The Colorado Avalanche have battled through three tightly contested games thus far in their first round series, emerging victorious despite, among other things, the stifling defensive tactics employed by the Los Angeles Kings.

With a victory today, the Avalanche can be the first team in the Western Conference to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Colorado Avalanche

Scoring had been hard to come by for the Avalanche in the first two games against Los Angeles, with their first goals not coming until the second and third period, respectively. Game Three was a different story, as a shot from Gabe Landeskog ricocheted off the end boards before bouncing off the skate of goaltender Anton Forsberg early in the first period to give the Avs the lead. Los Angeles would tie the game with a bounce of their own off Trevor Moore in the second period, but Cale Makar’s first goal of the playoffs restored the lead. A shorthanded goal from Artturi Lehkonen would give the Avs some breathing room in the third, but a power play goal for Los Angeles would make things interesting late. Brock Nelson would cap off the night with an empty net goal to secure a 3-0 series lead to wrap up a game that featured more end to end action for both teams. Scott Wedgewood stopped twenty-four of twenty-six shots for his third consecutive playoff win.

Despite Game Three being more wide open, it still featured plenty of physical play throughout. After a hard hit from Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson into the boards at the Los Angeles bench late in the first period, Josh Manson would play sparsely in the second period before missing the remainder of the game. Head coach Jared Bednar said yesterday that Manson was “sore” and “unlikely” to be in the lineup for today’s game. When pressed for a further opinion on Manson’s status yesterday, he said, “We don’t know how long he’s going to be [unavailable] yet, so it’s hard to say. […] I won’t have a timeline. I don’t have a timeline. We’ll just take it day by day, and see how he’s feeling, and go from there.”

Manson’s absence opens the door for Nick Blankenburg to step into the lineup for the first postseason appearance of his career. While Blankenburg is certainly capable of physical defensive play in his own right, it would be a pretty tall task to elevate his physicality to that of playoff Manson having never skated in playoff situations before. “We need him to be solid defensively,” Bednar explained. “He’s perfectly capable of coming into our system and being a responsible, defensive player and helping us move the puck out of the zone and into the offensive zone—what we expect from all of our D—anything he can add beyond that is a bonus. […] I feel good about the option we have in [Blankenburg] coming into the lineup and being able to help us. It’s why I’m glad we got him a bunch of games down the stretch. It hasn’t been that long [since he’s played], so he’s been in all the meetings, and he should be in tune with what we’re trying to do here for Game Four.”

Game Three also marked the return of Ross Colton to the Avalanche lineup. When asked about what he’s looking for out of Colton, Bednar said, “Hungry game from [Colton], I felt. Committed, played with great urgency and determination in the game, made his presence felt on the forecheck, and created a couple of really dangerous scoring chances for himself, for his linemates. He added an element of physicality and speed to our game, so I was happy with his game. Again, it is really hard to create offense, but he did a nice job in his time to help us do that, and help the second line.”

It should be noted that Colton had 8:22 of ice time in Game Three, the lowest total ice time among all forwards. Jack Drury (9:26) and Parker Kelly (9:31) were the only other forwards that had fewer than ten minutes of total ice time in Game Three.

The Avs had an extra day of rest coming into today’s game, which could provide some extra spark for them to utilize their speed to help create more offensive opportunities. As has been the case throughout the series, those opportunities won’t come easy, and with Los Angeles on the brink of elimination, they will throw everything they can at the Avs to slow down them down as much as possible. Elimination games are difficult to win, and the Avs have not closed out an opponent to advance in the postseason since eliminating the Winnipeg Jets in the first round back in 2024. A win today would give the Avs some valuable rest before the start of the second round, especially since their next playoff opponent in either Dallas or Minnesota will now be forced to play no fewer than six games in their first round series.

Coming into today’s game, both Landeskog and Lehkonen share the team lead in scoring at two goals apeice, while Lehkonen leads the team in playoff points with three. While there might be some concern in the lack of production from the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Nečas, which had been a staple for the Avs during the regular season, the Avs have also returned the favor on the defensive side of their game as well, having limited the Kings to four total goals across three games. When addressing the media yesterday on his opinion on the low offensive output to this point in the series, Nečas said, “It would be a different story if we’re not scoring much and maybe down 2-1 or something like that, but being 3-nothing up, with not scoring many goals, I think we’re pretty comfortable, and it honestly feels almost better.”

Given Wedgewood’s solid performance in this series, expect him to start in goal today as he looks to earn his first playoff series win.

Projected Lineup

Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Parker Kelly – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Gabe Landeskog – Nazem Kadri – Nicolas Roy
Ross Colton – Jack Drury – Logan O’Connor

Defense:
Cale Makar – Devon Toews
Brett Kulak – Sam Malinksi
Nick Blankenburg – Brent Burns

Between the Pipes:
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood

Los Angeles Kings

What do you do if you’re the Los Angeles Kings coming into today’s game? The League’s most potent offense, featuring the current Rocket Richard winner in Nathan MacKinnon—who hasn’t scored a goal during this postseason—has been held to eight total goals. The power play has found success in three straight games. The penalty kill has been flawless. Anton Forsberg has been solid. Artemi Panarin has been the primary driver on offense, which is what General Manager Ken Holland was banking on when he made the trade for him.

