Category: Ice Hockey

Over the past several postseasons, it has become commonplace to see the Florida Panthers playing hockey deep into May and June.

It’s also been normal to see family members of Panthers players cheering on their loved ones from the stands.

Naturally, that could include current and former NHL players.

You probably know where I’m going with this.

During each of the past three Panthers run to the Stanley Cup Final, TV cameras would often scan the crowd and locate Florida star Matthew Tkachuk’s family, generally featuring dad Keith, mom Chantal, sister Taryn and brother Brady, who also plays for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

This year, however, things are a little different in Pantherland.

For the first time in seven seasons, Florida did not qualify for the playoffs.

But Ottawa did.

That means Matthew now has the opportunity to support his brother the same way Brady has done for Matthew, and he did just that.

Monday night, when the Senators played Game 2 of their opening round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, Matthew Tkachuk was in the crowd, right next to his dad Big Walt, cheering on the Senators.

Fred from Fort Lauderdale checking in 😁 pic.twitter.com/PBJNjfB2dt

— x - Ottawa Senators (@Senators) April 20, 2026

Unfortunately for Brady and his teammates, the good vibes from his family didn’t translate to a victory, as Ottawa lost the game 3-2 in double overtime.

Now the Senators are heading back to Ottawa down two games to zero in the series.

Hopefully, for the Sens and the Tkachuks, Ottawa is able to turn things around on home ice so that Matthew and Co. can continue to follow Brady’s quest for his own Stanley Cup ring.

Game 3 between the Senators and Hurricanes is set for Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Photo caption: Feb 22, 2026; Milan, Italy; Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk of the United States celebrate after winning the men's ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. (James Lang-Imagn Images)

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Rickard Rakell has already had success against the defensively disciplined Philadelphia Flyers this season, recording at least a point in three of their four matchups, including the playoffs.

Heading into Game 3, our Penguins vs. Flyers predictions expect the top-line winger to stay involved offensively as the Pittsburgh Penguins look to swing momentum and get back into the series.

Let’s break down my NHL picks for Wednesday, April 22.

Penguins vs Flyers Game 3 prediction

Who will win Penguins vs Flyers Game 3?

Pittsburgh: This series has not been as one-sided as the 6-2 scoreline suggests. The Penguins are winning the high-danger chance battle 19-15 but are shooting only 4.55% after ranking fourth in finishing rate (12.38%) during the regular season.

Penguins vs Flyers best bet: Rickard Rakell Over 0.5 points (-110)

The Pittsburgh Penguins have tilted the ice during Rickard Rakell’s 5-on-5 minutes.

They've controlled 66% of expected goals, 71% of scoring chances, and generated 33 shot attempts through two games with Rakell on the ice, the most of any Penguins forward.

He's also a focal point on the man advantage, where only Evgeni Malkin's had more ice time.

Rakell’s being used in prime offensive situations, and the Penguins are generating chances. Dan Vladar is unlikely to sustain a .954 SV%, and Rakell is a prime candidate to help break through.

Penguins vs Flyers Game 3 same-game parlay

Bryan Rust skates on the same line and power play unit as Rakell, so there is strong correlation there. There are also encouraging signs production could be coming.

Rust is tied for first in the series in high-danger chances, so I’m buying stock.

We’ll round out the parlay with Travis Sanheim blocks. The minute-munching defenseman blocked multiple shots in 73% of his home games following one day of rest, and his usage is predictably higher in the playoffs.

The Penguins will make a big push in Game 3, which should lead to plenty of block opportunities for the Philadelphia Flyers stalwart.

Penguins vs Flyers SGP

• Rickard Rakell Over 0.5 points
• Bryan Rust Over 0.5 points
• Travis Sanheim Over 1.5 blocked shots

Penguins vs Flyers Game 3 goal scorer pick

Rickard Rakell (+210)

Rakell finished the regular season with seven goals over his final eight games. While he hasn’t found the net in this series, he leads the Penguins in expected goals at 5-on-5.

The vast majority of his shot volume comes from the slot and in, which is key. An in-form Vladar is unlikely to be beaten from range.

Penguins vs Flyers odds for Game 3

• Moneyline: Pittsburgh +100 | Philadelphia -120
• Puck line: Pittsburgh +1.5 (-270) | Philadelphia -1.5 (+210)
• Over/Under: Over 5.5 (+120) | Under 5.5 (+100)

Penguins vs Flyers trend

Rickard Rakell has points in three of four games against Philadelphia this season. Find more NHL betting trends for Penguins vs. Flyers.

How to watch Penguins vs Flyers Game 3

Penguins vs Flyers latest injuries

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After breaking the longest active playoff drought in the NHL by finishing the season in the Atlantic Division’s top spot, the No. 1 seed Buffalo Sabres opened their first playoff series since 2011 with a big win at home.

