Less than halfway through the 2025-26 season, the Philadelphia Flyers are already icing a much different team than the one they started the year with.

Once upon a time, Flyers GM Danny Briere cited the size of Zeev Buium, which was already comparable to the likes of Cam York, Emil Andrae, and Jamie Drysdale, as one of the primary drivers that led to the selection of Jett Luchanko instead.

Well, Andrae, 23, didn't even make the Flyers to start this season after an impressive 2024-25 season on the whole, and his 5-foot-9 size and ho-hum training camp didn't do him favors in comparison to taller teammates Adam Ginning and Egor Zamula.

Now, Andrae has emerged as one of Rick Tocchet's most important defenders and is already up to nine points in 24 games, smashing last year's total of seven points in 42 games.

As for Ginning and Zamula? Both had their opportunities to play for the Flyers and make a case to stick in the NHL, but, at least for now, both players are loitering in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Ex-Flyers Coach John Tortorella Shuts Down Talk of NHL Return... For NowFormer <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> head coach John Tortorella isn't close to throwing in the towel on his coaching career, but the veteran bench boss was well prepared to say any talk of an NHL return right now is premature.

Are the Flyers suddenly turning over a new leaf after experiencing first-hand the lack of success they had going with a bigger lineup for the sake of being bigger? Maybe, but the diminutive Denver Barkey having an impressive and productive NHL debut against the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon isn't a coincidence.

Barkey, 20, is in the midst of his first season playing pro hockey and got the call-up from the AHL in the wake of an injury to Christian Dvorak, though the Flyers probably needed to add a forward to their roster regardless.

Well, two primary assists later, the 5-foot-9, 155-pound forward has already made a case to stay with the Flyers beyond this one-game cameo, excelling on a line with top forwards Sean Couturier and Owen Tippett.

In my eyes, Barkey, formerly the captain of the OHL London Knights, was one of the most impressive young guns in Flyers training camp alongside Nikita Grebenkin.

Flyers: How Ty Murchison Fared in Thrilling NHL DebutIf one game can be taken for anything concrete, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> may have found themselves a useful new piece on defense with prospect Ty Murchison.

The 2023 third-round pick is one of those players that, despite their size, manages to get involved in every play at both ends of the ice, attack the game with poise and moxie, and carry themselves assuredly, whether right or wrong.

The Flyers have a use for more of those players, even though the logjam at forward doesn't necessarily help the cause.

Still, the Flyers now have two more players shorter than 5-foot-10 than they started with the season with, and it's working out well so far for them.

Another poor performance from Sam Ersson spoiled Barkey's debut, which ended in a 5-4 shootout loss, but as long as the Flyers continue to trust in their most talented players above singular traits, the results will eventually come.

Marc Bergevin is parting ways with the Los Angeles Kings to join the Buffalo Sabres' new staff. 

After spending four-and-a-half seasons with the Kings as a senior advisor to the GM, he's moving on to join the Sabres as an associate GM.

Bergevin will be a part of Buffalo's front office, working alongside the newly hired GM, Jarmo Kekalainen. Kekalainen was hired by Buffalo as a senior advisor, the same role as Bergevin with Los Angeles.

This hire by the Sabres comes on the same day as the team relieved associate GM and Rochester Americans GM Jason Karmanos from his duties. It seems that Kekalainen knew who he wanted working alongside him in efforts to steer the ship in Buffalo back on its tracks.

The 60-year-old Bergevin was the GM of the Montreal Canadiens for 10 seasons from 2012 to 2021. He was succeeded by Jeff Gorton, who is now Montreal's president of hockey operations.

Former Kings GM Rob Blake was the one who brought on Bergevin following his departure from the Canadiens. Now with Ken Holland at the wheel, Bergevin will be off to take on a new challenge.

Ken Holland's Latest Move May Force Him Into AnotherAfter Los Angeles Kings GM Ken Holland sent Phillip Danault back to the Montreal Canadiens, there will be a gaping hole down the middle when next season rolls around

The Sabres currently own the longest playoff drought in NHL history, and their addition of Bergevin will be a hope for them to build the team up from the ruins.

