The Chicago Blackhawks are officially back in action on Thursday night. After a couple of weeks away via the Olympic Break, they are ready to pursue a strong finish to the 2025-26 season.
The healthy Blackhawks who didn’t go to Milan to represent their country had a little mini-camp to prepare for their return. Although they are unlikely to be a playoff team, there is a lot that Jeff Blashill wants to work on with this group before they break for summer vacation.
Not everyone on the roster will make it to the end of the season in Chicago. Next Friday’s trade deadline is sure to shake things up. Before then, the Blackhawks have four games (all on the road) to manage ahead of their big pending decisions.
The first game of the trip is a match against the Nashville Predators. This is the third of three matchups between the two clubs. Chicago is 1-1-0 against them so far.
Scouting Nashville
The Nashville Predators have not played as poorly this season as they did last season, despite all the nice additions they made to their roster in free agency. Still, they were a lousy 3-4-3 in their final ten games before the break, so they sit four points below the playoff line.
The good news for Nashville is that they only have two teams to jump at this point in time. One of them, the Los Angeles Kings, has the same number of points. Anything can happen, but this game against Chicago is an opportunity to earn a home win against one of their biggest rivals.
Preds lines at non-Olympian practice:
Evangelista-O’Reilly-Stamkos
Forsberg-Haula-Marchessault
Bunting-McCarron-Wood
Smith-Jost-Wiesblatt
Barron-Josi
Skjei-Wilsby
Hague-Perbix
Saros
Annunen
The Predators have talent that helps them win games, but a lot of it comes in the form of older veterans like Steven Stamkos, Ryan O'Reilly, Jonathan Marchessault, Filip Forsberg, and Roman Josi. The youth that NHL teams need to be elite is not there in bunches.
In goal, Jusse Saros is a game-time decision. He played very well in the Bronze Medal Game, but it is unclear if he will face the Hawks on Thursday. If he can't go, it will be justus Annunen.
Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawks have 25 games remaining. Between now and the end of the year, there is a lot to learn and work on. There is also an opportunity for players like Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Tyler Bertuzzi, and others to reach certain milestones that will boost their confidence.
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Moore-Nazar-Bertuzzi
Teravainen-Foligno-Slaggert
Donato-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Vlasic-Crevier
Murphy-Rinzel
Grcelzyk-Levshunov
Knight
Spencer Knight is going to start in goal for the Blackhawks against the Predators. He was just outside being named to the United States Olympic team, so now is his chance to begin his quest to be on the team in 2030.
Connor Bedard, as reported over the course of the break, is ready to take faceoffs again. Having the ability to perform all of the roles of a center allows Frank Nazar to move down and drive the second line.
Teuvo Teravainen is back with a Bronze Medal, and now he has a chance to be the facilitator on a third line with Nick Foligno and Landon Slaggert.
Artyom Levshunov was on a development program ahead of the break that had him watch a few games from the press box without being sent down to the AHL. Now, he's ready to hop back into the lineup and play.
Kevin Korchinski is with the big club while Wyatt Kaiser works his way back from an injury, but he is not likely to dress unless there is another injury before Kaiser returns. Colton Dach and Sam Lafferty are the scratches for this one up front.
How To Watch
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it is available on CHSN locally. Nationally, it can be streamed on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 7:00 PM CT.
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.
"I'm watching hockey every night. I check in to see how the guys are doing," Dobson said to begin his answer. "[Schaefer] has stepped into the league, and it's looked like a seamless transition from junior. It's been super impressive. As an 18-year-old defenseman, it's not an easy league to come into that young. Especially as a defenseman, to see what he's doing, it's been great. And obviously, he's given the team a big boost. So it's been cool to see for him."
“It was special to be an Islander, just the history they have there, being part of such a great group of guys. I’m thankful for them drafting me and believing in me. I’m extremely grateful for everything they’ve done for me.”#Isles@TheElmontershttps://t.co/bn5yqMJH1F
Dobson broke into the NHL with the Islanders at the age of 19 after being selected 12th overall in 2018. He went through his ups and downs during his development.
After six seasons on Long Island, Dobson, a pending restricted free agent, was dealt to the Canadiens for the Habs' 16th and 17th selections in the 2025 NHL Draft, along with forward Emil Heineman.
The Islanders turned those picks into forward Victor Eklund and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson.
Dobson signed an eight-year extension worth $9.5 million annually and has 38 points (10 goals, 28 assists) in 57 games this season. Heineman signed a two-year extension worth $1.1 million annually.
Heineman has set career highs in goals with 15 and points with 23, tying his career high with eight assists through 58 games on Long Island.
The Penguins went into the Olympic break on a high note after a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 5 and will try to carry that momentum into the stretch run of the 2025-26 season.
They will play a struggling Devils team that has lost four in a row and will be on the second half of a back-to-back. They fell to the Sabres 2-1 on Wednesday night and are now 11 points out of a playoff spot.
The Penguins and Devils have split their two meetings this season, with the Penguins winning the most recent one, 4-1, on Jan. 8. This will be the third of four games between the two teams this year.
Despite a tough season, the Devils still have some great talent, including Jack Hughes, who recently scored the golden goal for Team USA at the Winter Olympics. His goal gave Team USA its first Gold Medal in men's hockey since 1980.
Hughes has compiled 12 goals and 37 points in 37 games this season. Jesper Bratt has been solid again this season, racking up 13 goals and 42 points in 58 games. Nico Hischier also has 42 points in 58 games, 19 of which are goals.
This is a Devils team that still has Timo Meier and Dawson Mercer up front as well. Goaltender Jake Allen started on Wednesday, meaning Jacob Markstrom is in line to start on Thursday.
The Penguins' lines will look a tad different without Sidney Crosby in the lineup. Crosby will be out for a minimum of four weeks with a lower-body injury he suffered during the Winter Olympics.
Rickard Rakell will center the top line with Bryan Rust and Avery Hayes as his wingers.
Here's a look at the full projected lineup for Thursday's game:
Forwards
Hayes-Rakell-Rust
Chinakhov-Novak-Malkin
Mantha-Kindel-Brazeau
Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari
Defensive pairs
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Girard-Letang
Shea-Clifton
Arturs Silovs will start in goal after he was the first goaltender off during the morning skate.
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'
Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
As the Olympic season wraps up, the Boston Bruins sit at 57 games played, and the Trade Deadline incoming at them at distressing speeds. The NHL season’s truncated schedule to make room for Team USA and Team Canada’s all-timer tournaments has now created a dead heat of a last two months that will test the Boston Bruins in ways they have only rarely been tested before.
Now, let’s check in with the Boston Bruins, and discuss what they need to do next in this blisteringly paced season.
The Basics
The Boston Bruins are 32-20-6 in 57 games played, have 69 points in the standings, have scored 195 goals and let in 176 goals. Their home record is 17-8-3, their away record is 15-11-3, and at the end of the break they had a 6-3-0 record through their last ten games; their most recent one a controversial overtime loss to the Florida Panthers due to general Panthers behavior of the sort you’d imagine they get up to.
Their leading scorer is Morgan Geekie at 32 goals through 56 games played, and their leader in points is David Pastrnak with 71 points in 52 games.
The Analytics
In terms of offense, The Boston Bruins are 16th in the NHL in Corsi-For per 60 minutes; which is a measurement of shot attempts over the course of a 60 minute hockey game; this sits at 57.55. They are 19th in Fenwick-For per 60 minutes, which is a measurement of unblocked shot attempts over the course of a 60 minute hockey game. This sits at 40.97. They are 22nd in the NHL at Expected-Goals for per 60, which sits at 2.51, and is a measure of what we can call “shot quality”. They are 12th in the league at High Danger Goals-For per 60 minutes, which sits at 1.31.
From this, we can at least determine that while the Bruins do not have the puck very often and are letting the game come to them rather than the other way around, when they do have the puck, they usually score when they’re close to the net. This tracks based on what we can see about finishing data from HockeyViz.com.
Defensively, the Boston Bruins are quite a far cry from where they were years ago. They are 27th in the league at Corsi-against per sixty with 60.17. Fenwick-against per sixty is 24th in the league at 49.07, and they are 29th in Expected-Goals Against per 60 at 2.9. This suggests they are letting up a lot of shots, many of whom are pretty good ones at that.
