The Buffalo Sabres were expected to be a team in the seller category after starting the season at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, but the Sabres surge since December has them in position to end their 14-year playoff drought, which has made GM Jarmo Kekalainen re-evaluate the club’s options.
Based on the Sabres positioning themselves to be in the top three of the Atlantic Division, it seems highly unlikely that they will deal pending unrestricted free agent winger Alex Tuch, but in the days leading up to the NHL trade deadline on March 6, there are a number of potential trade options on the table for Kekalainen that make sense.
Speculation has seemed to focus on the Sabres investing in defensive depth on the right side with Michael Kesselring sidelined numerous times this season, and Conor Timmins recovering from a broken leg. The name of former Sabres blueliner Rasmus Ristolainen has been swirling in trade speculation for most of the season, but gained some momentum after his impressive performance for Finland partnering with Florida’s Niko Mikkola at the Winter Olympics earlier this month.
The 31-year-old spent eight seasons with Buffalo, logging massive amounts of ice time for a subpar dysfunctional Sabres squad, and was traded to Philadelphia for a 2021 first-rounder (Isak Rosen), a 2023 second-rounder (Anton Wahlberg) and defenseman Robert Hagg in 2021 and his last three seasons have been plagued by a variety of injury issues. Those issues may have Flyers GM Danny Briere willing to retain some of Ristolainen’s $5.1 million salary for this and next season to increase his return.
Rasmus Dahlin - Norris contender?
The chatter got mentioned on WGR 550’s Schopp and Bulldog afternoon show on Friday, and maybe is gaining some steam after a Sabres scout was spotted at Saturday’s Flyers - Bruins game in Philadelphia. Based on the fact that Ristolainen has another year left on his deal, it is more likely that GM Jarmo Kekalainen would opt for a rental defenseman like Connor Murphy or Luke Schenn, but his familiarity with the Finnish blueliner might make a difference as 3 pm next Friday approaches.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 28: Kris Letang #58 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates with the puck while being chased by Will Cuylle #50 of the New York Rangers during the second period of a NHL game at Madison Square Garden on February 28, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Pregame
Same players for the Penguins, Stuart Skinner gets back into the lineup for the visiting team.
Lots of penalty trouble early for the Rangers, Braden Schneider is the first to go 1:28 into the game. The Pens make them pay quickly. Anthony Mantha gets a great redirect on Erik Karlsson’s point shot, 1-0 Pittsburgh.
Soon after, Vincent Trocheck is very unhappy with the officials and abuses them enough to take a penalty and get a 10-minute misconduct tacked on. Pittsburgh scores again, Evgeni Malkin makes a great pass over for Bryan Rust, Rust sends it home.
Penguins were up 2-0 quick… until the second tally was taken away 😡
The Rangers make a desperation challenge for goalie interference and…somehow it works to get the goal disallowed based on the most minimal of contact by Mantha on goalie Igor Shesterkin. Even though it didn’t really alter the ability to make the save seconds later from the other side. Refs making sure a nationally televised game doesn’t get out of hand? Or not wanting to call a third penalty on NYR three minutes into the game? Or giving Mike Sullivan a bail-out for the Trocheck penalty in the first place? Or just seeing what they decide to see? Who can say.
The rest of the period is pretty good for Pittsburgh, though they don’t score again, Rust hits a post on another close call. The Rangers barely have a pulse for this game. Shots are 10-2 PIT after one.
Second period
Ryan Shea gets his Sergei Gonchar on early in the second when it comes to dancing along the blueline and throws a puck on net. It hits off Ranger defenseman Scott Morrow and changes direction enough to beat Shesterkin. 2-0 for real this time.
NYR gets a long-range shot on Skinner with 14:09, it’s the Rangers’ first shot of the period and in almost 20 game minutes, the crowd responds with the sarcastic cheer, but even that is half-hearted.
A bit later, Rickard Rakell goes to the penalty box for hooking and opens the door for countryman Mika Zibanejad. Trocheck sets Zibanejad up for the big shot, NYR scores to make it 2-1 exactly halfway through the period and game.
The Rangers sustain some energy for the first time all game, Gabe Perreault nearly ties the game when his shot flies off the post. The Pens are the ones suddenly caught on long shifts and standing around like their skate blades are out.
It’s a lot more disjointed of a period for the Pens (shots are 13-11 PIT in the second) but they do get out of there without giving up any more goals.
Third period
New York scores early, some good luck when the puck clicks off Rust and goes to Vladislav Gavrikov and then a nice play by Gavrikov to find the open stick of Taylor Raddish for the tip in. 2-2 game.
The Pens now become the team to take only one shot halfway through the period and have shifted Ben Kindel to play with Rakell and Rust to shake lines up in an effort to get something, later Malkin will skate with Rust and Rakell on shifts starting on the fly.
Neither team can score again in regulation.
Overtime
Kindel-Malkin-Karlsson start it out for the Penguins. Pittsburgh ices the puck. Rakell (0-for-9 on the night on faceoffs) loses another and the Rangers take possession of the puck for quite a while, though they’re not in much of a hurry to create.
