Marcus Pettersson scored with 5:39 remaining, Brock Boeser had a hat trick and the last-place Vancouver Canucks blew a four-goal lead before beating the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche 8-6 on Wednesday night.
The Canucks, who entered the game 58 points behind the Avalanche, scored in all sorts of ways, including 29 seconds into the game, short-handed, on the power play and into an empty net to snap a six-game slide.
They led 6-2 in the second only to see Colorado tie it up with 6:02 left. Just 23 seconds later, Pettersson knocked in his first goal since November. Boeser sealed it by lining the puck down the ice and into an empty net.
Teddy Blueger scored twice, while Max Sasson and Jake DeBrusk also added goals to spoil a night in which Nathan MacKinnon became the first player this season to reach 50 goals. Vancouver took advantage of the Avalanche juggling their defensive pairings with Cale Makar sidelined by an upper-body injury.
Kevin Lankinen made 24 saves.
KINGS 2, BLUES 1, OT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Trevor Moore scored 1:56 into overtime to lift Los Angeles to a victory over the St. Louis.
Adrian Kempe also scored for the Kings, who moved into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference — one point ahead of San Jose and Nashville. Anton Forsberg made 23 saves, including one in overtime, for Los Angeles, which stopped a four-game losing streak at home.
Robert Thomas scored the only goal for the Blues on a deflection with 3:53 left in the third period to send it to overtime. Jordan Binnington stopped 24 shots in the loss, including two in the extra period. St. Louis is now four points behind Los Angeles for the second wild-card spot.
SHARKS 4, DUCKS 3
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini tied the game with less than two minutes to play then assisted on Alexander Wennberg’s winning goal with 31 seconds left to complete a four-point game as San Jose beat Anaheim.
With two goals and two assists, Celebrini now has 40 goals and 105 points this season, moving him past Erik Karlsson (101 points in 2022-23) for the second highest single-season point total in franchise history behind Joe Thornton’s 114-point effort in 2006-07.
The 19-year-old Celebrini also now has 17 games this season with three or more points, second among teenagers in NHL history only to Wayne Gretzky, who had 19 in 1979-80.
Will Smith had a goal and two assists for the Sharks and Yaroslav Askirov made 28 saves.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Trevor Moore scored 1:56 into overtime to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.
Adrian Kempe also scored for the Kings, who moved into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference — one point ahead of San Jose and Nashville. Anton Forsberg made 23 saves, including one in overtime, for Los Angeles, which stopped a four-game losing streak at home.
Robert Thomas scored the only goal for the Blues on a deflection with 3:53 left in the third period to send it to overtime. Jordan Binnington stopped 24 shots in the loss, including two in the extra period. St. Louis is now four points behind Los Angeles for the second wild-card spot.
Moore sped up the right side, outskated Jonatan Berggren, centered the puck and snapped a shot past Binnington for the victory. Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty assisted on the goal.
With the Kings leading 1-0, Thomas went to the front of the net and Philip Broberg's shot deflected off Thomas' skate and past Forsberg to tie it.
After a scoreless first period, Jared Wright nearly put the Kings ahead midway through the second, but his goal was waved off for goaltender interference.
Los Angeles got one that counted on Kempe's power-play goal on a wrister with 3:01 left in the second period to put the Kings up 1-0.
Thursday's game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Nashville Predators just got a lot more important.
After losing three straight games and leaving six points on the table, the Predators have been passed by the Kings in the Western Conference Wild Card race with eight games left in the regular season.
The Kings picked up a massive 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, another team trying to move up in the Wild Card race, to bump their season total to 78 points. Nashville has 77 points.
To add salt to the wound, the San Jose Sharks also tied the Predators in points following their 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks have the tiebreaker as they have played one fewer game than the Predators.
Winnipeg is also now a point behind Nashville after an overtime win against Chicago, 4-3, on Tuesday. Seattle also trails Nashville by two points.
Thursday is another massive day, with the Predators getting a chance to take back the Wild Card spot if they defeat Los Angeles on the road. If Nashville loses, Winnipeg can pass the Predators with a win over Dallas, and the Sharks can do the Same with a win over Toronto.
