The good vibes were not sustained. | NHLI via Getty Images
The New York Islanders continue to surprise us. “Lose a critical home game to the Penguins” was definitely in our probability set, but “have the tables flipped in an 8-goal second period of an 8-3 blowout” was not.
That 8-3 final looks like a 5-3 game with three Patrick Roy empty netters, but it wasn’t that. After a scoreless and pretty even first period, the second period got weird. Islanders took a 2-0 lead only to fall apart. They gave up five in the middle frame — one game after they pulled off that same trick against the Florida Panthers — to enter the third period trailing 5-3 somehow.
Reversing the recent D-pair changes didn’t help. The Penguins, who leap the Islanders for sole possession of second place in the Metro with the regulation win, tacked on three more in the third to remove all doubt.
It wasn’t a great game for talisman Ilya Sorokin, of course (and co-talisman Matthew Schaefer went pointless and minus-2), but the defense was atrocious in front of him.
Still, one of the harbinger deflation points was on their power play, which was responsible for the opening goal by Anders Lee but then gave that back on its second opportunity. Just after the Islanders restored their two-goal lead on another Brayden Schenn goal with smooth neutral zone transition from Cal Ritchie, the power play gave up a shorthanded goal by Rickard Rakell to cut the deficit to one again.
It was lethargic work overall defending the counterattack, but Emil Heineman was stargazing as his man drove the net and Adam Boqvist defended the passer.
Two minutes later, it was tied, and a minute after that, Pittsburgh pulled ahead for good. Mo Anthony Mantha joined Rakell in scoring a pair.
It’s a parity league, so these things happen. But it’s just bizarre how the Islanders can fall asleep against the Blackhawks, hang tough and get a regulation win against the Stars, erase an early deficit to storm the Panthers, and then do this with the Penguins all in a little over a week.
Up Next
Tomorrow night in Buffalo is no longer a “bonus if we get something” game. They’ve got to get a point or two. There will be lots of other Eastern games that matter that night, and though the Isles will still finish the night in a playoff spot no matter what, their primary chasers from the outside each have two games in hand.
NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Mantha had two goals and an assist, Rickard Rakell scored twice and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to defeat the New York Islanders 8-3 on Monday night in a crucial game in the competitive Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Penguins trailed 3-1 midway through the second period before scoring four times in less than 6 1/2 minutes to take over. Their seventh goal on their 28th shot eight minutes into the third chased Ilya Sorokin, who was done in by porous defense in front of him and relieved by backup David Rittich.
Pittsburgh with the regulation victory leapfrogged New York into second place in the Metropolitan Division, 90 points to 89. The Penguins have eight games left in the regular season compared to seven for the Islanders, who could find themselves outside a spot as early as Tuesday night depending on results of their next game and others in contention in the East.
Returning from a one-game injury absence, Sidney Crosby was one of 15 skaters on his team to register a point in a significant bounce back from losing at home to Dallas without him on Saturday. Longtime running mate Evgeni Malkin missed a fourth consecutive game and is considered day to day.
The Islanders are relatively healthy, but their details were sorely lacking in blowing a multigoal lead and doing so in stunning fashion. They had allowed seven goals in their previous four games combined, with Hall of Fame goaltender coach Patrick Roy preaching a 0-0 mindset and relying on Sorokin to make up for any mistakes.
Even Sorokin could not compensate against the Penguins, who got solid goaltending from Arturs Silovs.
Up next
Penguins: Stuart Skinner is expected to start Tuesday night at home against the Detroit Red Wings.
Islanders: Visit the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night, with Sorokin potentially in line to get the nod again.
After scoring five second-period goals to overcome a two-goal deficit in Saturday’s win over the Panthers, the Islanders allowed the Penguins to do the same Monday, closing a crucial five-game homestand by surrendering seven unanswered goals in an 8-3 loss at UBS Arena. The embarrassing defensive effort — in which the Islanders allowed the most goals in a game this season — led to Ilya Sorokin being pulled for just the second time this season, as the team gave away a pair of two-goal advantages and a massive opportunity in the crowded Eastern Conference standings.
“We were just awful defensively,” defenseman Ryan Pulock said. “We know what we did. We know what went wrong. We know what we need to do to play the right way … That’s not us.”
In a potential playoff preview, the Penguins (37-21-16, 90 points) earned their first regulation win in two weeks and jumped ahead of the Islanders (42-28-5, 89 points) for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders remain one point ahead of Columbus for the final wild-card spot, while Ottawa — the next closest playoff contender — is three points behind the Islanders, with two games in hand.
Goaltender Ilya Sorokin #30 of the New York Islanders reacts after he gives up a goal during the second period at UBS Arena, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Elmont, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Seven games remain — including Tuesday at Buffalo — in the regular season. Five more will come at home. Ultimately, this loss may not impact the Islanders’ playoff hopes. But conveying that to the packed house in Elmont was impossible, as the collective mood segued from elation to silence in barely three and a half minutes.
