At 1:47 of the overtime frame, Simon Holmstrom collected a stretch pass from Tony DeAngelo before cutting across the crease to beat a sprawling Jet Greaves for the game-winning goal:
With the win, the Islanders now hold a seven-point lead on Columbus for third place in the Metropolitan Division and now sit tied in points with the Pittsburgh Penguins for second.
Here's how we got there.
For a second straight game, the Islanders found themselves down 2-0 but, in short order, found themselves back even.
After Matthew Schaefer needed 55 seconds on Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens to score twice and tie that hockey game, the Islanders needed just 22 seconds to do the same on Saturday.
First, it was Islanders captain Anders Lee batting a puck out of the air off a Scott Mayfield backhand at 11:37 of the second:
Then, at 11:59 of the second, Jean-Gabriel Pageau followed up his own rebound, before the puck bounced in past Blue Jackets' netminder Jet Greaves. Columbus head coach Rick Bowness would challenge for goaltender interference, but the call on the ice stood:
So what kind of reaction would Matthews get in the Canadian city? Would country or NHL team be the determining factor?
When the words "gold medalist" were said, there seemed to be a mixed reaction, but when Matthews' Leafs position and name were mentioned, the cheers reigned and people stood and clapped.
Watch the video below:
The Maple Leafs salute their Olympians Oliver Ekman-Larsson, William Nylander and Auston Matthews 🫡 pic.twitter.com/nsJNBgnelr
Feb 28, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Travis Konecny (11) reacts with goalie Dan Vladar (80) after the game against the Boston Bruins at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
In a tightly played contest, it ended up being Dan Vladar who made a few extra saves.
The former Bruin out-dueled Jeremy Swayman, stopping 26 of 27 shots and leading the Flyers to a 3-1 win.
Vladar was at his best in the second period, when he stopped all 16 shots he faced.
This game was tied through two periods, with Travis Konecny breaking the deadlock four minutes into the third period on a fortuitous bounce.
Charlie McAvoy scored the lone goal for the Bruins, who dropped their fifth road game in a row.
Konecny’s goal came on a funky bounce off a stanchion, with Swayman caught in “should I get it or not?” land. Christian Dvorak deserves credit for a great pass too. 1-0 Flyers.
Unfortunately for the B’s, that’s all the offense they could muster. Sean Couturier would add an empty-netter with just under a minute to play, and that was that.
Bruins lose, 3-1.
Game notes
The Bruins appeared to take a lead in the third period in this one, only to have a Hampus Lindholm goal called off due to goalie interference on Mikey Eyssimont. The goal was waved off on the ice, meaning it was always a longshot to get overturned and switched to a goal. It might have been worth a punt from Marco Sturm given how well Vladar was playing, but he ultimately decided against challenging.
While there were no goals scored, the Bruins let this game get away from them in the second period. The B’s were handed two power play opportunities just over four minutes apart, landed 16 shots on Vladar, and came up empty.
Swayman’s final stat line of two goals allowed on just 16 shots doesn’t look great, but he was good in this game — with a highlight reel stop of his own as well. I suppose you might like to see a bit more decisiveness on that weird bounce, but you can probably chalk that up to just one of those things that happens.
If you’re a fan of the rough stuff, Tanner Jeannot and Nic Deslauriers gave you quite a bout in the first period. Deslauriers landed a couple of punches early, but I’d give the edge to Jeannot — especially since Deslauriers ended up cut after the fight.
It was an uncharacteristically quiet afternoon for David Pastrnak, who landed just two shots on goal.
The B’s will be back in action on Tuesday night, hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins.
They took a 1-0 lead just 2:08 into the first period thanks to Anthony Mantha's 21st goal of the season. Mantha redirected an Erik Karlsson slap shot from the point on the power play.
It looked like the Penguins were going to be up 2-0 just three minutes into the game thanks to Bryan Rust, but the goal was called back due to goaltender interference. The Penguins held on to that 1-0 lead for the rest of the period and limited the Rangers to only two shots.
The Rangers' lifeless play continued into the second period when Ryan Shea made it 2-0 at the 1:59 mark. He made a nice play along the blue line and fired the puck past Igor Shesterkin to double the lead. The puck bounced off Rangers defenseman Scott Morrow, who was tangled up with Penguins forward Noel Acciari in front of the net.
However, after that goal, the Penguins' play really dipped, and they allowed the Rangers to control the game for the last 30+ minutes. Mika Zibanejad cut the lead in half at the 10-minute mark of the second period before Taylor Raddysh tied the game for the Rangers early in the third period.
The Penguins were able to hang on for dear life during the rest of the third period to secure a point before falling in a shootout. Vincent Trocheck scored the lone shootout goal for the Rangers, while the Penguins' shooters went 0-for-3.
Here are some of my takeaways from Saturday's setback:
- It looked like the Penguins were going to cruise to a win until they stopped playing. They let the Rangers back into the game and let them do whatever they want for a decent chunk of the second period and the entire third period. It's an unacceptable effort against a team that is at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and has already waved the white flag on the season.
The Penguins struggled to get out of their own zone in the final two periods and couldn't even string together two consecutive passes. Nobody should panic because the Penguins will still enter March in second place in the Metropolitan Division, but this was still a bad loss.
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) waits for the face-off against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
- Evgeni Malkin was a man on a mission in this game and was the Penguins' best skater. He was galloping each time he was out there, setting up some good scoring chances, and even getting some chances of his own. He was robbed twice by Shesterkin at the end of overtime and had a nice chance during the third period.
