At the end of the season, oftentimes players will be asked if they have been playing through any knocks or injuries in the playoffs or in the season before they get the summer to recover.
The Los Angeles Kings held their end-of-season presser on Wednesday, for the players at least. In this final media availability for the campaign, Kings center Quinton Byfield revealed that he dealt with a pair of serious injuries beyond the halfway mark of the regular season.
After the Olympic break in February, Byfield suffered a torn oblique on his right side, which is a tear in the abdominal muscles, usually caused by sudden twisting motions, among other actions.
Byfield's misfortune didn't end there because once his right-sided oblique tear healed, he received the same injury on his left side.
Multiple sources say that an oblique tear takes weeks to heal, and for athletes to return to action, it could take up to six weeks or more.
However, though Byfield's body has gone through much distress, the 23-year-old only missed three regular-season contests this past season.
In his last 16 games of the regular season, the Newmarket, Ont., native recorded 11 goals and 16 points, leading the Kings in scoring during that span.
Also, in the last 15 games of the year, Byfield had 11 goals, which had him tied for third in the NHL in that stretch. He was scoring at a similar rate to Nikita Kucherov, Macklin Celebrini, Connor McDavid and Cole Caufield at the time.
He went on to reach a new career high in goals, totalling 24 tallies, along with 25 assists for 49 points in 79 appearances. Not to mention, he set a new personal best in average ice time, logging 20:01 per game, reaching the 20-minute mark average for the first time in his young NHL career.
To go through the physical toll and strain of two oblique tears, Byfield's finish to the 2025-26 season was rather impressive.
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In the Montreal Canadiens’ 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Benchmark International Arena, sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson rewrote another page of the storied franchise history book.
With the primary assist on Alexandre Texier's game-winning goal, the 22-year-old blueliner picked up the 10th point of his career in the playoffs in just his 10th career game and became the fastest rearguard in Habs’ history to reach that milestone. The mark previously belonged to Chris Chelios.
Nikita Kucherov whiffs on the puck with a wide open net
- Lane Hutson notices a bad line change by Tampa and wires a great stretch pass
Just two full seasons into his professional career, the blueliner is turning out to be the steal of the 2022 draft. The Canadiens grabbed him with the 62nd overall pick at the tail end of the second round. So far, in the regular season, he has put up 146 points in just 166 games, which works out to 0.88 points per game.
In the Canadiens' all-important Game 5 win, he spent 23:31 on the ice and made quite a few heads-up plays. At one stage, in the first frame, his stick broke in his hands, and he had the presence of mind to change his grip to hold it together, which went unnoticed by the referees. Unfortunately for him, when he played the puck with it, he sent it into the netting and got a delay of game penalty, but he just didn’t want to be out there deep in his territory without a stick against Tampa’s powerful attack.
When he was hit with a high stick by Brayden Point during a collision and slashed for good measure afterwards, he didn’t pout, he didn’t complain, he just kept on playing. Of course, the sequence ended with the Lightning’s first goal of the game on an odd-man rush on which only Hutson was back to defend. While it ended with a goal, he defended it the right way, ensuring Dominic James couldn’t pass the puck.
The poise and the confidence with which he plays are nothing short of extraordinary at such a young age, especially on the blueline. It normally takes a long time for a defenseman to master their craft, but Hutson is already well on his way there, and sooner rather than later, he’ll be in the Norris Trophy conversation.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 29 : Dennis Cholowski #44 of the New Jersey Devils warms up before the NHL regular season game against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Prudential Center on March 29, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Maclean/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The New Jersey Devils don’t have an extensive list of players set to hit free agency once the playoffs conclude, but there are some minor pieces set to enter unrestricted free agency. Today, we start looking at unrestricted free agent Devils with a pair of depth defenders. Both Dennis Cholowski and Colton White played a decent amount of games in New Jersey this past season, and they’re obviously familiar with the team and their systems. So is it worth bringing one or both of them back next season? Let’s dive in and find out.
Who is Dennis Cholowski and What Has He Done as a Devil?
Much like he was when Chris wrote about him last offseason, Cholowski remains a depth defenseman in the Devils system. He is once again an unrestricted free agent after the Devils gave him a one year league minimum deal. While he only appeared in six contests as a Devil in 2024-25, he did manage 39 NHL games overall between those and 33 with the Islanders. He scored three goals and added seven assists for te points, although none of them came in his time in New Jersey.
Thankfully in 2025-26 he only appeared in 17 games (though sadly all were for the Devils) registering a mere two assists across those appearances. Even in limited appearances and with limited minutes on an underachieving Devils team, Cholowski still managed to look as though he did not belong in the NHL on most nights. While his AHL stats were better (five assists in 13 contests), it was a really low bar to clear. His numbers still are not what one would expect from a player whose main positive attribute is supposed to be his offense. He is what he is at this point, which is an AHL caliber player who you hope doesn’t get called up into NHL duty.
What Will Cholowski Do Going Forward? What is His Value?
