The Vegas Golden Knights are the champions of what might be the most anticlimactic race of all time. With a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday, they clinched their fifth Pacific Division title in franchise history.

Connor McDavid’s words were truth disguised as jest– this year, teams in the Pacific Division have done nothing but squander opportunities to pull ahead in the race to claim the division title. It took until day 190 of the NHL season for a team to pull ahead and stake its claim on the Pillow Fight Division title.

“We were on top there for a while, for a lot of the season,” said Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb. “Then we’re in third, flirting with a wildcard. We found our game at the right time and won the division. That’s what we wanted to do, and we did it.”

For the first 30 minutes of play, it didn’t look like the Golden Knights were particularly interested in winning said division. It took them nearly nine minutes to record their first shot on goal; the Kraken recorded nine shots before Vegas managed two. But after an encouraging power play opportunity, Seattle only outshot the Golden Knights 11-6 at the end of the first period.

But despite being thoroughly outshot– and arguably outplayed– the Golden Knights entered the second period with a clean slate and a 0-0 tie.

Both teams recorded nine shots on goal in the second period, and the Golden Knights generated three high-danger scoring chances against Seattle’s two.

The Kraken broke the ice 2:24 into the second period. Carter Hart kicked out Jamie Oleksiak’s blast from the point, and Jani Nyman beat Jeremy Lauzon to the puck. Nyman found Shane Wright all alone in front of the net, and Wright fired it home.

Jani Nyman beats Lauzon to the puck and finds Shane Wright alllllll alone in front of the net.

1-0, Kraken

pic.twitter.com/5uD4SP862n

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 16, 2026

The Golden Knights netted the equalizer at 17:35 in the second. Nic Dowd won the offensive zone draw, and Shea Theodore beat Nikke Kokko with a shot through Reilly Smith’s screen.

Nic Dowd with the face off win, Reilly Smith with the screen, Theodore with the snipe.

1-1

pic.twitter.com/lUQRDMFZCy

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 16, 2026

Finally, the ice opened up in the third period. The Golden Knights outshot the Kraken 12-4 and controlled 91.39% of the expected goal share. They also generated nine high-danger scoring chances while not allowing Seattle to manage a single one.

The Golden Knights took their first lead of the night just 1:23 into the third period off another face-off play. Jack Eichel won the offensive zone draw back to Brayden McNabb, who walked the line and fired a shot on goal. As McNabb’s shot came through, Mitch Marner redirected it home from the slot.

Brayden McNabb with the shot, Mitch Marner with the surgical redirection!

2-1, Golden Knights

pic.twitter.com/y460WS9fm3

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 16, 2026

The Golden Knights extended their lead at 12:01 in the third. Jack Eichel capitalized on a blown coverage in the offensive zone and set up a two-on-one. Rasmus Anderson got the pass across for Reilly Smith, who slammed a fluttering puck into the empty net.

Reilly Smith scores on a two-on-one and Lane Lambert looks like he is NOT having a good time tonight.#SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/AFrjfNNcN7

— 𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙮 𝙅𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨' 𝙇𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙢 (@DavyJonesLR) April 16, 2026

The Golden Knights added another on a delayed penalty at 16:36. Tomáš Hertl fired a shot on goal; Kaedan Korczak, who was parked atop the crease, whacked at the rebound. The puck came loose, and Reilly Smith banged in his second of the night from the goal line.

Kaedan Korczak is in front of the net whacking at Tomáš Hertl’s rebound, and Reilly Smith scores his second of the night on the delayed penalty.

4-1, Golden Knights

pic.twitter.com/lpzm5Z6wLP

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 16, 2026

Nothing this year has been easy for the Golden Knights, and this game was no different.

“We just slowly went about our business and finally found our game,” said head coach John Tortorella following the 4-1 win. “You’d almost want to play one of those before the playoffs, if you knew the result was going to be a win– they don’t like being in it when it’s going on. But give our guys a lot of credit, they stayed with it and just kept on playing. They’ve grabbed hold of it. We have found some consistency, and they feel more and more comfortable with it.”

Three Takeaways of the Knight

1. Despite playing without much intensity in the first period, the Golden Knights entered the first intermission tied at zero. Despite having nothing to play for, the Kraken took advantage of Vegas’ uninspired play and shelled Carter Hart in the first period. Shea Theodore raved about his goaltender postgame:

“He’s been great,” Theodore said following the 4-1 win. “He’s been so solid. I think we’ve given up too many chances, but he’s been big back there. He’s been a backbone ever since he came back.”

