The Carolina Hurricanes are back in the win column thanks to a 4-2 Saturday night win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It was as good of a road game as you can hope for against one of the league's best, as the Hurricanes did a really strong job of locking things down defensively and pushing play the other way.

The Canes outshot the Bolts 35-19 overall, while also outchancing them 54-30 at 5v5.

The victory was also special as it came on Rod Brind'Amour's 600th career game behind the bench. He's coached all them with the Carolina Hurricanes and he also holds the record for the most wins by a head coach in their first 600 games (367).

Carolina struck first in rapid fashion as Andrei Svechnikov was sprung on a breakaway. While the Russian winger didn't convert on that chance, he drew a call and on the delayed penalty sequence, Sebastian Aho found Svechnikov in the slot for the go-ahead goal.

"That goal to start the game, it just set the tone," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "That was a tough game out there and I thought everyone really contributed. That's how we win. It was special plays here and there from every line and that's how we got to get it done."

That first period was also probably one of the more chaotic we've seen too as after that Svechnikov goal, we had three separate penalty kills, a few big hits, Seth Jarvis fought Zemgus Girgensons (his first NHL tilt), and then to cap it all off, the Canes scored again in the final minutes of the period.

It was almost a carbon copy of the first goal, but just reversed, as Aho was stopped on a breakaway by Andrei Vasilevskiy, but then Svechnikov found the loose puck off the rebound and fed Aho at the backdoor for the immediate response. 

Things looked pretty good for Carolina heading into the second period, but as has been the case over the last few games, the second frame was not very kind to them.

It's not like the Hurricanes were bad by any means in the second though. Sure, the Lightning were certainly generating a bit more zone time in the middle period, but their best chances came off of two broken plays caused by an overaggressive move by the Hurricanes' defense.

The first goal against came at the hands of a Yanni Gourde partial breakaway after the Canes got caught a little too high in the offensive zone and then less than two minutes later, the Lightning struck twice to tie the game after they sprung themselves on a 3-on-1.

Yes, Carolina has certainly had problems in second periods as of late, but this was more so a couple of bad breaks rather than the team not playing well.

And the Hurricanes got right back to it in the third period as they put their foot down on the gas. Carolina kept coming in waves, but it was a Jordan Martinook sling from the half-wall that wound up catching Vasilevskiy, who played a tremendous game for Tampa Bay, a bit unaware.

The Canes kept up the pressure from there, and although the Lightning didn't get too many chances, there were still a few close calls, with Sean Walker having to make a tremendous kick save with Brandon Hagel having basically an empty net and Frederik Andersen also shutting the door a few times on Nikita Kucherov.

"That was the one shift in the third where we were in one,' Brind'Amour said. "Freddie made a big save and then it was a tap-in, empty netter and Walks... You're never out of a play. That's what we always say and it's the old kick save and a beauty. We'll take it."

 "A couple of huge blocks by the guys in front," Andersen said. "Chatty had a good one in the first and then obviously Walks on that late on right before we scored."

But eventually, Logan Stankoven would hit the empty netter to carry the team through that final Lightning push.

"I thought we were really good," Brind'Amour said. "Had a couple mistakes that they ended up capitalizing on, but really, I felt that throughout the game we were solid. A couple of big saves, a couple of special plays from guys. Overall, a great effort."

The win also gives the Hurricanes a tie-breaker advantage over Tampa Bay, as they now hold the head-to-head matchup edge (2 wins: 1 loss).

The NHL tiebreaker format goes points, regulation wins, total wins and then head-to-head, so it would take some things breaking a certain way, but nonetheless, it's a good card to hold.

Carolina will continue to road trip with a stop in Columbus on Tuesday.

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The Islanders wanted to start strong.

They wanted to take a lead and play with a lead.

They wanted to stop digging themselves a hole in the first period, something they’d done in seven of their first eight games following the Olympic break.

Check, check and check on Saturday night, when a 3-0 first period powered a 3-2 win over the Flames at UBS Arena.

