It's hard to believe that of Alex Ovechkin's 72 career playoff goals heading into Monday night, none of them came in overtime.

But anything can happen in the NHL playoffs, including new heroes, huge rallies, a depth player winning a game and goaltenders standing tall.

Monday night in the Stanley Cup playoffs featured a new bunch of storylines from the four games. Here's more on the Capitals versus Canadiens, Jets versus Blues, Stars versus Avalanche and Kings versus Oilers.

Washington Capitals Defeat Montreal Canadiens 3-2 OT (WSH Leads Series 1-0)

The regular season was all about Ovechkin’s chase and eventual capture of the all-time goal record. In Game 1 of the playoffs, it was about Ovechkin again.

The Washington Capitals captain scored two crucial goals against the Montreal Canadiens. He opened the scoring with a goal from his office, but more importantly, he ended the game with the game-winning goal.

This was Ovechkin’s first playoff overtime goal of his 20-year career, and it was in the first overtime period of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. It could not have been better timing after the ESPN and Sportsnet broadcasts highlighted that he never scored an overtime-winner in the playoffs.

"There are a few things Ovechkin hasn't done, not many, but he's never scored an overtime game-winning goal in the playoffs." 🤷‍♂️

Literally 10 seconds later...

Sean McDonough spoke it into existence. #StanleyCuphttps://t.co/LC09wFynT5pic.twitter.com/d45IogUGGE

— NHL (@NHL) April 22, 2025

If it wasn’t for Ovechkin’s imprint on this contest, it would be all about Montreal’s late push, specifically from Nick Suzuki’s line. That line had 16 shots while the rest of the team had 19.

Despite the loss, the young Habs can take some positives from that battle. 

“There was a lot of good stuff. Unfortunately, you don’t win, but we got some really good stuff from this game,” Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis told reporters post-game.

Game 2 is on Wednesday, and Montreal expects to play better.

 "We'll be in better shape coming into Game 2," Suzuki told the media.

The Capitals, meanwhile, will be without Martin Fehervary for the rest of the playoffs. The team announced Tuesday he underwent surgery to repair his meniscus.

NHL Playoff Predictions 2025: Which East Teams Get Past Round 1? Expect Tight BattlesThe NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs are upon us, and we continue to predict how the first round will go.

Winnipeg Jets Defeat St. Louis Blues 2-1 (WPG Leads Series 2-0)

The Winnipeg Jets beat the St. Louis Blues in a tight-checking game. However, it’s Winnipeg’s stars that pull the team through for the victory. 

Winnipeg’s physicality from the back end, as well as the goaltending from both teams, contributed to the low-scoring affair. But for the second game, the Jets’ Hellebuyck outduelled the Blues’ Binnington.

Much like Game 1 of the series, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor led the Jets in Game 2. The duo has nine points in two playoff games. Connor also has back-to-back game-winning goals.

However, the Jets must be wary of the Blues’ power play as the series moves to St. Louis for the next two outings. Through the first two games of the series, the Blues are three for seven on the power play.

They had four opportunities in Game 2 but only converted once as Winnipeg’s penalty-killers prevailed. Since March 10, St. Louis had the second-best power play in the NHL, and the Blues will look to continuously be a threat with the extra man for the rest of the series.

Blues coach Jim Montgomery wants to move forward and look ahead to what’s next. 

“We're gonna go home, we're going to be in front of our frenzied crowd, and we're going to have an opportunity to hold serve at home. We have to get ready for Game 3," he told reporters.

Dallas Stars Defeat Colorado Avalanche 4-3 OT (Series Tied 1-1)

The Dallas Stars provided a great response in Game 2 after a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1. This game was a testament to how close the matchup is between the two clubs in the series.

Colorado’s offense was heavy in the first two periods of this game, but the undermanned Stars – missing Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen – stayed persistent and took over in the later stages of the contest.

From the third period onward, Dallas continuously threatened the Avalanche and eventually took them to overtime, equalizing in the middle of the third period. The game would ultimately need the NHL’s second overtime of the night to decide a winner.

Colin Blackwell was the hero for the Stars after an absolute chess match between the two clubs. He had six goals and 17 points in 63 games for the Stars this season, all while averaging 11:34 of ice time. While he has had five previous goals hold up as game-winners, this is the first time in his NHL career that he scored in overtime. 

The Stars had to grind their way to this victory, although they did control most of the play in the extra frame.

NHL Playoff Predictions 2025: Which West Teams Win Round 1? Expect An UpsetThe first-round matchups are finalized for the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs. That means it’s time for the time-honored tradition of THN.com playoff predictions. 

Los Angeles Kings Defeat Edmonton Oilers 6-5 (LA Leads Series 1-0)

This was easily the most dramatic game of the entire playoffs so far.

"This game is on some sort of substance," The Hockey News' Ryan Durham wrote in a live game thread.

From a 4-0 lead for the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-5 tie and a 6-5 Kings victory, this contest was a real rollercoaster.

It was a dreadful start for the Edmonton Oilers, which had a mountain to climb after two periods and were completely outplayed by Los Angeles. However, Oilers captain Connor McDavid put the team on his back.

Leon Draisaitl planted the seed, scoring the team’s first goal with an assist from McDavid and Evan Bouchard with just under five seconds remaining in the second.

