Vancouver Canucks (21-43-8, in the Pacific Division) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (32-26-16, in the Pacific Division)
Paradise, Nevada; Monday, 10 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights look to end a three-game slide when they play the Vancouver Canucks.
Vegas is 32-26-16 overall with a 10-5-5 record in Pacific Division games. The Golden Knights have a 31-6-10 record in games they score three or more goals.
Vancouver has gone 21-43-8 overall with a 5-12-2 record in Pacific Division play. The Canucks have a -91 scoring differential, with 180 total goals scored and 271 conceded.
Monday's game is the second time these teams match up this season. The Golden Knights won the last meeting 5-2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mark Stone has 23 goals and 40 assists for the Golden Knights. Pavel Dorofeyev has four goals and five assists over the last 10 games.
Filip Hronek has eight goals and 32 assists for the Canucks. Marco Rossi has scored three goals with seven assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Knights: 3-5-2, averaging 2.3 goals, 3.6 assists, 4.7 penalties and 11.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
Canucks: 2-7-1, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.8 assists, 3.3 penalties and 11.2 penalty minutes while giving up 3.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Golden Knights: William Karlsson: out (lower body), Carter Hart: out (leg), Jonas Rondbjerg: out (lower body).
Canucks: Thatcher Demko: out for season (hip), Derek Forbort: out (undisclosed), Filip Chytil: out (face).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Though the Golden Knights were able to salvage a point in Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals, defenseman Rasmus Andersson summed it in four words.
"We need two points," said Andersson, who contributed to a four-goal outburst that erased Washington's three-goal lead.
The Capitals took a 3-0 lead early in the second period, but Vegas clawed its way back with four unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead just 31 seconds into the third period.
Former Capital Nic Dowd, Andersson, Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner scored for the Knights, who lost for the 12th time in 16 games since Feb. 27.
""It feels like we're limping along, but parts of our game are really good," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We just got to tie it all together."
The Golden Knights are still in third place in the Pacific Division with 80 points, three behind the streaking second-place Edmonton Oilers and four in front of the Los Angeles Kings.
KEY MOMENT
After a brutal collision with Washington's Aliaksei Protas that sent both players to the locker room with a little more than one minute left in the first period, Dowd returned with stitches above his left eye and ignited Vegas with his first goal as a member of the Golden Knights.
Vegas acquired Dowd from Washington in exchange for goaltender Jesper Vikman, a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Entry Draft on March 5.
"Just felt good to get on the board and hear the building erupt," Dowd said. "You know, feel like you're contributing. As a hockey player, you want to feel like you can contribute to the team, and in that moment, that's how it felt."
KEY STAT
1 ... After outshooting the Capitals 28-17 in regulation, including 12-6 in the first and 10-5 in the second, the Golden Knights managed just one shot on goal in overtime, while the Capitals had four. The Golden Knights are now 8-16 overall in games that have gone past regulation.
WHAT A KNIGHT
Andersson finished with a goal and an assist, giving him 40 points for the season. Andersson followed Dowd's goal to close the gap to one goal when he took a pass from Eichel at the red line, raced through two defenders and around a third before victimizing former Knight Logan Thompson with a backhand-forehand deke.
"There's reason he's a player that he is, and you know, he made a great play," Dowd said about Andersson. "(He) got us into that 3-2 spot, and then the building erupted again. And you could just feel there was energy that we were lacking early."
UP NEXT
The Golden Knights will play their third of a four-game homestand on Monday, when they'll host the Vancouver Canucks.
PHOTO CAPTION: Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) scores against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) during a shoot-out at T-Mobile Arena.
Saturday was another tough night for the Vancouver Canucks as they fell 7-3 to the Calgary Flames. Liam Öhgren and Nils Höglander scored at even strength, while Brock Boeser found the back of the net on the power play. Nikita Tolopilo stopped seven of 11 shots before being pulled in the second for Kevin Lankinen, who made nine saves while facing 12 shots.
The second period was once again the Canucks' Achilles' heel, as the Flames scored four in the middle frame. At this point, it is hard to understand why the second period has been such a problem for Vancouver, as they have now allowed 103 goals through 72 games. While the Canucks will most likely not catch the franchise record of 152 set by the 1984-85 team, there is a chance they could pass second place, which sits at 119.
Shifting over to goaltending, Saturday was a perfect example of why teams should not sit a young goaltender for two weeks straight. Tolopilo struggled with his rebound control and never looked comfortable in the net. At this stage of the season, Vancouver should be splitting the goaltending starts so that Tolopilo can get more game action at the NHL level.
"We gotta be better for Tolo there," said Adam Foote post-game. "I know he probably wanted a couple of those, but little details. The first one, we were too low on the PK. Then we missed two box-outs in a row. Then they got the fourth one, and that fifth one, we were trying to go for a breakaway, pick off a pass on a PK, and that's not the time to do it. Just those little details are going to burn you in a game that wasn't out of control. We let it get away from us early. We kept fighting, but you gotta take care of your end and the details, and we didn't."
Overall, the only real positive was the play of Öhgren, Elias Pettersson and Linus Karlsson. The trio outshot their opponents 8-4 in 13:06 of ice time and connected on the Canucks' first goal. Hopefully, this line will stay together for at least the next few games, as it looked like they had some chemistry on the ice.
Saturday was another example of how far behind Vancouver is from the rest of the group. The Canucks struggled defensively, and despite taking 34 shots, Vancouver managed to beat Dustin Wolf only three times. In the end, Saturday's loss was good for the tank, but, as has been the case most of the season, a difficult performance to watch from a fan perspective.