In addition to Bergevin's experience as an NHL GM and senior advisor, he'll be overseeing Team Canada at the upcoming Spengler Cup, which kicks off on Boxing Day.

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Chasing the lead for the majority of the game, it was a highlight reel goal by Luke Evangelista in the third period that gave the Nashville Predators a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena. 

The Predators have now won eight of their last 12 and have not lost back-to-back games since Nov. 24. 

Nashville found themselves in an early hole as Nicolas Roy scored on a tip-feed from Bobby McMann to go up 1-0 1:32 into the game. Erik Haula tied things up with a power-play goal in the early second period. It's his first goal in 11 games. 

John Tavares answered for Toronto later in the period to give it the lead back, 2-1. In the final minute of the period, Adam Wilsby netted his first goal of the season off a feed from Ryan O'Reilly to tie things up. It was O'Reilly's 10th point in nine games. 

OH. MY. GOODNESS. 😱

LUKE EVANGELISTA, TAKE A BOW

📺: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctFpic.twitter.com/cepyeREd0r

— NHL (@NHL) December 21, 2025

In the third, while entering the zone, Evangelista made a move to the backhand to get behind a Toronto defenseman and open the left side of the net. Still on the backhand and falling, Evangelista got a shot off that beat Joseph Woll bardown, glove side. 

Steven Stamkos and Cole Smith added empty net goals in the final two minutes to seal the victory. Bobby McMann made it a one-goal game in the final minute of the game. 

Evangelista's efforts propelled the Predators to their first win over the Maple Leafs since March 22. 

Juuse Saros picked up his 13th win of the season. Nashville will face the New York Rangers next on Sunday at 6 p.m. CST at Bridgestone Arena. 

This story will be updated. 

The Florida Panthers hit the ice on Saturday evening in Sunrise searching for a fifth consecutive victory while playing a third game in four nights.

Florida battled back from an early deficit but ultimately ran out of gas against the spunky St. Louis Blues, falling 6-2 at Amerant Bank Arena.

St. Louis picked up the game’s first goal on a nifty deflection.

Directly off a faceoff in Florida’s zone, a point shot by Cam Fowler was tipped by Jake Neighbours to give the Blues a 1-0 lead 9:58 into the game.

The visitors doubled their lead early in the second period while on a power play on a shot that was nearly kept out of the net.

Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov made an amazing glove save while sliding to his left, but the shot by Jonatan Berggren was just hard enough to cause Tarasov’s glove to cross over the goal line, just past the post, as he stretched back to catch it.

Just like that it was 2-0 Blues with over 18 minutes left in the middle frame.

Florida finally got themselves on the scoreboard about five minutes later.

Seth Jones cut to the net and put a shot on Joel Hofer that was stopped, but the rebound went to Jesper Boqvist at the opposite side of the net and his shot went off A.J. Greer in front and past Hofer’s blocker.

The Panthers would tie the game a few minutes after that thanks to a familiar looking goal.

With Florida on the power play, Brad Marchand corralled the puck below the goal line and sent a perfect pass to Sam Reinhart in the slot, and Reinhart’s quick shot eluded Hofer to tie the score at two with 7:15 to go in the second period.

It looked like the game would go into the intermission with the game all tied up, but a shocking goal by Justin Faulk with 0.8 on the clock gave the Blues a 3-2 edge and some good vibes to take into the final frame.

St. Louis would regain their two-goal advantage when Luke Schenn stole the puck from Seth Jones behind Florida’s net and fed Neighbours in the slot.

The 23-year-old’s second of the game made it 4-2 Blues with 7:58 to go.

Less than a minute later, Robert Thomas one-timed a shot past Tarasov from the slot, putting Florida behind 5-2 with just over seven minutes on the clock.

