Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby wrote his name in the NHL history books once again on Thursday. 

With a goal against the Buffalo Sabres, Crosby became the first NHL player ever to record 20 seasons where he’s averaged at least one point per game. He broke the tie with Wayne Gretzky, who had 19.

Crosby has 80 points in 72 games this season, 17 more points than the second-leading scorer on the Penguins, Rickard Rakell. Crosby missed two games before the 4 Nations Face-Off, meaning he can only play a maximum of 80 matches this season.

The 37-year-old could still break some massive franchise records set by another all-time great, Mario Lemieux.

Lemieux is the Penguins' leader in goals with 690 and points with 1,723. Crosby gained the lead in the assist column earlier this season and currently has 1,058 helpers.

It’ll take some time for Crosby to beat Lemieux in goals and points, but he’s well within reach. He could even get it done before his next two-year contract expires.

Crosby only needs 48 more points to become Pittsburgh’s all-time points leader. He’s more than capable of setting that record in the first half of next season.

In every season where Crosby has played at least 40 games, he scored at least 47 points. As long as he stays healthy, he won’t break a sweat on his way to becoming the franchise’s point leader. If we use his 1.11 points-per-game average from this season, he’s projected to record eight more points this season and break Lemieux’s record 36 games into 2025-26.

Penguins Crosby Joins Exclusive Club With Another 80-Point Season Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby scored a first-period goal against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, March 27, securing his 14th 80-point season.

Breaking the goals record will be a bit more of a challenge. 

Crosby has 618 career goals, 73 away from breaking Lemieux’s 690-goal marker. In the next two seasons, Crosby will have to get close to 40 goals in each of those campaigns to become the club’s all-time goal leader. 

Last season, he scored 42 goals, his most since the 44 he recorded in 2016-17.

The goal to give him the point per-game record was his 26th of the year. In the season's final eight games, he’s on pace to score two or three more goals. He’ll have to return to his production from last season if he wants any chance to break the record, but at this point, it’s tough to doubt what Crosby can do.

As for the team, they lost 7-3 to the Sabres, sit 26th overall in the NHL standings and are projected to miss the playoffs for the third straight season.

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After a disastrous road trip, the Pittsburgh Penguins are calling up some reinforcements from the AHL. On Friday morning, they announced that prospects Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty are bound for Pittsburgh.

Currently, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the AHL's fifth-best team, with a 36-18-7-1 record thanks partly to Koivunen, who has compiled 55 points in 62 games, good enough for sixth in league scoring. 

Meanwhile, since Feb. 15, McGroarty has collected the most points of anyone in the WBS lineup, scoring 18 points in the past 19 games, bringing his season totals to 39 points in 60 games.

Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule: Remaining Games & Statistical NotesThe Pittsburgh Penguins are winding down their 2024-25 season and on pace to miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season, a first in Sidney Crosby's 20-year career. However, there is plenty to play for in the final weeks of the regular season. 

After coming to the Penguins organization after a mid-summer trade from the Winnipeg Jets, McGroaty played in three NHL games before finding his groove in the AHL. 

Like McGroarty, Koivunen is playing his first professional season and is the baby Penguins' leading scorer and one of four players to score more than 20 goals this season.

The Finnish winger, a key piece in the Jake Guentzel trade, will have a chance to make his NHL debut on this call-up.

Since Pittsburgh will not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, both prospects will get some laps in and still have plenty of time to return to the AHL for the Calder Cup playoffs, which begins mid-April.

Pittsburgh's next game is Sunday against the Ottawa Senators at PPG Paints Arena, while WBS visits the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday. 

 

The Chicago Blackhawks have ten games left. At 21-42-9, their playoff chances were gone by the time November started. That’s the reality for a team going through a long, grueling rebuild. 

Throughout the season, the Blackhawks have transformed their roster into a young, vibrant group. Many of the top players on the Rockford IceHogs made their way to Chicago to show what they can do at the NHL level. 

10 games remaining don’t sound like a lot, but there is plenty of time for the folks in charge to do some last-minute evaluating. These are five questions that they’d like to have answered before they hit the offseason:

Is Connor Bedard a center or a winger?

A lot of what the Chicago Blackhawks do during the summer will depend on their opinion of Connor Bedard. Is he a center or is he a winger? These final 10 games can better help them make that decision. 

