TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman is taking a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons, the team announced Wednesday.
The Lightning did not share further details and asked for Hedman’s privacy to be respected.
Hedman, 35, missed time in November, December and January because of injury and subsequent elbow surgery to repair it.
He returned in early February and represented his country at this year's Milan Cortina Olympics. Hedman has a goal and 16 assists and is averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time over 33 games for the likely playoff-bound Lightning.
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 24: Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs (37) makes a save on Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) in front during the third period in the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Colorado Avalanche on March 24, 2026, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Allowing too many goals has been a major problem for the Penguins. As recently as March 3rd, the team was sitting sixth in the NHL with 2.78 goals against per game. In the last 11 games since then, that’s gone out the window – the Pens sit 31st over the last three weeks with an average of 4.17 goals allowed per game. six times giving up six or more goals. Take out the 7-2 win over Colorado and the average balloons up to 4.80 over the rest of the games.
Prevention has been ugly from team defense slipping down to the performance of the goalies. HockeyStats.com has a cool new tracker of Goals Saved Above Expected, which has taken a big hit lately, especially for Arturs Silovs.
After a 5-0 shutout win against Vegas back on March 1st, Silovs’s GSAA crested at +5.45. After allowing five goals last night against Colorado, Silovs is down to -1.85 GSAA. Silovs spent a good portion of the season through much of December and all over Janaury underwater in the GSAA category before a strong February. Since then, it’s been a downward trend capped by the disastrous -3.38 GSAA performance last night when Colorado teed off on him.
Stuart Skinner has performed better on this metric, but his numbers have gone down too – peaking at +10.13 GSAA after the January 25th 3-2 win over Vancouver and now sitting at +8.55 for the season. Skinner’s season sample includes the +3.72 GSAA from his time at the beginning of the year with Edmonton so overall he’s at +4.83 GSAA while playing for the Penguins.
The question now shifts to the tolerance of the coaching and management for these performances, especially when it comes to Silovs. Silovs has given up four or more goals in five of his last six starts. So far, that hasn’t been an issue – the team has stayed committed to an even rotation of goalies every other game. Skinner has only started two consecutive games once with Pittsburgh, a stretch from Jan 17-19, otherwise the two netminders have evenly split starts one after the other.
The Pens have options. 21-year old Sergei Murashov ranks second in the AHL in GAA (2.20) and third in save percentage (.919%). Joel Blomqvist has a 12-5-4 record and is tied for 14th with a .906 save%. Murashov, however, posted a negative GSAA in three of his five NHL starts early in the 2025-26 season and some of the upcoming games against the Islanders and Red Wings next week could be the most consequential ones of the year.
That doesn’t seem like the wisest time to throw an untested player into the mix when the season is on the line, yet the struggles of Silovs makes it a question worth pondering.
The Penguins have benefited from goalies riding in at the last minute and helping their years, fitting in the 25th year after Johan Hedberg rode a moose into town and 10 years after Matt Murray emerged on the scene. It would be a bold move and take a lot of conviction to elevate Murashov into that position this spring, but it one that gains more traction with about each passing game where the Penguins can’t keep the puck out of the net.
Three NHL teams moved up in the playoff races during a busy 15-game schedule on Tuesday, March 24.
The surging Buffalo Sabres can do the same during Wednesday night's two-game schedule.
Buffalo has a chance to move into the top seed in the Eastern Conference when it hosts the Boston Bruins, passing the idle Carolina Hurricanes if it wins.
The Sabres have gone 33-6-5 since Dec. 9. They replaced general manager Kevyn Adams with Jarmo Kekalainen two games into that run as they try to end a record 14-game playoff drought.
The Sabres lead the Tampa Bay Lightning by two points in the Atlantic Division race and will have played two more games by the end of the night.
Tuesday night, the Ottawa Senators moved into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, and the Edmonton Oilers (Pacific) and Columbus Blue Jackets (Metropolitan) moved into second place in their respective divisions. They would have home-ice advantage in the first round if they finish the season that way.
Here's what to know about the NHL standings, tiebreaker procedures and playoff field for the 2025-26 season:
Who's in the 2026 NHL playoffs?
Eastern Conference: None
Western Conference: Colorado, Dallas
Who can clinch today?