2. The team is fully bought in right now, and no one embodies that more than Reilly Smith. He’s been in and out of the lineup for a chunk of the season, but he’s never let that affect his work ethic or attitude around the locker room.

“We have high expectations, and we try to live that every day,” said Smith after his two-goal performance. “Through the organization, the players, everyone, tries to live up to that level. Every day we’re at the rink, we don’t accept losing, and I think the last couple of weeks are a good testament to that.”

3. And with that, the 2026 regular season comes to a close for the Vegas Golden Knights. They’ll kick off the postseason this weekend at home against the Utah Mammoth.

When asked if he had any early thoughts about their playoff opponent, John Tortorella simply replied:

“Nope.”

That’s all, folks! 

The Ottawa Senators polished off their 2025-26 NHL regular season with a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night at Canadian Tire Centre. The game meant nothing in the standings, but as any Senators fan will tell you, there’s never a bad time to beat the Leafs.

Drake Batherson, Warren Foegele, Dylan Cozens had the goals for Ottawa, while Claude Giroux added two assists and James Reimer made 19 saves. The Senators went 2-for-3 on the power play and outshot the Leafs, 38-20.

The Senators got the victory, despite resting five of their top players, including Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Michael Amadio, Thomas Chabot, and Jake Sanderson.

They also had nothing to play for.

“I think since we found out who we’re playing in the first round, most of us are just thinking about that, to be honest,” Batherson said. “Obviously, you want to go out there and play well, but it’s tough when you know this weekend you’re playing Game 1.”

William Nylander had the lone goal for Toronto, pulling the Leafs within one midway through the third before Cozens sealed it with an empty-netter on a 2 on 0. He dished the puck off to Shane Pinto to score on the empty net, but Pinto gave it right back to him. 

The Senators finish the regular season with 99 points. The last time they hit that mark was 2015, the year of the famous Hamburglar run. The last time they surpassed the 99-point mark was in 2007, when they advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Final for the only time in their history so far.

Despite missing the final two games, Stützle led the team offensively with 34 goals, 49 assists, and 83 points. Having just turned 24 in January, he's only now entering his prime.

Ottawa may not have a 100-point scorer, but they boasted a fine balanced attack this season, with 13 different players recording 30 or more points.

Toronto, meanwhile, closes out the season on a five-game losing streak, finishing the season 21 points behind the Senators. A disappointing campaigfn after winning the Atlantic Division last year.

As for the Senators, they head to the postseason once again, set to face the Carolina Hurricanes, the top seed in the Eastern Conference. It marks the first ever playoff meeting between the two franchises.

Games 1 and 2 will be played in Raleigh, with dates and time still to be announced. We do know that some of the Stanley Cup Playoff series are set to begin as early as Saturday night. 

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins will open in Buffalo against the Sabres, the Montreal Canadiens will visit the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Philadelphia Flyers will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Full schedule details are expected to be released Thursday.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mitch Marner broke a third-period tie and the Vegas Golden Knights won the Pacific Division for the fifth time in their nine-year history, beating the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Wednesday night to close the regular season.

Two points ahead of Edmonton entering the night, Vegas needed only a point to win the Pacific and set up a first-round series against Utah. Edmonton will finish play Thursday night at home against Vancouver.

Reilly Smith had two late goals, Shea Theodore also scored and Carter Hart made 22 saves to help Vegas win its third straight. The Golden Knights finished 39-26-17, going 7-0-1 since John Tortorella took over as coach for the fired Bruce Cassidy.

Shane Wright scored for Seattle, and Nikke Kokko stopped 22 shots. The Kraken have lost two straight to fall to 34-36-11 with a game left Thursday night at Colorado.

Marner gave Vegas a 2-1 lead at 1:23 of the third. Off a faceoff, defenseman Brayden McNabb took a long, straightaway shot that Marner tipped in for his 24th goal of the season.

Theodore tied it with 2:25 left in the second. The defenseman got the puck at the right point off a faceoff, moved to the top of the circle and fired a wrist shot past Kokko's glove.

Wright opened the scoring at 2:24 of the second after missing the previous eight games because of an upper-body injury.

Golden Knights captain Mark Stone played his 400th game for the franchise.

