

"It's not just off the rush. It's not just on the power play, not just from one spot. It's all over the place," Colorado captain Gabe Landeskog said. "He's got strengths, just like anybody else, but when some things aren't working he's going to find different places to score."

Linemate Martin Necas has benefited and is second on the team with 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists). Cale Makar is third with 35 points (nine goals, 26 assists), which leads all NHL defensemen.

The Avalanche might not have goaltender Scott Wedgewood available. He hasn't played since leaving the Dec. 2 win over Vancouver with an upper-body injury.

Winnipeg has managed only five wins in its last 16 games, a stretch defined by a significant offensive drought and inconsistent defending. During this slide, the Jets rank 27th in goals scored and 24th in goals against, numbers that underscore just how out of sync they've been.

The Jets' latest setback came Saturday in Edmonton, where they were overwhelmed 6-2 by the Oilers, a loss that put an exclamation mark on their recent frustrations.

"Yeah, everything," said Kyle Connor when asked what is going wrong during the 680 CJOB postgame show on Saturday. "You got to want to be a difference-maker every single night. We've got to find a way to do that and bring guys up to speed. We need everybody to be a leader out here. You don't need to wear a letter... make an impact. If you're not making a positive impact it's probably going the other way, so we got to find a way to push each other."

Coach Scott Arniel didn't offer excuses, even though the Jets have played seven games in 11 days -- a stretch that could reasonably be pointed to as a factor.

"I'm not putting the schedule on this. The whole league is going through this now because of the Olympics. Everybody's having their tough part, the grind of their schedule," Arniel said following the loss. "Both mentally and physically, we weren't ready to go. At the end of the day, I'll take responsibility for that."

Despite the difficulties, the Jets have not fallen out of the race. Winnipeg sits only two points outside a playoff spot in a tightly-packed Western Conference where several teams are struggling to find consistency. And the team they face Tuesday, the Dallas Stars, are dealing with their own pursuit of higher standards.

Dallas enters the matchup second overall in the NHL with 45 points, in the midst of an impressive 8-0-2 run over their last 10 games. The Stars and league-leading Colorado Avalanche (48 points) are the only two teams with 40-plus points.

But even with success on the scoreboard, Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan believes his team has room to sharpen its offensive game, despite ranking third in goals with 105.

"It took us a while to generate. We actually didn't generate a ton," Gulutzan said. "It's a couple times in the last week... so we've got to find our footing here a little bit. Whether it's a little bit more rest or a couple practices to get a little sharpened up."

Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, who had an assist and scored the shootout winner in Dallas' 3-2 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday, echoed that concern.

"In those moments when you might have a lot of games, you maybe have your legs you have to lean on your system and try and play good sound defensive hockey," Rantanen said. "(Try to) limit the chances for the other team and try to capitalize when we get chances... we've got to be better in Winnipeg."

Rantanen has definitely been part of the Stars' offensive solution, recording 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in the last six games and entered the week tied for third in the NHL with 26 assists.

The Jets remain without goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who is recovering from a minor knee procedure and is expected back in late December or early January.

Dallas, meanwhile, could see the return of defenseman Thomas Harley, who missed Sunday's game with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin also left Sunday's game with a lower-body injury, but didn't join the team on the road trip.

Despite a hat trick from Connor, the Stars edged the Jets, 5-4, in the season opener for both teams.

Both teams will be looking for their high-volume opportunities to translate into more production when they meet Tuesday night in Raleigh, N.C.

Despite launching 39 shots Sunday at Washington, Columbus fell 2-0. That was in contrast to the previous game when Columbus lost 7-6 in overtime at Florida.

"I thought we had plenty of opportunities to score, obviously," Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. "... We had some quality, quality opportunities. But we certainly liked our compete."

The Blue Jackets have lost two straight and six of their last eight (2-2-4).

The Hurricanes are finishing a seven-game homestand, hoping to improve on a 3-3-0 mark. They've lost two of the past three, including Sunday's 4-1 setback to San Jose.

"This is the National Hockey League. You have to be prepared every night," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Whether there are four games a week or one of those stretches, but everybody's got to go through it. We were not sharp. And when the other team is sharp, you're going to get behind."

The Hurricanes will have a goaltending decision. With three active goalies, it would be Frederik Andersen's turn in if they stick with a rotation now that all three netminders are healthy. But Andersen's recent dip in performance could lead to changes.

Rookie Brandon Bussi is 8-1-0, while Andersen, winless since Nov. 6, is 5-7-2. Pyotr Kochetkov (4-1-0) made his first appearance since Nov. 17 on Sunday, so it's unlikely he'll be back in net for the next game.

