The Vancouver Canucks (22-45-8) only have three more home games before the end of their 2025–26 season, with today’s taking place against the Utah Mammoth (39-30-6). With their 6–2 win against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, the Mammoth put themselves five points above the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference with 84. Vancouver is coming off the second-half of a back-to-back that saw them lose 5–2 to former captain Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild.
With Thursday’s loss, Vancouver officially secured 32nd overall for the 2025–26 season, giving them the best odds to select first-overall in the 2026 NHL Draft. Having also been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention earlier on last week, the Canucks can play out the remainder of their season without the results massively impacting their place in the standings. For a young team like Vancouver, a couple of feel-good wins may help give the locker room a little boost to end the year after the season the team has had.
On the ice, Vancouver’s power play will look to continue their success after scoring in their past four games. They’ve scored nine power play goals in their past 10 games, with two of these matchups featuring multi-power play goal-efforts. With power play success comes success for Jake DeBrusk, who has four of the team’s power play goals through this span.
Today is also expected to be the game that Vancouver celebrates Evander Kane’s 1000th game during. The forward reached the milestone on March 30 against the Vegas Golden Knights, with today being the team’s first home game since then.
Players To Watch:
Tom Willander
Having scored in his team’s loss to Minnesota on Thursday night, Willander has officially taken sole-possession of fifth in scoring by a rookie defenceman throughout the NHL with 20 points in 63 games played. Regardless of his stats, however, the defenceman has been impressive throughout the season despite his experience level. While it is clear at times that he’s still learning, Willander has solidified himself as an ideal long-term presence with Vancouver.
Logan Cooley
Despite his season being riddled with injuries, including one sustained against Vancouver back in December, Cooley is still averaging 0.765 points per game. Part of this has come in part due to a recent run of success he’s faced, including back-to-back two-goal games against the Kraken and the Los Angeles Kings. The forward currently has six points in his past three games and will be looking to increase his current point streak to four games in today’s game.
Mar 16, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Utah Hockey Club forward Logan Cooley (92) handles the puck against the Vancouver Canucks in the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Vancouver Canucks (22–45–8):
Points:
Elias Pettersson: 15–33–48
Filip Hronek: 8–36–44
Brock Boeser: 21–22–43
Jake DeBrusk: 18–19–37
Evander Kane: 13–18–31
Goaltenders:
Kevin Lankinen: 9–26–5
Thatcher Demko: 8–10–1
Nikita Tolopilo: 5–8–2
Jiří Patera: 0–1–0
Utah Mammoth (39–30–6):
Points:
Clayton Keller: 22–52–74
Nick Schmaltz: 28–39–67
Dylan Guenther: 37–28–65
Mikhail Sergachev: 10–44–54
JJ Peterka: 23–21–44
Goaltenders:
Karel Vejmelka: 34–19–3
Vitek Vaněček: 5–11–3
Game Information:
Start time: 4:00 pm PT
Venue: Rogers Arena
Television: Sportsnet
Radio: Sportsnet 650
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DALLAS, TX - MARCH 06: Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns (84) waits for the puck to drop during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche on March 6, 2026 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The biggest date remaining on the regular season schedule has arrived for the Colorado Avalanche, who have long been the most dominant team in the NHL all year long.
The Dallas Stars, however, won’t stop at nothing to overtake them.
Today, both teams will face each other one last time at American Airlines Center to close out their regular season series, with the winner potentially laying claim to a first place finish in the West.
Colorado Avalanche (49-15-10)
The Opponent: Dallas Stars (45-19-12)
Time: 1:00 P.M. MDT/3:00 P.M. EDT
Watch: ABC, ESPN (US National Broadcast), SNP, SNW, SN+ (Canadian National Broadcast)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche wrapped up their final extended home stand on Wednesday night with an underwhelming 8-6 loss to the last-place Vancouver Canucks. The loss was the second during Colorado’s three game home stand, and while the 4-2 loss to Winnipeg a week ago was disappointing, this most recent defeat was exceptionally glaring: a host of defensive miscues and poor puck management opened the door for Vancouver to run up the score early and often. Mackenzie Blackwood, who gave up six goals on nineteen shots, was pulled with 4:39 remaining in second period in favor of Scott Wedgewood. The Avs then rallied from a 6-2 deficit to tie the game late in the third on Sam Malinski’s second goal of the evening, but Vancouver would reclaim the lead twenty-three seconds later, and iced the game with an empty net tally after Wedgewood was pulled for the extra skater.