Up next

Kraken: At Colorado on Thursday night.

Golden Knights: Host Utah in the first round of the playoffs.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks hosted their season finale at the United Center by welcoming the San Jose Sharks. Neither team is going to the playoffs, but there is always going to be hype around a Connor Bedard vs Macklin Celebrini matchup. 

Before the game began, the Blackhawks announced an extension for General Manager Kyle Davidson. Danny Wirtz made it known while on CHSN's Blackhawks pregame show. 

Blackhawks Chairman Danny Wirtz Announces Contract Extension For GM Kyle DavidsonChicago Blackhawks chairman Danny Wirtz announced a contract extension for GM Kyle Davidson.

The game had a rough start for the Blackhawks. They were outshot 7-3, hardly had the puck, and didn't do much when they did. It took them over half the period to even get one shot on goal. 

They were fortunate to only be down 1-0. At 5:17 of the second period, Michael Misa scored a power play goal to make it 2-0 Sharks. From there, however, the Blackhawks started to play much better. In fact, they played better from that point on than they did at any point in the prior two weeks. 

With just 30 seconds remaining in the second period, Sam Rinzel put his team within one. His seeing-eye shot found its way through Yaroslav Askarov, and the Blackhawks cut their deficit in half going into the second intermission. 

In the third period, the Blackhawks scored four straight goals courtesy of Louis Crevier (twice), Ryan Greene, and Nick Lardis. That 5-2 score held as the final. 

The Blackhawks end their 2025-26 season with a record of 29-39-14 for 72 points, which is an 11-point improvement from a year ago. 

Louis Crevier deserves the extra individual credit on this night. Not only did he have the two goals, but his defensive work against some elite players was noticeable. On the penalty kill, he was blocking shots, getting in the way of passes, and using his big frame to his advantage. 

Macklin Celebrini didn't have a point. The Sharks only have two wins when he doesn't find the scoresheet all year, so shutting him down played a key role in the win. Louis Crevier's pair with Alex Vlasic played flawlessly against his line.

It took some time for the Blackhawks to get going in this game, but they dug deep and pulled one out in front of their home fans one last time. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

ending the second in style 😎 pic.twitter.com/Ft1uaBypY8

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 16, 2026

CONNOR FOUND LOUIS‼️ pic.twitter.com/bwWXOvWEdw

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 16, 2026

GREENER GOALS IN BACK👏TO👏BACK👏TO👏BACK GAMES 💚 pic.twitter.com/SpNT24Hwg4

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 16, 2026

CREV WITH 2 GOALS IN THE THIRD🫡 pic.twitter.com/UidlwYvLY4

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 16, 2026

hey we’re up 5-2‼️‼️‼️ https://t.co/vTX5RGri82pic.twitter.com/7m7iaMgWOu

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 16, 2026

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Chicago Blackhawks’ season is now over. Ahead for them is another off-season of building for the future. The Blackhawks have the second best odds at winning the lottery, which will take place on May 5th, 2026. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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.

TAMPA BAY, Fla. — The Rangers capped the 2025-26 season with a 4-2 win over a pseudo Lightning team that rested some of their top players for the playoffs ahead.

“That sucks,” captain J.T. Miller told The Post of finishing his first campaign as captain under such circumstances before the game Wednesday morning. “It’s the only reason you want to play, compete for the trophy. And so we didn’t achieve our goal. We failed there.”

This failed season didn’t just earn the Blueshirts an early summer for the second year a row.

It prompted an organizational redirection and reassessment that took precedence over the last three months. The reconstruction work has already begun, but maximizing the offseason — NHL draft, free agency, etc. — will be pivotal in moving the needle as the Rangers strive to redefine the team and return to contending status quickly.

After Wednesday’s win, the Rangers’ final draft lottery odds are now in the Flames’ hands. If Calgary defeats the Kings in their season finale Thursday night, the Rangers will secure the third-best odds to win the top-overall pick in the draft lottery May 5.

A Flames loss would bump the Blueshirts down to the fourth-best odds.

While fans dreamed off potentially drafting projected first-overall pick Gavin McKenna, the Rangers went 6-4 in their last 10 games of the season. Fun returned to a locker room that had been starved of it since before last season.

Rookies like Gabe Perreault, Adam Sykora, Dylan Garand and Jaroslav Chmelar gave the final weeks meaning in more ways than one.

