Canadiens’ Matheson Quietly Having Good Bounce Back Season
Last year, Montreal Canadiens’ veteran defenseman Mike Matheson saw his power-play minutes melt in front of his very eyes when rookie Lane Hutson showed that he was ready to quarterback the first wave of the man-advantage. Relegated to the second unit, the Pointe-Claire native ended his season with an average of just 1:57 on the power play compared to 3:41 the year before. He also went from 62 points to just 31 on the season, getting just 10 points on the man-advantage, compared to 28 the year before.
This season, with Noah Dobson’s arrival, he’s hardly seen any power-play time at all, averaging just 16 seconds per night, and his time on ice has also diminished from 25:05 to 24:14. Yet, through 74 games, he’s already surpassed his point total from the last campaign with 37 and only one of those points came on the man advantage. Furthermore, he went from a minus-six rating last season to a plus-10 so far this year.
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Montreal Canadiens Legend Fired By Islanders
The improvement stems from the veteran's complete embrace of his new role as a penalty-killing specialist and his formation of a very effective pair with Noah Dobson. While neither has ever been known as a defensive specialist, their pairing has worked well because of their mobility and their strong puck possession, which keeps them on the ice in the offensive end for most of the time. Granted, he can make mistakes here and there, but anybody who spends so much time on the ice is bound to make some, and he has made fewer than last season.
Matheson’s capability to adapt as the Canadiens went through their rebuild showed that he was ready and willing to do whatever the team needed from him, which is what earned him a five-year contract extension. Back when Kent Hughes signed Jake Allen to a two-year contract extension, he described the goaltender as someone who didn’t mind being there for the rough patch, the tree-planting process and growth and who didn’t mind not being there when it was time to enjoy the shade provided by the grown three. Matheson earned the right to be there to enjoy the shade of the grown trees, which is why the GM signed him to a five-year contract extension at the end of November.
On Sunday night at the Bell Center, the Canadiens highlighted the fact that the blueliner had played his 700th NHL game in New Jersey on Saturday night with a congratulatory message on the Jumbotron. The announcement was met with warm applause by the Habs faithful.
At 32, there’s no denying that the rearguard plays an important role for the Canadiens, and if he keeps adapting as the young core matures and progresses, he may very well end up playing in Montreal for the rest of his career. If he spends the five years of his new contract in town, he could play 420 more games with the Sainte-Flanelle, bringing his NHL total to over 1,100, a testament to his longevity and adaptability.
Nice round of applause for #Habs defenceman Mike Matheson, who played his 700th career NHL game Saturday in New Jersey. pic.twitter.com/jmkaPBgmcF
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) April 5, 2026
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NHL’s East playoff race shaken up as the Flyers rise, Red Wings fall and Islanders fire their coach
Apr 4, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond (23) waits for a face-off against the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images
Danny Wild/Danny Wild-Imagn Images
NEW YORK — Rick Tocchet understood the stakes, so the Philadelphia coach didn’t want to make his players nervous before stepping onto the ice.
“They know,” Tocchet said. “They see the standings.”
The standings in the Eastern Conference look a lot different than they did in late March. For one thing, Tocchet’s Flyers have crashed the party and are in a playoff spot for the first time since Jan. 12.
Way ahead of them, the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens have solidified their positions, while the Detroit Red Wings have dropped from what was once a comfortable lead to the outside looking in. Things went so sideways for the New York Islanders that they fired coach Patrick Roy, and the Washington Capitals look to be running out of time to give Alex Ovechkin possibly one more postseason appearance at age 40.
“It’s just frustrating,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said after an 8-1 loss at the New York Rangers. “It’s frustrating because we fought as hard as we have to get back into this spot where we’re within striking distance.”
Race turns upside down
Before play began on March 26, only four points separated the Canadiens (88), Columbus Blue Jackets (87), Penguins and Bruins (86), Ottawa Senators and Islanders (86) and Red Wings (84). With the Flyers all the way back at 80, it looked like seven teams vying for five spots.
Montreal reeled off six consecutive victories and clinched before its eight-game winning streak that began March 21 came to an end. Pittsburgh won five of seven, and Boston went 4-2-1 to erase any doubt of postseason hockey in those markets this spring.
“With where the league’s at, our division, there’s pressure every night on every team,” said Canadiens winger Cole Caufield, who’s on the verge of being the franchise’s first 50-goal scorer since 1990. “That’s what makes this thing so fun. It’s just the guys in this group, in this room that are pushing each other and the staff that we have is unreal. We’re just going to keep this thing going.”
Philadelphia beating the Bruins in overtime on top prospect Porter Martone’s first NHL goal leapfrogged the Flyers over the Islanders into third place in the Metropolitan Division. Long before Martone arrived following the completion of his college season at Michigan State, the Flyers were 13th out of 16 teams in the East out of the Olympic break and have since won 14 of 21 games to burst into contention.
“These past 10 or so games, they’ve been playoff games and we’ve been playing the right way,” forward Noah Cates said. “It’s been the simple things, the little things that just kind of get us over the hump and in the win column.”
Red Wings and Blue Jackets are falling
Detroit led the Atlantic Division and was tied for the most points in the East on Jan. 15. The cushion ahead of the conference’s ninth-placed team was 12 points.
After falling behind by three goals, rallying to tie it and losing 5-4 in regulation to Minnesota, the Red Wings have gone 8-9-3 since that point and sit two points out with five games left to play.
“Obviously, we would have loved to be in a playoff spot, but that’s not the case,” forward Lucas Raymond said after a dud of a 4-1 loss at the Rangers. “We’ve got a great opportunity here. We’ve got these games left here to really do something special with this team. The faith is high in here. We have a lot of faith in ourselves, in our team, so it’s just about going out there and getting it done.”
Raymond and his teammates have failed to score in the first period in 43 of 77 games, the most in the league.
“I wish I had the answer,” coach Todd McLellan said. “We can get out of the gate quicker: don’t dip our toe in the water.”
Columbus made a coaching change from Dean Evason to Rick Bowness in mid-January and won 19 of 27 games to surge to second in the division. The Blue Jackets have lost seven in a row since.
Islanders and Capitals running out of gas
Since March 18 when it looked like they’d cruise into the playoffs in Matthew Schaefer’s magical rookie year, the Islanders have lost seven of 10 games, including four in a row. First-year general manager Mathieu Darche dismissed Roy and hired Peter DeBoer with four games left, hoping the new-coach bump could get his team in.
The Capitals are not contemplating any such change with Carbery, the reigning Jack Adams Award winner who should see them through the post-Ovechkin transition, whenever that is. Veteran defenseman John Carlson and depth center Nic Dowd got traded at the deadline with a youth movement afoot, but going 8-3-2 from March 9 made the playoffs seem possible.
Getting blown out by the already-eliminated Rangers unearthed some of the defensive issues Carbery thought were there for the past dozen games or so that were covered up by strong goaltending, outscoring the problems and getting lucky. Washington needs a lot of that, plus some help, now three points out with four games remaining.
“It’s tough we put ourselves in this spot,” forward Aliaksei Protas said. “But those big games, I feel like they can really show who we are as a team and where we’re at as a team.”
How NHL Tiebreaker Protocols Would Shape the Pacific Division
With just five games remaining in their regular season, there is still much to be determined for the Vegas Golden Knights.
They could make the playoffs and face the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. They could make the playoffs and face the Edmonton Oilers in the first round. They could win the division and face WC1 (currently the Utah Mammoth) in the first round.
Now, it’s also still technically possible— although extremely unlikely— that the Golden Knights miss the postseason entirely. However, they’d basically have to lose out, and one of San Jose or Los Angeles would have to win out. There’s a reason why Moneypuck gives the Golden Knights a 97.4% chance to make the playoffs.
Regular-season series don’t always mean much in the grand scheme of things. In a seven-game series, coaches can make adjustments to counter their opponent. In an 82-game season, those adjustments are typically broader.That being said, in a tiebreaker situation, looking back on a regular-season series can make all the difference.
The top three spots of the Pacific Division are closer than ever. The Oilers currently hold the top spot with 87 points and the tiebreaker over the Ducks, but the Golden Knights lurk just one point back.
NHL Tiebreaker Protocols
If two or more NHL teams finish the regular season with the same number of points in the standings, playoff seeding is determined by these tiebreakers:
1. Regulation wins
2. Regulation and overtime wins (excluding shootout wins)
3. Total wins
4. Head-to-head points
5. Goal differential
6. Total goals for
Let’s take a look at how the Golden Knights measure up against the other two top teams in the Pacific Division.
Vegas Golden Knights
Regulation wins: 27
Regulation and overtime wins: 34
Total wins: 35
Goal differential: +7
Total goals: 247
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers would hold the tiebreaker with more regulation wins (30).
The Oilers would hold the tiebreaker with more wins in regulation and overtime (39).
The Oilers would hold the tiebreaker with more total wins (39).
The Oilers would hold the tiebreaker with six head-to-head points against the Golden Knights this season.
The Oilers would hold the tiebreaker with a higher goal differential than the Golden Knights (+8).
The Oilers would hold the tiebreaker with a higher total of goals scored than the Golden Knights (265).
Anaheim Ducks
The Golden Knights would hold the tiebreaker with a higher number of regulation wins (the Ducks have 24).
The Golden Knights would hold the tiebreaker with more wins in regulation and overtime (the Ducks have 33).
The Ducks would hold the tiebreaker with more total wins (41).
The Ducks would hold the tiebreaker with six head-to-head points against the Golden Knights this season.
The Golden Knights would hold the tiebreaker with a higher goal differential (the Ducks have a -14).
The Ducks would hold the tiebreaker with a higher total of goals scored than the Golden Knights (257).
Islanders Anxiety – Episode 386 – The Islanders Own Easter
Mike and Dan have many words about the firing of Patrick Roy and the hiring of Peter DeBoer as head coach, as well as for the disastrous week that knocked the Islanders out of the playoffs.
Not in a million years did we expect the Islanders to lose all four games in the important week in front of them. But that’s exactly what they did – some in ways that even we hadn’t seen before. The string of defeats at the worst time, plus a series of defensive mistakes all season long, were enough for them to make a change behind the bench. The move from “player’s coach” to hard ass coach is a time-honored NHL tradition, and DeBoer will need to find something the Islanders haven’t had in several seasons if he wants to get them into the post season. Even if it’s too late for this team, he will set the foundation for what to expect next season (and beyond).
In the second half, we digest the strange Patrick Roy Experience, from a guy who was once out of the Islanders’ stratosphere to a frustrating figure who couldn’t or wouldn’t fix his team’s faults. But Roy isn’t the only one to blame for this situation. There’s the owners who have made the franchise vulnerable to critics, the general manager who has lost both trades and fan goodwill in his first year in the job, the scouts who dropped the ball when needed and the players who have gotten away with way too much for way too long. Everyone owns a piece of this disappointing and confusing campaign.
Finally, we look at the next three games, which will determine both how this season will be remembered and how DeBoer’s tenure will begin. No pressure, coach.
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Sabres Hope To Stay In The Race For First Place In Rematch With Lightning
4/6/26 - 7:00pm at KeyBank Center, in Buffalo, NY
Buffalo – 46-23-8 | - 100 points – 2nd place in the Atlantic Division
Tampa Bay – 48-22-6 | - 102 points – 1st place in the Atlantic Division
Special Teams
Buffalo
Power Play – 20.8% (15th)
Penalty Kill – 82.1% (5th)
Tampa Bay
Power Play – 21.7% (14th)
Penalty Kill - 82.3% (4th)
Top Scorers
Buffalo
Tage Thompson: 77 GP, 38 G, 40 A, 78 PTS
Rasmus Dahlin: 73 GP, 18 G, 51 A, 69 PTS
Alex Tuch: 74 GP, 29 G, 32 A, 61 PTS
Tampa Bay
Nikita Kucherov: 70 GP, 42 G, 83 A, 125 PTS
Jake Guentzel: 76 GP, 36 G, 48 A, 84 PTS
Brandon Hagel: 69 GP, 35 G, 38 A, 73 PTS
Starting Goalies(projected)
Buffalo – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (19-9-3, 2.57 GAA, .910 Sv %)
Tampa Bay – Andrei Vasilevskiy (37-13-4, 2.31 GAA, .912 Sv %)
Other Sabres Stories
Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere
Sabres Line Combinations and Pairings (projected)
Forwards
Peyton Krebs - Tage Thompson - Josh Doan
Jason Zucker - Josh Norris - Alex Tuch
Zach Benson - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn
Jordan Greenway - Tyson Kozak - Beck Malenstyn
Ex. Tanner Pearson, Josh Dunne
Defense
Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power - Bowen Byram
Logan Stanley - Zach Metsa
Ex. Conor Timmins, Luke Schenn, Michael Kesselring
Goaltenders
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Alex Lyon
Colten Ellis
Injuries
Justin Danforth (lower body, Oct. 18; injured reserve)
Jiri Kulich (blood clot, Nov. 4; injured reserve - out for the season)
Sam Carrick (upper body, Mar. 31; injured reserve)
Noah Ostlund (upper body, Mar.25; day-to-day(
Notes
On April 4, Buffalo clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2010-11. The Sabres have earned at least one point in 23 of their last 29 contests (20-6-3), including a league-best 14 wins and 30 points since the Olympic break.
Buffalo is on pace to record 106 points in 2025-26, which would be the
most points in a single season by the Sabres since 2006-07 (113). Since Dec. 9, the Sabres rank first among all NHL teams in wins (35) and points (74). Buffalo’s 30 regulation wins in that span also lead the league. Buffalo has a team save percentage of .909, the best mark of any NHL team in that span.
Tage Thompson has tallied 55 points (25+30) in 47 games since Dec. 9 and his 22 even-strength goals in that span rank tied for fourth among all NHL skaters. Thompson has registered six points (2+4) in his last six games. Thompson’s 211 goals scored as a member of the Sabres place him tied with Alexander Mogilny for 12th place on Buffalo’s all-time list. Thompson needs seven more goals to pass Jason Pominville (217 goals with Buffalo) and gain sole possession of 10th place on Buffalo’s all-time goal-scoring list.
Rasmus Dahlin ranks first among all Sabres skaters in assists (33) and second in points (49) since Dec. 9. His 16 goals in that span rank tied for second among all NHL defensemen. Tonight’s game marks the 583rd of Dahlin’s career, which moves him into sole possession of the seventh-most by a defenseman in franchise history.
Josh Norris has registered three assists in his last three games.
Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo
The week ahead: Penguins looking for just one win
When the 2025-26 NHL season began the Pittsburgh Penguins were given, by most models, less than a 10 percent chance of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. As they enter play on Monday, with game No. 79 on the schedule ahead, MoneyPuck has them at a 99.9 percent chance to make the playoffs with an 8.2 percent chance of reaching the Stanley Cup Final. Needless to say, there has been a lot that has changed for this team over the past few months.
Erik Karlsson looks like a Norris Trophy defenseman again.
Anthony Mantha, Justin Brazeau and Parker Wotherspoon might have been three of the best value free agent signings in the entire NHL.
Ben Kindel and Egor Chinakhov look like potential long-term building blocks.
The core veterans are still outstanding.
The team has its flaws to be sure. They still give up too many goals, with both the defense and the goaltending sharing some responsibility in that. The forwards, however, are tremendous. This team is going to be the highest-scoring Penguins team of the Sidney Crosby era, and it is the second-highest scoring team in the NHL this season behind only the Colorado Avalanche. The forwards might be championship-worthy. They will at least be fun to watch and give them a chance.
Thanks to an incredibly strong week, and thanks to a pair of absolutely huge wins against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings to begin it, the Penguins have put themselves in a great position going into this week. Going into Monday I figured the Penguins needed to get at least six out of the 10 possible points available to them to keep on schedule for what they needed to do to clinch a playoff spot. They ended up getting eight of the possible 10 points, completely dominating the Islanders and Red Wings, then doing what was expected of them against an injury-filled Florida Panthers team. Those performances make it easy to overlook the tough game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the middle of it all.
Their strong week, combined with the slides of the Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets, has put the Penguins into a position now where literally one win — just one win — in any of their four remaining regular season games gets them in the playoffs. Given the schedules the Islanders and Blue Jackets play, they might not even need that. It just makes it easier.
The week begins with their first chance for that win on Thursday night at the New Jersey Devils (I will be in atttendance). The Devils have not yet been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but they soon will be in what has been another disappointing season for them. While they are not going to the playoffs, they have still been playing some of their best hockey of the season as of late. In fact, since losing to the Penguins 4-1 at the end of January, the Devils are 12-5-1 in their most recent 18 games, with superstar forward Jack Hughes playing some truly incredible hockey. Since the start of February Hughes is the NHL’s second-leading scorer with 36 points in 20 games, while his 33 points in 17 games since the beginning of March are the most in the NHL (it is worth noting Erik Karlsson’s 28 points in 20 games since then are third in the NHL).
That is a winnable game based on the standings. It is going to be a lot more difficult based on the way the Devils have been playing lately. Especially considering how rare a Penguins win in New Jersey seems to be.
The week continues over the weekend with another set of back-to-back games, this time against the Washington Capitals with Saturday’s game being in Pittsburgh and Sunday’s game being in Washington.
The Capitals looked like they were going to keep themselves in the playoff race, but kind of ruined that over the past week with some ugly losses to the Devils and New York Rangers. The intrigue in these games might be the questions about whether or not Saturday could be Evgeni Malkin’s final regular season home game in Pittsburgh, if it could be the final time we see Sidney Crosby play Alex Ovechkin in Pittsburgh, and if Sunday’s game could be the last game where all three of them are on the ice in the same game. Will Ovechkin retire after this season? Will Malkin re-sign with the Penguins or go elsewhere? My guess on all of that is it will not be it for any of those things, as I believe Ovechkin comes back for more year and Malkin eventually gets a new contract from the Penguins. But the questions and uncertainty at least make it all worth watching.
The other big intrigue this week is the Penguins goalie situation.
Arturs Silovs had to start both games this weekend due to Stuart Skinner dealing with what is being called an “upper-body injury” after apparently being hit in the face by a puck on Saturday. Silovs played better on Sunday, but is still not a level that is inspiring much confidence. The question is whether this leads to Sergei Murashov, who has been called up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, gets any playing time and what he does with it. He is the future of the goalie position in Pittsburgh, and there is a growing argument that he should perhaps be part of the present as well.
Overall, this is a week where you would like to see the Penguins get four points. They only need two points. Getting them gets the Penguins back in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Officially back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Flyers Top Prospect Already Making A Major Difference
The Philadelphia Flyers picked up a massive 2-1 overtime win against the Boston Bruins on Sunday. With it, the Flyers have improved to a 39-26-12 record and have moved up to third place in the Metropolitan Division standings.
Flyers' top prospect Porter Martone was the hero for Philadelphia against Boston, as he scored the overtime winner on the power play. He also recorded the primary assist on Christian Dvorak's game-opening goal with a great between-the-legs backhand pass.
With this fantastic performance for the Flyers, Martone now has one goal and three points in four games for the Metropolitan Division club. The 6-foot-3 forward is already showing that he can make an impact at the NHL level, and it is undoubtedly good news as the Flyers look to make the playoffs.
There is no question that Martone has a ton of potential, and it is why the Flyers selected him with the sixth-overall pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. He is certainly demonstrating plenty of promise early on in his NHL career, and it will be intriguing to see how he builds on it from here.
NHL Standings: First round of the playoffs is looking like the battle of Pennsylvania
A most unexpected and interesting development has happened in the Eastern Conference to shake up the playoff picture. Some of the strongest teams this season have started to falter. The Islanders have had a 3-7-0 record from March 19th, which cost Patrick Roy his job as head coach after NYI fell completely out of the playoff picture. The Blue Jackets did their part to hold the door open for others to catch up, posting a 1-6-1 record since March 22nd.
The Washington Capitals were looking like they could be that surprise team, especially after this past Tuesday when the Caps defeated the Flyers 6-4 to mark their third straight win and put themselves in a surprisingly strong position to make a late run at things. That run stopped rather suddenly with losses to New Jersey (7-3) on Thursday and then last night to the Rangers with an 8-1 score that punts on the season.
That left an unlikely team to walk through the door opened up by the Islanders and Blue Jackets faltering. And it was those Flyers who have done just that. Despite the loss to Washington on Tuesday, Philadelphia was 8-1-1 in their previous 10 games before that, quietly sneaking back into the picture as the trouble started on Long Island and in Columbus. That strong March gave Philadelphia the juice to pop up and defeat NYI on Friday night to create a big change in the standings. The Flyers would follow it up with a 2-1 OT win against Boston that featured Porter Martone’s first career goal as the game winner.
Suddenly, the battle of Pennsylvania could add another chapter in the 2026 playoffs.
The stunning turnaround of the Flyers could be represented from the Hockeystats.com model where Philadelphia had 32% odds of making the playoffs after their loss to Washington on Tuesday. Just a few days and two games later, it now sits at 60%. The Islanders are in big trouble after regulation losses last week to Pittsburgh and the Flyers. The Detroit Red Wings keep slip sliding away from a playoff berth too with Ottawa coming on in the Atlantic and Wild Card race.
The last week shows, to an extreme, just how much fortunes can rise and fall at the end of the season. It’s hard to imagine that just one week ago today entering Monday’s game, the Islanders (89) had more points than the Penguins (88), though NYI did play one more game. Fast forward just a few days and the Islanders still have 89 points — and now a new coach after a disastrous spell that saw losses to Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Carolina that still leave them with 89 points entering this week.
The Penguins, on the other hand, have all but sewed up their spot in the 2026 playoffs courtesy of picking up eight points in the last five games with the win over NYI, Detroit and a pair of lopsided victories over Florida.
Will the next week hold as much drama? NYI doesn’t play again until Thursday, they’ll have home games against Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal in the next week. The hiring of Peter Deboer could shake things up and try to get them out of their funk to make a desperate five-game run at Philadelphia. For their part, the Flyers play road games this week starting at New Jersey on Tuesday and then go to Detroit on Thursday and Winnipeg on Saturday. If the Flyers can grab two wins out of those games then the pressure for NYI to basically win out will be in play, given that Philadelphia is a point ahead and gets their game in hand on Tuesday to push their margin out even further.
The other team in the mix, Columbus, needs to start winning. They play Tuesday in Detroit, then Thursday in Buffalo and Saturday in Montreal. They sit two points behind Philadelphia, though CBJ should have the first tiebreaker by virtue of a 27-24 regulation win advantage. The Blue Jackets need some help from the Devils and Red Wings to stop Philadelphia, after CBJ plays a near must-win game against Detroit tomorrow night.
For the Pens, the last week couldn’t have gone any better. The teams in best position to challenge them for the second spot (NYI, CBJ) have continued to fall apart late in the season. Pittsburgh is six points up on Philadelphia, with the Flyers having played one less game, leaving the Pens in an excellent spot with five games remaining to chug along towards locking up home ice advantage for the first round.
The season may yet have more twists and turns to see between Philadelphia, NYI and Columbus will grab third place in the division even though recent momentum is surging towards seeing the first Penguins/Flyers playoff series since 2018.
Penguins Made Great Move Acquiring Ex-Red Wings Forward
Ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline, the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward Elmer Soderblom from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick. With the Penguins needing more forward depth, it was understandable that they brought him in.
Soderblom was having a quiet season with the Red Wings before the trade, as he had just two goals and one assist in 39 games. However, getting a fresh start with the Penguins has undoubtedly been benefiting Soderblom, as he has been off to a strong start in Pittsburgh.
In 16 games with the Penguins since being acquired from Detroit, he has recorded four goals, four assists, eight points, and 28 hits. With this, the big forward has not only been providing the Penguins with more physicality but also some solid secondary offensive production.
Soderblom has also been red-hot for the Penguins as of late, as he has three goals and six points over his last six games alone.
With Soderblom already taking his game to a new level with the Penguins and still being just 24 years old, it is hard not to like this move early on for Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-8 forward has been a very good addition to the Penguins' roster, and it will be fascinating to see how he builds on his strong start with the Metropolitan Division club from here.
Weekly Cupcakes: Brent Burns passes 1,000 consecutive games played
Colorado Avalanche News
- Canucks rise up to stun the league-leading Avalanche. [Sportsnet]
- Avs’ Nathan MacKinnon becomes first player this season to reach 50 goals. [TSN]
- HALO conference in Denver showcases growth of analytics in hockey. [NHL]
- The Calgary Flames were “humbled” in a 9-2 loss against the Colorado Avalanche. [Calgary Herald]
- Avalanche signs NCAA free agent prospect DiMarsico. [Colorado Eagles]
News Around the League
- The drought is finally over, the Buffalo Sabres have officially clinched a playoff spot. [NHL.com]
- Malkin passes 1,400 points in his historic career with the Pittsburgh Penguins. [NHL.com]
- Stunning news on Sunday as New York Islanders show Patrick Roy the door and bring in Peter DeBoer. [Ottawa Citizen]
- NHL, SAP introduce salary cap projector as part of Front Office app. [NHL]
- Brent Burns’ consecutive games streak reaches a new milestone, approaches NHL record for Avalanche. [Sporting News]
- Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Scott Oake is retiring. [CBC]
Bruins' playoff odds still great, but lack of scoring is huge concern
Bruins' playoff odds still great, but lack of scoring is huge concern originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins have not yet secured a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and a lackluster weekend that included a regulation loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and an overtime defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers didn’t do much to help their cause.
However, their chances of achieving that feat over the next week still remain pretty high.
HockeyStats’ model gives the Bruins a 98 percent chance of reaching the postseason. MoneyPuck’s model gives the Bruins a 98 percent chance, too.
Four games remain on the Bruins’ regular season schedule, and none of them can be described as “easy”.
The Eastern Conference-leading Carolina Hurricanes host the B’s on Tuesday. The Bruins play the Tampa Bay Lightning at home Saturday, before finishing up against a desperate Columbus Blue Jackets on the road Sunday and then hosting the New Jersey Devils next Tuesday.
Here’s what the wild card standings look like. It’s still mathematically possible for the Bruins to finish as a top-three team in the Atlantic Division, but the chances of that scenario unfolding are extremely small.
The B’s have a good cushion over the teams outside the wild card spots, and they hold the regulation wins tiebreaker over the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets.
It would take a pretty significant collapse by the Bruins, plus other teams getting red hot, for Boston to miss the playoffs.
One thing that has helped the Bruins of late is the other teams around them haven’t played great over the last week or so. The Islanders have lost four straight games and fired head coach Patrick Roy on Sunday. The Red Wings have lost six of their last 10 games and the Blue Jackets are on a six-game losing streak.
The Bruins have lost three straight games, and a lackluster offense is largely to blame for those poor results. The No. 1 concern with the Bruins coming into the season was whether they could score enough goals to be competitive. But in a surprising twist, the offense has largely been a huge positive for this team all season, including the power play. The Bruins entered the Olympic break ranked sixth in goals scored per game and third in power-play percentage.
But since the Olympic break, the B’s rank 20th in goals scored per game and 26th in power-play percentage. This downturn offensively was expected to some degree. The B’s have ranked near the top of the league in goals scored above expected all season. Several players on the team have had career-high (or close to it) shooting percentages.
Morgan Geekie has scored a career-high 34 goals this season, which leads the team, but he hasn’t found the back of the net in 17 consecutive games. His last goal was March 5.
The analytics suggested the B’s would regress a bit offensively, and we might be seeing that unfold right now.
This scoring regression might have come too late to derail the Bruins’ chances of reaching the playoffs, but it could hurt them significantly in the first round.
The most likely Round 1 matchup for the B’s is the Hurricanes, per HockeyStats.
Carolina has allowed the fewest shot attempts, the fewest shots on goal, the third-fewest scoring chances and the 12th-fewest high-danger chances at 5-on-5 this season, per Natural Stat Trick. The Hurricanes are very structured defensively, they’re well coached and they’re disciplined (fewest penalties taken among East teams in a playoff spot).
Add it all up, and that’s a pretty unfavorable matchup for a team like the Bruins that’s really struggling to score.
Goaltending is often the deciding factor in the playoffs, and Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman arguably has been the best player at his position this season. That gives the B’s a huge advantage over a lot of teams. But great goaltending only goes so far. You have to be able to score goals and take advantage of the opponent’s mistakes with a good power play.
That’s why the Bruins’ latest scoring woes are a concern. If it doesn’t get fixed, their playoff run (assuming they make it) could be pretty short.
NHL power rankings: Two teams make coaching changes down stretch
The competition to nail down a playoff berth is intense, so much that two NHL teams have fired their coaches down the stretch.
Bruce Cassidy was the first to go, with the third-place Vegas Golden Knights replacing the 2023 Stanley Cup winner with John Tortorella on March 29 with eight games to go. That followed a 1-4-2 slide that since has been turned down around.
Then the New York Islanders made their bid for a coaching change bump on Sunday, April 5, with four games left. Patrick Roy is out and veteran Peter DeBoer is in following a four-game losing streak. The Islanders were in third place at the time of the announcement but dropped below the playoff line on the same day. DeBoer, who took the Dallas Stars to the last three Western Conference finals, makes his Islanders debut on Thursday, April 9.
Here are the latest USA TODAY NHL power rankings with 10 days left in the regular season:
NHL power rankings
All statistics and standings information are through April 5. Figure in parentheses is the change from the most recent power rankings two weeks ago.
1. Colorado Avalanche (0)
Defenseman Brent Burns has played in 1,001 consecutive games, just the second NHL player to reach an ironman streak of 1,000 games. The recordholder is Phil Kessel (1,064).
2. Tampa Bay Lightning (+4)
The Lightning lead the Atlantic Division heading into the week after a 7-1-2 run. They face the second-place Sabres on Monday, April 6 and third-place Canadiens on April 9.
3. Carolina Hurricanes (0)
The Hurricanes are in position to clinch a division title for the first time since 2023. They missed an opportunity to do so on April 5 and their next chance is on Wednesday, April 7.
4. Dallas Stars (-2)
The Stars are trending toward playing the Wild in the first round, but their hold on home-ice advantage has shrunk because of a 2-5-2 slide. They play Minnesota, which is two points back, on April 9.
5. Buffalo Sabres (-1)
The Sabres have ended their 14-season playoff drought, a league record. The team started surging after changing general managers but have gone through a 2-3-2 mini-slump heading into their April 6 game against the Lightning.
6. Montreal Canadiens (+1)
The Canadiens' eight-game winning streak came to an end when they were shut out by the Devils. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki combined for 31 points during the streak.
7. Minnesota Wild (-2)
Kirill Kaprizov has hit the 40-goal mark for the fourth time in the last five seasons and added a hat trick on April 5. Matt Boldy also has 40 goals for the first time in his career.
8. Pittsburgh Penguins (+1)
The Penguins have pulled closer to ending a three-season playoff drought after they outscored the Panthers 14-6 in a weekend sweep.
9. Boston Bruins (-2)
David Pastrnak needs three points to record his fourth consecutive 100-point season.
10. Ottawa Senators (+5)
Brady Tkachuk scored twice in an April 5 win against Carolina as the Senators held onto the second wild-card spot in the East. Two days earlier, he was fined $2,500 for slashing an opponent from the bench.
11. Philadelphia Flyers (+5)
Victories against the Islanders and Bruins allowed the Flyers to jump from out of a playoff position to third in the Metropolitan Division. Porter Martone scored his first NHL goal in overtime to seal the win against Boston.
12. Utah Mammoth (+1)
The Mammoth are trending toward finishing in the first wild-card spot in the West. If they do, they would go through the weaker Pacific Division in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
13. Edmonton Oilers (+6)
The Oilers have gone 5-3 without injured No. 2 scorer Leon Draisaitl to move into the Pacific Division lead. Connor McDavid has 12 points in that stretch.
14. Columbus Blue Jackets (-4)
The Rick Bowness coaching bump has been slipping away with the Blue Jackets going 3-6-1 in their last 10 games. They have the fewest regulation wins, the first tiebreaker, of the teams within two points of the final playoff spot in the East. Damon Severson had season-ending shoulder surgery.
15. Anaheim Ducks (-3)
The Ducks have lost four in a row as Edmonton passed them for the Pacific Division lead on a tiebreaker. They remain in good position to end a seven-season playoff drought.
16. Vegas Golden Knights (+2)
The Golden Knights have won three in a row under coach John Tortorella after the firing of Bruce Cassidy. That includes a 5-1 win against the Oilers that pulled Vegas within a point of the Pacific Division lead.
17. New York Islanders (-6)
The Islanders dropped from third in the Metropolitan Division to out of a playoff position on April 5. New coach Peter DeBoer has four games to try to get the team into the postseason.
18. Detroit Red Wings (-4)
The Red Wings enter the week only two points out of a playoff spot but have lost six of their last eight games. They are trying to end a nine-season postseason drought, which is the NHL's longest after the Sabres clinched a playoff spot.
19. Washington Capitals (-2)
The Capitals were in position to potentially move into a playoff position on April 5 before they were crushed 8-1 by the Rangers.
20. Nashville Predators (0)
The Predators moved into the second wild-card spot in the West after beating the Kings and Sharks in recent games. They face those teams once each down the stretch, including the Kings on April 6.
21. New Jersey Devils (0)
Jacob Markstrom picked up his first shutout of the season to end the Canadiens' eight-game winning streak.
22. Los Angeles Kings (0)
The Kings will try to move into the second wild-card spot with a win against the Predators on April 6. The team has gone 7-5-5 under interim coach D.J. Smith.
23. San Jose Sharks (0)
The Sharks followed a six-game losing streak with a four-game winning streak to move into the second wild-card spot, but they dropped out after a loss to the Predators.
24. St. Louis Blues (+4)
The Blues have pulled within three points of a playoff spot with a 6-1-1 run. Robert Thomas has 12 points in that span, including his first career hat trick.
25. Winnipeg Jets (+1)
Olympic hero and reigning MVP Connor Hellebuyck is still looking for his first shutout of the season after getting a league-best eight last season.
26. Toronto Maple Leafs (+1)
The Maple Leafs' nine-season playoff streak is over. Before they were officially eliminated, they fired general manager Brad Treliving.
27. Florida Panthers (-2)
The Panthers' championship run is over as they were eliminated on Saturday, April 4, after a season-long crush of injuries. They had reached the last three Stanley Cup finals and won the last two.
28. Seattle Kraken (-4)
The Kraken were in a playoff spot heading into the Olympics, but have gone 5-11-2 since to drop six points back.
29. New York Rangers (+1)
The Rangers have been eliminated from the playoffs but have won five of their last six games.
30. Calgary Flames (-1)
The Flames were crushed 9-2 by the Avalanche and lost 6-3 to the Golden Knights, then played spoiler with a win against the Ducks.
31. Chicago Blackhawks (0)
Connor Bedard, the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, has set career highs with 30 goals and 71 points despite missing 12 games with a shoulder injury.
32. Vancouver Canucks (0)
The Canucks have clinched 32nd overall in the NHL, giving them the best draft lottery odds. They have an 18.5% chance of winning outright and 25.5% odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick. Being last didn't help last year when the Islanders won the lottery with 3.5% odds.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL power rankings: Playoff drive includes coaching changes
Pete DeBoer Brings Elite Playoff Pedigree To Islanders
"The Isles replaced a coach who won 97 games for them with a coach who has 97 playoff wins."
Those were the fine words of New York Islanders statistician Eric Hornick, who dropped that line in Monday morning's 'The Skinny' after Pete DeBoer was hired to replace Patrick Roy.
#TheSkinny on the Coaching Change and Playoff Chase has some numbers on the new coach, the old coach, and the #isles spot in the standings.https://t.co/DfqPx2EoAR
— Eric Hornick (@ehornick) April 6, 2026
NYI will spend at least four days out of a playoff spot; the question now is can Pete DeBoer get them back into one.
DeBoer has an impeccable track record as an NHL coach.
Over his 17 seasons behind an NHL bench -- this latest hiring means 18 straight seasons as an NHL head coach -- DeBoer has made the playoffs 10 times.
After only making the playoffs once in his first five seasons behind the bench -- he fell to the Los Angeles Kings in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals -- he's made the playoffs in nine of the last 11 seasons -- he didn't make it through the 2019-20 season with the San Jose Sharks before they cut bait.
DeBoer's teams have all won at least one round in his last seven playoff appearances, the latest being the Dallas Stars in 2025, who fell in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
So, to sum things up, DeBoer has coached in the playoffs 10 times. He's made it past the first round nine times, the second round eight times, and has fallen in the finals twice.
The question, with four games to go, is whether he can get the Islanders to the playoffs with the odds against them.
Canadiens’ Winning Streak Comes To Grinding Halt
After beating the New Jersey Devils in extremis at the Prudential Center on Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens were hosting them on Sunday night at the Bell Centre. By the time the puck dropped, the Habs had clinched their playoff spot, thanks to the Detroit Red Wings losing to the Minnesota Wild earlier in the day. That didn’t mean the pressure was gone. Captain Nick Suzuki said earlier this week that the Habs wanted first place, not eighth place, and they are right in the mix for that in the Atlantic Division and in the Eastern Conference.
However, that’s not what the fans in attendance were thinking about. They all had one thing in mind: seeing Cole Caufield score his 50th of the season. There were even more number 13 jerseys out there, plenty of signs about the impending milestone, and someone had even bought nig inflatable 5-0 golden balloons. When the sniper was shown on the Jumbotron during the warm-up, the crowd erupted in applause, and when he had his first shift, they were all chanting his name. It’s a good thing that he doesn’t mind playing under pressure.
Caufield is shown on the jumbotron and the fans start cheering, they might be warming up too @TheHockeyNews#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/K2e3L9d06E
— Karine Hains (@KarineHains) April 5, 2026
Canadiens Are Off To The Races
Montreal Canadiens Legend Fired By Islanders
Canadiens Play With Fire But Escape With The Two Points
A Distraction?
While the players have been adamant that they all think about the team first and foremost, for a second game in a row, it looked like they were desperately trying to get the puck to Caufield, and it wasn’t always because he was the best option or even open.
Of course, the team’s results have to come first, but it feels like the players want Caufield to reach 50, and the sooner he does, the better off the Canadiens will be. Asked about it, coach Martin St-Louis explained:
I think you can see that the guys are really looking for him out there. I think it does affect the continuity of certain plays. I have full confidence that he will score 50. We would have liked it to be tonight for many reasons, including moving on from it and giving that to the crowd. It would have been fine to give them that tonight. I went through it, it’s normal.- St-Louis on his men and the Caufield 50-goal chase
Lack Of Shots
After 40 minutes, the Canadiens had a total of eight shots, four per period. That wasn’t going to allow Caufield, or anyone on the team, to score, for that matter. At least in the first frame, they had only four shots that reached the net, but they also had 15 more shot attempts that were blocked or missed. There was some urgency in their offensive game.
That wasn’t the case in the middle frame; on top of only testing Markstrom four times, they only had six attempts that didn’t reach him. On their one power play opportunity, they didn’t even get a shot on goal and allowed two odd-man rushes. When your goaltender is your best player on the penalty kill, it’s good news, but not so much when he is on the power play.
The Canadiens had a bit more jump in the final frame, and they got to spend a lot of time on the power play, but they couldn’t make anything of it.
Expect More Of The Same
Will the Canadiens change their approach now that they have clinched a playoff spot? That’s highly unlikely because they still have plenty to play for. When St-Louis was asked how it would affect the way he manages his bench and his lineup, he explained:
I don’t think it’s going to change much. We’re still in a place where we can win our division and get home-ice advantage. To lower your level and wait for the playoffs and then say right we need to kick it into gear now, it’s a trap you’ve got to be wary of. If guys are nursing ailments, that’s one thing. I’m proud of the guys, we’ve reached our goal, but now we have the opportunity not to be satisfied with doing that, we can go and get something even bigger.
The Canadiens' winning streak ended at eight triumphs in a row with a 3-0 loss to the Devils, but after enjoying a day off on Monday, they’ll put their working boots back on and keep on fighting for the best rank in the standings possible.
That got some cheers as well #GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/hJAO4pkknW
— Karine Hains (@KarineHains) April 5, 2026
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