For 23 minutes, Ilya Sorokin was impenetrable. Anders Lee was opportunistic, burying a backhand off the boards for the game’s first goal in the opening minutes of the second period. Mathew Barzal was a magician, setting up scoring chances virtually every time he touched the puck. He put the Islanders up 2-0 with a wrist shot 2:56 into the second period, then later fired a shot that rebounded off Pittsburgh’s Arturs Silovs, which allowed Brayden Schenn to score for the second straight game, putting the Islanders up 3-1 with 10:43 remaining in the second period and halfway to a three-point lead over the Penguins.
Then, the defense disappeared, repeatedly putting Sorokin on an island, leading to three Pittsburgh goals in the span of 3:34, beginning with Rickard Rakell’s short-handed goal.
Rickard Rakell #67 of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores a goal pass goaltender Ilya Sorokin #30 of the New York Islanders during the second period at UBS Arena, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Elmont, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
“It was definitely a turning point in that game, but after that we had a chance to get back in the game and we didn’t match [them],” coach Patrick Roy said. “The momentum shifted and we just couldn’t get it back … It stings that we’ve been doing so well lately and we just had a bad one in the system.
“You don’t like to be embarrassed like this in front of your fans, so we need to regroup and be ready for [Buffalo]. … We can’t give that many chances and think we’re gonna win hockey games.”
Just 2:29 after the short-handed goal, Ryan Shea tied it with a one-timer. Then, Anthony Mantha broke free, beating Sorokin five-hole to put the Penguins ahead with 6:25 left in the second period. Mantha closed the period with another goal, taking advantage of a defensive breakdown to beat Sorokin with a backhand.
Arturs Silovs #37 of the Pittsburgh Penguins defends the net against center Mathew Barzal #13 of the New York Islanders during the first period at UBS Arena, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Elmont, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
After the Penguins scored two more to start the third period, Isles backup goalie David Rittich replaced Sorokin, who allowed seven goals on 28 shots. Sorokin had allowed a total of four goals in the previous four games.
“We let him down,” Kyle MacLean said. “He’s been so good for us and we can’t play like that in front of him. He deserves better.”
As the Ottawa Senators prepare to take on the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, it's not unreasonable or even sarcastic to wonder if their eight-million-dollar starting goalie will be rested enough to play or not.
On Saturday, two days after Linus Ullmark and the Ottawa Senators lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Pittsburgh Penguins, it was expected that Ullmark would start in Tampa against the Lightning. After all, their next game was still three days away.
Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss Linus Ullmark sitting out Saturday's game because he needed rest.
But when game time rolled around, it was 38-year-old backup James Reimer who led the Sens onto the ice for what turned out to be a 4-2 loss to the Lightning. Reimer wasn't the reason for the loss, but not going with Ullmark seemed like a curious choice.
With no local media on the road, Sens host Jackson Starr, who's a Senators employee, asked head coach Travis Green after the game what went into the decision to start Reimer over Ullmark.
"I want to play Linus every night," Green replied. "But he needed a rest and he wasn’t available to start tonight.”
Ullmark has yet to give his account of why he didn't play, but Green's explanation that he needed a rest has had Sens Nation and the hockey world buzzing over the past two days.
Former NHL player Jeff O' Neill is never one to pull punches on his TSN Toronto radio show, Overdrive, and he certainly didn't on this story.
"What Linus Ullmark did on Saturday night was completely unacceptable," O' Neill said on Monday's show. "I know he's had his difficulties this year. His team stood by him, and the organization stood by him. This is about the team chasing the playoffs and everybody contributing.
"And he said he needed a day off in the biggest game of the year? Not buying it. It's not part of the league. You don't get to pick and choose when you wanna feel good and when you don't."
O' Neill was clearly fired up, loudly interrupting co-host Jamie McLennan, who got all of five words into his reply.
"It's hard. And I think..." McLennan began.
"You're damn right it's hard!" O Neill yelled. "When everyone else is busting their nuts, they've got defenseman out (of the lineup), and they've got kids playing back there. And everyone's dying to try to get into the playoffs, and a guy just says, 'Not tonight?' Unacceptable! Can't have it in the NHL."
O' Neill had some sympathy for Sens' head coach Travis Green and how he must be feeling when everyone else seems to be buying in and giving their all, even though most of them are banged up and running on low fuel at the end of the season.
"Travis Green has done such a great job with that Ottawa team. He's established himself as a great coach. The team has come together, and everybody is pushing. You can't have a guy who's the most important player on your team say, 'Not really feeling it tonight.'
ELMONT, NEW YORK - MARCH 30: Ilya Sorokin #30 of the New York Islanders reacts to a goal by Rickard Rakell #67 of the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:54 of the third period at UBS Arena on March 30, 2026 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Pregame
There are lots of moving parts for the Penguins, who are using three different lines for tonight. The happiest change is that Sidney Crosby is able to return and Bryan Rust shrugs off his maintenance day yesterday to play too. Rickard Rakell stays at center for the second game in a row, this time between the ‘big’ winger duo of Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau. Tommy Novak slides to the wing for the first time in a while, joined by Ben Kindel and Avery Hayes. Arturs Silovs gets the start in net.
Both teams play a little tight and tense at first. The Islanders get the puck down low and try to jam it in, nearly doing so a couple times. On the other end of the ice, Erik Karlsson shoots a puck off Ilya Sorokin’s stick nob and then a Sidney Crosby shot hits the crossbar a little later.
