Nov 6, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Ryan O'Reilly (90) skates with the puck against the Philadelphia Flyersduring the first period at Bridgestone Arena. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

For the second time in a week, the Nashville Predators met up with the Philadelphia Flyers, this time at Bridgestone Arena.

For the second straight meeting, the Preds scored just one goal. After losing 4-1 to the Flyers in Philly last Thursday, Nashville could do no better in a 3-1 loss at Bridgestone Arena.

Ryan O’Reilly got the Preds on the board early at 1:44 of the first period. Matvei Michkov tied the score with his second of the year at 4:43 of the middle frame, followed by Noah Cates at 17:37 to give Philly a 2-1 lead.

Travis Konecny added an empty-net goal at 18:47 of the third period to ice the game for Philly.

The Flyers outshot Nashville 26-23, with goalie Dan Vladar stopping 22 of the Preds' 23 shots. Juuse Saros, who once again made numerous key saves to keep his team in the game, saved 23 of the 25 shots he faced and took another tough loss.

"It's a broken record right now," Preds head coach Andrew Brunette told reporters after the loss. "It feels like that's kinda what we're dealing with, so we gotta find a way to break through it."

Neither team could muster a power-play goal; Philly was 0-for-1; the Preds 0-for-3.

Here are some takeaways from the loss.

A fast start couldn't be sustained.

The biggest question coming into Thursday was how the ending to Tuesday’s overtime loss would affect the Preds, especially at the start of Thursday’s game.

It didn’t take long for an answer. Just 1:44 into the game, Ryan O’Reilly was credited with a goal the official scorer claimed deflected off him from a Filip Forsberg shot. Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar, who allowed only one goal last week, didn’t see O’Reilly’s goal go in the net.

ROR WITH THE ALLEY-OOP pic.twitter.com/zdnmonkJ9u

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) November 7, 2025

As they did in Tuesday’s game in Minnesota, the Preds set the tone early, outshooting Philly 10-7 after getting nine of the first 10 shots on goal.

However, as has tended to happen throughout the season, the Preds let off on the gas in the middle frame, allowing the Flyers to attack the offensive zone and gain the momentum. This carried over into the third, when Nashville managed just three shots against Vladar to the Flyers' nine.

O'Reilly was visibly frustrated after the game, particularly with his own play.

"Obviously (had) a chance to take control of the game, and we didn't," O'Reilly said. "We let them come back in and push back... I know for myself, the number one center, turned the puck over... Can't make a six-foot pass to save my life. We're not going to have success if I'm playing pathetic like that."

Michkov got behind the defense to tie the score, then Cates capitalized on a rebound to put Philly ahead heading into the third.

Once again, it was the little things that cost the Preds in this game, and they were unable to get back the pace once they lost it.

The Preds were goaded into Philly's physical style.

The Flyers came into the game as the most penalized team in the NHL, logging 184 penalty minutes this season.

The Preds are certainly not afraid to throw their weight around, but it didn't play to their advantage on this night.

Things got physical in the second period following several big hits by Ozzy Wiesblatt. Then, after Owen Tippett went off for hooking, two players from each side were sent to the sin bin for roughing with six seconds left on the Preds power play: Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault for Nashville, Travis Sanheim and Garnet Hathaway for Philly, all at the 16:05 mark.

After all the excitement, it was the Flyers who capitalized on the emotion, with Cates scoring the goal that put them in front.

While the Preds' penalty-kill didn't yield a goal, the Flyers seemed to get a new lease on life following all the chippiness. Nashville didn't seem quite the same after that.

It’s only human to get physical at some points during the game. However, the Preds were unable to draw Philly into more penalties and take advantage with their power play, which had moved up to 26th over the last couple of games.

Where's The Killer Instinct?

The same pattern that has hampered the Predators all of last season and through 16 games in this campaign reared its ugly head again Thursday: letting up or making crucial mistakes at the most inopportune times.

The players and head coach Andrew Brunette have talked a great deal about the team's identity, specifically a gritty style that relies on getting in the dirty areas rather than mounting a consistently explosive attack that can score in droves.

Against the Flyers, the Preds did that to a point, particularly in the first period. The problem is, it doesn't allow much room for error when they are unable to keep possession of the puck, open up passing lanes and get enough shots.

"We feel like we're right in there," Preds defenseman Nic Hague said. "Then we make some mistakes and the puck ends up in our net . That's kind of the way it's going right now... It's a game of inches out there."

All it takes is one rebound, one turnover, or one defensive lapse, and the game is lost.

If the Preds don't maintain that killer instinct at critical points of the game, wins will be tough to come by.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.

FREE GIFT ISSUE + 12 ISSUES + FREE DIGITAL ARCHIVE + FREE SHIPPING*** Canada Post Strike update - as of October 15, 2025 -  Please be aware that Canada Post is now in a rolling strike.  While they are accepting mail, delivery times could be longer than expected.  US orders are not impacted. WHAT'S INCLUDED IN YOUR PRINT & DIGITAL ARCHIVE SUBSCRIPTION > FREE GIFT ISSUE* of your

Back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected forward Jordan Staal with the second-overall pick. Following this, he spent six seasons with the Penguins from 2006-07 to 2011-12, where he recorded 120 goals, 128 assists, 248 points, and a plus-53 rating. He also won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009. 

