PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 03: Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against Eetu Luostarinen #27 of the Florida Panthers at PPG PAINTS Arena on December 3, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Who:Florida Panthers (37-35-3, 77 points, 7th place Atlantic Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (38-22-16, 92 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)
When: 5:00 p.m. ET
How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and SCRIPPS, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins are right back at PPG Paints Arena for a 3 p.m. ET Sunday puck drop against the Panthers, again, before hitting the road for three of the final four games of the season starting with a Thursday matchup against the New Jersey Devils.
Opponent Track: The two-time defending champions are all but out of playoff contention, but that hasn’t stopped them from playing spoiler as of late with back-to-back wins against the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins.
Season Series: A third-period strike from Connor Dewar stood as the game-winner in the Penguins’ 5-3 victory over the Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena back on Oct. 23.
Hidden Stat: The Penguins have gotten 95 goals this season from players in their first year with the team, the most in the NHL by a wide margin. The Anaheim Ducks rank second with 76 goals from first-year players, per Pens PR.
Potential scratches: Aaron Ekblad, Dmitry Kulikov, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, Uvis Balinskis, Cole Reinhardt
Injured Reserve: Evan Rodrigues
LTIR: Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand, Cole Schwindt, Jonah Godjovich, Niko Mikkola
The Panthers added to one of the longest injury lists in the NHL ahead of their Thursday night win over the Boston Bruins by announcing that Aaron Ekblad (fractured right hand) and Dmitry Kulikov (puck to the face) were out of the lineup.
Florida could get both Kulikov and center Cole Schwindt, who has been sidelined since February with a lower-body injury, back for this weekend’s series, coach Paul Maurice said earlier this week.
Even with half of their regular lineup available, the Panthers are heading into this matchup on a two-game win streak thanks in part to some strong play from their goaltenders. Both Daniil Tarasov and Sergei Bobrovsky, who have been regularly alternating starts this season, are likely to get the nod during this weekend’s back-to-back.
Putting Bobrovsky and Stuart Skinner in the same game would put these two goaltenders on track to rematch after facing off in the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Finals, both of which the Panthers won over the Edmonton Oilers.
The Panthers are without three of their top five producers in Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand. Since the Olympic break, they’ve ranked 25th in the NHL with 2.72 goals per game.
Losses are important right now for the Panthers, whose upcoming first-round pick is top-1o protected. Tankathon currently gives Florida five percent odds at the top pick in the draft, but they’re also just two standings points away from leapfrogging the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators and sliding out of the top 10 altogether. Adding a high pick from the draft this offseason would help the Panthers gear up for a more competitive 2026-27 campaign with a healthier roster.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Egor Chinakhov – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak – Ben Kindel – Evgeni Malkin
Anthony Mantha – Rickard Rakell – Justin Brazeau
Elmer Soderblom – Connor Dewar – Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard / Kris Letang
Ryan Shea / Connor Clifton
Goalies: Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs
Potential Scratches: Ilya Solovyov, Blake Lizotte (injured), Kevin Hayes, Ryan Graves, Jack St. Ivany
IR: Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones (season-ending shoulder surgery)
The Pens sent Avery Hayes back to the AHL on Friday. The team also announced that Caleb Jones, who just finished out serving a 20-game suspension for violating the NHL’s performance enhancing substances policy, has undergone season-ending right shoulder surgery.
Evgeni Malkin is heading into tonight’s game one point shy of 1,400, while Sidney Crosby is three points away from averaging a point per game for the 21st time in 21 years. Crosby also hasn’t scored a goal in seven games, a drought that dates back to his return from injury on March 18.
Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs are both likely to get playing time during this weekend’s back-to-back. There is still the possibility the Penguins could call up AHL star Sergei Murashov to see if he could be a possibility for a potential playoff run, although they’re running out of regular-season runway to do so.
The Flyers claimed a 4-1 win over the Islanders on Friday night to improve the Pens’ cushion for the second spot in the Metro to three points with a game in hand. The Isles (4-6-0 in their last ten), Blue Jackets (4-5-1) and Red Wings (4-5-1) are slumping, while the rise of the Ottawa Senators (6-3-1) and Flyers (7-3-0) means there is now a four-way points tie at the back of the Wild Card race. From NHL.com:
The St. Louis Blues are trying to do their part to stay in whatever margin they have remaining in the Western Conference wild card chase.
A second dominating performance in a month against the Anaheim Ducks produced a resounding 6-2 win at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Friday and pulled the Blues (32-31-12) within three points of three teams (San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators) who are all tied in points with 79 for that second wild card.
The Blues also jumped over the Seattle Kraken by a point and even with the Winnipeg Jets with 76 points in the standings; all of the aforementioned teams have played 75 games except for the Sharks and Kraken, who each have a game in hand.
But the problem the Blues are facing is the head-to-head matchups that all the teams fighting for one spot are facing. Fort instance, Nashville and San Jose square off on Saturday, so by the end of the night and when they next play, the Blues will once again be five points behind someone.
Dylan Holloway led the offense with a pair of power play goals; Robert Thomas had a goal and two assists, Pius Suter and Colton Parayko each had a goal and an assist, Jake Neighbours had his third two-assist game in the past four games, and Philip Broberg had two assists to extend his point streak to seven games (two goals, six assists).
Let's get into Friday's game observations:
* When does Holloway start being looked at as a star in this league -- I mean, guys, it's starting to feel that way.
And let's be honest, the forward was on this trajectory at the end of last season until that torn abductor muscle April 5, 2025 against the Pittsburgh Penguins sent him on a long journey, that also included a high ankle sprain, and has sent the 24-year-old on a road to full health.
His 18th of the season put the Blues ahead 2-1 at 11:15 of the opening period on a simple shot that may have caught goalie Lukas Dostal off guard, but it looked more like something that was off a smart read of scouting this particular goalie:
And his power-play goal at 1:22 of the third period wrapped up the scoring and made it 6-2 on a cross-seam pass from Thomas and one-timer from the right circle:
But since he came back healthy following the Olympic break on Feb. 26, Holloway has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 18 games, averaging 1.28 points per game. The 23 points is tied for 12th in the NHL; the 11 goals is tied for seventh, and his plus-22 is best in the league, only ahead of Thomas at plus-20.
This was the sort of trajectory he was on last season and with restricted free agency status looming this summer, what type of contract are you comfortable if you're outgoing GM Doug Armstrong-incoming GM Alexander Steen giving to Holloway. Do you go bridge deal? Do you go for more term like Broberg's six-year, $48 million extension the defenseman signed earlier in the season?
Holloway is playing himself into a bonafide top-line winger and there's no ignoring it when he's producing like he is and playing with an edge on the ice affecting the game like he's been doing.
He's just seven goals off of tying last season's career high of 26 in 25 fewer games played. It's food for thought folks, and it's a legitimate thought whether this kid can be a star winger.
* Blues scoring was balanced for a change -- Look, the top line of Holloway, Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud -- although he went without a point Friday -- produced three goals and two assists in the game, so they definitely had an impact in the game. But the Blues have been desperately searching for some balance in the lineup on the offensive side.
In 18 games (15 for Thomas), that line has produced 58 points (25 goals, 33 assists) and a combined plus-57. Just astounding numbers.
But Blues coach Jim Montgomery removed Pavel Buchnevich (maintenance), Alexey Toropchenko and Jack Finley off the forward group and Justin Holl on defense. In their spots, Jonathan Drouin, Oskar Sundqvist and Nathan Walker went in at forward, and Tyler Tucker, playing his first game since a lower-body injury on Oct. 18 against the Calgary Flames, went in on D.
You saw 10 guys get on the stat sheet in the game, and Montgomery moved Dalibor Dvorsky between Drouin and Jordan Kyrou, and Pius Suter centered an effective line with Neighbours and Jonatan Berggren, whose goal at 18:44 from the slot in the first period proved to be the winner and gave the Blues a 3-2 lead off a turnover and ensuing strong feed from Suter:
And when Suter is utilized more down the middle, he tends to be around the net more and certainly was when he took a Tucker feed on the backside to slam a shot in from the slot at 3:08 of the second period that made it 4-2:
Even Parayko got in on the scoring with Dvorsky and Kyrou setting the big defenseman up at 16:50 of the second that essentially put the game away at 5-2:
The Blues weren't as predictable as they have been in recent games with their top guys doing their best, and they certainly were, carrying the bulk of the offensive load.
* Tucker lowers the boom -- The Blues didn't actually get off to a good start in this game when the Ducks (41-30-5), fighting for the Pacific Division title, struck just 1:51 into the game on a Ryan Poehling redirect that made it 1-0.
You had to wonder if the losses in the past two games to the Sharks and Kings had a lasting affect on the Blues, who realize their playoff hopes are in dire straits.
But then Tucker, who missed the past seven games, used all that pent-up energy from not playing and laid a jarring hit on Ducks talented rookie Beckett Sennecke. It seemed inspire the group and not long after, led to Thomas tying the game at 1-1 at 5:24, a beautiful top shelf goal set up by a Broberg feathery feed into space:
Tucker, who had another heavy hit in the third period, finished the game playing 12:55 with a blocked shot doing what he does best when the team needs a lift.
That hit on Sennecke certainly provided one.
Speaking of Broberg, how about him joining some rarified company for his point streak among Blues defenseman since the 1994-95 season? Pretty impressive.
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The Anaheim Ducks returned home after a brief, yet supremely disappointing one-game road trip to begin their final homestand of the season. Their last five home games of the 2025-26 season began on Friday, as they hosted the St. Louis Blues.
The Ducks entered winless in their last three games, accumulating just one point of a possible six, yet remained tied with the Edmonton Oilers atop the Pacific Division.
The Blues came into this game five points out of the second wild card spot, but lost both of their first two California road trip games to the San Jose Sharks on Monday and the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
On their roster, the Ducks only have 18 healthy skaters, as Radko Gudas, Pavel Mintyukov, and Cutter Gauthier are all considered “day-to-day” but remained out of the lineup for this one.
Here’s how the Ducks lined up to start this game:
Kreider-Carlsson-Terry
Killorn-Washe-Granlund
Viel-Poehling-Sennecke
McTavish-Gaucher-Vatrano
LaCombe-Trouba
Moore-Carlson
Zellweger-Helleson
Lukas Dostal got the start for the Ducks, and he saved 23 of the 29 shots he faced in this game. Between the pipes for the Blues was Joel Hofer, who stopped 25 of 27.
Game Notes
After getting off to a decent start, scoring within the first two minutes of the game, the Ducks fell victim to their own propensity for catastrophic mistakes. They were undisciplined, allowing two goals on four power play opportunities, and they suffered mental lapses against the rush, which led to several chances against Dotal.
As they attempted to claw out of the deficit they created for themselves, they began to take increasingly bigger chances, which, when not successful, gave way to outnumbered opportunities the other way.
The underlying numbers reflect the final score relatively accurately, as at 5v5, the Ducks only generated 47.83% of the shots on goal, 53.85% of the shot attempts, and 41.99% of the expected goals.
“We had a decent start, then we gave them three goals in the first period that were definitely all our fault,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said after the game. “They gave us a good education on playing a real solid team game, and we didn’t play with the urgency needed, and they’re capable of sustaining their game.”
Rush Defense: Mistakes, with and without the puck, from the top of the circles in the defensive zone to the top of the circles in the offensive zone, cost the Ducks dearly in this game. F3’s made poor reads to engage in puck battles instead of tracking back to cover for pinching defensemen.