It remains to be seen if they can keep it up Tuesday night in Toronto, but here was proof positive that the Islanders can do plenty in the first period.

“We had a really good first period,” coach Patrick Roy said. “We had good jump. … Was pretty pleased with the way we came out. Part of what we talked [about] before the game, we want to have a good start, and we had the good start we were looking for.”

The playing with a lead bit, admittedly, may need some work, as the Islanders let Calgary back into the game in a third that got way too close for comfort.

Dustin Wolf, who relieved Devin Cooley after the latter coughed up a three-goal first, was simply excellent for Calgary, giving the Flames a chance to come back.

The warning signs started to blare 2:17 into the third, when Mikael Backlund tipped in Olli Maatta’s shot to make it 3-1.

Wolf pulled out a showstopper on Cal Ritchie shortly thereafter — his second terrific save off a rebound after robbing Matthew Schaefer late in the second — to keep it that way.

Then at the 8:28 mark, Blake Coleman took advantage of a poorly timed change to cut the lead to 3-2.

The Flames didn’t let up from there.

The Islanders successfully defended their lead in the end, but it would be hard to claim they played a good 60 minutes.

It took everything, right down to David Rittich’s 30th and final save of the night on Zayne Parekh with 17 seconds to go, to keep the Islanders from being on the wrong end of the comeback effort.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND ISLANDERS STATS

“It’s a combination of everything,” Brayden Schenn told The Post. “We’re on a back-to-back, they’re fresh, they’re coming at us. That side of it. But I think we can manage the puck a little bit better. Put pucks to the goal line. Wear them down. Don’t let them keep on coming at us in waves. So that’s something we have to clean up.”

With that caveat, Saturday had plenty of good, starting with proof that Simon Holmstrom does not need Jean-Gabriel Pageau centering him to impact the game at a high level.

Coach Patrick Roy finally broke up the duo that had played all but two games together since Jan. 6, usually on the third line with Anders Lee, to put Holmstrom on the right side of Schenn on Saturday, with Anthony Duclair back in to complete the second line.

That allowed Ritchie to go to the third line with Lee and Pageau, while Ondrej Palat played on the fourth line, where he finished Friday’s loss to the Kings, with Casey Cizikas and Kyle MacLean.

The almost innate chemistry Holmstrom has with Pageau has always been the implicit argument against this sort of move.

Schenn, though, is not too dissimilar of a player to Pageau, and found himself in the sort of spot Pageau often is at 16:35 of the first: feeding Holmstrom on the rush for a goal that made it 2-0 Islanders.

Holmstrom got on the board again just a few minutes later, this one shorthanded and — as per usual — from Pageau after the latter had started the rush when Yegor Sharangovich fumbled a puck.

“It certainly gives us four very good lines, having [Holmstrom] playing with Schenn,” Roy said. “I thought that was giving us scoring from that line, A, and then, B, feeling comfortable that they could defend very well. And that’s what they did.”

The pair of late goals belied a first period in which the Islanders had played excellent hockey, and in which the aforementioned lineup changes paid dividends.

Cizikas jammed one in at the front of the net to open the scoring 10:06 in, and all four lines — including the Emil Heineman, Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal trio that had accounted for both goals Friday night and was unchanged from the second half of that game — had it rolling.

“Casey’s line, they really got us going,” Holmstrom said, echoing the sentiment around the room.

The win ensured the Islanders would end the night no worse than third in the Metropolitan Division, though the exact placement depended on the Penguins’ result against Utah in Salt Lake City.

Scoreboard watching, of course, is much less stressful when the Islanders take care of business adequately.

It was thanks to their start that they did just that.

Los Angeles Kings star Anze Kopitar will retire after this season as the team's all-time leading scorer.

He scored career points No. 1,307 and 1,308 on Saturday, March 14, to move past Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne's team record.

Dionne was a fixture on the Triple Crown line of the 1970s and 1980s and scored 1,307 points in 921 games in Los Angeles between stints with the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers.