Staal's time with the Penguins ended during the 2012 NHL off-season when he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. He has not left Carolina since being traded by the Penguins, and he has now made franchise history with the Hurricanes because of it. 

Staal played in his 910th game with the Hurricanes during their Nov. 6 matchup against the Minnesota Wild. With this, he has passed his brother, Eric Staal, for the most games played in Hurricanes franchise history. 

No one has played more games in a #Canes sweater pic.twitter.com/p94S5Te5rF

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) November 7, 2025

This is a great accomplishment for Staal, and there is no question that he has had a strong tenure with the Canes. In 910 games over 14 seasons with the Hurricanes, he has recorded 181 goals, 286 assists, 467 points, 478 takeaways, and a plus-16 rating. He has also been the Hurricanes' captain since the 2019-20 season. 

Laying a stinker the night before and their coach setting an example by healthy-scratching one of the top players, the St. Louis Blues needed a result.

A positive result.

They got it.

Led by a strong outing by Joel Hofer and getting secondary scoring by Mathieu Joseph and Nick Bjugstad, the Blues downed the Buffalo Sabres, 3-0, at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Thursday after just a dreadful performance on Wednesday against the Washington Capitals.

Blues coach Jim Montgomery made healthy scratches of Jordan Kyrou and Oskar Sundqvist, with Kyrou being the most shocking one obviously. He also assumingly sat Robert Thomas for the final 9:18 of the second period. It’s holding players accountable, no matter who it is. And on the second of back-to-back, it's uncommon that a team takes the ice for a morning skate, but this group did after the performance in Washington.

Depending on how one looks at it, you can say the Blues (5-8-2) have won two of three or only their second win in the past 10 (2-6-2). We’ll go with two of three.

Let’s jump right into Thursday’s observations:

* Message sent to the team – Montgomery wanted guys digging in, life, juice, compete and battle from his players and got it.

The Blues were obliterated on loose pucks, wall battles and 1-on-1 battles against the Capitals on Wednesday. Not so much on Thursday. OK, they were outshot 27-17 for the game, but they managed the game the way you’re supposed to manage a road game, especially after getting a lead.

They defended well for most of the game and got sticks on pucks, blocked 20 shots in the game and didn’t ask Hofer to stand on his head.

A much-improved effort all around.

And then there was Tyler Tucker, stepping into a role again to set some emotion. He and O’Fallon’s own Josh Dunne talked about it in the pregame skate and the two decided to drop the gloves in the first period:

Dunne vs Tucker #LetsGoBuffalo#stlbluespic.twitter.com/WwIZnf7mnK

— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) November 7, 2025

* Hofer was strong – Now getting to Hofer, he was sharp. And getting into the game early and making some solid, not spectacular saves early in the game helped him stay calm and relax into the game. His glove save on Rasmus Dahlin 29 seconds into the game was the save that enabled him to begin the relaxation and calmness.

But then how many times do you see it when a goalie makes a terrific save at one end and that team scores on the other?

Well, when Hofer made this really good glove save on Josh Doan, instead of being down 1-0, the Blues go back the other way not long after and grab the lead instead:

Prior to Joseph's goal, Josh Doan got robbed by Hofer #LetsGoBuffalo#stlbluespic.twitter.com/FnJt3dpa8d

— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) November 7, 2025

Hofer also made this beauty of a right pad save on Alex Tuch in the second period from the slot.

The Blues got those key saves at key times, and Hofer, who relieved Jordan Binnington on Wednesday and allowed two goals on 17 shots, was sharp in the game and picked up his first win since Oct. 11 against the Calgary Flames.

* Joseph seized the moment – Now let’s get to Joseph, who probably had a chip on his shoulder and a sour taste in his mouth after being a healthy scratch against the Capitals for the first time this season.

Montgomery said he wanted more physicality in the lineup against the Capitals and put Nathan Walker in.

Instead of fretting the move, Joseph was right back in there, and how did he respond? How about a hand in all three goals.

His shorthanded goal after Hofer’s save on Doan, at 12:38 of the first period, was the Blues’ second shorthanded goal in as many games (Alexey Toropchenko had one Wednesday), and it was a perfect example of digging in and battling.

Joseph stopped on a dime, stripped Jack Quinn just inside the D-zone blue line and was off to the races, using his speed to keep his distance before wristing one by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen above the right pad:

We were shorthanded but Mathieu Joseph didn't get that memo. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/D8h8BwsHuJ

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 7, 2025

He a plus-3 player in 12:21 and was just exceptional throughout the game as part of the fourth line that brought some terrific energy with Walker and Bjugstad.

* Depth scoring – Without Kyrou in the lineup, the Blues were suppressed someone off their top six.

So you need depth guys to step up, and Bjugstad supplied that when he made it 2-0 at 2:42 of the second period, taking a quick up pass from Faulk and using Dahlin as a screen to beat Luukkonen about the left pad:

🚨 BJUGY GOAL ALERT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/GdfvISlac4

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 7, 2025

The Blues’ fourth line was a combined plus-7 on the night, with Walker also being a plus-3 and Bjugstad a plus-1.

