After losing a handful of forwards at the NHL trade deadline, the Philadelphia Flyers organization suffered another loss at the position through injury.
On Saturday night, Lehigh Valley Phantoms communications director Bob Rotruck shared that Flyers forward prospect Devin Kaplan had undergone surgery to address an upper-body injury, sidelining him for seven to 10 weeks.
Kaplan, 22, had produced five goals, eight assists, and 13 points in 49 games for the Phantoms in his first year playing pro this season.
The former third-round pick also made his NHL debut for the Flyers last season, playing 12:12 in a 5-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 82.
Kaplan hasn't played for the Phantoms since a 5-4 shootout loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Feb. 28; he scored in the game and recorded 12 penalty minutes for roughing and abuse of officials penalties.
The injury is bad news for the Phantoms, who just lost Alex Bump to an NHL call-up, have been without Denver Barkey for quite some time now, and saw Alexis Gendron get traded to Boston at the NHL trade deadline.
Aside from Karsen Dorwart, and perhaps Phil Tomasino, the Phantoms are now completely devoid of young forward talent coming up through the NHL pipeline.
They'll get some reinforcements from the Flyers at the end of their season when Bump and Denver Barkey return, but until then, surviving is looking like an increasingly difficult task for Lehigh Valley.
The Phantoms are currently 24-25-6 on the season, sitting sixth in the Atlantic Division with 54 points. A meager three-point buffer separates them from the Springfield Thunderbirds and missing the postseason, so they'll have to hold onto their playoff spot without Kaplan.
The Buffalo Sabres made a notable move ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline when they acquired defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets. The Sabres will be hoping that the pair can help bolster their blueline ahead of the playoffs.
One of the main pieces that the Sabres sent the other way to land Stanley and Schenn was former first-round pick Isak Rosen. Seeing Rosen get dealt was not surprising, as he had been the subject of trade rumors and had trouble cementing himself as a full-time NHL player in Buffalo.
Yet, with this trade to the Jets, Rosen has now been given a fresh start and should get more opportunities at the NHL level. The Jets have already called him up to their NHL roster, and he should get a decent amount of playing time when noting that the Jets' playoff hopes are incredibly low at this stage of the season.
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff also confirmed that Rosen will stay on the club's NHL roster for the remainder of the season. Thus, he has a big chance to show Winnipeg what he can do.
Sometimes a player benefits from a change of scenery, and that could very well end up being the case for Rosen. It is going to be interesting to see if he can take that next step with the Jets. There is no question that the skilled forward has good upside.
DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 02: Nazem Kadri #91 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates a goal scored by Artturi Lehkonen #62 on Mike Smith #41 of the Edmonton Oilers during the second period in Game Two of the Western Conference Final of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena on June 02, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Avalanche, boasting the most formidable lineup in the NHL this season, just got a little nastier coming out of the NHL trade deadline.
Or, perhaps more fittingly, Naz-tier.
Nazem Kadri begins his second stint as a member of the Avs today, who face the newly reconfigured Minnesota Wild in a high stakes matchup at Ball Arena.
Colorado Avalanche (42-10-9)
The Opponent: Minnesota Wild (37-16-10)
Time: 12:00 P.M. MST/2:00 P.M. EST
Watch: HBO MAX/TNT/truTV (U.S. National Broadcast), TVAS/TVAS+ (Canadian National Broadcast), SN+, NHL Centre Ice (Outside Avalanche and Wild Broadcast Region – Canada)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche return home on the heels of their most challenging stretch of hockey in the wake of the Olympic break. They defeated the Dallas Stars by a 5-4 shootout decision after coming back from separate 3-1 and 4-2 deficits on Friday evening at American Airlines Center. After Stars captain Jamie Benn botched an empty net play that would have secured a key regulation victory for Dallas, Valeri Nichushkin tied the game with 13.2 seconds remaining in the third period. Scott Wedgewood, who replaced Mackenzie Blackwood after he surrendered four goals on eleven shots, was sensational in relief, stopping everything that came his way in regulation, and made brilliant saves on Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen in overtime and both Jason Robertson and Matt Duchene in the shootout. Martin Nečas scored what proved to be the shootout winner on Jake Oettinger, and Nichushkin added another shootout goal to ice the comeback, salvaging two critical points in the standings from falling into Dallas’ hands. The victory completed a sweep of the Avs’ three game road trip, and was their fifth win in six games, while snapping Dallas’ franchise record ten game winning streak.
Coach Jared Bednar said this of Nichushkin’s performance on Friday: “I feel like he’s been playing a lot better right before the break, coming out of the break, he’s starting to using his legs like we’re used to seeing. He had been fighting the puck for a little bit, had a little bit of an injury that was bothering him; he was playing through that, and he’s been snakebit […] hopefully this sparks him here, and he starts feeling it a little bit, because he deserves to put a few more back in the net.”
