MONTREAL, CANADA - MARCH 24: Seth Jarvis #24 of the Carolina Hurricanes and Kaiden Guhle #21 of the Montréal Canadiens battle for position during the first period at the Bell Centre on March 24, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Carolina Hurricanes are back in action this afternoon with a 5:00 PM puck drop against the Montreal Canadiens at the Lenovo Center. After taking care of the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Saturday night, the Canes will look to avoid the season sweep versus the Habs this evening.
Montreal owns the season series so far, having beaten Carolina 7-5 on New Year’s Day and 5-2 just five days ago in Montreal. In both games, the Hurricanes dominated possession and outshot the Canadiens significantly, yet somehow found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard.
Montreal comes into Raleigh riding a four-game winning streak after beating Nashville 4-1 on Saturday. With 92 points, the Habs are third in the Atlantic Division and are fourth in the Eastern Conference.
The Canadiens remain in a battle for the playoffs, but are in a good position with 10 games remaining in the regular season. The Habs are on a four-game winning streak and are 9-4-2 since the Olympic break.
Cole Caufield is leading the way for Montreal this year. He has 45 goals this season and is chasing Nathan MacKinnon’s 48 goals for the league lead. No Canadien has led the NHL in goals since Guy Lafleur in 1977-78. Caufield is lethal from the slot and has been particularly dangerous against the Hurricanes, scoring in both meetings this year.
Juraj Slafkovský and Oliver Kapanen also scored in each of the previous two meetings between these teams.
Nick Suzuki has been outstanding as the team’s first-line center with 88 points in 72 games and has points in eight of his last nine games. He ranks ninth in the league in scoring, and his 64 assists are sixth-best in the NHL.
Sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson is having a Norris-caliber season with 71 points, and 19-year-old Ivan Demidov continues to shine in his rookie campaign with 16 goals and 40 assists.
With Jacob Flower earning the win over Nashville last night, Jakub Dobes is the likely starting goaltender. He was impressive in his first appearance against Carolina, stopping 41 of 43 shots on March 24. If he gets the start today, the Canes will be facing a goaltender who has posted a .926 save percentage over his last six starts and played great against them less than a week ago.
Montreal, under head coach Martin St. Louis, is a high-event, transition-based attack that prioritizes finishing quality over shot volume. The Canadiens rank 3rd in goals per game despite sitting just 20th with an expected-goals-for share of 48.76 percent. The Habs, fueled by Caufield’s elite 20.7 percent rate and slot-heavy offensive deployment, lead in the NHL in shooting percentage. The power play is a top-five unit at 24.5 percent, quarterbacked by Hutson at the point, and Suzuki being the playmaker. Suzuki ranks third in the league with 39 power play points.
On the flip side, the Canadiens’ kill ranks 26th in the league. The last power play goal they surrendered was a Nikolaj Ehlers tally five days ago.
Saturday’s win over the Devils showed exactly what this team is capable of when things click. The Canes scored five straight goals after falling behind 1-0, with Nikolaj Ehlers lighting the lamp on the power play and Seth Jarvis notching his 30th goal of the season on a shorthanded empty-netter. Shayne Gostisbehere returned from a three-week absence with a goal and an assist, and continues to perform during an injury-laden season.
The return of Gostisbehere is huge. His 43 points in 45 games lead all Hurricanes defensemen, and having him back as the power-play quarterback should give that unit a boost. He looked like he hadn’t missed a beat against the Devils.
Ehlers continues to be red-hot in March. He is on a three-game goal streak and has 17 points in 13 games this month.
Jarvis’s empty-netter last night made him just the sixth player in franchise history with at least three consecutive 30-goal seasons.
Jordan Staal scored yesterday against the Devils, and that marker put him in sole possession of eighth on the franchise’s all-time goal-scoring list. His next goal will put him at the 20-goal mark for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
With Brandon Bussi earning the win on Saturday, expect Frederik Andersen to get the start this afternoon. Andersen has played better since the Olympic break, earning a 6-2-0 record. However, one of those blemishes was the loss in Montreal, in which he allowed three goals on just 19 shots.
Hurricanes projected lineup
Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall — Logan Stankoven — Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers — Jordan Staal — Jordan Martinook
William Carrier — Mark Jankowski — Eric Robinson
Jaccob Slavin — Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller — Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere — Alexander Nikishin
Frederik Andersen
Brandon Bussi
Scratched: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nicolas Deslauriers, Mike Reilly
Injured: Pyotr Kochetkov (lower body)
The Canes are wearing their red jerseys tonight and will honor veterans, active-duty personnel, Guard members, and reservists during Military Appreciation Night.
Here’s how to check out the action:
Time: 5:00 PM ET
Location: Lenovo Center – Raleigh, NC
TV: FanDuel Sports Network with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst; Shane Willis, analyst; Hannah Yates, rinkside.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are back at home for the second of three straight games in the friendly confines of Nationwide Arena. This game features the Boston Bruins.
Boston Bruins - 41-24-8 - 90 Points - 6-2-2 in the last 10 - Won 2 - 4th in the Atlantic
Columbus Blue Jackets - 38-24-11 - 87 Points - 6-3-1 in the last 10 - Lost 2 - 4th in the Metro
Team Notes Per CBJ PR
The Blue Jackets began a three-game homestand with a 3-2 loss to San Jose on Saturday. It snapped the club's 12-game home points streak (9-0-3), which was tied for the longest home points streak in club history (12; 9-0-3 from Feb. 11-Mar. 31, 2013). The team failed to collect points for just the second time in 18 games at Nationwide Arena in 2026 (12-2-4).
The club has earned points in 24 of its last 29 contests (20-5-4, 44 pts) to lead the league points pct. (.759) and goals against per game (2.45), and rank second in wins (tied) and points and eighth in goals-for per game (3.45) since Jan. 11.
Columbus has allowed two goals or less in eight of the last 10 games since Mar. 10 (1.90 GA/GP, 3rd in NHL).
CBJ conclude their 15th of 16 back-to-back sets (18-7-4, .690 pts pct.) today vs. Boston. The club has won five of the last six second games of a back-to-back and earned points in seven of the past eight (6-1-1; 9-4-1 overall in second games).
The Jackets lead the NHL with a franchise-record 55 goals scored by defensemen in 2025-26 (55-131-186, 73 GP).
Player Notes Per CBJ PR
Adam Fantilli collected an assist vs. San Jose and has points in eight of the last 10 games (3-7-10) and 14 of the last 18 contests (8-11-19). He has set a single-season career high in assists and points (tied) with 21-33-54 in 73 contests.
Jet Greaves has earned points in 14 of his last 16 starts since Jan. 11 (12-2-2, 2.23 GAA, .915 SV% in 16 GP), while G Elvis Merzlikins has recorded points in 10 of his past 13 starts over that span (8-3-2, 2.54 GAA in 14 GP).
Boone Jenner has registered 1-3-4 in the last six games and is slated to play in his franchise-record 800th career game (209-207-416, 799 GP) today against the Bruins.
