Category: NHL

The Buffalo Sabres are set to face off against the Boston Bruins in Game 2 of the first round on Tuesday night. The Sabres are certainly entering this contest with momentum on their side, as they beat the Bruins in Game 1 with a great third-period comeback win. 

Now, the Sabres have a golden opportunity for Game 2 that they absolutely must seize. 

If the Sabres defeat the Bruins in Game 2, they would have a commanding 2-0 series lead before they head to TD Garden for Games 3 and 4. This would put them in a fantastic spot and put them in complete control of the series. 

However, if the Sabres end up losing Game 2 on home ice, it would put them in a tougher situation, as they would be tied in the series 1-1 before heading to Boston. This would not be ideal, as the Bruins had far more success at home this season. Their 29-11-1 home record this campaign effectively demonstrates this.

It will now be interesting to see if the Sabres can win Game 2 over the Bruins from here. If the Sabres play like how they did in Game 1 vs. the Original Six club, they will undoubtedly have a good shot at winning Game 2. 

It appears the Vancouver Canucks’ search for a new General Manager is unfolding. A report from Matthew Fairburn and Thomas Drance of The Athletic notes that the Canucks have requested permission to interview former Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams for their open role. Vancouver parted ways with former General Manager Patrik Allvin on Friday morning. 

Adams previously served as the Sabres’ General Manager from the 2020–21 season to December of 2025. He had been with the Sabres organization since the 2009–10 season, acting as a Development Coach, Assistant Coach, Director, and Vice President before being named GM. In his time as the Sabres’ GM, Adams manned the organization’s helm for moves like trading Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights for Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, a 2022 first-round pick that turned into Noah Östlund, and a 2023 second-round pick that Buffalo partially flipped for Jordan Greenway. 

Since Adams’ firing, Buffalo has clinched the Atlantic Division and is currently up 1–0 in their first-round series against the Boston Bruins. This is the first time the Sabres have made the post-season since the 2010–11 season. 

Adams and Rutherford are connected via the Carolina Hurricanes, who the former played for from 2001-02 to 2006-07 (excluding the 2004-05 lockout). Rutherford served as Carolina's President and GM for all of these seasons. 

During his year-end media availability on Friday, Rutherford explained that the search for a new GM would begin at the start of this week. Abbotsford Canucks General Manager and Canucks Assistant General Manager Ryan Johnson has been a popular name mentioned in the discussion for Vancouver's new GM. 

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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The Ottawa Senators have signed another of their top prospects to an entry level contract. They announced on Tuesday that Chicoutimi Saguenéens starting goalie Lucas Beckman has agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The 18-year-old is currently making hay in the QMJHL playoffs, posting a smooth 8-0 record with an outrageous .962 save percentage and a 0.75 goals against. He allowed just one goal in each of his first six games, then two shutouts in the last two outings as the Saguenéens polished off the Québec Remparts in a sweep.

To say that his December trade from Baie-Comeau to Chicoutimi has served Beckman well would be a ridiculous understatement. Since the trade, the Montreal native has lost just one game, going 21-1 in regular season and playoffs combined. Meanwhile, the Drakkar, the team he spent parts of three seasons with, finished dead last in the league.

Beckman was selected in the 4th round (97th overall) by the Senators in the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles. He's likely to get some attention from Hockey Canada's radar for the World Juniors this Christmas.

At the Sens development camp last summer, Beckman was excited to experience the higher level, which he expected would help him this season.

"The shots here are coming a lot quicker, the speed is better, and I think it means that when I go back to junior, it's going to feel a bit more slow motion (by comparison), and I'm going to be able to kind of be ahead of the play more," Beckman said.

Beckman also told The Hockey News that he had a specific goal for this season.

"My personal goal would be to be the best goalie in the Q," Beckman said. "That might sound a little overconfident, but I think I'm able to. We'll see."

So far, so good. 

Beckman is the fifth Sens prospect in the past month to sign his ELC. The others are Blake Montgomery (F, Wisconsin), Hoyt Stanley (D, Cornell), Kevin Reidler (G, Penn State, and Gabriel Eliasson (D, Barrie).

