Senators Dominate Leafs In Toronto, Move To Within Five Points Of Playoff Spot
The Ottawa Senators got back on the winning track in Toronto on Saturday night, crushing the Maple Leafs 5–2 in a game that was not as close as the score would appear.
Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens each scored twice for the Senators, who moved to within five points of the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Leafs, meanwhile, were dominated for most of the night and remain nine points off the pace. Ottawa set the tone early, outshooting Toronto 16–2 in the first period and never let up.
Linus Ullmark made 21 saves for the Senators, who outshot Toronto 40–23 overall. Joseph Woll was chased from the game after allowing five goals on 28 shots, while Anthony Stolarz made 12 saves after replacing him late in the second period.
Morgan Rielly opened the scoring for the Leafs, beating Ullmark between the legs with a wrist shot on the power play less than three minutes into the game.
Ottawa answered midway through the first when Thomas Chabot took a nice pass from Brady Tkachuk in the high slot and beat Woll with a wrist shot that may have deflected off a stick in front.
Early in the second period, Cozens gave Ottawa a 2–1 lead, tapping in a room-service rebound that landed right on his stick blade.
Ten minutes later, Batherson buried a snapshot off the post and in to make it 3–1, but William Nylander quickly responded to cut the deficit to 3–2.
That was as close as the Leafs would get.
After a neutral-zone turnover by Matthew Knies, Batherson scored his second of the night to give the Senators a 4–2 advantage. It appeared Knies had knocked the puck into his own zone, but Toronto challenged the play for offside. The challenge was unsuccessful, resulting in a delay-of-game penalty.
Cozens made them pay, scoring on a wrist shot on the power play to complete the scoring and send Woll to the showers. The third period was uneventful, save for a weird little line brawl that started when Anthony Stolarz and Ridly Greig got into it as they did last season.
The Senators will continue their road trip in Edmonton on Tuesday, then in Calgary on Thursday. After that comes the NHL trade deadline on Friday, when decisions will have to be made about whether to bolster the roster for the stretch run or stand pat.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published by The Hockey News. More headlines here:
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Gostisbehere sparks Hurricanes’ 5th straight win, 5-2 over Red Wings
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Shayne Gostisbehere had a goal and two assists to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to their fifth straight win, 5-2 over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.
Jackson Blake, Taylor Hall, Sebastian Aho and Eric Robinson also scored for the Hurricanes, who have used a 12-game point streak (10-0-2) to surge to the top of the Eastern Conference with 82 points.
Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen made 27 saves to improve to 14-1-2 in his career against the Red Wings.
Simon Edvinsson and Patrick Kane scored and Cam Talbot stopped 31 shots for the Red Wings, who lost for the fifth time in seven games (2-4-1).
The Hurricanes built a 3-0 lead to continue their recent hot play at home. They lost their first two home games in January but have gone 10-0-1 at home since a 5-3 loss to Colorado on Jan. 3.
Gostisbehere scored at 2:18 in the third period to give the Hurricanes some breathing room after Detroit cut the margin to 3-2 at the end of the second period.
Blake, with assists from Gostisbehere and Hall, extended the Hurricanes’ margin to 5-2 with a goal at 5:30 in the third.
RANGERS 3, PENGUINS 2, SO
NEW YORK (AP) — Vincent Trocheck scored the shootout winner and Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves and the New York Rangers rallied to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After an overtime in which each team had several good scoring chances, Trocheck beat Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner with the only goal of the shootout as the Rangers snapped a five-game losing streak. Shesterkin made five saves in overtime.
Mika Zibanejad and Taylor Raddysh also scored for the Rangers. The last-place Rangers are 7-15-5 at home this season.
Anthony Mantha and defenseman Ryan Shea scored for the Penguins, who had their two-game winning streak stopped. Pittsburgh is 8-1-2 since Jan. 17.
FLYERS 3, BRUINS 1
PHIALDELPHIA (AP) — Travis Konecny opened the scoring in the third period and set up Jaime Drysdale’s goal, Dan Vladar made 26 saves and Philadelphia beat Boston.
Konecny scored his team-leading 23rd goal of the season, sliding the puck past Jeremy Swayman off a drop pass from Christian Dvorak at 3:41 of the third. Konency then set up Drysdale for a wrister that made it 2-0 with 8:05 left.
Charlie McAvoy scored for Boston on a deflection with 6:57 to go. Flyers captain Sean Couturier had an empty-netter to snap a 31-game goal drought.
Philadelphia won back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 3-6 to move within six points of Boston for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins are 5-1-3 in their last nine.
Swayman made 14 saves.
SHARKS 5, OILERS 4
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Shakir Mukhamadullin broke a tie midway through the third period and San Jose snapped a five-game winless streak by beating Edmonton.
Mukhamadullin beat Connor Ingram with a slap shot from the point with 10:39 to play to give the Sharks their first victory since Jan. 27 at Vancouver. San Jose had been 0-4-1 since then, starting when the Sharks blew a 3-0 lead in the third period to Edmonton before losing in overtime.