Definitely gonna call that a “needs improvement”.
The things that work…
David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie are putting in heroic work!
For a good six weeks last year, the Bruins became the Pasta and Geekie show as they began to rapidly overtake just about everybody else on the depth chart in terms of NHL Scoring. To the delight of fans, that hasn’t gone away; if anything it’s actually improved quite a bit.
Pastrnak has developed a much more rounded playmaking addition to his game game in response to what I am sure is someone making it abundantly clear to him that he is probably the most well rounded player left on the team, and he put his best effort forward into becoming more than just a really good slapshot from the circles, and the team is better off for it.
Meanwhile, Morgan Geekie, of all people, is playing like he’s going to be a Rocket Richard finalist. That’s going to happen. We’re all here to watch that now.
What part of this is playing with great talent, what part of this is the power play being good, what part of this is him shooting like crazy (currently sitting at 24%), it’s hard to assign credit where it’s due on his game, but make no mistake, he is a blast to watch here.
Pleasant surprises abound in the depth!
Part of what’s made the Bruins sudden return to being watchable is that, for the most part, the depth has actually started to come alive!
Lots of flowers go to Fraser Minten, as he was an inexpensive add last year who showed a lot of promise, and has truly flourished in his role on the third line, but he’s hardly the only one! Viktor Arvidsson looks like he belongs after a slow start! Hell, it looks like he’s finally found his scoring touch again! Pavel Zacha has once again found the ability to potentially end up a 20+ goalscorer again! Marat Khusnutdinov has been the perfect chaotic addition to Pasta and Lindholm’s line! Lindholm himself seems to have found twine a little more which helps his case a lot! And hey, even Casey Mittelstadt seems to be finding a scoring touch against the right teams.
This was a hallmark of Marco Sturm teams in the AHL in that yes, they do have obvious stars, but they do tend to have a crop of players who start following in those stars wake to carve some goals out for themselves, and in an NHL this deep across the board it never hurts to have anyone who’s willing to step up.
Sturm’s Team never quits.
Even if the Bruins are not great, and sometimes they can lay an egg through at least 20 minutes of play…they are not out of it. Something in the locker room gets said, the team locks in, and the game changes. Not always for the better, but they do make something happen.
If there is one major positive that Marco Sturm has imparted upon these guys, that I think contributed to some early frustration within the team, is that they know they are never out of it, and relish the opportunity to be something special.
According to MoreHockeyStats.com, a fantastic resource for the kind of niche stat that this is; the Boston Bruins are 9th in the league in winning games in which they are behind by the third period. They’re in a multi-man tie for third if they’re only down a goal! Part of that of course is probably the power play; which is not just good, but actively great at 3rd in the entire league, but it does come down to effort. It makes for a genuinely fun watch even if they’re playing like garbage to start the game because yes; anyone can go be the hero if they want to be, and there are enough talented guys in the NHL now that it doesn’t just have to be Pasta or Geekie.
Given where we started with this team? I will take that one thousand times over. No contest.
…and the stuff that needs improvement.
The Bruins are in dire need of help up the middle.
So there’s two ways to look at this; the non analytics way and the analytics way. In the interest of fairness, I will address both.
From a more surface level side of things, just about every Center on the team is…fine. It’s a little weird that Mark Kastelic has the highest faceoff percentage of all
From an analytical side of things…
Well…It’s a good thing Sean Kuraly and Fraser Minten are having good seasons and Zacha is a fantastic power play guy, because this is kind of a rough place to be right now with your top six centers looking like this.
I’m not gonna hold Pavel Zacha’s draft acumen against him; he’s still a very good player and he’s third in goals on a team that has largely let two guys do all of the scoring for them, and even if he’s not exactly living entirely up to the level of ice time he gets through on-ice impact, results are there. They may be
Lindholm however…Lindholm I no longer feel any passion, fury or concern with. I know what he is, and he is not a 1st line center in the NHL. He might be a good 3rd C! That’d be a good spot for him at this point! But he’s not a 1st liner anymore and he is here for what feels like forever unless cooler heads prevail and the Bruins do something to get him outta here. It is by the grace of god that he gets to play with two players who can mask a lot of the busy nothing he does out there, and that should be cause for concern. This kind of thing becomes painfully apparent in the playoffs, and unless Lindholm has one last masterclass season in him, I think his usage on this team needs to be rethought immediately.
We do need to talk about Mason…
At the beginning of the season, we set what I think was a very reasonable goal for Lohrei to meet; just be A Guy this year.
Do not cause too much trouble and break even on defense this year. This was largely attainable for him; Lohrei’s ranginess, shot, and skating talent are undeniable qualities in his favor as a skater, particularly in a defense corps that still has a lot of trouble trying to leave the zone themselves. When he is at his best, you can absolutely see why the team wants him to remain an NHL skater and on their team.
He has however, largely failed to meet that lofty goal of “be boring”.
What is increasingly a problem for the Bruins is that his play recognition and game “sense” is routinely far behind the rest of his skillset, and it remains a major fault in his game that usually becomes his teammates’ problems in short order. Mason Lohrei has done something at least once in all of the contests he’s been a part of that drew attention to this particular flaw of his game, and usually dragged his defense partner into that boondoggle. It didn’t always end in a goal-against, but Lohrei’s consistent struggles to make good decisions with and without the puck inevitably end up dragging out defensive zone time for a team that already struggles with that.
Lohrei’s ability is constantly hampered by a decision-making that would have him out of the league were it not for the macrophilic tendencies of the organization trying to find something for him to do. This was a recurring problem with his defense partners in the past, and on some level the team tried to mitigate it by ensuring he had stoic partners who wouldn’t screw up nearly as badly, but it is absolutely unacceptable for a player they keep trying to dip into first pairing minutes.
Really, the worst part is that we know good performances for Lohrei are entirely possible and can happen. It is something he can be not just once every ten games but every game if he puts the effort forward and isn’t trying to force plays with the confidence of Icarus turning his wings sun-ward. Mason Lohrei is a good hockey player when he is focused! The problem is that focus seems to wander consistently, and that leads to trouble that people notice. Him getting benched and the team’s ability to at least stay ahead of opponents improving dramatically has only made it
Of course, he’s far from the only one.
…But he’s just the tip of the iceberg of a pretty poor defense.
I really cannot overstate how Lohrei’s large, flamboyant disaster shifts are just the loudest parts of a defense that is in dire need of anyone to recognize what they’re doing. If you are a fan who reconnected with the team back in the 2009-10 season, what you see on the ice feels spiritually incorrect… and yet, here we are, with a defense that is frankly pretty bad all around.
Lohrei’s issues are well known, but there’s a little bit of everything across this lineup when the defense is off it’s game: baffling decision-making with the puck, slow skating in just about every direction, criminal lack of play recognition leading to puck watching, whiffing on checks, over committing on checks, baubling the puck when you have it in the offensive zone…if I pointed at one name as the culprit, two more I didn’t would follow it up by doing the same things. It’s a unique problem that now follows this squad; Everybody’s struggling to get the puck out of their own end at the moment, and it will continue to be an issue until Marco Sturm adjusts something drastically with his staff, or there are adjustments made to the people putting that system into place on-ice.
And let’s not just leave it at the defensemen! Let us make it abundantly clear that the forwards are not helping much whatsoever in this defense and it does not matter who they are in the slightest! Pasta? Already not known for his defense but his impact has lessened, Kuraly? Pure offense guy now. Lindholm? Active liability. Jeannot? Nope. Mark Kastelic? Surely he’s good at this right? Not even close. Everybody shares some blame for this.
Are there positive points? Sure! Charlie McAvoy has once again found his game and while he may not be the most defensively sound player, he’s still getting the puck moving in the right direction! Nikita Zadorov has tried his damnedest into being a reasonable , and has slowly worked himself up into being a sort of ideal 2ndish-1stish pairing defender you can trust with most assignments! Jordan Harris has otherwise been a phenomenally talented player who seems to like playing close to home because he’s one of the very few Bruins defenders who is above water when it comes to possession, and frankly he is sorely missed! Hampus Lindholm when he wasn’t injured definitely seemed like he was a net positive!
