NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Trevor Zegras and Tyson Foerster each scored twice, Dan Vladar made 23 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers routed the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Tuesday to bolster their playoff position with four games remaining.

The Flyers have won three straight and have six victories in their last eight contests. Their 92 points are four behind second-place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division.

The Flyers have vaulted into playoff position with an 11-3-1 mark since a 6-2 home loss to the Rangers on March 9.

CANADIENS 4, PANTHERS 3, SO

MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield and Alexandre Texier scored in the shootout after Nick Suzuki’s late tying goal as Montreal beat Florida.

Ivan Demidov and Phillip Danault also scored in regulation as playoff-bound Montreal won for the ninth time in 10 games. Juraj Slafkovsky added two assists and Jakub Dobes made 30 saves for his sixth consecutive win.

Caufield remained one goal shy of his 50th for the third consecutive game after scoring twice Thursday against the New York Rangers. He is scoreless in three straight games for the first time since posting four consecutive goalless outings from Jan. 8 to 12.

Eetu Luostarinen, Carter Verhaeghe and Cole Reinhardt scored for fading Florida, which lost its eighth straight game against the Canadiens. Daniil Tarasov stopped 29 shots.

The two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions entered the night 27th in the overall league standings and out of playoff contention.

SENATORS 6, LIGHTNING 2

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jake Sanderson scored a pair of goals and Ottawa were closer to a playoff appearance with a win over Tampa.

Jordan Spence, Fabian Zetterlund, Tim Stutzle and Shane Pinto also scored for Ottawa. Brady Tkachuk had four assists and goaltender Linus Ullmark made 28 saves for the win.

Nick Paul and Corey Perry scored for the Lightning. Jonas Johansson made 26 saves.

BLUE JACKETS 4, RED WINGS 3, SO

DETROIT (AP) — Zach Werenski scored in the shootout to lead Columbus over Detroit, ending a six-game skid.

Adam Fantilli tied the game with 17 seconds left, Danton Heinen also scored and Werenski also added a goal and an assist in regulation. Jet Greaves stopped 34 shots and assisted on Werenski’s goal for his first career point.

Werenski notched his 26th multipoint game of the year, setting a single-season record for the Blue Jackets.

Justin Faulk scored twice, Dylan Larkin added one goal, and John Gibson had 32 saves for the Red Wings.

HURRICANES 6, BRUINS 5, OT

Raleigh, N.C. (AP) — Jaccob Slavin scored at 1:13 of overtime as Carolina beat Boston and claimed their fourth Metropolitan Division title in six years.

Slavin’s first goal of the season helped offset a hat trick by Boston’s Morgan Geekie. Andrei Svechnikov, K’Andre Miller, Logan Stankoven, William Carrier and Taylor Hall also scored for Carolina. Brandon Bussi overcame a shakey start and finished with 16 saves.

Hampus Lindholm and Pavel Zacha also scored for Boston, with Zacha’s goal at 12:33 in the third period tying the game at 5. Boston’s Jeremy Swayman made 18 saves before being pulled after allowing five goals, including three in the first nine minutes of the second period. Joonas Korpisalo stopped the 16 shots he faced in regulation, but Slavin beat him in OT by tapping in a pass from Sebastian Aho.

The Hurricanes will be home for the Stanley Cup playoffs as the Metropolitan champions for the third time under coach Rod Brind’Amour. They also won the Central Division in the shortened, reconfigured 2020-21 season.

AVALANCHE 3, BLUES 1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Valeri Nichushkin scored twice and Colorado beat St. Louis to clinch the Central Division and the top seed in the Western Conference.

It is the third time in five seasons, and first since 2023, that the Avalanche finished as the top team in the conference.

Martin Necas also scored and Scott Wedgewood made 18 saves for Colorado, which has earned points in eight of its last 11 games.

Wedgewood was shaken up midway through the third period after Philip Broberg made contact with him after being tripped by Sam Malinski. Wedgewood was driven awkwardly into the post and stayed down for several minutes, but remained in the game.

Robert Thomas scored and Joel Hofer made 34 saves for the Blues, whose slim playoff hope took a hit with the loss.

STARS 4, FLAMES 3, OT

DALLAS (AP) — Wyatt Johnston scored twice, including in overtime, to lead Dallas to the win over Calgary.

Johnston scored 3:39 into overtime on a power-play backhand shot. Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen each got an assist on the goal. Johnston scored two goals in the game.