OT drags along with neither team being overly aggressive, finally in the closing seconds Malkin is able to attack the net and generate a few shots.
Shootout
Mantha is the first shooter, he loses the handle on a deke attempt and doesn’t even get a shot away.
Trocheck is up for the Rangers, he beats Skinner five-hole.
—
Egor Chinakhov’s turn, he tries for the five-hole but Shesterkin closes it up.
J.T. Miller gets the chance to end the game, Skinner stops him.
—
It’s down to Tommy Novak to keep the game going. He doesn’t, his shot goes well wide.
Some thoughts
Another rough day on faceoffs, at one point in the second period the Pens had won just 21% of the faceoffs! The team only had six wins on 29 draws, take out Malkin (who won two, lost two at that point) and the rest of them were 4-for-25 (16%). Didn’t prove to be too disadvantageous today, but it’s a big issue for a team down their best and most frequent faceoff taker in Crosby.
Other than the starts of play, some line changes are being tinkered with already and bound to happen for tomorrow. Beyond just losing all 10 faceoffs, Rakell didn’t have any shots on goal today. Rust only had two shots and got real quiet after a nice start. Avery Hayes hasn’t been able to show much alongside them. Whether it ends up being Kindel or Malkin – and both took a shift or two with Rakell/Rust today – as the next look there, something’s gotta give in that area immediately.
The Pens’ first 20 minutes: sublime! Very, very good. The Rangers woke up at the first intermission and started playing a lot better. Pittsburgh was acting like they couldn’t or shouldn’t have to follow in kind, instead staying more at the level when NYR wasn’t very good. Didn’t make for a strong finish.
As a result, it didn’t look like Pittsburgh squandered opportunities early in the game (most notably on Rust’s disallowed goal, and then Rust hitting the post). Turns out they could have used a little more out of the portion of the game that they dominated than more than just a 1-0 lead.
Pens fall to 1-8 in the shootout on the season. They at least used new faces, but the results were the same in terms of their shooters not being able to do much of anything and the goaltending hardly being great either. They make it easy for the other team when they’re not even getting 2/3 of the shootout attempts even on net as it happened this time.
Given how hard the schedule is about to get — starting with first place Vegas tomorrow — letting a point slip away against a last place team hurts in the moment. Up 2-0 and against a bad team that didn’t look interested in playing, the Pens should have been able to get a full result in this one. But when NYR started to get better, as noted above, the visitors didn’t up their games too. Disappointing outcome and last couple of periods here.
In good news, the Pens don’t have to dwell on this very long. The Golden Knights are waiting in Pittsburgh for an afternoon game tomorrow.
With the 81st overall pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Montreal Canadiens selected defenseman Bryce Pickford. This was after the right-shot blueliner recorded 20 goals and 47 points in 48 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers during this past season. He also had 13 goals and 24 points in 18 playoff games for Medicine Hat in 2025.
With numbers like these, there is no question that Pickford demonstrated that he is a skilled offensive defenseman last season. However, the 6-foot-1 defenseman has taken his game to an entirely new level this season with Medicine Hat.
Pickford has been simply fantastic for Medicine Hat this season, and the truth is in his stats. In 45 games this season with the Western Hockey League (WHL) club, he has recorded 35 goals, 32 assists, 67 points, and a plus-44 rating. He has simply been dominating the WHL offensively, and it is even more impressive when noting that he is a defenseman.
With the way Pickford is producing offensively in the WHL, it is hard not to feel optimistic about his future with the Canadiens. The young defenseman has the tools to become a solid offensive defenseman at the NHL level, and his play this season certainly shows that.
It will now be interesting to see what Pickford does as the season carries on. It has already been a special year for the Canadiens prospect.
The Ottawa Senators (28-22-8) will try to get back on a winning track on Saturday night when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs (27-23-9) at Scotiabank Arena (7 pm Sportsnet, CBC, TVAS).
The Sens gathered a point in their first game back from the Olympic break, a 2-1 overtime loss at home to Detroit on Thursday. The Leafs have also stumbled out of the break with losses to Tampa and Florida, losing by a combined scored of 9-3.
Toronto won the season's first meeting between these two teams, 7-5, back on Dec. 27. That was the night when Linus Ullmark was pulled after experiencing anxiety during the game while allowing four goals on 14 shots.
Ullmark stepped away from the team for the next month to deal with mental health issues. Between that and the Olympic break, Ullmark has only played three games since the December loss to Toronto. He'll get the start on Saturday night.
Leevi Merilainen, Ullmark's replacement that night, was sent to the AHL on Jan. 20 and has since been replaced on the roster by veteran free agent signing James Reimer, who was probably the sentimental choice in Toronto to start against his old team. But Reimer will wear the ball cap on the bench on Saturday.
These two teams enter play on Saturday well out of playoff contention at the moment.
