The Los Angeles Kings don't need a miracle this Christmas to save their season. They don't even need a splashy trade, a headline-grabbing signing, or even a reinvention in their front office. What they really need is progress in the areas that have been holding them back all season long. 

As the season rolls into the holiday stretch, the Kings find themselves playing mediocre hockey, especially in December, going 3-8 in the 11 games they've played this month, and have just one home win nearly two and a half weeks ago against Chicago.  

If Santa's listening, here's a realistic Kings Christmas wishlist. 

A Power Play That Stops Holding Them Back

The Kings don't need elite power play if that's asking too much from them; they just need one that doesn't feel like a momentum killer every time they step on the ice and play. 

For long stretches of this season, LA's five-on-five play has been good enough to compete with anyone in the league. The issue has been turning advantages into separation, and that's not more apparent with man advantage, where the Kings have been terrible at. 

Too often, the Kings' predictable entries and struggles to convert on the power play, which drains the energy inside the building, say everything you need to know about how bad it's been. They have scored only four power-play goals in their last 10 games. 

In the postseason and in late-game situations, that flaw is exposed by teams that can use it against the Kings and beat them whenever they want. Special teams swing close games, and Los Angeles has lived on the wrong side of that for so many stretches this year. 

A functional power play that can score when it matters most would change the outlook of the Kings' season and get them back in Stanley Cup contention. 

#GoKingsGo are 13 for their last 105 on the power play.

You take out their season-opening B2B, which had the wild Vegas game and the academic 5on3 against the Avs, they are dead last in the NHL in PP% still. Toronto has it for the whole season.

— Andrew Knoll (@AndrewKnollNHL) December 24, 2025

Quinton Byfield's Breakout Becoming Permanent

Quinton Byfield's development has been a real treat for Kings fans. The numbers have gotten better every single season, and the eye test says he can break out into an even better player, which is scary. 

After playing just six games in his rookie campaign, Byfield began a new role. By the 2022-23 season, he posted 22 points in 53 games, elevating his playmaking skills. Then came the big leap. In 2023-24, Byfield played all 80 games and delivered 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists) with a plus - 19 rating, while averaging 16 minutes of ice time. 

The numbers nearly doubled in those two seasons. And last season, he followed it up with another consistent season, scoring 54 points in 81 games, raising his average time on ice to 18 minutes, and taking on more challenging assignments as his star level rose. 

This season, his role has expanded even further. His ice time has climbed north of 20 minutes per game, a clear signal of trust from the coaching staff. The next step for Byfield could be simply to continue this streak of consistency for years to come and become one of the league's premier young talents. 

But despite Byfield getting more playing time, his numbers are a little down this season, and he has struggled over the last 20 games. Byfield has scored just two goals in the previous 20 games for the Kings and has four goals total in 35 games. 

Regardless of Byfield struggling this season, if he plays well consistently for several seasons, the future could be bright for Los Angeles. 

Anze Kopitar Staying a Little Longer

Every franchise and die-hard fan reaches the moment when they have to imagine themselves without their cornerstones, the players they've watched play for their team for as long as they can remember.

Anze Kopitar remains the heart and soul of this team. His numbers may not show it on the statsheet as they did a few years ago. Still, his impact remains big everywhere else, including leadership, mentoring players, defensive responsibility, and faceoffs. 

Kopitar has already come out and said this will be his last season playing hockey after 20 years of battles in the league, so it's unlikely he will change his mind on that decision. The only way his decision will change is if Kopitar wants to win more Stanley Cups and believes this Kings team has a legit chance, but Kopitar's legacy will remain the same whether he wins or retires. 

If Kopitar has another season left in him, it would be huge, but everyone knows that it's time to hang it up for Kopitar, who will go down as one of the greatest players ever and maybe the best King of all time.

Finally Getting Past the First Round

The Kings have had some bad luck in the last few years when they've made the postseason. Matching up against the Edmonton Oilers hasn't been good for them; they've lost four consecutive playoff series to the same team over the past four years.

Last year was the breaking point: finally having home-ice advantage against their rival and holding a 2-0 series lead, but they collapsed, losing four straight games and going home in six.