Mar 28, 2026; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames right wing Adam Klapka (43) get into a scrum with Vancouver Canucks players during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Stats and Facts:
- Canucks become the first team this season to allow 100 goals in the second period
- Vancouver has now allowed a power play goal against in four straight games
- Brock Boeser ties Todd Bertuzzi for fifth on the Canucks all-time power play goals list with 79
- Vancouver allows seven or more goals for the second time this season
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
3:04- CGY: Matt Coronato (17) from Zayne Parekh and Morgan Frost 4:59- CGY: Joel Farabee (17) from Zach Whitecloud and Mikael Backlund 18:53- VAN: Liam Öhgren (8) from Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson
2nd Period:
1:32-CGY: Ryan Strome (6) from Olli Määttä and Yegor Sharangovich 4:36- CGY: Olli Määttä (2) from Ryan Strome and Hunter Brzustewicz 4:47- CGY: Morgan Frost (18) from Matt Coronato and Matvei Gridin 13:36- VAN: Brock Boeser (18) from Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek (PPG) 19:23- CGY: Zayne Parekh (2) from Matt Coronato and Morgan Frost (PPG)
3rd Period:
12:40- VAN: Nils Höglander (2) from Victor Mancini and Zeev Buium 19:52- CGY: Adam Klapka (6) from Brennan Othmann and Hunter Brzustewicz
Up Next:
The Canucks continue their road trip on Monday with a matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. At the time of writing, it is expected that Monday will be Evander Kane's 1000th regular-season game. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
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ST.
LOUIS – If you watched the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs
on Saturday night, there was one obvious observation that could be
made: one team played with desperation and urgency; the other didn’t.
It
was that kind of game for the Blues, who dominated the Leafs in every
facet, except for maybe in goal because Dardenne Prairie’s Joseph
Woll was bombarded with 38 shots to just 13 faced by Jordan
Binnington, and that's no disrespect to Binnington but he simply didn't have to see as much vulcanized rubber on this night ... not nearly as much. And this game was only close in the third period because
of Woll.
The
Blues’ 5-1 win was their fourth straight, they swept the three-game
homestand and are 10-1-2 in their past 13 games.
“It’s
great,” defenseman Cam Fowler said. “Winning in this league is
always fun. No matter how it ends up happening, it gives our group a
lot of momentum. It’s fun coming to the rink when you’re having
some success and guys have smiles on their faces. It’s a humbling
league and that can change quickly. We’re trying to stick with the
right things that have given us that success and trying to keep that
momentum going.”
Dylan
Holloway had a goal and an assist; Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas and
Jake Neighbours each had two assists, and Justin Holl scored against
his former team, Jimmy Snuggerud, Pius Suter and Philip Broberg also
scored for the Blues (31-30-11), who moved over .500 for the first
time since Oct. 21 when they were 3-2-1.
“Playing
with confidence has been big,” Thomas said. “The guys have really
stepped up and taken over on how we want to play. We’re just
playing with a ton of confidence. Our ‘D’ are getting up in the
plays, we’re transitioning so quick, we’re finding the middle.
Our attack off the rush is really dangerous. There’s a lot of
things going well right now, especially when you have so many young
guys coming in. They’ve really stepped up, not only their play but
just showing maturity and stepping up and talking in the room. I
think it’s been really important lately.”
Don't look now, but with the loss by the Nashville Predators, 4-1, against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, the Blues sit four points out of the second wild card in the Western Conference with a game in hand. But they have to jump five teams to gain that position.
Buckle up.
Let’s
get into the game observations:
*
Puck dominance – When I prefaced the first question to Jim
Montgomery by saying that the Blues had the puck “quite a bit,”
the Blues coach jumped in with, “All night long.”
And
he wasn’t far off.
The
38-13 discrepancy in shots on goal was no misnomer. In fact, the shot
attempts were 60-34, and again, had it not been for Woll, the Blues
had this game blown out of the water much sooner than needing to pull
away after things got dicey in the third period when Toronto cut it
to 2-1.
“The
way we played north, the way we played connected,” Montgomery said.
“Our guys were connected in all three zones. Our puck decisions
were really good. We hardly had any turnovers. We made them defend a
lot."
It
prompted Leafs coach and former Blues Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig
Berube to surmise.
“We
had one player that showed up tonight and that was our goalie,”
Berube
said.
“That's what it really boils down to.
“It's
very disappointing. I mean, I thought the last couple of games we
were
pretty
good and we were building. Like
I talk about staying together and playing competitive and we did not
have that out there tonight.”
The
Blues had the puck for large swaths, it was as if they were playing
keep-away with it. It was that advantageous for the home side.
“That's
because we didn't check. We had no pressure,” Berube
said.
“We let them come at us all night. They had the puck all night.
Checking is a will and a want and an urgency. We let them do whatever
they wanted with the puck tonight.”
Woll
kept the Leafs in it for as long as he could, but after denying
Colton Parayko between the hash marks, the Blues regained the zone
pretty quick after that, and Snuggerud once again got things started
with the opening goal at 5:21 that made it 1-0 when Cam Fowler slid
past Max Domi and curled a pass to Snuggerud to redirect past Woll:
“I
came in, ‘Holly’ made a great play and I looked up at the net and
I didn’t see much of a screen so I wasn’t sure if it was a good
opportunity to shoot,” Fowler said. “’Snuggy’ either beat his
man out of the corner and found a spot there. I figured it was better
on his stick than mine. I made the play and he did the rest.”