I've really liked his game since NHL play resumed this week, and the Penguins will need this version of Malkin to keep showing up if they want to make the playoffs.
- Rickard Rakell struggled again at center on Saturday, and if I were Dan Muse, I'd seriously consider moving him back to wing.
He was cleaned out at the faceoff dot again, and as a team, the Penguins won only 23.1% of their draws, which, according to Bob Grove, is the lowest mark since 1996-97, when the NHL began charting the stat.
I know Malkin has been great on the wing since returning, but if he's closer to 100%, he may need to go back to center. Having Malkin, Novak, Kindel, and Lizotte as centers until Crosby returns is better overall and makes the Penguins stronger down the middle.
- The shootout problems continued for the Penguins, even with new shooters. All three attempts were laughable and had no chance of beating Shesterkin. They even practiced shootouts multiple times at the end of practices this week, but nothing seems to be working.
- Ryan Shea played another fantastic game on the blue line and should be promoted to the second pair with Kris Letang. I understand trying Sam Girard with Letang to at least test it out, but it's been too chaotic. They were both hemmed in their own zone quite often again on Saturday, and don't look comfortable together.
I think the pairings should be Wotherspoon-Karlsson, Shea-Letang, and Girard-Clifton at least for a little bit.
- The Penguins will have an opportunity to quickly rebound from this performance since the Vegas Golden Knights are coming to town for a Sunday afternoon showdown.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 23: Linesperson CJ Murray #68 drops the puck for a face-off between the Colorado Avalanche and the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period at the United Center on November 23, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
With two of five games in a seven day stretch now behind them, it’s safe to assume that the Colorado Avalanche were looking forward to the weekend.
This afternoon, the visiting Chicago Blackhawks will make their only regular season appearance in Denver, as the Avs face their third consecutive Central Division opponent in four days.
Colorado Avalanche (38-10-9)
The Opponent: Chicago Blackhawks (22-27-9)
Time: 4:00 P.M. MST/6:00 P.M. EST
Watch: ALT, ALT+ (Avalanche Broadcast Area), CHSN (Blackhawks Broadcast Area), ESPN+, NHL Center Ice (Outside Regional Broadcast Areas – US), SN+, NHL Centre Ice (Canadian Broadcast Areas)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche currently sport a .500 record for the month of February, going 2-2 in that time frame. This would sound a lot more alarming if it weren’t for the extended Olympic pause that led to playing only four games through the month. A victory today would keep them from posting their second consecutive sub-500 month of hockey, and would certainly provide a lift after losing 5-2 to the visiting Minnesota Wild this past Thursday. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 31 of 34 shots in a contest that featured an impressive goalie duel between him and Filip Gustavsson—who stopped 45 of 47 shots in his own right—only to be overshadowed by questionable judgement (see Brent Burns launching the puck into the crowd during an Avalanche penalty kill that was already down not one, but two skaters) and officiating (poke checks are penalties now?).
Coach Jared Bednar lamented his team’s inability to widen the gap on both Minnesota and the idle Dallas Stars. “It’s the standings at the end of the year is what matters, right? So, that [game] was a missed opportunity; that’s what that was. Nine points if we win, two games in hand, that’s a long road to try and catch you, and now it’s tight. Five [points] with two [games] in hand, and there’s lots of hockey to be played. We’ve just got to take care of our business.”
The loss allowed Minnesota—playing in a first game of a back to back pair of their own—to leapfrog over Dallas to second place in the Central Division, closing to within five points of the Avs. However, just like the Avs, Minnesota failed to seize the moment in their second half of back to back games, as they lost to the Utah Mammoth by a score of 5-2 at Delta Center on Friday evening. The loss prevented them from closing to within three points of the Avalanche, who can now restore their seven point cushion with a win this afternoon.
Hockey giveth, and hockey taketh away.
Nathan MacKinnon returned to the lineup against Minnesota for the first time since returning from the Olympics, and while he did not add to his NHL goal scoring total—he remains at a League best 40 goals—he did reach the 95 point plateau (Edmonton’s Connor McDavid leads all skaters with 100 points). Martin Nečas, who scored his 24th and 25th goals of the season on Thursday evening, trails Brock Nelson (30) for third place in team scoring, and is three goals shy of tying his career high (28). While the loss to Minnesota may look lopsided by box score alone, Blackwood’s play to keep his team close for the majority of the contest ought to merit a return to the crease today.
The Avs still remain the undisputed leader across the Central Division, Western Conference, and League standings. Coming into this afternoon’s game, they have a game in hand on Dallas (who will be in action at American Airlines Center tonight against the Nashville Predators), and three games in hand on Minnesota.
Today’s game is the second in the three game series with Chicago. The Avs won the previous matchup on November 23, a 1-0 decision.
Projected Lineup
Forwards: Gabe Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas Artturi Lehkonen – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin Ross Colton – Jack Drury – Victor Olofsson Joel Kiviranta* – Parker Kelly – Gavin Brindley
Defense: Devon Toews – Cale Makar Josh Manson – Brent Burns Brett Kulak – Sam Malinski
Between the Pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood Scott Wedgewood
Kiviranta, who was injured during the second period after taking a hit from Minnesota’s Zach Bogosian, is uncertain for today’s game at the time of this writing.
Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago had a great start to 2026, winning five of their first six games in January. However, they followed up that effort by losing nine of their next twelve games prior to the Olympic break. Currently occupying seventh place in the Central Division standings with 53 points, they remain two points ahead of last place St. Louis (51). They kicked off a five game road trip prior to the Olympics, with their most recent effort being a 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday evening.
