MONTREAL — This loss to the Canadiens came by entirely different means than two nights ago in Ottawa, when the Islanders just didn’t seem to have it in them. Saturday, though, might be an even worse punch to the mouth.
The Islanders were in this one, leading 2-1 and later tied 3-3. These were two teams in the thick of the playoff race tossing haymakers in prime time in front of a sold-out Bell Centre, the intensity every bit as high as it’ll be in the postseason.
And then Mike Tyson, whaling on some poor sap who couldn’t get knocked out quick enough.
Two nights after playing a disastrous third period in Ottawa, the Islanders were even worse over the final 20 minutes in Montreal.
Montreal’s top line overpowered the Islanders’ trio of Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat, breaking the game open as the Habs scored four consecutive goals on the back of Cole Caufield’s hat trick to hand the visitors a disastrous 7-3 defeat that marks a major setback in the playoff race.
“Sometimes there’s no explanation,” coach Patrick Roy said. “The other teams just have talent and they have skills. If you try to open up the game — I can’t blame our guys to try to open up the game as well because you’re trying to come back in the game.”
After the Penguins had won in the afternoon and the Blue Jackets sealed up their victory over the Kraken, it became all the more critical for the Islanders to leave Bell Centre with two points just to keep pace.
They did not, and as a result cannot regain third place in the Metropolitan Division merely by beating Columbus in an equally critical Sunday match on Long Island.
Cole Caufield (13) scores on Ilya Sorokin during the second period for the first of his three goals in the Islanders’ 7-3 blowout loss to the Canadiens on March 21, 2026 in Montreal. NHLI via Getty Images
Paradoxically, the Islanders played a terrific second period, and yet it was when, according to Roy, the night started to slip away from them. After the Islanders held Montreal without a shot for the period’s first 14:26, the Habs erased a 2-1 deficit over the ensuing 5:34, grabbing a 3-2 lead on goals from Alex Newhook and Caufield.
For good measure, the Islanders had hit two posts in the period, and had a Matthew Schaefer goal disallowed for a (very) high stick.
Even after Schaefer scored his 22nd goal of the year to tie it 3-3 on the power play just 45 seconds into the third, the Isles couldn’t retain their composure.
“We gave up a couple,” Ryan Pulock said. “And then we got carried away trying to chase it really hard.”
Kaiden Guhle gave the home side a 4-3 lead minutes later when his shot from the top of the zone deflected off Marc Gatcomb’s stick and in.
Making matters even worse, the Canadiens extended their lead 8:08 into the third on a Caufield-to-Juraj Slafkovsky goal that saw Pulock simply lose track of the Montreal superstar low in the slot.
Simon Holmstrom scores on Jacob Fowler during the first period of the Islanders’ road blowout loss to the Canadiens. AP
Slafkovsky slammed in Caufield’s pass from behind the net, and a home crowd that had been tense all night was singing celebratory olés.
The singing renewed three minutes later when Caufield got on the end of Slafkovsky’s feed to make it 6-3. That prompted Roy to pull Ilya Sorokin in a bid to leave him fresh for Sunday, essentially raising the white flag on the evening.
Caufield added his third on a power play after Barzal’s frustrations boiled over and he unsuccessfully attempted to fight Nick Suzuki, taking a penalty amid the fracas that followed.
“Tonight was more they made plays through us,” Lee said. “We had a couple missed assignments. I wouldn’t say it was an effort problem. We thought we were a little short on [that] the other night.”
The Islanders had acquitted themselves well through 40 minutes, matching the Habs blow for blow and playing with far more physicality than they showed Thursday. Sorokin stood on his head in the first; the second was perhaps the best 20 minutes the Isles played on this three-game trip.
None of it mattered.
Not after the Isles wilted away in the third, their best players disappearing in the heat of the Bell Centre cauldron.
Roy tried his best to give some positive spin afterward, noting that the Islanders have 10 of their next 12 at home, where they’ve won seven of their past 10, and just need to regroup and refocus. It’s true enough that if they win Sunday, this won’t be remembered for long.
Here’s what’s also true: Their season took a hard turn in the wrong direction over the past few days. It needs to get fixed. Fast.
Florida Panthers winger A.J. Greer will have a hearing for boarding Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary.
Greer was assessed a five-minute penalty and a game misconduct for interference in the third period. Zary was forced to exit the game and is not listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
The hearing will be held over the phone, which means Greer can’t be suspended for more than 5 games. If the hearing had been in person, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety could have suspended him for more games.
On the ensuing power play from the hit, the Flames scored twice, securing a 4-1 victory.
“Terrible hit. It was awful,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska told reporters after the game. “I don’t have an update. He’s moving around, he’s fine and all that stuff, but I don’t really have a real indication of what it is yet.”
Prior to the hit, Greer notched his 13th goal and 24th point of the season in 68 games. Greer finished the game with 17 penalty minutes and 13:23 of ice time.
Greer was suspended once by the NHL Department of Player Safety in 2023 for cross-checking, missing just one game. Greer was a member of the Boston Bruins at the time.
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Dylan Garand knew the number off the top of his head. He knew that, between the regular season and playoffs, he’d logged over 160 games with AHL Hartford, and he was right. Before the Rangers recalled him Friday, Garand had served as the Wolf Pack’s goaltender 165 times.
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In a way, it captured the breadth of experience the 23-year-old has collected after the Blueshirts selected him in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, but it also doubled as a glimpse at how complicated his path to the NHL has been.