Justin Hryckowian and Robertson each scored for the Stars. Robertson’s wrist shot 4:51 into the third period sent the game to overtime.

Zayne Parekh, Yegor Sharangovich and Joel Farabee scored for the Flames.

Jake Oettinger stopped 17 shots in the win for the Stars. Devin Cooley made 21 saves for the Flames.

WILD 5, KRAKEN 2

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Vladimir Tarasenko scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist, and Minnesota twice benefited from replay reviews in a victory over Seattle.

Marcus Johansson also had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who won their fourth straight game. Marcus Foligno scored the tying goal early in the second, and Joel Eriksson Ek added an empty-net goal and two assists.

Minnesota trails Dallas by two points for second place in the Central Division and Western Conference heading into their showdown Thursday in Texas. Each team has four regular-season games remaining before they square off in a first-round playoff series, with home-ice advantage still up for grabs.

MAMMOTH 6, OILERS 5, OT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Clayton Keller scored on a power play 33 seconds into overtime to lift Utah to a victory over Edmonton.

Alexander Kerfoot forced overtime with 7:04 left in regulation after tapping in a long feed from Sean Durzi, setting the stage for Utah to claim its first win over Edmonton.

Nick Schmaltz scored twice in the second period to rally the Mammoth from a two-goal deficit. JJ Peterka and Logan Cooley also scored, and Karel Vejmelka had 21 saves.

Curtis Lazar, Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Vasily Podkolzin, and Colton Dach scored for the Oilers, who lost their second straight. Tristan Jarry made 25 stops.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2, CANUCKS 1

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Cole Smith’s goal midway through the third period proved to be the winner as Vegas held on to beat Vancouver.

Max Sasson opened the scoring for the Canucks (22-47-8) with a wrist shot over the glove of Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart at the 12:50 mark of the second period. It was his 13th goal of the season.

Brayden McNabb replied for Vegas (36-26-16) less than three minutes later, sending a shot through traffic to tie the score at 1. Smith scored the go-ahead goal 12:13 into the third.

Vancouver had a prime chance to force extra time when Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson was called for interference with less than two minutes left. The Canucks pulled goalie Nikita Tolopilo in favor of an extra attacker, but failed to score.

Hart stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced for the Golden Knights. Tolopilo made 26 saves for the Canucks.

PREDATORS 5, DUCKS 0

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Justus Annunen stopped 43 shots — one shy of his career high — for his third career shutout, and Nashville sent Anaheim to their sixth consecutive loss.

Erick Haula, Filip Forsberg and Brady Skjei scored second-period goals, and Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov scored in the third for the Predators. Joakim Kemmell and Ryan O’Reilly each had two assists.

The win pushed Nashville (84 points) one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Predators have four regular-season games left.

The Ducks, who have been outscored 29-14 during their losing streak, remain stuck at 87 points. They also have four games remaining.

DALLAS (AP) — Wyatt Johnston scored twice, including in overtime, to lead the Dallas Stars to the 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.

Johnston scored 3:39 into overtime on a power-play backhand shot. Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen each got an assist on the goal. Johnston scored two goals in the game.

Justin Hryckowian and Robertson each scored for the Stars. Robertson’s wrist shot 4:51 into the third period sent the game to overtime.

Zayne Parekh, Yegor Sharangovich and Joel Farabee scored for the Flames.

Jake Oettinger stopped 17 shots in the win for the Stars. Devin Cooley made 21 saves for the Flames.

The Stars won 62% of the faceoffs in the game.

Flames defenseman Kevin Bahl left early in the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return.

Up next

Flames: Visit the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

Stars: Host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

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

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

The Calgary Flames dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Stars in Dallas on Tuesday night.

Devin Cooley got the start in goal for Calgary, while Aydar Suniev suited up for just his second NHL appearance. The opening period didn’t produce any scoring, but the Flames took a hit to their blueline when Kevin Bahl exited early with an injury and did not return.

Dallas broke through first in the second period. Just over four minutes in, a shot that missed the net caromed hard off the end boards and bounced out to Justin Hryckowian who pounced and chipped it past Cooley to make it 1–0.

Calgary responded with a strong push midway through the period. After sustained pressure across multiple shifts, Olli Maatta moved the puck up to Adam Klapka, who drove the net and forced a rebound. Joel Farabee jumped on the loose puck and slipped a backhand past Jake Oettinger to even things at 1-1 with his 19th of the season.

