The Penguins are down 3-0 in their first-round series against the Flyers and will be eliminated from the playoffs with one more loss. Now, if they win, they'd send the series back to Pittsburgh for a Game 5.
However, there's still a chance that Saturday's game could be Evgeni Malkin's final game as a Penguin since he's set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He spoke to the media about it on Friday and, once again, confirmed that he wants to be back with the Penguins next year and retire a Penguin.
“I hope it’s not over," Malkin said, via King Jemison of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I hope we’re still fighting. And my future again, I say the same thing. I want to be here. I want to be part of a team next year, too, and I want to be retired in Pittsburgh. But it’s not my choice. It’s Kyle’s decision. New owners, probably, too."
Evgeni Malkin on his future: “I hope it’s not over. I hope we’re still fighting. And my future, again … I want to be here. I want to be part of a team next year, too, and I want to be retired in Pittsburgh. But it’s not my choice. It’s Kyle’s decision. New owners probably, too.” pic.twitter.com/VZ6fHYAstT
Malkin has been one of the Penguins' best players in this series, compiling two goals and three points in three games. He also finished the regular season with 19 goals and 61 points in 56 games.
He has shown that he can still play at a strong level in the NHL, but it'll be up to general manager/president Kyle Dubas if he returns.
Puck drop for Game 4 on Saturday is set for 8 p.m. ET on TBS, truTV, HBO Max, and SportsNet Pittsburgh.
Two of the Islanders’ biggest holes should fill themselves this offseason.
The Isles struggled all year to adequately replace Kyle Palmieri’s production after he tore his ACL, and ended up trading a third-round pick to the Rangers for Carson Soucy in an attempt to fill the hole left by Alexander Romanov’s shoulder injury.
Both players are expected to be back without any limitations on day one of training camp which does, at least, change some of the contours of the offseason, even if their returns will come too late to save the Islanders from missing the playoffs.
“Disgusting. Terrible,” Romanov said of how it felt to miss all but 15 games this year. “It’s really tough to just watch hockey all season long and just practicing and rehabbing. That’s what I was dealing with.”
Had the Islanders made the playoffs, Romanov would likely be in the lineup right now. When the season ended, he had rejoined practices and was getting close to playing in games. His summer should be close to normal, albeit with a little extra work on his shoulder.
The same doesn’t necessarily hold true for Palmieri. While he may have attempted a comeback had the Islanders made a deep run, he said on breakup day that he’s “got a couple more months here of the day to day of the rehab stuff.”
The history of players returning from ACL injuries also shows that it usually takes some time to play at the same level as before; Anders Lee, for example, has talked before about not feeling like himself for much of his first season back after suffering the same injury.
New York Islanders center Kyle Palmieri (21) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Elmont, N.Y. Noah K. Murray-NY Post
The speed at which Palmieri recovers, and the role Romanov ends up playing, are both massive questions for the Islanders’ 2026-27 hopes.
The Islanders were depending on Palmieri to score 25-30 goals and finish with around 50 points when they signed him to a two-year extension last summer, and after his injury, that production was never really replaced. In a free agency class that’s not highly regarded by general manager Mathieu Darche, it’s doubtful there’s an easy option available on the open market for the Islanders to plug into their top six either.
So there’s a strong possibility that a lot hinges on their hope that Palmieri can recover his game quickly.
“I’m a little over four months post-op. It’s feeling really good on the ice,” said Palmieri, who had begun skating on his own before the season ended. “I’m looking forward to putting this behind me and having a pretty normal summer as far as training and getting ready for the season.”
Alexander Romanov #28 of the New York Islanders moves the puck down ice during the second period at UBS Arena, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Elmont, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
As for Romanov, his reentry into the fold presents Darche with an interesting dilemma on the left side of the blue line.
After Matthew Schaefer’s ascendence into superstardom came so quickly, Romanov — who the Islanders signed to an eight-year deal at $6.25 million annually last summer — suddenly looks like the third-pair defenseman, behind both Schaefer and Adam Pelech.
That trio also means there’s no obvious spot for Isaiah George, another lefty, to play after a season in which injuries meant George never really got his chance while the Islanders were searching for call-ups to replace Romanov.