Though the Boston Bruins were up 2-0 going into the final eight minutes of Game 1, Buffalo’s Tage Thompson ended the Sabres’ 15-year playoff scoring drought with a goal, before scoring the game-tying goal minutes later. Mattias Samuelsson followed that up with the go-ahead goal to make it 3-2 Buffalo, and Alex Tuch hit the empty net for Buffalo’s insurance goal.

Boston ended up scoring another in the final eight seconds of the game, but Buffalo took Game 1, 4-3.

The Bruins and Sabres will face off in Game 2 tonight.

Following tonight’s game, the series will move to Boston for Games 3 and 4, beginning with Game 3 on Thursday, April 23.

Bruins vs. Sabres start time

Game 2 of the Bruins vs. Sabres playoff series is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET tonight, April 21.

How to watch Bruins vs. Sabres Game 2 for free

If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the Ducks-Oilers game for free.

DIRECTV is our top pick for watching hockey live for free — the five-day free trial of its MySports genre pack has ESPN, plus all of the other channels you’ll need for the NHL playoffs. When the trial is over, you’ll pay $44.99/month for your first two months and gain access to 20+ live sports channels.

If you aren’t ready to commit to a full-on subscription, you can try a Sling Orange Day Pass. Priced at $4.99, you’ll get 24 hours of access to all Sling TV Orange has to offer, including ESPN. Sling also offers weekend and week-long passes for its Orange plan, which offer between three and seven days of access.

Bruins vs. Sabres playoff schedule

• Game 1: Buffalo 4, Boston 3
• Game 2: Boston at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m. ET April 21 (ESPN)
• Game 3: Buffalo at Boston, 7 p.m. ET April 23 (TNT)
• Game 4: Buffalo at Boston, 2 p.m. ET April 26 (TNT)
• *Game 5: Boston at Buffalo, April 28 TBD
• *Game 6: Buffalo at Boston, May 1 TBD
• *Game 7: Boston at Buffalo, May 3 TBD

*- If necessary

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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.

In a lot of ways, the American Hockey League's Springfield Thunderbirds are a lot like their NHL big brother, the St. Louis Blues.

The only difference, at least this season, is that one was able to overcome a slow start and the other didn't.

When the Thunderbirds (32-32-6-2) open their first-round series in the Calder Cup Playoffs against the Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday in a best-of-3 series in Charlotte (6 p.m. CT), nobody would could have foreseen in October that the T-birds would be in this position.

Not after starting the season 2-10-4-2 and sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic Division at the time. But here they are, the Blues' AHL affiliate stocked with the team's prospects are in the tournament, and although they have to play all three games (if necessary) away from home, they're glad to be in the position that they're in all things considered.

"Things transitioned really quick for this group and I'm really proud of this group," said Springfield coach Steve Ott, who started this season as an associate coach to Jim Montgomery in St. Louis and brought up to Springfield to replace the fired Steve Konowalchuk on Jan. 19. "They believed from the get-go of the process of how we're going to play, and we kind of took it day by day. The practice habits and details continued to get better and you could see it transitioned into our game. We picked up a lot of valuable points along the way and kind of grew into a team to kind of get into this situation."

Springfield was starting to dig itself out of the doldrums of a really poor start and were 14-18-4-2 at the time of Ott's arrival and finished 18-14-2-0 under him. But the change seemed to reinvigorate what was starting out as a long season and finished off as an entrant into the tournament, which is where Springfield felt it belonged all along.

"It wasn't what I saw, it was more the things I believed in as a coach and used some past experience that I thought could really help this group out," Ott said. "Getting the buy-in from the leaders early, helping develop all our young guys, to see them play a pro game in which I really believe in I thought really helped them and instrumental into their own success, but it also led to team success, which was even better. You add all those elements together, I thought the guys were very hungry for information early. We pushed from practice and kind of started building it from there. Very excited to be in this opportunity for this group.

"I think we got great leadership down here with (captain) Chris Wagner, [Hugh] McGing, you've got Calle Rosen who we are obviously familiar with the Blues and Dillon Dube."

A number of Blues prospects have made major contributions, but perhaps none other than Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft who ended the season with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 15 games.

Kaskimaki had a five-game stint with the Blues earlier in the season (zero points) and was basically told by Blues general manager Doug Armstrong to go back down and to find his scoring; he finished with 44 points (20 goals, 24 assists) in 64 games.

