Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas continue to pile on the points. MacKinnon scored two goals and Necas chipped in three assists in the Avalanche’s 3-2 overtime win over the Rangers. Necas has eight points over his last four games, pulling into the top 5 in scoring. Meanwhile, MacKinnon continues to add to his lead in the scoring race with 48 points – 24 each of goals and assists.
With the Avalanche dominating the league, their star players are already posting staggering plus/minus totals. The following four Colorado players lead the league in plus/minus as of Saturday afternoon:
MacKinnon: +35
Necas: +27
Cale Makar: +26
Artturi Lehkonen: +25
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The Columbus/Florida game resulted in 13 total goals, with the Panthers coming out on top 7-6 in overtime after trailing 4-1 at one point during the second period. Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand each scored a goal while adding three assists in the win, with Bennett scoring the overtime winner.
Bennett seemed to be dealing with some kind of Stanley Cup hangover early on with just five points in his first 18 games of the season. However, he has found his game since then with 12 points in his last nine games. Put it all together and Bennett is back on track for his usual pace of between 50-55 points.
As for Marchand, he finished the game with 10 shots. The Panthers probably envisioned him as a trade deadline rental last season with any time beyond a bonus. However, not only was Marchand re-signed, but he has also been a vital part of the Panthers this season, leading the injury-riddled squad with 16 goals and 31 points.
Marchand was up to his old antics during overtime. If you’re the Blue Jackets, do you get mad or do you simply laugh?
Carter Verhaeghe finished the game with two goals and an assist, which gives him 10 points in his last five games. Like numerous other Panthers, he had an underwhelming start to the season with just two goals and 10 points in his first 21 games. Yes, he is back on the top power play, which has a lot to do with the injuries to Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.
Is Sergei Bobrovsky due for more nights off after three seasons of Stanley Cup Final runs? Over his last seven games, Bob has a 3.65 GAA and .859 SV%, which includes four really bad starts compared to just two quality starts. Daniil Tarasov has had slightly better numbers than Bobrovsky in less than half as many starts, so a case could be made for more work for Tarasov. Still, expect the Panthers to lean heavily on the $10 million goalie as they attempt to move back above the playoff bar.
By allowing seven goals (but on 40 shots) on Saturday, Elvis Merzlikins now has back-to-back really bad starts. Jet Greaves has been the better of the two Columbus goalies and has played more this season, but for some reason Elvis has started three consecutive games. No goalie with as high a goals-against average as Merzlikins (3.87 GAA) has played in as many games (12). Start him at your own risk.
Isac Lundestrom, Cole Sillinger, Dmitri Voronkov, and Miles Wood each had a goal and an assist for Columbus. Only six skaters were held without a point for the Jackets, but among them were Kent Johnson and Sean Monahan. Johnson snapped a 10-game point drought in his last game, but he now has just one point in his last 12 games.
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Logan Cooley was a late scratch for Saturday’s game in Calgary with a lower-body injury. Cooley crashed into the net during the third period of Friday’s game in Vancouver, but he was able to quickly return to the game. You may also recall that Cooley also left last Saturday’s game after a knee-on-knee hit, so these two incidents may both be related to what is sidelining him.
The Cooley-less Mammoth were shut out 2-0 by the Flames. Dustin Wolf stopped all 27 shots he faced to pick up the win and shutout. Wolf now has back-to-back quality starts as the Flames are starting to play a bit better.
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This season has had at least its share of injuries, so outjuries are always nice. So I’m happy to say that Victor Hedman was back in the Lightning lineup on Saturday. Hedman and the Bolts were held scoreless by the Islanders, while he logged only 16 minutes of icetime and very little power-play time. That should help Darren Raddysh for the time being. With Hedman out of the lineup, Raddysh has quite simply gone off. Over his last 11 games, Raddysh has piled up 15 points, including five power-play points. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s enough for Raddysh to remain on the top power play for a while longer.
For every outjury, there has to be at least two more injuries, right? I’ve got two more to report here. Unfortunately, Nikita Kucherov missed this game with an undisclosed day-to-day issue. Andrei Vasilevskiy also did not dress for the second consecutive game with what is also being described as an undisclosed injury.
Ilya Sorokin backstopped the Isles with a 32-save shutout. After a disappointing start to the season, Sorokin is playing more to his potential. He has three wins and three quality starts this week while facing a minimum of 30 shots in each game.
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The Blues/Senators section has… more injuries. Jordan Kyrou left in the first period with a lower-body injury resulting from a hit from Stephen Halliday. After the game, coach Jim Montgomery said that Kyrou is day-to-day but he will still need an MRI for a full diagnosis. The Blues play again today (Sunday), so you may need to look for a replacement option for your end-of-week push.
For the Sens, Shane Pinto is expected to miss at least two weeks with a lower-body injury. Pinto was injured in Thursday’s game against the Rangers.