Kopitar, drafted No. 11 overall in 2005, has been with the Kings his entire career and achieved the feat in 1,505 games. He helped Los Angeles win Stanley Cup titles in 2012 and 2014 and has been captain since the 2016-17 season.

The Slovenia native tied Dionne with a power play goal in the second period against the New Jersey Devils and broke the team record with another power play goal in the third period. Teammates poured onto the ice to congratulate him.

ANZE KOPITAR IS NOW THE ALL TIME LEADING SCORER IN LA KINGS HISTORY 👑

1,308 POINTS PASSING DIONNE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/frpFknknt8

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 15, 2026

Kopitar said during training camp that he would retire after the 2025-26 season. He said he was announcing that early so it wouldn't be a distraction if the team were in the playoff hunt.

The Kings entered Saturday's game holding the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but the San Jose Sharks moved one point ahead with a victory and the Kings' 6-4 loss.

If the Kings make the playoffs, Kopitar also has a chance to set team playoff records. He trails Wayne Gretzky by two goals, three assists and five points.

Anze Kopitar, Marcel Dionne stats with Kings

Games: Kopitar 1,505; Dionne 921

Goals: Dionne 558; Kopitar 450

Assists: Kopitar 858; Dionne 757

Points: Kopitar 1,308; Dionne 1,307

Even strength points: Dionne 828; Kopitar 825

Power play points: Dionne 461; Kopitar 455

On Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, Anze Kopitar surpassed Los Angeles Kings legend, Marcel Dionne, to move into first in Kings franchise history for points.

Kopitar notched a pair of power-play goals in Los Angeles' contest against New Jersey. To tie Dionne's record, Kopitar scored the Kings' first goal of the game off a nice feed from defenseman Brandt Clarke. Left winger Artemi Panarin provided the secondary helper on that tally.

To officially break the record, Kopitar scored the Kings' fourth goal of the game, equalizing the score. This power-play marker was orchestrated by the same two players, Panarin and Clarke.

Clarke shuffled the puck to Panarin on the half-boards, who made a one-touch pass to Kopitar. The Kings' captain finished it off, putting the puck through Devils' goaltender Jake Allen.

Los Angeles' bench was cleared as all of Kopitar's teammates went on the ice to celebrate the legendary milestone with him.

Kopitar's Legacy

Kopitar has been with the Kings his entire career, and when you think of the Kings, he is the first name that comes to mind for his loyalty and longevity. Kopitar was drafted 11th overall by the Kings in 2005. He made his NHL debut against the Anaheim Ducks, scoring two goals in his first game. 

From there, Kopitar played a major role in the Kings' Stanley Cup wins in 2012 and 2014. In his career, Kopitar has won two Stanley Cups, two Selke awards, and three Lady Byng Trophies. Kopitar, throughout his career, has been a symbol and an Icon for the Kings organization from 2005 to today, 2026.

Kopitar announced earlier this season that he would retire at the end of the 2025-2026 season, which will seewill see one of the NHL's greats leave the game. Throughout his career, Kopitar demonstrated himself to be a very clean player, and some fans argued that the Lady Byng should be renamed the Kopitar award. 

Overall, with Kopitar passing Marcel Dionne to become the Kings' franchise point leader, it cemented his legacy as not only one of the Kings' franchise greats but also one of the greatest NHL players in history. 

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The Colorado Avalanche spent most of Saturday afternoon trying to catch up but came up short in a 3–1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.

Winnipeg took control early in the second period and never really let go, while goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped nearly everything Colorado sent his way. Martin Nečas finally got the Avalanche on the board late in the third period, but the comeback push came too late.

Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar each picked up an assist on the goal. Veteran defenseman Brent Burns also reached a milestone, playing in his 990th straight NHL game and moving past Keith Yandle for the second-longest ironman streak in league history.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 15 saves on 17 shots in the loss.

For Winnipeg, Kyle Connor scored to reach 30 goals for the eighth time in his career. Alex Iafallo and Cole Perfetti also scored, while Hellebuyck finished with 28 saves.

