Category: NHL

The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Nashville Predators in matinee hockey at the United Center on Saturday. The Blackhawks came into this game looking to rebound from a bad loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.

The Predators entered Sunday above the playoff line. The Blackhawks had a chance to play spoiler for one of their top Central Division rivals. 

The Blackhawks played an okay first period, but there was no scoring for either side. The big story from the opening frame is Matt Grzelcyk’s injury, which took him out of the game. 

Nick Lardis got the Hawks on the board in the second with his 6th goal of the season. He was allowed to start a game in the top six, and he rewarded the coaches for it. 

Just over two minutes of game clock later, Nashville tied the game. Filip Forsberg scored his 31st to even things up for his team. 

The Blackhawks did reach the second intermission with a lead, as Connor Bedard scored his 29th of the season to put them up 2-1. He found himself on a breakaway, and he made a beautiful move to beat Juuse Saros. 

In the third period, Steven Stamkos tied things up again. Once again, the Blackhawks had a chance to put a game against a good team away, but they weren’t able to hang on to a late lead. Overtime was required with a 2-2 tie.

In the extra frame, Filip Forsberg took advantage of Andre Burakovsky behind the Blackhawks’ net. Once Forsberg stole the puck, he made a nice play to beat Spencer Knight and won it in overtime with his second of the game. 

After the game was over, Jeff Blashill confirmed that Matt Grzelcyk would miss the four-game road trip on the East Coast. He said that it is TBD beyond that. 

March has mostly been good to the young Blackhawks, but finishing off some of these potential wins has been an issue all season. There will be emphasis on fixing this as they head into the 2026-27 season. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

the goal, the replay, the celly… we’ve got it all ❤️ pic.twitter.com/XRcwCZLcSO

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 22, 2026

SAY SOMETHING NICE ABOUT #98❤️ pic.twitter.com/z0FkXKS0gZ

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 22, 2026

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Chicago Blackhawks will be back in action again on Tuesday night when they head east to take on the New York Islanders, the first of the aforementioned four-game road trip. 

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The Rangers may have found something in Tye Kartye.

Over his first 12 games with the Blueshirts, Kartye has racked up three goals and five assists for eight points since the organization plucked him off the waiver wire from the Kraken toward the end of February.

The game-tying goal he scored 41 seconds into the second period of Sunday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Jets counted as the 22nd of his career.

Kartye has already matched his production through his first 40 games of the season with the Kraken.

“Just his speed,” captain J.T. Miller said of what’s impressed him the most since teaming up with Kartye on a line. “I like playing with guys like that, that are relentless and a very good forechecker. Backs the D off, even if he doesn’t have the puck, he’s backing him off because he’s slashing out or whatever. It’s a simple game. I like playing with him and [Conor Sheary].

“Like when we get chances, try to play below the hash marks and grind the game down. Don’t make it too difficult on ourselves. Tye had a big game today. He was a big part of the success we had.”

He’s primarily skated in the middle six since coming to New York, but has skated on the wing of Miller and Sheary in the past couple of games.

Head coach Mike Sullivan has also worked him into the penalty-killing rotation, in which he has averaged 1:20 of short-handed ice time per game.

The PK ultimately fended off three of four power-play opportunities Sunday.

“I think Tye’s played great for us,” Sullivan said of the undrafted forward, who has 48 points in 191 career NHL games. “He’s a great kid, first and foremost. He brings great energy to the rink. He loves hockey. He loves to be on the ice. He loves to practice. He’s enthusiastic, and I think that energy is contagious. He can really skate. The one thing that jumps out to me is his puck-pursuit game, the offensive zone, just hunting pucks and hunting down defensemen and taking their time and space away. I think he creates opportunity for him and his linemates when he does it. And he’s a pretty conscientious guy defensively. He has a good stick. He’s willing to block shots…I think he’s been a welcomed addition to our lineup.”

The day after signing his three-year entry level contract, Drew Fortescue watched the Rangers take on the Jets from the MSG press box Sunday afternoon.

Considering the Rangers play another game against the Senators on Monday night, the expectation is Fortescue will get at least one practice with the team before making his NHL debut. The Rangers are scheduled to be off Tuesday following the back-to-back slate, so Fortescue’s first practice likely won’t be until after the team plays the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Wednesday.

His NHL debut could be Friday against the Blackhawks.

“I would envision him playing some games here moving forward and we’re excited to work with him,” Sullivan said after the loss Sunday.