* Real well-rounded game by Faulk – Forget the fact that Faulk had a goal and an assist – well we’ll focus on the assist here – but his game was strong in this one.

He and Cam Fowler each played over 24 minutes on Thursday on the second of back-to-back nights, but the two plays that really stood out for me were Faulk’s breakup of a 2-on-1 late in the third period with the Blues on a power play leading 2-0. You give up a goal there, and it’s a chaotic finish. But he played Tuch’s pass to Quinn perfectly that could have resulted in a shorthanded goal.

And his assist to Bjugstad was so smart because the Blues had just had a 2-on-1 of their own with Walker nearly scoring, the Sabres were at the end of a shift and got a clear, but Faulk smartly upped the puck back the other way. You can see Dahlin was going off for a change but had to stay on and his gap on Bjugstad was enough to allow him to shoot the puck through a tired defenseman.

Just simple, smart from Faulk throughout the game, finishing as a plus-2 in 24:16 with three shots and two blocks in the game.

* Penalty kill did the job – Coming in, the Blues' penalty kill was 30th at 67.6 percent and had allowed a goal in five straight, eight of nine games and 11 of 14 on the season. Not good.

On Thursday, they didn't allow any Grade A chances despite the Sabres getting five shots on total, but the Blues did a much better job of staying aggressive and not giving time and space and go a perfect 3-for-3.     

* Only negative was lack of O-zone time, but credit Sabres – This was particularly in the third period where the Blues just didn’t get a ton of O-zone time because they were protecting a lead, but Buffalo was doing a good job of not allowing the Blues to get too many sustained shifts on the forecheck. It wasn’t for lack of trying, it’s just the Sabres did a good job of retrieving and moving pucks out. But guys were likely short on gas after playing Wednesday. 

But the Blues alleviated the lack of pressure by what we mentioned earlier, and that’s having good sticks in the neutral zone and when the Sabres did enter the zone, they didn’t allow too much in the middle of the ice.

It’s one win, a much-needed win, not anything to declare the Blues are back, but a starting point. Like Monday, let’s see how they respond moving forward.

I would expect to see Kyrou back in the lineup on Saturday.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

For the second straight game, the Senators had to work a little overtime and again there was no payoff. Ottawa fell 3-2 in overtime to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday night. Pavel Zacha buried the game winner after a soft, bad angle shot from Charlie McAvoy trickled through Linus Ullmark.

 It had to be a satisfying victory for former Senator goalie Joonas Korpisalo. He got the win, not only beating the guy who replaced him, but the guy he was traded for. On top of that, the Senators are still paying Korpisalo a million dollars a year to play against them. 

Boston outshot Ottawa 25-22 on the night and since getting hammered by the Senators late last month, the Bruins have reeled off five straight victories.

Michael Amadio got the Senators on the board first, scoring his fourth of the season just over five minutes into the game. It was a notable goal as Ottawa had managed to open the scoring only twice in their previous 13 games. On a two-on-one rush with Shane Pinto, Amadio took a perfect feed and snapped a shot past Joonas Korpisalo to give the Sens a 1–0 lead.

That advantage held until the second period, when Morgan Geekie tied things up with his 10th of the year.  Andrew Peeke's initial blast from the top of the right circle slipped through Linus Ullmark, and Geekie cleaned up the garbage, depositing the puck into the vacant net.

Just under four minutes later, Sean Kuraly put Boston ahead with his second of the season. The Senators’ defensive coverage completely broke down as Tanner Jeannot carried the puck harmlessly down the right wing, drawing both Thomas Chabot and Nick Cousins toward him. With Chabot out of position, Drake Batherson and Tim Stützle both caught puck-watching, Kuraly was wide open to bury Jeannot’s pass and give the Bruins a 2–1 lead.

Ottawa answered back early in the third. Claude Giroux evened the score at 2–2 when his wrist shot from the left faceoff dot dribbled through Korpisalo to tie the game once again.

Shane Pinto had several tremendous opportunities late in the game — two of them in the third period. He nearly won it in the final 10 seconds, but a perfect pass from Batherson skipped over his stick blade. Pinto also had a couple of great chances in overtime, all alone in tight on former Senator Joonas Korpisalo and trying to go to his backhand, but he couldn’t finish on either attempt.

With 42 seconds left in overtime, Ridly Greig was called for slashing as he dove to prevent a good scoring chance for David Pastrňák. Boston’s power play, however, lasted only three seconds, as Morgan Geekie was called for tripping Jake Sanderson right off the faceoff.

Then, with just six seconds remaining in overtime, Pavel Zacha won the game for the Bruins. Charlie McAvoy sprinted past Pinto and tried to send a backhand pass to the front of the net. Ullmark was down on his knees, and the puck slipped through his pads, sitting loose in the crease for Zacha to tap in and seal the victory.

The Senators fall to 0-3 in overtime this season, though they do have two shootout wins, and their record drops to 6-5-3. The Senators are in Philadelphia on Saturday for an early 1 pm start against the Flyers.