There were six goals in the third period, four by Edmonton. They completed an improbable comeback, evening up the score with goals from Zach Hyman and McDavid in the last two minutes to make it a 5-5 game.

Despite this exciting comeback for Edmonton, they couldn’t force overtime as Phillip Danault gave the Kings the lead again, scoring with 41.1 seconds left.

It was a heartbreaking loss for the Oilers, but a relieving win for L.A. 

“I’m so happy we won that game, because that would have been a s----y game to lose,” defenseman Drew Doughty told Sportsnet’s Gene Principe post-game.

Bouchard drew criticism for his defensive play Tuesday night with Mattias Ekholm missing the first round due to injury. But Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch had other words about Bouchard.

“I saw Evan give us an excellent opportunity to win tonight,” Knoblauch told the media post-game. “He made a lot of nice plays. Was his game perfect? I’m not sure anyone’s game was perfect tonight.”

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The Chicago Blackhawks didn’t qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024-25. For most of the season,  they were one of the worst teams in the league. However, that doesn’t mean that people can’t enjoy a few familiar faces while watching. 

There were four brilliant games on Tuesday night. All of them ended up being one goal games with thrilling finishes. The two early matchups ended with stars like Kyle Connor and Alexander Ovechkin playing the role of “hero”. 

The two later games, however, had a couple of unlikely winners. Two former Chicago Blackhawks scored game-winning goals when their teams needed it the most. 

The Edmonton Oilers, who were down 4-0 at one point to the Los Angeles Kings, tied it up at 5 late in regulation thanks to the brilliance of Connor McDavid. At 19:18 of the third period, however, former Blackhawk Phillip Danault scored his second of the game to win the match for the Kings. 

Danault is a great defensive forward, but he isn’t relied on for much offense. On this night, he came up big when his team seemed broken following an Oilers comeback. 

The finish between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche was even more unlikely. Instead of finding a winner in regulation, this one went to overtime. 

The man with the least amount of ice time on either side, Colin Blackwell, scored in overtime to win the game for the Stars. Of course, like Danault, Blackwell is a former Blackhawk who played the role of hero late on playoff day 3. 

Blackwell doesn't have a defined role on the team in the way that Danault does, but neither of them are the guys that come to mind when you think "Stanley Cup Playoff winning goal". 

Two former Blackhawks finished off a wonderful night of postseason hockey in the NHL. There are plenty more exhilarating moments ahead. Maybe a few more former Blackhawks will make a difference.

A few teams in the playoffs this year resemble what Chicago may look like in the coming years, giving hope to the fanbase. This tournament is a treat for all on a nightly basis. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

For the first time in four years, the Montreal Canadiens played some playoff hockey on Monday night when they took on the Eastern Conference champions, the Washington Capitals. It was also the first playoff game for coach Martin St-Louis as a bench boss and goaltender Samuel Montembeault, one of seven Canadiens making their post-season debut.

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La Presse’s Guillaume Lefrançois reported that on Sunday, the Caps players had a skate around with their kids after practice. By the end of Monday night’s game, they must have felt St-Louis’ kids were tougher to skate with. The Habs were the second youngest team in the league this season and the youngest in the post-season, so a bit of early jitters was understandable, unlike what we’ve seen in the last few weeks, the Canadiens were ready to go when the puck dropped, even though they didn't have the same intensity they had by the end of the game, they weren't "sleepskating".  

Monteambeault Shone Brightly

While a possible Canadiens’ win in this series is likely to come from the attack, goaltender Samuel Montembeault was everywhere in his playoff debut, facing numerous dangerous shots, especially in the opening frame.

His puck tracking was on point, his positioning was great, and he was undoubtedly the Habs’ best player in the first frame. Without him, Washington would have been ahead by much more than a single goal when the first frame ended. Ultimately, he made 29 saves on 32 shots for a .906 save percentage.

The Big Bad Caps

Physical hockey is expected in the playoffs, and the Caps were ready to throw their bodies around. Tom Wilson had no qualms about his feet leaving the ice as he finished his checks, and captain Alexander Ovechkin looked like a bulldozer out there. After 40 minutes, the Great Eight had seven hits, more than anyone on either side.

The game had only just started when Brendan Gallagher was cross-checked in the face after the whistle, a play that went uncalled and wasn’t much different from the play on which Matt Niskanen broke the Canadiens’ warrior’s jaw back in the 2020 playoffs.

I couldn’t help but think of Arber Xhekaj, who was watching the game from the press box and probably thinking he would love to be down there. I’ve expressed concern about St-Louis’ decision not to dress him on Monday, and I stand by what I wrote.

There’s this scene in HBO’s masterpiece The Sopranos where Uncle Junior tells Tony Soprano, “Next time you come in, you come in heavy or not at all.” Tonight’s game felt like a similar warning. The question is, however, will it have been heard? I’m not suggesting St-Louis “turns up packing” at the next game, but he does have a 240-pound heavyweight in the press gallery.

It's worth mentioning, however, that just like in the regular season, Emil Heineman once again played like a madman, leading the Habs with six hits, followed by Josh Anderson and Kaiden Guhle with four. Even Patrik Laine got in on the action, landing three.