Do the Islanders move someone to their off-side, given their depth chart is much thinner on the right? Or do they explore moving one of Pelech, who has a 16-team no-trade clause, or George? That could be one route to improving the forward group, but it would amount to another major bet on Romanov, who’s coming off a serious injury and who struggled through the first 15 games of this season before getting hurt.
How that situation sorts itself out is a question for Darche to grapple with throughout the offseason.
As the Golden Knights approach their 10th anniversary in the NHL, they've gone from an upstart franchise looking at others for a standard to follow, to the one setting a standard for the two newest franchises that have entered the league since, league commissioner Gary Bettman and Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith both agreed, speaking before Game 3 in Salt Lake City on Friday night.
"You start from an expansion standpoint, Vegas and Seattle did it right, although slightly different circumstances, to here in Utah," Bettman said. "Starting with how well George McPhee managed the expansion draft, the fact that they reinvented what pregame shows are made in quintessential Vegas. It's been very gratifying to see that a market that some were skeptical about when we announced expansion, to now see that every other sport thinks they invented, it has been a little gratifying."
That owner Bill Foley and Bettman saw something before the WNBA, NFL, MLB and NBA did, in a town long known for being an adult Disneyland with its 24-hour gambling, burlesque shows and late-night steak specials, is something nobody will take away from them.
What followed after the announcement that there would be ice hockey in the desert was something nobody would predict, with one of the greatest professional sports franchise debuts in 2017-18, when the Knights made it to the Stanley Cup Final, and then hoisting the Cup in 2023. The franchise has been in the postseason in all but one season since its inception, with this year's opening round becoming special with the close ties between Utah and Nevada.
"I think the national landscape doesn't understand the proximity in so many different ways, of Utah and Las Vegas," Smith said. "Growing up in Las Vegas, it's where kids went for youth sports, it's where we went on the weekends. We're just close."
Smith, who also owns the NBA's Utah Jazz, earned the NHL's newest franchise on April 18, 2024, when the league's Board of Governors granted him an expansion franchise.
In lieu of an expansion draft to stock the new team, Smith acquired the hockey assets of the Arizona Coyotes, which suspended hockey operations at the same time, as players, coaches and draft picks simply shifted to Utah.
The team is now in its second season, and has established as fervent a fanbase as the Knights have in Vegas.
And even though the Knights were a true expansion team, and the Mammoth were a relocation project from Phoenix, it was the standard that left Smith optimistic for the future.
The ties between St. George, Utah and Southern Nevada run deeper than most people might realize, as legendary basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian once held his basketball camp at Dixie College, now known as Utah Tech, in the late 1970s.
Before CSN established an athletics department, Dixie became the go-to school for Southern Nevada athletes needing a start-up vehicle before landing their dream car, er, college of choice.
So, naturally, despite the teams being in different divisions - the Mammoth in the Central and Knights in the Pacific - an opening-round series is the perfect setting for a border rivalry.
The Mammoth fired up the rivalry even more before Game 3, when the organization offered a jersey exchange in front of the Delta Center, offering Utah residents to swap their fandom from the Knights to their new team. It worked, too, as hundreds of fans lined up to swap jerseys hours before puck drop.
"As much as everyone thinks I'm just trolling (the Knights), no, it's 50 percent," Smith joked. "I think it's way more of a respect for how they've grown. And I think that's part of the responsibilities. Kind of slide over and let the new group come in, in a weird way, similar to the way that someone slid over for them to come in. And so nothing but respect."
Respect is all Smith has for Foley, McPhee and general manager Kelly McCrimmon, and everything Vegas has built the past nine seasons.
"I understand the soul that hockey has brought to Vegas in a really creative way," Smith added. "Watching it succeed there gave me a ton of confidence that it would work here. Given my background and the landscape and the way I think culturally, we're way more similar than different, and that's the part that most people don't understand."
What's clearly understood, even with the NBA and MLB arriving in the next two years, is that in helping Las Vegas establish an identity beyond the Strip, the Knights have a firm fanbase that started from day one and helped set the standard for professional sports in a town that's gone from the Entertainment Capital of the World to one of the most sought after cities for professional sports franchises and all sporting events.
PHOTO CAPTION: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith speak to the media before game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Delta Center.