But that’s not making up for the fact that this is a unit that needs an overhaul across the board, and it’s not going to
…And some things we still haven’t learned yet.
The Boston goaltending position is…getting there????
So here’s the thing: Both Joonas Korpisalo and Jeremy Swayman have played some strong hockey for the Bruins this year. They have put together genuinely strong games coming into and more than likely out of the Olympic Break. They have also put up some spectacular clunkers that have forced the team to play outside of their comfort zone when they just don’t have it. But if there can be said to be a positive, then having one goaltender who is at the absolute least, slightly above 2025-26’s average SV% must be it.
Jeremy Swayman was due for a return to form. While fans were ready at the drop of a hat to find a reason to get rid of him the minute ink hit paper on his very big contract that he spent a lot of time out with, the reality is that the Bruins #1 goaltender was probably not his 24-25 disaster season; if only by reasoning that there were too many things playing against him; the team’s offense was spluttering, their ability to hold the puck was non-existent, and their defense was an utter nightmare. Now, he has goal support and the defense in front of him has progressed to merely bad, so at the very least we can say that his contract did not in fact sap him of all of his capacity to be a good goaltender.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his specific concerns.
I have dubbed this the “Swayman thing”, because calling an effort thing is wrong and calling it a quirk cheapens it’s impact on games, and here it is; he is usually due for at least two goals against. They’re going to make you slap your head in exasperation. They’re gonna be awful. And then he locks in; that third goal-against becomes a herculean task that requires sustained pressure and a real great shot to beat him that third time. Most of the time, Swayman gives the Bruins a chance to win with that thing. It’s a big part of what made him so valuable to the team in the first place. But in a season where the defense is so routinely awful, even he has his limits, and the thing goes from cute but annoying to actively aggravating. It’s hard to put the most blame on either the defense in front of him or Swayman himself, but it’s something that the team desperately needs to get control of. When he’s on, he’s great! But that can be changed at the drop of a hat.
Joonas Korpisalo has also seen a lot of improvement which started at “effectively unplayable unless you were actively looking for a shot at the Mathew Schaefer sweepstakes” and is now just barely under the League’s average SV% of .893. He’s even got a shutout to his name! The problem of course, is that if you’re putting up .893, the real issue is consistency, and even between him and Swayman, the rubber-band results are kind of hard to ignore. There are some games back to back that make you wonder if he’s finally turning a corner…and then boom, sub-.800 SV%.
All of this leaves the Bruins goaltenders in a weird spot. We know the defense is bad. We know that both of these guys surely can’t be as bad as their previous season, but just how much better when your eccentricities are single-handedly geared towards making your team look bad and you look worse even if long-term you can probably win with them if you support them? What happens if you genuinely improve the skaters in front of them and they just stay like this or get worse? Are you really in a position to try and fix it when you keep giving out talent to other teams at this position, even if they themselves may never do this again?
The goalies, like they always are, remain an enigma. A frustrating one.
What the hell is the Atlantic Division and the NHL in general this year?
It seems the big word for sports in 2025 and going into 2026 is “uncertainty”.
Go take a look at the standings. Really. Go look at them.
Vegas and Edmonton are in a heated battle for the Pacific with just about half their division. The Pittsburgh Penguins, those Pittsburgh Penguins, are in a dead heat to try and catch the Hurricanes. The Stanley Cup champions are down with New Jersey and NYR at the bottom of the eastern conference. The only bastion of normalcy this year has been the Central Division, and even then the Colorado Avalanche have begun faltering, allowing Minnesota and Dallas a chance to catch up.
Like we all expected, right?
Parity has at long last hit the NHL like a bomb and I regret to inform you that it has genuinely produced some pretty solid hockey. It has also produced at least three divisions that are absolutely rife with the inability to truly seize a spot in the wildcard, and it’s meant checking the standings has gone from a thing maybe two teams maximum do to something just about everybody does in rapid succession because they now change that fast. Sure, there are some true dorks who want to know who’s “really good” and all that, and I say “That’s what the playoffs are for” and “Didn’t you say you don’t care about made-up numbers?”, but right now I can say with delight that the NHL season is truly unpredictable now.
Does that mean I don’t think it can hurt Boston any? Oh my, no.
If anything, I think we can agree that Boston may be one of the most vulnerable teams in this rat race because they are only just in the playoffs at this point. Sure, 69 points looks pretty nice now, but are you gonna count on the Jackets beefing it enough to get some distance? You really think the Caps are gonna stay in this weird mushy middle period before one of those russians decides to go on a heater? You think the Islanders are gonna be third in the Metro forever? There are a lot of teams looking for space in this wildcard right now, and the only one I think who has a good shot right now of keeping it is the goddamn Buffalo Sabres of all teams. The Sabres! And I could be totally wrong about that because this season has had nothing but shocking swerves!
This position they’re in is one they need to put a good foundation under quickly or they’re gonna find out how fun it is to float a house.
Do you stay the course on a steady re-tool? Or go and add big-time in pursuit of more of “The Juice”?
The Bruins were probably not supposed to be here this year.
But give ‘em credit! They’re healthy-ish, the stars are meeting the moment most nights, they acquired players who found specific niches for themselves, and made some decent bets that have for the most part paid off. Being back in a wildcard spot after last year? That feels like you’re well ahead of schedule!
Yeah, funny thing about that. Sometimes you can get so ahead of yourself you forget the details. Like hit the train in front of you.
They still need to put a lot of work into meeting the Lightning, the Red Wings, and the Habs where they are right now. That will take time, and it will take extremely careful adjusting of the roster to get there. They still need to get younger, they definitely need to get faster, and they need to get deeper. Nothing less will do. The teams around them are already there. They need to play catch up and fast.
But…“The Juice” beckons.
This phrase; “The Juice”, haunts this team like a wraith.
Ever since Jim Montgomery correctly identified that he didn’t have nearly as good a team as he wanted using that phrase, and that coaching could only get you so far without this one phrase; a heady mix of talent and want-to that he tried his damnedest to get out of the roster…I really think he pissed off somebody above him in a way that feels distinctly personal. Just about every single decision made at the beginning of the year and offseason felt like it was in direct service to proving Montgomery wrong. In fairness? It has started to show some fruit!
But they do need more. This isn’t close to enough and I think the team is aware of that…but I do fear that somebody, can’t say who, couldn’t pick who they are out of a lineup, who gets to make decisions about this team, is still fuming about that comment. The rumors of Justin Faulk and Rasmus Ristolainen reek of that kind of nonsense; looking for a “fire” in the room where talent won’t be given a wick to light.
Spite can become poisonous if left too long in the bloodstream. I’m a little concerned it may force them to do something rash.
…So, what do they do?
Well, let’s just say the taking stock period is either well underway or actively coming to a close. We have at least some idea of what this team is, and its issues are pretty clear.
Were it me in charge, I think the goal looks like this:
Get a 1C
Admittedly more a long term goal and one that maybe Hagens or Letournneau can fill as they’ve been having excellent seasons in college puck, but for the here and now it’s clear that top 6 center talent is going to need to be a priority going forward.
Make a painful decision on defense.
Somebody you like is probably gonna have to go alongside someone you don’t if the B’s want to improve their game on the blueline. Might mean Lindholm, may end up being Aspirot, could even mean Zadorov, but we can’t sit here and act like this is ignorable. Something needs to give, and in order to get something you’re gonna have to hold your nose and think about a championship future and defensemen are something the Bruins have at least a few of.
Just please don’t get Rasmus Ristolainen or Justin Faulk; we’re not cavemen and this team doesn’t need another old guy or a big guy who hits but doesn’t defense well; they have enough of those.
Weaponize your reputation.
Sweeney’s best deal of last deadline was explicitly using the Boston Bruins brand against a GM and staff who didn’t do the reading, and got a pick and Fraser Minten out of it. As such, it is the solemn duty of both the team and the coach to gin up a player in just such a way that a GM who is Not Intelligent buys it hook, line, and sinker. Unfortunately due to the way the Leafs are playing, that is unlikely to be Brad Treliving a second time. You may have to move on to Patrik Allvin.
Keep getting draft picks.