When
Holloway made it 4-1 at 9:10 of the third period, it was another easy
zone entry after the Blues stick-checked the puck back and moved into
transition, and Kyrou finished off the play by feeding Holloway into
the slot and the finish:
“Well,
it's one of those things where the confidence grows and you see the
success you're having,” Montgomery said. “We're repeating it --
it's like rinse, repeat and go to work the next day. We see it on
film. Guys are believing in how well they're playing together and
being connected. We're changing at the right times. Everything that
we weren't doing correctly we're doing correctly right now.”
*
Holl
gets his revenge … again – Holl doesn’t score often, but when
he does, he likes to stick it to his former club.
It
was his first goal this season in his sixth game and just his second
goal since April 17, 2025, also against the Leafs as a member of the
Detroit Red Wings:
Holl
played for Toronto from 2017-23 before signing with the Red Wings as
a free agent July 1, 2023.
Holl
played 16:21 and was a plus-1 for the third straight game; he’s a
plus-5 in just six games with the Blues after spending the season in
Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.
But
it happened in an area that has been problematic for the Blues all
season long: net front traffic.
“It's
a hard thing to do,” Montgomery said. ‘It's an area of our game
that still needs to improve 5-on-5, but we had two tonight.
Neighbours did it on Holl's deflection. I think their goalies aren't
seeing pucks, so we're scoring more. We're starting to become a
hungrier, dirtier offensive team.”
*
Suter’s goal was a shift of all shifts from Thomas – Suter’s
goal stunted any potential comeback thought from the Leafs when he
scored the team’s sixth shorthanded goal of the season at 6:46 of
the third that made it 3-1.
Suter
started it off by deflecting the first pass, and then it was all
Thomas, who won an airborne loose puck away from John Tavares, took
off down the left hand side before cutting back towards the middle.
He tried throwing a pass to Suter but it got deflected away, but not
taking anything for granted, Thomas outhustled two Leafs (Oliver
Ekman-Larsson and Matthew Knies) to win the puck back in the corner
before flipping it to Suter above the hash marks for the one-timer:
“Playing
with confidence has been big,” Thomas said. “The guys have really
stepped up and taken over on how we want to play. We’re just
playing with a ton of confidence. Our ‘D’ are getting up in the
plays, we’re transitioning so quick, we’re finding the middle.
Our attack off the rush is really dangerous. There’s a lot of
things going well right now, especially when you have so many young
guys coming in. They’ve really stepped up, not only their play but
just showing maturity and stepping up and talking in the room. I
think it’s been really important lately.”
*
Penalty
kill continues to shine – The Leafs were 0-for-3 on the power play
tonight, and quite frankly, the Blues were better playing 4-on-5
against Toronto, especially when the Leafs had a four-minute
power-play courtesy of Jack Finley’s double minor for high-sticking
at 12:41 of the first period.
Not
only did the Leafs not get a shot on goal in those four minutes,
although they did hit a cross bar at the end of it, but they barely
could gain the zone.
St.
Louis’ penalty kill, which was 29th in the league at 73.2 percent
before the Olympic break, is first since starting on Feb. 26, going
37-for-42, good for an 88.1 percent clip.
They’re
still 28th in the league overall but have lifted the season
percentage to 76.4 percent and it’s part of the commitment to
defending that’s led to the resurgence.
“I
think if you look at kind of the DNA of our team, I think that’s
something we always try and put an emphasis on is taking care of our
own zone and transitioning from offense in that way,” Fowler
said.
“If you look at this last little stretch, the amount of goals that
we’re giving up, it’s been good in that regard. One, two goals a
night. Our goaltenders are playing great for us and giving us
opportunities to win games. We know that’s the blueprint for us to
have success and that hasn’t changed. It’s just we’re starting
to find a little more consistency with it now.”
Defense
leads to offense, and it’s showing none better than the balance in
scoring.
“The
commitment to defense, it helps our goalies too,” Snuggerud
said.
“I think we have one of the best goalie corps in the NHL and when
we commit defensively, they’re there for us and they’re making
saves as you guys can see from stellar performances from them back
there. Give them a lot of credit. Defense creates offense. We’re
just trying to create defense to create offense.”
It’s
the fifth straight game the Blues have allowed one or fewer goals,
the second time in the past decade according to league stats (March
19-29, 2016). They could tie a franchise record on Monday against the
San Jose Sharks (Oct. 31-Nov. 15, 1970).
The
power play still needs some work, but Broberg at least for them on
the board there late in the game at 18:24 of the third to make it a
5-1 game, the Blues’ third goal on the man advantage in the past 28
opportunities:
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On Friday evening, the Detroit Red Wings got off to the start that they needed against the Buffalo Sabres with three first-period goals.
24 hours later on home ice against the Philadelphia Flyers, it was back to the familiar, sluggish start that had doomed them earlier in the week against the Ottawa Senators.
The Flyers not only scored on their first shot of the game, but built a 4–0 lead by the early third period, then held off a furious late push from the Red Wings to secure a 5–3 win and hand Detroit another damaging setback.
Had the Red Wings won, they could have leapfrogged the Columbus Blue Jackets, who lost earlier on Saturday to the San Jose Sharks, for the second Wild Card position. Instead, they remain tied at 86 points and are still on the outside looking in at the playoff picture.
Flyers forward Owen Tippett registered a hat trick for the Flyers, the third of his career. He opened the scoring on a first-period breakaway, beating Red Wings goaltender John Gibson through the five-hole.
In the second period, he increased Philadelphia's lead to 2-0 when his shot from the face-off circle squeaked through the pads of Gibson. Noah Cates made it 3-0 soon afterward on the power-play, jamming home a loose puck at the side of the net past a sprawling Gibson.