No team can clinch today. But the New York Rangers will be eliminated from playoff contention if they lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
NHL games today (Wednesday, March 25)
Boston at Buffalo, 7:30
N.Y. Rangers at Toronto, 7:30
NHL Eastern Conference standings 2025-26
As of March 24. x-clinched playoff spot. z-eliminated
Metropolitan Division
Carolina Hurricanes (96)
Columbus Blue Jackets (87)
Pittsburgh Penguins (86)
Atlantic Division
Buffalo Sabres (95)
Tampa Bay Lightning (93)
Montreal Canadiens (88)
Wild card
Boston Bruins (86)
Ottawa Senators (85)
Sitting out of playoff position: New York Islanders (85), Detroit Red Wings (84), Philadelphia Flyers (80), Washington Capitals (79), New Jersey Devils (74), Florida Panthers (73), Toronto Maple Leafs (73), New York Rangers (65)
NHL Western Conference standings 2025-26
As of March 24. x-clinched playoff spot. z-eliminated
Central Division
x-Colorado Avalanche (104)
x-Dallas Stars (97)
Minnesota Wild (92)
Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks (84)
Edmonton Oilers (79)
Vegas Golden Knights (78)
Wild card
Utah Mammoth (80)
Nashville Predators (77)
Sitting out of playoff position: Los Angeles Kings (74), Seattle Kraken (72), Winnipeg Jets (72), San Jose Sharks (70), St. Louis Blues (69), Calgary Flames (67), Chicago Blackhawks (67), z-Vancouver Canucks (50)
NHL Eastern Conference playoff bracket
Here is how the Eastern Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended on March 24.
Carolina (M1) vs. Ottawa (WC2)
Columbus (M2) vs. Pittsburgh (M3)
Buffalo (A1) vs. Boston (WC1)
Tampa Bay (A2) vs. Montreal (A3)
The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second in the second round. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: M - Metropolitan Division. A - Atlantic Division. WC - wild card
NHL Western Conference playoff bracket
Here is how the Western Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended on March 24.
Colorado (C1) vs. Nashville (WC2)
Dallas (C2) vs. Minnesota (C3)
Anaheim (P1) vs. Utah (WC1)
Edmonton (P2) vs. Vegas (P3)
The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second in the second round. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: C - Central Division P - Pacific Division. WC - wild card
NHL tiebreakers: What is the first tiebreaker in NHL standings?
If two teams are tied in points at the end of the regular season, here are the tiebreakers:
Regulation wins
Regulation and overtime wins (ROW)
Total wins
Most points earned in head-to-head competition: If teams had an uneven number of meetings, the first game played in the city that has the extra game is excluded.
Goal differential
Total goals
When does the NHL regular season end?
The NHL regular season is scheduled to end on Thursday, April 16, with six games.
When do the NHL playoffs start?
The NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs are expected to begin on Saturday, April 18.
The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of stock put in their young players. Drafting and developing have been the biggest keys to their rebuild.
Connor Bedard was the prize of the entire process, as the Blackhawks earned the right to draft him by winning the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery. Since then, he has become an NHL superstar.
Other young players have come in since then, but few have had the excitement that Anton Frondell produced with his NHL debut on Wednesday. The third overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft has an incredible set of skills that will allow him to have a long career.
A strong season in the SHL and an elite showing en route to a Gold Medal at the 2025-26 World Junior Championships made Jeff Blashill comfortable throwing him into the fire right when he arrived in the NHL.
Frondell played his first NHL game on the first line and the top power play unit. Of course, that meant playing with Connor Bedard. Getting on a line with the team's top superstar is never an easy task, but Frondell was up to the challenge.
It was an impressive debut for Frondell, who collected his first NHL point with an assist on an Ilya Mikheyev goal. He had to use Connor Bedard as a decoy to spring Mikheyev, which required tremendous confidence as he's looking off one of the best players in the world.
On the ice, these two have the skills to feed each other. Bedard and Frondell each have an elite shot, but they use it in different ways. Each of them is also a tremendous playmaker, so defending against them will be difficult as they develop further.
Although Bedard is just 20 years old, he knows he already has a leadership role in the organization and takes it seriously. It isn't just about having an "A" on your sweater and playing the game at a high level. It is about making everyone around you comfortable.
Frondell's comments after the game made it clear that Bedard is doing the right things to help out those coming into the lineup.
“Connor sits beside me here," Frondell said. "A really good guy, giving me good tips and everything.”
Jeff Blashill started their line to open the game, and Bedard let Frondell begin his NHL career by taking the opening faceoff. The signs of two stars developing a friendship right away are there.
That relationship will enhance their ability to play together on the hockey side. Enjoying your teammates is important to winning hockey in the NHL, and these two young stars are winners who are beginning to enjoy each other.
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The Vancouver Canucks are 70 games into their 2025–26 NHL season and have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. They also hit a new franchise-high in losses on home-ice in a single season with their 3–1 defeat against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday afternoon. With sights set on the future, here’s how the Canucks stack up to the rest of the NHL 70 games into their 2025–26 season.
Team Stats
Vancouver Canucks team stats 70 games into the 2025-26 season.