First Period

The first period was a slow start offensively, with both teams feeling each other out and combining for just 13 shots.

Midway through the period, Brock Nelson was called for roughing after a stick battle along the boards with Iafallo. Nelson shoved him to get his stick free and was sent to the penalty box.

Colorado’s penalty kill did its job, holding the Jets without a single shot during the power play.

Late in the period, the Avalanche earned a power play when Mark Scheifele wrapped up Devon Toews while racing for the puck along the boards. Officials called the penalty with just over 20 seconds left in the period.

The horn sounded before the power play could start, so Colorado carried 1:40 of man-advantage time into the second period. After 20 minutes, the Avalanche held an 8–5 edge in shots, but the game remained scoreless.

Second Period

Winnipeg didn’t take long to grab the lead.

Just over two minutes into the period, the Jets scored shortly after killing off Colorado’s power play. Scheifele stepped out of the penalty box, picked up the puck in the neutral zone, and spotted Connor rushing into the offensive zone. He sent a pass to the left circle, where Connor snapped a shot past Blackwood to make it 1–0.

The Jets added another midway through the period. A shot from Scheifele at the point hit Iafallo in the slot. The puck dropped right to him, and he quickly fired it past a screened Blackwood to make it 2–0.

Colorado tried to answer by pushing harder around the net. A little later, Makar moved across the blue line and fired a shot toward the net, but Hellebuyck caught it cleanly with his glove.

The Avalanche almost got on the board at the end of the period. Nelson was alone at the side of the crease with the puck bouncing on his stick, but his quick attempt slid across the goalmouth and out of the zone.

The miss kept Winnipeg in front 2–0 heading into the third.

Third Period

Colorado got an early power play when Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Bryson was called for high-sticking Parker Kelly.

Even with the chance, the Avalanche had trouble breaking through against Hellebuyck and the Jets’ defense.

They finally got one late in the game. With Blackwood pulled for an extra attacker, MacKinnon slid the puck across the ice to Nečas, who blasted a one-timer into the net to cut the lead to 2–1. It was Colorado’s first regular-season goal at Canada Life Centre since Jack Johnson scored there on December 16, 2023.

Any comeback hopes ended soon after.

MacKinnon lost control of the puck in the neutral zone, and Winnipeg quickly moved the other way. Perfetti picked up the loose puck and scored into the empty net to seal the 3–1 win.

Next Game

The Avalanche (44-12-9) host Sam Girard and the Pittsburgh Penguins (32-18-15) on Monday at 7:30 p.m. MT on ESPN and Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM.

Anze Kopitar became the Kings' all-time leading scorer on Saturday, passing Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne with a third-period goal in a 6-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.

Kopitar, who said he will retire at the end of the season, has 1,308 points — one better than the 1,307 points Dionne had in his 12 seasons with the Kings from 1975 to 1987.

Kopitar, 38, has a franchise-best 858 assists. With 450 career goals, he trails only Luc Robitaille (557) and Dionne (550) on the team’s all-time list.

The Kings captain tied Dionne's mark on a power-play goal in the second period against the Devils. He broke the record on his 10th goal of the season, tying the score 4-4 with 6:18 left in the third period.

New Jersey's Jack Hughes scored about four minutes later to put the Devils back into the lead before Timo Meier put the game away with an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

Artemi Panarin and Taylor Ward also scored for the Kings (27-24-15), who are battling the San José Sharks, Seattle Kraken and the Nashville Predators for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Kings fell out of the final wild-card spot Saturday after San José's 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

Kopitar ranks 38th in NHL scoring history and is one of nine players in league history to have played in 1,500 games with one team.

“It’s amazing,” Kings general manager Ken Holland said earlier this month. “The league’s been around a hundred and something years. You’re watching one of nine that played 1,500 games with one team. I think it speaks to his passion. It speaks to he does it right every day.