Experience Must Show

The moment was big for the Canadiens. As St-Louis said in his pre-game media availability, just because they exceeded expectations by making the playoffs doesn’t mean they’ll settle for a participation ribbon. On Saturday, Josh Anderson explained he doesn’t feel like the Habs are playing with house money; they are in to win it, but if they want to do that, they’ll need their experienced players to be a stabilizing presence.

Mike Matheson turning the puck over twice in the defensive zone on the same shift cannot happen, nor can not passing to a free Ivan Demidov on the power play. While the Habs may not have much playoff experience, they do have plenty of coming back from behind in the third frame experience, and it showed.

During the regular season, the Canadiens won 10 games after coming back from behind in the third frame. On Monday night, down 0-2 in the biggest game of their season, they turned up their intensity a notch after getting a power play halfway through the third, and it paid dividends. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki scored within five minutes to send the game to overtime.

In the end, the Capitals won the game a couple of minutes into overtime after an icing call, which must not have pleased St. Louis. Washington won the ensuing faceoff, and Ovechkin sealed the win after escaping Lane Hutson’s coverage, a tough break for the youngster who had a pair of helpers on the Habs goals.

It’s a shame for Laine, who was unable to tip the puck to prevent the icing as he was checked from behind. The forward had a respectable  game, not only was he more physical than usual, but he also took five shots on net and registered an assist, demonstrating that he had another level in the post-season. 

Patrik Laine gets knocked down from behind by a Caps player but the refs still call an icing.

The faceoff goes back to the Habs D-zone & the Caps score the OT winner.

There is zero consistency & accountability by these NHL refs. pic.twitter.com/avtdNeHqyo

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) April 22, 2025

The Habs will have a day to get over the tough loss before game two on Wednesday night in Washington.

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The day is finally upon us!

Tuesday night at Amalie Arena, the Florida Panthers will begin their Stanley Cup title defense against their cross-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs officially began on Saturday, and every series has played at least one game, except for this one.

That’s fine by the Panthers, though.

Florida was one of the more banged up teams toward the end of the regular season and was happy to have a couple extra days for players to rest and recuperate ahead of the postseason.

Combine that with sitting around and watching the start of the playoffs while only getting to practice against your teammates and you get a very hungry, motivated Panthers squad that’s anxious to hit the ice for Game 1.

"We’ve still got all that excitement and energy, especially because we've spent three days watching other teams play playoff hockey,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “It's really exciting to watch, and you get going even watching those games. This is the payoff for having some regular season success, but for the older, more veteran teams, this is what it's all about."

Much of the attention surrounding Florida lately has been regarding when star forward Matthew Tkachuk would be ready to play.

Tkachuk suffered an apparent groin injury during the 4 Nations Face-Off back in February and has not played since.

He’s been skating for several weeks and has joined the Panthers for their past two practices.

Barring any setbacks after Florida’s morning skate, it looks like Tkachuk could be cleared for Game 1.

Wouldn’t that be something?

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Game 1 in Tampa:

Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand

Evan Rodrigues – Nico Sturm – Jesper Boqvist

Gus Forsling – Seth Jones

Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov

Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt

Scratches: A.J. Greer, Jonah Gadjovich, Tomas Nosek, Jaycob Megna

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The Kings ran out to a four-goal lead then had to hold off a frantic Edmonton comeback to beat the Oilers 6-5 in a wild opener of a best-of-seven first-round playoff series at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night.

Phillip Danault scored the winner, his second goal of the game, with 41 seconds to play after the Kings led 4-0 late in the second period.

Andrei Kuzmenko, Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings. The goals from Kuzmenko in the first period and from Fiala in the third came on power plays. The Oilers did not allow a power-play goal in 12 chances in last year’s playoff win over the Kings.

Read more:Kings have a fight coach. He's one of many specialists helping their playoff drive

Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Janmark, Corey Perry, Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid scored for Edmonton, with Hyman and McDavid scoring 36 seconds apart late in the third period after the Oilers pulled their goalie. McDavid’s goal, which tied it 5-5, came with 88 seconds to play.

But Danault erased that less than a minute later on a weak shot that knuckled past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner.

“I got all of it,” Danault joked afterward.

The Kings were able to laugh because after giving away a big lead, they managed to salvage the win.

“It's obviously not ideal, how it happened,” Byfield said. “But it's just a sign of good teams. We let our guard down for a little bit and it's a great team over there. They’ve got world-class players. They’re never going to stop.”

The Kings, who are trying to end a three-year playoff losing streak to Edmonton, won the opening game in two of those meetings but went on to lose each series. All of those series started in Edmonton; this time the Kings drew first blood at home, where they won a franchise-record 31 times during the regular season.

Goals from Kuzmenko and Byfield in the first period and Kempe and Danault in the second gave the Kings a 4-0 lead late in the second period, setting up what looked to be a rout.

Especially since the Oilers, who took the Florida Panthers to a seventh game before falling in last year’s Stanley Cup final, limped into the playoffs wounded but mounted a comeback just the same. Draisaitl, who led the NHL with 52 goals despite missing the final seven games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, got Edmonton on the board with less than six seconds to play in the second period. Janmark then scored 2:19 into the third to half the Kings’ lead.

Fiala appeared to restore order, scoring just seconds into a five-on-three power play, but goals from Perry, Hyman and McDavid tied the game.

