Hey everyone, hope you are doing well. Tonight, we are back at it for another great Episode 14 of Season 7 of Two Guys & Hockey Talk, where we dive into the stories around the world of hockey:
- Evgeni Malkin is on Injury Reserve – It sounds like Malkin, the longtime veteran of the Pittsburgh Penguins has been placed on injured reserve with an upper-body issue and is expected to be out week-to-week. Malkin is having a good season putting up 8 goals and 21 assists in 26 games this season, helping Pittsburgh stay competitive as they sit 4th in the Metropolitan with a 14-7-7 record so far. This also goes for Blake Lizotte, who is also week-to-week for Pittsburgh with an upper-body injury.
- KHL Superstar – Alexander Zharovsky, 18, and who was drafted 34th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2025, is currently dominating in the Kontinental Hockey League being named KHL Rookie of the Month (second month in a row), and has been selected to the 2026 KHL All-Star Game taking place February 7 to 8. Through about one quarter of the KHL season, Zharovsky has 8 goals and 15 assists in 26 games, showing strong offensive skills especially on the power play.
- Robby Fabbri AHL contract – The St. Louis Blues have re-signed Robby Fabbri, bringing him back on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level. Fabbri, originally drafted 21st overall by the Blues in 2014, spent five seasons in St. Louis and was part of their 2019 Stanley Cup run before being traded to Detroit. After five seasons with the Red Wings, he was dealt to Anaheim last year, where he posted 8 goals and 8 assists in 44 games. He has not played in the NHL yet this season. His return comes as the Blues place Jordan Kyrou on injured reserve with a week-to-week lower-body injury. He is expected to join the team in Nashville for their upcoming game against the Predators.
- Dillon Dubé back in the AHL – In other St. Louis moves, their farm team have signed Dillon Dube to a minor-league contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds (affiliate of the St. Louis Blues). Dube was one of the players acquitted in the 2018 Hockey Canada trial. He was previously playing abroad with Dinamo Minsk in the KHL where he only had 4 goals and 11 points over 42 games, eventually sliding into a fourth-line role. The expectation (or hope) seems to be that if he performs well in Springfield, he might earn another look at the NHL level.
- Olympics Ice – The NHL is also watching developments related to the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics given the tight deadlines and in recent news Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly noted that NHL players will not participate if the ice quality at the Olympic rink in Milan doesn’t meet safety standards. This will be a story we will be examining very closely.
- Detroit Red Wings Shine – The Red Wings got a 4-0 shutout win as John Gibson stopped 39 shots to record his first shutout with Detroit in nearly three years, blanking the Vancouver Canucks. With the win the Red Wings moved into first place in the Atlantic Division as they keep pushing this season to make the post-season. There are also rumblings they may be in on Quinn Hughes and might be able to make it work with the Canucks, should the Vancouver team decide to move their star defenceman.
- Boston Fleet surprising start – Despite preseason expectations that Boston Fleet might struggle, the team currently sit atop PWHL power rankings after strong early play with 4 wins. This is all in part due to strong defensive play and solid goaltending. They will face the New York Sirens next.
Thoughts? Questions? Suggestions? Then remember to tune in each week to get all the latest news in the world of hockey as we start up Season 7 of the Podcast each Wednesday night at 7pm MST, where we dive into some of these great topics, interview many in the game and so much more. For more hockey news, different takes or if you want to chat about anything hockey give me a follow @hockey_two & @revinev on X and give us a follow on YouTube, and check out our website for articles that we share regularly at https://twoguysandhockeytalk.com/.