Coach Jared Bednar, in what was indisputably his shortest press conference of the season, didn’t hold back. “The reality of it is, is if you want to win in this League, you have to play [the way we played in the third period] for sixty minutes, and we weren’t even close. [It] wasn’t a great first and it got worse in the second and […] if you want to hand out badges for good effort and stuff like that, I think we’re beyond that this time of year, you know? Effort for twenty minutes and doing the right things for twenty minutes isn’t good enough.” He went a step further, saying that there were no positives to be found in their effort.
“There’s no excuse,” he continued, “If we’re making excuses for that performance, it’s going to be a short [playoff] run.”
The loss prevented the Avalanche from increasing their points lead over Dallas, and as a result, today’s game still carries weight for both clubs. For the Avs, it’s the start of a back-to-back weekend that sees them returning home for an Easter evening matchup against the St. Louis Blues. With four massive points hanging in the balance for the Avs this weekend, here’s where today’s game matters from their perspective:
The Avs come into Dallas as the undisputed leader across the Central Division, Western Conference, and League standings with a total of 108 points. They have eight (8) games remaining on their schedule—two in hand on Dallas—and have forty-six (46) regulation wins on the season. A regulation win for the Avs wouldn’t completely drive the final nail into the coffin for Dallas to catch them, but it would put their chances on life support. A regulation win for the Avs, coupled with a victory on home ice tomorrow, should put first place out of Dallas’ reach.
This is all predicated on the Avs taking care of their own affairs. They control their own destiny, and while they have the tiebreaker advantages over Dallas right now (points and regulation wins), things can flip on a dime, and the last thing they need is giving Dallas any extra motivation with the end of the season in sight.
While this is certainly a huge weekend for the Avs, today’s game also sets a monumental milestone for Brent Burns, as he is slated to skate in his thousandth consecutive game. The forty year old defenseman, who made his NHL debut for the Minnesota Wild after being selected with the twentieth overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, played his first seven seasons with Minnesota before being traded to San Jose prior to the 2011-2012 season. He spent would spend the next eleven seasons in San Jose, where many of his career milestones would take place. The 2014-2015 season saw the first of eleven consecutive seasons of Burns skating in every every regular season game. He made his Stanley Cup Final debut in 2016, set a career high in goals (27) in a Norris trophy-winning campaign in 2017, and set career highs in assists (67) and points (83) in 2019.
Burns was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes prior to the start of the 2022-2023 season, where he spent three seasons before signing with the Avs prior to the start of this season. After surpassing former NHL defenseman Keith Yandle’s mark of 989 consecutive games on March 14, Burns became the all-time leader in consecutive games played among defensemen. Coming into today’s game, he trails only Phil Kessel, who holds the all-time record of 1064 consecutive games among all NHL skaters.
Nathan MacKinnon is the first player in the NHL to reach 50 goals, having broken the mark this past Wednesday. Despite being the NHL’s goal scoring leader, he remains three points behind both Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (121) and Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov (126). Martin Nečas (35) and Brock Nelson (33) rank second and third in team goal scoring, respectively. Cale Makar, who left Wednesday’s game with injury, did not accompany the team to Dallas, and will be re-evaluated next week. Nicolas Roy also did not travel with the team to Dallas, and his status will be re-evaluated next week as well.
While Bednar did not indicate who would start in today’s game, look for Wedgewood to get the nod today.
Projected Lineup
Forwards: Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas Artturi Lehkonen – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin Parker Kelly – Nazem Kadri – Logan O’Connor Ross Colton – Jack Drury – Joel Kiviranta
Defense: Devon Toews – Sam Malinski Josh Manson – Brent Burns Brett Kulak – Nick Blankenburg
Between the Pipes: Scott Wedgewood Mackenzie Blackwood
Dallas Stars
The run that Dallas has been on has made them a darling of hockey circles everywhere. In any other season, Dallas’s 102 points would tie them with Carolina in a race for first place in the League, and with both teams splitting their two game season series, it would come down to the thinnest of margins to decide who would emerge ahead of the other. Add in Eastern Conference mainstay Tampa Bay Lightning and the come-out-of-nowhere Buffalo Sabres, both of whom boast 100 point seasons of their own, and there would be no shortages of storylines heading into the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Dallas featured prominently among them.