There may never be another NHL team assembled like the 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings, who boasted a total of 10 future Hall of Fame players and were led by the legendary Scotty Bowman, the game's greatest coach.
However, that aura seemed to fade a bit during the opening two games of the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Red Wings, who were the first overall seed by a wide margin, were matched up against the No. 8 Vancouver Canucks, who stunned them with two straight victories to open the series at Joe Louis Arena.
Heading into Vancouver for a pivotal Game 3, the Red Wings took a 1-0 first-period lead thanks to a tally from captain Steve Yzerman, who was essentially playing on one leg.
But Vancouver knotted the score at 1-1 midway through the second frame after future Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi roofed a backhander past a sprawling Dominik Hasek.
With time winding down in the second period, both teams appeared as though they would head to their respective dressing rooms to figure out a game plan on how to gain the advantage in the third period.
However, Nicklas Lidstrom singlehandidly changed the series around with what appeared to be an innocent shot from center ice.
Lidstrom's shot from almost 100 feet away skipped under the glove of goaltender Dan Cloutier, giving Detroit a stunning 2-1 lead.
From that point on, the Red Wings won four straight against the Canucks, rallying from what had the makings of a disastrous first-round exit.
Eventually, they'd raise the Stanley Cup for the 10th time in team history later that spring with a five-game series win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The NHL Winter Classic for the 2026-27 season will be played on New Year’s Eve, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced on Friday.
The Utah Mammoth will host divisional rival Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus.
Bettman was in Salt Lake City for Game 3 of the first-round series between Utah and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Mammoth owner Ryan Smith said other events will be put together in conjunction with the Winter Classic to run throughout the holiday weekend — highlighted by a postgame concert at the Delta Center on New Year's Eve.
“Our hope is this is a whole weekend that is a version of an all-star game where we can come in and we can program and activate our state and show our state off,” Smith said. “You can expect a weekend of full programming of events, sports, concerts, and activities that will be pretty special.”
And, the most recent case in 2014 involved the Los Angeles Kings looking lifeless in their first three games in the opening round against the San Jose Sharks, only to storm back, win the series, and go on to win the Stanley Cup.
Coming back from down 3-0 to win a series in the NHL is extremely rare air, as the 209 other teams in NHL history that have gone down 3-0 went on to lose their respective series. But, even if it's near-impossible, it's not, in fact, impossible, and it has happened. Special teams make history for a reason.
And, this year, there are three different opportunities in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs for history to repeat itself. The Ottawa Senators trail the Carolina Hurricanes by a 3-0 series deficit, as do the Kings against the mighty Colorado Avalanche.
Then, there are the Penguins, who are on the brink of getting swept by their cross-state rival Flyers.
These teams have both been players in this situation before: The Penguins were on the wrong end of it in 1975, while the Flyers did the improbable in 2010. It is the Penguins who are faced with the improbable this time around, and - to be quite frank - they have looked much like the Kings did in 2014 prior to their out-of-the-blue comeback against the Sharks. And they look just like most of those 209 other teams that couldn't pull off historical feats.
In Games 1 and 2 in 2014, the Kings lost 6-3 and 7-2, respectively. They did take home a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 3, which - oftentimes - is the nail in the coffin for teams in that situation. But they somehow flipped a switch, and they found a way to dominate the remaining four games. They won by sequential scores of 6-3, 3-0, 4-1, and 5-1, and - again - went on to defeat the New York Rangers in five games during the Stanley Cup Final.
There was belief, just like there is with a lot of teams in this situation. And that belief is still alive and well in the Penguins' locker room, despite the daunting task that lies ahead of them.
And one Penguins' player has some experience in this arena, as his former team came pretty close to accomplishing the feat.
"You win one game, and a lot of things can happen, a lot of things can change," said goaltender Stuart Skinner, whose Edmonton Oilers recovered from a 3-0 deficit against the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final only to lose in Game 7. "As a team that's up 3-0, and you lose that first game... it's a tight second game, and you end up losing that second game... I mean, it's a series. Momentum shifts, and that can change a lot of things. One win can do a lot."
During media availability following Friday's practice, Skinner recalled that series, talking about how - one by one - plays built up throughout Game 4 that snowballed and allowed Edmonton to find their game again, forcing Florida to back into a bit of a corner. They took it one play at a time, one game at a time.