The Blue Jackets received 36 saves from Jet Greaves on Sunday. But Columbus' string of collecting at least one point with Greaves in net ended at nine games (4-0-5).

Columbus might turn to Elvis Merzlikins, who won two of three meetings against the Hurricanes last season.

Tuesday's game also features a reunion gathering of the 2006 Stanley Cup champions. Brind'Amour was captain of that Carolina team.

Many of those former team members gathered over the weekend for the start of the 20th anniversary celebration. Brind'Amour called Sunday's performance "an embarrassing effort" and he certainly won't want a repeat with his former teammates watching.

Getting the kinks worked out will be a priority.

"When we get away from our game plan, it's a tough night of hockey," Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker said. "(The Sharks) made us defend a lot. That definitely takes away your spark. (We have to) get back to our game plan, and most nights it works for us."

Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has notched an assist in three consecutive games. Captain Jordan Staal had the Hurricanes' goal Sunday, giving him 474 points as a member of the team and moving into fifth place -- ahead of Brind'Amour -- on the franchise's all-time points list.

This will be the first of three meetings, with the other two matchups coming in March.

When the teams played Dec. 4 in Boston, Geekie scored a goal and earned two assists as the Bruins rolled to a 5-2 victory. His scoring ability will be top of mind for the Blues when they host the Bruins in the rematch.

Geekie has scored 10 goals in his last nine games, giving him 22 goals in 30 games.

"Just doing whatever it takes to win," Geekie said after the Bruins defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-1 Saturday. "Sometimes, they aren't pretty."

NHL.com notes that during the last five decades, Geekie has scored the third-most goals by a Bruin through 30 games, behind only Cam Neely (34 in 1993-94) and David Pastrnak (25 in 2019-20).

After scoring 39 goals in his first 256 NHL games, Geekie has scored 55 goals in his last 107.

The key to his growth, Geekie said, is getting to the right spot in the offensive zone at the right time.

"You just learn," he said. "It's a league of repetition. As much as every game isn't the same, goals are scored in a lot of same areas all the time. Just being able to consistently get there is something that's big for me."

Pavel Zacha scored twice in the previous Bruins-Blues game and Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist. Joonas Korpisalo drew the start in goal in that game and made 37 saves.

The Bruins and Blues have both won their last two games. After falling at Boston, the Blues won 2-1 at Ottawa and 4-3 at Montreal over the weekend.

"I still feel like we have a long way to go, and we know that in this room," Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. "But you have to start somewhere and you have to build slowly and play hard for one another. I think we showed that the past two games."

St. Louis embarked on its three-game road trip without injured forwards Jimmy Snuggerud, Nathan Walker and Alexey Toropchenko. Then winger Jordan Kyrou suffered a left leg injury against the Canadiens.

Those casualties forced coach Jim Montgomery to continue shuffling his forward lines while searching for new combinations that click.

"There's a lot of juggling with lines and guys are trying to find it, guys are playing different positions from shift to shift," Schenn said. "But at the end of the day, there's no complaints. Guys are going out there and playing hard for one another. When you do that, you start to build something and you can feel it."

Forwards Pavel Buchnevich (three goals, four assists in his last nine games) and Dylan Holloway (three goals, five assists in nine games) have picked up their scoring pace after suffering cold starts this season.

"I think we've been trending in the right direction, just playing for each other, making plays," Holloway said. "I think when we're at our best and we're playing four lines, getting it in deep, rolling them over, I think the offense will come. We've got a lot of skill up front, obviously, we're missing a few guys, but we really pulled through together for each other."

The Ducks beat the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 7-1 on Sunday evening to wrap up a three-game homestand that began with a 7-0 loss to the Utah Mammoth last Wednesday. In between, Anaheim knocked off the Washington Capitals 4-3 in a shootout.

"We want to look at creating a standard of consistency and predictability in our game," Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said.

The Ducks have remained atop the Pacific Division for three weeks, even after losing their top two goalies to injuries.

Ville Husso has stepped in and won four of his five starts in net. Quenneville likes Husso's composure, patience, size and puck-handling.

"He came in at an interesting time with our season and stabilized that position," Quenneville said. "It's been noticeable."

Beckett Sennecke continues to have a remarkable rookie season as well.

He had a goal and an assist against the Blackhawks to give him 24 points on the season, which leads all NHL rookies. Sennecke has 12 points in his past 11 games (three goals, nine assists).

