Browsing: Hockey

The United States blanked Canada 3-0 in Sunday’s final of the International Para Hockey Cup.

The Canadians mustered 11 shots on net to 23 for the Americans, and went scoreless on five power-play chances. The U.S. scored once in four tries with a man advantage.

Malik Jones scored short-handed in the first period. Declan Farmer scored a power-play goal in the second and added an empty-netter for the reigning world champions.

Corbin Watson stopped 24 shots in Canada’s net, while Griffin LaMarre posted the shutout.

The U.S. has won all four IPH Cup championships since the inaugural tournament in 2022.

Canada hosts the Para Cup in Dawson Creek, B.C., from Nov. 30 to Dec. 6 in Canada’s final international competition before the Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, in March.

Canada fell 5-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

“This off-season came with a lot of change, including new coaches and new players, and it was fun to get the new season started and find out which areas we need to work on,” said Canadian veteran forward Greg Westlake.

“We are excited to keep building, and we know we are going to stay united as a team and get better as the season goes on.

“We are looking forward to playing at home in our next tournament and showcasing our great sport, because we love playing in Canada. We are excited to get to Dawson Creek in November and play in a part of the country that we have not been to for a long time.â€

Host Czechia defeated China 3-1 for third.

Canada beat Czechia, China and Italy and lost in overtime to the U.S. in the preliminary round.

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Hughes scored his second goal of the game and team-best eighth of the season to send New Jersey on its longest winning streak since it earned 13 straight victories early in the 2022-23 season.

Defenceman Simon Nemec had three assists for the Devils, who have won eight straight since a season-opening loss at Carolina. Allen improved to 5-0-0. He has been starting since Jacob Markstrom was injured late in a win Columbus on Oct. 13.

Connor Brown put New Jersey ahead at 12:51 of the second, but Coloradoâ€s Brock Nelson tied the game at 13:55 of the third with his second goal of the season.

Brown beat backup Avalanche netminder Trent Miner on a breakaway at 12:51 for his fifth goal. The 31-year-old Brown joined the Devils as a free agent and been a key part of New Jerseyâ€s early success this season.

Rookie Arseny Gritsyuk also scored for New Jersey.

Valeri Nichushkin and Nathan MacKinnon also scored for the Colorado, which dropped its second game in two days after opening the season 5-0-3. The Avalanche lost 3-2 at Boston on Saturday.

Gritsyuk scored his second goal of the season at 9:09 of the opening period. Hughes made it 2-0 at 9:48.

Nichishkin scored his fifth of the season at 12:55 of the first. MacKinnon then scored his seventh at 17:03 to send the teams into the first intermission tied at 2.

Miner made 20 saves in his first start this season. Scott Wedgewood has started Coloradoâ€s other nine games with starter Mackenzie Blackwood injured.

Devils: Visiting Avalanche on Tuesday to complete home and home and start a four-game road trip.

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A patented Bouch Bomb that found the back of the net against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night was followed by a sigh of relief that echoed throughout the Pacific Northwest.

It was Bouchardâ€s first goal of the season and he was feeling the heat. Expectations are massive for the Edmonton Oilers this season and the polarizing defenceman couldnâ€t have started slower after signing a massive extension this summer. Itâ€s still extremely early in Bouchardâ€s deal, but not too early to panic for some who are concerned the Oilers may have invested too much for arguably a one-dimensional player.

Letâ€s dive into that and debate some other potential overreactions from the first month of the campaign.

Bouchardâ€s contract will age poorly

After handing Evan Bouchard $10.5 million a season for the next four years, the Oilers surely didnâ€t think they were paying for only three points and a minus-10 rating over his first nine games. Even with the goal Saturday, Bouchard went minus-three against the Kraken and is still on pace for only 27 points on the season. Bouchard has his defensive flaws and his managing of the puck often leaves a lot to be desired, but you can usually count on him to produce elite-level offence for his position. The 26-year-old has averaged 75 points over the past two seasons and quarterbacks a usually potent Oilers power play, so the slow start is definitely concerning. Bouchardâ€s defensive game isnâ€t anywhere near good enough to justify his contract, so if heâ€s not at least a 65-70-point defenceman, Edmonton is probably not going to be pleased with its investment.

Overreaction? – Yes

Bouchard and the Oilers roster have too much talent not to break out at some point. Edmonton currently sits at 19th in goals-for per game, partly because of Bouchardâ€s early-season struggles, but also due to the fact that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have also had slow starts for their standards. Draisaitl is only averaging a point per game right now, and it took McDavid until game seven to score his first goal of the season. Those two are eventually going to really get going, which should help ignite Bouchard. Thursdayâ€s rally over the Montreal Canadiens was a good sign, as the Oilers exploded for three goals in the final 10 minutes to pull off a 6-5 comeback win.

