The 2025-26 Pittsburgh Penguins never, ever make it easy. 

Even when they come out of gate strong - as they did against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday - a handful of things have not gone their way lately. Another goaltender interference call (which we'll get to shortly) eludes them. A few unfavorable bounces that resulted in goals against. Another shootout, where the Penguins were 1-10 going into this one. 

But, it should come as no surprise at this point that these Penguins found a way. 

On the back of two goals by defenseman Erik Karlsson - who has been on an absolute tear - the Penguins tied the game in the third period to force overtime and beat the Jets, 5-4, in the shootout. Pittsburgh held two leads in this game but lost both of them, yet they found a way - as they often have this season - to answer the bell and earn a crucial two points in what is just about as tight a playoff race as you'll ever see in the Eastern Conference. 

Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell scored in the shootout for the Penguins to seal the win, and goaltender Arturs Silovs - who came into this one with a .435 save percentage (10 for 23) in shootouts this season - stopped both Winnipeg shots to give Rakell the opportunity to end it.

And, boy, does getting that shootout monkey off their back feel pretty good for this team.

“Oh, it feels awesome," Rakell said. "Obviously, going into a shootout, it’s been on top of everyone’s head that it hasn’t gone great. But, we kind of worked on some shootouts yesterday in practice and just said that we were just going to try to turn the page and try to go out there with confidence. That’s what we did.”

TRICKY RICKY FOR THE WIN! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Gd95eThysk

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 21, 2026

The Penguins did come out swinging in this one, as they earned two early goals. Just a minute and six seconds into regulation, Evgeni Malkin fed linemate Egor Chinkahov, who was breaking toward the slot in the offensive zone, and Chinakhov worked his way around a couple of Jets and got a quick, deceptive shot off to beat netminder Connor Hellebuyck for his 14th goal of the season and the 100th point of his NHL career. 

Egor keepin' it 💯 pic.twitter.com/pnay2Re13c

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 21, 2026

Then, just 56 seconds later, the Penguins' first line was breaking into the offensive zone on the rush, and Bryan Rust found Rickard Rakell - who was crashing the net - in the low-slot area for redirection goal to put the Penguins up to an early lead, 2-0. 

Rusty to Raks magic 🙌 pic.twitter.com/zln4kCSEax

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 21, 2026

But, then, things got a bit hairy. Less than two minutes later, there was a scramble play at the Penguins' net-front after Silovs made an initial save, and Jets' center Morgan Barron went to play the puck in an attempt to shoot it on net. He ended up hip-checking Karlsson into Silovs in the process, knocking both Karlsson and Silovs into the post and squeaking the puck into the net amidst the chaos.

The Penguins challenged for goaltender interference - per Rule 69.1 - and were, once again, unsuccessful, as the goal stood. The Jets got some momentum in the latter part of the period afterward, and they carried it into the second.

No goalie interference here 🙄 pic.twitter.com/m6J7kpyCBa

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) March 21, 2026

And, six minutes into a generally poor middle frame, the Penguins were on the power play. A Karlsson shot bounced up in the air after hitting traffic on the way in, and it ended up on a silver platter at the left point for the Jets to have a two-on-one. Adam Lowry gave the puck to Cole Koepke, who made a nice move to beat Silovs and tie the game at 2-2.

Things were starting to fall apart for the Penguins. But, lucky for them, the Erik Karlsson show resumed its regularly scheduled programming.

With a little less than five minutes to go in the period, Karlsson gave the Penguins back the lead to cap off a beautiful passing play by the Penguins' second line in the offensive zone with a rocket from the right wall for his 10th of the season. So the Penguins were able to carry the lead into the third period, where things got a bit wild again. 

Jets' defenseman put a seeing-eye shot from the right point past Silovs four minutes into the third to tie the game at 3-3, and the Jets appeared to pull ahead a few minutes later when Mark Scheifele put a top-shelf snipe past Silovs blocker-side. However, the goal was called back for a high stick on the puck by Alex Iafallo after a challenge by Pittsburgh, and the score remained 3-3 - at least, momentarily. 