Like Colorado, Chicago also had representation in Italy at the Olympics, but to a significantly smaller scale. Center Teuvo Teravainen won the bronze medal alongside Kiviranta as a member of Finland’s roster. The notable absence is center Connor Bedard, who was not invited to participate as a member of Canada’s Olympic roster. Bedard, who scored his twenty-fourth goal of the season against Nashville on Thursday night, currently leads all Chicago skaters in assists (30) and points (54), and ranks second to left wing Tyler Bertuzzi in goals (26).
While Bedard’s solid sophomore campaign led many to believe that he was on the short list to be selected to the Olympics by Hockey Canada, he was ultimately left off the roster once the final selections were announced. Bedard missed twelve games with an upper body injury sustained in a literal last second face-off sequence against St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn back in December, leading many to speculate if the injury was a key factor in leaving Bedard off the Canadian Olympic roster.
Goaltender Spencer Knight is three wins away from tying his career high (19) in his first full season with Chicago. He will likely start today against Colorado. Despite leading all Chicago goaltenders in wins (Arvid Soderblom has five wins on the season and Drew Commesso has one), Chicago has given up more than two goals in fourteen of ninteen games played in since the start of the New Year. That has contributed to the third worst goal differential (-33) in the NHL; only St. Louis (-52) and Vancouver (-62) rank lower.
Today’s match-up against Colorado marks their only regular season visit to Denver, and marks the first game of a back to back weekend. They will finish the weekend in—where else?—Salt Lake City against the Mammoth on Sunday afternoon. The season series against Colorado will conclude on home ice at United Center on March 20.
Projected Lineup
Forwards: Ryan Greene – Connor Bedard – Andre Burakovsky Oliver Moore – Frank Nazar – Tyler Bertuzzi Ryan Donato – Jason Dickinson – Ilya Mikheyev Teuvo Teravainen – Nick Foligno – Landon Slaggert
Defense: Alex Vlasic – Louis Crevier Connor Murphy – Sam Rinzel Matt Grzelcyk – Artyom Levshunov
NEW YORK (AP) — Vincent Trocheck scored the shootout winner and Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves and the New York Rangers rallied to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Saturday.
After an overtime in which each team had several good scoring chances, Trocheck beat Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner with the only goal of the shootout as the Rangers snapped a five-game losing streak. Shesterkin made five saves in overtime.
Mika Zibanejad and Taylor Raddysh also scored for the Rangers. The last-place Rangers are 7-15-5 at home this season.
Anthony Mantha and defenseman Ryan Shea scored for the Penguins, who had their two-game winning streak stopped. Pittsburgh is 8-1-2 since Jan. 17.
Mantha beat Shesterkin at 2:08 of the first with his 21st goal of the season. Shea made it 2-0 at 1:59 of the second with his fourth goal.
Zibanjead scored his team-leading 24th goal on the power play at the 10-minute mark of the second.
Raddysh tied it with his ninth at 2:57 of the third with assists to Vladislav Gavrikov and Brendan Brisson. It was Brisson’s first point as a Ranger.
Forward Tye Kartye, claimed off waivers from Seattle on Friday, made his Rangers debut.
Shesterkin made his second straight start since returning for Thursday’s 3-2 home overtime loss to Philadelphia. Shesterkin had suffered a lower-body injury suffered on Jan. 5
Skinner made 23 saves in defeat.
The Penguins under first-year head coach Dan Muse – a former Rangers assistant — lead the Rangers by 20 points in the Metropolitan Division.
The Rangers, coached by former Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, are last at 23-29-7.
The Penguins were without captain Sidney Crosby who suffered a lower-body injury at the Winter Olympics in Milan. The 38-year-old center leads Pittsburgh with 27 goals and 59 points. He is expected to miss four weeks.
The Buffalo Sabres were expected to be a team in the seller category after starting the season at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, but the Sabres surge since December has them in position to end their 14-year playoff drought, which has made GM Jarmo Kekalainen re-evaluate the club’s options.
Based on the Sabres positioning themselves to be in the top three of the Atlantic Division, it seems highly unlikely that they will deal pending unrestricted free agent winger Alex Tuch, but in the days leading up to the NHL trade deadline on March 6, there are a number of potential trade options on the table for Kekalainen that make sense.
Speculation has seemed to focus on the Sabres investing in defensive depth on the right side with Michael Kesselring sidelined numerous times this season, and Conor Timmins recovering from a broken leg. The name of former Sabres blueliner Rasmus Ristolainen has been swirling in trade speculation for most of the season, but gained some momentum after his impressive performance for Finland partnering with Florida’s Niko Mikkola at the Winter Olympics earlier this month.
The 31-year-old spent eight seasons with Buffalo, logging massive amounts of ice time for a subpar dysfunctional Sabres squad, and was traded to Philadelphia for a 2021 first-rounder (Isak Rosen), a 2023 second-rounder (Anton Wahlberg) and defenseman Robert Hagg in 2021 and his last three seasons have been plagued by a variety of injury issues. Those issues may have Flyers GM Danny Briere willing to retain some of Ristolainen’s $5.1 million salary for this and next season to increase his return.
Rasmus Dahlin - Norris contender?