Thomas added a shorthanded empty-net goal with 3:32 to go, cementing the Blues’ victory over the Cats.

On to Carolina.

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Photo caption: Dec 20, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk (72) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Florida Panthers during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Norris got the deciding goal in the shootout and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Saturday for their fifth straight win.

Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist, and Tage Thompson scored for the sixth consecutive game for the Sabres. Alex Lyon had 32 saves and got an assist on Dahlin’s goal.

Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist, Emil Heineman also scored, and David Rittich made 30 saves for the Islanders, who lost for the third time in four games without leading scorer Bo Horvat.

After Norris scored on the Sabres’ attempt in the fifth round of the shootout, Lyon turned aside a try by the Islanders’ Calum Ritchie to preserve the win.

Barzal and Buffalo’s Jack Quinn also scored in the tiebreaker.

Heineman scored the tying goal for the Islanders on the power play with 29 seconds left in regulation, and with Rittich on the bench for an extra skater.

Barzal got the Islanders on the scoreboard when he pounced on the rebound from his own shot with 23 seconds remaining in the second period.

Dahlin gave Buffalo the lead less than two minutes into the game with a notable individual effort on the power play. With Barzal in the penalty box, Dahlin got the puck from Lyon behind the Sabres’ goal and skated the length of the ice, weaving past three Islanders to beat Rittich with a backhand.

Thompson made it 2-0 midway through the second period when he faked a shot from the left circle and swept the puck between Rittich’s leg pad and the right post to equal the career-best scoring streak he set last month. Thompson leads Buffalo with 18 goals — 12 in his last 18 games.

On their longest win streak of the season, the Sabres have now won consecutive home games after firing general manager Kevyn Adams and promoting Jarmo Kekalainen to the position.

Up next

Islanders: Host New Jersey on Tuesday night.

Sabres: At New Jersey on Sunday night.

BUFFALO, NY -- After falling 4-1 to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, the New York Islanders earned a point against the Buffalo Sabres, ultimately losing 3-2 in a shootout. 

Emil Heineman tied the game at 2-2 with 29 seconds to play in regulation on a 6-on-4 advantage.

After a back-and-forth overtime, Josh Norris scored in the fifth round of the shootout as Buffalo secured the second point.  

Here's how we got there. 

After Mathew Barzal took a tripping penalty in the neutral zone, Sabres star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin skated past Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Heineman, and then Ryan Pulock before deking to his backhand to give the home team a 1-0 lead at 1:47 of the first period:

RASMUS DAHLIN, EVERYONE 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/B6sdDDrQqP

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 20, 2025

Josh Norris beat Rittich glove side with a one-timer at X, but the goal was waved off due to goaltender interference. 

Tage Thompson doubled the Sabres' lead to 2-0 at 8:55 of the second period after he tucked one past Rittich off the rush:

TAGE. pic.twitter.com/WP2fEuM3l3

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 20, 2025

Late in the second period, the Islanders got a great look to crack the scoreboard, but Alex Lyon slid over to deny Emil Heineman with the right pad at  18:06 of the second: 

However, the Islanders built on that momentum and found the scoresheet at 19:37 of the second. Anders Lee found Mathew Barzal alone in the slot. His first shot was stopped but he was able to roof the rebound to extend his point streak to seven games (two goals, five assists):

Barzal gets the #Isles back in it. Down 2-1 after 2. Hard work pays off! pic.twitter.com/EpuqmShJHH

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) December 20, 2025

The Islanders found themselves on the penalty kill at 4:24 of the third period. Buffalo spent the entire power playi n the Islanders' zone but credit to the penalty killers and Rittich for battling to get back to even strength. 

With 1:27 to play in regulation, the Islanders found themselves on the power play after Michael Kesselring slashed Lee.  

The Islanders went to work, with Barzal finding Heineman for the tying tally:

On his 10th shot of the game Emil Heineman finds the back of the net sending the game to overtime! #Islespic.twitter.com/ZDucLlnNOt

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) December 21, 2025

The Islanders had plenty of chances in overtime, but couldn't score. Barzal scored in the shootout, with Jack Quinn answering him before Norris's eventual game winner. 