"He's only going to get stronger," Quenneville said. "He's long and he's got that reach and he's deceptive and he can put it in different areas and not lose momentum when he's getting it back up to where he needs it. He's tricky."

Quenneville said the one area he'd like to see improvement is making the right decisions off the rush.

"You don't always have to make a perfect play off the rush and pass it through sticks and skates," he said. "You can get it in behind people, and with good pressure, we can hunt down pucks. I think our D has had good gaps off our forecheck, our pursuit's been good, we've got good speed on our team and, so, if we can utilize it on our forecheck, it can help disrupt their exits, which kind of leads to a good rush game."

The Penguins will be looking to pick up momentum as well in the opener of a five-game homestand.

Pittsburgh is coming off a 3-2 shootout loss at the Dallas Stars on Sunday to wrap up a three-game trip. The Penguins were two minutes away from sweeping the road trip, but gave up the tying goal with 1:49 remaining against Dallas.

"You walk away disappointed based on that game," Penguins coach Dan Muse said. "I thought the overall game that we played, we wanted to come away with two points. Once we look at it, get a little bit removed from it, I think we'll see that there were a lot of positives. Those points are important and there's some things that, obviously, we could have done, too, that could have secured those two points."

Pittsburgh is right in the middle of a tightly packed race in the Metropolitan Division. They won't play any division foes on the homestand, however, instead taking on the Montreal Canadiens, San Jose Sharks, Utah Mammoth and Edmonton Oilers over the next seven days.

"I think we played two pretty good games (on the road trip)," Penguins forward Tommy Novak said. "Just try to keep our consistency. I think we've shown that we can play with anybody. That's a good team (Sunday) night, again, so when we're playing our best, we're tough to beat."

San Jose won four straight contests from Nov. 4-11, but the team followed that hot run with an inconsistent 5-7-0 stretch that included lopsided losses against the Colorado Avalanche (6-0) and Washington Capitals (7-1).

After losing 4-1 to the Dallas Stars in the opener of their five-game road trip, the Sharks rebounded to top the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Sunday. Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves against his original organization while Macklin Celebrini had a goal and two assists to fuel the offense.

"(Nedeljkovic) was locked in. You could see it from the start," San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "He made some huge saves. I liked his third period. He was outstanding (Sunday). We had moments where we saw growth playing with the lead. There's some improvement we need to continue to work on, but it was a step in the right direction."

Collin Graf, John Klingberg and Alexander Wennberg scored the Sharks' other goals in Sunday's win. Nedeljkovic shined in net but likely will give way on Tuesday to No. 1 starter Yaroslav Askarov.

"I just felt happy that I put us in a position to win, honestly," Nedeljkovic said. "It's way more fun winning, whether you give up zero, one or five."

Philadelphia has won seven of its last 11 games and hasn't dropped consecutive contests since Nov. 8-12. With both of those defeats coming in overtime, the team hasn't lost two straight regulation affairs since Nov. 1-2.

Despite their solid play of late, the Flyers came up short against the league-best Colorado Avalanche in Sunday's 3-2 home setback.

Samuel Ersson made 25 saves for Philadelphia while Sean Couturier scored a goal on his 33rd birthday.

"I thought we had chances to win this game," said Couturier, who was playing in his 900th career game. "Just felt that at times maybe we gave them a little too much respect and we watched them a little bit. Overall, we competed hard; we were right there until the end."

Travis Konecny also scored for Philadelphia, marking his second straight game with a goal. The winger has not scored in three straight games since Nov. 11-16, 2024.

"Some people use games as measuring sticks and I think we don't need to do that anymore," Konecny said. "We've shown we can compete with the best teams, so why not start believing that we should be right there with them?"

The Flyers have won four of their last five matchups with the Sharks. Last season, they won both meetings -- a 4-3 shootout win in Philadelphia and a 4-0 triumph in San Jose.

Konecny registered a goal in regulation and another in the shootout in the first victory before netting a tally in the second matchup.

Warsofsky was not pleased with his team's effort against Konecny -- or overall -- after the 4-0 defeat on New Year's Eve.

"We didn't have anything tonight," he said. "This wasn't good enough."

After mustering just one goal in their last three games overall, the Devils are in need of a spark heading into Tuesday's game against the host Ottawa Senators.

New Jersey head coach Sheldon Keefe insisted he saw positives in his team's 4-1 setback to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

"I thought we controlled play," Keefe said. "The shot clock was indicative of that. Obviously, we made some mistakes on some breakouts, turnovers. They got back in quick-strike offense. They got the goals that they needed. So, that ultimately ends up being the difference.