In their win over Dallas, the Avalanche further solidified their position as the undisputed leader across the Central Division, Western Conference, and League standings. Coming into today’s game against Minnesota, they have a six point lead over Dallas with a game in hand, and a nine point lead over Minnesota with two games in hand. While the Avs trail the season series as a result of their 5-2 defeat on home ice by Minnesota on February 26, this version of the Avalanche roster will look markedly different from the one that Minnesota faced previously with the return of Nazem Kadri—a reunion that many Avs fans felt was nearly impossible—after being re-acquired from the Calgary Flames on Friday afternoon.
Despite having just a twelve goals to this point in this year, his lowest since the COVID-shortened 2020-2021 season, Kadri’s physicality, face-off prowess, and penchant for drawing penalties will be huge as the Avs close in on that coveted top seed for the playoffs. He should have no problem getting re-acquainted with Bednar’s system, and his chemistry within the locker room speaks for itself. Kadri will undoubtedly receive a hero’s welcome from Avs fans for his first game in a Colorado sweater in over three years.
Today marks the final game of the four game series with Minnesota, but a win by the Avalanche this afternoon could all but put the top spot in the Central Division out of Minnesota’s reach.
(Let’s try not to launch any pucks from the defensive zone on the penalty kill today.)
Nathan MacKinnon still leads the NHL with a League-best 42 goals and has closed the points gap with Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (MacKinnon has 103 points; McDavid leads the League with 106). Nečas, who tied his career high in goals (28) this past Friday in Dallas, is two goals away from a tie for second place in goal scoring with Brock Nelson (30). Cale Makar is one goal away from his fourth season of reaching the 20 goal marker.
Projected Lineup
Forwards: Gabe Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas Ross Colton – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin Parker Kelly – Nazem Kadri – Nicolas Roy Joel Kiviranta – Jack Drury – Gavin Brindley
Defense: Devon Toews – Cale Makar Josh Manson – Brent Burns Brett Kulak – Sam Malinski
Between the Pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood Scott Wedgewood
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota came out of the Olympic break with a huge opportunity to gain ground in the hotly contested Central Division with their victory over Colorado. However, two consecutive losses to division opponents (ironically, a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Utah Mammoth on February 27—the night after they defeated Colorado by the exact same score—and a 3-1 loss to the St Louis Blues on March 01) allowed Dallas to reclaim second place, dropping Minnesota to third in the division. Coming into today’s game, Minnesota pulled within two points of Dallas, having defeated the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena this past Friday, so a win in Denver today would be pretty massive. However, since Dallas holds a game in hand on Minnesota, they would still retain second place in the division. With less than twenty games left in the regular season, Minnesota may need to start getting help from other teams in order to position themselves more favorably as teams hit the final stretch of the season.
While Minnesota landed its biggest trade piece earlier this season in the Quinn Hughes deal last November, GM Bill Guerin was very active leading up to the NHL trade deadline. He claimed center Robby Fabbri off waivers from the St. Louis Blues, and acquired defenseman Jeff Petry from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Minnesota’s seventh round pick in this year’s draft. He also acquired center Michael McCarron in exchange for Minnesota’s second round pick in 2028.
Guerin wasn’t done there: at the deadline, he acquired right wing Bobby Brink from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman David Jiříček. Brink made his debut for Minnesota this past Friday, but is no stranger to playing in Colorado, having won several awards at the collegiate level, including the NCAA championship in 2022, with the University of Denver Pioneers. Guerin also acquired Nick Foligno, the brother of Minnesota assistant captain Marcus Foligno, from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations. Marcus Foligno is currently out with injury, but could return to the lineup against Colorado. Vinnie Hinostroza was also dealt to the Florida Panthers in exchange for future considerations.
Minnesota’s retooled lineup will give them a much different appearance in this final regular season matchup against Colorado. The addition of Brink will give them another option on offense; while his thirteen goals would tie him for seventh place among Minnesota skaters, this figure is a career high for him in his short NHL career and could see a bump in his new surroundings, especially if he continues to see top six ice time like he did this past Friday against Vegas. Foligno and McCarron add a veteran presence that playoff-bound clubs find irrisitible for playoff runs, and while Fabbri has struggled in recent seasons, having roster depth—especially at center—is a must have at this time of year as teams gear up for postseason play.
Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy currently share the team lead in goals (35). Kaprizov leads all skaters in points (75), while Boldy is three points behind in second place (72). Filip Gustavsson got the start Minnesota’s previous victory in Colorado, but was unable to finish the game due to illness. With Gustavsson getting a majority of the starter’s workload since coming back from the Olympics, it’s possible Jesper Wallstedt starts today to give Gustavsson a breather prior to Minnesota’s upcoming four game homestand starting on Tuesday.
