ST. LOUIS – Seriously, who really saw this coming?

From this St. Louis Blues team that was the last in the NHL this season to win three games in a row, let alone 10, after finding a way to win in a different fashion on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings.

When Cam Fowler scored at 3:27 of overtime to cap a last-minute comeback, staring at the clutches of defeat for the first time in 19 days, before rallying past the Red Wings 2-1, it gave the Blues (41-28-7) their 10th straight win.

Consider this: the Blues, who by the way are now one point ahead of the Minnesota Wild – who have a game in hand – for the first wild card in the Western Conference, were the last team in the NHL this season to put together a three-game winning streak, and it took nine(!) tries to do that, now are the hottest team in the NHL; they are one win shy of matching the franchise record for consecutive wins at 11 (accomplished by the 2019 Stanley Cup champion side) and one win from matching the Winnipeg Jets for longest winning streak in the league this season.

How is this happening?

There is some serious mojo going on around here considering the fact the Blues were 29 seconds away from being blanked by Cam Talbot, the same Cam Talbot who was offered up as a sacrificial lamb in this very building when the Blues downed the Wild in the first round of the playoffs just three years ago.

But Jordan Kyrou help steal a valuable point with a sixth-attacker goal set up by none other than Fowler, and then Fowler won it in OT.

“It’s been a fun ride here,” Fowler said. “We’ve all enjoyed playing with one another. There’s not many opportunities you have in this league to keep a streak like this going. It was one of those games where they did a good job of limiting our chances and we just had to stay as patient as we possibly could.

“We’ve kept faith for a long time now knowing that we can win hockey games no matter how much time is left. Our guys just stuck with it and everybody made some big-time plays that helped us win. It’s fun to be able to keep this thing rolling.”

Jordan Binnington, named the NHL's third star of the month for March, made 20 saves, some of them key stops.

“I don’t know if mental toughness is the right word, but the way we stick to it,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. ‘We said we need to simplify in the third, we thought our second was too much east-west, too many turnovers, not winning enough battles. We just had to get back to our identity and who we are. I felt we did as good a job as we could. We didn’t have much juice in the legs tonight and for whatever reasons, that just happens. First time we’ve had two days off in a while and maybe we didn’t handle that the right way. We’ll take another day off tomorrow and we’ll get back at it Thursday.”

It was a triumphant win and debut for 2022 first-round pick (No. 23 overall) Jimmy Snuggerud, who joined the Blues after signing his three-year, entry-level contract on Friday.

How about those Three Takeaways:

* Montgomery’s early goalie pull – It was only 1-0, and there was 3:23 remaining in regulation, but Montgomery felt it was the right time to lift Binnington.

The Blues had allowed the Red Wings (34-33-7) to forge ahead when J.T. Compher broke the scoreless stalemate at 5:13 of the third period and they just didn’t seem like they were going to have that overwhelming push to level the game or take a lead.

Montgomery saw some flaws that perhaps could be exposed and decided to go with an extra body on the ice that finally paid off when Fowler was able to slide down a seam play to Kyrou, who didn’t get all of his quick shot but enough to slide it through the seemingly impenetrable Talbot.

THIS TEAM IS UNBELIEVABLE!!! #stlbluespic.twitter.com/v2Jn1HguFX

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 2, 2025

“We’re just trying to attack there,” Kyrou said. “Not much time on the clock and we get a recovery there. Obviously [Flower] made a helluva pass to me right to the seam there and I just tried to tip it.”

Fowler added, “We had some opportunities from probably the three-minute mark. And we had a lot of possession down there, so I think they were just keeping us to the outside. We were getting a couple good looks, but for the most part, 6-on-5 you have to find a way to get pucks to the net and to the dirty areas. That’s where the goals are scored. I just saw a little seam to ‘Rouzy’ there and he made a great tip to get us the goal to tie it up. It’s more just about trying to funnel pucks to the front of the net 6-on-5, create as much chaos as much as you can.”

But credit Montgomery, who wasn’t seeing the kind of attack he wanted at 5-on-5.

“No, that’s why we pulled the goalie so early,” he said. “We weren’t creating enough chances, we didn’t have enough zone time and they were icing pucks because they were tired.

“I felt that our first period was a pretty good period, but it wasn’t hard enough offensively, and I just felt like we kind of lost energy as the game went along. But the great thing is we found a way to win. Our third period continues to be a period where we play simple, our habits are at their best and our game management was the best.

“They iced the puck. They were tired. All the guys that we used were fresh on the bench, so we didn’t have to use our time out and they were fresh. We thought it was a good time to try and get a goal. You don’t know if you’re going to get another offensive zone face-off.”

* Sticking with it when not at their best – During this winning streak, one aspect of the Blues’ game that couldn’t be faulted is their cleanliness of puck movement.

They had been swift, fluent, hitting guys in stride and not becoming terribly vulnerable with puck turnovers.

Tonight was one of those rare instances. But they stuck with it and found a way.

“It wasn’t sharp,” Montgomery said. ‘And I think it’s because of our brains. Our brains were slower today to make reads, checking and making plays offensively. We had a lot of odd-man rushes in the first 30 minutes and we didn’t get any real good scoring opportunities like we did on the 2-on-1 and the overtime winner.”

It all goes into play when putting together such a winning streak as this, the good and the not-so-great.