At the same time, Pinching defensemen made poor reads to activate down the offensive wall without a necessary high F3 to cover for him. Even when the Ducks did have numbers tracking back into their end to defend a rush, sorting issues arose, as did a lack of desire to eliminate the middle lanes of the ice and increase the difficulty for off-puck attackers to crash the crease.
Penalty Kill: St. Louis won most of their offensive zone draws while up a man in this game. They moved pucks efficiently along the perimeter and got to loose pucks on the walls. In doing so, they sustained elongated zone time and tired out the Anaheim penalty killers.
When the Ducks’ killers were running out of gas and spread too far toward the flanks, wide east-west seams opened, and the weak side forwards were late to react and close them. The Blues rarely utilized their bumper or net front attacker. Instead, they allowed the net front forward to drift to the bottom of the circle, and they allowed their bumper to drift to the flank.
Lukas Dostal: In order for the Ducks to win games like this, Dostal needs to be spectacular or at least make the saves an NHL starting goaltender is supposed to make, as he’d done for most of this season. He rarely allows soft goals where he gets beat on perimeter shots that eek through his body, but he allowed two such goals in this game, and at critical junctures.
The Blues’ second goal came on a power play in a tie game, just over halfway through the first period, which gave them a lead in a game where the Ducks had been controlling the game flow. St. Louis’ fifth goal came in the dying minutes of the second period, which ended up as a backbreaker, extending a two-goal deficit to three.
The Ducks saw their Pacific Division lead and their games in hand evaporate in relatively short order. They have another opponent in town in less than 24 hours, who could be considered better than their record, the Calgary Flames, and the Ducks now are more desperate for a win than they’ve been in a long time. Saturday’s game against Calgary will begin at 7 PM PST.
NEW YORK (AP) — Matvei Michkov had a goal and two assists and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Friday night to move within one point of the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Travis Sanheim and Alex Bump had a goal and an assist each and Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia. Dan Vladar finished with 20 saves. The Columbus Blue Jackets are also tied with the Flyers with 88 points.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for New York and Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves in his 10th straight appearance, but the Islanders lost their third straight in a tightly contested Eastern Conference playoff race.
Michkov fired a shot from behind the goal line off Sorokin’s pad early in the second period to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead.
Tippett opened the scoring, completing a forehand-backhand move off a pass from Sanheim with less than seven minutes remaining in the first period.
Bump extended the Flyers’ lead to two goals when he caught Sorokin out of position and sent a wrist shot just inside the post.
Pageau scored off a feed from Mathew Barzal with less than five minutes remaining in the second period to pull New York within 3-1.
Sanheim scored midway through the third period to restore Philadelphia’s three-goal lead and put the game out of reach.
BLUES 6, DUCKS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Dylan Holloway scored a pair of power-play goals, Robert Thomas had a goal and two assists, and St. Louis kept its slim playoff hopes alive with a win over Anaheim.
Pius Suter and Colton Parayko each had a goal and an assist for St. Louis and Jonatan Berggren added a goal. Joel Hofer stopped 24 shots for the Blues, who pulled to within three points of the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference with seven games left.
Ryan Poehling had a goal and an assist, and Jeffrey Viel scored for the Ducks, who remain tied with Edmonton for first place in the Pacific Division but have lost four straight games. Lukas Dostal stopped 23 shots.
St. Louis extended a 3-2 first-period lead with two goals in the second. Tyler Tucker corralled a rebound behind the goal line and flicked a pass to Suter, who snapped a shot past Dostal for a 4-2 lead at the 3:08 mark. Parayko’s shot from the right circle beat Dostal glove-side for a 5-2 lead with 3:10 left.
Holloway’s power-play goal in the third made it 6-2.
The teams combined for five goals in the first period.
Head coach Patrick Roy of the New York Islanders reacts during the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena on April 03, 2026 in Elmont, New York.
Patrick Roy did not hide from responsibility after Friday’s 4-1 Islanders loss to Philadelphia that felt something like capitulation.
“I’ll take part of the blame for the first period,” Roy said. “I have a job to do to make sure our team is ready to play a strong game. So we’re together in this. We called a timeout and I felt like after that we started playing more our game.”
No small part of the game was lost in the first period, in which the Islanders went down 2-0 and did not record a shot through the first 13:15.
The head coach fell on the sword right as he is coming under more scrutiny, with his team in serious danger of blowing a playoff spot that seemed like a sure thing from December through March.
While Roy’s job has been considered safe all season — his relationship with general manager Mathieu Darche is believed to be quite good despite the two never having met before Darche was hired last spring — that would be in obvious danger of changing if the Islanders fail to make the playoffs.
Head coach Patrick Roy of the New York Islanders reacts during the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena on April 3, 2026 in Elmont, New York. NHLI via Getty Images
So, too, would a number of other assumptions that have underpinned the season, such as the likelihood of captain Anders Lee re-signing as an unrestricted free agent.
Roy said he felt he could have said more to his team before the game to better prepare them.
“Sometimes you just make sure, you say a few words in the room after the meeting,” Roy said. “Tonight I thought the team was ready to play a strong game, and I could have done a better job approaching the guys, say a few things.
“That was an important game for us. They’re all important games — no kidding. I just feel like I could have done a better job, period.”
Simon Holmstrom returned from the upper-body injury that kept him out of Tuesday’s match in Buffalo, with Anthony Duclair coming out of the lineup as a healthy scratch.
Tony DeAngelo skated on his own Friday morning before the Islanders held an optional skate. Roy said it was not his first time on the ice since suffering a lower-body injury.
Roy said he did not expect DeAngelo to travel to Carolina for Saturday’s match.
The killer, 36-year-old Guy Rivera, was convicted on lesser charges including aggravated manslaughter, attempted murder of Diller’s partner and weapons charges.