Vancouver’s highest-ranked team stat is, once again, their work in the faceoff dot. Their 49.4% faceoff win rate ranks 19th in the entire league, putting them ahead of teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning (47.5%, T-26th) and Minnesota Wild (46.8%, 30th). After that comes their power play, ranking 21st in the NHL with a success rate of 19.4% — higher than the Anaheim Ducks (18.1%, T-22nd) and Colorado Avalanche (16.7%, 27th). Aside from their 25th-ranked shots per game (26.1), Vancouver remains in either 31st or 32nd in the rest of their categories.
Individual Stats
Vancouver Canucks individual stats 70 games into the 2025-26 season.
For the most part, Vancouver’s individual stat leaders haven’t shifted too much from how they were at the last check-in. The only major changes are that Elias Pettersson has taken sole possession of the team lead in points and has also joined Jake DeBrusk in having the team-high of 17 power play points, while Drew O’Connor has tied Brock Boeser for the team lead in goals with 17. Prior to trading him, Kiefer Sherwood held the team’s high with this exact amount, though both Boeser and O’Connor only hit it in the team’s 70th game of the season. Interestingly enough, star players such as Brayden Point (Tampa Bay Lightning), Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis Blues), and Logan Cooley also have 17 goals thus far.
Goaltending Stats
Vancouver Canucks goaltending stats 70 games into the 2025-26 season.
Since the 35-game mark of this season, Thatcher Demko has held the team’s season-high in wins with eight. Kevin Lankinen finally met this stat with a 5–2 win against the Florida Panthers in what was Vancouver’s 67th game of the season. With Demko out, Lankinen, of course, has been the busiest of all Canucks goaltenders, as he has started in four consecutive games. As a result, he has logged the 25th-most minutes of all NHL goaltenders (2196:10), the 22nd-most shots-faced (1069), and the 14th-most high-danger shots faced (328).
Vancouver will play in one more home game, against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night, before embarking on a four-game road trip. They’ll start with a game against the Calgary Flames on Saturday before facing the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday. The Canucks will wrap up this road stretch with a back-to-back against the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild on Wednesday and Thursday.
Mar 24, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Poehling (25) checks Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson (40) in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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With the Chicago Blackhawks passing the torch to the younger players, it's easy to get lost in the superstars already lighting up the United Center. In this weekly series, I break down the best performances from the next wave of Chicago Blackhawks. Players are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
Newest #Blackhawks goalie, Ilya Kanarsky was outstanding in the MHL (Russia’s version of the CHL) this year. He posted a .938 Save%, 2.24 GAA, 4 SOs and a 22-8-1 record. Additionally, Kanarsky saved 67/68 in one playoff game last season. Here are his best saves from that game. pic.twitter.com/1Yr0ydqCsw
Kanarsky is an under the radar prospect quietly producing in the VHL, Russia's second tier league. Despite playing on a 13-28 AKM Tula Region team, Kanarsky won over half the team's games while putting up a .922 save percentage, a 2.67 goals allowed average and 1 shutout. He signed an extension of unknown length on May 20, 2023. If Kanarsky's deal is up, it wouldn't shock me if he goes to Rockford based on his Russian numbers. Especially given AKM Tula Region's lackluster performance on the whole and Kanarsky's numbers in spite of it, Rockford seems like a reasonable destination.
Forward A.J. Spellacy had a big, productive weekend for the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, and some of his highlights were so ridiculous that I had to pull the clips
I don't envy any opposing players who are tasked with defending him on the rush pic.twitter.com/UyWaWO4RUi
The NHL is getting faster every year. That being the case, it makes sense that the Blackhawks selected A.J. Spellacy. His quickness and physicality makes him an asset to Windsor. The 6'foot 3, 205 pound defenseman has good puck control, running through opponents on his way to the net. Spellacy's maturity is a plus, exhibited in an interview with the Windsor Star. Despite playing the sub .500 Guelph Storm for their first playoff round, Spellacy remains focused on the task at hand.
“I don’t think we’ll take them lightly,” Spellacy said to Jim Parker of the Windsor Star. “Start with Game 1, think of it as it’s the biggest game of the season. I think we really have that playoff mentality. Take it game-by-game and obviously every game matters.”
That sort of mindfulness will serves Spellacy well in the professional game.
It's an exceptionally good thing when two of your top prospects in the same league are battling for the goal scoring title. Chicago had that great fortune with Marek Vanacker edging out fellow Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham for the OHL goals lead 47-46. Vanacker accomplished this through his five points (3 goals + 2 assists) during a pair of home games. The OHL's top team starts their playoff journey March 27 against the Sudbury Wolves, with Vanacker leading the charge.