The Islanders gain momentum and start stacking up chances. Adam Pelech shoots from the blueline through plenty of traffic, Silovs doesn’t track the puck but luckily for him it hits the post and stays out. Crosby and Karlsson then hulk up and generate a bunch of chances.
Pittsburgh traps some tired Islanders in their d-zone and amps up the pressure to the max by double shifting the first line following an NYI icing call but they can’t quite get it to go.
First penalty is called with 3:15 to play, Sam Girard goes for holding and Mat Barzal joins him for the extra spinning, turning fall to exaggerate the hold. The 4v4 is uneventful, after it ends J.G Pageau bonks Chinakhov on the head with a stick and that creates the first power play with 56 seconds left in the period. The Islanders get a 2-on-1, period ends.
The whole period felt like a desperate race mainly between Crosby and Karlsson trying to create a goal before the Islanders could get on the board. Neither ended up succeeding in the first 20 minutes. Shots were 11-7 Pittsburgh, both team struck some iron, yet the score stays 0-0.
Second period
Pittsburgh starts the period with a little over a minute on the carryover power play, they still don’t get anything going. Bo Horvat chugs down the ice and Rakell has to hook him to slow him down for the first NYI power play.
The Islanders score on their chance, Adam Boqvist sends a shot wide off the back wall, it takes a healthy bounce and Anders Lee is able to steer it in to open the scoring 1:27 into the second.
The Pens respond with a good shift following the goal but then it dries up. NYI gets a 2-on-1 and Silovs cheats too much to the near side so Barzal snipes him to the far-side top corner. 2-0, 2:56 in.
The Islanders apply more pressure and trap the Pens. Faceoffs are 21-6 NYI, Pittsburgh can’t win a draw and get in trouble after Silovs can’t freeze a high shot. They survive long enough to get a change and start pushing back. The fourth line gets a great shift and creates some traffic of their own. Karlsson glances another shot off the post, Noel Acciari and Elmer Soderblom go to work down low with Soderblom finding the puck after a scramble and lifting the puck over a fallen Sorokin. 2-1.
Acciari takes a penalty, and it’s the Penguins who score on the PK. Rakell and Bryan Rust work a give-and-go that ends with Rust setting Rakell up to steer a puck through Sorokin’s five-hole. 3-2 game.
Game is wide open now, the Pens let Barzal get behind them again, his breakaway shot sails wide. Pittsburgh answers again with their second goal in 2:28. Anthony Mantha goes low-to-high to Ryan Shea and this time it’s Sorokin who is caught deeper in his crease and Shea’s shot hits the mark. 3-3.
Pittsburgh then takes their first lead of the night. Mantha gets behind the NYI defense and Justin Brazeau sends it into space for him to skate into. Mantha tries his classic breakaway move to feint and lay the backhander through the five-hole, it works. 4-3 PIT.
There goes that man again! As if on repeat, Brazeau makes another great pass to Mantha after Kris Letang pinches down and wins a puck back. The Islanders defensive structure is totally gone, no one picks Mantha up so he skates it all the way in, makes another move to the backhand and uses his long reach to steer in a second goal of the period. 5-3 Pens.
Well, that was a wild ride. Eight total goals, the Islanders look like they’re about to run away with things but then four unanswered goals by the Penguins put them ahead 5-3 at the second. Shots are 13-8 PIT in the middle frame.
Third period
Matthew Schaefer takes the puck to the net trying to make something happen, the Pens survive.
Soderblom and Scott Mayfield get tied up and are angry enough to get in a fight. Soderblom uses his size and strength to hold the smaller player off and throws a few nice shots in to drop the Islander.
Two rookies combine to extend the lead to 6-3. Sorokin stops Ben Kindel with the Pens on a 3-on-1 rush but leaves a rebound and loses his net. A great second effort by Kindel passes the puck back to the mouth of the crease for Avery Hayes to score an easy one, courtesy of no defender getting to him in time.
Pittsburgh ends Sorokin’s night, Brazeau blisters a shot that the goalie can’t handle. The generous NYI defense can’t get the stick or body of Rakell, who drives to the net and finds a way to finish it. 7-3 with 12:06 to play forces a goalie change to put David Rittich in.
The Isles get a chance, Silovs waves his blocker hand at the puck and falls to his stomach, the rolling puck ends up on his back and down behind him heading for the goal-line. Parker Wotherspoon is there to save the day and jam it back into the goalie to get a stoppage.
Game is ambling on, the Pens make a normal looking breakout but Scott Mayfield offers no resistance to Bryan Rust. Crosby hits Rust with a pass and it’s way too casual defending to let Rust snap a shot in. 8-3.
Egor Chinakhov has been so productive this season and when you’re a winger on the Penguins having great success, you’re going to find your way to Crosby’s line sooner or later. The need for Rakell as a center (though the team did have Novak as a typical option for their second line center) meant that Chinakhov-Crosby combo got tried for the first real time in earnest with little build up on practices, instead of going with Rakell.
That’s one of those things if it works, the coach looks like a genius and if it doesn’t, well, that makes for a tougher conversation. The genius touch (or, hey the one that worked and makes the coach look good) ended up being the call to reunite Mantha and Brazeau. Those two each had three-point games and combined to put the biggest impacts on this game when it was up for grabs.
