A Millimeter Proved To Be A Game Changer In Utah's Critical 3-1 Win Over Calgary

Mar 30, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) defends against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

If football is a game of inches, then hockey must be a game of millimeters or even nanometers because it certainly was in Utah's game against Calgary.

And depending on who you ask, that tiny margin was either the sliver of white ice visible between the puck and the goal line or the fraction of the puck still touching the red line

At the beginning of the second, with Utah leading 1-0, a sudden challenge from Calgary was issued on whether or not the puck crossed the line and if Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka actually saved it. 

As the officials reviewed the play, what initially seemed like a clear save suddenly became a polarizing decision when a deflected puck off Utah defenseman Nick DeSimone came dangerously close to crossing the goal line for Calgary's first goal.

After the review was finished, it was deemed that, even with the puck being as close to going in as it could be, Calgary would not be awarded a goal. 

If Vejmelka had reacted a tenth of a second later, Calgary would have tied the game up 1-1 and the dynamic of this game would have been very different. 

Instead, Utah's Barrett Hayton would score Utah's second goal of the game just thirty seconds after the review ended. 

The play began when Utah’s Nick Schmaltz stole the puck from Calgary in the neutral zone.

With Calgary having only two defenders back—one covering Schmaltz in the middle of the ice—Barrett Hayton and Sean Durzi worked together, passing back and forth before Hayton found an opening and fired a shot, putting Utah up 2-0.

What had looked like a tied game was now fully in Utah’s control, thanks to one of Vejmelka’s clutch saves of the night.

"It’s just a lot of fun to play in front of him. He's a competitor...he loves doing it," said Hayton. "It's a lot of confidence in a guy like that, and you see it every day. We know he kicks, but still, he makes some saves out there that are just crazy."

In a night where Vejmelka saved all but one shot of his 34 saves, with Rasmus Andersson scoring the lone goal for Calgary on an unassisted long goal, he would get two more clutch saves in the third for Utah that proved to be the difference in this game

With Utah leading 2-1 in the third, Vejmelka denied back-to-back open shots from Calgary’s Blake Coleman and Matt Coronato. On Coronato’s attempt, Sean Durzi even helped his goalie by laying out to block the shot, but it would be Vejmelka who ended up saving the goal by kicking the puck away. 

"I just try to focus on another game, another shift, and another shot," said Vejmelka. "That's [the] kind of the mindset that I've had and we just need to keep going and keep rolling and play a style of hockey where we block shots. Being resilient is huge for us."

Vejmelka also received help from his teammates, who disrupted Calgary's puck movement all night, and aggressively attacked the Flames whenever they were holding the puck.

Kevin Stenlund, who scored Utah's first goal, was even able to get a shot on goal with well under two minutes remaining, while Calgary tried to pull goalie Rasmus Andersson for an extra attacker, thanks to the aggressive play Utah displayed.

In the end, Utah would stay strong on defense and secure the win with an empty-net goal from Clayton Keller, leading to a 3-1 victory.

"The point is, we'll never quit," said coach AndrĂ© Tourigny. " There's no quitting in that room. There's no quitting in those players... We won’t quit until they pull the plug, and if they do, it is what it is... but we won't give them any reason to do it."

Dylan Guenther proved to be a prime example of this in the first period after a puck to the face left him bleeding on the ice.

Although Guenther temporarily left the game after taking the puck to the face, he returned before the first period ended, rejoining the action with just over a minute remaining.

While the game left battle scars and some Calgary fans still convinced the Flames should have had that goal, Utah earned a clutch win and a sweep over Calgary.

Though it must be irritating to watch the Blues pick up their 10th consecutive win on a last-minute, game-tying overtime goal against the Red Wings, Utah has to feel good about starting its five-game homestand with a win.

Its Do or Die For Utah Hockey ClubIts Do or Die For Utah Hockey Club 

Now, Utah sits eight points out of the final Wild Card spot, currently held by the Minnesota Wild, with the Blues' win allowing them to leapfrog over the Wild.

Utah is hoping to continue its longest winning streak of the season with a matchup against the Kings this Thursday, April 3.

Three takeaways: 'Bad break' goal ruins strong outing from Panthers in Montreal

Apr 1, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki (14) celebrates after scoring the winning goal against the Florida Panthers during the overtime period at the Bell Centre. (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)

This may be one of the rare times when a team is happy to be playing a back-to-back set.

The Florida Panthers lost an extremely frustrating game on Tuesday night in Montreal, allowing a tying goal with 8.4 seconds left before losing in overtime 3-2.

From the opening puck drop, the game was dripping in playoff intensity.

The physicality, the passion, the effort
it’s what makes hockey the best sport there is, and what makes playoff hockey the best postseason in sports.

There should be more of where that came from as the actual playoffs get closer, but for now let’s go over to Tuesday’s takeaways:

A VERY FLUKY GOAL

The bottom line is that the Panthers were 10 seconds away from a well-earned two points in a very hostile building.

A funky goal that occurred during a sequence that saw several players go exactly where they shouldn’t have because of where the puck ended up bouncing after a strange shot and a block attempt that all felt awkward but ended in jubilation for Montreal
that sum it up okay?

“Just a bad break,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “Over 82 games, you’re going to get one of those. We’ll leave it here.”

CATS DIDN’T PLAY POORLY

When it comes to playing postseason hockey, the Panthers know how to succeed.

They can grind games out with the best of them, and that’s exactly what they did Tuesday in Montreal.

When the Canadiens scored their funky goal in the final seconds, it was their first shot in over eight minutes.

Despite the way things ended up for Florida, Maurice said afterward he was not upset with how his team played.

