Winnipeg Jets (35-32-12, in the Central Division) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (37-26-17, in the Pacific Division)
Paradise, Nevada; Monday, 10 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights host the Winnipeg Jets after the Golden Knights defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in overtime.
Vegas has gone 18-12-9 at home and 37-26-17 overall. The Golden Knights are 35-6-11 in games they score at least three goals.
Winnipeg has a 16-17-6 record in road games and a 35-32-12 record overall. The Jets have allowed 239 goals while scoring 223 for a -16 scoring differential.
Monday's game is the third time these teams square off this season. The Jets won the previous meeting 4-1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Pavel Dorofeyev has 36 goals and 27 assists for the Golden Knights. Mark Stone has six goals and two assists over the last 10 games.
Mark Scheifele has 34 goals and 65 assists for the Jets. Kyle Connor has scored seven goals and added four assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Knights: 6-1-3, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.5 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
Jets: 7-3-0, averaging 2.8 goals, 4.9 assists, 3.2 penalties and 8.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Golden Knights: William Karlsson: out (lower body).
Jets: Gustav Nyquist: day to day (undisclosed), Morgan Barron: out (lower-body), Colin Miller: out (knee), Elias Salomonsson: out (concussion).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Buffalo Sabres (49-23-8, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (28-38-14, in the Central Division)
Chicago; Monday, 8:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Buffalo Sabres visit the Chicago Blackhawks after Josh Doan scored two goals in the Sabres' 5-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Chicago has a 13-18-8 record in home games and a 28-38-14 record overall. The Blackhawks have a 9-13-6 record in games they have more penalties than their opponent.
Buffalo is 49-23-8 overall and 23-13-4 in road games. The Sabres have a +39 scoring differential, with 275 total goals scored and 236 allowed.
The matchup Monday is the second time these teams play this season. The Sabres won 9-3 in the last meeting. Doan led the Sabres with two goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tyler Bertuzzi has 32 goals and 25 assists for the Blackhawks. Ilya Mikheyev has five goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
Tage Thompson has 38 goals and 41 assists for the Sabres. Jack Quinn has scored four goals with three assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blackhawks: 2-7-1, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.1 assists, 2.4 penalties and 5.1 penalty minutes while giving up 4.1 goals per game.
Sabres: 5-3-2, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.4 assists, 4.5 penalties and 11.7 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game.
INJURIES: Blackhawks: Shea Weber: out for season (ankle), Frank Nazar: day to day (face), Ethan Del Mastro: day to day (undisclosed), Artyom Levshunov: out for season (hand), Oliver Moore: out (lower body), Matt Grzelcyk: out for season (upper-body).
Sabres: Jiri Kulich: out for season (ear), Sam Carrick: out (arm), Alex Lyon: out (lower body), Justin Danforth: out (lower body), Noah Ostlund: out (upper-body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The San Jose Sharks hosted their final regular season home game on Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Sharks looked competitive right out of the gate, with some big hits and some quality scoring chances in the opening minutes. Macklin Celebrini had a breakaway attempt denied by Kevin Lankinen roughly seven minutes into the game. After Lankinen made the save, Vancouver launched an attack of their own and forced Yaroslav Askarov to make a save at the other end of the ice.
Askarov had a bit of an issue with one of his pads as it came completely off his leg following the save, causing a short delay in action.
Igor Chernyshov opened the scoring with 3:41 remaining in the first period after he beat Lankinen from close range to make it a 1-0 game. The Sharks carried that lead into the first intermission.
As time expired though, Chernyshov showed his value to the Sharks in another form. Celebrini was hit hard by Victor Mancini as the period came to an end.
Zack Ostapchuk drew the first penalty of the game just over three minutes into the second period, as Zeev Buium sat for hooking. Shortly after the penalty expired, the Canucks evened things up with a strange goal.
Askarov attempted to play the puck, and as he rushed back to his crease, he pulled the net along with him. Although he pulled the net to the ice, the puck crossed the goal line before he did so, making it a 1-1 game with the goal credited to Marco Rossi, his 11th of the season.
Chernyshov nearly restored the Sharks’ lead eight minutes into the middle frame, but his shot from point-blank range went wide of the goal. Tyler Toffoli would be the one to give the Sharks their next lead, breaking an 11-game goal drought in the process to make it 2-1.
Dmitry Orlov would take the Sharks’ first penalty of the night with just over four minutes left in the second period after he tripped up Drew O’Connor. Jake DeBrusk would even things up off a rebound right before the penalty expired.
