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GAME RECAPS (PRESEASON EDITION)
NHL.COM: The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 in split-squad action for the Wings. Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday. Joel Blomqvist stopped 20 of 21 shots for the Penguins.
An overtime goal by Konsta Helenius gave the Buffalo Sabres a 4-3 victory over the Red Wings in split-squad action.
New Jersey Devils goaltender Jeremy Brodeur made 29 saves in a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers. Brodeur is the son of Hall-of-Fame netminder Martin Brodeur.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Before this game, the Rangers announced that forward Jimmy Vesey is expected to be sidelined for several weeks with a lower-body injury suffered during practice on Sunday.
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid collected two assists as his club nipped the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a shootout.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Oilers released winger Mike Hoffman from his professional tryout offer (PTO) earlier in the day. He had a goal and four points in four preseason contests. Meanwhile, the Canucks released forward Sammy Blais from his PTO contract.
The New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 as Kyle Palmieri scored the tiebreaker with 51 seconds remaining in the third period.
Pierre-Luc Dubois scored his first preseason goal with the Washington Capitals in a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Dubois and Tom Wilson each had a goal and an assist and Logan Thompson turned aside 24 shots for the Capitals.
The Tampa Bay Lightning got a 26-save performance by goalie Jonas Johansson to beat the Florida Panthers 3-1.
An overtime goal by Nazem Kadri lifted the Calgary Flames to a 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken. Tyson Barrie had two assists and Dan Vladar kicked out 30 shots for the Flames.
Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper turned in a 23-save shutout to blank the Anaheim Ducks 4-0. Tanner Jeannot and Akil Thomas each had a goal and an assist.
HEADLINES
TSN: The Montreal Canadiens were still awaiting word on Monday of the severity of the lower-body injuries Patrik Laine and David Reinbacher suffered during Saturday’s preseason game against Toronto.
Laine was injured following a knee-on-knee collision with Maple Leafs forward Cedric Pare. Reinbacher left the same game in the opening seconds following a check from Leafs forward Marshall Rifai.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Laine watched practice on crutches from the Canadiens’ bench yesterday. The Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan reports hearing Laine could be sidelined for four-to-six months. There was no confirmation from the team. An update could be made on Tuesday.
DAILY FACEOFF: Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said Joonas Korpisalo will be the club’s starter for their season-opener on Oct. 8. The news comes amid the ongoing contract standoff between Bruins management and goalie Jeremy Swayman.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Swayman’s stalled negotiations got spicy yesterday when Bruins president Cam Neely seemed to reveal how much the club offered the 25-year-old netminder. I’ll have more details in today’s Rumor update.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: The NHL will honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau with helmet stickers displaying their uniform numbers worn by all NHL players starting with games on Friday and Saturday in Czechia during the league’s Global Series.
TAMPA BAY TIMES: Lightning captain Victor Hedman and his wife, Sanna, have pledged to donate $150, 000 to charities helping those affected by Hurricane Helene in the Tampa community.
OTTAWA SUN: The Senators released forward Nikolay Kulemin from his PTO contract.
Swayman hasn’t proven that he is worth an 8/64 contract imo. He looked great in last years playoffs but that was the first time that I thought he was capable of great play. A short term contract would make more sense, 2-3 years at 6-7 million per. This would mitigate Boston’s risk and after that if he proves he is one of the best in the league then he should get paid as such…
Imo, your proposal only benefits the Bruins. Why would Swayman agree to a short term deal, regardless of the dollar figures?
He may not have a choice if the Bruins stick to their guns and Korpisalo plays reasonably well.
Why would Boston agree to a short term deal??? That makes Swayman an UFA in what , 2 summers time???
That then definitely puts Swayman in the drivers seat of the next contract.
You’re assuming that Swayman will show that he is a top goalie in that short term deal and that is not a certainty.
Devils in Czechia. Utica and Wolfpack played in NJ last night. Guessing same for tonight when they go back to NY.