Then we have to consider that Bouchard has been pretty unlucky not to have more than one goal. Heâ€s currently on pace for 273 shots this season, which works out to be 38 shots more than his previous career high. If he keeps shooting at that rate, the puck is going to start going in, or his teammates are going to start capitalizing on rebounds and deflections.

The fact that the cap is going up rapidly should also help Bouchardâ€s contract age well. A $10.5M AAV isnâ€t going to look outrageous in a couple of years when the cap goes up to a projected $113.5M. Plus, when you consider the recent extensions of defenders like Lane Hutson, Jackson LaCombe and Luke Hughes, Bouchardâ€s deal actually seems like fair market value when you look at his history and where the cap is going.

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Bouchard has also proven to be an incredible playoff performer over the past four postseason runs. Heâ€s recorded 81 points in 75 career playoff games, which puts him in some really elite company in the history books. Only Bobby Orr has a better points per game all-time in the postseason than Bouchard among blueliners. This is the area where the Oilers are most concerned, as they are going to be doing everything they can to prove they can finally get over the hump when it matters most, so McDavid sticks around long term.

When Bouchard isnâ€t scoring points, he looks very ordinary, but all the signs are there to suggest heâ€ll start filling the scoresheet soon.

Alex Ovechkin will score the fewest goals of his career over a full season

There are no more goal records for Alexander Ovechkin to chase, so maybe itâ€s understandable that the Great 8 hasnâ€t really exploded out of the gates this season. The goal-scoring king has just two goals in nine games up to this point, putting him on pace for a meagre 18 goals this season. Ovechkin is only shooting 10 percent right now, and if he can stay healthy, that will normalize and the puck will start going in more, but there is reason to believe this could end up being one of the worst offensive seasons of his career.

Overreaction? – No

Even though Ovechkin may be having some tough puck luck at the moment, expectations should be tempered about him turning things around in a big way. The biggest concern would be that heâ€s not shooting the puck nearly as much as he has in the past. Ovechkin has just 20 shots on goal, which puts him on a pace for 182 over an 82-game season. Only once in his career has Ovechkin failed to reach at least 200 shots, and that was in the shortened season of 2020-21, where he still posted 182 shots in just 45 games.

Ovechkinâ€s worst goal total over a full season came two years ago, when he netted 31, and it really does feel like he could fall below that in 2025-26. Besides the motivation of the record chase being behind him, Ovechkin is now 40 years old and no longer moves the way he once did. Plus, the Washington Capitals are putting him in a great spot to fill the net this season, and heâ€s still struggling to do it. The Caps are starting Ovechkin in the offensive zone a whopping 91 percent of the time, which is easily a career high for him.

I donâ€t think Ovechkin is going to finish with 18 goals, though he may be in tough to hit 30 this year. For the majority of NHLers, a 25-goal season would be considered a success, but Ovechkin has set a different standard for himself. Still, getting somewhere around 25-30 goals at age 40 is nothing to sneeze at, even for the gameâ€s greatest goal scorer.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will make the playoffs

Pittsburgh has been one of the most surprising teams so far this season. Most figured the Penguins would be in the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes and sell off pieces as the season goes along and while that could still happen, a 6-2-1 start under new head coach Dan Muse could have the team re-evaluating things. The team also has a plus-8 goal differential and hasnâ€t lost in regulation in five straight games. Oh, and thereâ€s this guy you may have heard of named Sidney Crosby, who would love nothing more than to will the Pens into the playoffs for another run. The past two seasons the bottom half of the East has been a sea of mediocrity, so stranger things have happened.

Overreaction? – Yes

Is 39-year-old Evgeni Malkin capable of maintaining his 127-point pace all season? Unlikely. Will Justin Brazeau, who already has five goals and has suddenly turned into Brett Hull, cool off at some point? Almost certainly. Can Arturs Silovs hold onto a .914 save percentage for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign? I wouldnâ€t bet on it. The point is, the Pens are getting some unsustainable play from a handful of players right now.

They are also still likely to sell of pieces like Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell at some point, which is going to make the team worse. Itâ€s also important to note theyâ€ve beaten the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks. Not exactly a lot of elite competition and only two of those squads were playoff teams from last season. Itâ€s been a great start for the Pens but if Crosby wants to partake in more playoff hockey, it may have to be in a different uniform.

