RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 04: Center Marc Gatcomb #16 of the New York Islanders looks on after being hit by left wing William Carrier #28 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period of the game against the New York Islanders at Lenovo Center on April 4, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Islanders took the lead twice in this game off early goals in the first and second period, but once again came up short. Marc Gatcomb scored his third of the season, Max Shabanov scored in his return to the lineup, Anders Lee picked up his third goal in four games, Mat Barzal got his 70th point of the season and, of course, we have a Matthew Schaefer Record Update.
Schaefer got an assist on Lee’s late goal, which was his 58th point of the season, the most by an 18 year old defenseman in NHL history.
Also worth noting, if you’re looking for positives in this late-season collapse, that Cal Ritchie picked up his 7th point in his last 7 games with an assist tonight, and all but one of his 4 assists were primary ones. It’s a good end to the season for the Isles’ other highly touted rookie who has had a solid season while Schaefer’s grabbed all the headlines.
Carolina got an early power play when Marc Gatcomb took a holding penalty just three minutes into the game, forcing Ilya Sorokin to make some big saves on Sebastian Aho. Scott Mayfield hit Jordan Martinook on the bench with the puck off a clearing attempt, and then right after the penalty expired, Gatcomb made it 1-0, assisted by Simon Holmström and Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
Ondrej Palat hit the post behind Brandon Bussi, just narrowly missing the opportunity to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead.
Then, Seth Jarvis made it 1-1 after beating Ryan Pulock one on one and snapping it past Sorokin. That play started after Mat Barzal’s shot was deflected to Sean Walker in the slot, who passed it up to a streaking Jarvis.
Second Period
Early in the second, Cal Ritchie set up Max Shabanov from behind the net, and Shabanov made it 2-1 in his first game back in the lineup in a while. It was his first goal since the end of December, too.
Adam Pelech was called for holding, and Sorokin once again needed to make some big saves. Mayfield pushed Sebastian Aho into the crossbar and both he and Jarvis ended up in the box after a scrum. No team was able to capitalize on that.
But Carolina absolutely dominated this period, and Jackson Blake eventually tied the game at 2, while the Islanders were held to just five shots in the game to that point.
The Hurricanes got another power play when Ryan Pulock was called for hooking, and the Isles killed that. Then the Islanders got a power play of their own, with Alexander Nikishin called for slashing Mayfield, but Sebastian Aho scored shorthanded to make it 3-2 Hurricanes.
Third Period
Jarvis scored less than a minute into the period to make it 4-2.
Barzal set up Pageau but Bussi made the save. Ritchie also took a shot saved by Bussi, and the Isles had a few good chances stopped in the second half of the period.
Sorokin went to the bench with 3 and a half minutes left, and Anders Lee deflects a Matthew Schaefer shot past Bussi to make it 4-3 with a minute and 30 seconds left, but couldn’t get the tying goal despite some good chances.
Next, the Islanders head back to UBS Arena, where they’ll play out the rest of the season. On Thursday, they’ll host the playoff-eliminated Toronto Maple Leafs as they try to grab a much-needed two points and snap the longest losing streak of the season.
Sebastian Aho celebrates after scoring during the Islanders' April 4 game against the Hurricanes.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Forget collapse. This is what capitulation looks like.
In a game the Islanders absolutely needed to have, on a night when a response was necessary after getting dominated at home 24 hours prior, with two points nothing short of critical to their playoff hopes, they flatlined.
Outside of Ilya Sorokin, who single-handedly kept them in the game, the Islanders were barely competitive. All 20 skaters were passengers in this woeful performance that was bad enough to warrant firings and severe changes to the roster if indeed the Islanders fail to make the playoffs, as now seems likely.
They were played off the ice at the Lenovo Center in a 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes that handed the Isles a season-long four-game losing streak at the exact moment they could afford it least.
“We’ve been knocked down, there’s no doubt about it,” captain Anders Lee said. “But this thing’s not over. This race isn’t over. I believe in this group, the guys in this room believe in it. We’re hitting a tough patch at just a really bad time of the year.”
Nominally speaking, the Islanders still held a playoff spot at the close of business Saturday. In reality, they are like a prisoner waiting on a death sentence.
By the next time they play, Thursday at home against the Maple Leafs, the Blue Jackets, Flyers, Red Wings and Senators all will have had the chance to pass them in the standings, and it is a step too far to hope that none of the four do so.
The Isles are now 3-7-0 in their past 10, an astonishing stretch that seemed to come out of nowhere and which is now likely to keep them out of the playoffs a second straight season.
Sebastian Aho celebrates after scoring during the Islanders’ April 4 game against the Hurricanes. Imagn Images
There are four games left, all of which are at UBS and the Islanders may need to run the table or come close in order to save their season.
Just like 24 hours prior on Long Island, though, the Islanders performance did not even come close to meeting the moment. They had four shots in the first period, just two in the second and barely touched the puck until they were skating 6-on-5 late in the third.
The Hurricanes were faster, way more physical, less prone to error, generated more of a forecheck and, damningly, played with more urgency than the Islanders could muster. There was defensive breakdown after defensive breakdown — too many to count and too many responsible parties to try to dole out blame. It was one of their worst efforts of the season, in one of their biggest games of the season.