“Not even a little bit,” he said. “You play the game the way you want to play it. We give up three shots in the third period with a 2-1 lead is nearly perfect. It's a break that won’t happen again. I won't think about the way this game ended again.”

SOLID GAME BY VANECEK

Goaltender Vitek Vanecek’s fourth game with the Panthers was not one many will want to remember, but that has little to do with how he performed.

The 29-year-old was strong throughout and displayed excellent poise and rebound control.

After things went sideways at the end, it’s easy to overlook a solid effort from Florida’s goaltending insurance policy.

He finished with 18 saves, including three on high danger shots.

“I thought in the first (period) he had a couple, then he had one in the second, and then I thought it was a pretty quiet game for him, but he was good when we needed him to be,” said Maurice.

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Three Takeaways From Blues' 2-1 OT Win Against Red Wings

St. Louis Blues defenseman Cam Fowler (right) lifts the puck over Detroit Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot in overtime of a 2-1 St. Louis win, their 10th straight, on Tuesday at Enterprise Center. (Jeff Le-Imagn Images)

ST. LOUIS – Seriously, who really saw this coming?

From this St. Louis Blues team that was the last in the NHL this season to win three games in a row, let alone 10, after finding a way to win in a different fashion on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings.

When Cam Fowler scored at 3:27 of overtime to cap a last-minute comeback, staring at the clutches of defeat for the first time in 19 days, before rallying past the Red Wings 2-1, it gave the Blues (41-28-7) their 10th straight win.

Consider this: the Blues, who by the way are now one point ahead of the Minnesota Wild – who have a game in hand – for the first wild card in the Western Conference, were the last team in the NHL this season to put together a three-game winning streak, and it took nine(!) tries to do that, now are the hottest team in the NHL; they are one win shy of matching the franchise record for consecutive wins at 11 (accomplished by the 2019 Stanley Cup champion side) and one win from matching the Winnipeg Jets for longest winning streak in the league this season.

How is this happening?

There is some serious mojo going on around here considering the fact the Blues were 29 seconds away from being blanked by Cam Talbot, the same Cam Talbot who was offered up as a sacrificial lamb in this very building when the Blues downed the Wild in the first round of the playoffs just three years ago.

But Jordan Kyrou help steal a valuable point with a sixth-attacker goal set up by none other than Fowler, and then Fowler won it in OT.

“It’s been a fun ride here,” Fowler said. “We’ve all enjoyed playing with one another. There’s not many opportunities you have in this league to keep a streak like this going. It was one of those games where they did a good job of limiting our chances and we just had to stay as patient as we possibly could.

“We’ve kept faith for a long time now knowing that we can win hockey games no matter how much time is left. Our guys just stuck with it and everybody made some big-time plays that helped us win. It’s fun to be able to keep this thing rolling.”

Jordan Binnington, named the NHL's third star of the month for March, made 20 saves, some of them key stops.

“I don’t know if mental toughness is the right word, but the way we stick to it,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. ‘We said we need to simplify in the third, we thought our second was too much east-west, too many turnovers, not winning enough battles. We just had to get back to our identity and who we are. I felt we did as good a job as we could. We didn’t have much juice in the legs tonight and for whatever reasons, that just happens. First time we’ve had two days off in a while and maybe we didn’t handle that the right way. We’ll take another day off tomorrow and we’ll get back at it Thursday.”

It was a triumphant win and debut for 2022 first-round pick (No. 23 overall) Jimmy Snuggerud, who joined the Blues after signing his three-year, entry-level contract on Friday.

How about those Three Takeaways:

* Montgomery’s early goalie pull – It was only 1-0, and there was 3:23 remaining in regulation, but Montgomery felt it was the right time to lift Binnington.

The Blues had allowed the Red Wings (34-33-7) to forge ahead when J.T. Compher broke the scoreless stalemate at 5:13 of the third period and they just didn’t seem like they were going to have that overwhelming push to level the game or take a lead.

Montgomery saw some flaws that perhaps could be exposed and decided to go with an extra body on the ice that finally paid off when Fowler was able to slide down a seam play to Kyrou, who didn’t get all of his quick shot but enough to slide it through the seemingly impenetrable Talbot.

“We’re just trying to attack there,” Kyrou said. “Not much time on the clock and we get a recovery there. Obviously [Flower] made a helluva pass to me right to the seam there and I just tried to tip it.”

Fowler added, “We had some opportunities from probably the three-minute mark. And we had a lot of possession down there, so I think they were just keeping us to the outside. We were getting a couple good looks, but for the most part, 6-on-5 you have to find a way to get pucks to the net and to the dirty areas. That’s where the goals are scored. I just saw a little seam to ‘Rouzy’ there and he made a great tip to get us the goal to tie it up. It’s more just about trying to funnel pucks to the front of the net 6-on-5, create as much chaos as much as you can.”

But credit Montgomery, who wasn’t seeing the kind of attack he wanted at 5-on-5.

“No, that’s why we pulled the goalie so early,” he said. “We weren’t creating enough chances, we didn’t have enough zone time and they were icing pucks because they were tired.

“I felt that our first period was a pretty good period, but it wasn’t hard enough offensively, and I just felt like we kind of lost energy as the game went along. But the great thing is we found a way to win. Our third period continues to be a period where we play simple, our habits are at their best and our game management was the best.

“They iced the puck. They were tired. All the guys that we used were fresh on the bench, so we didn’t have to use our time out and they were fresh. We thought it was a good time to try and get a goal. You don’t know if you’re going to get another offensive zone face-off.”

* Sticking with it when not at their best – During this winning streak, one aspect of the Blues’ game that couldn’t be faulted is their cleanliness of puck movement.

They had been swift, fluent, hitting guys in stride and not becoming terribly vulnerable with puck turnovers.