With the Boston Bruins holding the final Wild Card spot in the East, the Senators are seven points behind them, while the Leafs, who led the Atlantic Division this time last year, are eight points behind the Bruins.
By game time, the playoff deficit may grow even larger for both teams with Boston playing at Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon at 3 pm.
Here's how the line combinations are expected to look, based on the game day skates. As was the case at Thursday's skate, Tim Stutzle was absent (illness) but will play in the game.
Senators Line Combinations
Drake Batherson – Tim Stützle – Claude Giroux Brady Tkachuk – Dylan Cozens – Ridly Greig Nick Cousins – Shane Pinto – Michael Amadio Stephen Halliday – Lars Eller – Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub Thomas Chabot – Nick Jensen Tyler Kleven – Jordan Spence
Linus Ullmark James Reimer
For Toronto, the biggest change is the insertion of rookie forward Easton Cowan into the lineup. He's been a healthy scratch for the Leafs for the past five games. Cowan has 17 points in 43 games.
Leafs Line Combinations (as per The Hockey News Toronto's David Alter)
Dan Vladar delivered a magnificent performance in net, spearheading the Flyers to a 3-1 win Saturday afternoon over the Bruins at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The 28-year-old didn’t crack until there were just 6:57 minutes left in the game.
“He has just had a great year for us,” Rick Tocchet said. “Another outstanding effort from him.”
Travis Konecny broke a scoreless tie 3:41 minutes into the third period. Jamie Drysdale provided critical insurance over eight minutes later.
Sean Couturier iced things with an empty-netter, snapping his 31-game goal-scoring drought.
“I’ll take them any way I can,” the Flyers’ captain said. “It feels good, but the wins are more important right now. That’s all my focus.”
The Flyers (27-21-11) won consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 3-6. That was the season’s halfway mark, when the Flyers were in playoff position after beating the Ducks, 5-2, to take over third place.
“We’ve been pretty resilient, but we’ve got to string consistency together,” Tocchet said before the game. “We’ve been chasing that all year.”
The Bruins (33-21-5) hold one of the Eastern Conference’s two wild-card spots. This was just their third regulation loss in the last 20 games (13-3-4).
“I think [general manager] Don Sweeney has done a great job in they have an identity, they’re big, they’re tough, they play to who they are,” Tocchet said before the game. “I know we played them in Boston, they’re a big team. That’s a team that has an identity when you play them, so it’s a good challenge for us.”
• Two goalies that played in the Olympics put on a pretty good show.
Vladar, who represented Team Czechia, was terrific for the Flyers. He converted 26 saves on 27 shots.
After making a series of big stops with the Flyers on the penalty kill late in the second period, he received a standing ovation from the fans behind his net.
“The fans have been awesome the whole year,” Vladar said. “We really feel that they have our back. … We just don’t want to waste this opportunity, we want to play well, especially for them, especially for ourselves, as well. We need them. Great job by them and we wouldn’t be here without them.”
Vladar bailed out the Flyers twice in the first period. He denied Michael Eyssimont on a semi breakaway and later stopped Mark Kastelic when the Flyers’ power play gave up a look.
The Flyers repaid Vladar in the third period.
“He does so much for us off the ice, as well,” Drysdale said. “In the locker room in between periods, he’s always talking, just saying whatever’s on his mind and usually it’s awesome stuff coming out of his mouth. Real positive guy.”
Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman, who played for Team USA, made 14 saves on the Flyers’ 16 shots.
The 27-year-old robbed Christian Dvorak in close during the second period to keep the game scoreless. That came 53 seconds after Vladar turned away Morgan Geekie right around the doorstep.
• The Flyers have 23 games left and two to go before next Friday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.
They entered Saturday eight points behind the third-place Islanders in the Metropolitan Division race. They’re six points back of the Bruins in the wild-card hunt.
“We’re a confident group, we knew we have it in us,” Vladar said. “We had it at the beginning of the year, then it kind of slipped away. We’ve just got to find the swagger back because we have it here.”
General manager Danny Briere is not expected to be a major seller. After all, the Flyers didn’t want this season to be about subtraction. But we’ll see if Briere looks to make a future-centric move for the rebuild.
• Dvorak was quietly effective all game. He had a good stick defensively a couple of times and picked up helpers on both of the Flyers’ goals.
The Flyers needed that from him. Over the previous nine games, Dvorak had recorded only two points (both assists).
“Just stay within yourself, we’re not looking for anything more; just who he is,” Tocchet said. “He had a solid game.”
The 30-year-old has been playing as the Flyers’ first-line center. He earned a five-year contract extension with a strong a first half, but the Flyers just hadn’t gotten the same guy recently.
But on Saturday, he looked like the first-half Dvorak.
“Try to not get frustrated, it’s not an easy game,” Dvorak said. “You’ve just got to stick with it, stay positive and turn it around. I thought it was a step in the right direction.”
• Denver Barkey was a healthy scratch as Nicolas Deslauriers drew into the lineup.