Olympic star Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring for San Jose as he got the best of his matchup against his linemate from Canada in the Olympics, Connor McDavid.
Michael Misa, Barclay Goodrow and Alexander Wennberg also scored for San Jose. Yaroslav Askarov made 20 saves.
Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Trent Frederic and Jake Walman scored for Edmonton, while McDavid chipped in with three assists to give him an NHL-leading 103 points on the season.
Ingram made 28 saves.
DEVILS 3, BLUES 1
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves, Timo Meier and Dougie Hamilton had second-period goals and New Jersey beat St. Louis to end a five-game losing streak.
Markstrom lost his shutout bid with 1:18 left when Pavel Buchnevich scored with goalie Jordan Binnington off for an extra attacker.
Nico Hischier scored into an empty net in the final seconds.
Binnington made 30 saves in his first game since backstopping Canada to the Olympic final.
Meier scored his 16th goal of the season at 5:37 of the second, firing in a wrist shot from the right circle. He has three goals in his last six NHL games. For Switzerland in the Olympics, Meier had three goals and four assists in five games.
AVALANCHE 3, BLACKHAWKS 1
DENVER (AP) — Cale Makar scored two goals, Gavin Brindley had the go-ahead score early in the third period and Colorado beat Chicago.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 14 saves for Colorado, which killed off two penalties early in the third period to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Minnesota on Thursday night.
Colorado has an NHL-best 87 points and leads Dallas in the Western Conference by six points and Minnesota by seven. The Stars have played one more game than the Avalanche and the Wild have played two more.
Connor Bedard scored for Chicago, which has lost eight of nine and continues to struggle to score. The Blackhawks have just 12 goals in their eight losses.
Spencer Knight made 32 saves for Chicago, which had just nine shots through the first two periods.
ISLANDERS 4, BLUE JACKETS 3, OT
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Simon Holmstrom scored 1:50 into overtime as New York beat Columbus for its fourth straight win.
Holmstrom got the feed from Tony DeAngelo and had a clear path up the right side of the ice before cutting toward the net with a wrist shot to beat Columbus’ Jet Greaves.
It was Holmstrom’s 14th goal of the season and his second in overtime. The Islanders are 8-0 in overtime games this season, the only team in the league that hasn’t lost in the extra period.
Scott Mayfield had a goal and assist for the Islanders. Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored 22 seconds apart in the second period to erase a two-goal deficit. Ilya Sorokin stopped 27 shots.
Columbus’ Zach Wereneki, who had the assist on Jack Hughes’ goal in the United States’ gold-medal victory over Canada at the Olympics, had a pair of assists and extended his points streak to a nine games, the longest run by a defenseman in franchise history.
Werenski, second among NHL defensemen with 65 points, has 13 in his last nine games (two goals, 11 assists). It was Werenski’s 21st multipoint game this season and the 100th of his 10-year career. With 621 games played, he’s the fifth-fastest active defenseman to reach the mark.
Isac Lundeström, Mason Marchment, Adam Fantilli had Columbus’ goals. Greaves made 22 saves.
KINGS 2, FLAMES 0
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anton Forsberg made 29 saves, Alex Laferriere scored in the second period and Los Angeles beat Calgary to end a five-game losing streak.
Forsberg had his second shutout of the season and 10th of his NHL career, two nights after coming on in relief of Darcy Kuemper in the second period of an 8-1 home loss to Edmonton.
Laferriere scored with 4:24 left in second, putting his own rebound past goalie Dustin Wolf for his 14th goal of the season. Adrian Kempe added his 22nd into an empty net in the final minute.
Wolf made 35 saves. He spent seven years in the Los Angeles Junior Kings youth program before playing major junior for Everett in the Western Hockey League.
SABRES 6, LIGHTNING 2
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Josh Norris scored twice, Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and two assists and Buffalo beat Tampa Bay for its third straight victory.
Zach Metsa had a goal and an assist, Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson also scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 36 saves to help Buffalo move within four points of the Atlantic Division-leading Lightning.
The Sabres improved to 16-2-1 in their past 19 on the road, ending Tampa Bay’s 10-game home winning streak.
Dominic James and Victor Hedman scored for Tampa Bay. The Lightning have lost consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 15-18.
Andrei Vasilevksiy, who was 17-0-1 in his previous starts, was pulled after allowing five goals on 14 shots in his first regulation loss since Dec. 18. Jonas Johansson came on in relief and stopped 20 shots.
SENATORS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 2
TORONTO (AP) — Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens each scored twice and Ottawa beat Toronto.
Thomas Chabot also scored, Cozens added an assist and Linus Ullmark made 21 saves.
Morgan Rielly and William Nylander scored for Toronto in its third straight loss.
Rielly got the scoring started less than three minutes into the first period, but it was all Senators from there. Ottawa had the next 19 shots on goal and scored three straight to take a two-goal lead midway through the second period.