Is Ryan Donato worth a long-term extension?

The Chicago Blackhawks decided not to take anything for Ryan Donato at the trade deadline. They did not have an extension with him in place when this decision was made, so they ran the risk of losing him for nothing. Is he worth a long-term extension after having an unlikely career year? 

What do they have in Kevin Korchinski? 

Ahead of their final 10 games, the Blackhawks used their fourth and final non-emergency call-up on Kevin Korchinski. He has had a great season in the AHL, but only time will tell if he can be a star at the NHL level. Chicago will use these final 10 games to evaluate, which should help decide what to do with him in the summer. 

Are any college players going to get an NHL showcase? 

We have already seen a couple of college players sign with the teams that drafted them. As teams get eliminated from the NCAA tournament, will the Blackhawks consider giving any of them a chance in the NHL before the year is over? A few likely candidates are out there. These final 10 games could get interesting in that regard. 

What big splash needs to be made this upcoming summer? 

The Chicago Blackhawks have the roster availability and cap space to make a big move or two. What type of splash needs to be made to improve the team in the long term? Is it worth it to throw a lot of money at a player like Mitch Marner? We will know more after these 10 games are done. The answers to the above questions will help answer this one as well. 

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

The Pittsburgh Penguins (29-34-11) finished their three-game road trip with a disastrous performance at KeyBank Center. They fell to the Buffalo Sabres 7-3 on a historic night, as Sidney Crosby broke Wayne Gretzky's point-per-game record. 

In a recurring theme, Tristan Jarry gave up a goal on the first shot of the game, and the Penguins were never able to recover as the younger Sabres kept lighting the lamp in hopes of climbing out of the Eastern Conference basement. 

Thankfully, Pittsburgh has a few days off before their game, providing plenty of time to unpack this performance.

Crosby Steals the Headlines

Unfortunately, the Penguins were chasing the game less than a minute after the opening puck drop; captain Sidney Crosby scored at 11:11 of the first period to collect his 80th point of the season.

BREAKING: Sidney Crosby Breaks Wayne Gretzky's Point-Per-Game Seasons RecordAfter 20 years in the making, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has made NHL history.

The milestone goal cut the deficit to 2-1 for the home team, as Bryan Rust grabbed the puck out of the net to celebrate Crosby's historic achievement of earning his 20th point-per-game campaign. 

Even though only four Buffalo skaters failed to get on the scoresheet, and seven had two-point games, Crosby stole all the headlines by etching his name into the NHL record book.

The End of Tristan Jarry

Jarry rediscovered his game in the AHL for over a month, coming back to Pittsburgh to go on a four-game win streak. However, when he finally lost, it was like he had lost all his confidence again and had yet to find it.

For the second consecutive game, Mike Sullivan started Jarry, and for the second game in a row, he had to pull him as he gave up four goals on 12 shots to finish the night with a .667 SV%.

Originally drafted by the Penguins in 2013, the end of his tenure in Pittsburgh is here. The Penguins must move on from a goalie who just can't make a save, let alone one on the first shot of the game. 

Thursday night was Jarry's third shortest start of the season and his third-worst SV% game, which is not statistics worthy of being an NHL netminder.

Penguins Different Team Without Malkin

Evgeni Malkin missed his second consecutive game, and the Penguins gave up at least six goals in each. As the team's second-line center, Malkin leads another layer of attack that isn't there when he's not. 

Despite Dud Against Buffalo, Crosby The Star Of The ShowThere wasn't a whole lot to write home about in the Pittsburgh Penguins' brutal 7-3 road loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Even though most of the team's scoring has come from Crosby, Rust, and Rickard Rakell, Malkin is the Penguins' fifth-leading scorer and a future Hall of Famer that opponents tend to game plan for.

Without him in the lineup, the secondary scoring dries up, and the bottom six players are shuffled to compensate for the second-line opening, changing the offense's dynamics.

Despite the fanbase wondering what the team would look like without the 38-year-old in the lineup, the answer currently appears to be a mess. However, the Penguins can overcome his absence with some retooling and restructuring. 

While the Montreal Canadiens suffered an embarrassing loss on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, rookie blueliner Lane Hutson still hit another milestone. With an assist on Alex Newhook’s goal, the youngster recorded his 50th helper of the season in his 71st game.