It comes down to matchups in the postseason in sports, and the Oilers are the one team Los Angeles can't seem to beat, whether they have home ice or not. It will undoubtedly be tough to accomplish this season because of the struggles the Kings have had this year compared to last year, and because of the teams ahead of them, including Dallas, Vegas, Edmonton, Colorado, etc. 

But getting past the first round will finally dispel the psychological effect the Oilers have had on the Kings over the last four postseasons. Winning a playoff series changes how a team carries itself, especially for the year the Kings are having. This would be a massive success for them. 

Success At Home 

Crypto.com Arena shoould feel uncomfortable for visitng teams, but this season, it hasn't. 

Sitting at 4-8-4 at home this year after being the best team at home last year is a big disappointment. Not just that, but the Kings might actually be the worst team at home, scoring the fewest goals (32) in the league and posting the worst pp percentage (10.7%). 

A winning home record will bring energy back into the stadium and reestablish the Kings' identity. Home games should give teams a significant advantage over visiting teams and boost their energy, but none have happened for Los Angeles. 

A Realistic Christmas Wish

None of these wishes is unrealistic. It's entirely possible, and it could happen if the Kings get it together. 

Los Angeles needs to be better where it matters most, not something it's not. If even a few of these items are checked off by the season's end, success in Los Angeles might come with something fans haven't felt in a while. 

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While the Montreal Canadiens have done a pretty good job of staying in the playoff race since the start of the season, when you look at points total, sooner rather than later, they’ll have to start looking at how they win their games.

When everyone has played 82 games, if two teams have the same number of points, the first tiebreaker is regulation wins. Right now, the Canadiens have won 20 games this season, but only 13 of them were won in regulation.

In the Atlantic Division, only the Toronto Maple Leafs ,  the Boston Bruins ,and  the Buffalo Sabres   have fewer regulation wins than the Habs (12).    The Ottawa Senators have 13, and the rest of the teams battling for a playoff spot all have more regulation wins than the Habs: the Florida Panthers 17, the Detroit Red Wings 16, and the Tampa Bay Lightning 17.

The Canadiens have a lot of ground to make up, despite hanging with the big boys when it comes to points. Winning games in overtime and in the shootout may be spectacular and mean the fans get a good show, but at the end of the day, that’s not what matters. What matters is not only putting points on the board, but beating your opponent in the 60 minutes a match is supposed to last.

Once you get in the playoffs, though, that’s when being able to win in crunch time really matters. That’s where you get endless games that are not worth two points; they are each worth a W, one of the 16 you need to claim Lord Stanley’s Cup. Until the Spring dance starts, though, emphasis has to be on winning games as quickly and efficiently as possible. Perhaps that could be the Habs’ collective New Year’s resolution.

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John Gibson is proving to be a fan of the holiday season.

The veteran goaltender has strung together a perfect December, winning all eight of his starts this month and setting a new career high in consecutive victories.

Gibson had previously tied his personal best of seven straight wins during his time with the Anaheim Ducks. Over this streak, he has posted a .927 save percentage and a 2.12 goals-against average, giving the Detroit Red Wings a much-needed boost heading into the Christmas break.

For the season, Gibson now holds a 12-7-1 record with a 3.01 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage. While those numbers reflect the team’s early struggles, his hot streak is a reminder of the elite goaltender Gibson once was.

Between 2015 and 2018, he ranked among the NHL’s top netminders, compiling a 77-47-20 record with a 2.26 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage over 152 appearances. He finished his tenure in Anaheim with 506 games played, posting a 204-217-63 record, a 2.89 goals-against average, and a .910 save percentage.

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Several teams, including the Oilers, Mammoth, Sharks, and Flyers, reportedly explored trades for Gibson, but Detroit ultimately became the landing spot for the Pittsburgh native. The Red Wings acquired him from the Ducks during the summer draft, sending Petr Mrazek, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick to Anaheim. The Ducks, shifting toward a younger core, moved on from their longtime starter as Lukas Dostal took on a larger share of the workload.

🗣️ GIBBAYYYY

John Gibson's 39-save shutout is last night's @xfinity game-changing moment! pic.twitter.com/cSJbjx6DmE

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 9, 2025

If Gibson’s current form continues, Detroit could be witnessing the return of a goaltender who once stood among the NHL’s best. His play could prove pivotal as the Red Wings aim for their first playoff berth in nearly a decade. Detroit has won nine of its last 12 games, tying with the Colorado Avalanche for the best record in the NHL during December.