The Sharks challenged the goal for goaltender interference, but the call stood. As a result, Will Smith went to the penalty box, and the Sharks were back on the penalty kill right after giving up a power play goal. San Jose killed off the penalty, and the game went into the third period tied at two goals apiece.
William Eklund nearly put the Sharks back in front early in the third period, but his shot deflected off the post and went behind Lankinen, then through the crease. Chernyshov had a chance on an open net just over five minutes into the period, but fanned on the shot. He got a follow-up shot off, but it was saved by Lankinen.
Chernyshov scored his third of the night with 7:16 left in regulation, giving the Sharks a 3-2 lead with limited time remaining.
Vincent Desharnais went to the penalty box with just under five minutes remaining for a hook on Nils Hoglander, giving the Canucks a key opportunity to tie things up. Teddy Blueger did just that, as he scored Vancouver’s third goal of the night with just one second remaining on the Desharnais penalty.
60 minutes wouldn't be enough to decide a winner, as the game went into overtime. Alex Wennberg drew a tripping penalty which saw DeBrusk heading to the penalty box with just 2:17 remaining in overtime.
Smith had the winner on his stick with just 40 seconds remaining and a wide-open net in front of him, but his shot deflected out of play.
Eklund was called for interference with 28 seconds remaining, as expected, the call was not well-received in the SAP Center. The Sharks were able to kill of the Canucks' very abbreviated power play though, sending the game to a shootout.
After a lengthy shootout, Linus Karlsson eventually won it for the Canucks.
In Kevin Lankinen’s return to the lineup, the Vancouver Canucks put together a strong 4–3 shootout win effort against the San Jose Sharks. Jake DeBrusk scored his 20th goal of the season, while Marco Rossi and Teddy Blueger also found the back of the net. While Linus Karlsson scored the shootout winner, it was Lankinen who showed up most by stopping 28 of 31 shots faced as well as five of six shootout attempts.
In his first game since April 1, having missed the past week due to an upper-body injury, Lankinen put together a strong outing. He faced a handful of high-danger chances for San Jose in the first period, standing tall on chances from both Sharks stars Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini. Lankinen continued his strong play throughout the game, stopping two massive chances in-tight from Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli in the third period.
Celebrini continued his dominance over his hometown team, first by putting in the extended effort to get the puck to Igor Chernyshov on the Sharks’ first goal. He also assisted on Chernyshov’s second goal of the game and scored in the shootout. The forward is now up to three goals and 10 assists in six games against his hometown team as well as a five-game point streak against the Canucks. Tonight also marked his fifth-career multi-point game against Vancouver.
Tonight’s game featured an unexpected play in net. Victor Mancini rimmed the puck along the boards in his own zone, though nobody was able to collect it before it slid behind San Jose’s net. Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov went out to play it, though the puck bounced off the boards and into the possession of Rossi. Making a quick decision knowing he wouldn’t be able to get back into the crease in time, Askarov pulled the net down to try and negate the goal, though Rossi shot the puck and appeared to have gotten it in the tipping net. Regardless, the goal counted for the centre.
Vancouver’s power play remained hot in tonight’s game, scoring on their first opportunity thanks to DeBrusk. While they did have some issues breaking in on their first man-advantage, once they were able to set up, the Canucks had an easier time connecting their passes and getting the shot on net for DeBrusk to tip-in. While they didn’t score on their second opportunity, Blueger’s goal on the third man-advantage tied things up for Vancouver late in the third period. The Canucks are now up to 11 power play goals in the past 10 games that they’ve had at least one power play in.
By far the Canucks’ hero past regulation was Lankinen, who ended up facing a 4-on-3 power play for the Sharks during overtime. During this sequence of chances for San Jose, Lankinen stopped a massive near open-net chance for Smith, helping send Vancouver to the shootout. While Lankinen managed to stop Chernyshov to extend his shootout save streak to 18, it was Celebrini who managed to find the back of the net. Tonight’s shootout went six rounds, with the results increasing Lankinen’s numbers to 22 saves on 23 shootout chances faced.
With the win, the Canucks have snapped a four-game losing streak and made a substantial dent in the Sharks’ playoff chances. They also very nearly avoided being swept by the Sharks in a season series for the first time since 2016–17, as Vancouver previously dropped their three other games against San Jose earlier this year.
