The Calgary Flames snapped their five-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon, edging the San Jose Sharks 3–2 in a tightly contested matinee at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Special teams, timely scoring, and a heavy shot advantage powered Calgary to the victory as they controlled long stretches of play and capitalized when it mattered most.
San Jose struck first on the power play, as Will Smith finished off a cross-seam feed from Alexander Wennberg, snapping the puck past Dustin Wolf to open the scoring.
Calgary answered with a man-advantage goal of their own. Matt Coronato’s shot produced a rebound, and Morgan Frost wasted no time ripping it past Alex Nedeljkovic to tie the game. After twenty minutes, the teams headed to the room deadlocked 1–1.
The Sharks came out strong in the middle frame, applying sustained pressure. Wolf made a pair of stops, but a loose rebound bounced into traffic and Adam Gaudette pounced, burying his 13th of the season to restore San Jose’s lead.
Calgary pushed back and found the equalizer thanks to Matvei Gridin. Set up by Frost at the top of the circle, Gridin blasted a one-timer past Nedeljkovic for his second career NHL goal, pulling the Flames even at 2–2 heading into the third.
The deciding moment came courtesy of a fortunate bounce shorthanded. A puck caromed off the end boards and landed on Joel Farabee’s stick, and the Flames winger made no mistake, finishing it off to give Calgary its first lead of the game.
From there, the Flames leaned on their shot volume and defensive structure to close it out, securing the 3–2 win.
Joel Farabee’s game-winner marked his third shorthanded goal of the season, moving him into a tie for second-most in the NHL. Calgary now sits tied for the league lead with seven shorthanded goals as a team.
2. Special Teams Tilt the Ice
Both clubs scored on the power play, but Calgary’s shorthanded strike proved to be the difference. Winning the special-teams battle ultimately decided a one-goal game.
3. Shot Volume Tells the Story
The Flames poured 42 shots on goal compared to San Jose’s 25, consistently generating pressure and wearing down the Sharks over sixty minutes.
The Detroit Red Wings wanted to give the sellout crowd at Little Caesars Arena something to cheer for in what would be their final home game until early March, thanks to the upcoming Olympic break.
Their opponent on Saturday afternoon was the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche, who clearly had other plans.
The Avalanche looked every bit the top-ranked club in the League, handing the Red Wings a frustrating 5-0 setback in the first of a two-game home-and-home series that concludes on Monday evening in Denver.
It wasn't the way the Red Wings wanted to close out their three-game home stand, which yielded only a single point out of a possible six up for grabs. Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
However, team captain Dylan Larkin explained that Monday evening will be an opportunity for his team to prove that Saturday's loss was an anomaly.
"We've got two really big games (left before the break)," Larkin explained afterward. "Every team is going through it, playing the same schedule. We've played a lot of hockey, and you get bumps and bruises, illnesses, you're going through it."
"It (the break) is coming at a good time, and I think it'll be huge for our team, but the beauty of this is that we get to play these guys again."
The Avalanche had experienced a few setbacks of their own in recent games, dropping contests to both the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, both of whom are chasing Detroit in the tightly-packed Atlantic Division standings.
"They're the number one team in the League, but they're not the best team ever," Larkin said of the Avalanche. "It's not like we're playing against guys that can't be beat, so we have to go into their building with something to prove and start a big two-game swing for us."
While the Red Wings maintained their second-place status in the Atlantic, the teams behind them have crept even closer in their rear-view mirror.
As of Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres each have 67 points, just three behind Detroit's 70 points, and they play one another later that evening, meaning one of them will be within a point of Detroit by night’s end.
Following Monday's rematch against the Avalanche, the Red Wings will face the Utah Mammoth in their second-ever trip to Delta Center in Salt Lake City, which will then be followed by the Olympic break.
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PITTSBURGH — The Rangers continue to slide into the Olympic break.
In their second-to-last contest before the NHL pauses for 19 days, the Blueshirts didn’t show up until the third period of what turned out to be their 14th loss — 6-5 at the hands of the Penguins — in their last 18 games Saturday evening.
