4 Things the Dallas Stars Should Be Thankful For
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends, family, and readers! By now, you’ve settled into a day of family and football and mountains of food, and I hope it’s a…
Category Archives: Hockey News
Canadians Outside Looking In At The Quarter-Mark Point
There will be no games in the NHL today, as the league is on the American Thanksgiving break. Most of the time, when a team is in a playoff position at this stage, they end up making the spring dance, but this year seems a bit different.
With 27 points, the Montreal Canadiens are currently just outside of the playoff picture, looking in as they are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. However, not only do they have games in hand on all the teams ahead of them, aside from the Pittsburgh Penguins, but they are also just four points behind the top spot in the east, held by the New Jersey Devils with 31 points, and three points behind the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Rarely have the standings been so tight in the Conference, and it’s much tighter than in the West, where the league-leading Colorado Avalanche have 39 points, followed by the Dallas Stars with 34 points and the Minnesota Wild with 30 points. The West houses the three teams with the lowest point totals: the St. Louis Blues (21 points), the Calgary Flames (19 points), and the Nashville Predators (18 points).
In other words, anything can still happen in the standings, and if the Canadiens can keep their current winning streak going (it will be a challenge with the Vegas Golden Knights and the Avalanche coming up on their schedule), they’ll be right back in the thick of it.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Canadiens haven’t been spared by injuries so far, with Patrik Laine, Kaiden Guhle, Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach all being sidelined for a significant time. GM Kent Hughes has already brought some help in by signing free agent Alexandre Tessier, but he’s still working the phones, according to the rumours swirling around the league. There’s no denying that if he were to be able to bring some much-needed help down the middle, the Canadiens would be in a much better spot.
Putting the goaltending woes in the rearview mirror would also go a long way towards helping Martin St-Louis’ side punch its ticket for the playoffs. Jakub Dobes has been solid in his last two starts, and Samuel Montembeault is bound to bounce back; otherwise, he may end up riding the pine for the foreseeable future since the coach now seems determined to ride the hot hand.
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Road Woes Are A Troubling Sign For Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres playoff fortunes may rest on the next two weeks and how they fare on the road, as the club began a stretch of eight of their next 10 on the road with a 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. With the exception of a 31 -second stretch after Jason Zucker’s goal in the third period, the Penguins throughout, ending the Sabres two-game winning streak.
"Our puck play cost us dearly, cost us on the first goal, our puck play right after we got back in the game and tied it up," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said. "We didn't handle the puck well, gave it away, didn't execute the breakout and then ended up in the back of their net."
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The Sabres have only one victory (a 5-4 overtime win over Detroit on November 15 in which they trailed 4-1 in the third period) and two overtime losses to Toronto and Boston in nine road games this season. After their Black Friday afternoon home game against New Jersey, the Sabres play seven of their next eight games on the road against Minnesota, Philadelphia, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Seattle and 10 of their 14 December games away from KeyBank Center.
One reason for optimism may be that Buffalo is getting most of their injured players back. Jason Zucker and Zach Benson returned in the last week, and center Josh Norris may return to action this weekend, lowering the number of players on IR to just three (Michael Kesselring, Jiri Kulich, and Justin Danforth). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed three goals on just 18 shots, so it is likely we will see either Alex Lyon or Colten Ellis get the start against the Devils.
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One NHL Player At Each Position Who Must Step Up Their Game
So far, the 2025-26 NHL season has been a tale of superstars getting their paychecks and young guns like Connor Bedard and veterans like John Tavares hitting their stride.
However, while some players have found their game or remain the stars we know, others have had less-than-ideal starts to their 2026 campaign.
Here is one NHL player at each position in need of a spark.
Center: J.T. Miller
Although J. T. Miller wasn't particularly remarkable during his first stint in New York or his short time in Tampa Bay, he cemented himself as a point-per-game player following his trade to Vancouver, including a 103-point effort in 2023-24.
Miller recorded 35 points in 32 games following his trade back to Broadway in 2024-25 and was even named captain in the off-season. But his scoring fell as the Rangers struggled to score overall, especially at home.
Miller has 13 points in his first 23 games this season. Despite this, Miller has not shied away from being blunt with the media about his struggles, telling them after their 3-2 loss to the Golden Knights that he expects a “hell of a lot more” production than what he has.
A three-game point streak, with two goals and two assists, is an encouraging sign that the center is already stepping up his game.
Left Wing: Dylan Holloway
After turning his back on Edmonton and signing an offer sheet with the St. Louis Blues, Dylan Holloway surprised everyone in the 2024-25 campaign with 63 points. He even received votes for the Lady Byng Trophy and Selke Trophy in the process, although he would miss their first-round series against Winnipeg with an injury.
Though Holloway has since returned, it seems as if he’s struggled to maintain that form early in 2025-26. So far, Holloway has 11 points and a minus-9 rating through his first 24 games on a struggling Blues squad. With that said, Holloway is only 24, so in comparison to some others on this list, there is not much reason to panic just yet.
Right Wing: Mitch Marner
Mitch Marner headlined the off-season leading up to and following his divorce from the Toronto Maple Leafs, getting a much-needed fresh start with the hotter Vegas Golden Knights.