With Igor Shesterkin entrenched as their $92 million goaltender and 40-year-old Jonathan Quick — the winningest American-born goaltender in hockey — entrenched as the backup for at least another three weeks, Garand’s chances have been limited.
Even when the Rangers needed a goalie to give Quick the occasional reprieve earlier this year with Shesterkin on injured reserve, they turned to Spencer Martin instead of their top goaltending prospect.
But this week, Garand could finally make his NHL debut. He could finally get a chance to show the Rangers that he could be their backup next season behind Shesterkin.
Dylan Garand is the Rangers’ top goalie prospect.
Robert Sabo for NY Post
With Quick day to day due to an upper-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan said that “depending on how this week plays out, I would anticipate Dylan playing.” The Blueshirts have five games in eight days starting with a back-to-back Sunday and Monday.
It would mark the latest instance of the Rangers testing their youth while in the middle of a public retool, and while Garand said he doesn’t want to think too far ahead, the debut would be a long time coming.
“A little bit,” Garand said after practice Saturday in Tarrytown, when asked if he’s thought about his debut. “… 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. 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.
It hasn’t been a smooth regular season for Garand — his save percentage has dipped from a .913 last year to an .896 through 36 games — to this point, but Garand felt as if he had played “really well” over his last nine or 10 games with the Wolf Pack.
That marked a different tone from early January, when Martin was summoned after Shesterkin’s injury and Sullivan said Martin, the 30-year-old who’d appeared in just six games for Hartford at that point and was more than two years removed from his last NHL game, gave the Blueshirts the “best chance to win.” Garand had earned call-ups before, including earlier this season when Quick landed on injured reserve, but that never led to an appearance.
Dylan Garand is likely to soon get his Rangers debut. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Since The Letter 2.0, the Rangers have given 2023 first-round pick Gabe Perreault an extended look on their first line. They’ve given 22-year-old Jaroslav Chmelar consistent reps on the fourth line. They’ve used time on the penalty kill as windows of opportunity to experiment with younger pieces such as Tye Kartye. Garand, then, would be another player to capitalize on the organization’s current strategy.
“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.”
Until this point, the marquee start in Garand’s career occurred last May, when he logged a game for Team Canada in the IIHF Men’s World Championship and stopped all 11 shots against Slovenia.
He occupied a place on the goaltending depth chart alongside likely future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury and Jordan Binnington — gold medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, respectively. That allowed him to get a taste of NHL life, Garand said.
When he’s with the Rangers, he’s able to observe and learn from Quick, who he asked Saturday about what he remembered from his first game, and Shesterkin.
And finally, according to Sullivan’s tentative plan, Garand might get a chance to translate that knowledge, that experience from all those AHL games, into an NHL game.
“The thing about the American League, it’s the second-best league in the world but nobody really wants to play there in the sense that we all want to play in the NHL,” Garand said. “Like, we don’t take it for granted. We’re playing professional hockey for sure, but everyone’s dream is to play in the NHL.”
The journey is long from over for the Nashville Predators, but for the first time this season, they are in a Wild Card spot.
Saturday's 4-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights pushed Nashville ahead into the Wild Card 2 spot with 73 points. However, it needed some help to stay there.
Los Angeles needed to lose to Buffalo in any fashion, while Seattle needed to lose to Columbus in regulation in order for the Predators to maintain possession of the final playoff spot.
The Sabres scored three unanswered goals in the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and handing the Kings a 4-1 loss. That kept Los Angeles one point out of WC2 with 72 points.
Seattle fell into a 3-0 hole against Columbus and was unable to recover, losing 5-2 and trailing the Predators by two points with 71. If the Kraken were to win, they would've tied the Predators in points, but have the tiebreaker in regulation wins.
To add a cherry on top, San Jose (70 points) lost to Philadelphia, 4-1, and Winnipeg (68 points) lost to Pittsburgh in a shootout, 5-4.
The Predators were the worst team in the NHL for the first two months of the season before turning things around at Thanksgiving.
By New Year's Eve, following a 4-2 win over the Golden Knights, the Predators were just a point outside of Wild Card position, the first time they'd come within a game of a playoff spot.
However, for two and a half months, the Predators could not get past the threshold, coming within a point of WC2 multiple times. Saturday's win was the first time that Nashville has actually been in the playoff spot.
It's an exciting moment for Nashville, but there are still 13 games left in the regular season. There is still more than enough time for the Predators to clinch and lose the Wild Card.
Its biggest challenge will come in a six-game road trip from March 29 to April 9; it'll see Los Angeles twice, San Jose, along with Utah (WC1), Tampa (Atlantic 2), and Anaheim (Pacific 1).
The Sharks also come into town on Tuesday, trailing the Predators by three points for the final Wild Card spot.
Nashville has a quick turnaround from Saturday, playing the Blackhawks in Chicago at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
In November of 2023, Roby Jarventie had every reason to believe his Ottawa Senators' career was well on its way.
From November 4-24 that year, the Senators' 2020 second-round pick played in seven games, including their two Global Series games in Sweden that year. But after being returned to Belleville on Nov. 26, that when the injuries set in, and he hasn't been back in the NHL since.
29 months later, that will change on Saturday night.
After Leon Draisaitl's injury, Jarventie was recalled earlier this week and will skate on the Oilers' fourth line with Adam Henrique and Josh Samanski.
