On Friday night, Angus Crookshank became the Belleville Senators' all-time leading goal scorer. He scored his team-leading 22nd goal of the season, helping the Senators defeat the Toronto Marlies 3-2. This goal was Crookshank's 77th career goal, moving him past Egor Sokolov as the franchise's all-time leader in goals.

"Yeah, it's cool to think about it," Crookshank told the Belleville Senators Entertainment Network after the game. "I mean, at the end of the day, I wouldn't be able to call myself a record holder without my teammates that I've played with over the past three years. So I'm very thankful for them, and yeah, hopefully, I can score a few more down the stretch here."

Despite his continued success in the American Hockey League (AHL) and strong support from his head coach, David Bell, Crookshank’s future with the Sens organization is unknown at the moment. Based on just his time served, he'd typically be on track to be an RFA this summer.

But because he checks all the right boxes, he will be a Group 6 unrestricted free agent. A player earns that status if he's 25 (check), has completed three or more professional seasons (check), has a contract expiring (check), and has played less than 80 NHL Games (check).

Crookshank appeared in 13 NHL games last season, so when he re-signed with the club, it seemed like he might have a chance at a full-time NHL spot this season. But Ottawa general manager Steve Staios completely shuffled the deck in his first summer on the job, which appears to have pushed Crookshank down several spots on the depth chart.

The Sens moved out bottom-six regulars like Mathieu Joseph, Parker Kelly, Mark Kastelic, and Dominik Kubalik. But their roles were scooped up by new Staios additions like David Perron, Noah Gregor, Nick Cousins, Michael Amadio, and Adam Gaudette. Not only that, but with a new coaching staff in Ottawa, some of Crookshank’s AHL teammates that he outplayed last season were suddenly being favoured for NHL opportunities this season – guys like Zack Ostapchuk, Cole Reinhardt, and Matthew Highmore.

But Crookshank's head coach is still in his corner.

“He’s grown his game,” Bell told TSN 1200 Radio last month. “Before, his defensive game was probably a deficiency. He kills penalties for us now. He plays center for us sometimes. Now he’s playing right wing with Reinhardt down here. So he plays all three positions. He’s on the ice at the end of the game. He’s consciously rounded out his game to be more reliable defensively and more reliable on the walls.”

Crookshank’s work ethic and versatility continue to make him a key contributor for Belleville, and a future in the show remains a strong possibility. It's just a question now of whether that NHL opportunity lies in Ottawa or somewhere else.

By Steve Warne
Site Editor at The Hockey News Ottawa

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The Pittsburgh Penguins only have 11 games left in their 2024-25 season. Although this year's club most likely won't qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, many players in the lineup still have milestones to play for.

Today, we look at those milestones and which Pittsburgh skater is closest to reaching a new personal best. 

Sidney Crosby

All eyes are on captain Sidney Crosby, who is only a few points shy of 80, which would establish a new NHL record for consecutive seasons with a point-per-game average. Meanwhile, at 25 goals, he's just five lamplighters short of recording his 13th 30-goal season. 

Penguins: Sidney Crosby's Chase Of Wayne Gretzky's NHL Point-Per-Game RecordPittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is on pace to break a Wayne Gretzky record many people thought would never fall; most seasons (19) averaging a point-per-game average. 

Rickard Rakell

Through 70 games, Rickall Rakell has scored 32 goals and is two shy of matching a personal best of 34 that he collected in 2017-18. Meanwhile, at 791 career games, if he skates in nine of the final 11 contests, he'll surpass 800 to become the 44th Swedish-born player to reach the plateau.

Bryan Rust

Bryan Rust has already scored 20 goals for the sixth consecutive season, bringing him to 195 for his career. If he scores five more goals, he'll reach 200 and become the ninth player in Penguins history to score that many goals. 

Erik Karlsson

After 1,073 games, Erik Karlsson is sitting on 199 career goals. If and when the 34-year-old scores 200, he'll become only the second Swedish-born defenseman to reach the milestone behind Hall of Famer Niklas Lidstrom (264). 

Evgeni Malkin

Evgeni Malkin may not reach 20 goals for the 16th time in his career, but at 1,341 points, the future Hall of Famer can collect nine points in the final 11 games to reach 1,350. He's already the second-highest scorer from Russia, behind Alex Ovechkin (1,607).

Kris Letang

Kris Letang is already the highest-scoring defenseman in Penguins history, and after 1,151 games, he's collected 596 assists and needs only four more helpers for 600. If and when he picks up those four assists, he'll join Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Malkin, and Jaromir Jagr as the only Pittsburgh players with 600 assists.