Same with the choice of goalie, though perhaps neither option is really a preferable one. Silovs was as impassive and deep in the net as a shooter tutor on the Barzal goal. NYI scored three goals on 1.24 expected. After that, the Pens were able to give the Islanders basically nothing while they went and out-scored their problems in net. Luckily for Pittsburgh they were able to exploit the Islanders’ biggest weakness (a blatant disegard for playing competitive defense) before NYI could touch up the Pens’.
Crosby was on a mission in the first period: six shot attempts, some smart passes, super-high battle level, he was dialed in. You could tell it was a big game just from watching him, fun to see him turn the clock back before our eyes coming back from injury and leading the team during an important game. He didn’t end up being THE story of the game but it’s great to see him back in the lineup and playing such a driven brand of hockey.
Defensemen had 8/19 of the Islanders’ shot attempts in the first period. They weren’t trying anything fancy, they were getting forwards to the net and letting their blueliners shoot from a distance to see what would happen.
Rust and Rakell creating a shorthanded goal was incredibly pivotal. The Pens were down 3-1 and possibly on the ropes while killing a penalty. Then, boom, they’re right back in it. Then Mantha put his imprint on the game with a primary assist and two goals to completely change the game. Recently when good things have been happening, it usually has something to do with those names, this was no different.
In that way, it was very fitting for the Pens’ season; it may not always be pretty and they might be on the ropes at time, but they’re always going to keep pushing. This team has some admirable fight from within.
Great adjustment by the Pens going into the second. Early on, they were often looking for passes and trying to find back door plays to do the work. They simplified in the second, and you saw a lot of the size and muscle of this team taking over. Soderblom was a beast down low. Brazeau and Mantha were doing their things along the walls and then by the net. It might go unnoticed (but probably not for long) about just how much length and strength that the Pens have built up lately into their team. It’s not easy to get the puck off of 6’5”, 6’6” and 6’8” forwards from down low when they can really lean into it.
The support plays for the Pens were so good too. Wotherspoon grabbed a couple of secondary assists getting the puck going north. Letang pinched and won a puck back to start the sequence for a Mantha goal. Novak slipped the puck off the wall for Kindel to skate into for an odd-man rush. Crosby got a puck behind the net over for Mantha to start a play. The finishes and immediate setups were nice too, but every play has to start somewhere, the Pens had some great building blocks to start sequences.
Seven goals and Evgeni Malkin didn’t play, Erik Karlsson had no points and Crosby had the one assist. That’s an incredible offensive output from up and down the lineup. 15 out of the 18 Penguin skaters for tonight registered a point. Very few had multiple point games until the garbage time goal, all things considered from the first seven goals (Mantha 2G+1A, Rakell 2G, Brazeau 3A, Wotherspoon 2A until Crosby, Rust and Letang joined the multi-point club with the late third period goal). Just a lot of balance and obviously a couple of massive efforts from the like of Mantha and Rakell.
If NYI/PIT does end up being a first round playoff game, my goodness, I don’t know how we’ll survive. Certainly the blood pressure will be going up, neither team is all that dutiful at defending and both have some scary forwards when they get time and space to sneak behind all-too-oblivious opponents. Thought the biggest factor in this game, probably by far, was the awful effort of the NYI defense, whether it was in their structure or just showing basic pro level competitiveness. They must have sensed the game was slipping away from them and pretty much packed it in for the night and let the Pens do whatever they needed to do in the last 30 minutes.
Best thing: no more Josh Bailey, Jordan Eberle is long gone and Kyle Palmieri is on IR. All the old familiar NYI nightmares are over. Players like Horvat, Barzal and Schaefer present enough challenges on their own but it’s no small comfort that a lot of those from the past can’t show up on a night like tonight.
Pittsburgh ends the year 2-0-1 against NYI, who they now are ahead of by one point in the standings (the Pens do have a game in hand). That’s a massive outcome to take 5 out of 6 available points against a critical opponent, while seeing them walk away with just two from the season series. Will there be more in the playoffs? If the Islanders play such sloppy and uncommitted defense like they displayed tonight, sign us up!
This week was accurately billed as so crucial to the playoff hopes of the whole season. It couldn’t really have started any better, the Pens score the last seven goals of the game and don’t exactly have a tough or physical, bruising type of contest so they should have a lot of momentum when they return home for another huge game tomorrow night against Detroit.
A coaching change this late in the year is extremely rare for an almost certainly playoff-bound team. Thus, John Tortorella isn’t looking to make drastic changes to the Vegas Golden Knights’ system with just eight games remaining in the regular season.
This is something Tortorella said repeatedly when he met with the media for the first time following the coaching change.
“We’re not going to make many changes,” said Tortorella. “I’m not going to upset and fill the players with information. I have a few points of emphasis that we’ll go over as a team— just did this morning in our first meeting, just about mindset and odds and ends that I’ll just keep with the team for now.”
Before the start of the season, analysts and pundits viewed the Golden Knights as favorites to contend for the Stanley Cup. At the Olympic break, they led the Pacific Division. Now, with just eight games left in the regular season, they’re at risk of dropping into the wild card race.