"But once again, we play a good enough game to be in the position to win. We're just not able to sustain offense and build offense enough to get on the right side of it."

Timo Meier scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season and sixth in his last nine games for the Devils.

Unfortunately for New Jersey, that was all she wrote.

"Obviously, we couldn't put enough away, the chances were there, so it's important for us to understand the longevity of the season and not get too low and really build off a performance like that because I think that was our best game in the last bit, for sure," veteran Connor Brown said.

The Senators aren't singing a much better tune after returning from a seven-game road trip by dropping the first two contests of their three-game homestand.

Fabian Zetterlund scored a power-play goal in the third period of Ottawa's 2-1 setback to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Senators, they went 1-for-7 with the man advantage to lose for the fourth time in their last five games.

"They're just not getting the job done," Ottawa coach Travis Green said of his power-play units. "They're on the outside a lot, the execution hasn't been good enough either."

The Senators will need more from their offense with leading goal-scorer Shane Pinto sidelined at least more two weeks due to a lower-body injury.

Pinto has 12 goals, one more than Tim Stutzle. The latter is struggling mightily with just five points (one goal, four assists) in the past 10 games.

"He's going through a stretch where the puck hasn't gone the way he's wanted," Green said, per the Ottawa Citizen. "With a skilled player that wants to do well and wants to win desperately, as Tim does, and he understands that he is a big part of our offense, and when we lose, he takes a lot on his shoulders.

"Sometimes less is more, and sometimes being direct is a way to get out of a rut. Can you shoot a little more? Can you get inside a little more? Can you be a little physical at certain times? Sometimes players want to skill their way out of things, and sometimes that backfires on you. So we've got to make sure that we're continuing to talk to Timmy, because he's a competitive person, and no one's harder on Timmy than himself, so we've got to work with him and keep his spirits high."

The Golden Knights, who have only lost twice in regulation in 13 road contests (7-2-4), won their fourth straight game in dramatic fashion on Sunday night, rallying to defeat the New York Rangers, 3-2, in overtime at Madison Square Garden.

With the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Tomas Hertl scored the tying goal on a backhanded rebound in the slot with 52 seconds left in regulation and Jack Eichel then scored the game-winner on a breakaway with eight seconds left in OT.

The four-game win streak, which also included home wins over San Jose and Chicago and a 3-0 shutout of the host New Jersey Devils on Friday, matches the longest win streak of the season for Vegas. The Golden Knights also won four straight games Oct. 14-20.

Eichel's game-winner came on a set play in the Rangers' zone. Brett Howden won a faceoff in the right circle back to defenseman Shea Theodore who then immediately banked a pass off the side boards in the neutral zone to Eichel, who got behind New York defenseman Matthew Robertson. Eichel then deked Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick and tucked a wrist shot inside the right post.

"It was a set play for us," Eichel said. "Huge faceoff win by (Howden) and then ‘Theo' makes a great pass. I just took off and was able to get behind him. ... They just kind of walked me in there."

Vegas, second in the Pacific Division and one point behind the Anaheim Ducks, improved to 2-0 on its five-game road trip.

"It's a big win, gutsy win for us," Eichel said. "Find a way to get one late and then win it in overtime. A lot of credit to the group on their resiliency and finding a way to get two points."

Eichel leads the talented Golden Knights' attack with 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists).

The Islanders are in the midst of a brutal schedule that sees them play five consecutive games against teams that have combined to win the last six Stanley Cups: Tampa Bay (2020, 2021), Colorado (2022), Vegas (2023) and Florida (2024, 2025).

New York defeated the Atlantic Division-leading Lightning twice and handed NHL points leader Colorado just its second regulation loss in 29 games while also snapping the Avalanche's 17-game points streak before suffering a 4-1 loss to the back-to-back defending champion Panthers in Sunrise, Fla., on Sunday.

Despite the loss, Isles coach Patrick Roy was happy with his team's performance, garnering six of a possible very-tough eight points.

"I think we're gonna learn a lot from a game like this to see how they played, the way they play," Roy said. "We were right there ‘til the end. I see a lot of positives (from) this.

"Overall, that was a tough schedule. We played Tampa twice, played Colorado, back-to-back games there. Three of four, that's pretty good."

Goalie Ilya Sorokin won all three games, compiling with a 1.33 goals-against average and .960 save percentage topped by a 32-save performance in 2-0 shutout of the Lightning on Saturday. He was named the NHL's First Star of the Week on Monday.

