After an 8-2-2 start to the season during the month of October, all seemed to be going well and right for the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

They were mostly healthy. Their goaltending and their shooters were putting up very high - even if unsustainable - numbers. They were holding onto leads - especially in the third period of play - and no lead ever really felt unsafe.

They seemed to be clicking on all cylinders. Then, November and a few other things happened.

Contrary to their hot October start, the Penguins are now 1-3-1 in the month of November so far. Their latest loss came in the form of a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, and it was their third blown lead in the past four games. They are now 9-5-3 on the season. 

No matter how things are sliced, it is still very early. The Penguins have played plenty of legitimately good hockey in the first month and a half of the 2025-26, and it stands to reason that they will go through some highs and lows throughout the course of 82 games - just as every team does. 

But there are some concerning trends. On Nov. 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Penguins dominated the first 40 minutes and carried a 3-0 lead into the third period, then they squandered it in the first seven minutes of the final frame. In their next game against the Washington Capitals, the Penguins went up by the same score of 3-0 early in the second period and were tied with the Caps by the end of the period. They eventually did win that one despite the blown lead. 

Takeaways: Penguins Fall To Kings, 3-2, For Third Loss In Four GamesAfter earning just one of four points on a back-to-back weekend set against the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils/">New Jersey Devils</a> and <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings">Los Angeles Kings</a>, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> may just welcome the brief Swedish vacation they’ll embark on starting Monday.

Then, in the L.A. game, the Penguins took a 2-1 lead into the third and allowed two unanswered goals en route to the loss. 

But, in this case, it's not just about the blown leads. It's about how they are happening. 

Despite winning only one of their last five games, the Penguins have been the better team on the ice for a large fraction of that time. They will dominate large stretches of games only to end up on the wrong side of the scoresheet. And the reason they're losing these leads is because they have loosened up in their own zone.

Let's be clear: This string of games is not because of a lack of effort. It seems like the Penguins just ran out of gas during the third period against the Kings, and - for most games - they're largely controlling play. But defensive lapses here and there - as has been the case dating back a few years for the Penguins - are costing them dearly. 

In the game against the Maple Leafs, the winning goal came as a result of blown coverage by young defensemen Owen Pickering and Harrison Brunicke in the defensive zone. During the Washington game, the Capitals kept pushing, and the Penguins' net-front play kept failing them. Against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the lone regulation goal by the Devils came as a result of an egregious defensive zone turnover by Kris Letang that directly resulted in a goal. 

New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) on XGrits blew the roof off this place.

And it didn't stop there. On the Kings' second goal Sunday, Letang engaged in an ill-advised pinch, forward Anthony Mantha didn't cover, and Ryan Shea was left hanging out to dry. And, on the game-winning goal by Kevin Fiala, Erik Karlsson simply got walked near the net front. 

Prior to these last several games, the Penguins were generally limiting these Grade-A looks, even when momentum started swinging the other way. And they were scoring with more frequency, too, which isn't surprising given some of the names they're missing from the lineup right now. 

All that said, there's not reason to panic quite yet. Again, the Penguins are largely controlling play, they've been getting contributions from up and down their lineup, and the general process is much better. There is buy-in from both the team and the coaching staff, and that has shown itself on the ice. 

These next two games in Stockholm, Sweden are big ones for the Penguins, and they represent an opportunity to get back on track and get closer to full health. As long as they simplify and hone the defensive details of their game, they should still be in pretty good shape moving forward. 

Penguins Five-Day Break Before Sweden Games Comes At Perfect TimeThe Pittsburgh Penguins have five days off before their next game, and it couldn't come at a better time.

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The Florida Panthers wrapped up their latest road trip on Thursday night in Las Vegas.

Fortunately for the Panthers, they played a third straight solid game, taking down the host Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 at T-Mobile Arena.

An evenly matched first period finally saw someone break through, and it was Florida that got the job done.

Moments after Mackie Samoskevich set up Jeff Petry with a grade-A chance coming down from the point, the puck found its way around to Donovan Sebrango.

The young blueliner quickly fed Jesper Boqvist in the high slot, and his one-timer went off the past Carl Lindbom and into the net, giving the Cats a 1-0 lead with 5:13 left in the opening period.

Boqvist made sure that the puck was picked up for Sebrango, as his primary assist was his first NHL point.

Florida’s penalty kill came up big midway through the game after the Panthers were forced to kill 1:10 of 5-on-3 time after back-to-back penalties by defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Niko Mikkola.