What a start for Shane Pinto. The Ottawa Senators forward has eight goals in nine games and has been a big bright spot for the team this season. With Brady Tkachuk sidelined, Pinto has stepped up the offence and solidified the second-line centre role, while averaging more than three shots per game. This hot start couldnâ€t come at a better time, as the 24-year-old is due a new contract next season, and if he puts up a monster campaign, Pinto is going to be in line for a substantial raise. He certainly wonâ€t average close to a goal per game all season, though, is 40 a realistic possibility if his pace doesnâ€t completely fall off?

Overreaction? – Yes

While this start from Pinto has been impressive, 40 seems like a real stretch. First off, Pinto is currently shooting almost 27 percent, and thereâ€s no way he can maintain anything close to that number throughout the season. Expect it to fall significantly sooner or later, and when it does, Pinto is inevitably going to go through some cold stretches. Heâ€s also not on Ottawaâ€s first power play unit, so goals on the man advantage could be hard to come by consistently. Pinto was never a huge scorer in college, and his career high for goals is 21, so itâ€s hard to imagine him doubling that total all of a sudden, even with this torrid start. Thirty goals feels more attainable.

Beckett Sennecke may have been shocked to be taken third overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2024 draft, but he certainly looks right at home now. The 19-year-old doesnâ€t look out of place in the early part of his NHL career, scoring three times and totaling five points in eight games. Sennecke is holding down a spot on Anaheimâ€s second line and is averaging almost 18 minutes per game, and it looks like he belongs.

Overreaction? – No

Sennecke certainly appears to have the ability and confidence to be an NHL regular and heâ€s in a pretty good spot to make the transition. The Ducks were very cautious with Leo Carlsson during his rookie season a couple of years ago, opting for a load management approach. Anaheim chose to limit Carlssonâ€s games in the first half of the season to not burn him out over the course of a long NHL campaign, and they could use a similar strategy with Sennecke.

The Ducks may end up needing Sennecke on a nightly basis, though. Jackson LaCombe and Frank Vatrano, two players Anaheim relies on for scoring, have only three assists between them so far this season, and neither has found the back of the net. Senneckeâ€s offence could be a critical stopgap until those two get going, as the Ducks have playoff aspirations in 2025-26. It also doesnâ€t appear that Sennecke is overwhelmed by the physicality of the NHL game. He already has 11 hits this year, which is good enough for seventh on the team. The Ducks donâ€t have 12 forwards better than Sennecke right now and itâ€s hard to justify sending him down.

Dan Vladar has surpassed Samuel Ersson as the Flyers number one goalie

Have the Philadelphia Flyers finally found themselves a goalie? It feels like theyâ€ve been searching for some consistency between the pipes for decades and Dan Vladar is doing his best to fill the void. Vladar has started the season 3-2-0 with a .932 save percentage and a 1.81 goals against average. He also has 2.8 goals saved above expected. After alternating with Samuel Ersson for the first four starts of the season, Rick Tocchet turned to Vladar for three games in a row. It appears the net is now Vladarâ€s to lose going forward.

Overreaction? – No

The Flyers need wins any way they can get them and Tocchet isnâ€t going to be shy about leaning on Vladar if he gives them the best chance to do so. Even though Ersson has been with the organization for several years, his numbers have been poor and they continue to get worse. In 2023-24 Ersson finished the season with a save percentage of .890, then last season he dropped to .883 and this year itâ€s sitting at .861 in three appearances. He also ranked 103rd in goals saved above expected a year ago, dead last in the entire NHL.

Iâ€m not saying Vladar is going to be one of the leagueâ€s elite goaltenders or anything this season, but he doesnâ€t have to be to overtake Ersson. Itâ€s a low bar right now in the Flyers crease and thus far Vladar is proving heâ€s up to the task. It should be his net for the foreseeable future.

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Oct 25, 2025, 08:10 PM ET

TAMPA, Fla. — Nikita Kucherov became the third-fastest active player to reach the 1,000-point club, reaching the milestone Saturday in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks.

Kucherov finished with two assists and reached milestone in his 809th career game. Only Connor McDavid (659) and Sidney Crosby (757) have reached the mark faster among active players. He is the 101st player in NHL history and 17th fastest to score at least 1,000 career points.

“It’s something I never thought I would reach,” Kucherov said. “I’m really honored and fortunate to have great teammates along the way. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”

The milestone point came with 7:41 left in the second period when Kucherov found Brayden Point at the left circle for a pass back to Jake Guentzel, who guided the puck into the net off his skate for his second of the night and a 2-1 lead. Kucherov’s teammates came pouring off the bench to congratulate the three-time Art Ross Trophy winner and 2019 Hart Trophy winner for the accomplishment.

