Quick bit of player news before getting into tonight's games. Adrian Kempe and the Kings have locked in an eight-year extension worth 10.625M AAV.

Adrian Kempe and LA have agreed on an 8 year extension at an AAV of $10.625M

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 16, 2025

With the cap climbing over the next few years, contracts like this should not really surprise anyone. Still, it's worth noting that Adrian Kempe is 29 now, and this deal will not even kick in until he turns 30, running all the way through his age-38 season. He has not put together a full point-per-game year yet, unless you count this season's clean start, where he is right on pace with 19 points in 19 games. The league's economics are shifting fast and if you are a productive top-six forward heading into a contract year with the cap rising, you are likely going to cash in. Los Angeles knows what he is and what he brings, and this is just the price of keeping a core piece in-house.

–

Sunday night wrapped up the second game of the NHL's Global Series in Sweden, and if you did not even realize the league was playing across the Atlantic, you are not alone. The NHL somehow managed to turn what should have been a showcase event into background noise. It felt a lot like Frozen Frenzy all over again, the marketing never landed or it stated late, the buzz never built, and the whole thing came and went without any real sense of occasion. These are the moments the league should be leaning into, but instead it felt like the Global Series was happening in a vacuum. Alright, rant over. Let's get to the hockey.

Pittsburgh came out flying scoring three goals in the opening frame and Parker Wotherspoon got things started early, jumping on a loose puck with Erik Karlsson and Joona Koppanen involved in the buildup.

Evgeni Malkin continues his hot streak burying one and Sidney Crosby snapped home his 12th of the season not long after.

The Predators managed only a couple of shots in the first period, and the lack of push made the rest of the night pretty straightforward for the Penguins.

Nashville never really settled into this one. They looked decent in the first game of the Sweden trip, but the rematch exposed all the issues that have been hanging around their season. Falling behind early completely took the bite out of their game, and the power play going 0-for-4 did not help.

Nashville is near the bottom of the league in goals allowed and goals scored, and the finishers who are supposed to tilt games in their favor simply are not converting enough to cover for the defensive lapses. Add in special teams that do not move the needle, and you get a team that looks like it's stuck in between identities. They are not rebuilding, nor are they contending. It is a tough place to sit.

In just his second NHL start Sergei Murashov stopped all 21 shots he faced and looked calm the whole way through registering his first NHL career shutout.

Blake Lizotte added the empty netter late.

–

In game that looked like Tampa had it sealed with a 2-0 lead quickly turned into six unanswered goals from the Canucks of which three were scored in the span of 1 minute and 40 seconds.

The Canucks just scored 3 goals in under 2 minutes 🤯🚨 pic.twitter.com/vC4yhlrttB

📢 advertisement:

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 17, 2025

Quinn Hughes assisted on four of the Canucks six goals and carried the team to a much-needed wing.

Over five games played Hughes has 10 assists and is now pacing at 93 points for the season. He also  leads the league in ice time at just under 27 minutes a night, and he is second among all defensemen in power play usage with roughly 4.35 minutes per game. Only Cale Makar gets more time with the extra man. It is clear the Canucks run just about everything through Hughes.

Filip Hronek registered two assists on the night as did Elias Pettersson who is on a streak himself with six points (1G, 5A) over three games. If he keeps up his current pace, he is on track for a 70-point season. It's probably short of what most managers were hoping for, but still, if he maintains this level, it is shaping up to be a decent bounce-back year from previously only hitting 45 points in 64 games (58-point pace).

The only other player to registered a multi-point effort was Machenzie MacEachern with one goal and one assist.

Jake DeBrusk and Kiefer Sherwood both scored on the power play while Linus Karlsson, Drew O'Connor, where the other Canucks to contributed on the scoresheet, with Marcus Pettersson adding the empty-netter.

It's been a rough stretch for the Canucks this season. They are giving up chances all over the ice, the penalty kill has been one of the weakest in the league, and their overall structure gets shaky the moment they're stuck defending for more than a few seconds (not really, but really).

That said, they did manage to score twice on the power play against Tampa, and maybe that's something they can use as a momentum shift. Their outcomes mirror their habits, and it's those habits that need the overhaul. If they can build on this win, clean up the defending, it might actually serve as a spark for a better stretch ahead.

Nikita Kucherov scored the opening goal, and Jake Guentzel added a marker later giving them both their eighth goal on the season, but the Lightning couldn't maintain momentum once Vancouver's secondary scorers kicked in.

Jonas Johansson made just 12 saves, a number that reflects both Vancouver's offensive efficiency and Tampa's inability to sustain pressure.

Brayden Point ended a six-game pointless stretch with an assist on Kucherov's goal, but his production has been a noticeable step back from his usual pace. Through 18 games, he has 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points, projecting to roughly 46 over a full season. That's a far cry from the 40-plus goal seasons he's posted over the past three years – 42, 46, and 51 goals respectively.

You know Tampa Bay is in real trouble when Anthony Cirelli, sitting at seven goals, is just one shy of a three-way tie for the team lead in goals.

Brandon Hagel also chipped in an assist as did Darren Raddysh and Erik Cernak, registering assists on the Kucherov and Guentzel goals.