Mathieu Olivier, who leads the club in hits (207), ranks 11th-T in the NHL in goals since Jan. 28 (11-4-15 in 22 GP).
Cole Sillinger, who notched a goal yesterday, has posted 2-5-7 in the last seven contests and has set career highs in assists and points (tied) with 8-25-33 in 72 appearances in 2025-26.
Zach Werenski has notched 21-56-77 and 25 multi-point efforts in 66 games in 2025-26 to lead NHL blueliners in points-per-game (1.17), multi-point efforts and shots on goal (229) and sit second in points and third in goals.
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 19.9% - 18th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 77.9% - 24th in the NHL
Goals For - 228 - 15th in the NHL
Goals Against - 221 - 16th in the NHL
BruinsStats
Power Play - 23.3% - 9th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 76.7% - 27th in the NHL
Goals For - 243 - 9th in the NHL
Goals Against - 224 - 22nd in the NHL
Series History vs. TheBruins
Columbus is 17-18-10 all-time, and 10-8-5 at home vs. Boston.
CBJ have earned points in eight of the last 11 games against Boston at Nationwide Arena since Dec. 27, 2016 (6-3-2).
The home team has won three-straight games and earned points in 19 of the last 23 meetings dating back to Nov. 10, 2016 (15-4-4).
The winning team has scored four goals or more in five consecutive meetings overall and eight times in the last 10 matchups, as well as each of the past four at Nationwide Arena.
The winning team has won by multiple goals in seven-straight contests in the series and nine of the past 10 meetings, along with by three-plus in each of the past four at Columbus.
The Blue Jackets are 17-of-81 on the power play (21.0 pct.), and 58-of-68 on the penalty kill (85.3 pct.) against the Bruins in 23 all-time meetings at Nationwide Arena.
Who To Watch For The Bruins
David Pastrnak leads the Bruins with 63 assists and 92 points.
Morgan Geekie leads Boston with 34 goals.
Joonas Korpisalo is 12-9-4 with a SV% of .891.
CBJ Player Notes vsBruins
Boone Jenner 13 points in 24 career games against Boston.
Zach Werenski has 15 points against the Bruins.
Mason Marchment has 7 points in 9 games vs. Boston.
Injured Reserve & Other Injuries
Brendan Smith - Lower Body - Missed 35 Games IR - Out for the rest of the regular season.
Damon Severson - Missed 1 Game - Upper Body - Week-to-week
Dmitri Voronkov - Upper Body - Left game early against San Jose
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 182
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
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NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 14: Frank Nazar #91 of the Chicago Blackhawks takes a faceoff against Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils in the second period of the game at the Prudential Center on December 14, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (37-33-2) at the Chicago Blackhawks (27-33-13)
The Time: 7:00 PM EDT
The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN, NHLN; Radio — Devils Hockey Network
Effectively Eliminated
The New Jersey Devils were keeping their playoff hopes at least somewhat alive over the past couple weeks, winning most of their games. However, key losses to the Washington Capitals and last night’s collapse to the Carolina Hurricanes all but eliminated them from playoff contention. It is not quite a mathematical truth yet, as only the New York Rangers have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but it is too much of a hill to climb at this point. The most points the Devils can now finish with is 96 if they won each of their final 10 games, and there are currently four teams, spanning from seventh place (Penguins) to 10th place (Senators) with 86 to 88 points at this current moment. All of those teams can still hit 100 points, and only two of them will make the playoffs. Even the 11th and 12th place Flyers and Capitals can still reach the playoffs if three of those teams have a terrible end to the season. But the New Jersey Devils? They made their bed and now will have to lie in it.
I will have more to say in a future post-mortem article on this season, but it got me thinking last night: never let anyone tell you that a loss in November or December won’t make or break the season. And while this is a pervasive attitude among fans, that games late matter more than games early in the season (they don’t), it’s also terrible to see similar attitudes among players. And frankly, I think there were too many players on the Devils who were too comfortable with giving up a loss in the first half of the season with the mind that it doesn’t determine the whole season. Losing a game is fine, but losing efforts are not, and I think we all know that too many players gave losing efforts throughout the season until about a month ago.
The Blackhawks Are Worse…Much Worse
The Devils are not a bad team, though. The Blackhawks are a bad team. They are very likely to win the first overall pick for Gavin McKenna this summer. And if you are watching the standings for that, you might actually want the Devils to win tonight, hurting their own draft position. They are tied with the New York Rangers at 67 points through 73 games for the second-worst point totals in the league, ahead of only the truly rotten Vancouver Canucks. But what makes the Rangers more respectable than the Blackhawks is that the Rangers play in the Eastern Conference. In case you have not noticed by now, the league parity appears very well and good. But the conference parity has been flushed down the toilet and is now clogging the sewers under league headquarters. I might expect a team with 67 points in the West to have more like 55 points in the East. In total, there are 11 teams in the East with true winning records (i.e. not “NHL .500”) and 11 teams that have a winning record in regulation. In the West, the Edmonton Oilers just won their 28th game in regulation to become the fourth team to at least be breakeven in the first 60 minutes, with only three teams (Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota) having a winning record in regulation.
I will have more to say about conference parity in a future article, but it is important to note that the Blackhawks are a terrible team in one of the worst conferences I can ever remember staining an NHL season.
The Blackhawks have two scorers with more than 40 points in Tyler Bertuzzi (53 in 70) and Connor Bedard (67 in 60). If those two do not score, the Blackhawks are all but certain to lose their games. They lost 6-1 to the Rangers two nights ago and 5-1 to the Flyers in their matchup the night before. They have the 30th-ranked offense in all situations (2.51 goals per 60) and the 25th-ranked all situations defense (3.16 goals against per 60).
That’s actually an overperformance of their expected numbers.
Their 2.58 expected goals for per 60 ranks 32nd in the league: dead last. Their 3.46 expected goals against per 60 ranks 27th in the league. Reducing the situations to five-on-five only makes things worse, with their total offense improving to 26th in the league while their defense slips to 28th in the league, with their expected rates sitting still at 32nd for offense (2.22 xGF/60) and their expected five-on-five defense sitting dead-last at 32nd with a flat 3.0 expected five-on-five goals against per 60. The Devils, by comparison, are sitting at 2.58 xGF and 2.65 xGA per 60 at five-on-five. It’s a true chasm between a Devils team we are frustrated with and a truly bad team.