The Rangers were pleased with how it worked out with Gabe Perreault last season, when the organization signed the young wing right after his season at Boston College ended and had him report to New York.

So much so that they wanted to do the same with Fortescue, who will also burn a year of his ELC by coming straight to Manhattan.

Had the Rangers not signed him this season, Fortescue would’ve only been eligible for a two-year deal after next season.

By signing him now, the Rangers get Fortescue into the system sooner and set him up to be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2028.

The Rangers are back in game action Monday night, when they welcome the Ottawa Senators to Madison Square Garden.

To say that Ottawa Senators winger Michael Amadio has been a model of consistency in his NHL career would be a major understatement. As an example, Amadio has posted exactly 27 points in each of the past three seasons.

But this year is now officially a career year.

Just a few weeks shy of his 30th birthday, Amadio marked the occasion early by hitting the 30-point plateau and scoring a huge third-period goal in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Amadio is in year two of a three-year contract with the Senators, and for a player who can be trusted in all situations, his $2.6 million salary is outrageously team-friendly.

Tim Stützle is among his admirers. When asked about him, Stützle quickly recalled Amadio's first go-around in Ottawa near the end of the 2020–21 season. The Senators acquired him from Los Angeles for defenceman Christian Wolanin almost exactly five years ago (March 29), when Stützle was closing out his rookie season.

“Nothing against the (former) management, but (Amadio) was a pretty good player, and we traded him away," Stutzle told the media.

“I was able to play on his line when he came in. We actually had a really good game, and then the next day he was traded. So I was really excited for him coming back (in 2024).

“And he's really underrated. In my opinion, he has one of the best sticks in the league, killing penalties, too... playing in every situation. I think just the space he creates for his teammates, it’s been awesome to see, and I think that line has been going really well.”

Amadio was Nick Paul's junior teammate for three seasons as they helped lead the Brampton/North Bay Battalion, and he's brought the same kind of no-frills reliability that Paul had here in his last couple of years before Ottawa shipped him to Tampa Bay.

Coaches love reliability.

It’s often said the very best way to know what a head coach thinks of a player is not to directly ask him, but to check his ice time. As the Senators took down the New York Islanders in a crucial 3-2 win on Thursday night, the Sault Ste. Marie native led all Senators forwards with 20:13.

But just to be on the safe side, the Ottawa media directly asked Travis Green what he thinks about Amadio.

“Yeah, Ammo’s one of those players. He just quietly brings a good game a lot of nights. He’s very smart. He’s got a real good stick, he can intercept passes well, and he’s got good hockey sense.

“He’s a nice player for us to have for sure.”

Amadio wasn't actually traded away by the Sens in 2021, so it didn't go down exactly as Stutzle described. Former GM Pierre Dorion just opted not to qualify him that summer, and Amadio eventually signed with the Leafs.

Toronto placed him on waivers in the first month, when he was snapped up by Vegas, where he eventually won a Stanley Cup in 2023. The following year, Ottawa signed him to the biggest deal of his career, a three-year pact worth $7.8 million.

Five years ago, under previous management, it's safe to say the Senators didn't know what they had. But today, in their fierce battle for a playoff spot, they'll take all the Ammo they can get. 

Steve Warne
The Hockey News

The Ducks have signed Herman Träff, the prospect to a three-year entry level contract beginning in 2026-27. Träff will join the San Diego Gulls in the AHL for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.

Träff was acquired by the Ducks last season when they sent Brian Dumoulin to the New Jersey Devils at the trade deadline. Playing for HV71 in the SHL at the time, Träff finished out the 2024-25 season with HV71 before signing a one-year deal with Oskarshamn in the HockeyAllsvenskan this past summer.

“I just feel like I’m gonna be at the place now (where I need to) play much, get more ice time and do my thing,” Träff said at Ducks development camp this past July. “I think it’s going to be good, in Oskarshamn, to do that. We will see. It feels good, and I’m ready for it.”

“He’s a big kid who has some nice skill,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said of Träff in his 2025 post-trade deadline conference call. “He has hockey sense. He plays with an edge and he’s a big kid. And I like that. He’s got an aggressive attitude when it comes to his physical game. Another piece that we can kind of look at to add to this team in the future.”

With Oskarshamn, Träff was able to utilize his shot more than he had before, becoming a power play weapon on the left flank and reaching the 20-goal mark for the first time in his juniors career.