And that will be the Penguins' focus heading into Game 4 on Saturday in Philadelphia: win one game. It can be a bit hard to get into that headspace, especially knowing that four consecutive wins are necessary to stay alive.
But Skinner dove into the mental side of things as well, and he is confident in his own ability to do that.
"I've done a lot of that work in, just, my career in general, because it's the same thing in a season, too," Skinner said. "You can be having a couple tough bad games or, just, results aren't going your way, and you've got to find out how to switch that up in your mind.
"To be honest, I've been in so many situations that this feels - I don't want to say, 'normal,' because we're down 3-0, but - just normal in the sense of mentally juggling. I feel like I know how to do that."
It helps, too, that the Penguins have a nice collection of veterans in the room who know what it takes to win. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Sam Girard all have Stanley Cup wins on their resumes, and the adversity of the playoffs is something they've all experienced to the very end, when they - ultimately - had the chance to hoist Lord Stanley in celebration on the ice.
"It's pretty clear. I think, being in this position, you can't look too far ahead, you've just got to look at what's in front of you, and that's tomorrow and making sure that we put our best game on the ice," Crosby said. "I don't feel like we feel like we've done that for a complete game yet. Maybe different parts of games, but that first period's more of how we want to play. We just weren't able to sustain it. So, if we can put some periods together like that, then we can give ourselves a chance."
He added: "Ultimately, as a player, this is the best time of year, and it's not an ideal situation. But, at the same time, we would have took this last year. So, I think it's a matter of having the right approach, enjoying it, and just making sure we focus on what's in front of us here."
But, even though winning means everything to every player in that locker room, for guys like Skinner and Erik Karlsson - veterans who have "been there, done that" but never got to the finish line - defining moments like this mean even more.
"We believe in ourselves, and I believe in my team."
The last time Karlsson skated in the playoffs prior to this season was in 2019 with the Sharks. The closest he came to the Stanley Cup Final was in 2017, when the Penguins beat the Senators in dramatic fashion during a memorable Game 7 double-overtime - and when Karlsson was the best player on the ice for either team in that series.
Karlsson and the team know what's at stake. But, at the end of the day, he's also aware that it's important to embrace the feeling of playing in the hardest postseason in sports, having fun with it, and understanding the opportunity that lies in front of them.
“We're going to have to embrace and understand that being in this situation, even though we're down 3-0, is still a lot of fun, and we would have paid a lot of money to stand here today back in October and say this is where we were going to be,” Karlsson said after Game 3. “We've just got to realize that and understand that we're a good hockey team here. We've got a great opportunity."
And, as who understands what it takes to come back in an a near-impossible situation, Skinner believes this group of Penguins has what it takes to seize that opportunity and do something very few others in NHL history have managed to accomplish.
“You know it's possible,” Skinner said. “Statistics are fun to look at. But, it doesn't mean they're always right. What really helped me in my experience was it, kind of, just frees you up. You don't really have anything to lose.
“We've got the bodies in here. We've got a resilient group. I can say that over and over and over again, but we've proven it. We've shown it. This is the group that can definitely come back from this deficit. I certainly believe that.”
For a long time, hockey team options were sparse for fans west of Colorado. It was basically one of the Los Angeles area teams, or the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes.
Utah fans had that lack of choice assuaged with the advent of the Vegas Golden Knights in neighboring Nevada, but when the Coyotes transferred to Utah to play in Salt Lake City, fans had a truly local team to support.
That was not lost on the Mammoth, who made a brilliant play ahead of the team's first home playoff game at the Delta Center against the Golden Knights: Let fans exchange their sweaters for a Mammoth sweater so they can truly welcome their home team.
The Mammoth and Golden Knights will face off in Game 3 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series tied 1-1. The exchange details, per the Mammoth website, were simple:
Bring any Vegas Golden Knights jersey (official team jersey only)
Mammoth owner Ryan Smith has become a more well-known face in the playoffs. A video of him going and mingling with fans went viral, and he said on April 22 he was going to host eight Mammoth fans in his suite for their game on April 24.
The unfortunate reality for the Detroit Red Wings is that they now own the NHL's longest active postseason drought at 10 years.