Tonight was one of those rare instances. But they stuck with it and found a way.

“It wasn’t sharp,” Montgomery said. ‘And I think it’s because of our brains. Our brains were slower today to make reads, checking and making plays offensively. We had a lot of odd-man rushes in the first 30 minutes and we didn’t get any real good scoring opportunities like we did on the 2-on-1 and the overtime winner.”

It all goes into play when putting together such a winning streak as this, the good and the not-so-great.

“Very hard. That’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often,” Fowler said. “We understand that and how special it is. It takes a lot of things to go right for that to be able to come true. I think it just speaks to our lineup top to bottom, the work that we’ve been putting in and we’ve had some comebacks here too in this streak. We’re finding ways to win hockey games and it’s a lot of fun coming to work and playing for one another. It’s a really tight group and we certainly enjoy going out and working for one another.”

* Fowler’s deft hands to win it – Once the Blues got it to overtime, they have an edge. They have the ability to utilize multiple bodies and Fowler was one of them.

The defenseman jumped into the play when Robert Thomas checked Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider off the puck in the defensive zone and created a 2-on-1. Once Thomas sauced a backhand towards Fowler, he had to use his hands to, first, corral a puck and pull it into stride, and two, be deft enough to lift it into the top end of the net to win it.

“A quick little 2-on-1 there,” Fowler said. “Obviously ‘Tommer’s a great passer. He put me in a good position and I just saw myself in with a good chance on the goalie and tried to make a good shot. It was a good all-around play mostly by ‘Tommer.’ He set the whole thing up.

“I think that’s the strength of our team, the depth that we have up front and on the back end. We feel like every night, there could be different guys contributing and helping us win hockey games. I think that’s totally true. We have a lot of weapons that we feel can help us in overtime, helps us stay fresh and energized as well.”

As for who was going over the boards next?

“We feel we have a lot of players. I think if we were going to make another change, it was going to be [Jake] Neighbours and Snuggerud going over,” Montgomery said. ‘It would mean I was going to use eight forwards and three D-men in the course of the 3-on-3 and that speaks to the depth of talented players that we have.”

Jets Swept In Season Series By Kings; Lose 4-1

Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) looks up after scoring a goal during the first period against the Winnipeg Jets at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Winnipeg Jets had their three-game win streak snapped by the Los Angeles Kings, losing 4-1.

The Kings started the scoring in the first period, scoring twice in quick succession. Trevor Moore recorded his 17th goal of the season to break the ice. Long-time Kings centre Anze Kopitar extended the lead with his 19th of the season.

Cole Perfetti continued his strong end of the season, scoring his 17th of the season to cut the lead in half. Andrei Kuzmenko would answer back, regaining the Kings' two-goal advantage after a bad neutral zone turnover by Logan Stanley.

The Kings shut the door on the Jets in the third period, limiting the Jets to just six shots. Adrian Kempe iced the game, scoring his 32nd goal of the season into the Jets' empty net.

The Kings are one of the best defensive teams in the NHL and they put on a clinic. They held the Jets to just 19 shots, 18 of which were turned away by Darcy Kuemper. Connor Hellebuyck wasn't all too busy but allowed three goals on 19 shots.

The Jets will be back in action on Thursday when they take on another team they have failed to beat this season, the Vegas Golden Knights.

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Buffalo 5 Ottawa 2: Senators Had Zero Answers For The Sabres This Season

The Ottawa Senators remain in good shape to finally solve the puzzle of making the NHL playoffs. But they certainly had no solution for the Buffalo Sabres this season.

Apr 1, 2025: Buffalo Sabres goalie James Reimer (47) makes a save on Ottawa Senators winger David Perron (57) (Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images).

The Sabres defeated the Senators 5-2 on Tuesday night to sweep the season series, outscoring the Sens 17-5, and taking all eight points in the process.

Speaking of dominance, veteran Buffalo goalie James Reimer stopped 33 shots and improved to 19-6-4 against the Senators. No goalie in NHL history has a better record against Ottawa.

Linus Ullmark gave up four goals on 21 shots. Claude Giroux and Jake Sanderson scored for the Senators, who, despite a six minute flurry of chances in the third, were never really in this one.

Buffalo jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first, with goals from Alex Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin. They extended their lead in the second, capitalizing on some atrocious Ottawa defending. They had great view of Tage Thompson making it 3-0 after a perfect give-and-go with JJ Peterka.

However, just over a minute later, Claude Giroux got Ottawa on the board after a nice solo rush and a pass from Tyler Kleven.

In the third, Senators newcomer Dylan Cozens inadvertently provided a lovely parting gift to his old team, putting an errant pass right onto the stick of Peyton Krebs. Krebs capitalized on the mistake, scoring on the ensuing breakaway to restore Buffalo's three-goal lead.

Jake Sanderson responded shortly after, cutting the deficit to 4-2. After that, the Senators put together a strong push for five or six minutes, but Reimer wasn’t having any of it.

With the Sens on a 6-on-4 late in the game, Ryan McLeod sealed Buffalo's win with an empty-netter. 

The Senators played this one without Brady Tkachuk, who’s out with an upper-body injury suffered Sunday in Pittsburgh. It was a particularly rough night for Drake Batherson who was a minus 5 on the evening.

The loss was costly, as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday, cutting the Sens’ lead to five points with eight games to play. The Columbus Blue Jackets are now the best of the non-playoff teams in the East. They won 8-4 over the Nashville Predators and stand seven points behind Ottawa.

Things don't get any easier for the Sens. Their next game is Thursday night at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Then it's a visit from Florida Saturday, followed by a home and home with Columbus starting Sunday in Ottawa.