“It’s the work ethic, tenacity, dedication to the game,” Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. “We’ve all seen it firsthand how much effort and time he puts into his craft. It’s not a fluke. It’s impressive.”

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Kucherov is also fourth-fastest player born outside of North America to reach the mark with Peter Stastny (682 GP), Jari Kurri (716 GP) and Jaromir Jagr (763 GP). Kucherov joins Steven Stamkos (1,137) as the only two players to reach 1,000 in Lightning franchise history.

He’s the third player in NHL history to record his first 1,000 points with the same head coach in Jon Cooper, joining Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy, who both accomplished the feat with Al Arbour and the New York Islanders.

Kucherov then got an assist for point No. 1,001 on Anthony Cirelli’s tiebreaking power-play goal with 3:15 remaining in the third period to give the Lightning the win.

Kucherov scored his first career goal and point on his first career shift, beating Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers at the 2:12 mark of the first period on Nov. 25, 2013, which was Cooper’s first full season as Lightning coach.

“It’s been a privilege to stand on the bench to watch him get 1,000,” Cooper said. “He’s a special, special player. He’s going to go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, player to play in this organization, and he’s got a lot of runway left in him.”

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OTTAWA — Itâ€s early, but the Ottawa Senators†biggest concern so far in the 2025-26 campaign is keeping the puck out of their net. They sit third-last in goals against at 3.84 allowed per game. Yet, their 7-1 win over the Washington Capitals Saturday night epitomized the defensive style the Senators aspire to and are capable of, as they gave up only 13 shots.

The start of the season hasn’t been pretty for Ottawa in its own zone, allowing 30 goals in the first six games. But that seems to be changing. The Senators have allowed only five goals in their last three games.

Ottawaâ€s prospects for returning to the playoffs will live or die on their ability to thwart opponents from scoring. Last season was the first time the Senators were top 16 in goals allowed since 2016-17, and guess what? They made the playoffs for the first time since that 2016-17 season.

With that said, letâ€s analyze their performance on that end thus far and why the Senators’ defence isnâ€t as bad as it initially seemed.

The Senators are featuring a broken penalty kill that succeeds just 64.5 per cent of the time. Unfortunately, their diamond formation hasnâ€t been elite the past two seasons. It finished 19th in 2024-25 and is down to second last so far this year. Diamonds are forever, they say, and head coach Travis Green has stated the Senators will continue with it.

The goal of the formation is for the short-handed unit to keep players to the outside of the defensive diamond formed around the slot. The issue for the Senators has been defending their diamond without abandoning the aggressiveness necessary for an effective kill. To begin the season, Ottawa’s PK has been too passive when it needs to be passive-aggressive.

 â€œI like the idea behind it, but there’s also a passive part,†said Nick Jensen about the diamond formation.

“We sometimes get into the habit of going straight to that passive part and not putting any pressure… We want to be aggressive at times, and we weren’t being aggressive at the times we’re supposed to be (to begin the season).â€

Too many times, star players are left wide open. Yeah, that won’t work against Connor McDavid.

To its credit, Ottawa has been noticeably more aggressive recently — a perfect 5-for-5 with a man down the last two games.

Of course, the penalty killing woes arenâ€t all on the skaters. The analytics would tell you the Sens should actually be good on the kill, with the eighth-best expected goals rate in the league while short-handed. But the Senators have the worst penalty kill save percentage. If your goaltending isnâ€t at its best on the penalty kill, then your kill wonâ€t be at its best.

Ottawaâ€s been poor short-handed, but not 64.5 per cent bad. Thereâ€s lots of blame to go around, but also plenty of reasons to think itâ€s going to improve as it has recently.

Steal a game, donâ€t lose it: Thatâ€s a goaltenderâ€s job. Be the reason a team wins more often than it loses. Last season, Linus Ullmark reversed the Senators†goaltending woes with excellent play after seven long seasons. But so far this season, Ullmark has been the reason for Ottawaâ€s losses more than its wins with a woeful .870 save percentage in eight starts and minus-3.4 expected goals allowed.

In hockey, there is a close relationship between where a team ranks in save percentage and where it ranks in the standings. Last season, Ottawa finished 11th in team save percentage and 12th in the standings. Ottawa currently sits 31st in team save percentage and 20th in the standings.