For the second time in three games, the Red Wings had a would-be goal disallowed because of being offside. This time, a goal from Moritz Seider was taken away after replays showed Alex DeBrincat entered the offensive zone a step too early.
While the Red Wings successfully challenged a would-be Flyers goal early in the third period for offside, Tippett completed the hat trick, a goal that not only chased Gibson from the net but would also eventually prove to be the game-winner.
Mason Appleton scored his first goal in 32 games at 13:43, followed by Alex DeBrincat's 37th of the season at 15:10. With goaltender Cam Talbot on the bench for a sixth attacker, Lucas Raymond fired a shot past Flyers goalie Dan Vladar from the face-off circle just 1:04 later.
The fans who hadn’t already headed for the exits were on their feet, cheering loudly and urging the Red Wings to tie the game.
Unfortunately, the comeback bid was halted after Flyers team captain Sean Couturier hit the open net; Tippett picked up his fourth point of the night with an assist.
Gibson made 17 saves before being pulled for Talbot, who stopped all four shots he faced. Meanwhile, Vladar made 30 saves.
Time is running out for the Red Wings, who have nine games remaining on the schedule and will face the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.
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Utah center Logan Cooley (92) scores past Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper during the first period of the Kings' 6-2 loss Saturday at Crypto.com Arena. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
There is bad news and good news to report on the Kings’ push for a fifth straight playoff berth.
First, the bad.
With a chance to move into a playoff position Saturday, the Kings came out flat and were routed 6-2 by the Utah Mammoth at Crypto.com Arena, leaving them a point out of postseason position.
It was the Kings' most one-sided loss in more than a month, not exactly the way it wanted to start its final sprint to the postseason. And that left coach D.J. Smith with more questions than answers with nine games left in the season.
“We were not sharp in any facet of the game. It's not good enough,” said Smith, after Utah scored two goals on the power play and three in transition.
“We're going to ask ourselves why. Why we weren't ready. What didn't we do? The excuses really don't matter. We’ve got to be way better than we were tonight.”
Saturday’s game was also the first of a seven-game homestand, matching the Kings’ longest in 15 years. But that’s not the advantage it would appear to be since only the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers have been worse at home than the Kings this season.
“I don't know what it is,” Smith said. “Last year we couldn't lose here. Right now, we don't lose very much on the road. That's in your head. People say it's luck. You make your own luck.
“We didn't come ready to play today. And whether it's our building or the road or wherever we played this game, that isn't good enough.”
The Kings are also bucking history since 18 of their losses have come in either overtime or a shootout. Just one team — the 2012 Florida Panthers — have lost that many games after regulation and made the playoffs since the shootout was adopted 21 years ago.
Kings forward Quinton Byfield tries to shoot in front of Utah Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt during the second period Saturday. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
If the Kings had won just half those overtime games, they’d be a point back of the Pacific Division-leading Ducks. Instead, they appear to be going backward at the worst possible time, dropping seven of their last 10 games and nine of 14 since Smith replaced Jim Hiller behind the bench.
And suddenly there’s traffic in their rear-view mirror, with four teams bunched no more than three points behind them in the Western Conference standings.
Despite all that, the Kings took the ice against Utah with a chance to control their own playoff destiny, only to play with little urgency, falling behind for good 2½ minutes after the opening faceoff on the first of two goals by fourth-line winger Alexander Kerfoot.
Kerfoot entered with three goals on the season and nearly doubled that in two periods against the Kings. For a team with everything to play for, the Kings looked distracted and disinterested.
“I don't know what it was,” defenseman Drew Doughty said. “There's no excuses for the way we performed.”
Now for the good news — and there is some.
Despite the loss, the Kings are still just a point out of the second wild-card berth — with two of their final six regular-season home games coming against Nashville, the team that currently owns that final playoff berth. Win those two, and the Kings are back in the driver’s seat.
“We're still in the thick of things,” said captain Anze Kopitar, whose career ends when the Kings’ season does. “We're not out by any means. But we're going to have to play much better.”
Added Doughty: “Take it one [game] at a time and win every one.”
A wild-card is no longer the Kings’ only — or even clearest — path to the postseason, however. The Vegas Golden Knights, the team directly ahead of the Kings in the Pacific Division standings, have lost six of their last 10, whittling their lead to four points over the Kings in the battle for the division’s third and final postseason berth.
Pass them and the Kings will likely face the Edmonton Oilers — again — in the first round of the playoffs. The opportunities are there for the taking. But the Kings need to play like they want them.
“We've got three days to figure it out, and then we've got nine games [left],” Smith said. “We're going to turn the page and find a way to be better for the next one. It's got to be a playoff mentality.
“You can't dwell on it. You’ve got to move on. But you’ve got to get better and you have to learn from why we lost the way we lost tonight."
The upcoming interdivisional matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders on Monday was always going to be a big one, as the two teams are jousting for playoff positioning in the Metropolitan Division standings.
And, after Saturday's game versus the Dallas Stars - and the Islanders' tilt against the Florida Panthers - that game looms even larger.
The Penguins lost in regulation to the Stars, 6-3, in a game that was much closer than the score or the shot totals indicate. The loss kept them at 88 points, but they were leapfrogged by the Islanders for second place in the Metro after the Isles scored four unanswered goals in the second period against Florida and came away with the 5-2 regulation win.
Of course, every game is big at this time of year when you're trying to make the playoffs. But the Penguins are well aware of how big Monday's game is now, as the Penguins sit one point back of the Isles with a game in hand and just one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who lost in regulation to the San Jose Sharks Saturday.