While Utica could certainly do worse than Cholowski, I’d stand to say they could probably do better than having him in their ranks as well. New Jersey is absolutely better off without Cholowski than they would be with him. It’s true some defenders blossom later into their careers, but we’re usually talking by their age 26-27 seasons at latest; Cholowski is heading into his age 28-29 season and I just don’t see him suddenly becoming a competent defender over the course of one summer. You’re looking at a guy who probably hangs around the AHL and as spots for veterans get more and more competitive with more players aging up, he might eventually make the leap overseas to finish his career. For now, I think he’s a known commodity and there will be at least a couple of teams who see value enough for him to want to stick around.
Unless he does decide that the grass looks greener overseas, I could see him getting another league minimum contract. I don’t think a 17 game sample size (or 30 if you want to include his AHL appearances) of mediocre to bad play earns a player anything other than the lowest amount the league contractually allows teams to pay. While I do believe he will probably get a couple of offers for league minimum or maybe SLIGHTLY above it, I don’t think a depth defender is going to wind up seeing teams engage in a bidding war over him.
Who is Colton White and What Has He Done as a Devil?
Colton White came back to the Devils in the summer of 2024 on a two year deal after spending a pair of seasons with Anaheim. Originally a 2015 fourth round draft selection of the Devils, White started off with enough promise to earn a few game stints in each of the 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21. He did not show enough promise, however to overtake any of the team’s other defenders at time, and eventually, he wound up being passed on the team’s depth chart by other defenders. That could be part of what led to him leaving for the Ducks, as upon his arrival in Anaheim, he would play 46 games, the most NHL games in one season of his career still to this day.
In his most recent stint, White has spent most of his time in Utica. He had a a great 2024-25 for a poor Utica team with 21 points in 61 appearances. He would split 2025-26 between Utica and New Jersey, making 30 appearances in the AHL and 23 in the NHL. The nicest thing I can say about White’s 23 NHL contests is that he had four assists while playing below average defense. He was last called up in mid-February and sent back down a week and a half later; even with the Devils being down Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce at the end of the season, White’s lackluster play meant he was not brought back up to the NHL.
What Will White Do Going Forward? What is His Value?
Much like Cholowski, I think White is what he is at this point which is a depth defender, especially considering he’s actually slightly older than Cholowski. I see a similar trajectory for the rest of his career: mostly minor league games, maybe a small stint here or there in the NHL as an injury fill-in, possibly finishing up his career overseas depending upon team situations, roster spots, and other unpredictable factors like injuries. As such, White is another league minimum guy.
As I said above for Cholowski, maybe, MAYBE some GM feels generous, or decides they need Colton White in their system and they offer a bit more than league minimum to entice him. I personally don’t see that being the case, and I think White’s path forward might depend upon where he sees a chance for himself to earn more minutes and NHL games. The Devils may not be stacked at left defense, but White is not better than the players they have playing regular NHL minutes. I also think the fact that the Devils seemed to prefer having Cholowski up over White at the end of the season shows where he falls on their depth chart; White’s path forward seems as if it will need another franchise if he wants NHL time.
What I Would Do With Them and What I Think the Devils Will Do
As I mentioned when talk about each player, I could see them each getting another one way deal at league minimum. I could also see them accepting a deal with a two way structure that sees them earn less in the AHL to stay in North America; at the same time, some players reject those deals if they feel they can make more overseas. If I were being asked to make the decision here, I wouldn’t be offering one of those deals to either of those players. If you forced me to choose one, I would pick White, as while I don’t think highly of his defending, I still think he’s better than Cholowski. I think if the Devils are looking for veterans to mentor their younger defenders in the AHL, they can find a player or two with a bit more ability to actually defend.
I think and hope that with new General Manager Sunny Mehta taking over, the organization will try to shed some of their underachievers and that includes at the minor league level. The fact that Utica has started off the last pair of seasons unbelievably poorly means that some of the personnel needs to be changed in order to achieve different results. I think the Devils will pass on bringing back either of these players, but the unpredictability with a new GM and of the NHL free agency period in general means you never know for sure until the contracts are signed.
Your Take
Now I’d like to hear your thoughts as to what the Devils should do with this pair of defenders. Should they offer a contract to bring both back? Just White? Just Cholowski? Do you agree that the team should look elsewhere for depth defense help/AHL defenders? Is there some part of either player’s game that makes you want the Devils to bring them back? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!
PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 27: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks on against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Five of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 27, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Penguins playoff run and 2025-26 season came to an end on Wednesday night with a 1-0 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. It is a frustrating loss, mostly because the Penguins were the better team for most of the game, including the third period and overtime. It was the third consecutive game in the series where they got better, played better, and seemed to be tilting the ice in their favor. Each game it felt like there was a big breakthrough about to happen, and then they simply ran out of time for it to happen.
If it had gone to a Game 7, you would have had to have liked their chances.
But there will be no Game 7, and it is not really because of what happened on Wednesday night in Philadelphia.
It is because of what happened in Games 1-3, and specifically in Games 1-2 on home ice.
Those games count just as much as the later games, and in some ways they count even more. When you put yourself into a 3-0 hole, you are leaving yourself with no margin for error the rest of the way. Literally, zero margin. You have to be nearly perfect and get some breaks. The Penguins made it interesting, they made it dramatic, and I have no fault with the way they played to close out the series. They just put themselves in a bad spot. You can not do that if you are going to win in the playoffs.
It also does not negate the positives from the season.