Joel Hofer stopped 41 of 42 shots he faced in the 2-1 win for the Blues. Despite the strong effort on Saturday, Hofer has just four wins in 14 games this season.
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Joseph Woll is expected to be out at least one week with a lower-body injury. With Anthony Stolarz also sidelined, Dennis Hildeby is currently the starting goalie for the Leafs. Hildeby was solid in allowing just one goal on 34 shots on Saturday, but the Leafs fell 2-1 in a shootout to Montreal. Hildeby’s NHL track record is limited, but he is worth adding if you are in desperate need of a goalie for next week.
Scott Laughton‘s goal got the Leaf faithful fired up.
You may not think about Troy Stecher at all and may even be surprised to hear he’s still in the league. However, with the injuries to Brandon Carlo and Chris Tanev on the right side of the Leafs’ defense, recent waiver-wire claim Stecher has logged 23-24 minutes per game over the past four games. Stecher also has four points over his last five games. Maybe that seems most relevant for a category like blocked shots, but Stecher is also a plus-9 over those four games with the increased icetime. I’m just happy that the undersized yet hard-working Stecher has found new life in Toronto.
With a goal against the Leafs, Cole Caufield extended his point streak to 10 games. Over that span, Caufield has 12 points.
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Yes, Morgan Geekie scored again. Geekie scored his 22nd of the season in the Bruins’ 4-1 win over New Jersey. David Pastrnak has now been sidelined for five consecutive games, but that is not affecting Geekie at all. Geekie has scored five goals and picked up four assists over those five games. Geekie is currently second in the league in goals, only behind MacKinnon. Surprise player of the season?
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Jackson Blake scored a pair of goals and added an assist with five shots on goal in the Hurricanes’ 6-3 win over Nashville. Blake snapped a six-game stretch without a point with the three-point game. Blake is on a scoring line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Logan Stankoven, and he is also on the top power play, so he is in a good spot to stay away from further slumps.
Ehlers scored a goal while adding two assists in this game.
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Darcy Kuemper turned away all 23 shots he faced in the Kings’ 6-0 win over Chicago. Kuemper has asserted himself as a reliable goalie again this season with 60% of his starts turning out to be quality starts with only 15% being really bad starts. He has been particularly strong recently with quality starts in six of his past seven games.
Brandt Clarke secured the first multigoal game of his career with a pair of goals on Saturday.
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Elias Pettersson was absent from the Canucks’ lineup on Saturday with an upper-body injury. After the game, coach Adam Foote said that Pettersson felt banged up on Saturday morning, then tested the injury in warmups before deciding he couldn’t play. Pettersson will receive an MRI on Sunday, but consider him day-to-day for now.
With Pettersson out of the lineup, the cupboard was almost completely bare for the Canucks at the center position. Almost. Earlier this week, Dobber mentioned that the Canucks should try Aatu Raty as a second-line center (which I agree with, because David Kampf seems devoid of scoring ability). Because of the Pettersson injury, the Canucks were pretty well forced to place Raty in the top 6 on Saturday, which Raty took full advantage of with two goals and an assist. Raty now has a three-game point streak with five points over that span. He is worth a look in deeper leagues while Petey is out.
This stat is great for Raty but not great at all for the Canucks.
with his 3 points tonight, Aatu Räty has joined Filip Hronek for #Canucks lead in 5-on-5 points this season with 11
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) December 7, 2025
Also for the Canucks, Tom Willander scored his first NHL goal while adding an assist with a plus-3. Willander is currently on a 35-point pace in his rookie season despite averaging less than 14 minutes per game. If Quinn Hughes leaves Vancouver either this season or next as the trade rumors swirl, 2023 first-round pick Willander will be counted on a whole lot more to pick up the slack.
Nikita Tolopilo stopped 28 of 30 shots in earning a win over the Wild. With Thatcher Demko out, Kevin Lankinen has struggled with the increased workload, which shows in the fact that he has won just four times in 16 games this season. Although Thatcher Demko might be ready to return as early as Thursday, Tolopilo could be in line to start Monday’s game against Detroit following this quality start. However, he will likely be returned to the AHL once Demko returns.
In allowing four goals on 20 shots to the Canucks, Jesper Wallstedt‘s run of seven consecutive quality starts came to an end. The Wall of St. Paul had not allowed at least four goals in a game since October 26.
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The Oilers have been one of the league’s most disappointing teams, but at least they are finding their groove offensively. Following a 9-4 win against Seattle on Thursday, the Oils achieved a 6-2 win over Winnipeg for 15 goals over the past two games. Evan Bouchard, Leon Draisaitl, and Connor McDavid each had two points on Saturday. The offense was spread out amongst the rest of the team in this game, as only five skaters failed to register a point.
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