Islanders drop sixth straight game after 4-1 loss to Lightning

NEW YORK (AP) — Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win to inch closer to clinching a playoff spot.

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his 20th of the season, Victor Hedman also scored and Nick Paul added an empty-netter for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point each added two assists.

Bo Horvat scored a short-handed goal for New York and Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves as the Islanders lost their sixth straight (0-4-2), further diminishing their slim playoff hopes.

Guentzel scored the tiebreaking goal at 8:09 of the second period. Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech inexplicably left Guentzel alone and Kucherov delivered a beautiful pass to set up the go-ahead goal.

Hedman made it 3-1 about 2 1/2 minutes later, and Paul capped the scoring into an empty net with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third.

Takeaways

Lightning: Vasilevskiy recorded his 36th win of the regular season, trailing only Connor Hellebuyck of the NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets.

Islanders: Sorokin started four of the Islanders' previous six losses, allowing 14 goals during that stretch.

Key Moment

Horvat missed a one-timer during an Islanders two-man advantage roughly five minutes into the second period while the game was even at 1-1. Tampa Bay then scored twice in the period to take a 3-1 lead.

Key stat

Kucherov’s two assists raised his season total to 111 points and reclaimed the NHL scoring lead. Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon is in second place with 110.

Up next

Lightning visit Ottawa on Thursday, and Islanders host Minnesota on Friday.

Ovechkin scores, needs 4 more to pass Gretzky for NHL record, and Capitals beat Bruins 4-3

NHL: Washington Capitals at Boston Bruins

Apr 1, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; With Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) out of the goal, Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) scores during the first period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

BOSTON — Alex Ovechkin scored his 891st career goal, moving him four away from passing Wayne Gretzky's NHL record, and Dylan Strome broke a third-period tie on Tuesday night to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins.

Nic Dowd and Tom Wilson also scored for Washington. Charlie Lindgren made 21 saves to help the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals snap a a three-game losing streak.

David Pastrnak had two goals, Vinni Lettieri scored one and Jeremy Swayman stopped 27 shots for Boston, which lost its ninth in a row.

Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead with about four minutes left in the first period, pushing a cross-crease pass from Strome into an open net. He has 12 goals in his last 18 games and eight games remaining this season to catch Gretzky.

The 39-year-old Russian also shot wide on an empty net in the final minutes.

The Bruins came back in the second, getting a goal from Lettieri six minutes into the second and then the tying score by Pastrnak with three minutes left in the period. But Strome gave Washington the lead midway through the third, grabbing a rebound off the back wall and slipping it past Swayman.

Capitals: Ovechkin is averaging a little less than two goals every three games. At that pace, he would pass Gretzky in the penultimate game of the season, at the New York Islanders on April 15.

Bruins: The fans got what they wanted from their draft lottery-bound team: A goal from Ovechkin and a competitive game.

With five minutes left in the second period, Boston's Jeffrey Viel and Washington's Dylan McIlrath squared off for a fight that seemed like it might be the highlight of the night for those fans actually rooting for the Bruins.

Two minutes later, Pastrnak redirected a slap pass from Morgan Geekie into the net to tie it 2-all.

Capitals forward and Massachusetts native Ryan Leonard played his first NHL game. The Hobey Baker Award finalist had back-to-back 30-goal seasons at Boston College, which was eliminated from the NCAA hockey tournament on Sunday night.

The Capitals are in Carolina to play the Hurricanes on Wednesday night and the Bruins visit the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

With The Season On The Brink, Islanders Fall To Lightning 4-1

© Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

The New York Islanders knew that Tuesday night's contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning would be pivotal in their uphill climb towards the postseason.  

But with their backs up against the wall the Islanders were unable to muster what it takes to defeat the Atlantic Divisional power, losing 4-1. 

The Isles began the first period creating a number of opportunities, however Tampa goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy stood tall including stopping Bo Horvat on a breakaway. 

Soon after, the Islanders got caught in their own zone after a few failed exits, and Oliver Bjorkstrand deflected a shot from the point to give Tampa a 1-0 lead with 11:14 to play in the first.

Casey Cizikas then took a slashing penalty, with 10:53 to go in the first. 

Incredibly, Horvat cashed in shorthanded, tying the score at 1-1 with 9:03 to go in the first.

The teams went to the dressing room locked up 1-1 after one, with both sides getting Grade-A opportunities. 

In the second, the Lightning showed their skill. 

Jake Guentzel scored his 38th goal of the season 8:09 into the 2nd, finishing a neat pass from Nikita Kucherov out of the corner.

Minutes later Victor Hedman put the Bolts ahead by two, as Kucherov set up the big defenseman for his 14th goal of the season. 

At the second period's buzzer, Anthony Cirelli was called for tripping, and so the Islanders ended the third frame on a power play. In the second period, the Isles held Tampa to only six shots, however two went in and the Lightning entered the third with a 3-1 lead.

Only :24 seconds into the third period, Anders Lee was called for slashing setting up 1:37 seconds of four-on-four action, negating the Islanders power play.  In an effort to get back into the game, the Isles were unable to utilize the open ice to their advantage, and the teams returned to five aside.

3:59 into the second, Pierre Engvall was called for tripping, giving the Lightning their fourth power play of the night - - however, the Isles successfully killed the penalty.

Then with 6:39 remaining in the game, Yanni Gourde and Cizikas dropped the gloves -- possibly an attempt by Cozies too get the Islanders emotionally back into the game.

However, with under four minutes remaining, coach Patrick Roy pulled Sorokin, and with 3:31 remaining, the Bolts sealed the deal, as Nick Paul scored the empty net goal making the score 4-1.

The Islanders will be back in action on Friday when they host the Minnesota Wild at 7:30.