But this is the NHL, and truly bad teams are still full of (mostly) NHL players. If the Devils are wallowing too much from yesterday evening, the Blackhawks can catch them sleeping and take a victory, giving the Rangers second-position for the Draft Lottery. This is especially true since the solid young goaltender Spencer Knight will be in net for Chicago, with his .908 save percentage and three shutouts in 48 games this season. That trade, getting Knight with a first-round pick in exchange for Seth Jones, was really great work by Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson. Now that these games really don’t matter to the Devils’ playoff hopes, it might be fun to see how a young, talented goaltender performs in net.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of tonight’s game? How do you think the Devils will respond to their collapse in Carolina last night? What do you think of the Chicago Blackhawks? Can the Devils learn anything from a team that is truly in the basement? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
ST. LOUIS — The Toronto Maple Leafs have had their upcoming game against the Anaheim Ducks marked on their calendar ever since the two teams first met this season on March 12. That’s when Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas extended his knee into Auston Matthews, ending the Maple Leafs’ captain's season with a dangerous knee-on-knee hit.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Gudas wants to play against the Maple Leafs on Monday no matter what, but the final decision may not come down to him if the club’s medical staff doesn’t clear him. Gudas understands the scrutiny that comes with avoiding a game where he is sure to be a target of retribution by many Maple Leafs for the hit on Matthews.
The Leafs were criticized for their lack of immediate response to the hit at the time.
Headlines: Gudas/Toronto; McMann; Canada to finalize Worlds management team, then go over roster, which could include Gavin McKenna; possibility things will move fast between Porter Martone and Flyers; optimism between Flames and Jonathan Castagna.https://t.co/qNjGbrPRt6
With eight games to go, it’s evident that the Leafs look like a team that is just going through the motions, waiting for this season to be over. Any juice going into a game, like retribution against the Ducks, will at least help in making these games interesting for the Maple Leafs. Even if Gudas doesn’t play, there will probably be many fights in the game.
“You can't go out and do stupid things—suspensions and things like that," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube warned. "That's not what it's all about. But we definitely have to go out and play a physical, hard game against that team".
Welcome to this edition of the Vancouver Canucks post-game analytics report. This recurring deep dive breaks down the analytics behind each Canucks game as recorded by Natural Stat Trick. In this article, we look back on Vancouver’s most recent 7-3 loss to the Calgary Flames.
Despite the lopsided score, the Canucks actually won the analytics battle in this game. Vancouver held a 23-22 even-strength scoring chances advantage while also winning the even-strength high-danger scoring chances battle by a count of 13-9. In the end, though, the Flames capitalized on their opportunities, which is why Calgary skated away with the victory.
As for the heatmap, Vancouver's focus was to get pucks on net from wherever they could. As for the Flames, they focused on creating issues in front of the net, which allowed them to get to lose pucks in the Canucks defensive zone. Overall, it was not a strong defensive performance by Vancouver's skaters, and it was a tough night for Nikita Tolopilo and Kevin Lankinen.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames, March 28, 2026, Natural Stat Trick.
To wrap this game up, the trio of Liam Öhgren, Elias Pettersson and Linus Karlsson were the Canucks best line. During their 13:06 of ice time, Vancouver held an 8-4 shot advantage and won the high-danger scoring chances battle 5-2. Ultimately, this is a trio that deserves some time together as they showed some chemistry in this game.
The Canucks continue their road trip on Monday with a matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. At the time of writing, it is expected that Monday will be Evander Kane's 1000th regular-season game. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
Mar 28, 2026; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf (32) makes a save against the Vancouver Canucks during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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Saturday could not have gone better for the New York Islanders amid their playoff push.
After knocking off the Florida Panthers 5-2, scoring five unanswered goals in the second period, the Islanders moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division with 89 points.
However, waking up in second would depend on the out-of-town scoreboard.
And, for the first time in quite a while, the results went the Islanders' way:
The Pittsburgh Penguins (88 points) fell 6-3 to the Dallas Stars.
The Columbus Blue Jackets (87 points) lost 3-2 to the San Jose Sharks.
The Detroit Red Wings (86 points) fell 5-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Ottawa Senators (86 points) lost 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Islanders' next game is critical as they host the Penguins at UBS Arena on Monday night, the first of a back-to-back. They travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres on Tuesday.
ST. LOUIS — The Toronto Maple Leafs played their first game without their mentors present since rattling off back-to-back wins against the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers, and their effort on the ice made it look like they needed them back.
The Maple Leafs fell 5-1 to the St. Louis Blues. It looked like it was going to be one of those nights for the Leafs early on, when a four-minute power play for Toronto midway through the first period generated no shots on goal for the man-advantage. From there, things snowballed.
Justin Holl, playing in just his sixth NHL game this season, scored his second goal since 2024 when he departed the Leafs; notably, both of those goals occurred against Toronto. Although Jake McCabe scored early in the third period to cut St. Louis’s lead to 2-1, Pius Suter scored a shorthanded goal shortly after, deflating any hopes of a Toronto comeback.
It was a listless effort by Toronto’s skaters. "We had one player show up tonight, and that was our goalie. That's really what it boils down to," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said after the game. The Blues outshot the Maple Leafs in all three periods, demonstrating Toronto’s lack of urgency.
Playing in their 74th game of 82, Toronto’s playoff hopes are now all but mathematically dashed. The urgency just isn't there, and the Leafs are having a hard time manufacturing it given what lies ahead: a summer with no postseason hockey.
“We didn't check. We had no pressure. We let them come at us all night. We had the puck all night, but we didn't check it off them,” Berube said. “Checking is a will, a want, and an urgency, right? And, you know, we let them do whatever they want with the puck tonight”.
Perhaps most disappointing is that the Leafs didn’t put forth a better effort in front of Joseph Woll. The St. Louis native made 33 saves on 38 shots, but the save percentage doesn’t tell the whole story. The goaltender had to make several high-danger stops throughout the evening.
McCabe was asked if it’s hard to generate urgency given where the team sits in the standings. He paused to contemplate his response. “It shouldn’t be,” he responded. “It’s a privilege to play in this league and play on this team. If you lack urgency as a player, you’re going to find yourself out of this league”.
Craig Berube following tonight's 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues: "We had one player show up tonight, and that was our goalie. That's really what it boils down to."
The Leafs need to change the dynamic. It may or may not be the players; it might require a tweak in management, or perhaps both. While there have been occasions this season when the Leafs dominated in all three periods, there is now a complacency that comes with knowing the season is nearly over. This feels like a resignation, unlike the 4-0 loss to the Washington Capitals where the team was in full crisis mode.
Are the Leafs this bad? Is this just a bad year that can be flipped around with a retool? There aren’t many answers right now, and there won’t be until mid-April when their season comes to an end. Until then, the Leafs will be searching for urgency and motivation. The mentors aren’t around—but maybe they need to be.
In the last two games, the Montreal Canadiens had weak starts and needed goaltender Jakub Dobes to be phenomenal in the first frame to keep them in it before they found their footing. On Saturday night against the Nashville Predators, rookie Jacob Fowler wasn’t put in the same predicament. Quite to the contrary, Martin St-Louis’ team was very strong out of the gate. So strong in fact that the Tennessee outfit only managed to test Fowler three times in the first 20 minutes, while Montreal put nine shots on Juuse Saros’ net.