"I think if we're not getting up for that one, I think there's something wrong," Bryan Rust said. "I think we all know what's on the line there. I think it's going to be a fun, playoff-type game, and I think we've got to go there and be ready."
This one started out well for the Penguins, who were dominating possession early on in this game. They jumped out to an 1-0 lead a little more than two minutes into the game courtesy of a power play goal from Anthony Mantha, who deflected an Erik Karlsson shot from the point.
But, after that goal - and after some sustained five-on-five pressure, as the Stars didn't register their first shot on goal until after the midway point of the period - the Penguins started to run into some costly penalty trouble, and the back-and-forth started.
They were able to kill off a few penalties - including 37 seconds of a five-on-three opportunity - before closing out the first period. But the Stars cashed in five-on-five two minutes into the second period when Justin Hryckowian got one past Stuart Skinner to tie the game.
However, Erik Karlsson responded just 48 seconds later in the form of a top-shelf wrister from the slot - his ninth goal and 23rd point in 15 games during the month of March, which is second in the league only to Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (26 points) - to give the Penguins back the lead at 2-1.
That's NINE multi-point games in the month of March for Erik Karlsson 🤯
Karlsson is the sixth defenseman in NHL history to record nine multi-point games in a single month, joining Bobby Orr (10 in Dec. 1974 & 9 in March 1973), Cale Makar (9 in Nov. 2023), Paul Coffey (9 in Jan.… pic.twitter.com/Jm3syOQ7gQ
And that's when things started to go downhill. Parker Wotherspoon took a tripping penalty less than six minutes into the middle frame, and Jason Robertson scored his 40th goal of the season on the ensuing man advantage to knot things back up at 2-2. And just a couple of minutes after Robertson's goal, Elmer Soderblom took a high-sticking penalty to send the Penguins back to the PK.
Once again, Dallas - who has the second-ranked power play in the league - took advantage. Mikko Rantanen - playing in his first game since being injured during the Olympics - put home a one-timer from the right circle to give Dallas its first lead - a lead they wouldn't surrender.
Dallas's fourth goal came just a minute and a half later, but not without some controversy. Stars' defenseman Lian Bichsel took Karlsson's stick out of his hand near the goal line, tossed it aside, and made his way to the point as Karlsson was screaming at the official for missing the call. Bichsel took a feed from Mavrik Bourque and one-timed it into the net behind Skinner, drawing the wrath of Karlsson in the aftermath, and made it 4-2.
Bichsel GRABBED Karlsson's stick, dropped it and then ripped home a goal 😭🚨
But, the Penguins got a little bit of momentum off of a Jamie Benn holding penalty in the first half of the third period, and they were rewarded when Elmer Soderblom shot a puck toward the net from the right wall, and it hit Noel Acciari on the way in for Acciari's 10th of the season to make it 4-3.
With Pittsburgh beginning to push a bit with three and a half minutes to go, head coach Dan Muse decided to pull Skinner a bit early, which ended up backfiring. Bourque scored an empty-netter shortly after, and he added a second one two minutes later to give Dallas the 6-2 win.
"I thought we had an opportunity, we were in-zone, and we had it," Muse said. "I know I didn't have the timeout, but still felt like we wanted to make sure we had time to operate and time to get in there."
Here are some brief thoughts and takeaways from this one:
- The Penguins have seen several calls, and fairly obvious ones, go against them in recent games.
The non-call on Bichsel ahead of Dallas's fourth goal was the most egregious, I think, that I've seen all season long. And it is up there with the most egregious calls/non-calls I've seen throughout the league this season.
Referee Michael Markovic was standing right there and saw the entire thing unfold. On a hot mic - which included Karlsson screaming all the air out of his lungs - he appeared to confirm that he saw the play happen.
Erik Karlsson was visibly frustrated that there was no penalty called after Lian Bichsel took his stick and scored. pic.twitter.com/qIzoQqY9TD
You cannot grab an opposing player's stick, let alone force it from their hands and throw it away from them. It's in the rule book. Yet, it happened, and Bichsel's goal ended up being the game-winner.
"We saw what happened," Karlsson said about the play in the post-game. "I don't think it does me any good, or us any good, by standing here and having excuses or pointing fingers. We all watched the same game."
In his post-game presser, Muse was asked if officiating - whether goaltender interference or penalty calls and non-calls - is something that the Penguins will just have to overcome to make the playoffs, and if it's just something he's "numb to."
"Yeah, we've got refocus in on what we can control," Muse said. "I don't think anybody's going to walk out of today feeling good about our game. Like, we've got to be better. Again, it's all of us - myself included - but the things that we have zero control over, we're not going to waste our time on that.
"We're going to focus in on our game and what we can do to, right now, it's going to be tomorrow [to] prepare for going to New York."
- Although it felt like the Penguins had more than 12 shots in this game - 24 were blocked by Dallas - it simply was not enough. They mustered exactly four shots on goal per period.
Honestly, the Penguins carried most of the play at five-on-five in this one. It was a matter of not being able to generate enough offense when given the opportunity.
"Being in the box a lot didn't help," Rust said. "Against a team like that who plays hard defensively, I think we passed up too many opportunities to shoot. And, when we did shoot, I think they did a really good job of getting in shooting lanes where we either shot wide or got our shots blocked.
"And, I guess, moving forward against a lot of really good teams, we're going to, hopefully, be playing playoff hockey... that's what you've got to do because there's not going to be a lot of space."
- Even if calls didn't swing in their favor Saturday, the Penguins' penalty kill is a legitimate problem right now.