5 Best Penguins Performances In MarchIn March, the Pittsburgh Penguins are usually entrenched in a playoff race, battling for the division's top spot or home-ice advantage. 

Philip Tomasino

In 42 games with the Penguins, Philip Tomasino has ten goals and 20 points. He's one goal shy of matching a career-high of 11, which he set in 2021-22 with the Nashville Predators. At this point, he's closer to setting a personal best in goals, but if he manages nine points in the last 11 games, Tomasino will reach 100 in his career.

Kevin Hayes

Kevin Hayes has ten goals and 20 points during his first season with the Penguins. He's tallied four power-play goals and is just two-man advantage lamplighters away from tying a career-high in the category, which he set in 2017-18 and duplicated in 2022-23. 

Noel Acciari

Noel Acciari wears his heart on his sleeve and bleeds black and gold. This year, the bottom-six center leads the Penguins with 93 blocked shots. He's on pace to match or surpass his career-high of 103, which he set as a member of the Florida Panthers in 2019-20. 

Danton Heinen

Although Danton Heinen won't duplicate his 17 goals from last season, he's at eight and has two since rejoining the Penguins in a January trade. If he can light the lamp five more times, he'll collect his 100th NHL goal.

Penguins On Collision Course With Franchise History In Salary Cap EraThe Pittsburgh Penguins have 12 games left in the 2024-25 season. Through 70 games, the team has averaged 2.90 goals a game while surrendering 3.56. Based on their totals, the Penguins are on pace for 228 goals scored and 291 against. 

Connor Timmins

In 51 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Connor Timmins had just eight points. Since coming to Pittsburgh at the NHL Trade Deadline, he's already collected four in six games. If he can get seven more in the final 11 games, he'll reach 50 career points.

Bokondji Imama

Recently, Bokondji Imama scored his first goal in three years and has two career goals in 29 career games. Interestingly, the 28-year-old has never recorded an assist at the NHL level and could collect his first before the end of the season.

Tommy Novak

If Tommy Novak can return from his injury and score one more goal before the end of the regular season, he'll net his 50th career goal. He had 13 goals in 52 games with the Predators before a trade and is pointless in just two games with the Penguins. 

Alex Nedeljkovic

After his recent victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, Alex Nedeljkovic is sitting at 73 career wins and is just two more away from 75. Moreover, if he can record one more shutout, he'll reach ten in his career.

Tristan Jarry

Just like Nedeljkovic, Tristan Jarry is two victories and one shutout away from new milestones. If Jarry can win two more games, he'll reach 150, and with one more shutout, he'll get 20, becoming only the third Penguins goalie to record that many behind Marc-Andre Fleury (44) and Tom Barrasso (22). 

Can Penguins Achieve Goal Scoring Feat For Second Time In Crosby Era?Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Joona Koppanen scored his first NHL goal on Tuesday night against the New York Islanders.

The Winnipeg Jets have been one of the most impressive NHL teams in the 2024-25 regular season. Currently, they’re the Western Conference’s best team – and the second-best team in the league – with a record of 48-18-4. But there’s a nagging element to the Jets – and that’s their sub-par Stanley Cup playoff performances in recent memory. Since 2018-19,  Winnipeg has won exactly one playoff round, and they have yet to win a single second-round series game in that span.

It should be clear, then, that there are skeptics with legitimate cause for concern that the Jets will be able to change that in the upcoming playoffs. Winnipeg is probably going to get a showdown against the second and final wild-card team in Round One, but they haven’t been perfect against any of their likely first-round opponents.

For instance: the Jets are 2-1-0 against St. Louis this season, with one of their two wins coming in a shootout. Winnipeg is 1-1-0 against the Vancouver Canucks this year, 2-1-0 against the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg is 2-1-0 against Utah. Clearly, the Jets have been a mortal group, and that could spell doom for them in the opening round.

But here’s the bigger problem with Winnipeg’s playoff aspirations this spring – in the second round, they’re almost certainly going to be pitted against the mighty Dallas Stars or Colorado Avalanche. The Jets are 2-1-0 against Dallas this season, and they’re 3-1-0 against the Avalanche – although one of those wins against the Avs was a 1-0 shutout on Nov. 7, and another win against Colorado came in a 3-2 overtime win.

But forget about the Jets’ regular-season record against Central Division teams. Instead, just bear in mind the fact that both Dallas and Colorado have made major roster improvements since their early-season games against Winnipeg. If the playoff series against the Stars or Avalanche began right now, do you think the Jets would be a heavy favorite to win it? Or any kind of favorite, for that matter? No, we’re betting Winnipeg would be an underdog against Dallas or Colorado. And that’s because their performance in the post-season with their same core of talent simply hasn’t been up to snuff. 