The Islanders battle the New Jersey Devils at UBS Arena on Tuesday night, with puck drop at 7 PM ET. 

Calvin Pickard played well against the Minnesota Wild, but gave up four goals. That's not a positive sign for Connor Ingram, who will get the start on Sunday as the Edmonton Oilers head home to take on the Vegas Golden Knights. 

The Oilers had their chances offensively, but will have to play much better defensively to give Ingram some confidence as he tries to prove he's still got game left in the NHL. Because his AHL numbers have not been good, he'll need all the help he can get.

Edmonton's attention to detail on Saturday isn't going to cut it with a huge question mark between the pipes. In November (see video above), I discussed the likelihood that the Oilers would give Ingram a look and whether there was a clear path to the NHL for him. I was partially right, but my timing was off.

At that time, Edmonton was still figuring out the situation with Stuart Skinner and Pickard. I assumed the Oilers would make an external change before going to Ingram. They did. Unfortunately, no one expected the change they made to be out of the lineup with an injury in his third start. 

Now, Ingram is the guy, ready or not. The Oilers have no choice but to find out. 

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Despite a .889 save percentage, Pickard wasn’t the problem Saturday afternoon. If anything, he was the reason the game stayed competitive as long as it did. The real issues sat higher up the food chain — in how the Oilers managed the game, handled pressure, and responded when a dagger goal at the end of the first period changed the energy level. 

The Oilers weren’t outplayed for long stretches. In fact, there were plenty of opportunities in the third period to even the game. After clawing back in the first, they pushed, created chances, and tried again late in the game. It wasn't enough, as Filip Gustavsson was great for the Wild, and when the opportunity arose, Minnesota capitalized on Edmonton's mistakes. 

Unfortunately, the Oilers can't afford to make those mistakes when Ingram takes the net on Sunday.

Report: Oilers Had Interest In Sabres Goalie Before Jarry TradeThe Oilers reportedly had another goalie on their radar before they acquired Tristan Jarry from the Penguins.

He'll be up against Carter Hart -- Vegas' backup -- so both netminders have a lot to prove. It will be a storyline of two goalies, many of whom will wonder how much is left in the tank. To make life easier for Ingram, the Oilers need to help him get settled. An early lead and nearly mistake-free hockey will be key -- almost the opposite storyline from Saturday's matinee game. 

This game came down to the smaller details. 

Leon Draisaitl got frustrated after a soft cross-checking call. On the ensuing two penalties, the Wild's Matt Boldy made one of those minors count. Later in the game, Evan Bouchard stuttered when he thought a penalty should have been called and an offside was missed. Finally, when Edmonton thought they were close on the game-tying goal in a scrum in front of Gustavsson, the Wild turned, went the other way, and scored.

Mistakes happened, and Minnesota struck when they did. The Oilers' awareness slipped at exactly the wrong time.

The late breakdowns will be a problem if Ingram isn't up to snuff. And, there's absolutely no way to know if he will be until he takes the goal and faces a few shots. 

That’s where the bigger questions start to form. How confident can the Oilers possibly be in a goalie who has bad numbers in the minors and hasn't shown anything of note since the 2023-24 season? 

A Lengthy Injury for Tristan Jarry Is a Problem

There is no update on Tristan Jarry's status. A long-term injury leaves Edmonton in a very tricky situation -- one where they'll need to decide whether making a play for someone like Alex Lyon is the right move and whether they can pull it off, with the Buffalo Sabres well aware they have all the leverage. 

The road trip was still productive, that's the good news. Despite the setbacks, the Oilers aren’t broken. But games like this linger because there are too many unanswered questions, Ingram being the biggest of them. 

The Oilers will need to play a more mature game against the Golden Knights. It should be more in line with the way they played against the Boston Bruins if they want a shot to win. The Golden Knights are beat up and coming in with key guys out of the lineup. Jumping on them early will be key. 