But then Danault scored to save the Kings, even if Edmonton left the building with some momentum.

“We’ve got to do a better job of closing that game out,” Byfield said. “No lead safe in playoffs. They're coming all the time. We’ll learn from that.”

“Obviously, we should win it, you know, close it out,” Fiala added. “But it's playoff hockey. And they don't give up either. So I'm very proud of our group, that we responded again and we didn't back down.

“It's 1-0 right now and we enjoy it, but move on. That's a heck of a way to win it.”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Another game hanging in the balance for the St. Louis Blues, another one that got away.

And with a 2-1 loss against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round, the Blues now head home in an 0-2 hole in the best-of-7 series after falling on Monday at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.

There were many similarities to what transpired in Game 1, a 5-3 Jets win, when the teams came out flying in the first period, and the Blues had a similar start with the temperature up. But for the second game in a row, they were outscored in the third period and that's been the difference in this series, and again, it was Kyle Connor scoring the game-winner, just like he did with 1:36 remaining in regulation on Saturday, he did so this time just 1:43 into the third to break a 1-all tie.

Jimmy Snuggerud scored his first NHL goal and Jordan Binnington was solid with 210 saves in the game.

The series now shifts to St. Louis for Game 3 on Thursday.

Let's roll into Monday's Three Takeaways:

* Jets best players outplaying Blues best players, especially in third period -- You want to know where the series has been the difference? The third period.

The Jets have now outscored the Blues 4-0 in two games, and it's Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor doing the damage, and they did it again.

The game-winner was set up on a puck from blue line to blue line, back in around the net where Cam Fowler wasn't able to win over a puck from Scheifele, who in turn gets it to Cole Perfetti, who finds an open Connor from behind the net in the slot past Pavel Buchnevich and he beats Binnington five-hole after Colton Parayko knocked the stick out of his goalie's hand as the shot was being taken when he spun around.

The Blues needed Fowler to kill that play behind the net or at least disrupt it better, and the middle of the ice shouldn't have been that open.

Winnipeg goal!

Scored by Kyle Connor with 18:17 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Cole Perfetti and Mark Scheifele.

Winnipeg: 2
St. Louis: 1#STLvsWPG#GoJetsGo#stlbluespic.twitter.com/9i9KwmCscG

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 22, 2025

"Winnipeg has made one more play than us," said Blues coach Jim Montgomery, who inserted Tyler Tucker into the lineup and went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen Monday. "Both games. Shots are dead even, so they're just making one more play, and their best players are making them.

"I thought we had good puck pressure on the play up top, and I think that play should be killed behind the net by us. And then we got to be able to cover. I mean, we want to force the puck up high versus allowing 81 to get a shot from the hashmarks."

I've always said a plus-minus isn't a tell-all thing for me, but in a tight series like this, it spells a lot. On Monday, it was Scheifele plus-2, Connor plus-2; Robert Thomas minus-2, Parayko minus-2.

On Saturday, Fowler was minus-3, Brayden Schenn was minus-2, Thomas was minus-2, Jordan Kyrou, who got rocked by a Logan Stanley hit in the neutral zone in the first period, was a minus-2, Parayko, Jake Neighbours and Buchnevich each was a minus-2 while Scheifele, Connor and linemate Alex Iafallo each was a plus-2.

Winnipeg's best players are making more plays that has the Jets up and if the Blues are to change course, that has to change.

"They just play well together.," Parayko said. "They’re dangerous from all areas, they can score from all over the offensive zone. They’ve played together all year and know where each other are. They’re just dangerous players whenever they get the puck."

In two games in the third period, the Blues have generated a mere seven shots on goal in 40 minutes. Not nearly good enough.

"Yeah, (we need to) get inside a little bit more, I would say," Schenn said. "[Connor] Hellebuyck made some saves tonight. If we just do a little bit better job of getting traffic, and pucks and people to the net for some second opportunities."

* Binnington gave Blues a chance -- This one falls into the don't blame the goalie (again).

Binnington was beaten twice in this game, in an inadvertent way by his own teammates; first, when Scheifele scored his second lucky goal of the series after driving the net after easily driving wide around Nick Leddy, having his shot stopped, but then knocked in by Snuggerud's skate in front trying to help.

Winnipeg goal!

Scored by Mark Scheifele with 03:28 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Dylan DeMelo.

Winnipeg: 1
St. Louis: 0#STLvsWPG#GoJetsGo#stlbluespic.twitter.com/MSygRv2QRa

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 22, 2025

"I feel like (I am) just trying to backcheck him, play the body on him, and you know, pucks happen to hit skates and stuff," Snuggerud said, "and it just went in. So, it's an unfortunate bounce, but it happens."

And of course, he didn't have a chance when Parayko knocked his stick out of his hand, but the best save of the game came off a backdoor play to Mason Appleton late in the first period of a 1-1 game that looked like a sure goal.

HOW'D YOU DO THAT BINNER???!!! #stlbluespic.twitter.com/mtKXRcHNPa

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 22, 2025

Even though Binnington only saw 22 shots in the game, Binnington made some key stops when the Blues needed them, most when the game was tied 1-1 and gave his team a chance, which is what you want from your goalie.

* Snuggerud needs to keep shooter's mentality -- Snuggerud had to feel worse than anyone on the ice when the Scheifele goal went in off him.