This isn’t to say the Jets absolutely aren’t going to shake off the demons of the past and figure out a way to go on a deep playoff run. Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff doubled down on his roster last summer, and at this year’s NHL trade deadline, he added only a bottom-six forward in Brandon Tanev and a third-pairing defenseman in Luke Schenn. And we agreed with Cheveldayoff’s minor tinkering; the Jets have been so dominant that they didn’t need drastic changes to the lineup.

Still, that nagging element is going to be there with Winnipeg until they show they’re a different group than the disappointing team that was flushed out with ease in recent years. Remember, in the past two post-seasons, the Jets couldn’t even put up an admirable fight in the first round, winning just one game against Vegas two years ago, and winning only a single game last year against Colorado. Winnipeg’s defeats were quick and painful, and we’re still unsure whether anything is going to be different in that regard this time around.

Being an excellent regular-season team has its benefits. The Jets are going to have home-ice advantage as long as they’re alive in the Western Conference playoffs. And Winnipeg’s 25–5-4 home record will be something to draw on as the Jets try to get at least as far as the Western Conference final. Nevertheless, Winnipeg could once again falter early on in this year’s playoffs. And if they do, Cheveldayoff will no longer have any reason to keep coming back with the same core year after year. And massive changes will be in order if they let down their fans yet again.

It’s the Western Conference final or bust for this Jets team. They’re either going to make people forget about their sub-par past or underscore it as they fizzle out and the biggest fears of their fan base and management become reality.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Jonny Brodzinski scored his second goal of the game late in the third period and Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves as the New York Rangers downed the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 on Saturday to snap a three-game losing streak.

Brodzinski rifled his ninth goal of the season past Canucks netminder Kevin Lankinen at 15:47 to give the Rangers the lead 37 seconds after Vancouver’s Brock Boeser tied the contest.

Former Canuck J.T. Miller added an empty-net goal. New York lost to Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto at home this week.

K’Andre Miller and Adam Fox also scored for the Rangers. Alexis Lafreniere had two assists.

Dakota Joshua and Drew O’Connor also scored for the Canucks.

Joshua opened the scoring at 11:51 of the first when he jammed a loose puck past Shesterkin.

The Rangers were outshot 11-1 in the first, exiting to a chorus of boos from the home crowd.

The Canucks had a 13-5 shots advantage in the second but Fox was able to tie the contest at 11:03. Rangers forward Brennan Othmann assisted on Fox’s goal, his first NHL point.

After Brodzinski’s first goal at 1:39 of the third, O’Connor tied the game at 11:22 before Miller put New York ahead 3-2 at 12:40.

Lankinen made eight saves in defeat.

Takeaways

Rangers: New York is 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. The Rangers are battling for a wild-card playoff spot.

Canucks: Fell to 17-13-5 on the road.

Key moment

The Rangers honored Hall of Fame play-by-play announcer Sam Rosen, who is retiring following this season after more than four decades as the television voices of the franchise. Rosen was joined by his wife Jill, former broadcast partners Phil Esposito and John Davidson and current booth partner Joe Micheletti on Madison Square Garden ice for a pregame ceremony.

Key stat

Shesterkin, making his seventh straight start, won at home for the first time since March 3.

Up next

Rangers: Visiting Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

Canucks: Visiting New Jersey Devils on Monday.

Ahead of their road game against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Maroon revealed his plans to retire after this season on live TV. 

Maroon announced the news to Darren Pang during a pre-game interview on CHSN. His career will have spanned over 800 games and includes three Stanley Cup championships. 

Maroon was a 6th-round pick (161st overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2007 NHL Draft. Before ever playing a game for the Flyers, Maroon was traded to the Anaheim Ducks where he played for parts of five seasons. 

He has since played for the Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins, and Chicago Blackhawks. 

He's been a journeyman since being traded away by the Ducks but he certainly provided value to every team he played for. 

Maroon's three Stanley Cups came in consecutive years. He signed with his hometown Blues and won which as succeded by two straight with the Lightning. 

This announcement came at the right place for Maroon as he is a St. Louis native. Being the place he's from in addition to the spot where he won his first Cup, St. Louis will always be the most special for him so it's fitting to make that news public there. 

Maroon was successful in the NHL because he played a heavy game and had some offensive jam. He was able to provide multiple skills no matter where he was playing in the lineup. 

It wasn't always easy for Maroon either. Early in his career, his odds of making it in the league weren't great but he continued to grind until he made his dream come true. 