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We’ve finally reached the Christmas break, meaning the Montreal Canadiens have a few days off to enjoy the holidays before resuming the grind of the NHL schedule for a final blitz before the Olympic break.

What do you think would be in the Habs’ players’ letters to Santa if they were even younger than they actually are? How about the coach’s? And the Owner?

Canadiens’ Montembeault Is Training In Brossard
The Canadiens Have Options In The Shootout
Canadiens' Prospect Back With Gavin McKenna

The easiest one to tackle has got to be Martin St-Louis. Over the last few years, the bench boss has been talking about needing his young team to play with consistency. No more rollercoaster, just predictable play that doesn’t have the coach looking to the heavens and wondering how his team could play so well one night and then commit silly mistakes the next day. I don’t know if Santa could oblige, but the coach would definitely ask for consistency.

There’s another one that’s almost as obvious as St-Louis’, Kaiden Guhle’s. The 23-year-old defenseman has spent so much time in the infirmary that he’s been in there more than on the ice over the course of his NHL career. That might be an exaggeration, but that’s what it feels like to the fans, the media and probably the organization and Guhle himself. There’d be just one wish on the gritty blueliner’s letter: health.

While most people receive their gifts on Christmas, some will have to wait until December 31 this year, when Olympic rosters will be announced. There are at least three players on the Habs that would ask the man in red for a roster spot in the best-on-best tournament: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson.

Not long ago, Caufield was his country’s most prolific goal scorer, but he was stuck on 17 goals for seven games and has been overtaken by a few of his fellow citizens. Meanwhile, Hutson still hasn’t got the big body needed to play the kind of hockey Team USA wants to play. As for Suzuki, he might have the best chance of the three to get a plane ticket to Milan, but it’s not a done deal yet, despite his 40 points in 36 games, which is the eighth-highest total amongst Canadian players.

As for Samuel Montembeault, his hopes of playing in the Olympics, which seemed justified less than 12 months ago when he made the 4 Nations Face-Off, are long gone, and they’re probably not even playing on his mind right now. If he could ask Santa for one thing, it would likely be his confidence, something that is oh so important for a goaltender, and he appears to have lost somewhere along the way. That’s where finding his game back starts.

Rookies Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen would possibly ask for what Hutson got last year, a Calder Trophy. It would be hard for St. Nicholas to pick between the two, though. They have both been nice kids this season; no one’s been naughty…Maybe they settle for both getting a nomination?

As for owner Geoff Molson, there’s no doubt he’d ask for a Stanley Cup, but there’s a limit to what Santa can do, and the owner will have to wait some more before he drinks from Lord Stanley’s mug.

If you are part of those who celebrate, merry Christmas and enjoy some lovely time with your friends, your family, and your loved ones!

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It was yet another successful slate of games last weekend for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins, who can't seem to stop collecting points.

And two young Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltending prospects have been leading the way for the WBS Penguins - as well as the AHL as a whole. 

Young netminder Sergei Murashov earned wins on Friday and Sunday, while Joel Blomqvist was the standout in a 3-2 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday, as he stopped 32 of 35 Hartford shots on goal. Murashov and Blomqvist have combined to make a formidable tandem for WBS this season, and their play has elevated an already-talented team. 

Murashov, 21, has simply continued to dominate the AHL level. He leads the AHL in both save percentage (.943) and goals-against average (1.55), and he is 10-2-0 with two shutouts. His latest performance on Sunday - a 3-1 win over the Hershey Bears - featured 26 saves on 27 shots, including 14 in the first period alone.

And back on Dec. 10, Murashov made 20 saves in the first period en route to a 3-0 shutout victory against the Hartford Wolf Pack. 

As has been mentioned many times before, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound netminder has dominated every level of professional hockey he's played at, and his video game-esque numbers this season are showing that his full-time NHL arrival is not far off. He does have five NHL games under his belt this season, posting a 1-1-2 record with an .897 save percentage and a 2.56 goals-against average.