Nylander cut it to 3-2, but Batherson struck back with his second of the period less than two minutes later on a play Toronto unsuccessfully challenged for offside.
Cozens scored his second goal on the ensuing penalty, chasing goalie Joseph Woll after 23 saves on 28 shots. Anthony Stolarz stopped all 12 shots he faced.
CANADIENS 6, CAPITALS 2
MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield scored two first-period goals to help propel Montreal to a win over Washington.
Mike Matheson and Kirby Dach scored goals in the second period for Montreal, which has recorded at least a point in seven consecutive games (5-0-2).
Nick Suzuki and Jake Evans added empty-net goals in the third and Suzuki had two assists. Jakub Dobes made 27 saves as he improved his record to 9-0-2 over his last 11 games.
Caufield now has a team-high 35 goals this season. It took all of 30 seconds for the Canadiens to find the back of the net, marking the fastest game-opening goal scored by Montreal this season. Jakob Chychrun’s point shot was blocked by Caufield, resulting in a breakaway for the forward. His snap shot beat Charlie Lindgren to the glove side.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice for the Capitals, who had their three-game win streak snapped. The Capitals captain has scored 44 goals and recorded 76 points in just 63 career matchups against the Canadiens.
Lindgren stopped 19 shots in his first start since Jan. 29.
STARS 3, PREDATORS 2
DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson scored 1:47 into overtime, lifting Dallas to a comeback victory over Nashville for its eighth straight win.
Nathan Bastian and Wyatt Johnston scored in regulation for the Stars, who trailed 2-0 after one period. Dallas has rallied from deficits to win each of its three games against Nashville this season — two after trailing 2-0.
Jake Oettinger stopped 25 shots in his first start since returning from the Milan-Cortina Olympics, where he was the backup for the gold medal-winning U.S. team. He’s 7-0 in his last seven starts.
Dallas tied the team’s longest winning streak, set March 16 to April 3, 2024. The Stars have won their last six home games and improved to 20-4-9 in one-goal games this season. They have the second-most wins in the NHL in one-goal games, behind only the New York Islanders (22-5-5).
Michael Bunting and Steven Stamkos each scored for the Predators in the opening period. Juuse Saros made 22 saves.
KRAKEN 5, CANUCKS 1
SEATTLE (AP) — Jordan Eberle scored twice and added an assist as Seattle beat Vancouver.
Vince Dunn, Chandler Stephenson and Matty Beniers also scored for the Kraken, who snapped a two-game skid during which they were outscored 9-2 following the Olympic break. Joey Daccord made 27 saves.
The Canucks, who dropped their fifth straight, got a goal from Liam Ohgren. Kevin Lankinen made 20 stops but has now allowed 15 goals over his last three starts.
Dunn — playing in his 600th career game — scored at 7:36 of the first period from the top of the left circle to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.
Stephenson scored on a rebound with 9:40 remaining in the first period to make it 2-0. Adam Larsson recorded his 200th career assist on the goal.
Ohgren’s slap shot beat Daccord at 8:28 of the second period to cut the lead 2-1.
Eberle made it 3-1 with 6:13 left in the second, scoring his team-leading 21st goal of the season. He outskated his defender and finished the breakaway with a backhand.
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Robertson’s overtime goal caps Stars’ 3-2 comeback over Predators for 8th straight win
DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson scored 1:47 into overtime, lifting the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 comeback victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night for their eighth straight win.
Nathan Bastian and Wyatt Johnston scored in regulation for the Stars, who trailed 2-0 after one period. Dallas has rallied from deficits to win each of its three games against Nashville this season — two after trailing 2-0.
Jake Oettinger stopped 25 shots in his first start since returning from the Milan-Cortina Olympics, where he was the backup for the gold medal-winning U.S. team. He's 7-0 in his last seven starts.
Dallas tied the team's longest winning streak, set March 16 to April 3, 2024. The Stars have won their last six home games and improved to 20-4-9 in one-goal games this season. They have the second-most wins in the NHL in one-goal games, behind only the New York Islanders (22-5-5).
Michael Bunting and Steven Stamkos each scored for the Predators in the opening period. Juuse Saros made 22 saves.
With the Predators leading 2-1, Bastian scored on a wrist shot 5:31 into the third period to tie it.
In overtime, Brady Skjei nearly gave Nashville the win but hit the post. Seconds later, Johnston circled the net and missed, but Miro Heiskanen got the loose puck in the left circle. He sent a pass through the crease to an open Robertson, who got enough of the puck to direct it in for the win.
Johnston got the Predators on the scoreboard in the second period with his 32nd goal and 20th on the power play — extending his single-season record since the franchise relocated to Dallas in 1993-94. He’s also two power-play goals shy of tying the overall franchise record set by Dino Ciccarelli in 1986-87.
Up next
Predators: Host Detroit on Monday.
Stars: Play at Vancouver on Monday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Red Wings' Comeback Effort Dashed In 5-2 Loss To Stingy Hurricanes
The Detroit Red Wings dug themselves into a three-goal hole against the Carolina Hurricanes, and despite showing signs of life with a brief comeback effort, a familiar face ultimately delivered the decisive blow.