But he atoned himself with a snipe power play goal just beating the horn at 19:58 of the first period to tie the game.

Power play goal for St. Louis!

Scored by Jimmy Snuggerud with 00:02 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Pavel Buchnevich and Cam Fowler.

Winnipeg: 1
St. Louis: 1#STLvsWPG#GoJetsGo#stlbluespic.twitter.com/mO8tY4nwWw

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 22, 2025

"It was a great play by 'Buchy,'" Snuggerud said. "I tried to pick a corner and fortunately enough it went in, but at the end of the day we lost and it's no fun losing.

"I mean I kind of realized the clock and tried to get it off as quick as possible."

Snuggerud, who was elevated to the Thomas line, played 20:01 and had seven shot attempts in the game with two on goal. He'll get better at putting more pucks at the net but he had a shooter's mindset in this game, which bodes well moving forward; he also blocked two shots in the game.

The 20:01 is his NHL career high in ice time in his ninth NHL game.

"Yeah, he’s great.," Schenn said of Snuggerud. "Great shot, playing well, tough environment obviously. He’s coming out of college hockey and he’s definitely not out of place. He’s playing really well and we’re happy he’s a Blue."

* Bonus takeaway: power play got stale -- The good news is when Snuggerud scored, it made the Blues a robust 3-for-4 with the man advantage. That's good. No, that's exceptional.

The bad news is they had three more after that, including two in the second half of the second period with the chance to take the lead and failed to convert and another in the third with a chance to tie and also did not convert.

The biggest issue was they got away from having a shooter's mindset. For whatever reason, they tried making the extra passes and when they did that, the Jets closed quickly and closed the zone out.

"Yeah probably not as much shot volume as we needed to get second and third chances, or just to tire them out.," Schenn said. "That’s something that we’re going to have to look at it. It’s a series of adjustment and power play has to do a better job to come up big for us in key moments."

Also, they have to do a better job of winning more draws off the offensive zone face-off because when Winnipeg was winning them and clearing the zone, the Blues had all sorts of issues gaining entry into the O-zone with the Jets lining up across the blue line.

"I don't think we were shot focused enough," Montgomery said. "I do think we had some really good looks and we didn't execute either the pass or, more importantly, the shots. And I thought, Hellebuyck made a couple of big-time saves."

* Hear the full comments from Montgomery and players postgame:

“We're gonna go home, we're going to be in front of our frenzied crowd, and we're going to have an opportunity to hold serve at home. We have to get ready for Game 3."

Hear from Jim Montgomery after Game 2 in Winnipeg. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/SjOItvyAvd

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 22, 2025

“Just keep going at it, just come back again and come back harder.”

Hear from Colton Parayko, Jimmy Snuggerud and Brayden Schenn following Game 2 vs. Winnipeg. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/DU8gzGQx39

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 22, 2025

It's that time of year again when NHL coaches lose their positions due to falling short of expectations.

And the latest casualty has ties to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Former Penguins' coach Dan Bylsma was relieved of his duties by the Seattle Kraken after just one year at the helm, it was announced today by Kraken general manager Ron Francis. 

Kraken Relieve Dan Bylsma Of Head Coaching Tasks; Will Begin A Full SearchThe Seattle Kraken have relieved Dan Bylsma from his head coaching job and will begin a full search of possible candidates, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. 

Bylsma's Kraken ended with a 35-41-6 record this season, which led to a bottom-five finish in the NHL. He had previously coached the Coachella Valley Firebirds - Seattle's AHL affiliate - to consecutive Calder Cup final appearances prior to replacing Dave Hakstol as the NHL club's head coach prior to the 2024-25 season.

In 2008-09, Bylsma was the head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins - Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate - and his success in that role led him to replace Michel Therrien as interim head coach of the NHL club on Feb. 15, 2009. After the Penguins' success during the final stretch of the season, he was officially named the team's new head coach before leading the Penguins to a Stanley Cup championship that season.

Bylsma coached the Penguins until he was relieved of his duties after the 2013-14 season. He is the third coach to be let go since the conclusion of the regular season, as the New York Rangers and Anaheim Ducks also fired Peter Laviolette and Greg Cronin, respectively. 

Even In Passing, Shero Leaves Legacy On Penguins OrganizationIt's hard to talk about the Sidney Crosby-era Pittsburgh Penguins without talking about former general manager Ray Shero.

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Welcome to The Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live, streaming nightly during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.

After the big game of the night, our experts go live to react to the match that was, break down the key moments and storylines, provide updates on the rest of the night's NHL slate and read your opinions.

On tonight's show, Andrew McInnis and Michael Augello react to a tight Game 1 between the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens and take a look around the NHL playoff picture.

Playoff Frenzy Live - April 21 2025 | The Hockey NewsWelcome to Playoff Frenzy Live by The Hockey News presented by STIX.com, where we give our live reactions and break down the latest news to all the biggest g...

Will this series play out like the last time the two teams faced off in the playoffs in 2010? Just how good has Nick Suzuki been for the Canadiens since the 4 Nations Face-Off? And Alex Ovechkin scores again in big moments.

Check out the show right now and share your opinions in the live chat and in our comment section.   

The Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets have pulled out to a 2-0 series lead over the No. 8 seed St. Louis Blues.

Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor both scored for the second-straight game, while Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 21 shots as the Jets took Game 2 by a 2-1 final over the St. Louis Blues.

After pulling out to 1-0 series leads against Vegas and Colorado in the first round of each of the past two seasons, the Jets managed to earn a win in the all-important second game for the first time in three seasons.

The Jets and Blues came out of ready to fight in the first period. The two teams exchanged hits and goals before the frame came to a close. 

Logan Stanley delivered a monstrous, open-ice check on Jordan Kyrou midway through the frame, before Brayden Schenn popped Adam Lowry in the open ice.

Both Hellebuyck and Binnington made point-blank stops, but not before each netminder allowed a goal against. 

Winnipeg got one from Scheifele with 3:28 to play. He picked up the puck from Dylan DeMelo and drove wide to the net. The puck banked off the skate of Jimmy Snuggerud, who crashed into Binnington, helping direct the puck past the goaltender and into the net for the 1-0 lead. 

But before the period could close, the Blues' red-hot power play struck again. And it was Snuggerud who got it back for St. Louis. He picked up a centring pass from Pavel Buchnevich as time ticked down and ripped home his first career goal with just one second remaining. 

The Blues held a minor 10-8 shot lead after 20 minutes. 

The middle stanza saw both teams exchange Grade A chances, but once again the goaltenders stood tall. St. Louis was handed two power play opportunities, but the Jets' penalty kill came out on top both times. 

After taking a period off, the Jets came out firing in the third. It took all of 1:43 to score, as Connor hammered his second of the series past Binnington from the high slot.

Scheifele dished the puck to Cole Perfetti behind the Blues' net. He looked out front and found Connor - a 40-goal scorer - standing all alone at the top of the crease. The puck was on and off his stick in a matter of milliseconds, before it found its way to the back of the net for the early-period go-ahead marker.

With time ticking down, St. Louis called a late-game timeout and pulled Binnington for the extra attacker. The visitors couldn't even gain offensive zone control. The Jets were that good defensively, as the shut down St. Louis' attack for the final two minutes. 

Hellebuyck finished the night with 21 saves on 22 Blues shots, while Binnington turned aside 20 of the 22 pucks sent his way. 

The series will now shift to Missouri for two-straight games, with Game 3 going on Thursday and Game 4 set to be played on Sunday. The teams will have two days' rest between each of the next two games, which should help with travel and recovery following two very physical tests.

With the 2024-25 NHL playoffs underway and the San Jose Sharks preparing for their summer, there are a few former Sharks you may want to cheer for.

Here is a list of players you may want to keep a close eye on.

• Brent Burns: Carolina Hurricanes
• Brenden Dillion: New Jersey Devils
• Timo Meier: New Jersey Devils
• Joe Pavelski: Dallas Stars
• Cody Ceci: Dallas Stars
• Mikael Grandlund: Dallas Stars
• Fabian Zetterlund: Ottawa Senators
• Mackenzie Blackwood: Colorado Avalanche
• Nico Sturm: Florida Panthers
• Vitek Vanecek: Florida Panthers
• Jonah Godjovich: Florida Panthers
• Jake Middleton: Minnesota Wild
• Gustav Nyquist: Minnesota Wild
• Dylan DeMelo: Winnipeg Jets
• Adin Hill: Vegas Golden Knights
• Tomas Hertl: Vegas Golden Knights
• Steven Lorentz: Toronto Maple Leafs
• Ty Emberson: Edmonton Oilers
• Jake Walman: Edmonton Oilers
• Evander Kane: Edmonton Oilers
• Kyle Burroughs: Los Angeles Kings

Sharks' Ryan Warsofsky Named Team USA Head Coach At 2025 WorldsSan Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky has been named the head coach for Team USA at the 2025 IIHF World Championship.

With the 2024-25 NHL playoffs underway and the San Jose Sharks preparing for their summer, there are a few former Sharks you may want to cheer for.

There are 21 former players in the playoffs who have played at least one game for San Jose. On a technicality, Charlie Coyle was drafted by the Sharks in the 2010 NHL Draft. Also worth noting is Vladislav Namestnikov, who was briefly part of the organization before the 2023 Trade Deadline, but like Coyle, never played a game.

Which team will you be cheering for?

Sharks Sign College FA Noah Beck To ELCThe San Jose Sharks are signing one of the top college free agents, Noah Beck, out of Arizona State University. Sharks Sign 2022 2nd-Round Pick To ELCThe San Jose Sharks have announced the signing of 2022 second-round pick Cameron Lund.

The NHL's coaching carousel continued spinning like crazy Monday, with the Seattle Kraken firing bench boss Dan Bylsma after only one year on the job. The Kraken/Bylsma news followed the news this past weekend that the New York Rangers dismissed Peter Laviolette, and that the Anaheim Ducks are moving on from Greg Cronin after only two years.

Bylsma probably should've been given more time to implement his vision for the Kraken, but the coaching business is not a fair one. That said, from a Buffalo Sabres perspective, the slew of coaching changes only make it clearer -- Lindy Ruff should've been fired the day the regular-season came to an end. And every day that Ruff remains employed as Sabres coach is more reason to be cynical about Buffalo management's chances to turn the ship around.