The chatter got mentioned on WGR 550’s Schopp and Bulldog afternoon show on Friday, and maybe is gaining some steam after a Sabres scout was spotted at Saturday’s Flyers - Bruins game in Philadelphia. Based on the fact that Ristolainen has another year left on his deal, it is more likely that GM Jarmo Kekalainen would opt for a rental defenseman like Connor Murphy or Luke Schenn, but his familiarity with the Finnish blueliner might make a difference as 3 pm next Friday approaches.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 28: Kris Letang #58 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates with the puck while being chased by Will Cuylle #50 of the New York Rangers during the second period of a NHL game at Madison Square Garden on February 28, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Pregame
Same players for the Penguins, Stuart Skinner gets back into the lineup for the visiting team.
Lots of penalty trouble early for the Rangers, Braden Schneider is the first to go 1:28 into the game. The Pens make them pay quickly. Anthony Mantha gets a great redirect on Erik Karlsson’s point shot, 1-0 Pittsburgh.
Soon after, Vincent Trocheck is very unhappy with the officials and abuses them enough to take a penalty and get a 10-minute misconduct tacked on. Pittsburgh scores again, Evgeni Malkin makes a great pass over for Bryan Rust, Rust sends it home.
Penguins were up 2-0 quick… until the second tally was taken away 😡
The Rangers make a desperation challenge for goalie interference and…somehow it works to get the goal disallowed based on the most minimal of contact by Mantha on goalie Igor Shesterkin. Even though it didn’t really alter the ability to make the save seconds later from the other side. Refs making sure a nationally televised game doesn’t get out of hand? Or not wanting to call a third penalty on NYR three minutes into the game? Or giving Mike Sullivan a bail-out for the Trocheck penalty in the first place? Or just seeing what they decide to see? Who can say.
The rest of the period is pretty good for Pittsburgh, though they don’t score again, Rust hits a post on another close call. The Rangers barely have a pulse for this game. Shots are 10-2 PIT after one.
Second period
Ryan Shea gets his Sergei Gonchar on early in the second when it comes to dancing along the blueline and throws a puck on net. It hits off Ranger defenseman Scott Morrow and changes direction enough to beat Shesterkin. 2-0 for real this time.
NYR gets a long-range shot on Skinner with 14:09, it’s the Rangers’ first shot of the period and in almost 20 game minutes, the crowd responds with the sarcastic cheer, but even that is half-hearted.
A bit later, Rickard Rakell goes to the penalty box for hooking and opens the door for countryman Mika Zibanejad. Trocheck sets Zibanejad up for the big shot, NYR scores to make it 2-1 exactly halfway through the period and game.
The Rangers sustain some energy for the first time all game, Gabe Perreault nearly ties the game when his shot flies off the post. The Pens are the ones suddenly caught on long shifts and standing around like their skate blades are out.
It’s a lot more disjointed of a period for the Pens (shots are 13-11 PIT in the second) but they do get out of there without giving up any more goals.
Third period
New York scores early, some good luck when the puck clicks off Rust and goes to Vladislav Gavrikov and then a nice play by Gavrikov to find the open stick of Taylor Raddish for the tip in. 2-2 game.
The Pens now become the team to take only one shot halfway through the period and have shifted Ben Kindel to play with Rakell and Rust to shake lines up in an effort to get something, later Malkin will skate with Rust and Rakell on shifts starting on the fly.
Neither team can score again in regulation.
Overtime
Kindel-Malkin-Karlsson start it out for the Penguins. Pittsburgh ices the puck. Rakell (0-for-9 on the night on faceoffs) loses another and the Rangers take possession of the puck for quite a while, though they’re not in much of a hurry to create.
OT drags along with neither team being overly aggressive, finally in the closing seconds Malkin is able to attack the net and generate a few shots.
Shootout
Mantha is the first shooter, he loses the handle on a deke attempt and doesn’t even get a shot away.
Trocheck is up for the Rangers, he beats Skinner five-hole.
—
Egor Chinakhov’s turn, he tries for the five-hole but Shesterkin closes it up.
J.T. Miller gets the chance to end the game, Skinner stops him.
—
It’s down to Tommy Novak to keep the game going. He doesn’t, his shot goes well wide.
Some thoughts
Another rough day on faceoffs, at one point in the second period the Pens had won just 21% of the faceoffs! The team only had six wins on 29 draws, take out Malkin (who won two, lost two at that point) and the rest of them were 4-for-25 (16%). Didn’t prove to be too disadvantageous today, but it’s a big issue for a team down their best and most frequent faceoff taker in Crosby.
Other than the starts of play, some line changes are being tinkered with already and bound to happen for tomorrow. Beyond just losing all 10 faceoffs, Rakell didn’t have any shots on goal today. Rust only had two shots and got real quiet after a nice start. Avery Hayes hasn’t been able to show much alongside them. Whether it ends up being Kindel or Malkin – and both took a shift or two with Rakell/Rust today – as the next look there, something’s gotta give in that area immediately.
The Pens’ first 20 minutes: sublime! Very, very good. The Rangers woke up at the first intermission and started playing a lot better. Pittsburgh was acting like they couldn’t or shouldn’t have to follow in kind, instead staying more at the level when NYR wasn’t very good. Didn’t make for a strong finish.
As a result, it didn’t look like Pittsburgh squandered opportunities early in the game (most notably on Rust’s disallowed goal, and then Rust hitting the post). Turns out they could have used a little more out of the portion of the game that they dominated than more than just a 1-0 lead.
Pens fall to 1-8 in the shootout on the season. They at least used new faces, but the results were the same in terms of their shooters not being able to do much of anything and the goaltending hardly being great either. They make it easy for the other team when they’re not even getting 2/3 of the shootout attempts even on net as it happened this time.