–

Kirill Kaprizov did what he does best, coming up big in the biggest moment. His overtime winner, a power-play goal, gave the Wild a 3‑2 win over the Golden Knights and marked their fourth victory in five games. The overtime marker was set up by Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello, with Zuccarello also assisting Joel Eriksson Ek's opening goal earlier in the game. Since returning from injury, Zuccarello has posted four points in five games.

RIGHT IN 97'S WHEELHOUSE pic.twitter.com/NomnJUiwj6

📢 advertisement:

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) November 17, 2025

Marcus Johansson continues to build on his hot start, adding another assist to bring his totals to seven goals and 10 assists through 20 games.

Yakov Trenin finally broke through for his first goal of the season with Danila Yurov and Marcus Foligno on the assists. Foligno also dished out seven hits and two blocks on the night

Filip Gustavsson was solid between the pipes, stopping 23 of 25 shots and posting a .920 save percentage, helping Minnesota hold off Vegas in a tight game.

For the Golden Knights, it's been a rough patch, dropping five of their last six.

Pavel Dorofeyev continues to carry the scoring load with his team-leading 11th goal, seven of them on the power play and assisted by Tomas Hertl and Mitch Marner.

Reilly Smith added another power-play goal in the third, assisted by Ivan Barbashev and Shea Theodore, while Carl Lindblom made 24 saves on 27 shots.

–

Detroit outshot the Rangers 42 to 19, carried most of the play, and dominated the faceoff circle with a win rate north of 60%.

Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond drove most of the dangerous looks, but the volume came from everywhere. Raymond posted seven shots on goal as did Patrick Kane and Dylan Larkin.

Raymond was the only Red Wings player to post a two-point effort with one goal which would be the eventual game winner and an assist. Larkin and Seider posted assist on this tally.

Lucas Raymond with the patience for the go-ahead goal 🐙 pic.twitter.com/GWqpXr5phX

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 17, 2025

Debrincat scored the other tally on the powerplay with help from the aforementioned Raymond and Patrick Kane.

Axel Sandin-Pellikka saw over 70.3% of the top powerplay minutes in the game, however he did not register a point. It was the most time he has seen on the man-advantaged all season. We know how solid of a defensemen Moritz Seider is however we also know what type of production we are getting from him and he has never hit over 50 points in a season even with top powerplay duties.  This may not mean anything just yet but something to monitor if we start seeing more of Sandin-Pellikka on the top power-play unit.

Mika Zibanejad scored the lone power play goal for the Rangers assisted by Artemi Panarin and Will Cuylle.

Looking at the Rangers' lineup, it's hard to ignore how muted the production has been. Not a single one of their big names is tracking toward a point-per-game pace right now. Panarin leads the way with 18 points and is sitting on a 74-point projection, which is well below what you would normally expect from him.

Right behind him is Adam Fox with 16 points through 20 games, and even he's pacing under his usual standard and then there's JT Miller, who's been stuck in neutral all year with just nine points to show for it. Four goals, five assists, and a pace that spits out a 37-point season. For a roster built around elite talent, the numbers tell a pretty clear story, the top end just is not driving the offense the way it should.

Jonathan Quick, however, had a fantastic game for the New York Rangers stopping 40 of 42 shots despite taking the loss in what was otherwise an off night for the offense.

In the final seconds, Mason Appleton fired one toward the empty net after the clock had already hit zero, and it set off a full-on scrum with Jonathan Quick charging off the bench looking to mix it up. Maybe he should save a bit of that fire for the guys in front of you instead.

Jonathan Quick must've felt the #UFC322 energy still in the air at MSG from the night before 😅 pic.twitter.com/FU9Gv1yxC3

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 17, 2025

Cam Talbot had also had strong and efficient outing giving up just 1 goal on 16 shots for a .938 SV%

–

Colorado spread the offense around with goals from Ross Colton, Victor Olofsson, Brock Nelson and Martin Necas. Brent Burns, Parker Kelly, Cale Makar and Sam Malinski chipped in with the helpers.

The scoring was not what stole the night though. The real spark came from two outrageous saves. Ilya Sorokin laid out for a full-sprawl glove stop while flat on his back, the kind of thing you watch twice just to make sure it actually happened.

Scott Wedgewood answered with a sharp blocker save on a one-timer that looked destined for the back of the net.

NOW SOROKIN'S IN HASEK MODE!! pic.twitter.com/2dglbvG7Ar

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) November 17, 2025

HOW DID SCOTT WEDGEWOOD MAKE THAT SAVE!? 😱

Incredible. pic.twitter.com/rg5o8eSBny

— NHL (@NHL) November 17, 2025

Wedgewood has been nothing short of a rock for the Avalanche this season. He is sitting on 10 wins in 15 starts, with 10 of those being quality starts, and just a single loss on his record. He leads the league in wins and is giving Colorado consistency every start with solid numbers of a 2.18 GAA and a .917 SV% percentage.

Emil Heineman scored the lone goal for the Islanders and his nineth of the season with assists from Kyle Palmeri and Tony DeAngelo. Since landing in New York, Heineman has gotten off to a strong start, tallying nine goals and four assists in 18 games while averaging over three hits a night. His 22% shooting percentage is bound to regress, as are some of the underlying numbers that just aren't sustainable over a full season. He was likely picked up off the waiver wire in most leagues, and so far, he has delivered as a contributor. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Thanks for reading! See you next week! For more fantasy hockey content and analysis, follow me on X @Punters_hockey. If you have any questions about your team or a trade? My DMs are always open, happy to help!