"Finding your scoring comes with different opportunity, I would say," Ott said. "Being set up for success to be put in that and using his God-given ability. He's been put on a top line with Dube and Wagner and they've had great chemistry. All three of them play the game the right way and they're getting rewarded offensively by not only being offensive but from checking, and when they're checking their offense back, 'Kasky's been able to use his skill level to really take the next step. Power play situations where you really start to learn that he's a real deceptive passer and he continues to put up numbers by going to the harder areas, driving the net off the rush where he got rewarded in the Lehigh (Valley) game (a 7-1 win last Wednesday that clinched a playoff berth).

"There's areas of his game that just continue to develop and for a young player to be put in those opportunities, he's been one of them to really grab it."

The uniqueness of the series is that all three games will be played in Charlotte, with Game 2 slated for Friday, and a Game 3 (if necessary) set for Saturday. All three game times are 6 p.m. (CT). The Thunderbirds lost six of the eight matchups against the Checkers, the affiliate of the Florida Panthers but the last two games (a 5-1 Springfield win on Feb. 28 and 3-2 overtime loss on Feb. 27) resemble more of what Springfield has been playing like.

"We're up against it. There's no other way of putting it in any other terms," Ott said. "... Coaching staff and I have been preparing our game plan. They have a more of a veteran-based team, a lot of high-end players that are kind of players in between NHL age and AHL. For us, we've been playing meaningful hockey and playoff-type hockey for weeks on end now, maybe even months to be in this situation. i really like where our game is at. I think we have a very competitive group and we want to make some noise. We're going to push as hard as we can here, continue to play the way that we've identified our team, our team identity, and we're going to see what we can match up against. ... We're hoping for a great matchup and hopefully bring some home games back to Springfield." 

A Springfield series win would put it into the Atlantic Division semifinal series against top-seeded Providence. Springfield enters the postseason as the sixth seed, Charlotte as the third seed.

Jordan Kyrou's Down Season Raises Trade Questions Again; Should Two Sides Seek Fresh Start Or Refocus On Coming Back Better, Stronger?Forward had lowest output in goals, points since 2020-21, remains committed to St. Louis; team also remains committed -- for now

If Robert Thomas Was Available For Trade Before, He Shouldn't Have Been, Nor Should Be Moving ForwardSt. Louis Blues' No. 1 center found game again down stretch for second straight season, formulated team's No. 1 line with play with Dylan Holloway, Jimmy Snuggerud; but 26-year-old wants to hear management's plans moving forward despite four years left on contract

What Does Dylan Holloway's Next Contract Look Like For St. Louis Blues?Forward who overcame torn abductor muscle, high ankle sprain within past year, set to become restricted free agent July 1, but unlike Philip Broberg, Doug Armstrong more open-ended regarding 24-year-old's contract

Jordan Binnington Keeping Open Mind Regarding FutureSt. Louis Blues Stanley Cup-winning goalie wants to discuss future team plans with GM-in-waiting Alexander Steen, management team with one year remaining on current contract

St. Louis Blues Weekly Prospect Report (April 19)Kaskimaki fuels Springfield's run to Calder Cup playoffs; Carbonneau, Blainville-Boisebriand advance to QMJHL semis, as does Jiricek, Brantford, which looks like a buzzsaw in OHL; Fischer, Dorion exit playoffs; Buchelnikov, CSKA done in KHL

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

This has been a wildly disappointing return to the playoffs for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Not only are they down 2-0 to the Philadelphia Flyers after Monday night’s 3-0 loss, they have lost both games at home, now have to go on the road, and seem to be the team that is not ready for the playoff intensity or playoff style. That is a stunning development given the locker room they have, the experience they have, and given that they were simply the better team during the regular season.

None of that has showed itself here.

The Flyers, to their credit, are putting on a defensive clinic through the first two games. They are controlling the neutral zone, blocking shots and closing off lanes in the defensive zone, not letting anybody get near the net and rendering the Penguins power play completely useless. It almost seems as if the Flyers have zero interest in trying to generate anything offensively for themselves and content to just wait for the Penguins to make a mistake and hand them an opportunity.

The Penguins have been happy to oblige. The two goals Philadelphia scored with a goalie in the net on Monday, for example, were the result of just brutal — and avoidable — mistakes by the Penguins.

The lack of offense is not just a lack of goals, but also a lack of chances itself. It feels like they are never in danger of scoring, whether it be during 5-on-5 play or on the power play.

Sure, they have put together a lot of extended shifts in the offensive zone. The Penguins have almost certainly won the territorial battle in terms of puck possession and offensive zone time. But it is not getting them anywhere. They finished Game 2 on Monday with a 73 percent expected goal share during 5-on-5 play. But they only actually generated 2.01 expected goals for themselves, and most of that came in the third period when they were were not only already trailing, but trailing by two goals. Philadelphia took its foot off the gas even more from an offensive perspective.