Like I said on Tuesday, not every season has to end with a championship or a No. 1 overall pick to be meaningful. You can enjoy a fun, unexpected season and walk away from it feeling good. You can appreciate the ride. And this was one hell of a ride that nobody expected when the season began.
Outside of that stretch in December where they lost eight games in a row and blew some unimaginable leads, this team was consistently awesome. Even that ugly stretch of games was important for the storyline because their ability to bounce back from that losing streak, and the way they accumulated some of those losses, was a testament to the mindset they had and showed all year. Nothing phased them. Nothing shook them. Most teams that go down 3-0 fizzle out in four or five games. They were a shot away from a Game 7 on home ice. It is okay to walk away from that feeling good when the season began with the team being labeled as “the only team trying not to win,” and having the third-worst playoff odds in the league.
They also found some dudes for the long haul.
Ben Kindel is a dude and got a taste of what the NHL and playoff hockey are all about.
Egor Chinakhov looks like a dude. I am not down on his playoff performance that much. It is frustrating he never broke through and found that goal, but he was at least noticeable and in scoring positions.
They found some players that look like they have a chance to stick around. Elmer Soderblom has a place here. Harrison Brunicke is going to be here next season. Sergei Murashov is going to be here next season. Both got a taste of NHL life and gave you a glimpse of what they can do. You should be excited for it. Especially Murashov.
The season did not take on the look or feel that everybody expected, but it was hardly a waste.
Not only do they have more people coming from within, they have an outstanding salary cap situation and tradable assets going into the summer. I have no idea what is going to happen this summer and who it is going to involve, but it is going to be one of the more fascinating offseasons we have seen in a while.
We have weeks to discuss all of that. For now, let’s just take some quick thoughts on what we just watched in the first round.
1. The Penguins lost this series on the power play
This was the difference and the thing I am going to keep going back to when it comes to where it all went wrong. They had opportunities. They had chances to swing games. And they not only failed to do so, they usually sucked the life out of games and ruined momentum. The two worst examples of it were in Games 1 and 2 and Game 6. In the first two games at home they were barely able to even enter the zone. In Game 2, they missed early opportunities to score the first goal and then gave up a back-breaking shorthanded goal in the third period with a chance to tie the game. In Game 6, they again missed some big opportunities to break through and score the first goal.
Aside from the lack of production, it just never felt like they were particularly close to scoring. The numbers back that up. They generated just 7.73 expected goals per 60 minutes of power play time, 12th among the 16 playoff teams as of Thursday. That number would have ranked 31st in the NHL during the regular season. The Penguins, for that matter, generated 9.19 expected goals per 60 minutes of power play time, 11th most in the NHL.
Perhaps even more concerning is the fact the Penguins power play ALLOWED 2.30 expected goals per 60 minutes (including a shorthanded goal). That is an appalling number. No other team in the playoffs has allowed more than 1.77. No team in the regular season allowed more than 1.39 per 60 minutes of power play time.
The power play did them in.
It did them in by not scoring enough, by giving up a game-changing and series-changing goal, and by sucking momentum away from them and toward the Flyers.
Too many times in this series it looked like the power play we saw the past few years. Stationary. Not enough chances. Too much perimeter passing. Easily the most disappointing part of the series from a Penguins perspective.
2. Anthony Mantha can not be back
What a roller coaster of a season this has been. He arrived with the expectation of being a trade chip. He ended up having a career year, scoring 33 goals, setting a career high and leading the team in goals. Then he delivered one of the most underwhelming, no-show playoff appearances I can ever recall from a Penguins player. Non-factor does not even begin to describe this playoff showing from him, and the fact he has now played 20 career playoff games and not scored a single goal is a tough look.
Also a tough look: Flubbing a potential game-winning chance in overtime with a muffin backhand shot, and then standing at the side of the net like it is a regular season practice with your stick on your knees while everybody else digs for the puck.
If opposing general managers really were watching him closely this offseason as a pending unrestricted free agent, he did not do himself any favors.
3. Arturs Silovs is chaotic
What do you do with this guy?
He is still young.
He still has limited NHL experience so the jury is still out on him.
He is a goalie, so trying to project future performance is as useful as trying to predict what the weather is going to do four weeks from now.
He went through stretches this season that made you say, “hey, this guy might be a player.” He went through stretches that made you say, “how is this guy an NHL goalie?” Through all of those stretches his rebound control and puck-playing skills were a constant wild ride.
But man did he deliver in the playoffs when he got his opportunity. As limited as his resume is, he has already developed a reputation as a big-game player and he only built on that over the past three games.
I will admit that he was the biggest concern that I had in the Penguins ability to make this series or potentially win it. But he played great.
4. The Big Three Era
Sidney Crosby is going to be back, but we have no idea whether or not Evgeni Malkin or Kris Letang will be. If one, or both, of them is not, what a run it has been.
Since the start of the 2005-06 season no team in the NHL has won more playoff games than the Penguins.
No team has been in more Stanley Cup Finals.
Only one team has won as many Stanley Cups.
