Saturday night’s matchup between the Ottawa Senators and the visiting New Jersey Devils is a game that neither team can afford to lose.

New Jersey enters the game nine points back of the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot, while the Senators sit 10 points out. It’s not where either club expected to be on the final day of January, and Saturday's loser will almost lose sight of the playoff leaders completely.

Ottawa comes in riding momentum after two of its most complete performances of the season, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche by a combined score of 12–3.

Linus Ullmark was the backup goalie, so he wasn't a direct factor in either win. But the team was pleased to see him return from his month-long personal leave of absence. Six days after returning to the lineup, Ullmark is expected to play his first game since December 27, when he was pulled during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Senators will also welcome back forward Stephen Halliday after he missed Wednesday’s win over Colorado with an upper-body injury. Halliday was in the midst of his strongest NHL performance to date last Sunday against Vegas, recording two goals and an assist, before suffering the injury. To make room for Halliday’s return, Ottawa has reassigned Xavier Bourgault to the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

Ridly Greig, who missed Friday’s practice, is expected to be available for Saturday’s game.

Senators projected lineup (Subject to change)

Drake Batherson — Tim Stützle — Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk — Dylan Cozens — Ridly Greig
Nick Cousins — Shane Pinto — Michael Amadio
Stephen Halliday — Lars Eller — Fabian Zetterlund

Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot — Jordan Spence
Tyler Kleven — Nick Jensen

Linus Ullmark
James Reimer

Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid, Nikolas Matinpalo Injured: David Perron (sports hernia)

Status report

While the Senators are close to full health, the Devils may be without at least one, and possibly both, of their top two centres. Jack Hughes will miss the game with a lower-body injury, though head coach Sheldon Keefe described the issue as “not serious.”

Fellow centre Nico Hischier is under the weather and will be a game-time decision. Forward Cody Glass is expected to return after missing Thursday’s game against Nashville.

Devils projected lineup (Subject to change)

Timo Meier — Dawson Mercer — Jesper Bratt
Lenni Hämeenaho — Cody Glass — Arseny Gritsyuk
Evgenii Dadonov — Paul Cotter — Conor Brown
Maxim Tsyplakov — Luke Glendening — Juho Lammikko

Brett Pesce — Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon — Simon Nemec
onas Siegenthaler — Jonathan Kovacevic

Jake Allen
Jacob Markstrom

Scratched: Colton White Injured: Luke Hughes (shoulder), Zack MacEwen (ACL), Stefan Noesen (knee), Jack Hughes (lower body), Nico Hischier (illness)

Seattle Kraken rookie Berkly Catton will miss the final three games before the Olympic break. 

The 20-year-old was on the receiving end of a head-to-hip collision on Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He left the game after skating in just 3:12 of ice time.

Earlier today, via the Kraken’s PR on X, the team announced that he will miss the final three games with what has been deemed an upper-body injury. The Kraken have not clarified whether the injury he sustained was to the head or neck. 

Either way, Catton won’t see game action until at least Feb. 25 when the Kraken return from the break to take on the Dallas Stars.

The former 2024 eighth overall pick has notched five goals and 11 points in 40 games this season. 

The Kraken have three vital games before the Olympics begin. The Kraken will be on the road for all three games, taking on the Vegas Golden Knights tonight before important playoff seeding battles against the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings. 

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After an ugly loss to the Sabres, the Kings (23-17-13) bounced back with a hard-fought road performance with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers (24-20-10) on Saturday, with a clutch winner from Quinton Byfield. 

Critical Call Dooms Kings To 4-1 Loss Against The Buffalo SabresOne overturned call was the deciding factor in tonight's game, as the Kings were left chasing a 4- 1 loss to the Sabres.

After building an early two-goal cushion in the first period, the Kings held on despite a Flyers push before sealing the game in an extra period. 