"Yeah, I always knew if I stayed healthy, I'd have a chance (to get back to the NHL)," Jarventie told the media. "So, yeah, just really happy to be here, just enjoying every day."
Jarventie was one of Pierre Dorion's top draft picks in 2020 (33rd overall), but a month after the big winger's seven-game run in Ottawa, Dorion was fired. Two months after that, Jarventie ended up having knee surgery to correct a problem that had been hampering him for several years.
"It's unfortunate for him," former Belleville head coach David Bell told the Belleville Sens Entertainment Network. "It's just a nagging knee that they've tried to band-aid along the last couple of years, and it just got to the point where he needed surgery to get this thing completely fixed.'
Five months later, new GM Steve Staios opted to package Jarventie up with a 2025 fourth-round pick (David Lewandowski) and sent him to Edmonton for forwards Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson.
Jarventie was asked on Friday if he was given a fair shake in Ottawa, and trailed off a little as he tried to choose his words carefully.
"(My NHL debut) came pretty early in the year (2023), my first call-up," Jarventie said. "I remember I had a pretty good camp. I almost made a team out of camp and was probably the last one to get sent down. And then, yeah, pretty early, I got my call-up, so a couple of injuries, but, yeah..."
After the trade, in his first training camp with the Oilers in the fall of 2024, Jarventie's other knee began barking at him. As a result, he played all of two games in AHL Bakersfield last season.
So when this year rolled around, he was under strict load management orders. Early in the season, the. Condors treated him like a starting goalie, not allowing him to play back-to-back games. It seems to have worked out. He's had a career-high 36 points in 52 AHL games before his recall to Edmonton this week.
The Senators got Bourgault up to Ottawa for two games this season, so we're a long way from adding the Jarventie trade to the Sens' list of regrets.
But his draft selection is a different story, and it's not exactly a tale of hindsight either.
When Jarventie was picked 33rd overall, John Peterka was sitting right there, chosen by Buffalo with the very next pick at 34. The Sens had just chosen Peterka's German teammate, Tim Stutzle, third overall and fans figured Peterka was the obvious selection.
On Saturday, as Jarventie prepares to play his eighth career NHL game, now with another organization, Peterka, now in Utah, has 192 points in 308 career NHL games.
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was originally published at The Hockey News. For more Senators news, analysis, and features, visit the Ottawa Senators site at The Hockey News.
The Buffalo Sabres picked up a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. With this, the Sabres have improved to a 44-20-6 record and have a six-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot in the Atlantic Division standings.
New Sabres forward Sam Carrick played a big role in Buffalo's victory, as he scored the game-winning goal at the 11:12 mark of the third period.
Carrick's goal was a nice one, too, as he showed skill with the puck before beating Kings goalie Anton Forsberg with a sweet backhander. Sabres forward Zach Benson also deserves major props, as he took a big hit to set up Carrick.
With this clutch performance, Carrick now has five goals, six points, and a plus-4 rating in eight games for the Sabres so far. This is after he had four goals and 10 points in 60 games with the New York Rangers before the trade.
Clearly, Carrick is having an excellent start with the Sabres, and it will be fascinating to see how he builds on it from here.
After the two threw the requisite number of punches and were separated, Reaves showed his injured finger to the on-ice officials as he grimaced in pain.
Reaves pulled on his finger and went to the Sharks bench instead of immediately to the penalty box. A trainer appeared to try to get the forward's dislocated finger back in place.
Ryan Reaves dropped the gloves with Garrett Wilson and appeared to have DISLOCATED HIS FINGER in the scrap 😳
Reaves then skated to the penalty box to serve his five minutes, but went to the dressing room to get his finger examined.
He came out for one more shift, then didn't play in the second or third periods, though he stayed on the bench.
"Reavo's been doing that his entire career," Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow told reporters after the game. "He's a guy that brings it all, every night. Great friend."
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky didn't have an update on Reaves after the game.
The fight was Reaves' fifth of the season, according to hockeyfights.com. He has hit double figures in fights in two NHL seasons, plus three in more seasons in the American Hockey League.
Wilson was making his second appearance since being called up after seven years in the AHL.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Christian Dvorak scored a tiebreaking goal early in the third period and added an assist, Dan Vladar made 24 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Saturday to complete a three-game West Coast sweep.
Owen Tippett scored in the second period and defenseman Travis Sanheim and Noah Cates added empty-net goals in the final two minutes as the Flyers won their third straight and for the fifth time in six games. Philly was coming off a 3-2 overtime win over Anaheim on Wednesday and 4-3 shootout victory over Los Angeles on Thursday. The Flyers completed a California sweep for the second time in franchise history and extended their road winning streak to seven games.
Dmitry Orlov scored for San Jose, which lost its fourth in a row and for the seventh time in nine games. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 24 of 26 shots.
After a scoreless first period, Tippett got the Flyers on the board with his 24th of the season 2:26 into the second. Tippett took a pass from Trevor Zegras, got past the Sharks' Nick Leddy and beat Nedeljkovic with a shot to the glove side.
Orlov evened the score with his third of the season on a power play at 13:12 with a shot from the slot off a feed from William Eklund. Macklin Celebrini also assisted.
Dvorak put the Flyers ahead 1:47 into the third, scoring on the power play after San Jose's Mario Ferraro was sent off for roughing. The assists went to Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov, who picked up the 100th point of his NHL career.