The ingredients for playoff success are there, and what’s been the end result? An elimination game scenario on your own ice after three consecutive losses to start the postseason.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs giveth, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs taketh away.

Despite the defense limiting Colorado’s high-powered offense to this point in the series, Colorado’s defense has returned the favor in spades. Los Angeles has only led for a total of 3:21 throughout the entire series. That primary offensive driver in Panarin scored power play goals in both Game One and Game Two, but was limited to a single assist in Game Three. Adrian Kempe and Trevor Moore have one goal each. Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere have registered only two assists. That same power play gave up a shorthanded goal late in Game Three, which proved to be the game-winner.

In addressing the media yesterday, head coach D.J. Smith said, “We just got to play our best game one time, and then we’ll worry about the next game, but we have to find a way to score more while playing the exact same defense. Is it hard? Yes. Are we going to give it everything we got? Yes. I think you’re going to see our best game of the series.”

For Smith’s roster, an unlucky bounce led to Forsberg kicking the puck into his own goal early in the first period, and with Forsberg on the bench for the empty net late in the third, a neutral zone turnover by Anže Kopitar flipped a potential game tying scenario into the final nail in the coffin and a 0-3 series deficit. While luck can hardly be accounted for in any situation, outcomes like that have the potential to make or break a series.

For Los Angeles, they face the latter. “I think the game plan is correct,” Smith said. “I just think that you want more results, and let’s see if we get them in Game Four, but there’s nothing to feel bad about. I think our team plays hard, I think we’re organized and we’re detailed. We just probably should at least have one win, and we’re probably feeling different, so I like everything everyone’s done.”

The phrase, “There is no tomorrow” holds even more significance ahead of today’s game. “Right now, we’ve got nothing to lose,” Kopitar said in comments to the media yesterday. “It’s focusing tomorrow on the start, having a good start, and just go from there. To think what’s going to happen in a couple of days, or four days or five days from now, there’s really no need for that. It’s just staying in the moment, go down there tomorrow, and play our asses off, and see where that takes us.”

When asked if he was prepared for Game Four to be his last game, Kopitar said, “I hope it’s not going to be [my last game]. Can you ever be emotionally prepared? Probably not, so we’ll see.”

Those sound like words of someone who, rather than playing like he has nothing to lose, feels exactly the opposite.

Projected Lineup

Forwards:
Artemi Panarin – Anže Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore – Quinton Byfield – Alex Laferriere
Joel Armia – Scott Laughton – Jared Wright
Mathieu Joseph – Samuel Helenius – Jeff Malott

Defense:
Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson – Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin – Cody Ceci

Between the Pipes:
Anton Forsberg
Darcy Kuemper

Buffalo Sabres - Boston Bruins Game Preview - Sabres Lead Series 2-1 

4/26/26 - 2:00 pm at TD Garden in Boston, MA

Buffalo – 50-23-9 | - 109  points – 1st place in the Atlantic Division

Boston  – 45-27-10 | - 100 points – 4th place in the Atlantic Division

 

Special Teams

Buffalo

Power Play(Reg) – 19.5% (21st)

Power Play(Playoffs) - 0 for 14 - 0% (15th) 

Penalty Kill(Reg) – 81.9% (4th)

Penalty Kill(Playoffs) - 10 for 12 - 83.3% (7th) 

Boston

Power Play(Reg) – 23.4% (9th)

Power Play(Playoffs) - 2 for 12 - 16.7% (8th)

Penalty Kill(Reg) - 77.0% (24th)

Penalty Kill(Playoffs) - 100% - 14 for 14 (1st)

Top Scorers

Buffalo

Alex Tuch: 3 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS

Bowen Byram: 3 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS

Tage Thompson: 3 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS

Boston

David Pastrnak: 3 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 PTS

Morgan Geekie: 3 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS

Viktor Arvidsson: 3 GP, 2 G, 0 A, 2 PTS

Starting Goalies

Buffalo – Alex Lyon (1-0, 0.81 GAA, .969 Sv %)

Boston  – Jeremy Swayman (1-2, 2.38 GAA, .931 Sv %)  

Other Sabres Stories

Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere

Sabres Line Combinations and Pairings (projected)

Forwards

Peyton Krebs   - Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch

Zach Benson - Noah Ostlund - Josh Doan 

Jason Zucker - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn  

Jordan Greenway - Tyson Kozak - Beck Malenstyn

Ex., Tanner Pearson,, Josh Dunne

Defense

Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Dahlin

Owen Power - Bowen Byram 

Logan Stanley - Conor Timmins 

Ex. Luke Schenn, Michael Kesselring, Zach Metsa

Goaltenders

Alex Lyon

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Colten Ellis

Injuries

Justin Danforth (lower body, Oct. 18; injured reserve)

Jiri Kulich (blood clot, Nov. 4; injured reserve - out for the season) 

Sam Carrick (upper body, Mar. 31; injured reserve)

Josh Norris (unspecified, Apr 21; day-to-day)

 

Notes

A win today would give Buffalo back-to-back road playoff wins for the first time since the Sabres won two consecutive road playoff games from April 16 to 18, 2007 at the New York Islanders. It would mark the first time the Sabres have earned two consecutive playoff wins since April 20 to 22, 2011 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Buffalo last won consecutive playoff games against Boston from May 9 to 14, 1999 (three games). A win today would mark the second time in franchise history that the Sabres have earned consecutive road playoff wins against the Bruins (two games; April 18 to 20, 1993). 