Apr 11, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen (32) defends against San Jose Sharks left wing Igor Chernyshov (92) during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
Stats and Facts:
Jake DeBrusk becomes the second Canuck to score 20 goals this season
Vancouver records 40+ shots on goal for the second time in 2025–26
Teddy Blueger is now up to three goals and three assists in his past six games
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
16:19 - SJS: Igor Chernyshov (6) from Macklin Celebrini
2nd Period:
5:56 - VAN: Marco Rossi (11) from Victor Mancini
9:02 - SJS: Tyler Toffoli (19) from Sam Dickinson and Michael Misa
17:37 - VAN: Jake DeBrusk (20) from Filip Hronek and Elias Pettersson (PPG)
3rd Period:
12:44 - SJS: Igor Chernyshov (7) from Macklin Celebrini and Dmitry Orlov
17:01 - VAN: Teddy Blueger (9) from Linus Karlsson (PPG)
Overtime:
No Scoring.
Shootout Winner:
VAN - Linus Karlsson
Up Next:
Vancouver is back at it right away with a matchup against the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow at 5:00 pm PT. This game will mark the end of their current road trip, with this being their last multi-game road trip of the 2025–26 season. The Canucks currently lead the season series 2–1, but dropped their most recent game by a score of 5–3 on March 24.
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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Going into the first game of their home-and-home series against the Washington Capitals on Saturday - and the final home game of the regular season - the Pittsburgh Penguins were going to be pretty shorthanded.
Having already clinched a playoff berth with a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, the Penguins had a plethora of players nursing some injuries that they decided to hold out of the lineup - despite the possibility that it could be Alex Ovechkin's final game in Pittsburgh.
Well, the Penguins looked like a team that was missing a whole lot of regulars from their lineup - and Washington's young guys delivered in a must-win game for the Capitals.
The Caps defeated the Pens, 6-3, With Ovechkin scoring the empty-net goal near the end of the contest to cap off the win. Ryan Leonard scored twice, each Protas brother - Aliaksei and Ilya - got on the board, and Tom Wilson registered his second-consecutive 30-goal season for the Caps en route to the win.
Penguins' netminder Arturs Silovs stopped 25 of 30 Washington shots on goal, while Pittsburgh only registered 12 shots of its own over the entire course of the game.
There was no score after the first period, where the Capitals outshot the Penguins, 10-1, but Silovs stood tall. But the second period got pretty crazy quickly. Aliaksei Protas opened the scoring just a minute and half into the middle frame, but Penguins' leading goal-scorer Anthony Mantha cashed in just 26 seconds later to knot the game up at 1-1 with his 32nd of the season.
However, the Caps answered four minutes later with consecutive goals by Leonard and Wilson to gain a two-goal lead. Noel Acciari put home his 13th for the Penguins a little past the midway point, but Leonard found the back of the net for his second of the game and 20th of the season to make it 4-2.
But immediately following a Penguins' penalty kill, Ryan Shea sprung Kevin Hayes from the box with a perfect neutral-zone pass, and Hayes came down the left side and put a perfect finish on it to bring the Penguins to within one.
The Caps didn't go away, though, and there were ultimately able to get goals from Ilya Protas and Ovechkin in the third - with Ovi's empty-net goal sealing the deal. Anthony Mantha was awarded a penalty shot in the third period, too, but he was unable to execute.
While the Penguins are unable to budge in the standings for the remainder of the regular season, the Capitals' win was huge for them, as they were able to stay within the conversation for a playoff spot. The New York Islanders fell earlier in the day, while the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets each won their respective games later, and the Metropolitan's third position is now the only pathway for any of those four teams to make the playoffs.
Washington trails Philadelphia - currently in that third spot - by three points.
The Capitals and Penguins will face off again on Sunday in Washington for the second half of a home-and-home, and it may be a similar lineup to the one the Penguins put out there on Saturday. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Ben Kindel, Bryan Rust, Erik Karlsson, Parker Wotherspoon, and Kris Letang are all considered day-to-day and did not play.
"I mean, obviously, they made a ton of changes to their lineup right before the game, and those games can be tough sometimes," Wilson said. "So, we knew we had to keep it simple and not give them anything. For the most part, we did a pretty good job. I think they got a couple good looks, but for the most part, we were dumping pucks, getting them back, forechecking, keeping it simple, using our legs.
"You don't want to get into a back-and-forth game on this type of night, so obviously, we've got one tomorrow, too."