“I think the mind was right, the energy was right. They were suffocating us,” Ryan Pulock said. “I thought they controlled most of the game.”
Emil Heineman defends during the Islanders’ April 4 game against the Hurricanes. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It was only because of Sorokin, who for the umpteenth time was hung out to dry by his teammates, and because ’Canes netminder Brandon Bussi put in a rare shaky outing that the Islanders hung onto a 3-2 deficit entering the final 20 minutes.
Nothing about the way the game had gone, though, indicated that they could do anything with it.
Even when they finally seemed to get a break in the form of an offensive-zone slash by Alexander Nikishin late in the second with the game tied at 2, the Islanders immediately bled a 2-on-1 rush and a short-handed Sebastian Aho goal.
The ’Canes ended any hopes of a comeback just 24 seconds into the third as Andrei Svechnikov’s cross-ice feed to Seth Jarvis was buried off the crossbar and in to make it 4-2.
Ilya Sorokin makes a save during the Islanders’ April 4 loss. NHLI via Getty Images
Anders Lee’s 6-on-5 goal saved some face for the Islanders on the scoreboard, but did little to hide their performance for most of the night.
Mat Barzal turned over puck after puck, Matthew Schaefer looked like his ever-increasing workload was getting to him, Bo Horvat was hardly noticeable. There was no spark in the bottom six from which Kyle MacLean was bizarrely omitted as a healthy scratch, and the defense corps could not so much as execute a breakout.
In just a few weeks, the season has done a total 180. The Islanders played Saturday like they are already doomed to the consequences.
“100 percent,” Pulock said, asked whether coach Patrick Roy’s message is getting through. “He believes in us and we believe in him. It’s just up to us right now to bear down.”
Roy, who might be coaching for his job over the next 10 days, tried his best to put a happy face on things.
“We’re right there, isn’t it? We’re right there in the standings,” he said. “I know they [all] have a game in hand on us, but it’s not a time of year where you gotta feel sorry for yourself.”
The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs are drawing nearer and nearer.
And with each passing day, the Pittsburgh Penguins are closer and closer to securing their ticket to the dance - and they're doing it in commanding fashion.
On Saturday, the Penguins played their first of back-to-back home games against the Florida Panthers, and their offense exploded for a 9-3 blowout win headlined by an Evgeni Malkin hat trick. Malkin and Sidney Crosby both hit major career milestones en route to the win, as Malkin became just the 23rd player in NHL history and third player in Penguins' history to record 1,400 points, and Crosby surpassed Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman to take sole possession of seventh on the NHL's all-time scoring list at 1,756.
"It feels like it's something every night," said forward Rickard Rakell, who registered his eighth goal in the past seven games Saturday. "But it's so exciting to watch them every day in practice and games and just have a chance to learn from them."
Lately, the Penguins have been getting off to fast starts, and that trend continued Saturday. Noel Acciari scored his 12th of the season just 20 seconds into the game to hand the Penguins a very early lead, and less than five minutes later, Erik Karlsson sent a one-time power play blast from the top of the right circle off a feed from Crosby to give his team the 2-0 advantage.
However, Florida did find a response, as A.J. Greer found the twine just two minutes later to cut the Penguins' lead to one. And with five and a half to go in the opening frame, Seth Jones shot a puck from the point that Rakell attempted to block with his hand, and the puck changed direction and ended up behind goaltender Arturs Silovs to knot the game at 2-2.
Then, the second period happened.
Once again, the Penguins had a loud start. But, this time, they just kept coming. Less than two minutes into the middle frame, Anthony Mantha threw a puck toward the goal from the right wall that hit a Florida stick on the way in and went past Sergei Bobrovsky to give him his 31st of the season and restore the Penguins' lead.
Exactly four minutes later, both Malkin and Crosby had their moment. From down low, Crosby found Karlsson at the right point on a power play opportunity, and he placed a perfect shot pass to a waiting Malkin on the doorstep, who deflected the puck into the net with the shaft of his stick. The secondary assist gave Crosby the point to surpass Yzerman, and the goal gave Malkin his 1,400th.
But Malkin wasn't done. Two and a half minutes later, the Penguins gained the zone on the rush, and Tommy Novak threw a puck at the net from the left wall. Malkin, again, was waiting on the doorstep, and it hit his leg and went in to make it 5-2.
Then, just a minute and a half after that, Elmer Soderblom scored his third as a Penguin to make it 6-2, capping off a stretch where the Penguins scored four goals and eight minutes and two seconds. The goal also chased Bobrovsky from the game, and he was replaced by Daniil Tarasov.
The Penguins still weren't done in the second period, though. Rakell added the Penguins' third power play tally of the game - his 22nd goal of the season - with a little more than two minutes left in the second, and Ryan Shea scored 19 seconds later to put the Penguins up by a comfortable 8-2 margin, capping off a six-goal second period.
Malkin's hat trick came three and a half minutes into the third period. He pickpocketed Florida defenseman Sam Benning right in front of Tarasov, and Malkin made a nice cross-crease reverse move to beat the netminder and secure the hat trick - as well as his team's ninth goal on the night.