Crosby Reaches Milestone For Second Consecutive GameThe big milestone may have come for <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' captain Sidney Crosby on Sunday against the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens">Montreal Canadiens</a>, when he surpassed Mario Lemieux <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/breaking-sidney-crosby-breaks-mario-lemieux-s-franchise-record-to-become-penguins-all-time-leader-in-points">to become the Penguins' all-time leader in points</a>.&nbsp;

As for Blomqvist? Well, after an injury caused him to miss most of training camp and the first month and a half of the AHL season, he has gotten off to a great start.

In eight games, he is 5-2-1 with a .935 save percentage and a 1.81 goals-against average. Aside from one start on Nov. 29 - when he allowed four goals on 12 shots - he has only had a save percentage below .930 in a game one time. 

This is impressive stuff from the 23-year-old, who debuted with the Penguins last season to some mixed results. He started off well in his first stint with the NHL club, posting a .903 save percentage across eight appearances, but his second stint didn't go nearly as well. Overall, he had an .885 save percentage and a 3.81 goals-against average. 

The results that the Penguins are getting from these two youngsters in WBS is a very encouraging sign, especially for a team that just traded its No. 1 goaltender to the Edmonton Oilers in Tristan Jarry. The NHL club is giving Stuart Skinner - who the Penguins acquired in that trade - and Arturs Silovs some runway to prove themselves, but with the team in freefall, it stands to reason that at least one of them could have a relatively short leash.

Penguins Prospect Makes Team USA World Junior TeamPittsburgh Penguins prospect Will Horcoff has made the Team USA World Junior team.

Silovs has struggled in recent games, posting an .815 save percentage over his last six appearances. Skinner has an .831 save percentage in three starts with the Penguins so far. In other words, neither has done a particularly stellar job up to this point to suggest that they can become starters at the NHL level.

Murashov has the quickness, athleticism, calmness, and confidence for a pretty high NHL ceiling, and many believe he can be a solution going foward for the Penguins. Blomqvist also has some pedigree, even if he has struggled to stay healthy over the last several years. 

All in all, it will be interesting to see how the Penguins handle their goaltending situation for the rest of the season, especially since the team has only won one game in its last 10 after a remarkable 8-2-2 start to the season in the month of October. Both Murashov and Blomqvist figure to be key parts of the Penguins' future, and the future may just get here a little faster than anyone could have anticipated.

Takeaways: Penguins' Push Comes Up Short, Maple Leafs' Stars Come Up BigAfter a dramatic 4-3 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> hoped to carry some of that momentum into their final game before the holiday break on Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Last Friday, the Los Angeles Kings and Montreal Canadiens made a deal that sends Phillip Danault back to Montreal in exchange for a second-round pick in the upcoming 2026 NHL draft. 

Although it has been almost a week since the trade was made, rumours continue to swirl surrounding the messy breakup between Danault and the Kings. 

According to 'The Fourth Periods' David Pagnotta, the Carolina Hurricanes were interested in acquiring the  32-year-old veteran center but talks fell through as the Kings were reportedly not interested in a certain asset that Carolina was offering. So instead, Ken Holland and the LA front office decided to go with the Canadiens offer.

The Carolina Hurricanes were reportedly offering the Kings a package surrounding Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Los Angeles was seemingly not interested in bringing the 25-year-old forward. The Kings were reportedly uninterested in taking on the infamous Kotkanienmi contract. 

The former third overall pick is currently on the fourth year of a massive eight year contract that pays him $4,820,000 annually. He is currently underperforming as the Canes third line center. In 20 games this season, Kotkaniemi has registered two goals and four assists for six points. 

Despite seemingly having loads of potential and being drafted high, the Finnish native has only registered one 40+ point season which came back in the 2022-23 when he recorded 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points in 82 games during his second season with Carolina.

Much like Kotkaniemi, Danault has also been struggling as he remains goalless with just five assists in 31 games played this season. Although he isn't relied on to fill the stat sheet every night, Danault was still a consistent 40+ point guy for the Kings, so its not shock that a Stanley Cup contending team like the Hurricanes had interest in trading for him.

'I Had No Purpose': Danault Speaks For The First Time Since Trade From The KingsPhillip Danault has spoken for the first time since the Los Angeles Kings traded him to the Montreal Canadiens. It's clear he wasn't pleased with the way he was handled ahead of his return to Montreal.