Ovechkin got a nice ovation from the Pittsburgh faithful, too, in preparation for the fact that this could very well have been his last game in Pittsburgh, as both the Capitals' playoff hopes and his future are undecided at this point.
But Oveckhin appreciated the gesture from the crowd, and he said it's a sign of mutual respect between the two teams.
"Yeah, it was nice. It was a show of respect," Ovechkin said. "All that time that we spend on rivalries, playoffs, other good seasons... yeah. It shows respect."
And Penguins' players sure have a lot of respect for what Ovechkin has done over the years, too, and they are happy to have been a part of it for however long they've had the opportunity.
"Yeah, I mean, it's always special," Rickard Rakell said. "You've always got to be aware of where he's at on the ice because, I mean, he's... everybody knows about his shot. He's on for such a long time.
"I've had the pleasure to play against him for a long time, and you know when he's scoring on you. But, he's a fun player to watch."
Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar was trying to bank the puck off the boards during the third period of the April 11 game, but it went into the Avalanche bench and hit Bednar in the side of the head.
A trainer looked at the coach, who went to the dressing room with a towel being held to his head. Bednar had not returned by the end of the game.
The Avalanche said after the game that Bednar was hit in his right cheek and was fully alert and conscious but would be taken to a local hospital for a CT scan and further evaluation.
Avs head coach Jared Bednar took an attempted dump-in from Keegan Kolesar to the side of the head and has left the bench 🤕 pic.twitter.com/Qh0uQQSXgd
"It's certainly a little unnerving," assistant coach Nolan Pratt told reporters after the game. "It's scary when the pucks are flying in there. It happens all the time and unfortunate tonight."
The Golden Knights beat the Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche 3-2 in overtime to clinch a playoff spot and move past the Edmonton Oilers into the Pacific Division lead.
Bednar wasn't the only member of the Avalanche to leave the game. Defenseman Josh Manson didn't return after suffering an upper-body injury. Pratt said the team would have a better update on his condition on Sunday, April 12.
Eleven days ago, the Vegas Golden Knights were fighting for their lives. They had fallen to third in the Pacific Division and were in serious danger of missing the postseason. Today, they officially clinched a playoff berth and moved into first in the Pacific with a 3-2 overtime win on Saturday over the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
What a difference a week and change makes.
Right from puck drop, the Avalanche got to their game quickly and showed why they’re the Presidents’ Trophy winners. They outshot the Golden Knights 15-7 in the first period and generated nine high-danger scoring chances.
The Avalanche broke the ice at 9:17 in the first. Devon Toews fired a wrister from the point, and it rode up on Carter Hart’s chest protector and into the net.
Despite being outplayed in the first period, the Golden Knights entered intermission tied at one after scoring the equalizer on their second power play of the game.
The Golden Knights tied it up at 13:47 in the first. After Tomáš Hertl got a stick on Mitch Marner’s shot from the point, Mark Stone batted the puck out of midair. Parker in front of the net, Stone pulled to his backhand, and chipped it in over Mackenzie Wedgewood’s blocker.
Mark Stone with his third goal in his last two games. And what a beauty.
In the second period, the Avalanche boasted an 11-10 edge in shots. However, it was the Golden Knights with the lion’s share of scoring chances, generating 17 against Colorado’s nine.
The Golden Knights took their first lead of the night just 2:09 into the period. Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside Kaedan Korczak’s shot from the point, and the rebound kicked out to Ivan Barbadian behind the goal line. Barbashev protected the puck and set up Pavel Dorofeyev for a one-timed snipe from the left dot.
Pavel Dorofeyev with a perfectly placed shot from the left circle. That’s his 36th on the season and it’s a new career high!
The Avalanche responded at 10:56 in the second. Nick Blankenburg fired a shot from the point that hit off the post and bounced off of Carter Hart’s back and into the net.
What an odd bounce. Looks like Blankenburg’s shot went off the post, off Hart’s back, and into the net.
The teams played a scoreless, but eventful, third period. The Golden Knights outshot the Avalanche 10-6 and generated six high-danger scoring chances against Colorado’s three.
The Golden Knights scored the game-winner 1:19 into overtime. After the Avalanche missed the net on a 2-on-1, Jack Eichel took it back the other way and beat Mackenzie Blackwood below the blocker.
Jack Eichel wins it in overtime, and the Vegas Golden Knights are officially playoff bound.