Hard to find fault with any of this. The best and most successful 20-plus year run in the history of the franchise. These guys were the centerpieces of it all.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 29: Parker Wotherspoon #28 of the Pittsburgh Penguins embraces Arturs Silovs #37 of the Pittsburgh Penguins after a overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Six of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena on April 29, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The postmortem for an elimination game is always something. Add in the twist that Game 6 was a 1-0 OT loss and that takes it to a new level. On the simplest of terms, it doesn’t take much more than the surface level fact that you can’t win if you don’t score. That proved to be a major issue for the Penguins, who only combined to score four total goals in their four playoff losses – two of them coming via shutout.
In that way, it’s a team loss. The power play was woefully ineffective again, going 0/2 on the night and never even threatening to score. The same personnel was used, which personally I can’t knock, but the mindset was the same and the urgency to create wasn’t there. Not a great formula.
The Penguins managed 42 shots, which looks all well and good in the boxscore but didn’t manage to get many from the middle of the ice on goal, a credit to the defensive work of Philadelphia that was on point throughout Game 6 and almost all of the series. Pittsburgh’s strengths of generating off the rush and creating odd-man situations was completely erased. Slot chances that didn’t get deflected away were nearly as absent.
There were plenty of flashes where it could have been different, as happens in every game. Egor Chinakhov and Tommy Novak struck iron. Bryan Rust got a great chance from down low. Evgeni Malkin had a few looks at the net. Dan Vladar was on his game and there was no fortunate bounce or crazy play to capitalize on for Pittsburgh in Game 6.
In the end, it’s always a mistake that ends a 1-0 overtime playoff game and while there wasn’t a singular moment, the Pens pushed their luck too far. Their worst line let them down, it’s easy to point to Anthony Mantha’s non-play along the wall that helped lead to an odd man rush for Owen Tippett. Tippett zoomed around Ryan Shea, who didn’t have a great game and was pushed into deep water. Erik Karlsson, who played 36:22 on a night where the next closet player in icetime on either team was Travis Sanheim’s 31:20, couldn’t cover it up. Arturs Silovs could, as he did throughout most of the night. The puck was laying in the crease, plenty of open net in front of it for Porter Martone. Martone’s shot was foiled by Silovs’ discarded stick getting in the way.
The Pens had to ice the puck, trapping those players all working on a 1:30+ shift. Ben Kindel lost the faceoff cleanly. Mantha and Elmer Soderblom both opted to stay deep in the zone as the Flyers moved the puck along the blueline. It got to Cam York, and he leaned into a wrist shot that finally was one Silovs couldn’t stop. Ball game and season.
There was a dichotomy in overtime where the Penguins legitimately were carrying play and showing a much stronger level, but also draining out faster. At one point Bryan Rust motioned the bench that he wanted a change, only to wave it off when he had to fall back into the play and defend. You couldn’t literally hear him sigh but it was easily understandable in the moment. Even Kindel, the youngest player on the team, was skating much slower by the end. It was like a team chugging unevenly to the finish line.
Try as they may, the Penguins hit empty and then got caught. Game 6 was one of the best games they had in the series and certainly the best goaltending performance they’ve received in a long, long time- and yet they didn’t score a single goal either. It’s a tough result to swallow and brutal way to end a season.
Erik Karlsson’s perspective tends to be right on the money, his post-game comments sum it up.
“We got everyone playing up to their full potential all year. Then come this time of the year, you’re going to need a little bit more. And we just couldn’t reach that level, unfortunately,” Erik Karlsson said.
“If we reach this level of play from Game 1, we’re in a much better situation. Unfortunately, we didn’t. So today, great effort from the guys. Today, we played the way that we intended to right from the beginning, but all the credit to them. They bent. They bent hard, but they didn’t break. That’s why they’re moving on, and we’re not. And as much as it sucks, you gotta realize that you’re playing against good players and other good teams. And we were outplayed for the series.”
Ultimately, the Penguins came close and gave it their all, but just couldn’t get quite enough to advance. It happened in Game 6 and will be the lasting takeaway from their short experience in the 2026 playoffs.
In his first season as Head Coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, former Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet has advanced to the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With their win today, Tocchet, ex-Canucks defenceman Noah Juulsen, and the Flyers have managed to save themselves from a potential series comeback from Artūrs Šilovs and the Pittsbrugh Penguins.
The most notable part of this series was the Penguins’ quick shift in starting goaltenders. Šilovs stepped in for Stuart Skinner in Game 4, winning his first two games and saving Pittsburgh from being swept in the first round. He recorded a SV% of .900 or more during these two games. In Game 6, he stopped all but one of the 31 shots he faced, with Philadelphia ultimately ending the series in overtime by a score of 1–0.
Tocchet spent nearly three seasons as the Canucks’ Head Coach, helping Vancouver to Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals in his first full season behind the bench. During that season, the Canucks registered a record of 50–23–9, winning the Pacific Division at the end of the regular season and earning Tocchet his first Jack Adams Award. He parted ways with the organization at the end of the 2024–25 season, joining the Flyers on a five-year contract.
Also a member of the Flyers is Juulsen, who spent four seasons with the Canucks organization before also heading to Philadelphia during the 2025 off-season. The defenceman has played in six of the Flyers’ games this post-season, putting up two assists in this span of time.
In the Metropolitan Division Final, the Flyers will face another former Canuck in Jalen Chatfield and his team, the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes also swept their first-round series, eliminating former Canucks Head Coach Travis Green and the Ottawa Senators from the post-season.