Given how hard the schedule is about to get — starting with first place Vegas tomorrow — letting a point slip away against a last place team hurts in the moment. Up 2-0 and against a bad team that didn’t look interested in playing, the Pens should have been able to get a full result in this one. But when NYR started to get better, as noted above, the visitors didn’t up their games too. Disappointing outcome and last couple of periods here.
In good news, the Pens don’t have to dwell on this very long. The Golden Knights are waiting in Pittsburgh for an afternoon game tomorrow.
With the 81st overall pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Montreal Canadiens selected defenseman Bryce Pickford. This was after the right-shot blueliner recorded 20 goals and 47 points in 48 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers during this past season. He also had 13 goals and 24 points in 18 playoff games for Medicine Hat in 2025.
With numbers like these, there is no question that Pickford demonstrated that he is a skilled offensive defenseman last season. However, the 6-foot-1 defenseman has taken his game to an entirely new level this season with Medicine Hat.
Pickford has been simply fantastic for Medicine Hat this season, and the truth is in his stats. In 45 games this season with the Western Hockey League (WHL) club, he has recorded 35 goals, 32 assists, 67 points, and a plus-44 rating. He has simply been dominating the WHL offensively, and it is even more impressive when noting that he is a defenseman.
With the way Pickford is producing offensively in the WHL, it is hard not to feel optimistic about his future with the Canadiens. The young defenseman has the tools to become a solid offensive defenseman at the NHL level, and his play this season certainly shows that.
It will now be interesting to see what Pickford does as the season carries on. It has already been a special year for the Canadiens prospect.
The Ottawa Senators (28-22-8) will try to get back on a winning track on Saturday night when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs (27-23-9) at Scotiabank Arena (7 pm Sportsnet, CBC, TVAS).
The Sens gathered a point in their first game back from the Olympic break, a 2-1 overtime loss at home to Detroit on Thursday. The Leafs have also stumbled out of the break with losses to Tampa and Florida, losing by a combined scored of 9-3.
Toronto won the season's first meeting between these two teams, 7-5, back on Dec. 27. That was the night when Linus Ullmark was pulled after experiencing anxiety during the game while allowing four goals on 14 shots.
Ullmark stepped away from the team for the next month to deal with mental health issues. Between that and the Olympic break, Ullmark has only played three games since the December loss to Toronto. He'll get the start on Saturday night.
Leevi Merilainen, Ullmark's replacement that night, was sent to the AHL on Jan. 20 and has since been replaced on the roster by veteran free agent signing James Reimer, who was probably the sentimental choice in Toronto to start against his old team. But Reimer will wear the ball cap on the bench on Saturday.
These two teams enter play on Saturday well out of playoff contention at the moment.
With the Boston Bruins holding the final Wild Card spot in the East, the Senators are seven points behind them, while the Leafs, who led the Atlantic Division this time last year, are eight points behind the Bruins.
By game time, the playoff deficit may grow even larger for both teams with Boston playing at Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon at 3 pm.
Here's how the line combinations are expected to look, based on the game day skates. As was the case at Thursday's skate, Tim Stutzle was absent (illness) but will play in the game.
Senators Line Combinations
Drake Batherson – Tim Stützle – Claude Giroux Brady Tkachuk – Dylan Cozens – Ridly Greig Nick Cousins – Shane Pinto – Michael Amadio Stephen Halliday – Lars Eller – Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub Thomas Chabot – Nick Jensen Tyler Kleven – Jordan Spence
Linus Ullmark James Reimer
For Toronto, the biggest change is the insertion of rookie forward Easton Cowan into the lineup. He's been a healthy scratch for the Leafs for the past five games. Cowan has 17 points in 43 games.
Leafs Line Combinations (as per The Hockey News Toronto's David Alter)
Dan Vladar delivered a magnificent performance in net, spearheading the Flyers to a 3-1 win Saturday afternoon over the Bruins at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The 28-year-old didn’t crack until there were just 6:57 minutes left in the game.
“He has just had a great year for us,” Rick Tocchet said. “Another outstanding effort from him.”
Travis Konecny broke a scoreless tie 3:41 minutes into the third period. Jamie Drysdale provided critical insurance over eight minutes later.
Sean Couturier iced things with an empty-netter, snapping his 31-game goal-scoring drought.
“I’ll take them any way I can,” the Flyers’ captain said. “It feels good, but the wins are more important right now. That’s all my focus.”
The Flyers (27-21-11) won consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 3-6. That was the season’s halfway mark, when the Flyers were in playoff position after beating the Ducks, 5-2, to take over third place.
“We’ve been pretty resilient, but we’ve got to string consistency together,” Tocchet said before the game. “We’ve been chasing that all year.”
The Bruins (33-21-5) hold one of the Eastern Conference’s two wild-card spots. This was just their third regulation loss in the last 20 games (13-3-4).
“I think [general manager] Don Sweeney has done a great job in they have an identity, they’re big, they’re tough, they play to who they are,” Tocchet said before the game. “I know we played them in Boston, they’re a big team. That’s a team that has an identity when you play them, so it’s a good challenge for us.”
• Two goalies that played in the Olympics put on a pretty good show.
Vladar, who represented Team Czechia, was terrific for the Flyers. He converted 26 saves on 27 shots.
After making a series of big stops with the Flyers on the penalty kill late in the second period, he received a standing ovation from the fans behind his net.