Now that he has this plan to retire, the Blackhawks can send him off the right way. Maroon should be celebrated from now until the very end as he's been nothing short of a wonderful human being. The NHL was better for having him. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

Patrick Maroon made an announcement that he will retire at the end of the 2024-25 season. The Chicago Blackhawks left winger said this ahead of their game against the St. Louis Blues.

An emotional Pat Maroon tells @Panger40 before his final game in St. Louis that he will retire at the end of the season. #Blackhawkspic.twitter.com/hmrJDAjD1f

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 22, 2025

He got emotional in a pre-game interview with Darren Pang when he made this statement. This is also his last game in his hometown of St. Louis.

“I just know it’s time for me, it’s time for my family to go start a new chapter in our lives,” Maroon said.

Maroon was drafted in 2007 by the Philadelphia Flyers 161st overall in the sixth round, but after a few seasons in the OHL and AHL, he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks.  Since then, he’s played in nearly 14 seasons.

Chicago’s clash against St. Louis is Maroon's 840th game of his NHL career. In that time, he’s scored 125 goals and 320 points. The left winger played for eight different teams in his career, including the Blues.

This season, he’s made 59 appearances for the Blackhawks and has four goals and 16 points. The grinder also has seven fights this season, his last one came in Tuesday's game against the Seattle Kraken in a tilt with John Hayden. According to HockeyFights, Maroon has 138 fights in his career.

Maroon is seventh among active skaters in penalty minutes, and over the course of his 14-year career, he’s racked up 1,071 total.

The 36-year-old veteran won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in the single season that he played with them in 2018-19. Following that season, Maroon secured another two championships with the Tampa Bay Lightning, completing a three-peat.

In his career, Maroon has featured in 163 playoff games, scoring 23 goals and 53 points, while also having a plus-six rating. He’s played playoff games for the Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Blues, Lightning and Boston Bruins. 

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The Pittsburgh Penguins (29-32-10) are not going into the night quietly. They are picking up wins against opponents who dominated them most of the season, earning their first victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night by a 6-3 score.

Earlier in the campaign, the Blue Jackets picked up 6-2 and 4-3 (SO) wins, but the Penguins were on a different level Friday. They jumped out to a 1-0 lead and never looked back as Sidney Crosby inches closer to establishing a new NHL record. 

Let's discuss Pittsburgh's latest triumph. 

Nedeljkovic Shines in Return

When Tristan Jarry came back from the AHL, he went on a four-game win streak, all but stealing the crease back from Alex Nedeljkovic. After losing to the New York Islanders, head coach Mike Sullivan gave Nedeljkovic his first start in 14 days, and he didn't disappoint with 44 saves, hardly showing any signs of rust.

Penguins: Sidney Crosby's Chase Of Wayne Gretzky's NHL Point-Per-Game RecordPittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is on pace to break a Wayne Gretzky record many people thought would never fall; most seasons (19) averaging a point-per-game average. 

Last year, Nedeljkovic led the late-season playoff push that ended short of the cut-off, but he's been the savior in the crease this season. Because of his performance on Friday, there's a new goalie controversy building in Pittsburgh. Which netminder should start against the top team in the Atlantic Division, the Florida Panthers, on Sunday?

Nedeljkovic showed, even with time off, that he's locked in, so Sullivan should ride the hot hand into another marquee matchup.

Number 29

Bokondji Imama scored his first goal of the season midway through the second period and came within an assist from completing a Gordie Howe hat trick as he fought Mathieu Olivier in the first.

By lighting the lamp at 8:15, Imama became the 29th different Penguins scorer this season, which leads the league in the category.

Can Penguins Achieve Goal Scoring Feat For Second Time In Crosby Era?Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Joona Koppanen scored his first NHL goal on Tuesday night against the New York Islanders.

Moreover, Imama, who has skated in only 14 games this season, scored his first NHL goal since Apr. 23, 2022, when he was a member of the Arizona Coyotes. 

In 24 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he's scored three goals with five points and 47 penalty minutes. Unafraid to mix it up, Imama has 16 penalty minutes in the NHL this season and has made the most of his limited opportunities in black and gold. 

Will Malkin Finish the Season on a Tear?

Ahead of the Blue Jackets game, Evgeni Malkin had one goal in the previous nine contests, with just two assists for three points and a minus-5 rating.

He poked home the first goal on Friday and looked energized, finishing the evening with four shots on goal, his first four-shot game since Nov. 13, 2024, against the Detroit Red Wings. 

'He Loves Being A Penguin': Unlikely Hero Emerges As Penguins Defeat Blue Jackets, 6-3In what was a must-win game for both of the teams on the ice Friday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins sure came ready to play.

Even though it is one goal, it is the type of play that could spark Malkin to finish the year and possibly push him to aim for his 16th-goal campaign since he currently sits at 14. Moreover, the future Hall of Famer needs only five more points to finish with 50.