Good news for the former Vezina trophy winner, however, is that heâ€s regained his form recently with a .918 save percentage in his last three games while allowing five goals. As youâ€d expect, Ottawa is 2-0-1 in those games. Ullmark is also — literally — a fighter, stepping up for his teammates in Saturday nightâ€s tilt with the Caps.

Imagine the wide smile on Brady Tkachukâ€s face when he saw Ullmark up for the goalie fight against Washington netminder Charlie Lindgren.

When Ullmark is good — which heâ€s looked closer to recently — so are the Senators.

Finding defensive structure

Last season, the Senators were a stout defensive team that led the league with 10 shutouts. The talk heading into this season was squarely focused on scoring more at five-on-five, where they had finished second last. But sometimes when you look for offence, you forget defence. In Ottawa’s first six games they were dreadful. Â

“Whether or not we’re doing the right things in the defensive zone, I don’t think we played to that standard yet,†Jensen told Sportsnet.ca early last week.

“In the defensive zone, (we canâ€t) be on the offensive side of the opponent, because well, if we get this puck going north, (youâ€re) going to have a two-on-one or three-on-one as opposed to if you’re just even with them, and then it’s a foot race at that point.â€

Ottawaâ€s defensive philosophy is always to have players behind the puck and be mindful of not jumping up in the rush unless thereâ€s a clear-cut opportunity, because if it fails, they could get burned in the opposite direction. Too often, early on, Ottawa would turn pucks over rather than make the simple plays to create offence. Dylan Cozens getting pickpocketed against Nashville in the Sens home-opener, for instance, leading directly to the opening goal.

After a heartbreaking loss to the New York Islanders, in which Ottawa blew multiple leads due to poor defensive efforts, Green was displeased, calling the team “sloppyâ€.

“A lot of things that we took pride in last year that we were good at, we werenâ€t good tonight in,†Green said after that loss.

“Whatâ€s your mindset? Are you cheating for offence? Are you on the right side of the puck? Thereâ€s a certain style of play that we want. Thereâ€s been a lot of talk about creating more offence, but it does not mean cheating for offence. That part of our game is not tight right now.â€

Since then, Ottawa has returned to its former selves, allowing only five goals in three games. Ottawa also has the best expected goals allowed rate in the NHL in their last three games at 2.28. Â

“Weâ€re making progress. We are playing stingy defensively. Weâ€re not giving up grade A chances,†said Nick Cousins after Ottawaâ€s win in Washington.

“Weâ€re not cheating the game.â€

The eye test supports that claim as the Senators’ return to their defensive structure has shown dividends on the scoreboard.Â

Thwarting opponents’ time and chances

Interestingly, Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast on Friday mentioned how good the Senators are at limiting opponents’ O-zone possession time at five-on-five (3:40), ranking them third best in the NHL before Saturdayâ€s win.

One of the best ways to defend is simply not being in your own end.

A perfect example of that was the Senators allowing only 13 shots against the Capitals.

“We could have won 2-1, thatâ€s the mindset you have to have in this league,†said Ullmark after Ottawa drubbed Washington

A possible explanation for the Senators’ ability to stifle opponents’ O-zone time is that Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot are both elite puck movers and create one-man zone exits that make it hard for the opponent to sustain pressure in the offensive zone.

That correlates with Ottawa having the fifth-best expected goals per-60 at 2.22 a game at five-on-five, and the eighth fewest high-danger chances against per game.Â

All the data suggest that if the Senators clean up their penalty kill, get league-average goaltending and cut down their moments of cheating for offence, then theyâ€ll be a good to even great defensive team. The Senators aren’t as bad as their defensive record, but itâ€s also on them to continue showing us that’s the case.

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Oct 26, 2025, 01:37 AM ET

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin had a chance to pull off a double milestone by reaching 900 goals in his 1,500th game. The Ottawa Senators were having none of it.

The Washington Capitals and their fans had a chance to celebrate the latter accomplishment, but goal No. 900 will have to wait. Washington was drubbed 7-1 by the Senators on Saturday night.

Ovechkin came close early in the game when he flipped a backhand off the side of the net.

“He had me in the first period. I’m just lucky that he missed the net,” Senators goalie Linus Ullmark said. “He fooled me. I was up in the stands looking for a hot dog or something like that after that one. I was lucky on that one.”

After breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career record with his 895th goal in April, Ovechkin entered this season needing three more to reach 900. A goal against Columbus on Friday night brought him to 899, but he had only one shot Saturday.

As a team, the Capitals were outshot 34-13.