Former Detroit defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who skated one season with the club in 2023–24 and recorded 56 points, struck early in the third period to restore Carolina’s multi-goal lead en route to a 5–2 victory for the Hurricanes at Lenovo Center.
Final from Carolina pic.twitter.com/ucljbUME0i
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 1, 2026
The loss dropped the Red Wings back into a Wild Card position in the tightly-packed Eastern Conference standings due to wins by the Buffalo Sabres, who have been one of the NHL's hottest clubs since mid-December, and the Montreal Canadiens.
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
Detroit trailed by two goals at the end of the opening 20 minutes of play thanks to goals from Carolina forwards Taylor Hall and Sebastian Aho.
Hall broke in alone on and beat goaltender Cam Talbot, making his first start since late January, after he blocked defenseman Simon Edvinsson's shot at the opposite blue line. Aho scored on the power-play in the waning seconds of the period.
Carolina then bolstered their lead to 3-0 thanks to a tally from Eric Robinson at the 2:52 mark, but the Red Wings gave their fans hope of a comeback effort thanks to a pair of goals in quick fashion from Edvinsson and Patrick Kane.
However, those hopes were dashed by Gostisbehere, who scored at 2:18 of the third period. Jackson Blake then put Carolina back up by three goals just over three minutes later.
Talbot finished with 31 saves, while his Carolina counterpart Frederik Andersen made 27 saves.
The Red Wings faltered on their only power-play chance of the game, while the Hurricanes finished at 25 percent efficiency by going 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
Red Wings Announce Dominik Shine Has Been Recalled From Griffins Grand Rapids Griffins team captain Dominik Shine has been called back up to the Red Wings ahead of Saturday evening's game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Detroit's three-game road swing will conclude on Monday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena with a matchup against the Nashville Predators.
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Nashville Predators Fall To Stars In Overtime After Giving Up 2-0 Lead | Recap
A two-goal Nashville Predators lead in the first period wasn't enough to hold off the Dallas Stars on Saturday as they scored three unanswered goals to defeat the Predators, 3-2, in overtime at American Airlines Arena.
It's the Stars' eighth straight win and the Predators' fourth straight overtime loss.
On the play that led to the game-winning goal, Wyatt Johnston wrapped around to the middle of the slot and fired a shot that went wide. Brady Skjei went to block the shot, but was indirectly tripped up by Miro Heiskanen's stick.
At the same time, Heiskanen was battling for positioning with Steven Stamkos when his stick was knocked out of his hands, taking him out of the play.
Heiskanen picked up the rebound and passed the puck over to Jason Robertson at the left side of the net. Prior to the pass, Erik Haula got tied up with Robertson, but Robertson was able to break free.
Robertson tapped the puck in for an easy, game-winning score.
Nashville jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. On the power play, Matthew Wood faked a shot and passed it over Michael Bunting on the right side for the score and to put the Predators up 1-0.
A little over a minute later, Stamkos scored his 30th goal of the season off a steal at the blue line and passed it to Luke Evangelista for a break into the Stars zone. Evangelista gave it back to Stamkos and he beat Jake Oettinger blocker side to make it 2-0.
The goal also saw Evangelista record his second assist of the game.
Nashville's offense went into a lull in the second period, getting just four shots on net and seeing Wyatt Johnston snap Juuse Saros' shutout bid on the power play to make it 2-1.
In the third period, a no-icing call caught the Predators off guard, allowing Thomas Harley to get a shot on net and Nathan Bastian to put the rebound away to tie the game, 2-2.
Of note, defenseman Adam Wilsby left the game with a lower-body injury and did not return. Nashville played with five defensemen for the majority of the night.
Saros made 22 saves on 25 shots, dropping his fifth overtime game of the season.
Nashville is sitting at 62 points, just a point outside of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. That gap may lengthen by the end of Saturday night, pending the result of the Seattle (63 points) and Vancouver game.
The Predators are back at home on Monday against the Detroit Red Wings at 1 p.m. CST.
Caufield scores 2 in the first period as the Canadiens beat the Capitals 6-2
MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield scored two first-period goals to help propel the Montreal Canadiens to a 6-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.
Mike Matheson and Kirby Dach scored goals in the second period for Montreal, which has recorded at least a point in seven consecutive games (5-0-2).
Nick Suzuki and Jake Evans added empty-net goals in the third and Suzuki had two assists. Jakub Dobes made 27 saves as he improved his record to 9-0-2 over his last 11 games.
Caufield now has a team-high 35 goals this season. It took all of 30 seconds for the Canadiens to find the back of the net, marking the fastest game-opening goal scored by Montreal this season. Jakob Chychrun’s point shot was blocked by Caufield, resulting in a breakaway for the forward. His snap shot beat Charlie Lindgren to the glove side.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice for the Capitals, who had their three-game win streak snapped. The Capitals captain has scored 44 goals and recorded 76 points in just 63 career matchups against the Canadiens.