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A reprieve can’t come soon enough for this Rangers team, which looked like it wanted to be anywhere but the PPG Paints Arena ice for 40 of 60 minutes.
“You score five goals and lose the game,” captain J.T. Miller said. “I guess the only positive today is that we didn’t quit, kept pushing, came down to the wire. When you have to score six times, it’s pretty hard to win the game. I like that we didn’t quit. That’s about it.”
Getting up for games has clearly been a struggle amid the organization’s public plans to retool the roster, but the lack of focus, execution and motivation early on in games has been a recurring issue since last season.
The fact that it’s only worsened amid a lost campaign paints a disconcerting picture for the foreseeable future.
Their current situation should not preclude the Rangers from skating with pride.
And yet opponents have feasted on their insecurities, costly mistakes and slow starts on a game-to-game basis.
The Penguins have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL since the end of December.
After members of the 2016 Stanley Cup-winning team were honored in a pregame ceremony, which included Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan and the currently injured Conor Sheary, the energy in the building was palpable from puck drop to the final whistle.
J.T. Miller’s shot is stopped by Stuart Skinner during the second period of the Rangers’ 6-5 road loss to the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Jan. 31, 2026. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Entering the matinee matchup on a five-game win streak, Pittsburgh picked up where it left off and scored on two of its first four shots.
The multigoal lead was built just over six minutes into the contest, leaving the Rangers in what has been a familiar position this season: chasing from behind.
At a time when attention has shifted to the Rangers youth, the first period was concerning in more ways than one.
Noah Laba, who missed three games earlier this month with an upper-body injury, absorbed a hit in the corner and was slow to the bench.
After trying to skate it off during the TV timeout, Laba reached for his shoulder and headed to the locker room.
Despite returning for one shift in the second period, Laba was ruled out for the remainder of the game with an upper-body injury.
Pittsburgh players celebrate Noel Acciari’s goal during the first period of the Rangers’ road loss to the Penguins. NHLI via Getty Images
There was no immediate update on the 22-year-old after the game.
Injury aside, it was a particularly tough opening frame for Scott Morrow.
The Rangers rookie defenseman committed a costly turnover that led to the Penguins first of two goals from Anthony Mantha before getting called for a late penalty.
Matt Rempe was also on the ice for the first two Penguins goals.
On the second one, Penguins forward Blake Lizotte took the puck right off Rempe’s stick. After that, Sullivan only deployed Rempe for one more shift in the first period.
“Some of it is just the way the flow of the game goes and we’re looking for certain matchups,” Sullivan said. “I try to utilize him in the situations where I think sets him up for success. Those are some of the plays I’m talking about, about execution and decision making. Sometimes, you just got to gain a zone or gain a line. I thought we had opportunities — that was one of them — where we could have got the puck out.”
The Rangers didn’t get on the board until there were just over 1:30 remaining in the second period, but it came on the first of their two total shots in the middle frame.
Pittsburgh, however, scored twice in the span of 20 seconds less than two minutes into the third period.
Not even a four-goal showing over the final 20 minutes was enough for the Rangers to climb out of the hole they dug.
“You can’t. You just can’t. You can’t let up two goals in 20 seconds,” said Vincent Trocheck, who — along with Alexis Lafrenière — led the Rangers with three points (one goal and two assists). “We have to be paying more attention to detail. We were in the right spots a lot of times too, like we’re where we’re supposed to be. We’re just not executing our job. We just have to be better at that. It’s the same giving up six goals, giving up two in 20, you just can’t do it.”
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Mark Scheifele scored the go-ahead goal with 4:14 remaining, lifting the Winnipeg Jets to a 2-1 win over the sliding and short-handed Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Winnipeg was 1-18-2 in games where it trailed entering the third period going into the game, and was down 1-0 with 20 minutes left against the Panthers. But the Jets scored twice in a span of just over seven minutes to take command.
Cole Perfetti scored with 11:26 left to tie the game, then Scheifele got his 27th of the season for what became the game-winner.
Eric Comrie stopped 27 shots for the Jets, including one with 37.1 seconds left on a shot by Matthew Tkachuk. Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett got shots to the net after that as well for the Panthers, but neither got by Comrie and the Jets prevailed for just the third time in their last nine games.