It has simply been a total power outage in terms of offense. For a team that had 12 different 15-goal scorers during the regular season, and was the third-highest scoring team in the NHL, and the highest-scoring team of the Sidney Crosby era, it is staggering.

Philadelphia is an excellent defensive team, and it has lived up to the hype in that regard. But should it be THIS good?

It is the perfect storm of the Flyers completely buying in to what Rick Tocchet wants them to do, and the Penguins repeatedly banging their heads against the wall. Which is something we have seen from this group in years past in the playoffs. Something has to give.

But what I really wanted to do is just see how these two games stack up to previous Penguins playoff games in the Crosby-Evgeni Malkin era. Where do they stack up in terms of offensive struggles, and in terms of pace?

I pulled data from Natural Stat Trick on every Penguins playoff game going back to the start of the 2007-08 season (as far back as their data goes) and just compared it all.

Including Games 1 and 2 of this series, the Penguins have played 187 playoff games over that stretch.

Some findings:

• Their 2.01 expected goals during 5-on-5 play in Game 2 rank 76th on the list, which is higher than I would have anticipated based on the eye test. Their 2.81 expected goals in all situations rank 96th. So … still not great. But also several games worse. About middle of the pack.
• Their 1.96 expected goals in all situations in Game 1 rank 163rd, while their 0.96 during 5-on-5 play in Game 1 ranked 178th.
• Game 1 was the truly dismal offensively showing, despite the closer score on the scoreboard. It was, by every objective measure, one of the worst offensive playoff games the Penguins have played in the Sidney Crosby era. Scoring chances, expected goals, high-danger scoring chances, shots on goal, attempted shots …. everything across the board was among the bottom-25 showings. A large portion of the games that were worse came during the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, and that 2013 Eastern Conference Final against the Boston Bruins. It was that level of bad.
• Game 2, in some ways, was better, even if the scoreboard did not reflect. That was especially true during 5-on-5 play. The power play is what largely ruined Game 2, not only by failing to score or generate much in the way of opportunities, but also by giving up one of the ugliest and sloppiest shorthanded goals you could ever imagine seeing in a playoff game.

The other side of this is the reality that the Flyers themselves are not generating anything offensively. And I suspect a lot of that is by design. Probably most of it. They do not have the scoring depth the Penguins do, and are doing everything in their power to keep this series from opening up.

In Game 2, for example, the Penguins allowed just 0.72 expected goals during 5-on-5 play, a staggeringly low number. So low that it is the third-lowest number they have allowed in any playoff game since the 2007-08 playoffs. Third. Lowest.

Even in Game 1, the 1.44 they allowed during 5-on-5 play were 122nd, which is still an extremely good performance in terms of suppressing chances. The Flyers certainly had their opportunities, but they were a handful of rush chances off turnovers and not the result of sustained territorial dominance.

I am not saying the Penguins are playing well defensively or dominating defensively. That is not what I think those numbers reflect. I think they are more a reflection on how the Flyers are playing, and how they have successfully sucked the offense out of this series. It is a big part of what they have done all season, especially after the Olympic break when they made a run to get into the playoffs. They are doing it as well as they have right now.

They have happily turned the series into a low-event rock fight.

In terms of total expected goals during 5-on-5 play, between both teams, these two games have ranked 158th and 174th out of every playoff game the Penguins have played since 2007 (187 games).

That is almost certainly exactly what Philadelphia wants.

The questions now become, 1) Can they keep doing it this well for a few more games, and 2) Will the Penguins pick up a few rocks of their own, or find a way to force the Flyers to play a style they do not want? Maybe getting on the road and having to play a road game will do them well. The Penguins have played well on the road all season. They need to find it again.

The 2025–26 NHL season has officially wrapped. Unsurprisingly, the Vancouver Canucks’ team, individual, and goaltending stats don’t particularly stand out in a positive manner compared to the rest of the NHL, though some of their numbers are actually pretty interesting. Here’s how the Canucks stack up to the rest of the NHL at the conclusion of the 2025–26 regular season. 

Team Stats 

A hot streak on the man-advantage resulted in the Canucks recording a surprisingly-high power play percentage (21.8%) to round out the season. They finished their 2025–26 campaign with the 14th-highest power play percentage in the NHL, with this being their highest-ranked team stat of the year. For reference, the Edmonton Oilers had the highest power play percentage (30.6%) while the Philadelphia Flyers finished the season with the lowest (15.7%). 

One other standout team stat for the Canucks, though not in a positive way, was their overall goals-against. Through 82 games, Vancouver surrendered a grand total of 314 goals-against, being the only team in the NHL to hit the 300-mark this year. The next-highest goals-against by any other team was registered by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had 295 on the season.   