They’ve already got a pair of firsts for 2026 and 2027. James Hagens and Will Zellers are coming alive, and Dean Letournneau is starting to show the promise of his 25th overall selection in the 2024 draft. That’s a good start. Your cupboard went from last to about middle of the pack to close to the top ten in under a few years, but the B’s should not take this lightly. Even one graduation to the league next year would be a boon for them now, but take a name out of their prospect pool; something that is still quite thin. Whatever you do this deadline season, make sure an early round pick is thrown in for it.
The season will go by faster than you think, and with this retool moving much faster than anticipated, we can only hope now that the Bruins are seeing this year with clear eyes, and see that the future has needs that must be met here in the present.
But until then? Let’s see how far we can take this.
Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Adam Engstrom will be out of action for at least four weeks, the Laval Rocket announced on Wednesday. The Swedish blueliner was injured in Saturday’s game against the Utica Comets and is dealing with an upper-body injury. His absence is a big blow to the organization. Granted, the Canadiens currently have seven defensemen on the NHL roster, but should an injury occur, Engstrom would have been first on the call-up list.
Furthermore, the 22-year-old was enjoying a great season in the AHL, and his pairing with David Reinbacher was the team’s best. In 40 games with the Rocket, Engstrom put up 33 points. He also skated in 11 games with the Habs this season, and while he didn’t pick up any points in the process, he didn’t look out of place at all.
A third-round pick at the 2022 draft, the Swede has developed into a good puck-moving defenseman with smooth skating and puck-handling skills; he can even be physical when the situation calls for it. With so many left-shot defenseman in the organization, decisions will eventually have to be made. Engstrom has NHL potential, but he’s stuck behind Mike Matheson, Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, Jayden Struble, and Arber Xhekaj. At the very least, he could have been a good asset to move by the trade deadline if the Canadiens felt they couldn’t make room for him in the NHL eventually.
As for the Rocket, he plays a significant role on their blueline and will be sorely missed. Laval currently sits atop the North Division with 71 points. Pascal Vincent and his men have a six-point lead over the Syracuse Crunch, but the Tampa Bay Lightning affiliate does have three games in hand.
The Rocket played its first game without Engstrom on Wednesday and suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Toronto Marlies. It was a tumultuous game, and Vincent was ejected with a couple of minutes left after voicing his displeasure with the officiating. David Reinbacher and Samuel Blais were also assessed 10-minute misconduct penalties by the officials.
Nazem Kadri always brings his best against the San Jose Sharks, averaging 4.3 shots on goal and 1.2 points over the last 14 meetings.
My Flames vs. Sharks predictions expect the well-rested veteran to put forth another strong offensive showing tonight.
Let’s dive into my NHL picks for Thursday, February 26.
Flames vs Sharks prediction
Flames vs Sharks best bet: Nazem Kadri Over 2.5 shots on goal (-135)
Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri has recorded at least three shots on goal in nine of the past 10 head-to-head meetings with the San Jose Sharks, including two of three this season.
Kadri has recorded 24 attempts over three games against the Sharks. He attempted 6+ in each of them.
That’s a sweet spot for Kadri to clear this line. He’s gone Over this line in 22 of 29 games (76%) this year when attempting 6+ shots.
The Sharks have allowed the second-most shots to centers over their last 10, so the volume should remain strong.
Flames vs Sharks same-game parlay
Kadri hit the scoresheet in 11 of his last 14 games against the Sharks, tallying 17 points in total. He should be able to build on those outputs given they rank Bottom 4 in both shots and goals allowed.
Matt Coronato has seven points over his last six games vs. teams that sit Bottom 10 in goals against and skates on the top power play with Kadri.
Flames vs Sharks SGP
Nazem Kadri Over 2.5 shots on goal
Nazem Kadri Over 0.5 points
Matt Coronato Over 0.5 points
Flames vs Sharks odds
Moneyline: Calgary +105 | San Jose -125
Puck line: Calgary +1.5 (-230) | San Jose -1.5 (+190)
Over/Under: Over 6.5 (+105) | Under 6.5 (-125)
Flames vs Sharks trend
Nazem Kadri has averaged 4.8 shots on goal over his last 10 games against San Jose. Find more NHL betting trends for Flames vs. Sharks.
How to watch Flames vs Sharks
Location
SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, CA
Date
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Puck drop
10:00 p.m. ET
TV
NBCSCA, SN1
Flames vs Sharks latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
As the Olympic season wraps up, the Boston Bruins sit at 57 games played, and the Trade Deadline incoming at them at distressing speeds. The NHL season’s truncated schedule to make room for Team USA and Team Canada’s all-timer tournaments has now created a dead heat of a last two months that will test the Boston Bruins in ways they have only rarely been tested before.
Now, let’s check in with the Boston Bruins, and discuss what they need to do next in this blisteringly paced season.
The Basics
The Boston Bruins are 32-20-6 in 57 games played, have 69 points in the standings, have scored 195 goals and let in 176 goals. Their home record is 17-8-3, their away record is 15-11-3, and at the end of the break they had a 6-3-0 record through their last ten games; their most recent one a controversial overtime loss to the Florida Panthers due to general Panthers behavior of the sort you’d imagine they get up to.
Their leading scorer is Morgan Geekie at 32 goals through 56 games played, and their leader in points is David Pastrnak with 71 points in 52 games.
The Analytics
In terms of offense, The Boston Bruins are 16th in the NHL in Corsi-For per 60 minutes; which is a measurement of shot attempts over the course of a 60 minute hockey game; this sits at 57.55. They are 19th in Fenwick-For per 60 minutes, which is a measurement of unblocked shot attempts over the course of a 60 minute hockey game. This sits at 40.97. They are 22nd in the NHL at Expected-Goals for per 60, which sits at 2.51, and is a measure of what we can call “shot quality”. They are 12th in the league at High Danger Goals-For per 60 minutes, which sits at 1.31.
From this, we can at least determine that while the Bruins do not have the puck very often and are letting the game come to them rather than the other way around, when they do have the puck, they usually score when they’re close to the net. This tracks based on what we can see about finishing data from HockeyViz.com.
Defensively, the Boston Bruins are quite a far cry from where they were years ago. They are 27th in the league at Corsi-against per sixty with 60.17. Fenwick-against per sixty is 24th in the league at 49.07, and they are 29th in Expected-Goals Against per 60 at 2.9. This suggests they are letting up a lot of shots, many of whom are pretty good ones at that.
Definitely gonna call that a “needs improvement”.
The things that work…
David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie are putting in heroic work!
For a good six weeks last year, the Bruins became the Pasta and Geekie show as they began to rapidly overtake just about everybody else on the depth chart in terms of NHL Scoring. To the delight of fans, that hasn’t gone away; if anything it’s actually improved quite a bit.
Pastrnak has developed a much more rounded playmaking addition to his game game in response to what I am sure is someone making it abundantly clear to him that he is probably the most well rounded player left on the team, and he put his best effort forward into becoming more than just a really good slapshot from the circles, and the team is better off for it.
Meanwhile, Morgan Geekie, of all people, is playing like he’s going to be a Rocket Richard finalist. That’s going to happen. We’re all here to watch that now.
What part of this is playing with great talent, what part of this is the power play being good, what part of this is him shooting like crazy (currently sitting at 24%), it’s hard to assign credit where it’s due on his game, but make no mistake, he is a blast to watch here.
Pleasant surprises abound in the depth!
Part of what’s made the Bruins sudden return to being watchable is that, for the most part, the depth has actually started to come alive!
Lots of flowers go to Fraser Minten, as he was an inexpensive add last year who showed a lot of promise, and has truly flourished in his role on the third line, but he’s hardly the only one! Viktor Arvidsson looks like he belongs after a slow start! Hell, it looks like he’s finally found his scoring touch again! Pavel Zacha has once again found the ability to potentially end up a 20+ goalscorer again! Marat Khusnutdinov has been the perfect chaotic addition to Pasta and Lindholm’s line! Lindholm himself seems to have found twine a little more which helps his case a lot! And hey, even Casey Mittelstadt seems to be finding a scoring touch against the right teams.