“The fans have been awesome the whole year,” Vladar said. “We really feel that they have our back. … We just don’t want to waste this opportunity, we want to play well, especially for them, especially for ourselves, as well. We need them. Great job by them and we wouldn’t be here without them.”
Vladar bailed out the Flyers twice in the first period. He denied Michael Eyssimont on a semi breakaway and later stopped Mark Kastelic when the Flyers’ power play gave up a look.
The Flyers repaid Vladar in the third period.
“He does so much for us off the ice, as well,” Drysdale said. “In the locker room in between periods, he’s always talking, just saying whatever’s on his mind and usually it’s awesome stuff coming out of his mouth. Real positive guy.”
Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman, who played for Team USA, made 14 saves on the Flyers’ 16 shots.
The 27-year-old robbed Christian Dvorak in close during the second period to keep the game scoreless. That came 53 seconds after Vladar turned away Morgan Geekie right around the doorstep.
• The Flyers have 23 games left and two to go before next Friday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.
They entered Saturday eight points behind the third-place Islanders in the Metropolitan Division race. They’re six points back of the Bruins in the wild-card hunt.
“We’re a confident group, we knew we have it in us,” Vladar said. “We had it at the beginning of the year, then it kind of slipped away. We’ve just got to find the swagger back because we have it here.”
General manager Danny Briere is not expected to be a major seller. After all, the Flyers didn’t want this season to be about subtraction. But we’ll see if Briere looks to make a future-centric move for the rebuild.
• Dvorak was quietly effective all game. He had a good stick defensively a couple of times and picked up helpers on both of the Flyers’ goals.
The Flyers needed that from him. Over the previous nine games, Dvorak had recorded only two points (both assists).
“Just stay within yourself, we’re not looking for anything more; just who he is,” Tocchet said. “He had a solid game.”
The 30-year-old has been playing as the Flyers’ first-line center. He earned a five-year contract extension with a strong a first half, but the Flyers just hadn’t gotten the same guy recently.
But on Saturday, he looked like the first-half Dvorak.
“Try to not get frustrated, it’s not an easy game,” Dvorak said. “You’ve just got to stick with it, stay positive and turn it around. I thought it was a step in the right direction.”
• Denver Barkey was a healthy scratch as Nicolas Deslauriers drew into the lineup.
The Flyers were playing a physical, tight-checking Boston team. Meanwhile, Barkey has hit a little bit of a wall recently, so this wasn’t a terrible time to let the 20-year-old rookie watch a game.
Deslauriers and Tanner Jeannot had a chat in warmups, setting up a first-period fight. It was a heavyweight bout.
• The Flyers are back in action Monday when they visit the Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
The St. Louis Blues announced on Friday that the team has sent former Senators forward Mathieu Joseph down to the American Hockey League. Joseph cleared through NHL waivers and will now report to the Springfield Thunderbirds.
The 29-year-old has 11 points in 39 games for the Blues this season and with his high-end skating speed, perhaps he might have drawn some interest around the league, if not for a $2.95 million AAV price tag.
The interest certainly wouldn't have come from Ottawa, which sent him to the Blues in the summer of 2024 in what was basically a salary dump, even giving St. Louis a third-round pick to sweeten the deal.
The Senators acquired Joseph at the 2022 trade deadline in a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Nick Paul. The Senators also got a 2024 fourth-round pick in the deal which turned out to Blake Montgomery, a prospect who still has the potential to salvage what looks today like a really bad trade for the Senators.
While Paul is currently on LTIR with an injury, he's been a good, fast-skating, big-bodied soldier for the Lightning, a player who wanted to re-sign here and would have come in very handy for the Senators over the past five seasons. Paul eclipsed 20 goals and 40 points in each of the past two seasons.
The Sens then saved $200K per season to lock up what turned out to be the lesser player.
After the trade, former Sens GM Pierre Dorion signed Joseph to a four-year deal worth $11.8 million ($2.95 million AAV). Tampa signed Paul to seven-year deal worth $22.05 million ($3.15 million).
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published by The Hockey News. More headlines here:
The man accused of fatally hitting Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau while intoxicated is asking a second time for reconsideration of at least some charges against him – at the same time he's presented a potential counteroffer for a plea deal to prosecutors.
Attorneys for 45-year-old Sean Higgins told a New Jersey judge on Feb. 24 that an expert's analysis raised questions that need to be addressed. Attorney Richard Klineburger said the blood alcohol testing done on Higgins on the date of the crash tested Higgins' plasma, not his blood, and resulted in a blood alcohol level of 0.075, which is below the legal limit for driving.
The information Klineburger said he received came from an expert employed by Higgins' defense team. Klineburger filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Higgins, saying at least a couple of the charges should be re-presented to a grand jury.
"This is science, it's not speculative," Klineburger said.
Assistant Salem County Prosecutor Michael Mestern said he needed to consult with the state's expert about how the blood testing was done in August 2024 before making any decision about taking the case back to the grand jury. Mestern said that even if there would be a desire to have the grand jury hear evidence about some charges again, it wouldn't impact all of the charges Higgins faces.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew, 29, died after being struck by a Jeep Grand Cherokee while bicycling along the side of a road. The brothers were in town for their younger sister's wedding, which was scheduled for the next day.
During the Feb. 24 hearing before Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio, Higgins' attorneys said they have presented a counter to a plea offer Higgins had previously been offered by prosecutors. The details of that proposal were not put on the record in open court.
Higgins rejected an offer in January 2025 that would have netted a 35-year prison sentence. Higgins' next court date will be a pretrial conference on April 14.