Florida scored two more around the midway point of the third - one from Noah Gregor on a nice individual effort, and the other from Mackie Samoskevich - but the Penguins' offensive explosion was simply too high a mountain to climb.
For the third time in the last four games, the Penguins put up five or more goals, and this is the second time they've scored at least eight times within those four games. They have scored 25 goals in their last four games, and they're getting contributions from everyone.
And even if Saturday was Geno's night - and his teammates contributed a ton, too - they know they still have to come back ready for another fight Sunday against the same Panthers' team.
"We know Florida [has] lots of injury right now," Malkin said. "They [do] not play great, and we fight [for] playoffs. We are in different situations. We score the first two goals quickly, and the power play work tonight, we score three power-play goals.
"Everything works some nights. Like, you play the same, but the puck go in every shot. We see tomorrow, huge game tomorrow, because we know this team win two Cups in two years, and they fight tomorrow, for sure."
Here are some thoughts and takeaways from this one:
- This team has some warts. It is not a perfect team by any means. Silovs was not very sharp in this one despite the win, and in addition to better goaltending, they're still turning the puck over and giving up high-danger looks far too frequently.
But this offense is legitimately scary.
The only two teams in hockey that have scored more goals than the Penguins' 275 this season are the Tampa Bay Lightning (277) and Colorado Avalanche (285). Of course, the Penguins' 248 goals against are the third-highest mark in the Eastern Conference, too, and they'll need to clean that up if there is any hope of a playoff run.
However, I'm not sure there's a deeper forward group in hockey than the Penguins. Malkin is two goals away from 20, and if he hits that mark, the Penguins will already have six 20-goal scorers this season (Anthony Mantha, Crosby, Bryan Rust, Rakell, Egor Chinakhov) with the possibility of a couple more hitting the mark (Ben Kindel and Justin Brazeau have 17 each).
They also have 12 players with 12 or more goals and nine players with at least 15 goals - the highest total in the NHL - and both Karlsson and Connor Dewar have 14 goals, so that number could hit 11.
Do you remember the last time the Penguins had this kind of scoring depth in the Crosby era? I don't. I'm not sure they have.
This is a special, special offense. If they can clean up some of the rest, they'll be a tough opponent for anyone - especially if they stay this hot down the stretch.
- Somehow, Karlsson very quietly had a four-point game. That gives him 10 goals and 29 points in his last 20 games dating back to Feb. 28. In that same span, he is second only to New Jersey Devils' forward Jack Hughes in points. And it also gives him 14 goals and 64 points in 72 games on the season.
I mean, at this rate, this guy might finish near a point-per-game. What else can you say? He is in another stratosphere on some other planet right now, and no one in the league is operating at the level he currently is.
It's remarkable to watch. And if Penguins' fans are treated to playoff Karlsson... just wait.
After four points through two periods tonight for defenseman Erik Karlsson, let's check in on the NHL's point leaders since February 28:
1. Jack Hughes - 30 2. Erik Karlsson - 29 2. Nikita Kucherov - 29 2. Nick Suzuki - 29 pic.twitter.com/nuyJCWYiQl
- With a goal and two points on Saturday - according to Penguins PR - Rakell has a four-game goal-scoring streak and a seven-game point streak - both the longest active streaks in the NHL. He has points in 14 of his last 15 games and 11 goals and 21 points in those 15 games.
He's now up to 22 goals and 46 points in 56 games on the season, and - guess what? That's a 33-goal, 67-point pace - pretty similar to his 35-goal, 70-point campaign last season.
Rakell has been a monster for the Penguins, and - right now - he's making every single line he's part of better. He, Mantha, and Brazeau combined for four goals and eight points against the New York Islanders. He, Crosby, and Chinkahov had a pair of goals and four points against the Detroit Red Wings. And he, Malkin, and Novak combined for four goals and six points Saturday.
With two points (1G-1A) so far, Rickard Rakell has extended his goal-scoring streak to four games and his point streak to seven games - each the longest active such streaks in the league.
Behind Karlsson, Rakell has been their best and most important player in this stretch run, moving up and down the lineup and switching in and out of different positions. He's proving that he's very capable of repeating what most thought was an unrepeatable season in 2024-25, and he's a huge part of this team's success.
- Crosby looked much more himself in this game. He didn't explode off the scoresheet - and his milestone was certainly overshadowed by the night Malkin had - but this guy just continues to assert himself in the "Hockey Mount Rushmore" conversation.
Oh, and - by the way - he needs just one more point to clinch his 21st consecutive season at point-per-game or higher, which would pad his own NHL record of 20. Truly amazing stuff.
- Soderblom is finding his footing in Pittsburgh, and he has been very good in this last handful of games, registering two goals and five points in his last five.
But it's not just the production - in a fourth-line role, mind you - that stands out. He's a menace on the forecheck, he's playing physical, and he's using his size to win puck battles and overwhelm opponents. He also skates well for a guy who is 6-foot-9.
"Just feel like I'm playing more freely and playing without thinking too much," Soderblom said about playing in Pittsburgh. "And just play my game. And so far, I feel like it's worked pretty good."