From there, the Oilers can only hope the news on Jarry isn't terrible. 

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The Calgary Flames return to the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday night looking to continue their strong play at home as they host the Vegas Golden Knights.

Calgary is coming off a 4–2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday and has gone 8-2-1 in its last 11 home games. Saturday’s matchup is the third of four regular-season meetings between the two clubs in 2025–26, with Vegas holding a 2-0-0 advantage in the series.

Rasmus Andersson reached a milestone in Thursday’s win, recording his 200th career NHL assist as part of a three-assist performance.

Devin Cooley is expected to start in goal for Calgary. He enters the game with a 3-4-2 record, a .914 save percentage, and a 2.35 goals-against average.

Here is the projected line combinations for tonight’s tilt. 

FORWARDS

Yegor Sharangovich – Nazem Kadri – Joel Farabee

Jonathan Huberdeau – Morgan Frost – Matt Coronato

Connor Zary – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman

Ryan Lomberg – Jonathan Beecher – Adam Klapka

DEFENCE

Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson

Yan Kuznetsov – MacKenzie Weegar

Joel Hanley – Hunter Brzustewicz

STARTING GOALTENDER

Devin Cooley

Follow Michael Whitaker On X

The Detroit Red Wings began their home-and-home series against the Washington Capitals on the right foot, enjoying a 5-2 victory at Capital One Arena with the special added element of multiple players bringing their moms along the way. 

Detroit built up a 4-0 lead by the midway point of the second period thanks to tallies from John Leonard, James van Riemsdyk, Elmer Soderblom, and Moritz Seider.

While the Capitals eventually managed to halve Detroit's lead, Dylan Larkin iced the matinee affair with an empty-net goal late in regulation. 

For Leonard, it was his first goal with the Red Wings in his third game since being called up from the Grand Rapids Griffins to substitute for the injured Patrick Kane. 

Just 65 seconds into the contest, Leonard banged home the rebound of defenseman Simon Edvinsson's shot from the slot past goaltender Logan Thompson for the opening goal. 

1:05 in, Leonard has his first as a Red Wing! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/dcMD3pSKMb

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) December 20, 2025

It was Leonard’s seventh NHL goal and his first since the 2023–24 season, when he was a member of the Arizona Coyotes.

Before this season, Leonard, a 2018 Draft pick (182nd overall) of the San Jose Sharks, had appeared in 70 NHL games with the Sharks, Nashville Predators, and Coyotes before signing a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings during the offseason.

"It's really cool to be a part of. From the first day I got here, everyone has been awesome to me, whether it was just saying hi or talking about hockey, different situations, and systems," he said of his experience with Detroit so far. "It's been a lot of fun, and a lot of credit to those guys. It's been easy." 

Leonard was the AHL's leading goal scorer with 19 goals in 20 games played before he received the call that he was on his way for his debut in the Winged Wheel earlier this week. 

An injury to his brother Ryan Leonard, a forward with the Capitals, prevented what would have been the first head-to-head matchup between the two brothers with their Mom watching. 

"He was able to swing by the hotel, obviously we had the Moms' trip, and we had dinner last night," John said of his brother Ryan. "He swung by the hotel about 45 minutes before dinner, and I got to catch up with him, which was great." 

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"Yeah, it would have been really cool (to play against him)," Leonard said. "He's six years younger, so we've never had the chance to play with each other or against. But it was still really cool to play against the team and have a bunch of family (in attendance)." 

Detroit's victory helped them improve to 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, and 2-1 since Leonard entered the lineup. 

"It was a good team win, obviously it was good to get the lead early and tack on a couple more," he said of the win. "You know they were going to have that push, which they did, but for the most part overall, we did a good job of weathering it." 

Leonard and the Red Wings will once again face the Capitals on Sunday afternoon, this time at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Face-off is scheduled for just after 1:00 p.m. ET. 

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