Owen Power has registered an assist in all three games of the series and he is the third skater in franchise history to record at least one assist in the first three playoff games in their career. Power joined Marc-Andre Gragnani (three games; April 14 to 18, 2011; 0+4) and Richard Smehlik (three games; April 18 to 22, 1993; 0+4). An assist today would make Power the only skater in franchise history to register an assist in the first four playoff games of their career. With any point today, he would join Danny Gare (seven games; April 13 to 29, 1975; 5+3) as the only Sabres skaters to record at least one point in the first four playoff games of their career. 

Peyton Krebs (1+2) has also recorded one point in every game of the series and can join Gare with a point today. Krebs has a plus/minus of plus-5 through the first three games of the series, the best mark by a Buffalo skater in their first three playoff games with the Sabres all-time. 

Noah Ostlund’s two points (1+1) in Game 3 made him the first Sabres rookie to record multiple points in the first playoff game of their career since Richard Smehlik on April 18, 1993 at Boston (0+2). Ostlund joined Pierre Turgeon (April 6, 1988 at Boston; 2+1) as the only Sabres rookies to record at least one goal and one assist in their first career playoff game. Ostlund, Smehlik, Turgeon and Bill Stewart (April 11, 1978 vs. NY Rangers; 0+2) are the only Buffalo rookies to register a multi-point performance in the first playoff game of their career all-time. He would join Paul Gaustad (April 22 to 24, 2006; 0+3) and Jason Pominville (April 22 to 24, 2006; 3+1) as the only Sabres skaters to collect three or more points in the first two playoff games of their career with a point today. 

Alex Tuch has posted at least one point in all three games of the series (2+2) and a point today would give him the first fourgame point streak by a Sabres skater in the playoffs since Pominville from April 16 to 22, 2011 (four games; 1+3). With a point today, Tuch would become the first Sabres skater to register five or more points in their first four playoff games with Buffalo since Dainius Zubrus from April 12 to 18, 2007 (0+5). He would be the 10th Sabres skater to do so all-time. Tuch has two game-winning goals in this year’s playoffs and entering play Saturday, he was tied for 13th all-time among active players with eight career playoff game-winning goals. 

Alex Lyon earned a win in his first playoff start with Buffalo in Game 3 and a win today would make him the first Buffalo goaltender to earn two straight playoff wins since Ryan Miller from April 20 to 22, 2011.

Bowen Byram has recorded a goal in back-to-back games and a goal today would give him the first playoff goal streak of three or more games by a Sabres defenseman since Ken Sutton from May 4 to 8, 1993 (three games; 3+0). A multi-point performance would make Byram the first Buffalo defenseman to record back-to-back multi-point games in the playoffs since Tyler Myers from April 24 to 26, 2011 (two games; 1+4). With a goal tonight, Byram would join Mike Ramsey (three games; April 14 to 17, 1983; 3+0) as the only defensemen in franchise history to record a goal streak of three or more games against Boston in the playoffs. He would be the first Sabres skater since Alexander Mogilny from April 18 to 24, 1993 (four games; 6+1) to register a goal streak of three or more games against the Bruins in the playoffs.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo

A lot of things went right for the Penguins in their Game 4 win over the Flyers. A handful of them:

• Sidney Crosby dug deep, embodying a ‘whatever it takes’ mentality on a two-point night
• Kris Letang scored a goal, and beyond that played well over 23 minutes
• Pittsburgh won the goaltending battle for the first time, thanks largely to Flyer goalie Dan Vladar coughing up a goal from behind the net but in no small part to Arturs Silovs playing his first game this playoff and performing very well
• The penalty kill was perfect, the power play was far from it but did score one goal
• Game sequencing mattered; the Penguins had a good start, scored first and never let the Flyers tie the game up again

Add it all up and it’s enough to earn another game.

NHL Game Score Impact Card for Pittsburgh Penguins on 2026-04-25: pic.twitter.com/85LfkJ3xZq

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) April 26, 2026

There are still some problem areas, Anthony Mantha looks like he’s at half-speed at times and is a shell of the player who scored 33-goals this regular season. Egor Chinakhov (five missed shots last night) has not had a great series. The now 19-year old Ben Kindel has not made many plays lately. If the power play keeps messing around then they will give up a back-breaking chance sooner or later. The team is not clicking on all cylinders but at this point they just gotta keep finding a way to make it happen.