Holmes has done well in his fourth line position this season with Brantford. He played a gritty, checking role while producing a respectable 17 points (6 goals + 11 assists) in 49 games plus 37 penalty minutes. With eight Bulldogs over 18, I think we will get a better sense of what his ceiling is in 2026-27.
It's been a memorable 24 hours for the crown jewels of the Ottawa Senators' 2024 NHL Draft.
On Tuesday, Carter Yakemchuk hustled to Detroit to play in his first NHL game and had a dream debut. Yakemchuk scored a goal and added an assist in an important 3-2 Ottawa victory over the Red Wings. Between that performance and the state of the Sens' banged-up blue line, he may be in Ottawa to stay.
Yakemchuk was the seventh overall draft pick in 2024, the rare right-shot defenseman with size (6'3", 220 lbs) and skill. After that, with the second pick in the draft, the Senators' scouting staff showed they have a type.
They went with a defenseman again... an even bigger one.
They selected 6-foot-7 Gabriel Elliason. Elliason doesn't have Yakemchuk's skill, but what he lacks in point production, he makes up for with physicality and unkind intentions.
On Draft Day, it was easy to imagine the two of them paired together someday, yin and yang, each bringing elements the other lacks.
On Wednesday morning, less than a day after Yakemchuk's big night, Elliason got his flowers, signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Senators, set to start in the 2026-27 season.
Image credit: Senators.com
Eliasson has spent the past two seasons with the Barrie Colts, who just won the OHL East's Central Division regular season title. With eight points in 61 games, he's clearly more of a shut down defenseman who uses his incredible reach and physical play to make life miserable for opponents.
And he plays with such a chip on his shoulder that part of his focus this season was dialling it back and picking his spots a little better. But fear not, fans of mayhem, Elliason still led the OHL in penalty minutes (122) and will now help ride the Colts into the playoffs starting Thursday against Niagara.
“Gabriel’s game has matured since we drafted him,” GM Steve Staios said in a club press release. “We’ve been pleased with his development, and his character and work ethic fit in perfectly with the team we’re building.”
Elliason will compete for an NHL job this fall, but will almost certainly spend a season or two in Belleville before he can truly be on Ottawa's radar. But just as we saw with Yakemchuk, thanks to all the injuries this month, you never say never.
And you can't teach big... or mean.
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has reached another significant milestone.
Tuesday night, Bobrovsky and the Panthers defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-4 in a shootout at Amerant Bank Arena.
The game was a bit dicey toward the end, when Florida surrendered a 4-1 third period lead by allowing the Kraken to score three goals in the span of 2:21, but Bob stood tall after that, stopping all three Seattle shootout attempts en route to picking up his 26th victory of the season.
While not particularly significant in terms of Florida’s current campaign, the victory did carry some weight in the grand scheme of things for Sergei.
That’s because it was the 455th win of Bobrovsky’s NHL career, moving him into sole possession of seventh place on the league’s all-time wins list.
He’d previously been in a tie with Curtis Joseph, and now Bob trails Henrik Lundqvist by just four wins for sixth-most in league history.
Bob building records 🧱
Congratulations to Sergei Bobrovsky, who has moved into 7th in all-time NHL career wins with 455 under his belt to officially pass Curtis Joseph! pic.twitter.com/TyCQ1EZ2RX
What’s interesting to note is that Bobrovsky reached his win total in fewer games played than every goaltender around him on that all-time list.
Tuesday’s game was Bob’s 802nd in the NHL. Joseph, now in eighth place, finished with 454 wins in 943 games played, and Lundqvist’s 459 wins came during his 887 NHL games.
The next goalies on either side of those three include the legendary Terry Sawchuk, who earned 445 wins (now ninth-most) in 971 games played, and former Panther Ed Belfour in fifth place with 484 wins in 963 games.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility to think if Bobrovsky can catch up to Belfour, who is 29 wins ahead, that Bob will do it in less than the additional 161 games played it took Eddie the Eagle.
Beyond Belfour is another former Florida netminder. Roberto Luongo has won the fourth-most games in league history, earning 489 victories (five more than Belfour and 34 more than Bob) in 1,044 games played.
We’ll see how many games Bobrovsky, who will be 38 years old on Opening Night next season, has left in the tank, but if he comes anywhere close to Luongo or Belfour’s totals, it’s more than likely that he will fly past both in the wins department.
For those who may be wondering, Bobrovsky has won exactly 200 of his 455 victories since joining the Panthers, Luongo picked up 230 of his 489 victories during his time in Florida and Belfour earned 27 of his 484 wins while wearing a Panthers sweater.
That was also Belfour’s final season in the NHL, and he was 41 years old at the time. Luongo, meanwhile, was 39 when he played his final game, also with the Panthers.