Apr 20, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) clears the puck past Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Noah Juulsen (47) during the second period in game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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Apr 29, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) blocks a shot from Montreal Canadiens center Jake Evans (71) in the second period during game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Nathan Ray Seebeck/Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Another home loss in the playoffs has the Tampa Bay Lightning on the brink of an early vacation once again.
Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed a fluke goal on the day he was nominated for the Vezina Trophy, the Lightning struggled to win faceoffs, lucky bounces went the other way and they lost to the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Wednesday night to fall behind 3-2 in the series.
Game 6 is Friday night in Montreal. The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth straight first-round elimination since falling two wins short of a Stanley Cup three-peat in 2022.
“We got to drag them back here,” forward Corey Perry said. “You know it’s going to be a hostile environment. It’s loud but block it out and just go play. We found a way last game there. We got to do it again.”
The Lightning won Game 4 in Montreal but have lost 10 of their last 12 home games in the playoffs.
Alexandre Texier scored the winning goal 1:06 into the third period on a slap shot from the left circle that bounced off Vasilevskiy’s glove and trickled behind one of the NHL’s best goaltenders.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper blamed the goal on the defense.
“It stems way before that. It doesn’t stem from when Texier gets down the ice. It stems from the change and how we went about it and the mistakes we made on the way there,” Cooper said. “Forever, all Vasy does is bail us out of those. The rare time sometimes he doesn’t. He should’ve never got that deep into our zone and he got a lot on it. It wasn’t like Vasy got beat. He had it and it took a Montreal bounce, unfortunately for us.
The Canadiens dominated the faceoff circle, winning 66%. In another tight game - all five have been decided by one goal and the first three went to overtime - every puck possession matters.
“Possession is huge,” forward Brayden Point said. “There’s not a lot of room out there. Starting with the puck is massive.”
The Lightning had 40 shots on rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes but only Dominic James and Jake Guentzel could get the puck past him.
They had shots hit the post, crossbar and Nikita Kucherov had the puck bounce over his stick with an open net.
“We need other guys to score and haven’t been able to do it,” Point said. “It is frustrating. Just got to keep doing the right things and keep working hard.”
The Lightning have lost their last two elimination games. If they can win again in Montreal, they’ll host Game 7 on Sunday.
“I understand the next game is a potential elimination game but the last game we played there, we lose that one and we’re down 3-1 (and) you’re really chasing the series,” Cooper said. “They’ve been in that building twice now and have a pretty good feeling of what to expect. How it’s going to go? I can’t say for sure but I’ll bet we play better than we did tonight.
With their 1-0 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6, the Pittsburgh Penguins' off-season is officially here. When noting that the Penguins took a big step in the right direction this season, it would not be surprising if they looked to upgrade some spots on their roster during the summer.
One specific area that the Penguins could look to improve this off-season is the right side of their defense. When looking at trade candidates around the NHL, one player who stands out as an intriguing option is Calgary Flames defenseman Zach Whitecloud.
Whitecloud generated plenty of chatter as a trade candidate leading up to this year's trade deadline, but the Flames held onto him. However, with the Flames rebuilding, it is fair to wonder if Whitecloud will be a player they listen to offers for during the summer.
If the Penguins acquired Whitecloud, he could be a strong fit on their bottom pairing and penalty kill. However, he also could move up their lineup if needed, which adds to his appeal.
Whitecloud also has a $2.75 million cap hit until the end of the 2027-28 season, so he would be more than a rental for the Penguins if acquired.
In 78 games this season split between the Vegas Golden Knights and Flames, Whitecloud had two goals, 15 assists, 17 points, 124 hits, and 140 blocks.
The Montreal Canadiens picked up a massive 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday in Game 5. With this, the Canadiens now have a 3-2 series lead over the Bolts and need only one more win to advance to the second round.
Alexandre Texier was a massive reason for the Canadiens picking up this clutch win. This is because the 26-year-old forward scored the game-winning goal for the Habs at the 1:06 mark of the third period.
With this goal, Texier stepped up in a significant way for the Canadiens in Game 6. He is only continuing to prove to the Habs that they made the right call by signing him after he mutually terminated his contract with the St. Louis Blues earlier this season.
Texier has been red-hot for the Canadiens this series, too, as he has two goals, four points, and a plus-5 rating in five games so far. However, it is also important to note that he has gotten all of his points over his last three games. Thus, he has been playing excellently, and the Canadiens are benefiting from it big time.
The Canadiens will now be hoping for Texier to continue to make an impact for them as the playoffs roll on. In 43 regular-season games with the Canadiens in 2025-26, he had eight goals, 12 assists, 20 points, and a plus-9 rating.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' playoff run came to an end on Wednesday night, as they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime by a 1-0 final score. The Penguins showed great heart after going down 3-0 in the series by winning Games 4 and 5, but they just fell short in Game 6.
Now, the offseason is here for the Penguins, and it should be a very big summer in Pittsburgh. The Penguins have several pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) to make decisions about this summer.
However, there appears to be a good chance that these three pending UFAs won't be back for the Penguins next season.