Individual Skaters

The final stretch of games for the Canucks helped Filip Hronek shoot up from seventh in the NHL to third in overall minutes played this season with a grand total of 2050:28. Only two players logged more than him — Detroit Red Wings defenceman Moritz Seider (2104:39) and former Canucks captain Quinn Hughes (2052:34). Further showcasing how many minutes Hronek played in regards to his teammates, Marcus Pettersson logged the second-highest of the Canucks with 1759:07 minutes. 

Throughout the season, Jake DeBrusk consistently placed pretty high in shots produced throughout the NHL, placing around the mid-30s to mid-40s. His goal-scoring output compared to the amount of shots he was generating wasn’t overly synonymous, though things picked up towards the end of the season. He finished the season tied for the 35th-most shots taken by a player (219) and ended up tied with Kirill Kaprizov for the third-most power play goals in the NHL with 19. His overall goal count of 23 was tied for the 90th-most in the league. 

Goaltender Stats

The fact that Thatcher Demko retains a good chunk of the Canucks’ team-highs in the goaltending department at the end of this season isn’t great given the fact that he last played at the start of January. Were it not for his .895 SV% and 2.90 GAA, Nikita Tolopilo would lead the Canucks’ goaltenders in both SV% (.881%, 60th in NHL) and GAA (3.61, 67th in NHL). Tolopilo currently leads the team in high-danger SV% with .813%, tying him with Connor Hellebuyck for 34th in the league. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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The Philadelphia Flyers picked up a big 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 2. With it, they now have a 2-0 series lead as they head back home for Games 3 and 4, which is massive. 

Porter Martone was one of the significant reasons why the Flyers picked up this Game 2 victory against the Penguins. This is because the 19-year-old winger scored the Flyers' first goal of the game, which ended up being the game-winner.

Now, with this latest strong performance, Martone has made some NHL history. 

According to the NHL's official X account, Martone became the first teenager in the entire history of the league to score the game-winning goal in each of his first two career playoff games. 

This latest outstanding accomplishment from Martone shows just how impactful the young forward has been this postseason for the Flyers. He has undoubtedly given their roster a big boost since signing his entry-level deal and is showing no signs of slowing down. 

Martone was also dominant during the final stretch of the regular season for Philadelphia, as he had four goals, six assists, and 10 points in nine games. With numbers like these, the young forward has been thriving, and it will be fascinating to see what he does next. 

PORTER MARTONE 🤩🤩🤩

The first teenager in NHL HISTORY to score the game-winning goal in each of his first two career #StanleyCup Playoff games! pic.twitter.com/w1AEFUYVu8

— NHL (@NHL) April 21, 2026

ST. LOUIS -- It's been mentioned in this space that the St. Louis Blues would not be wise to move on from Robert Thomas, if that was a subject that had bearings to it anyway.

But a player with a similar contract, in fact the exact same one (eight years, $65 million that equates to $8.125 million in average annual value and a full no-trade clause) that didn't have the same type of season as Thomas, the question once again has risen to the forefront: do the Blues and Jordan Kyrou need to go their separate ways? Would the team and player benefit from a fresh start?

If you look at the numbers (46 points; 18 goals, 28 assists) in 72 games, the goals, assists and points were his lowest in any full season since his first in 2020-21 when he played in 55 games; the average ice time (15:44) also reflected it and was his lowest since that same season. A lot of the advanced stats also told a story that didn't resonate all that positively.

They're not the kinds of numbers the 27-year-old has put up, especially compared to the past three seasons when he averaged just under 35 goals and 70 points.

"Obviously offensively, I didn’t put up the numbers that I like," Kyrou said Saturday at the end of season exit meetings at Enterprise Center. "I’m just going to go and reflect, try and reset this summer and try to come back and have a great year next year."

Kyrou has played up and down the lineup, from top-line duties to third-line duties. He's played with multiple linemates and centers trying to get him going, and for a player that was grown accustomed to running hot and cold at points in the season, that hot streak never really materialized; he had an eight-game point streak early in the season from Oct. 13-28 but never had more than a point in any game, and his best stretch was 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 13 games from Jan. 10-Feb. 26. 

"It’s tough. As a group, when you get off to a tough start, it’s kind of hard to just bring it back and kind of get it going kind of thing," Kyrou said. "It’s just tough, right? Like I said, I just need that reset, reflect and just try and focus on next year, coming in and having a great start and a competitive camp and get ready to get going."

It does beg the question of whether should that reset come here in St. Louis or somewhere else? 

