Tristin McKinstry Articles - Page 54

The Vegas Golden Knights opened their 2023-24 season with a victory over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night. However, there were a few things that didn’t go exactly how they wanted. One example involves forward Brett Howden, who received a match penalty for a hit to the head on Kraken forward Brandon Tanev. Now, the […]

There is no NHL division more difficult to compete in than the Atlantic Division. Some of the game’s brightest stars and best teams call the Atlantic home. You have Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs. There’s the loaded Tampa Bay Lightning. You have the defending Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers, as well. If you […]

The Chicago Blackhawks emerged victorious Tuesday night despite not having the greatest start to the game. Chicago picked up a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins thanks to a three-goal third period. It also gave prized prospect Connor Bedard a win in his highly anticipated NHL debut. After the game, Bedard had rather mixed emotions. […]

The Pittsburgh Penguins began their season opener on the right foot. Bryan Rust scored the first goal of the season on a feed from Kris Letang in the first period. In the second, Sidney Crosby extended their lead to two, taking advantage of an out-of-position Petr Mrazek. They allowed a late-period goal to the Chicago […]

Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard made his highly anticipated NHL debut Tuesday night. And it didn’t take him too long to record his first career point in the league. Bedard assisted on Ryan Donato’s first goal as a Blackhawk to pull Chicago within one goal of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second period. it's not […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning began their 2023-24 NHL season on the right foot Tuesday night. Tampa Bay played host to the Nashville Predators and skated away with a 5-3 victory. The Lightning rode a two-goal, three-point performance from forward Nick Paul to their first win of the new campaign. Following the game, Paul’s performance drew […]

Throughout the summer, we all heard rumors that the Winnipeg Jets would see some changes with their roster. And to an extent, we saw some of that. Blake Wheeler left the team after his buyout, and joined the New York Rangers. However, the focus was on two players: forward Mark Scheifele and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. […]

Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh knew ahead of time what Tuesday’s season-opening game meant. For the first time since his July 2022 trade, the veteran blueliner would play a regular season game in Tampa Bay not as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Rather, he’d suit up in the visitor’s locker room for a […]

Reilly Smith had a rather bittersweet 2023. Over the summer, his hard work paid off as his Vegas Golden Knights hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time. As part of the “Golden Misfits,” it was certainly a special moment for the veteran forward. However, later in the summer, he was traded to the Pittsburgh […]

The Buffalo Sabres know Zach Benson has the potential to be very special. After all, that’s why they made him the 13th overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft. However, they may not have expected the 18-year-old to be this good this soon. Benson’s training camp performances earned him a spot on the Sabres’ opening […]

The Detroit Red Wings begin their 2023 NHL season this coming Thursday on the road. They’ll travel to face the New Jersey Devils in a game between two clubs looking to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, the Red Wings won’t have a full roster for that game. Instead of carrying 23 players, Detroit has […]

The St. Louis Blues enter the 2023-24 NHL season with something to prove. Last season, the team missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It marked just the second time since 2011-12 that the team failed to qualify for the playoffs. And it was the first time since the team took down the Boston Bruins in 2019 […]

The Ottawa Senators begin their 2023-24 NHL season on Wednesday. Ottawa travels to North Carolina for a date with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Senators have their eyes on making the Stanley Cup Playoffs this upcoming season. But they will begin the hunt for playoff hockey without forward Josh Norris. Norris is out indefinitely with a […]

The Minnesota Wild are entering the 2023-24 NHL season with one less item on their to-do list. Minnesota and forward Ryan Hartman agreed to a new three-year contract extension on Saturday, the team announced. The contract is worth a total of $12 million. It also includes a full no-movement clause for this season and 2024-25. […]

The Seattle Kraken open their season Tuesday night in Las Vegas. They will take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights as they raise their championship banner. However, Seattle will play this game without 2022 fourth-overall pick Shane Wright. The Kraken sent Wright down to the American Hockey League, the team confirmed on […]

The Vegas Golden Knights head into the 2023-24 season with a target on their back. Vegas won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, defeating the Florida Panthers in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. Now, they have to defend that title from 31 teams with every incentive to take it from them. But this is […]

The Vancouver Canucks have a rather promising core of players in place. A foundation led by defenseman Quinn Hughes and forward Elias Pettersson is one most teams would envy. Unfortunately, the Canucks just haven’t had much success with this foundation. Take last season, for example. Vancouver got off to a horrible start, and eventually fired […]

The Nashville Predators did not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. This failure certainly did not sit well with the front office. More specifically, it did not sit well with Barry Trotz. Trotz, the first head coach in franchise history, is now the team’s general manager. The 2018 Stanley Cup champion set out to […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the NHL’s model organization as of now. Last year’s first-round exit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs doesn’t change that. Tampa made it to three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Cup twice in 2020 and 2021. They are the team that all […]

The Washington Capitals took a step back last season. Washington uncharacteristically found themselves outside of the playoffs around the NHL trade deadline. And to their credit, they didn’t try to force a playoff push. The Capitals sold at the deadline, picking up assets that will help them compete down the line. Don’t misconstrue their actions, […]

The Minnesota Wild have an incredibly talented team. Now, this is nothing new. The Wild have had talented teams in the past. And like all those past teams, Minnesota failed to capitalize on that talent in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Perhaps they were on the receiving end of questionable officiating. But the fact remains that, […]

The Buffalo Sabres were one of the more impressive teams in the NHL last season. Buffalo was easily the most impressive team to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After years of failing to take that proverbial next step, the Sabres finally put together a season to be proud of. Buffalo missed the playoffs by just […]

The Montreal Canadiens are working through a rebuild as the 2023-24 NHL season approaches. This became all too apparent last season when four rookies found themselves on the opening night roster. But it’s also seen in the types of moves they’ve made in the last two offseasons. At the 2022 NHL Draft, the Canadiens made […]

The Anaheim Ducks entered last season hoping they could push for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And it’s hard to blame them for having those expectations for themselves. Anaheim finished the 2021-22 season with 76 points. With a core led by Trevor Zegras and breakout star Troy Terry, it made sense that the playoffs would be […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets have had some rough times recently. Last season saw them absolutely crater and finish in the bottom half of the league. This is in spite of their marquee signing of Johnny Gaudreau in NHL Free Agency. Unfortunately, things haven’t gotten off to the greatest start this summer given the Mike Babcock […]

The Los Angeles Kings have experienced disappointment in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last two seasons. Not only that, but it’s essentially been the same song and dance for them. They take on Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in the first round. And after a hard-fought series, they just can’t overcome […]

The San Jose Sharks are long past the days of competing for the Stanley Cup. We saw this well before they finished seventh in the Pacific Division last season. San Jose is in the midst of what could be a long rebuild, and it may be hard for their fans to see the light at […]

The Philadelphia Flyers are in a bit of a transition period. Not necessarily in their roster-building philosophy, as the team is continuing their rebuilding process. But they are in a transition period in their front office. Former Flyers star Daniel Briere is now the team’s new general manager. And he made quite the first impression […]

The Winnipeg Jets are sporting a bit of a new look this upcoming season. I’m not even talking about the new jersey they unveiled recently, either. Winnipeg underwent some roster changes over the summer. New faces are coming to play prominent roles, while old faces are headed for greener pastures. It’s hard to project just […]

The Colorado Avalanche finally found themselves atop the hockey world in the summer of 2022. After years of coming close to the Stanley Cup Final, they managed to punch their ticket. What’s more, they managed to take down a Tampa Bay Lightning team gunning for their third Stanley Cup in a row. Many expected the […]

You’d be hard-pressed to find a team in the NHL with worse luck over the last few years than the Arizona Coyotes. And honestly, this isn’t even strictly about their on-ice performances. Many teams have had poor luck on the ice, especially in big moments. The Coyotes, however, can’t escape their bad luck no matter […]

The Seattle Kraken had quite the sophomore season as an NHL franchise. They surprised many around the game of hockey en route to securing their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And the surprises didn’t end there, as the Kraken came within one game of advancing to the Western Conference Final. This summer, Seattle […]

The New Jersey Devils broke out last season, emerging as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. Unfortunately, they didn’t get a chance to directly compete for the Cup. Their playoff season ended in round two against the Carolina Hurricanes. But the Devils showed that they are a force to be reckoned with moving forward. New Jersey […]

The Pittsburgh Penguins had two options after missing the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. First, the team could blow it up and begin a rebuild. This would mean trading two franchise icons in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Their second option, however, was to put their faith in Crosby and Malkin to […]

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the more interesting teams to preview ahead of the 2023-24 NHL season. Detroit certainly improved this offseason and was one of the more active teams in NHL Free Agency this summer. However, it’s still up in the air just how much the team improved given the moves they […]

Last season, the Columbus Blue Jackets ran a bit of an experiment after losing center Sean Kuraly to injury. At the request of star sniper Patrik Laine, Columbus allowed the natural winger to play down the middle for two games. It seemed to work as the Finnish forward recorded four assists in two games. However, […]

The St. Louis Blues nearly traded veteran defenseman Torey Krug to the Philadelphia Flyers. It was a deal that would’ve shaken up the roster a bit, with defenseman Travis Sanheim and center Kevin Hayes due to come back the other way. In the end, Krug vetoed the trade through the use of his no-trade clause. […]

The Edmonton Oilers have the two best players in the world in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. However, that could soon change. Draisaitl hits the open market in 2025, and McDavid will follow suit in 2026. As a result, the pressure for the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup sooner rather than later is nearing […]

The Chicago Blackhawks will begin their slate of preseason games on Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues. This game will give us the first glimpse of this Chicago squad without Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. And it’ll give us our first glimpse of the player tabbed with replacing them, Connor Bedard. Bedard has been […]