Projected Lineup
Forwards: Kirill Kaprizov – Ryan Hartman – Mats Zuccarello Matt Boldy – Joel Eriksson Ek – Bobby Brink Vladimir Tarasenko – Danila Yurov – Yakov Trenin Robby Fabbri – Michael McCarron – Nico Sturm
Defense: Quinn Hughes – Brock Faber Jonas Brodin – Jared Spurgeon Jake Middleton – Zach Bogosian
Between the Pipes: Jesper Wallstedt Filip Gustavsson
After suffering a tough loss in the sixth round of the shootout on Friday night, the Montreal Canadiens were back on the ice less than 24 hours later to complete their Western road trip with a duel with the Los Angeles Kings. While the Habs were very vocal in their frustration about how they played on Friday night, it didn’t show in the way they started the game in Los Angeles.
Despite the loss in Anaheim, Martin St-Louis stuck to the same lineup aside from Jakub Dobes manning the net after yet another subpar display from Samuel Montembeault on Friday.
For a second game in a row, the Canadiens just weren’t ready to start the game. In Anaheim, they gave 12 shots in the first period while taking only four, and somehow, they managed to do worse on Saturday night. The Kings pummelled Dobes’ net with 16 shots in the first 20 minutes, including nine on the man-advantage. The Czech netminder looked very sharp on the penalty kill, making nine saves while the men in black passed the puck around as if they were the Harlem Globetrotters playing a team of kindergarten students.
The only goal Dobes conceded was at even strength on an odd-man rush after a questionable play from a knackered Brendan Gallagher in the offensive zone. The veteran was on the ice for over a minute and didn’t have any gas left to defend when the play went the other way. Adrian Kempe served a perfect feed to captain Anze Kopitar, who only had to tip it over a powerless Dobes.
The Canadiens’ inability to start on time in these last two games has been puzzling, to say the least. Whatever the reason, it’s just unacceptable, especially as the season is entering its final stretch and every team is fighting for points with desperation. It’s not because the Kings are just a much stronger team either, in the second frame, Montreal put 11 shots on net.
Slafkovsky Strong
When Juraj Slafkovsky first came to the NHL, he struggled to stay on his feet in the league’s tough physical battles, but not anymore. In the second frame, he battled for puck possession in the offensive zone with Scott Laughton, and he almost carried him on his back as he made his way to the high slot to take a precise shot that gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead.
It’s easy to forget that Slafkovsky is still only 21 years old because he’s already in his fourth NHL season, but it remains true. When he graduated with the Habs, he still had some growing up and some filling up to do. Now that it’s done, he’s become a force to be reckoned with.
That goal was his 50th point of the season, and with it, he became the first player in Canadiens’ history to have three consecutive 50-point seasons before the age of 22. That’s an impressive feat, especially when you consider how much history this franchise has. The big Slovak added another goal in the third frame, and an assist to get to 52 points, a new career high with 20 games left to play.
Watch Juraj Slafkovsky get open on the PP for the game-tying goal.
Once again tonight, the Canadiens failed to protect the lead they acquired in the second period when Laughton and Alex Laferriere found the back of the net. At that stage, the Habs looked defeated. Nick Suzuki had slouched shoulders, and Mike Matheson looked discouraged before heading to the bench and slamming the door. Given how L.A. scored the third goal, it was almost understandable.
Dobes made a couple of saves, but he couldn't smother the rebound, and it was pushed back in. While it’s obvious that he could have done a better job controlling the rebounds, Matheson, Suzuki, and Kaiden Guhle didn’t exactly cover the slot very well.
However, they were all able to shake it off, roll up their collective sleeves with just over 13 minutes left in the third, and claw their way back into the game. Slafkovsky’s second goal tied up the score with just over five minutes to go, and Suzuki scored what would stand as the game-winner less than a minute later.
With over four minutes left, the Canadiens finally protected a lead, even after the Kings pulled their goalie for an extra skater, something they have struggled with this season. Dobes surrendered three goals on 39 shots for a .923 save percentage. Granted, he gave up a weak goal to Laughton, but without his performance, the game could have been over after the first frame. Furthermore, he didn’t let that weak goal get to him; he shook it off and got right back on the horse, so to speak. This was the Canadiens' first win in L.A. since March 2019 and it was long overdue.
The Canadiens will now head back home for what will be another tiring week featuring a couple of back-to-backs. Given the schedule, it’s highly likely that we’ll see both goaltenders, but in an ideal world, St-Louis would be able to stick to Dobes going forward.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Scott Laughton has gotten off to a strong start with his new team.
The 31-year-old, who was traded from the Maple Leafs to the L.A. Kings on Friday at the deadline for a conditional third-rounder in 2026, made his debut with his new club on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.
Laughton centered the Kings' third line, alongside Alex Turcotte and Jared Wright, and scored a game-tying goal for his new team in the second period.
Wright made a behind-the-back pass below the goal line to Laughton. He received the puck, spun, and then fired a shot under Jakub Dobes for his ninth goal of the season. It was Laughton's first goal since Jan. 23 against the Vegas Golden Knights, while with the Maple Leafs.
The Canadiens and Kings traded goals back and forth throughout the game, but Nick Suzuki's marker with less than five minutes to go in the third period turned out to be the game-winner for Montreal.