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According to the NHL Public Relations account, he became the seventh fastest rookie to reach the milestone in a season since 1984-85. Joe Juneau did it in 59 games, Mario Lemieux and Chris Chelios in 63, Sergei Makarov in 64, Pelle Eklund in 65, and Matthew Barzal in 67.

Furthermore, he became the 24th rookie in history to accomplish the feat and just the fifth defenseman to do so after Larry Murphy (60 in 1980-81), Chris Chelios (55 in 1994-85), Stefan Persson (50 in 1977-78) and Gary Sutter (50 in 1985-86).

With another assist on Cole Caufield’s third-period goal, Hutson recorded his 13th multi-assist game. Only two rookie defensemen got more in a season: Chelios (16 in 1984-85) and Murphy (14 in 1980-81). With 11 games remaining on the Habs’ schedule, it’s far from out of the realm of possibility that he could catch them.

Lane Hutson helped the @CanadiensMTL get on the board. He became the 24th rookie in NHL history with 50 assists in a single campaign and fifth defenseman to do so. #NHLStats: https://t.co/5oRON7ksxqpic.twitter.com/WT0A9IPsD0

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) March 27, 2025

The rearguard has 51 assists and five goals for 56 points in 71 games. Chelios also has the record for most points by a defenseman in his rookie season with the Sainte-Flanelle with 64. To tie him, Hutson needs eight points in the remaining 11 games. It’s doable, but it will be tight, especially if the Canadiens don’t start winning again at the earliest opportunity.

Hutson still leads the rookie scoring race, two points ahead of Matvei Michkov, who overtook Macklin Celebrini last night with his three-point performance against the Canadiens. It will be interesting to see if the Flyers' rookie will produce more now that there’s been a coaching change in Philadelphia. He looked like he was flying last night and missed a hat trick by a quarter of an inch.

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The Montreal Canadiens lost 6-4 to the Philadelphia Flyers in the post John Tortorella era. The Flyers were going to come out strong to avenge their old coach and the Canadiens weren’t up to the task.

1. You can’t leave Matvei Michkov open. His first goal was too easy and that amped up the home crowd and left the Canadiens looking listless early on. I didn’t see that coming. Why would they start an impactful game so poorly? 
2. Cam York was facing disciplinary backlash for an undetermined item the Flyers wouldn’t elaborate on. He was on the bench with no stick. The Flyers played the entire game with five defenseman because they didn’t have anybody that was healthy enough to fill in. All of their defensive pairings were put in a blender and their defense was cohesive compared to the Canadiens.
3. The Canadiens missed defensive assignments on the Michkov goal, then the Michkov breakaway was stopped, On Couturier’s first goal, that went off his hand (was taken away from Michkov) he said postgame. It was easy, he was parked in the crease, they both were. When the defense wasn’t letting the team down, Jakub Dobes did. He wasn’t ready for a game of this magnitude.
4. Patrik Laine made a great defensive play and eventually got a goal. He had a good game. The Alex Newhook goal is the type he could pull off in college but hasn’t replicated enough in the pros. Goaltender interference is bizarre at this point. I can’t tell you what the rule is and neither can most players and Brendan Gallagher.

           “They got in Dobers way. That’s what they’ve been calling. That’s the standard. The league needs to show consistency with it. I don’t know what to make of the decision. Players are frustrated around the league.” 

          I thought Brink touched him while in the blue paint. What do I know the goal counted.

     5.  Accountability is great but fixing it is more important.

         “There’s no excuse,” said Josh Anderson.

That’s what you expect to hear. He looked miserable and took the bullet. Does that  mean they will do better next game? I’m not sure. I had said in previous articles the Flyers faltered down the stretch last year because of bad goaltending and not enough scoring at the right time. Not garbage time. It feels like the Canadiens are going down that path but the season isn’t over yet.

The Ottawa Senators improved their playoff chances on Thursday night while also knocking another nail in the Detroit Red Wings' coffin. Despite spending much of the first period in the penalty box and then bending hard in the third, the Senators held on to defeat the Red Wings 4-3 at Little Caesars Arena.

Just two and a half weeks ago, in a 2-1 victory, Sens goalie Linus Ullmark frustrated the Wings with a season-high 48 saves. He was the biggest reason Detroit was held scoreless in a chaotic first period, as the Red Wings went 0-for-5 on the power play. Ullmark ended the night with 31 saves.

