Ryan O'Reilly is used to playing against former teammates - he's on his fifth NHL team, after all - but the Nashville Predators center conceded that Friday's matchup against the St. Louis Blues will hit him a little differently.
"You win a Cup, it changes your life," he said in a recent interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Matthew DeFranks. "That makes it a little bit more emotional than the other ones, just knowing how special a place it was for myself. It wasn't very long I was there, but gosh, still some of my favorite hockey memories. My biggest accomplishment came there."
"(St. Louis) changed my whole career," he added.
O'Reilly crammed a whole lot of success into his five-year tenure in Missouri.
During his first season with the Blues in 2018-19, he helped them win their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history, which was an astounding feat given that St. Louis was dead last in the league that January.
O'Reilly also earned some individual accolades that season, including the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs after potting eight goals and 23 points in 26 contests, as well as the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward.
The 32-year-old served as captain for his final three campaigns in St. Louis up until his trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February. All told, O'Reilly amassed 97 goals and 269 points in 327 regular-season contests and 49 points in 51 playoff games as a Blue.
O'Reilly missed out on his chance to face the Blues as a member of the Maple Leafs last season, so Friday will be his first clash against them since February 2018. He hasn't been a member of the visiting team in St. Louis since December 2017.
"I'm excited. I think it'll be cool to be back," he said. "It's always very weird. I think playing in these games, you have so many good friends on the other team, guys you're still close with."
O'Reilly has seven goals and 17 points in 26 career games versus the Blues.
The veteran signed a four-year, $18-million deal with the Predators as an unrestricted free agent in July. Heading into Friday's action, O'Reilly ranked second on Nashville with 17 points while tying for the team lead with nine goals in 18 outings.
We have a stuffed schedule ahead of us on Black Friday, as 30 of the league's 32 teams are set to hit the ice.
Let's waste no time getting to a few of my favorite players to back - or fade - on what should be an eventful day of hockey.
Cole Caufield over 3.5 shots
Note: This prop has a 3:30 ET start.
Caufield has gone cold of late, recording three shots or fewer in seven of his past 10 games. But I don't think that's any cause for concern.
Caufield dealt with a lot of good teams during this rough patch. He faced the Golden Knights, Canucks, and Bruins twice, among others. Those teams are winning games in bulk and giving up very few shots along the way.
It's also worth noting Caufield has given opponents a good run for their money, averaging 6.9 shot attempts over the past 10 games. Although that's a little below his usual pace, it's still pretty good volume, considering the level of competition.
Caufield broke out last game with a five-shot performance against the Ducks. I expect he'll have something similar in store on Friday.
The Sharks rank dead last in shots against per game this season, giving up nearly 40 per game. They can't stop a nosebleed.
The Canadiens should be able to put forth a ceiling performance in terms of shot generation, and Caufield will be the focal point of it all.
Odds: -140 (playable to -160)
Brayden Point under 2.5 shots
Point has drastic home/road splits. He's registered at least three shots on goal in eight of 11 games in Tampa Bay this season. His attempt volume - five per game - isn't anything to write home about, but he's a player who's selective with his shooting and generates most of his looks from in-tight, offering a higher chance of hitting the target.
Dating back to the beginning of last season, Point's success rate on the road is 17% lower. That's carried over this year, with Point failing to get the job done in five of nine tries away from home.
Although that doesn't sound too bad on the surface, there are a couple of things worth noting. Point has gone over against the Blackhawks, Senators, Canadiens, and Sabres. All four of those teams have defensive issues - some more than others - and sit outside of playoff spots.
He generated only three shots on goal combined against the playoff teams he faced on the road (Red Wings, Blues, and Maple Leafs).
If he struggled against those teams, he's likely in for a rude awakening against the Hurricanes. They're the best shot-suppression team in the NHL and allow fewer shots per game to centers than any other club.
Point has failed to record three shots in all five meetings with the Hurricanes since the beginning of the 2022-23 season. I expect that trend to continue in this one.
Odds: -114 (playable to -135)
Elias Lindholm over 2.5 shots
Death, taxes, and backing Lindholm against the Stars. The Flames' top center has registered at least three shots in six consecutive meetings with Dallas.
The stars are aligning - no pun intended - for another productive showing this time around. Lindholm has been a monster on the road this season, going over his total in 10 of 12 games. That's an 83% success rate.
Lindholm has averaged 5.2 attempts per game on the road, a tier above the 4.1 he's managed when playing in Calgary.
The Stars are a strong defensive team but are susceptible to giving up volume against centers. Only 13 teams have allowed more shots per game to the position.