L.A. pushed to tie the game late in the third period, and Laughton was among the players on the ice fighting for a goal. Despite not scoring, the veteran forward finished the game with 15:08 of ice time in his Kings debut.
Laughton played more of a fourth-line role with the Maple Leafs and had only 10 games this season in which his ice time was higher than what it was in his debut with the Kings.
Growing up in the Greater Toronto Area, Laughton was living out his dream of playing for the Maple Leafs. Before being moved, he expressed a desire to remain with his hometown club.
However, with where Toronto sits in the standings, general manager Brad Treliving decided to sell, and Laughton — an unrestricted agent at the end of this season — was among the players traded before Friday's 3:00 p.m. ET deadline.
Hours after being shipped to the Kings, Laughton shared a post on X with a photo and video of him in Maple Leafs gear alongside his son, Reed. "Thank you Toronto," he wrote. "Dream come true."
Laughton joined the Maple Leafs via trade one year earlier from the Philadelphia Flyers. Toronto moved a conditional first-rounder in 2027 and Nikita Grebenkin for the bottom-six center.
"(Laughton) fit in right away," said Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews on Saturday morning, looking back on Laughton's tenure in Toronto. "I mean, he was only here for a year. I think a lot of guys kind of knew him from the Toronto area, and just an incredible guy."
The Oakville, Ontario-born forward finished his Maple Leafs tenure with 10 goals and 16 points in 63 regular-season games, plus two assists in 13 postseason games last spring.
NHL trade deadline addition David Jiricek made his debut for the Philadelphia Flyers organization in the AHL on Saturday night, and the results were a mixed bag. That's ok, and it's what the Flyers signed up for when they traded for him.
Paired with Helge Grans for his debut with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Jiricek found the back of the net with a power play strike from medium range.
The 22-year-old, unfortunately, also went semi-viral online for a mishap early in the Phantoms' game against the Charlotte Checkers.
After blocking a point shot from Brian Pinho, Jiricek pivoted to play the puck, only to fall down and allow Sandis Vilmanis to open the scoring in alone on Carson Bjarnason.
He did redeem himself with the power play goal, though, completing a comeback from 4-0 down and tying the game at 4-4 late in the third period.
In one game, the Flyers organization got all of the good and all of the bad with Jiricek, and again, that's what they signed up for. Fans criticizing their new top prospect after one awkward mistake need to resign themselves to this, too.
Flyers GM Danny Briere said himself that the goal was to get Jiricek ready to push for an NHL roster spot next year, which is seven months away.
In those seven months, the one thing Jiricek really needs to work on is his mobility. The hulking 6-foot-4 defender is never going to be skating around like a gazelle, but his hips are a bit stiff and he tends to take short, choppy strides. Jiricek's actual speed is perfectly adequate.
Defensively, Jiricek stood around a bit too much, and maybe that's a result of having just been traded for the second time and trying to learn a new system and new teammates on the fly. We'll see how that changes over the course of the rest of the 2025-26 season.
Initially, I wasn't too big a fan of trading an established middle-six scorer in Bobby Brink for a high-risk, high-reward defenseman in Jiricek who may or may not be an NHLer.
But, after seeing the talent and the puck skills, he's a few tweaks off from making it. Big tweaks, to be clear, but only a few.
Criticize the Flyers' development staff all you want - and maybe some of that is warranted over the years - but they've been doing a great job recently.
Forwards Alex Bump, Nikita Grebenkin, and Denver Barkey are all already NHL-caliber contributors, and Brink and Tyson Foerster came up from their system, too.
Brink, notably, was a small playmaker with not a whole lot of speed, and he worked like a dog to become faster, stronger, and better defensively. Who's to say a much more physically gifted and revered Jiricek can't do the same in a summer or two?
Coming into Philadelphia, a 21-year-old Jamie Drysdale was looking like a total zero from the 2020 draft. Wasn't putting up points, couldn't defend, and couldn't stay on the ice. See the above advanced stats chart for a visual of how bad it really was in 2023-24.
Now, though, Drysdale is beginning to emerge as a leader for the Flyers, and he's become one of their best defensemen overall. Maybe better than Cam York, and I think he'll continue to grow even more.
Drysdale, of course, is an elite skater, but he, like Jiricek, needed to work on his side of the ice and learn to defend at the NHL level.
Whether or not it works out, the Flyers deserve props for their unwavering willingness to take on high-risk projects in player development.
Drysdale was one, Jiricek is one, Jack Berglund with his skating coming in is another, and Jack Nesbitt is probably a worse skater than Jiricek. It's clearly not something the Flyers value, and it's something they also feel can be corrected to the level they require.
Jiricek is a player the Flyers have coveted for a long time, as have some fans. Now that the opportunity cost was deemed appropriate, Briere and Co. pulled the trigger and brought him in.
Now that you have your ticket for the Jiricek ride, you have to get on the train.
Kings forward Alex Laferriere, right, passes the puck in front of Montréal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes during the first period of the Kings' 4-3 loss Saturday at Crypto.com Arena. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
You’re on your own.