The unit has now surrendered a goal on seven of the last 15 opportunities against. It's clear that the team is missing Blake Lizotte - as he is their best penalty-killer, and the Penguins went into a funk the last time Lizotte was injured, too - but they have to find a way to get back to basics. Right now, they're giving PPs too much time and space, and they're not getting in enough lanes to shut down opportunities. There are also too many cases of failed clearing attempts in a general sense.
I do think the PK will find its footing again, but it has to happen fast - and it has to happen without Lizotte, who isn't even scheduled to be reevaluated until the final week of the regular season.
Also, the Penguins can't keep going back to the box like they did against Dallas. It disrupted what they had going at five-on-five, and given the struggles of their penalty kill at the moment, they need to play a more disciplined brand of hockey.
Mar 28, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) moves the puck between Pittsburgh Penguins center Tommy Novak (18) and defenseman Parker Wotherspoon (28) during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
- It was interesting to see how Muse played with the lines on Saturday. In the third period, he came out with entirely different combinations than he started the game with, and for the first time, Ben Kindel got a look as the first-line center.
He had Kindel centering Rickard Rakell and Rust, Tommy Novak centering Anthony Mantha and Egor Chinakhov (who had a rare off-night), Connor Dewar centering Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty, and Noel Acciari in the middle of Elmer Soderblom and Justin Brazeau.
Kindel helped generate some opportunity, and I thought he played a pretty good game overall. He started on a "kid line" with Koivunen and McGroarty - and they had some opportunities earlier in the game - but those two didn't generate too much in this one.
And they aren't getting it, period. Mantha, Chinakhov, Karlsson, Rakell, Crosby, and Rust have accounted for 16 out of the Penguins' last 18 goals. And Crosby, Rust, and Mantha only have one each.
So, essentially, the Penguins are pretty heavily relying on scoring from three people right now, and that is not going to be enough if they expect to make the playoffs. Novak has been the team's second-line center for the better part of the second half, and if he is to stay in that post, he needs to produce. And Brazeau, honestly, could be fighting Soderblom for a spot in the lineup once everyone is healthy, should his drought continue.
I actually think it might make sense to keep Rakell as first-line center right now, along with Rust and Chinakhov, as that line had been pretty lethal when put together a few times. But I'd have Kindel center a second line with Mantha and, perhaps, McGroarty, and allow Novak to find his game again in a third-line center role.
But, there are no easy lineup decisions - especially at center - when the team is as depleted down the middle as this one is. So, this is probably going to continue to be a situation where Muse will throw everything at the wall just to see what sticks.
- Luckily for the Penguins, the Blue Jacket and Detroit Red Wings both lost in regulation. Since the Isles won earlier, had both of those teams won in regulation, the Penguins would have been pushed out a playoff spot.
Again, the game on Monday against New York is massive. It's probably the biggest game the Penguins have played in a couple of years, and then, they have to turn around and play another big game against the Red Wings on Tuesday.
Not every game is a must-win, and this one against Dallas was not. However, if there are two "must-win" games in the final nine games of the regular season for the Penguins, it's these two.
So, buckle up, folks. These next two games are going to be playoff-style hockey with the involvement of three desperate teams.
After beginning their crucial seven-game homestand tonight against the Utah Mammoth (38-30-6), the Los Angeles Kings (29-25-18) were very disappointing as they were run out of their building by the road team on Saturday, 6-2.
Utah jumped out to a fast start in the first period, holding a commanding 2-0 lead, before the Kings scored their first goal of the game to cut the deficit to one. Center Logan Cooley led the Mammoth to a big start, scoring a pair of goals plus a power play goal to give Utah a 3-1 lead to end the first period.
LA was still in it, but played a terrible first period and followed that up with an even worse second period, giving up two goals, trailing 5-1 after 40 minutes on ice. The Mammoth set the tone with its shotmaking and speed from the start to take this game from the Kings.
The result was that nothing was going right for LA. It was one of those games where they couldn't get anything going, and Utah was bullying them for much of the night.
Utah opened the game scoring a pair of goals, led by Logan Cooley and Alexander Kerfoot, who both ended the night with two goals, driving Utah's offense in the dominant win.
However, Los Angeles responded just over a minute later with Anze Kopitar redirecting the shot from Adrian Kempe to put it through the net. The crowd erupted, and new life entered the ice, looking like the Kings would build on that momentum.
LAK Goal - Kop-i-tip!
Kings stop the bleeding with a massive goal by the captain. Kempe shot, Kopitar redirect, 2-1.
But the road team responded again, with Cooley scoring his second goal in the period after a magnificent play to score the goal while falling down, to put Utah back up by two.
It was the first time in almost a week that Los Angeles allowed multiple goals in the first period, and it was also against the Mammoth on March 22, when they lost 4-3 in overtime.
Neither team could score early in the second period until Utah scored two goals in a span of four minutes at the 3:43 minute mark to take a 5-1 lead, led by Kerfoot scoring his second goal of the game after a failed defensive read by Drew Doughty.
LA was very bad in this period, despite outshooting the visiting team 8-4; they were being outplayed by miles in this game. The defense and goaltending were so bad that Darcy Kuemper was benched for Anton Forsberg to begin the third period.
The Kings did not know how to defend Utah's fast-break rushes or the power play, which the Mammoth finished 2/3 on, while Los Angeles was 0/2.
Adrian Kempe scored five minutes into the final period to give Los Angeles some momentum, finishing with a multi-point game. Clearly, he was the biggest bright side for the Kings, but it wasn't enough to stage a comeback after going down big early on.
LAK Goal - Kempe on the board 4:34 into the third period. Center point, through traffic, multi-point game for him. Kings within 5-2.