The Flames grabbed the lead late in the frame. With under two minutes remaining, Klapka held the line to keep the play alive before feeding Yegor Sharangovich in the high slot. Sharangovich wired a shot past Oettinger to give Calgary a 2-1 edge heading into the third.

The Flames wasted no time adding to their lead. Just 26 seconds into the final frame, Zayne Parekh capitalized on the power play, stepping into open ice and firing a wrist shot over Oettinger to make it 3–1. Matt Coronato picked up the primary assist, with Matvei Gridin also drawing in.

But Dallas pushed back quickly. Wyatt Johnston cut the deficit to one after finishing a rebound off a Mikko Rantanen wraparound attempt, and moments later, Jason Robertson tipped home a pass from Matt Duchene to tie the game 3–3.

With neither side able to break the deadlock in regulation, the game moved to overtime. Calgary found itself shorthanded when Ryan Strome was assessed a double minor for high-sticking. The Flames’ penalty kill held firm initially, with Cooley turning aside several quality chances, but the pressure eventually broke through. Johnston struck again, taking a pass from Robertson and finishing on the backhand to seal the 4–3 win for Dallas.

Three Takeaways

Parekh continues to impress

 Zayne Parekh stood out throughout the night. He scored on the power play, was active in all three zones, hit the crossbar, and consistently moved the puck efficiently.

Klapka making his presence felt

Adam Klapka recorded two assists and played a key role in Calgary’s offensive zone time. It marks his second multi-point performance of the season.

Penalty kill strong, until it mattered most

 Calgary’s penalty kill was solid in regulation, going a perfect 3-for-3 against a dangerous Stars unit. However, the overtime double minor proved costly, overshadowing an otherwise strong night from the PK.

Mathew Barzal says his “heart” on the ice is at center.

Under new Islanders coach Pete DeBoer, his heart is getting what it wants.

During Tuesday’s second practice of DeBoer’s tenure, Barzal skated in the middle with Brayden Schenn shifted to left wing.

With four games left in the regular season and the Islanders (42-31-5) jostling for a playoff spot, they need DeBoer to shake things up after firing Patrick Roy. One of his first tweaks will be moving Barzal back to his favored position.

“My initial reaction watching Mat from the other bench is, everybody’s looking for that type of speed in the middle of the ice,” the former Panthers, Devils, Sharks, Golden Knights and Stars coach told reporters after practice.

“So, I think the fact that he’s played both, that he can play both, is a great thing. And coming back from the Olympics, out of the 14 or 15 forwards [Team Canada] took, most of them were centermen. So you’ve got to be able to move around and play different roles. But that speed through the middle of the ice is really dangerous. And the good teams all have that — [Jack] Eichel in Vegas and [Connor] McDavid and [Nathan] MacKinnon.”

Barzal has toggled between wing and center during his decade with the Islanders but hasn’t lined up in the middle since early February — a 23-game span in which he registered 24 points and five goals.

In the prior 54 games this season, Barzal lined up at center 50 times, totaling 43 points. His four starts at right wing before February resulted in three points.

DeBoer stopped short of confirming where Barzal will line up, but the forward welcomes a move back to the middle.

“I think my heart, as a player, is probably down the middle of the ice, just because it allows me to do a lot of things,” he said. “But I really like my time on the wing, and I think it’s actually helped me as a player.”

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Moments earlier, he said: “I like both, to be honest with you. I like being down the middle, maybe a little more speed underneath the puck.

“And I also like being on the wing, with being able to maybe be ahead of the play a little bit sometimes, and create some offense off the breakout and on entries and stuff, coming out of the wall and kind of getting creative.”

DeBoer, who reached the Stanley Cup Final with the Sharks and Devils, stopped practice a handful of times Tuesday to give players instructions from a whiteboard.

“I’m drinking through a fire hose right now, trying to get up to speed,” the coach said of his whirlwind start in New York.

DeBoer, 57, also employed color-coded uniforms for the team’s lines, though he said he’s being mindful of not “paralyzing” his players with too much information.

“I’ve got to get to know the group. … I don’t know them,” DeBoer said. “I’ve been coaching in the West for 10 years. So I don’t know this group as well as I would like to know them.”

Barzal was less stressed about his and his linemates’ potential positional tweaks.

“It’s easier to go from center to wing than wing to center,” he said when asked about himself, Schenn and Cal Ritchie all being natural centers.

“Schenner and Rich are both really smart players. I think it’s an easy adaptation for everybody.”

DeBoer hopes that’s the case when the Isles host the Maple Leafs in a pivotal Thursday night matchup.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jake Sanderson scored a pair of goals and the Ottawa Senators were closer to a playoff appearance with a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.