“We just could never really get into it. Give them credit. They worked hard,” Washington’s Tom Wilson said. “We just didn’t have the legs to tilt the ice at any point throughout the game, and it ends up pretty lopsided, and not good enough.”

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During a stoppage in the first, Ovechkin received a standing ovation from the crowd when the 1,500-game milestone was acknowledged on the scoreboard.

That break included video of congratulations from Ray Bourque, Steve Yzerman, Patrick Marleau, Nicklas Lidstrom and Shane Doan. Those are five of the seven other players to have reached 1,500 games with one franchise. (The other two, Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio, are no longer alive.)

“It’s incredible. There’s very few guys in this league that get to play 500 games. Even less, 1,000 games,” Ullmark said. “Now you have him playing 1,500 games for the same franchise, which is absolutely incredible. There’s only a few select guys that have ever done it.”

Although Ullmark wasn’t all that busy in his own end, he did skate all the way down the ice when his counterpart, Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren, was involved in a bit of a scrap late in the second period. By the time Ullmark arrived, there was a big tangle of players, and an official intervened before he was able to square off with Lindgren or anyone else.

“When he goes in there and sticks up for his guys, I could stand waiting as well,” Ullmark said. “But as soon as he kind of kept going, it’s not really about the actual fight, it’s more about showing up for the guys and showing your presence.”

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Thereâ€s low event hockey, and then thereâ€s no event hockey.

After a six-goal outburst against the Montreal Canadiens Thursday, the Edmonton Oilers appeared to revert to their former selves — a low-scoring, low-event, low-excitement unit that found a way to lose to the Seattle Kraken in a 3-2 snoozer Saturday night in Seattle.

The head coach saw promise in the performance however, on a night where the high danger chances were scored 9-4 in the Oilers†favour, according to Natural Stat Trick.

“There were a lot of things I liked. We had more scoring chances than (in all) but one game this year,†said Knoblauch, who was more concerned with his teamâ€s defensive posture. “Whether it was a bad pinch or a forward not coming back … thatâ€s where Seattle has all of their chances.â€

Ex-Oiler Jordan Eberle scored twice, and the Oilers couldnâ€t find a goal from its entire forward corps. Theyâ€ll roll over the border into Vancouver for a date with the Canucks Sunday, ending an eight-game stretch in which Edmonton played in eight different cities.

“Thereâ€s no secret formula, no secret solution. Itâ€s just putting in the hard work,†said Darnell Nurse, whose team is 4-4-2 and still searching for its game. “For us, itâ€s the connectiveness we talk about — five players all over the ice. Work ethic, winning our battles — the cliché things.â€

The road games are stacking up on these Oilers, to be fair. They played five games in the Eastern time zone, one at home in the Mountain time zone, and now close out this stretch with games in the Pacific time zone at Seattle and Vancouver.

What resulted was yet another two-goal outing for an Oilers team that’s had trouble finding the net this season. Evan Bouchard ripped home his first of the year on the power play, and Nurse scored his first on a rare net-front deflection for the 3-2 goal.

Thatâ€s two goals by defencemen, while the 12 forwards were shut out — with only Leon Draisaitl (0-2-2) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (0-1-1) recording points.

Meanwhile, all three Seattle goals came off the rush, while the Oilers couldnâ€t buy a goal in that fashion.

“Our intensity was better, our execution with the puck was better. We created more scoring chances,†Knoblauch said. “But if you canâ€t score off the rush, and theyâ€re scoring off the rush, it makes a big difference.â€

One and (hopefully not) done

Oilers fans held a lot of hope that a pair of 21-year-old wingers could step into the lineup and help offensively. But so far Ike Howard and Matt Savoie — despite both having their chance to start games on Connor McDavidâ€s wing — have been less than productive at one point apiece.

Savoie started Thursdayâ€s game against the Montreal Canadiens on a line with McDavid and Draisaitl, but was long gone from that unit when head coach Kris Knoblauch blew his lines up midway through an unsatisfactory Oilers effort.

On Saturday in Seattle it was Howardâ€s turn, as he opened on a unit with McDavid and right winger Andrew Mangiapane. By the time the third period began however, Howard had been replaced by Jack Roslovic, as Knoblauch continued his search for a connected, goal-scoring lineup in a season that has given him precious little of that.

“Iâ€m not over-thinking it, to be honest. Just excited to get out there and play a good game,†a hopeful Howard said before the game.

Howard has a goal, is minus-1 and has nine shots on target over his first eight NHL games. Heâ€s a shooter, you can see that. But thereâ€s so much more that has to happen at this level in order to find yourself in prime scoring position, with time and space to use his shot.