Steve Warne
The Hockey News

This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:  

First Blood: Senators Fall To Carolina 2-0 In Stanley Cup Playoff Opener
The Farm System Everyone Doubted Helped Save The Senators Season
Rick Bowness Clarifies That Only Some Of His Players "Don't Care"
Rod Brind'Amour Describes Senators As 'A Huge Challenge' In Round One
Through All The Noise, The Playoff-Bound Senators Held Their Ground
Brady Tkachuk Describes Brief Vision Loss During Game As 'Weird And Scary'

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars are still without injured top-line center Roope Hintz, who stayed home Tuesday when the team traveled to Minnesota for Game 3 of its Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Hintz hasn't played since sustaining a lower-body injury on March 6 in a game against Colorado and experiencing an unspecified setback in his recovery.

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan previously said Hintz was unlikely to play in Game 3 on Wednesday night, and it now appears the center's earliest possible return could be Game 5 when the series switches back to Dallas next week.

“He's not traveling. Like I said, Game 3, won't be there. Game 4 (on Saturday), I would say is very doubtful,” Gulutzan said before boarding the team flight. “Hopefully by the time we get back, we're in a good spot, and he's in a good spot.”

The series is tied 1-1 after Dallas won 4-2 on Monday night. Minnesota opened the series with a 6-1 win.

Gulutzan had said between Games 1 and 2 that Hintz hadn't even returned to skating on his own.

The 29-year-old Hintz, in his eighth NHL season, played for bronze medal-winning Finland and then missed the Stars' first four games after the Olympic break because of an illness. He got hurt in his only game since, 6 1/2 weeks ago against the Avalanche.

Hintz remained down and reached at the back of his left leg after being engaged with Nathan MacKinnon along the boards in the second period. Hintz put no weight on his leg while being helped off the ice.

___

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The first few days of the NHL playoffs have been outstanding, which will only provide Gary Bettman another bullet for his “best first round in sports” talking point he uses when people complain about the current division-focused playoff structure.

Thus far, we’ve had a double overtime, several one-goal games that went down to the wire, a couple big late comebacks and Pittsburgh losing both opening games at home — each a totally fun thing in its own way!

Tonight there are four games on the schedule AND an Islanders playoff game…AHL Bridgeport Islanders, of course.

Here’s a thread for all the action, including if you’re following along for Bridgeport’s Last Ride. So many years where Hershey was dominant, it’s nice to have Bridgeport with home advantage and a decent chance to win a mini-round in their finale season.

For a read on Bridgeport, here’s a piece on how Rocky Thompson has affected the culture in his first year there.

Faceoff in Bridgeport is 7 p.m. EDT. Meanwhile, the NHL slate is:

• 7:00 – Canadiens at Lightning, Game 2
• 7:30 – Bruins at Sabres, Game 2
• 9:30 – Mammoth at Golden Knights, Game 2
• 10:30 – Kings at Avalanche, Game 2

This is our playoff game thread. Let the player hate run through you.

On Tuesday morning, it was announced that former NHL sniper Ilya Kovalchuk was named President of the Shang Hai Dragons of the KHL. Joining him as General Manager of the club is another former NHLer Evgeny Artyukhin.

The Dragons, formerly known as the Kunlun Red Star have entered a new era in their franchise as they look to improve off of a disappointing 2025-26 campaign.

In the most recent season, the Dragon went 21-35-6-6 finishing 9th place in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs by 15 points. Former Los Angeles King Ilya Kovalchuk looks to build a team that can compete with the powerhouses of the Kontinental Hockey League. 

Drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers with the 1st overall pick in the 2001 NHL draft, Kovalchuk was one of the most entertaining players to watch during his time in the league. He also has the title of one of the most interesting NHL careers in recent history.

After eight and a half years with the Thrashers, Kovalchuk was traded to the New Jersey Devils in a massive deal that shook the hockey world in 2010. The former Rocket Richard leader then signed an egregious 17-year deal worth $102M. The deal was rejected by the NHL and Kovalchuk and the Devils agreed on a new 15-year deal worth $100M.

Just four years into the contract that was supposed to last for a decade and a half, Kovalchuk shockingly retired from the NHL, walking away from the remaining 12 years and $77M on his contract. He would go on to play in the KHL where he was one of the faces of the league until 2018 when he would make a major decision.

Three Unsung Heroes For The Kings Playoff RunThe All-Stars are the motor that drive a team to a series win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it's the unsung heroes who fuel the team for a long run. Who will step up for the Los Angeles Kings this spring?

In the summer of 2018, the Kings made a major splashing by signing Kovalchuk to a three-year contract worth $18.75M ($6.25 AAV). Although he was 35 at the time, the Kings were hoping he could provide a major offensive spark to a team that hadn't won a playoff series since they won the Stanley Cup in 2014.