1. The 2025-26 regular season officially comes to a close on Thursday. Despite the season ending in just five days, the Golden Knights have no clue who they’ll face in the playoffs. But tonight, they punched their ticket to the dance, and that is all that matters. Everything else is out of their hands.
2. Before tonight’s game, Pavel Dorofeyev and Jack Eichel had one goal in 12 games and one in 13, respectively. They both got over the hump tonight. Dorofeyev’s goal was his 36th of the season— a new career high.
3. The first goal that Carter Hart surrendered was exceptionally bad. However, he rebounded well and was named the second star of the night. Hart finished with 30 saves on 32 shots, including one against the Rocket Richard leader, Nathan Mackinnon, with 3:44 remaining in regulation.
The Florida Panthers wrapped up their final road trip of the season on a positive note.
Coming off four consecutive defeats since leaving South Florida, the Panthers pulled off a 6-3 win on Saturday night in Toronto despite putting up a mostly-AHL roster.
The Cats got off to a quick start at Scotiabank Arena thanks to a goal by Eetu Luostarinen on the game’s first shift.
Rushing into the zone with Mackie Samoskevich, Luostarinen picked up a rebound in the corner after a Samoskevich shot and sent a sharp angle shot toward the net that went off Joseph Woll and over the goal line just 23 seconds into the game.
Exactly five minutes and 10 seconds later, Cole Reinhardt came flying down the right side of the ice with the puck on his stick, driving to the Toronto net past Jake McCabe and putting the puck past Woll to give the Panthers an early 2-0 lead.
Tomas Nosek’s first goal of the season made it 3-0 Cats at the 92 second mark of the middle frame.
After rookie Marek Alscher came down from the point to cut off a Max Domi Exit attempt, he quickly found Nosek with the puck, and the veteran came barreling down the slot before beating Woll gloveside.
Toronto mounted a comeback attempt from that point, getting goals from William Nylander 2:21 apart to bring the Maple Leafs within one of the Panthers heading into the second intermission.
A goal by Mackie Samoskevich, his fifth in eight games, nipped that idea in the bud early in the third period, and then the Cats cemented the win on empty-net goals by A.J. Greer and Nosek.
While heading home with the two points probably has the players on the plane feeling good, it could ultimately be Toronto who gets the last laugh.
The Panthers and Maple Leafs were tied in the NHL Draft Lottery race heading into the game, but now Toronto holds a two-point ‘edge’ on the Cats with two games to go for each team.
As it stands, Florida has the seventh-worst record in the NHL while Toronto is fifth-worst.
On to the final two games of the season, starting Monday night against the New York Rangers.
Photo caption: Jan 6, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Easton Cowan (53) battles along the boards with Florida Panthers center Luke Kunin (71) during the second period at Scotiabank Arena. (Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images)
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Sean Couturier had two goals and an assist and Noah Cates added a short-handed goal and two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 7-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night.
Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler also scored for the Flyers (40-27-12), winners of four of their last five games. Michkov added an assist, and Rasmus Ristolainen finished with two assists. Dan Vladar had 27 saves.
Hadyn Fleury scored for the Jets (35-31-12), who entered the game with a three-game winning streak and victories in five of their last six games to keep their playoff hopes alive. Jonathan Toews extended his point streak to three games with an assist, giving him four points over that stretch.
Connor Hellebuyck, who made his 20th start in the last 22 games, allowed five goals on 20 shots before being replaced for the third period. Eric Comrie allowed goals on his first two shots against and finished with one save.
With the victory, the Flyers complete a two-game series sweep of the Jets. Philadelphia earned a 5-2 win on home ice back in October.
Philadelphia earned a valuable two points to maintain its grip on third place in the Metropolitan Division and remain in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Winnipeg is trying to secure the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference. With just three games remaining, its hopes for a spot in the postseason remain slim.
MONTREAL (AP) — Charlie Coyle scored twice as the desperate Columbus Blue Jackets rolled to a 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
Boone Jenner, Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko also scored while Jet Greaves stopped 20 shots for Columbus, which is fighting to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Adam Fantilli added two assists.
The Blue Jackets sit outside the playoff picture, two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Cole Caufield — with his 51st of the season — and Josh Anderson scored for playoff-bound Montreal two nights after Caufield scored his 50th in an electric 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jakub Dobes made 28 saves.
Defenseman Noah Dobson exited in the second period after blocking a Zach Werenski slap shot with his left hand. Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov also went to the dressing room in the third when he was hit headfirst into the boards by Werenski, but he returned later in the period.