The motions and requests by Higgins' attorneys are part of routine efforts for defense lawyers, who are required to provide a zealous defense for their clients.
The Feb. 24 hearing came about 48 hours after members of the Gaudreau family, including the brothers' parents Guy and Jane and Johnny's widow, Meredith, were in Italy to watch the U.S. men's hockey gold medal game.
After the Americans won, Johnny Gaudreau's jersey was skated around the rink and Columbus Blue Jackets teammate Zach Werenski and Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin brought Johnny's two oldest children, daughter Noa and son Johnny Jr., who was celebrating his second birthday, onto the ice for a photo with the team and the jersey.
What happened in the crash that killed Johnny Gaudreau?
Around 8:20 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2024, the Gaudreau brothers were cycling one in front of the other on a two-lane road.
Court records say Higgins was behind two other vehicles he told police were driving slowly. Higgins passed one of the vehicles on the left. The other vehicle moved to the left to give the Gaudreau brothers room. Higgins cut back to the right and hit the brothers.
Both of the brothers died at the scene from their injuries.
According to evidence presented to Silvanio in hearings held so far during the case, Higgins continued to drive past the crash scene, coming to a stop about a quarter-mile from the crash scene. Higgins told New Jersey State police who responded to the scene he'd had a few beers before and while driving the Jeep.
Prosecutors say Higgins' blood alcohol level tested at 0.087, above the legal limit for driving.
The Montreal Canadiens welcome Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals to the Bell Centre tonight, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Noah Dobson is shining as a playmaker lately, and my Capitals vs. Canadiens predictions are eyeing him to keep it rolling.
Read more in my NHL picks for Saturday, February 28.
Capitals vs Canadiens prediction
Capitals vs Canadiens best bet:Noah Dobson Over 0.5 assists (+185)
Noah Dobson has been a tremendous addition to the Montreal Canadiens, collecting 40 points this season. That includes 28 assists, and he’s been handing out helpers left and right lately.
The 26-year-old has cashed the Over in assists in four of his last six appearances, compiling six helpers during that span. He’s only one assist off last season’s total.
While he’s done most of his damage on the road, Dobson is thriving at the moment as a passer. He’ll stay hot tonight against the Washington Capitals.
Capitals vs Canadiens same-game parlay
Cole Caufield is third in the NHL in goals with 33. He’s been one of the Canadiens’ top players this season, and he’s scored 14 of his goals in 29 home contests.
The 25-year-old found the back of the net in the first game back from the break against the New York Islanders, and Caufield has scored three goals across his previous four appearances.
While the Habs have lost both matchups to the Caps this season, the last one was a 3-2 OT defeat, and Montreal is coming off a similar result against the Isles at home.
The Montreal Canadiens have covered the puck line in 19 of their last 25 games (+15.30 Units / 36% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Capitals vs. Canadiens.
How to watch Capitals vs Canadiens
Location
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Date
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Puck drop
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
MNMT, CITY
Capitals vs Canadiens latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 1: William Carrier #28 of the Carolina Hurricanes handles the puck during the first period against the Montreal Canadiens at Lenovo Center on January 1, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Carolina Hurricanes have defeated their first playoff opponent in each of their seven seasons in which Rod Brind’Amour has been behind the bench.
The quality of those teams has been a mixed bag. In 2019, they slayed a behemoth in the reigning Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals. In 2022, they knocked off a 107-point Boston Bruins team in a seven-game thriller.
More recently, they’ve gotten quality draws to start their bids for the Stanley Cup. Last year, it was a banged up New Jersey Devils group without Jack Hughes and some key defensemen that never stood much of a chance. The prior two seasons, it was very pedestrian New York Islanders squads.
With seven straight years with a playoff series won, the Hurricanes are tied with the Islanders dynasties of the early 1980s for the third-longest such streak. They’re two away from catching the Broad Street Bully-era Flyers, and three away from tying two different iterations of the Montreal Canadiens for the longest streak in NHL history.
If Carolina wants to run that stretch to eight this spring, it’s going to have to defeat a better team than it has the past few first rounds.
Here’s a look at the candidates the Canes could face in mid-April, where they stand, and what could make them a challenging matchup.
Montreal Canadiens
If the season ended today and went by raw points and not points percentage, this would be the matchup. It’s an interesting one.
Comparing just the skaters, Montreal is close on paper. The top line of Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield is up there with any in the league.
Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson provide oodles of offense from the back end, and Ivan Demidov is living up to the hype with 47 points in 58 games in his rookie season.
They’re not just top heavy, either. Oliver Kapanen is a quality young forward in a depth role, and when healthy, they have capable size and defensive ability with a bit of scoring touch littered all over their bottom six.
There’s one big problem though. Montreal’s goalies can not stop a beach ball. Jakub Dobes is rocking a .892 save percentage, and incumbent starter Sam Montembeault is having a nightmare season at a .874. Rookie Jacob Fowler has been solid with a .904 in his 10 appearances, but it’s hard to see this franchise turning the crease over to a rookie in such a high-leverage playoff opportunity for this emerging, young team.
The time for being happy just to be there was last year when the Capitals handled them in five. There are expectations this time. If the Habs add a goalie at the deadline, look out. Otherwise, Carolina would likely be able to survive a team with that as a major issue.
Buffalo Sabres
No. No, no, no. No thank you. That is what I say to the idea of drawing the Buffalo Sabres in a playoff series.
Are the Hurricanes better? Definitely. Should they win on paper? Certainly.
But there is something about these teams coming off of extended playoff droughts finally getting their chance in the dance that puts out some major team-of-destiny energy.