Jordan Spence, Fabian Zetterlund, Tim Stutzle and Shane Pinto also scored for Ottawa. Brady Tkachuk had four assists and goaltender Linus Ullmark made 28 saves for the win.

Nick Paul and Corey Perry scored for the Lightning. Jonas Johansson made 26 saves.

Tied 1-1 to start the third, the Senators scored twice in less than two minutes to take a two-goal lead.

Perry pulled the Lightning within one midway through the third when he was left all alone and raised a shot over a sprawled Ullmark.

The Senators added a pair of power-play goals to secure the victory.

Pinto scored into an empty net.

With an assist on Ottawa’s opening goal, Stutzle recorded his second-career 80-point season.

Up next

Lightning: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Senators: Host the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

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The Detroit Red Wings were 16.1 seconds away from a badly-needed regulation victory at Little Caesars Arena, but the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets snatched that victory from the jaws of defeat. 

Former Michigan Wolverines defenseman Adam Fantilli scored the game-tying goal with 16.1 seconds remaining in regulation, and fellow former Wolverine Zach Werenski netted the decisive shootout goal, lifting the Blue Jackets to a 4–3 win over the Red Wings in a critical matchup for both teams.

pic.twitter.com/foCxoHzepG

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 8, 2026

The Red Wings are now three points behind the Ottawa Senators, who defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, for the final Wild Card postseason spot with only four games remaining. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets moved to 90 points, one ahead of Detroit. 

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

Things didn't start well for the Red Wings, who surrendered the opening goal to Danton Heinen after a defensive zone turnover at 2:06 of the opening frame. But team captain Dylan Larkin netted his 31st goal of the season midway through the period on the power-play, knotting the score at 1-1. 

Defenseman Justin Faulk, who made his return to the lineup after missing the last few games, scored a beautiful in the second period after cutting through multiple Jackets players and beating goaltender Jet Greaves with a glove-side shot. 

But Columbus made Detroit pay after David Perron was whistled for a minor penalty; Werenski whistled a shot from the high slot past Gibson, tying the score. 

At 15:14 of the third period, Faulk scored his second of the game right off a face-off, taking a pass from Alex DeBrincat and firing a one-timer past Greaves. 

With Greaves on the bench for an extra attacker, Columbus won a critical face-off following an icing call to the Red Wings, setting up Fantilli's game-tying goal. 

Neither team scored in overtime, but both exchanged goals in the ensuing shootout. Detroit got goals from Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, while the Blue Jackets responded with tallies from Kent Johnson and Charlie Coyle before Zach Werenski delivered the dagger.

Goaltender John Gibson made 32 saves, while Greaves countered with 34 saves. Detroit also lost forward Michael Rasmussen, who recently missed seven games, with an injury after blocking a shot. 

From here on out, the Red Wings are officially in "must-win" mode while also having to hope for outside help. 

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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Trevor Zegras and Tyson Foerster each scored twice, Dan Vladar made 23 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers routed the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Tuesday to bolster their playoff position with four games remaining.

The Flyers have won three straight and have six victories in their last eight contests. Their 92 points are four behind second-place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division.

The Flyers have vaulted into playoff position with an 11-3-1 mark since a 6-2 home loss to the Rangers on March 9.

Zegras opened the scoring at 1:56 of the first. The 25-year-old forward scored again on the power play at 3:38 — his career-best 25th goal — with assists to JamieDrysdale and rookie Porter Martone, who scored his first NHL goal in overtime to lift the Flyers past the Bruins 2-1 on Sunday.

Cody Glass cut it to 2-1 at 11:24 of the first before Foerster scored at 2:46 of the second, then had his 13th goal of the season at 4:58. Matvei Michkov assisted both of Foerster's goals.

Zegras, who was acquired from Anaheim last June, also assisted on Foerster’s second goal and is second on the Flyers with 65 points.

Nick Seeler added an empty-net goal to complete the scoring.

Vladar improved to 27-13-7 in his first season with the Flyers. His previous high for wins in a season was 14 with Calgary in 2022-23.

Philadelphia has missed the playoffs the last five seasons and seven of the last nine campaigns. They haven’t played a home playoff series since 2018.

The Flyers have road games at Detroit and Winnipeg, followed by home contests against Carolina and Montreal.

Jacob Markstrom made 13 saves in defeat for the Devils, who will miss the playoffs for the second time in three seasons and parted ways with general manager TomFitzgerald on Monday.