Near the end of January, they were in a prime position to make the postseason. They were tied for first overall in both their division and the Eastern Conference, but as they have in each of the last three seasons, things began unraveling at the beginning of March.
Eventually, Detroit tumbled out of their playoff spot and had to scratch and claw for every possible point in the standings as the schedule ran out of runway. Their fate was officially sealed with a 5-3 loss at Little Caesars Arena to the New Jersey Devils in their 80th game.
During Thursday's press conference, GM Steve Yzerman acknowledged there were multiple warning signs he was wary of before Detroit began falling in the standings.
“We had concerns,” he said. "We were in third overall or something, and we're like, 'Let's be realistic.' I don't think we're as good as our record at the time, but we are winning games, and we are where we are, and at the deadline we were where we were, and for the most part we were playing at .600 hockey, a little over .600, and at the end we were under .400."
One of the main areas of concern for the Red Wings all season long was their lack of even strength scoring, which finished 30th overall in the NHL.
They were also heavily reliant on goaltender John Gibson, who, after a subpar first two months, caught fire and became arguably the best player at his position in the League for several weeks.
For Yzerman and the Red Wings, the bottom line is that they need more talent on the roster.
“We need better players, we need to improve specifically in certain areas," Yzerman said. "We can talk about goal scoring; we need to improve in that area, particularly five-on-five."
“Collectively, if you’re watching the playoffs, and I’m assuming and I’m hoping our players are, to play with the intensity and determination needed to be successful to make the playoffs and get there," he said. "But ultimately it’s incumbent upon me and my staff to improve the team.”
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The Los Angeles Kings have been struggling to score all series long. After Game 3's 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, the Kings are tied with the second-fewest goals scored in the Stanley Cup playoffs with four.
Only the Ottawa Senators have fewer goals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are the team that shares a four-goal total with the Kings. All three teams are down 3-0 in their respective series.
The bottom line for Los Angeles is that they've struggled offensively, with the top line of Artemi Panarin, Anze Kopitar, and Adrian Kempe should take a bigger part of the blame for that. It may be time to change the look of that line ahead of Game 4.
Game 3 is a great example of why the team's first line hasn't had the answer in these playoffs. Panarin, Kopitar and Kempe combined for a minus-nine plus-minus rating, including for the empty-net goal that Brock Nelson scored to close out the game.
On Friday's off day for Los Angeles, interim coach D.J. Smith spoke about how the effort is there on the ice, but he's looking for results.
"As well as we've played, in my opinion, there's some guys that can play better," Smith told reporters. "There's a few guys that I think can play better. Not for a lack of effort, (but) better execution."
Panarin leads the team in scoring with two goals and three points, but every single marker he's contributed to has been on the power play.
Artemi Panarin (Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images)
The same can be said about Kempe, who has just one point in this series. It was Los Angeles' second goal in Game 3 on the mad advantage, and with the goalie pulled.
As for Kopitar, the Kings captain hasn't registered any sort of scoring and could very well be making his final NHL appearance in Game 4 on Sunday.
With the makeup of the top line on a downward trajectory in terms of form, it's a good time for Smith to try something new and mix up the personnel. Especially since the Kings are in a position where they have nothing to lose, against a team they had no business competing with.
"I think you got to think about everything," Smith said. "Whether it's jumble the top six, move a guy up, move a guy down… we're going to look at all possibilities to win one game."
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Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway had caught Crosby with a high stick in the face in Game 3 as he lined up for a faceoff. Crosby dropped to the ice, Hathaway made a diving gesture and the Penguins captain was called for embellishment.
Instead of the Penguins going on a power play because of the Hathaway high stick, it was 4-on-4. The Penguins lost the game, trail the series 3-0 and face elimination on Saturday, April 25.
"I don't really want to get into it," Crosby told reporters Friday about the incident. "It happened. He hit me in the face with his stick. I don't know what else you want me to tell you. Make up whatever you want to make up. Those are the facts. He got away with it. Good tradeoff."
Hathaway high sticked Crosby before the draw, but Crosby was ALSO penalized for embellishment, we play 4 on 4.... pic.twitter.com/QcsGi9wg7J
Penguins coach Dan Muse had been upset after Game 3 that Crosby was also penalized.