Kyrou does have a full no-trade clause, so if anything focused on seeking a trade could come down to whether he wants to move or not, but is this something the Blues would even entertain at this point or should seek to do? He has the same exact same contract parameters as Thomas.

"I think you take the last three years, 30-goal scorer," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said, describing Kyrou's play. "I think he’s a 30-goal scorer that had a bad year, had an off year and quite honestly, he never found a block of play during the whole season where it was 10 or 12 or 15 or 20 games. It was just a sporadic year. He’s in the prime of his career. He wants to be successful; how he’s going to go about doing that is something that he’s going to have to wrestle (coach) with Jim [Montgomery] and (GM incoming) Alex [Steen] on making sure this doesn’t happen again. If you’re going to play in this league for probably 15-16 years like he could, not every year’s going to be a Rembrandt, but if I’m him, I’m excited to get up tomorrow morning to go to work to prove to everybody that the '25-26 season was an aberration. 'That’s not who I am,' and I believe that’s what he’s going to do."

Armstrong has been in Kyrou's corner since drafting him in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft. But what about the coach?

"Jordan Kyrou is a dynamic offensive player who can make things happen out of nothing offensively," Montgomery said. "We didn’t see that as much this year as we did the year before. Everybody has seasons in their career where they dip and it’s going to be exciting to see how Jordan Kyrou rebounds with a terrific summer and comes back and is the player and the dynamic offensive player for the Blues that everybody expects."

It sure sounds like the Blues would be inclined to keeping and trying to build back around Kyrou and hoping this past season was an aberration. But if you keep him in the fold, it's imperative that they go out and find a true offensive-minded center that can blend in with the kind of play that makes him go, and that's utilizing his speed and quickness.

"You mean maybe not having [Dylan] Holloway on his line like he did the year before? Well, they started off together for the first month," Montgomery said. "I don’t think that it’s that. I think when you’re as talented a player as Jordan Kyrou, you make those players around you better and you’re able to have success. He’s had success playing with Tyler Bozak as his center, Ryan O’Reilly or Thomas. He’s had success, so I don’t attribute it to maybe who he was playing with at all."

Kyrou's name, like other veterans, was floated around the trade deadline in early March. Heck, his name's been linked to trade rumors dating back even further than that. It's just something he will have to handle, ask himself if that's his best course of action and take it to the team or dedicate himself to coming back better.

"It’s part of the game, that (trade) stuff, right," Kyrou said. "All you can really do is kind of focus on what you can control, and that’s just going and having a good summer and focus on my training and focus on getting ready for next year."

As for remaining in St. Louis, at least for now, there's no question in Kyrou's mind.

"Yeah for sure," he said. "I’ve loved my time here in St. Louis. The team has been amazing to me. I love the city, I love playing here. I think we’ve got a lot of good, young players coming in right now and I think there’s a really great future coming up for this team."

Jordan Binnington Keeping Open Mind Regarding FutureSt. Louis Blues Stanley Cup-winning goalie wants to discuss future team plans with GM-in-waiting Alexander Steen, management team with one year remaining on current contract

What Does Dylan Holloway's Next Contract Look Like For St. Louis Blues?Forward who overcame torn abductor muscle, high ankle sprain within past year, set to become restricted free agent July 1, but unlike Philip Broberg, Doug Armstrong more open-ended regarding 24-year-old's contract

St. Louis Blues Weekly Prospect Report (April 19)Kaskimaki fuels Springfield's run to Calder Cup playoffs; Carbonneau, Blainville-Boisebriand advance to QMJHL semis, as does Jiricek, Brantford, which looks like a buzzsaw in OHL; Fischer, Dorion exit playoffs; Buchelnikov, CSKA done in KHL

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Utah Mammoth forward Dylan Guenther is one of the best sharpshooters in the NHL, and he had plenty of chances to grip it and rip it in the series opener against the Vegas Golden Knights.

My Mammoth vs. Golden Knights predictions expect his strong shot-generation to lead to production in Game 2.

Let’s take a closer look at my NHL picks for Tuesday, April 21.

Puck drop is set for 9:30 p.m. ET from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the game airing on ESPN2. 

Mammoth vs Golden Knights Game 2 prediction

Who will win Mammoth vs Golden Knights Game 2?

Mammoth: Utah won the SOG battle 28-26 at 5-on-5, and played Vegas evenly on the scoreboard in Game 1.

If that’s the kind of effort we can expect, Utah’s goaltending advantage should allow them to make this a series.

Mammoth vs Golden Knights best bet: Dylan Guenther Over 0.5 points (-145)

Dylan Guenther didn’t hit the scoresheet, but there was a lot to like in his playoff debut.