Eetu Luostarinen got the goal for Florida, which has dropped three straight and ended the game eight points back of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers — who have been without Aleksander Barkov all season — played Saturday without Brad Marchand, who is day to day, along with Anton Lundell and Seth Jones, among others.
It was the first time this season that Florida took a lead into the third period and failed to get at least one point out of a game. The Panthers were 17-0-1 in such situations entering Saturday, the fifth-best record in the league.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 shots in the Florida net.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Anthony Mantha and Noel Acciari scored two goals apiece, and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins held off the New York Rangers 6-5 on Saturday for their sixth straight victory.
Mantha and Acciari beat Jonathan Quick twice in a span of just over three minutes early in the first period to give the Penguins an early cushion. Mantha made it 3-0 with an easy tap-in in the second period. Acciari and Rickard Rakell scored 20 seconds apart early in the third to push Pittsburgh’s advantage to 5-1 on a night the franchise celebrated the 10th anniversary of the 2016 club that won the Stanley Cup.
Erik Karlsson became the 12th defenseman in NHL history to reach 700 career assists when he picked up the secondary helper on Rakell’s 10th goal of the season 1:20 into the final period. The other 11 defensemen to reach the 700-assist plateau are in the Hall of Fame.
Stuart Skinner improved to 8-1 in his last nine starts but nearly let a four-goal third period get away.
Alex Lafreniere scored twice for the Rangers. Vincent Trocheck, Vladislav Gavrikov and Will Cuylle all scored during a late rally, but it wasn’t enough for the Rangers to fall to 2-10 since goaltender Igor Shesterkin was lost indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
Until the late surge, New York coach Mike Sullivan — who guided the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 during a decade-long run as head coach before trading Pittsburgh for New York last summer — watched his team spend most of the afternoon putting up little fight against the surprising Penguins.
Pittsburgh moved into second place by itself in the Metropolitan Division with the victory despite being without veteran defenseman Kris Letang, who will miss at least a month with a fractured left foot sustained in a win over Chicago on Thursday. The 20-year veteran was wearing a protective boot on the foot during a pregame ceremony honoring the 2016 club.
Up next
Rangers: Off until Thursday night, when they host Carolina in the final game before the Olympic break.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Anthony Mantha and Noel Acciari scored two goals apiece, and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins held off the New York Rangers 6-5 on Saturday for their sixth straight victory.
Mantha and Acciari beat Jonathan Quick twice in a span of just over three minutes early in the first period to give the Penguins an early cushion. Mantha made it 3-0 with an easy tap-in in the second period. Acciari and Rickard Rakell scored 20 seconds apart early in the third to push Pittsburgh's advantage to 5-1 on a night the franchise celebrated the 10th anniversary of the 2016 club that won the Stanley Cup.
Erik Karlsson became the 12th defenseman in NHL history to reach 700 career assists when he picked up the secondary helper on Rakell's 10th goal of the season 1:20 into the final period. The other 11 defensemen to reach the 700-assist plateau are in the Hall of Fame.
Stuart Skinner improved to 8-1 in his last nine starts but nearly let a four-goal third period get away.
Alex Lafreniere scored twice for the Rangers. Vincent Trocheck, Vladislav Gavrikov and Will Cuylle all scored during a late rally, but it wasn't enough for the Rangers to fall to 2-10 since goaltender Igor Shesterkin was lost indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
Until the late surge, New York coach Mike Sullivan — who guided the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 during a decade-long run as head coach before trading Pittsburgh for New York last summer — watched his team spend most of the afternoon putting up little fight against the surprising Penguins.
Pittsburgh moved into second place by itself in the Metropolitan Division with the victory despite being without veteran defenseman Kris Letang, who will miss at least a month with a fractured left foot sustained in a win over Chicago on Thursday. The 20-year veteran was wearing a protective boot on the foot during a pregame ceremony honoring the 2016 club.
Up next
Rangers: Off until Thursday night, when they host Carolina in the final game before the Olympic break.