The Sharks pulled Nedeljkovic late and the Flyers capitalized. Sanheim scored his eighth of the season and Cates netted his 15th, matching his career high of 38 points set in 2022-23 when he had 13 goals and 25 assists.
Up next
Flyers: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust has been a tremendous player during his NHL career.
He broke into the NHL during the 2014-15 season and has never looked back, compiling 229 goals and 491 points in 12 NHL seasons. On Saturday, he hit a big career milestone, playing in his 700th NHL game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Rust's two assists helped the Penguins beat the Jets 5-4 in the shootout, giving the team 86 points for the season. Rust assisted on Rickard Rakell's goal in the first period and Erik Karlsson's goal in the third period.
Rust now joins Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang as the only Penguins to play in 700 or more games with only Pittsburgh. It's an incredible accomplishment and goes to show what a great Penguin he's been throughout his career.
His two points on Saturday extended his point streak to six games. He has five goals and 10 points on this point streak and 26 goals and 56 points in 62 games this year.
Rust will try to extend that point streak to seven when he plays in his 701st NHL game on Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Los Angeles Kings (28-25-16) blew a game in what could've been their biggest win of the season, where they were competing wire-to-wire against the best team in the league, the Buffalo Sabres (44-20-6), until it came down to the final period.
LA's defense was great for the first 40 minutes of the game, before entering the third period tied, but the Sabres scored two goals in the final frame to hold on and get the 4-1 victory on Saturday afternoon.
The Kings were great on the faceoff, winning 67.3% compared to the Sabres' 32.7%, and avoided the shutout, ending the Sabres' shutout streak since last Saturday.
But what this game showed was that there are levels to this: the mistakes Los Angeles made in the third period, Buffalo took advantage of to close out the game.
After suffering that heartbreaking loss on Thursday to the Philadelphia Flyers, where they gave up three goals in the second period, Los Angeles had an opportunity to pick up their biggest win of the season, but came up short in the final moments.
The game began with Artemi Panarin once again showing the Kings why he's a game-changer, especially on the power play, improving the stat to nearly 25% since he's been on the team.
LAK Goal - Breaking Bread!
Panarin opens the scoring on the power play. Heads-up work by Kopitar in the bumper spot, just enough on the shot to get in. 1-0.
Anze Kopitar found Panarin with a slick pass to earn his 700th point on home ice, tying Marcel Dionne for the most ever in Kings history.
It was an even first-period matchup for the most part. Despite the Kings getting on the board first to lead 1-0, the Sabres still weren't going away, outshooting Los Angeles 13-8 in the opening frame.
Both goaltenders were excellent in the game, Anton Forsberg once again showing why he should be the permanent starter over Darcy Kuemper, saving several shots that
Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did a great job at limiting the Kings' chances of extending this lead, especially in the second period, when LA had a power play in the final minute of the period and failed to generate shots.
Buffalo finally got on board when Tage Thompson scored the nasty rebound goal after going around Forsberg and bringing the puck back to the net to tie the scoreboard 1-1.
BUF Goal - Tage Thompson ties the game at 1. Nasty goal, sheeeeeeeeesh.
The Kings were much better in the second period today, despite giving up a goal; the defense held the Sabres to just seven shots and got a lot of timely saves to end the period even.
The third period was quiet until the 8:48-minute mark when the Sabres scored to take their first lead. After Joel Edmundon stepped up for a big hit, Brandt Clarke was left alone to defend a 2-on-1, and the Sabres took advantage of that sequence to lead 2-1.
Los Angeles challenged the call for a potential high stick, but the goal would stand, and the delay would put the Sabres on the power play. And Buffalo would of course capitalize on the power play, scoring on the rebound after it went off defenseman Cody Ceci, giving Buffalo a 3-1 lead.
The Sabres defense picked up in the final period after getting that big stop in the second period, where they were all over the Kings' offense on the power play. Their intensity picked up in the final period, holding Los Angeles to single-digit shots.
Buffalo sealed the deal with an empty-net goal in the final two minutes of the match to take this game from the Kings on the road, ending their three-game road trip undefeated, while Los Angeles goes 0-1-1 in its two-game homestand.
Key Takeaways
With the loss now, the Kings fall out of the final playoff spot after the Nashville Predators won today, now holding a one-game lead over Los Angeles.
Give credit to the Kings for playing hard and staying in this game until the final period, but there are levels to this, and the Sabres showed Los Angeles why they're a championship contender and the Kings aren't.
Anton Forsberg was great, stopping 29 of 32 shots against the Sabres, coming up with big saves today, but in the final period, the Sabres flipped the switch.
Panarin scored the lone goal early on the power play to give the Kings that momentum lead, but that was all the offense could get against the Sabres' defense.
Luukkonen was also phenomenal on the crease for the Sabres, stopping 26 of the Kings' 27 shots, especially in the final period. He was huge for holding Los Angeles scoreless in the final 40 minutes of regulation.
FINAL - Kings 1, Sabres 4
0-1-1 on the homestand, three straight on the road begins tomorrow in Utah.
The Kings will play the Utah Mammoth tomorrow night at 6:00 PM PT, beginning their three-game road trip.
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The San Jose Sharks were back in action on Saturday afternoon as they looked to get back in the win column against the Philadelphia Flyers following three straight losses.
Just a couple of minutes into the game, Garrett Wilson and Ryan Reaves dropped the gloves to get the energy going in the SAP Center. After the fight, Reaves skated over to the Sharks’ trainer with an apparent hand injury and went to the dressing room.