So, on Sunday, the Golden Knights announced that they’d relieved Bruce Cassidy of his duties as head coach. In the same statement, they named Tortorella as the fourth coach in franchise history.
Tortorella began his coaching career with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2001. Since then, the 67-year-old, two-time Jack Adams winner has been an NHL mainstay, spending time with the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, and the Columbus Blue Jackets. He won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, and most recently served as the bench boss for the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2024-25 season. Tortorella also had two separate stints as a studio analyst for ESPN and one brief stint with the NHL on TSN.
Tortorella said that because of the situation, he’s going to lean on the rest of the coaching staff. However, he also brings his own ideas to the Golden Knights for this final stretch of the season.
“I’d just like to see us play faster,” said Tortorella. “Everybody wants to play fast, right? It’s an easy word to say, but I think that comes down to mindset, also. So yeah, we’ll pick away at it. But I am not going to overthink this. I am not going to overload them and paralyze them. We’ve got some quality people here. I want to come in here and try to help.”
After 74 games, the Golden Knights are second in the league in time spent trailing in games with 1901:44. Tortorella isn’t ready to diagnose the problem, but he emphasized the importance of being mentally ready to play.“
I’ll tell you what, the biggest part of hockey now, I don’t think it’s the X’s and O’s. I do think it’s your mind, that’s a readiness. I think they’ve been told a few times about their starts… We’ll remind them, but also respect them. They know where they’re at here now in the standings.”
This is the second time in as many years that Tortorella’s world has shifted with less than ten games remaining in the regular season. Last year, the Philadelphia Flyers relieved him of his duties as head coach with nine games left; now, he finds himself in the exact opposite position.
“In this business here, whether you’re a player or a coach, I think you need to have the ability to accept the challenge, right? You know, I got bombed out of Philly with nine games left last year. Now, I come here with eight games left in a new job. It’s a couple of crazy situations I’ve never been involved in,” Tortorella said. “But that’s the league, that’s pro sports. I think as coaches and players, when you get to this level, the highest level of the game, you need to be prepared to handle that stuff.
“I’m very fortunate to get the opportunity to work with this management group, because the organization is so well respected. I don’t want to let them down,” continued Tortorella. “I am going to prepare myself each and every day to be the best I can be, the best version of me, to help the team. But I think the important thing is that we need to do it together, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Tortorella said that he reached out to Cassidy on Sunday night.
“I was texting with Butchy last night when I was flying in here, and thanked him for having the team the way it is right now,” said Tortorella. “Just remember, the guy that left here? Pretty [expletive] good coach. So, I feel very fortunate coming into this situation.”
Neither Tortorella nor Kelly McCrimmon discussed the timeline of the conversations leading up to the coaching change.
“We’re going to move forward,” Tortorella said. “As I said, I felt I needed to reach out to [Bruce Cassidy] last night. We had a good conversation, and that’s where it stops for me. I wanted to thank him, and now my sight is set on this game here. I talked to the players about that, also.
“It’s a big change for them too, right? We just want to move forward here with kind of a really crazy situation with only eight games left. So, we need to start thinking ahead and just take this day here against Vancouver and move to the next one.”
Nazem Kadri’s return to the Colorado Avalanche was so seamless, it feels like it happened forever ago, but really, it’s only been 24 days since Calgary dealt Naz back to his old club in exchange for Victor Olofsson, Max Curran, a 2028 2nd, and 2027 first. Just a few weeks later, Kadri will face his former teammates and coaches of the Calgary Flames tonight at Ball Arena.
Colorado suffered defeat at the hands of Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets, but were winners of four straight ahead of that contest. The Flames are at the bottom end of a Pacific Division that’s been described as “a pillow fight.”
Can the Avalanche assert its will, or does Calgary rise to the occasion?
Colorado Avalanche: 48-14-10
The Opponent: Calgary Flames (31-34-8)
Time: 6:30 p.m. MT
Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, ESPN+
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio, 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
I don’t think the Avalanche need to trigger a rebuild after losing to Winnipeg, but the style of play, and the eventual outcome can yield some lessons.
It does appear that, although the hockey landscape has changed over the years, the best approach to beating the Avalanche (albeit the most boring) is to establish an early lead and hunker down/muddy up the neutral zone to limit clean entries and effective possession.
Couple that with stout goaltending, and you just might hang on and beat this Avalanche squad.
The strategy described above isn’t new, but this version of the Avalanche is likely the deepest it’s been since the 2022 team that broke through and captured ultimate glory.
There are subtle differences between the two teams, with the 2022 juggernaut having that same competitive advantage on the back-end with decent net-minding, and the 2026 Avalanche harbouring great net-minding but less of an overarching advantage on the back-end.
Let’s see if Calgary attempts to implement the strategy we saw from Winnipeg, but some teams are much better at executing this approach than others.
The downside to this approach? You risk getting down early and might have to abandon it altogether if things get out of hand.
The Flames did Naz a solid with likely plenty of suitors on the open market, and they landed him in Colorado. The mutual interest in having him move on stemmed from the lack of playoff potential in Calgary. Kadri is nearing the end of his career, and the Flames are in no position to fulfill Stanley Cup aspirations any time soon.