That’s the message Kings general manager Ken Holland delivered to his team at the NHL trade deadline, when he turned his attention from the present to the future.
Rather than make a major move, Holland folded. The cards he was holding and the deficit he faced in the standings told him he didn’t have a winning hand.
“These are the decisions that I have to make,” he said. “Certainly where we are in the standings, I have to make some philosophical decisions.”
Where they are after giving up third-period goals just 49 seconds apart Saturday in a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens is sixth in the eight-team Pacific Division, four points out of a wild-card berth with 20 games remaining.
So Holland decided draft picks for next season and the season after were more valuable than immediate help this season. That’s a big change in philosophy from just a month ago, when Holland traded away part of the future — a prospect and two draft picks — for forward Artemi Panarin just ahead of the Olympic break.
“If Fiala was healthy and Armia was healthy, we’d be looking at our team different,” Holland said. “That’s why I did the deal before the deadline. We don’t have a lot of key pieces.”
“We want to continue to try to push to qualify for the playoffs,” he continued. “At the same time, behind the scenes, we’re trying to get some [draft] picks, looking to the future.”
So Holland called off the cavalry. If the Kings are going to make a run at a fifth straight playoff berth, they’re going to have to do it with an interim coach and the guys they already have. Holland made only a few cosmetic moves ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, shipping out forwards Corey Perry and Warren Foegele for draft picks and adding Scott Laughton and Mathieu Joseph, depth pieces, neither of whom are signed beyond this season.
Montreal forward Juraj Slafkovsky scores on Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper during the third period Saturday. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
And if that sounded like a lack of confidence, D.J. Smith, the interim coach, said it was well-earned.
“It's up to the players and the coaching staff to get the team in a spot where the [general] manager feels that he's got to really help the group to try to win,” he said Saturday. “Obviously we didn't do that enough and it's unfortunate.”
But if the Kings’ breathing is shallow and their pulse faint, they aren’t dead just yet despite seven losses in their last nine games.
“We’re trying to win,” Holland said. “It’s the National Hockey League. We’re [four] points out of a playoff spot. Maybe the narrative changes if you’re 15 points out of a playoff spot. But we’re [four] points out of a playoff spot.”
Panarin — wearing the No. 10 sweater Perry had before he was traded to Tampa Bay — helped the Kings take a first-period lead Saturday, battling Montreal defender Mike Matheson for the puck entering the Canadiens’ zone. That allowed Adrian Kempe to skate in and take the puck off Matheson’s stick and feed Anze Kopitar at the far post for the tap-in.
That goal gave Kopitar 1,304 points for his career, just three shy of Marcel Dionne’s franchise record.
Samuel Helenius thought he had doubled the lead less than two minutes later but the goal was waved off by goalie interference. And the Kings should have had more after a period in which they outshot the Canadiens 16-1.
That proved costly when Montreal's Jake Evans drove a slap shot by Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper from the top of the left circle to tie the score in the second period.
Juraj Slafkovsky put Montreal in front less than five minutes before the second intermission, lifting a wrist shot over Kuemper’s glove from the slot. But Laughton, making his Kings debut, got that back two minutes later, lining a low wrist shot from a tough angle off the pads of Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes. Jared Wright got his first NHL point with an assist on the play.
The Kings’ Alex Laferriere and Slafkovsky traded third-period goals, with Slafkovky scoring 31 seconds after Trevor Moore went to the penalty box for slashing. That set the stage for Nick Suzuki’s go-ahead goal 49 seconds later, following a Moore turnover deep in the Kings’ end.
And that moved the Kings a game closer to a new season Holland has begun preparing for.
“Time is running out,” Laferriere said. “We have 20 games left now and we need every single point. We can’t change what happened so we’ve got to try to take the positives from the game and make sure it doesn’t happen ever again.”
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MARCH 7: Casey Mittelstadt #11 and Viktor Arvidsson #71 of the Boston Bruins celebrate the third-period goal against the Washington Capitals at the TD Garden on March 7, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Happy Sunday, folks!
The Bruins turned in a much-improved performance on Saturday afternoon, beating the Washington Capitals at TD Garden by a score of 2-1.
The B’s got goals from Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson, plus 22 saves from Jeremy Swayman.
The game probably could have gone a bit differently if Tom Wilson didn’t miss a couple of grade-A scoring chances, but coming off of Thursday night’s mess of a game in Nashville, yesterday’s team-wide performance was better in all areas.
The win coming in regulation had standings implications as well, with Washington falling to six points behind the Bruins for the second wild card spot.
The Caps are actually tied in points with Philadelphia now, with both Ottawa and Columbus ahead of them.
Other games on Saturday with playoff implications:
Buffalo beat Nashville, while Tampa beat Toronto. Those two wins mean Buffalo and Tampa remain tied atop the Atlantic Division, though Buffalo has played two more games.
Montreal beat Los Angeles to move into 3rd in the Atlantic and bump Detroit down to the first wild card spot.