Seattle can also tie the Predators in points if it defeats Utah. Another loss could really set Nashville back in the playoff race.
The Western Conference Wild Card race has been heavily criticized for the quality of the teams competing for the final spot. All six teams have a win percentage hovering just above 50%.
While Los Angeles is the only team among the six that doesn't have more than 30 regulation losses this season, the Kings have an NHL record 19 overtime losses.
For Nashville, the games in this final road trip are critical. It faces Los Angeles twice (Thursday and Monday), San Jose (Saturday) and Utah (April 9). Coming home for the final three games of the season, the Predators see the Sharks once more.
DENVER, CO — It was first vs. worst tonight at Ball Arena, and we were in the barn to offer live and in-depth coverage!
The Avalanche would go at it without stud-defender Cale Makar, who sustained an upper-body injury in Colorado’s last contest against the Calgary Flames.
Vancouver came to town looking to get back into the win column after dropping their last six games. It was a team with a -90 goal differential vs. a team with a +93 goal differential. What could go wrong?
Turns out the answer to that question was a lot, with Vancouver establishing an early lead, netting a shorthanded goal, then full-on taking over, averaging three goals a period through two frames and holding off Colorado’s third-period comeback effort to walk out of Ball Arena with 2 points.
The Game
The puck dropped, and twenty-nine seconds later, Max Sasson would net a goal for the Canucks that beat Blackwood via the five-hole.
It would take just about a minute for Nathan MacKinnon to announce his arrival as he hit the brakes upon entry, watched a Canuck lose his skates and fly by, before creating enough space to rip home a wrister. MacKinnon’s tally would make 50 on the season and put him just one goal shy of his previous career high of 51 goals.
The Avalanche would get its first power play of the evening, but it only resulted in the worst-case scenario. Vancouver would take a 2-1 lead after the Avalanche allowed the 13th shorthanded goal against.
The Canucks would find another way to score this time on a power play of their own. Jake DeBrusk was left all alone in the slot and logged his 17th of the season, with 14 of those coming on the power play. Just like that, it was 3-1 Canucks.
Frustration among the fanbase started to set in, but Gabe Landeskog would ease the pain after he deflected Brent Burns’ point shot past Kevin Lankinen, bringing his side back to within one goal at 3-2 Vancouver.
That's the goal I talked about when the Burns deal came through. Coupling his ability to get pucks through traffic and Landeskog's ability to redirect finally comes through. I think that's gonna show up big in the playoffs. #GoAvsGo
The period would end with Vancouver on the power play, and Colorado would kill the first 26 seconds and head to the locker room.
The second period would start with Colorado killing off the rest of Vancouver’s man-advantage, but that wouldn’t stop the Canucks from extending their lead to two goals after Teddy Blueger was alone in front and beat Blackwood via the five-hole yet again to bring the score to 4-2 in favor of the visitors.
Nick Blankenburg was thrust into the lineup tonight with Cale Makar tending to his wounds and had a tough night.
He sank too deeply to the point where he was into the crease, and Blackwood, who couldn’t do anything to stop what basically turned into a screened two-on-none. Brock Boeser would log that tally, and another five minutes later, bringing the score to a whopping 6-2 Canucks.
Finally, Jared Bednar pulled MacKenzie Blackwood.
Sam Malinski would get one back for Colorado before the second period ended. Vancouver challenged for goalie interference, but the challenge was unsuccessful despite Jack Drury making contact with Kevin Lankinen outside the blue paint.
We’d head to the second intermission at 6-3 Canucks.
We did have a little scare right before the second period let out, with Martin Necas getting hit away from the play and going down in a heap. He would stay down and immediately head off to the room despite the remaining time in the period.
Fortunately, he would return for the third period, but seemed to be reaching for his wrist, which has been an area of concern this season.
The Avalanche wouldn’t go quietly into the night.
Scott Wedgewood was asked if this game felt out of reach before the third, and he responded, “Never with this team.”