With two games on tap this weekend, it wasn’t surprising that St-Louis elected to give Fowler a game and rest Jakub Dobes for a second game against the Carolina Hurricanes in the span of six days. There was, however, one surprising thing about Fowler on the night: the Florida native had replaced the back plate of his mask, which normally depicts a Sunshine State licence plate, with one that featured a Quebec licence plate. He had used that on the mask he had made for the AHL All-Star Classic earlier this year and had said then that he decided to do it because Quebec was now his new home. A touch that will no doubt be appreciated by Canadiens’ fans.
For the second game in a row, the opponents ran into the Habs’ goaltender, and the Sainte-Flanelle was having none of it. On each occasion, the Canadiens stood up for their masked man. That’s great because you don’t go far in this league if you do not have a pack mentality, but the problem was that on both occurrences, it was diminutive defenseman Lane Hutson who came to the rescue.
On Thursday, against a 6-foot-2, 204-pound forward, Boone Jenner, and on Saturday, against a 6-foot, 183-pound forward, Luke Evangelista. While it’s good that someone was willing to stand up for the goalies, it never should be Hutson. Firstly, because that’s not his job, and secondly, because the Canadiens absolutely cannot afford an injury to their star blueliner.
Of course, the first name that comes to mind in that situation is Arber Xhekaj, but the gritty blueliner has been a healthy scratch for the last five games, and so he wasn’t on the ice or on the bench. It’s hard to imagine St-Louis putting him back in the lineup at this stage, since Jayden Struble has been playing great hockey of late. My one criticism is that he should have been the one to defend the goalies, not Hutson.
What’s the solution then? Playing seven defensemen? St-Louis has repeatedly said he doesn’t like doing that, as it’s hard to manage everyone’s ice time in that situation. Would it be worth inserting Xhekaj as a fourth-line forward? The idea could be interesting to explore, especially when St-Louis only played his fourth liners for an average of roughly eight minutes on Thursday. Still, the time for experiments has long gone. The Canadiens are involved in one of the tightest playoff races in recent memory. The stakes are just too high; you can’t play a player out of position now. Furthermore, it’s unlikely that the coach would be willing to scratch an offensive player to make way for protection; it’s just not the way he thinks.
Still, however things play out, this issue has to be addressed, and it needs to be addressed in a hurry.
No Jealousy On The Second Line
In the Canadiens 4-1 win, Montreal’s second line scored three of the Sainte-Flanelle’s four goals, and the three linemates each got a goal. Ivan Demidov opened the score with a spectacular shot off the post and in.
Rookie Oliver Kapanen scored the Canadiens’ second goal, on which Hutson got his 60th assist on the season, tying his total from last season. With 10 games to go, he needs six assists to tie Larry Robinson’s record of 66 assists.
Lane Hutson became just the third player and first defenseman in @CanadiensMTL history to record consecutive 60-assist seasons. #NHLStats
Later in the second frame, Alex Newhook joined the party when Demidov fed him for a one-timer in the high slot, a fantastic pass. With two points tonight, the Russian rookie now has 16 goals and 40 assists on the season for 56 points in 62 games.
Suzuki Keeps On Impressing
With an assist on Demidov’s goal, Nick Suzuki picked up the 300th assist of his career and added another one on Cole Caufield’s 45th goal of the season, meaning the captain now has 88 points this season—just one short of the career-high he set last season with 10 games left to play.
Needless to say, he will set a new mark before the end of the regular season, and it’s looking increasingly likely that he will hit the 100-point mark. As things stand, he’s on pace for exactly 100 points. The last Hab to hit the century mark in a season was Mats Naslund back in 1985-86, remember that year? It was a fantastic year in Montreal, and it ended with a parade.
The Canadiens headed to Carolina after the game, where they’ll take on the Hurricanes on Sunday at 5:00 PM. It will be interesting to see if Josh Anderson will be well enough to play. He left the game in the first frame, and the Habs later announced he was ill. If he’s not good to gp, what will Montreal do? Alexandre Texier is not on the trip according to La Presse and the Habs didn’t call up anyone. Can Patrik Laine become an option? That appears unlikely, Perhaps St-Louis could be forced to use seven blueliners…
Vancouver Canucks (21-43-8, in the Pacific Division) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (32-26-16, in the Pacific Division)
Paradise, Nevada; Monday, 10 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights look to end a three-game slide when they play the Vancouver Canucks.
Vegas is 32-26-16 overall with a 10-5-5 record in Pacific Division games. The Golden Knights have a 31-6-10 record in games they score three or more goals.
Vancouver has gone 21-43-8 overall with a 5-12-2 record in Pacific Division play. The Canucks have a -91 scoring differential, with 180 total goals scored and 271 conceded.
Monday's game is the second time these teams match up this season. The Golden Knights won the last meeting 5-2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mark Stone has 23 goals and 40 assists for the Golden Knights. Pavel Dorofeyev has four goals and five assists over the last 10 games.
Filip Hronek has eight goals and 32 assists for the Canucks. Marco Rossi has scored three goals with seven assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Knights: 3-5-2, averaging 2.3 goals, 3.6 assists, 4.7 penalties and 11.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
Canucks: 2-7-1, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.8 assists, 3.3 penalties and 11.2 penalty minutes while giving up 3.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Golden Knights: William Karlsson: out (lower body), Carter Hart: out (leg), Jonas Rondbjerg: out (lower body).
Canucks: Thatcher Demko: out for season (hip), Derek Forbort: out (undisclosed), Filip Chytil: out (face).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Though the Golden Knights were able to salvage a point in Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals, defenseman Rasmus Andersson summed it in four words.
"We need two points," said Andersson, who contributed to a four-goal outburst that erased Washington's three-goal lead.
The Capitals took a 3-0 lead early in the second period, but Vegas clawed its way back with four unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead just 31 seconds into the third period.
Former Capital Nic Dowd, Andersson, Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner scored for the Knights, who lost for the 12th time in 16 games since Feb. 27.
""It feels like we're limping along, but parts of our game are really good," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We just got to tie it all together."
The Golden Knights are still in third place in the Pacific Division with 80 points, three behind the streaking second-place Edmonton Oilers and four in front of the Los Angeles Kings.
KEY MOMENT
After a brutal collision with Washington's Aliaksei Protas that sent both players to the locker room with a little more than one minute left in the first period, Dowd returned with stitches above his left eye and ignited Vegas with his first goal as a member of the Golden Knights.
Vegas acquired Dowd from Washington in exchange for goaltender Jesper Vikman, a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Entry Draft on March 5.
"Just felt good to get on the board and hear the building erupt," Dowd said. "You know, feel like you're contributing. As a hockey player, you want to feel like you can contribute to the team, and in that moment, that's how it felt."
KEY STAT
1 ... After outshooting the Capitals 28-17 in regulation, including 12-6 in the first and 10-5 in the second, the Golden Knights managed just one shot on goal in overtime, while the Capitals had four. The Golden Knights are now 8-16 overall in games that have gone past regulation.