A swap involving the two struggling, and possibly disgruntled centers seems reasonable, as the two could greatly benefit from a change of scenery but in the end the Kings were reportedly uninterested in paying the remaining four years of Kotkaniemi's contract. So instead, they chose to send Danault back to Montreal where he originally made a name for himself. While Carolina keeps Kotkaniemi and potentially learn how teams value him across the league.

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In the latest edition of The Hockey News, Jared Clinton takes a stab at ranking the defence corps of every NHL team from best to worst. Atop his rankings are the Colorado Avalanche, which has Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Josh Manson, and Brent Burns, followed by the Dallas Stars, who have three projected Olympians on their blueline: Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, and Esa Lindell, and the Florida Panthers round out the top three with Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, and Seth Jones.

Where do you think the Montreal Canadiens stand? Well, they rank sixth. Clinton justifies his decision by the fact that Lane Hutson’s arrival has changed the face of the franchise and that adding Noah Dobson turned the blueline into a position of strength. There’s no arguing with those points, but I think it would have been worth digging a little deeper.

Canadiens’ Montembeault Is Training In Brossard
Canadiens' Prospect Back With Gavin McKenna
The Canadiens Have Options In The Shootout

To anoint the Canadiens’ defence the sixth best in the league, you have to look past a couple of headliners. There’s no denying that Hutson is a star in the making and that his arrival has made the blueline so much better. Replacing retired right-shot defenseman David Savard with Noah Dobson was a masterclass. The Habs have needed someone there for such a long time that it’s no wonder his arrival has been so celebrated.

Mike Matheson deserves some props as well: he had a significant offensive role in Montreal for a while, has reinvited himself twice in as many seasons, and has agreed to re-up on a team-friendly deal, showing he doesn’t mind not having power-play time and focusing on the penalty kill.

Having these three defensemen makes the Canadiens a real threat in overtime; they give Martin St-Louis a world of possibilities, especially given the depth he has up front.

Once you look past those three, though, you have Kaiden Guhle, who’s a great defenseman on paper. A rare mix of mobility and physicality, but the problem is, he’s not there very often. Injuries are piling on so much that the Canadiens have to have a backup plan at all times for the next time he’ll have to step out.

Then, there’s Alex Carrier, who looked like a saviour when he came in last season, a stabilizing presence to ease the defensive worries. But it’s much tougher for him this year, and he doesn’t look as safe an option as he did. Could it be that Tom Wilson’s hit during the playoffs changed him somehow? Is he worried it could happen again on some level? Hard to say, but his performance has been far from ideal.

As for Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj, they have been competing for the sixth defenseman role for two and a half seasons, and neither has been overwhelmingly better than the other. They’ve been worrying so much about each other that they didn’t realize that Adam Engstrom was coming up fast in their rearview mirror. The Swede has performed incredibly well of late, and he has shown that he can handle many tricky situations on the ice.

That’s without even talking about David Reinbacher, who is improving in Laval and working hard to stay healthy. Sooner or later, the Canadiens will have some choices to make on the back end. There are a lot of bodies and only so many spots in the lineup. Who’s better? Struble or Xhekaj? Can the Habs plan for the long term with Guhle despite the recurring injuries? Despite those questions, the Canadiens deserved that high ranking, at least when everyone is healthy.

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The Philadelphia Flyers closed out the pre-break portion of their schedule with a controlled, 3–1 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

It was the first of two meetings between the teams this season after they split the series last year, and Philadelphia handled the game with the kind of discipline that tends to travel well.

1. The Flyers’ Top-End Production Stays Red Hot.

Travis Konecny and Trevor Zegras continue to drive offense in ways that go beyond highlight moments. Konecny finished with a goal and an assist—his eighth multi-point game of the season, which leads the team—and recorded the 300th assist of his NHL career. His night was efficient, finding soft ice and making quick decisions when Chicago collapsed low.

Zegras, meanwhile, extended his point streak to nine games with an assist on Philadelphia’s opening goal. Over that stretch, he has totaled 11 points (5G, 6A), and only the Oilers' Connor McDavid enters the break with a longer active point streak. What stands out is how Zegras is influencing games without needing to dominate the puck; his reads off the rush and ability to draw coverage continue to open lanes for linemates.