Perreault scored his 12th goal of the season in the second period, when he flung the puck through traffic to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead.

The goal tied Perreault with the Blues’ Dalibor Dvorsky and the Wild’s Danila Yurov, who both played over 70 games this season compared to the Rangers rookie’s 40.

The Rangers top line with Perreault, Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière has been a sort of revelation in recent weeks — one that head coach Mike Sullivan will no doubt continue exploring next season so long as all remain on roster.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND RANGERS STATS

While Zibanejad’s power-play goal in the middle frame gave the Rangers a three-goal cushion, Tye Kartye scored the first two of the game to establish the upper hand.

Garand stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced in his third career start and second career win.

“I never want to go back to the American League, honestly,” Garand said. “I’m so hungry to be here. I want to be in this league and a part of this organization.”

Taylor Raddysh drew into the Rangers lineup for the first time since March 27.

It was a special night for Raddysh, who got to square off against his brother, Darren, for the first time since they lost their father, Dwayne, to pancreatic cancer.

Zibanejad nearly cleaned up the team awards this season.

In addition to winning the fan-voted Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, Zibanejad was named team MVP by the media and the Players’ Player by his teammates.

Braden Schneider was this year’s recipient of the 2026 John Halligan Good Guy Award, which is given to a player for their “outstanding cooperation with the media throughout the season.” The Rangers beat writers decide the winner every year.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Wyatt Johnston scored the decisive shootout goal and the Dallas Stars posted their third consecutive 50-win season with a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Justin Hryckowian and Esa Lindell each had a goal and assist, and Mavrik Bourque also scored for the Stars. Dallas finished 50-20-12 in reaching 50 wins for the seventh time in franchise history.

Jake Oettinger stopped 21 shots and two of Buffalo’s four shootout opportunities.

Zach Benson had a goal and assist and Josh Norris and Alex Tuch — with his 200th career goal — scored for Buffalo. Colten Ellis made 25 saves, then allowed three goals on Dallas’ four shootout attempts.

RANGERS 4, LIGHTNING 2

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) —Tye Kartye scored two goals and had an assist as New York beat Tampa Bay in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Gabe Perreault and Mika Zibanejad — on the power play — also scored for New York, which snapped a three-game losing streak, while Dylan Garand made 29 saves in his first start since March 27. Zibanejad also had an assist.

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Corey Perry scored for the playoff-bound Lightning, who rested several key players. Brandon Halverson made 17 saves.

PANTHERS 8, RED WINGS 1

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Mike Benning got his first two NHL goals, Wilmer Skoog, Mikulas Hovorka and Ludvig Jansson all got their first NHL points, and Florida closed out their injury-plagued season by routing Detroit.

Luke Kunin had two goals for Florida, while Vinnie Hinostroza, Cole Schwindt, Cole Reinhardt and A.J. Greer all also scored for the Panthers. Skoog, Marek Alscher and Matthew Tkachuk — playing for the first time since he and his wife welcomed their first child earlier this week — each finished with two assists.

Justin Faulk had the goal for Detroit.

SENATORS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 1

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Drake Batherson and Warren Foegel scored power-play goals and Ottawa — resting six players for the playoffs — beat Toronto in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Dylan Cozens added an empty-net goal and James Reimer stopped 19 shots against his former team. Ottawa finished 44-27-11 to take the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. It will open its first-round series against Carolina on the road.

William Nylander scored for Toronto. Dennis Hildeby made 35 saves after being recalled from the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies on Tuesday.

BLACKHAWKS 5, SHARKS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Defenseman Louis Crevier scored twice in the final period, Ryan Greene and Nick Lardis also added third period goals, and Chicago rallied in their season finale to beat San Jose.

Crevier, with the first multigoal game of his career, tied the game at 2 by converting a backhand pass from Connor Bedard 3:51 into the period, then added an insurance goal on a 60-foot slapshot midway through the period.

Greene scored his 12th of the season between Crevier’s goals, beating Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov from the slot at 8:35. Bedard also set up Lardis’ goal.

San Jose’s Mario Ferraro opened the scoring with a wrist shot that deflected off the left skate of Chicago defenseman Ethan Del Mastro 8:09 into the first period.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4, KRAKEN 1

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mitch Marner broke a third-period tie and the Vegas won the Pacific Division for the fifth time in their nine-year history, beating Seattle to close the regular season.