It will be interesting, and kind of neat, if Bobrovsky also finishes his career with Florida, and the trio end up 4-5-6 on the all-time wins list (Patrick Roy, who sits in third place with 551 wins, will be difficult, but not impossible, for Bob to catch).
Bob’s future with the Panthers remains to be seen, as the veteran is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Both sides reportedly want to see Bobrovsky sign an extension, so we’ll see how things play out in the coming weeks and months.
For now, take a moment to celebrate the latest incredible accomplishment for Bobrovsky as he continues to write his Hockey Hall of Fame resume.
And while you probably could’ve guessed this, all the aforementioned goaltenders ahead of Bob on the all-time wins list that he’s chasing down, - four wins behind Lundqvist, 29 wins behind Belfour, 34 wins behind Luongo, 96 wins behind Roy – they’re all in the Hall of Fame.
On that note, a congratulatory tip of the cap to Mr. Sergei Bobrovsky on his 455th NHL victory.
It’s going to be fun to see how the rest of his story plays out.
Photo caption: Mar 17, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) reacts after being scored on by Vancouver Canucks forward Aatu Raty (54) in the second period at Rogers Arena. (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)
Connor McDavid hit a massive double milestone on Tuesday night, scoring twice in the Edmonton Oilers’ 5-2 road win over the Utah Mammoth.
His second-period goal -- an incredible showing of hand-eye coordination on a nice breakaway finish on a feed from Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard -- was his 400th NHL career goal. His empty-netter with eight seconds left in the third period became his 1,200th career point.
He reached 1,200 points in just 784 games — making him the third-fastest player in NHL history to hit that mark, behind only Wayne Gretzky (504 games) and Mario Lemieux (593 games). He’s now the 115th player all-time (and 15th active) to reach 400 goals, and the fifth in Oilers franchise history.
2025-26 Season So Far (72 GP)
40 goals (tied for top-4 in the NHL)
78 assists (2nd in the NHL)
118 points (2nd in the NHL)
+10, 34 PIM, 261 shots
One game. Two big milestones.
Congratulations to Connor McDavid, who is now the proud owner of 400 (plus one) NHL goals and 1,200 NHL points. pic.twitter.com/Cl1v197d6m
McDavid has now hit the 40-goal mark in five of his 11 NHL seasons. Even though he still sees himself primarily as a playmaker (needing just one more assist to reach 800 career helpers), he’s been lethal finishing chances this year. The only better season he's had was in 2022-23, when Leon Draisaitl bet he couldn't get 50. McDavid went on to score 64 that season.
This season, coming in, he said he wanted to shoot more. It took several games for him to live up to that promise -- and some drilling from the media with questions about why he wasn't -- before a flip switched. Once it did, he went on a tear.
He remains a treat to watch, and the number of milestones he'll rack up over the course of his career continues to amaze.
Oilers Beat the Mammoth For a Different Reason
However, despite the highlights that McDavid reached two milestones, the game against the Utah Mammoth will be remembered for a different reason. Yes, the Oilers' captain showed off his trademark speed, skill, and clutch timing in a big Western Conference matchup. No, that's not why the Oilers won the game.
For starters, Jack Roslovic scored two, and Matt Savoie scored shorthanded. Evan Bouchard finished the night with three assists. Getting help from others was essential.
But the really big difference was their all-around defensive effort. It was the key to the victory. Edmonton played the game as though it were a postseason matchup. They were physical, and they were staunch defensively. The Oilers limited the Mammoth to three shots in the first period and 18 shots overall. With a fragile Tristan Jarry in net, the Oilers never allowed the Mammoth to really test their netminder.
The question now will be what the Oilers do next.
Do the Oilers Go Back to Jarry?
Head coach Kris Knoblauch has a tendency to shuffle the lines. It will be intriguing to see if he keeps them as is. He's also got a decision to make in goal. Jarry was fine, but was he good enough that he earned a second-straight start? It's been Connor Ingram in goal a lot lately. Jarry needs the chance to find his game and if he gets hot, giving him starts would be wise. However, the Oilers were so good at limiting chances on Tuesday that it's difficult to know if Jarry really had it. Not much was asked of him.
When asked how he felt about his game, "Just doing my thing and trying to grow with every period and every shot." He gave most of the credit to his teammates, who he said were awesome. "They played awesome, but I think it started from the very beginning. They were doing everything in their power, they were blocking shots, they're getting pucks deep, and I think when we're playing with that kind of urgency, it helps, and it was a great game."
"Overall, I thought it was a good game on our part," said Knoblauch. "I think we managed the ups and downs."