The Pens just successfully challenged the Jets' go-ahead goal for a missed high stick, on the SLIGHTEST touch of the puck you may ever see 😵‍💫🔍 pic.twitter.com/SPosTw4y5J

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 21, 2026

But Jets' forward Brad Lambert scored a few minutes after that on a shot from the slot that grazed Penguins' defenseman Sam Girard on its way in, and they actually did manage to take the 4-3 lead. That is, until Karlsson worked his magic again. 

On an attempt by the Jets to break into the offensive zone, Girard forced a turnover and got the puck to Crosby, who sent it cross-ice to Bryan Rust breaking into the offensive zone down the right side. Rust left a drop pass for a trailing Karlsson, who gathered the biscuit, picked his spot, and sniped another one past Hellebuyck for his 11th of the season and his NHL-leading 19th point in the last 12 games to knot the game back up at 4-4. 

LET KARL COOK 👨‍🍳 pic.twitter.com/ecDHvMGAIL

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 21, 2026

The Penguins had another overtime power play that they failed to convert on, and when things got to the shootut, Silovs shut the door, and Crosby and Rakell took care of business. 

The Captain 💪 pic.twitter.com/mtJrQZEZVI

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 21, 2026

Pittsburgh is now three points ahead of the New York Islanders and the Columbus Blue Jackets, both of whom play Saturday evening. Every point is a huge one at this time of year, so there was no better time for the Penguins to exorcise their shootout demons and earn the two points. 

And this scrappy, never-quit mentality that was once again evident in this game has served the Penguins all season long, even becoming part of their identity. 

"That pretty much probably sums it up," Rust said. "We are scrappy. Finding a lot of ways to get points, get wins, do whatever we can to continue to keep our spot in the standings. And that's been a trademark of this team, is that it may not be the prettiest sometimes, but we're never out of the fight. We never give up."

Inside The Penguins' Goalie Tandem: Skinner, Šilovs Talk Relationship Outside Rink, Splitting Goaltending DutiesPittsburgh Penguins' goaltenders Artūrs Šilovs and Stuart Skinner have both been helping the Penguins win hockey games and continue to earn crucial points down the stretch - and the success of their split tandem extends off the rink as well.

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Here are some observations and takeaways from this wild one:

- So, let's start with that goaltender interference call.

My initial thought was that the correct call was made on the goaltender interference challenge this time around. And, here's why.

Yes, Rule 69.1 clearly states - as detailed in the direct rule interpretation handout given out to those of us in the media suite - that "If a defending player has been pushed, shoved, or fouled by an attacking player so as to cause the defending player to come into contact with his own goalkeeper, such contact shall be deemed contact initiated by the attacking player for purposes of this rule, and if necessary a penalty assessed to the attacking player and if a goal is scored it would be disallowed."

Looking at this rule, that's exactly what happened. However, the one caveat to me - and the caveat that likely caused the "gray area" for interpretation - is that Bannon is trying to make a play on the puck. If Bannon was not attempting to make a play on the puck, and if Karlsson - who does have the "right of way" in this situation, technically - doesn't try to make a play or a block there, the contact never happens.

This feels like the equivalent of a coroner issuing a cause of death as "death." https://t.co/C4jGaRoRpA

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) March 21, 2026

So, one could argue that the contact is largely incidental, and it's probably why the interference wasn't called. That said - given some of the other things that have been called this season and the fact that what occurred is straight out of the rule book - I think that's got to get called back. 

And, suffice to say, Penguins' head coach Dan Muse agrees - and is, noticeably, a bit fed up at this point, as the Penguins are 0-for-8 on goalie interference challenges this season.

"The GMs had their meetings recently," Muse said. "And, [Kyle Dubas] was down there, and Kyle came back, and, obviously, there's things that come up during those meetings that he wants to inform me on, and we discuss. And one of them was goalie interference, which was, obviously, a topic there. And the instructions to me from Kyle were, 'We want to go by the book.'

"And so, it comes up again now - shortly after - and I felt, we felt, that one was by-the-book in the sense that their player pushes 'Karl' into 'Arty.' So, the feel is, for me, after just recently talking to Kyle about this identical [play] by-the-book, that that was by-the-book. That's the rule. And that is the rule. Their player pushes our player into our goalie, that's goalie interference. So, that's why I challenged."