Montreal (104 points) fell from second to third in the Atlantic Division behind Tampa Bay (104 points), which holds the regulation-wins tiebreaker over the Canadiens. The Buffalo Sabres lead the division at 106 points with two regular-season games remaining for all three teams.
Up next
Blue Jackets: Host the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
Canadiens: Visit the New York Islanders on Sunday.
TORONTO (AP) — Eetu Luostarinen and Mackie Samoskevich had a goal and two assists each as the Florida Panthers cruised past the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 on Saturday night.
Tomas Nosek, with two goals, Cole Reinhardt and A.J. Greer, into the empty net to go along with an assist, provided the rest of the offense for Florida.
Daniil Tarasov made 17 saves for the Panthers, who snapped a four-game slide.
William Nylander replied with a pair of goals for Toronto, which got 19 stops from Joseph Woll in the club’s fifth straight loss.
Both poised to miss the playoffs, the Maple Leafs and Panthers met in the second round of last spring’s postseason, with Florida topping Toronto in seven games before going on to hoist the Stanley Cup for a second straight June.
The Panthers, who started play one spot above Saturday’s opponent at 26th overall in the NHL standings, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before Nosek made it 3-0 early in the second.
Nylander scored on a power play midway through the period, and added another to make it 3-2 through 40 minutes. Samoskevich made it 4-2 in the third. Greer and Nosek iced it into the empty net.
Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin has played in the NHL since 2015 and has only played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once, later that season.
The drought for both him and the Red Wings has extended into a 10th consecutive year, as they were officially eliminated from postseason contention after blowing yet another third-period lead, this time against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday evening.
The Devils, who are outside the playoff picture, responded with goals of their own each time the Red Wings took the lead and eventually scored the game-winner themselves, with Jesper Bratt finding the net late in the third period en route to a 5–3 victory.
Larkin, who registered his third-career hat trick in Detroit's previous game to help keep their playoff hopes alive, admitted that he's not in good spirits after their fate was sealed.
"We're down," Larkin said afterward. "I'm down, as down as I could be right now. "
Larkin and the Red Wings were tied for first overall in the Eastern Conference in mid-January, and appeared well on their way to comfortably attaining a postseason spot. However, just as they had in each of the last several campaigns, they unraveled in March and lost their playoff points cushion.
"We put ourselves in a great spot, a lot of good things," Larkin said. "We didn't do what we set out to do, to make the playoffs and continue to build this thing."
An ill-advised pinch by Larkin in the slot in search of an offensive chance proved costly when his Team USA Olympic teammate Jack Hughes got to the puck first, flipped it past him, and led a 2-on-1 rush with Jesper Bratt that resulted in the go-ahead goal late in the third period.
"They're a transition team; that fourth one is on me," Larkin said. "I'm covering for (Simon), pinch in there, and two of those guys jumped by. It's completely my responsibility to stay back and cover for the D."
When it came to blowing third-period leads and ultimately losing, the Red Wings did so five times this season - four of them coming after March 4, including against the Devils and against the Blue Jackets earlier in the week.
"It seems to be a trend of late, but like I said, there were a lot of good things this year," Larkin said of being unable to protect third-period leads. "You could really go back and look at all the points in the third periods, but it's hard to look at right now. I don't think it's going to be a determining factor moving forward."
Detroit's centennial season will come to a close in the coming days with road matchups against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.
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They might not be mathematically eliminated, but unfortunately for the Winnipeg Jets, the team will come up short in their bid for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring.
Despite a decent push in the final quarter of the season, it was too little, too late in Manitoba's capital.
As the old saying goes, the Jets waited far too long to heat up, and in doing so, their postseason chances have slimmed down to next to nothing.
Photo by Danny Truong
In need of another win - and a miracle - to continue their push for the playoffs, the Jets came up short, well short, in their efforts for a postseason push on Saturday in a test against an Eastern Conference playoff hopeful in Philadelphia.
The penultimate contest from Canada Life Centre this season wasn't even close from the opening puck drop. The Flyers got off to a hot start and truly didn't cool down until they chased Connor Hellebuyck from the game and put up seven goals against a desperate Winnipeg team in need of both points.
A wild opening frame saw four goals - and all four came before the game was even nine minutes old.
It was Philadelphia that struck first, with recent entry-level contract signee Porter Martone finishing off a pretty passing play by Travis Konecny just 1:17 into the game.