A ten game winning streak? Done. A gold medal winning goaltender? Check. A top-rated power play threat? Yep. A stellar record at home and away? You bet. If you’re the Dallas Stars, you rightly believe that success is yours for the taking as the Stanley Cup Playoffs grow closer.
In any other season, but not this season.
For all their success to this point, Dallas is, and still remains, second best. Coming into today’s regular season finale against Colorado, Dallas is still looking up at their division rival. That ten game winning streak? Colorado’s done that twice. Home and away records? Colorado remains the only team in the NHL that has yet to lose more than ten games on home ice (24-8-5) compared to everyone else (Dallas is 23-10-4 at home). As good as Dallas has been on the road (22-9-8), Colorado’s 25-7-5 record is still better than everyone else.
Let’s not stop there: A +49 goal differential for Dallas? Colorado’s +90 is tops in the League. Colorado’s allowed the fewest number of goals (193) compared to Dallas (209), and Scott Wedgewood’s 2.19 goals against average and .916 save percentage leads all active goaltenders. By comparison, goaltender Casey DeSmith’s 2.38 goals against average ranks third among active goaltenders, while Jake Oettinger’s 2.61 ranks fifteenth. DeSmith’s .909 save percentage ranks fourteenth among active goaltenders, while Oettinger’s .900 ranks twenty-third.
There are a couple of bright spots for Dallas. Dallas can hang their ten-gallon hats on a second-ranked power play percentage (29.1%), while Colorado’s 17.9% ranks twenty-fifth. Oettinger also ranks third in wins among goaltenders (31), four more than Wedgewood (27), and ten more than Mackenzie Blackwood (21).
Dallas also leads the regular season series 2-0-1, their most recent victory being a 2-1 shootout decision back on March 18 at Ball Arena. To this point in the season, every game against Colorado has ended in a shootout. In their last meeting at America Airlines Center on March 06, Dallas captain Jamie Benn botched an opportunity to ice the game with Wedgewood on the bench for an extra skater, but his shot attempt banked off the side of the net. Valeri Nichushkin would score the game-tying goal moments later, and provided the shootout heroics alongside Martin Nečas to best Oettinger en route to a 5-4 decision for Colorado. That game would also see the departure of Roope Hintz to injury after getting tangled up with Nathan MacKinnon in the second period.
Since then, Dallas has regained the services of former Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen. He returned to action on March 28 in a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rantanen, who sustained injury during his play for Team Finland during the Olympics in Italy, had not made a regular season appearance for Dallas since a 5-4 victory over St. Louis on February 04, prior to the Olympic break.
In order to have a shot at first place in the West, Dallas is banking on a repeat performance from Oettinger, who blanked the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 3-0 this past Thursday. The victory was only Dallas’ third in their past ten games. A regulation win over Colorado would pull Dallas within four points of first place, and with four games remaining in the regular season, today’s head-to-head matchup is Dallas’ last, best chance to prevent Colorado from widening the gap between them. Even with a win over Colorado, Dallas would still have to play nearly flawless hockey down the stretch and hope they get some help from Colorado’s remaining opponents.
Wyatt Johnston leads all Dallas skaters in goals (41) and power play goals (25). Jason Robertson ranks second in goals (40), and leads the team in points (89). Miro Heiskanen leads all Dallas skaters in assists (53), while Rantanen is a close second (52). Rantanen also leads all Dallas skaters in penalty minutes (89).
Today marks the second of a five game home stand for Dallas, their final prolonged stretch of games on home ice. Oettinger will likely start in goal to close out the season series against Colorado.
Projected Lineup
Forwards: Jason Robertson – Wyatt Johnston – Mikko Rantanen Jamie Benn – Matt Duchene – Colin Blackwell Oskar Bäck – Justin Hryckowian – Mavrik Bourque Adam Erne – Arttu Hyry
Defense: Esa Lindell – Miro Heiskanen Thomas Harley – Nils Lundkvist Lian Bischel – Ilya Lyubushkin Kyle Capobianco
"I don't think so," was what Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said when The Hockey News asked if the 30-year-old blueliner would be traveling.
Roy will talk at 5:35 on Saturday, so we'll get an official answer then.
DeAngelo, 30, is working his way back from a lower-body injury sustained early in the Islanders' 4-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on March 24. He has been skating on his own for the last few days, but has yet to join a team skate.
The Islanders have missed DeAngelo's presence in the lineup, going 2-4-0, including the Blackhawks loss, being outscored 23-17 over that span.