Träff describes himself as a power forward who likes to shoot the puck and throw the body around. At 6-foot-3, he can certainly use his size to his advantage. The next step in his development, Träff says, is to be more direct when attacking.

“Sometimes, I can circle around (the offensive zone) a bit (too) much. I know the hockey they play here (in North America), it’s more against the net.”

The AHL is just the right place to hone in on that, with the style of play often being chaotic and resulting in several goalmouth scrambles every game. It will likely be a couple of seasons in the minors for Träff before he's ready to make the transition to the NHL, but his development path looks promising.

The Kings are on the second game of their back-to-back; they dropped their first game to the Buffalo Sabres 4-1. The Kings scored the first goal halfway through the first period, but after that, it was all Buffalo, as they scored 4 unanswered goals. The Kings have fallen out of a playoff spot, and with the Predators winning today, they are once again 3 points out. The Mammoth are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, so they will be looking to bounce back. 

Projected Kings Lines

Here are the projected lines for the Kings tonight: 

Artemi Panarin - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore - Quinton Byfield - Alex Laferriere

Alex Turcotte - Scott Laughton - Joel Armia

Jeff Malott - Samuel Helenius - Mathieu Joseph

Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty

Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke

Brian Dumoulin - Cody Ceci

Darcy Kuemper

Anton Forsberg

Projected Mammoth Lines

Here are the projected lines for the Mammoth tonight: 

Clayton Keller - Nick Schmaltz - Lawson Crouse

JJ Peterka - Logan Cooley - Dylan Guenther

Jack McBain - Barrett Hayton - Michael Carcone

Alexander Kerfoot - Kevin Stenlund - Kailer Yamamoto

Mikhail Sergachev - MacKenzie Weegar

Nate Schmidt - John Marino

Ian Cole - Sean Durzi

Karel Vejmelka

Vitek Vanecek

Injuries and Line Changes 

The Kings did not have a morning skate since they played yesterday. The Kings have scratched Jacob Moverare, Taylor Ward, Jared Wright and are still without Andrei Kuzmenko due to injury. The Mammoth are dressing the same 18 skaters they used in the loss against the Anaheim Ducks. 

Key Factors 

The Kings are in must-win mode, with only 13 games left this season. With them currently 3 points back, they need to make up ground, and this game is a great time to start. The Kings need to protect the lead when they have it and stay in the driver's seat. 

The Kings have also allowed 9 goals in their last 3 games, and that needs to change. This team has been solid defensively throughout the season, and they need to get back to that. As with Panarin, the offence has been better, but the Kings need to play better defensively. 

The Kings are likely to start Darcy Kuemper, and the Mammoth are likely to start Karel Vejmelka, so the goaltending matchup is a big one in tonight's matchup. The Kings have been relying on the Panarin-Kempe duo, and while that has been working well, the depth forwards have to start producing for the Kings. 

If the Kings can play stronger defence and get that depth scoring, they can capitalize on more mistakes, and with the Mammoth being a younger team, the Kings can use that to their advantage.

Overall, the Kings need to win this game to stay within a point of the last wildcard spot. My prediction for tonight's matchup is a 3-1 Kings win. 

Filip Forsberg netted his third game-winning goal of the season in the Nashville Predators' 3-2 overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday at the United Center. 

The Predators are riding their longest winning streak of the season at four games, rattling off wins over Winnipeg, Seattle, Vegas and Chicago. 

Nashville now has a two-game lead on the Los Angeles Kings for the Wild Card 2 spot. with 75 points. Even if the Kings defeat the Mammoth on Sunday, they will still be a point behind the Predators. 

On the goal, Forsberg shoved Andre Burakovsky off the puck behind the Chicago net and pulled around front. From the right side of Spencer Knight, Forsberg beat him on the left corner for the win. 

It's Forsberg's 32nd goal of the season, nine points in four games. He finished with three points (two goals and an assist) against the Blackhawks. 

FILIP FORSBERG HAVE YOURSELF A DAY pic.twitter.com/mgR5tzPvyE

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) March 22, 2026

Juuse Saros returned to the lineup after missing the past two games with an upper-body injury. He made 26 saves on 28 shots for his 25th win of the season. 

The first period was scoreless before Nick Lardis put the Blackhawks ahead early in the second. 