Of course, no one does that better than Crosby. The captain set up what would stand as the game winning goal by Kris Letang by kicking the puck back to the defender, then helping the cause by driving to the net to help take away the goalie’s ability to see the shot while drawing a defender with him to give Letang ample space to work into a dangerous spot. It’s the kind of gritty, desperate effort the team needs. The creative pass draws in the attention but the play runs deeper than that, it’s what Crosby did after kicking the puck back that made a big difference.

CROSBY ➡️ LETANG

THE VETS CONNECT TO RESTORE THE PENGUINS' TWO-GOAL LEAD 🐧 pic.twitter.com/CTnvt1JeXS

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 26, 2026

“(Bringing the series back to Pittsburgh) was our only option,” Rickard Rakell said after the game. “And it wasn’t pretty a lot of times today. But we stuck with it. Obviously, it feels really good. It’s a huge win.”

The game didn’t have to be pretty for it to be effective.

“I think that looked more like our game. It’s probably taken us three games to look like ourselves a bit,” Crosby said. “So, I think that’s something that we can definitely build on.”

While that was team focused and not untrue, Crosby might as well have been talking about himself personally after only registering one point in the first three games. Getting a multi-point effort on the road from their captain was about a necessity for the Penguins to extend their season. Crosby got on track and now the Pens live to fight another day.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins finished second in their division this season, which might not sound like a big deal but is a huge deal in the AHL playoff format that grants the top-two teams in the Atlantic Division a pass into the second round of the playoffs. That means a lot considering the first round is only a best-of-three, a format that sunk WBS’s season last year when they finished in fourth place and were quickly eliminated from the playoffs.

Such a result struck again, third place Charlotte (who had a great season to put up 93 points in 72 games) ended up getting bounced in Game 3 by sixth place Springfield. Due to the reseeding, Springfield now moves onto play first place Providence. That left Wilkes to take on the Hershey Bears, who won their first round matchup against Bridgeport.

Hershey it is.

We’ll see you Thursday for Game 1, Pens fans!

More info here: https://t.co/KiYymLYHsX

Get your tickets here: https://t.co/RkarhiGzmVpic.twitter.com/mjf20fufF8

— x – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) April 26, 2026

The Bears are the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals and have some quality players. One of them, Ilya Protas, played against Pittsburgh in the final week of the NHL regular season. The 19-year old has two points in two playoff games and won AHL rookie of the year for his 66 points in 69 game. Hershey also boasts veteran goalie Clay Stevenson, who stopped 40/42 shots in the quick sweep of Bridgeport.

The Penguins did carry a 7-3 record against the Bears this season and will be hoping that carries over into their first matchup. The winner of that series will move on to face the winner from mighty Providence or the upset-minded Springfield team in the next round of the playoffs.

The electricity was palpable in town when the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 3 of their first-round series. Hours before the game, there was a buzz downtown as fans arrived early to either attend the game or the outdoor watch party.

As is tradition in the playoffs, the players' significant others turned up wearing custom-made jackets that made it impossible not to recognize the ladies. Before going to the Bell Centre, they went to take a picture in the Rio Tinto court where the Fan Jam was taking place, and Alexa Dobson looked like she had a blast taking in the atmosphere, according to her Instagram account.

Dach’s Redemption Leads Canadiens To Important Win
Canadiens’ Hutson Is Making Smart Reads
Ex-Canadiens Forward Is Continuing To Shine During Playoffs

Some of the ladies even took the time to do a short interview with The Sick Podcast and were asked to predict the game’s outcome, with one of them predicting a Canadiens’ win 3-2 in overtime.

This year’s edition of the jackets is cream, but it features plenty of red, white and blue. The sleeves are embroidered with their partner's name and bear the Montreal Playoff Hockey 2026 logo, as well as the team’s iconic logo over the years. The jacket is like a Canadiens retrospective.

Even the younger ladies got their version of the jacket. Emma Fortin, Brendan Gallagher’s wife, posted a picture of herself posing with her daughter, Everly, who was wearing it as well. Playoff fever is alive and well in Montreal, and the organization is doing everything it can to have all hands on deck, as the coach would say.

Once inside the building, they took several videos of the atmosphere, posting them to their Instagram accounts and it clearly looked like they were having a wonderful time, much like any other Habs fan in the building, really.

 

---

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.  

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.

Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. 

Follow Michael Whitaker On X

Fans of the Detroit Red Wings will have to wait another year for their beloved franchise to play beyond the 82nd game of the regular season. 

Unfortunately, the Red Wings unraveled in the month of March once again, losing what was a comfortable playoff cushion and eventually being eliminated from contention in the 80th game of their centennial campaign.

Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes have already punched their ticket to the second round of the postseason thanks to a clean four-game sweep of Detroit's Atlantic Division rival, the Ottawa Senators.

In doing so, they matched an impressive mark set by the Red Wings in 2009 that had not been repeated until now.

The Hurricanes became the first team since the 2009 Red Wings, who swept the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Western Conference Quarterfinal, to never trail at any point during an opening-round series.