Panthers blow another late lead, fall 3-2 in overtime to Montreal

Apr 1, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson (17) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers during the first period at the Bell Centre. (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)

It certainly felt like a playoff game on Tuesday night in Montreal.

The back end of a home-and-home between the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens had a little bit of everything, but it was the hometown Habs who came out on top.

A late goal and an overtime goal gave Montreal a resounding 3-2 victory and Florida more questions to answer.

For the second game in a row, it was Montreal striking first.

Josh Anderson got positioning in front of the net on Uvis Balinskis and deflected a shot by Kaiden Guhle past a screened Vitek Vanecek to put the Habs up 1-0 just 4:43 into the game.

About five minutes later, a faceoff in Montreal’s end led to the Panthers’ first goal of the game.

Anton Lundell won the draw back to Niko Mikkola, and his shot tipped off the end of Habs defenseman Jake Evans’ stick and over the goal line.

Florida briefly through they’d taken the lead but the goal was quickly waived off.

Uvis Balinskis fired a shot that went off the post and directly into A.J. Greer's skates.

Greer dragged a skate that pushed the puck into the net, and officials initially said no goal, then changed their call after chatting with each other and went to video review, which ultimately led to a no goal call.

It took a little while longer but the Panthers did eventually their first lead of the game, and of the season, over Montreal, and it came on Florida’s first power play of the night.

Rookie Mackie Samoskevich sent a wrist shot right along the ice that hit off Guhle on its way underneath Sam Montembeault with just 1:13 left in the middle frame.

Florida was able to hold on to the lead until quite literally the game’s final seconds.

A failed clear attempt at the Panthers blue line led to the puck being sent toward Florida’s net by Lane Hutson. The bouncing shot went through Sam Reinhart, who went down to his knees in an attempt to block it and instead ended up on the tape of Nick Suzuki with nothing to stop him from scoring with just 8.4 seconds left.

It was the first shot on goal for Montreal in over eight minutes.

Their next shot would end the game.

Never relinquishing possession after the overtime faceoff, it was Suzuki scoring again, this time on a wraparound goal.

This one is going to sting.

On to Toronto.

QUICK THOUGHTS

Lundell’s primary assist on Mikkola’s goal was his first helper since Feb. 27 against Edmonton.

Seth Jones has points in four of his past six games after assisting on Samoskevich’s power play goal.

It was the first tally for Mackie in seven games, his longest stretch without a goal since the end of January.

The goal was also the fifth game-winner for Samoskevich this season.

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Nikita Grebenkin Continuing Torrid Start to Life in Flyers Organization

Flyers prospect Nikita Grebenkin already gained valuable NHL experience with the Maple Leafs this season. (Photo: John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images)

The Philadelphia Flyers knew Nikita Grebenkin was a stud prospect when they acquired him from the Toronto Maple Leafs, but were they expecting this?

Grebenkin, 21, failed to score a point in his seven NHL appearances with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.

In 39 AHL games with the Toronto Marlies, Grebenkin was averaging a goal every four games and joined the Flyers organization with nine goals, 12 assists, and 21 points under his belt.

But, since arriving from Toronto in the trade that saw the Flyers send Scott Laughton the other way, all Grebenkin has done is produce

The 6-foot-2 Russian winger has already shown his chops in front of the net, from both in tight and long range.

Already with three goals and two assists since joining up with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Grebenkin's latest exploits saw him dance a defender in the neutral zone before finding the middle of the ice, loading up, and ripping a shot past the glove of Laval goaltender Connor Hughes.

Known best for his enthralling blend of size and skill, Grebenkin still needs to work on skating through and navigating traffic and, sometimes, playing through contact, even for a bigger player. 

Skill can only be taught to a certain point, especially at the NHL level, whereas strength and a more aggressive mentality can come with experience and further time spent in the gym.

Because the Flyers already used their fourth and final post-trade deadline call-up on rookie goalie Aleksei Kolosov, Grebenkin will only see NHL ice again this season if the squad suffers a rash of injuries.

Winger Garnet Hathaway just returned from a long layoff, so with the Flyers only getting the healthier, the chances of Grebenkin making his debut with the Orange and Black this season are virtually nil.

Flyers fans can, however, excitedly look towards the near future.

Grebenkin, Kolosov, Jett Luchanko, and others are all set to help lead the Phantoms in their Calder Cup playoff campaign.

Ty Murchison just joined the Phantoms on an amateur tryout offer, Alex Ciernik has yet to make his debut, and there's a chance Alex Bump can join the fold, too.

Grebenkin is already playing like a beast for the Flyers organization, and the excitement amongst fans is understandably reaching a fever pitch.

Extra seasoning in the AHL never hurt anybody, plus, this is the perfect opportunity for Grebenkin to build chemistry and familiarity with someone like Luchanko, for example.

Watch this space.

Nashville Predators Pummeled in 8-4 Loss to Columbus Blue Jackets

The Nashville Predators (27-40-8, 62 points) suffered their fourth consecutive loss – an 8-4 rout at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets (34-30-9, 77 points) – Tuesday at Nationwide Arena.

Kirill Marchenko scored three goals and an assist for Columbus, while Adam Fantili and Sean Monahan added two goals apiece. Filip Forsberg, Michael Bunting, Justin Barron and Jordan Oesterle each tallied a goal for the Predators, and Luke Evangelista led all Nashville skaters with two assists.

The loss marks the sixth time that Nashville has allowed six or more goals in a single game this season, with eight goals against representing a new season high. 

Predators goaltender Juuse Saros allowed seven goals on 26 shots for a .731 save percentage before pulled from the game after the second period. Justus Annunen made 10 saves on 11 shots in relief.