Ottawa beat Seattle to stay in the wild card hunt.
Columbus lost to Utah in OT, allowing the B’s to gain a point in the standings on the Blue Jackets.
With 20 games left, there’s still plenty of time for all of this to change, so it’s probably silly to put too much thought into it, but hey, it’s Sunday. Something to read about.
Your highlights from yesterday’s win over Washington, if you’d like to review:
PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 13: Bryan Rust #17 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against Andrew Peeke #52 of the Boston Bruins at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 13, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Who:Boston Bruins (35-22-5, 75 points, 5th place Atlantic Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (31-17-14, 76 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)
When: 4:30 p.m. eastern
How to Watch: National game on TNT and TruTV, streaming on HBOMax
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Pens take a long road trip that starts and ends in Carolina with games on Tuesday and next Thursday March 18th. In between, they go a long ways with stops next week in Vegas, Utah and Colorado before returning back east.
Opponent Track: Since beating the Penguins 2-1 on Tuesday night, the Bruins lost 6-3 to Nashville and then defeated the Capitals 3-1 yesterday in Boston. After today they head back home for their next two games this week.
Season Series: It hasn’t been fun for Pittsburgh to see that other team in black and gold. Boston won a 1-0 game back on January 11th, then took a 2-1 game earlier in the week. The Pens and struggling to score against the Bruins is unfortunately an all-too-familiar trope in the Sidney Crosby era. Luckily today is the third and final PIT/BOS game of the season.
Hidden Stat: The Bruins have the second worst away record in the Eastern Conference (their 11-14-4 is just ahead of Toronto’s 11-15-4). However, the Penguins have only won 16 of their 32 home games this season (16-9-7) for one of the worst home records in the East.
Getting to know the Bruins
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Marat Khusnutdinov – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak
Casey Mittelstadt – Pavel Zacha – Viktor Arvidsson
Alex Steeves – Fraser Minten – Morgan Geekie
Tanner Jeannot – Sean Kuraly – Mark Kastelic
DEFENSEMEN
Jonathan Aspirot / Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm / Mason Lohrei
Nikita Zadorov / Andrew Peeke
Goalies: Joona Korpisalo (Jeremy Swayman played yesterday)
Potential scratches: Michael Eyssimont, Henri Jokirharju, Jordan Harris, Lukas Reichel (newly acquired)
Injured Reserve: none
Quiet trade deadline for the Bruins, who picked up forward Lukas Reichel for a sixth round pick and..that’s it. Much like the Penguins as a potential playoff team, Boston wasn’t interested in paying big costs to add veteran players at this time.
It would be fun if Boston makes it to the playoffs since their tough physical style and defensive nature is kinda going against the grain of a lot of teams these days who might have a little more speed and skill. It’s very possible Boston ends up as a Wild Card and might have to play a division winner like Carolina or Tampa in the first round. And, honestly, I think the Bruins are going to at least make an uncomfortable, long series out if it.
Swayman played yesterday, but that might not be a huge break for the Penguins to presumably see the backup goalie today. Korpisalo’s stats since Christmas (5-2-2, 2.61 GAA, .911 save%) are virtually identical to Swayman (10-3-2, 2.62 GAA, .912 save%). Seeing the backup in this situation, unfortunately, doesn’t look quite as beneficial as it might be in other instances.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Egor Chinakhov – Rickard Rakell – Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha – Tommy Novak – Justin Brazeau
Ville Koivunen – Ben Kindel – Avery Hayes
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard / Kris Letang
Ryan Shea / Connor Clifton
Goalies: Arturs Silovs (Stuart Skinner played yesterday)
Potential Scratches: Evgeni Malkin (suspended), Ryan Graves, Ilya Solovyov, Kevin Hayes
IR: Sidney Crosby, Filip Hallander, Jack St. Ivany
This is a kind of gut check game for the Pens, who just saw this Boston team last week and lost a hard-fought road game. It’s going to take a lot to dig deep on the back-to-back and get a good result against a tough opponent for them recently, which also means it’s a great opportunity to see if anyone can step up and stand out.
Two top performing goaltending tandems
A key to the Pens and Bruins finding success in the last quarter of the season has been superior goaltending inputs. Both teams have been getting a ton of saves at key times, pilling up towards the top of the league as far as the goaltending performances have gone. Given that both teams are on a b-2-b, Boston traveled, daylight saving time and a strange 4:30pm start and that there has been a 1-0 and 2-1 final scores in the early PIT/BOS games, you’d probably expect a low-scoring contest to unfold today with goalie performances like this leading the way. (That said, of course watch it be a 5-3 game today).
As part of their 2026 NHL Trade Deadline acquisitions, the Detroit Red Wings picked up veteran defenseman Justin Faulk from the St. Louis Blues.
Faulk, who crossed the 1,000 career games played threshold this season, was acquired by Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman in exchange for Justin Holl, a first- and third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and forward prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov.