That doesn’t mean the Flames aren’t working toward something. They will have 5 picks in the top 3 rounds of this upcoming and next year’s NHL Draft. We know firsthand how that sort of capital can thrust a team into the limelight.
Evander Kane’s hockey career has always pointed towards Vancouver.
Being born and raised in the city quickly turned to skating at the ever-popular North Shore Winter Club. That, in turn, evolved into playing for Vancouver’s WHL team, the Vancouver Giants, before he was ultimately drafted fourth-overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009.
After nearly 20 years in the NHL, Kane finally ended up making his way back to Vancouver via trade with the Edmonton Oilers. Now, he’s only a couple of hours away from playing in his 1000th NHL game.
Kane’s first-ever NHL game came on October 3, 2009 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, during which he registered his first NHL point after assisting on a goal by Rich Peverley. It didn’t take him long to score his first NHL goal after that, as he potted what would ultimately be the game-winner in a match against the St. Louis Blues the game after. He finished his rookie season with 14 goals and 12 assists in 66 games played.
After two seasons in the NHL, Kane found himself heading to Winnipeg after the Thrashers were sold and relocated back to Canada. In his first season as a member of the new Winnipeg Jets, Kane registered his career-high in goals (30) and assists (27). He played with the Jets for three more seasons after that before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres.
From there, Kane spent three seasons with Buffalo, playing as a member of the Sabres from 2015 to 2018. During this span of time, he scored 68 goals and 50 assists in 196 games. It was here when he notched his first 100+ penalty-minute season, racking up 113 during the 2016–17 season.
Kane was traded once again in February of 2018, this time heading to the San Jose Sharks. Shortly after, he played in his first NHL playoff game, as neither Atlanta, Winnipeg, or Buffalo had made the post-season in any of Kane’s years there. In his first playoff run, which only lasted two rounds and nine games, Kane scored four goals and one assist.
Mar 17, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Drew O'Connor (18) and forward Aatu Raty (54) and forward Evander Kane (91) and defenseman Elias Pettersson (25) celebrate Raty’s goal against the Florida Panthers in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Soon after this playoff run, the Sharks signed Kane to a seven-year deal worth $49M. In his first full season with San Jose, Kane nearly surpassed his career-highs, tying his record in goals but falling short by one assist. He did, however, set a new personal record for penalty minutes, registering 153 in 75 games.
Things soured with Kane and the Sharks after the forward violated the league’s COVID-19 protocol, resulting in a 21-game suspension from the NHL and later a contract termination. This was just one of a few instances through his career in which Kane was embroiled in controversy.
This contract termination led Kane to sign a deal with the Edmonton Oilers through the 2021–22 season. Putting up 22 goals and 17 assists in 43 regular-season games, as well as 13 goals and four assists in 15 playoff games, led the Oilers to sign him to a four-year extension paying slightly over $5M annually.
While Kane did put up 24 goals and 20 assists during the 2023–24 season, a variety of factors contributed to the Oilers eventually moving on from him. Injuries sidelined the forward for the entire 2024–25 regular season, while the emergence of none-other than former Canuck Vasily Podkolzin made Kane expendable. As a result, Edmonton traded Kane to his hometown team during the 2025 off-season.
Kane’s NHL career has taken him to many different places. While things haven’t quite gone according to plan with the Canucks — reports have indicated he was on the market ahead of the trade deadline — the forward will skate in his 1000th NHL game with none-other than the team whose city he first found hockey in.
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One of the most shocking firings of the season could possibly be a gain for the Nashville Predators.
On Sunday, it was announced that the Vegas Golden Knights had fired their head coach, Bruce Cassidy and had hired John Tortorella for the final eight games of the regular season.
In addition to the Golden Knights being third in the Pacific Division, still very much competing for the top spot, Cassidy had posted a 178-99-43 record over four seasons with Vegas, guiding the franchise to its first Stanley Cup in 2023.
He had also won the Jack Adams Award, given to the NHL's top coach, during the 2019-20 season as the Boston Bruins head coach. Cassidy also took the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019.
With such a decorated coach getting an unexpected boot, the possibility opens up that he could step into the head coaching role in Nashville.
Andrew Brunette has been with the Predators for three seasons, sleepwalking into the playoffs in 2024, posting one of the worst seasons in franchise history in 2025, and trying to get Nashville into the playoffs as the final Wild Card in 2026.
Through 238 games coached, Brunette has a 111-105-22 record, and this season has helped the Predators rise from the bottom of the standings. After starting out the year at 6-12-4, Nashville has turned things around and is battling for a playoff spot in the final games of the regular season.
While it looks like Brunette saved himself from being fired early in the season, Nashville is still struggling to find consistency and playing below expectations with star players like Steven Stamkos, Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly, and Jonathan Marchessault.
General Manager Barry Trotz has also "stuck his neck out" multiple times for Brunette, advocating to keep him on after the disastrous 2024-25 season and staying with him after the Predators returned from Sweden with a 6-10-4 record.
That being said, Trotz will retire once the search for a new GM concludes. His limited time as GM doesn't mean he's shying away from "big decisions" as he traded off four players at the deadline for draft picks.
A handful of other coaches have been fired around the league this season in better scenarios than the Predators were in.