Despite the Wings controlling most of the early play, Ottawa struck first. Fabian Zetterlund notched his first point as a Senator, setting up a hard-charging Thomas Chabot. Chabot hustled up into the rush and beat goalie Alex Lyon with a wrist shot to make it 1-0.

Just over seven minutes later, Brady Tkachuk caught up to Lucas Raymond and manhandled him in the neutral zone. While the Detroit fans protested, the puck went the other way, and Tim Stützle beat Lyon with a wrist shot on the short side. At that point, the Senators were being outshot 12-3 but still led 2-0.

A chippy first period boiled over when Stützle and Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson got into a shoving match, prompting Tkachuk to step in. Edvinsson, at 6-foot-6 but not known for fighting, agreed to drop with Tkachuk. But the scrap was little more than a wrestling match.

The Red Wings’ luck didn’t improve in the second period. Defenseman Ben Chiarot attempted to dump the puck in off the boards, but it struck Michael Rasmussen and bounced right to Drake Batherson, who set up David Perron for a breakaway goal, stretching Ottawa’s lead to 3-0.

That marked the end of Lyon’s night, as he was replaced by former Senator Cam Talbot.

The Sens took that lead into the third and finally took one penalty too many. With Shane Pinto off for a cross-check, Patrick Kane broke through for the Wings on the power play. Former Senator Alex DeBrincat fed him a pass across the crease, and Kane was able to tap it in.

Michael Amadio seemed to put the game away with a breakaway goal, his sixth goal of the month, making it 4-1 Ottawa. It turned out to be the game-winner and Amadio's sparkling two-way game will be tough to leave on the fourth line much longer.

With just over eight minutes to play, in a dreadful piece of Ottawa defending, Raymond made it 4-2. He was left all alone in front of Ullmark and had all day to pick his spot.

Less than four minutes later, former Senator Vladimir Tarasenko beat Ullmark from the slot, cutting Ottawa’s lead to one and setting up a tense finish.

However, the Senators D fought back a heavy Detroit push for the victory.

With the win, Ottawa moves seven points above the Eastern Conference playoff cut line. They'll host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night in the first of three games against them in the final three weeks of the regular season.

San Jose Sharks learning to play with third-period lead sign of solid progress originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.

When a team is in last place, they look for small-but-real victories, examples of progress as a unit.

For the San Jose Sharks, maybe they’re learning to play with leads better?

On March 1, they lost 5-3 to the Ottawa Senators after blowing another third-period lead.

At that point, the Sharks had an NHL-worst .450 Winning Percentage Leading After Two Periods, which would be the worst mark in the salary cap era, just below the 2005-06 St. Louis Blues’ .500.

Since then, however, San Jose has won three straight games leading after two periods: March 4 at the Buffalo Sabres, March 13 against the Chicago Blackhawks and Thursday versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, raising that gruesome .450 to a less-abominable .522.

Yes, the Sharks blew a 5-3 lead to the Leafs, giving up two last-minute goals with Toronto’s goalie pulled. San Jose needed the shootout to come away with the win.

Read the full story at San Jose Hockey Now

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The 2024-25 regular season is coming to a close, with the majority of NHL teams having 10 or fewer games remaining. That includes the Vancouver Canucks, who sit just below the playoff bar with 80 points through 72 games. Ultimately, the last few weeks of the season will be chaotic as teams in both the Western and Eastern Conferences battle for 2025 Stanley Cup Playoff berths. 

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:

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When it comes to the Canucks, they are in a complicated situation. As mentioned, Vancouver is currently on the outside of the playoff picture and is competing with the Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, and Utah Hockey Club for the two Wild Card spots. While most of the focus has been on the Wild Card chase, there is another way the Canucks could get into the playoffs, and that is by finishing as the third team in the Pacific Division. 

Before diving into this possibility, it is important to note that Vancouver finishing as the third-place team in the Pacific Division is highly unlikely. That being said, the team that is currently holding the spot is 1-2-1 in their last four games and is facing some serious injury issues heading into the final weeks of the regular season. The team in question is the Edmonton Oilers, who, with ten games remaining, have 87 points on the season. 