WHAT A KNIGHT
Andersson finished with a goal and an assist, giving him 40 points for the season. Andersson followed Dowd's goal to close the gap to one goal when he took a pass from Eichel at the red line, raced through two defenders and around a third before victimizing former Knight Logan Thompson with a backhand-forehand deke.
"There's reason he's a player that he is, and you know, he made a great play," Dowd said about Andersson. "(He) got us into that 3-2 spot, and then the building erupted again. And you could just feel there was energy that we were lacking early."
UP NEXT
The Golden Knights will play their third of a four-game homestand on Monday, when they'll host the Vancouver Canucks.
PHOTO CAPTION: Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) scores against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) during a shoot-out at T-Mobile Arena.
Saturday was another tough night for the Vancouver Canucks as they fell 7-3 to the Calgary Flames. Liam Öhgren and Nils Höglander scored at even strength, while Brock Boeser found the back of the net on the power play. Nikita Tolopilo stopped seven of 11 shots before being pulled in the second for Kevin Lankinen, who made nine saves while facing 12 shots.
The second period was once again the Canucks' Achilles' heel, as the Flames scored four in the middle frame. At this point, it is hard to understand why the second period has been such a problem for Vancouver, as they have now allowed 103 goals through 72 games. While the Canucks will most likely not catch the franchise record of 152 set by the 1984-85 team, there is a chance they could pass second place, which sits at 119.
Shifting over to goaltending, Saturday was a perfect example of why teams should not sit a young goaltender for two weeks straight. Tolopilo struggled with his rebound control and never looked comfortable in the net. At this stage of the season, Vancouver should be splitting the goaltending starts so that Tolopilo can get more game action at the NHL level.
"We gotta be better for Tolo there," said Adam Foote post-game. "I know he probably wanted a couple of those, but little details. The first one, we were too low on the PK. Then we missed two box-outs in a row. Then they got the fourth one, and that fifth one, we were trying to go for a breakaway, pick off a pass on a PK, and that's not the time to do it. Just those little details are going to burn you in a game that wasn't out of control. We let it get away from us early. We kept fighting, but you gotta take care of your end and the details, and we didn't."
Overall, the only real positive was the play of Öhgren, Elias Pettersson and Linus Karlsson. The trio outshot their opponents 8-4 in 13:06 of ice time and connected on the Canucks' first goal. Hopefully, this line will stay together for at least the next few games, as it looked like they had some chemistry on the ice.
Saturday was another example of how far behind Vancouver is from the rest of the group. The Canucks struggled defensively, and despite taking 34 shots, Vancouver managed to beat Dustin Wolf only three times. In the end, Saturday's loss was good for the tank, but, as has been the case most of the season, a difficult performance to watch from a fan perspective.
Mar 28, 2026; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames right wing Adam Klapka (43) get into a scrum with Vancouver Canucks players during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Stats and Facts:
- Canucks become the first team this season to allow 100 goals in the second period
- Vancouver has now allowed a power play goal against in four straight games
- Brock Boeser ties Todd Bertuzzi for fifth on the Canucks all-time power play goals list with 79
- Vancouver allows seven or more goals for the second time this season
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
3:04- CGY: Matt Coronato (17) from Zayne Parekh and Morgan Frost 4:59- CGY: Joel Farabee (17) from Zach Whitecloud and Mikael Backlund 18:53- VAN: Liam Öhgren (8) from Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson
2nd Period:
1:32-CGY: Ryan Strome (6) from Olli Määttä and Yegor Sharangovich 4:36- CGY: Olli Määttä (2) from Ryan Strome and Hunter Brzustewicz 4:47- CGY: Morgan Frost (18) from Matt Coronato and Matvei Gridin 13:36- VAN: Brock Boeser (18) from Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek (PPG) 19:23- CGY: Zayne Parekh (2) from Matt Coronato and Morgan Frost (PPG)
3rd Period:
12:40- VAN: Nils Höglander (2) from Victor Mancini and Zeev Buium 19:52- CGY: Adam Klapka (6) from Brennan Othmann and Hunter Brzustewicz
Up Next:
The Canucks continue their road trip on Monday with a matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. At the time of writing, it is expected that Monday will be Evander Kane's 1000th regular-season game. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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ST.
LOUIS – If you watched the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs
on Saturday night, there was one obvious observation that could be
made: one team played with desperation and urgency; the other didn’t.
It
was that kind of game for the Blues, who dominated the Leafs in every
facet, except for maybe in goal because Dardenne Prairie’s Joseph
Woll was bombarded with 38 shots to just 13 faced by Jordan
Binnington, and that's no disrespect to Binnington but he simply didn't have to see as much vulcanized rubber on this night ... not nearly as much. And this game was only close in the third period because
of Woll.
The
Blues’ 5-1 win was their fourth straight, they swept the three-game
homestand and are 10-1-2 in their past 13 games.
“It’s
great,” defenseman Cam Fowler said. “Winning in this league is
always fun. No matter how it ends up happening, it gives our group a
lot of momentum. It’s fun coming to the rink when you’re having
some success and guys have smiles on their faces. It’s a humbling
league and that can change quickly. We’re trying to stick with the
right things that have given us that success and trying to keep that
momentum going.”
Dylan
Holloway had a goal and an assist; Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas and
Jake Neighbours each had two assists, and Justin Holl scored against
his former team, Jimmy Snuggerud, Pius Suter and Philip Broberg also
scored for the Blues (31-30-11), who moved over .500 for the first
time since Oct. 21 when they were 3-2-1.
“Playing
with confidence has been big,” Thomas said. “The guys have really
stepped up and taken over on how we want to play. We’re just
playing with a ton of confidence. Our ‘D’ are getting up in the
plays, we’re transitioning so quick, we’re finding the middle.
Our attack off the rush is really dangerous. There’s a lot of
things going well right now, especially when you have so many young
guys coming in. They’ve really stepped up, not only their play but
just showing maturity and stepping up and talking in the room. I
think it’s been really important lately.”
Don't look now, but with the loss by the Nashville Predators, 4-1, against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, the Blues sit four points out of the second wild card in the Western Conference with a game in hand. But they have to jump five teams to gain that position.
Buckle up.
Let’s
get into the game observations:
*
Puck dominance – When I prefaced the first question to Jim
Montgomery by saying that the Blues had the puck “quite a bit,”
the Blues coach jumped in with, “All night long.”
And
he wasn’t far off.
The
38-13 discrepancy in shots on goal was no misnomer. In fact, the shot
attempts were 60-34, and again, had it not been for Woll, the Blues
had this game blown out of the water much sooner than needing to pull
away after things got dicey in the third period when Toronto cut it
to 2-1.
“The
way we played north, the way we played connected,” Montgomery said.
“Our guys were connected in all three zones. Our puck decisions
were really good. We hardly had any turnovers. We made them defend a
lot."
It
prompted Leafs coach and former Blues Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig
Berube to surmise.
“We
had one player that showed up tonight and that was our goalie,”
Berube
said.
“That's what it really boils down to.
“It's
very disappointing. I mean, I thought the last couple of games we
were
pretty
good and we were building. Like
I talk about staying together and playing competitive and we did not
have that out there tonight.”