Marc Del Gaizo, Nashville Predators

How the Predators Lined Up vs. Columbus

Forsberg-O'Reilly-Stamkos
Bunting-Svechkov-Evangelista
Smith-McCarron-L'Heureux
Bellows-Vrana

Skjei-Blankenburg
Del Gaizo-Barron
Englund-Stastney
Oesterle

Saros
Annunen

Extra: Sissons (week-to-week, lower-body), Marchessault (day-to-day, lower-body), Wood
IR: Josi, Wilsby, Lauzon

While navigating multiple injuries to their forward group, including Colton Sissons (week-to-week, lower-body) and Jonathan Marchessault (day-to-day, lower-body), the Predators went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the second night in a row.

Matthew Wood, who signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Predators on Saturday, has yet to make his NHL debut.

Predators at Blue Jackets: Live Updates

First Period (NSH 1, CBJ 3)

It took Columbus just over a minute to open the scoring in this one, with Zach Werenski capitalizing on a Predators turnover and finding Kirill Marchenko alone in front of the net for the score at the 1:15 mark of the first period.

The Blue Jackets struck again at the 16:34 mark, when Denton Mateychuk's slick cross-zone pass found Fantilli for a one-timer from the right circle to extend the lead to 2-0.

It took less than two minutes for that lead to become 3-0, when an Andreas Englund holding penalty gave the Blue Jackets their first power-play opportunity of the game. Sean Monahan capitalized on that opportunity, receiving a feed from Kent Johnson and sending a one-timer far side under Saros' blocker at the 18:10 mark.

Filip Forsberg managed to get Nashville on the board with a top shelf wrist shot in the final minutes of the period, cutting the deficit to 3-1 heading into the first intermission.

Second Period (NSH 3, CBJ 7)

Columbus quickly regained the three-goal lead in the second period, when Marchenko fired a wrist shot past Saros in transition at the 4:12 mark to make it 4-1. The goal was Marchenko's 30th of the season, making him the first Blue Jackets player to score 30 goals in a season since Cam Atkinson scored 41 in 2018-19.

Michael Bunting had a quick response for Nashville, firing a puck into traffic that found its way to the back of the net at the 5:43 mark to cut Columbus' lead to 4-2.

It took just 43 seconds for Justin Barron to make it a one-goal game with a clapper that beat Merzlikins from the right circle at the 6:26 mark.

Fantilli squashed the Predators' momentum with his second goal of the night when he capitalized on another costly Nashville turnover and blew up the ice, past Fedor Svechkov, and fired home a wrist shot to restore the two-goal lead for Columbus at the 12:00 mark.

Monahan scored his second goal of the night – both on the power play – when he scooped up the rebound of a Marchenko shot and tucked it around a sprawling Saros at the 16:47 mark of the second period to put Nashville in a three-goal deficit for a third time.

Former Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro gave the Blue Jackets their first four-goal lead of the game with 18 seconds left the second period. Fabbro, whom Columbus claimed off waivers from Nashville in November, fired a shot from the point that beat Saros and extended the Blue Jackets' lead to 7-3 heading into the second intermission.

Third Period (NSH 4, CBJ 8)

After Nashville allowed a season-high seven goals against through the first 40 minutes, Justus Annunen came in to replace Saros for the final 20.

Marchenko completed the hat trick at the 5:32 mark of the third period with a one-timer from the left circle that gave Columbus an 8-3 lead.

Jordan Oesterle cut it to 8-4 when he one-timed a pass from Cole Smith to beat Merzlikins far side at 9:02 for his first goal as a member of the Predators.

Annunen and the Predators managed to hold Columbus off the board for the remainder of the period, and 8-4 stood as the final score. Nashville will wrap up a three-game road trip Thursday in Dallas.

Ottawa Senators Captain Brady Tkachuk Out… But With An Entirely New Injury

The Buffalo Sabres, currently in last place in the Eastern Conference, are set to extend their NHL record playoff drought to 14 seasons. So when they face the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, the Senators would prefer the Sabres didn’t skewer them for a fourth straight loss.

Buffalo has won all three games so far by a combined score of 12-3, and as they try to avoid a season sweep, the Senators won't have their captain on board.

Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images)

With Ottawa now holding a comfortable seven-point lead in the Wild Card race, Tkachuk’s absence isn’t unexpected. It's a fine strategy to rest key players like Tkachuk, who've been dealing with lingering injuries.

However, Senators head coach Travis Green told the media on Tuesday morning that Tkachuk’s injury is something new. It’s an upper-body issue, completely unrelated to the nagging injury he’s been playing through over the past few weeks.

Tkachuk's new injury happened in Pittsburgh on Sunday when he skated into Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves in the neutral zone. Simply put, while changing direction, Tkachuk wasn’t looking where he was going. After going down in pain, he skated off the ice and into the dressing room, but returned to play in the third period, likely fueled only by adrenaline.

Unfortunately, things obviously worsened after the game, and he won’t be available for Tuesday’s contest against the Sabres.

“Yeah, it’s not what you want, that’s for sure,” Green told the media. “But that’s part of the NHL. You’re going to lose guys, and hopefully he’s only out for a game.”

Last month, Tkachuk was emotional when the Senators traded his close friend, Josh Norris, to the Sabres. This game might’ve been their reunion, but with both players sidelined by injuries, that’s on hold until next season. Norris will miss his 10th consecutive game on Tuesday and didn’t travel to Ottawa. Neither did Tkachuk’s former Boston University teammate, Jordan Greenway, who's also injured.

Tkachuk’s spot on the roster will be filled by Angus Crookshank, who’s been shuffled between Belleville and Ottawa in recent games. Crookshank, a UFA this summer, gets a good opportunity, and Green says he's excited to see him in action.