“We will always stand with his wife, Stephanie, their son Ryan and the entire Diller family. Detective Diller will be in our thoughts and hearts forever,” PA announcer Alex Anthony said.
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Sandra Abstreiter made 39 saves her first PWHL shutout, Kaitlin Willoughby scored twice and the Montreal Victoire beat the Ottawa Charge 3-0 on Friday night to take the league lead.
Abby Roque also scored for the Victoire (14-4-2-5) in front of a crowd of 17,114 fans at Canadian Tire Centre.
Gwyneth Philips stopped 23 shots for the Charge (6-7-1-11). Ottawa returned home after playing a record six straight road games.
The Victoire have already clinched a playoff spot, while the Charge are fighting to get into the final playoff position.
NEW YORK (AP) — Matvei Michkov had a goal and two assists and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Islanders 3-1 on Friday night to move within one point of the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Travis Sanheim and Alex Bump had a goal and an assist each and Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia. Dan Vladar finished with 20 saves. The Columbus Blue Jackets are also tied with the Flyers with 88 points.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for New York and Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves in his 10th straight appearance, but the Islanders lost their third straight in a tightly contested Eastern Conference playoff race.
Michkov fired a shot from behind the goal line off Sorokin’s pad early in the second period to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead.
Tippett opened the scoring, completing a forehand-backhand move off a pass from Sanheim with less than seven minutes remaining in the first period.
Bump extended the Flyers’ lead to two goals when he caught Sorokin out of position and sent a wrist shot just inside the post.
Pageau scored off a feed from Mathew Barzal with less than five minutes remaining in the second period to pull New York within 3-1.
Sanheim scored midway through the third period to restore Philadelphia’s three-goal lead and put the game out of reach.
Simon Holmstrom returned to the Islanders’ lineup after missing the previous game against the Buffalo Sabres with an upper-body injury. Anthony Duclair was a healthy scratch.
Up next
Flyers: Host the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
Islanders: Visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
A first period that couldn’t be overcome, a goaltending situation that suddenly feels precarious and a potential collapse that suddenly seems all too possible.
The Islanders have been flirting with disaster for about two weeks. It arrived fully formed Friday night with a 4-1 defeat to the Flyers at UBS Arena.
A win would have all but eliminated Philadelphia. The loss means that the Islanders no longer control their own destiny with five games left in the season, and the postgame dressing room projected the opposite of confidence.
“After this one, we gotta stick together,” Anders Lee said. For a captain who is usually nothing but upbeat, the shift in tone felt highly notable. “We’ve lost three in a row [at an] important time of year, but we can’t lose sight of what’s gotten us here, who we are as a team and our ability to fight through adversity. It’s tough, there’s no doubt about it.
New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) makes a save against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, April 3, 2026 in Elmont, N.Y. Noah K. Murray for NY Post
“We talked about what we needed to do tonight. We didn’t execute on a few things. The mistakes ended up in the back of our net. We gotta have each other’s backs here. It’s been a tough week.”
For now, the Islanders are still in a playoff spot with 89 points. But the Blue Jackets and Flyers, both with 88, have each played one fewer game. So, too, have the Senators, who have 88 points in the second wild-card spot.
So beyond needing a win in what will be a tough second end of this back-to-back in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday, the Islanders will be glued to their televisions during the ensuing four days off, over which everyone else will catch up on games played.
Coach Patrick Roy, whose job seemed secure all year but might be on the line if he cannot get this team over the playoff finish line, took the blame for a putrid start in which the Islanders got outshot 12-2 in the first, failed to record a shot through 13:15 and burned burnt their timeout 15:01 into the match, only to commit a penalty off the very next faceoff.
“I’ll take part of the blame for the first period,” Roy said. “I have a job to do to make sure our team is ready and play a strong game.”
Roy declined to say whether Ilya Sorokin will start a second straight game Saturday, but the decision is all the more crucial now. Sorokin stopped just 17 of 21 shots and looked decidedly mortal Friday, his 10th straight game with an appearance, and has not looked quite like himself in any of the last three games.
Matthew Schaefer (48) controls the puck against Philadelphia Flyers center Christian Dvorak (22) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, April 3, 2026 in Elmont, N.Y. Noah K. Murray for NY Post
“We didn’t do a good enough job in front of him to protect him,” Roy said. “… Certainly not to be blamed. Absolutely not. We’re together in this. We all have to play better hockey.”
It’s true, and all too obvious, that Sorokin was far from the only culprit. Still, other than Owen Tippett’s opener, the next three goals he allowed were ones he would’ve liked back.
Alex Bump’s shot from the left-hand dot beat Sorokin short side, Matvei Michkov took advantage of a heinous Brayden Schenn turnover and banked one off the goaltender 2:52 into the second and then Travis Sanheim’s shot beat him clean and short side 9:16 into the third.
Sanheim’s goal put an official end to a comeback attempt that appeared promising with JG Pageau’s tally that put an exclamation mark on a second period in which the Islanders mostly looked like themselves.
The momentum fizzled quickly to start the third, and Roy’s move to change the lines — putting Barzal with Pageau and Simon Holmstrom while Ondrej Palat moved to the second line with Cal Ritchie and Brayden Schenn — seemed to hurt the team more than help it.
“We gotta find a way to get some energy, to look after one another and fix our mistakes,” Lee said. “Our mistakes are killing us right now. It’s putting us behind in games and it’s costing us points. We gotta regroup and look after one another.”
Three losses in a row equals the Islanders’ worst losing streak of the season, and they are an abysmal 3-6-0 in their last nine, a span over which a better record might have meant an “X” next to their name in the standings by now.
On Thursday night, after the Flyers suffered a second straight regulation loss, Travis Konecny labeled every game “a must-win at this point.”