Ultimately, Malkin needs nine points in the final 11 games to reach 1,350 in his career, which would be a fantastic achievement in an unusual down here for the Penguins' oldest player. Despite all the ups and downs, Malkin still has a chance to prove he is one of the NHL's most feared forwards. 

The St. Louis Blues are facing off against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 22. The Blues' goal will be to stay hot after winning each of their last four games.

This matchup will be an emotional one for Blackhawks forward Pat Maroon, as it will be the last time the St. Louis native will play at the Enterprise Center. The former Blue told Darren Pang before the contest that he is planning to retire at the end of the season.

Maroon, 36, was a part of the Blues' 2019 Stanley Cup championship team, where he emerged as a fan favorite. In 74 regular-season games with the Blues that season, he had 10 goals, 28 points, and 135 hits. He also had three goals and seven points in 26 playoff games for the Blues during their 2019 championship run.

In 839 career NHL games over 14 seasons split between the Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins, and Blackhawks, he has 125 goals, 320 points, 1,071 penalty minutes, and 1,583 hits. He also has three Stanley Cups on his resume. It's been a great career for the former sixth-round pick. 

Recent Blues News 

Former Blues Forward Breaks Single-Season KHL Goal Record

Blues Made Right Call Not Trading Brayden Schenn

Blues Coach Provides Encouraging Colton Parayko Injury Update

Blues Breakout Star Is Continuing To Thrive

Blues Surging Forward Nearing New Impressive Career-High

During this past season, Nashville Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon made NHL history. The 6-foot-3 defenseman set an NHL record by finishing the campaign with  383 hits in 79 games.

However, Lauzon's hit record has now been beaten by one of his former Nashville teammates - Kiefer Sherwood.

During the Vancouver Canucks' March 22 contest against the New York Rangers, Sherwood threw his 384th hit of the campaign. It took the Columbus, Ohio native 66 games to set this new NHL record. 

Sherwood spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons as a member of the Predators. In 100 games with the Central Division squad, he had 17 goals, 40 points, 337 hits, and a plus-21 rating. 

Sherwood's time with the Predators ended this past off-season when he signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Canucks. In 65 games this season with Vancouver, he has set new career highs with 15 goals and 29 points. 

Recent Predators News 

Former Predators Forward Impressing With New Team

Predators' Steven Stamkos Passes Legend On All-Time Goals List

New Predators Forward Could Become Nice Surprise

Flyers suffer 9th loss in last 10 games after good effort is spoiled by quick OT originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers have taken their fair share of gut punches as this 2024-25 season stumbles to the finish line.

They took another one Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Stars at American Airlines Center.

Dallas scored the winner just nine seconds into the bonus session.

The Flyers fell behind 2-0 for the fourth straight game, but second-period goals from Travis Konecny and Ryan Poehling erased the deficit. John Tortorella’s club went to OT for the 20th time this season and dropped to 11-9 after regulation.

The Flyers (28-34-9) have lost four straight. They’ve had five losing streaks of four or more games this season.

They’re 1-8-1 over their last 10 games, a stretch in which they’ve scored just 1.50 goals per game and given up 3.80. They’ve also lost 17 of their last 23 games (6-14-3).

The Flyers were swept by the Stars (44-21-4) in their two-game regular-season series. They lost to Dallas, 4-1, in January at the Wells Fargo Center, a “sh–ty” game that elicited boos.

• Ivan Fedotov’s start Saturday lasted only one period.

The Stars scored two goals on their first two shots. They had just three shots in the first period but went into intermission with a 2-0 lead.

Samuel Ersson took over for Fedotov at the start of the second period. He made 15 saves on 16 shots. His lone blemish came in overtime when he was a bit lackadaisical playing the puck outside of his crease and Thomas Harley made him pay.

The Flyers entered Saturday with an NHL-worst .875 save percentage. Last season, they lost Carter Hart in January because of the Hockey Canada sexual assault case. They finished tied with the Senators for the league’s worst save percentage at .884.

“When Carter left, that threw this into turmoil,” Tortorella said two and a half months ago. “It is what it is, we’ve lived with it, we continue to live with it and we do the best we can.”

Dallas netminder Jake Oettinger stopped 22 of the Flyers’ 24 shots.

Konecny scored a huge goal for the Flyers and himself. It was his second marker in the last 24 games and it gave the Flyers some offensive life. Poehling then tallied his third goal in the last five games off an assist by Matvei Michkov, who ended a six-game slump of no points.

Overall, the Flyers have put together back-to-back competitive performances. They outshot the NHL-leading Capitals 28-16 two days ago, but lost, 3-2.