Lindgren stopped 19 shots in his first start since Jan. 29.
Washington failed to capitalize four power-play opportunities.
The Bell Centre remains a tough stop for visiting teams as Montreal improved to 10-3-1 in its last 14 home games.
Up next
Capitals: Host the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night.
Canadiens: Visit the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Batherson, Cozens each score twice in the Senators' 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs
TORONTO (AP) — Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens each scored twice and the Ottawa Senators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Saturday night.
Thomas Chabot also scored, Cozens added an assist and Linus Ullmark made 21 saves.
Morgan Rielly and William Nylander scored for Toronto in its third straight loss.
Rielly got the scoring started less than three minutes into the first period, but it was all Senators from there. Ottawa had the next 19 shots on goal and scored three straight to take a two-goal lead midway through the second period.
Nylander cut it to 3-2, but Batherson struck back with his second of the period less than two minutes later on a play Toronto unsuccessfully challenged for offside.
Cozens scored his second goal on the ensuing penalty, chasing goalie Joseph Woll after 23 saves on 28 shots. Anthony Stolarz stopped all 12 shots he faced.
The Maple Leafs' frustrations boiled over early in the third period in the form of a brawl in front of Stolarz, which resulted in 28 penalty minutes, including a 10-minute misconduct to Toronto's Max Domi.
Up next
Senators: At Edmonton on Tuesday night.
Maple Leafs: Host Philadelphia on Monday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhla
Connor Bedard Stays Hot But Blackhawks Lose To Avalanche 3-1
The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night in Denver. On top of the entire NHL, the Avalanche present an incredible challenge for every team that they play against.
The Blackhawks, who are on the tail end of a rebuild, are still far away from being in the same class as the Avalanche, who will enter the playoffs as one of the top threats to win the Stanley Cup.
The Blackhawks kept the score close, but that is more because of Spencer Knight's brilliance in the goal. He made 32 saves on 34 shots.
Connor Bedard gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead early in the first period, but the Avalanche put in the work to get it tied and eventually win it before the game even came close to reaching overtime.
Cale Makar scored the tying goal for the Avalanche with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second period. From there, the Avalanche had a true grip on the game.
Gavin Brindley scored the go-ahead goal at 7:31 of the third period, and that stood as the game-winner. Makar added an empty net goal, and the 3-1 score stood as the final.
This was a tough loss for the Blackhawks. The score wasn't a true indication of how badly the Avalanche outplayed the Hawks, but the young team did stay in the game thanks to the goaltender and Bedard's early goal.
Bedard needs to stay hot, but the lack of scoring depth beyond Tyler Bertuzzi is keeping them from pulling out wins in some of these games. One more goal could have changed the entire outcome of this game.
Watch Every Chicago Goal
Bedsy what a shot🤯 pic.twitter.com/In0UHeU4PP
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 28, 2026
What’s Next For The Blackhawks?
The Blackhawks will be back in action again on Sunday, when they take on the Utah Mammoth in Salt Lake City.
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Hurricanes continue hot streak with 5-2 win over Detroit
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Shayne Gostisbehere had a goal and two assists to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to their fifth straight win, 5-2 over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.
Jackson Blake, Taylor Hall, Sebastian Aho and Eric Robinson also scored for the Hurricanes, who have used a 12-game point streak (10-0-2) to surge to the top of the Eastern Conference with 82 points.
Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen made 27 saves to improve to 14-1-2 in his career against the Red Wings.
Simon Edvinsson and Patrick Kane scored and Cam Talbot stopped 31 shots for the Red Wings, who lost for the fifth time in seven games (2-4-1).
The Hurricanes built a 3-0 lead to continue their recent hot play at home. They lost their first two home games in January but have gone 10-0-1 at home since a 5-3 loss to Colorado on Jan. 3.
Gostisbehere scored at 2:18 in the third period to give the Hurricanes some breathing room after Detroit cut the margin to 3-2 at the end of the second period.
Blake, with assists from Gostisbehere and Hall, extended the Hurricanes' margin to 5-2 with a goal at 5:30 in the third.
Edvinsson scored from the left circle with 1:35 left in the second period to get Detroit on the scoreboard. Kane scored 47 seconds later to cut the deficit to 3-2 heading into the third period.
In the first period, Hall scored on a breakaway at 14:05 and Gostisbehere set up Aho’s power-play goal with eight seconds left to make it 2-0. Aho, who helped Finland win bronze at the Olympics, has seven points in the past six games. Robinson scored 2:52 into the second period to push the lead to 3-0.
Up next
Red Wings: Visit Nashville on Monday night.
Hurricanes: Start a four-game road trip at Seattle on Monday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Forsberg makes 29 saves, the Kings beat the Flames 2-0 to end a 5-game losing streak
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anton Forsberg made 29 saves, Alex Laferriere scored in the second period and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Calgary Flames 2-0 on Saturday night to end a five-game losing streak.