Talk about staying ahead of the game 🏃‍♂️💨

The Canes are the first team to never trail in a game in the first round series since the Red Wings vs. the Blue Jackets in 2009 🙌 pic.twitter.com/YiUboBdkFN

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) April 25, 2026

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

As Red Wings fans may remember, they entered the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the defending Stanley Cup champions.

"We Had Concerns": Steve Yzerman Saw Warning Signs For Red Wings During Thursday's press conference, Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman spoke honestly about what needs to improve for his club, which just missed the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season.

Detroit was matched against the Blue Jackets, who were making their very first playoff appearance. 

Just like the Hurricanes did to the Senators, the Red Wings proved to be simply too much for the Blue Jackets to handle.

The only competitive game of the series was Game 4 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, a wild back-and-forth affair that ultimately resulted in a 6-5 victory for Detroit.

Johan Franzen scored the game-winning goal with 46 seconds left in regulation after an ill-advised bench minor penalty assessed to the Blue Jackets for too many men on the ice. 

Detroit would then go on to enjoy a thrilling seven-game series win over the Anaheim Ducks, followed by a five-game series win over the Chicago Blackhawks to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season. 

However, it would be the Pittsburgh Penguins pulling off a stunning upset, winning the series in seven games and skating the Stanley Cup on Joe Louis Arena ice. 

Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites!

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

The first domino to fall in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs was the Ottawa Senators, as they were swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round. Among the players eliminated were two former members of the San Jose Sharks, Fabian Zetterlund and James Reimer.

Zetterlund just finished his first full season in Ottawa after being dealt in a surprise move at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. The Sharks got Zack Ostapchuk in return for the Swedish winger, and they've been happy with his production, but Zetterlund had a respectable season in his own right.

In 82 games for the Senators, Zetterlund scored 17 goals and had 33 total points. With that being said, in his 10 playoff games with the Senators, both this season and last, he has failed to record a point.

Reimer on the other hand joined the Senators in January and took over the backup role from Leevi Merilainen. He didn't play in the postseason. 

Reimer last played for the Sharks during the 2022-23 season, but had two separate stints with the team in teal. 

Another former Shark, Cody Ceci, could face elimination tomorrow, as the Los Angeles Kings could potentially be swept by the Colorado Avalanche.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Logan Stankoven scored the go-ahead goal in the third period as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated Ottawa 4-2 to sweep the first-round series.

Taylor Hall added a goal and an assist before Sebastian Aho buried two pucks into the empty net. Frederik Andersen made 25 saves. Seth Jarvis chipped in two assists.

Drake Batherson, with a goal and an assist, and Dylan Cozens replied for the Senators, who put up just five goals in four games and never led against the Hurricanes. Linus Ullmark stopped 26 shots. Rookie defenseman Carter Yakemchuk added two assists in his playoff debut.

Of the 213 NHL teams to fall behind 3-0 in a seven-game series, just four have come all the way back to win — the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1980 New York Islanders, 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and 2014 Los Angeles Kings.

Ottawa also trailed last spring’s first-round matchup with Toronto 3-0 after seven years outside the postseason tournament before eventually falling in six games.

Stankoven scored his fourth goal in as many games at 9:10 of the final period on a power play off a rebound from the end boards.

Batherson came close to equalizing again with six minutes to go before Carolina was whistled for too many men. But Ottawa’s anemic power play again couldn’t generate any quality looks against a high-pressure penalty kill.

Aho scored into the empty net before Cozens made it 3-2 with 1:49 left on the clock. Aho then sealed the series for good with another empty netter.

Carolina opened the scoring in a physical, nasty second period when Hall beat Ullmark five-hole at 15:15 after Mark Jankowski made a big shot block at the other end.

Ottawa’s power play — 0-for-12 in the series entering play and without much going Saturday — finally broke through when Batherson tipped a Tim Stutzle one-timer.

WILD 3, STARS 2, OT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Matt Boldy scored on a deflection with 28.9 seconds left in the first overtime and Minnesota beat Dallas in Game 4 to tie the first-round NHL playoff series.

Jared Spurgeon took a shot that Boldy, unmarked in front of the net, tipped with his stick shaft to guide the puck past goalie Jake Oettinger after the Wild lost Game 3 in double overtime.

Boldy, who had a goal waved off in regulation when teammate Joel Eriksson Ek pushed Miro Heiskanen into Oettinger and another discounted in overtime because he made a kicking motion at the puck, has three goals in the series.

Game 5 is in Dallas on Tuesday night.

Marcus Foligno tied it for the Wild on a second-effort tip-in with 5:20 left in the third period, and Jesper Wallstedt made 43 saves.

Jason Robertson and Heiskanen scored on the only two regulation power plays for the Stars, who continued their special teams mastery of the Wild and are 8 for 19 in the series.

Oettinger stopped 40 shots in another steely performance in his home state.

PENGUINS 4, FLYERS 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang each scored goals and the three-time Stanley Cup champion teammates are headed back to Pittsburgh after they helped the Penguins avoid a first-round series sweep with a win over Philadelphia.