Parker Kelly would log his 19th of the season just 116 seconds into the third and final frame, and the comeback and whale watch were on! It was a two-goal game at 6-4 with essentially the entire third period left for the Avalanche to mount a comeback.
Next, it was Brent Burns’ turn as his point one timer, assisted by Brock Nelson, went straight in, and the tide officially had shifted.
It was Sam Malinski who set Ball Arena off with his game-tying goal (6-6) with just over five minutes left in the game. Unfortunately, that goal would quickly be answered by Vancouver’s Marcus Pettersson, who gave Vancouver a 7-6 lead.
Colorado did make a push to get things under control in this game, and had they started as they finished, they would have beaten the Canucks handily.
Takeaways
The slow start tonight should have been more anticipated, as it’s typical for a team to come out flat after putting up 5 plus goals in the first half of a period. That said, there’s no excuse for starting so poorly against the league’s worst team and giving up a shorthanded goal to a historically bad penalty kill unit.
It was pretty clear that the freedom of having nothing to play for benefited the Canucks, who likely had no problem getting up to play the best team in the league. In a season where you are -90 in goal differential, you have to take it game by game, and tonight, Vancouver passed the test.
This wasn’t a great performance by the Avalanche defensively, but MacKenzie Blackwood also looked a little lost at times. It’s feeling more and more clear that Scott Wedgewood is the number one goalie in Colorado these days.
When Bednar was asked if he was concerned with not knowing who the starter is so close to playoff time, he quickly snapped, “No.”
It’s been abundantly clear that Colorado can ill afford to lose a defender from its group of six, as Nick Blankenburg hasn’t looked great and, in a game against the league’s worst team, struggled. I don’t know that the Avalanche have a set-and-forget 7D.
Jared Bednar was clearly not pleased in the post-game presser and made no excuses for his club. When asked what went wrong, he responded, “The list is too long.”
Brock Nelson had an item that likely landed on the list, saying, “Couple unfortunate bounces where they end up with two-on-ones with some pretty clear looks that we’d like to not give up.”
Upcoming
The Avalanche will head to Dallas for a matinee contest against Mikko Rantanen and the Stars on Saturday.
Let us know what you thought of this contest in the comments!
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini tied the game with less than two minutes to play then assisted on Alexander Wennberg's winning goal with 31 seconds left to complete a four-point game as the San Jose Sharks beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 on Wednesday night.
With two goals and two assists, Celebrini now has 40 goals and 105 points this season, moving him past Erik Karlsson (101 points in 2022-23) for the second highest single-season point total in franchise history behind Joe Thornton’s 114-point effort in 2006-07.
The 19-year-old Celebrini also now has 17 games this season with three or more points, second among teenagers in NHL history only to Wayne Gretzky, who had 19 in 1979-80.
Will Smith had a goal and two assists for the Sharks and Yaroslav Askirov made 28 saves.
Troy Terry scored 4:04 into the third period to give the Ducks a 3-2 lead.
Celebrini tied it with 1:39 to play.
Ryan Poehling and Alex Killorn also scored for Anaheim, which has lost three straight games but remains atop the Pacific Division. Drew Helleson had a pair of assists and Lukas Dostal made 16 saves and also got his first assist of the season on Poehling's goal.
The Ducks played without their leading goal scorer, Cutter Gauthier, who suffered an upper-body injury in Monday night's 5-4 loss to Toronto.
Nathan Gaucher made his NHL debut for the Ducks. He was selected 22nd overall by Anaheim in the 2022 draft.
San Jose now has a 2-1 lead in the four-game regular-season series between the teams.
Up next
Ducks: Return home to play St. Louis on Friday night.
Sharks: Host Toronto for the third game of a six-game homestand on Thursday night.
"Well, I suppose we'll see what they're made of during that brutal stretch in March."
Anyone who has been following the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2025-26 season knows that - prior to the trade deadline - the team was exceeding all outside expectations ordained for them before October commenced.
"This team will be tanking for McKenna," they said over the summer.
"Well, this surely isn't sustainable," they said, after the Penguins began the season 8-2-2 in the month of October.
"See, this team was bound to fall apart after that PDO bender," they said, during an eight-game losing streak in December that saw the Penguins plummet in the standings.
"This team isn't too bad when it's actually healthy - which is never," they said, after a 12-3-3 stretch to start the calendar year of 2026 ahead of the Olympic break.
Then, finally, came March: The month that was supposed to expose this team's weaknesses and cause an implosion that would likely pull them out of playoff contention. The home stretch that included the NHL's toughest strength of schedule. The gauntlet that was a near-death sentence for a Pittsburgh team missing its two biggest stars while forced to play 17 games in 31 days.
As it turns out, the 'March of the Penguins' wasn't nearly as doom and gloom as many thought it would be. In fact, it was the exact opposite - and the Penguins actually find themselves in a better spot than they did at the start of their hardest month of the season, as they are now second in the Metropolitan Division and six points clear of the playoff cutoff line - whereas, on Feb. 28, they were only four points clear of the Washington Capitals, the first team out of the playoff picture.
If anything, the month of March showed us who these Penguins are at their core: They're a team that fights for every inch and every point - and they're not going away anytime soon.
“We play with everyone,” forward Egor Chinakhov said. “And when we play the right way, and when we play our game, we can win. That's it.”
The Penguins ended up finishing March with a 8-6-3 record, and while that doesn't stand out a ton on paper, there is a lot more to it than just the record itself. Captain Sidney Crosby played in only seven games, while Evgeni Malkin played in just eight. And, on top of that, the Penguins played without both of them for six and a half games (Crosby was pulled early in the second period on Mar. 26 against the Ottawa Senators, a 4-3 shootout win).
And in those games? They went 3-2-2, earning eight of 14 possible points. And that takes an "all-hands-on-deck" effort as well as cohesion and simplicity from line-to-line, pairing-to-pairing.
"I think we just work in tandem really well," defenseman Ryan Shea said when asked about what makes this team different than previous Penguins' teams. "The forwards and the 'D,' they're supporting each other, everyone's getting back. The effort is incredible right now from our forwards. It's making it easy on our 'D' to get gaps, and when that happens and we're clean on breakouts, we have the skill to play with anyone in this league.
"And you're seeing it right now. Guys [have been] stepping up when guys are out, but now, we're kind of getting back to fully healthy. But, yeah, our team - it's in a good spot, but, obviously, we've got a couple games left, and we've got to keep going."
With Crosby and Malkin back, that sure should make things a bit easier for the Penguins, and they appear to be responding to that. They just won the two most critical games of their entire season so far against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings - on back-to-back days, nonetheless - by a combined score of 13-4, with Crosby returning against the Isles and Malkin returning against Detroit.
But this was all after Erik Karlsson's nine goals and 24 points in the prior 15 March games - earning him the NHL's Second Star of the Month - carried the team through the toughest stretch of their season before the return of 87 and 71. Then there's Rickard Rakell, who put up 10 goals and 19 points in 17 March games - largely playing first-line center, a role pretty much completely foreign to him.
And there's also Anthony Mantha, who sealed the first 30-goal season of his NHL career at age 32 against Detroit and scored nine goals in March. And Bryan Rust, who led the way with eight goals and 20 points in 16 games during the month. Don't forget about Chinakhov, too, who has been thriving since his arrival in Pittsburgh and had six tallies and 15 points in March.
Goal #30 for #39 👏
Anthony Mantha is the ninth @penguins player to score 30 goals in the Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin Era (since 2006-07), joining Crosby (12x), Malkin (6x), Jake Guentzel (3x), Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, Phil Kessel, Chris Kunitz and James Neal. pic.twitter.com/vkLuY6dWLJ
Noticing a trend? The Penguins have had success all season long, in large part, because of their scoring depth, and although the aforementioned players largely carried the team production-wise through March, they got contributions from everyone in those final two games in March - which tends to happen when your best players return to the lineup and you're able to distribute talent.
And make no mistake: This is a talented roster on the offensive side of the puck. The Penguins have a league-high 12 players with 10 or more goals and a league-high nine players with 15 or more goals, and it's possible that they could have three 30-goal scorers as well as seven 20-goal scorers, depending on how things go in these final seven games for certain players.
Offensive talent aside, March had its ruptures for the Penguins, too. They gave up four or more goals in 10 of 17 games and three or more goals in 13 of them. Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs have both been a bit inconsistent lately and have found themselves on the wrong side of .900 for save percentages. Both aspects improved in the final two games of the month, but - of course - if the Penguins plan to make the playoffs and make any sort of noise in them, they will need more consistency on those fronts.
But, ultimately, the Penguins surviving the "brutal stretch" in March and coming out the other end of it better than they came into it is a massive success, and it speaks volumes about the character and belief in that locker room.
“It tells you that we come out big in big moments,” Skinner said after Tuesday's statement 5-1 win over the Red Wings to close out the month of March. “We’re a resilient group. If things don’t go our way [or] things do go our way, we just kind of stick to our game plan.
"That’s what’s so incredible about this group. The maturity obviously starts with the leadership [and] goes down to every single guy in how we play a simple, strong game. It’s very fun to play in, and it’s very fun to watch.”
So, believe it or not, these Penguins are here to stay - and they're ready to keep winning and play some meaningful games late into the spring.
"Our confidence is that high," Shea said. "And when we're doing that, we're a dangerous team."
Islanders center Mikhail Grabovski (84) as they lose 3-1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Barclays Center during a 2015 game.
Former Islanders forward Mikhail Grabovski is facing potential legal issues in Toronto after an alleged incident following an Ontario Minor Hockey Association playoff game.
The alleged altercation occurred in Markham, Ontario, on March 14 at the Markham Village Community Centre, where York Regional Police were called to at roughly 10:50 p.m. for a report of an assault, according to the Toronto Sun.
Grabovski was coaching a Markham Waxers under-15 playoff game at the time of the incident.
The Flyers’ Braydon Coburn checks Mikhail Grabovski of the Islanders during a game on Nov. 24, 2014. Paul J. Bereswill
Officers arrested an unidentified suspect, according to the Toronto Sun, and the male was charged with one count of assault, with the victim being taken to a local hospital to treat minor injuries.
The Toronto Star, citing court records, reported that Grabovski allegedly assaulted the coach of the York-Simcoe Express, the opposing team, Warren Cooper.
It is unclear what started the incident.
A condition of Grabovski’s release is that he is prohibited from contacting Cooper, the CBC reported.
The charges were sworn on March 30, and the first court appearance is scheduled to take place on June 12 in Newmarket, Ontario.
In a statement released following the incident, the OMHA denounced what had happened and said they would not make any further comments while “there is an ongoing police investigation.”
Mikhail Grabovski looks on during the Islanders’ 3-1 loss to the Maple Leafs during a 2015 game at Barclays Center. Andrew Theodorakis/New York Post
“The Ontario Minor Hockey Association is aware of this situation and does not condone this type of behaviour, nor does it reflect the values of the OMHA or the sport,” the league said in a statement.
Grabovski spent 10 seasons in the NHL, appearing in 534 games while recording 125 goals and 171 assists.
A majority of his career was spent with the Maple Leafs, playing in Toronto from the 2008-13.
He came to Long Island for the final two seasons of his career, playing for the Islanders in their first final season at Nassau Coliseum in 2014-15 and their first in a short-lived stay at Barclays Center in 2015-16.
Grabovski recorded 18 goals and 44 points during his two seasons with the Islanders.
The Buffalo Sabres had an ugly start to the 2025-26 season, going 11-14-4 in their first 29 games. With this, it seemed that they would go on to miss the playoffs for the 15th year in a row.
Yet, the Sabres not only bounced back from their tough start to the season, but have simply dominated. At this point in the campaign, the Sabres now have a 46-21-8 record and are at the top of the Atlantic Division standings with 100 points. They have been the NHL's hottest team down the stretch, and it has made them the league's best story of the season.