“Itâ€s a long process to get to where I want to be, but itâ€s been feeling good. Itâ€s gotten better each game,†Howard said. “Iâ€ve always had that shooterâ€s instinct. Maybe itâ€s something youâ€re born with. I love to shoot pucks, get good looks, score goals.â€

His coach sees progress, even if he thought Rosolovic had more going in his game Saturday.

“Things early on were closing on him fast. It felt like he didnâ€t have an out with the puck, or didnâ€t know what the next play was,†Knoblauch said of Howard. “Now, he seems confident. Things arenâ€t closing, and heâ€s able to make the next play.â€

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SEATTLE — Jordan Eberle scored two goals, both set up by Matty Beniers, and the Seattle Kraken beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Saturday night to continue the best start in franchise history.

Tye Kartiye scored his first of the season as the Kraken improved to 5-2-2. In the past two games, Seattle has defeated last seasonâ€s Presidentâ€s Trophy winner Winnipeg (3-0 on Thursday in Winnipeg) and now Stanley Cup runner-up Edmonton.

Joey Daccord made 31 saves for the Kraken. It was just his second win in nine career games against Edmonton.

Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse each scored their first of the season for the Oilers, who had won nine of their previous 10 against Seattle. Leon Draisaitl had two assists and Stuart Skinner made 20 saves.

Draisaitl now has points in six straight games against the Kraken, including five multi-point games.

Eberle put the Kraken on the board just 1:23 into the game with his third of the season, taking a cross-ice pass from Beniers and lifting a shot over Skinner from the right circle.

Kartiye made it 2-0 at 6:35 of the second period, sending in a shot from high in the slot.

Bouchard got Edmonton on the scoreboard with a power-play goal with 4:39 left in the second period. It was the Oilers’ fifth goal with the man advantage in the last three games.

Eberle made it 3-1 on a shot right in front on a pass from Beniers with 7:39 to play.

Nurse ripped a shot from just inside the blue line on the right side that beat Daccord with 5:25 left.

Oilers: Visit the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.

Kraken: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

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VANCOUVER — In the final 2 ½ months of last season, when the Vancouver Canucks had the best penalty killing in the National Hockey League, the team yielded nine power-play goals over 31 games.

With three of their penalty-killing forwards from last season either gone or injured, the Canucks†shorthanded units have been lit up for nine power-play goals in the last seven games.

Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens, the Canucks were the better team at five-on-five, building a 15-3 landslide advantage in high-danger scoring chances. But Vancouver lost a two-goal lead on special teams and lost the game 4-3 at Rogers Arena.

Sure, there were fortuitous puck bounces for the Canadiens on both of their power-play goals, including Juraj Slafkovskyâ€s 2-2 equalizer at 1:50 of the third period when Lane Hutsonâ€s point shot hit Ivan Demidov and fell perfectly for the dangerous rookie to set up his teammate.

But in the last two weeks, opposition power plays have ventilated the Canucks by going 9-for-25 or 36 per cent. And thatâ€s not just bad luck for Vancouver.

Whether failing to make clears or finding loose pucks, leaving lanes open or simply losing most of the faceoffs, the Canucks have not had the sharp, disciplined, cohesive and effective penalty killing that kept them in the playoff race last season.

And with five skaters injured, including key penalty-killers Teddy Blueger and Derek Forbort, the Canucks donâ€t have the luxury of losing the special-teams battle while still expecting to win games.

“Yeah, we’re leaking a little bit,†Canucks defenceman Marcus Pettersson said of the PK unit. “And it’s tough, you know, they get a couple of bounces. But weâ€ve got to dig down a little bit because it has lost a couple games for us. It’s frustrating, but we can’t get frustrated with it. I mean, good players are going to make plays sometimes (against you). Theyâ€re going to get a couple of bounces. But weâ€ve got to find ways to bear down. That’s all it is.â€

With Pius Suter gone in free agency and Dakota Joshua traded for cap space, new head coach Adam Foote has been exploring shorthanded options. Conor Garland, a complementary PK piece a year ago, is now the first forward out shorthanded and averaging a hefty 3:22 of penalty-kill time per game.

Top centre Elias Pettersson is killing more, as are Kiefer Sherwood and Drew Oâ€Connor. And top-six wingers Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser have been auditioned shorthanded after seeing almost no PK duty last season.

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They had none of it to start the game, sleepwalking through the first period and emerging fortunate to have not spotted the Vancouver Canucks a bigger lead than 1-0.