The Flyers were playing a physical, tight-checking Boston team. Meanwhile, Barkey has hit a little bit of a wall recently, so this wasn’t a terrible time to let the 20-year-old rookie watch a game.
Deslauriers and Tanner Jeannot had a chat in warmups, setting up a first-period fight. It was a heavyweight bout.
• The Flyers are back in action Monday when they visit the Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
The St. Louis Blues announced on Friday that the team has sent former Senators forward Mathieu Joseph down to the American Hockey League. Joseph cleared through NHL waivers and will now report to the Springfield Thunderbirds.
The 29-year-old has 11 points in 39 games for the Blues this season and with his high-end skating speed, perhaps he might have drawn some interest around the league, if not for a $2.95 million AAV price tag.
The interest certainly wouldn't have come from Ottawa, which sent him to the Blues in the summer of 2024 in what was basically a salary dump, even giving St. Louis a third-round pick to sweeten the deal.
The Senators acquired Joseph at the 2022 trade deadline in a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Nick Paul. The Senators also got a 2024 fourth-round pick in the deal which turned out to Blake Montgomery, a prospect who still has the potential to salvage what looks today like a really bad trade for the Senators.
While Paul is currently on LTIR with an injury, he's been a good, fast-skating, big-bodied soldier for the Lightning, a player who wanted to re-sign here and would have come in very handy for the Senators over the past five seasons. Paul eclipsed 20 goals and 40 points in each of the past two seasons.
The Sens then saved $200K per season to lock up what turned out to be the lesser player.
After the trade, former Sens GM Pierre Dorion signed Joseph to a four-year deal worth $11.8 million ($2.95 million AAV). Tampa signed Paul to seven-year deal worth $22.05 million ($3.15 million).
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published by The Hockey News. More headlines here:
The man accused of fatally hitting Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau while intoxicated is asking a second time for reconsideration of at least some charges against him – at the same time he's presented a potential counteroffer for a plea deal to prosecutors.
Attorneys for 45-year-old Sean Higgins told a New Jersey judge on Feb. 24 that an expert's analysis raised questions that need to be addressed. Attorney Richard Klineburger said the blood alcohol testing done on Higgins on the date of the crash tested Higgins' plasma, not his blood, and resulted in a blood alcohol level of 0.075, which is below the legal limit for driving.
The information Klineburger said he received came from an expert employed by Higgins' defense team. Klineburger filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Higgins, saying at least a couple of the charges should be re-presented to a grand jury.
"This is science, it's not speculative," Klineburger said.
Assistant Salem County Prosecutor Michael Mestern said he needed to consult with the state's expert about how the blood testing was done in August 2024 before making any decision about taking the case back to the grand jury. Mestern said that even if there would be a desire to have the grand jury hear evidence about some charges again, it wouldn't impact all of the charges Higgins faces.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew, 29, died after being struck by a Jeep Grand Cherokee while bicycling along the side of a road. The brothers were in town for their younger sister's wedding, which was scheduled for the next day.
During the Feb. 24 hearing before Superior Court Judge Michael Silvanio, Higgins' attorneys said they have presented a counter to a plea offer Higgins had previously been offered by prosecutors. The details of that proposal were not put on the record in open court.
Higgins rejected an offer in January 2025 that would have netted a 35-year prison sentence. Higgins' next court date will be a pretrial conference on April 14.
The motions and requests by Higgins' attorneys are part of routine efforts for defense lawyers, who are required to provide a zealous defense for their clients.
The Feb. 24 hearing came about 48 hours after members of the Gaudreau family, including the brothers' parents Guy and Jane and Johnny's widow, Meredith, were in Italy to watch the U.S. men's hockey gold medal game.
After the Americans won, Johnny Gaudreau's jersey was skated around the rink and Columbus Blue Jackets teammate Zach Werenski and Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin brought Johnny's two oldest children, daughter Noa and son Johnny Jr., who was celebrating his second birthday, onto the ice for a photo with the team and the jersey.
What happened in the crash that killed Johnny Gaudreau?
Around 8:20 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2024, the Gaudreau brothers were cycling one in front of the other on a two-lane road.
Court records say Higgins was behind two other vehicles he told police were driving slowly. Higgins passed one of the vehicles on the left. The other vehicle moved to the left to give the Gaudreau brothers room. Higgins cut back to the right and hit the brothers.
Both of the brothers died at the scene from their injuries.
According to evidence presented to Silvanio in hearings held so far during the case, Higgins continued to drive past the crash scene, coming to a stop about a quarter-mile from the crash scene. Higgins told New Jersey State police who responded to the scene he'd had a few beers before and while driving the Jeep.
Prosecutors say Higgins' blood alcohol level tested at 0.087, above the legal limit for driving.
The Montreal Canadiens welcome Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals to the Bell Centre tonight, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Noah Dobson is shining as a playmaker lately, and my Capitals vs. Canadiens predictions are eyeing him to keep it rolling.
Read more in my NHL picks for Saturday, February 28.