After years of disappointment and being unable to take that next step, the Sabres have done so with style in 2025-26. They have not only shown that they are capable of being a playoff team, but that they also can be one of the league's top clubs. The only team with more points than the Sabres at this point of the campaign is the Colorado Avalanche. Meanwhile, the Sabres are tied in points with two top contenders in the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars.
With this, it has truly been a special season for the Sabres.
DENVER — Marcus Pettersson broke a late tie with 5:39 remaining, Brock Boeser recorded a hat trick, and the last-place Vancouver Canucks defeated the Colorado Avalanche 8–6 on Wednesday night after surrendering a four-goal lead.
Vancouver, which entered the contest trailing Colorado by 58 points in the standings, generated offense in every situation—at even strength, on the power play, short-handed, and into an empty net—while snapping a six-game losing streak.
Boeser added an empty-net goal to complete his hat trick. Teddy Blueger chipped in two goals, while Max Sasson and Jake DeBrusk also scored. Goaltender Kevin Lankinen made 24 saves to help secure the win.
On the other side, Nathan MacKinnon reached the 50-goal mark for the second time in his career, becoming the first player in the league this season to hit that milestone. Sam Malinski scored twice, and Gabriel Landeskog, Parker Kelly, and Brent Burns also tallied.
Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was pulled with 4:39 left in the second period after allowing six goals on 19 shots. Scott Wedgewood entered in relief and stopped four of five shots faced.
The Avalanche entered the matchup riding momentum from a 9–2 win over Calgary earlier in the week but were forced to adjust defensively with Cale Makar sidelined by an upper-body injury, a gap Vancouver consistently exploited.
Burns contributed a goal and an assist while appearing in his 999th consecutive NHL game, continuing one of the league’s longest active ironman streaks. The all-time record remains 1,064 straight games, held by Phil Kessel.
First Period
Vancouver struck just 29 seconds into the game when Sasson slipped a shot through the five-hole to make it 1–0. After a rink-wide pass deflected off a defender’s stick, he jumped on the loose puck, beat the defense with speed, and finished the play.
Colorado answered quickly, as MacKinnon snapped a shot past Lankinen to tie the game with his 50th goal of the season.
The Avalanche went on the power play soon after, but a turnover by MacKinnon led to a short-handed rush the other way, where Blueger finished to restore Vancouver’s lead. It marked the second goal the Canucks generated off a turnover in the period.
Midway through the frame, Vancouver continued to dictate play. They extended the lead to 3–1 on the power play when DeBrusk finished a backdoor feed from Elias Pettersson. Of DeBrusk’s goals this season, the majority have come with the man advantage.
Colorado trimmed the deficit to 3–2 late in the period when Landeskog tipped a point shot from Burns.
In the final minute, a hooking penalty gave Vancouver another power-play opportunity, and they carried a 3–2 lead into the second while holding a 12–7 edge in shots on goal.
Second Period
The Canucks pushed their lead to 4–2 at 5:02 when Sasson set up Blueger alone in front, where he deked and finished.
Momentum continued to swing Vancouver’s way as Boeser buried a one-timer from the left circle to make it 5–2. He added another shortly after, extending the lead to 6–3 and prompting the Avalanche to replace their goaltender.
Colorado responded quickly on the next shift, with Malinski snapping home a shot to cut into the deficit.
Late in the period, a collision involving Sasson sent Martin Necas to the ice in visible discomfort, forcing him briefly to the locker room.
After two periods, Vancouver led 6–3 and held a 20–13 advantage in shots.
Third Period
Necas returned to start the third, but Colorado wasted little time pulling closer. Just 14 seconds in, Kelly scored off a pass from Jack Drury to make it 6–4.
Midway through the period, Nazem Kadri exited briefly after taking a shot off the hand area and remained on the bench in discomfort.
Burns later brought Colorado within one with a point shot for his 11th goal of the season, and Malinski tied the game at 6–6 with his second goal.
Vancouver quickly regained control. Pettersson scored with 5:39 remaining to restore the lead at 7–6.