Can't really blame him on this one. We even got sheets printed in the media suite with the rule highlighted to show why Muse challenged it. Not a great look for the league. 

To be clear, they printed that page of the rule book and distributed it to us: https://t.co/PGUyKin2WJpic.twitter.com/B01yDiKxZ0

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) March 21, 2026

- Honestly, getting this win in the shootout is a really big deal for the Penguins. Contrary to popular belief, this team actually dedicates a fair amount of time to shootouts at the end of practices, and it's nice to see their hard work rewarded.

Silovs was excellent in practice Friday, and he got the job done Saturday. And Crosby and Rakell - who had a combined two goals between them in the shootout this season - were able to get that monkey off their backs, too. 

There was a weight lifted in the room. And you could tell.

“I know if I score, it’s over," a noticeably relieved Rakell said. "So, I can just go out there. If I don’t score, we get another chance. That’s what we needed at that point. For me, it was a win-win situation.”

Crunching The Numbers: Are The Penguins Contenders?The Pittsburgh Penguins are fighting tooth and nail to make the playoffs for the first time in four years. But are their team numbers indicative of a team good enough to be a contender?

- That play by Girard on Karlsson's second goal was outstanding. Just a simple little poke check on Scheifele made that entire play happen, as the Penguins took it back quickly the other way. 

I thought he and Kris Letang were mostly fine Saturday. I know it's been a bit of a rough ride for Letang especially, and Girard was playing in his first game since Mar. 8 after a stint on injured reserve. We'll see if they can continue to build and actually develop some chemistry, as that would be a massive development for the Penguins.

- Aside from banking another two points, something under-the-radar that I love about Chinakhov's game is that he never overextends shifts. He always changes at the right time, he never has an empty tank, and he's smart about his shift management in a general sense. 

The shot is the main attraction for Chinkahov. But, man, is he a cerebral hockey player, too. 

Penguins' Chinakhov Hits Points Milestone Against Winnipeg JetsPittsburgh Penguins' forward Egor Chinakhov continues to impress with his new team - and he hit the first of what is, hopefully, many major milestones on Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets

- Finally, we've got to talk about Karlsson again.

I'm pretty much writing poetry about Karlsson after every single game at this point. But, he's impossible to ignore. What he's doing right now is nothing short of incredible, and he's quite literally willing this team to wins.

He scored the game-tying goal against the Carolina Hurricanes Wednesday in a two-goal effort. He follows that up with another two-goal effort in this one and, yet, another tying goal. As well as a go-ahead goal earlier in the game. And that's not even accounting for all the things he's doing outside of scoring, as he's making big defensive plays on a near-nightly basis and could have far more points than he has currently given the degree to which he's driving offense.

Karlsson has a staggering 19 points in his last 12 games, which is the best mark in the NHL since Feb. 28. That includes Connor McDavid. That includes Nikita Kucherov, who is on some kind of run. Same with Marty Necas, who has been a key part of the attack for the Colorado Avalanche. 

I'm just going to say it: I've been watching a lot of hockey games this month. I've been keeping an eye on a lot of individual performances. And I think Erik Karlsson has been the best player in the National Hockey League during the month of March. He's elevating this team and willing them to wins, and he's a defenseman, not a forward, putting up this level of production. 

Karlsson's been the Penguins' best player this season, and that's no knock on Crosby. He's simply been that outstanding, and his teammates have certainly noticed.

"There's not too many guys in the league who can do what he does, especially when he's at the top of his game," Rust said. "He's been a catalyst for us."

Rakell gave a glowing endorsement, too. 

“He’s doing so much for us," Rakell said. "And it’s not just scoring goals. It’s the way he breaks out pucks and keeping a close cap on their entries and just dictating the game. Then, obviously, everybody knows his game. When he’s confident, he’s one of the best defensemen in our league still. He shows that he can do it all.”

Takeaways: Penguins Come Back Yet Again To Earn Point In Crosby's Return GameThe Pittsburgh Penguins continued to show their resilience and no-quit mentality Wednesday when they stole a point out of their matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes - even if they had no business earning a point

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When the Senators and Leafs met in last spring's Stanley Cup playoffs, it seemed like we were witnessing the start of something good. Since their famous post-season tilts of the early 2000s, the two clubs have rarely been good at the same time, so the 2025 playoff Battle of Ontario was a welcome sight.

