NHL Previews

Going into their third game on Saturday against the visiting Calgary Flames, the Pittsburgh Penguins believe they have found the template they need. Pittsburgh had a visit from lingering demons in their opener, a 4-2 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. The Penguins had a two-goal lead but could not put the game away, a problem that plagued them last season. On Friday, Pittsburgh flashed the type of game that has been expected of

Despite winning their season opener in a shootout, the Toronto Maple Leafs know they need to improve Saturday night against the visiting Minnesota Wild. The Maple Leafs needed two late goals in the third period from Auston Matthews before defeating the visiting Montreal Canadiens 6-5 Wednesday in a shootout. The tying goal gave Matthews a hat trick. Toronto also killed a penalty in overtime. “I want to forget about this game and just keep moving

Jonas Johansson passed his first test as Tampa Bay’s No. 1 goalie. Johansson and the Lightning will now try to grab a road victory in the Detroit Red Wings’ home opener on Saturday. Johansson was thrust into the role when Andrei Vasilevskiy underwent back surgery during training camp. Tampa Bay defeated Nashville in its home opener 5-3 on Tuesday as Johansson stopped 28 shots. “His game was quiet and he made himself big. He wasn’t

Connor Bedard will make his first trip north of the United States border when the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. Bedard, the highly touted No. 1 overall pick by Chicago in the 2023 NHL Draft, notched his first NHL goal in a 3-1 loss at the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, a day after producing his first assist in a 4-2 victory at the Pittsburgh Penguins. “He’s a really great player,” Boston

The opening to the Boston Bruins’ centennial season was no on-ice masterpiece. After David Pastrnak’s two goals helped the Bruins grind out a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston will try to keep improving its game on Saturday as it welcomes in the Nashville Predators to complete a season-opening, two-game homestand. As for the opener, there was some good, some bad. All to be expected. “I don’t think we played fast enough, consistently enough,”

It’s tough to pinpoint if the Florida Panthers can return to the form that took them to the Stanley Cup Final last June, ultimately losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. Florida will try to continue to recapture some of that grinding force heading into Winnipeg on Saturday afternoon to take on the Jets, in both teams’ second game of the season. With one game under their belt, a 2-0 loss to the

The Washington Capitals and visiting Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking for a fresh start Friday, even though only one of them will be playing in a season opener. Both teams are looking to rebound after missing the playoffs last season, but only the Capitals will be dropping the curtain on 2023-24. On a team closely identified with 38-year-old goal-scoring machine Alex Ovechkin, Washington has incorporated a new slogan, Something to Prove, which is displayed in

Opening night did not go the way either the Seattle Kraken or Nashville Predators had hoped. Each will get the chance to make up for that Thursday night when the teams meet in Nashville. The Predators opened the season Tuesday with a 5-3 loss at Tampa Bay despite a goal and an assist from newcomer Ryan O’Reilly. A few hours later, the Kraken lost 4-1 on the road against the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas

The deep Dallas Stars forward corps got even stronger with the offseason addition of Matt Duchene after his buyout from the Nashville Predators. The Stars will test their fortified front lines when they host the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams. Duchene scored 22 goals and earned 34 assists in 71 games for Nashville last season. He had 43 goals and 43 assists in 2021-22. He joins a