The Sabres have been absent from the Stanley Cup Playoffs since all the way back in 2011. That drought is the longest in the league by far, and it’s even longer than the one the 2019 Hurricanes snapped.
Do you remember how excited you were to have playoff hockey back in Raleigh in 2019? Do you remember the home ice advantage the fans created in that first-round series against a superior Capitals squad?
That’s what facing off with Buffalo invites. A talented team with a nothing-to-lose mentality with a rabid fan base ready to make life miserable for an opponent.
That’s to say nothing of this very talented roster led by Olympic gold medalist Tage Thompson and Swedish star Rasmus Dahlin on the back end. This defense is way deeper than you’d expect. Mattias Samuelsson has taken massive steps forward, and Bowen Byram has improved. Michael Kesselring needs to get healthy, but you throw him into the mix with the other three and then add former first overall pick Owen Power? Loaded.
Josh Doan, Ryan McLeod, Jack Quinn and Peyton Krebs add quality young-ish depth up front to go with veterans Alex Tech and Jason Zucker.
Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are finally providing strong goaltending, as well.
Boston Bruins
If the Sabres are a surprise because they’re overcoming their recent history, the Bruins are a surprise because they’re delivering better results than the talent on the roster suggests they should be capable of.
David Pastrnak is of course the star up front, but old friend Morgan Geekie has broken out as a bonafide top-end goalscorer, and fellow old friend Elias Lindholm has bounced back from a disastrous effort last season to provide some level of competency down the middle.
Center is still the weak point in Boston, though, as goalie Jeremy Swayman is back into form this season, and Charlie McAvoy leads a solid, even if unspectacular, unit on the backend.
While a glance at the roster suggests a ho-hum team, the emergence of entertaining young players like Fraser Minten, Alex Steeves and Marat Khusnutdinov have exponentially increased the watchability of these Bruins compared to their counterparts last year.
This is another team on this list against whom the Hurricanes would be favored, maybe even pretty comfortably, but it’s another roster that if it gets hot for a couple weeks could present some big issues.
Detroit Red Wings
This is an interesting one. Detroit checks all the boxes for a worthy playoff team. They’ve got star players at center in Dylan Larkin and defense in Moritz Seider.
They also have a pair of impactful wingers in Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond at the top of their lineup.
John Gibson provides solid play between the pipes, and they’ve already shown to be a challenging matchup for the Hurricanes in the regular season.
Simon Edvinsson and Axel Sandin-Pellikka provide strong upside on defense, but the forward depth is a possible issue here in a playoff series.
The Wings, like every team in the top half of the Atlantic, have been playing incredible hockey for a while now. If the Hurricanes face one of these Atlantic teams, it could look comparable to that 107-point 2022 Bruins squad that finished fourth in the division.
Washington Capitals
After a shockingly strong regular season that saw them claim the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25, many predicted a fall back to earth for the Capitals.
Not many were brave enough to peg them as a team outside the playoffs entirely, but that’s where they sit right now. A big win over Vegas on Friday helps their chances, but they’re two points behind a Bruins team that has three games in hand on them for the second wild card spot at the time of this writing.
But if the Capitals were overrated last year when the Canes sent them home with relative ease in the second round, they’re underrated this season.
Logan Thompson is still the sort of goalie who can steal a series. They still have the sort of physical, defensive buy-in from most of their forwards that translates well to the spring. Jakob Chychrun, Alex Ovechkin and Aliaksei Protas provide valuable finishing ability.
The lack of elite talent up front will hold this team back, but with all the other ingredients, Washington is not a first-round matchup I’d be clamoring for personally.
New York Islanders
This is certainly not your grandfather’s New York Islanders, but it’s definitely not your New York Islanders either.
Sure, Patrick Roy is still the coach, and they’re still largely dependent upon goaltender Ilya Sorokin turning in elite performances on a regular basis, but there’s something different about this team from the past iterations the Canes have easily sent home in the spring.
It’s largely about Matthew Schaefer, the jaw-droppingly good rookie defenseman who has taken the league by storm as he waltzes to the Calder Trophy.
He’s a minute-munching blue liner who skates like the wind and has a finishing touch that would put many quality top-six forwards to shame. He recently broke the record for most goals by an 18-year-old defenseman.
Throw in a quality one-two punch down the middle consisting of Bo Horvat and a newly healthy Mathew Barzal, and while the Isles need more time in the oven to be a real contender, they have a much higher ceiling than they have in recent years.
They’re 33-21-5, currently third in the Metro, and it would require a really strong push from Washington for the Islanders to fall into the wild card mix. If it happens, Carolina would be favored, but write this Islanders squad off at your own peril.
Columbus Blue Jackets
I’m not going to devote a ton of time to the Jackets here. They’re currently six points out of the playoffs, but they could still get in.
They’ve turned a corner since hiring Rick Bowness as their head coach following the dismissal of Dean Evason, but a loss to Boston in their first game back from the break poured some cold water on their hopes.
Zach Werenski is having another Norris-caliber season, and forwards like Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov and Adam Fantilli provide some young upside to go with strong veteran contributions from Charlie Coyle, but there’s not much of note beyond those key core pieces.
Young goalie Jet Greaves and his .910 save percentage is surely the most intimidating thing about this team in a playoff matchup in terms of who could single-handedly steal a series for this team.
If Columbus gets in, it means they went on a run that would make them hot enough to be concerning, but this is as close as it would get for the Canes to what they’ve drawn in the past few years.
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