Gaudreau’s absence will be felt for a long time. Regardless of which team he played for, his passion and talent made him the face of hockey to many.
Yesterday Brian Wilde of Global TV was reporting that the injury may not be as serious as initially feared. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Howard,
Reports this morning saying Reinbacher is out 3 to 4 months with his knee & Laine is out 4 to 6 months with his knee.
For Laine, that will the most, if not the entire season.
Same old, same old for the Habs & major injury issues to key players over the past several years unfortunately.
The flip side, although it reduces the excitement surrounding the young Habs, is that it opens up opportunity for a Kapanen, Heineman or Roy to step up & seize this opportunity. With Dvorak, Armia, Pezzetta & Evans all UFAs next summer they are auditioning for at least a couple of open roster spots.
I wasn’t denying Cowan’s report I was just saying that Wilde was reporting differently. But with todays news that Reinbacher had knee surgery and will miss at least five months I’m not feeling confident that the news on Laine will be significantly better.
I see the Habs just recalled from Laval 2 of their bigger prospects in 6′ 217 lb LW Lucas Condotta and 6′ 2″ 203 lb left-shot F Luke Tuch – ostensibly to take the roster spots of Laine and Rafael Harver-Pinard, both on IR.
what does Mike Hoffman have to be thinking?… “So, I’m a point a game guy in 4 preseason contests, what were you looking for?’
This is EXACTLY what sprang to my mind when I read that. Like… what were the Oilers even looking for? How is 5 points in preseason a reason to release someone? If it’s money…. why sign him to the PTO at all?
Unless maybe there are a couple young guys that they think will be in the lineup after watching these games and that’s all they want? I am not a fan of Hoffman but I find that whole PTO to be weird.
What they are looking for is a guy who doesn’t cheat for points by not helping in his own end. Doing the vacuum vs battling for a puck.
I believe the term when I played was goal suck. The players know, “get that guy outta here, we have games to win”.
Probably taps his stick hard on the ice every time he thinks he’s open too. Give it to me! Give it to me!
Whatever, see ya Hoffman.
True enough Ray, and something else to consider that we don’t have easy access to … who was he playing against in those early pre-season games when line-ups, on some nights, resemble an AHL team? In the Buffalo-Ottawa game last week – with the main Buffalo roster in Europe getting ready to start the season on Oct 4, the roster of both teams had exactly 4 NHL roster players – all on the Ottawa side: MacEwen, Gregor, Pinto and Ullmark. I imagine it was no different in some of Edmonton’s games and you can bet the decision was made on the basis of Hoffman’s ice-time and who he was skating against.
@ Ray and George: I mean I totally see your point and I am NOT a Hoffman fan in the least, but I feel like Edmonton would have known all this about him already?
Seems like a waste of time. oh well… Hoffman will be in Europe soon I am sure.
That’s a fair point Saint, why bother.
Somebody to play minutes in camp and ex games
Similar thing with 38 y/o Nikolai Kulemin in Ottawa … brought in on a p.t.o. with little to no chance of making the team
The PTO in this case was offered either as a safety net should Lavoie or Podz not be up to snuff for a roster spot or as a favor to either player or agent. Hoffman showed well but it makes more sense to give spots to the younger players.
According to Swayman’s agent, a $68 mill contract was never discussed!!!
So the Bruins, it seems, are now trying to negotiate a contract through the media, with a player who felt he was disrespected by Bruins management last summer. That will likely not be received well,
It would seem this may backfire for both parties.
Good news for Senators fans … at least for now … is that both Artyem Zub and Josh Norris will suit up tonight in Montreal against the Habs.
Apparently Laine doesn’t need surgery, diagnosed with a sprained knee and expected to be out 2-3 months.
That’s good news … in the circumstances – so maybe by the end of December.
Actually, maybe anywhere from the end of November to the end of December. Hope everything goes well for him. I truly would love to see him blossom in Montreal.