Two points ahead of Edmonton entering the night, Vegas needed only a point to win the Pacific and set up a first-round series against Utah. Edmonton will finish play Thursday night at home against Vancouver.

Reilly Smith had two late goals, Shea Theodore also scored and Carter Hart made 22 saves to help Vegas win its third straight. The Golden Knights finished 39-26-17, going 7-0-1 since John Tortorella took over as coach for the fired Bruce Cassidy.

Shane Wright scored for Seattle, and Nikke Kokko stopped 22 shots. The Kraken have lost two straight to fall to 34-36-11 with a game left Thursday night at Colorado.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Drake Batherson and Warren Foegel scored power-play goals and the Ottawa Senators — resting six players for the playoffs — beat Toronto 3-1 on Wednesday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Dylan Cozens added an empty-net goal and James Reimer stopped 19 shots against his former team. Ottawa finished 44-27-11 to take the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. It will open its first-round series against Carolina on the road.

William Nylander scored for Toronto. Dennis Hildeby made 35 saves after being recalled from the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies on Tuesday.

Toronto went 32-36-14, ensuring a bottom-five finish that will allow it to retain its first-round pick in the upcoming draft. The Maple Leafs were 0-6-1 in their last seven.

Nylander cut it to 2-1 midway through the third when he backhanded a bouncing puck from the slot past Reimer.

Batherson opened the scoring early in the first with his 33rd goal of the season. Foegele made it 2-0 late in the second period.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tye Kartye scored two goals and had an assist as the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Wednesday night in the regular season finale for both teams.

Gabe Perreault and Mika Zibanejad — on the power play — also scored for New York, which snapped a three-game losing streak, while Dylan Garand made 29 saves in his first start since March 27. Zibanejad also had an assist.

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Corey Perry scored for the playoff-bound Lightning, who rested several key players. Brandon Halverson made 17 saves.

Kartye scored 4:02 into the game to give the Rangers the early lead, then added his second 1:29 into the second period for his first multi-goal game in the NHL. By adding an assist on Perreault’s goal at 4:49 of the second period that made it 3-0, Kartye had his first three-point NHL game.

Perry scored 51 seconds into the third period on a spinning backhand shot.

The Lightning were 0-for-3 on the power play in the game and have just one power-play goal in their last 11 games.

Max Crozier was back in the lineup for Tampa Bay after missing 26 games with an injury.

Up next

Rangers: The Rangers’ season is over.

Lightning: Host Montreal in Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Florida Panthers put on a good show for their fans during Wednesday’s season finale at Amerant Bank Arena.

Despite playing for nothing more than pride (and positioning in the NHL Draft Lottery), the Panthers skated all over the Detroit Red Wings, beating them 8-1 to end the season on something of a high note.

It took less than five minutes for the game’s first goal to be scored.

With Florida putting on the pressure in the Red Wings’ zone, Vinnie Hinostroza put a quick shot on goal that beat John Gibson, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead at the 4:57 mark.

The only assist went to rookie Wilmer Skoog, who picked up his first NHL point in just his third NHL game.

Florida made it 2-0 at nearly the same stage of the second period.

Directly off an offensive zone faceoff, Luke Kunin one-timed a pass from Matthew Tkachuk past Gibson 5:37 into the middle frame.

A.J. Greer made it 3-0 Florida with a nice wraparound goal while the Cats were on the power play with 11:04 to go, then moments later a funky bounce off the back boards gave rookie Mike Benning his first NHL goal and a 4-goal lead to the Panthers.

Continuing the night of firsts, rookie Ludvig Jansson picked up his first NHL point with an assist on Greer’s PPG.

Florida wasn’t done there.

A gorgeous cross-ice pass by Donovan Sebrango gave Benning a wide-open net to shoot at, giving the rookie his second goal of the game, as well as his career, exactly 3:02 after his first.

For those wondering, Florida’s four second period goals came in the span of just 7:04.

Detroit finally got on the board late in the period off a long wrist shot by Justin Fault that went between Daniil Tarasov’s body and right arm, running the veteran goaltender’s shutout bid with 3:48 to go in the period.

Cole Schwindt picked up his fifth goal of the season and second in the past 10 days about halfway through the final frame, making it 6-1 Panthers.

Exactly 41 seconds later, Florida’s other Cole, Cole Reinhardt, scored his fifth goal in four games to give the Panthers a seventh goal on the night.