Read more:Anze Kopitar reflects upon his decision to retire at end of season

“To play 1,500 games in the National Hockey League, lots of times when players get to a certain age the league starts to go by them because it gets hard. It’s hard during the summer, all the sacrifices you have to make in the summertime. Going to the gym and family sacrifices.

“He plays 200 feet. He plays a hard game. He’s one of the premier two-way centermen of his time. First-ballot Hall of Famer. It’s amazing what he’s accomplished. It just speaks to his passion, determination, love of the game, sacrifices. He’s an amazing player that the fans of the L.A. Kings have got to watch for a long time.”

History. Made. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/vjBwwbOtV5

— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 15, 2026

Kopitar, a Slovenian native, was selected 11th overall by the Kings in the 2005 NHL draft. He scored twice in his Kings debut a year later. A five-time All-Star, Kopitar won the Stanley Cup twice with the Kings in 2012 and 2014. He's also the longest-serving captain in franchise history.

The Kings hope to make Kopitar's final season in Los Angeles a memorable one after four consecutive playoff losses to the Edmonton Oilers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

MONTREAL (AP) — Igor Chernyshov's return to the San Jose Sharks lasted less than 30 seconds.

The 20-year-old rookie took a hit from Montreal's Mike Matheson in the neutral zone just after the start of Saturday night's game. Chernyshov slid across the ice, then twice got up onto his skates only to fall back down. He was eventually helped up and left the game. The Sharks later announced he wouldn't return.

This was Chernyshov's 16th NHL game and his first since he was recalled from San Jose of the AHL earlier in the week. He was slotted onto the top line alongside Macklin Celebrini.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Buffalo Sabres are having a fantastic 2025-26 season and have a very good chance of making the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Yet, as great as the vibes are for the Sabres right now, things are also looking promising for their future.

The Sabres have some very good prospects in their system, and two of them have now landed some serious praise.

Sabres prospects Radim Mrtka and Konsta Helenius were both featured on Craig Button's latest top 50 NHL-affiliated prospects rankings.

Mrtka was given the No. 23 spot on Button's rankings. The 2025 ninth-overall pick has shown good promise this season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Seattle Thunderbirds, as he has recorded 32 points in 39 games. The 6-foot-6 defenseman also played in four AHL games with the Rochester Americans earlier this season, where he had one assist and seven penalty minutes. 

As for Helenius, he was given the No. 25 spot on Button's rankings. The 2024 first-round pick has taken a noticeable step forward this season with Rochester, as he has 15 goals and 45 points in 48 games. Due to this, the skilled prospect has also played in his first nine NHL games this season, where he has recorded one goal, four points, and a plus-1 rating.

Mrtka and Helenius both have the potential to be big parts of the Sabres' roster in the future.

TSN's Craig Button has released his latest top 50 NHL-affiliated prospects list, and two players in the Pittsburgh Penguins system made the cut: Sergei Murashov and Will Horcoff.

Murashov was given the No. 12 spot by Button, and it makes a lot of sense when looking at how well he has played this season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In 31 games with the AHL squad this campaign, he has a 20-7-3 record, a 2.18 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage, and three shutouts. He also has a .897 save percentage in five games for Pittsburgh this season.

As for Horcoff, the 2025 first-round pick was given the No. 50 spot by Button. Horcoff has had a strong sophomore season with the University of Michigan. In 35 games with the school this season, the 6-foot-5 forward has recorded 23 goals, 36 points, 56 penalty minutes, and a plus-8 rating. 

Murashov and Horcoff have the potential to both be solid long-term pieces for the Penguins' roster. It will be intriguing to see how they continue to grow their games from here. 

The Philadelphia Flyers are expecting top prospect Porter Martone to be a huge part of their future. It is understandable, as the 2025 sixth-overall pick has all the tools to become a top-six power forward at the NHL level.

Martone has had a fantastic freshman year with Michigan State University this campaign, as he has recorded 23 goals and 46 points in 32 games. With this, the 6-foot-3 forward has earned some big praise.