Collin Graf was called for holding just over five minutes into the first period, giving the Flyers the first power play opportunity of the night. During the penalty kill, Shakir Mukhamadullin blocked a shot with his left leg which caused him quite a bit of discomfort. Despite an attempt to skate it off during the TV timeout, he ended up going down the tunnel shortly afterwards.
Around the halfway point in the period, Trevor Zegras was called for kneeing Sharks forward Alexander Wennberg, giving the Sharks their first man advantage of the afternoon. During the stoppage in play, Mukhamadullin returned to the Sharks’ bench. The Flyers nearly scored a shorthanded goal, but they were denied by Kiefer Sherwood, who had hustled back to make a goal-line save.
Reaves went back down the tunnel shortly after the power play expired.
The Flyers were called for too many men on the ice with 4:20 remaining in the period. The Sharks were unable to get much going on the man advantage, but did hit the post with just under a minute remaining in the first.
Overall, the Sharks left much to be desired in the first period. They were very sloppy, specifically with passing and puck control.
Reaves once again returned to the Sharks’ bench to start the second period. At 2:26 in the second period, Owen Tippett opened the scoring for the Flyers, giving them a 1-0 lead. Philipp Kurashev took down Rasmus Ristolainen behind the Philadelphia net, giving the Flyers their second power play of the night a quarter of a way through the second period.
The Sharks then got their second power play of the night with 7:41 remaining in the second, as Emil Andrae sat in the penalty box for delay of game. During the power play, Dmitry Orlov scored his third of the season off of a nice pass by William Eklund, tying the game at 1-1.
Another fight broke out late in the second period after Barclay Goodrow threw a hit on Trevor Zegras. Noah Cates stepped up for his teammate and immediately threw off the gloves. John Klingberg and Travis Konecny were chirping at one another quite a bit late in the period, but nothing came of it before the teams went to their locker rooms for the second intermission.
Garnet Hathaway threw a heavy hit on Celebrini early in the third period, causing Mario Ferraro to go after him. Ferraro got the only penalty on the play, giving the Flyers their fourth power play of the night. While it was a costly penalty, the Sharks had to show that they weren’t going to let anything happen to their young superstar. The Flyers scored on the power play, with Christian Dvorak getting the goal and making it 2-1 for the visitors.
Michael Misa had a prime opportunity to restore the tie, but his stick broke on his shot attempt, and the puck floated softly toward Dan Vladar. Celebrini drew a penalty behind the Sharks’ net when he got tripped up by Zegras, giving the Sharks a key power play chance. The Sharks looked phenomenal on the power play, generating shot attempt after shot attempt, but the Flyers were able to keep the puck out of the net despite the heavy pressure.
Moments after the penalty expired, Celebrini was penalized for slashing. The Sharks killed off the penalty with little issue and immediately started putting pressure back on the Flyers.
Ryan Warsofsky pulled Alex Nedeljkovic out of the net with two minutes remaining, sending Will Smith over the boards as the extra attacker.
Travis Sanheim put away an empty-net goal to put the final nail in the coffin, as the Flyers took a 3-1 lead with 1:12 remaining. Cates then added a second empty-netter for the Flyers, making it 4-1.
The Sharks have now lost four straight games, and they'll have to try to get momentum back on their side while on the road. They'll head to Nashville to face the Predators in their next game on Tuesday.
Even when they come out of gate strong - as they did against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday - a handful of things have not gone their way lately. Another goaltender interference call (which we'll get to shortly) eludes them. A few unfavorable bounces that resulted in goals against. Another shootout, where the Penguins were 1-10 going into this one.
But, it should come as no surprise at this point that these Penguins found a way.
On the back of two goals by defenseman Erik Karlsson - who has been on an absolute tear - the Penguins tied the game in the third period to force overtime and beat the Jets, 5-4, in the shootout. Pittsburgh held two leads in this game but lost both of them, yet they found a way - as they often have this season - to answer the bell and earn a crucial two points in what is just about as tight a playoff race as you'll ever see in the Eastern Conference.
Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell scored in the shootout for the Penguins to seal the win, and goaltender Arturs Silovs - who came into this one with a .435 save percentage (10 for 23) in shootouts this season - stopped both Winnipeg shots to give Rakell the opportunity to end it.
And, boy, does getting that shootout monkey off their back feel pretty good for this team.
“Oh, it feels awesome," Rakell said. "Obviously, going into a shootout, it’s been on top of everyone’s head that it hasn’t gone great. But, we kind of worked on some shootouts yesterday in practice and just said that we were just going to try to turn the page and try to go out there with confidence. That’s what we did.”
The Penguins did come out swinging in this one, as they earned two early goals. Just a minute and six seconds into regulation, Evgeni Malkin fed linemate Egor Chinkahov, who was breaking toward the slot in the offensive zone, and Chinakhov worked his way around a couple of Jets and got a quick, deceptive shot off to beat netminder Connor Hellebuyck for his 14th goal of the season and the 100th point of his NHL career.
Then, just 56 seconds later, the Penguins' first line was breaking into the offensive zone on the rush, and Bryan Rust found Rickard Rakell - who was crashing the net - in the low-slot area for redirection goal to put the Penguins up to an early lead, 2-0.
But, then, things got a bit hairy. Less than two minutes later, there was a scramble play at the Penguins' net-front after Silovs made an initial save, and Jets' center Morgan Barron went to play the puck in an attempt to shoot it on net. He ended up hip-checking Karlsson into Silovs in the process, knocking both Karlsson and Silovs into the post and squeaking the puck into the net amidst the chaos.