Up next

Devils: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

Flyers: Visit the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield and Alexandre Texier scored in the shootout after Nick Suzuki’s late tying goal as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Ivan Demidov and Phillip Danault also scored in regulation as playoff-bound Montreal won for the ninth time in 10 games. Juraj Slafkovsky added two assists and Jakub Dobes made 30 saves for his sixth consecutive win.

Caufield remained one goal shy of his 50th for the third consecutive game after scoring twice Thursday against the New York Rangers. He is scoreless in three straight games for the first time since posting four consecutive goalless outings from Jan. 8 to 12.

Eetu Luostarinen, Carter Verhaeghe and Cole Reinhardt scored for fading Florida, which lost its eighth straight game against the Canadiens. Daniil Tarasov stopped 29 shots.

The two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions entered the night 27th in the overall league standings and out of playoff contention.

Canadiens forwards Kirby Dach and Texier returned to the lineup, while veteran Brendan Gallagher (healthy scratch) and Joe Veleno (flu) sat out.

Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk missed the game for the birth of his first child, adding to a long list of absences for Florida. More than half of the Panthers’ usual roster is out for the season after three straight trips to the Stanley Cup final.

Up next

Panthers: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

Canadiens: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

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

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jaccob Slavin scored at 1:13 of overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 on Tuesday night and claimed their fourth Metropolitan Division title in six years.

Slavin's first goal of the season helped offset a hat trick by Boston’s Morgan Geekie. Andrei Svechnikov, K’Andre Miller, Logan Stankoven, William Carrier and Taylor Hall also scored for Carolina. Brandon Bussi overcame a shakey start and finished with 16 saves.

Hampus Lindholm and Pavel Zacha also scored for Boston, with Zacha's goal at 12:33 in the third period tying the game at 5. Boston's Jeremy Swayman made 18 saves before being pulled after allowing five goals, including three in the first nine minutes of the second period. Joonas Korpisalo stopped the 16 shots he faced in regulation, but Slavin beat him in OT by tapping in a pass from Sebastian Aho.

The Hurricanes will be home for the Stanley Cup playoffs as the Metropolitan champions for the third time under coach Rod Brind’Amour. They also won the Central Division in the shortened, reconfigured 2020-21 season.

Geekie, a third-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2017, claimed his second career hat trick with his third goal of the game with 1:10 left in the second period, cutting Carolina’s advantage to 5-4. Geekie had only one goal in the previous 20 games, but his scoring outburst on Tuesday pushed his season total to a career-best 37. Geekie had six goals in 38 career games with Carolina.

Stankoven scored on the power play to tie the game at 3 at 5:17 in the second period. The Hurricanes have scored 14 power-play goals in the past 11 games.

Carrier made it 4-3 at 7:20 in the second and Hall scored 73 seconds later, chasing Swayman. Jackson Blake and Sean Walker assisted on Hall’s goal and each finished with two assists.

Up next

Bruins: Host Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Hurricanes: Begin a four-game trip at Chicago on Thursday.

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

The Senators took care of their own business on Tuesday night.

Jake Sanderson scored twice, and Brady Tkachuk had a career-best four assists as the Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 to maintain their two-point wild card lead in the East with just four games to play.

Tim Stützle had three points on the night, while Linus Ullmark led the way with 28 saves.

The game was tracking to be a defensive affair through the first 40 minutes, but the third period didn’t get that memo.

Jordan Spence and Nick Paul swapped goals late in the second before the Senators erupted for five goals in the third en route to the win.

Fabian Zetterlund scored early in the third, banking one in off the upper body of Tampa Bay defenceman Erik Černák to make it 2-1.

Jake Sanderson then made it 3-1 with a gorgeous goal, cutting hard to the net and slipping the puck through Tampa goalie Jonas Johansson.

Corey Perry cut the lead to 3-2, standing alone at the side of the net and redirecting a slap pass from the point past Ullmark. The Lightning appeared to be gaining momentum before Tampa was called for hooking.

Stützle restored the two-goal lead on the ensuing power play, jamming home a loose puck during a goalmouth scramble. Tampa challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal stood.

Then came the dagger. On ensuing delay of game penalty, the Senators executed a gorgeous set play off the centre ice faceoff.

Jake Sanderson dropped the puck off to Drake Batherson who hit Tkachuk with a long stretch pass at the blue line. Tkachuk quickly fed Sanderson, who had turned on the jets after quietly and slowly jumping into the rush after the original drop pass. Sanderson, now on a breakaway, beat Johansson with a slick backhander to make it 5-2.