Utah closed the night by securing an empty-net goal to take an impressive road win, 6-2. With the loss, the Kings now lose the tiebreaker over the Mammoth, having lost twice in their three meetings this season.
Aside from Kopitar and Kempe, who scored the only two goals for Los Angeles, no other Kings were much of a factor offensively. With the defense already being an issue, the offensive struggles made it difficult for the team to stay in this game.
The Mammoth blew the game on the backs of their Cooley and Kerfoot, who combined for four goals and four points, to run the Kings off their home ice.
Key Stats
Kempe had a very good game, recording two points and one goal, while Kopitar notched one goal. The only good news for Los Angeles is that both Nashville and Seattle lost today, so the Kings still have a point lead over the Kraken and are one point behind the Predators for the final playoff spot.
The Kings' next matchup will be against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday at 6:00 PM PT.
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As their push for a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs carries onward, the Philadelphia Flyers could soon find themselves welcoming reinforcements to the fold.
With Michigan State falling at the hands of Wisconsin in a 4-3 overtime loss, Porter Martone's first and only season in the NCAA has come to an end.
Now, all eyes are on the 2025 No. 6 overall pick, as he is widely expected to join the Flyers at the NHL level for the remainder of this season... once he signs an entry-level contract.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman believes the deal between Martone and the Flyers could be done as early as within the day.
"Wisconsin, they upset Michigan State tonight. I got a few notes from people who were covering that game that, keep an eye on Porter Martone," Friedman said in his latest "Saturday Headlines" segment for Sportsnet.
"People just said this one could move very quickly. That'll be something to keep an eye on over the next 24 to 48 hours."
Martone, 19, finished an impressive NCAA campaign with 25 goals, 25 assists, and 50 points in just 35 games, ending the season with six- and seven-game point streaks, respectively.
The Peterborough, Ontario, native's 1.43 points per game rank fourth in the nation, trailing only Gavin McKenna, T.J. Hughes, and Ethan Wyttenbach.
Only Wyttenbach was more efficient, and more productive offensively (59 points), amongst D+1 collegiate skaters.
It is important to note that, when Martone signs his entry-level contract with the Flyers, he will immediately burn one of the three years.
This is a common practice in the NHL these days, but understandably always harkens back to the Cutter Gauthier debacle.
Last season, prospect Alex Bump opted to finish his season on an AHL tryout with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms instead of wasting a year of his contract.
The Flyers will host the Dallas Stars at Xfinity Mobile Arena at 7 p.m. Sunday night, and while Martone and Michigan played fairly close by in Worcester, Mass., a quick turnaround and NHL debut would be a considerable feat for a player jumping from amateur hockey to the big leagues.
That said, Martone's NHL and Flyers debut is imminent.
Another slow start bled into the rest of the game in the Nashville Predators' 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.
Zach L'Heureux scored the Predators' lone goal of the night in the third period, putting away a bounce off the backboards.
The Predators were outshot 9-3 in the first 20 minutes of the game and saw Ivan Demidov score to give Montreal a 1-0 lead that it was able to build upon for the rest of the game.
"The urgency level's got to rise all over the ice," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. "We didn't execute. If you don't execute against a team like that, who is fast, young and hungry, you're chasing it, and you play slow. We played slow a lot of the night."
Oliver Kapanen scored in the second period as Alex Newhook got Juuse Saros down with a sliding fake shot. Newhook found Kapanen in front and he scored into an empty net.
Cole Caufield netted his 45th goal of the season later in the period and now has three points on three goals in two games against the Predators this season. Newhook scored in the second as well and finished the night with two points.
Nick Suzuki had two points off two assists and is now tied for eighth in the league scoring race with 88 points on the year.
Luke Evangelista took a goaltender interference penalty in the first period, running into Jacob Fowler while driving to the net. That set off the Canadiens for the rest of the night as he drew two roughing penalties.
"That's part of the game, with everything that went down there," Evangelista said. "I figured I'd draw some attention myself, and they just kept coming after me. I just figured I would just kind of ride it out, keep soaking it, and just keep getting power plays for the boys."
Nashville's power play struggled, going 0-for-3 against the 27th-ranked penalty kill in the NHL.
"We threw pucks away, and we weren't sharp," Brunette said on the power play effort. "Those are big moments in the game. I know Halsey (Erik Haula) hit the post, but you get one there that you're back in the game, but then the third goal broke your back."
Saros made 28 saves on 32 shots in his 20th loss of the season.
The Predators are clinging on to the final Wild Card spot with 77 points and will need the Los Angeles Kings to lose to the Utah Mammoth on Saturday to stay there.
Nashville has a quick turnaround as it'll face the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road on Sunday at 4 p.m. CST.
"We've just got to forget it and move on," Brunette said. "It's something we've been doing all year. We're still in it, and the urgency level has to rise."
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and an assist to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Shayne Gostisbehere, Jackson Blake, Jordan Staal and Seth Jarvis also scored for the Hurricanes, who won for the fourth time in five games. Brandon Bussi stopped 17 shots to win his second straight start after losing his previous three.
Timo Meier and Evgenii Dadonov scored for New Jersey and Jacob Markstrom had 29 saves. It was only the second loss in seven games for the Devils.
Ehlers, who has seven goals and 10 assists in 13 games this month, fueled a three-goal second period for the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes signed Ehlers to a six-year, $51 million contract in the offseason.
After not scoring a goal in the first 11 games of the season, Ehlers has 23 goals in 61 games. The 30-year-old left wing spent the first 10 seasons of his NHL career with Winnipeg. He has found a role in Carolina on a checking line with Staal, the Hurricanes’ captain, and gritty veteran winger Jordan Martinook.