Nashville responded off Forsberg's first goal of the game. He got a feed from Jonathan Marchessault into the slot and Forsberg on a snap shot. Marchessault's assist was his third point in three games. 

Connor Bedard gave the Blackhawks the lead back in the second period off his 29th goal of the season. 

Steven Stamkos tied the game in the third period, redirecting a feed from Forsberg into the net. Stamkos now has five points in the last three games. 

The Predators head back home on Tuesday to take on the San Jose Sharks, who trail Nashville by five points in the standings. 

Dylan Garand held his own in his NHL debut on Sunday afternoon, which ended in a New York Rangers’ 3-2 shootout loss against the Winnipeg Jets.

This day was a long time coming as Garand was drafted in the fourth round by the Rangers back in 2020 and has spent the past four seasons playing in the American Hockey League for the Hartford Wolf Pack. 

“I think there are a lot of goalies that get rushed into the NHL, first or second year pro, not that many games under your belt, and things like that,” Garand said. “Sometimes that hurts your career. For me, I've played a lot of American League games, and, yeah, I think it's made me more ready for today. Didn’t rush my development. Definitely leaned on all of that experience for sure.”

On Wednesday night, after the Wolf Pack’s 5-2 win over the Charlotte Checkers, Garand was informed that not only would he be called up to the NHL, but he was also slated to start on Sunday. 

The 23-year-old goaltender’s mind was consumed by what would transpire once he touched the ice at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

“I found out after a game last Wednesday that I was gonna play on Sunday, so I just was kind of thinking all day, every day for the last four days,” Garand confessed. 

Garand secured tickets for his mom, dad, stepmom, and goalie coach from his days with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League.

Garand flashed off his potential, recording a total of 35 saves on 37 shots, while making timely stops, especially down the stretch in the third period. 

He was poised, looking steady and calm behind the pipes, and he did not appear to be flustered by the moment. 

Despite giving up two goals on Winnipeg’s two attempts in the shootout, Mike Sullivan was pleased with Garand’s performance.

“He obviously was terrific,” Sullivan said of Garand. “He looked really solid, calm demeanor there, track pucks well, rebound control was great. He made some big saves for us. I thought he had a really strong game.”

In the grand scheme of things, the score in Sunday afternoon’s game was meaningless compared to the magnitude of this day for Garand and his family. 

The young goaltender has had to overcome a long journey filled with highs and lows to get to this point, waiting patiently in the AHL for years before this opportunity to play in the NHL finally came around.

Dylan Garand Ready For Long-Awaited NHL Debut Dylan Garand is set to make his NHL debut for the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets.

“I've kind of been waiting to make my NHL debut my whole life… I don't even remember the last time I didn't want to be a hockey player. It’s my life’s dream,” Garand said. “It's pretty cool to accomplish that. Hopefully it’s just the beginning, but yeah, it's a dream come true for sure. It’s an awesome experience, and I’m glad my family is here for it too.”

With Jonathan Quick’s contract ending at the end of the 2025-26 season and his future in the NHL still uncertain past this year, the Rangers' backup goaltending position behind Igor Shesterkin could very much be up for grabs. 

Garand’s NHL debut showed that he’s capable of slotting into that backup role if the opportunity is presented to him.

It was another very early Sunday matinee affair as the Colorado Avalanche briefly visited the Nation’s Capital on their east coast swing to take on the Washington Capitals. It wasn’t pretty but Colorado woke from their slumber in the third period and survived until overtime to take home the 3-2 win and maintain a five-point lead in the Central division race.

One welcome surprise was the return of the captain to the lineup as Gabe Landeskog was deemed sufficiently recovered from his “uncomfortable” lower-body injury.

The Game

The visitors must have still been on mountain time because it was a sleepy start for the Avalanche. They only mustered six shots on goal in the first period and gave the Capitals the first score of the game. Washington super rookie Justin Sourdif converted on a breakaway on a defensive miscue by Val Nichushkin and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Truly nothing happened in the second period as the teams traded unsuccessful power plays. The Avalanche put up eight shots on goal this frame and looked a little bit more dangerous but still nothing on the scoreboard. After 40 minutes of play Washington continued to hold on to their one-goal lead.

In the third period Colorado decided it was finally time to win the game. Early into the frame Gabe Landeskog took advantage of a Logan Thompson miscue as the netminder misplayed the puck after vacating the crease and Gabe Landeskog an open cage to shoot at to tie the game. Then by the midpoint Colorado took the lead as Zakhar Bardakov found Nic Roy open in the slot to put the Avalanche up 2-1.