Now that the theory has been presented, the question is what would need to happen to make this idea a reality. Ultimatley, the Canucks would need to record eight more points than the Oilers for the rest of the season. For example, if Edmonton posted a 3-7-0 record, Vancouver would need to go 7-3-0 in their final ten games to surpass their division rival. 

As for the schedule comparissons, the Oilers have an easier schedule than the Canucks. Edmonton's strength of schedule is .529 compared to Vancouver's .577. If this were to happen, the Canucks would need the San Jose Sharks to do them a huge favour, as they have three more matchups against the Oilers left on the schedule. 

One of the reasons why this is possible is that, as mentioned, the Oilers are currently dealing with some injury issues. Leon Draisatil and Connor McDavid have both missed the last handful of games, while Stuart Skinner was absent from the lineup on Thursday when they lost to the Seattle Kraken. While all three of these players are expected to return before the end of the season, not having them at 100% could cause some issues as Edmonton looks to secure a playoff berth. 

While the odds are stacked against them, Vancouver still has a chance at clinching a spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It will not be easy, as six of their final 10 games are against teams currently in playoffs, which included two more games against the Winnipeg Jets. That being said, anything is possible if they go on a run, which includes surpassing the Oilers for the third spot in the Pacific Division. 

The Canucks play their fifth of sixth straight on the road Friday when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. This is a key matchup for both teams as each is battling for a spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 pm PT from Nationwide Arena.

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. 

After a sluggish start, the Toronto Maple Leafs were playing catch-up all night in a 6-5 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. 

Despite a valiant effort in the final minute of regulation, Toronto's attempt to stage a comeback came up short. Down 5-3, they scored twice in 44 seconds to force overtime and earn a point, pushing their regular-season point total to 90 and regaining sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division. 

However, the Leafs missed out on two points against the Sharks this season – who are ranked dead last in the league – dropping both contests in a shootout. 

One bright spot for the Leafs, though, was newly acquired forward Scott Laughton registering his first goal and point as a member of the team. 

The tally came at the 15:13 mark of the second period to cut the deficit to one, making it a 4-3 score. His goal broke a 14-game point drought that stretched back to his time with the Philadelphia Flyers, picking up his first in 10 games in Toronto. 

The 30-year-old made a strong play in the offensive zone, carrying the puck up the half wall before he wired home a one-timer off a pass from David Kampf, beating Sharks goaltender Alexandar Georgiev.

Scott Laughton has his first goal as a member of the @MapleLeafs! 🍁 pic.twitter.com/2opNTZWRG1

— NHL (@NHL) March 28, 2025

It was an important moment for the Oakville, ON, native, who has been working hard to settle into his new role with the Maple Leafs. 

“It was nice, probably for my own confidence, and nice to get one for sure. It would have been a lot nicer to get a win and not score,” Laughton admitted after the game. “I know my role on this team, and obviously, contributing is nice, but I know what to bring on a daily basis, and I’m starting to feel more comfortable. Starting to play a little bit better. So, it’s good for myself, but you want to get those two points.”

Head coach Craig Berube had previously urged Laughton to stop overthinking his game, urging him to loosen up and just play freely. 

‘He’s Overthinking Things Instead Of Just Playing’: Scott Laughton Remains Pointless With Maple Leafs, Craig Berube Urges Forward To ‘Loosen Up’The Toronto Maple Leafs have begun to find their stride, securing back-to-back victories over the Calgary Flames and the Colorado Avalanche. However, one player in particular remains stuck in a slump – newly acquired Scott Laughton, who has yet to register a point in six games with the Leafs and continues to struggle to find his place in his hometown.

With the postseason approaching, hopefully, this is a step in the right direction for Laughton, who is adjusting to his new environment and working to find his rhythm after joining the Leafs in a trade on March 7. 

His teammates know just how much of a breakthrough a goal like that can be down the stretch.

“A lot of fun seeing him rip one home,” said Nylander. “First goal as a Leaf is huge. I’m happy for him.” 

“Yeah, it was huge. I think him being from Toronto and everything coming here is extremely exciting. And a lot of us know Lotty from different things. But he's been an unreal guy coming in here. He brings great energy every day despite whatever comes at him,” added captain Auston Matthews.

He was previously demoted to the fourth line, the “identity line,” amid the struggles and was recently placed back with Max Domi and Nick Robertson on the left wing of the third line for the past couple of games. On Thursday, the 12-year veteran logged 12:28 of ice time, registering two shots on goal, two hits, and two blocks, finishing with a plus-1 rating to go along with his goal.