This was a hallmark of Marco Sturm teams in the AHL in that yes, they do have obvious stars, but they do tend to have a crop of players who start following in those stars wake to carve some goals out for themselves, and in an NHL this deep across the board it never hurts to have anyone who’s willing to step up.
Sturm’s Team never quits.
Even if the Bruins are not great, and sometimes they can lay an egg through at least 20 minutes of play…they are not out of it. Something in the locker room gets said, the team locks in, and the game changes. Not always for the better, but they do make something happen.
If there is one major positive that Marco Sturm has imparted upon these guys, that I think contributed to some early frustration within the team, is that they know they are never out of it, and relish the opportunity to be something special.
According to MoreHockeyStats.com, a fantastic resource for the kind of niche stat that this is; the Boston Bruins are 9th in the league in winning games in which they are behind by the third period. They’re in a multi-man tie for third if they’re only down a goal! Part of that of course is probably the power play; which is not just good, but actively great at 3rd in the entire league, but it does come down to effort. It makes for a genuinely fun watch even if they’re playing like garbage to start the game because yes; anyone can go be the hero if they want to be, and there are enough talented guys in the NHL now that it doesn’t just have to be Pasta or Geekie.
Given where we started with this team? I will take that one thousand times over. No contest.
…and the stuff that needs improvement.
The Bruins are in dire need of help up the middle.
So there’s two ways to look at this; the non analytics way and the analytics way. In the interest of fairness, I will address both.
From a more surface level side of things, just about every Center on the team is…fine. It’s a little weird that Mark Kastelic has the highest faceoff percentage of all
From an analytical side of things…
Well…It’s a good thing Sean Kuraly and Fraser Minten are having good seasons and Zacha is a fantastic power play guy, because this is kind of a rough place to be right now with your top six centers looking like this.
I’m not gonna hold Pavel Zacha’s draft acumen against him; he’s still a very good player and he’s third in goals on a team that has largely let two guys do all of the scoring for them, and even if he’s not exactly living entirely up to the level of ice time he gets through on-ice impact, results are there. They may be
Lindholm however…Lindholm I no longer feel any passion, fury or concern with. I know what he is, and he is not a 1st line center in the NHL. He might be a good 3rd C! That’d be a good spot for him at this point! But he’s not a 1st liner anymore and he is here for what feels like forever unless cooler heads prevail and the Bruins do something to get him outta here. It is by the grace of god that he gets to play with two players who can mask a lot of the busy nothing he does out there, and that should be cause for concern. This kind of thing becomes painfully apparent in the playoffs, and unless Lindholm has one last masterclass season in him, I think his usage on this team needs to be rethought immediately.
We do need to talk about Mason…
At the beginning of the season, we set what I think was a very reasonable goal for Lohrei to meet; just be A Guy this year.
Do not cause too much trouble and break even on defense this year. This was largely attainable for him; Lohrei’s ranginess, shot, and skating talent are undeniable qualities in his favor as a skater, particularly in a defense corps that still has a lot of trouble trying to leave the zone themselves. When he is at his best, you can absolutely see why the team wants him to remain an NHL skater and on their team.
He has however, largely failed to meet that lofty goal of “be boring”.
What is increasingly a problem for the Bruins is that his play recognition and game “sense” is routinely far behind the rest of his skillset, and it remains a major fault in his game that usually becomes his teammates’ problems in short order. Mason Lohrei has done something at least once in all of the contests he’s been a part of that drew attention to this particular flaw of his game, and usually dragged his defense partner into that boondoggle. It didn’t always end in a goal-against, but Lohrei’s consistent struggles to make good decisions with and without the puck inevitably end up dragging out defensive zone time for a team that already struggles with that.
Lohrei’s ability is constantly hampered by a decision-making that would have him out of the league were it not for the macrophilic tendencies of the organization trying to find something for him to do. This was a recurring problem with his defense partners in the past, and on some level the team tried to mitigate it by ensuring he had stoic partners who wouldn’t screw up nearly as badly, but it is absolutely unacceptable for a player they keep trying to dip into first pairing minutes.
Really, the worst part is that we know good performances for Lohrei are entirely possible and can happen. It is something he can be not just once every ten games but every game if he puts the effort forward and isn’t trying to force plays with the confidence of Icarus turning his wings sun-ward. Mason Lohrei is a good hockey player when he is focused! The problem is that focus seems to wander consistently, and that leads to trouble that people notice. Him getting benched and the team’s ability to at least stay ahead of opponents improving dramatically has only made it
Of course, he’s far from the only one.
…But he’s just the tip of the iceberg of a pretty poor defense.
I really cannot overstate how Lohrei’s large, flamboyant disaster shifts are just the loudest parts of a defense that is in dire need of anyone to recognize what they’re doing. If you are a fan who reconnected with the team back in the 2009-10 season, what you see on the ice feels spiritually incorrect… and yet, here we are, with a defense that is frankly pretty bad all around.
Lohrei’s issues are well known, but there’s a little bit of everything across this lineup when the defense is off it’s game: baffling decision-making with the puck, slow skating in just about every direction, criminal lack of play recognition leading to puck watching, whiffing on checks, over committing on checks, baubling the puck when you have it in the offensive zone…if I pointed at one name as the culprit, two more I didn’t would follow it up by doing the same things. It’s a unique problem that now follows this squad; Everybody’s struggling to get the puck out of their own end at the moment, and it will continue to be an issue until Marco Sturm adjusts something drastically with his staff, or there are adjustments made to the people putting that system into place on-ice.
And let’s not just leave it at the defensemen! Let us make it abundantly clear that the forwards are not helping much whatsoever in this defense and it does not matter who they are in the slightest! Pasta? Already not known for his defense but his impact has lessened, Kuraly? Pure offense guy now. Lindholm? Active liability. Jeannot? Nope. Mark Kastelic? Surely he’s good at this right? Not even close. Everybody shares some blame for this.
Are there positive points? Sure! Charlie McAvoy has once again found his game and while he may not be the most defensively sound player, he’s still getting the puck moving in the right direction! Nikita Zadorov has tried his damnedest into being a reasonable , and has slowly worked himself up into being a sort of ideal 2ndish-1stish pairing defender you can trust with most assignments! Jordan Harris has otherwise been a phenomenally talented player who seems to like playing close to home because he’s one of the very few Bruins defenders who is above water when it comes to possession, and frankly he is sorely missed! Hampus Lindholm when he wasn’t injured definitely seemed like he was a net positive!
But that’s not making up for the fact that this is a unit that needs an overhaul across the board, and it’s not going to
…And some things we still haven’t learned yet.
The Boston goaltending position is…getting there????
So here’s the thing: Both Joonas Korpisalo and Jeremy Swayman have played some strong hockey for the Bruins this year. They have put together genuinely strong games coming into and more than likely out of the Olympic Break. They have also put up some spectacular clunkers that have forced the team to play outside of their comfort zone when they just don’t have it. But if there can be said to be a positive, then having one goaltender who is at the absolute least, slightly above 2025-26’s average SV% must be it.
Jeremy Swayman was due for a return to form. While fans were ready at the drop of a hat to find a reason to get rid of him the minute ink hit paper on his very big contract that he spent a lot of time out with, the reality is that the Bruins #1 goaltender was probably not his 24-25 disaster season; if only by reasoning that there were too many things playing against him; the team’s offense was spluttering, their ability to hold the puck was non-existent, and their defense was an utter nightmare. Now, he has goal support and the defense in front of him has progressed to merely bad, so at the very least we can say that his contract did not in fact sap him of all of his capacity to be a good goaltender.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his specific concerns.
I have dubbed this the “Swayman thing”, because calling an effort thing is wrong and calling it a quirk cheapens it’s impact on games, and here it is; he is usually due for at least two goals against. They’re going to make you slap your head in exasperation. They’re gonna be awful. And then he locks in; that third goal-against becomes a herculean task that requires sustained pressure and a real great shot to beat him that third time. Most of the time, Swayman gives the Bruins a chance to win with that thing. It’s a big part of what made him so valuable to the team in the first place. But in a season where the defense is so routinely awful, even he has his limits, and the thing goes from cute but annoying to actively aggravating. It’s hard to put the most blame on either the defense in front of him or Swayman himself, but it’s something that the team desperately needs to get control of. When he’s on, he’s great! But that can be changed at the drop of a hat.