“Very hard. That’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often,” Fowler said. “We understand that and how special it is. It takes a lot of things to go right for that to be able to come true. I think it just speaks to our lineup top to bottom, the work that we’ve been putting in and we’ve had some comebacks here too in this streak. We’re finding ways to win hockey games and it’s a lot of fun coming to work and playing for one another. It’s a really tight group and we certainly enjoy going out and working for one another.”

* Fowler’s deft hands to win it – Once the Blues got it to overtime, they have an edge. They have the ability to utilize multiple bodies and Fowler was one of them.

The defenseman jumped into the play when Robert Thomas checked Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider off the puck in the defensive zone and created a 2-on-1. Once Thomas sauced a backhand towards Fowler, he had to use his hands to, first, corral a puck and pull it into stride, and two, be deft enough to lift it into the top end of the net to win it.

You didn't doubt it, did you? #stlbluespic.twitter.com/w421teCe0P

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 2, 2025

“A quick little 2-on-1 there,” Fowler said. “Obviously ‘Tommer’s a great passer. He put me in a good position and I just saw myself in with a good chance on the goalie and tried to make a good shot. It was a good all-around play mostly by ‘Tommer.’ He set the whole thing up.

“I think that’s the strength of our team, the depth that we have up front and on the back end. We feel like every night, there could be different guys contributing and helping us win hockey games. I think that’s totally true. We have a lot of weapons that we feel can help us in overtime, helps us stay fresh and energized as well.”

As for who was going over the boards next?

“We feel we have a lot of players. I think if we were going to make another change, it was going to be [Jake] Neighbours and Snuggerud going over,” Montgomery said. ‘It would mean I was going to use eight forwards and three D-men in the course of the 3-on-3 and that speaks to the depth of talented players that we have.”

The Ottawa Senators remain in good shape to finally solve the puzzle of making the NHL playoffs. But they certainly had no solution for the Buffalo Sabres this season.

The Sabres defeated the Senators 5-2 on Tuesday night to sweep the season series, outscoring the Sens 17-5, and taking all eight points in the process.

Speaking of dominance, veteran Buffalo goalie James Reimer stopped 33 shots and improved to 19-6-4 against the Senators. No goalie in NHL history has a better record against Ottawa.

Linus Ullmark gave up four goals on 21 shots. Claude Giroux and Jake Sanderson scored for the Senators, who, despite a six minute flurry of chances in the third, were never really in this one.

Buffalo jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first, with goals from Alex Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin. They extended their lead in the second, capitalizing on some atrocious Ottawa defending. They had great view of Tage Thompson making it 3-0 after a perfect give-and-go with JJ Peterka.

However, just over a minute later, Claude Giroux got Ottawa on the board after a nice solo rush and a pass from Tyler Kleven.

In the third, Senators newcomer Dylan Cozens inadvertently provided a lovely parting gift to his old team, putting an errant pass right onto the stick of Peyton Krebs. Krebs capitalized on the mistake, scoring on the ensuing breakaway to restore Buffalo's three-goal lead.

Jake Sanderson responded shortly after, cutting the deficit to 4-2. After that, the Senators put together a strong push for five or six minutes, but Reimer wasn’t having any of it.

With the Sens on a 6-on-4 late in the game, Ryan McLeod sealed Buffalo's win with an empty-netter. 

The Senators played this one without Brady Tkachuk, who’s out with an upper-body injury suffered Sunday in Pittsburgh. It was a particularly rough night for Drake Batherson who was a minus 5 on the evening.

The loss was costly, as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday, cutting the Sens’ lead to five points with eight games to play. The Columbus Blue Jackets are now the best of the non-playoff teams in the East. They won 8-4 over the Nashville Predators and stand seven points behind Ottawa.

Things don't get any easier for the Sens. Their next game is Thursday night at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Then it's a visit from Florida Saturday, followed by a home and home with Columbus starting Sunday in Ottawa.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win to inch closer to clinching a playoff spot.

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his 20th of the season, Victor Hedman also scored and Nick Paul added an empty-netter for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point each added two assists.

Bo Horvat scored a short-handed goal for New York and Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves as the Islanders lost their sixth straight (0-4-2), further diminishing their slim playoff hopes.

Guentzel scored the tiebreaking goal at 8:09 of the second period. Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech inexplicably left Guentzel alone and Kucherov delivered a beautiful pass to set up the go-ahead goal.

Hedman made it 3-1 about 2 1/2 minutes later, and Paul capped the scoring into an empty net with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third.

Takeaways

Lightning: Vasilevskiy recorded his 36th win of the regular season, trailing only Connor Hellebuyck of the NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets.

Islanders: Sorokin started four of the Islanders' previous six losses, allowing 14 goals during that stretch.

Key Moment

Horvat missed a one-timer during an Islanders two-man advantage roughly five minutes into the second period while the game was even at 1-1. Tampa Bay then scored twice in the period to take a 3-1 lead.

Key stat

Kucherov’s two assists raised his season total to 111 points and reclaimed the NHL scoring lead. Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon is in second place with 110.

Up next

Lightning visit Ottawa on Thursday, and Islanders host Minnesota on Friday.

The New York Islanders knew that Tuesday night's contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning would be pivotal in their uphill climb towards the postseason.  

But with their backs up against the wall the Islanders were unable to muster what it takes to defeat the Atlantic Divisional power, losing 4-1. 

The Isles began the first period creating a number of opportunities, however Tampa goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy stood tall including stopping Bo Horvat on a breakaway. 