Game 5 is Monday in Pittsburgh.

Rickard Rakell also scored, and Connor Dewar sealed the win with a late empty-netter for the Penguins. Penguins coach Dan Muse made the right call with the season on the line to bench starting goalie Stuart Skinner in favor of Arturs Silovs.

The 38-year-old Crosby, a career-long foil for the Flyers, not only scored his first goal of the series, but he also set a savvy screen in the third period on defenseman Travis Sanheim that allowed Letang to have a clean look when he ripped his first goal of the series past Dan Vladar for a 3-1 lead.

The goal was crucial after Travis Konecny scored to make it 3-2 and ignite the “Let’s go Flyers!” chants that had largely been dormant with the Flyers down early.

Pregame

The Penguins mix it up a bit, the old second line is back, Elmer Soderblom is back, Ilya Solovyov and Arturs Silovs makes his Penguin playoff debut in a do or die situation.

How we're lining up for Game 4 👇 pic.twitter.com/CF9w57HAkc

— x – Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 25, 2026

The Flyers don’t have any changes from what has gotten them the 3-0 series lead.

#Flyers lines in warmups vs. PIT 🐧

Foerster-Zegras-Tippett
Konecny-Dvorak-Martone
Barkey-Cates-Michkov
Glendening-Couturier-Hathaway

Sanheim-Ristolainen
York-Drysdale
Seeler-Juulsen

Vladař

— Jackie Spiegel (@jackiespiegel93) April 25, 2026

First period

Pittsburgh gets off to a good start, the period is defined by each team taking an offensive zone penalty and the results of the power play. Anthony Mantha keeps up his inglorious playoff run by headed to the boc, but his team kills it off.

A short time later, Denver Barkey gets his stick up on Sam Girard to send the Pens to a power play. It’s short work, Sidney Crosby wins the faceoff to Erik Karlsson then slips into a quiet area. Karlsson feeds Crosby the puck and it’s a trickier-than-it-looks one-timer for a puck coming at him at a weird angle. The whole thing throws Dan Vladar off and the puck sails by him into the net.

SIDSATIONAL ON THE POWER PLAY 🤩 pic.twitter.com/4Rx3SG237V

— x – Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 26, 2026

Blake Lizotte takes a post-whistle penalty late in the period, the Pens steer it home. Shots are 9-5 PHI, one of those shots coming from 180 feet away that wasn’t a real shot at all so that doesn’t tell the whole story. Solid opening 20 for the visitors.

Second period

Pittsburgh kills off the rest of the Lizotte penalty and then Rickard Rakell takes advantage of a Vladar miscue behind the net, wins the puck back and knocks it into the abandoned net. 2-0 game.

RAK CITY > EASTERN PA pic.twitter.com/xpvpN7hJPv

— x – Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 26, 2026

The Pens get another chance off the rush, throwing the puck to the net. Mantha can’t quite get it in and a desperation kick by Christan Dvorak to angle the puck away from the goal-line saves the day.

Next shift, Evgeni Malkin gets tripped and the Pens get another power play, and for the first time in the series look like they have the Flyers on the ropes. They can’t take advantage of the opportunity, and soon after Solovyov takes a false step back to the ice instead of changing and Pittsburgh gets rung up for a too many men penalty, which they kill.

Pittsburgh is the next to get a power play after Crosby gets dumped, nothing happening and they even give up a breakaway that Silovs makes a big save on. The momentum is slipping away and the Flyers catch Pittsburgh on a long shift after the power play. Trevor Zegras makes a pass across the crease that Barkey just has to keep his stick on the ice to knock it in. 2-1 game with 4:20 to play in the period.

BARK BARK BARK. 🐶🐕#PITvsPHI | #IgniteTheOrangepic.twitter.com/XzxBWjceCk

— x – Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 26, 2026

Sanheim hits the crossbar from right in front of the net in the last minute. It’s now the Pens who are on the ropes and they get bailed out by the horn for intermission.

Third period

Garnet Hathaway elbows Karlsson in the face during a wall battle, Karlsson stops playing and gives Hathaway a few uppercuts and they both get called. On the 4v4, the Pens get a huge goal. Crosby fights off a check and kicks the puck to Kris Letang. Letang has the extra space to keep walking up in the zone, so he takes it. Then he takes a big slapper from the top of the circles in the middle of the ice and hammers it home. 3-1 game with 15:33 to go in regulation.

KRISTOPHER LETANG, FOLKS. pic.twitter.com/4frF1OWsfm

— x – Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 26, 2026

The Flyers get a pretty quick answer to close the gap. Travis Konecny finds a soft spot and gets a pass from down low that he one-times over Silovs’ shoulder. 3-2, 12:57 to go.

TRAVIS KONNECTS.#PITvsPHI | #IgniteTheOrangepic.twitter.com/534CxifaEv

— x – Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 26, 2026

The Flyers push continues but their aggressiveness opens up some opportunities the other way for the Pittsburgh rush offense to finally make an appearance. Crosby and Bryan Rust get away on a 2-on-1 but Rust’s forced pass doesn’t connect. The best thing for Pittsburgh is they get what any team with a lead wants in the third period – a long stretch between whistles where lines roll, play continues and time drains away.