Shane Pinto then added a hard working empty-netter to seal the 6-2 victory.

With the win, the Senators maintain their hold on a wild card spot in the East, two points up on Columbus, and three points up on Detroit and the Islanders. All four teams have four games remaining and the Senators own the tiebreaker on all three opponents.

Out of town on Tuesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in overtime. The Philadelphia Flyers handled the New Jersey Devils 5-1, while the Boston Bruins, who sit in the second wild card spot, lost 6-5 in overtime to the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Senators are back at it Thursday night at home against the Florida Panthers, a team they’ll be eager to get another crack at after Florida handed them a lopsided loss a week ago.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News

DETROIT (AP) — Zach Werenski scored in the shootout to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Tuesday night, ending a six-game skid.

Adam Fantilli tied the game with 17 seconds left, Danton Heinen also scored and Werenski also added a goal and an assist in regulation. Jet Greaves stopped 34 shots and assisted on Werenski's goal for his first career point.

Werenski notched his 26th multipoint game of the year, setting a single-season record for the Blue Jackets.

Justin Faulk scored twice, Dylan Larkin added one goal, and John Gibson had 32 saves for the Red Wings.

Red Wings center Michael Rasmussen left in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return.

The Blue Jackets blocked 21 shots and the Red Wings blocked 25.

Up next

Blue Jackets: Visit the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Red Wings: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

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

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

The Florida Panthers continued their final road trip of the season on Tuesday night when they visited the Montreal Canadiens.

Florida played some solid hockey against the playoff-bound Habs, but couldn’t hold a late lead, ultimately losing 4-3 to Montreal in a shootout.

A strong start by the Panthers was rewarded with the game’s opening goal.

Already outshooting Montreal 6-1, Florida took the lead after Donovan Sebrango carried the puck through the neutral zone and into Montreal’s end before firing a long wrist shot that was stopped by Jakub Dobes.

The rebound went off his right pad and straight to Carter Verhaeghe, who one-timed the puck into the net to put Florida up 1-0 at the 9:23 mark of the opening period.

It was a lead that held until just past the intermission.

With Tobias Bjornfot in the penalty box for slashing, Montreal rookie Ivan Demidov one-timed a pass from Cole Caufield past the blocker of Daniil Tarasov and into the net, knotting the score at one just 54 seconds into the middle frame.

Cole Reinhardt’s fifth tally of the season gave the Cats their lead back late in the period.

Catching up to the puck in Montreal’s zone with nobody between him and the goaltender, Reinhardt held the puck until Dobes committed, then extended his arms and wrapped the puck around the sprawled out goalie and into the net with 6:17 on the clock.

The score remained 2-1 until another Montreal scored on a delayed penalty early in the third period.

With six attackers on the ice, Phillip Danault picked up a loose puck in the slot and wired a wrist shot past Tarasov, knotting the game at two with 13:38 remaining.

This time, the Panthers answered in quick fashion.

Just 87 seconds later, Eetu Luostarinen got his stick on a long shot by Gus Forsling and deflected the puck over Dobes, putting Florida right back in front 3-2.

The Panthers held their lead until the final seconds, when Nick Suzuki caught Tarasov out of position and tied the game with just 20.1 to go.

Overtime solved nothing, so the game went to a shootout.

Goals by Cole Caufield and Alex Texier would be more than enough as Montreal picked up the bonus point.

On to Ottawa.

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Photo caption: Apr 7, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Florida Panthers goalie Daniil Tarasov (40) stops Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson (8) and teammate forward Juraj Slafkovsky (20) during the second period at the Bell Centre. (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)

That’ll do it for the 2025-26 New Jersey Devils.

We’ve all known this season has been over for a long time now, but tonight’s 5-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers sealed the deal. Thanks to this loss plus an Ottawa Senators win out of town, the New Jersey Devils have officially been eliminated from postseason contention this season. It was only a matter of time.

In their first game after general manager Tom Fitzgerald was fired, the Devils had a chance to show some fire and pride. Not just as a show of respect to their former GM, not just as a way to show they feel bad they got someone fired, but also because they had a chance to put a major dent in a hated rival’s playoff hopes. Philadelphia came in having won 14 of their last 20 games, which has vaulted them into playoff position for the first time in a while. Their hold on a postseason spot is very tenuous though, and a loss this evening would’ve caused some damage. Instead, Jacob Markstrom allowed a goal on the second shot he faced, then allowed another one in the blink of an eye, and it was all over from there.