Although Marner has had hot stretches earlier this season, he has three points in his last eight games. He hasn’t finished a season averaging fewer than a point per game since his sophomore year in 2018, but he currently only has 22 points in 23 contests.
Considering his infamous playoff underperformances in Toronto, Marner could be working with a shorter leash than expected if he can’t recapture that regular-season consistency that was his bread and butter in Toronto.
Defense: MacKenzie Weegar
Arguably Calgary’s top defenseman the past few seasons, MacKenzie Weegar has had perhaps a more drastic fall than anyone else on this list. The once-dependable two-way defenseman has a mere four points in 25 games, all assists, and a rating deep in the minuses at minus-20.
Weegar is on pace for the lowest production of his career since he was a rookie in Florida. Although the Flames’ issues run deeper than any one player, losing Weegar’s production has certainly hurt the team, which currently finds itself hanging around the bottom of the Western Conference.
With Jonathan Huberdeau’s struggles also continuing, the Matthew Tkachuk trade looks worse than ever before for the Flames.
Goalie: Dustin Wolf
Staying on the topic of underperforming Flames, Dustin Wolf is also on the list.
Last season, Wolf nearly willed the Flames into the playoffs on his own. But since signing his seven-year contract extension, Wolf's stats fell. His .890 save percentage and 3.17 goals-against average both mark significant regressions from that campaign, and it’s no surprise the Flames have struggled the way they have partly because of it.
The silver lining is Wolf is still young and locked up long-term, with plenty of runway to turn it around.
Benjamin Kirshenblatt is an intern at The Hockey News.
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Maple Leafs Lose Sammy Blais To Waivers After Canadiens Re-Claim The Forward
Sammy Blais is headed back to the Montreal Canadiens after a brief stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The forward was placed on waivers by Toronto on Wednesday afternoon and, according to TSN's Chris Johnston, was claimed by the Canadiens 24 hours later.
Toronto initially picked up Blais off waivers on Oct. 6, via the Canadiens, who tried to get him through waivers to send him to the AHL. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has familiarity with the forward, going back to their days with the St. Louis Blues, when they won the Stanley Cup.
Former Maple Leafs Defender Tyson Barrie Reveals Mike Babcock Story Which Occurred After Joining TorontoBarrie's game with the Maple Leafs transformed after the club fired Babcock and promoted Sheldon Keefe in November 2019.Blais played eight games with the Maple Leafs, scoring one goal and two assists. He played a bottom-six role for Toronto and Berube, averaging 8:17 of ice time through his entire tenure.
The Maple Leafs recouped a couple of their injured players on Wednesday, including Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, and Nicolas Roy. They needed to make a few roster moves to activate all three players, and waiving Blais was one of them.
Toronto also sent Jacob Quillan back to the AHL's Toronto Marlies after he played two NHL games.
The Maple Leafs have activated F Auston Matthews and F Nicolas Roy from IR.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) November 26, 2025
F Jacob Quillan has been assigned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
F Samuel Blais has been placed on waivers.
The Maple Leafs are also dealing with a couple of injuries to their defensemen and Anthony Stolarz. Chris Tanev remains out long-term with an upper-body injury after going off on a stretcher in their game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 1.
Brandon Carlo (lower body) skated with teammates for the first time in practice on Thursday in Washington, one day ahead of Toronto's matchup against the Capitals. Carlo has been out since Nov. 13 versus the Los Angeles Kings.
Stolarz hasn't been seen since leaving after one period with an upper-body injury against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 11. The hope one week ago was that Stolarz would skate last Friday, however, that didn't happen.
It's unknown if he's been on the ice since Toronto left for a five-game road trip on Tuesday afternoon.
Craig Berube Encourages ‘Glass Half Full’ Mindset As Maple Leafs Prepare or Longest Road Trip Amid Struggling SeasonDespite sitting dead last in the East, head coach Craig Berube is urging the Maple Leafs to embrace a "glass half-full" mentality to spark a turnaround on their critical five-game road trip.Blais being claimed by the Canadiens means Montreal can now send him straight to AHL Laval, since they were the ones who first placed the forward on waivers at the beginning of the season. However, the Canadiens do have a roster spot open for Blais if they choose to keep him in the NHL.
In 265 NHL games, with the Blues, Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers, Blais has scored 28 goals and 74 points.
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Canadiens Claim Forward Back Off Waivers From Maple Leafs
The Montreal Canadiens have added to their forward group.
According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Canadiens have claimed forward Sammy Blais back off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
When it was announced that Blais was placed on waivers, the Canadiens were certainly considered a team to watch. This is because the Canadiens lost Blais to the Maple Leafs through waivers right before the start of the 2025-26 season. Now, Blais will once again be a part of the Canadiens' roster after being claimed back by Montreal.
The Canadiens originally signed Blais to a one-year, $775,000 contract back in July through free agency. This was after he posted 14 goals, 26 assists, and 40 points in 51 AHL games with the Abbotsford Canucks during the 2024-25 season.
Blais recorded one goal, three points, four penalty minutes, and a minus-2 rating in eight games with the Maple Leafs before being claimed back by the Canadiens.