Boeser then sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal with 1:29 left, securing the 8–6 victory for Vancouver over the league-leading Avalanche.
A week ago, the vibes seemed pretty low in San Jose. On March 26, the Sharks lost 2-1 to the St. Louis Blues in overtime for their sixth consecutive defeat, seemingly all but knocking them out of the Western Conference playoff race.
But that slump seems like a distant memory after Wednesday’s victory. For the third game in a row, the Sharks scored a game-winning goal in the final 90 seconds of regulation, becoming the first NHL team to do so, per Sportradar.
Wednesday’s victory was the most dramatic of the trio. Macklin Celebrini equalized with 99 seconds to go before Alexander Wennberg delivered an improbable winner just over a minute later, giving San Jose a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center.
Per @Sportradar, the #SJSharks are the first team in @NHL history to win three consecutive games on GWGs within the last 90 seconds of regulation.#TheFutureIsTeal
— San Jose Sharks PR (@SanJoseSharksPR) April 2, 2026
On Monday night, Celebrini crossed the 100-point threshold with two goals and an assist in a 5-4 win over the Blues. Two nights later, the 19-year-old — who is building a very good case for the Hart Trophy — factored into all four Sharks goals against the Pacific Division-leading Ducks. After having only two points during San Jose’s six-game skid, he now has nine points in three wins since.
Yet, when interviewed shortly after on the NHL on TNT postgame show, the teenage phenom still remained cool as a cucumber, almost oblivious to another absurd performance he had given.
“Yeah, I mean, still living off that emotion, pretty high there,” Celebrini said. “I think we just stayed patient, didn’t give up much in that third, and, I mean, we buried it when it counted.”
Of course, to anyone who has watched the Sharks this season, the concept of Celebrini being very good isn’t exactly new. But the magnitude of his talent is becoming more and more remarkable to anyone and everyone, even a 16-year NHL veteran teammate in Ryan Reaves.
After being dragged him into Celebrini’s postgame interview with TNT, Reaves had a blunt assessment on playing alongside the budding superstar.
“It’s like watching a god on ice,” Reaves remarked. “It’s fun to watch. It’s crazy the stuff he can do at 19. I’ll be honest, though, half of my interviews this year has been about him, so it’s kind of starting to wear me out a little bit.”
However, if Celebrini can carry San Jose to an unlikely spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Reaves likely will be asked plenty more questions about his extraordinary teammate, who just happens to be 20 years his junior.
Reaves also doesn’t appear to be the only Sharks player inspired by Celebrini. Three consecutive wins — each coming from behind — show a growing level of belief and grit that extends beyond their fresh-faced centerpiece.
NHL on TNT analyst Brian Boucher asked Celebrini if Wednesday’s win could be a “galvanizing moment” for Team Teal, which now sits just one point out of a wild-card spot, with at least one game in hand over almost everyone else around them.
“It shows our confidence in our group and the way we believe in each other,” Celebrini explained. “We’re never going to quit. Who knows what’s going to happen, but we’re going to keep playing hard, take it game by game. It’s cliché, but that’s the way we’re going to approach it and hopefully, just to keep taking strides.”
The Sharks had an easy opportunity to quit during their recent losing streak. But, as Celebrini stated, that’s not in this team’s DNA; the way San Jose has won its last three games is perfect proof of that mentality.
The Vancouver Canucks have made a roster move ahead of their game against the Colorado Avalanche tonight, as the team announced they have called-up forward Ty Mueller from the AHL. This comes only a couple of hours after the Abbotsford Canucks announced the signing of forward Braden Birnie to a professional try-out agreement.
Mueller has been a steady presence in the Abbotsford Canucks’ lineup this season, playing in 59 of their 66 games so far. He has scored 16 goals and 19 assists in this span of time while often playing in Abbotsford’s top-six as a centre. The forward currently ranks second on Abbotsford in points behind Nils Åman (6G, 31A).