The Flyers sure played like their season was on the line Friday night at UBS Arena.
They picked up a 4-1 win over the Islanders and are very much alive with six games to go.
Owen Tippett, Alex Bump, Matvei Michkov and Travis Sanheim supplied the Flyers’ goals. Michkov added two assists. The Flyers improved to 8-0-0 this season when he records a multi-point game.
The Flyers (38-26-12) gained important ground in their playoff push (more on that below).
A real sign of growth under Rick Tocchet has been the Flyers’ 7-5-1 mark in the second game of back-to-back sets. Last season, the Flyers were a dreadful 1-10-2.
This was a critical win when it comes to the Flyers’ chances in the Metropolitan Division race. They climbed to within one point of the Islanders (42-30-5), who hold the final playoff spot (third place) in the division.
The Flyers took the regular-season series from New York, going 3-1-0. The other two victories were 4-3 shootout decisions.
• Tocchet’s club has played one fewer game than the Islanders, who have 89 points.
The Flyers and Blue Jackets have 88 points. The Flyers don’t want to finish even with either of those teams if they hope to make the playoffs through the division. That’s because they’ll very likely fall short in the tiebreaker of regulation wins.
Things are also super tight in the battle for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. The Flyers are locked in a four-way tie with the Senators, Red Wings and Blue Jackets, but they don’t own the tiebreakers.
• Dan Vladar looked much more like himself after a somewhat shaky three-start stretch in which he allowed 11 goals on 71 shots.
The 28-year-old denied 21 of New York’s 22 shots. He converted three saves in a chaotic 11-second sequence around the midway mark of the game. That kept the Flyers in control at 3-0.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau made it 3-1 later in the second period, but Sanheim gave the Flyers third-period insurance. Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen were excellent as the Flyers’ top defensive pair.
Vladar now has 25 wins. His career high coming into the season was 14.
The Flyers got the best of a goaltender who has been a thorn in their side. Ilya Sorokin surrendered four goals on 21 shots. He entered the game 12-3-3 with a 1.53 goals-against average, .946 save percentage and five shutouts lifetime against the Flyers.
• The Flyers appeared to survive an injury scare with Trevor Zegras.
The 25-year-old center exited with around 4:15 minutes left in the first period after taking a hit from Adam Pelech at the offensive blue line.
But Zegras was able to return to the game at the start of the second period. He finished with 11:03 minutes.
How he feels heading into Sunday will be something to monitor.
• Bump made the most of his return to the lineup after back-to-back healthy scratches.
The 22-year-old rookie scored his first-period goal on a great shot 1:07 minutes after Tippett gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead. Bump also collected an assist, giving him eight points (four goals, four assists) through 13 games with the Flyers.
• The Flyers are back in action Sunday when they host the Bruins (3:30 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov #44 of the New York Rangers greets defenseman Adam Fox #23 of the New York Rangers after Fox scores a goal during the third period at Madison Square Garden, Thursday April 2nd, 2026, in New York, NY.
Off a faceoff play the Rangers believed should’ve been blown dead, Vladislav Gavrikov was beaten by Cole Caufield for the Canadiens’ game-winning goal Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
It was a skillful move from a young star in the midst of a career season.
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It was a posterizing moment for the Rangers defenseman.
Most of Gavrikov’s first season with the Blueshirts has been much more assuring than the aforementioned sequence. He’s exactly the type of defenseman the Rangers wanted as Adam Fox’s partner, valuing defense first and playing a reliable game on a nightly basis.
The fact that the 30-year-old more than doubled his previous career high in goals and is on pace to set a personal points record has just been an added bonus.
Vladislav Gavrikov of the New York Rangers holds back Brendan Gallagher of the Montréal Canadiens during the third period at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2026. Getty Images
“I just think we’ve discovered a different dimension to his game,” head coach Mike Sullivan said of Gavrikov, who has 14 goals and 18 assists in 76 games entering the matchup with the Red Wings on Saturday afternoon. “Vladi’s core competency is his ability to defend. He’s hard to play against and that was what attracted us to him in the first place. The other element is, with respect to his defensive game, there’s some predictability around his game. So we thought he’d be a really good partner for Foxy, which has turned out he has been. You never really know if that’s going to be the case. You try to think things through and figure out who might have complementary skill sets, and try to make some predictions on who you think might work.
“We do with line combinations, we do with defense pairs. Sometimes they make a whole lot of sense on paper, but they don’t actually work out, for whatever reason. This one, in our estimation, has worked out. We think that pair has been excellent … I just think he has a dimension that we’ve discovered that has helped us on the offensive side. But we don’t want him to become a different player than he already is. We want him to defend well. That, for me, is the foundation of his game, and that’s what he excels at.
“When he defends hard for us and adds the offensive dimension to his game, he’s even more effective as far as helping us win. I think he’s had a terrific year for us. He’s a real competitive guy. He’s been a great pair for Foxy, and he’s helped us on both sides of the puck.”
The underlying numbers of the Gavrikov-Fox pairing indicate they are one of the Rangers’ few success stories this season.
Despite playing significantly fewer games together — due to Fox’s missing 27 contests with injuries — they have still logged a team-high 783:21 of five-on-five minutes in 2025-26 so far. While the gap in games should be considered, Gavrikov and Fox still rank highly among the NHL’s other top defensive pairs.
Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov of the New York Rangers greets defenseman Adam Fox after Fox scores a goal during the third period at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2026. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
Among 27 defensive pairings with at least 700 five-on-five minutes, their 57.74 expected goals percentage is the fourth best behind only the Lightning’s Darren Raddysh-Janis Moser (60.15), the Hurricanes’ Sean Walker-K’Andre Miller (58.18) and the Avalanche’s Brent Burns-Josh Manson (58.07), per Natural Stat Trick.
Gavrikov and Fox also own the third-lowest expected goals against at 28.49. Only the Senators’ Jake Sanderson-Artem Zub (27.87) and the Golden Knights’ Brayden McNabb-Shea Theodore (25.62) own a lower xGA.
“I think the offensive side of it speaks for itself,” Sullivan said of his top D pair after an optional practice Friday. “I think when they’re committed to defending — and they’re both very capable in that aspect of the game. I think Vlad is elite defending when he’s committed to defend. And Foxy, I think his ability to defend flies under the radar because everybody looks at the offensive side of this game. But we believe that Foxy is very capable of defending. He’s hockey strong in the puck battles. He uses his brain and his stick skills to win pucks, and he’s competitive.
“I think when those guys are at their best, they’re committed to defend. Their offense always seems to speak for itself. Those are the conversations that we have with them a lot, just reinvesting in that commitment to play defense. And when they do that, they’re a very effective defense pair. They’re excellent.
“That was our hope when we signed Vladi, that we could find a partner for Foxy that would be complementary, that could hopefully set up Foxy for success. And I think that has actually turned out to be the case, that they’ve become a very good pair on both sides of the puck.”
The NHL regular season is slowly moving toward the finish line, and there are still some big moves by teams both inside and out of the playoff race.
This week on The Hockey Show, co-hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork started things off by discussing the major changes made by the Vegas Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Vegas fired Head Coach Bruce Cassidy, who won a Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2023, and replaced him with John Tortorella with just eight games remaining until the playoffs.
Toronto, meanwhile, fired General Manager Brad Treliving, furthering a frustrating run of futility for a franchise that had made the playoffs nine straight years.
In addition to those topics, the boys also chatted about the Seattle Kraken’s attempt at making the playoffs.
To help dive into all things Kraken, and the PWHL’s Seattle Torrent, Roy and Dave welcomed Alison Lukan to the show.
This week’s wins and fails of the week included a third goal fight in as many months, a Goal of the Year candidate from Matthew Tkachuk, a rough night for the other Tkachuk brother and a costly overreaction to a big hit.
You can check out this week’s full show and interview in the videos below:
The Vancouver Canucks have officially secured the best odds for first overall for the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery. Vancouver will have a 25.5% chance at picking first overall this year after securing 32nd overall for the 2025-26 season. While the Canucks have the best odds, fans in the market should be concerned, as history has proven to go against those who finish last in the standings.
If Vancouver drops out of first overall, the farthest they can fall is to third. The Canucks will have an 18.8% chance of picking second, while their odds of picking third overall sit at 55.7%. Here is a look at how the lottery has gone since 2016.
2016
Toronto Maple Leafs- Retained 1st Selection
Winnipeg Jets- Moved from 6th to 2nd
Columbus Blue Jackets- Moved from 4th to 3rd
2017
New Jersey Devils- Moved from 5th to 1st
Philadelphia Flyers- Moved from 13th to 2nd
Dallas Stars- Moved from 8th to 3rd
2018
Buffalo Sabres- Retained 1st Selection
Carolina Hurricanes- Moved from 11th to 2nd
Montréal Canadiens- Moved from 4th to 3rd
2019
New Jersey Devils- Moved from 3rd to 1st
New York Rangers- Moved from 6th to 2nd
Chicago Blackhawks- Moved from 12th to 3rd
2020
New York Rangers- Moved from (8th - 15th) to 1st
Los Angeles Kings- Moved from 4th to 2nd
Ottawa Senators- Retained 3rd Selection
2021
Buffalo Sabres- Retained 1st Selection
Seattle Kraken- Moved from 3rd to 2nd
2022
Montréal Canadiens- Retained 1st Selection
New Jersey Devils- Moved from 5th to 2nd
2023
Chicago Blackhawks- Moved from 3rd to 1st
Anaheim Ducks- Moved from 1st to 2nd
2024
San Jose Sharks- Retained 1st Selection
Chicago Blackhawks- Retained 2nd Selection
2025
New York Islanders- Moved from 10th to 1st
Utah Mammoth- Moved from 14th to 4th
The 2026 NHL Draft Lottery is scheduled for May 5, 2026. The team that wins the lottery can move up a maximum of 10 slots in the draft. The lottery will be broadcast on Sportsnet.
Jun 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Braeden Cootes is selected as the 16th overall pick to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft at Peacock Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-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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Unfortunately, they were unable to continue whatever momentum they had from those games into this one.
After leading 2-1 heading into the second period, the Penguins allowed five consecutive Tampa Bay goals and were defeated by the Lightning, 6-3. With the win - and in combination with a loss by the Buffalo Sabres - the Lightning took over first place in the Atlantic, while the Penguins were pretty much unaffected standings-wise by the regulation loss.
Even if the score indicates otherwise, the Penguins actually played very well for the first half of this game.
Tampa Bay opened the scoring a little more than five minutes into the first period when Anthony Cirelli beat Penguins' goaltender Stuart Skinner for his 21st of the season. But, the Penguins responded less than two minutes later when the red-hot Rickard Rakell took a Sam Girard feed at the goal line, kicking the puck behind himself and straight to the blade of his stick before burying his 21st goal of the season to tie the game.
And with less than four to go in the opening frame, Egor Chinakhov - playing on Sidney Crosby's left wing for the third consecutive game - used his speed to break into the offensive zone and down the right side before he placed a perfect backhander over Andrei Vasilevskiy to give the Penguins the lead.
The Penguins were on the back legs of a power play opportunity to begin the second period, and they attempted to gain the zone off the opening draw. However, a misfired puck and misplays by both Erik Karlsson and Bryan Rust led to a Cirelli breakaway that he capitalized on for a shorthanded goal, and it all went downhill from there, even if the Penguins pushed back a few times in the second.
Later in the period, Brayden Point and Zemgus Girgensons scored big goals for the Bolts to give their team a two-goal lead, and Nikita Kucherov scored the back-breaker in the third period with a tough-angle shot from the bottom of the right circle near the wall to make it 5-2 and, essentially, put the game out of reach at that point.
The Penguins pulled Skinner with a little more than five minutes remaining in regulation, and Cirelli scored his hat trick goal on the empty net to put the game away for good. Chinakhov did add a second goal on a late Penguins' power play with 0.8 seconds on the clock - his 20th of the season, an absolute top-shelf scorcher - but the Penguins had quite literally run out of time by that juncture.
All things considered, it was a game the Penguins could afford to lose, and they will turn their focus to the Florida Panthers, who they play back-to-back home games against on Saturday and Sunday.
Here are some thoughts and takeaways from Thursday's loss:
- Again, this loss didn't really mean too much in the grand scheme of things. As dominant as the Penguins looked in their games against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings, it was highly unlikely they'd sweep the remaining seven games of the regular season, and Tampa Bay was going to be their most formidable opponent within those seven games.
So, again, the focus is on the Panthers, who the Penguins need to take care of business against. With other teams in the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division races continuing to lose, banking points in the front half of the final six games would be ideal. The Penguins are currently still four points clear of the playoff cutoff line, but creating more separation before playing a New Jersey Devils team that they typically struggle against despite their record this season and desperate Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues teams would be in their best interest.
Besides: The earlier they can clinch, the earlier they have the options to rest some of their stars, should they choose to. More on that later.
- Ben Kindel started the game centering a second line of Evgeni Malkin and Tommy Novak. And, well, that didn't last long.
After committing the defensive zone turnover that led to Cirelli's first goal, he and Rakell swapped, and that's the way it stayed. Rakell was, initially, centering Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau on the third line, a combination that worked well against the Islanders Monday. Unless my eyes were deceiving me, I believe Kindel was benched for just a few shifts after that one, too.
Unfortunately, Kindel also committed a neutral zone turnover that led to Point's goal, too - among other poor plays that led up to the game-winning tally.
He's been fantastic all season long, especially for an 18-year-old playing center at the NHL level - which is a rarity itself. That said, this was a night to forget for him.
- Speaking of nights to forget, Karlsson and Parker Wotherspoon were off in this one as well. I didn't like how Karlsson defended the Girgensons goal, as he puck-chased below the goal line when Wotherspoon was already there, leaving the net-front completely undefended. He was also making some bad decisions with the puck - especially on the power play.
And Wotherspoon just looked uncomfortable, was handling the puck like a grenade throughout the game, and lost a whole lot of puck and turnover battles.
These two have been absolutely excellent for the Penguins this season, so there's no reason for concern with them. Like Kindel, this just wasn't their night.
- Keeping to the theme, the Penguins' first line was - simply put - not working in this game. And Crosby and Bryan Rust stuck out like sore thumbs, even if Chinakhov still played pretty well individually.
They were hemmed in their own zone at Yanni Gourde's and the rest of his third line's will for most of the night, as - according to data from Moneypuck - they only generated a 10.7 percent expected goals share.
Crosby isn't himself right now. Maybe that injury sustained against the Ottawa Senators is still nagging. Maybe he's still getting re-acclimated after missing some significant time for the first time in years. Maybe his chemistry with Rust is fading a bit. Or, maybe, he's just in the midst of a cold streak, which is a common occurrence for him when he's close to a major milestone (tying Steve Yzerman on the all-time points list at 1,755.
In any case, I have a feeling Crosby will bounce back in a big way this weekend. But, if he doesn't, I'd consider trying the Chinakhov-Crosby-Rakell combination again, which had some great looks against Detroit.
- Now, about Chinakhov: We all know he has wrist and snap shots that are probably better than any forward's wrist and snap shot in the NHL.
But that backhand was nuts, too. As was his casual, angry, "Well, I'll leave you with this, I guess" snipe at the very end of the game to clinch his first 20-goal season at the point where it meant nothing for the Penguins' chances of winning the game.
Can someone provide a logical reason as to why this guy isn’t on the first power-play unit?
Since 87 has come back and Chinakhov got bumped to PP2, the Pens have had 22 opportunities through eight games. They are 3/22 (one on a 5 on 3). 13.6%.
This guy is incredible, and he has an incredibly rare gift in his shot - no matter what form it comes in. With each passing game, it increases my belief that the Penguins could have a star forward on their hands.
- Even if Karlsson and Wotherspoon weren't very good in this game, Sam Girard and Kris Letang were very good for the third-straight game. Girard, especially.
He was everywhere. He was the one who made Rakell's goal happen, as he carried the puck into the zone on his own, went down low, and made a nice play to get the puck to Rakell. He also saved a goal in the first period in the blue paint.
They have been legitimately good for three games now, and it's largely because Girard is clearly more comfortable within the Penguins' system and with the puck on his stick. It's also largely because Letang is generally letting him do all that while hanging back in a more stay-at-home capacity, recognizing when Girard activates.
If this pairing can get going, it would be a massive development for the Penguins. Their blue line and goals-against numbers have been a problem lately, and they were major culprits. If they can keep this up, the Penguins are much-better positioned going into the playoffs, should they get there.
- All that said, the Penguins have two major weaknesses right now: Special teams and goaltending.
As far as special teams, the penalty kill didn't surrender anything Thursday but has gone from first in the NHL all the way down to seventh in a short span. As has the power play, which has dropped from top-five down to eighth since the Olympic break.
Again, the penalty kill looked much better and more structured Thursday, so maybe that was a step in the right direction. But the power play, in particular, has been off. I asked Rust about the power play last week after the loss to the Dallas Stars, and he did point out that they had scored in consecutive games. He also said they are still probably passing up too many good looks.