Apr 3, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Nashville Predators head coach Andrew Brunette looks on during the second period against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jim Hillar was fired by Los Angeles after a 21-24-14 start and had spent two and a half seasons with the Kings. The Blue Jackets fired Dean Evason after just a season and a half, and a 19-19-7 record.
Nashville was at sub-500 for 27 games and opted to stay with Brunette. While the Predators are playing better now, it's unknown if it'll actually pay off. As of March 30, the Predators have lost three straight games and are at risk of losing their Wild Card spot with no action until Thursday.
Meanwhile, after the Blue Jackets fired Evason and Rick Bowness took over, they have propelled themselves to the top of the Metropolitan Division standings, fighting for a top-2 spot.
The Predators aren't necessarily struggling, but neither were the Golden Knights. Vegas has a very "cut-throat" approach to its organization, but made a risky move that opens the door for Nashville to bring in a proven coach.
As for Brunette, he's stayed in his position longer than most head coaches have in his situation. If he doesn't get this team into the playoffs, and even then if they don't have a good showing, it may be time to make a change.
The Predators have a chance to make a move toward the future, whether that's Trotz making one last move to put the team in a position for success or a new GM proving things will be different.
And if it's worth anything, Cassidy would get the chance to reunite with a pair of former players in Jonathan Marchessault and Nic Hague.
If the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to make the playoffs - or make any kind of run in the playoffs - it would serve them well to get healthy as soon as possible.
And they may have their best player back for the biggest matchup of their season on Monday night.
Forward Evgeni Malkin - day-to-day with an upper-body injury - was ruled out for the game, while Muse didn't want to give any specifics on other players such as Bryan Rust and Noel Acciari, who also skated Monday but missed Sunday's team practice for "maintenance" reasons.
"I still have to have conversations with the medical staff, so in regards to everybody, I'm not going to comment right now," Muse said after the morning skate. "I'm just waiting until I have some final conversations with the medical staff in regards to the game lineup."
The Penguins did call up forward Avery Hayes as insurance before their game against the Islanders, who are one point above the Penguins - who sit in the third place - in the Metropolitan Division standings as of now. They will still have a game in hand on the Isles after their Monday matchup, so a regulation win would go a long way in giving them a higher chance of making the playoffs.
The Penguins have nine regular season games remaining, and they also play the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. They will conclude their 2025-26 with six games against teams that are currently out of the playoff picture.
In addition to Crosby and Malkin, the Penguins have also been playing without the services of Blake Lizotte, who is a key part of their bottom-six and has missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury. He is currently set to be re-evaluated during the final week of the regular season.
The Montreal Canadiens have made a roster move, as they have recalled defenseman Adam Engstrom from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Laval Rocket.
Engstrom has played in his first 11 NHL games this season with the Canadiens, where he has recorded zero points, four hits, five blocks, six penalty minutes, and a plus-3 rating. Now, after landing this latest call-up to the Canadiens' roster, he will be looking to make an impact.
Engstrom has certainly shown promise this season with Laval, as he has had a strong season with the AHL club. In 45 games with Laval this campaign, he has 10 goals, 24 assists, 34 points, and a plus-14 rating. This is after he had five goals, 22 assists, 27 points, and a plus-14 rating in 66 games for the AHL club during this past season.
Engstrom was selected by the Canadiens with the 92nd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The 22-year-old blueliner has the potential to become a solid NHL defenseman as he continues to gain more experience.
In 111 career AHL games over two seasons, Engstrom has 15 goals, 46 assists, 61 points, and a plus-28 rating.
On Monday, the Chicago Blackhawks had a scheduled day off from practice. This is very typical following a long road trip. Chicago went 1-3-0 out east and didn’t play particularly well in any of those games, even the one in which they earned a victory.
One of their issues as a team, since the trade deadline, has been team toughness. They sent a lot of that mentality out when they traded Colton Dach, Nick Foligno, Connor Murphy, and Jason Dickinson.
On Monday, they took a step toward addressing that problem. Alex Vlasic, Louis Crevier, Sam Rinzel, Ethan Del Mastro, Sacha Boisvert, and Landon Slaggert showed up at Blackhawks Ice Center to practice their fighting.
These are Chicago’s biggest players in stature, but only Boisvert has ever publicly expressed his desire to fight, and he’s three games into his NHL career. Jeff Blashill and the organization clearly see it as a skill worth developing as they work towards becoming a winner.
This could be a bit of a Tampa Bay Lightning/Florida Panthers effect on the league, as they have won four of the last six Stanley Cups through being a tough, skilled team. There is a lot of skill on those rosters, but there is plenty of “sandpaper” to go with it.
According to Scott Powers of The Athletic, it was Blackhawks pro scout Wade Brookbank who taught these players a thing or two about NHL fighting during this practice. This is not a skill that every one of these players is going to master through one session, but it’s a mentality step that the Blackhawks are clearly taking.
I was told this wasn't a fighting instructor, but actually Blackhawks pro scout Wade Brookbank who was brought in to teach some of the young players how to defend themselves. https://t.co/nttqyjpzG2
Earlier in the season, Radko Gudas of the Anaheim Ducks kneed Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Matthews is out for the season as a result of this hit, and Gudas is already back from suspension. At the time of the hit, none of Matthews’ teammates did a single thing about it for the sake of their captain, and it was a horrific look for the team.