While he wasn't able to play in Detroit's 3-1 setback on Friday evening against the Florida Panthers, they expect him to be slotted into the lineup for Sunday evening's tilt against the New Jersey Devils.
Following practice in Detroit on Saturday before they departed for New Jersey, head coach Todd McLellan said that while they anticipate Faulk suiting up, they'll observe how he acclimates to his new teammates.
“We're going to put him in and play him, and we'll have to observe just how comfortable he'll be in playing with certain partners," McLellan said. "We may think, ‘He'll fit really good with Ben Chiarot,’ and that is the plan a little bit to put him there, and get your four guys rolling out,” McLellan said of Justin Faulk.
“But we have to observe and pay attention to who he is playing well with, and see how it goes with his partner.”
Right now, no decision has been made as to which defenseman will slot out of the lineup for Faulk.
Detroit hopes Faulk’s presence will help stabilize their increasingly precarious position in the standings. Just a week ago, the Red Wings held second place in the Atlantic Division, but after two straight losses combined with wins by their division rivals, they now occupy the first Wild Card spot.
While Faulk is expected to make his Red Wings debut immediately, the same can't be said about David Perron, who was re-acquired on Thursday evening from the Ottawa Senators.
Perron, who played for the Red Wings from 2022 through 2024, underwent sports hernia surgery in January and isn't expected to be available to play for at least the next two weeks.
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Calgary Flames (25-30-7, in the Pacific Division) vs. Washington Capitals (31-26-7, in the Metropolitan Division)
Washington; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Calgary Flames visit the Washington Capitals after Joel Farabee's two-goal game against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Flames' 5-4 win.
Washington has a 31-26-7 record overall and a 19-11-3 record on its home ice. The Capitals have a +12 scoring differential, with 199 total goals scored and 187 allowed.
Calgary has a 9-18-3 record in road games and a 25-30-7 record overall. The Flames have a -33 scoring differential, with 153 total goals scored and 186 allowed.
Monday's game is the second time these teams match up this season. The Capitals won 3-1 in the previous matchup.
TOP PERFORMERS: Alexander Ovechkin has 24 goals and 26 assists for the Capitals. Pierre-Luc Dubois has four goals and two assists over the past 10 games.
Matthew Coronato has 14 goals and 16 assists for the Flames. Farabee has five goals and three assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Capitals: 6-4-0, averaging 2.8 goals, 4.7 assists, 3.4 penalties and 7.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
Flames: 4-5-1, averaging 2.3 goals, 4.2 assists, 3.6 penalties and 7.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.
INJURIES: Capitals: None listed.
Flames: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
BOTTOM LINE: The Buffalo Sabres take on the Tampa Bay Lightning with a six winning streak intact.
Buffalo has a 13-4-3 record in Atlantic Division play and a 38-19-6 record overall. The Sabres are 15-5-4 in games they score at least one power-play goal.
Tampa Bay is 39-18-4 overall with an 11-4-1 record against the Atlantic Division. The Lightning are first in NHL play serving 14.1 penalty minutes per game.
The matchup Sunday is the third time these teams meet this season. The Sabres won 6-2 in the last meeting. Joshua Norris led the Sabres with two goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tage Thompson has 34 goals and 32 assists for the Sabres. Jason Zucker has four goals over the past 10 games.
Nikita Kucherov has 32 goals and 68 assists for the Lightning. Brayden Point has five goals and eight assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Sabres: 7-2-1, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.6 assists, 3.7 penalties and eight penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
Lightning: 6-4-0, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.7 assists, 5.4 penalties and 17.9 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game.
INJURIES: Sabres: None listed.
Lightning: None listed.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to stop their three-game losing streak when they take on the Boston Bruins.
Pittsburgh has a 31-17-14 record overall and a 15-9-8 record on its home ice. The Penguins have gone 31-4-7 when scoring at least three goals.
Boston has a 35-22-5 record overall and an 11-14-4 record in road games. The Bruins have a +14 scoring differential, with 206 total goals scored and 192 given up.
The teams square off Sunday for the third time this season. The Bruins won the previous matchup 2-1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Erik Karlsson has six goals and 34 assists for the Penguins. Benjamin Kindel has four goals and two assists over the last 10 games.
David Pastrnak has 22 goals and 51 assists for the Bruins. Viktor Arvidsson has scored six goals and added one assist over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 4-3-3, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.4 assists, four penalties and 10 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.
Bruins: 5-2-3, averaging 3.4 goals, six assists, five penalties and 10.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game.
INJURIES: Penguins: None listed.
Bruins: None listed.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Joel Farabee scored twice and had an assist to lead the Calgary Flames to a 5-4 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
Morgan Frost had a goal and two assists for the Flames, who snapped a four-game winless skid. Ryan Strome had a goal and an assist in his debut for Calgary, and Blake Coleman also had a goal and an assist. Dustin Wolf made 25 saves.