Capitals vs Canadiens prediction
Capitals vs Canadiens best bet:Noah Dobson Over 0.5 assists (+185)
Noah Dobson has been a tremendous addition to the Montreal Canadiens, collecting 40 points this season. That includes 28 assists, and he’s been handing out helpers left and right lately.
The 26-year-old has cashed the Over in assists in four of his last six appearances, compiling six helpers during that span. He’s only one assist off last season’s total.
While he’s done most of his damage on the road, Dobson is thriving at the moment as a passer. He’ll stay hot tonight against the Washington Capitals.
Capitals vs Canadiens same-game parlay
Cole Caufield is third in the NHL in goals with 33. He’s been one of the Canadiens’ top players this season, and he’s scored 14 of his goals in 29 home contests.
The 25-year-old found the back of the net in the first game back from the break against the New York Islanders, and Caufield has scored three goals across his previous four appearances.
While the Habs have lost both matchups to the Caps this season, the last one was a 3-2 OT defeat, and Montreal is coming off a similar result against the Isles at home.
The Montreal Canadiens have covered the puck line in 19 of their last 25 games (+15.30 Units / 36% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Capitals vs. Canadiens.
How to watch Capitals vs Canadiens
Location
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Date
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Puck drop
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
MNMT, CITY
Capitals vs Canadiens latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 1: William Carrier #28 of the Carolina Hurricanes handles the puck during the first period against the Montreal Canadiens at Lenovo Center on January 1, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Carolina Hurricanes have defeated their first playoff opponent in each of their seven seasons in which Rod Brind’Amour has been behind the bench.
The quality of those teams has been a mixed bag. In 2019, they slayed a behemoth in the reigning Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals. In 2022, they knocked off a 107-point Boston Bruins team in a seven-game thriller.
More recently, they’ve gotten quality draws to start their bids for the Stanley Cup. Last year, it was a banged up New Jersey Devils group without Jack Hughes and some key defensemen that never stood much of a chance. The prior two seasons, it was very pedestrian New York Islanders squads.
With seven straight years with a playoff series won, the Hurricanes are tied with the Islanders dynasties of the early 1980s for the third-longest such streak. They’re two away from catching the Broad Street Bully-era Flyers, and three away from tying two different iterations of the Montreal Canadiens for the longest streak in NHL history.
If Carolina wants to run that stretch to eight this spring, it’s going to have to defeat a better team than it has the past few first rounds.
Here’s a look at the candidates the Canes could face in mid-April, where they stand, and what could make them a challenging matchup.
Montreal Canadiens
If the season ended today and went by raw points and not points percentage, this would be the matchup. It’s an interesting one.
Comparing just the skaters, Montreal is close on paper. The top line of Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield is up there with any in the league.
Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson provide oodles of offense from the back end, and Ivan Demidov is living up to the hype with 47 points in 58 games in his rookie season.
They’re not just top heavy, either. Oliver Kapanen is a quality young forward in a depth role, and when healthy, they have capable size and defensive ability with a bit of scoring touch littered all over their bottom six.
There’s one big problem though. Montreal’s goalies can not stop a beach ball. Jakub Dobes is rocking a .892 save percentage, and incumbent starter Sam Montembeault is having a nightmare season at a .874. Rookie Jacob Fowler has been solid with a .904 in his 10 appearances, but it’s hard to see this franchise turning the crease over to a rookie in such a high-leverage playoff opportunity for this emerging, young team.
The time for being happy just to be there was last year when the Capitals handled them in five. There are expectations this time. If the Habs add a goalie at the deadline, look out. Otherwise, Carolina would likely be able to survive a team with that as a major issue.
Buffalo Sabres
No. No, no, no. No thank you. That is what I say to the idea of drawing the Buffalo Sabres in a playoff series.
Are the Hurricanes better? Definitely. Should they win on paper? Certainly.
But there is something about these teams coming off of extended playoff droughts finally getting their chance in the dance that puts out some major team-of-destiny energy.
The Sabres have been absent from the Stanley Cup Playoffs since all the way back in 2011. That drought is the longest in the league by far, and it’s even longer than the one the 2019 Hurricanes snapped.
Do you remember how excited you were to have playoff hockey back in Raleigh in 2019? Do you remember the home ice advantage the fans created in that first-round series against a superior Capitals squad?
That’s what facing off with Buffalo invites. A talented team with a nothing-to-lose mentality with a rabid fan base ready to make life miserable for an opponent.
That’s to say nothing of this very talented roster led by Olympic gold medalist Tage Thompson and Swedish star Rasmus Dahlin on the back end. This defense is way deeper than you’d expect. Mattias Samuelsson has taken massive steps forward, and Bowen Byram has improved. Michael Kesselring needs to get healthy, but you throw him into the mix with the other three and then add former first overall pick Owen Power? Loaded.
Josh Doan, Ryan McLeod, Jack Quinn and Peyton Krebs add quality young-ish depth up front to go with veterans Alex Tech and Jason Zucker.
Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are finally providing strong goaltending, as well.