To be honest, I'm not sure what you do when Blake Lizotte returns to the lineup. Soderblom, up to this point, has earned a permanent spot in it, and that means someone has to come out.
- Because, on that note, how good has Acciari been for the Penguins this season?
One year ago, he was the whipping boy for a lot of disgruntled fans. But not only is he the same hard-nosed, get-your-hands-dirty player he's always been in terms of shot-blocking, physicality, and defensive zone prowess, he's also added some offense this season with 12 goals and 23 points - his highest totals since his career season with Florida (20 goals, 27 points) in 2019-20.
He is such an important player for them. He plays the hard minutes and does the "thankless" jobs for this team, as former head coach Mike Sullivan used to say. But the offensive element is helping them even more - and some of his goals have been big ones, too.
It's been a great season for him, and he's also earned a stay in the lineup.
- Well, it was a great night for the Penguins on the out-of-town scoreboard, too.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Seth Jarvis had two goals and an assist and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 4-3 on Saturday night for their fourth victory in five games.
Sebastian Aho broke a tie with a short-handed goal in the second period, Jackson Blake also scored and K’Andre Miller had two assists, and rookie Brandon Bussi made 13 saves to boost his season record to 29-6-1.
Marc Gatcomb, Max Shabanov and Anders Lee scored for the Islanders, They have a four-game losing streak for the first time this season. Ilya Sorokin made 36 saves in his 11th straight start.
Lee’s goal with 1:37 to play with the Islanders — third in the Metropolitan Division — going with an extra skater gave them a chance, but they couldn’t break through again.
The Islanders had one-goal leads after Gatcomb scored in the first and Shabanov in the second. Shabanov was in his third game since the Olympic break and his first since March 13. He had been out with a lower-body injury and then missed games as a healthy scratch.
Aho’s go-ahead goal with 3:43 left in the second period gave the Hurricanes their sixth short-handed goal in nine games.
The Metropolitan-leading Hurricanes were playing in their first game since clinching a playoff berth two nights earlier. It was Carolina’s second straight strong defensive effort after allowing only 10 shots on goal Thursday night vs. Columbus.
Carolina has defeated the Islanders in all three meetings and they’ll meet again in the regular-season finale.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Seth Jarvis had two goals and an assist and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 4-3 on Saturday night for their fourth victory in five games.
Sebastian Aho broke a tie with a short-handed goal in the second period, Jackson Blake also scored and K’Andre Miller had two assists, and rookie Brandon Bussi made 13 saves to boost his season record to 29-6-1.
Marc Gatcomb, Max Shabanov and Anders Lee scored for the Islanders, They have a four-game losing streak for the first time this season. Ilya Sorokin made 36 saves in his 11th straight start.
Lee’ goal with 1:37 to play with the Islanders — third in the Metropolitan Division — going with an extra skater gave them a chance but they couldn’t break through again.
The Islanders had one-goal leads after Gatcomb scored in the first and Shabanov in the second. Shabanov was in his third game since the Olympic break and his first since March 13. He had been out with a lower-body injury and then missed games as a healthy scratch.
Aho’s go-ahead goal with 3:43 left in the second period gave the Hurricanes their sixth short-handed goal in nine games.
The Metropolitan-leading Hurricanes were playing in their first game since clinching a playoff berth two nights earlier. It was Carolina’s second straight strong defensive effort after allowing only 10 shots on goal Thursday night vs. Columbus.
Carolina has defeated the Islanders in all three meetings and they’ll meet again in the regular-season finale.
TAMPA, FL - APRIL 4: Darren Raddysh #43 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates a goal against the Boston Bruins at Benchmark International Arena on April 4, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Perhaps it’s time for us to just accept that the Bruins and Florida Men don’t pair well together.
After a solidly played first 40 minutes, the Bruins allowed three unanswered goals in the third period to drop their second Florida game in a row, losing to Tampa Bay, 3-1.
Casey Mittelstadt scored the Bruins’ only goal early in the second period, while Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves in the defeat.
Charle-Edouard D’Astous tied the game for Tampa two minutes into the third period, then Darren Raddysh gave the Lightning the lead with just over five minutes left in regulation.
Nikita Kucherov would add an empty-net goal, and that was that.
The Bruins’ goal came off of a beautiful pass from Viktor Arvidsson, with Mittelstadt cashing in to make it 1-0 Bruins.
D’Astous’s goal came on a good bit of second effort from him, helped by some calamitous defending from the Bruins, making it a 1-1 game early in the third.
Yikes. You can look at the Florida game as one where the team got off to a slow start, got going, and got goalie’d a bit. Tonight was almost the opposite, with the B’s playing well early (they outshot Tampa 19-13 in the first two periods) before falling apart.
This isn’t to pin a loss on a single player, but that Raddysh goal can’t happen. Swayman cannot get beat from there, let alone in the last six minutes of the third period. The entire sequence looked like something you’d have happen to you when playing NHL23 (or pick your year) online: random defenseman gets the puck in the neutral zone, skates up the ice unbothered, shoots from a weird angle, scores, then some teenager starts swearing at you.