It doesn't matter that Ruff's latest tenure running the Sabres' bench only began on April 22, 2024. Clearly, if Bylsma can be terminated after leading the Kraken to a 35-41-6 record, Ruff can be let go in the wake of a 36-39-7 mark. And here's the bigger problem: unless Buffalo fires Ruff very soon, they're not going to have their pick of the coaching crop. Instead, if they choose to wait until the 2025-26 regular season begins to fire Ruff, they'll be probably going the interim coaching route and delaying someone from coming in and implementing their blueprint over the long haul.

It isn't that Ruff is now 65 years old that is cause for the Sabres to part ways with him. Older hockey lifers are still working for NHL teams around the league. The problem with Ruff is the bottom line for any coach -- wins and losses -- and there were not enough victories and too many defeats for Ruff this season. The NHL is a zero-sum business, and Ruff hasn't delivered a decent amount of wins this past season. It's that clear and straightforward of a predicament. It's been nearly a decade-and-a-half since there last were playoff games in Buffalo, and that's why nobody's job should be safe, Ruff's job included.

Now, Sabres ownership may be waiting until the future of GM Kevyn Adams becomes clearer before they choose to fire Ruff. But there is no salary cap on coaching and management in hockey's top league, and this is where Buffalo's owners have to go the extra mile to atone for missing the playoffs for the past 14 seasons. If it means paying Ruff to sit at home and wait out the remainder of his current contract, so be it. Because the alternative -- missing out on the next great bench boss, who can lead this Sabres team to finally get back into the playoffs -- is indefensible.

Ruff's legacy is not going to change if and when Buffalo fires him. He's got 1,856 regular-season games under his belt, and this past year, he won his 900th-career-game, making him only the fifth coach in NHL history to reach that plateau. However, all coaches eventually get to the end of the line -- and if Ruff isn't there right now, he can certainly see the end of the line from here.

Ruff Achieves Career Mark In Sabres Season Finale The Buffalo Sabres struggles at the end of the season served to provide a bit of drama to what looked to be the inevitability of head coach Lindy Ruff reaching a notable career achievement, but after four attempts to reach career win #900, the Sabres 5-4 season finale victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday put Ruff in exclusive company.    

There's a reason NHL teams have an increasingly-quick trigger finger when it comes to letting their coaches go. You can't fire 23 players, and you can't fire ownership, so coaches bear the brunts of bad years. And by virtually every metric, the Sabres had another bad year. So keeping Ruff around isn't a choice that's likely to lead them out of this mess. They should be going with a new voice in the dressing room, and that means parting ways with Ruff A.S.A.P..

Because the longer they wait, the more they delay the inevitable. And the only people who will wind up suffering are Buffalo's players and fans.

Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas didn’t mince words when he addressed the media on Monday.

As part of Dubas’ post-season press conference, he talked about defenseman Erik Karlsson’s future with the Penguins and his view of a rebuild in Pittsburgh after a third straight season of missing the playoffs. He was direct throughout the questions and answers, including when he shared his expectations for Karlsson.

"Erik is and will forever be a polarizing figure,” Dubas said. “My view would be we expect him to be one of the people who pulls us from where we're at into contention.”

After the Penguins' season ended, the Swedish defenseman was vague about his future with the Penguins and said he “did not enjoy the last 15 games of the season.” 

He further explained that he does not look forward to missing many more playoff campaigns as he turns 35 in less than seven weeks. Karlsson made it clear he wants to play important games and make the playoffs.

“His actions have to match his ambitions,” Dubas said on Monday. He said Karlsson must be more reliable in terms of consistency. 

"He had moments of great play with too many inconsistencies,” Dubas said. “We have to push him to get here.”

However, Dubas believes in the defenseman, saying he has the tools to help this team get back to the playoff hunt.

“He showed throughout the year that he has another level to him,” the GM said.

He recalled Karlsson’s great performances for Team Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off and said he could help any team contend and win. Karlsson finished the tournament with a goal and three points in as many contests. Karlsson said the 4 Nations was as close to playoff hockey as he’s had in a while.

'We Have To Stick To A Very Concise Plan And Then Execute Our Butts Off': Dubas Clarifies Penguins' Summer PlansTo close out the 2024-25 season, Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas spoke with the Pittsburgh media on Monday.

Dubas also talked about where the Penguins stand in their “rebuild” phase. He provided a perspective of two different ways to rebuild in the NHL.

One way is to completely tear down a roster and build it back up through the draft. A little bit of luck in the draft lottery helps as well. But Dubas doesn’t plan to go down that route.

"You can hope in one hand and s--- in the other and see which one fills up first," he said.

He compared his team to the Washington Capitals, which turned around over last off-season to become one of the best in the NHL. The Pittsburgh GM highlighted what has worked for the Caps and the mix of young and old players.

“They’ve got obviously Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, John Carlson… and others that have been there. We have that here with our own high-end guys,” Dubas said. “The difference that I see between the teams is in that middle range. We don’t have Martin Fehervary and Connor McMichael, yet. We’re trying to rapidly get to that point.”

Dubas name-dropped a handful of players with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who could make a push in training camp next season to help fill in these middle-range roles.

He highlighted Jack St. Ivany, Owen Pickering, and Harrison Brunicke as blueliners who could emerge as potential NHL players next season.