A few minutes later, and moments after Sergei Bobrovsky robbed Ivan Barbashev at the side of the net with a great sliding save, Brad Marchand flew down the left wing, cut to the middle of the ice and backhanded a shot over Lindbom’s glove to double Florida’s lead.

Once the third period began, it took the Golden Knights only 85 seconds to get on the board as Tomas Hertl beat Sergei Bobrovsky from the bottom of the left circle to end Bob’s big at consecutive shutouts against Vegas.

Less than four minutes later, Florida cashed in with a power play goal to restore their two-goal advantage.

Sam Reinhart scored his eighth of the season, deflecting a Seth Jones shot along the ice past Lindbom’s right pad to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead at the 4:54 mark.

Almost exactly five minutes after that, Barbashev’s shot deflected off Reinahrt’s stick as he tried blocking the puck, and it went just under the crossbar to bring the home team back within one.

That’s as close as they would get, thanks to some strong Panthers defending and a few high end saves by Bobrovsky.

Florida’s next game is at home, on Thursday against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

On to the Caps.

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Photo caption: Nov 10, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Florida Panthers center Jesper Boqvist (70) celebrates with defenseman Jeff Petry (2) and defenseman Donovan Sebrango (6) after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at T-Mobile Arena. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images)

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins have made a small move to shore up their depth.

On Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins' AHL affiliate inked goaltender Jaxon Castor to a paid tryout (PTO) contract.

Castor, 28, has spent parts of the last three seasons in the Penguins' organization. He started with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL in 2023-24, when he appeared in 16 games and went 10-4-1 with a 2.71 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage. He returned to Wheeling in 14 appearances last season and struggled a bit, putting up a 3.65 goals-against average and an .872 save percentage.

He appeared in just one game for WBS last season and is back in Wheeling this season, where he's played two games and has a 2.38 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

A product of the USHL program, Castor spent four seasons with St. Cloud State from 2019-23 before ending the 2022-23 season with the Florida Everblades.

Castor's PTO could be an indication that the Pittsburgh Penguins took one of Filip Larsson, Taylor Gauthier, or Maxim Pavlenko with them to Stockholm, Sweden for the NHL's Global Series, which will come in the form of Friday and Sunday matchups against the Nashville Predators at Avicii Arena in Stockholm.

Pittsburgh and Nashville can carry three goaltenders on the trip, so it's likely that the Penguins took one of the other three goaltenders with them. No official announcement has yet been made by the team. 

The Penguins May Now Have Three Pieces Of Their Future Core - And That's A Big DealObviously, there is such a thing as getting too far ahead of the curve in sports.

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Nov 10, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Nashville Predators right wing Matthew Wood (71) celebrates his goal against the New York Rangers with center Jonathan Marchessault (81) and defenseman Brady Skjei (76) and center Steven Stamkos (91) and left wing Michael Bunting (58) during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Nashville Predators were hoping the long flight to Sweden following Monday's game in New York against the Rangers would be a victorious one.

The Rangers' offense, which had struggled most of the season, found new life against the Preds, who dropped their fifth straight in a 6-3 defeat at Madison Square Garden.

Mika Zibanejad, Vladislav Gavrikov, Alex Lafreniere, Artemi Panarin (2) and Will Cuylle had goals for the Rangers.

Matthew Wood provided the only offense for Nashville, getting his first career hat trick. He also leads the team with four power-play points after his first goal of the night came on the man advantage.

Juuse Saros stopped seven of 12 shots before giving way to Justus Annunen to start the third period. Annunen saved five of the six shots he faced. Igor Shesterkin stopped 26 of 29 shots in net for the Rangers.

After Wood's first goal tied the game 1-1 at 16:16 of the opening period, the Rangers scored four unanswered goals before Wood lit the lamp a second time. Panarin's second goal of the night pushed the lead to 6-2 before Wood's hat trick finished off the night with a 6-3 final.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Juuse Saros can’t do it alone

There’s little debate that Juuse Saros is an above-average goaltender. He is tied for the second-most starts (13) in the NHL this season and has faced the second-most shots against (386). He’s also tied for the most saves in the NHL this season (348).

He’s not perfect, by any means. Lafreniere’s power-play goal that made it 3-1 went just under Saros’s pad. He got over a little late on Panarin’s goal that increased the lead to 4-1, but he also had too much traffic in front of the net and was tied up with Vincent Trochek and Nick Blankenburg on the play.

The Preds’ defense giving up breakaways like the one that allowed Zibanejad to score the Blueshirts’ first goal and a mental lapse by Adam Wilsby making a line change at the wrong time on another once again plagued the Predators.