I’m not sure there’s much in this, but it’s worth noting that both of Tampa’s non-empty-net goals came off of plays that started in their own zone. I know that’s usually true of every goal if you rewind it far enough, but both goals seemed to come with the Bruins getting caught flat-footed when an offensive attempt petered out.
The Bruins went 0-for-4 on the power play, which certainly didn’t help matters. They had two chances in the first period, then had a big power play chance just two minutes after D’Astous’s goal, only to come up empty. NOT GREAT.
Also in the “NOT GREAT” file, the Bruins managed just three shots on goal in the third period. Yes, Tampa had as many goals as the Bruins had shots. I am not a paid analyst, but you’re not going to win that many games when that happens.
Mittelstadt’s goal was his 15th of the season, equaling his previous career high; that came back in 2023 with the Buffalo Sabres.
Depending on your mood at the moment, the Bruins either blew a big opportunity with this game or caught a big break tonight. They failed to pick up any points, but Detroit, Ottawa, Columbus, and the Islanders all lost Saturday as well, so the Bruins didn’t really lose any ground.
Montreal did end up winning on Saturday, putting that third spot in the Atlantic a bit further out of reach. They’re now six points ahead of the Bruins, with a game in hand as well.
Some minor housekeeping: with this recap up and a 3:30 PM game tomorrow, there won’t be a separate preview for that game.
We’ll put up a Public Skate a bit earlier than usual, so feel free to congregate there.
If you observe, Happy Easter. If you don’t, Happy Sunday?
Apr 4, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas (88) and center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrate after Necas scores the game winning goal against the Dallas Stars during the third period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars squared off in a crucial matinee at American Airlines Center in Dallas, and it was Colorado who finally stole the first regulation win of the season series—pushing their quest for NHL and Central Division supremacy even further.
Brent Burns hit his 1,000th consecutive game, and the veteran forward-turned-defenseman logged a solid 18+ minutes on ice to help deliver the victory.
A milestone built on grit, passion and perseverance.
It was a low-scoring, gritty, playoff-style battle, but Martin Necas finally tucked away the game-winner midway through the third, and Nathan MacKinnon inevitably buried his career-high-tying 51st goal into the empty net. That sealed Colorado’s crisp 2-0 triumph over the Stars.
The Game
Most of the afternoon felt like a tight-checking chess match, with both Casey DeSmith and Scott Wedgewood making timely saves to keep it locked at 0-0 through two periods. Neither side was willing to blink.
In fact, this was one of the rare games all season with zero power plays goals for either team—a likely sneak preview of the grind we’ll see once the playoffs arrive.
The breakthrough finally came when Artturi Lehkonen found Martin Necas on a slick back-door play, putting the Avalanche up 1-0.
Necas cashing in on what might be the biggest regular-season goal of the year felt like the perfect cherry on top—right before MacKinnon’s empty-netter put the game to bed for good.
Takeaways
Coming off one of their ugliest performances of the season (probably the worst) against the Vancouver Canucks, it was huge to see the Avs respond with a complete, shut-down victory against their fiercest rival.
We called for a regulation win with a power-play goal on Friday’s Mile High Hockey Lab, but in hindsight, we should’ve just asked for the regulation W. Every other meeting between these two in 2025-26 had gone to OT or a shootout—so credit to Colorado for finally stealing the lone regulation victory of the regular season series.
Dallas rolling with DeSmith gave their fans a ready-made excuse, but when you get blanked, the finger has to point somewhere—and Scott Wedgewood was outstanding again. He now has three shutouts this season, all against divisional foes.
Big respect to Dallas for honoring Brent Burns and his 1,000th straight game the way they did. When you consider he started that insane streak after already playing 600 games, it’s truly remarkable. That’s something worth celebrating no matter which jersey he’s wearing.
Another day, and it's yet another milestone evening for Pittsburgh Penguins' longtime captain Sidney Crosby.
And, with this one, he has managed to climb even further up the NHL's all-time scoring list.
With an assist on Evgeni Malkin's second-period power play goal - his 1,400th NHL point, making him the 23rd player to hit the mark - against the Florida Panthers on Saturday, Crosby surpassed Detroit Red Wings great Steve Yzerman to take sole possession of seventh place on the NHL's all-time scoring list at 1,756. He tied Yzerman with a primary assist on Erik Karlsson's first-period power play goal.
Crosby, 38, has 28 goals and 69 points in 65 games so far this season.
Next up for Crosby is Marcel Dionne in sixth place, and he needs 15 points to tie him at 1,771. In addition, Crosby needs just one more point to clinch his 21st consecutive NHL season at point-per-game or higher to pad his own NHL record of 20. and he needs just two more points by the end of the 2025-26 regular season to clinch his NHL-record 21st consecutive point-per-game season.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Darren Raddysh broke a tie with 5:31 left and Tampa Bay beat the Boston Bruins 3-1 on Saturday night, hours after the Lightning secured a playoff spot.
The Atlantic Division-leading Lightning wrapped up the Eastern Conference postseason position with Detroit's 4-1 loss at the New York Rangers in the afternoon. Boston holds the first wild-card spot in the East.