DeAngelo, who is in the final season of a one-year extension worth $1.75 million, has 33 points (five goals, 28 assists) in 72 games, averaging 19:03 minutes per game.
Winnipeg Jets - 32-21-12 - 76 Points - 5-3-2 in the last 10 - Lost 1- 6th in the Central
Columbus Blue Jackets - 38-26-12 - 88 Points - 4-5-1 in the last 10 - Lost 2 - 4th in the Metro
Team Notes Per CBJ PR
The Blue Jackets began their seven-game April schedule with a 5-1 loss at Carolina on Thursday. The team has three home and road contests each left in the regular season.
The Jackets have earned points in 17-of-20 contests at Nationwide Arena in 2026 (12-3-5), ranking third in the NHL in goals for per game (3.90), seventh in points pct. (.725) and ninth-T in goals-against per game (2.85) over that span.
CBJ have also earned points in 25 of the last 32 contests overall since Jan. 11 (20-7-5, 45 pts.). The club ranks third in the league in goals-against per game (2.63) and fourth in points pct. (.703) over that stretch.
Columbus leads the NHL with a franchise-record 56 goals scored by defensemen in 2025-26 (56-133-189, 76 GP).
CBJ rank fourth in the league in goals scored and goal differential in the opening period (78-59; +19).
Player Notes Per CBJ PR
Adam Fantilli, who led the club in goals and points (tied) in March with 7-9-16 in 17 games, has set a single-season career high in assists and points with 21-34-55 in 76 contests.
Jet Greaves has earned points in 15 of his last 18 starts since Jan. 11 (12-3-3, 2.36 GAA, .913 SV% in 19 GP), ranking fifth among NHL goaltenders in GAA and seventh-T in SV% (min. 6 GP).
Boone Jenner has recorded 2-4-6 in the past nine contests since Mar. 19.
Kirill Marchenko leads the club in goals and ranks second in points with 26-37-63 in 70 outings in 2025-26.
Denton Mateychuk notched Columbus' lone goal on Thursday and has posted two goals in the last four contests. He is the third different CBJ blueliner (Werenski, Jones) with at least 13 goals in a campaign in club history (13-17-30, 69 GP).
Zach Werenski, with 21-57-78 in 69 games in 2025-26, sits two assists shy of tying the franchise's record for assistsin a single season set by Artemi Panarin (79 GP in 2018-19) and matched by the defenseman in 2024-25 (81 GP).
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 19.6% - 21st in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 76.2% - 27th in the NHL
Goals For - 234 - 17th in the NHL
Goals Against - 234 - 22nd in the NHL
JetsStats
Power Play - 17.3% - 28th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 78.2% - 20th in the NHL
Goals For - 211 - 25th in the NHL
Goals Against - 227 - 13th in the NHL
Series History vs. TheJets
Columbus is 18-18-0-1 all-time, and 9-9-0-0 at home vs. Winnipeg
Columbus has earned points in six of the last ten meetings between the clubs since Jan. 22, 2020 (5-4-1).
CBJ have won four of the last seven meetings at Nationwide Arena since Oct. 27, 2017 (4-3-0), but the Jets have won the last two-straight at Columbus.
The winning team has recorded four or more goals in 15 of the last 18 games of the series dating back to Dec. 10, 2015, and has limited the other team to one goal or less in six of the last nine since Nov. 24, 2021.
The home team has won all three games in the series requiring time beyond regulation (CBJ; 2-1 in OT).
The teams have combined for seven-plus goals in five of the past eight games at Nationwide Arena.
Columbus has recorded five of the seven shutouts in the all-time series (MR CBJ: Merzlikins, 36 saves in 3-0 W at CBJ on Nov. 24, 2021), but Winnipeg recorded the most recent one (Hellebuyck, 29 saves in 5-0 win at WPG on Jan. 9, 2024).
Each team has registered two hat tricks and a penalty shot attempt in the all-time series.
Who To Watch For TheJets
Mark Scheifele leads the Jets with 34 goals, 58 assists, and 92 points.
Kyle Conner has 34 goals and 85 points.
Connor Hellebuyck is 20-21-11 with a SV% of .898.
Eric Comrie is 12-9-1 with a SV% of .897. He hasn't started since March 22nd.
CBJ Player Notes vsJets
Boone Jenner has 8 points in 15 career games against Winnipeg.
Zach Werenski has 11 points against the Jets.