The Utah Mammoth controlled 79% of the expected goal share during his 5-on-5 minutes, generating 21 shot attempts and 1.31 xG. 

Guenther did some heavy lifting, piling up 10 shot attempts, five scoring chances, and a pair of rebound opportunities. And that doesn’t even factor in the power play.

The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t seem to have an answer. If that continues, expect Guenther to break through against a goaltender who posted an .891 SV% this season.

Mammoth vs Golden Knights Game 2 same-game parlay

Logan Cooley also had a strong series opener, leading Mammoth players in shot attempts (22) at 5-on-5 while also scoring a goal. 

He centers Guenther at even strength and feeds him a lot of shooting opportunities on the power play, making him a natural correlation play.

Rasmus Andersson ranked second among all skaters with nine shot attempts. Yes, nine. 

The Golden Knights love to go low-to-high and funnel pucks to the net. Andersson chews up a lot of minutes and is a willing shooter, so he’s a prime benefactor of that style.

Mammoth vs Golden Knights SGP

• Dylan Guenther Over 0.5 points
• Logan Cooley Over 0.5 points
• Rasmus Andersson Over 1.5 shots

Mammoth vs Golden Knights Game 2 goal scorer pick

Dylan Guenther (+145)

Utah had only one power play opportunity in the series opener, and Guenther still managed to record 14 shot attempts and seven scoring chances. 

It’s tough to limit his volume, and he generally doesn’t need much to find the net.

Mammoth vs Golden Knights odds for Game 2

• Moneyline: Utah +130 | Vegas -150
• Puck line: Utah +1.5 (-190) | Vegas -1.5 (+160)
• Over/Under: Over 5.5 (-135) | Under 5.5 (+115)

Mammoth vs Golden Knights trend

Dylan Guenther has compiled 14 points over his last 10 games. Find more NHL betting trends for Mammoth vs. Golden Knights.

How to watch Mammoth vs Golden Knights Game 2

Mammoth vs Golden Knights latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

4/21/26 - 7:30 pm at KeyBank Center, in Buffalo, NY

Buffalo – 50-23-9 | - 109  points – 1st place in the Atlantic Division

Boston  – 45-27-10 | - 100 points – 4th place in the Atlantic Division

Special Teams

Buffalo

Power Play(Reg) – 19.5% (21st)

Power Play(Playoffs) - 0 for 4 - 0% (8th) 

Penalty Kill(Reg) – 81.9% (4th)

Penalty Kill(Playoffs) - 2 for 3 - 66.7% (10th) 

Boston

Power Play(Reg) – 23.4% (9th)

Power Play(Playoffs) - 1 for 3 - 33.3% (5th)

Penalty Kill(Reg) - 77.0% (24th)

Penalty Kill(Playoffs) - 100% - 4 for 4 (1st)

Top Scorers

Buffalo

Tage Thompson: 1 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS

Alex Tuch: 1 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS

Mattias Samuelsson: 1 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PTS

Boston

David Pastrnak: 1 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS

Morgan Geekie: 1 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS

Elias Lindholm: 1 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PTS

Starting Goalies

Buffalo – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1-0, 3.01 GAA, .850 Sv %)

Boston  – Jeremy Swayman (0-1, 3.06 GAA, .919 Sv %)  

Other Sabres Stories

Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere

Sabres Line Combinations and Pairings (projected)

Forwards

Peyton Krebs   - Tage Thompson - Alex Tuch

Zach Benson - Josh Norris - Josh Doan 

Jason Zucker - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn  

Jordan Greenway - Josh Dunne  - Beck Malenstyn

Ex., Tanner Pearson, Tyson Kozak

Defense

Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Dahlin

Owen Power - Bowen Byram 

Logan Stanley - Conor Timmins 

Ex. Luke Schenn, Michael Kesselring, Zach Metsa

Goaltenders

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Alex Lyon

Colten Ellis

Injuries

Justin Danforth (lower body, Oct. 18; injured reserve)

Jiri Kulich (blood clot, Nov. 4; injured reserve - out for the season) 

Sam Carrick (upper body, Mar. 31; injured reserve)

Noah Ostlund (upper body, Mar. 25; day-to-day)

Notes

On April 4, Buffalo clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2010-11. The Sabres have compiled 125 playoff wins all-time, 93 of which have come in regulation. Game 1 marked just the second time the Sabres overcame a third-period deficit of two or more goals in a playoff game in franchise history.

The Sabres’ four-goal third period marked the third-fastest four-goal 

stretch (6:46) in Sabres playoff history. The team scored four goals in 6:38 vs. Boston on April 29, 1992 and in 5:28 vs. Philadelphia on April 27, 1998. The Sabres registered 53 hits in Game 1, the most by Buffalo in a single playoff game since the league began tracking hits in 2005-06.