After assisting on defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous' tying goal at 2:13 of the third, Raddysh put the Lightning ahead with a sharp-angle shot past goalie Jeremy Swayman from the right side on a break.
Nikita Kucherov added his 42nd goal of the season into an empty net, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves to help the Lightning finish a seven-game homestand 5-1-1.
Casey Mittelstadt scored for Boston in the second. Swayman stopped 20 shots as the Bruins lost their second straight on a four-game trip. They lost 2-1 at Florida on Thursday night.
The Florida Panthers' quest for a rare three-peat was almost over before it started.
The two-time defending champions were already without Matthew Tkachuk because of offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia that he played through during the playoffs.
Then, on the first day of fall practice, captain Aleksander Barkov, a three-time Selke Trophy winner as top defensive forward, tore his ACL.
That was a major blow after an offseason in which general manager Bill Zito defied the odds and got Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad re-signed.
Instead of the Panthers pushing for the NHL's first three-peat since the 1980s, they were officially eliminated from playoff contention after a 9-4 defeat against the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 4.
Normally, a team with Barkov's situation would place him on long-term injured reserve and bring in someone, but the newly enacted playoff salary cap makes that tougher to pull off.
The Panthers opened the season with three consecutive wins then lost four in a row as the injuries piled up.
Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov had surgery for an upper-body injury in mid-October with an estimated recovery time of five months.
"We're not allowing any short-term injuries this year," coach Paul Maurice quipped at the time.
Eetu Luostarinen missed eight games with burns after a "barbecuing mishap." Seth Jones missed 2½ months after being hit with a puck at the Winter Classic. Marchand missed 11 games in the lead-up to the Olympics.
Tkachuk was able to return on Jan. 19 and the Panthers got to a season-best eight games above .500 (three points out of a playoff spot) on Jan. 25 before they fell again.
After the Olympics, in which the Panthers sent a league-best nine players, the Panthers began shutting down injured players, including Marchand. And Niko Mikkola, Anton Lundell and Evan Rodrigues suffered long-term injuries recently.
"The most dangerous job in sports right now is to play for the Florida Panthers," Maurice told reporters.
What did the Florida Panthers accomplish?
Now that the Panthers are out of the playoffs, here's a look back at what they accomplished in recent years:
Won the Presidents' Trophy in 2021-22 but lost in the second round.
Traded for Tkachuk in July 2022, recovered from a 3-1 series deficit against the record-setting Boston Bruins in the first round and reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996. They lost in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Won four rounds in the 2025 playoffs despite lacking home-ice advantage and beat Edmonton again for back-to-back titles.
What's next for the Florida Panthers?
The Panthers' position near the bottom of the NHL standings will be advantageous. They moved their 2026 first-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks to acquire Jones, but it's top 10 protected so they should be able to hang onto it. This draft is considered deep.
Florida moved Jeff Petry at the trade deadline but retained Sergei Bobrovsky and other pending unrestricted free agents and will try to re-sign them.
The Panthers had played 12 playoff rounds in the last three years, plus had heavy representation in the 4 Nations Face-Off and Olympics. A season out of the playoffs will help them rest and heal.
Once Barkov returns, the Panthers will automatically be better. If Bobrovsky re-signs and returns to form and Florida is able to avoid this season's spate of injuries, it should be a Stanley Cup threat again.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin had his 14th career hat trick and added an assist to become the 23rd player in NHL history to reach 1,400 career points, and the Pittsburgh Penguins routed the Florida Panthers 9-4 on Saturday to eliminate the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions from playoff contention.
The Panthers began the season hoping to become the first team since the New York Islanders of the early 1980s to win three straight championships. It never came close to happening as injuries and shaky play in net sent them tumbling to the bottom of the standings early in the season, a hole from which they never fully recovered.
While Florida will miss the playoffs for the first time in four years, Pittsburgh is inching toward a return to the postseason after three straight absences.
The Penguins strengthened their hold on second in the Metropolitan Division by blitzing the Panthers during the first half of the second period, pouring in four goals in less than 10 minutes.
Anthony Mantha broke a 2-2 tie with his 31st goal of the season just 1:51 into the second. Malkin then beat Sergei Bobrovsky twice in less than three minutes to create more than enough breathing room.
Erik Karlsson had a goal and three assists for Pittsburgh. Noel Acciari and Elmer Soderblom added a goal and an assist. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby picked up a pair of assists to move past Hall of Famer and childhood idol Steve Yzerman and into seventh place on the NHL's career scoring list (1,756).
Artur Silovs stopped 19 shots for the Penguins and had little work to do after Pittsburgh chased Bobrovsky following Soderblom's third goal in 15 games since being acquired in a trade with Detroit.
Up next
The teams meet again Sunday at PPG Paints Arena in a rare back-to-back at the same venue.
PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 04: Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates in front of Donovan Sebrango #6 of the Florida Panthers at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 4, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Pregame
The Penguins keep the same skaters, flipping Ben Kindel and Rickard Rakell onto different lines. Arturs Silovs in the net.
It’s all Penguins early, the party gets started 20 seconds in with Noel Acciari driving hard to the net and lifting his rebound allll the way up and over the shoulder of Sergei Bobrovsky. Nice little bounce earned by driving to the net.