This is certainly true. They are also too stagnant, and they are giving up far too many opportunities against right now. They've been money on five-on-three power plays, but that hasn't so much been the case five-on-four. They need to get back on track soon, whether that's changing up personnel or just getting back to basics.
- And about the goaltending: This is a major concern that the Penguins will need to address as soon as possible, whether it's through improved performance by the two guys they already have or by bringing in a different face from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to help them clinch - and, maybe, help beyond that.
The Penguins were not good defensively in this game and gave up far too many grade-A looks, but Skinner wasn't very good, either. I didn't like the Kucherov goal at all - as sneaky as it was - and I didn't love Point's goal, either, although that was a near-perfect shot from close range.
Skinner and Silovs will go out and have a great game that makes you say, "Alright, he's the guy right now," only to struggle in the next start. Then, the cycle repeats. One of them has to break that cycle before the playoffs. Otherwise - and I was against this before - it absolutely would not hurt to give Sergei Murashov a look, especially if the Penguins clinch early.
This is one loss. It didn't really matter all that much, and a loss or two somewhere in the final stretch should be expected. But, if the Penguins are going to make the playoffs and get anywhere in them, they need more consistency from whoever mans the goal.
Montreal Canadiens’ blueliner Kaiden Guhle has had a tough season from his own account, but he has really upped his game lately, so much so that he hasn’t been on the ice for a goal against in seven games. Over the course of those seven games, he has a plus-nine rating.
Even though he only got on the scoreboard in one of those seven games, he got a goal and two assists against the New York Islanders on March 21; he has had a huge impact on the games.
In that seven-game span, he has landed 21 hits, including eight in the 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on March 24, and has blocked 18 shots. Guhle’s game took a turn for the better when he was put on a pairing with Alexandre Carrier on March 17, in a 3-2 overtime win over the Boston Bruins. That combination worked very well for the Canadiens’ last season.
For the last two games, though, since Carrier is dealing with an upper-body injury, Guhle has played alongside Arber Xhekaj, and his game has stayed at the same high level. That’s a testament to how well Xhekaj has done since being put back on the blueline, keeping his game simple and playing the right way.
There’s no denying that since the Canadiens started their seven-game winning streak, they’ve had better goaltending than they’ve had through most of the season, but they’ve also had much better play from Guhle, and that makes a difference as well.
In just 35 games this season, the Albertan has put up 10 points, which projects to 23 points in a full 82-game season. Of course, points production is not Guhle’s forte, but getting secondary scoring is never a bad thing for any team.
It’s impossible to deny that having Guhle in the lineup and performing to the best of his potential is a huge plus for the Canadiens. If he could manage to stay healthy and play a full season, it would definitely stabilize the Habs’ defense corps and make Montreal an even better team.
The Ducks kick off a five-game homestand with a matchup against the St. Louis Blues. The Ducks are coming off one of their worst losses of the season in which they conceded two goals in the final two minutes of the third period, falling 4-3 to the San Jose Sharks. The Blues are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
“It hurt,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said of the late collapse. “I thought we were doing a lot of good things in that game. I thought we checked well. I thought we played with the lead with a purpose and then all of a sudden, you give up a late, late goal, and then they do it again before the buzzer ends. So that hurt, leaving a point or two on the board. But we've been fortunate to be on the other side of that equation almost all year, so it's a good lesson.”
“A couple of breakdowns at the end of the game,” Alex Killorn said. “Other than that, it was a pretty good game. But those breakdowns obviously hurt us. Today’s a new day.”
2022 first-round pick Nathan Gaucher made his NHL debut in that game, totaling 7:08 in ice time. He centered the fourth line, flanked by Mason McTavish and Frank Vatrano.
“He gives us some size,” Quenneville said. “A (right-handed) shot, jumping in on the faceoff now and again. Had a couple opportunities to maybe put the puck in the net as well. First game, I thought he did a good job.”
“(The game) goes fast,” Gaucher said. “Everyone’s on task. The structure of both teams are always on points. You can't really make mistakes out there because it's going to go in the back of your net.”
With almost 200 AHL games under his belt, Gaucher is grateful for the opportunity he’s been given. His latest stretch prior to being called up saw him score 14 points in 18 games.
“All the hard work you put in is for that reason, you want to play in the NHL,” he said. “You want to play with the best of the best, so I was just so grateful, so excited. I worked hard for that. I was excited to get started with this team.”
After losing their last three games, the Ducks are now tied with the Edmonton Oilers for first in the Pacific Division, with the Ducks currently having a game in hand. Third-place Vegas is just three points back as well.
“It's the most exciting time of the season,” Killorn said. “As you get older, you want to make the most of these moments. These playoffs are so important. It's great for these young guys to get a taste of playoffs, but I think with the way our team's been going, there's a lot that can be done in the playoffs as well. So it's an exciting time for everyone and it's an exciting time for the fans, too. They’ve been waiting for this for a while.”
Ducks forward Alex Killorn speaks to the media after their morning skate at Honda Center.
Ducks Projected Lines
Chris Kreider - Leo Carlsson - Troy Terry Alex Killorn - Tim Washe - Mikael Granlund Jeff Viel - Ryan Poehling - Beckett Sennecke Mason McTavish - Nathan Gaucher - Frank Vatrano
Jackson LaCombe - Jacob Trouba Ian Moore - John Carlson Olen Zellweger - Drew Helleson
Lukáš Dostál (confirmed)
Blues Projected Lines
Dylan Holloway - Robert Thomas - Jimmy Snuggerud Jake Neighbours - Pavel Buchnevich - Jordan Kyrou Otto Stenberg - Dalibor Dvorský - Jonatan Berggren Alexey Toropchenko - Jack Finley - Pius Suter
Philip Broberg - Logan Mailloux Theo Lindstein - Colton Parayko Cam Fowler - Justin Holl