This is the second of two regular-season meetings. New York won the first one, 4-3, in overtime in Las Vegas on Nov. 13 on a short-handed overtime goal by Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

Pageau, who has missed the last eight games with an upper-body injury, was a full participant in the team's morning skate before the loss at Florida and could return for Tuesday's contest.

Bo Horvat leads the Islanders with 29 points (17 goals, 12 assists), but has cooled off after hitting the scoresheet in 10 of 11 games. He only has four points in his last nine outings and was a minus-3 in the loss to Florida.

The 29-year-old Pastrnak, a four-time All-Star forward, and McAvoy, 27, an All-Star defenseman, will join the Bruins on their three-game road trip that opens on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues. Boston will then visit the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday and the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.

Pastrnak, who has 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 25 games this season, has missed the last five games with an undisclosed injury. In his 12th season with the Bruins, who selected him No. 25 overall in the 2014 draft, Pastrnak has 862 points (402 goals, 460 assists) over 781 games.

McAvoy, who has sat out the last 10 games after he was hit in the face with a puck, has posted 14 points (all assists) this season over 19 games. He also leads all Bruins defensemen in average ice time (23:46). In his ninth season with Boston after he was its No. 14 overall pick in 2016, he has 314 points (60 goals, 254 assists) in 523 games.

"We just have to make sure nothing will change," Bruins coach Marco Sturm told reporters Monday. "I think we've been very, very good structure-wise for a bit and that's going to be the biggest thing, the guys who are coming back, they have to find their way back in the lineup, playing the same way, just exactly the way they finished. I think that's all."

Out since Nov. 26 against the New York Islanders, Pastrnak said he expected to return for the Bruins' next game two days later against the New York Rangers. He hadn't skated with the Bruins until Monday, taking part in practice in a non-contact jersey.

"It sucks," Pastrnak said. "I'm happy I was back out there today. Felt great. See how I feel tomorrow. I've been pretty fortunate the last couple years, so just want to get back out there."

McAvoy, who underwent facial surgery after the puck incident on Nov. 15 against the Montreal Canadiens, had to go on a liquid diet, which resulted in him dropping 20 pounds.

"Getting it back," McAvoy said. "One day at a time, but every day I feel better so keep doing that."

McKenna, who turns 18 Dec. 20, has totaled 18 points in 16 games as a freshman forward at Penn State. He is the consensus best prospect in the ‘,26 draft class and scored one goal in five appearances for Canada at the 2025 world junior tournament.

The 27-man roster announced by Hockey Canada on Monday includes four forwards (Braeden Cootes, Jett Luchanko, Brady Martin, Michael Misa) and one defenseman (Zayne Parekh) who have played a smattering of games at the NHL level.

The electrifying Parekh, a Calgary Flames prospect, was controversially snubbed from the lineup that underperformed at the 2025 world juniors in Ottawa. Czechia eliminated Canada in the quarterfinals.

The United States beat Finland in overtime to win that edition of the tournament and will host the upcoming world juniors in Minnesota from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5.

Six returning Canadian players are part of the 2026 camp roster -- Luchanko and McKenna, fellow forwards Cole Beaudoin and Porter Martone and goaltenders Carter George and Jack Ivankovic.

Hockey Canada will trim the roster to 24 ahead of the tournament opener against Czechia in Minneapolis on Boxing Day.

Besides McKenna, the draft-eligible players on the roster are defensemen Carson Carels, Ethan MacKenzie and fellow star prospect Keaton Verhoeff.

The other Canadian players, all recent NHL draft picks, are forwards Carter Bear, Caleb Desnoyers, Liam Greentree, Michael Hage, Tij Iginla, Jake O'Brien, Sam O'Reilly and Cole Reschny; defensemen Kashawn Aitcheson, Harrison Brunicke, Ben Danford, Cameron Reid and Jackson Smith; and goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen.

Teenagers still occupying fringe roles in the NHL, such as Seattle Kraken forward Berkly Catton and San Jose Sharks defenseman Sam Dickinson, could potentially be added to the team at another player's expense.

Canada is a 20-time tournament winner. The U.S. (seven wins) is the reigning back-to-back champion.

Cooley smashed his left leg into the post while carrying the puck to the net during Utah's 4-1 road win over Vancouver. He sat out a 2-0 road loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Cooley previously exited Utah's Nov. 29 matchup after his left knee absorbed a hit from St. Louis Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko. That blow did not cause him to miss additional games.

Cooley, 21, leads the Mammoth with 14 goals in 29 games and his 23 points rank third on the team.

The No. 3 overall draft pick by the franchise in 2022, when it played in Arizona, Cooley leads his draft class in career scoring with 59 goals and 132 points in 186 games.