The Penguins challenged for goaltender interference - per Rule 69.1 - and were, once again, unsuccessful, as the goal stood. The Jets got some momentum in the latter part of the period afterward, and they carried it into the second.
And, six minutes into a generally poor middle frame, the Penguins were on the power play. A Karlsson shot bounced up in the air after hitting traffic on the way in, and it ended up on a silver platter at the left point for the Jets to have a two-on-one. Adam Lowry gave the puck to Cole Koepke, who made a nice move to beat Silovs and tie the game at 2-2.
Things were starting to fall apart for the Penguins. But, lucky for them, the Erik Karlsson show resumed its regularly scheduled programming.
With a little less than five minutes to go in the period, Karlsson gave the Penguins back the lead to cap off a beautiful passing play by the Penguins' second line in the offensive zone with a rocket from the right wall for his 10th of the season. So the Penguins were able to carry the lead into the third period, where things got a bit wild again.
Jets' defenseman put a seeing-eye shot from the right point past Silovs four minutes into the third to tie the game at 3-3, and the Jets appeared to pull ahead a few minutes later when Mark Scheifele put a top-shelf snipe past Silovs blocker-side. However, the goal was called back for a high stick on the puck by Alex Iafallo after a challenge by Pittsburgh, and the score remained 3-3 - at least, momentarily.
The Pens just successfully challenged the Jets' go-ahead goal for a missed high stick, on the SLIGHTEST touch of the puck you may ever see 😵💫🔍 pic.twitter.com/SPosTw4y5J
But Jets' forward Brad Lambert scored a few minutes after that on a shot from the slot that grazed Penguins' defenseman Sam Girard on its way in, and they actually did manage to take the 4-3 lead. That is, until Karlsson worked his magic again.
On an attempt by the Jets to break into the offensive zone, Girard forced a turnover and got the puck to Crosby, who sent it cross-ice to Bryan Rust breaking into the offensive zone down the right side. Rust left a drop pass for a trailing Karlsson, who gathered the biscuit, picked his spot, and sniped another one past Hellebuyck for his 11th of the season and his NHL-leading 19th point in the last 12 games to knot the game back up at 4-4.
The Penguins had another overtime power play that they failed to convert on, and when things got to the shootut, Silovs shut the door, and Crosby and Rakell took care of business.
Pittsburgh is now three points ahead of the New York Islanders and the Columbus Blue Jackets, both of whom play Saturday evening. Every point is a huge one at this time of year, so there was no better time for the Penguins to exorcise their shootout demons and earn the two points.
And this scrappy, never-quit mentality that was once again evident in this game has served the Penguins all season long, even becoming part of their identity.
"That pretty much probably sums it up," Rust said. "We are scrappy. Finding a lot of ways to get points, get wins, do whatever we can to continue to keep our spot in the standings. And that's been a trademark of this team, is that it may not be the prettiest sometimes, but we're never out of the fight. We never give up."
Here are some observations and takeaways from this wild one:
- So, let's start with that goaltender interference call.
My initial thought was that the correct call was made on the goaltender interference challenge this time around. And, here's why.
Yes, Rule 69.1 clearly states - as detailed in the direct rule interpretation handout given out to those of us in the media suite - that "If a defending player has been pushed, shoved, or fouled by an attacking player so as to cause the defending player to come into contact with his own goalkeeper, such contact shall be deemed contact initiated by the attacking player for purposes of this rule, and if necessary a penalty assessed to the attacking player and if a goal is scored it would be disallowed."
Looking at this rule, that's exactly what happened. However, the one caveat to me - and the caveat that likely caused the "gray area" for interpretation - is that Bannon is trying to make a play on the puck. If Bannon was not attempting to make a play on the puck, and if Karlsson - who does have the "right of way" in this situation, technically - doesn't try to make a play or a block there, the contact never happens.
This feels like the equivalent of a coroner issuing a cause of death as "death." https://t.co/C4jGaRoRpA
So, one could argue that the contact is largely incidental, and it's probably why the interference wasn't called. That said - given some of the other things that have been called this season and the fact that what occurred is straight out of the rule book - I think that's got to get called back.
And, suffice to say, Penguins' head coach Dan Muse agrees - and is, noticeably, a bit fed up at this point, as the Penguins are 0-for-8 on goalie interference challenges this season.
"The GMs had their meetings recently," Muse said. "And, [Kyle Dubas] was down there, and Kyle came back, and, obviously, there's things that come up during those meetings that he wants to inform me on, and we discuss. And one of them was goalie interference, which was, obviously, a topic there. And the instructions to me from Kyle were, 'We want to go by the book.'
"And so, it comes up again now - shortly after - and I felt, we felt, that one was by-the-book in the sense that their player pushes 'Karl' into 'Arty.' So, the feel is, for me, after just recently talking to Kyle about this identical [play] by-the-book, that that was by-the-book. That's the rule. And that is the rule. Their player pushes our player into our goalie, that's goalie interference. So, that's why I challenged."
Can't really blame him on this one. We even got sheets printed in the media suite with the rule highlighted to show why Muse challenged it. Not a great look for the league.
- Honestly, getting this win in the shootout is a really big deal for the Penguins. Contrary to popular belief, this team actually dedicates a fair amount of time to shootouts at the end of practices, and it's nice to see their hard work rewarded.