"We don't have a single embellishment all year," he told reporters afterward. "Sidney Crosby doesn't have an embellishment in 21 seasons. So stick's in his face and they take both. I disagree on that strongly.
"Not one. Not one for our team all season. We didn't come in this series to start now. Our guys have done a good job with that, and Sid doesn't embellish."
The Penguins will try to win Game 4 in Philadelphia Saturday, April 25 (8 p.m. ET, TBS) to stay alive.
The Carolina Hurricanes can punch their ticket to Round 2 with a Game 4 win over the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday, April 25.
While this has been the tightest, most defense-driven series of Round 1, my latest Hurricanes vs. Senators predictions and NHL picks expect a shift in tone, with both offenses starting to come alive.
UPDATE: Added prediction for who will win & goal scorer pick.
Hurricanes vs Senators Game 4 prediction
Who will win Hurricanes vs Senators Game 4?
Carolina Hurricanes: Ottawa No. 1 defenseman Jake Sanderson (concussion) joining partner Artem Zub (undisclosed) in the press box for Game 4 is a massive blow, and the Sens were already limited to just three goals all series and haven’t held a lead once.
With the Hurricanes also generating an eye-popping 59.8% of the expected goals to this point, Carolina will cruise to Round 2.
Hurricanes vs Senators best bet: Over 5.5 (-115)
Despite combining for 23.72 expected goals and 81 high-danger scoring chances, the Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators have totaled just 10 goals across the first three games of the series.
Hurricanes starter Frederik Andersen sports a .964 save percentage for the series, and Sens No. 1 Linus Ullmark checks in at .933, so statistical correction will be rearing its ugly head due to the unsustainable play of both goalies.
This is also an elimination game, so we could see an early goalie pull if Ottawa is trailing late in the third period, and the Sens haven’t had a lead all series long.
Hurricanes vs Senators Game 4 same-game parlay
Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot is set to log huge minutes in Game 4, including quarterbacking the No. 1 power-play unit. It’s a role he’s familiar with, and with the season on the line, I’m anticipating the longest-standing Senator stuffing the stat sheet.
Chabot has already picked up five shots on 19 attempts while blocking eight shots in the series, in addition to being on the ice for a team-high 5.24 expected goals.
Hurricanes vs Senators SGP
Thomas Chabot Over 0.5 points
Thomas Chabot Over 1.5 shots
Thomas Chabot Over 2.5 blocked shots
Hurricanes vs Senators Game 4 goal scorer pick
Andrei Svechnikov (+180)
Carolina winger Andrei Svechnikov leads the series in individual expected goals (2.06) without finding the back of the net, and he’s also racked up an impressive 15 shots, 24 attempts, and five high-danger scoring chances.
The 26-year-old Russian sports 27 career playoff goals, including eight across 15 games last spring.
Carolina has won 15 of its last 20 games (+9.40 Units / 32% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Hurricanes vs. Senators.
How to watch Hurricanes vs Senators Game 4
Location
Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON
Date
Saturday, April 25, 2026
Puck drop
3:00 p.m. ET
TV
Sportsnet, TBS
Hurricanes vs Senators 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.
A former Vancouver Canucks prospect has been named AHL MVP for the 2025-26 season. That former prospect is Michael DiPietro, who became the ninth goaltender to win the now-named Les Cunningham Award. DiPietro currently plays for the Providence Bruins, who are the AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins.
The Canucks drafted DiPietro 64th overall in 2017. The now 26-year-old was a star in the OHL for the Windsor Spitfires and Ottawa 67's, with his junior career including a Memorial Cup championship in 2017. DiPietro also represented Canada multiple times during his junior career and would later win a Gold Medal at the 2021 World Championship.
DiPietro's time with Vancouver was short as he was traded to the Bruins in 2022. He played three NHL games with the Canucks and spent most of his time in the AHL. In return for DiPietro as well as defensive prospect Jonathan Myrenberg, Vancouver received Jack Studnicka, who would play 52 NHL games for the Canucks.
Since leaving Vancouver, DiPietro has become one of the best goaltenders in the AHL. This includes winning the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award, which is given out to the AHL's best goaltender in back-to-back consecutive season. Over his AHL career, DiPietro has a record of 118-50-16 along with 12 shutouts.
Jan 23, 2022; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks goalie Michael Dipietro (65) in action against the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
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.
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Travis Konecny was a force to be reckoned with vs. weaker defensive teams all season, and that trend has carried over into the playoffs.
My Penguins vs. Flyers predictions see him finding the scoresheet again in what could be a series-clinching Game 4 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Let’s break down my NHL picks for Saturday, April 25, and don't miss puck drop at 8:00 p.m. ET on TBS.
UPDATE: Added a prediction for who will win tonight.
Penguins vs Flyers Game 4 prediction
Who will win Penguins vs Flyers Game 4?
Philadelphia: The Philadelphia Flyers have sucked the life out of the Pittsburgh Penguins in this series. They’ve also been pretty darn good on offense themselves, with Porter Martone’s emergence giving the Flyers three legitimate scoring lines. Look for them to close out the series on home ice.
Penguins vs Flyers best bet: Travis Konecny Over 0.5 points (-155)
Travis Konecny feasted on Bottom-10 defenses in the regular season, picking up a point in 16 of 22 games (76%).
That hit rate soared even higher on home soil as Konecny hit the scoresheet in 11 of 12 games (92%).
Given that the Pittsburgh Penguins ranked 24th in goals against during the regular season, it should be no surprise that Konecny has continued to produce consistently in the playoffs for the Philadelphia Flyers.
He has points in two of three games and posted a team-leading 84 xGF% in the only game he didn’t.
Look for him to make his mark again in Game 4.
Penguins vs Flyers Game 4 same-game parlay
Christian Dvorak skates alongside Konecny at 5-on-5 as well as on the power play. The two are highly correlated, making it no coincidence they both found the scoresheet in the first two games of the series before being blanked last time out.
Travis Sanheim blocked multiple shots in three of his last four games against Pittsburgh. He’s routinely clearing 25 minutes of ice in this series, and the Penguins will desperately throw as many pucks towards the net as they can in this do-or-die game. That sets up well for Sanheim.
Penguins vs Flyers SGP
Travis Konecny Over 0.5 points
Christian Dvorak Over 0.5 points
Travis Sanheim Over 1.5 blocked shots
Penguins vs Flyers Game 4 goal scorer pick
Christian Dvorak (+300)
Dvorak is tied for the series lead in high-danger chances with six through three games. Despite piling up quality looks around the paint, he has the 10th-shortest odds to score a goal. I think he’s undervalued here, especially considering his defensive utility and the fact that he’s a strong candidate to play in empty-net situations if the Penguins aggressively pull the goalie to try and save their season.
Travis Konecny has points in five of his last seven games against Pittsburgh. Find more NHL betting trends for Penguins vs. Flyers.
How to watch Penguins vs Flyers Game 4
Location
Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Date
Saturday, April 25, 2026
Puck drop
8:00 p.m. ET
TV
TBS, Sportsnet
Penguins vs Flyers latest injuries
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Rick Tocchet has firsthand experience with the Penguins’ big names.
He was an assistant coach for Pittsburgh when it won back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017. He coached Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust, four players on the current Penguins team that’s staring down a 3-0 series deficit against the Flyers.
Tocchet isn’t expecting Pittsburgh to be an easy bunch to eliminate.
“They’ve been down before,” the Flyers’ head coach said Thursday. “It’s a group that you’re going to have to stick a fork in them. I’m sure they’re reading clippings of teams that have come back from 3-0. I’d be doing the same thing. It can happen.”
In the history of the NHL playoffs, it has happened four times. The most recent team to do it was the Kings in the 2014 first round. Before that, it was the Flyers in the 2010 second round.
Tocchet’s club has reeled off three wins by a combined score of 11-4 to take a stranglehold of this first-round matchup with the Penguins. The Flyers will have a chance to sweep the series Saturday when they host Game 4 (8 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
“We believe in our group, we’ve believed in our group all year long,” Sean Couturier said after the Flyers’ 5-2 win in Game 3. “A lot of people counted us out all year. We stuck to the way we want to play. It’s just the belief in that room, we play for one another. We’ve come out pretty strong, but the job’s not done. There’s still a lot of work to do.”
The last time the Flyers swept a playoff series was 1995, when they took out the Rangers in the second round.
The Flyers were off the ice Friday. On Thursday, Tocchet liked his team’s focus.
“Trust me, we had a good practice today, we had a good meeting today,” Tocchet said. “I don’t see a lot of guys celebrating, going down Broad Street for any reason. We’re not even close to that. We know we’ve got a huge game coming up Saturday.”
Despite his team shutting out Pittsburgh, 3-0, in Game 2, Tocchet felt the Flyers had to play without the puck a lot. Essentially, he wanted them to hold onto it more so they would play less defense.
He thought the Flyers had stronger possession in Game 3. The Penguins’ two goals were on the power play.
“I think analytically, you can see it did improve,” Tocchet said Friday. “I still think there’s improvement on that again. You have the puck to skate and try to find options. And the time when you don’t have time, you have to make a smart play. We were better at it, it’s something that we always talk about. We’ve got to stay out of the box, you can’t give that team five power plays. We want to play 5-on-5 hockey and see where the game goes.”
Flyers’ introduction and starters as playoff hockey returns to Philly for first time since 2018. pic.twitter.com/cpABa7UsMG
“I think, for the most part, we’ve done a good job discipline-wise and we’ve talked about that throughout this month,” Tocchet said. “I think the guys have done a nice job. Listen, I’m not a big scrum guy. That narrative that we’re trying to slow the game and all these scrums, I’m not sure I see it that way.
“You want to hold your ground, but for me, when it’s over, get out of there. The scrums and stuff like that, to me, there’s a time and place for it. But we have to control our emotions, want the puck to be dropped and play the game the right way.”
The Chicago Blackhawks finished in 31st place, but they had a great start to the season. The promising year fell apart in early December when Connor Bedard went down with an injury. He missed some time, and the Blackhawks floundered after that.
Despite missing a portion of the season, Bedard finished with 30 goals and 45 assists for 75 points in 69 games. That is a pace of 89 points and 35 goals over an 82-game schedule. He hit somewhat of a wall in the final ten games, which kept his numbers from being even more prolific.
Part of his development will be finding ways to be healthy for the entire season and not hitting that wall towards the end. The latter is less likely to happen if the team is good and competing for the postseason. Bedard must be one of the catalysts in that quest.
Despite having his first 30-goal and point-per-game season in the NHL, Bedard is far from satisfied. He had a great year, but he doesn't see it that way.
"There's ups and downs," Bedard said. "I don't think I was good enough. I think there is a lot of room for me to grow. I haven't scored in 10, and we kind of struggled in the last bit, so maybe [I'm] a little more negative in the moment. Once [I] break things down, there were positives for myself and the team. [I] want to get better."
Last summer, Bedard skipped going to the World Championships in order to stay home and work on his skating and skills with the puck. It was noticeable right away that he put the work in, and the results speak for themselves.
If he doesn't hurt his shoulder on a freak play in St. Louis, he probably has an even more productive season. At the time of his injury, he was a top-five NHL scorer.
Bedard believes that there is room for him to improve, which is a good thing. No elite players are ever satiated by their current results. They always want better. The organization has a responsibility to keep providing him with the necessary resources to continue the upward trend.
"I thought Connor had an excellent year, to be honest with you," said head coach Jeff Blashill. "If you look at when he got hurt, he was one of the very best players in the league. My biggest thing with Connor isn't about points. It's about what his mindset was. His mindset is 100% on playing winning hockey and building this thing into a winning team more than anything else. Once I realized that, I was really pleased with his approach on a daily basis."
Between Bedard's reputation coming into his NHL career as a "hockey-obsessed" player, the work he put in last summer, and his praise from the coach, it is clear that he will continue to work towards greater heights.
"Has he been perfect? No," Blashill said. "Is he learning like every elite scorer that comes into the league, and how to do things and play that type of winning hockey every shift? Yes. He's committed to it. As long as his mindset is in that place, which it is, he'll continue to skyrocket as a player".
Bedard is already a top-20 center in the National Hockey League, and he isn't even 21 years old yet. Before long, he will reach a level of play that has him in that next tier. He may never be satisfied until they win the Stanley Cup, but they have a long way to go. The work is being put in for him to be the type of player who can lead that kind of team.
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