“I thought last time up, he played some good hockey for us,” Green said. “He’s a feisty player, he's got good hands, and is strong on his skates. Excited for him to get into the lineup.”

Crookshank will skate on the fourth line, taking the spot of Michael Amadio, who’s been playing phenomenal two-way hockey of late. Amadio moves up to the third line while Claude Giroux takes Tkachuk's spot on Tim StĂŒtzle’s left side.

Aside from Tkachuk’s absence, which is concerning, and Linus Ullmark starting in net, Green’s lineup will remain the same as it was in the 1-0 OT loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. James Reimer is expected to start again for Buffalo.

Senators Projected Lineup:

Claude Giroux - Tim StĂŒtzle - Fabian Zetterlund
David Perron - Dylan Cozens - Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig - Shane Pinto - Michael Amadio
Matthew Highmore - Adam Gaudette - Angus Crookshank

Jake Sanderson - Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot - Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven - Nikolas Matinpalo

Linus Ullmark
Anton Forsberg

Scratched: Dennis Gilbert, Travis Hamonic
Injured: Nick Cousins (knee), Brady Tkachuk (upper body)

Sabres Projected Lineup:

Zach Benson - Jiri Kulich - Tage Thompson
JJ Peterka - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn
Jason Zucker - Peyton Krebs - Alex Tuch
Beck Malenstyn - Tyson Kozak - Sam Lafferty

Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power - Jacob Bernard-Docker
Bowen Byram - Connor Clifton

James Reimer
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Scratched: Jacob Bryson, Isak Rosen
Injured: Jordan Greenway (lower body), Josh Norris (middle body)

Faceoff is at 7pm (TSN5 and RDS2) at Canadian Tire Centre.

Three Takeaways From Avalanche's 3-2 Loss To The Calgary Flames

 Samuel Girard (left); Roope Hintz (right) -- Isaiah J. Downing, USA TODAY Images

The Colorado Avalanche suffered their second straight loss Monday, falling to the Calgary Flames by a 3-2 score in a shootout. Here are three key takeaways from the Avs' loss, which dropped Colorado's season record to 45-26-4:

1. Avs Blow Two-Goal Lead, Squander Opportunity To Gain Ground In Central Divsion Playoff Race

For the first two periods of Monday's tilt against the Flames, Colorado looked like it was going to get back on track and stop a two-game losing skid from happening. The Avalanche out-shot Calgary 21-12 through 40 minutes and took a two-goal lead into the third frame, but they were out-shot 11-5 in the third period and blew a chance to win the game in regulation time.

The Avs' loss -- even with the 'loser point' -- failed to make up much ground in the Central race, as Colorado is now eight standings points behind second-place Dallas, and the Stars have a game in hand on the Avalanche. It was still going to be diffcult to overtake Dallas for second spot in the Central, but this loss pretty much assures the Avs of a third-place finish in the division.

2. MacKinnon, Makar Continue To Dominate, Even In Losing Effort

Avalanche superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar had another strong game Monday, collaborating on Colorado's opening goal against the Flames. Makar scored his 28th goal of the season Monday, while MacKinnon had the primary assist -- his 80th of the season -- on Makar's goal.

MacKinnon's assist keeps him as the league leader in helpers this season, while Makar's goal extends his lead as the NHL's top-scoring defenseman. Together, Makar and MacKinnon give the Avalanche a chance to win each and every night, and even on nights where the Avs don't get the 'W', MacKinnon and Makar stand out in a positive way.

3. With Wild's Loss, Avalanche Is All But Assured Of Finishing In Third Place In Central 

The Avalanche's defeat opened the door for the fourth-place-in-the-Central Minnesota Wild to gain ground on the Avs. However, the Wild fell 3-2 in a shootout to the New Jersey Devils -- and that means Minnesota remains six standings points behind Colorado, with both the Wild and Avs each having seven regular-season games left to play.

Barring some collapse by the Avalanche, Minnesota is going to stay a wild card team in the Western Conference, while the Avs are more or less locked into a first-round series against the Stars. There's still a chance the first-place Winnipeg Jets fall below Dallas into second place in the Central, but that's also highly-unlikey.

Ultimately, Colorado and Dallas are headed for a first-round showdown, and the Avalanche are going to be facing a Stars team with an imposing 27-7-2 home record this season. The Avs have a relatively-disappointing 20-15-1 road mark this season, so they'll have to be much better away from home if they're to make it to the second round and beyond. But falling to the Flames Monday all but assures Colorado of what could be the toughest first-round matchup of any first-round series this spring.

Will The Winnipeg Jets Win The Stanley Cup This Season — Five Years After THN Predicted They Would?

(APR 6, 2015 -- VOL. 68, ISSUE 19)

The Winnipeg Jets have been one of the NHL's best teams this season, and many believe they'll go on a deep Stanley Cup playoff run this spring. But in THN's 2015 Future Watch edition, we predicted the Jets would win the Cup -- in 2019:

PLAN THE PARADE

By Ken Campbell

All right, let's get one thing out of the way. It gets cold in Winnipeg. Ten months of winter and two months of bad skating. Heh-heh. The day this piece was written in mid-February, it was forecasted to go down to minus-38. Don’t bother with the Celsius to Fahrenheit calculations. When it’s that cold, they’re pretty much the same.

There are bigger cities in the NHL (about 25 of them) that play in bigger arenas (about 29). There are other places where a star can slide right under the radar if he wants. There are places with lower taxes and places where your Bentley won’t get wrecked by road salt. There are places with a few more entertainment options.