Sean Monahan has 21 points in 33 games.
Injured Reserve & Other Injuries
Brendan Smith - Lower Body - Missed 38 Games IR - Out for the rest of the regular season.
Damon Severson - Missed 4 Games - Upper Body - OUT FOR THE SEASON
Dmitri Voronkov - Missed 3 Games - Upper Body - Week-to-week
Mathieu Olivier - Missed 2 Games - Upper Body - OUT FOR THE SEASON
Mason Marchment - Missed 1 Game - Undisclosed
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 194
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
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TAMPA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 01: Darren Raddysh #43 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates against Morgan Geekie #39 of the Boston Bruins during the third period of the 2026 NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium on February 01, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Andrei Vasilevskiy: 36-13-4, 2.34 GAA, .912 save percentage
Game notes
The Bruins will look for a better 60-minute effort against a group of Florida Men today, facing a Lightning team that has won three of four and is in a back-and-forth fight with Buffalo for first in the Atlantic.
This will be the first meeting between these two games since the Stadium Series game back on February 1, a wild affair that ended as a 6-5 win for Tampa in a shootout.
As you likely remember, that game featured a remarkable eight power play opportunities for the Lightning, who converted on three of them.
Tampa is 7-1-2 in their last ten games, most recently beating Pittsburgh 6-3 on Thursday. That game featured a hat trick for Anthony Cirelli, who has eclipsed the 50-point mark for the second season in a row.
Nikita Kucherov remains one of the league’s elite scorers, scoring more than 120 points for the third season in a row. With 41 goals, he’s just three away from bettering his previous career high of 44, set back in 2024.
Corey Perry, acquired from Los Angeles near the trade deadline, has 3G-2A-5PTS totals for Tampa in 14 games.
Tampa has a few guys who are banged up at the moment, with Brandon Hagel and Scott Sabourin termed “questionable” by the team. Neither played Thursday against Pittsburgh.
Jake Guentzel has been on a heater for Tampa, recording 5G-4A-9PTS totals in his last five games. Guentzel has 25 points in 32 career games against the Bruins.
On the Bruins side of things, there isn’t much to report after Thursday’s loss. No new injuries, controversies, etc. We should see both goalies this weekend with another game against Philadelphia tomorrow afternoon, but it’s not clear yet which order Marco Sturm will use.
In case you missed it above, this game will be airing locally on NESN+, as the Red Sox will be hosting the San Diego Padres at 4:10 PM. That time of year, folks.
See ya tonight? This afternoon? This evening? Later!
PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 03: Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against Eetu Luostarinen #27 of the Florida Panthers at PPG PAINTS Arena on December 3, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Who:Florida Panthers (37-35-3, 77 points, 7th place Atlantic Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (38-22-16, 92 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)
When: 5:00 p.m. ET
How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and SCRIPPS, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins are right back at PPG Paints Arena for a 3 p.m. ET Sunday puck drop against the Panthers, again, before hitting the road for three of the final four games of the season starting with a Thursday matchup against the New Jersey Devils.
Opponent Track: The two-time defending champions are all but out of playoff contention, but that hasn’t stopped them from playing spoiler as of late with back-to-back wins against the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins.
Season Series: A third-period strike from Connor Dewar stood as the game-winner in the Penguins’ 5-3 victory over the Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena back on Oct. 23.
Hidden Stat: The Penguins have gotten 95 goals this season from players in their first year with the team, the most in the NHL by a wide margin. The Anaheim Ducks rank second with 76 goals from first-year players, per Pens PR.
Potential scratches: Aaron Ekblad, Dmitry Kulikov, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, Uvis Balinskis, Cole Reinhardt
Injured Reserve: Evan Rodrigues
LTIR: Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand, Cole Schwindt, Jonah Godjovich, Niko Mikkola
The Panthers added to one of the longest injury lists in the NHL ahead of their Thursday night win over the Boston Bruins by announcing that Aaron Ekblad (fractured right hand) and Dmitry Kulikov (puck to the face) were out of the lineup.
Florida could get both Kulikov and center Cole Schwindt, who has been sidelined since February with a lower-body injury, back for this weekend’s series, coach Paul Maurice said earlier this week.
Even with half of their regular lineup available, the Panthers are heading into this matchup on a two-game win streak thanks in part to some strong play from their goaltenders. Both Daniil Tarasov and Sergei Bobrovsky, who have been regularly alternating starts this season, are likely to get the nod during this weekend’s back-to-back.