Bryan Rust takes a hard shot into the boards, he stays down for a minute in pain. With Rust unable to go out for the power play, Egor Chinakhov fills in and earns an assist. So too does Sidney Crosby to tie Steve Yzerman on the all-time points list thanks to a wonderful shot from Erik Karlson. 2-0 Pens just 5:06 into the game.
The Panthers don’t go away and answer back courtesy of a shaky play by Silovs. The goalie can’t handle a routine long shot and puts a rebound into a dangerous place. A.J. Greer moves to it and scores. 2-1.
The luck from the Acciari goals balances out when Seth Jones takes a shot that was going well wide until it hit the glove of Rakell and back on trajectory to go in. Game tied 2-2.
Shots are 9-7 PIT after 20. They’ve played well enough to probably be winning, but goaltending, whaddya gonna do? (Shoulder shrug)
Second period
The answer to the above is score four-straight goals and chase Bobrovsky.
Anthony Mantha starts the ball rolling, it’s another unlucky moment for Bobrovsky when his own defender reaching back to try and prevent Mantha’s pass down to Justin Brazeau. The tip alters the puck enough to hand cuff Bobrovsky, Pens back in front 1:51 into the period.
Pittsburgh goes back to the power play for a second time when Connor Dewar gets hit before the puck gets there, and the power play makes the Panthers pay. Karlsson measures up a perfect shot-pass for Evgeni Malkin to direct to the top of the net. 4-2 on Malkin’s 1400th career point.
Malkin strikes again, again from near the net. Big Gene is crashing to the net and Tommy Novak just throws a knee-high grenade at him, the puck goes in off the body. 5-2.
Bobrovsky’s night comes to an end after the sixth goal, another shot/pass type situation where this time big Elmer Soderblom leans out a little and sends Dewar’s offering to the top shelf.
Connor Clifton throws two big hits, including one in open ice and Florida is not happy. Luke Kunin and Clifton drop the gloves and square up.
Florida goes to the box for a third time, the Penguins strike for their third PPG of the game. The big boys snap it around, eventually Malkin feeds Rakell in the slot and a backhand shot gets the Swede involved in the flurry of goals. 7-2.
Even more bad luck for Florida, Ryan Shea slips into the middle of the ice, he shoots with Brazeau in front and yet again the Panther defender gets a slight piece of the puck before it heads to the back of the net. Stop the fight it’s 8-2.
Florida catches the Pens napping and score on the rush. Noah Gregor zooms by Clifton, Silovs tries for a poke check and, nope, he didn’t get there. As a result of the effort to spring out, the five hole is wide open. 9-3.
The Pens are trying to feed Malkin for a fourth goal and getting greedy can get you in trouble in the NHL, no matter what the score is. Sam Girard plays the 2-on-1 well to take away the pass but Silovs’ isn’t square to the shot and Mackie Samsokevich smokes a shot up high. 9-4 now.
This game reminded me a lot of the Islanders game on Monday. Shaky goaltending by Silovs kept the score closer than it needed to be until the Pens bypassed even counting on their goalie to zoom way out enough to break the will of the opposition. Shots in the second period today started out as 11-0 Pittsburgh, by the team Florida generated anything, they were already down 6-2 and just about cooked.
Silovs couldn’t allow under four goals, even in the blowout win. You gotta give him a pass on the second goal where his own player deflected a shot, but the other goals were less than confidence-building. The Pens weren’t exactly playing hard in the third period, they could have gotten a few more saves out of the goalie. Take the shooter on the 2-on-1, make a stop. Then in the first period, that first Florida goal was infuriating. A team can’t get away with that level of goalie play for very long. The Pens will probably clinch a playoff spot soon, and it’s not like you can really call Sergei Murashov up then, the time for that has probably passed, for better or worse this team is going to sink or swim with Silovs and Stuart Skinner. Neither has been very impressive lately, Silovs today didn’t do anything to inspire anything different.
It was a lethal power play, going 3/3. Karlsson’s fingerprints were all over that with three power play points and absolutely controlling every piece of the puzzle, from setups to shots to even making lunging efforts to hold the puck in the zone. The big guys all have their confidence now, snapping the puck around, working to manipulate shooting lanes into opening up and then converting. Nothing’s prettier on the ice than a high-functioning power play, the Pens got one cookin’ right now.
Ended up being a milestone night for Malkin and Crosby. Malkin crosses the 1,400 point barrier and had one of his better games in a long while, even before getting to the fact he recorded four points. Crosby ties and then passes Yzerman in the same game with a multi-point outing of his own.
Bobrovsky looked like he didn’t want to be in there after the sixth goal, can’t blame him. Karlsson beat Bob clean but Acciari and Mantha’s goals were were sheer bad luck. Add in a couple of shot/passes or tips into the top and it added up to six GA in about half the game, with very little he could do about it.
The Penguins did get a lot of puck luck and good outcomes today, but don’t discount how they got there (“the harder I work the luckier I tend to be” and all). A couple time Florida defenders got a piece of the puck before it ended up in the net. If they didn’t try to make those plays, Brazeau was standing on the doorstep and possibly about to score anyways.