Ehlers’ power-play goal at 10:10 of the second period tied the game at 1-1. Blake fooled New Jersey defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler on a goal that gave Carolina a 2-1 lead at 13:48. Ehlers set up Staal at 15:13 to make it 3-1.
Gostisbehere returned after a nine-game absence due to a lower-body injury. He added a goal at 15:25 in the third and Jarvis tacked on an empty-net goal.
Meier finished a pretty play by Dawson Mercer to give New Jersey a 1-0 after the first period.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and assist to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Shayne Gostisbehere, Jackson Blake, Jordan Staal and Seth Jarvis also scored for the Hurricanes, who won for the fourth time in five games. Brandon Bussi stopped 17 shots to win his second straight start after losing his previous three.
Timo Meier and Evgenii Dadonov scored for New Jersey and Jacob Markstrom had 29 saves. It was only the second loss in seven games for the Devils.
Ehlers, who has has seven goals and 10 assists in 13 games this month, fueled a three-goal second period for the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes signed Ehlers to a six-year, $51 million contract in the offseason.
After not scoring a goal in the first 11 games of the season, Ehlers has 23 goals in 61 games. The 30-year-old left wing spent the first 10 seasons of his NHL career with Winnipeg. He has found a role in Carolina on a checking line with Staal, the Hurricanes’ captain, and gritty veteran winger Jordan Martinook.
Ehlers’ power-play goal at 10:10 of the second period tied the game at 1-1. Blake fooled New Jersey defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler on a goal that gave Carolina a 2-1 lead at 13:48. Ehlers set up Staal at 15:13 to make it 3-1.
Gostisbehere returned after a nine-game absence due to lower-body injury. He added a goal at 15:25 in the third and Jarvis tacked on an empty-net goal.
Meier finished a pretty play by Dawson Mercer to give New Jersey a 1-0 after the first period.
If there is one position the Pittsburgh Penguins have plenty of depth at, it's the goaltending position.
And one of their prospects set a franchise record on Friday.
Taylor Gauthier - starting goaltender for the Wheeling Nailers, Pittsburgh's ECHL affiliate - led the Nailers to a 4-0 win on Friday night against the Worcester Railers, which brings Wheeling's number to clinch a berth in the Kelly Cup playoffs down to one. With the win, Gauthier, 25, broke Wheeling's all-time franchise record for wins (67) and shutouts (10).
Wheeling will play Worcester again on Saturday, getting a chance to clinch with a win.
With last night’s win, Taylor Gauthier is now not only the winningest goalie in Wheeling history, but also the leader in shutouts. We are incredibly proud, as he has been a phenomenal person and player for this organization.
Gauthier began the 2025-26 season on injured reserve, but ever since his return to the lineup, he's been lights-out. In 29 games this season, he is 17-7-5 with a 1.94 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. So far, this is Gauthier's third-consecutive ECHL season of boasting a save percentage of at least .923 - and he posted that save percentage in 2023-24, when he won ECHL Goaltender of the Year.
Brennan Othmann will appear in his first NHL game since being traded by the New York Rangers on Mar. 6 in exchange for Jacob Battaglia.
The Flames called up Othmann from the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League on Saturday, and he will play for the Flames on Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury once thought highly of Othmann, given that he was his first draft pick as president and general manager of the Rangers.
Despite the high expectations placed on Othmann upon being drafted, his game never quite translated to the NHL level in New York, and his play was inconsistent in the American Hockey League as well.
The 23-year-old forward spent the past two seasons getting sent up and down from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL to the NHL, struggling to carve out a permanent role with the Rangers.
Over the past two seasons with the Rangers, Othmann has played a total of 39 NHL games, recording one goal, two assists, and three points.
Ahead of his Flames debut, Othmann reflected on his time with the Blueshirts and confirmed that he sought out a trade early on in the season, while expressing his excitement to get a fresh start in Calgary.
“With the Rangers and that organization, I just never really got going, I just never really got an opportunity I felt like,” Othmann said. “They have a lot of high-end talent players at both right and left wing, so it was kind of hard to crack your way into that lineup over the last few years.
“I thought it was time for a change and kind of made the decision at the start of the year and the process went on the whole season. Getting that call on the deadline day was obviously super exciting. It’s not like I didn’t want to play for the Rangers, I just wanted a fresh opportunity, fresh eyes, and a fresh organization to look at me.”
In 10 games with the Wranglers, Othmann has recorded five assists.
The Hockey News' main site revealed players 11 to 20 for their latest top 100 NHL-affiliated prospect rankings. Two Buffalo Sabres prospects made this latest batch: forward Konsta Helenius and defenseman Radim Mrtka.
Helenius was given the No. 12 spot by THN, and it makes sense when noting that he has a ton of potential. The 19-year-old forward has taken a nice step forward with his play this season in the AHL with the Rochester Americans. In 51 games this campaign with the AHL squad, he has recorded 18 goals, 32 assists, and 50 points.
Helenius also played in his first nine career NHL games earlier this season, where he had one goal and four points. With this, the 2024 first-round pick has already shown promise at the NHL level.
As for Mrtka, he was given the No. 15 spot by THN. The 18-year-old defenseman played in 43 regular season games this season in the WHL with the Seattle Thunderbirds, where he had one goal and 34 points. He also played in four games earlier this season with the Amerks, posting one assist and seven points.
Mrtka is a prospect with a lot of potential and should be an impactful defenseman at the NHL level later down the road.