Alex Tuch’s 10 hits were the most by a Sabres skater in a single playoff game. Entering Game 1. Tuch had never recorded more than six hits in any game of his career (regular season and playoffs).

Tage Thompson’s three points (2+1) in Game 1 were the most by a Sabres forward in a playoff game since Daniel Briere on May 6, 2007 at NY Rangers (0+3). A multi-point performance tonight would make Thompson the first Sabres forward to record back-to-back multipoint games in the playoffs since Mike Grier from May 2 to 5, 2006 (2+5).

Peyton Krebs and Thompson each posted a plus-3 rating in Game 1, the highest plus/minus all-time by a Sabres skater in their first career playoff contest.

Mattias Samuelsson’s Game 1 goal was the first playoff point of his career and it made him the first Sabres defenseman since Jason Woolley on April 30, 2001 at Pittsburgh to score a go-ahead goal in the third period of a playoff game.

Owen Power (0+1) and Jack Quinn (0+1) also registered their first career playoff point in their first career playoff game.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo

The Montreal Canadiens will hope to pick up right where they left off when the puck drops on Game 2 of their best-of-seven series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but chances are the Bolts will have adjusted. Coach Jon Cooper was far from pleased with his team’s performance after their 4-3 overtime loss. Speaking to the media after the game, he said:

I mean, come on, we took four offensive-zone penalties. Just look at them. That’s not over-aggression. That’s just stupidity, you know, a lot of them. That was on us. That was a game that we just allowed them to win. This is the Stanley Cup playoffs. This isn’t Game 62. So that is extremely disappointing in the way we conducted ourselves and the amount of penalties we took.

Canadiens Back To Work After Game 1 Win
Canadiens’ Blueline Had A Big Game
Slafkovsky Steals The Show and The Canadiens Steal Home-Ice Advantage With Win

It shouldn’t have surprised anyone then that on Monday, while the Canadiens held a practice lasting around 15 minutes, Cooper put his men through a much longer one. Tampa has no interest in going down 2-0 in this series, but the fact is that their home record in the playoffs since the spring of 2023 stands at one win and eight losses. In overtime, they are 0-5 in the same time span. Needless to say, the heat is on.

Historically, the Bolts have a 24-15 record in Game 2 overall; at home, they are 13-8. However, when they trail 1-0 in a series, they have a 12-11 record overall and an 8-5 record at home for a .615 winning percentage. As for the Canadiens, they have a record of 82-43 in Game 2 overall but are 24-22 on the road. When they lead 1-0 in a series, they are 64-11 overall and 10-3 on the road for an enviable .769 winning percentage.

Martin St-Louis didn’t discuss his lineup yesterday, which is no surprise, but given Sunday’s result, it would be surprising if he made any changes to his lineup. However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any in the series. The coach has some good options waiting in the wings, such as Brendan Gallagher and Joe Veleno up front, and David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom on the back end.

With the Laval Rocket having won their division, they have a bye in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs, meaning the young defensemen might as well stay with the Canadiens and get a feel for the Stanley Cup playoffs, even if it’s just in practice. The Rocket will either face the Toronto Marlies or the Rochester Americans in the Division Semifinal. Should it be the Marlies, the series will start on April 29; if it’s the Americans, the date is to be determined. Once Laval starts playing, one of the two youngsters will more than likely be sent down to help.

All eyes will be on the Canadiens’ first line tonight. They’ve been the team’s offensive dynamo all season, but in Game 1, they were unable to make an impact. If the Canadiens are to win the series, they will need that line to elevate its play. In the 10 minutes that Nick Suzuki’s line spent on the ice at even strength against the Anthony Cirelli line, the Lightning led 9-2 in attempted shots.

On Tampa’s side, Charles-Edouard D’Astous, who left game one after being simultaneously hit by Josh Anderson and Jake Evans, is doubtful to play on Tuesday night. As for Dominic James, who momentarily exited the game after colliding with Arber Xhekaj in his first shift, it doesn’t seem like there was lasting damage since he did practice yesterday.

One thing to watch on Tuesday night is whether the referees are as strict on penalties as they were in Game 1; if so, players will need to adjust in a hurry. Both teams have proven they have efficient power-play units, and, as evidenced by the Canadiens’ overtime win in Game 1, an ill-timed penalty can be very costly.

Frederick L'Ecuyer and Graham Skilliter will officiate, while Jesse Marquis and Andrew Smith will be the linemen; none of them were on duty in Game 1. The game is set for 7:00 PM at the Benchmark International Arena, and you can catch it on The Spot, ESPN2, SN, TVAS, and CBC.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.  

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