That’s too good to be true and is with about 5 minutes to go as the game gets bogged down with a few stoppages, TV timeouts and each team icing the puck. Philadelphia pulls Vladar for an extra attacker with just under two minutes to play. Connor Dewar ices the puck, then gets redemption to chase it down a little later and deposit it into the empty net. 4-2, 56 seconds to go.

The Pens win and survive to play another day.

Some thoughts

• Crosby only won 2/8 faceoffs in the first period. One of the wins was the most important, starting the goal sequence. One major sign of Crosby’s struggles has been in the faceoff circle, entering tonight winning only 45.5% of his draws (coming off another regular season of winning 55% of them).
• The Penguins had such a great opportunity in the second period to if not put the game out of reach then at least build themselves a comfortable lead up 2-0 and getting a couple of power plays. It was back to the ‘bad’ power play of making poor decisions with the puck and static player placement very nearly coming back to bite them. It’s a small wonder it didn’t. They were playing with fire big time in a careless way.
• And yet, for the scoreboard, each team scored in the second period. It wasn’t truly an even period, with the Flyers controlling play and building a lot of momentum throughout, but it was one that was survived. Silovs deserves a lot of credit for that, the other point that stood out is that Vladar coughed up a cheapie. That downplays the effort that Rakell had to show to earn it, but the Flyer goalie was practically flawless through the first three games. It had to be nice for the Pens to see that the guy who had been shutting them down is still capable of making a major mistake.
• Silovs came up with a great performance. He had to be really good in the second period and he was just that. Thought some of his rebound control slipped after giving up the second goal but despite a little shakiness he kept the puck out from there on out. This was the first game the Pens had better goaltending in the series (which says more about Vladar’s down night than anything else) and it showed in the result.
• Vladar’s play at the moment might be the biggest x-factor on the ice. Was he just rusty from missing two days practice? He out and out created a goal against with a misplay, which isn’t going to happen every game. Even then, that was the only gave up one 5v5 goal he gave up today (the Pens scored at 4v4 for the first time all season on Letang’s goal, got Crosby’s PPG and an empty net goal). On one hand, it’s not like Vladar was in full collapse and he may well shrug off his issue and find better form in Game 5. On the other hand, he showed some cracks today and Pittsburgh forced the door open enough to keep their season alive. Vladar’s status (not like he’ll miss a game now) and maybe his form is one of the more intriguing storylines to watch for in the next one.
• The Pens still had 21 missed shots, equaling the number of shots on goal. It’s not like they’ve figured everything out and are rolling. Egor Chinakhov had five shots miss target just by himself, in a tough development. If this series is to be extended much longer they’re going to need him to start firing true much sooner than later.
• Special teams had to be a battle the Pens won tonight, and they did. The PK going 3/3 was very strong. The power play was 1/3, which looks nice enough even though it belies how close they came to giving up a goal and possibly sinking everything as a result. But, it is a results-oriented business and they took care of business – which counts for something. Something big in this case, a Game 5.
• In a must win situation, the Pens had no choice but to ride Karlsson (26:48 icetime), Wotherspoon (23:49) and Letang (23:19). Solovyov only took 13 shifts for a total of 8:45 played, he wasn’t bad but even despite the mental lapse to cause a too many men situation this was a game that the Pens clearly were going to lean on their top guys all the way.
• Mantha took another penalty and again had a tough go. He played the third least minutes of any Penguin forward, joining Soderblom and Ben Kindel as the lowest TOI forwards. The ‘fourth’ line of Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari is essentially the third line, especially in situations late in games for needing a reliable defensive group to help protect a lead.

Well, it won’t be a sweep. The Pens now get to go home and have to focus on just winning more shifts, periods and hopefully another game to extend the series again and really make it interesting.

W

The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Ottawa Senators by a 4-2 final score on Saturday. With it, the Hurricanes have officially swept the Senators and have moved on to the second round. 

A former Chicago Blackhawks forward helped the Hurricanes complete their sweep over the Senators, as Taylor Hall had a strong Game 4 for the Metropolitan Division club.

First, Hall scored the game-opening goal at the 15:15 mark of the second period to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead. He then recorded an assist on Logan Stankoven's third-period goal that gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead. 

With this, there is no question that Hall came up clutch for the Hurricanes in their series-clinching win. It was just the latest strong game from the former Blackhawks winger, though, as he has been on fire throughout the early stages of the postseason.

In four playoff games so far for the Hurricanes, Hall now has two goals, five assists, seven points, and a plus-5 rating. The former Hart Memorial Trophy winner is turning back the clock at the perfect time for Carolina, and it will be fascinating to see if he can stay hot in round two. 

Dallas Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist left Saturday's Game 4 with a deep facial cut after being hit by a skate.