Silovs was excellent in practice Friday, and he got the job done Saturday. And Crosby and Rakell - who had a combined two goals between them in the shootout this season - were able to get that monkey off their backs, too.
There was a weight lifted in the room. And you could tell.
“I know if I score, it’s over," a noticeably relieved Rakell said. "So, I can just go out there. If I don’t score, we get another chance. That’s what we needed at that point. For me, it was a win-win situation.”
- That play by Girard on Karlsson's second goal was outstanding. Just a simple little poke check on Scheifele made that entire play happen, as the Penguins took it back quickly the other way.
I thought he and Kris Letang were mostly fine Saturday. I know it's been a bit of a rough ride for Letang especially, and Girard was playing in his first game since Mar. 8 after a stint on injured reserve. We'll see if they can continue to build and actually develop some chemistry, as that would be a massive development for the Penguins.
- Aside from banking another two points, something under-the-radar that I love about Chinakhov's game is that he never overextends shifts. He always changes at the right time, he never has an empty tank, and he's smart about his shift management in a general sense.
The shot is the main attraction for Chinkahov. But, man, is he a cerebral hockey player, too.
- Finally, we've got to talk about Karlsson again.
I'm pretty much writing poetry about Karlsson after every single game at this point. But, he's impossible to ignore. What he's doing right now is nothing short of incredible, and he's quite literally willing this team to wins.
He scored the game-tying goal against the Carolina Hurricanes Wednesday in a two-goal effort. He follows that up with another two-goal effort in this one and, yet, another tying goal. As well as a go-ahead goal earlier in the game. And that's not even accounting for all the things he's doing outside of scoring, as he's making big defensive plays on a near-nightly basis and could have far more points than he has currently given the degree to which he's driving offense.
Karlsson has a staggering 19 points in his last 12 games, which is the best mark in the NHL since Feb. 28. That includes Connor McDavid. That includes Nikita Kucherov, who is on some kind of run. Same with Marty Necas, who has been a key part of the attack for the Colorado Avalanche.
Mar 21, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) celebrates his second goal of the game against the Winnipeg Jets during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
I'm just going to say it: I've been watching a lot of hockey games this month. I've been keeping an eye on a lot of individual performances. And I think Erik Karlsson has been the best player in the National Hockey League during the month of March. He's elevating this team and willing them to wins, and he's a defenseman, not a forward, putting up this level of production.
Karlsson's been the Penguins' best player this season, and that's no knock on Crosby. He's simply been that outstanding, and his teammates have certainly noticed.
"There's not too many guys in the league who can do what he does, especially when he's at the top of his game," Rust said. "He's been a catalyst for us."
Rakell gave a glowing endorsement, too.
“He’s doing so much for us," Rakell said. "And it’s not just scoring goals. It’s the way he breaks out pucks and keeping a close cap on their entries and just dictating the game. Then, obviously, everybody knows his game. When he’s confident, he’s one of the best defensemen in our league still. He shows that he can do it all.”
When the Senators and Leafs met in last spring's Stanley Cup playoffs, it seemed like we were witnessing the start of something good. Since their famous post-season tilts of the early 2000s, the two clubs have rarely been good at the same time, so the 2025 playoff Battle of Ontario was a welcome sight.
But as the two clubs meet in Ottawa Saturday night for the first time this season, it looks like the best version of the Battle will be on hold again for the foreseeable future.
The Leafs will almost certainly miss the playoffs this spring for the first time in seven years, and it looks like their Stanley Cup window has closed, if it was ever really open at all.
But to make matters worse (for them), they're also limping to the finish line with the entire hockey world questioning the team's character and culture.
Earlier this month, when Leafs captain Auston Matthews had his season ended by a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim's Radko Gudas, the group was nationally chastised for their lack of pushback.
But now Toronto has another knee injury to a top player.
Matthew Knies, who's second in Leafs scoring with 57 points, told The Hockey News' David Alter that he's playing with a knee injury, but trying to push through and finish the season with it.
“It's obviously not comfortable playing through it, but I feel like everyone's playing through something at this time of year, so that's not really an excuse," Knies said. "If it's not going to get worse, and there's no problem with me playing, then I'm going to play.”
So to recap, since last year's playoffs, Toronto has gone from first to worst in the Atlantic. They've lost Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, traded away Scott Laughton and Bobby McMann at the deadline, Knies is rocking a bum knee, and Morgan Rielly is a late scratch with a lower-body injury.
And even if they closed the year now with a perfect 12-0 run, they'd still finish 13 points worse than last year.
Whether the team will be checked out tonight or not remains to be seen, but their fan base seems to be. Usually, despite the Senators' premium pricing for these matchups, Toronto's fans would fill Canadian Tire Centre. But two hours before game time, there were still plenty of empty seats.
Tkachuk has endured some recent criticism for not being at his usual intensity level, but he managed to completely flip the switch against the Islanders, brawling off the opening faceoff, scoring the winning goal in the final seconds, and generally playing like an angry spring bear just out of hibernation.
It will be interesting to see, after dealing with post-Olympic fatigue, if he'll be able to floor it like that for the rest of the season or not.
As for the playoffs, the Senators are still very much in the mix.
With 14 games to play, they're five points behind Montreal (A3), Boston (WC1), and Detroit (WC2). Philadelphia and Washington are right on Ottawa's tail, just one point back. So the Senators will need an elite finish and a couple of teams ahead of them to falter.