Kunin scored his second of the night with 1:48 to go, giving the fans a final goal to celebrate.

Now the Panthers and their 84 points will watch and wait while the rest of the league finishes out the season to see where they fall in the NHL Draft Lottery order.

Remember, Florida keeps their pick if it ends up in the top-10.

On to…the offseason.

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Photo caption: Apr 15, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot (8) blocks a shot against Florida Panthers right wing MacKie Samoskevich (11) during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tye Kartye scored two goals and had an assist as the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Wednesday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Gabe Perreault and Mika Zibanejad — on the power play — also scored for New York, which snapped a three-game losing streak, while Dylan Garand made 29 saves in his first start since March 27. Zibanejad also had an assist.

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Corey Perry scored for the playoff-bound Lightning, who rested several key players. Brandon Halverson made 17 saves.

Kartye scored 4:02 into the game to give the Rangers the early lead, then added his second 1:29 into the second period for his first multigoal game in the NHL. By adding an assist on Perreault's goal at 4:49 of the second period that made it 3-0, Kartye had his first three-point NHL game.

Perry scored 51 seconds into the third period on a spinning backhand shot.

The Lightning were 0-for-3 on the power play in the game and have just one power-play goal in their last 11 games.

Max Crozier was back in the lineup for Tampa Bay after missing 26 games with an injury.

Up next

Rangers: The Rangers' season is over.

Lightning: Host Montreal in Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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In what was their final game of the 2025-26 regular season, the Detroit Red Wings suffered the most lopsided setback of their centennial campaign.

Florida Panthers defenseman Mike Benning scored the first two goals of his NHL career, while Luke Kunin scored twice in what was an 8-1 rout of the Red Wings at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. 

Final. pic.twitter.com/0H84ErGl2G

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 16, 2026

The Red Wings, who officially missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 10th straight season, finished 41-31-10 and sixth overall in the Atlantic Division.

Just three months earlier, they were tied for first overall in the Eastern Conference, but a 9-15-5 stretch proved too damaging to overcome, and it was another season of unraveling after the calendar turned to March, falling out of the playoff race. 

Vinnie Hinostroza scored the only goal of the first period for the Panthers, who then got tallies from Kunin, A.J. Greer, and two from Benning in the game's middle frame, building up a 5-0 lead before Justin Faulk scored for the Red Wings. 

Florida then kept piling on in the third period, eventually taking an 8-1 lead after goals from Cole Schwindt, Cole Reinhardt, and Kunin. 

Red Wings starter John Gibson, who was pulled after allowing Florida's fourth tally of the game, made 11 saves on the 15 shots he saw. Cam Talbot, who replaced him, stopped eight of 12 shots. Meanwhile, Florida's Daniil Tarasov finished with 24 saves.

The offseason is now officially here for the Red Wings, who now own the unfortunate distinction of having the NHL's longest current active playoff drought.

The club will return home to Detroit for locker-room cleanout day.  

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

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CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks extended general manager Kyle Davidson's contract Wednesday without providing the length of the deal.

“We are committing to Kyle to continue the plan he has put in place,” chairman and owner Danny Wirtz said before the team's season-ending game against San Jose. “We feel confident in that. We feel he has the right insight, the right team around him, and the belief he can continue to build a championship team."

The Blackhawks are locked into 31st place in the 32-team NHL and haven’t made the Stanley Cup playoffs since the expanded COVID playoffs of 2020.

The 37-year-old Davidson took over as interim general manager when Stan Bowman was fired in October 2021. The interim tag was removed in March 2022.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

No one but no one would have blinked twice had Semyon Varlamov decided, off two knee replacements, to take the money he was owed, count his blessings for a long career and hang up his skates.

Instead, Varlamov, some 502 days from his last NHL game and 12 days from his 38th birthday, was in Hartford, Conn. on Wednesday night to make his return to competitive hockey as part of a conditioning assignment with AHL Bridgeport.

Who knows whether his comeback is ultimately successful. Who can even say what success would look like in this context. The fact that Varlamov was even trying, and had gotten as far as practicing in recent weeks, had his teammates and general manager blown away.

“He’s Iron Man,” Ilya Sorokin said. “Totally. He’s a big professional. He works hard. Every day that I see on the rink is positive. A good mind. Can’t wait for when I see him in a game.”