The Canadiens didnâ€t start the second any better before falling down 2-0 in the eighth minute of the second period. They were flat, they were forcing passes, they were disconnected at five-on-five, and they were playing the exact type of game that would force their power play to come through.

Turns out the timing was ripe because the Canadiens’ power play, as currently constructed, was designed to do exactly that.

They didnâ€t need it to get them to 6-2-0, but it wouldâ€ve helped them avoid a loss in Edmonton had it hit the ice more than once in that game.

On Saturday, with Demidov replacing Zachary Bolduc and occupying the right half-wall of the top unit for just the second time this season, it offered up three rescue breaths to help the Canadiens turn a sure loss into a 4-3 win. And, in the process, it served notice that itâ€ll be a force to be reckoned with moving forward.

Just having Demidov across from Suzuki makes it so.

“You think back to Tampa, with (Steven) Stamkos and (Nikita) Kucherov kind of going seam-seam, thatâ€s hard to defend,†said Mike Matheson. “Once you can rely that itâ€s going to be in one guyâ€s hands a bit more, you can read off that as a P.K. But when thereâ€s two guys (opposite each other) who are really good with the puck, it really adds an element.â€

Itâ€s not as if Martin St. Louis didnâ€t know.

Long before taking over the Canadiens†bench in February of 2022, he spent plenty of time at his vacation home in Tampa Bay, watching Stamkos and Kucherov torch their opposition time and time again. The coach also had Demidov playing with Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson through the end of Montrealâ€s first-round playoff series against the Washington Capitals last spring, so he had a fair idea of what they could do together before this season started.

But with Noah Dobson traded for and signed over the summer, and with Patrik Laine healthy, the coach sought more balance by opting to split Suzuki and Demidov so that each power-play unit could have an elite playmaker on it.

With Laine not making the trip through Western Canada, and with him later going under the knife to repair a torn core muscle that will require a three-to-four-month recovery, the impetus to move Demidov up was created.

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There were other things steering St. Louis in that direction, too.

“Iâ€ve known all along that Demi can play on the first wave, first power play,†St. Louis said. “I feel I got to a certain point with Demi where he showed me heâ€s willing to play on the other side of the game, the defensive game, and heâ€s actually very attentive and trying to keep getting better. So, for me, all signs led to: itâ€s time. And it was also a chance for me to get him more ice-time.â€

With it, Demidov not only helped turn around a rough game for the Canadiens; he also helped turn around a game he later said was not his best.

The pass to Suzuki, on a play where just about anyone else wouldâ€ve shot, was brilliant. He made another one to Slafkovsky to tie the game 2-2 just 1:50 into the third period. And then the 19-year-old Russian made several other deceptive ones and just missed scoring on an open net on the teamâ€s final power play to create the momentum Matheson capitalized on at five-on-five seconds later to put the Canadiens up 3-2.

Less than three minutes after that, Demidov completed his best even-strength shift of the night with a one-timer that proved to be the winning goal after a late surge netted the Canucks a goal off Conor Garlandâ€s stick.

But it all started with a power play that came into the game ranked 22nd in the NHL and came out of it ranked 12th.

Hutson, who runs the middle of the point of the top unit, said whatâ€s happening on both sides of him opens all kinds of options that wouldnâ€t otherwise be there.

“I donâ€t think thereâ€s any great strategy (to defend Demidov across from Suzuki),†he said. “Theyâ€re both so dangerous, and theyâ€re kind of learning what works against different kills and all that stuff. So, I think, maybe just stay back and hope they donâ€t seam you.â€

Itâ€s what both Demidov and Suzuki are looking for.

“Heâ€s looking for a seam, heâ€s looking for someoneâ€s stick in the wrong spot so he can hit a seam, heâ€s looking for guys in space, and I try to get in space so I have space to get a puck,†Hutson said of Demidov, but he just as easily couldâ€ve been referring to Suzuki.

The deception with which both players operate makes them a lethal combination.

On this night, it was a life-saving one for the Canadiens.

Outside of the line of Kirby Dach, Joe Veleno and Bolduc, they didnâ€t have much of anything going at five-on-five, which made this game an outlier.

But there will be others like it, and for the Canadiens to know they can change the outcome as convincingly as they did with the man-advantage Saturday is to know they have a chance to win any game.

“Itâ€s great,†said Slafkovsky. “Thatâ€s what changed the momentum… There will be games where itâ€s not going to work fully. But I feel like if we get three chances, we need at least one from our power play every time.â€

So far, Montrealâ€s top unit is two-for-four. And though we wonâ€t read too deeply into such a small sample, we like its chances of scoring on one of every three.

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