When at his best, Laughton can provide physicality, depth, and steadiness. His game in San Jose was a key indicator of his capabilities, and he is now looking to build on his recent momentum by stringing together multiple strong outings in a row. 

“It was great to see him get a goal tonight. I thought he played great tonight. I thought he matched well on that line and created some really good chances. And that was a big goal that he had for us. So I know that's a big weight off your shoulders,” said Matthews. “I think that's just going to continue to carry momentum in his game. He's just going to continue to be more comfortable as we go along here.”

'We've Got To Be Better, Goalie Included': Maple Leafs Salvage Point But Struggle In Shootout Loss Against SharksSAN JOSE, Calif. — The Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the San Jose Sharks 6-5 in a shootout at SAP Center on Thursday. Although they picked up a crucial point in the standings, it was yet another example of the Leafs struggling to pounce against a team at the bottom of the NHL standings as they gear up for a playoff run next month.

Despite earning a point against the Sharks, the Leafs have now lost seven of their last 12 games. They dropped the opening contest of their three-game California road trip and will face a back-to-back in Los Angeles on Saturday, followed by a visit to Anaheim on Sunday.

They’ll need to clean things up to finish the weekend on the right foot.

Stay updated with the most interesting Maple Leafs stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the San Jose Sharks 6-5 in a shootout at SAP Center on Thursday. Although they picked up a crucial point in the standings, it was yet another example of the Leafs struggling to pounce against a team at the bottom of the NHL standings as they gear up for a playoff run next month.

The Leafs appeared destined to lose against the Sharks in regulation time. But two goals in the final minute of regulation time forced the game beyond 60 minutes. Outside of their performance on the power play, Toronto looked lethargic on the ice. There were also some lapses in judgement.

Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll misplayed the puck while attempting to make a pass. Instead turning it over to Sharks forward William Eklund and into the net.

"They are a quick team, but I think that maybe the travel yesterday and everything, we just weren't on our toes," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said while trying to pinpoint an explanation for his team's performance. "We got better as the game went along. We made some mistakes. We all got to be better, goalie included. It's not good enough."

The performance came just after the Leafs punished the bottom-feeding Philadelphia Flyers 7-2 on Tuesday. It appeared as though they were passed their transgressions of not taking advantage of the opportunity in front of them by pouncing on teams lower in the standings like they did on Saturday when they fell to the Nashville Predators. 

"I didn't love our game tonight. I thought we just seemed slow," Matthews said. "We didn't seem to take care of the puck much, just kind of messing around with it too much."

The Leafs got into penalty trouble later in the game, which didn't help. After getting the first three power plays in the game, San Jose had the next four chances. 

Leafs need better goaltending. 

When your team is having nights where they are struggling, a strong goaltending performance can turn the tide. While Woll was busy making 14 saves on 16 shots in the first period, he wasn't particularly strong after that, finishing the night with 30 saves on 35 shots. 

Since the 4 Nations break, the goaltending tandem of Woll and Anthony Stolarz hasn't been as strong as they were to start the season. In his last eight starts, Woll's save percentage is .892 and Stolarz's save percentage is .895 in his last 10 starts. Both have now reached career highs in games played during a season after never being the starting goaltender before. It's still anyone's guess who will start for the playoffs, but neither has goalie has taken the bull by the horns as of late.

Nylander hot

William Nylander scored twice to reach a career-high 42 goals this season. Not the type that has traditionally scored in bunches, the Swede recorded back-to-back multi-goal games for the first time in his NHL career.  With 10 games to go, he'd need eight to reach the 50-goal mark. It certainly looks attainable.

Nylander recorded his 42nd goal of the season.

For the first time in his NHL career, Nylander recorded back-to-back multi-goal games. Two tonight, and two against Philly on Tuesday. https://t.co/idRGZgb3Yv

— David Alter (@dalter) March 28, 2025

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The Florida Panthers are about to enter the home stretch of their regular season.

Coming off a nice four-day break between home games, Florida is looking to hit the ground running as they host the first of their final 11 games against the Utah Hockey Club Friday night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.

Entering play Friday, the Panthers are tied atop the Atlantic Division with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning but lose out to their neighbors from north of the border on a tiebreaker.