The Blackhawks have been better than the Leafs when it comes to standing up for teammates, but it isn’t good enough, according to management. This practice wouldn’t have happened otherwise. When JT Miller hit Artyom Levshunov into the boards on Friday night at MSG, it took the Blackhawks a couple of shifts to do anything about it.
There are enough stars on the team now for this to be a necessary thing, and the young players who attended this fight practice have to take over for the veterans who were shipped out. They don’t have to become one of the league’s heavyweights, but having enough courage to stand up for teammates through fighting or playing a physical game is always important for a certain portion of the lineup.
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Jack Drury capitalized on a rebound off the boards following an initial shot from Parker Kelly, giving the Avalanche a 1–0 lead.
Calgary quickly ran into penalty trouble when Brayden Pachal was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after a scrum. Moments later, Blake Coleman was whistled for slashing after breaking Martin Nečas’ stick, handing Colorado a 5-on-3 power play.
Nazem Kadri struck just 23 seconds into the advantage to make it 2–0. With about a minute remaining on Coleman’s penalty, Kadri buried a rebound off a Brock Nelson one-timer to extend the lead to 3–0—his second goal of the night, second of the period, and second on the power play.
Just 1:42 later, Gabriel Landeskog slipped a shot through the five-hole to push the lead to 4–0, prompting Flames head coach Ryan Huska to pull his starting goaltender in favor of Devin Cooley.
Colorado’s onslaught continued late in the period. With 5:10 remaining, Parker Kelly tipped a Cale Makar point shot through Cooley’s five-hole, capping a five-goal first period for the Avalanche.
After 20 minutes, Colorado held a commanding 5–0 lead and torched Calgary in every category. The Avalanche also outshot the Flames 26-8.
Notably, the Avalanche’s fourth line played a major role in the outburst, showcasing the team’s depth by scoring two of the four goals in the frame.
Second Period
Calgary got on the board at the 3:37 mark when Brennan Othmann, a recent call-up from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, beat Scott Wedgewood to make it a 5–1 game. The goal came after a turnover by Sam Malinski, as Flames forward John Beecher wrapped the puck around the net and found Othmann in the slot.
Brett Kulak was later sent to the box for high-sticking Yegor Sharangovich, giving Calgary its first power play of the night, but Colorado successfully killed it off.
Late in the period, Zach Whitecloud was called for tripping Gabriel Landeskog as he drove to the net, sending the Avalanche back to the man advantage. Nathan MacKinnon capitalized, blasting his 49th goal of the season on a one-timer off a clean feed from Cale Makar to extend the lead to 6–1. It marked Colorado’s third power-play goal of the night.
After two periods, the Avalanche held a 6–1 lead and a 33–16 advantage in shots on goal.
Third Period
Cale Makar is not on the bench to start the third period in what could potentially be a devastating development. He had three points in the opening two frames.
Despite the absence of Makar, Necas one-timed a shot from the right circle off a pass from MacKinnon from behind the net to make it a 7-1 game at 6:24.
Then 1:46 later, Kelly fed Sam Malinski as he streaked into the zone and Malinski went forehand backhand to beat Cooley to make it an 8-1 game.
As that happened, the Avalanche announced that Makar would not return to the game after suffering an upper-body injury.
Ryan Strome scored to make it 8-2 and Artturi Lehkonen finished off a 9-2 win for the Avs.
All year, the Vegas Golden Knights have struggled to live up to preseason expectations. The results speak for themselves– this will be the first season in franchise history that the team will finish with more losses than wins. And with a 5-10-2 record since returning from the Olympic break, it was time to do something drastic.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. On Sunday, the Golden Knights announced that they’d relieved Bruce Cassidy of his duties and named John Tortorella head coach.
Firing a head coach with eight games remaining in the regular season isn’t unprecedented, but it is highly irregular. But this is a business that prioritizes results, and the Golden Knights weren’t getting the results they needed. General manager Kelly McCrimmon said so himself when he spoke to the media on Monday following the coaching change.
Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon coaching change press conference 3/30/2026
“We went into the Olympic break in first place,” said Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon. “We’d been in first place for 96 days. Since then, we’re 5-10-2. We’ve gone from first to second to third to fighting for a playoff spot. We waited as long as we could on this; we see lots of positive signs in spurts in our game. But we just felt that we needed to bring a different person in to lead our team at this time.
“If we didn’t have the expectations and the belief in our team that we do, we probably would’ve let this thing ride out,” McCrimmon finished. “We like our team a lot. We think our team has a chance to win, and we needed to make this change to help that happen.”
McCrimmon attested that he didn’t speak to the players before making the change, and shut down the idea that Cassidy ‘lost the room.’
“You know, ‘lost the room’ is something I’ve been seeing and reading, but no, I don’t think that. I think that the energy level, for me, wasn’t there,” said McCrimmon. “I think somewhere along the way, we lost our spirit. And we lost our energy as a team.”
McCrimmon feels that the Golden Knights are a better team than their results would show, but reiterated that this is a ‘results business.’ And, historically, this is a team that only accepts the best results.
“You need to make hard decisions,” McCrimmon said. “And the easiest thing in the world to do is nothing, right?”
