One of the main factors behind the Detroit Red Wings missing the postseason in 2024-25 for the ninth consecutive season was their penalty killing.

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At one point last season, their penalty killing was in serious danger of being ranked the worst in NHL history. While they managed to avoid that infamous mark, Detroit's PK still finished last overall in the League. 

The Red Wings signed former Winnipeg Jets forward Mason Appleton during the offseason, who is known for his work on the penalty kill. 

Along with the addition of goaltender John Gibson, can Appleton help the Red Wings' penalty killing improve to at least the middle of the pack in the NHL in 2025-26? 

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Los Angeles Kings forward Samuel Helenius is currently battling for a roster spot as the pre-season winds down. The 22-year-old is looking to remain with the Kings for a second straight season. Helenius is entering the third and final year of his entry level contract, making him a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the season. 

After drafting him with the 59th overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft, the Kings are hoping Helenius can continue to improve and live up to his potential based on where they selected him, and it starts by making the team this fall.

2024-25 Season

During the 2024-25 season, Samuel Helenius spent time in the NHL with the Kings, while also appearing in games with Ontario Reign in the AHL. In his 20 games in the American Hockey League, the winger scored two goals along with four assists for six points total. He also used his 6'0" 201 lbs pound frame as he accumulated 38 total penalty minutes proving he can be a physical presence. 

As for his time with the big league club, Helenius scored four goals to go with three assists for seven total points in 50 games. The Dallas, Texas native did not initially make the team out of camp. Instead, making his NHL debut on November 9th, 2024 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In his first game, he registered his first career point with an assist. Although he picked up his first point very quickly, Helenius didn't find the back of the net until his 25th career game on January 22nd, 2025 against the Florida Panthers. He played just two more games before being sent back down to Ontario. On March 5th he was called back up and stayed with the Kings for the remainder of the season.

The 22-year-old even appeared in all six of the Kings playoff games versus the Edmonton Oilers. In those six games, Helenius registered one assist while having a -1 rating.

2025-26 Expectations and Stat Predictions

It's no secret that Helenius is in a battle to make the Kings roster and play in their bottom six. PuckPedia currently has the young forward projected as an extra to kick off the season. His main competitors seem to be Alex Turcotte and Jeff Mallott. Ultimately, I expect him to make the team and slot in on the fourth line to start the season. 

As for his numbers, I'm predicting Helenius to improve on his production from a year ago. If he can give LA nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points throughout the season, all while likely rotating in and out of the line-up, I would consider that a win for all parties involved, which would also likely earn him a new deal after the season.

Stay tuned in with your Los Angeles Kings here at The Hockey News, as the 2025-26 season inches closer.

The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Minnesota Wild in preseason game three, 4-1, at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. 

Frank Nazar scored the first two goals of the game to give the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead. In the end, he deposited one in the empty net as well, giving him the preseason hat trick. 

The one non-Frank Nazar goal scored by the Blackhawks came off the stick of Ryan Donato. He took advantage of a beautiful cross-ice feed by Connor Bedard, who looks as special as ever so far this exhibition season. 

Frank Nazar picked a good game to have a hat trick, despite it being the preseason. Wild GM Bill Guerin is also the General Manager of Team USA, who is in the process of selecting the Olympic team. There will be plenty of chances for Guerin to watch Nazar, but this was a great opportunity for the player in that regard. 

Alex Vlasic left the game with an injury and did not return. It is unclear what happened, but Jeff Blashill and the coaching staff are sure to have an answer soon enough. That would be a tough loss for Chicago if he misses any time, but it could also just be precautionary. 

Drew Commesso played the whole game for the Blackhawks in net, and he was magnificent. He made 28 saves on 29 shots. The Wild had plenty of veterans and players desperate to make the roster in their lineup, so it can be chalked up as an impressive performance for Commesso as he faced strong competition. 

With Spencer Knight locked in as the starter, there are two great options for backup goaltending in Drew Commesso and Arvid Soderblom. They prove it night in and night out. 

The road portion of the preseason is over for Chicago. Now, they have three left, and they are all at the United Center. That starts on Tuesday with preseason number game four against the Detroit Red Wings. 

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Believe it or not, the Buffalo Sabres and their players are not inherently terrible. Sure, there are Buffalo players you may believe to be flawed, and sure, the Sabres have been consistently sub-par for the past 14 seasons -- none of which have ended with Stanley Cup playoff games being played in Western New York.  But if you look at some of Buffalo's former players, you see that they have some value across the league, even though they have a stint with the Sabres on their resume.

One former Sabre who was prominent this week was former Buffalo goalie James Reimer, who agreed to a professional tryout contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's true Reimer would at best be Toronto's third goalie, but with the absence of veteran Joseph Woll, Reimer could become the Leafs' No. 2 option. And given that Reimer had won the Sabres' starting job at the end of this past season, you know Toronto management had to be convinced Reimer had something left to extend him this olive branch.

Meanwhile, former Buffalo winger J.J. Peterka obviously had value to other teams. The Utah Mammoth gave up a lot of trade capital to acquire Peterka this summer, but he enters the season as Utah's top left winger on a Mammoth team that many believe will take a major step forward this season. So the Sabres haven't been bereft of talent.

The problem here is clearly the chemistry and depth for Buffalo, and Sabres GM Kevyn Adams is tasked with changing the mix for his team. If he can't do that, Buffalo's streak of seasons without a playoff appearance will extend to an even more-painful 15 years.

This is also why the pressure is squarely on Sabres coach Lindy Ruff right now. No one can take away from Ruff's longevity as an NHL bench boss. He's had some serious success over the years, but nothing short of a playoff berth will save Ruff's job this year, and so he's going to have to do what all great coaches learn to do -- namely, adapt their approach to how they do business.