• The Flyers are five points up on the Sabres, who occupy last place in the Eastern Conference.

Buffalo, however, has played three fewer games. The clubs also have two head-to-head matchups left.

In the NHL standings, three Western Conference teams are below the Flyers: the Predators, Blackhawks and Sharks.

• The Flyers’ power play went 0 for 3, dropping to 0 for 28 in March. In the last 27 games, it’s 5 for 62.

The Flyers are at 13.9 percent on the season.

• Garnet Hathaway (undisclosed) and Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body) remained out.

• The Flyers are right back at it Sunday when they visit the Blackhawks (3 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

Tortorella’s club is 1-9-1 in the second game of back-to-back sets and has been outscored 45-25.

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Who doesn't like a good playoff race?

With 15 games left in the regular season, it's coming down to the wire for these Los Angeles Kings, their potential home ice, and an exciting prospect of winning their first-ever Pacific Division title. While the ladder is maybe a little far-reaching, winning second in the division for the first time since their return to the playoffs (2021-22) and, realistically, a finish for the first time not named third place will be a refreshing recourse that the team has finally shown some progress towards an organizational and overarching goal for this franchise to succeed past the regular season.

Success in the postseason will go through two teams. 

The Vegas Golden Knights sit in first place and have been excellent all year, but they have shown signs of being beatable, enhanced by a 1-3-0 record against these very Kings. A playoff matchup would be a rare sight. Their inaugural season is the only time the Knights have played the Kings in the postseason, which would conclude in one of the closest sweeps in postseason history (still a sweep at the end of the day). It changed the future landscape for the Kings dramatically, while the Knights continued to be a perennial heavyweight in the Western Conference year after year.

Their inception into the league is a massive success story for potential new teams to break into the league, amplified by the Sin City-based teaming being a recent championship squad brimmed with talent after what feels like 'all these years.' There's a well-coached and very good team there, even if they didn't make their typical splash at the deadline as usual. Instead, they made a feel-good move, acquiring and then pairing Reily Smith with the fresh-off IR William Karlsson, reuniting the two original 'misfits,' as they call them in Vegas.

On the other hand, the Oilers stand as the Kings' kryptonite, the death knell, the superfluous hangman for the Kings regarding their recent three seasons of postseason disarray. It's as if the Kings caught the Oilers in the upswing towards their window of contention while the Kings muddled with the remaining years of a facade, a 'ready-now' roster. After their semi-final game seven loss to the Ducks in 2016-17, these Oilers have rebuilt around the four of: 20-year-old Connor McDavid, 21-year-old Leon Draisaitl, 23-year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and 21-year-old Darnell Nurse. The Kings, on the flip side, tried to make one last dance with their championship holders as previously mentioned against Vegas in 2018.

With the departure from grace, they spent a chunk of the remaining years of Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar's prime doing a quick rebuild. With the two former stars outside their primes, management hurled the team back towards contention pursuit despite some massive pitfalls in their schematic. Even with the blatant flaws of the King's roster construction and implementation, the two teams have, for the first time in Rob Blake's tenure, been neck and neck this season, with the Kings holding a more favorable winning percentage with games in hand. How that changes the postseason fate, despite organizational claims that the two teams were close last season: "we were right there," will unfold next month, as the two teams will likely clash for a fourth straight postseason.

---

It's never a 'hurrah' moment when two of the game's best ambassadors succumb to injury. How the Oilers will do in a critical time without their two most significant drivers of their team's offense (both players having 191 touches on the team's 224 total goals scored this season or 85.2%) will either be their downfall or having to play the Kings in LA for potential games 1,2,5, and 7. This is also a team that chipped away many of its pieces that took the team to the Finals, which includes Kings' very own Warren Foegele. They lost two excellent players to offer sheets, who, in Dylan Holloway, has become one of the best five-on-five-point producers in hockey.

Sounds like #Oilers have imaging scheduled today for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to better understand severity of injuries and timelines to return to play.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 21, 2025

Now, that being said, I'm not saying the Kings have the complete edge over the Oilers. Home ice may not mean anything when the Oilers can still deploy 97-29 at will, despite their forward group being as thin as it's possibly ever been in the McDavid-Draisaitl contention era. The Kings have no match for that, even with a tantalizing prospect of having a third go-to center emerging in Quinton Byfield.

I am however, conveying that this is as close as the two teams have been since their first collision in 2021-22. Home ice could tilt things even more toward the Kings, and there's a legit chance they can make it happen. This is the closest the Kings have come to becoming a coin flip when facing either the Knights or the dreaded Oilers.