To the Devils’ credit, after they went down 2-0 in the opening minutes, they really turned it on and smothered the Flyers through the rest of the first period. They pulled to within 2-1 thanks to a Cody Glass deflection goal off a Jonas Siegenthaler shot. But that was as close as they would get. New Jersey went to the man-advantage early in the second period, couldn’t score, then managed to get Jesper Bratt on a breakaway on which he missed the net, and the Flyers followed all that very shortly after with two quick goals. It was the perfect microcosm of this game and this season. The rest of the game was muddy and messy and uneventful, just like the Flyers wanted it. An empty-netter in the dying minutes was the final dagger.

If there’s one bit of cope I can offer, it’s that Philadelphia might learn all the wrong lessons from this run that they’ve found themselves on since the Olympic break. Despite the fact that they may play postseason hockey this year, this is still not a particularly good team. They have some young talent for sure, but aside from maybe Matvei Michkov, no one that I think is truly elite. Meanwhile their coach, Rick Tocchet, is a pretty bad head coach. The only reason they are in this position is because journeyman Dan Vladar has put up a wildly fluky .908 save percentage since the break. Does anyone truly believe that Dan Vladar is that good? So instead of continuing their rebuild – which I admit is starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel – they might let a random hot stretch from a career backup goalie influence them to cut corners and accelerate their rebuild to the detriment of their long-term ceiling.

But that’s about all I can offer you tonight, and really, how sad is that? The Devils started this season so well, then spent months stuck in a slow-motion car crash, then frantically tried to climb back into the playoff race after the Olympics, only to fall short when it mattered most.

On a night where this team was playing its first game after their general manager got fired, there was a chance to show some professional pride. Sadly, that didn’t happen. The Devils are in a transitional period at the moment, the liminal space between one general manager’s vision and another’s. In between, in this one-game sample size, we have been treated to some thoroughly uninspired hockey. It’s what we’ve become accustomed to this season.

We can only hope that next year will be different.

The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats

The Game Highlights: Courtesy of NHL.com

The Wrong Kind Of History

Thanks to the loss tonight, the Devils have officially been swept in the season series by the Flyers. If you just read that and thought to yourself “Huh, that seems rare. I wonder when the last time that happened was”, then I can tell you you’re not alone. I thought the same thing. So I did a little digging, and based on my amateur research, I found that the New Jersey Devils have not been swept in the season series by the Philadelphia Flyers since…

…1983-84.

Anyone is welcome to fact-check me on this, but I believe this to be correct after going through the historical stats on Hockey Reference. Granted, this season’s sweep comes with a bit of an asterisk because they only played three games against one another. In many, many seasons, the Devils and Flyers would play upwards of five times per season. In that 1983-84 campaign, they matched up seven times. Going 0-for-7 is true ineptitude.

But so is this. Even in the worst of years, the Devils could always count on getting at least a win against the Flyers. Not this time. Better luck next year.

Backbreaking

I can’t imagine how mentally taxing it must be to play in front of Jacob Markstrom. He has an uncanny ability to put his team behind the eight ball as fast as humanly possible. Since he came to the Devils, Markstrom has allowed a goal on the first shot he’s faced a truly unnerving amount of times. Tonight he allowed a goal on the second shot he faced, which is morbidly hilarious progress I suppose. Granted, the goal he allowed on that second shot tonight was way more on Jonas Siegenthaler than Markstrom, but he still failed to rise to the occasion and make a big save when his team needed it.

In addition to his penchant for handing opposing teams an early lead, his style of play is just so chaotic as well. He flops himself out of position so frequently that I’m beginning to suspect he has a phobia of blue paint. It’s tough to play in front of a goalie when you have no idea where he might be at any given second.

To me, it’s so reminiscent of Mackenzie Blackwood. I know it’s popular to look at his success in Colorado and conclude that New Jersey gave up on him too quickly. I disagree, though I might agree with the argument that New Jersey’s goalie coaching and organizational development ruined him to a certain extent. But while Blackwood was in New Jersey, he had a knack for allowing the softest goals you’ll ever see. It was a common joke that New Jersey would outshoot a team something like 40-18 but lose the game 4-3 when Blackwood was minding the net. He might not be a perfect stylistic match for Markstrom, but their abilities to put their teams in bad positions is almost one-to-one.