Boston Bruins
If the Sabres are a surprise because they’re overcoming their recent history, the Bruins are a surprise because they’re delivering better results than the talent on the roster suggests they should be capable of.
David Pastrnak is of course the star up front, but old friend Morgan Geekie has broken out as a bonafide top-end goalscorer, and fellow old friend Elias Lindholm has bounced back from a disastrous effort last season to provide some level of competency down the middle.
Center is still the weak point in Boston, though, as goalie Jeremy Swayman is back into form this season, and Charlie McAvoy leads a solid, even if unspectacular, unit on the backend.
While a glance at the roster suggests a ho-hum team, the emergence of entertaining young players like Fraser Minten, Alex Steeves and Marat Khusnutdinov have exponentially increased the watchability of these Bruins compared to their counterparts last year.
This is another team on this list against whom the Hurricanes would be favored, maybe even pretty comfortably, but it’s another roster that if it gets hot for a couple weeks could present some big issues.
Detroit Red Wings
This is an interesting one. Detroit checks all the boxes for a worthy playoff team. They’ve got star players at center in Dylan Larkin and defense in Moritz Seider.
They also have a pair of impactful wingers in Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond at the top of their lineup.
John Gibson provides solid play between the pipes, and they’ve already shown to be a challenging matchup for the Hurricanes in the regular season.
Simon Edvinsson and Axel Sandin-Pellikka provide strong upside on defense, but the forward depth is a possible issue here in a playoff series.
The Wings, like every team in the top half of the Atlantic, have been playing incredible hockey for a while now. If the Hurricanes face one of these Atlantic teams, it could look comparable to that 107-point 2022 Bruins squad that finished fourth in the division.
Washington Capitals
After a shockingly strong regular season that saw them claim the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25, many predicted a fall back to earth for the Capitals.
Not many were brave enough to peg them as a team outside the playoffs entirely, but that’s where they sit right now. A big win over Vegas on Friday helps their chances, but they’re two points behind a Bruins team that has three games in hand on them for the second wild card spot at the time of this writing.
But if the Capitals were overrated last year when the Canes sent them home with relative ease in the second round, they’re underrated this season.
Logan Thompson is still the sort of goalie who can steal a series. They still have the sort of physical, defensive buy-in from most of their forwards that translates well to the spring. Jakob Chychrun, Alex Ovechkin and Aliaksei Protas provide valuable finishing ability.
The lack of elite talent up front will hold this team back, but with all the other ingredients, Washington is not a first-round matchup I’d be clamoring for personally.
New York Islanders
This is certainly not your grandfather’s New York Islanders, but it’s definitely not your New York Islanders either.
Sure, Patrick Roy is still the coach, and they’re still largely dependent upon goaltender Ilya Sorokin turning in elite performances on a regular basis, but there’s something different about this team from the past iterations the Canes have easily sent home in the spring.
It’s largely about Matthew Schaefer, the jaw-droppingly good rookie defenseman who has taken the league by storm as he waltzes to the Calder Trophy.
He’s a minute-munching blue liner who skates like the wind and has a finishing touch that would put many quality top-six forwards to shame. He recently broke the record for most goals by an 18-year-old defenseman.
Throw in a quality one-two punch down the middle consisting of Bo Horvat and a newly healthy Mathew Barzal, and while the Isles need more time in the oven to be a real contender, they have a much higher ceiling than they have in recent years.
They’re 33-21-5, currently third in the Metro, and it would require a really strong push from Washington for the Islanders to fall into the wild card mix. If it happens, Carolina would be favored, but write this Islanders squad off at your own peril.
Columbus Blue Jackets
I’m not going to devote a ton of time to the Jackets here. They’re currently six points out of the playoffs, but they could still get in.
They’ve turned a corner since hiring Rick Bowness as their head coach following the dismissal of Dean Evason, but a loss to Boston in their first game back from the break poured some cold water on their hopes.
Zach Werenski is having another Norris-caliber season, and forwards like Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov and Adam Fantilli provide some young upside to go with strong veteran contributions from Charlie Coyle, but there’s not much of note beyond those key core pieces.
Young goalie Jet Greaves and his .910 save percentage is surely the most intimidating thing about this team in a playoff matchup in terms of who could single-handedly steal a series for this team.
If Columbus gets in, it means they went on a run that would make them hot enough to be concerning, but this is as close as it would get for the Canes to what they’ve drawn in the past few years.
Back in April, when the Ottawa Senators met the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 21 years, it looked like the Battle of Ontario was back.
Their playoff meeting in 2004 had been the last time the two provincial rivals faced off in the post-season. But for years afterward, it always seemed like at least one of the two Ontario teams simply wasn’t very good.
After 2004, the Senators kept rolling, making the Cup Final in 2007. But the Leafs went on to miss the playoffs for the next seven seasons and in all, went 17 years without a single playoff series victory. As for the Senators? They eventually went cold, too. Last spring marked the end of a seven-year playoff drought, the third longest in the NHL at the time.