It's a cautious time in LA sure, but maybe, just maybe, some optimism for once.

On March 16, Farjestad BK of the SHL and the Anaheim Ducks announced that the Ducks recalled prospect defenseman Stian Solberg to their organization with the intention of assigning him to the AHL with the San Diego Gulls. Solberg was drafted in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft after the Ducks traded the 31st and 58th overall picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the rights to select him.

Gulls’ Blue Line Strengthened by Addition of Three Prospects

Solberg (19) had played 47 games for Farjestad BK and tallied 12 points (3-9=12) in 2024-25. The cited reason for his assignment to the AHL was injuries within the Ducks’ organization.

Upon the conclusion of Harvard University’s season in the NCAA, the Ducks announced on Wednesday they had signed prospect defenseman Ian Moore to an Amateur Tryout (ATO) contract with the intention of sending him to the AHL. Moore was drafted in the third round (67th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. Due to Covid, Harvard’s 2020-21 season was canceled, and Moore played that season in the USHL for the Chicago Steel. His rights with the Ducks were extended through July 1, 2025.

Moore (23) served as Harvard’s captain for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, two seasons where they lost back-to-back in the conference quarterfinals and failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Moore finished his 2024-25 season with 14 points (3-11=14) in 32 games and he finished his collegiate career with 56 points (9-47=56) in 122 games.

On Thursday, the Ducks announced they’d also signed prospect defenseman Will Francis to an ATO, also with the intention of sending him to the AHL. Francis (24) was drafted in the sixth round (163rd overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft.

He was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2020 and has defeated the disease on three separate occasions in five years. He was forced to sit out the majority of his four-year collegiate career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and tallied one assist in 39 NCAA games.

The Gulls traveled to Henderson on Friday to face the Silver Knights for a back-to-back series against their division foe and the team at the bottom of the AHL standings. Moore and Solberg made their AHL debuts on Friday evening in a 4-0 victory over Henderson. The Gulls deployed a lineup consisting of 11 forwards and seven defensemen due to injury, which lighted the load of responsibility and ice time for the duo playing in their first games at the new level. The AHL doesn’t track TOI, so it’s difficult to know how much either defenseman played, but it seemed like Solberg received more shifts than Moore.

Stian Solberg

Solberg didn’t miss a beat in his first professional game of North American hockey. He displayed his typical brand of physicality and made an impact on every shift he played while tallying two shots on goal and taking a minor penalty for high-sticking.

Report: Ducks Organization Recalls Stian Solberg from SHL

Defensively, he did well to close gaps as pucks moved up ice, and he kept those gaps as pucks came back his way. He consistently won battles in the corners and in front of the Gulls’ net, punishing attackers attempting to gain position. He was relentless when his assignment had the puck in defensive zone coverage and unwavering when his check was off-puck.

He was poised on retrievals, baiting forecheckers toward him before sending slip passes or stretch outlets to awaiting, open teammates. He confidently swung pucks high to low in the offensive zone and walked the blueline astutely in search of shooting angles. He instantly became one of the Gulls' best defensemen in his first game.

Ian Moore

Moore’s transition to the AHL from the NCAA wasn’t quite as smooth as Solberg’s from the SHL. He was a tad more frantic in his decision-making but settled in nicely as the game wore on. He ended the game with a shot on goal in the boxscore.

Ducks Prospect Nominated for ECAC Hockey Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year

Moore’s skating was the separating factor in this game. It allowed him to recover effortlessly on the occasions when he overcommitted, close gaps swiftly on attackers, and angle opponents into chipping pucks low on the rush.

One would like to see him come away from some of his board battles with possession more often, but when he did, he neatly zipped quality stretch passes to forwards for easy exits. His lateral mobility and long reach allowed him to disrupt attacks on entry and open lanes in the offensive zone.

As Moore adjusts to the professional game, he can evolve into a modern-day shutdown defenseman, using his elite mobility to eliminate time and space before cleanly and quickly getting pucks up ice to teammates.

The Gulls will be back in action to take on the Silver Knights again on Saturday at 1 pm PST in Henderson.

Takeaways from the Ducks' 1-1-1 Road Trip

Leo Carlsson's Scorching Pace Down the Stretch of the Season

The Chicago Blackhawks have lost six straight games, and their vibes have been down because of this bad streak. They know that they need a gritty win to break the losing skid, and they will try to do that on the road against the St. Louis Blues. 

The Blues have been the exact opposite of the Hawks lately in terms of how good they’ve been playing. Winners of four straight, they are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. 

St. Louis’ winning streak has propelled them into a playoff position going into Saturday. They still have a lot of work to do, but they are trending in the right direction. 