To begin one of their final road trips of the season, the Anaheim Ducks headed to British Columbia to take on the Vancouver Canucks, the NHL’s 32nd-ranked team.
The Ducks were coming off one of the more entertaining games of the 2025-26 season on Sunday, when they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 in overtime. The Ducks were looking to extend their Pacific Division lead over the Edmonton Oilers and extend their winning streak to three games.
The Canucks entered this game as the NHL’s bottom team by a sizable 15-point margin and the runaway leader to enter May’s NHL Draft Lottery with the best odds to win the #1 overall pick. They had lost three of their last four games coming into this one.
Radko Gudas re-entered the Ducks lineup in this game after serving his five-game suspension for kneeing Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews on March 12. As a result, and after a few subpar performances, Olen Zellweger observed this game from the press box as a healthy scratch.
Here’s how the Ducks lined up in this game:
Kreider-Carlsson-Terry
Killorn-Granlund-Sennecke
Viel-Poehling-Gauthier
McTavish-Washe-Harkins
LaCombe-Trouba
Mintyukov-Carlson
Moore-Gudas
Lukas Dostal got his 48th start of the season in this game and stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced. In the Vancouver crease stood Kevin Lankanen, who saved 29 of 33.
Game Notes
This game is yet another where the Ducks have embraced their track meet style, where they exchange chances, with the confidence that they can outscore their problems, outchance their opponents, and outfinish. Jansen Harkens sustained an upper-body injury early in this game, after just three shifts, and Beckett Sennecke didn’t see the ice for the final 17:38 of this game due to a poor turnover.
This game was relatively even in shots on goal (26-24) and shot attempts at 5v5 (49-49), but the Canucks got the majority of the quality chances, winning the expected goals battle 3.6-3.19.
Breakouts: The Ducks had struggles advancing pucks beyond their defensive blueline against Vancouver’s relatively passive forecheck. The Canucks’ defensemen were calculated with their pinches, and F2 challenged against set breakouts, causing multiple turnovers at the Ducks’ blue that they then turned into quick odd-man counters with forwards flying up ice.
John Carlson: Carlson’s dynamism isn’t what it may have once been, but his efficient movements in transition, lane reading, and clever manipulation of defensive structures led to his high point total in this game and created several chances. He’s gained enough reps throughout his career to understand exactly how much pressure he can apply deep in the offensive zone before needing to retreat and switch back toward the blueline.
Mason McTavish: McTavish is still earning his way back into a more prominent role on this team heading down the stretch. In this game, with traditional winger responsibilities, he was careful with pucks, pressured pucks in every zone, and was a part of a few extended cycle sequences. He capitalized with his quick release, earning himself a game-winning tally, but in a game where Sennecke didn’t see much ice in the third period, and Harkins sustained an injury early, one would like to see McTavish grab more of his shifts by the horns, driving play, winning battles in small areas, and generating chances.
Beckett Sennecke: Sennecke’s confidence and ability have, in turn, given the Ducks coaching staff confidence in him to outproduce his mistakes, learn from them, and avoid repeating them in the future. He made a poor decision on the rush in overtime that led to a game-ending goal against the Philadelphia Flyers a week prior to this game, and he made a similar, yet less dangerous mistake that led to a tying goal early in the third.
It was a rookie mistake made by a rookie forward that could have found its way to a trailing Killorn, who could have gotten off a high-danger shot. However, it wasn’t the most optimal read, as the far side defenseman had activated, so if that pass didn’t connect, it would likely go the other way on an odd-man rush, as it did.
One hopes he’s earned enough of the coaching staff’s trust and impacts plays positively more often than not, that this won’t lead to a decrease in role or healthy scratch. The Ducks will likely need the instant offense he can provide on a shift-by-shift basis.
The Ducks will next head to Alberta to take on former teammate Ryan Strome and the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
It was one of the biggest opportunities of the 2025-26 NHL Season for the Detroit Red Wings to prove that this year would be different than seasons past.
They faced a fatigued Ottawa Senators team that had not only played the night before but was also missing its top two defensemen, instead dressing a pair of rookies in their first NHL contests.
Instead, it was the Senators who jumped out to a 3-0 lead, eventually holding on for a 3-2 victory at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday evening to leapfrog Detroit in the standings by a point.
Ottawa now occupies the second Wild Card postseason spot in the Eastern Conference, while Detroit's margin of error continues to shrink.
The latest missed opportunity by the Red Wings had their dressing room in a frustrated mood, according to team captain Dylan Larkin, who returned to the lineup after a seven-game absence.
"The room is mad, the guys are mad. That was a big game for our hockey team," Larkin said in the dressing room afterward. "And unfortunately, for how well we played against those guys all year and this one tonight, it kind of wipes away our record against those guys.