The
Blues had the puck for large swaths, it was as if they were playing
keep-away with it. It was that advantageous for the home side.
“That's
because we didn't check. We had no pressure,” Berube
said.
“We let them come at us all night. They had the puck all night.
Checking is a will and a want and an urgency. We let them do whatever
they wanted with the puck tonight.”
Woll
kept the Leafs in it for as long as he could, but after denying
Colton Parayko between the hash marks, the Blues regained the zone
pretty quick after that, and Snuggerud once again got things started
with the opening goal at 5:21 that made it 1-0 when Cam Fowler slid
past Max Domi and curled a pass to Snuggerud to redirect past Woll:
“I
came in, ‘Holly’ made a great play and I looked up at the net and
I didn’t see much of a screen so I wasn’t sure if it was a good
opportunity to shoot,” Fowler said. “’Snuggy’ either beat his
man out of the corner and found a spot there. I figured it was better
on his stick than mine. I made the play and he did the rest.”
When
Holloway made it 4-1 at 9:10 of the third period, it was another easy
zone entry after the Blues stick-checked the puck back and moved into
transition, and Kyrou finished off the play by feeding Holloway into
the slot and the finish:
“Well,
it's one of those things where the confidence grows and you see the
success you're having,” Montgomery said. “We're repeating it --
it's like rinse, repeat and go to work the next day. We see it on
film. Guys are believing in how well they're playing together and
being connected. We're changing at the right times. Everything that
we weren't doing correctly we're doing correctly right now.”
*
Holl
gets his revenge … again – Holl doesn’t score often, but when
he does, he likes to stick it to his former club.
It
was his first goal this season in his sixth game and just his second
goal since April 17, 2025, also against the Leafs as a member of the
Detroit Red Wings:
Holl
played for Toronto from 2017-23 before signing with the Red Wings as
a free agent July 1, 2023.
Holl
played 16:21 and was a plus-1 for the third straight game; he’s a
plus-5 in just six games with the Blues after spending the season in
Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.
But
it happened in an area that has been problematic for the Blues all
season long: net front traffic.
“It's
a hard thing to do,” Montgomery said. ‘It's an area of our game
that still needs to improve 5-on-5, but we had two tonight.
Neighbours did it on Holl's deflection. I think their goalies aren't
seeing pucks, so we're scoring more. We're starting to become a
hungrier, dirtier offensive team.”
*
Suter’s goal was a shift of all shifts from Thomas – Suter’s
goal stunted any potential comeback thought from the Leafs when he
scored the team’s sixth shorthanded goal of the season at 6:46 of
the third that made it 3-1.
Suter
started it off by deflecting the first pass, and then it was all
Thomas, who won an airborne loose puck away from John Tavares, took
off down the left hand side before cutting back towards the middle.
He tried throwing a pass to Suter but it got deflected away, but not
taking anything for granted, Thomas outhustled two Leafs (Oliver
Ekman-Larsson and Matthew Knies) to win the puck back in the corner
before flipping it to Suter above the hash marks for the one-timer:
“Playing
with confidence has been big,” Thomas said. “The guys have really
stepped up and taken over on how we want to play. We’re just
playing with a ton of confidence. Our ‘D’ are getting up in the
plays, we’re transitioning so quick, we’re finding the middle.
Our attack off the rush is really dangerous. There’s a lot of
things going well right now, especially when you have so many young
guys coming in. They’ve really stepped up, not only their play but
just showing maturity and stepping up and talking in the room. I
think it’s been really important lately.”
*
Penalty
kill continues to shine – The Leafs were 0-for-3 on the power play
tonight, and quite frankly, the Blues were better playing 4-on-5
against Toronto, especially when the Leafs had a four-minute
power-play courtesy of Jack Finley’s double minor for high-sticking
at 12:41 of the first period.
Not
only did the Leafs not get a shot on goal in those four minutes,
although they did hit a cross bar at the end of it, but they barely
could gain the zone.
St.
Louis’ penalty kill, which was 29th in the league at 73.2 percent
before the Olympic break, is first since starting on Feb. 26, going
37-for-42, good for an 88.1 percent clip.
They’re
still 28th in the league overall but have lifted the season
percentage to 76.4 percent and it’s part of the commitment to
defending that’s led to the resurgence.
“I
think if you look at kind of the DNA of our team, I think that’s
something we always try and put an emphasis on is taking care of our
own zone and transitioning from offense in that way,” Fowler
said.
“If you look at this last little stretch, the amount of goals that
we’re giving up, it’s been good in that regard. One, two goals a
night. Our goaltenders are playing great for us and giving us
opportunities to win games. We know that’s the blueprint for us to
have success and that hasn’t changed. It’s just we’re starting
to find a little more consistency with it now.”
Defense
leads to offense, and it’s showing none better than the balance in
scoring.
“The
commitment to defense, it helps our goalies too,” Snuggerud
said.
“I think we have one of the best goalie corps in the NHL and when
we commit defensively, they’re there for us and they’re making
saves as you guys can see from stellar performances from them back
there. Give them a lot of credit. Defense creates offense. We’re
just trying to create defense to create offense.”
It’s
the fifth straight game the Blues have allowed one or fewer goals,
the second time in the past decade according to league stats (March
19-29, 2016). They could tie a franchise record on Monday against the
San Jose Sharks (Oct. 31-Nov. 15, 1970).
The
power play still needs some work, but Broberg at least for them on
the board there late in the game at 18:24 of the third to make it a
5-1 game, the Blues’ third goal on the man advantage in the past 28
opportunities:
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On Friday evening, the Detroit Red Wings got off to the start that they needed against the Buffalo Sabres with three first-period goals.
24 hours later on home ice against the Philadelphia Flyers, it was back to the familiar, sluggish start that had doomed them earlier in the week against the Ottawa Senators.
The Flyers not only scored on their first shot of the game, but built a 4–0 lead by the early third period, then held off a furious late push from the Red Wings to secure a 5–3 win and hand Detroit another damaging setback.
Had the Red Wings won, they could have leapfrogged the Columbus Blue Jackets, who lost earlier on Saturday to the San Jose Sharks, for the second Wild Card position. Instead, they remain tied at 86 points and are still on the outside looking in at the playoff picture.
Flyers forward Owen Tippett registered a hat trick for the Flyers, the third of his career. He opened the scoring on a first-period breakaway, beating Red Wings goaltender John Gibson through the five-hole.
In the second period, he increased Philadelphia's lead to 2-0 when his shot from the face-off circle squeaked through the pads of Gibson. Noah Cates made it 3-0 soon afterward on the power-play, jamming home a loose puck at the side of the net past a sprawling Gibson.
For the second time in three games, the Red Wings had a would-be goal disallowed because of being offside. This time, a goal from Moritz Seider was taken away after replays showed Alex DeBrincat entered the offensive zone a step too early.