Both the Cats and Leafs hold identical 43-25-3 records, but due to Toronto having more non-shootout wins (42 to 38), the tiebreaker goes to them. Tampa has the same amount of points, but one more game played than Florida and Toronto. 

But with 11 games remaining for each team, things are surely going to change over the next few weeks.

Florida’s last game was five days ago, a 4-3 shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was the Panthers sixth straight win on home ice.

As for Utah, the former Coyotes arrive in South Florida with their playoff chances on life support.

With only 10 games remaining, Utah is currently 10 points behind St. Louis for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

It’s been a strong second half the season for Utah, though.

Over their past 20 games, Utah has points in all but seven of them (11-7-2). That includes their game on Thursday’s night, an 8-0 drubbing at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Now they’ll make the short trip from Tampa to Sunrise and wrap up a back-to-back set against a rested and hungry Panthers squad.

If all goes well, Florida will get a boost to their lineup in the form of Brad Marchand.

The future Hall of Famers acquired by the Panthers at the Trade Deadline has been working his way back from an injury he suffered about a week before the deal was made.

Marchand has been skating with Florida for the past several weeks and has been nearing a return.

If he plays, he’ll line up on the Cats’ second line with his old buddy Sam Bennett and rookie Mackie Samoskevich.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Sunday’s showdown with the Pens:

Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues

A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Jesper Boqvist

Gus Forsling – Seth Jones

Niko Mikkola – Tobias Bjornfot

Nate Schmidt – Uvis Balinskis

Scratches: Tomas Nosek, Jonah Gadjovich, Dmitry Kulikov

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For much of the game Thursday, it looked like the end of the winning run for the St. Louis Blues.

They fooled us again.

And by extending their winning streak to eight games with an incredible come-from-behind 3-2 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena, the Blues (39-28-7) found a new way to win.

And they found that they really can win in any fashion.

Their goal differential was plus-24 in the first seven games of this winning streak, but this was different. The Blues fought off a slow start and overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring twice in the third period in 19 seconds on goals by Cam Fowler and Dylan Holloway, who scored twice to extend his point streak to nine games (four goals, 10 assists) and after giving up two goals on his first five shots, Joel Hofer settled in to make 16 saves and win his fifth straight start.

Through it all, the Blues remained two points behind the Minnesota Wild for the first wild card in the Western Conference but moved five points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card and remained six ahead of the Calgary Flames, who lost 5-2 against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

“To have a comeback win, it wasn’t our best game by any means,” Holloway said. “We were kind of fighting it a bit early, but I think that to come back and win a game like that is huge for our team. That’s how we grow. It’s definitely crucial to know that we can do that.”

Coach Jim Montgomery said, “I think we just stuck with it. I thought it was important. Our first period was just OK and Nashville was checking really well. They were playing faster than us. The second period, we needed to win the period and we found a way to get a goal and then in the third period, we just felt that we hung around and we were going to prevail. It wasn’t a constant pressure, but we’re just a confident team that we think we’re going to find a way to win and we did tonight.”

It’s the Blues’ longest winning streak since they won nine in a row from April 2-17, 2022 but first time they were held under four goals. But all things considered, they’ll gladly take the two points.

Let’s dive into Thursday’s Three Takeaways:

* Finally found a forecheck, set play – The Blues trailed 2-1 in the third period, and it appeared that their winning streak would end.

There just didn’t seem to be that push that would be necessary to try and at least even the game up.

Through the first half of the third, they iced the puck six times and there just didn’t appear to be that desperate drive needed. They hadn’t been in this position in a while having to chase a game.

But for as well as the Predators (27-37-8), who were officially eliminated from the playoffs Thursday, checked and kept the Blues from getting to their forecheck, there was a crack.

It came on Fowler’s goal when the Blues were finally able to establish some zone time, worked the puck off the wall down low, and when Brayden Schenn found Jake Neighbours, he was able to find Fowler driving into the left circle and the defenseman sniped a wrister top shelf, short side at 11:57 to tie the game 2-2.

“Just tried to present my stick as an option if he needs it,” Fowler said of Neighbours. “That’s something we work on as a team and kind of offensive zone flow and we have to trust if a forward gets back there, he can get the puck to the net and I can crash for the rebound, or if he doesn’t like the shot, he can slide it over. Great play by him. Our whole shift, those guys worked really hard to get us that opportunity. I was happy to take advantage of it, but those guys made the whole play and made it happen for me.