TWO POINTS pic.twitter.com/GJIi5McAPu

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 31, 2026

Kempe Strikes Twice In Opening Period

The Kings came out flying, establishing offensive pressure early and capitlzing on the Flyers early mistakes. Adrian Kempe opened the scoring midway through the first period, finishing off the nice feed from Alex Laferriere and Corey Perry, giving LA the early 1-0 lead. 

Just over three minutes later, Kempe struck again, this time off a setup from Perry, burying the quick-release shot from the slot. The Kings dominated possession in the early frame, outshooting the Flyers and keeping Philadelphia from generating offensive pressure. 

Darcy Kuemper was sharp in the early frame, turning aside several shots as the Kings took a 2-0 lead into the second period. 

FEELING EXTRA JUICY TODAY pic.twitter.com/2ieOnVuiDG

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 31, 2026

Flyers respond with Second-Period Push

Philadelphia came out with urgency in the second and cut the deficit just 39 seconds into the frame. Trevor Zegras finished off a crisp passing sequence, beating off Kuemper to make it 2-1 and swing momentum toward the home side. 

The Flyers controlled long stretches of the period, generating pressure off the forecheck and forcing the Kings into extended defensive zone shifts. 

Despite scoring early in the period, the Flyers had only one goal in the second, and Los Angeles entered the third ahead by one, but the momentum had clearly shifted. 

Flyers tie it

Early in the third, Philadelphia capitalized on a Los Angeles turnover and tied the game 2-2. Travis Konecny snapped a shot past Kuemper just 25 seconds into the period, bringing the Wells Fargo Center crowd to life and setting the stage for a tense finish. 

From then on, both teams traded chances in a fast, physical third period, generating quality looks, but the Flyers' goaltender, Dan Vladar, anchored down in the crease, and neither team could score. 

Byfield Delivers in Overtime

Overtime featured end-to-end action, with both teams looking to steal this game. Philadelphia nearly ended it when Konecny rang a shot off the post, but the Kings survived and countered. 

Byfield finished with the overtime winner, skating on the right side off the ice to beat off the Flyers' goaltender and score the dagger to escape with a much-needed win to get Los Angeles back in the win column.

"I was thinking shot all the way."

Good mindset from QB in that situation as he buried the game-winner.

Jim Hiller pointed to seeing that mentality more of late & the quality in his shot when he rips it.

"Just really good shots. Nice finish, nice goal. Shoot the puck, kid!" https://t.co/0Ka3i0HruG

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) January 31, 2026

Key player stats 

Adrian Kempe led the way with two goals and three points, continuing his strong stretch and extending his point streak to six games. Byfield finished with the overtime winner, while Perry chipped in two assists ina strong playmaking performance.

Kuemper had a solid game, stopping 19 of 21 shots to earn the win. Despite giving up those two goals very early in the second and third periods, he still came up big in the clutch. 

Kopitar returned today for the first time since Jan. 5, when he exited the game against the Minnesota Wild with an upper-body injury. In the 11 games, Kopitar missed, Los Angeles went 4-3-3 without him, clearly missing him, and tonight, though, despite coming back and playing 16 minutes on ice, he wasn't much of a factor. 

It was definitely some rust shown for Kopitar, finishing with just one shot on goal, and was a -1 on ice, so hopefully he gets back to his regular self at the end of the Kings road trip. 

The Kings will look to build on this overtime victory as they are now 3-1 on their six-game road trip and will continue it tomorrow afternoon against the Carolina Hurricanes at 12 P.M. PT. 

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The Detroit Red Wings discussed the importance of coming out strong against the high-flying Colorado Avalanche, who have been the NHL's best team thus far this season. 

Instead, the Avalanche broke out of a mini-funk by taking it to the Red Wings on the scoreboard. 

The Avalanche defeated the Red Wings by a 5-0 score, tallying twice in each of the first two periods before adding another in the final frame.

Final pic.twitter.com/R3dV5aTAxz

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 31, 2026

The Red Wings have now dropped three straight games after having picked up five of six points during their recent three-game road swing. 