After that Colorado was almost ready to lock it down and sneak out of town with a win but the great Alex Ovechkin did what he does best and sniped a power play goal to tie the game 2-2 with five minutes remaining. It was his milestone 1000th career goal combining regular season and playoffs.

Back to the task at hand, both teams managed to get the game to overtime. There it didn’t take long as Matin Nečas found his legs and wouldn’t give up the puck. After several tries he found Brock Nelson open for the tip-in and secured the 3-2 Colorado win.

Takeaways

With Landeskog back in the lineup and hopefully some other injured forwards making their return soon it will be interesting to see how the lines are constructed for the remainder of the regular season. In today’s game Nichushkin started on the top line but he clearly did not have his best game and eventually Landeskog found his way up the lineup. Considering that’s how Colorado’s first goal was scored it will probably remain that way for now.

Also it’s worth monitoring how the bottom six shakes out because it seems Jared Bednar is keen to keep the trio of Parker Kelly-Jack Drury-Joel Kiviranta together. This means Nic Roy was on the fourth line with Gavin Brindley and Zakhar Bardakov, who will surely get replaced with returning veterans soon.

Upcoming

A rematch with the Pittsburgh Penguins to avenge the ugly 7-2 loss from a week ago. Puck drop is at 5 p.m. MT on Tuesday, March 24th.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have already gotten a lot of value out of the first round in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, as 11th overall pick Ben Kindel has been an unexpected yet integral part of the NHL team's success this season.

And it appears that another one of their three first-round selections last summer is knocking on the door, too.

On Sunday, the Penguins signed 22nd overall pick Bill Zonnon to a three-year, entry-level contract. The contract begins in the 2026-27 and will run thorugh the 2028-29 season, as Zonnon will be ineligible for participation in junior hockey next season and will join the Penguins' organization.

Zonnon, 19, dealt with two separate injuries in his fourth QMJHL season, this one with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada - one right from the gate in training camp and beyond and one later in the season. In 35 games, he put up 13 goals and 46 points to go along with a plus-24. 

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound center plays a hard two-way game, using his hockey IQ, physicality, forechecking, and playmaking acumen to his advantage. His team will face the Victoriaville Tigres - junior team of Penguins' goaltending prospect Gabriel D'Aigle, who also just signed his entry-level contract on Saturday - in the first round of the QMJHL playoffs.

Penguins Sign Big Goalie Prospect To Entry-Level DealThe Penguins have signed one of their goalie prospects.

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!     

NEW YORK (AP) — Gabriel Vilardi tied his career high with his 27th goal of the season and won the game in a shootout, captain Adam Lowry ended his lengthy scoring drought and the Winnipeg Jets ended their three-game losing streak by beating the New York Rangers 3-2 on Sunday.

Vilardi and Kyle Connor scored in the shootout to spoil the NHL debut of Rangers goaltending prospect Dylan Garand. The 23-year-old impressed by stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faced in regulation and overtime and was arguably one of the best players on the ice.

Garand’s biggest save came midway through the second period when he denied Connor on a shorthanded 2-on-0 breakaway. He was fortunate minutes later when Cole Perfetti’s shot from in tight clanked off the crossbar and out.

Lowry scored on a tic-tac-toe passing play from Perfetti and Lowry 13 minutes in that Garand had little chance of preventing. Lowry’s goal was his first since Jan. 13, which was 25 games ago.

Jets backup Eric Comrie made 27 saves in regulation and overtime, then two more in the shootout.

The Rangers lost for a 24th time in 33 home games despite the play of Garand and a power-play goal from Mika Zibanejad. Skating in his 999th regular-season game in the league, Zibanejad reached the 30-goal mark for the first time since 2022-23 and third time in his career.

The soon-to-be 33-year-old from Sweden has scored in three consecutive games and is now tied with Adam Graves for the fourth-most goals in franchise history with 280. Tye Kartye, a late-February waiver pickup from Seattle, also scored for New York, which has lost four in a row and is last in the Eastern Conference.

Up next

Jets: Return home to face the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.

Rangers: Igor Shesterkin is expected to start Monday night at home against the Ottawa Senators.

The Islanders put themselves in a rough spot after their three-game Canada swing featured a win against an also-ran mixed with regulation losses to two teams that could very easily keep them out of the playoffs.