Forsberg had his second shutout of the season and 10th of his NHL career, two nights after coming on in relief of Darcy Kuemper in the second period of an 8-1 home loss to Edmonton.
Laferriere scored with 4:24 left in second, putting his own rebound past goalie Dustin Wolf for his 14th goal of the season. Adrian Kempe added his 22nd into an empty net in the final minute.
Wolf made 35 saves. He spent seven years in the Los Angeles Junior Kings youth program before playing major junior for Everett in the Western Hockey League.
The Kings have three games left on a six-game homestand.
Up next
Flames: At Anaheim on Sunday night.
Kings: Host Colorado on Monday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhla
Sabres Have 2 Blackhawks Trade Targets To Consider
The Buffalo Sabres are undoubtedly a team to pay attention to between now and the 2026 NHL trade deadline. With the Sabres looking to cement themselves a spot in the playoffs, they should be looking to add to their roster.
The Chicago Blackhawks are in a different position, as they are among the bottom teams in the NHL and should be sellers. Due to this, let's look at two players who the Sabres should consider pursuing from Chicago.
Ilya Mikheyev, LW/RW
The Sabres would benefit by adding another depth forward to their roster, and Ilya Mikheyev could be an interesting player for them to bring in. The 31-year-old forward could fit well in their bottom six, as he is a speedy winger who contributes offensively. He is also an excellent penalty-killer, so he would help the Sabres in that department.
Mikheyev has appeared in 53 games this season with the Blackhawks, where he has recorded 11 goals, 12 assists, and 23 points.
Connor Murphy, D
The Sabres have been connected to Murphy a lot this season, and it is easy to understand why. There is no question that they need another right-shot defenseman, and landing Murphy would give them a very solid one. The veteran blueliner could fit nicely on their bottom pairing and penalty kill if acquired.
In 58 games this season, Murphy has recorded four goals, eight assists, 12 points, and 84 blocks.
Recap: Avalanche survive with 3-1 win over Blackhawks
In continuation of the Central Division showdowns, the Colorado Avalanche moved on in their busy schedule in hosting the Chicago Blackhawks in a Saturday afternoon affair hoping to erase the bitter taste of defeat from two nights ago. It wasn’t a masterful effort but still Colorado found enough to end up with a 3-1 win over Chicago.
The Game
It wasn’t the start to the game the Avalanche were hoping for. Devon Toews took a hooking penalty six minutes into the match and Connor Bedard converted for Chicago on the power play for the game’s first score. For the rest of the first period the two teams would trade fruitless power plays while the Avalanche crafted a 14-4 shot advantage.
The second period wasn’t much better and was a slog to get through. Colorado took a too many men penalty early and then Chicago was called for three straight infractions after that. Colorado capitalized on none of them, gaining only a 9-5 shot advantage in the period in the process.
A sign of life, though, emerged after the fourth failed power play of the game for Colorado as Cale Makar found the back of the net with nine seconds left in the period. It wasn’t even a clean pass from MacKinnon as a Blackhawk tipped it on the way to Makar but he was able to find an open look much closer to the net that he has been and fired his favorite shot from the top of the right circle to tie the game 1-1 heading into the second intermission.
A shorthanded 3-on-1 happened early in the final frame but the Avalanche over-passed their way out of it to keep the game tied. Who knew the fourth line would bail out the Avalanche in their third minute of time on ice in the game? That’s exactly what happened midway through the third period to give Colorado their first lead of the contest when Gavin Brindley cleaned up some loose change at the net front.
Nothing else happened in this game except for an empty net goal scored by Makar after just seconds after Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Nečas over-passed themselves into a turnover when they had a chance at securing the victory. A 3-1 Colorado win was recorded after this sloppy game.
Takeaways
Joel Kiviranta remained absent from this game with Zakhar Bardakov participating in his place. Prior to the game Jared Bednar admitted on the radio that the Finn is going through concussion protocol.
It was nice to see Brindley as the hero of the game but it’s troubling he still ended with 3:26 time on ice and not a second more after he scored the game winning goal. It’s fair to wonder how much of the current bottom six forward group will remain on the roster after the upcoming NHL trade deadline on Friday.
Upcoming
A busy March schedule kicks off with the first of a back-to-back in California against the LA Kings at 8:30 p.m. MT on Monday, March 2nd.
Islanders stage comeback after two-goal deficit, beat Blue Jackets in OT, 4-3
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Simon Holmstrom scored 1:50 into overtime as the New York Islanders beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Saturday night for their fourth straight win.
Holmstrom got the feed from Tony DeAngelo and had a clear path up the right side of the ice before cutting toward the net with a wrist shot to beat Columbus’ Jet Greaves.
It was Holmstrom’s 14th goal of the season and his second in overtime. The Islanders are 8-0 in overtime games this season, the only team in the league that hasn’t lost in the extra period.
Scott Mayfield had a goal and assist for the Islanders. Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored 22 seconds apart in the second period to erase a two-goal deficit. Ilya Sorokin stopped 27 shots.