This Season Could Be Final Kick At Can For Sabres Coach Ruff, GM AdamsThe Buffalo Sabres' 2025-26 season is about as high-stakes as it gets. The Sabres will be aiming to end the organization's 14-year drought on the Stanley Cup playoff front. And while certain players will not be long for Buffalo if the Sabres fail to make it into the post-season this year, the reality is the Sabres' most prominent coaching and management members -- coach Lindy Ruff and GM Kevyn Adams -- could be getting their final kick at the can in their jobs -- at least, at the NHL level.

That doesn't necessarily mean coaches have to be drastically different in how they approach their duties, but it does mean being flexible and learning how to modify their performance to suit the needs of the players they're responsible for.

So we're not going to tell you the Sabres were 100 percent wrong to keep most of their team together this summer. That may prove to be demonstrably true, but teams have tweaked their lineup from a losing bunch one year to a playoff team the next. Adams is betting on his core, and that could ultimately be the best decision he's made in the role. 

Seeing players like Peterka and Reimer be potentially big parts of a winning team should reassure Sabres fans the team isn't comically inept when it comes to identifying NHL-level talent. But the fact that many former Sabres have found success elsewhere is in its own way an indictment of Buffalo management, past and present. That's what has to change above all else.

Sabres Will Start This Season As Playoff Underdogs -- But Here's Why That Could Be Good For ThemThe Buffalo Sabres are going to have a tough time contending for a Stanley Cup wild card position this year. But when this writer submitted his pre-season predictions for the Atlantic Division, he had the Sabres in…sixth place in the Atlantic, ahead of only the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. And while it pains us to predict more misery ahead for long-suffering Sabres fans, we wouldn’t be telling it like it is if we told you Buffalo wasn’t going to be picked as a playoff team by most pundits. They won’t be.

This organization has to figure out a way to get its ducks in a row and come up with a legitimate playoff team. Because if they can't do that this year, there will be a new management group with the same goal next summer.

And Sabres fans will be all the more livid that this franchise just can't get it right.

The NHL saw several players be placed on waivers on Sep. 28. One of them was a former New Jersey Devils defenseman, as the Tampa Bay Lightning have placed blueliner Steven Santini on waivers.

Santini is currently entering his second season with the Lightning organization in 2025-26. He spent the majority of this past campaign at the American Hockey League (AHL) level with the Syracuse Crunch. In 58 games with the AHL squad in 2024-25, he posted six goals, 11 assists, 17 points, and a plus-10 rating. He also appeared in three playoff games for the Crunch this spring, recording one assist and an even plus/minus rating.

Santini also played in one game for the Lightning during the 2024-25 season, where he was held off the scoresheet.

Santini was selected by the Devils with the 42nd overall pick of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. From there, he played his first four NHL seasons with the Metropolitan Division club. In 114 games with the Devils over that span, the right-shot defenseman recorded five goals, 16 assists, 21 points, 153 blocks, 276 hits, and a minus-10 rating.

Santini's time with the Devils ended during the 2019 NHL off-season when he was traded to the Nashville Predators in the deal that sent P.K. Subban to New Jersey.

The Ottawa Senators improved their preseason record to 2–1 on Sunday afternoon with a 2–0 victory over a New Jersey Devils split-squad at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City.

With the game still scoreless, the breakthrough finally came on a Sens power play with 4:26 left in regulation. Tim Stützle carried the puck to the high slot before losing it on a poke check, but the puck behaved like a perfect drop pass, right onto the stick of rookie Stephen Halliday.

Halliday one-timed a high snap shot over the left shoulder of Devils goaltender Georgi Romanov. For Stutzle, it was a spot of good luck in a game where he missed on a penalty shot and also rang one off the iron from in close.

For the second straight game, Ottawa faced an opponent icing what amounted to a “B” lineup. Most of the Devils' opening night lineup remained in Newark, where they fell 3–2 in a shootout to the Washington Capitals. Still, the Senators made the most of the opportunity, taking control late and closing out a tidy win.

Free-agent signing Olle Lycksell, the former Philadelphia Flyer, added insurance less than three minutes later. After a careless New Jersey drop pass at the blue line, Lycksell poked the puck away from defenseman Calen Addison, then skated in alone and slid the puck into an empty net to secure the win.

Why Wasn't Sunday's Senators-Devils Game On English Radio Or TV?As the Ottawa Senators defeated the New Jersey Devils 2-0 on Sunday afternoon in preseason action, a lot of English-speaking Senator fans had to dust off their French comprehension skills. It had nothing to do with the game being in Quebec City, though.

Goaltender Linus Ullmark was rarely tested but sharp when needed, turning aside all 14 shots he faced for his first shutout of the preseason. It was a welcome bounce-back after he allowed three goals in Ottawa’s exhibition opener.

On special teams, the Senators went 1-for-3 with the man advantage and were perfect on three penalty kills. Romanov was the busier of the two goaltenders, stopping 30 shots to keep the Devils in it until the late stages. That included a penalty shot where he didn't buy any of Stutzle's fancy stickhandling, turning him away effortlessly.

Both Halliday and Lycksell strengthened their cases for roster spots in Ottawa, particularly with current injuries to Drake Batherson and Lars Eller. Their availability for opening night remains possible but uncertain, leaving even more room for competition on the forward lines.

The Senators will continue their Quebec City showcase on Tuesday night, when they host the Montreal Canadiens at the Videotron Centre. The game might serve as a measuring stick as to whether winning over fans in Quebec City is truly possible, or if Montreal, despite the heated rivalry from long ago, has already taken the territory over.

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