They enter tonight one point out of the wild card and two points behind tonight’s opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have surged up the standings like some kind of Buffalo since firing Dean Evason and replacing him with longtime good guy Rick Bowness.

Like the Sabres, the Blue Jackets are for real, and the non-mirage emergence of both over the last few months has added two major competitors for the few Eastern playoff spots that are up for grabs.

First Islanders Goal picks go here.

Islanders News

• Jenny sums up the the collapse in Montreal. [LHH]
• Takeaways: “The other night it was too many battles that were lost,” Anders Lee said. “Tonight it was more they made plays through us, and we had a couple missed assignments.” [Isles]
• Gross: The Isles’ playoff chances, they are slipping. [Newsday]
• Previewing tonight: Columbus is on an 18-2-4 run, has won four in a row, has not lost in regulation in its last 10. [Isles]
• The Skinny: “Matthew Schaefer is the first Islander defenseman to score eight power play goals since Mark Streit had nine in 2009-10.” [NHL]
• Patrick Roy was noncommittal about how — or if — the goalie duties would be divvied up this weekend, and that was before Ilya Sorokin gave up six and David Rittich stepped in for some brief relief. But post-game, he conceded that Sorokin was pulled in part to let him regroup and rest to start tonight. [THN | Post]

Elsewhere

Last night’s NHL scores were all bad, bad things. I guess at least the Bruins and Red Wings kept it to a two-point game with Detroit getting the regulation loss.

• The role of goalie coach has evolved over the years, from “we should maybe get a guy to pop in here once in a while” to the regular fixture it is now. [NHL]
• Terrible, tragic news as beloved Minnesota hockey writer Jessi Pierce died in a house fire with her three young kids. [Michael Russo on Twitter]
• Leon Draisaitl’s injury status is now “hopes to return at some point in the playoffs.” [NHL]
• Alex Ovechkin scored last night and (…oh, suddenly now we’re including all-time playoff numbers because 1,000 makes a nice round number in our base-10 system?) [Sportsnet]

It was Kids Day at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, but for the Rangers, it’s been All About The Kids for months.

Goalie Dylan Garand was informed after the AHL Wolf Pack’s game Wednesday that he would make his NHL debut in four days against the Jets at Madison Square Garden, which filled the Blueshirts lineup with at least one rookie at every position in their 3-2 shootout loss to Winnipeg on Sunday.

It was certainly a first game to remember for Garand.

The workload — 35 saves on 37 shots — resembled more of a cannon ball into the deep end than dipping his toe.

His first ever shootout opponent? Perennial 30-goal scorer Kyle Connor.

The second? Gabriel Vilardi, who already scored a power-play goal on him earlier in the game.

“That was awesome,” Garand said after both Jets skaters capitalized in the shootout to hand him his first NHL loss. “It was pretty surreal. I really just tried to be present and take it all in. It was everything you could ever hope and dream of. It sucks to not get the win for the guys, but it was a dream come true.”

Garand held his own in a matchup between the 2024 and 2025 Presidents’ Trophy winners, who both face-planted in their subsequent seasons.

Looking steady between the pipes and only conceding goals he couldn’t do much about, Garand even stonewalled Connor on a short-handed breakaway in the second period to keep the Rangers within one goal at the time.

The 23-year-old netminder had been waiting for this since he made his AHL debut with the Wolf Pack on Feb. 21, 2021.

It took just under five and a half years, since the Rangers drafted him 103rd overall in 2020, for Garand to get his moment. There were certainly times, like now with Jonathan Quick banged up, when the organization could’ve looked to Garand but opted to go with the more experienced goaltender in their system.

Even earlier this season, the Rangers recalled Spencer Martin — signed out of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League in November — instead of Garand. It’s been a particularly difficult season in Hartford, which likely played a role in the decision to bring up Martin.

With the playoffs out of reach and the Letter 2.0 out in the open, however, the Rangers decided the time for Garand was now.

“I’ve been waiting to make my NHL debut my whole life,” Garand said. “When they tell you you’re actually going to play, it’s pretty cool. It’s kind of like, ‘OK, this is it. Here we go.’ I feel like I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, and I felt pretty ready for it. It was a lot of days [since I found out], but it was nice that they gave me lots of heads up.

“Took care of my family’s flights and hotels and stuff like that, which was pretty stressful the first couple days. I had five [people at MSG]: My mom, my dad, my stepmom and then my goalie coach back from Kamloops and his daughter.”