Soon after, the Islanders got caught in their own zone after a few failed exits, and Oliver Bjorkstrand deflected a shot from the point to give Tampa a 1-0 lead with 11:14 to play in the first.

Oliver Bjorkstrand tips in his 20th as Tampa Bay strikes first! ⚡️

📺: Lightning vs. Islanders on SN360 or stream on Sportsnet+ pic.twitter.com/RKSEGCO6VF

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 1, 2025

Casey Cizikas then took a slashing penalty, with 10:53 to go in the first. 

Incredibly, Horvat cashed in shorthanded, tying the score at 1-1 with 9:03 to go in the first.

Horvat’s shorty ties it up. #Islespic.twitter.com/C36oLdx7Ej

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) April 2, 2025

The teams went to the dressing room locked up 1-1 after one, with both sides getting Grade-A opportunities. 

In the second, the Lightning showed their skill. 

Jake Guentzel scored his 38th goal of the season 8:09 into the 2nd, finishing a neat pass from Nikita Kucherov out of the corner.

Nikita Kucherov gets his 110th point of the season with a sweet feed to Jake Guentzel 🍎 pic.twitter.com/T5NnSeW1of

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 2, 2025

Minutes later Victor Hedman put the Bolts ahead by two, as Kucherov set up the big defenseman for his 14th goal of the season. 

Kuch put it on a tee for Hedman 🚀 pic.twitter.com/iHUNEimW5H

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 2, 2025

At the second period's buzzer, Anthony Cirelli was called for tripping, and so the Islanders ended the third frame on a power play. In the second period, the Isles held Tampa to only six shots, however two went in and the Lightning entered the third with a 3-1 lead.

Only :24 seconds into the third period, Anders Lee was called for slashing setting up 1:37 seconds of four-on-four action, negating the Islanders power play.  In an effort to get back into the game, the Isles were unable to utilize the open ice to their advantage, and the teams returned to five aside.

3:59 into the second, Pierre Engvall was called for tripping, giving the Lightning their fourth power play of the night - - however, the Isles successfully killed the penalty.

Then with 6:39 remaining in the game, Yanni Gourde and Cizikas dropped the gloves -- possibly an attempt by Cozies too get the Islanders emotionally back into the game.

However, with under four minutes remaining, coach Patrick Roy pulled Sorokin, and with 3:31 remaining, the Bolts sealed the deal, as Nick Paul scored the empty net goal making the score 4-1.

The Islanders will be back in action on Friday when they host the Minnesota Wild at 7:30.

It certainly felt like a playoff game on Tuesday night in Montreal.

The back end of a home-and-home between the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens had a little bit of everything, but it was the hometown Habs who came out on top.

A late goal and an overtime goal gave Montreal a resounding 3-2 victory and Florida more questions to answer.

For the second game in a row, it was Montreal striking first.

Josh Anderson got positioning in front of the net on Uvis Balinskis and deflected a shot by Kaiden Guhle past a screened Vitek Vanecek to put the Habs up 1-0 just 4:43 into the game.

About five minutes later, a faceoff in Montreal’s end led to the Panthers’ first goal of the game.

Anton Lundell won the draw back to Niko Mikkola, and his shot tipped off the end of Habs defenseman Jake Evans’ stick and over the goal line.

Florida briefly through they’d taken the lead but the goal was quickly waived off.

Uvis Balinskis fired a shot that went off the post and directly into A.J. Greer's skates.

Greer dragged a skate that pushed the puck into the net, and officials initially said no goal, then changed their call after chatting with each other and went to video review, which ultimately led to a no goal call.

It took a little while longer but the Panthers did eventually their first lead of the game, and of the season, over Montreal, and it came on Florida’s first power play of the night.

Rookie Mackie Samoskevich sent a wrist shot right along the ice that hit off Guhle on its way underneath Sam Montembeault with just 1:13 left in the middle frame.

Florida was able to hold on to the lead until quite literally the game’s final seconds.

A failed clear attempt at the Panthers blue line led to the puck being sent toward Florida’s net by Lane Hutson. The bouncing shot went through Sam Reinhart, who went down to his knees in an attempt to block it and instead ended up on the tape of Nick Suzuki with nothing to stop him from scoring with just 8.4 seconds left.

It was the first shot on goal for Montreal in over eight minutes.

Their next shot would end the game.

Never relinquishing possession after the overtime faceoff, it was Suzuki scoring again, this time on a wraparound goal.

This one is going to sting.

On to Toronto.

QUICK THOUGHTS

Lundell’s primary assist on Mikkola’s goal was his first helper since Feb. 27 against Edmonton.

Seth Jones has points in four of his past six games after assisting on Samoskevich’s power play goal.

It was the first tally for Mackie in seven games, his longest stretch without a goal since the end of January.

The goal was also the fifth game-winner for Samoskevich this season.

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Three takeaways: Some good, some bad in frustrating loss to Montreal

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The Philadelphia Flyers knew Nikita Grebenkin was a stud prospect when they acquired him from the Toronto Maple Leafs, but were they expecting this?

Grebenkin, 21, failed to score a point in his seven NHL appearances with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.

In 39 AHL games with the Toronto Marlies, Grebenkin was averaging a goal every four games and joined the Flyers organization with nine goals, 12 assists, and 21 points under his belt.

But, since arriving from Toronto in the trade that saw the Flyers send Scott Laughton the other way, all Grebenkin has done is produce

The 6-foot-2 Russian winger has already shown his chops in front of the net, from both in tight and long range.

Already with three goals and two assists since joining up with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Grebenkin's latest exploits saw him dance a defender in the neutral zone before finding the middle of the ice, loading up, and ripping a shot past the glove of Laval goaltender Connor Hughes.

Like and share if you love Nikita Grebenkin pic.twitter.com/7BEB1rNsC4

— Jonathan Bailey (@ByJonBailey) March 29, 2025

Known best for his enthralling blend of size and skill, Grebenkin still needs to work on skating through and navigating traffic and, sometimes, playing through contact, even for a bigger player. 

Skill can only be taught to a certain point, especially at the NHL level, whereas strength and a more aggressive mentality can come with experience and further time spent in the gym.

Because the Flyers already used their fourth and final post-trade deadline call-up on rookie goalie Aleksei Kolosov, Grebenkin will only see NHL ice again this season if the squad suffers a rash of injuries.

Winger Garnet Hathaway just returned from a long layoff, so with the Flyers only getting the healthier, the chances of Grebenkin making his debut with the Orange and Black this season are virtually nil.

Flyers fans can, however, excitedly look towards the near future.

Grebenkin, Kolosov, Jett Luchanko, and others are all set to help lead the Phantoms in their Calder Cup playoff campaign.

Ty Murchison just joined the Phantoms on an amateur tryout offer, Alex Ciernik has yet to make his debut, and there's a chance Alex Bump can join the fold, too.

Grebenkin is already playing like a beast for the Flyers organization, and the excitement amongst fans is understandably reaching a fever pitch.

Extra seasoning in the AHL never hurt anybody, plus, this is the perfect opportunity for Grebenkin to build chemistry and familiarity with someone like Luchanko, for example.

Watch this space.

The Nashville Predators (27-40-8, 62 points) suffered their fourth consecutive loss – an 8-4 rout at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets (34-30-9, 77 points) – Tuesday at Nationwide Arena.

Kirill Marchenko scored three goals and an assist for Columbus, while Adam Fantili and Sean Monahan added two goals apiece. Filip Forsberg, Michael Bunting, Justin Barron and Jordan Oesterle each tallied a goal for the Predators, and Luke Evangelista led all Nashville skaters with two assists.

The loss marks the sixth time that Nashville has allowed six or more goals in a single game this season, with eight goals against representing a new season high. 

Predators goaltender Juuse Saros allowed seven goals on 26 shots for a .731 save percentage before pulled from the game after the second period. Justus Annunen made 10 saves on 11 shots in relief.

How the Predators Lined Up vs. Columbus

Forsberg-O'Reilly-Stamkos
Bunting-Svechkov-Evangelista
Smith-McCarron-L'Heureux
Bellows-Vrana

Skjei-Blankenburg
Del Gaizo-Barron
Englund-Stastney
Oesterle

Saros
Annunen

Extra: Sissons (week-to-week, lower-body), Marchessault (day-to-day, lower-body), Wood
IR: Josi, Wilsby, Lauzon

While navigating multiple injuries to their forward group, including Colton Sissons (week-to-week, lower-body) and Jonathan Marchessault (day-to-day, lower-body), the Predators went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the second night in a row.

Matthew Wood, who signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Predators on Saturday, has yet to make his NHL debut.

Predators at Blue Jackets: Live Updates

First Period (NSH 1, CBJ 3)

It took Columbus just over a minute to open the scoring in this one, with Zach Werenski capitalizing on a Predators turnover and finding Kirill Marchenko alone in front of the net for the score at the 1:15 mark of the first period.

The Blue Jackets struck again at the 16:34 mark, when Denton Mateychuk's slick cross-zone pass found Fantilli for a one-timer from the right circle to extend the lead to 2-0.

It took less than two minutes for that lead to become 3-0, when an Andreas Englund holding penalty gave the Blue Jackets their first power-play opportunity of the game. Sean Monahan capitalized on that opportunity, receiving a feed from Kent Johnson and sending a one-timer far side under Saros' blocker at the 18:10 mark.

Filip Forsberg managed to get Nashville on the board with a top shelf wrist shot in the final minutes of the period, cutting the deficit to 3-1 heading into the first intermission.

Nashville goal!

Scored by Filip Forsberg with 01:26 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Luke Evangelista and Ryan O'Reilly.

Columbus: 3
Nashville: 1#NSHvsCBJ#CBJ#Smashvillepic.twitter.com/JUYqECR53W

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 1, 2025

Second Period (NSH 3, CBJ 7)

Columbus quickly regained the three-goal lead in the second period, when Marchenko fired a wrist shot past Saros in transition at the 4:12 mark to make it 4-1. The goal was Marchenko's 30th of the season, making him the first Blue Jackets player to score 30 goals in a season since Cam Atkinson scored 41 in 2018-19.

Michael Bunting had a quick response for Nashville, firing a puck into traffic that found its way to the back of the net at the 5:43 mark to cut Columbus' lead to 4-2.

Nashville goal!

Scored by Michael Bunting with 14:17 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Fedor Svechkov and Luke Evangelista.

Columbus: 4
Nashville: 2#NSHvsCBJ#CBJ#Smashvillepic.twitter.com/p2yibVwNTJ

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 2, 2025

It took just 43 seconds for Justin Barron to make it a one-goal game with a clapper that beat Merzlikins from the right circle at the 6:26 mark.