Putting Bobrovsky and Stuart Skinner in the same game would put these two goaltenders on track to rematch after facing off in the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Finals, both of which the Panthers won over the Edmonton Oilers.
The Panthers are without three of their top five producers in Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand. Since the Olympic break, they’ve ranked 25th in the NHL with 2.72 goals per game.
Losses are important right now for the Panthers, whose upcoming first-round pick is top-1o protected. Tankathon currently gives Florida five percent odds at the top pick in the draft, but they’re also just two standings points away from leapfrogging the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators and sliding out of the top 10 altogether. Adding a high pick from the draft this offseason would help the Panthers gear up for a more competitive 2026-27 campaign with a healthier roster.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Egor Chinakhov – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak – Ben Kindel – Evgeni Malkin
Anthony Mantha – Rickard Rakell – Justin Brazeau
Elmer Soderblom – Connor Dewar – Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard / Kris Letang
Ryan Shea / Connor Clifton
Goalies: Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs
Potential Scratches: Ilya Solovyov, Blake Lizotte (injured), Kevin Hayes, Ryan Graves, Jack St. Ivany
IR: Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones (season-ending shoulder surgery)
The Pens sent Avery Hayes back to the AHL on Friday. The team also announced that Caleb Jones, who just finished out serving a 20-game suspension for violating the NHL’s performance enhancing substances policy, has undergone season-ending right shoulder surgery.
Evgeni Malkin is heading into tonight’s game one point shy of 1,400, while Sidney Crosby is three points away from averaging a point per game for the 21st time in 21 years. Crosby also hasn’t scored a goal in seven games, a drought that dates back to his return from injury on March 18.
Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs are both likely to get playing time during this weekend’s back-to-back. There is still the possibility the Penguins could call up AHL star Sergei Murashov to see if he could be a possibility for a potential playoff run, although they’re running out of regular-season runway to do so.
The Flyers claimed a 4-1 win over the Islanders on Friday night to improve the Pens’ cushion for the second spot in the Metro to three points with a game in hand. The Isles (4-6-0 in their last ten), Blue Jackets (4-5-1) and Red Wings (4-5-1) are slumping, while the rise of the Ottawa Senators (6-3-1) and Flyers (7-3-0) means there is now a four-way points tie at the back of the Wild Card race. From NHL.com:
The St. Louis Blues are trying to do their part to stay in whatever margin they have remaining in the Western Conference wild card chase.
A second dominating performance in a month against the Anaheim Ducks produced a resounding 6-2 win at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Friday and pulled the Blues (32-31-12) within three points of three teams (San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators) who are all tied in points with 79 for that second wild card.
The Blues also jumped over the Seattle Kraken by a point and even with the Winnipeg Jets with 76 points in the standings; all of the aforementioned teams have played 75 games except for the Sharks and Kraken, who each have a game in hand.
But the problem the Blues are facing is the head-to-head matchups that all the teams fighting for one spot are facing. Fort instance, Nashville and San Jose square off on Saturday, so by the end of the night and when they next play, the Blues will once again be five points behind someone.
Dylan Holloway led the offense with a pair of power play goals; Robert Thomas had a goal and two assists, Pius Suter and Colton Parayko each had a goal and an assist, Jake Neighbours had his third two-assist game in the past four games, and Philip Broberg had two assists to extend his point streak to seven games (two goals, six assists).
Let's get into Friday's game observations:
* When does Holloway start being looked at as a star in this league -- I mean, guys, it's starting to feel that way.
And let's be honest, the forward was on this trajectory at the end of last season until that torn abductor muscle April 5, 2025 against the Pittsburgh Penguins sent him on a long journey, that also included a high ankle sprain, and has sent the 24-year-old on a road to full health.
His 18th of the season put the Blues ahead 2-1 at 11:15 of the opening period on a simple shot that may have caught goalie Lukas Dostal off guard, but it looked more like something that was off a smart read of scouting this particular goalie:
And his power-play goal at 1:22 of the third period wrapped up the scoring and made it 6-2 on a cross-seam pass from Thomas and one-timer from the right circle:
But since he came back healthy following the Olympic break on Feb. 26, Holloway has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 18 games, averaging 1.28 points per game. The 23 points is tied for 12th in the NHL; the 11 goals is tied for seventh, and his plus-22 is best in the league, only ahead of Thomas at plus-20.