But Haydn Fleury responded for Winnipeg five minutes later. He hammered home a Cole Koepke rebound on a play that saw Jonathan Toews pick up the secondary helper - his fourth points in the past three games.
But then, just a minute-and-a-half later, Matvei Michkov redirected a long-range wrist shot off Jacob Bryson and past Hellebuyck, restoring the Flyers' one-goal lead.
Just 25 seconds later, the visitors found another, with Sean Couturier putting home his 11th of the season, ripping it past the Jets' bewildered last line of defence for a 3-1 lead less than half a period into the game.
Both clubs settled down as the opening frame wore on, with power play chances granted to both team.
Philadelphia narrowly outshot the Jets 13-10 through 20 minutes, while taking a commanding 3-1 lead into the intermission.
The middle stanza saw the Flyers add to their lead, with local product Travis Sanheim earning his first career professional goal in his home province. A rousing cheer from his friends and family in attendance rang out as the puck found its way past Hellebuyck and into the Jets' net.
Noah Cates delivered the knockout punch, scoring a shorthanded goal with time ticking down on a Jets penalty late in the second period, handing Winnipeg a 5-1 deficit through 40 minutes of play.
Couturier got his second of the game 6:23 into the third period, making it 6-1 for the visitors, as he beat Eric Comrie on the Flyers' first shot of the period.
Then, with just six minutes remaining, the visitors got another courtesy of Nick Seeler on just Philly's second shot of the frame.
Hellebuyck allowed five goals on 20 shots before being yanked from the game, while Dan Vladar turned aside 28 pucks on the 29 Jets shots that found their way to the net.
Eric Comrie ended the night with one save on three shots in 20 minutes of work.
A loss wouldn't have hit quite as hard should there Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators have lost their respective games on Saturday, but, of course, that did not happen, extending the distance between the Jets and a possible postseason berth.
Next up for Winnipeg is the team's final road trip of a season - a two-game trek through Vegas and Utah in a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday - before the Jets return home Thursday night for the season finale against the San Jose Sharks at 7:00 PM central.
At the start of the 2025-26 season, the Buffalo Sabres claimed goaltender Colten Ellis off waivers from the St. Louis Blues. This is after he had a 22-14-3 record, a .922 save percentage, and a 2.63 goals-against average in 42 AHL games for the Springfield Thunderbirds in 2024-25.
Now, with the 2025-26 season almost over, it is clear that Ellis has been a solid waiver addition for the Sabres. He has worked well as their No. 3 goaltender, and it is hard not to be satisfied with his play when noting that Buffalo picked him up for free.
In 15 games this season with the Sabres, Ellis has an 8-4-1 record, a .904 save percentage, and a 2.91 goals-against average. With numbers like these, he has been a solid depth goalie for the Sabres.
Ellis also just put together a fantastic performance in his most recent start on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 2019 third-round pick put together a 37-save shutout against Columbus. This was Ellis' first-career NHL shutout.
With all of this, it is clear that Ellis has been a nice pickup for the Sabres. While Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon have been a great tandem, Ellis has also done well when called upon.
With Kevin Lankinen named tonight's starting goaltender against the San Jose Sharks, the Vancouver Canucks have announced that goaltender Jiří Patera has been re-assigned to the AHL. During his most recent call-up, Patera did not end up playing in any games for Vancouver.
Patera was called up last week after Lankinen was ruled out of his team's matchup against the Utah Mammoth on home-ice. In his lone NHL start this season, Patera faced 40 shots but allowed seven goals against the Florida Panthers. In Abbotsford, he has registered a record of 11-14-4 with a 2.72 GAA and .907 SV%.
With Lankinen unavailable, Nikita Tolopilo has started in Vancouver's past four games. Despite some strong games, he has not won a game since March 12 against the Nashville Predators. Given that Lankinen is expected to start tonight, Tolopilo is likely to start in tomorrow's game against the Anaheim Ducks.
This is not the only roster move the Canucks have made today, as Vancouver called defenceman Kirill Kudryavtsev up from the AHL earlier this morning.
Vancouver will play the Sharks tonight at 7:00 pm PT, and the Ducks at 5:00 pm PT tomorrow. As of writing, Abbotsford is currently up 2-0 against the Calgary Wranglers, with their next game taking place next Saturday against the Ontario Reign.
Jan 19, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks goalie Jiri Patera (30) skates in warm up prior to a game against the New York Islanders at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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