That was a big game, but we're going into Buffalo on Friday night. We have to pick ourselves back up, and that's mental toughness."
For the second straight game, the Red Wings appeared to take a 1–0 lead, only to have the goal wiped out—just as it was in their loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.
This time, instead of the clock expiring by just 0.2 seconds, replays showed that Detroit had entered the zone an inch offside.
Rather than taking a 1–0 lead, Detroit was soon penalized and ultimately fell behind 1–0 on a power-play goal by Brady Tkachuk.
But according to head coach Todd McLellan, there was no use in crying over spilled milk.
“There are rules in play for certain reasons, we ran out of time the other night against Boston, and we were clearly offside on the entry," he said. "If the linesman picked that up and made the right call, we wouldn’t even be talking about the goal that didn’t count. That’s why the rules are there.”
The Red Wings had earned victories in each of their three games against the Senators leading up to their final contest of the season.
However, the Senators continued to frustrate Detroit in March, in matchups with significant playoff implications.
As has been the case over the past two seasons, the Red Wings have now seen their playoff cushion completely vanish.
Defenseman Moritz Seider admitted that Detroit's level of urgency likely wasn’t where it needed to be in the first half of the contest, while adding that it’s up to the group to find a solution.
“Obviously, we've been in that situation before,” Seider said. “We know how much it can stink, we'd better come up with an answer for that. It's all on us right now.”
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It was the Ottawa Senators' biggest game of the season, and while they've been on a fantastic run, everything seemed to be working against them as they prepared for the Red Wings in Detroit on Tuesday night.
They were in game two of a back-to-back with travel, playing the night before with four defensemen. They had five defensemen out with injury, including their best two, Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot.
They had two kids on D making their NHL debuts against a well-rested Detroit team, which enjoyed home ice and last change to try to capitalize on the potential mistakes of the first-timers. The Wings were 3-0 against the Sens this season and needed this one to return to a playoff position.
And just before the game, they learned that Dylan Larkin, the Wings captain who always gives the Senators fits, would be ready to return from injury.
It seemed like a magnificent recipe for disaster, complete with a chef's kiss, until the Senators reminded us all why we play the games. They marched right into Detroit and handed the Red Wings a 3-2 loss, moving into a playoff spot for the first time in almost four months.
And it was one of the kids, who were described in Detroit as liabilities, who helped lead the way.
Carter Yakemchuk, the Senators' top prospect, had a goal and an assist in his NHL debut. He had a large contingent of family and friends who hustled from Alberta to Michigan once the 20-year-old got the call.
“This was a really special night,” Yakemchuk told the media afterward. “It was awesome to be a part of this win.”
While he and Brady Tkachuk helped set the table with a goal and an assist, it was Linus Ullmark who helped preserve the victory. The Wings battled back from a 3-0 deficit and pressed hard in the late going, but Ullmark stepped up big to preserve the win, stopping 32 shots (.941).
Things didn't start so well when former Senator Alex DeBrincat appeared to give Detroit a 1-0 lead in the first, but the Senators took it off the board with a successful offside challenge. Less than two minutes later, Brady Tkachuk's 20th goal of the season gave the Senators a 1-0 lead.
The very sudden two-goal swing marked a heavy shift in mindset for both teams.
The Senators then opened up a 3-0 lead on two quick goals midway through the second period, on precision shots from Yakemchuk and Lars Eller.
Yakemchuk showed great poise on his goal, especially for a rookie. He accepted a D-to-D pass from Artem Zub, and instead of blasting it as soon as he could, he saw that no one was coming out to challenge him. So, he calmly took the extra ten feet of real estate available before ripping a snapshot past Gibson.
Eller's goal came from some fine board work from Tkachuk. As he corralled the puck, he laid a reverse check on his defender to buy time and find Eller in a perfect shooting position in the slot. Eller made no mistake, giving the Sens a 3-0 advantage.
And despite the late charge by the Wings after goals by Dominik Shine and Dylan Larkin, they couldn't find the equalizer.
Since January 25, the Senators' record is now 15-3-2, which is starting to move into Hamburglar Run territory, when the team finished 20-3-3 to make the 2015 playoffs. They now hold Wild Card position 2, tied with the Islanders in points at 85 points, but the Isles have played one more game.
Ottawa actually got quite a bit of help from the Tuesday out-of-town scoreboard for a change, led by a favour from the Toronto Maple Leafs, of all teams. They defeated the Boston Bruins 4-2. The Islanders lost to Chicago 4-2, and Pittsburgh fell to Colorado 6-2.
Tuesday scores that didn't favour the Senators include Montreal taking down Carolina and Columbus defeating the Flyers.