Trevor Zegras is THRIVING with the @NHLFlyers! 🤩

📺: @NHL_On_TNT & @StreamOnMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3Tpic.twitter.com/Nc0rEtXxy7

— NHL (@NHL) December 24, 2025

2. Special Teams Provided Separation, Not Just Support.

Noah Cates’ power-play goal proved to be the difference-maker, extending his point streak to four games and putting him one game shy of tying his career-long streak of five. The goal itself wasn’t overly complex, but it reflected better spacing and decisiveness from the Flyers’ power-play unit.

TK's too smooth. 😮‍💨#PHIvsCHI | #LetsGoFlyerspic.twitter.com/MiwmktyjEw

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 24, 2025

Philadelphia didn’t overwhelm Chicago with volume, but they avoided the stalled possessions that have crept into their power play at times this season. The puck moved quickly enough to force the Blackhawks’ penalty killers to collapse, and Cates capitalized from a high-danger area.

Carl Grundstrom’s empty-net goal later sealed the result, continuing a quietly productive stretch. Since entering the lineup on a consistent basis on Dec. 9, Grundstrom and Zegras now share the team lead in goals (five each). For a player slotted primarily into a depth role, Grundstrom’s finishing has added real value to this lineup.

3. Depth Contributions Reinforced Game Control.

Sean Couturier’s two-assist night pushed him to 16 assists on the season, and both reflected strong positional awareness and timing. Couturier continues to serve as a stabilizing presence in transition, particularly when the Flyers are protecting narrow leads.

Philadelphia didn’t overload any single line, and that balance showed. The Flyers were comfortable rolling shifts, maintaining structure through the neutral zone, and forcing Chicago to generate offense from the perimeter. It wasn’t an overly-high-event game, and that suited Philadelphia just fine.

4. Injuries Cast a Brief Shadow.

The win wasn’t without concern. Denver Barkey did not return for the third period after being hit from behind during a penalty sequence. Head coach Rick Tocchet addressed the situation postgame.

“He got hit from behind on that penalty,” Tocchet told media. “Just get reevaluated from the doctors.”

Later, Travis Sanheim was also pulled from the game with roughly 12 minutes remaining due to concussion spotters. Tocchet offered reassurance afterward, telling media, “I think he’s fine.”

While neither situation overshadowed the result, they’re worth monitoring as the Flyers head into the break. Sanheim, in particular, has been a heavy-minute defender, and any missed time would test the team’s blue-line depth.

5. The Standings Now Reflect What the Play Has Suggested.

With this win, the Flyers head into the break with 45 points, the third-most in the Eastern Conference. They sit second in the Metropolitan Division, just two points behind the Carolina Hurricanes.

This result against Chicago wasn’t about proving legitimacy—it was about handling an opponent they were expected to beat. Philadelphia did exactly that, without overextending or leaving themselves exposed late.

More importantly, it reinforced something tangible: the Flyers have enough skill and work rate across the lineup to support playoff-level results, and they’re winning games in multiple ways. That combination, paired with their current position in the standings, gives them a clear and realistic path as the season resumes.

Christmas has renewed meaning for Abols as a father and Flyer originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Not even a year ago, Rodrigo Abols was taking his rookie lap in Philadelphia.

This was not your typical NHL debut; a 29-year-old from Latvia, with his wife and son in the stands.

But the long journey, the never-ending travel and what probably felt like his final chance, have all been worth it.

“When I’m done with hockey,” Abols said before his first game, “I’m glad at least I came here and gave it another shot.”

Now, his wife Paula and their 4-year-old son Aleksi are enjoying their first Christmas with Dad being a full-time NHL player. And that was not a surefire thing this fall.

As Abols returned to the area for training camp, Paula and Aleksi stayed back in Latvia. Last season, they lived in a hotel here as Abols went back and forth between minor-league affiliate Lehigh Valley and the Flyers.

This season, they arrived later after Abols made the big club with an impressive camp and the Flyers told him to seek permanent residence toward the end of October.

“She has been massive,” Abols said of his wife. “She sacrifices a lot for me to have a chance to play here, holding the fort down, especially this season. The first three months being home, we thought that was the right call for everyone, for her mental sake, for Aleksi because he has got kindergarten and she has got help back home. But now that we have a place here, she can come over for a month.”