But as the two clubs meet in Ottawa Saturday night for the first time this season, it looks like the best version of the Battle will be on hold again for the foreseeable future.

The Leafs will almost certainly miss the playoffs this spring for the first time in seven years, and it looks like their Stanley Cup window has closed, if it was ever really open at all.

But to make matters worse (for them), they're also limping to the finish line with the entire hockey world questioning the team's character and culture.

Earlier this month, when Leafs captain Auston Matthews had his season ended by a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim's Radko Gudas, the group was nationally chastised for their lack of pushback.

But now Toronto has another knee injury to a top player.

Matthew Knies, who's second in Leafs scoring with 57 points, told The Hockey News' David Alter that he's playing with a knee injury, but trying to push through and finish the season with it.

“It's obviously not comfortable playing through it, but I feel like everyone's playing through something at this time of year, so that's not really an excuse," Knies said. "If it's not going to get worse, and there's no problem with me playing, then I'm going to play.”

So to recap, since last year's playoffs, Toronto has gone from first to worst in the Atlantic. They've lost Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, traded away Scott Laughton and Bobby McMann at the deadline, Knies is rocking a bum knee, and Morgan Rielly is a late scratch with a lower-body injury. 

And even if they closed the year now with a perfect 12-0 run, they'd still finish 13 points worse than last year.

Whether the team will be checked out tonight or not remains to be seen, but their fan base seems to be. Usually, despite the Senators' premium pricing for these matchups, Toronto's fans would fill Canadian Tire Centre. But two hours before game time, there were still plenty of empty seats.

The Leafs' timing for a game against Ottawa couldn't be worse because Brady Tkachuk was a tough man to contain on Thursday night.

Tkachuk has endured some recent criticism for not being at his usual intensity level, but he managed to completely flip the switch against the Islanders, brawling off the opening faceoff, scoring the winning goal in the final seconds, and generally playing like an angry spring bear just out of hibernation. 

It will be interesting to see, after dealing with post-Olympic fatigue, if he'll be able to floor it like that for the rest of the season or not.

As for the playoffs, the Senators are still very much in the mix.

With 14 games to play, they're five points behind Montreal (A3), Boston (WC1), and Detroit (WC2). Philadelphia and Washington are right on Ottawa's tail, just one point back. So the Senators will need an elite finish and a couple of teams ahead of them to falter.

Ottawa TV remotes will get a good workout on Saturday as the Canadiens host the Islanders, while the Red Wings and Bruins go head-to-head in Detroit. 

Saturday night is about kicking their provincial rivals while they're down, getting the two points they need, while hoping those other two games are both settled in regulation time.

Sens head coach Travis Green says Linus Ullmark will start in goal, and despite some line tinkering on Thursday, he's going back to the combos he's begun games with for most of this month. 

Senators projected lineup

Drake Batherson -- Tim Stutzle -- Claude Giroux

Brady Tkachuk -- Dylan Cozens -- Ridly Greig

Nick Cousins -- Shane Pinto -- Michael Amadio

Warren Foegele -- Lars Eller -- Fabian Zetterlund

Thomas Chabot -- Artem Zub

Tyler Kleven -- Jordan Spence

Dennis Gilbert -- Nikolas Matinpalo

Linus Ullmark
James Reimer

Scratched: Stephen Halliday, Kurtis MacDermid

Injured: Jake Sanderson (upper body), Nick Jensen (lower body)

Steve Warne
The Hockey News

This article was originally published at The Hockey News. For more Senators news, analysis, and features, visit the Ottawa Senators site at The Hockey News.

More from The Hockey News:
The Buying and Selling Of Jakob Chychrun Never Quite Worked Out In Ottawa
One Year Later, The Fabian Zetterlund Trade Is Still Taking Shape
With Injuries To Sanderson And Jensen, Sens Top Up Depth At AHL Trade Deadline

'I Just Needed to Get Some Anger Out': Senators Captain Brady Tkachuk Delivers Statement GameTkachuk shook off fan scrutiny and post-Olympic fatigue and led the charge on Thursday with a signature performance.

The Nashville Predators score three goals on special teams, two on the power play and one short-handed, in a critical Wild Card race win over the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-1, on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena. 