As for the forwards, he said most of those youngsters have already made appearances this season due to injuries. Those players include Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen.

Tristan Broz could make his NHL debut next season for the Penguins. The team would’ve liked for him to play for Pittsburgh earlier, but Dubas said they didn’t want his first taste of the NHL to be in meaningless games or “playing a team that’s dressing 14 forwards and four D.” Broz finished his AHL campaign with 19 goals and 37 points in 59 games. 

Dubas’ Penguins have two first-round picks in the 2025 NHL draft, a second-rounder, three third-rounders and five more picks in deeper rounds. They also have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Karlsson and Kris Letang as some veterans signed through next season.

The Penguins had a 16-year post-season streak from 2007 to 2022. Before that, they missed the playoffs for four straight years but drafted Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury during that time. During this current three-year drought, their highest draft pick was Brayden Yager at 14th overall, and they traded him to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for McGroarty.

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Fans across the NHL were well aware of the nightly struggles of the trio of Pittsburgh Penguins goalies, Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic, and Joel Blomqvist. 

For the first time in 20 years, all three netminders finished the campaign with sub- .900 SV% totals, with Nedeljkovic leading the pack at .894, followed by Jarry (.892) and Blomqvist (.885). 

Collectively, the trio gave the Penguins a total .891 SV%, the lowest total since captain Sidney Crosby's rookie season, 2005-06, when Marc-Andre Fleury (.898), Sebastian Caron (.881), Jocelyn Thibault (.876), and Dany Sabourin (.714) combined for a .888 SV%. 

The 2024-25 season marked the fourth consecutive campaign that the Pittsburgh goalies witnessed a drop in SV% totals. In 2022, the last year the Penguins qualified for the playoffs, their goalies produced a .919 save percentage, which dropped to .907 in 2023 and further to .903 last year. 

Moreover, in the three seasons since their last pursuit of the Stanley Cup, the netminders have averaged a .903 SV%, which is ten points lower than their average during their 16-year playoff streak, during which they had averaged .913 annually. 

Interestingly, the deeper we dig into the numbers, there's another demographic to look at, which is the 13-season tenure of Fleury, who patrolled the crease from 2003-04 to 2016-17 

In Fleury's rookie season, he played 21 games and registered a .896 SV%, while the team combined for a .893 SV%, which was still two percentage points better than the 2024-25 squad. 

Anyways, things got worse in Fleury's second season, Crosby's first, when the team set the century's lowest SV% totals with a .888 season, the only time in 25 years the team had a sub-.890 total. 

Penguins' Crosby Continues To Pace NHL In Top 10 Scoring Finishes During Salary Cap EraPittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby just finished his ninth 90-point campaign in the NHL, finishing as the league's 10th highest scorer, the 13th time he's accomplished that feat in 20 seasons. 

However, the Penguins became competitive immediately after, as evidenced by their 16-year playoff run, which resulted in three Stanley Cup titles in four Final appearances. 

Fleury was a significant part of that run, skating in the first 11 seasons. During his time with the Penguins, the team averaged a .910 SV% from 2004 to 2017. Meanwhile, in the eight seasons since his departure, the team's annual save percentage has dropped to .907%.

Of course, there's an argument that the difference is only 0.0023 points, but those few extra saves are the difference between a win and a loss, which equals a playoff spot or a lottery draft pick.

Ultimately, general manager Kyle Dubas has some decisions to make in the upcoming offseason, and one of them is to assemble a goalie tandem that can recapture the success the Penguins had at stopping more than 90% of the shots they face, something they enjoyed annually for over 15 years. 

Inside The Numbers: Penguins' Record In Season FinalesThe Pittsburgh Penguins just finished their 57th season with a 34-36-12 record, missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive campaign.

The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dan Bylsma on Monday.

Bylsma leaves the Kraken after one season as their bench boss. The team went 35-41-6 for a .463 points percentage, the lowest since the Kraken's inaugural year in 2021-22.

“We thank Dan for his commitment and the energy he brought to our organization over the past four years at the NHL and AHL levels,” Kraken GM Ron Francis said in a statement. “After a thorough review of the season and our expectations for next year and beyond, we’ve made the difficult decision to move in a different direction behind the bench.”

The team didn't name a replacement. The Hockey News' Caroline Anne cited an ESPN report that assistant GM Jason Botterill could be promoted to GM while Francis stays on board, while Jessica Campbell, the NHL's first woman as a permanent assistant coach, is expected to remain with the team.

Bylsma replaced Dave Hakstol last season, after Hakstol had coached the team for its first three seasons. The team made it to the second round in 2022-23 but then fell out of a playoff position the following season. Bylsma got the job after guiding the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds to the 2023 and 2024 Calder Cup finals, losing both times to the Hershey Bears.

Bylsma has also won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 and the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's coach of the year in 2010-11. In parts of nine seasons coached for the Penguins, Buffalo Sabres and Kraken, the 54-year-old has a career NHL coaching record of 355-231-61 in 647 games and 43-35 in the playoffs.

The NHL has now seen three teams make post-season coaching changes, with the Anaheim Ducksparting with Greg Cronin and New York Rangersfiring Peter Laviolette on April 19. The Philadelphia Flyers also fired John Tortorella on March 27 before the season ended, with Brad Shaw becoming the interim coach.

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