Joonas Korpisalo has also seen a lot of improvement which started at “effectively unplayable unless you were actively looking for a shot at the Mathew Schaefer sweepstakes” and is now just barely under the League’s average SV% of .893. He’s even got a shutout to his name! The problem of course, is that if you’re putting up .893, the real issue is consistency, and even between him and Swayman, the rubber-band results are kind of hard to ignore. There are some games back to back that make you wonder if he’s finally turning a corner…and then boom, sub-.800 SV%.
All of this leaves the Bruins goaltenders in a weird spot. We know the defense is bad. We know that both of these guys surely can’t be as bad as their previous season, but just how much better when your eccentricities are single-handedly geared towards making your team look bad and you look worse even if long-term you can probably win with them if you support them? What happens if you genuinely improve the skaters in front of them and they just stay like this or get worse? Are you really in a position to try and fix it when you keep giving out talent to other teams at this position, even if they themselves may never do this again?
The goalies, like they always are, remain an enigma. A frustrating one.
What the hell is the Atlantic Division and the NHL in general this year?
It seems the big word for sports in 2025 and going into 2026 is “uncertainty”.
Go take a look at the standings. Really. Go look at them.
Vegas and Edmonton are in a heated battle for the Pacific with just about half their division. The Pittsburgh Penguins, those Pittsburgh Penguins, are in a dead heat to try and catch the Hurricanes. The Stanley Cup champions are down with New Jersey and NYR at the bottom of the eastern conference. The only bastion of normalcy this year has been the Central Division, and even then the Colorado Avalanche have begun faltering, allowing Minnesota and Dallas a chance to catch up.
Like we all expected, right?
Parity has at long last hit the NHL like a bomb and I regret to inform you that it has genuinely produced some pretty solid hockey. It has also produced at least three divisions that are absolutely rife with the inability to truly seize a spot in the wildcard, and it’s meant checking the standings has gone from a thing maybe two teams maximum do to something just about everybody does in rapid succession because they now change that fast. Sure, there are some true dorks who want to know who’s “really good” and all that, and I say “That’s what the playoffs are for” and “Didn’t you say you don’t care about made-up numbers?”, but right now I can say with delight that the NHL season is truly unpredictable now.
Does that mean I don’t think it can hurt Boston any? Oh my, no.
If anything, I think we can agree that Boston may be one of the most vulnerable teams in this rat race because they are only just in the playoffs at this point. Sure, 69 points looks pretty nice now, but are you gonna count on the Jackets beefing it enough to get some distance? You really think the Caps are gonna stay in this weird mushy middle period before one of those russians decides to go on a heater? You think the Islanders are gonna be third in the Metro forever? There are a lot of teams looking for space in this wildcard right now, and the only one I think who has a good shot right now of keeping it is the goddamn Buffalo Sabres of all teams. The Sabres! And I could be totally wrong about that because this season has had nothing but shocking swerves!
This position they’re in is one they need to put a good foundation under quickly or they’re gonna find out how fun it is to float a house.
Do you stay the course on a steady re-tool? Or go and add big-time in pursuit of more of “The Juice”?
The Bruins were probably not supposed to be here this year.
But give ‘em credit! They’re healthy-ish, the stars are meeting the moment most nights, they acquired players who found specific niches for themselves, and made some decent bets that have for the most part paid off. Being back in a wildcard spot after last year? That feels like you’re well ahead of schedule!
Yeah, funny thing about that. Sometimes you can get so ahead of yourself you forget the details. Like hit the train in front of you.
They still need to put a lot of work into meeting the Lightning, the Red Wings, and the Habs where they are right now. That will take time, and it will take extremely careful adjusting of the roster to get there. They still need to get younger, they definitely need to get faster, and they need to get deeper. Nothing less will do. The teams around them are already there. They need to play catch up and fast.
But…“The Juice” beckons.
This phrase; “The Juice”, haunts this team like a wraith.
Ever since Jim Montgomery correctly identified that he didn’t have nearly as good a team as he wanted using that phrase, and that coaching could only get you so far without this one phrase; a heady mix of talent and want-to that he tried his damnedest to get out of the roster…I really think he pissed off somebody above him in a way that feels distinctly personal. Just about every single decision made at the beginning of the year and offseason felt like it was in direct service to proving Montgomery wrong. In fairness? It has started to show some fruit!
But they do need more. This isn’t close to enough and I think the team is aware of that…but I do fear that somebody, can’t say who, couldn’t pick who they are out of a lineup, who gets to make decisions about this team, is still fuming about that comment. The rumors of Justin Faulk and Rasmus Ristolainen reek of that kind of nonsense; looking for a “fire” in the room where talent won’t be given a wick to light.
Spite can become poisonous if left too long in the bloodstream. I’m a little concerned it may force them to do something rash.
…So, what do they do?
Well, let’s just say the taking stock period is either well underway or actively coming to a close. We have at least some idea of what this team is, and its issues are pretty clear.
Were it me in charge, I think the goal looks like this:
Get a 1C
Admittedly more a long term goal and one that maybe Hagens or Letournneau can fill as they’ve been having excellent seasons in college puck, but for the here and now it’s clear that top 6 center talent is going to need to be a priority going forward.
Make a painful decision on defense.
Somebody you like is probably gonna have to go alongside someone you don’t if the B’s want to improve their game on the blueline. Might mean Lindholm, may end up being Aspirot, could even mean Zadorov, but we can’t sit here and act like this is ignorable. Something needs to give, and in order to get something you’re gonna have to hold your nose and think about a championship future and defensemen are something the Bruins have at least a few of.
Just please don’t get Rasmus Ristolainen or Justin Faulk; we’re not cavemen and this team doesn’t need another old guy or a big guy who hits but doesn’t defense well; they have enough of those.
Weaponize your reputation.
Sweeney’s best deal of last deadline was explicitly using the Boston Bruins brand against a GM and staff who didn’t do the reading, and got a pick and Fraser Minten out of it. As such, it is the solemn duty of both the team and the coach to gin up a player in just such a way that a GM who is Not Intelligent buys it hook, line, and sinker. Unfortunately due to the way the Leafs are playing, that is unlikely to be Brad Treliving a second time. You may have to move on to Patrik Allvin.
Keep getting draft picks.
They’ve already got a pair of firsts for 2026 and 2027. James Hagens and Will Zellers are coming alive, and Dean Letournneau is starting to show the promise of his 25th overall selection in the 2024 draft. That’s a good start. Your cupboard went from last to about middle of the pack to close to the top ten in under a few years, but the B’s should not take this lightly. Even one graduation to the league next year would be a boon for them now, but take a name out of their prospect pool; something that is still quite thin. Whatever you do this deadline season, make sure an early round pick is thrown in for it.
The season will go by faster than you think, and with this retool moving much faster than anticipated, we can only hope now that the Bruins are seeing this year with clear eyes, and see that the future has needs that must be met here in the present.
But until then? Let’s see how far we can take this.
The Montreal Canadiens and the New York Islanders finally resume their respective seasons as they meet on Thursday, February 26, at Bell Centre. This marks the first meeting of 2025-26 between these two Eastern Conference teams.
My Islanders vs. Canadiens predictions and NHL picks suggest that Nick Suzuki will continue his torrid offensive pace after a solid showing in Milan with Team Canada, while Noah Dobson makes his mark in his first game against his former club.
Islanders vs Canadiens prediction
Islanders vs Canadiens best bet: Nick Suzuki 1+ assists (-155)
Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki scored the biggest goal of his career in Milan, so it's easy to forget that assists account for 73% of his point total this season.
He ranks 11th in the NHL in helpers, and had 11 in his last 10 games before the break.
Suzuki's racked up a helper in nearly every game against a Top-10 defense since January 1, including the Stars, Wild (twice), and top-ranked Avalanche.
He's eighth in assists since January 4. The 26-year-old won't miss a beat and should still lance through a solid New York Islanders defense.
Islanders vs Canadiens same-game parlay
For the first time in his career, Noah Dobson will suit up against the Islanders.
He's riding a five-game point streak (one goal, seven points) and is on pace for his second-best offensive season.