I would not be surprised if the skaters in front of Markstrom feel an extra mental burden playing with him. Squeezing the stick, walking on egg shells, sitting on pins and needles…whatever your idiom of choice, it probably applies. The feeling of dread and emotional defeat that sets in when they see Markstrom allow another soft, early goal must be overwhelming.

Don’t Get So Defensive

Since the heights of the 2022-23 season, the Devils reworked their blue line in a big way. Former general manager Tom Fitzgerald made a concerted effort to move away from speedy puck movers like Damon Severson and John Marino and move toward hulking stay-at-home defensemen like Johnny Kovacevic and Brenden Dillon. Jonas Siegenthaler belongs in that latter camp too, but his acquisition came long before this shift so I can’t get on Fitzgerald too much for that.

Still, the difference is clear, and it’s cost New Jersey a ton of offense over the years. This wouldn’t be a huge problem if all these defensive defensemen were, you know, good at defending. But the truth is, they haven’t been able to defend anywhere close to good enough. Siegenthaler embarrassed himself on the first goal tonight. Kovacevic was torched on the fourth goal. Dillon was reasonable tonight, and he’s probably been the best of the three, but locker room leadership aside, Dillon just doesn’t provide much value at this point in his career.

In today’s NHL, it’s very hard for a defenseman to provide value as solely a defensive stopper. It’s even harder to do that if you’re a defensive ace in name and reputation only. Whoever the next GM of the Devils is, they need to find a way to jettison the offensive anchors on the blue line. Tonight was example number one billion of why they need to go.

That’s Baseball Hockey, Suzyn

One random thought that occurs to me after tonight’s mess:

The Devils currently have 40 wins. They have four games remaining. As poorly as they played tonight and as disappointing as this season has been, I think there’s a reasonable chance they win two of their last four to get to 42 wins on the season…the exact same amount as the playoff-bound 2024-25 New Jersey Devils.

Last year’s team finished with 91 points and secured third place in the Metropolitan Division. This year’s team can max out at 91 if they run the table, and even if they do, they will still finish way out of the postseason picture. Funny(?) how things work sometimes.

Next Time Out

The Devils are back at it on Thursday when they play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It will be the final division game of the year. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm.

Your Take

You know what to do. Leave your comments below. As always, thanks for reading.

The Montreal Canadiens made some significant changes to their forward lines for their matchup against the Florida Panthers.

First, Canadiens rookie Oliver Kapanen has been dropped from the second line to Montreal's fourth-line right wing spot. This is notable, as the 22-year-old forward has been a key part of the Canadiens' top six this season. His 22 goals and 37 points in 77 games this season show that.

However, Kapanen has also been experiencing a cold streak down the stretch. Heading into Montreal's matchup against the Panthers, the 2021 second-round pick had zero points and a minus-3 rating over his last five games.

With Kapanen moving down to Montreal's fourth line, Alexandre Texier has added to the Canadiens' second-line left wing spot, forming a trio with Alex Newhook and Ivan Demidov. 

Texier had been sidelined with a lower-body injury since March 24 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Yet, now the 26-year-old forward is getting a big chance with the Habs in his return. 

In 38 games with the Canadiens since signing with them earlier this campaign, Texier has eight goals and 19 points. This is after he had one assist in eight games with the St. Louis Blues before mutually terminating his contract with the Central Division club. 

The Chicago Blackhawks traded away multiple of their former pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) this season. Nick Foligno (Minnesota Wild), Connor Murphy (Edmonton Oilers), and Jason Dickinson (Oilers) were all dealt by Chicago ahead of the deadline. With the Blackhawks being out of a playoff spot and still rebuilding, it made sense that they moved on from these veterans. 

However, the Blackhawks did not trade pending UFA forward Ilya Mikheyev at the deadline. When noting that the 31-year-old forward has been having another solid season for the Blackhawks, he certainly could have been a nice player for a contender to add to their roster. Yet, the Blackhawks kept him, and now they have a clear move to make with him. 

With Mikheyev finishing the season with the Blackhawks, they absolutely should not let him leave for nothing through free agency this summer. He has been such a key piece of the Blackhawks' penalty kill and forward group this campaign. Thus, if they can keep him around on a short-term extension, that would be great news for the Blackhawks. 

In 73 games this season with the Blackhawks, Mikheyev has recorded 16 goals, 17 assists, and 33 points. This is after he had 20 goals and a career-high 34 points in 80 games for Chicago this past season. With this, he has been a valuable piece of the Blackhawks' roster, and it would sting to lose him this off-season.