NHL.com
On Wednesday night, the Sens will pick up a game in hand on the Bruins, who have a back-to-back of their own, facing the Sabres in Buffalo. Joonas Korpisalo, who the Senators are still paying, starts for Boston. It would be nice if the Sens got something for their money.
Then on Thursday, it's another crucial battle* with the Senators hosting Pittsburgh.
* Spoiler: they're all crucial battles now.
The Senators deserve major credit for forcing their way back into the playoff race with 11 games left. Getting there was tough. Staying there will be tougher, especially with the injuries.
But after that gutsy effort in Detroit, it’s hard to bet against them.
Rick Bowness has turned the Columbus Blue Jackets into a wagon since he took over for the fired Dean Evason.
Since he took over prior to the January 13th game against the Calgary Flames, the CBJ are 19-3-4. Prior to Bowness coming to Columbus, the Blue Jackets had 19 wins all season. Columbus has 19 wins in 26 games since he took over. They're currently playing at a 132-point pace over an 82-game stretch.
When Bowness took over, the CBJ were 28th in the NHL and floundering. Today, they're currently 8th in the NHL and second in the Metro Division. Where would they be had they not blown all those third-period leads?
Prior to Bowness arriving in Columbus, the CBJ were giving up 3.40goals per game. Since he took over, they're only giving up 2.46.
They're also scoring 3.61 goals per game, up from 2.91 goals per game prior to him getting hired.
When Don Waddell fired Dean Evason, the Jackets responded by immediately beating the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks. When Elvis Merzlikins was interviewed after the Canucks win, he was asked what sparked the team. His response was simple: "New Coach!" You can't get blunter than that.
So, does Bowness deserve to win? He will only coach 37 regular-season games.
Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres is going to have something to say about the Jack Adams Award, that's for sure.
Since December 9th, the Sabres have been hands down the best team in the NHL and have vaulted themselves from the basement of the Eastern Conference in December, to leading the Atlantic Division. Starting in December, the Sabres rattled off 10-straight wins before being knocked off at Nationwide Arena by the aforementioned Blue Jackets. But that loss didn't get to them.
After going 11-3-0 in December, they backed it up with a 10-4-1 January, a 4-1-1 February, and are 9-1-1 so far in March.
After they fired former CBJ OG Kevyn Adams and promoted Former CBJ GM Jarmo Kekäläinen to lead the team, the Sabres and Lindy Ruff blasted off and can't seem to be stopped.
Buffalo hasn't made the playoffs in 15 years, and weren't expected to do much this year either, but they somehow turned themselves into legitimate Stanley Cup heavyweights.
In my opinion, it's Lindy Ruff's award, and I don't think it'll be particularly close either. What Rick Bowness has done has been nothing short of spectacular, but the CBJ were expected to push for the playoffs this year, while the Sabres were expected to finish near the bottom of the Atlantic, per usual.
It's an interesting debate and will be sure to rage on as both teams push for a playoff spot.
Next Up: The Blue Jackets travel to Montreal to play the Canadiens on Thursday night.
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The Detroit Red Wings suffered a deflating 3–2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, a result that carried significant implications in the tightly contested wild card race.
With the victory, Ottawa surged past multiple competitors and claimed the second wild card position previously held by the New York Islanders. New York, despite slipping, still remains just ahead of Detroit in the standings, adding further pressure on a Red Wings squad that has struggled to maintain its footing in recent weeks.
Detroit’s recent skid has been a major concern as since late January, the team has posted a disappointing 6-9-3 record over its last 18 games, a stretch that has seen its once promising playoff outlook steadily deteriorate. Earlier in the season, optimism surrounded the Red Wings’ postseason chances. According to MoneyPuck, their playoff odds sat near 80 percent heading into the Olympic break and peaked at 83.2 percent on February 28.
Playoff chances after the Pens-Rangers afternoon game. Playoff chances will update on the website several times per day for the rest of the season https://t.co/RbnckCLHNPpic.twitter.com/6FITuAS7yc
However, that confidence has since eroded as the Red Wings now find themselves with just a 45.8 per cent chance of making the playoffs, trailing closely behind the Islanders at 46.6 per cent. Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins have created some separation at 64.3 percent, and Ottawa’s recent surge has propelled them to a commanding 76.1 percent, leapfrogging the entire pack.
The road ahead offers little relief for Detroit with their remaining schedule appearing stacked with high caliber opponents, including the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Tampa Bay Lightning, all games that carry must-win weight as the regular season winds down.
Despite the bleak trend, the situation is not yet beyond repair. A strong run in the coming games could quickly stabilize Detroit’s playoff chances and push them back into contention. But with time running short and competition intensifying, the margin for error has all but disappeared.
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