Unfortunately, his time as a King didn't go as planned. After a season and a half, the Kings placed Kovalchuk on unconditional waivers. The Montréal Canadiens then claimed the veteran winger, ending Kovalchuk's time in Los Angeles at just 81 total games played. In those 81 games, he scored 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points.

After just 22 games in Montreal, the Canadiens traded Kovalchuk to the Washington Capitals where he would play his last game in 2020 before returning to the KHL once again where he would finish out his playing career.

In 2025, the former first overall pick officially announced his retirement from professional hockey and he now finds himself in charge of turning around a lacklustre KHL franchise.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

Happy Tuesday, folks!

If you ran the Boston Marathon on Monday, hopefully you’re feeling relatively normal today. My brother beat Zdeno Chara’s time, which means now my family must challenge him for the hardest shot title as well.

If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be working on shooting a puck, say, 30 MPH first.

Anyways, the Bruins and Sabres will renew acquaintances tonight. Buffalo will be looking to capitalize on its Game 1 momentum, while the B’s will be hoping to return to Boston with something to show for their efforts.

You’re not in trouble in a series until you lose on home ice, right? Maybe the Bruins can cause a little trouble tonight.

Bears! Swords! IN THE PLAYOFFS!

Discuss.

The Penguins haven’t given the home fans at PPG Paints Arena a lot to cheer about over the last several years.

With losses to the Flyers in Games and 2 of the team’s playoff series, there’s no guarantee that the fans will get to see another home hockey game in Pittsburgh this season unless the Penguins can earn a split on the road in Philadelphia, at minimum.

Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017, when the Penguins boasted an impressive home playoff record of 19-7 across two long playoff runs, the Penguins have won just five home playoff games.

Over the past nine seasons, the Penguins have a home record of just 5-11 across six playoff series. A seventh series was played at a neutral location in the COVID-19 pandemic “bubble.”

Only three of the Penguins’ home playoff wins have come since May of 2021.

The Penguins have a tall task ahead of themselves now, trailing 2-0 to the Flyers.

Game 3 is set for 7 p.m. tomorrow night in Philadelphia.

BRIDGEPORT, CT -- During his end-of-the-season press conference, New York Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche announced that the team had signed forward prospect Quinn Finley (2022, Rd. 3) to his two-year entry-level contract. 

"We signed Quinn Finley to a contract starting next year," Darche said on Apr. 15. "We'll try to send him to Bridgeport. We just have some medical things to go over, but we agreed on a contract this morning with Quinn Finley."

The Hockey News has learned that Finley will ultimately not be joining the Bridgeport Islanders, the club's AHL affiliate for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

A specific reason was not confirmed. 

The 21-year-old, now-former Wisconsin forward, elected to turn pro following his junior season, during which he recorded 33 points (17 goals, 16 assists) in 36 games. Because his contract kicks in for the 2026-27 season, he would have had to sign an ATO with Bridgeport to join them.

Finley will play for Hamilton, the Islanders' soon-to-be AHL affiliate, beginning in 2026-27 and is likley to attend development camp after the 2026 NHL Draft in late June, before returning to Long Island for rookie camp in mid-September.

While Finley won't be joining Bridgeport for their playoff run, the AHL affiliate did get some additional help. 

Forwards Cal Ritchie and Victor Eklund, along with defenseman Isaiah George, who ended the season on the Islanders' roster, were optioned to Bridgeport, and all three will play in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Hershey Bears.

Puck drop is at 7 PM ET. You can watch the game on FloHockey. 

Over the past several postseasons, it has become commonplace to see the Florida Panthers playing hockey deep into May and June.

It’s also been normal to see family members of Panthers players cheering on their loved ones from the stands.

Naturally, that could include current and former NHL players.

You probably know where I’m going with this.

During each of the past three Panthers run to the Stanley Cup Final, TV cameras would often scan the crowd and locate Florida star Matthew Tkachuk’s family, generally featuring dad Keith, mom Chantal, sister Taryn and brother Brady, who also plays for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

This year, however, things are a little different in Pantherland.

For the first time in seven seasons, Florida did not qualify for the playoffs.

But Ottawa did.

That means Matthew now has the opportunity to support his brother the same way Brady has done for Matthew, and he did just that.

Monday night, when the Senators played Game 2 of their opening round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, Matthew Tkachuk was in the crowd, right next to his dad Big Walt, cheering on the Senators.