With Lindholm generating shots at a higher clip on the road and the Stars giving up plenty to centers, Lindholm is a sneaky target on Friday night.
Odds: -114 (playable to -130)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ToddCordell.
The NHL's Global Series, which saw four teams fly to Stockholm last week to compete in two games each over a four-day period, almost immediately transformed into The William Nylander Experience. The dude was everywhere.
Nylander was the main attraction on the ice, racking up five points (including an overtime goal) in the Maple Leafs' two victories. Off the ice, the Calgary-born Swede was in full rock-star mode, appearing on local TV talk shows, answering questions about IKEA, and signing countless autographs.
Mark Blinch / Getty Images
The trip was an exclamation point to a mammoth start to the season for Nylander, who enters Friday's Toronto-Chicago matinee with at least one point in all 17 Leafs games. He's top 10 in goals (12) and points (27).
The Leafs say they want to re-sign Nylander, a pending unrestricted free agent, and Nylander says he wants to re-up. The winger's agent and Toronto's front office continue to negotiate, according to reports. So there's a deal to be made between now and July 1, when Nylander becomes a UFA.
Let's assume that Nylander, who turns 28 in May, cools off from his 130-point pace and finishes the season with 90-100 points.
Considering his age, position, and production history - and external factors like a rising salary cap - what's a fair projection for his next deal?
"On a seven- or eight-year term, he's around $11 million a year," said Kyle Stich of AFP Analytics, a consulting firm specializing in NHL player valuation.
Mark Blinch / Getty Images
Stich's ballpark projection is significant for two reasons.
One, it's a sizeable jump from AFP's preseason projection for Nylander's extension, which came in at $9.3 million per season over seven years, for around $65 million total. Two, $11 million a year slots Nylander just ahead of Jonathan Huberdeau and just behind David Pastrnak - both high-profile wingers who signed eight-year extensions in the past 15 months.
Pastrnak's making $11.25 million a season in Boston, and his average annual value accounted for 13.6% of the total cap at the time he signed, according to CapFriendly. Pastrnak was 27 when his current deal kicked in.
Huberdeau's making $10.5 million in Calgary. His AAV accounted for 12.7% of the total cap at signing time, and he was 30 when his deal began.
Stich's $11 million Nylander AAV projection would account for 13.2% of this year's $83.5-million cap and 12.5% of next year's estimate of $87.7 million.
What does all of this mean? Nylander's earned himself a double-digit AAV, and the Leafs may want to wait a minute before committing to any specific contract details. Nylander's value (and leverage) is at an all-time high, which is fantastic for him but not great for managing the cap sheet.
Vasilevskiy fear factor
Kevin Sousa / Getty Images
Coming out of the offseason, the "Who's the best goalie in the world right now?" debate had juice to it. Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck, Juuse Saros, and Linus Ullmark all qualified as fair picks.
Yet when Associated Press hockey writer Stephen Whyno and I posed that question to a dozen NHL skaters at a preseason media event in Las Vegas in early September, one name was uttered repeatedly.
"Gotta go with Vasilevskiy," Canucks captain Quinn Hughes said.
"Probably Vasilevskiy," Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau said.
"I think it's still Vasilevskiy," Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said.
Vasilevskiy, a two-time Stanley Cup champion and winner of the Vezina and Conn Smythe trophies, wasn't the unanimous pick in our (admittedly small) survey. But he received the majority of full votes and a few partial ones.
The level of respect was notable given the various options for top goalie, and the facts: Vasilevskiy's 29, entering his 10th season, and had a down year by his standards (.915 save percentage and an early playoff exit).
Mike Carlson / Getty Images
"You look at him and you see no net," Canadiens sniper Cole Caufield said about the 6-4 and freakishly athletic goalie. "That's what makes him so special - that he's still able to move and be quick in that way. It's frustrating as a shooter, but you've got to beat him off the pass almost every time."
Two weeks after the Vegas media event, the Lightning announced Vasilevskiy had back surgery and would miss "approximately the first two months" of the regular season. The team didn't expect any long-term issues, assuring its fan base Vasilevskiy would return to the crease his old self.
Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper told reporters Wednesday "there's a really good chance" Vasilevskiy debuts sometime over the next week.
The Lightning are 9-6-5 with the unheralded goaltending duo of Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins combining for an .888 save percentage, which ranks tied for seventh worst in the NHL. They survived, but are ready to welcome back the big Russian.
Shooters, on the other hand: not so much.
"You start to second-guess where to shoot because of how big he is and how good he is," Devils superstar Jack Hughes said.