This will be the third and final meeting between the two in 2024-25. The first was a Blues blowout in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. The second was a wild shootout win for St. Louis at their home barn. Chicago would like to get one win over St. Louis this season. 

Chicago has put their lines in a blender once again. This is how they project to line up against their big rival: 

Mikheyev - Nazar - Bedard 

Teravainen - Dickinson - Foligno 

Veleno - Donato - Bertuzzi

Slaggert - Reichel - Maroon

Vlasic - Kaiser 

Del Mastro - Murphy 

Martinez - Levshunov

Soderblom

Once again, Connor Bedard will skate on Frank Nazar's wing on the top line. It looks like it’s Ilya Mikheyev’s turn to be with them. 

Colton Dach hurt his arm during the last game, and it is day-to-day. It doesn’t sound like he is going to miss all that much time for the Blackhawks. With the NHL season winding down, the AHL club will need him healthy. 

Arvid Soderblom will start in net for the Blackhawks against the Blues. Spencer Knight, the new number-one goalie, will go on Sunday at home against the Philadelphia Flyers. Both guys deserve a start in this back-to-back situation. 

If ending a bad losing streak while simultaneously hurting the playoff chances of their biggest rival isn’t enough motivation for the Blackhawks to play well, what would be?  

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman indicated at the conclusion of the GM meetings in Florida on Wednesday that the league is reevaluating the format of the 2026 All-Star Game at UBS Arena next February, which will be just prior to the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. Bettman did not specify what exactly the league has in mind in terms of changes, but here are three possible options:

Gary Bettman not committing to classic #NHL All-Star game for next year. Says the Islanders will get “an event.” But what that is, he won’t be “pinned down” on yet.

4 Nations raised the bar on what the league wants for its signature showcases.

— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) March 19, 2025

Expanded Skills Competition 

One undeniable fact that resulted from the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off was how injuries that occurred in the tournament (such as the loss of Charlie McAvoy, Shea Theodore and Matthew Tkachuk) affected NHL clubs after the break. With the likelihood of two weeks of hard-fought competition in Italy, the league may want to minimize the workload and risk of injury in the All-Star Game. One way that they could do that – while increasing the entertainment value of the weekend – is to eliminate the game altogether and expand the number of events in the skills competition, which fans seem to find more interesting than a no-contact game of shinny. 

Teams Based On Nationality, Not Division

The game in recent years has been a round-robin of teams made up by division. With all eyes looking forward to the Olympics, the NHL should want to take advantage of that and have teams made up of individual countries. In this instance, you could have as many as eight separate squads (Canada, United States, Finland, Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany) playing in a skills competition or round-robin.   

Teams Based On Age Range

The most exciting team at the 2016 World Cup was Team North America, made up of players aged 23 or younger. Squads could be assembled by age range, 18-24, 25-31, and 32 and older, which would allow youngsters like Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini to participate since the odds of them making Team Canada are slim. The All-Star Game may be the only opportunity for Alex Ovechkin to play, since Russia will likely be prevented from participating due to the IIHF ban.

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The Chicago Blackhawks' big trade deadline move was trading Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Spencer Knight and more. This trade has set the Blackhawks up nicely for the future, and while Jones came in at the perfect time to Florida with Aaron Ekblad missing the rest of the regular season, Jones' numbers have been troubling.

The eye test hasn't looked as bad as what Jones' numbers really are. Since joining the Panthers, he has been on the ice for one goal for and six against at 5-on-5. Every single other Panther defenseman to play for them this season, no matter how long, other than Adam Boqvist (on the ice for eight goals for and nine against) has at least been on the ice at 5-on-5 for as many goals for as against. Jones' difference is big through just eight games.

It's not like Jones' has gotten unlucky either. His expected goals for percentage is the lowest among Panthers d-men to suit up for them this season as well with 44.97%. Again, only Boqvist was close to him, but still better.

There are many more poor analytics to support the struggles in Florida so far. The Panthers' shooting percentage when Jones is on the ice at 5-on-5 is 1.61%. The lowest team shooting percentage when any other Panthers defenseman is on the ice is 7.69%. This is too big of a gap to be more than a fluke.

Jones has a 46.02 Corsi For %, 46.2 Fenwick For %, 48.06 Shots For %, 43.7 Scoring Chances For %, and 42.59 High Danger Chances For %. All of these are the lowest among the nine d-men to play for Florida this season.

The numbers should get better, but it is not encouraging for the Panthers who just invested a lot into having Jones on the team for a number of years. Meanwhile, in Chicago, the Blackhawks might not be winning, but there are plenty of talented young d-men who are developing in the AHL and NHL and haven't been overpaid and underperformed yet.

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