Despite entering camp without the hype of some younger prospects, Abols was arguably the Flyers’ biggest standout. Head coach Rick Tocchet tested him with six of the Flyers’ seven preseason games.

The 6-foot-4 center answered the challenge.

“I laugh because early in camp, we had him playing in Game 1 and we were looking at lineups for Games 2, 3 and 4. At first, we didn’t have him in any of those games,” general manager Danny Briere said in October. “After Game 1, Tocchet came back and he said, ‘I want to see him again.’ So we put him in Game 2. After Game 2, he said, ‘I need to see him one more time.’ We put him in Game 3 and Game 4 and Game 5. At the end, we were trying to give him a break and find a way to give him a little bit of a breather.”

His wife had to be ecstatic as she followed from back home.

Abols met Paula before they were even teenagers.

“We’ve known each other for super long,” he said two weeks ago.

He played Latvian youth hockey with her brother Bruno. Eventually, Abols and Paula started dating.

“I wasn’t so interested in her brother anymore,” Abols said with a laugh. “Just kidding.”

As the Flyers went into the holiday break on a good run, so did Abols. He had a goal, two assists and a plus-3 rating over the last three games before Christmas. Abols has played in 31 of 36 games for the Flyers, who are 19-10-7. He has two goals and three assists as the club’s fourth-line center.

He’ll enjoy Christmas with his wife and son, perhaps in New York again.

“That’s the classic,” Abols said, “and it has been kind of our tradition before Aleksi was born.”

Christmas has become different as parents.

“I think there was a stretch when you grow old or grow out of the Christmas excitement I guess,” Abols said. “Now I have a 4-year-old, so he understands what Christmas is and what it means. It’s more exciting just to see his joy and kind of make his day. Definitely now the Christmas spirit is more back than maybe a couple of years before when it was just the two of us.”

Prior to taking a shot with the Flyers last season, Abols spent the previous four seasons in the SHL, Sweden’s top pro league. Six of his first seven professional seasons were in the SHL.

“Pretty much ever since I’ve turned pro, every Christmas has been on the road,” Abols said.

Last season wasn’t an easy transition with a wife and young son. Abols and Paula were taking a leap for his NHL dream.

“I think that’s one thing that burned her up last year, was just being at the hotel a lot and staying here the whole year,” Abols said, “so that kind of takes a huge toll on her.”

This season, he’ll play for Team Latvia at the Milan-Cortina Olympics. Paula may head home to Latvia at some point before rejoining Abols in Italy.

“She might go back before the Olympics to acclimatize, get the jet lag out of the system,” he said, “so she can come to Milan and kind of enjoy her time there and not be on a different time zone.”

Aleksi is just starting to soak up the thrills of his dad playing in the NHL.

“I don’t think he quite grasps what the NHL is, but he just finds it cool to come to the games,” Abols said. “He’s super excited to see me. He has grown so much in these three months. The first week, when he got here, I couldn’t even recognize him. He got so much smarter, so much wiser, so much funnier. It has been awesome.

“You realize you have to appreciate every moment you get with him and that’s what I try to do. After games, he’s coming up, he’s running, hugging, he’s asking if I scored and then he’s like, ‘Flyers had four, Sharks had one. Flyers won!’ He’s definitely having a lot of fun.”

His parents helped fuel his passion for hockey by giving him a sticker page with all the NHL logos.

“So he picks and chooses the ones he likes,” Abols said. “Last year, we put the Flyers ones somewhere, he already used them up, so he was like, ‘I don’t have Flyers ones!’ It’s pretty cool he learns the logos that way. He was asking me who we were playing. ‘We play the Sharks.’ He was like, ‘Oh, that’s the team that bites the stick!'”

Abols is grateful to have the support of Paula and Aleksi here in America, especially at this time of year. The game can be a grind, so far away from home. The journey is better with them.

“It has been fun, definitely much needed in a tight schedule,” Abols said. “When you’re alone and if maybe you’re not playing your best hockey, you can get very down on yourself. So they definitely help me take my thoughts away from the rink.”

Scott Morrow’s time with the New York Rangers has been a rollercoaster ride this season, but there’s one aspect about his character that you can’t take away. 