"Pucks hit him when he can't see it," Larkin added. "You get him looking at the puck, squared up at you, and it's hard to score on him."
Kraken 'comfortable' with Wright's path
Christopher Mast / Getty Images
Juraj Slafkovsky. Pavel Mintyukov. David Jiricek. Logan Cooley. Matthew Poitras. Kevin Korchinski.
All six of those 2022 draftees have appeared in more NHL games than Shane Wright, the presumptive first pick heading into draft night in Montreal, who dramatically slid to the Kraken at No. 4. The right-handed center turned pro last season but so far has logged only 97 minutes over 11 NHL games.
"We're comfortable with where he is, and I think he's got a bright future with our organization," Kraken general manager Ron Francis said last week.
Wright's 2022-23 was a tornado of healthy scratches, demotions, promotions, and fleeting highs. When it was over, he'd competed in eight regular-season games for Seattle; 32 regular-season and playoff AHL games for Coachella Valley; 24 games for OHL Windsor; and seven world-junior games for Canada en route to a gold medal.
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
A strong skater with a bullet of a shot, Wright collected 64 points in those 71 games - a solid yet unremarkable year-end tally given the varying competition.
This season, Wright's split his time between the NHL (three games, no points) and AHL (11 games, nine points). He remains a work in progress, and is still eligible for the world juniors, though he's unlikely to be loaned to Canada.
A recent area of emphasis with Wright: his play with the puck. Specifically, puck management in the neutral zone and decision-making in the offensive zone.
"We're trying to get him to have that (shoot-first) mentality," Francis said. Wright's off to a promising start as an AHL sophomore with six goals. He's averaging 2.9 shots on goal per game, up from 2.2 in 2022-23.
Squint hard and you start to see the "bright future" Francis envisions.
Parting shots
Dual threat: Artemi Panarin's a changed man - and, no, I'm not talking about the 32-year-old's newly shaved head. Panarin's unexpectedly evolved into a dual threat for the 13-3-1 Rangers, resulting in 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) through 17 games. A hardcore pass-first winger his entire career, Panarin's shot rate has skyrocketed to 24.7 attempts per 60 minutes under new coach Peter Laviolette. (He finished between 13.5-17.3 per 60 in his previous eight seasons.) Maintaining puck possession for long stretches is still Panarin's bread and butter, but he's starting to incorporate more one-touch passes and shots to keep defenders guessing. In turn, Panarin's per-60 giveaway rate has fallen from 3.8 last year to 2.0.
Through the first 20 #NYR games of the season last year, Mika Zibanejad was leading the team with 86 shots on goal.
Through 16 games this season, he has 44 shots on goal.
International hockey: We don't know everything about the proposed international tournament being staged by the NHL in February 2025, but I'm psyched based on what we do know. Finally we'll see Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Co. compete for their countries. Personally, I wish more than four teams were involved so it could be a true best-on-best showcase, and I wish the tournament was longer than a week, but beggars can't be choosers. The big-picture takeaway: the NHL gives a damn about international hockey again. Hopefully this 2025 event will be followed by the 2026 Olympics, 2028 World Cup, 2030 Olympics, etc. Momentum is key.
last time we saw matthews or mcdavid in an international best-on-best tournament they looked like this and played for a made-up team. they're both 26 now. pic.twitter.com/MH82BMZEKA
Goalie shopping: The Oilers are already well into the "desperate times call for desperate measures" stage of their disastrous season. They need a new goalie. Ideally, the front office would try to land a bona fide starter like Saros, John Gibson, or Jordan Binnington. Problem is, each makes $5 million or more, which is way too much for cap-strapped Edmonton. In Gibson's and Binnington's cases, their teams are playing fairly well.
A few more realistic targets include Semyon Varlamov (Islanders), Jake Allen (Canadiens), and Karel Vejmelka (Coyotes). Vejmelka, 27 and making $2.725 million this season and next, is the most intriguing of the trio. While Arizona's trending up and may see Vejmelka as its goalie of the future, if the Oilers offer a package that accounts for their desperate state, Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong would be foolish to not pull the trigger. He'll thank himself later.
Current SV% among Oilers goalies
Calvin Pickard: 0.875 Stuart Skinner: 0.873 Jack Campbell: 0.873
Reader PSA: While I've got a Google Doc filled with content ideas for this biweekly notebook and continue to brainstorm new ones throughout the season, I'm ultimately here to serve you, our readers. So, what do you want to read about? Is there a question you'd like me to ask an NHL player or coach? Is there a league- or team-related trend you want me to dig into? Send me a note through email (john.matisz@thescore.com) or X/Twitter (@MatiszJohn).