As time ticked away in regulation, only a few thousand fans hadn't already gotten a head start on the traffic after watching a downer of a contest, and they let their frustrations be known with some noticeable booing. 

Detroit had a chance to take an early 1-0 lead when leading goal-scorer Alex DeBrincat broke in on a two-on-one opportunity, but sailed a shot over the net. 

Just minutes later, Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns, who is the oldest player in the NHL, rushed down the right wing and roofed a shot past the glove of John Gibson, breaking the ice. 

Colorado soon increased their lead at the midway point of the frame after superstar forward Nathan MacKinnon beat Gibson on a screened shot from the slot.

Not long after the second period began, a missed defensive assignment left Ross Colton all alone in front of Gibson, and he scored a slam-dunk–style goal off a feed from behind the net by Brock Nelson, extending Colorado’s lead to 3–0.

MacKinnon scored again later in the period following a turnover in front of Gibson. Left alone at the side of the net, he took a feed from Artturi Lehkonen and had a wide-open goal to fire at, and he made no mistake. 

After making 13 saves, Gibson was replaced for the third period by Cam Talbot, who allowed Parker Kelly to bang home his own rebound for Colorado’s fifth goal.

Colorado's MacKenzie Blackwood made 28 saves for his third shutout of the season. 

The Red Wings and Avalanche will face one another again on Monday evening, this time at Ball Arena in Denver. 
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.  

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After losing their last two losses against the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, the Colorado Avalanche got back in the win column against the Detroit Red Wings today, by a final score of 5-0. Mackenzie Blackwood earned a 28-save shutout and Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals to put him at 40 on the season.

Let’s take a look at the action from this afternoon!

First Period

The Avs would score first, and they would be the only team to score in this game, for that matter. Brent Burns would be the one to get the scoring going, as Nathan MacKinnon would find him with a great pass as Burns went flying into the zone down the wing, and Burns picked his spot against John Gibson, making it 1-0.

After that, Colorado wouldn’t slow down for the rest of the game, as MacKinnon would get his first goal of the afternoon, by putting a puck on net from the top of the zone, and Gibson was never able to pick it up through traffic.

Second Period

Ross Colton would score his second goal in as many games next, as Brock Nelson was able to find him all alone in front of the Detroit net with a phenomal pass to set Colton up for a tap-in goal.

MacKinnon would score his second of the afternoon next, as Detroit would turn the puck over in their own zone to Artturi Lehkonen, and Lehkonen found MacKinnon with a great pass, and MacKinnon put a one-timer past Gibson for his 40th on the season and to make it 4-0 Colorado after two periods.

Third Period

Parker Kelly would add another goal in the third period to make it 5-0, as he was able to walk down right in front of the Detroit net, and had the patience to outwait Gibson, and score his 12th goal of the year. The Avs only needed 21 shots on goal to earn a 5-0 win in Detroit.

Takeaways

Safe to say that looked more like Colorado Avalanche hockey, especially when compared to the last two games against the Senators and Canadiens. The Avs definitely had more jump today, and it certainly showed in the final score. It was really nice to see players from all over the lineup contribute, as both your top players and depth guys managed to get on the scoresheet this afternoon. It was also awesome to see Ross Colton score a goal for the second game in a row, especially with how much he’s struggled to score as of late. Colorado will get to see Detroit once again in a couple of days, and the Red Wings likely will want some revenge for being shut out in their home arena. Hopefully, the Avs can withstand that and sweep the regular-season series against Detroit on Monday.

Upcoming

The Red Wings visit Denver on Monday for the conclusion of the home-and-home as well as the regular-season series between the Avs and Wings. Puck drop will be at 7:00 p.m. MT.

The Philadelphia Flyers still do not appear to have a clear or cohesive plan when it comes to utilizing Matvei Michkov and harnessing his talents.