So it was good to see both Ontario teams moving in a positive direction at the same time. Toronto won the 2005 first-round series in six games, but it seemed to set the table for more great battles to come.
Now, it's 10 months later.
As they meet in Toronto on Saturday night for the second of their four meetings this season, it’s no surprise the two Ontario teams are neck and neck in the Eastern standings. What is a surprise, though, is that both teams sit seven and eight points out of the final wild-card spot in the conference.
The Senators have 64 points, good for 11th place in the East. The Leafs have 63, which has them tied for 12th.
Ottawa’s record is actually better than it was at the 58-game mark last year, when they had 62 points. The difference is that non-playoff teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins have all taken big steps forward and currently occupy playoff spots in the East.
It’s Toronto that's taken the biggest spill. On February 28 last year, the Leafs led the Atlantic Division with 76 points, which is 13 points ahead of their current pace. That information probably has Vegas forward Mitch Marner sleeping like a baby these days.
The season isn’t over for either Ontario team. Both can perhaps draw inspiration from Buffalo’s ability to flip the script so quickly. On December 8, the Sabres were dead last in the East. Since then, they’ve gone 20-5-6 and now sit second in the Atlantic Division. It’s a shocking turnaround for any team, especially one that is currently riding the longest playoff drought in NHL history at 14 years.
That's how quickly things can change in the NHL.
The question now for Ottawa and Toronto, at a time when many expected both clubs to be well above the playoff cut line, is whether they should be buyers or sellers with the NHL trade deadline just a week away.
Both fan bases have to be worried (or convinced) by now that the construction of their respective rosters may be flawed, and both would love to imagine that it can all be remedied with a few moves at the deadline.
As always, that is far easier said than done, particularly in a league right now filled with parity. A lot of teams still believe they’re in the playoff race. As a result, true sellers are few and far between, and the price tags on available players will be steep.
Things are tight, the clock is ticking, and the margin for error is so small, that a loss on Saturday night could actually alter the losing team’s deadline plans in the coming days. So it’s an important week for both Ontario teams. Unfortunately, it's not because either one is on the doorstep of a playoff spot. Until further notice, that notion remains a long shot.
But as they say, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and it's always nice to lay a beating on your provincial rival on a Saturday night.
Steve Warne The Hockey News
This article was first published by The Hockey News. More headlines here:
After the Islanders' 4-3 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday and Columbus's 4-2 loss to the Boston Bruins, the gap between the two teams grew to six points with less than a week to go before the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline.
The Islanders sit in third in the Metropolitan Division with 71 points, while the Blue Jackets sit with 65.
If the Islanders win in regulation on Saturday, that gap would move to eight points, which could force Blue Jackets general manager Don Wadell to move players rather than buy.
That's not all: after the Washington Capitals' 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, they moved four points ahead of Columbus.
Here are the lines:
#Isles lines ahead of game vs. #CBJ are brought to you by Bull Smith’s Tavern:
This will be the Penguins' second and final trip to Madison Square Garden this season after beating the Rangers 3-0 in their first game of the season. The Penguins have won two of the three matchups between the two teams this year and will win the season series if they emerge victorious on Saturday.
The Penguins are coming off a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday and have won two in a row heading into this game. Meanwhile, the Rangers are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss against the Philadelphia Flyers and have lost five in a row.
It's been a horrendous season for the Rangers, who find themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. They've already waved the white flag and are prepared to sell even more before next Friday's trade deadline.
However, they still have a couple of great players, including star goaltender Igor Shesterkin. He's back healthy and is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. The fact that he has a .912 save percentage behind this Rangers' defense is a miracle.
Defenseman Adam Fox is also back healthy and does it all on the backend. He's exceptional in all three zones and does a great job quarterbacking the top power play unit.
Mika Zibanejad is having a really strong year on a bad Rangers team, compiling 23 goals and 52 points in 57 games. He's been playing on the top line with Rangers captain JT Miller, who just won a Gold Medal with Team USA at the Winter Olympics.
The Penguins are expected to run with the same lines and pairs from Thursday's game after head coach Dan Muse told the media on Saturday morning that Sam Girard is available. Girard missed Friday's practice because he was being evaluated for an injury.
Forwards
Chinakhov-Novak-Malkin
A. Hayes-Rakell-Rust
Mantha-Kindel-Brazeau
Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari
Defensive pairs
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Girard-Letang
Shea-Clifton
Stuart Skinner will start in goal for the Penguins after he backed up Arturs Silovs on Thursday.
The Calgary Flames have played in a lot of low-scoring affairs of late, with only two of their past 10 going Over the total.
My Flames vs. Kings predictions see another Under in the cards against a Los Angeles team struggling mightily to create offense.
Let’s take a closer look at my NHL picks for Saturday, February 28.
Flames vs Kings prediction
Flames vs Kings best bet: Under 5.5 (-105)
The Los Angeles Kingshave scored just 17 times over their past eight games, more than only the Devils.