Stuart Skinner, G
After losing the Penguins' crease during the playoffs to Arturs Silovs, it is certainly fair to wonder if Stuart Skinner's time in Pittsburgh could be coming to an end. This is especially so when noting that the Penguins also have top goalie prospect Sergei Murashov looking NHL-ready.
In 27 games this season for the Penguins after being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers, Skinner had a 12-9-5 record, a 2.99 goals-against average, and an .885 save percentage.
Kevin Hayes, RW, C
Kevin Hayes is another Penguins pending UFA who likely won't be back next season. The 33-year-old forward became the odd man out on Pittsburgh's roster this season and was scratched several times because of it.
In 28 games this season with the Penguins, he had four goals, eight points, and a minus-1 rating. He did not play in a single postseason game for the Pens.
Connor Clifton, D
It would not be particularly surprising if the Penguins let Connor Clifton leave in free agency. The 31-year-old was scratched often this season by the Penguins, and that included multiple times during the playoffs.
With this, it would not be shocking if the Penguins looked to add a younger upgrade for their right side over Clifton. In 50 games this season, Clifton had two goals and four assists. He also had zero points and a minus-3 rating in three playoff games.
MONTREAL, CANADA - APRIL 26: Jake Guentzel #59 of the Tampa Bay Lightning crashes into goaltender Jakub Dobes #75 of the Montréal Canadiens during the second period in Game Four of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on April 26, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montréal Canadiens 3-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the month of April about to be in the books, we’re nearing the end of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Six of the eight series have been incredibly hard fought with either high levels of quality hockey, entertaining hockey, or burning hatred between the two sides.
The Carolina Hurricanes have been idle for four full days going on five days after completing a sweep of the Ottawa Senators, and while we now know their first round opponent will be the Philadelphia Flyers, we still don’t know much else about who will be in the mix in round two.
Here’s the state of play around the league outside of Carolina’s four-game sweep:
Eastern Conference
Philadelphia Flyers def. Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2
The Flyers became the third team to advance to the second round on Wednesday night with a 1-0 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, meaning they will be Carolina’s opponent in round two.
Philadelphia avoided becoming the fifth team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 series lead in the playoffs, as Pittsburgh was just one more goal away from forcing a decisive Game 7 on home ice.
More coming on the Flyers later today, but this sets up an interesting off-season in the Steel City, as Evgeni Malkin is set to be an unrestricted free agent, and while he turned back the clock in the regular season, the tone about extending his career in Pittsburgh has been noncommittal from both sides since training camp.
Kyle Dubas did a good job putting a solid team together this year, but he will have his work cut out for him in his bid to give Sidney Crosby another shut in the playoffs next year.
Buffalo Sabres lead Boston Bruins, 3-2
Speaking of being on the verge of blowing leads, things looked over and done for the Bruins after a humiliating 6-1 loss at home in Game 4 to go down 3-1.
Then, Jeremy Swayman and David Pastrnak did what they usually do in Game 5 in Buffalo, as Swayman bounced back from Game 4 and Pastrnak delivered a silky smooth overtime winner to quiet the Buffalo crowd and send the series back to Beantown for Game 6 Friday night.
For the Sabres, the season they snapped what was by far the longest playoff drought in the NHL should have felt like house money, but this team was too good all year to accept a first-round exit against an inferior opponent.
Now, the pressure is squarely on for a largely inexperienced group to close the door on a savvy but flawed Bruins squad.
Montreal Canadiens lead Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2
There are a few strong contenders, but for me, this has been the best series of the first round. Three of the five games have been decided in overtime, and the other two were one-goal games that came down to the wire.
Tampa Bay seemed to grab momentum when Brandon Hagel’s sixth goal of the series late in the third period of Game 4 gave them a win that tied the series, as of course the Vegas-favored and more experienced Lightning finding their footing and heading back home would give them a major edge, right?
Wrong. The Canadiens went to Florida and stunned the Bolts on Wednesday night, as Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy let in one of the worst game-winners you’ll see all postseason in a 3-2 loss to put his team’s backs against the wall.
For all the talk of Montreal’s top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky being elite, it was the team’s forward depth that won them the game Wednesday as Brendan Gallagher, Kirby Dach, and Alexandre Texier came up with the club’s goals.
The fourth one is the hardest to win, and Tampa Bay won’t go down without a fight, but the Canadiens are a very, very dangerous team.
Western Conference
Colorado Avalanche def. Los Angeles Kings, 4-0
While it may have been a little bit surprising that the Hurricanes swept a Senators team down the stretch, there is absolutely zero surprise that the Avalanche did away with the Kings in four games.
The Presidents’ Trophy winners are the favorites to lift Lord Stanley, and everyone knows it, and Colorado really wasn’t tested here despite delivering a solid all-around performance. Fresh off his first 100-point season, though, former Hurricanes Martin Necas was held without a goal and limited to just two assists. His playoff struggles in Carolina were well-documented, and against tougher teams, the Avs will need him to be a factor in producing offensively.
On the other side, what a phenomenal career for retiring Kings center Anze Kopitar. It was great to see him get his due respect this season and then in the handshake line after Game 4.
Another former Hurricane who has something to do with Martin Necas (can’t quite recall exactly why) and his team are facing elimination here, as Mikko Rantanen and a hobbled Stars team just can not muster a goal at 5-on-5.