The Philadelphia Flyers are itching to make some moves to position themselves for success down the road.
"I can tell you that they're interested and eager in becoming a wheeler and a dealer, but that's not because they're trying to sell off assets," TSN's Darren Dreger said on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."
"It's because they want to build a stronger foundation for the future, and they're willing to listen basically ... on every position - not every player, but every position. They feel like they've got the assets to move," Dreger continued.
The Flyers' three pending unrestricted free agents - Nick Seeler,Sean Walker, and Marc Staal - are all blue-liners. They're 30, 29, and 36 years old, respectively. Staal turns 37 in January.
Philadelphia has a core of relatively young talent, with nine players at 24 years old or younger, including Joel Farabee, Owen Tippett, and Bobby Brink. The Flyers' No. 1 goaltender, Carter Hart, is 25. Travis Konecny, the team's leading goal-scorer, is 26. Defenseman Travis Sanheim (who leads the team in points) is 27.
General manager Daniel Briere landed a couple of high draft picks while trading away rearguard Ivan Provorov in the offseason. The GM also dealt away veteran forward Kevin Hayes, bought out defenseman Tony DeAngelo, and let experienced winger James van Riemsdyk walk in free agency.
The Flyers won three of their first five games this season and occupied first place in the Metropolitan Division exactly one month ago on Oct. 23. They now sit fourth at 10-8-1 on the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, a time when NHL clubs typically take the opportunity to evaluate how they've started the campaign.
Dan and Sat are joined by Canucks Game Analyst Randip Janda to talk about the Canucks hitting a bit of a rut in some recent games, learning from games against good teams, and more.
This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
Dan and Sat discuss the Canucks performance against the Avalanche and where they need to upgrade to get to that level. They also look at potential upgrade options for the Canucks forward group. Plus, hear from Nick Kypreos of Kyper & Bourne on the Canucks' recent play, where the Oilers go from here, and more.
This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
Matt and Blake discuss the Canucks losing 5-2 in Colorado, the sluggish play of Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko, the bottom-6 stepping up, injuries on defence, the return of that big-game feel, Ray Ferraro on the colour, whether it's time to shuffle-up line combinations, a spicy encounter for Brock Boeser, a look-ahead to Friday's game in Seattle and letter grades for the first quarter of the season.
Jeff Paterson, the host of Rink Wide: Vancouver, gives us his recap of the loss in Denver, opines that Phil Di Giuseppe might have run his course as a 2nd-liner, expresses concern about Elias Pettersson's game ATM, forecasts Nils Höglander's future in the lineup, jokes about Brock Boeser (of all people) getting booed by Avs fans, worries about the health of the defence corps and drops his letter grade for the Canucks 1/4 way through the season.
Patrick Johnston tells us that Pettersson is playing through a groin injury, asses who (if anyone) has upward mobility, evaluates Tyler Myers' strong play, calls Di Giuseppe their best forechecker, tells us about the chemistry between Rick Tocchet and lead assistant Adam Foote, and drops a harsh letter grade for the team through 20. Presented by Applewood Auto Group.
The Toronto Maple Leafs placed defenseman John Klingberg on long-term injured reserve, the team announced Thursday.
Klingberg hasn't played since Nov. 11 due to an unspecified injury. He'll miss at least 10 games and 24 days retroactive to his last appearance.
"It's always been there throughout my career, but I've been able to deal with it and work through it," Klingberg said of his injury on Nov. 17 during the team's trip to Sweden. "But it kind of hit a rock bottom here these last few weeks."
Klingberg underwent double hip surgery early in his career and has dealt with other various ailments throughout his 10 NHL seasons.
The Maple Leafs signed Klingberg to a one-year, $4.15-million contract as a free agent in the summer. The offensive-minded blue-liner has only produced five assists in 14 games and struggled defensively. His minus-2.7 defensive goals above replacement rating is the seventh-worst among NHL defensemen this season, per Evolving-Hockey.
The Maple Leafs will gain cap flexibility as long as Klingberg remains out. They're reportedly among teams interested in Calgary Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov.
In the meantime, Conor Timmins could fill Klingberg's void internally. The right-handed defenseman appears set to come off LTIR and make his season debut Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Forward Alex Steeves was also recalled from the AHL's Toronto Marlies in a corresponding move to Klingberg's injury.
Klingberg, 31, was once one of the game's best offensive defensemen. He finished sixth in Norris Trophy voting in both 2016 and 2018, and was integral to the Dallas Stars' run to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, producing 21 points in 26 playoff games.