Fantilli squashed the Predators' momentum with his second goal of the night when he capitalized on another costly Nashville turnover and blew up the ice, past Fedor Svechkov, and fired home a wrist shot to restore the two-goal lead for Columbus at the 12:00 mark.

Monahan scored his second goal of the night – both on the power play – when he scooped up the rebound of a Marchenko shot and tucked it around a sprawling Saros at the 16:47 mark of the second period to put Nashville in a three-goal deficit for a third time.

Former Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro gave the Blue Jackets their first four-goal lead of the game with 18 seconds left the second period. Fabbro, whom Columbus claimed off waivers from Nashville in November, fired a shot from the point that beat Saros and extended the Blue Jackets' lead to 7-3 heading into the second intermission.

Third Period (NSH 4, CBJ 8)

After Nashville allowed a season-high seven goals against through the first 40 minutes, Justus Annunen came in to replace Saros for the final 20.

Marchenko completed the hat trick at the 5:32 mark of the third period with a one-timer from the left circle that gave Columbus an 8-3 lead.

Jordan Oesterle cut it to 8-4 when he one-timed a pass from Cole Smith to beat Merzlikins far side at 9:02 for his first goal as a member of the Predators.

Annunen and the Predators managed to hold Columbus off the board for the remainder of the period, and 8-4 stood as the final score. Nashville will wrap up a three-game road trip Thursday in Dallas.

The Buffalo Sabres, currently in last place in the Eastern Conference, are set to extend their NHL record playoff drought to 14 seasons. So when they face the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, the Senators would prefer the Sabres didn’t skewer them for a fourth straight loss.

Buffalo has won all three games so far by a combined score of 12-3, and as they try to avoid a season sweep, the Senators won't have their captain on board.

With Ottawa now holding a comfortable seven-point lead in the Wild Card race, Tkachuk’s absence isn’t unexpected. It's a fine strategy to rest key players like Tkachuk, who've been dealing with lingering injuries.

However, Senators head coach Travis Green told the media on Tuesday morning that Tkachuk’s injury is something new. It’s an upper-body issue, completely unrelated to the nagging injury he’s been playing through over the past few weeks.

Tkachuk's new injury happened in Pittsburgh on Sunday when he skated into Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves in the neutral zone. Simply put, while changing direction, Tkachuk wasn’t looking where he was going. After going down in pain, he skated off the ice and into the dressing room, but returned to play in the third period, likely fueled only by adrenaline.

Unfortunately, things obviously worsened after the game, and he won’t be available for Tuesday’s contest against the Sabres.

“Yeah, it’s not what you want, that’s for sure,” Green told the media. “But that’s part of the NHL. You’re going to lose guys, and hopefully he’s only out for a game.”

Last month, Tkachuk was emotional when the Senators traded his close friend, Josh Norris, to the Sabres. This game might’ve been their reunion, but with both players sidelined by injuries, that’s on hold until next season. Norris will miss his 10th consecutive game on Tuesday and didn’t travel to Ottawa. Neither did Tkachuk’s former Boston University teammate, Jordan Greenway, who's also injured.

Tkachuk’s spot on the roster will be filled by Angus Crookshank, who’s been shuffled between Belleville and Ottawa in recent games. Crookshank, a UFA this summer, gets a good opportunity, and Green says he's excited to see him in action.

“I thought last time up, he played some good hockey for us,” Green said. “He’s a feisty player, he's got good hands, and is strong on his skates. Excited for him to get into the lineup.”

Crookshank will skate on the fourth line, taking the spot of Michael Amadio, who’s been playing phenomenal two-way hockey of late. Amadio moves up to the third line while Claude Giroux takes Tkachuk's spot on Tim Stützle’s left side.

Aside from Tkachuk’s absence, which is concerning, and Linus Ullmark starting in net, Green’s lineup will remain the same as it was in the 1-0 OT loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. James Reimer is expected to start again for Buffalo.

Senators Projected Lineup:

Claude Giroux - Tim Stützle - Fabian Zetterlund
David Perron - Dylan Cozens - Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig - Shane Pinto - Michael Amadio
Matthew Highmore - Adam Gaudette - Angus Crookshank

Jake Sanderson - Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot - Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven - Nikolas Matinpalo

Linus Ullmark
Anton Forsberg

Scratched: Dennis Gilbert, Travis Hamonic
Injured: Nick Cousins (knee), Brady Tkachuk (upper body)

Sabres Projected Lineup:

Zach Benson - Jiri Kulich - Tage Thompson
JJ Peterka - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn
Jason Zucker - Peyton Krebs - Alex Tuch
Beck Malenstyn - Tyson Kozak - Sam Lafferty

Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power - Jacob Bernard-Docker
Bowen Byram - Connor Clifton

James Reimer
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Scratched: Jacob Bryson, Isak Rosen
Injured: Jordan Greenway (lower body), Josh Norris (middle body)

Faceoff is at 7pm (TSN5 and RDS2) at Canadian Tire Centre.

The Colorado Avalanche suffered their second straight loss Monday, falling to the Calgary Flames by a 3-2 score in a shootout. Here are three key takeaways from the Avs' loss, which dropped Colorado's season record to 45-26-4:

1. Avs Blow Two-Goal Lead, Squander Opportunity To Gain Ground In Central Divsion Playoff Race

For the first two periods of Monday's tilt against the Flames, Colorado looked like it was going to get back on track and stop a two-game losing skid from happening. The Avalanche out-shot Calgary 21-12 through 40 minutes and took a two-goal lead into the third frame, but they were out-shot 11-5 in the third period and blew a chance to win the game in regulation time.

The Avs' loss -- even with the 'loser point' -- failed to make up much ground in the Central race, as Colorado is now eight standings points behind second-place Dallas, and the Stars have a game in hand on the Avalanche. It was still going to be diffcult to overtake Dallas for second spot in the Central, but this loss pretty much assures the Avs of a third-place finish in the division.

2. MacKinnon, Makar Continue To Dominate, Even In Losing Effort

Avalanche superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar had another strong game Monday, collaborating on Colorado's opening goal against the Flames. Makar scored his 28th goal of the season Monday, while MacKinnon had the primary assist -- his 80th of the season -- on Makar's goal.

MacKinnon's assist keeps him as the league leader in helpers this season, while Makar's goal extends his lead as the NHL's top-scoring defenseman. Together, Makar and MacKinnon give the Avalanche a chance to win each and every night, and even on nights where the Avs don't get the 'W', MacKinnon and Makar stand out in a positive way.

3. With Wild's Loss, Avalanche Is All But Assured Of Finishing In Third Place In Central 

The Avalanche's defeat opened the door for the fourth-place-in-the-Central Minnesota Wild to gain ground on the Avs. However, the Wild fell 3-2 in a shootout to the New Jersey Devils -- and that means Minnesota remains six standings points behind Colorado, with both the Wild and Avs each having seven regular-season games left to play.

Barring some collapse by the Avalanche, Minnesota is going to stay a wild card team in the Western Conference, while the Avs are more or less locked into a first-round series against the Stars. There's still a chance the first-place Winnipeg Jets fall below Dallas into second place in the Central, but that's also highly-unlikey.

Ultimately, Colorado and Dallas are headed for a first-round showdown, and the Avalanche are going to be facing a Stars team with an imposing 27-7-2 home record this season. The Avs have a relatively-disappointing 20-15-1 road mark this season, so they'll have to be much better away from home if they're to make it to the second round and beyond. But falling to the Flames Monday all but assures Colorado of what could be the toughest first-round matchup of any first-round series this spring.

The Winnipeg Jets have been one of the NHL's best teams this season, and many believe they'll go on a deep Stanley Cup playoff run this spring. But in THN's 2015 Future Watch edition, we predicted the Jets would win the Cup -- in 2019:

PLAN THE PARADE

By Ken Campbell

All right, let's get one thing out of the way. It gets cold in Winnipeg. Ten months of winter and two months of bad skating. Heh-heh. The day this piece was written in mid-February, it was forecasted to go down to minus-38. Don’t bother with the Celsius to Fahrenheit calculations. When it’s that cold, they’re pretty much the same.

There are bigger cities in the NHL (about 25 of them) that play in bigger arenas (about 29). There are other places where a star can slide right under the radar if he wants. There are places with lower taxes and places where your Bentley won’t get wrecked by road salt. There are places with a few more entertainment options.

These are the obstacles the Winnipeg Jets face when it comes to attracting free agents and getting players to waive their no-trade clauses to go there. In fact, a recent informal study found Winnipeg and Edmonton to be the two least desirable destinations in the NHL. Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff talks about how well the organization treats its players and how, once they get there, players actually like it. But when your only exposure to the place is a road trip in the middle of the winter, perception sometimes becomes reality.

“It’s not shocking for me that people don’t understand what Winnipeg is all about,” Cheveldayoff said. “They haven’t been here for a long time. I do believe that once we get a player here and they see how we treat the players, they’ll want to stay. We’ve said it from Day 1, once players come here, they’re going to enjoy being here. And we know the kids we draft and the kids we develop, they’re going to know from Day 1 what it’s like to be part of the Jets family, and they’re going to embrace that.”

And there you have it. If you can’t entice players to your organization because they don’t like hockey weather or they’re too closed-minded, then you get the players who have no choice in the matter and get them to fall in love with the place. Drafting and developing has never been a more important tool in the NHL than it is in the salary cap era. And it’s even more so for places like Winnipeg, where cultivating your own talent is more practical than poaching it from other teams.

On that count, the Jets get a gold star and a direct route to the head of the class. Their group of non-NHL prospects and under-22 players on their roster is the best in the NHL, according to a panel of 13 scouts, GMs and directors of player personnel. And if their prospect group wasn’t good enough already, Cheveldayoff added two more in Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux in the Evander Kane trade with the Buffalo Sabres. Not only that, he has another late first-round pick coming to him in that deal.

Combined with the Jets as they’re currently constituted – a good, fast, young team with a progressive coach – the future looks outstanding. Like, Stanley Cup contender outstanding. As we already have the Buffalo Sabres pencilled in for the Cup in 2020, we’re picking the Jets and their band of young stars to be parading down Portage Avenue with the silver chalice in the spring of 2019. Caveat: grain of salt required. In our 1991 Draft Preview edition, we chose the Jets to win the Stanley Cup within five years. Not only did they not win the Cup in that time, they ceased to exist five years later.