These are the obstacles the Winnipeg Jets face when it comes to attracting free agents and getting players to waive their no-trade clauses to go there. In fact, a recent informal study found Winnipeg and Edmonton to be the two least desirable destinations in the NHL. Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff talks about how well the organization treats its players and how, once they get there, players actually like it. But when your only exposure to the place is a road trip in the middle of the winter, perception sometimes becomes reality.

“It’s not shocking for me that people don’t understand what Winnipeg is all about,” Cheveldayoff said. “They haven’t been here for a long time. I do believe that once we get a player here and they see how we treat the players, they’ll want to stay. We’ve said it from Day 1, once players come here, they’re going to enjoy being here. And we know the kids we draft and the kids we develop, they’re going to know from Day 1 what it’s like to be part of the Jets family, and they’re going to embrace that.”

And there you have it. If you can’t entice players to your organization because they don’t like hockey weather or they’re too closed-minded, then you get the players who have no choice in the matter and get them to fall in love with the place. Drafting and developing has never been a more important tool in the NHL than it is in the salary cap era. And it’s even more so for places like Winnipeg, where cultivating your own talent is more practical than poaching it from other teams.

On that count, the Jets get a gold star and a direct route to the head of the class. Their group of non-NHL prospects and under-22 players on their roster is the best in the NHL, according to a panel of 13 scouts, GMs and directors of player personnel. And if their prospect group wasn’t good enough already, Cheveldayoff added two more in Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux in the Evander Kane trade with the Buffalo Sabres. Not only that, he has another late first-round pick coming to him in that deal.

Combined with the Jets as they’re currently constituted – a good, fast, young team with a progressive coach – the future looks outstanding. Like, Stanley Cup contender outstanding. As we already have the Buffalo Sabres pencilled in for the Cup in 2020, we’re picking the Jets and their band of young stars to be parading down Portage Avenue with the silver chalice in the spring of 2019. Caveat: grain of salt required. In our 1991 Draft Preview edition, we chose the Jets to win the Stanley Cup within five years. Not only did they not win the Cup in that time, they ceased to exist five years later.

But you get the idea. The Jets have loaded up on young talent and have held onto it. And they have every position covered. In the NHL, Jacob Trouba has the makings of an outstanding two-way defenseman. Mark Scheifele has all kinds of speed and skill, and Adam Lowry is establishing himself as a big, imposing force up front. Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little, two of the team’s top forwards, are signed long-term, as are Tobias Enstrom and Tyler Myers, two of their key defensemen.

When it comes to their prospects, they have the most dangerous offensive player in the QMJHL in Nikolaj Ehlers and a host of other productive players in Lemieux, Nic Petan and Andrew Copp. They have one of Canada’s world junior goalies in Eric Comrie and also a rookie backstopping their AHL team in Connor Hellebuyck. Josh Morrissey was named to the WJC all-star team, and Armia looks ready for NHL duty.

But the Jets and Cheveldayoff have had to be among the league’s elite when it comes to drafting and developing. That’s because it took Cheveldayoff almost four full years to make an NHL player-for-NHL player trade. In that time, he didn’t move a single Jets prospect of note and gave up only one second-round pick – in what turned out to be a bad deal with the Minnesota Wild for Devin Setoguchi in 2013. Before making his blockbuster with Buffalo, Cheveldayoff had traded away more picks than he got back, though all but a handful of them were after the third round and none of them in the first.

So if his scouts were doing their jobs well, and it looks as though they were, the Jets should have a healthy stable of young players preparing for the NHL. But it also requires an organizational philosophy that centers on building through the draft. And the Jets, unlike a lot of other teams, are in a market where they had a couple years to grow. The folks in Winnipeg waited a long time to get their NHL team back and were willing to give the new management team a honeymoon period of non-playoff finishes before they started getting restless.

That time, though, has come, which has led some to the opinion that it’s time to start parlaying some of those assets into roster players from other teams. After all, going back to the Atlanta days, it’s been eight years since this organization last played a playoff game, which is the second longest current drought in the NHL next to Edmonton.

“It’s been a long time, no question,” Cheveldayoff said. “But the process we started the day we took over is a slow one. It’s not one where you’re going to get instant gratification. It’s been a full, methodical process, but we’re seeing the fruits of our labor right now. We’ll look at all our options, but we’re excited with the group of young players we have, and we think some of them are going to turn the corner quickly and be contributors at the NHL level.”

And it’s interesting to note these aren’t your father’s Jets. This is a team in a new rink that sells 15,004 tickets for each game and has cost certainty on its side. Where teams now have to take advantage of their financial positions is off the ice, investing in resources and people that aren’t constrained by a salary cap. To that end, the Jets have seven pro scouts and 14 full- and part-time amateur scouts, a scouting co-ordinator, a director of fitness and a two-man player development department. That’s one of the larger staffs in the NHL devoted to something that is a make or break aspect of the game.

It helps that the Jets have a decent economy, new building and well-heeled bosses with an appreciation for the long term. “We have an ownership group that is extremely committed to doing things the right way,” Cheveldayoff said. “From Day 1, they’ve viewed drafting and developing as an investment, not as an expense. When you get into the boardroom and start dealing with budgets and things like that, the easiest thing to cut is something you don’t see. You barely see the amateur scouts because they’re on the road all the time and it’s an easy cut. But in that aspect, we’ve never been shortchanged.”

Everything is set for the Jets to have a future full of serious Stanley Cup runs. With a management team that has finally begun to address the present, while keeping an eye to the future, the Jets are on the precipice of something special.

We’re predicting a Stanley Cup in 2019. After all, when you’ve waited as long as Winnipeg has to get your team back, what’s a couple more years to bide your time for the top prize? Cheveldayoff likes the sound of that but isn’t about to pre-order his Stanley Cup stationary. “I’m focusing on being a 2015 playoff team right now,” he said.