The last 10 meetings between these teams have an average of 5.6 goals per game. Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes entered the break winning eight of his last 10 starts and hasn't lost in regulation since December 9.
He and Ilya Sorokin should limit the scoring tonight.
Each of the last four meetings between Montreal and New York has required extra time. Find more NHL betting trends for Islanders vs. Canadiens.
How to watch Islanders vs Canadiens
Location
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Date
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Puck drop
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
MSGSN, TSN2
Islanders vs Canadiens latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
The Vegas Golden Knights picked up a 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 25. Former Philadelphia Flyers forward Tanner Laczynski certainly ended up playing a role in Vegas' win over Los Angeles, as he had a strong game offensively.
Laczynski demonstrated his playmaking skills against the Kings, as he recorded his first-career three-assist game at the NHL level. All three of his helpers were primary assists, too, so he helped set up his teammates nicely in this matchup.
With his big performance against the Kings, Laczynski has now set new career highs with five assists and five points in just 10 games this season with the Golden Knights. Thus, this was easily the best offensive performance of the former Flyers forward's career thus far.
Laczynski was selected by the Flyers with the 169th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. In 38 games over three seasons with the Flyers from 2020-21 to 2022-23, Laczynski had two goals, four points, 38 hits, and a minus-5 rating.
San Jose saw four of its players compete at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan over the last couple of weeks, including forward Pavol Regenda for Slovakia, forward Alexander Wennberg for Sweden, forward Philipp Kurashev for Switzerland and forward Macklin Celebrini for Canada, who won silver.
Now, the full team is back and ready to trek along for the remainder of the season, starting with a six-game homestand beginning Thursday, Feb. 26 against the Calgary Flames.
"It's just the same approach every day, no matter what situation you're in," Celebrini told USA TODAY Sports. "That's what I found at the Olympics. It was the biggest stage I've ever played on, and the biggest games I've ever been a part of. So, I think it was just, come back to my same routine, doing all the same things to get prepared, and then whatever happens on the ice, happens."
The Sharks remain hopeful they'll continue playing into late April.
There has been a lot of buzz generating around the Bay Area over the resurgence of a Sharks team that has been in the draft lottery year in and year out and hasn't sniffed the postseason since 2019.
Still, heading back into the regular season with a 27-24-4 record (58 points), San Jose finds itself on the outskirts of a wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky told USA TODAY Sports that they aren't overlooking games, or looking too far down the road. The team is focusing its attention not on the last months of the season, but on how to improve every single day.
"When you walk in the building it says on the left side of the wall 'Focus on Today.' That's what we ask of our players and that's what we'll continue to do," Warsofsky told USA TODAY Sports.
"We gotta focus on today and that was our practice," he said. "(Thursday), we'll get ready for the Calgary Flames. We can't get wrapped in 'we have a six-game homestand, we gotta go 6-0'. Can't do that. Mentally, as (a) human being you get overwhelmed."
Warsofsky, 38, is in his second season as head coach of the Sharks.
He was an assistant coach before being promoted, becoming the youngest NHL head coach in June 2024. Although young, Warsofsky is ensuring that the team remains level-headed and focused on little tasks that make a huge impact.
"So, we're going to focus, we're gonna have a morning skate tomorrow, it's gonna feel good. There's meetings and (we'll) prepare our players and making sure we execute it and get excited to play in front of our fans," Warsofsky said. "But we can't get wrapped up in the homestand. Today we had practice, we were focused on that and had a good practice."
Celebrini has been one of the bright spots for the Sharks. He is in his second year after being selected with the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL entry draft. Beyond being an Olympic selection for Team Canada, he finds himself in the top five of the NHL scoring leaderboard.
His production has been a big part of the Sharks' turnaround. In his rookie season, the Sharks went just 20-50-12 (52 points).
The 19-year-old phenom echoed some of the same sentiments as Warsofsky regarding the team's focus on the present, rather than looking too far into the future.
"It's a mentality for every game you want to win," Celebrini said. "Especially how important it is for us. Like I said, we're not going to try to look too far ahead, but, I mean, we know. We know how important all these games are."
That mentality is contagious amongst the entire team, setting up for an interesting finish to the season.
After seven years outside the field, the Sharks feel like now's the time to end their playoff drought. Regenda doubled-down, and said that is the goal.
"Everybody wants to win," Regenda told USA TODAY Sports. "Everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to make the playoff. And that's our goal."
Having an opportunity to play for his home country, Slovakia, provided Regenda with a newfound confidence that he needed as the Sharks lean on him and other players down the stretch.
"(I've gained) a little confident in (myself)," Regenda said. "I can play with the big guys. That's my goal, you know, come to the games, be confident and play my game, and, you know, help the team as much as I can."
Regenda said the team is happy to be back on the ice together after the break and is excited about the next couple of games, adding that "nobody wants to lose."
Alexis Lafreniere has excelled in matchups against strong shot suppression sides all season long.
Now taking on a larger role without Artemi Panarin in the fold, my Flyers vs. Rangers predictions expect that trend to continue.
Let’s take a closer look at my NHL picks for Thursday, February 26.
Flyers vs Rangers prediction
Flyers vs Rangers best bet: Alexis Lafreniere Over 1.5 shots on goal (-140)
New York Rangers forward Alexis Lafreniere has recorded multiple shots in 67% of his games against Top-10 shot suppression teams, including nine of his last 11.
Lafreniere has faced the Philadelphia Flyers, who play slowly and generally don’t allow many shots, twice this season. He combined for 10 shot attempts and recorded at least four SOG in both meetings.
He is an efficient shooter who doesn’t need many attempts to get the job done. On the season, Lafreniere has 2+ shots on target in 23 of 26 games when generating 4+ attempts, a benchmark he’s cleared both times against Philadelphia.
Flyers vs Rangers same-game parlay
Lafreniere is skating on a line with Vincent Trocheck on the second line as well as on the No. 1 power play.
The two correlate very strongly and will get to shoot on Samuel Ersson, who owns a putrid .856 save percentage through 24 appearances this season. Ersson has allowed at least three goals in six of his past seven.
Alexis Lafreniere has multiple shots in six straight against Top-10 teams in limiting shots. Find more NHL betting trends for Flyers vs. Rangers.
How to watch Flyers vs Rangers
Location
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Date
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Puck drop
8:00 p.m. ET
TV
ESPN
Flyers vs Rangers latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
John Tavares is riding a three-game point streak into tonight's clash between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers.
The veteran forward will be the feature for tonight’s Maple Leafs vs. Panthers predictions and NHL picks on Thursday, February 26.
Maple Leafs vs Panthers prediction
Maple Leafs vs Panthers best bet: John Tavares Over 0.5 points (-120)
Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares looked solid in his return to play after three weeks of rest during the Olympic break, scoring the Leafs’ opening goal against Tampa to stretch his current point streak to three straight games.
I expect him to keep the streak alive tonight against an undermanned Florida Panthers squad that's allowing 3.5 goals per game over its last 10 games and will likely be a little rusty after 21 days off.
Additionally, Tavares has registered at least one point in each matchup against the Panthers this season, where the Leafs are 2-0, outscoring Florida 8-2.
Maple Leafs vs Panthers same-game parlay
Toronto is averaging 3.28 goals per game, while the Panthers average 3.35 goals against. The Leafs team total tonight is set at 2.5, a line they’ve cleared in both games against Florida this season and in four of their last six games overall.
For as long as Bobby McMann plays on Toronto's top line, I’ll keep hammering the Over on his shot prop if the total continues to be 1.5. He’s hit the Over in six of his last eight outings, averaging 2.8 shots per game over that stretch.
Maple Leafs vs Panthers SGP
John Tavares Over 0.5 points
Bobby McMann Over 1.5 shots on goal
Maple Leafs team total Over 2.5
Maple Leafs vs Panthers odds
Moneyline: Maple Leafs +135 | Panthers -155
Puck Line: Maple Leafs +1.5 (-180) | Panthers -1.5 (+155)
Over/Under: Over 6.5 (+105) | Under 6.5 (-125)
Maple Leafs vs Panthers trend
The Over is a combined 66-45-4 between these two clubs this season. Find more NHL betting trends for Maple Leafs vs. Panthers.