But you get the idea. The Jets have loaded up on young talent and have held onto it. And they have every position covered. In the NHL, Jacob Trouba has the makings of an outstanding two-way defenseman. Mark Scheifele has all kinds of speed and skill, and Adam Lowry is establishing himself as a big, imposing force up front. Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little, two of the team’s top forwards, are signed long-term, as are Tobias Enstrom and Tyler Myers, two of their key defensemen.

When it comes to their prospects, they have the most dangerous offensive player in the QMJHL in Nikolaj Ehlers and a host of other productive players in Lemieux, Nic Petan and Andrew Copp. They have one of Canada’s world junior goalies in Eric Comrie and also a rookie backstopping their AHL team in Connor Hellebuyck. Josh Morrissey was named to the WJC all-star team, and Armia looks ready for NHL duty.

But the Jets and Cheveldayoff have had to be among the league’s elite when it comes to drafting and developing. That’s because it took Cheveldayoff almost four full years to make an NHL player-for-NHL player trade. In that time, he didn’t move a single Jets prospect of note and gave up only one second-round pick – in what turned out to be a bad deal with the Minnesota Wild for Devin Setoguchi in 2013. Before making his blockbuster with Buffalo, Cheveldayoff had traded away more picks than he got back, though all but a handful of them were after the third round and none of them in the first.

So if his scouts were doing their jobs well, and it looks as though they were, the Jets should have a healthy stable of young players preparing for the NHL. But it also requires an organizational philosophy that centers on building through the draft. And the Jets, unlike a lot of other teams, are in a market where they had a couple years to grow. The folks in Winnipeg waited a long time to get their NHL team back and were willing to give the new management team a honeymoon period of non-playoff finishes before they started getting restless.

That time, though, has come, which has led some to the opinion that it’s time to start parlaying some of those assets into roster players from other teams. After all, going back to the Atlanta days, it’s been eight years since this organization last played a playoff game, which is the second longest current drought in the NHL next to Edmonton.

“It’s been a long time, no question,” Cheveldayoff said. “But the process we started the day we took over is a slow one. It’s not one where you’re going to get instant gratification. It’s been a full, methodical process, but we’re seeing the fruits of our labor right now. We’ll look at all our options, but we’re excited with the group of young players we have, and we think some of them are going to turn the corner quickly and be contributors at the NHL level.”

And it’s interesting to note these aren’t your father’s Jets. This is a team in a new rink that sells 15,004 tickets for each game and has cost certainty on its side. Where teams now have to take advantage of their financial positions is off the ice, investing in resources and people that aren’t constrained by a salary cap. To that end, the Jets have seven pro scouts and 14 full- and part-time amateur scouts, a scouting co-ordinator, a director of fitness and a two-man player development department. That’s one of the larger staffs in the NHL devoted to something that is a make or break aspect of the game.

It helps that the Jets have a decent economy, new building and well-heeled bosses with an appreciation for the long term. “We have an ownership group that is extremely committed to doing things the right way,” Cheveldayoff said. “From Day 1, they’ve viewed drafting and developing as an investment, not as an expense. When you get into the boardroom and start dealing with budgets and things like that, the easiest thing to cut is something you don’t see. You barely see the amateur scouts because they’re on the road all the time and it’s an easy cut. But in that aspect, we’ve never been shortchanged.”

Everything is set for the Jets to have a future full of serious Stanley Cup runs. With a management team that has finally begun to address the present, while keeping an eye to the future, the Jets are on the precipice of something special.

We’re predicting a Stanley Cup in 2019. After all, when you’ve waited as long as Winnipeg has to get your team back, what’s a couple more years to bide your time for the top prize? Cheveldayoff likes the sound of that but isn’t about to pre-order his Stanley Cup stationary. “I’m focusing on being a 2015 playoff team right now,” he said.

The New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin set a high standard when he signed an eye-catching contract earlier this season – but his results afterward haven’t met it yet.

Shesterkin’s pending UFA status and impending extension were among the NHL’s top storylines early in the season. Often regarded as one of the best goalies in the league, there were reports before his extension that he looked to reset the market for top-tier backstops. 

He did just that with an eight-year deal worth $11.5-million annually that kicks in next season.

But there’s immense pressure and expectations of being a highly paid starter, where great isn’t good enough. Shesterkin will be the highest-paid goalie in 2025-26, and his play has to justify that investment. It's questionable at the moment.

He’s now amid one of his most challenging seasons since debuting with the New York Rangers in 2019. His 2.84 goals-against average and .906 save percentage are respectable but not elite, especially considering the record-setting cap hit. They're both career worsts for him.

While few will ever reach the numbers that will justify an $11.5-million cap hit, the Rangers' eventual willingness to commit to him as a franchise cornerstone sent a message. They believed in him.

It’s way too early to declare the massive investment a mistake or a success.

It should also be noted the Rangers have been abysmal defensively in front of Shesterkin. He still has 22.2 goals saved above expected, which ranks third in the NHL, according to moneypuck.com. In a season that didn't go to plan for the Rangers, Shesterkin has had to bail out his teammates, and The Hockey News' Remy Mastey wrote that Shesterkin is proving his worth.

But his drop in goals-against average and save percentage does raise the question about how consistently strong goalies like him need to play to justify eight-digit cap hits.

Can Igor Shesterkin Save The New York Rangers This Season?The New York Rangers made goaltender Igor Shesterkin the highest-paid goalie in NHL history in December, but he hasn't played like it.

His current stats echo what happened to Sergei Bobrovsky when he signed a monster contract with the Florida Panthers.

Bobrovsky left the Columbus Blue Jackets for a lucrative $10-million cap hit in Florida after already winning the Vezina Trophy twice and recording a 2.58 GAA and .913 in 2019-19. His numbers with the Panthers worsened, and he recorded a 3.23 GAA and .900 SP in the first season of his new contract. It took him multiple seasons to rediscover his elite form. While he eventually led the Panthers to a Stanley Cup in 2024, the journey to justifying his contract was a long one. 

Now, with nearly 50 career shutouts – including five this season and six last year – he’s proving his worth. But for years, there were questions about whether his deal was one of the worst in the league and how big a mistake the Panthers might have made.

While elite goaltenders can be game-changers, big-money deals come with significant risk. Shesterkin now has the pressure to prove they are worth the investment. Similar questions about Bobrovsky could surround Shesterkin if his numbers don’t rebound when the new contract begins.

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The Philadelphia Flyers recalled Aleksei Kolosov from the AHL exactly one week ago, and he has yet to do so much as to dress as a backup goalie for even one game so far.

Kolosov, 23, has not appeared in an NHL game since Jan. 2, when he allowed four goals on 26 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Belarusian was subsequently reassigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, though he returned to the Flyers on Jan. 31, sat for a month, then returned to Lehigh Valley again on March 6.

Kolosov has played eight games for the Phantoms since Jan. 2, stopping 192 of 216 shots for a .889 save percentage and posting a 4-4-0 record.

Kolosov's numbers were actually tattered by a rocky start that saw him allow 10 goals in his first two AHL starts since October, and he's been much improved since returning to the AHL in early March.

The 23-year-old has won four of his last six starts for the Phantoms, stopping 136 of 150 shots for a .907 save percentage, which is a drastic improvement over his career .884 save percentage in the AHL.

So, when current Flyers backup goalie Ivan Fedotov allowed nine goals on 32 combined shots in games against Dallas and Chicago last weekend, Kolosov's return to the Flyers at least made some sense.

In a lost season where your backup is not playing well (again), give the kid a shot and see what he does in the last handful of games, right?

And yet, at least so far, all Kolosov has done is watch from the press box.

Perhaps the firing of head coach John Tortorella has played a role in this, though it's impossible to be certain.

Tortorella started the 2024-25 season insisting that Sam Ersson was the undisputed starter and Fedotov was the backup.

Then, Kolosov commandeered the backup role by November, just to hand it back over to Fedotov after a series of poor showings at the end of December.

Leading up to his dismissal, Tortorella then referred to Ersson and Fedotov as a "tandem" with both goalies struggling with consistency equally.

Then, the 28-year-old Fedotov had those two dreary outings, and up came Kolosov again.

The Flyers' evaluation of the goaltending situation changes almost monthly, which is understandably unsettling for many fans.

What we can say about Kolosov - and this is true for any developing player - is that there is little benefit to spending swaths of games in the press box instead of being on the ice gaining experience firsthand.

Another thing to note is that, because Kolosov is signed to a two-way contract, his salary while playing in the AHL is just $80k.

This pales in comparison to his $832.5k base salary, and we must also consider that Kolosov has to take care of his girlfriend as well as himself while shuttling back and forth between Philadelphia and Allentown as frequently as he has.

While Kolosov did play in the KHL for parts of four seasons, the league's salary cap is only $10 million in U.S dollars, and the Belarusian ruble is equivalent to only 0.31 USD at the time of this writing.

By spending time in the NHL with the Flyers, Kolosov makes substantially more money, which is undoubtedly a huge help for a player who is still acclimating to life in North America and speaks and understands a very limited amount of English.

It's unclear whether the Flyers are doing this as a favor to their young prospect or if they really do want him on the NHL roster for hockey reasons, but if it's the former, it makes plenty of sense.

Players are human and have lives away from the rink, too.

On that note, though, it would be strange to see Kolosov spend the rest of the NHL season with the Flyers without appearing in any games, then return to Lehigh Valley ice cold ahead of the Calder Cup playoffs.

Ideally, Ersson, Fedotov, and Kolosov each play two of the team's final six games before the latter returns for the Phantoms' postseason campaign.

That decision, of course, is ultimately up to interim head coach Brad Shaw and the Flyers brass. Expect more clarity on the situation soon. 

The San Jose Sharks have adjusted their roster significantly with injuries at the NHL and AHL levels.

On Monday, San Jose sent down defenseman Luca Cagnoni and center Patrick Giles to the Barracuda. And recalled defenseman Jack Thompson.

The #SJSharks have recalled D Jack Thompson from the @sjbarracuda.

D Luca Cagnoni and F Patrick Giles have been re-assigned to the Barracuda.

— San Jose Sharks PR (@SanJoseSharksPR) March 31, 2025

Cagnoni hasn't struggled in his five NHL games, but he has more development. The 'Cuda are trending toward the postseason, but injuries to top scorers Andrew Poturalski and Jimmy Schuldt mean they need help.

Cagnoni can drive offense from the back, especially on the power play, where Poturalski is missed. Giles is a big, defensive center who can help shut down the other team's top forwards. 

Thompson has played 24 games in the NHL this season and has shown flashes of being an NHL-caliber d-man. With looks to the young guys like Giles and Cagnoni taking at least a pause, Thompson will get a chance to play higher in the Sharks lineup for the first time since the Trade deadline.

The San Jose Sharks visit the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday before returning home for two games.

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