The Rangers were able to answer each Jets goal with one of their own throughout regulation.

Winnipeg regained the lead on Vilardi’s power-play goal at the 6:43 mark of the second period, but the Rangers answered with one of their own to even the score 2-2.

Mika Zibanejad blasted a one-timer from his sweet spot in the circle, which tied the Swede with Adam Graves for the fourth-most goals in franchise history with 280. The Rangers survived the final 20 minutes of regulation, partially thanks to the 11 saves Garand made.

“It was terrific,” Sullivan said of Garand’s debut. “I thought he looked really solid. Calm demeanor in there, tracking pucks well, rebound control was great. He made some big saves for us. I thought he had a really strong game.”

Toronto Maple Leafs goalkeeper Anthony Stolarz was scratched from Saturday’s scheduled start against Senators in Ottawa after taking a puck to the throat during warmups.

Stolarz was taken to the hospital for precautionary imaging and later released, according to NHL.com. 

Head coach Craig Berube said after the game, a 5-2 loss, that he didn’t have an update on the netminder’s condition, but Stolarz was expected to meet the team for the flight back to Toronto.

Anthony Stolarz will not start tonight for the Maple Leafs after taking a shot up high in warmups pic.twitter.com/2fsusNGRuQ

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 21, 2026

Joseph Woll, who had just faced 36 shots on goal in Friday’s overtime loss to the Hurricanes, started in Stolarz’s place, surrendering five goals in the one-sided wash. 

Forward William Nylander, who took the shot that pelted Stolarz, reflected on the freak accident after the game — revealing that he’d talked with the goalie, and he seemed to be doing alright.

“Obviously it’s, you know, really tough to see that happen,” Nylander said. “I mean, I always come in and shoot the puck in the glove, and this one just came off a little bit to the left, and I hit him in the neck. So, I mean, I was obviously worried for him, but, I mean, I’ve been texting with him, so he seems to be OK.”

Stolarz, 32, is 8–9–3 with an .894 save percentage across 22 games (21 starts) in second season with the Maple Leafs, following a run to the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in 2024 as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup.

Limited to just 34 games last season due to knee surgery, the veteran goalie inked a four-year, $15 million contract in September to stay in Toronto through the 2029–2030 campaign.

Injury problems have followed Stolarz into his new contract, already missing 33 games earlier this season to nurse an upper-body injury.

The Maple Leafs (29–29–13) sit 13 points behind the Red Wings for the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot, and they’ll next head down to Boston for a Tuesday night matchup with the Bruins.

The Nashville Predators were sellers at the NHL trade deadline, but that hasn't stopped them from making a playoff push.

They traded away several depth players but have won four of their last six games and moved into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference on Saturday, March 21.

Nashville has a chance to build on its one-point lead when it plays at Chicago on Sunday, March 22. But if the Predators lose to the Blackhawks in regulation and Los Angeles beats Utah, the Kings will move back into the second wild-card spot.

The New York Islanders can pass the idle Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card spot in the East if they beat the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Also Sunday, the Dallas Stars can become the second NHL team to clinch a 2026 Stanley Cup playoff berth, joining the Colorado Avalanche.

Here's what to know about the NHL standings, tiebreaker procedures and playoff field for the 2025-26 season:

Dylan Garand is set to make his NHL debut for the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets.

On Friday, the Rangers recalled Garand from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League, and Mike Sullivan confirmed on Saturday that he anticipates Garand making his NHL debut at some point this week. 

This call-up comes as Jonathan Quick is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. 

“There’s a lot of things that have gone into the decision to bring Dylan up,” Sullivan said. “The biggest point is that he’s played extremely well in Hartford. He’s given those guys a chance to win night in and night out, and he’s deserving.” 

The 23-year-old goaltender was selected by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, and he’s spent the past four seasons with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League. 

Given Garand's breadth of experience at the AHL level, he feels prepared for his first NHL start. 

“I think for me, especially over the last year or so, I’ve really gotten to know myself, and thinking about the future and stuff like that, I don’t tend to play my best,” Garand said. “So just trying to stay in the present moment, and if I get an opportunity, then great. It’s just another game. I’ve played, including playoffs, over 160 American League games, so it’s just another game.”

With the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL this season, Garand has posted a 16-15-2 record, .896 save percentage, and 2.83 goals against average.