Fred from Fort Lauderdale checking in 😁 pic.twitter.com/PBJNjfB2dt

— x - Ottawa Senators (@Senators) April 20, 2026

Unfortunately for Brady and his teammates, the good vibes from his family didn’t translate to a victory, as Ottawa lost the game 3-2 in double overtime.

Now the Senators are heading back to Ottawa down two games to zero in the series.

Hopefully, for the Sens and the Tkachuks, Ottawa is able to turn things around on home ice so that Matthew and Co. can continue to follow Brady’s quest for his own Stanley Cup ring.

Game 3 between the Senators and Hurricanes is set for Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Photo caption: Feb 22, 2026; Milan, Italy; Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk of the United States celebrate after winning the men's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. (James Lang-Imagn Images)

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Rickard Rakell has found success against the stingy Philadelphia Flyers this season, picking up a point in three of four meetings (playoffs included).

My Penguins vs. Flyers predictions see the top-line winger making his mark in Game 3 as Pittsburgh tries to make it a series.

Let’s break down my NHL picks for Wednesday, April 22.

Penguins vs Flyers Game 3 prediction

Penguins vs Flyers best bet: Rickard Rakell Over 0.5 points (-110)

The Pittsburgh Penguins have tilted the ice during Rickard Rakell’s 5-on-5 minutes.

They've controlled 66% of expected goals, 71% of scoring chances, and generated 33 shot attempts through two games with Rakell on the ice, the most of any Penguins forward.

He's also a focal point on the man advantage, where only Evgeni Malkin's had more ice time.

Rakell’s being used in prime offensive situations, and the Penguins are generating chances. Dan Vladar is unlikely to sustain a .954 SV%, and Rakell is a prime candidate to help break through.

Penguins vs Flyers Game 3 same-game parlay

Bryan Rust skates on the same line and power play unit as Rakell, so there is strong correlation there. There are also encouraging signs production could be coming.

Rust is tied for first in the series in high-danger chances, so I’m buying stock.

We’ll round out the parlay with Travis Sanheim blocks. The minute-munching defenseman blocked multiple shots in 73% of his home games following one day of rest, and his usage is predictably higher in the playoffs.

The Penguins will make a big push in Game 3, which should lead to plenty of block opportunities for the Philadelphia Flyers stalwart.

Penguins vs Flyers SGP

• Rickard Rakell Over 0.5 points
• Bryan Rust Over 0.5 points
• Travis Sanheim Over 1.5 blocked shots

Penguins vs Flyers Game 3 goal scorer pick

Rickard Rakell (+210)

Rakell finished the regular season with seven goals over his final eight games. While he hasn’t found the net in this series, he leads the Penguins in expected goals at 5-on-5.

The vast majority of his shot volume comes from the slot and in, which is key. An in-form Vladar is unlikely to be beaten from range.

Penguins vs Flyers odds for Game 3

• Moneyline: Pittsburgh +100 | Philadelphia -120
• Puck line: Pittsburgh +1.5 (-270) | Philadelphia -1.5 (+210)
• Over/Under: Over 5.5 (+120) | Under 5.5 (+100)

Penguins vs Flyers trend

Rickard Rakell has points in three of four games against Philadelphia this season. Find more NHL betting trends for Penguins vs. Flyers.

How to watch Penguins vs Flyers Game 3

Penguins vs Flyers latest injuries

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In a lot of ways, the American Hockey League's Springfield Thunderbirds are a lot like their NHL big brother, the St. Louis Blues.

The only difference, at least this season, is that one was able to overcome a slow start and the other didn't.

When the Thunderbirds (32-32-6-2) open their first-round series in the Calder Cup Playoffs against the Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday in a best-of-3 series in Charlotte (6 p.m. CT), nobody would could have foreseen in October that the T-birds would be in this position.

Not after starting the season 2-10-4-2 and sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic Division at the time. But here they are, the Blues' AHL affiliate stocked with the team's prospects are in the tournament, and although they have to play all three games (if necessary) away from home, they're glad to be in the position that they're in all things considered.

"Things transitioned really quick for this group and I'm really proud of this group," said Springfield coach Steve Ott, who started this season as an associate coach to Jim Montgomery in St. Louis and brought up to Springfield to replace the fired Steve Konowalchuk on Jan. 19. "They believed from the get-go of the process of how we're going to play, and we kind of took it day by day. The practice habits and details continued to get better and you could see it transitioned into our game. We picked up a lot of valuable points along the way and kind of grew into a team to kind of get into this situation."

