Updates from the NHL
By MIKALA SLOTNICK — sports@theaggie.org
On Monday, Jan. 19, the Florida Panthers hosted the San Jose Sharks in their second matchup this season. The Panthers and the Sharks last faced each other in November 2025, where the Sharks defeated the Panthers 3-1. The faceoff was Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk’s first time playing this season, after surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia on Aug. 22.
“I will say, it was such a relief and nice to be out there,” Tkachuk told the National Hockey League (NHL). “The first period was weird, just a little strange. Nothing mimics a game. The second felt better, the third felt back to normal.”
Unfortunately, Tkachuk’s debut was dampened by the Sharks, who won the Jan. 19 match 4-1. Prior to the match against the Panthers, the Sharks won five of their seven previous games.
Key players for the Sharks were Alex Nedeljkovic, who made 35 saves, and Will Smith, Vincent Desharnais and Mario Ferraro who scored in the second period.
“We stuck with it, sacrificed a lot, and committed to playing solid defense,” Nedeljkovic said. “When the time came, we got rewarded.”
Panthers players Eetu Luostarinen scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves for Florida, but could not find the equalizer.
With 14 minutes left in the game, a rare goalie fight broke out between goalies Bobrovsky and Nedejikovic. The altercation started in the third period, when the Panthers’ forward Evan Rodrigues delivered a tough check into the boards on the Sharks’ defenseman Desharnais. Sharks players rushed in to defend Desharnais, with Nedeljkovic also getting involved in the scrum.
Seeing the situation, Panthers goalie Bobrovsky skated the length of the ice to confront Nedeljkovic, dropping his gloves and initiating a one-on-one fight.
“I went to make sure to get him and let him know,” Nedelijkovic said. “I felt just like I made a decision and went straight into it.”
Bobrovsky ended up receiving the upper hand, but both goalies received a 5-minute major penalty for fighting and an additional 2-minute penalty for leaving the crease to take part in the altercation.
In Northern California, the Anaheim Ducks hosted the Los Angeles Kings for a Southern California rival face-off on Jan. 17.
The Ducks and Kings went to overtime, with the Ducks center Mikael Granlund scoring with 57.4 seconds remaining; this was Granlund’s ninth goal of the season.
Ducks right winger Beckett Sennecke assisted Granlund for the goal after preventing Kings left winger Kevin Fiala from getting a shot off on a breakaway at the other end of the ice.
“That’s the effort we need,” Granlund said. “We’re giving us a chance to win these games, and getting those persistent [efforts] to be able to win these games. And that’s what I mean by playing right. We’re playing the right way right now, and we need to keep doing that.”
Mason McTavish scored, Ville Husso made 17 saves and the Ducks won three straight (24-21-3) following a nine-game losing streak (0-8-1). They also won 3-2 in a shootout against the Kings in Los Angeles on Friday.
In recent news, Kiefer Sherwood was traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the San Jose Sharks. In return, the Sharks gave up a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and defenseman Cole Clayton.
“Obviously, [I was] a little caught off guard,” Sherwood said. “First and foremost, I’m really thankful for everything that the city and this organization have given me. And I know they say you earn it, but you’ve got to have the opportunity, and as a guy that has been a late bloomer, it’s everything I could have hoped for and more, and this is really a special place to play.”
Sherwood was a former forward for the Canucks, who led the team with 17 goals in 33 games. In 309 regular-season games with the Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators and the Canucks, he has 121 points (60 goals, 61 assists) and two points (one goal, one assist) in eight Stanley Cup Playoff games.
On the East Coast, the San Jose Sharks will face off against the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 29, and the Florida Panthers will play against the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 29. The Los Angeles Kings will face off against the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 29, while the Anaheim Ducks are set to travel to Canada to match up against the Vancouver Canucks.
Written by: Mikala Slotnick — sports@theaggie.org