On Saturday, Jan. 31, the Seattle Kraken announced rookie forward Berkly Catton will miss the next three games heading into the Olympic break. Catton was injured during the Kraken’s last…
New York Islanders center Calum Ritchie (64) moves the puck down ice as Tampa Bay Lightning center Jake Guentzel (59) tries to defend during the third period at UBS Arena, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Elmont, NY.
It’s going to be a while before the Islanders next see Cal Ritchie.
Ritchie’s lower-body injury will keep him out through the Olympic break, coach Patrick Roy said Saturday before the Islanders faced the Predators at UBS Arena.
Including Saturday’s match, the Islanders have just four games left before the three-week break, which will see them return to practice a little over a week before resuming the season in Montreal on Feb. 26.
Roy said that Ritchie “tried” to skate on his own Friday but it did not go well, so for the time being, he will stay off the ice.
New York Islanders center Calum Ritchie (64) moves the puck down ice as Tampa Bay Lightning center Jake Guentzel (59) tries to defend during the third period at UBS Arena, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Elmont, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
It’s not clear when exactly Ritchie suffered the injury, as he played his last shift with under three minutes to go in last Saturday’s loss to the Sabres.
For the time being, however, the injury is allowing the Islanders to punt on what will be a tough lineup decision once the rookie centerman returns.
After adding Ondrej Palat via trade, and with Bo Horvat back healthy, it’s not entirely clear how the Islanders can make room for Ritchie in their lineup.
Max Shabanov, who had a spot for most of the season, has sat two of three games since the Isles traded for Palat, with his only playing time coming Thursday night when Casey Cizikas was out sick.
Ritchie, who has generally centered the second or third line, would need to either shift to the wing or the Islanders would need to shift someone else to the wing in order to accommodate him.
Calum Ritchie of the New York Islanders scores a goal as Luke Glendening of the New Jersey Devils tries to defend during the third period when the New York Islanders defeated the New Jersey on January 6, 2026 at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post
It’s not at all obvious which winger would sit either, at least as long as the fourth line of Marc Gatcomb, Cizikas and Kyle MacLean continues to play well.
Jonathan Drouin has gone a long period without scoring, but the Islanders clearly value the other aspects of his game enough that they are reluctant to make him a healthy scratch.
Depending how circumstances shake out when Ritchie is ready to come back, it wouldn’t be a shock if the Islanders ended up sending him back to AHL Bridgeport to avoid a situation where the 21-year-old is not getting playing time.
Cizikas was back in the lineup after missing Thursday’s win at the Rangers with illness.
Jonathan Drouin was a late scratch with illness.
That allowed Max Shabanov to stay in the lineup after skating as an extra in the morning.
Since Carson Soucy was traded to the Islanders, he’s taken the bulk of Matthew Schaefer’s penalty kill minutes.
Though the Islanders don’t have a hard target for Schaefer’s minutes, which average 24:02 per night, and Roy certainly has not hesitated to use him extensively, the head coach acknowledged that it would be a positive to lighten his workload on the PK.
“He’s 18 years old, playing over 25, 27 minutes. At some point it might affect his play,” Roy said. “It’s nice for him to come straight to his five-on-five, the power play.”
It has been years since the Buffalo Sabres were in a playoff conversation. Yes, there have been a few times in the last 15 years that they have come close…
The Seattle Kraken will take on the Vegas Golden Knights on the road as they begin a road trip.
The Kraken have three games before the Olympic break, all of which are on the road.
The Kraken enter tonight’s game as winners of three straight, defeating the New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tonight, they’ll put their 11-10-4 road record to the test against a Golden Knights team with a 12-7-7 home record.
The Golden Knights enter tonight’s game as losers of three straight, suffering a 7-1 defeat to the Ottawa Senators, before an overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens, and a 5-4 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars.
The Golden Knights currently hold the lead in the Pacific Division based on points percentage, as they are tied with the Edmonton Oilers at 64 points. The Kraken own third place in the Division based on points percentage, tied with the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings with 59 points and one point ahead of the San Jose Sharks.
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.