Dallas’ power play is keeping them in the series, but Minnesota has brought an all-around game backstopped by the phenomenal play of rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt. Olympic gold medalist Matthew Boldy has been a revelation for the Wild, as has the top pairing of his fellow gold medalists in Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber.
The Stars had a 2-1 series lead, but an overtime win at home for Minnesota in Game 4 followed by a relatively comfortable 4-2 win on the road in Game 5 have allowed the Wild to flip the script.
This series was always going to be a close one between two teams that deserved better fates than losing in the first round. The Wild have a chance to knock out the Stars on home ice on Thursday for the opportunity to take their shot at the Avalanche.
Vegas Golden Knights lead Utah Mammoth, 3-2
This a series with a clear-cut villain against a squad pretty much everyone wants to see win.
Just like in the last series, a 2-1 lead for one team has been flipped to a 3-2 lead for the other, as the Golden Knights have come up with back-to-back overtime wins to push the Mammoth to the brink.
Neither team is getting much in the way of quality goaltending, as Carter Hart and Karel Vejmelka have both struggled mightily. Vejmelka and Utah failed to hold on to 4-3 third-period leads in both Games 4 and 5, and it looks like that might cost the Mammoth their season.
Game 6 is slated for Friday night at 10:00 PM EST from Salt Lake City, and if you can stomach the lack of sleep, that promises to be one of the best games of the postseason.
Anaheim Ducks lead Edmonton Oilers, 3-2
This series sort of mirrors the one between Boston and Buffalo, but in this instance, instead of being a just-okay Bruins squad, the team looking to come back is the two-time reigning Western Conference champion Oilers.
Led by a valiant effort from Connor McDavid in Game 5, the Oilers cut a 3-1 series deficit to 3-2 behind strong play in net from Connor Ingram after looking like a team with nothing left in the tank through four games.
The Ducks are going to be one of the forces of the next decade or so in this league. Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier are a phenomenal one-two offensive punch, and Jackson LaCombe is the new Jaccob Slavin in that he’s this generation’s outstanding defenseman on a smaller market team that the national media is realizing has been overlooked for a bit.
While Anaheim’s future is promising, they could make their present intriguing too if they can find a way to deliver a knockout blow to the Oilers in Orange County on Thursday night.
The former 2018 third-round (76th overall) pick by Toronto has spent the last three seasons back in his home country of Russia, playing in the KHL, and has been quite productive.
Der-Arguchintsev appeared in only one NHL game since he was drafted in 2018, with the Maple Leafs against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 6, 2022. The playmaking forward then left Toronto in the summer of 2023 as a restricted free agent for a fresh start back home in the KHL.
He definitely got that, and now is looking to return to the team that drafted him.
"Semyon is considering the option of returning to Toronto," his agent, Shumi Babaev,
told R.org in an article posted on Tuesday. "We contacted former general manager Brad Treliving and expressed our desire to return to the club’s system. Now we are waiting for the appointment of a new general manager and to understand his position."
In his three seasons in the KHL, Der-Arguchintsev has scored 101 points (36 goals and 65 assists) in 171 regular season games. The 25-year-old also put up eight goals and 24 points in 36 KHL playoff games.
Der-Arguchintsev most recently made headlines after scoring a highlight-reel shootout-winner for Dynamo Moscow in mid-March.
Babaev adds that his experience back in Russia has helped prepare Der-Arguchintsev for another opportunity to try and crack the Maple Leafs' roster.
"I believe Semyon is ready for the NHL. Of course, he has to be ready for the possibility of playing in the AHL, but there is no point in going there just for that," Babaev said. "We are talking about a one-way contract with a salary closer to the league minimum."
The Maple Leafs may be looking for more depth this summer as the likes of Matias Maccelli, Nick Robertson, Jacob Quillan, and Ryan Tverberg are all pending restricted free agents.
Calle Jarnkrok, Travis Boyd, and Vinni Lettieri are also set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1.
Der-Arguchintsev's agent adds that there have been no "concrete negotiations" with the player's KHL club, Dynamo, and that the club has yet to contact their side about an extension.
Depending on how things shape out this summer, the Maple Leafs may be able to use Der-Arguchintsev's skill in their bottom six. First, though, Toronto needs to figure out its front office structure.
Once that's concluded, we'll see if they're interested in bringing the former prospect back in.
The Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning were back at it for Game 5 on Wednesday night. For the first time in this series, Martin St-Louis decided to bring a new player into his lineup: the 33-year-old battle-tested veteran, Brendan Gallagher. Ahead of the game, the Habs released a lineup that they didn’t really plan on using, which was St-Louis keeping his cards close to his chest, but he put his cards on the table at the opening draw, sending Juraj Slafkovsky out with Jake Evans and Ivan Demidov.
While the Buffalo Sabres’ crowd charmed Canada by singing its national anthem on Tuesday night, for a third game in a row, the singer chosen by Tampa wasn’t exactly up to the task. Not that that’s what people are there to see, but it does make you wonder.
Gallagher had been waiting for his opportunity since the start of the series, and he wasn’t going to miss it. With just three minutes gone in the game, he went hard to the net and picked up the scraps of a great individual effort by Alex Newhook to give the Canadiens an early 1-0 lead. In the first frame, he only spent 2:24 on the ice, but every time he was there, he was visible and managed to land two hits.