How to watch Maple Leafs vs Panthers
Location
Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, FL
Date
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Puck drop
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
TSN4, SCRIPPS
Maple Leafs vs Panthers latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
The Olympic break is finally over, and Martin St-Louis and his men will get back in action tonight when the Montreal Canadiens host the New York Islanders at the Bell Centre. The two teams have yet to play one another this season, meaning we’ll get three duels between the two of the top rookies in the league this season, the Habs’ Ivan Demidov and the Isles’ Matthew Schaefer.
The visitors are currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 69 points, holding a two-point lead over the Washington Capitals and a four-point lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Patrick Roy’s men have a 6-4-0 record in their last 10 games and won their last two duels before the break. Meanwhile, the Habs are in second place in the Atlantic Division with 72 points (they have a game in hand on the Buffalo Sabres), have a 6-3-1 record in their last 10 games, and won their last match before the break, beating the Winnipeg Jets 5-1. They have not lost in regulation in their last five games.
With Alex Newhook’s return monopolizing the attention on Wednesday, St-Louis wasn’t even asked who would start in net against the Jets, but he did say on Tuesday that his goalies will split the two starts this week. Samuel Montembeault has a very good record against the Isles; he’s 4-2-4 with a 2.45 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage, while Jakub Dobes has never faced them. We’ll likely know who starts after Thursday’s morning skate, which is scheduled for 10:30.
The Islanders haven’t confirmed their goaltender either, but both usually play really well against the Habs. David Rittich is 2-3-1 with a 2.47 GAA and a .924 SV, while Ilya Sorokin has never lost in regulation to Montreal. He’s 5-0-2 with a 1.67 GAA, a .945 SV and one shutout.
Up front, St-Louis has confirmed that Newhook would be back in the lineup, and if the lines at practice yesterday are what he elects to go for, Joe Veleno and Zachary Bolduc will be healthy scratches while Patrik Laine still hasn’t been cleared to return. Newhook was skating on a line with Jake Evans and Alexandre Texier and taking repetitions on the second power play unit.
Brendan Gallagher is the Canadiens’ most productive player against the Isles with 19 points in 31 games, followed by captain Nick Suzuki, who has 16 points in just 14 games and Mike Matheson, who has 15 points in 30 games. It’s also worth noting that Cole Caufield has nine points in as many games against the visitors. The Habs had quite a few active point streaks before the break; Noah Dobson had points in his last five games (1-6-7), Kirby Dach (2-3-5) and Lane Hutson (1-4-5) in their last four.
Ondrej Palat is the Islanders’ points leader against the Canadiens with 24 points in 36 games, Bo Horvat comes in second place with 22 points in 30 games, while Jean-Gabriel Pageau has 19 points in 36 games, including three shorthanded goals and three game winners.
Thursday night’s tilt will also be Dobson’s and Emil Heineman’s first game against their former team. The two players were part of the swap that saw the Canadiens send their two first-round picks at the last draft to New York. The right-shot rearguard has 38 points in 57 games with the Canadiens, while the sophomore has 23 points in 58 games with the Isles. The youngster already has 15 goals to his name and skates on the Islanders’ second line, and on both special teams, the top unit on the penalty kill and the second on the power play. It will also be Islanders' GM Mathieu Darche's first game against his former team.
The game is set for 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on RDS, TSN2, and MSGSN. TJ Luxmore and Eric Furlatt will be the referees, while Jeremy Faucher and Steve Barton will be the linemen.
EAST MEADOW, NY --New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy has already been back to Montreal three times since taking over behind the Long Island bench.
However, Thursday marks the first time that first-year general manager Mathieu Darche faces his hometown team, a team that he suited up for from 2009 to 2012.
"We both have great memories from our time in Montreal, and every time we talk about Montreal, we both have just great things to say about the organization," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. "It's a first-class organization, and it's been special. It's special to play for them, like it is special now to coach the Islanders."
Boston Bruins - 32-20-5 - 69 Points - 6-1-3 in the last 10 - OTL 2 - 5th in the Atlantic
Columbus Blue Jackets - 29-20-7 - 65 Points - 9-1-0 in the last 10 - Won 7 - 4th in the Metro.
Team Notes Per CBJ PR
Columbus returns to action from the Olympic Break with games against teams directly above in the Wild Card race (Boston; 69 pts in 57 GP) and Metropolitan Division (NY Islanders; 69 pts in 58 GP) on Thursday and Saturday.
CBJ won their final seven games prior to the break. It's tied for the fifth-longest winning streak in a season in club history and the longest since a 10-game win streak from Mar. 3-22, 2018.
Since Dec. 22, the Blue Jackets have gone 15-5-1 (31 pts, .738 points pct.) and are among NHL leaders in team save percentage (.913/1st-T), points pct. (2nd-T), points (3rd-T), goals-against per game (2.52, 3rd), penalty kill pct. (84.1 pct./5th) and goals-for per game (3.48/12th).
The club has scored the opening goal in 10 of the past 12 games and has scored the first goal in 34 contests (24-6-4), tied for third-most in the NHL in 2025-26.
The Jackets lead the NHL in goals scored by defensemen and rank fourth in points with 44-98-142 in 56 games.
Player Notes Per CBJ PR
Charlie Coyle posted points in five of the final six games before the break and ranks fourth-T in the NHL in scoring since Jan. 24 with 5-7-12 and four multi-point efforts.
Adam Fantilli (1-5-6), LW Mason Marchment (4-2-6), RW Mathieu Olivier (4-2-6), F Cole Sillinger have also averaged a point-per-game over the last six contests since Jan. 24.
Jet Greaves (6-0-0, 2.10 GAA, .924 SV%, 2 SO in 7 GP) and G Elvis Merzlikins (5-1-0, 2.03 GAA, .925 SV% in 6 GP) have each won five starts since Jan. 11.
Boone Jenner (207-203-410, 783 GP), who is the club's all-time leader in games played and ranks third in goals and points, is one assist from tying David Vyborny (204) for third-most in CBJ history.
Zach Werenski helped Team USA capture a Gold Medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics (1-5-6, 6 GP). He has posted points in seven-straight games with the Blue Jackets (2-8-10), one shy of tying his career high (5-11-16, Nov. 15-Dec. 1, 2024). He also has points in 20 of his past 22 since Dec. 11 (11-21-32, 10 multi-point efforts).
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 19.7% - 18th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 77.4% - 23rd in the NHL
Goals For - 174 - 18th in the NHL
Goals Against - 176 - 18th in the NHL
BruinsStats
Power Play - 26.3% - 3rd in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 76.4% - 28th in the NHL
Goals For - 193 - 5th in the NHL
Goals Against - 179 - 20th in the NHL
Series History vs. TheBruins
Columbus is 17-17-0-10 all-time, and 7-9-0-5 on the road vs. Boston.
The Blue Jackets are 9-8-1 in the last 18 games against the Bruins.
The winning team has scored four or more goals in four-straight and seven of the last nine meetings.
The teams have combined for four goals or less in three of the past four games played at TD Garden as well as five of the past eight at Boston since Mar. 16, 2019.
The winning team has also won by multiple goals in nine of the last 11 games of the series, including by three-plus goals in seven of them.
The teams have combined for less than 60 shots on goal in six of the past seven meetings, including five-straight (averaging 54 shots over the five).
Who To Watch For TheBruins
Morgan Geekie leads the Bruins with 32 goals.
David Pastrnak leads Boston with 49 assists and 71 points.
Jeremy Swayman is 22-12-3 with a SV% of .903. He just the Gold Medal for Team USA at the Milan Games.
Joonas Korpisalo is 10-8-2 with a SV% of .893. Korpisalo is a bronze medal winner for Finland.
CBJ Player Notes vs.Bruins
Zach Werenski has 14 points in 21 career games vs. the Bruins.
Boone Jenner has 13 points in 23 games.
Cole Sillinger has 3 points in 10 games against Boston.
Injured Reserve
Brendan Smith - Lower Body - Missed 18 Games IR - Out for the rest of the regular season.
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 155
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FANDUEL SPORTS NETWORK. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more!
Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News and never miss a story.
Let us know what you think below.
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.