TSN's Craig Button gave Martone the No. 3 spot on his latest top 50 NHL-affiliated prospects list.

With Martone simply dominating the collegiate level, it makes sense that he is being viewed as one of the NHL's best prospects by Button. His mix of skill and physicality should make Flyers fans very excited about his future with the club.

It will now be interesting to see how Martone continues to develop from here. There is no question that he has the potential to be something special for the Flyers once he makes the jump to the NHL level.

Flyers can't answer the moment, fall to Blue Jackets in shootout originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers struggled offensively and missed out on a big opportunity with a 2-1 shootout loss Saturday night to the Blue Jackets at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Kirill Marchenko won it for Columbus as the game’s lone scorer in the shootout.

Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny couldn’t deliver in the skills competition.

Alex Bump scored the Flyers’ regulation goal.

With a golden chance to take the lead, the Flyers came up empty on a four-minute power play, which carried over from the second period into the third.

“Sluggish group tonight, we didn’t have our A game,” Rick Tocchet said. … “A lot of hockey lately, late nights, I don’t know. But getting a point with our B game, you’ve got to take the positive out of it.”

The Flyers (31-23-12) failed to build off its sweep of a back-to-back set, which was punctuated by a 3-2 shootout win Thursday night on the road over the Wild.

This was their 23rd overtime of the season. They dropped to 8-4 in the shootout.

“There are moments where you’ve got to make a play, we’re lacking that sometimes in those moments,” Tocchet said. “But the good thing is we’re hanging in games. You’ve got to give the guys credit.”

Tocchet’s club has lost three of its last four home games. The losses have felt like momentum killers.

The Flyers dropped to five points back of the Blue Jackets (34-21-11), a team that’s also trying to chase down a playoff berth.

• After a busy Saturday around the NHL, the Flyers fell to six points back of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. They entered the day five points back.

They’ve made it interesting with at least a point in seven of their last nine games (6-2-1). They have 16 games to go.

“I think every guy in the room is one-track minded still on getting in,” Jamie Drysdale said. “There are no ifs, ands or buts. Was this an important game to get two points? Absolutely. In saying that, we’re not out until we’re out, so I think this team can kind of build off that and that’s kind of our attitude. I know for a fact that’s how everyone in the room feels.”

• Dan Vladar did his job again, denying 27 of 28 shots.

In the first period, Marchenko scored six seconds after Vladar made a string of three saves, which had him sprawling in his crease.

But the 28-year-old was his reliable self and converted a number of timely saves. Can’t fault him at all.

“He has been unreal,” Denver Barkey said. “I’ll say it once, I’ll say it again, he’s our backbone. He’s positive, he has got all the energy, he’s awesome and he has been great for us.”

Columbus netminder Jet Greaves stopped 18 of the Flyers’ 19 shots.

• Bump continued to impress with his second goal and third point through five games since being called up for his NHL debut.

The 22-year-old winger deflected home an Emil Andrae shot to tie the game at 1-1 in the first period.

Three days ago, Tocchet was effusive in his praise for Bump’s ability to shoot the puck. The rookie really hasn’t given the Flyers any reasons to send him back down.

On Bump’s goal, Christian Dvorak recorded a secondary assist, giving him a career-high 39 points.

• Barkey had an injury scare with 5:47 minutes left in the first period when he had to exit after being boarded by Marchenko.

But the 20-year-old rookie returned around the beginning of the second period.

Barkey was slow to get up after the hit, with his face in his hands while being down on the ice. But he was eventually able to skate off under his own power.

The undersized winger showed toughness during the middle stanza when he took some whacks while battling in the slot. He ended up drawing two penalties, but the Flyers couldn’t capitalize on the long power play.

“He was like that in London, he’s a fireball, he’s not scared to go in the corners, the size doesn’t matter,” Tocchet said. “Great effort, great effort from the kid.”

• Egor Zamula was back in town for the first time since being traded on New Year’s Eve.

After the Flyers dealt him to the Penguins, his contract was terminated, allowing him to sign with the Blue Jackets.