Loved to see after Rust got boarded by Matt Benning the response the next shift can from Soderblom throwing a heavy hit of his own. Then the next shift Benning took, he went into the corner with Mantha and the big guy dropped his shoulder and absolutely laid into Benning in a way that Mantha never does.
The Pens might have dodged some injury bullets today. Rust took a heavy check into the boards and looked stunned for a while before the pain went away. Dewar briefly left the game in the second period after taking the hit that drew a penalty. Ben Kindel missed a shift as well. Brazeau took some damage in the third period with a stick into his extended arm and missed some time himself, though he did come back. All of them did come back, but it just goes to show that even the “easy” ones usually come at a cost.
Florida (winners of their last two) aren’t incapable, despite having so much talent sidelined with injuries. But this is what a good team does against the 14th place team in the conference, at home, in April. Maybe not score 9 goals, but they win these games.
The Panthers also didn’t totally pack their tents in an play out the string, scoring twice in the third period. That gives something to build on with a fresh start tomorrow. The individuals on that team are all playing for something and want to salvage their trip.
The Pens will try to replicate as much of today as they can tomorrow in the same building against the same opponent in the rare rematch situation coming up tomorrow against Florida at 3:00pm.
The back-to-back defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers will not be defending their crown.
Suffering through an incredibly injury-plagued campaign, Florida lost 9-4 to the host Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon, all but officially eliminating the Cats from playoff contention.
A Columbus Blue Jackets win later tonight will make it officially official.
It didn’t take long for the Penguins to get the fun started for their fans.
Just 40 seconds into the game, former Panther Noel Acciarl picked up his own rebound and shoveled a backhand that floated over Sergei Bobrovsky and dropped right behind him in the net.
Less than five minutes later, Pittsburgh took advantage after Mike Benning took a boarding penalty on Bryan Rust that led to Erik Karlsson blasting a one-timer past Sergei Bobrovsky to give the Penguins a quick 2-0 lead.
The Panthers were quick to answer back.
Cole Reinhardt entered the Pittsburgh zone and sent a long wrist shot toward the net that was stopped by Arturs Silovs, but A.J. Greer was right there to slap a backhand into the net to cut the Penguins lead in half at the 7:10 mark.
Panthers defenseman Seth Jones tied the game with 6:29 left in the first period, blasting a slapshot that deflected off Rickard Rakell before beating Silovs inside the far post.
Once the second period arrived, the home team took the game over.
Anthony Mantha got things started 1:51 into the middle, but it was exactly four minutes after that when the Penguins really shifted into gear.
Pittsburgh scored three goals within a span of 4:02, including a pair by Evgeni Malkin and Elmer Soderblom’s sixth tally of the season, to give the Pens a 6-2 lead and chase Bobrovsky from the net.
Bob finished with 13 saves on 19 shots in 29:53 of game time, including stops on six of the nine high-danger shots sent his way by Pittsburgh, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Late in the middle frame, a pair of Penguins goals just 19 seconds apart by Rakell and Ryan Shea send the Panthers into the second intermission trailing six.
Malkin completed his hat truck 3:30 into the third period, stealing the puck from Mike Benning and beating Tarasov with a nice backhand-forehand move.
The goal ballooned the Pens’ lead to 9-2.
A pretty cost-to-cost-type goal by Noah Gregor and an odd-man rush tally by Mackie Samoskevioch brought the Panthers back within four, but that would be as close as they’d get.
For Samoskevich, he has now scored in four straight games, the longest such stretch of his young career.
Photo caption: Apr 4, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Rickard Rakell (67) controls the puck in front of the Florida Panthers net during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. (Mark Alberti-Imagn Images)
The Flyers’ Easter Sunday game just got that much bigger.
Rick Tocchet’s club has a chance to move into playoff position when it hosts the Bruins (3:30 p.m. ET/NBCSP). That’s because the Islanders and Blue Jackets lost in regulation Saturday night.
So with a win or loss after regulation Sunday, the Flyers would take over the final playoff spot (third place) in the Metropolitan Division.
They have 88 points, one behind the third-place Islanders. If the Flyers pick up a point Sunday with a loss in overtime or the shootout, they’ll have the tiebreaker over the Islanders because they’ll have played one fewer game.
A win, though, would be ideal for the Flyers. That would put them in sole possession of third place with five games to go. They’d have 90 points, one ahead of the Islanders, who have four games left.
The Islanders and Blue Jackets are off Sunday. The Flyers are tied with the Blue Jackets and have played one fewer game.
The Flyers had two other games go in their favor Saturday. The Senators and Red Wings also lost in regulation.
The Flyers are in a four-way tie with the Senators, Red Wings and Blue Jackets for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. The Flyers are behind the Senators and Red Wings because of the regulation wins tiebreaker.
A team to not forget is the Capitals. They’re playing well and have 87 points, just one behind the Flyers in both the division and wild-card races.
The Flyers have really turned it on down the stretch. They’ve gone 13-5-1 over their last 19 games. They’re trying to snap a five-year playoff drought.
A lot of eyes have been on the wild-card picture, but the Flyers’ main focus can be third place. They control their destiny now in the division.