Seth Jarvis had a goal and two assists for the Eastern Conference-leading Hurricanes, who lost in regulation for just the second time in their last 16 games (12-2-2). Sean Walker, Alexander Nikishin and Andrei Svechnikov also scored for Carolina.
Brandon Bussi stopped 20 shots, but his nine-game franchise record-tying winning streak ended.
In their first game without No. 1 center Nazem Kadri, who was traded to Colorado on Friday, the Flames got off to a rough start as Jarvis scored 44 seconds in on the game’s first shot.
Calgary bounced back in the second with three goals to take the lead for good. Strome, acquired from Anaheim on Friday, got it started by scoring 19 seconds into the period off a feed from Olli Maatta — who also made his Flames debut after coming from Utah in a trade on Wednesday.
Strome had his first multipoint game since Dec. 7, when he had two assists against Chicago.
Flames defenseman Zach Whitecloud (upper body) left the game in the first period and didn’t return.
The Islanders defeated the Sharks in overtime Saturday.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — It wasn’t pretty, they didn’t find their game until the third period and really, who cares about that.
The Islanders got out of the SAP Center with two points in hand, and that is what matters most after Saturday night’s 2-1 overtime win against the Sharks.
With the Blue Jackets — whose chances of catching the Islanders looked all but done after they fell seven points back just over a week ago — picking up points seemingly every night, there is suddenly a three-team race for the last two Metropolitan Division playoff spots to worry about, and Bo Horvat’s game-winner jolted the Islanders to the top of it, ahead of the Penguins and into second in the Metro.
So, forget pretty. Especially on the road and especially against a Sharks team that had the Islanders on their heels for a lot of this game. Forget that it wasn’t a great second period. What matters is what came next.
“I thought maybe the third was our best period of the road trip,” coach Patrick Roy said. “I thought we simplified our game, we put pucks deep. We had to get our forecheck going, win those battles in the corners, low to high and throw pucks at the net.”
Indeed, it was the best period the Islanders played in California this trip, and by an order of magnitude. Finally, they held onto pucks, established a game down low and created sustained pressure. Finally, the top line, which had not looked quite right all trip, started making a positive impact on every shift.
If there was one less-than-positive piece of those 20 minutes, it’s that the Islanders failed to convert on the power play after Kiefer Sherwood’s roughing penalty handed them a chance to end it at 16:15 of the period, their third scoreless power play in three tries on the night.
The penalty kill that followed when Adam Pelech went for holding shortly after the game returned to even strength, though, was an exercise in grit, with Horvat making a crucial block on Dmitry Orlov and Ilya Sorokin his best save of 30 on the night with a stop on Will Smith that helped send the game to overtime.
Bo Horvat scores the game-winning goal in the Islanders’ 2-1 overtime road win over the Sharks on March 7, 2026. Imagn Images
And, after finishing off the kill in the extra period and suffering through 3:11 of overtime while barely touching the puck with the game at four-on-four, the Islanders finally got their chance at 4:20 of OT, when Matthew Schaefer sprung Horvat on the rush.
Horvat, promptly, ended the game and made it 9-0 for the Islanders in games that end at three-on-three.
“It builds us confidence for sure,” Horvat said. “We definitely weren’t at our best the last two games and we knew that. I thought we were a heck of a lot better here tonight.”
The Islanders celebrate after securing an overtime win against the Sharks on March 7. Imagn Images
Brayden Schenn’s debut had its moments, good and bad, and he admitted to having nerves for the first time in a long time. His screen in front helped DeAngelo’s shot to beat Yaroslav Askarov 11:37 into the night, and his hit on Mario Ferraro along the left-hand wall was the hardest of the night for either team. Cal Ritchie appeared reasonably comfortable on the wing, especially early in the night.
“Do I think I had my A-game? No,” Schenn said. “I just tried to buy into the team system and do whatever they asked me to do. I feel like, obviously, I have more offensively to give. But at the same time, I’m just happy to be part of a win.”
Schenn’s line with Ritchie and Ondrej Palat came out of the night with poor numbers, but that was largely a factor of being matched with Macklin Celebrini’s line, which scored against them just 33 seconds into the second period on Celebrini’s snap shot from the slot.
Brayden Schenn delivers a hit during the Islanders’ March 7 game win over the Sharks. AP
Anthony Duclair, who returned to the lineup in place of a healthy-scratched Kyle MacLean, had a solid night on the fourth line, which was solid all night. DeAngelo had one of his better games too.
The trio of stars who didn’t look quite right in Anaheim or Los Angeles — Schaefer, Horvat, Mat Barzal — were much better in this one, though it did take them a while to get going. Once they did, it served as a reminder of why they are so crucial.
“You can tell it’s a special group of guys that play for one another and that’s how you win hockey games,” Schenn said. “They’re all not flashy and pretty and that’s what it looked like tonight. We gutted it out.
NHL Trade Tracker: Which Former Flyers Found New Homes at Trade Deadline?The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> were fairly active ahead of the 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline Friday, but many of their old friends, too, ended up being attractive trade pieces for contending teams.