While the Red Wings successfully challenged a would-be Flyers goal early in the third period for offside, Tippett completed the hat trick, a goal that not only chased Gibson from the net but would also eventually prove to be the game-winner.
Mason Appleton scored his first goal in 32 games at 13:43, followed by Alex DeBrincat's 37th of the season at 15:10. With goaltender Cam Talbot on the bench for a sixth attacker, Lucas Raymond fired a shot past Flyers goalie Dan Vladar from the face-off circle just 1:04 later.
The fans who hadn’t already headed for the exits were on their feet, cheering loudly and urging the Red Wings to tie the game.
Unfortunately, the comeback bid was halted after Flyers team captain Sean Couturier hit the open net; Tippett picked up his fourth point of the night with an assist.
Gibson made 17 saves before being pulled for Talbot, who stopped all four shots he faced. Meanwhile, Vladar made 30 saves.
Time is running out for the Red Wings, who have nine games remaining on the schedule and will face the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.
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Utah center Logan Cooley (92) scores past Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper during the first period of the Kings' 6-2 loss Saturday at Crypto.com Arena. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
There is bad news and good news to report on the Kings’ push for a fifth straight playoff berth.
First, the bad.
With a chance to move into a playoff position Saturday, the Kings came out flat and were routed 6-2 by the Utah Mammoth at Crypto.com Arena, leaving them a point out of postseason position.
It was the Kings' most one-sided loss in more than a month, not exactly the way it wanted to start its final sprint to the postseason. And that left coach D.J. Smith with more questions than answers with nine games left in the season.
“We were not sharp in any facet of the game. It's not good enough,” said Smith, after Utah scored two goals on the power play and three in transition.
“We're going to ask ourselves why. Why we weren't ready. What didn't we do? The excuses really don't matter. We’ve got to be way better than we were tonight.”
Saturday’s game was also the first of a seven-game homestand, matching the Kings’ longest in 15 years. But that’s not the advantage it would appear to be since only the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers have been worse at home than the Kings this season.
“I don't know what it is,” Smith said. “Last year we couldn't lose here. Right now, we don't lose very much on the road. That's in your head. People say it's luck. You make your own luck.
“We didn't come ready to play today. And whether it's our building or the road or wherever we played this game, that isn't good enough.”
The Kings are also bucking history since 18 of their losses have come in either overtime or a shootout. Just one team — the 2012 Florida Panthers — have lost that many games after regulation and made the playoffs since the shootout was adopted 21 years ago.
Kings forward Quinton Byfield tries to shoot in front of Utah Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt during the second period Saturday. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
If the Kings had won just half those overtime games, they’d be a point back of the Pacific Division-leading Ducks. Instead, they appear to be going backward at the worst possible time, dropping seven of their last 10 games and nine of 14 since Smith replaced Jim Hiller behind the bench.
And suddenly there’s traffic in their rear-view mirror, with four teams bunched no more than three points behind them in the Western Conference standings.
Despite all that, the Kings took the ice against Utah with a chance to control their own playoff destiny, only to play with little urgency, falling behind for good 2½ minutes after the opening faceoff on the first of two goals by fourth-line winger Alexander Kerfoot.
Kerfoot entered with three goals on the season and nearly doubled that in two periods against the Kings. For a team with everything to play for, the Kings looked distracted and disinterested.
“I don't know what it was,” defenseman Drew Doughty said. “There's no excuses for the way we performed.”
Now for the good news — and there is some.
Despite the loss, the Kings are still just a point out of the second wild-card berth — with two of their final six regular-season home games coming against Nashville, the team that currently owns that final playoff berth. Win those two, and the Kings are back in the driver’s seat.
“We're still in the thick of things,” said captain Anze Kopitar, whose career ends when the Kings’ season does. “We're not out by any means. But we're going to have to play much better.”
Added Doughty: “Take it one [game] at a time and win every one.”
A wild-card is no longer the Kings’ only — or even clearest — path to the postseason, however. The Vegas Golden Knights, the team directly ahead of the Kings in the Pacific Division standings, have lost six of their last 10, whittling their lead to four points over the Kings in the battle for the division’s third and final postseason berth.
Pass them and the Kings will likely face the Edmonton Oilers — again — in the first round of the playoffs. The opportunities are there for the taking. But the Kings need to play like they want them.
“We've got three days to figure it out, and then we've got nine games [left],” Smith said. “We're going to turn the page and find a way to be better for the next one. It's got to be a playoff mentality.
“You can't dwell on it. You’ve got to move on. But you’ve got to get better and you have to learn from why we lost the way we lost tonight."
The upcoming interdivisional matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders on Monday was always going to be a big one, as the two teams are jousting for playoff positioning in the Metropolitan Division standings.
And, after Saturday's game versus the Dallas Stars - and the Islanders' tilt against the Florida Panthers - that game looms even larger.
The Penguins lost in regulation to the Stars, 6-3, in a game that was much closer than the score or the shot totals indicate. The loss kept them at 88 points, but they were leapfrogged by the Islanders for second place in the Metro after the Isles scored four unanswered goals in the second period against Florida and came away with the 5-2 regulation win.
Of course, every game is big at this time of year when you're trying to make the playoffs. But the Penguins are well aware of how big Monday's game is now, as the Penguins sit one point back of the Isles with a game in hand and just one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who lost in regulation to the San Jose Sharks Saturday.
"I think if we're not getting up for that one, I think there's something wrong," Bryan Rust said. "I think we all know what's on the line there. I think it's going to be a fun, playoff-type game, and I think we've got to go there and be ready."
This one started out well for the Penguins, who were dominating possession early on in this game. They jumped out to an 1-0 lead a little more than two minutes into the game courtesy of a power play goal from Anthony Mantha, who deflected an Erik Karlsson shot from the point.
But, after that goal - and after some sustained five-on-five pressure, as the Stars didn't register their first shot on goal until after the midway point of the period - the Penguins started to run into some costly penalty trouble, and the back-and-forth started.
They were able to kill off a few penalties - including 37 seconds of a five-on-three opportunity - before closing out the first period. But the Stars cashed in five-on-five two minutes into the second period when Justin Hryckowian got one past Stuart Skinner to tie the game.
However, Erik Karlsson responded just 48 seconds later in the form of a top-shelf wrister from the slot - his ninth goal and 23rd point in 15 games during the month of March, which is second in the league only to Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (26 points) - to give the Penguins back the lead at 2-1.
That's NINE multi-point games in the month of March for Erik Karlsson 🤯
Karlsson is the sixth defenseman in NHL history to record nine multi-point games in a single month, joining Bobby Orr (10 in Dec. 1974 & 9 in March 1973), Cale Makar (9 in Nov. 2023), Paul Coffey (9 in Jan.… pic.twitter.com/Jm3syOQ7gQ
And that's when things started to go downhill. Parker Wotherspoon took a tripping penalty less than six minutes into the middle frame, and Jason Robertson scored his 40th goal of the season on the ensuing man advantage to knot things back up at 2-2. And just a couple of minutes after Robertson's goal, Elmer Soderblom took a high-sticking penalty to send the Penguins back to the PK.