Columbus’ Zach Wereneki, who had the assist on Jack Hughes’ goal in the United States’ gold-medal victory over Canada at the Olympics, had a pair of assists and extended his points streak to a nine games, the longest run by a defenseman in franchise history.
Werenski, second among NHL defensemen with 65 points, has 13 in his last nine games (two goals, 11 assists). It was Werenski’s 21st multipoint game this season and the 100th of his 10-year career. With 621 games played, he’s the fifth-fastest active defenseman to reach the mark.
Isac Lundeström, Mason Marchment, Adam Fantilli had Columbus’ goals. Greaves made 22 saves.
Columbus is seven points behind the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division and five back of Boston for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
Marchment, whose goal 3:58 into the second gave the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead, has 10 goals in 16 games with the Blue Jackets since being acquired in a trade from Seattle on Dec. 19. That’s the fewest games a Columbus player has needed to reach double-digit goals.
Up next
Islanders: Host Florida on Sunday.
Blue Jackets: At New York Rangers on Monday.
Devils Snap Losing Streak With Great Performances in 3-1 Win Over Blues
First Period
In the first period, the Devils had a very disjointed effort. Despite not generating a ton of scoring chances (three high-danger), the team had several giveaways. Per Natural Stat Trick, Dawson Mercer (2), Connor Brown, Nick Bjugstad, Nico Hischier, Simon Nemec, and Timo Meier were all credited with giveaways on bad passes. Having seven giveaways in a game can be bad enough, but the Devils made other mistakes with the puck, too. Sometimes, they recovered well, and sometimes, they did not.
My least favorite moment of the first period was on the penalty kill, after Dougie Hamilton took a trip. Luke Hughes, who does not get a ton of penalty killing time, made an excellent read to intercept a pass in the defensive zone and skated it out himself. After gaining the center ice line, Hughes looked to feed it across to Nick Bjugstad. Those two and Jesper Bratt entered the zone, but one too many passes back between Bjugstad and Bratt led to a chance the other way. Bratt could have put pressure on Binnington with a one-timer on the rush, but he was too much of a perfectionist.
I will disagree with Bryce Salvador’s commentary on that play, as he praised Luke for having the responsibility to get back on defense rather than press the attack too much. I get it — it’s the penalty kill. But Luke Hughes made a perfect read on a bad pass and had good legs going into the offensive zone, and we know he is skilled enough to score. I do not think he should be coached in a way to automatically defer to the forwards there. If Luke Hughes thinks he can take the puck to the net himself, he should do it. If he thinks he has a shot, he should take it. We are talking about someone whose skillset should make him a 60+ point defenseman (or better) if his speed/hands combo are used right. We’ve seen him go nearly end-to-end, we’ve seen him score on the rush, and while I think he made a great pass to Nick Bjugstad, I would have had no issue if he went up on offense by himself. That’s who he has to be if he wants to reach his full potential.
Second Period
Jesper Bratt drew a penalty to start the second period. Unfortunately, the first unit looked rather rough without him or Meier, as Connor Brown and Arseny Gritsyuk were on the top wave. Their first shot of the power play came from a play off the faceoff from Luke Hughes to Simon Nemec, who found Timo Meier to the side of the slot. His shot was saved by Binnington, and St. Louis cleared the puck off the glass and out of play as the penalty expired.
Not long after Jack Hughes set up Connor Brown for a potential one-timer that was fanned on after Jack had spun around the zone to create a passing lane, Brett Pesce fired a shot off the iron. But the Devils did not get down on themselves, and Timo Meier roofed a shot on the rush to give them a lead! Coming down the right wing on the rush, Timo Meier looked like a true difference maker, putting the puck over Binnington’s blocker arm.
Unfortunately, he would take a high sticking penalty with three minutes to play in the period. Prior to the penalty, the Devils were doing a great job of controlling the pace of play in the second period, generating eight high-danger chances throughout the period to zero by St. Louis at five-on-five. And it was a rough penalty to take, too, as the Devils were pressuring in the offensive zone at the time. Thankfully, the Devils had a good kill, and the temporary loss of momentum did not come back to bite them.
Brett Pesce got tripped up at the end of the penalty kill, gutting the play out to go into the corner, drawing another trip as his knee seemed to be bothering him going off the ice. The Devils had another chance, but St. Louis cleared early on. But Dougie Hamilton drop passed to Jack in the neutral zone, and Jack Hughes went all the way around the net before teeing up a one-timer for Dougie, who ripped it past Binnington for a 2-0 lead!
Third Period
The Devils ran into trouble early when Jack Hughes took an uncharacteristic delay of game penalty. Again, the Devils had a great penalty kill, almost creating a scoring chance when Nick Bjugstad took on a few Blues and came away with the puck in the offensive zone, firing a shot that was blocked. Dougie Hamilton looked for Jack coming out of the box at the end of the kill, but the puck off the boards just missed Jack’s stick.