When the Rangers acquired Morrow from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the sign-and-trade deal involving K’Andre Miller, they were getting a player who was highly successful in the NCAA and American Hockey League level, largely due to his ability to create offense as a defenseman, but he had yet to etch his mark in the NHL. 

Despite failing to make the Rangers’ roster out of training camp, Morrow was called up a couple of times, and once Adam Fox landed on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury, Morrow got the opportunity to step into the lineup and play a prominent role.

When asked about what he wanted to see from Morrow shortly after Fox’s injury, Sullivan gave a blunt answer, a sign that he was simply expecting more out of the young defenseman. 

“Assertive play,” Sullivan said about what he wants to see from Morrow. “Making decisions with conviction and not being in between. Eliminating hesitation from his game.”

Since Sullivan’s request for Morrow to play with more assertiveness, he’s been in the lineup for nine games, which has come with its highs and lows. 

Even though the 23-year-old defenseman has specialized in the power play at practically every level of hockey, Sullivan decided to utilize a five-forward power-play unit upon Fox’s absence. 

At first, Sullivan didn’t fully trust Morrow to quarterback the first power-play unit. 

“We don't think that's the strength of their games to this point,” Sullivan said of why Schneider or Morrow are not playing on the first power-play unit. “We're trying to put a power play together that we think gives us the best opportunity to have success. Obviously, Foxy, I think, is an elite power-play defenseman, with how he distributes the puck up there, the way he sees the game. He's got really good instincts. We don't necessarily think that that's the strength of some of the guys you just mentioned.”

Sullivan did emphasize that Morrow was the most equipped defenseman outside of Fox to play on the man advantage. 

“We’ve made a decision to go with five forwards at this point, but we know that if we were to use a defensemen, he would be the guy because of the instincts that he has,” Sullivan said.

With the five-forward unit failing to produce offense, Sullivan recently added Morrow to that first power-play unit. 

In this role, Morrow has gone through a steep learning curve, committing some costly turnovers in the process, showing that there’s still room for him to grow. 

From an overall standpoint, Morrow has been prone to making some defensive mistakes. Specifically on Saturday afternoon in the Rangers’ game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Morrow committed two costly turnovers, the first one coming on the power play, which led to a shorthanded goal, and the next one taking place in overtime, nearly leading to the game-winning goal. 

Through the mistakes, Morrow has continued to play an assertive game per request from Sullivan, earning his coach’s admiration. 

“What I'll say is, he's an incredible kid, and his ability to shrug off some of the plays and continue to perform out there, I think, speaks volumes for the character of what he's about,” Sullivan said. “He's a young player. He's going to make some mistakes, and let's be honest, we're putting him in some really high-profile positions, whether it be on the power play and overtime, things of that nature. He's playing a significant role here with this group right now, especially with Foxy being out, and so I think he's done a great job with just playing through the ups and the downs. 

Rangers Put Scoring Barrage On Display En Route To Comeback Win Over Capitals In a season filled with scoring woes, the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a> flipped the switch on Tuesday night, scoring five goals in the third period against the Washington Capitals, en route to a 7-3 win.&nbsp;

“I think that's what you get when you deal with young players, especially defensemen. I said this to you guys all the time, I think it's the hardest position to play, but I admire his resilience because that would affect a lot of young players the wrong way. When you watch Scotty play, if he makes a mistake, he shrugs it off, he learns from it. We couldn't be more proud of him for his ability to respond to those situations.”

Sullivan has continued to roll with Morrow on the first power-play unit and give him heavy minutes despite some of his defensive blunders, not trying to punish Morrow for mistakes as he continues to develop. 

On Tuesday night in the Rangers’ 7-3 win over the Washington Capitals, Morrow played arguably his best game of the season. 

He led all Rangers defenseman with a 2.50 Game Score, an analytical stat used to quantify a player's single-game impact, blending goals, assists, shots, penalties, faceoffs, and 5v5 goal/Corsi differentials (shot attempts) into one number, with higher scores indicating better overall performance in that specific game. 

Morrow clearly has the talent to transform into an impactful NHL defenseman. Now it’s about fully adapting to the speed of the NHL game and providing more of a reliable presence for the Rangers, something that should come with time.