The win temporarily puts the Predators in the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference for the first time this season. It's also the first time the Predators have won three in a row since Jan. 16. make

They will need the Seattle Kraken to lose in regulation and the Los Angeles Kings to lose in regulation in order to hold onto the spot by the end of the day. 

• Los Angeles (72 PTS) hosts Buffalo (LAK leads 1-0 at end of first period)
• Seattle (71 PTS) travels to Columbus (4 p.m. CST puck-drop)

"It honestly feels great to win this game," Ryan O'Reilly said. "It's a good team over there. 
It's a very disappointing start...We gotta find a way to get something in the first (period). 
If it wasn't for big juice (Annuen) there, it could have gone out of hand, quick."

Special Teams Carry Scoring 

The Predators' power play has ebbed and flowed this season. After slumping in early March, the unit has finally found some consistency and even turned into a weapon. 

Nashville scored twice on the power play against the Golden Knights, with Steven Stamkos putting a one-timer feed from Filip Forsberg and O'Reilly then tipping in a shot/pass from Stamkos.

The conversion was Stamkos' 238th career power play goal, passing Brendan Shanahan for seventh all-time. He'd finish with three points on the day.

On the other end, the Predators' penalty kill found a way to find the back of the net as Tyson Jost capped off a 3-on-1 opportunity in the second period to put Nashville up 3-0.

According to Jost, it was a well-scouted play that created the opportunity and allowed the Predators to score. It was Jost's first career short-handed goal and his third point in five games.

"We kind of pre-scouted that (Mitch) Marner was gonna kind of try and go over to the flank (bounce the puck off the boards). He (Brady Skjei) made a great read and a great pass by him. I heard Halsey (Erik Haula) barking. I didn't know it was a 3-on-1, but I kind of heard him behind me there." 

The Predators' first goal of the night wasn't scored on the power play, but was a unique scoring chance.

Less than a minute into the game, Stamkos scored right off the face-off to put the Predators up 1-0. It was O'Reilly's first of two points on the day. 

"He (O'Reilly) said, 'How about I try to snap one back to you, and you shoot it?' and I said, 'Sure.' And it worked," Stamko said. "Those are a dime a dozen type of plays where it comes so clean and fast. I don't think anyone, including the goalie, reacted till it was in the net." 

Annunen Stands Tall 

Justus Annunen was put to the test in the first 20 minutes of the game, facing 20 shots to the Predators' four, and not letting in a goal. 

He'd finish the night with a season high of 39 saves on 40 shots. Annunen's .975 save percentage was his best single-game performance in a start of the season. 

After being thrown into the starter role on Thursday, as Juuse Saros was ruled out with a day-to-day upper body injury and was still out for Saturday's game, Annunen has been up to the challenge. 

"It kind of took him (Annunen) a while to get going, and we've seen he's been exceptional," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. "Even last time against Vegas. It ended up being a little bit higher (goal total), but he was spot on. His numbers and great danger chances are off the charts for us right now." 

Nashville has a quick turnaround, facing Chicago on the road on Sunday at 2 p.m. CST. Brunette said it's unknown if Annuen or Matt Murray, a call-up from Milwaukee, will start. 

The Predators were disappointed with their start, but one of the motivating factors was getting the win for Annunen and making sure it wasn't wasted. 

"Thank God for Big Juice," Steven Stamkos said. "We didn't waste his performance, and that was kind of the story of tonight." 

Staying In The Playoff Race 

In the hours between the end of the Predators game and the end of the Kings game, Nashville is in the final Wild Card spot with 73 points.

They are very much not safe there with three other teams riding their coattails, but it's the first time this season that Nashville has finally been able to pass over the threshold. 

The Predators are still proud of having gotten here. For the first two months of the season, they were the worst team in the NHL and are now on the brink of extending their season. 

However, they know they need to continue winning to stay in this position.

"It's just the belief in the guys in this room, and that's all that matters," Stamkos said. "The coaching staff has a belief, the players have a belief, and it's not always gonna be pretty. We understand that at this time of the year, points are more important than how good the game looks. We put together a decent stretch over the past six or seven games and collected points.

"As you said, it's there for the taking."