“We have so much respect for him,” David Rittich said. “Not just me. From every single guy in this room. Even through the tough times, still trying to get back. Nothing but respect to Varly.”

Since he’s on a conditioning loan, Varlamov isn’t eligible to play in the postseason with Bridgeport. He’ll be there for just six days, with the possibility to play a second game over the weekend if things go well.

Darche declined to say whether Varlamov — whose two knee replacements were revealed unwittingly by then-coach Patrick Roy earlier this season — had the same knee replaced twice or both done separately. But he did say that Varlamov “had procedures on both of his knees.”

Exactly how that impacts the Islanders’ plans at goaltender, where Rittich is an unrestricted free agent, is unclear.

General manager Mathieu Darche said Varlamov is considered an option going forward, but it’s hard to believe the Islanders can go into next year without Rittich — or someone of similar standing — given the total unknown around Varlamov.

Still, it says a whole lot that he’s trying.

“He might play one game this weekend and see where it goes for next year,” Darche said. “But I’m telling you, from what the doctors were saying to where he is — it’s like Gabe Landeskog [in Colorado]. For three years, he didn’t play, people said he’s done. Now he’s playing hockey. A lot of credit to Varly.”

Tony DeAngelo and Rittich, both pending unrestricted free agents, said they wanted to return to the Islanders next season.

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Cal Ritchie, Isaiah George, Victor Eklund and Liam Foudy will all rejoin AHL Bridgeport for the playoffs. Ritchie played just three games in the AHL this season before being called up, but the Islanders want him to get playoff experience.

Matthew Schaefer, Adam Pelech, Emil Heineman and Simon Holmstrom all said they were open to playing at World Championships if asked. Bo Horvat did not rule it out, but having played in the Olympics, said the year “has been a lot. Not only physically, but mentally, it’s been a long year.”

Ryan Pulock was dealing with knee and shoulder injuries and “hanging by a thread” at the end of the season, according to Darche. Pulock said he expects to be ready for camp, but the shoulder may need surgery to resolve. The knee is more of a “little issue,” Pulock said, which came up in the last few weeks, whereas the shoulder was a season-long problem.

DeAngelo has been dealing with a groin issue, and Max Shabanov with a rib injury, Darche said. 

Kyle Palmieri (torn ACL) said he has a couple months left of rehab, but is optimistic about having a normal summer after that and should be back for training camp.

Alexander Romanov (shoulder) confirmed that he had a good chance of returning had the Islanders made the playoffs, and expects to have a fairly normal offseason.

Quinn Finley, whose season at Wisconsin ended last weekend at the Frozen Four, is also headed to Bridgeport. Finley signed a two-year entry-level deal Wednesday morning that begins next season, and will sign an ATO to join Bridgeport this year. The 2022 third-rounder had 33 points in 37 college games this season.

2025 second-round pick Daniil Prokhorov left to come over from Russia on Wednesday, though it is not clear if he will play right away at Bridgeport.

No decisions have been made as yet on the assistant coaching staffs or front office staffs. Darche and coach Pete DeBoer will meet over the next few days on the coaching staff; Darche said he liked his staff in the front office, but stopped short of saying definitively that they will all return.

Darche clarified that there are no plans for Roy to stay with the organization in a scouting capacity.

Right before the Blackhawks took the ice for their final game of the season, Chicago Blackhawks Chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz announced that General Manager Kyle Davidson has received a contract extension. 

Wirtz made this announcement on a segment in which he appeared on CHSN's pregame show.

#Blackhawks Chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz announced that the team has extended GM Kyle Davidson: pic.twitter.com/P1mysQX9tU

— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) April 16, 2026

This is a chance for Davidson to have some security ahead of the most important summer of this current Blackhawks rebuild. So far, the very top of the Blackhawks organization is confident in the work that Davidson has already done and his plan for the future. 

"Kyle's done everything we've expected of him," Danny Wirtz said of Kyle Davidson. "When he got the job, his first task was to rebuild our prospect pool. If you remember, our cupboard was pretty bare. We didn't have a lot coming in. He very systematically, very confidently built that to where I believe right now we have the best prospect pool in the NHL. Many of those prospects are now actually NHL players, contributing and highly impactful on our team."

It hasn't translated to winning on the ice at the NHL level yet, but the comments about the prospect farm are correct. The Blackhawks have a top-three system in the NHL, and many media organizations rank them number one. 