Michkov, 21, has seen his sporadic offensive production come in spurts this season. The Russian phenom scored against Boston on Thursday night and racked up two goals and an assist against Colorado on Jan. 23, but for all his skills, still sits at 28 points on the season.

In Thursday's game against Boston, one where the Flyers trailed for all but the first 9:49, Michkov received just 12:49 of ice time--the least of any Flyers player besides Nick Deslauriers (12:12).

In the Flyers' very next game against Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, Michkov played a season-low 10:21, still ahead of only Deslauriers (10:21) and Garnet Hathaway (9:02).

To spell it out, the Flyers are using their 2023 No. 7 overall draft pick like a fourth-liner and continue to pay the price offensively.

With Trevor Zegras going cold for much of the last month, Travis Konecny has been the sole consistent proprietor of offense for a team spinning its wheels and tumbling out of the playoff picture.

The Flyers are just 2-6-2 in their last 10 games and now find themselves seven points back of third in the Metropolitan Division and nine points back of the second wildcard spot; either of which would get them to the postseason.

NHL Rumors: Flyers Have Target To Consider In Canucks ForwardThe Flyers could use another bottom-six center and should consider targeting this Canucks forward because of it.

The reality is that the Flyers are 21st in the NHL in goals per game (2.91) and 22nd in goals against per game (3.2).

Benching Michkov or limiting his ice time to play a more responsible and detailed game isn't working for the team or player, and we're about to be in February, here.

An argument can be made as to whether the Flyers coaches are having Michkov return to the bench early, or if the 21-year-old is doing that on his own accord, since the shift totals are generally not too far off from those of his teammates who double as penalty killers.

Either way, isn't that bad? That the coaching staff either wants Michkov to keep his shifts short, or Michkov himself is either actively avoiding the possibility of making a mistake or doesn't feel he can make a difference?

The state of Michkov's athletic conditioning has been a point of contention, well, training camp, but as I said above, it's about to be February. He's not a fast skater anyway, and his entire game is built on making dexterous plays in small areas or in open space.

Bailey: The Flyers Still Have No IdentityThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> went from rebuilder to playoff dark horse... or so they thought, and now the team and its loyal but increasingly impatient fans are paying the price.

It would be hard to believe that his conditioning is so poor that his average 5-on-5 shift length against Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon was 31 seconds, according to Natural Stat Trick, which was comfortably lower than virtually every other Flyers forward.

Sean Couturier, who is not a world-renowned skater, averaged a 47-second shift at 5-on-5, second only to Travis Konecny's 48-second average.

Regardless of which of the three points above is the most accurate or believable, Michkov has objectively regressed in a season where the Flyers had much greater aspirations, both on a player development level and on the team level.

The best use of the remaining three months of the season would be remedying the worsening issues at hand while developing a plan to start over in the offseason.

The Buffalo Sabres take on the Montreal Canadiens for the final time this season on Saturday. Both clubs are tied for third place in the Atlantic Division with 67 points and Buffalo has won the last two meetings against the Habs, after losing at the Bell Centre in October. The Sabres have two games in hand on second-place Detroit and hope to move within one point of the Wings, who lost to the Colorado Avalanche Saturday afternoon. 

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff spoke to the media following the morning skate Saturday morning and provided updates on injured defenseman Jacob Bryson and winger Jordan Greenway. Bryson suffered. Bryson suffered an upper-body injury in Montreal last week and was placed on injured reserve, but took to the ice and is considered day-to-day. 

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Greenway, who has struggled with the lingering effects of a mid-body injury that was surgically repaired last offseason, has not played since the contest at the Bell Centre on January 22nd. Earlier this week, Ruff had indicated that the injury is not preventing the big forward from skating, but that he would likely be undergoing further medical evaluation. 

Alex Lyon, who set a club record with his 10th consecutive victory against Los Angeles on Thursday, occupied the home net at the morning skate and is expected to start, while Jakub Dobes is the likely starter for Montreal. 

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