They traded for Artemi Panarin to spark the offense but lost star winger Kevin Fiala for the season before Panarin even debuted, leaving them in a tough spot.
Goals should be hard to find again tonight. The Calgary Flames limit chances well at 5-on-5, and they’re tied for sixth in PK%, giving opponents no easy offense.
Only two of Calgary’s last 10 games have gone Over the number. They’re happy to play a structured, low-event brand of hockey.
Flames vs Kings same-game parlay
The Kings have scored more than two regulation goals just twice over their past eight games. They’re really struggling to find the net, making it difficult for them to create any sort of separation on their opponent.
Yegor Sharangovich has averaged 2.7 shots on 6.0 attempts over his last 10 games, going Over eight times. A lot of his volume comes from the slot, and the Kings sit 27th in slot shots allowed spanning the past 10.
Flames vs Kings SGP
Under 5.5
Flames +1.5
Yegor Sharangovich Over 1.5 shots on goal
Flames vs Kings odds
Moneyline: Calgary +135 | Los Angeles -155
Puck line: Calgary +1.5 (-190) | Los Angeles -1.5 (+160)
Over/Under: Over 5.5 (-115) | Under 5.5 (-105)
Flames vs Kings trend
The Flames have hit the Under in 10 of their last 15 games (+6.65 Units / 40% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Flames vs. Kings.
How to watch Flames vs Kings
Location
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Date
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Puck drop
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
NHL Network, SNW
Flames vs Kings latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
The Carolina Hurricanes will look to extend their point streak to 12 games on Saturday night as they welcome the Detroit Red Wings to the Lenovo Center.
Two of the top five teams in the Eastern Conference by points percentage square off, as both clubs come in having won their first game back from the Olympic break.
The Hurricanes are more or less in cruise control toward their first regular season division championship since the 2022-23 season with an eight-point lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins with 24 games to the finish line.
Detroit, on the other hand, is working through a gauntlet of an Atlantic Division. The Tampa Bay Lightning lead the way, but the Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres are all looking like quality playoff teams.
While all of those squads look like safe bets to make the playoffs, the jockeying for positioning down the stretch will be one of the most compelling stories in the league.
These two teams played an entertaining game in the Motor City on January 12 when the Hurricanes forced overtime with a late goal before the Wings took the win in overtime on a goal that featured a controversial no-call on a possible interference infraction right in front of the Carolina net.
If this game is anywhere near as compelling as that one, the fans are in for a treat.
Here’s how to check out the action…
Time: 7:00 PM
TV: FanDuel Sports Network. Mike Maniscalco will handle play-by-play alongside Tripp Tracy doing color. Hanna Yates will provide off-ice reports as well as host pregame starting at 6:00 and postgame that will run for about 30 minutes after the conclusion.
Streaming:FanDuel Sports Network App for fans in the Carolinas. Outside of the area, the ESPN app has you covered as they have every out-of-market hockey game available to watch.
Radio: The pregame on 99.9 The Fan starts at 6:30. At 7:00 PM the Hurricanes Radio Nework (consisting of 99.9, 730 The Game in Charlotte, ESPN New Bern 107.5/1490, and ESPN Greenville 107.5/1570) picks up the FDSN feed. You can also stream the call on the Hurricanes app.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 29: Pavel Zacha #18 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his first period goal with David Pastrnak #88, Jonathan Aspirot #45, and Morgan Geekie #39 against the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden on January 29, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by China Wong/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
With a 3 PM start, you’re getting the rare “Preview/Public Skate” combo!
Hold onto this post, it may be worth money someday.
I say “3ish” for the start time, as these ABC national games always seem to kind of just start whenever they want. 3:01, 3:12, 3:99…you decide.
The Flyers beat the Rangers in OT last time out, a 3-2 road win on Thursday.
With that win, the Flyers are still hanging around the very fringes of the Eastern Conference playoff race: they’re eight points behind the Bruins for the second wild card spot, with three teams between them and the B’s.
Similar to Thursday night’s game, the Bruins fill be facing a team attempting to chase them down in the standings, so it goes without saying that this is a pretty big game for both sides.
(I should probably stop saying that in general, as that will be the case for every game unless a team is completely out of contention. Cliches are fun though.)
One of the reasons the Flyers have been hanging around: the play of former Bruin Dan Vladar, who has been a great signing for Philly.
Vladar is 17-9-6 on the season with a 2.46 GAA and .905 save percentage. He has stumbled a bit lately though, posting a 1-3-3 record in his last seven starts.
These two teams met at TD Garden back in late January, a 6-3 win for the Bruins that saw the home team get goals from six different scorers.
Spreading the wealth, etc.
It remains to be seen if Jeremy Swayman will draw back in for the Bruins today. You could make a pretty convincing argument that Joonas Korpisalo deserves another start after Thursday’s performance, but I guess we’ll see.
Michael DiPietro was sent back to Providence on Friday, an indication that Swayman will at least be available to dress.
Other than that, not much has changed since Thursday for the black and gold.