The 25-year-old defenseman has been in and out of the lineup for Columbus. He played his 15th game Saturday night and saw limited minutes.

• The Flyers open a three-game California road trip Wednesday when they visit the Ducks (10 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

The Philadelphia Flyers have used one of their last two post-NHL trade deadline call-ups, bringing a recently signed forward into the fold to close out the season.

On Saturday, the Flyers announced that journeyman forward Garrett Wilson, who signed an NHL contract with the organization ahead of the NHL trade deadline, has been called up to the NHL, using the third of their four allotted call-ups.

The other two were previously used on Denver Barkey and Alex Bump, respectively, as they needed to be on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' roster to be eligible to participate in the AHL Calder Cup playoffs.

The same was true of Wilson, and now that Nick Deslauriers has been traded to Carolina with a chance to go win something, the Flyers have opted to bring his experience and leadership to the NHL locker room.

Wilson, 34, has not appeared in an NHL game 2019, when he played against the New York Islanders in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Flyers' Connections Can Help Them Land Top KHL Free AgentAfter missing out on Maxim Shabanov in the summer, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> could dip right back into the KHL free agent pool this coming offseason.

In 84 career NHL games, Wilson has scored two goals, six assists, and eight points in addition to adding 42 penalty minutes.

According to reports from the Flyers' morning skate, Wilson is not expected to make his Flyers debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

Maxim Tsyplakov scored his first goal as a Devils player on Thursday as the New Jersey Devils fell 5-4 to the Calgary Flames.

Tsyplakov has played 11 games with the Devils since being traded from the Islanders on January 27, 2026.

The Devils traded a third and a 2027 sixth-round draft pick, plus Ondrej Palat, for 27-year-old Tsyplakov.

Tsyplakov spent two seasons with the Islanders after going undrafted. He has 12 goals and 26 assists in 115 NHL games.

Tsyplakov's first goal came in the third period off a pass from Nick Bjugstad, deflecting off a skate past Dustin Wolf. The goal was Tsyplakov’s first in 32 games and Bjugstad’s first point as a Devil.  

The team ultimately lost, allowing five goals.

After the game, Jack Hughes discussed the team’s performance.

"It's hard to win when you give up five," Hughes said. "That's probably the story of the night….Just a frustrating loss."

The Devils have lost two straight after winning three in a row. They are in the midst of a seven-game homestand with two games remaining.

The team will play again on Saturday, aiming to return to the win column against the Los Angeles Kings. 

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OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Linus Ullmark made 23 saves for his second shutout of the season and the Ottawa Senators blanked the Anaheim Ducks 2-0 on Saturday.

Michael Amadio and Thomas Chabot scored for Ottawa. Shane Pinto had two assists. It was the 14th shutout of Ullmark's career. The Senators have won four of five.

Ville Husso stopped 27 shots for Anaheim.

Nick Cousins won a battle along the boards at center which sprung Pinto down the ice. Pinto fed Amadio on a 2-on-1 and he made no mistake, beating Husso short-side 3:54 into the second period.

At the 9:21 mark of the second, the Senators capitalized on a turnover. Pinto intercepted a pass and found Chabot in the high slot for his seventh of the season and second career short-handed goal.

Anaheim challenged for goaltender interference but was unsuccessful.

Warren Foegele had a couple of chances from in close in the opening period, but just couldn’t settle a bouncing puck.

Husso then stopped Amadio on a short-handed 2-on-1.

Amadio later drew a penalty, but Husso made a big glove save on Tim Stutzle on the Senators’ power play.

Up next

Ducks: at Montreal on Sunday.

Senators: host San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Colorado Avalanche spent much of Saturday afternoon chasing both the play and the scoreboard, ultimately falling 3–1 to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.

Winnipeg seized control early in the second period and dictated the pace for long stretches, while goaltender Connor Hellebuyck turned aside nearly everything Colorado generated. Martin Nečas finally broke through late in the third period, but the Avalanche’s push came too late to erase the deficit.

Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar each recorded an assist on Colorado’s lone goal. Meanwhile, veteran defenseman Brent Burns quietly added another milestone to his résumé, skating in his 990th consecutive NHL game and passing Keith Yandle for the second-longest ironman streak in league history.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 15 saves on 17 shots in the loss.

For Winnipeg, Kyle Connor scored to secure the eighth 30-goal season of his career. Alex Iafallo and Cole Perfetti also found the net, while Hellebuyck finished with 28 saves to anchor the victory.

First Period

The opening 20 minutes unfolded as a cautious, tightly played stretch, with both teams probing for opportunities and combining for just 13 shots on goal.

Midway through the period, Brock Nelson was assessed a roughing penalty after Jets forward Iafallo latched onto his stick during a board battle. Nelson shoved him in an effort to free it, sending the Avalanche forward to the penalty box.

Colorado’s penalty kill responded effectively. The Jets failed to generate a single shot during the man advantage, allowing the Avalanche to escape the sequence without damage.

Late in the period, Colorado earned its first power play when Mark Scheifele bear-hugged Devon Toews in a race for the puck along the boards. Officials signaled the penalty immediately with just 20.6 seconds remaining.

The period expired before the advantage could begin, meaning Colorado carried 1:40 of power-play time into the second. After 20 minutes, the Avalanche held a narrow 8–5 edge in shots, though the game remained scoreless.

Second Period

Winnipeg wasted little time shifting momentum.

Just 2:05 into the period, the Jets struck moments after killing off Colorado’s power play. As he exited the penalty box, Scheifele collected the puck in the neutral zone and accelerated up ice before spotting Connor streaking into the offensive zone. Scheifele threaded a precise pass to the left circle, where Connor snapped a wrist shot past Blackwood glove side to make it 1–0.

The Jets doubled their advantage midway through the period. At 11:52, Scheifele fired a shot from the point that struck Iafallo in the slot. The deflection left Blackwood scrambling, and Iafallo quickly corralled the puck before slipping it past the screened goaltender to push the lead to 2–0.

Colorado attempted to respond by increasing its physical presence around the crease, looking to generate offense through traffic. Moments later, Makar drifted laterally along the blue line and snapped a low wrister toward the net, but Hellebuyck calmly gloved it down.

The Avalanche nearly found a lifeline in the final seconds of the period. Nelson found himself alone at the right side of the crease with a bouncing puck on his stick, but his attempt at a quick tap-in slid across the goalmouth and out of the zone.

The missed opportunity preserved Winnipeg’s 2–0 lead heading into the third.

Third Period

Colorado earned an early power play in the third after Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Bryson was called for high-sticking Parker Kelly.

Despite the opportunity, the Avalanche continued to struggle to solve Hellebuyck and the Jets’ defensive structure.

They finally broke through in the closing minutes. With Blackwood pulled for the extra attacker, MacKinnon slid the puck across the ice to Nečas, who blasted a one-timer past Hellebuyck to cut the deficit to 2–1. The goal ended a lengthy regular-season drought for Colorado at Canada Life Centre—their first since Jack Johnson scored there on December 16, 2023.

At least I got a Nečas consolation goal this afternoon. #GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/SDXTgug2ks

— Katie Bartlett (@AvsCanesFan) March 14, 2026

Any hope of a comeback proved short-lived.

That was one of the most boring games I’ve ever seen

— Drew (@Avsfan37) March 14, 2026

MacKinnon lost control of the puck in the neutral zone moments later, allowing Winnipeg to transition quickly the other way. Perfetti gathered the loose puck and fired it into the empty net, sealing the 3–1 victory.

Cole Perfetti with the empty-net Hail Mary to regain Winnipeg's two-goal lead ✅ pic.twitter.com/SYh0uju03S

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 14, 2026

Next Game

The Avalanche (44-12-9) host Sam Girard and the Pittsburgh Penguins (32-18-15) on Monday at 7:30 p.m. MT on ESPN and Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM.