Deen’s Daily: Stars, Wild Both Struggling; Red Wings Climbing; Panthers Get Rocked

The Avalanche are in a bit of a rut. But it’s not as bad as the one Dallas and Minnesota are both currently enduring. Also, the Red Wings keep climbing up the ranks and the Florida Panthers got rocked by an Eastern Conference rival.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — January 17.

Colorado Hockey Now

Mackenzie Blackwood made his return and the Avalanche goalie struggled early. He got more comfortable as the game went on, but the same can’t be said for many of his teammates.

Here’s the postgame recap.

READ MORE: Postgame Wrap: Avalanche Suffer First Regulation Loss At Ball Arena

In case you missed it, I released the first edition of the 2026 CHN Trade Board on Thursday.

READ MORE: NHL Trade Deadline 2026: Avalanche Trade Board

Around The NHL

NHL Standings: I’ve been keeping an eye on the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild’s struggles for weeks now. Neither of them played on Thursday, but they’re both in a rut as of late.

The Avs are 2-3-1 in their last six, but they still have a stranglehold of the Central Division because both of them are struggling even more.

The Wild are 4-5-4 in their last 13 games, which dates back to that 5-1 loss against the Avs that ended their seven-game winning treak. Meanwhile, the Stars are 2-5-4 in their last 11, dating back to a four-game winning streak that ended right before Christmas.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, and Detroit Red Wings have passed both of them in wins. The Bruins also have more wins than Minnesota.

Detroit Hockey Now: Speaking of the Wings, they are on an absolute heater. They handled the San Jose Sharks on Friday for their 17th win on home ice and 29th overall. Only the Avalanche have more wins than Detroit this year.

Montreal Hockey Now: How Jacob Fowler has fared through the first 10 games of his NHL career.

San Jose Hockey Now: The Sharks did welcome Will Smith back in the lineup in Detroit. It’s great news, despite the loss.

Florida Hockey Now: The Panthers got absolutely rocked by the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s been that kind of season for the two-time defending Cup champs.

Vegas Hockey Now: Marner didn’t want to show his hand before the game. But after the Golden Knights beat his former Toronto Maple Leafs in OT on Thursday, he was open about what that win meant for him, personally.