Saros was pulled in favor of Annunen at the start of the third period, after the Rangers scored three goals for a 5-1 lead after 40 minutes. With little support from both his defense and offense, it was probably the best thing for him.

Matthew Wood tried to light a fire.

Nashville's offense looks lost.

Correction: Nashville's offense looks lost, except for Matthew Wood.

The 20-year-old rookie continues to do his best to carry the team on his back. His hat trick was the lone bright spot and were the only three goals the Preds could manage.

FIRST CAREER HATTY FOR MATTHEW WOOD! 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/VShUQRVxZR

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) November 11, 2025

Slow starts by the Preds are nothing new; they came into Monday 0-3-1 when trailing after the first period. They've had uninspiring games in stretches, but haven't had a real blowout. Monday definitely felt like one.

Matthew Wood was the exception. Like Saros, however, he can't be the only one counted on to win games.

The second period was particularly ugly; there were only eight shots taken between the two teams in the frame, with four apiece.

Wood's last name is often referred to when starting a fire; if only he could do that to an anemic Preds offense.

The Preds couldn’t take advantage of a struggling opponent.

The Rangers have stumbled out of the gate under new head coach Mike Sullivan. While they boast the best road record in the NHL (7-1-1), they came into Monday without a win at home (0-6-1). They’ve also been shut out five times at Madison Square Garden, including a 5-0 loss to their biggest rival, the New York Islanders.

The Rangers’ offense was 31st in the NHL prior to the game, just behind the Preds, who were 30th. They were averaging 2.19 goals for compared to Nashville’s 2.53.

Not exactly juggernaut numbers by either team. Somebody was due, and the Rangers were the ones who took advantage of the Preds' struggles.

A victory against the Rangers wouldn't have guaranteed a sudden turnaround, but it could have been a spark.

Now, the Preds are off to Stockholm, Sweden, for the 2025 NHL Global Series against the Pittsburgh Penguins for two games Friday and Sunday. The Penguins have dropped three of their last four games. It'll be a long flight, and a long weekend if the Preds can't come away with at least a split.

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NEWARK, NJ -- After blowing a 2-1 lead with just 4.7 seconds left in the third period, the New York Islanders came away victorious in overtime for the 3-2 win. 

Mathew Barzal scored the game-winning goal at 1:17 of overtime, after a goegous give-and-go with Jonathan Drouin before he beat Devils' netminder Jacob Markstrom glove side:

Barzal. 180 feet of two-way overtime hockey. 🚨🚨🚨 #Isles

Holy smokes was that fast. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/NFRAXX07Br

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) November 11, 2025

Ilya Sorokin stopped 33 of 35 for a win and has been electric over his last two starts. He stopped all 33 shots he faced in the Islanders' 5-0 win against the New York Rangers on Saturday. 

Here's how the game unfolded: 

It was a rocky start for the Islanders at The Rock, as just 38 seconds into the game, they found themselves on the penalty kill for having too many men on the ice. 

The penalty kill was going pretty well before Timo Meier rifled one low glove side, as he was left unguarded from the slot at 2:12 of the first:

Reeled one in early. #NJDevils | @Mikes_Amazingpic.twitter.com/IJdTCM47Fm

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 11, 2025

But, have no fear Islanders fans as Horvat is here -- seemingly every game. 

No. 14 continued his hot streak, beating Markstrom high blocker side at 6:55 of the second to tie the game at 1-1. 

Horvat heater continues 🔥🔥🔥

Team 🇨🇦??? pic.twitter.com/jt64EmkjjZ

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) November 11, 2025

Not only did that goal extend his point streak to six games (six goals, two assists), but that gave Horvat 12 goals over his last 13 games, an unprecedented heater for one of the best two-way forwards in the league. 

Kyle Palmieri scored on the power play with 2:53 to go in the third, with Horvat notching career assist No. 300 on the play. Mathew Schaefer, who recorded the primary assist, now has 12 points in 16 games to begin his NHL career:

FOR THE LEAD!#LGI | @fordpic.twitter.com/OEEL1o4p7a

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) November 11, 2025

But, as mentioned, the Islanders couldn't hold on. With the net empty, Simon Nemec's point shot went through three Islanders' bodies, glancing off Jean-Gabriel Pageau and past Sorokin to tie the game at 3-3 with 4.7 seconds to play in regulation:

4.7 SECONDS LEFT! pic.twitter.com/LPCmpDj5r6

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 11, 2025

The Islanders will now battle the Vegas Golden Knights and the Utah Mammoth on Thursday and Friday respectively, as they continue on with their seven-game road trip.