“Credit to them, the first couple periods, they played a really solid game and didn’t give us much time and space. They were moving pucks fast and we didn’t get the chance to really establish our forecheck as we wanted to. It was frustrating for the first couple periods, but we came in here and tried to regroup in between and support one another. I thought we came out with a really strong third period and was able to get a couple big goals there to help us win. It was a great response by our guys.”

It was the juice needed, because at 12:19 when Holloway put the Blues ahead 3-2, it came off an icing and offensive zone face-off, a set play where Robert Thomas won the face-off to Holloway. He was supposed to find Jordan Kyrou as an option, but if it wasn’t there, get the puck to Thomas and enable to crafty center to make a play.

Thomas tried to find Kyrou from behind the net, but the puck caromed into the slot, and just like he did on the first goal he scored, Holloway used his speed to jump the play when the puck got caught in Michael Bunting’s skates and Holloway stole it and snapped it past Juuse Saros for the Blues’ first and only lead.

“We had a face-off play that we were running,” Holloway said. “’Tommer’ was hot on draws. I was supposed to go to to the corner and I get the puck, ‘Rouz’ was supposed to pop out, I give it low to ‘Tommer’ and then he looks slot. I was kind of rolling. I think he kind of missed ‘Rou’ and it was in Bunting’s skates and I was able to fish it out and get a good shot off.”

When all looked bleak, the Blues found a way, and Montgomery found something about his players again.

“That we’re resilient, that the confidence from everything that we’ve done is now come into the fact that we can win games in a lot of different fashions,” he said.

* Holloway goal key – The Blues needed something, anything to spark them. They had just three shots in the first period and little O-zone time, and Montgomery said if they can just find something positive in the second period, with the way the team has been winning and feeling confident, they would find a way.

Nathan Walker had a goal waved off earlier in the third period when a quick whistle blew a play dead – the second time in as many games it’s happened against Nashville.

But Holloway made another play. This time, again, hustling to jump into the neutral zone, disrupt a puck for Michael McCarron, and while falling down, create a loose puck for Thomas, who darted into the offensive zone, cut back and fed Holloway for a shot that got through Saros at 10:35 for a much-needed goal after Nashville had gone ahead 2-0 in the first on goals by Fedor Svechkov at 2:48 and Brady Skjei at 10:16.

“It was a neutral zone forecheck,” Holloway said. “As a F-2 there, you’re supposed to kind of take away the middle option. The guy went to the middle so I had a step in there. ‘Tommer’ made a great play, swooped in there, grabbed it. ‘Tommer’ is so good driving the ‘D’ down low and pulling it so I just tried to get him the play and he made a helluva pass to me. I was lucky enough for that one to squeak by.”

* Thomas/Schenn switch – Montgomery seems to have a pulse for when making a change, and he’s done so here in the past so many games when he flips Thomas and Schenn, so Thomas can play with Holloway and Kyrou, and Schenn goes with Neighbours and Zack Bolduc.

The Blues hadn’t had much offense, and had just 10 shots on goal through two periods, but only five through the first 30.

“Really it’s just looking for a spark,” Montgomery said. “I think we had five shots on net when I did it. It was 27 minutes into the game. I was just looking to put ‘Tommer’ with different players and ‘Schenner’ with different players and see if it sparked, and both lines scored. It worked.

“It’s just a feel that we’re not playing a normal possession game that we do and that maybe this will create something to spark, right.”

And it certainly did.

* A caveat for the end of the game was the Predators thought they had scored when Jonathan Marchessault put the puck in at the buzzer for what appeared to be a 3-3 game, but a quick review showed the puck was put in after the horn went off.

“I couldn’t hear anything,” Hofer said. “I was just getting ready for overtime. I was getting ready for overtime and all the boys came up to me and told us we won, so it was a good feeling.

“I knew it was close. I looked up and saw zeroes, but it’s happened to us a couple times this year with a couple seconds or what not. Luckily we were on the right side of it tonight.”

“It was huge. A little adversity for us at the start. We never gave up. We kept chipping at it. We got one in the second that gave us a chance in the third. It was a great third period for us. They didn’t have much. I thought we deserved that one tonight.”