Springfield was starting to dig itself out of the doldrums of a really poor start and were 14-18-4-2 at the time of Ott's arrival and finished 18-14-2-0 under him. But the change seemed to reinvigorate what was starting out as a long season and finished off as an entrant into the tournament, which is where Springfield felt it belonged all along.

"It wasn't what I saw, it was more the things I believed in as a coach and used some past experience that I thought could really help this group out," Ott said. "Getting the buy-in from the leaders early, helping develop all our young guys, to see them play a pro game in which I really believe in I thought really helped them and instrumental into their own success, but it also led to team success, which was even better. You add all those elements together, I thought the guys were very hungry for information early. We pushed from practice and kind of started building it from there. Very excited to be in this opportunity for this group.

"I think we got great leadership down here with (captain) Chris Wagner, [Hugh] McGing, you've got Calle Rosen who we are obviously familiar with the Blues and Dillon Dube."

A number of Blues prospects have made major contributions, but perhaps none other than Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft who ended the season with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 15 games.

Kaskimaki had a five-game stint with the Blues earlier in the season (zero points) and was basically told by Blues general manager Doug Armstrong to go back down and to find his scoring; he finished with 44 points (20 goals, 24 assists) in 64 games.

"Finding your scoring comes with different opportunity, I would say," Ott said. "Being set up for success to be put in that and using his God-given ability. He's been put on a top line with Dube and Wagner and they've had great chemistry. All three of them play the game the right way and they're getting rewarded offensively by not only being offensive but from checking, and when they're checking their offense back, 'Kasky's been able to use his skill level to really take the next step. Power play situations where you really start to learn that he's a real deceptive passer and he continues to put up numbers by going to the harder areas, driving the net off the rush where he got rewarded in the Lehigh (Valley) game (a 7-1 win last Wednesday that clinched a playoff berth).

"There's areas of his game that just continue to develop and for a young player to be put in those opportunities, he's been one of them to really grab it."

The uniqueness of the series is that all three games will be played in Charlotte, with Game 2 slated for Friday, and a Game 3 (if necessary) set for Saturday. All three game times are 6 p.m. (CT). The Thunderbirds lost six of the eight matchups against the Checkers, the affiliate of the Florida Panthers but the last two games (a 5-1 Springfield win on Feb. 28 and 3-2 overtime loss on Feb. 27) resemble more of what Springfield has been playing like.

"We're up against it. There's no other way of putting it in any other terms," Ott said. "... Coaching staff and I have been preparing our game plan. They have a more of a veteran-based team, a lot of high-end players that are kind of players in between NHL age and AHL. For us, we've been playing meaningful hockey and playoff-type hockey for weeks on end now, maybe even months to be in this situation. i really like where our game is at. I think we have a very competitive group and we want to make some noise. We're going to push as hard as we can here, continue to play the way that we've identified our team, our team identity, and we're going to see what we can match up against. ... We're hoping for a great matchup and hopefully bring some home games back to Springfield." 

A Springfield series win would put it into the Atlantic Division semifinal series against top-seeded Providence. Springfield enters the postseason as the sixth seed, Charlotte as the third seed.

Jordan Kyrou's Down Season Raises Trade Questions Again; Should Two Sides Seek Fresh Start Or Refocus On Coming Back Better, Stronger?Forward had lowest output in goals, points since 2020-21, remains committed to St. Louis; team also remains committed -- for nowIf Robert Thomas Was Available For Trade Before, He Shouldn't Have Been, Nor Should Be Moving ForwardSt. Louis Blues' No. 1 center found game again down stretch for second straight season, formulated team's No. 1 line with play with Dylan Holloway, Jimmy Snuggerud; but 26-year-old wants to hear management's plans moving forward despite four years left on contractWhat Does Dylan Holloway's Next Contract Look Like For St. Louis Blues?Forward who overcame torn abductor muscle, high ankle sprain within past year, set to become restricted free agent July 1, but unlike Philip Broberg, Doug Armstrong more open-ended regarding 24-year-old's contractJordan Binnington Keeping Open Mind Regarding FutureSt. Louis Blues Stanley Cup-winning goalie wants to discuss future team plans with GM-in-waiting Alexander Steen, management team with one year remaining on current contractSt. Louis Blues Weekly Prospect Report (April 19)Kaskimaki fuels Springfield's run to Calder Cup playoffs; Carbonneau, Blainville-Boisebriand advance to QMJHL semis, as does Jiricek, Brantford, which looks like a buzzsaw in OHL; Fischer, Dorion exit playoffs; Buchelnikov, CSKA done in KHL

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.