Back at even strength, the pace of play was very slow in the third period. The Devils, who dominated the second period, sat back more in the third period. The Blues emptied the net with over three minutes to play, as they were struggling to create offense. Bratt iced the puck looking for a long empty netter with 2:48 to play, but the Devils did a good job of slowing play down on the boards after the icing faceoff to draw another whistle, giving them the chance to change with 2:38 to play. After keeping the Blues to the outside on the following shift, Dawson Mercer got the puck in the slot and cleared it down the ice, just missing the left post by a foot or so.
Markstrom tried to go for the full-ength empty netter and was promptly scored on by Pavel Buchnevich with just over a minute to play. It could have been called for goaltender interference, as Buchnevich prevented Makrstrom from returning to the crease after his clearing attempt was knocked down, but the Devils chose not to challenge. I understand not wanting to take a penalty for delay of game if the challenge failed, but it seemed like clear interference in not allowing the goalie a path back to the crease.
After the Devils iced the puck with 40 seconds to play, the Blues called timeout. Nico Hischier won the draw, but Dougie Hamilton’s chip up the ice was blocked back to Hischier. Hischier was held up, but he iced the puck with 33 seconds to play. They won the puck back again in the defensive zone after the next draw, and Connor Brown deflected the puck a good 25 feet into the air at the blueline to get it out to center ice. But Brown and Bratt pressured the puck more, and Jesper Bratt passed up an empty netter to set Nico Hischier up for the Devils’ third goal of the game, as they beat the Blues 3-1.
The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats
Winning Shifts and Wearing Them Down
The Devils won this game with a great second period effort. They had as many shots in the second period at five-on-five as the other two periods combined (14), while they had eight of their 11 high-danger scoring chances. So, while the Devils went into a bit of a prevent defense, parking the bus in the third period, the St. Louis Blues were already tired. Per Natural Stat Trick, the St. Louis Blues had 15 “extra long” shifts during the game to only 10 for the Devils, while they had 51 total long shifts to the Devils’ 55. While I cannot break Natural Stat Trick’s data on a by-period level (unless I look before the end of the game), I am going to take a guess that most of St. Louis’ “extra long shifts” came in that second period. The Devils dominated the puck that period, and it was very difficult for St. Louis to get full changes as a result. You can see this on the Meier goal, as Justin Faulk was one of the Blues who were unable to change off after Pesce’s shot rang iron, and he was unable to block Meier’s shot.
This is something I have hated from the Devils this season. All too often, it seems like they are losing the second period shift battle. So, a good start in the first period turns to them getting tired down the stretch until they play an entire uncompetitive third period. Instead of falling into that trap today, they inflicted it on St. Louis. I think it made a big difference in St. Louis being unable to crack the Devils in the third period, even though the forwards dialed it back.
A Change in the Offensive Approach and Olympic Markstrom
Two huge things have stood in the Devils’ way this season: their very conservative in-zone offense and the inconsistency from Jacob Markstrom in goal. Both looked a lot different today.
On offense, the Devils have often only kept one or two forwards around the net this season, working around the perimeter and along the blueline. Sometimes, this gets so bad that the Devils have four skaters above the faceoff dots hunting for the infinitesimal chance of that one skater in front getting deflecting the puck with three or four opponent skaters clogging the slot area. When the Devils were at their best today, they were cycling three or even (shockingly) four skaters attacking below the dots.
Were there some miscues? Yes. Jonas Siegenthaler’s scorpion-style kick block at the end of the first period after Dougie Hamilton went for an aggressive pinch on Brayden Schenn was a good example of that. But that is why the Devils pay mobile shutdown defensemen like Siegenthaler and Dillon a lot of money. They are paid to cover for when the offensive playmakers put the team in a difficult spot. Siegenthaler earns his paycheck with plays like that. Players like Hamilton (who scored the game-winning goal), Nemec, and Hughes are going to need to take risks to maximize their offensive potential.
Thankfully, Sheldon Keefe did not send a message to play more safely in the second. Their execution was simply better. Going for more aggressive plays led to better offense, and I would love to see more of this kind of play moving forward.
On the other end of the ice, Jacob Markstrom continued to look like OLYMPIC MARKSTROM rather than the iteration we saw from him between October and January. He stopped 25 of 26 shots with 1.67 expected goals against in all situations, though I still think he should have had a shutout. In two games since playing for Team Sweden in Milan, Markstrom is 1-1-0 with a .935 save percentage. In his last four NHL appearances, going back to January 29, Markstrom is 2-2-0 with a .931 save percentage and a goals against average just over 2.00. Markstrom’s best statistical stretch this season came from December 19 to January 3, when he was 2-2-0 with a .941 save percentage — the only four-game stretch with a better save percentage than this one for Markstrom. If he can sustain it this time, it would go a long way to easing concerns over the team’s goaltending over the next year or so.
Your Thoughts
What did you think of today’s game? Did you think the Devils played well? How do you think this game will impact their personal confidence in the next few weeks? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.