The incident happened at 13:15 of the second period of the April 25 game in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Lundkvist had tripped Michael McCarron and the skate of the Minnesota forward came up and hit the defenseman in the face. Lundkvist had to go to the dressing room for repairs.

Lundkvist didn't return to the game, leaving the Stars one person short on the blue line as the team and the Wild went to overtime for a second consecutive game. The Wild won 3-2 to even up the series at two games apiece.

Warning: Graphic video

Scary moment as Nils Lundkvist takes Michael McCarron's skate to the face 🤕

Lundkvist was cut and has gone to the room for repairs. pic.twitter.com/Y74rRMsWwV

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 25, 2026

Nils Lundkvist injury update

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters that Nils Lundkvist suffered a deep facial cut and would be examined further when the team returns to Dallas.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stars' Nils Lundkvist leaves game after skate hits him in face

Golden Knights coach John Tortorella believes there is one player who gives Vegas the upper hand in its series with the Utah Mammoth, despite being down 2-1 in their opening-round series.

"If there's one player I have an advantage with here - I'm still trying to figure out the guys - but if there's one player I do know very well, it's him," Tortorella said of his goaltender, Carter Hart.

After watching his starting netminder allow the first four goals of Friday night's Game 3 loss in Salt Lake City, Tortorella said he never flinched and never considered replacing Hart with former starter Adin Hill, who led the Knights to the Stanley Cup in 2023.

"I know Carter well enough; he wants to work through it," Tortorella said, after the Golden Knights lost 4-2 to the Utah Mammoth. "I have faith in him. There was no thought of taking him out."

Credit a long-standing and deep relationship between Tortorella and Hart, from their days in Philadelphia, as it's crystal clear the confidence the veteran coach has in his 27-year-old netminder.

It's understood, Tortorella has Hart's back and nothing will change that.

During his Flyers tenure, Hart was 9-5-0 allowed just 2.3 goals per start, while turning in a .926 save percentage in 14 playoff appearances. He also stopped an average of 28.5 shots per game.

What should be most important to the Knights is the fact that Hart was 4-0 after a playoff loss in Philadelphia, including two times he allowed four goals, just like Friday in Salt Lake City, where he suffered his first setback after a playoff loss during his career.

"I think he cares," Totorella said. "I know there (weren't) a lot of shots on goal, and there (were) four goals, but it was a weird game. They were very opportunistic. When they had chances, they scored."

To say the least.

In reference to Tortorella's comments, the Mammoth finished with just 12 shots on goal, leaving Hart with eight saves.

And despite the Mammoth scoring on a third of their shots, Tortorella's confidence remains in place as the Golden Knights approach a must-win situation in Game 4 on Monday.

"I don't look at his game as being a real bad game; it was a weird game for him," Tortorella said. "But I know him so well. He has an attitude and a mental toughness about him at that position. He's smart enough, strong enough, to push that away, have a good practice (Sunday), and get ready for Game 4.

"He'll be fine."

PHOTO CAPTION

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) tends the net against the Utah Mammoth during the third period in game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Delta Center.

Former Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Travis Green and the Ottawa Senators have officially become the first team eliminated from the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Earlier today, the Carolina Hurricanes completed their first-round sweep of the Senators by winning their fourth consecutive game. 

While Ottawa was unable to find the back of the net during Game 1 of their series against the Hurricanes, they made things close in a deadlocked Game 2 that saw both teams make the push to double-overtime. A disallowed goal and denied penalty shot opportunity for Carolina gave the Senators a little extra hope, though Jordan Martinook ultimately won Game 2 for the Hurricanes. Game 3 was one-again separated by only one goal, though Carolina managed to squeeze out a regulation win. While today’s game was another close one, Ottawa ultimately wasn’t able to secure a single win this post-season. 

Green has been the Senators’ Head Coach for the past two seasons, taking up the role in the 2024–25 season after spending part of the 2023–24 season as Head Coach of the New Jersey Devils. Ottawa has made the post-season in both of the years that Green has been their Head Coach. In nearly five years as the Head Coach of the Canucks, Green’s team only made playoffs once in 2019–20. 

While the Senators have no former Canucks on their player roster, Green isn’t the only member of the organization to have worked for Vancouver. Senators Assistant Coaches Nolan Baumgartner and Mike Yeo also spent time with the Canucks in the same roles, while former player Sam Gagner also serves as Ottawa’s Director of Player Development. 

On Carolina’s side, Jalen Chatfield, a former Canucks defenceman who spent four seasons in the organization but only one with Vancouver, will be advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Chatfield has been a member of the Hurricanes organization since parting ways with Vancouver after the 2020–21 season and has been with them for their past three post-season runs. 

Carolina will now take on the winner of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers’ series. The Flyers, led by former Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet, are currently up 3–0 on the Penguins in the series and could also clinch a spot in the second-round tonight. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site: 

Canucks Prospect Safonov Thriving In The KHL

Former Canucks In 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Šilovs Looks To Save The Penguins' Season

One Canucks Player Featured In The Hockey News' Top 100 NHLers Of 2026

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.