Davidson was extended for executing the first part of the rebuild, which was replenishing the franchise with young players to build around. Now, the aforementioned security will allow him to take the next step with the foundation that he's built. 

“I am extremely grateful for the support that Danny Wirtz has shown me these last four years," Davidson said of the extension. "His commitment to our shared vision for the future of the Blackhawks has been vital to the success we’ve seen as we’ve worked to build our roster into a team that can compete for years to come. We still have lots of work to do as we strive to bring the Stanley Cup back to Chicago, and I’m excited to continue building a team that our fans can be proud of.”

Danny Wirtz made it very clear that he expects the team to take the next step towards being a contender. He did say that "he wasn't hired to be the prospect GM". Now that he has filled the cupboard, it's time to win. 

"We believe he has the right insight, the right team around him, and the belief he can continue to build a championship team," Wirtz said. 

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Breakup day on Long Island, for the past handful of seasons, came with a theme: We believe in the group. 

No matter what the rest of the league, or the stats, or their own fans thought, the Islanders, almost uniformly, insisted on optimism.

Not Wednesday.

Big picture, yes, the organization is in a much better spot than it was a year ago. It’s got an 18-year-old superstar in Matthew Schaefer, a prospect pipeline that looks legitimately promising and real reason to believe there can be a contending team on Long Island in the very near future.

In the immediate?

“It’s a miserable feeling around here,” Mat Barzal said.

This breakup day was entirely rooted in reality, and the reality is that the Islanders were in a playoff spot for 105 days, then crashed out in epic fashion, losing 10 of their final 14 games and seven of their final eight, while getting their coach fired in the process. 

They are still grappling with it, very much in the process of digesting and figuring out how this could have happened and what can be done to ensure it never happens again. But the Islanders wore this one.

“It absolutely sucks,” general manager Mathieu Darche said. “This morning is a terrible morning.”

Darche, who acted somewhat aggressively in adding Carson Soucy and Ondrej Palat before the Olympic break, then dealing a first-round pick to get Brayden Schenn at the trade deadline, repeatedly acknowledged that the year was a failure because the Islanders missed the playoffs. He did, though, offer some defense for those trades, which have been heavily criticized by the fan base.

“Did we get aggressive a little bit? Yeah. But you know what, I always said I’d rather fail trying than failing to try,” Darche said. “… Palat, Soucy, the acquisition cost was basically nothing. Cause we got some draft picks too. So in a way, those two days, Tsyplakov went out, we brought in Palat, Soucy and a sixth-round pick. We’re a better team, right, because of that. 

“Schenn, we were in that position. We wanted to bring, cause we felt like yes, we could have defended better. Let’s bring some veteran guys that can help with that and push it forward. We went 4-1 [in the first five games after the deadline] and the last 10 games, our two leading scorers were [Cal] Ritchie and Schenn. 

“So by the end result, yes it’s a failure because we didn’t make the payoffs. But to say that it’s because of those acquisitions, I don’t think that’s the case.”

What exactly is the root cause then? Darche didn’t have a firm answer on that, but he did allude more than once to the fact that the Islanders overperformed their underlying defensive metrics for most of the season. That was at the heart of why Patrick Roy was fired and Pete DeBoer hired with four games left in the season, and the Islanders’ improved shot suppression over those four games was a common talking point.

Things can always change but at least at a glance, the Islanders appear to have somewhat limited flexibility this offseason. Before accounting for any buyouts or injuries, they have $9-10 million in salary cap space, and Darche alluded to “slim pickings” on the free agency market. 

There is some opportunity for change given Anders Lee’s expiring contract, and you never know what else could happen. If, say, Auston Matthews asks out of Toronto, maybe Darche steps up and takes a swing, but there’s a whole lot of ground between here and there. Almost certainly, Kyle Palmieri, Alexander Romanov and DeBoer — two injured players who missed most of the season with injury and the new coach — will be three of their biggest “offseason acquisitions.”

“We might have a similar team, we might have a completely different team,” Darche said.

What you can bank on is a shift in identity driven by the coach, and a general manager who will be more than willing to sound out options to change up the group. What that means for the roster composition when the Islanders gather for training camp in September, though, is anyone’s guess.

“The guys who are back need to be prepared come training camp to get to work,” DeBoer said. “Cause we have a lot of work to do in order to get where I believe we need to get to.”