Once again, Dallas - who has the second-ranked power play in the league - took advantage. Mikko Rantanen - playing in his first game since being injured during the Olympics - put home a one-timer from the right circle to give Dallas its first lead - a lead they wouldn't surrender.
Dallas's fourth goal came just a minute and a half later, but not without some controversy. Stars' defenseman Lian Bichsel took Karlsson's stick out of his hand near the goal line, tossed it aside, and made his way to the point as Karlsson was screaming at the official for missing the call. Bichsel took a feed from Mavrik Bourque and one-timed it into the net behind Skinner, drawing the wrath of Karlsson in the aftermath, and made it 4-2.
Bichsel GRABBED Karlsson's stick, dropped it and then ripped home a goal 😭🚨
But, the Penguins got a little bit of momentum off of a Jamie Benn holding penalty in the first half of the third period, and they were rewarded when Elmer Soderblom shot a puck toward the net from the right wall, and it hit Noel Acciari on the way in for Acciari's 10th of the season to make it 4-3.
With Pittsburgh beginning to push a bit with three and a half minutes to go, head coach Dan Muse decided to pull Skinner a bit early, which ended up backfiring. Bourque scored an empty-netter shortly after, and he added a second one two minutes later to give Dallas the 6-2 win.
"I thought we had an opportunity, we were in-zone, and we had it," Muse said. "I know I didn't have the timeout, but still felt like we wanted to make sure we had time to operate and time to get in there."
Here are some brief thoughts and takeaways from this one:
- The Penguins have seen several calls, and fairly obvious ones, go against them in recent games.
The non-call on Bichsel ahead of Dallas's fourth goal was the most egregious, I think, that I've seen all season long. And it is up there with the most egregious calls/non-calls I've seen throughout the league this season.
Referee Michael Markovic was standing right there and saw the entire thing unfold. On a hot mic - which included Karlsson screaming all the air out of his lungs - he appeared to confirm that he saw the play happen.
Erik Karlsson was visibly frustrated that there was no penalty called after Lian Bichsel took his stick and scored. pic.twitter.com/qIzoQqY9TD
You cannot grab an opposing player's stick, let alone force it from their hands and throw it away from them. It's in the rule book. Yet, it happened, and Bichsel's goal ended up being the game-winner.
"We saw what happened," Karlsson said about the play in the post-game. "I don't think it does me any good, or us any good, by standing here and having excuses or pointing fingers. We all watched the same game."
In his post-game presser, Muse was asked if officiating - whether goaltender interference or penalty calls and non-calls - is something that the Penguins will just have to overcome to make the playoffs, and if it's just something he's "numb to."
"Yeah, we've got refocus in on what we can control," Muse said. "I don't think anybody's going to walk out of today feeling good about our game. Like, we've got to be better. Again, it's all of us - myself included - but the things that we have zero control over, we're not going to waste our time on that.
"We're going to focus in on our game and what we can do to, right now, it's going to be tomorrow [to] prepare for going to New York."
- Although it felt like the Penguins had more than 12 shots in this game - 24 were blocked by Dallas - it simply was not enough. They mustered exactly four shots on goal per period.
Honestly, the Penguins carried most of the play at five-on-five in this one. It was a matter of not being able to generate enough offense when given the opportunity.
"Being in the box a lot didn't help," Rust said. "Against a team like that who plays hard defensively, I think we passed up too many opportunities to shoot. And, when we did shoot, I think they did a really good job of getting in shooting lanes where we either shot wide or got our shots blocked.
"And, I guess, moving forward against a lot of really good teams, we're going to, hopefully, be playing playoff hockey... that's what you've got to do because there's not going to be a lot of space."
- Even if calls didn't swing in their favor Saturday, the Penguins' penalty kill is a legitimate problem right now.
The unit has now surrendered a goal on seven of the last 15 opportunities against. It's clear that the team is missing Blake Lizotte - as he is their best penalty-killer, and the Penguins went into a funk the last time Lizotte was injured, too - but they have to find a way to get back to basics. Right now, they're giving PPs too much time and space, and they're not getting in enough lanes to shut down opportunities. There are also too many cases of failed clearing attempts in a general sense.
I do think the PK will find its footing again, but it has to happen fast - and it has to happen without Lizotte, who isn't even scheduled to be reevaluated until the final week of the regular season.
Also, the Penguins can't keep going back to the box like they did against Dallas. It disrupted what they had going at five-on-five, and given the struggles of their penalty kill at the moment, they need to play a more disciplined brand of hockey.
Mar 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) moves the puck between Pittsburgh Penguins center Tommy Novak (18) and defenseman Parker Wotherspoon (28) during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
- It was interesting to see how Muse played with the lines on Saturday. In the third period, he came out with entirely different combinations than he started the game with, and for the first time, Ben Kindel got a look as the first-line center.
He had Kindel centering Rickard Rakell and Rust, Tommy Novak centering Anthony Mantha and Egor Chinakhov (who had a rare off-night), Connor Dewar centering Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty, and Noel Acciari in the middle of Elmer Soderblom and Justin Brazeau.
Kindel helped generate some opportunity, and I thought he played a pretty good game overall. He started on a "kid line" with Koivunen and McGroarty - and they had some opportunities earlier in the game - but those two didn't generate too much in this one.
And they aren't getting it, period. Mantha, Chinakhov, Karlsson, Rakell, Crosby, and Rust have accounted for 16 out of the Penguins' last 18 goals. And Crosby, Rust, and Mantha only have one each.
So, essentially, the Penguins are pretty heavily relying on scoring from three people right now, and that is not going to be enough if they expect to make the playoffs. Novak has been the team's second-line center for the better part of the second half, and if he is to stay in that post, he needs to produce. And Brazeau, honestly, could be fighting Soderblom for a spot in the lineup once everyone is healthy, should his drought continue.
I actually think it might make sense to keep Rakell as first-line center right now, along with Rust and Chinakhov, as that line had been pretty lethal when put together a few times. But I'd have Kindel center a second line with Mantha and, perhaps, McGroarty, and allow Novak to find his game again in a third-line center role.
But, there are no easy lineup decisions - especially at center - when the team is as depleted down the middle as this one is. So, this is probably going to continue to be a situation where Muse will throw everything at the wall just to see what sticks.
- Luckily for the Penguins, the Blue Jacket and Detroit Red Wings both lost in regulation. Since the Isles won earlier, had both of those teams won in regulation, the Penguins would have been pushed out a playoff spot.
Again, the game on Monday against New York is massive. It's probably the biggest game the Penguins have played in a couple of years, and then, they have to turn around and play another big game against the Red Wings on Tuesday.
Not every game is a must-win, and this one against Dallas was not. However, if there are two "must-win" games in the final nine games of the regular season for the Penguins, it's these two.
So, buckle up, folks. These next two games are going to be playoff-style hockey with the involvement of three desperate teams.