This is not Mueller’s first time playing at the NHL level, as the forward made his NHL debut for Vancouver on April 12, 2025 against the Minnesota Wild on home-ice. He played in one more game after that, on April 14 against the San Jose Sharks, before re-joining Abbotsford in their chase for the Calder Cup.
Mueller’s call-up comes shortly after Evander Kane was noted to be sitting out of tonight’s game. Kane has reportedly been dealing with an injury through the most recent stretch of games, though he played in his 1000th career NHL game on Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Vancouver will face the Avalanche tonight at 5:30 pm PT, with their next match taking place tomorrow against the Minnesota Wild at 5:00 pm PT. Abbotsford will play in a home back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, with this being their final stretch of home games through the 2025–26 season.
Apr 12, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Ty Mueller (39) skates against the Minnesota Wild in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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Every year, the American Hockey Coaches Association presents an award to a former college coach or player who ‘has distinguished himself in his profession after college.’ The award was named after former Providence College player, coach, and athletic director Lou Lamoriello. This year, the honor goes to Vegas Golden Knights President of Hockey Operations George McPhee.
“I am honored beyond words to accept the Lou Lamoriello Award as the Frozen Four prepares to arrive here in Vegas,” said McPhee in response. “Lou is among the very best hockey minds and human beings to grace college hockey and the National Hockey League. Lou’s impact on these institutions, as well as the lives of thousands who have worked for him and competed against him, is extraordinary.”
As a forward at Bowling Green State University, McPhee won the Hobey Baker Award in 1982. He went on to have a seven-year NHL career, playing for the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils. After retirement, he began a career in management and had success with the Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, and New York Islanders before making his way to Vegas.
On July 13, 2016, McPhee became the inaugural General Manager and President of Hockey Operations of the Golden Knights. He won the NHL General Manager of the Year Award in 2018 after the success of his team’s inaugural season.
McPhee stepped aside as General Manager in favor of Kelly McCrimmon on September 1, 2019, but remained as the President of Hockey Operations. He won his first Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2023.
The Lou Lamoriello Award will be presented on April 10 during this year’s NCAA D1 Men’s Ice Hockey Frozen Four.
“George is widely respected throughout hockey and has consistently made a positive impact during his career,” said AHCA Executive Director Forrest Karr. ”His many contributions to the sport make him a natural choice for the Lou Lamoriello Award, and we look forward to presenting this well-deserved recognition during Frozen Four weekend.”
Photo caption: Feb 2, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Tobias Bjornfot (22) shoots the puck against the Buffalo Sabres during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that they have signed defenseman David Jiricek to a two-year, $3 million contract extension. Starting next season, he will have a $1.5 million average annual value.
The Flyers acquired Jiricek from the Minnesota Wild at the 2026 NHL trade deadline in exchange for forward Bobby Brink. Since then, the right-shot defenseman has played well at the AHL level with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Now, he has landed himself a solid contract extension from Philadelphia because of it.
In 10 games with the Phantoms since being acquired, Jiricek has recorded two goals, eight assists, and 10 points. This is after he had two goals and 10 points in 24 AHL games with the Iowa Wild before the trade.
Jiricek also played in 25 games for Minnesota before the deal, where he had zero points and 14 penalty minutes. In 84 career NHL games over four seasons, the 2022 sixth-overall pick has recorded two goals, 11 assists, and 13 points.
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson was on another level in March, and the NHL took notice of it.
Karlsson was named the NHL's Second Star for the month of March on Wednesday. He finished the month with nine goals and 24 points in 17 games, helping the Penguins go 8-6-3 in those games.
He had nine multi-point games in March, including four three-point games. It was his best month as a Penguin and has helped him compile 13 goals and 60 points in 70 games this season.
Karlsson's nine multi-point games in March are the most by a Penguins defenseman in a single month in franchise history.
Star status secured ⭐
Defenseman Erik Karlsson has been named the @NHL’s Second Star for the month of March.
Karlsson was putting the Penguins on his back for a good chunk of these games, especially since Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were both hurt. He hasn't made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the 2018-19 season, when he was with the San Jose Sharks, and is looking to change that this year.
Karlsson and the Penguins will be back in action on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