Ottawa TV remotes will get a good workout on Saturday as the Canadiens host the Islanders, while the Red Wings and Bruins go head-to-head in Detroit.
Saturday night is about kicking their provincial rivals while they're down, getting the two points they need, while hoping those other two games are both settled in regulation time.
Sens head coach Travis Green says Linus Ullmark will start in goal, and despite some line tinkering on Thursday, he's going back to the combos he's begun games with for most of this month.
Senators projected lineup
Drake Batherson -- Tim Stutzle -- Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk -- Dylan Cozens -- Ridly Greig
Nick Cousins -- Shane Pinto -- Michael Amadio
Warren Foegele -- Lars Eller -- Fabian Zetterlund
Thomas Chabot -- Artem Zub
Tyler Kleven -- Jordan Spence
Dennis Gilbert -- Nikolas Matinpalo
Linus Ullmark James Reimer
Scratched: Stephen Halliday, Kurtis MacDermid
Injured: Jake Sanderson (upper body), Nick Jensen (lower body)
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was originally published at The Hockey News. For more Senators news, analysis, and features, visit the Ottawa Senators site at The Hockey News.
The Nashville Predators score three goals on special teams, two on the power play and one short-handed, in a critical Wild Card race win over the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-1, on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.
The win temporarily puts the Predators in the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference for the first time this season. It's also the first time the Predators have won three in a row since Jan. 16. make
They will need the Seattle Kraken to lose in regulation and the Los Angeles Kings to lose in regulation in order to hold onto the spot by the end of the day.
Los Angeles (72 PTS) hosts Buffalo (LAK leads 1-0 at end of first period)
Seattle (71 PTS) travels to Columbus (4 p.m. CST puck-drop)
"It honestly feels great to win this game," Ryan O'Reilly said. "It's a good team over there. It's a very disappointing start...We gotta find a way to get something in the first (period). If it wasn't for big juice (Annuen) there, it could have gone out of hand, quick."
Special Teams Carry Scoring
The Predators' power play has ebbed and flowed this season. After slumping in early March, the unit has finally found some consistency and even turned into a weapon.
Nashville scored twice on the power play against the Golden Knights, with Steven Stamkos putting a one-timer feed from Filip Forsberg and O'Reilly then tipping in a shot/pass from Stamkos.
The conversion was Stamkos' 238th career power play goal, passing Brendan Shanahan for seventh all-time. He'd finish with three points on the day.
On the other end, the Predators' penalty kill found a way to find the back of the net as Tyson Jost capped off a 3-on-1 opportunity in the second period to put Nashville up 3-0.
According to Jost, it was a well-scouted play that created the opportunity and allowed the Predators to score. It was Jost's first career short-handed goal and his third point in five games.
"We kind of pre-scouted that (Mitch) Marner was gonna kind of try and go over to the flank (bounce the puck off the boards). He (Brady Skjei) made a great read and a great pass by him. I heard Halsey (Erik Haula) barking. I didn't know it was a 3-on-1, but I kind of heard him behind me there."
The Predators' first goal of the night wasn't scored on the power play, but was a unique scoring chance.
Less than a minute into the game, Stamkos scored right off the face-off to put the Predators up 1-0. It was O'Reilly's first of two points on the day.
"He (O'Reilly) said, 'How about I try to snap one back to you, and you shoot it?' and I said, 'Sure.' And it worked," Stamko said. "Those are a dime a dozen type of plays where it comes so clean and fast. I don't think anyone, including the goalie, reacted till it was in the net."
Annunen Stands Tall
Mar 21, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators goaltender Justus Annunen (29) blocks the shot of Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Justus Annunen was put to the test in the first 20 minutes of the game, facing 20 shots to the Predators' four, and not letting in a goal.
He'd finish the night with a season high of 39 saves on 40 shots. Annunen's .975 save percentage was his best single-game performance in a start of the season.
After being thrown into the starter role on Thursday, as Juuse Saros was ruled out with a day-to-day upper body injury and was still out for Saturday's game, Annunen has been up to the challenge.
"It kind of took him (Annunen) a while to get going, and we've seen he's been exceptional," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. "Even last time against Vegas. It ended up being a little bit higher (goal total), but he was spot on. His numbers and great danger chances are off the charts for us right now."
Nashville has a quick turnaround, facing Chicago on the road on Sunday at 2 p.m. CST. Brunette said it's unknown if Annuen or Matt Murray, a call-up from Milwaukee, will start.
The Predators were disappointed with their start, but one of the motivating factors was getting the win for Annunen and making sure it wasn't wasted.
"Thank God for Big Juice," Steven Stamkos said. "We didn't waste his performance, and that was kind of the story of tonight."
Staying In The Playoff Race
Mar 21, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights players push and shove each other during the third period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
In the hours between the end of the Predators game and the end of the Kings game, Nashville is in the final Wild Card spot with 73 points.
They are very much not safe there with three other teams riding their coattails, but it's the first time this season that Nashville has finally been able to pass over the threshold.
The Predators are still proud of having gotten here. For the first two months of the season, they were the worst team in the NHL and are now on the brink of extending their season.
However, they know they need to continue winning to stay in this position.
"It's just the belief in the guys in this room, and that's all that matters," Stamkos said. "The coaching staff has a belief, the players have a belief, and it's not always gonna be pretty. We understand that at this time of the year, points are more important than how good the game looks. We put together a decent stretch over the past six or seven games and collected points.