Then, in the second frame, he only added two minutes and 15 seconds to his tally, and he added another hit and late in the period, came in at full speed to pick Andrei Vasilevskiy’s pocket and feed Phillip Danault in front of the net, but he couldn’t put it in.
The veteran played a total of 6:48 across 10 shifts on the night, and all were solid, disciplined minutes. He didn’t extend any of his shifts, and it was a winning formula.
So Gallagher sits 4 games in the regular season, scores against Philly. Sits 4 games in the playoffs, scores against the Bolts...interesting. #GoHabsGo
Jakub Dobes has been playing aggressively all series long, and, in most games, it has served him very well. Early in Game 5, the Canadiens had a four-minute power play, and the netminder was their best player on that sequence. When the puck came deep into the Canadiens zone, he came out and stickhandled patiently with it, keeping it away from none other than Brandon Hagel before calmly passing it. A few seconds later, he found himself in possession of the puck and launched a rocket of a transition pass.
He’s also very aware of what’s going on around his net and made a good poke check as the Bolts were trying to catch him with a wraparound, without tripping the player. While what you’re mainly looking for from a goalie is making the saves behind the posts, it’s little plays like that that can give you the upper hand on a play that can turn out to be very important.
Still, in the dying seconds, it was his ability to make the important saves that allowed the Canadiens to fly back home with a 3-2 win and a 3-2 series lead. The masked man finished the game with 38 saves on 40 shots for a .950 save percentage. You can’t ask for much more from a goaltender.
Bouncing Back
The Canadiens could have been deflated when Dominic James scored on a two-on-one seconds after the referees missed a couple of penalty calls, but they weren’t. Just 11 seconds later, Kirby Dach gave the Habs their one-goal lead back, allowing them to move right along and let go of the frustration.
The big Albertan who had a great bounce-back game in Game 3 was much less visible in Game 4, but in Tampa, he certainly made his presence felt at the right time.
After sticking to his guns about his first time for the first four games, the Canadiens’ coach finally decided it was time to mix things up. He brought the energetic and forechecking machine, Josh Anderson, to the first line and put Slafkovsky with Demidov and Evans on the second line, creating a new challenge for Jon Cooper. Furthermore, instead of trying to give his guys rhythm by sticking to his combinations, he made on-the-fly adjustments a la Cooper.
When the Lightning had tired players on the ice, he sent out his usual first line, and the Bolts were struggling to keep up with them and cut their space. While they didn’t score, they produced good pressure, which carried over to the next line. Unfortunately, the sequence ended with a bad decision by Mike Matheson, who missed the net with a high shot. The puck bounced off the glass and sent Tampa off on a two-on-one, on which they tied up the game.
Once the Canadiens had regained the lead through Alexandre Texier early in the third, St-Louis also started deploying Danault alongside Suzuki, making his line more defensively responsible.
The two teams will meet again at 7:00 PM on Friday night, at the Bell Centre, and chances are, we’ll be in for yet another tight battle.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' Big Three of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang has been a huge part of the team's success with three Stanley Cup championships and nearly 4,000 games together.
But Malkin's contract is up and he can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Could this be the end of the Big Three?
Malkin has indicated a desire to return and general manager Kyle Dubas put off the decision until the offseason, which has arrived for the Penguins after their 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6.
He certainly can still play. He had 61 points in 56 games during the regular season, but he did miss 26 games with injury and a five-game suspension. A one-year deal would be a good compromise for the soon-to-be 40-year-old.
Crosby has one year left on his contract at $8.7 million, meaning he can sign an extension as early as July 1. Letang has two more years at $6.1 million. Though Letang's play appears to have slipped a bit, he did score the winning goals in Games 4 and 5.
The Penguins have more decisions to make than just on Malkin.
Anthony Mantha is also an unrestricted free agent. He scored 33 goals in the regular season on a one-year, $2.5 million contract but had only one point in six games in the playoffs.
Connor Dewar, Noel Acciari, Kevin Hayes, Connor Clifton and Ryan Shea are also pending UFAs.
So is goalie Stuart Skinner, who arrived this season in a trade. But the Penguins have to re-sign Arturs Silovs, who replaced Skinner (three losses) and won two playoff games and pushed Game 6 to overtime.
The Penguins also have goalie prospect Sergei Murashov, 22, in the American Hockey League. Could they let Skinner walk to give Murashov a chance for promotion?
The playoffs are steadily widdling down the number of combatants, with the Penguins the latest to fall. Tonight the Wild-Stars and Ducks-Oilers resume their series, with the home team in each aiming to stave off elimination again.
Yesterday’s late-breaking news was expected yet tempered by the Islanders’ late-season swoon: Ilya Sorokin is indeed one of the Vezina finalists for best goalie, along with Jeremy Swayman and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The other two are the common favorites, so don’t hold your breath for Ilya.
Kings' Pending RFA Brandt Clarke Explains Why He Hasn't Signed a New Contract YetLos Angeles Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke has yet to sign a contract extension, despite being a pending RFA. In Wednesday's end-of-season presser, the 23-year-old explains why negotiations have played out the way it has and his intentions with his future.
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