This was the sort of trajectory he was on last season and with restricted free agency status looming this summer, what type of contract are you comfortable if you're outgoing GM Doug Armstrong-incoming GM Alexander Steen giving to Holloway. Do you go bridge deal? Do you go for more term like Broberg's six-year, $48 million extension the defenseman signed earlier in the season?
Holloway is playing himself into a bonafide top-line winger and there's no ignoring it when he's producing like he is and playing with an edge on the ice affecting the game like he's been doing.
He's just seven goals off of tying last season's career high of 26 in 25 fewer games played. It's food for thought folks, and it's a legitimate thought whether this kid can be a star winger.
* Blues scoring was balanced for a change -- Look, the top line of Holloway, Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud -- although he went without a point Friday -- produced three goals and two assists in the game, so they definitely had an impact in the game. But the Blues have been desperately searching for some balance in the lineup on the offensive side.
In 18 games (15 for Thomas), that line has produced 58 points (25 goals, 33 assists) and a combined plus-57. Just astounding numbers.
But Blues coach Jim Montgomery removed Pavel Buchnevich (maintenance), Alexey Toropchenko and Jack Finley off the forward group and Justin Holl on defense. In their spots, Jonathan Drouin, Oskar Sundqvist and Nathan Walker went in at forward, and Tyler Tucker, playing his first game since a lower-body injury on Oct. 18 against the Calgary Flames, went in on D.
You saw 10 guys get on the stat sheet in the game, and Montgomery moved Dalibor Dvorsky between Drouin and Jordan Kyrou, and Pius Suter centered an effective line with Neighbours and Jonatan Berggren, whose goal at 18:44 from the slot in the first period proved to be the winner and gave the Blues a 3-2 lead off a turnover and ensuing strong feed from Suter:
And when Suter is utilized more down the middle, he tends to be around the net more and certainly was when he took a Tucker feed on the backside to slam a shot in from the slot at 3:08 of the second period that made it 4-2:
Even Parayko got in on the scoring with Dvorsky and Kyrou setting the big defenseman up at 16:50 of the second that essentially put the game away at 5-2:
The Blues weren't as predictable as they have been in recent games with their top guys doing their best, and they certainly were, carrying the bulk of the offensive load.
* Tucker lowers the boom -- The Blues didn't actually get off to a good start in this game when the Ducks (41-30-5), fighting for the Pacific Division title, struck just 1:51 into the game on a Ryan Poehling redirect that made it 1-0.
You had to wonder if the losses in the past two games to the Sharks and Kings had a lasting affect on the Blues, who realize their playoff hopes are in dire straits.
But then Tucker, who missed the past seven games, used all that pent-up energy from not playing and laid a jarring hit on Ducks talented rookie Beckett Sennecke. It seemed inspire the group and not long after, led to Thomas tying the game at 1-1 at 5:24, a beautiful top shelf goal set up by a Broberg feathery feed into space:
Tucker, who had another heavy hit in the third period, finished the game playing 12:55 with a blocked shot doing what he does best when the team needs a lift.
That hit on Sennecke certainly provided one.
Speaking of Broberg, how about him joining some rarified company for his point streak among Blues defenseman since the 1994-95 season? Pretty impressive.
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The Anaheim Ducks returned home after a brief, yet supremely disappointing one-game road trip to begin their final homestand of the season. Their last five home games of the 2025-26 season began on Friday, as they hosted the St. Louis Blues.
The Ducks entered winless in their last three games, accumulating just one point of a possible six, yet remained tied with the Edmonton Oilers atop the Pacific Division.
The Blues came into this game five points out of the second wild card spot, but lost both of their first two California road trip games to the San Jose Sharks on Monday and the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
On their roster, the Ducks only have 18 healthy skaters, as Radko Gudas, Pavel Mintyukov, and Cutter Gauthier are all considered “day-to-day” but remained out of the lineup for this one.
Here’s how the Ducks lined up to start this game:
Kreider-Carlsson-Terry
Killorn-Washe-Granlund
Viel-Poehling-Sennecke
McTavish-Gaucher-Vatrano
LaCombe-Trouba
Moore-Carlson
Zellweger-Helleson
Lukas Dostal got the start for the Ducks, and he saved 23 of the 29 shots he faced in this game. Between the pipes for the Blues was Joel Hofer, who stopped 25 of 27.
Game Notes
After getting off to a decent start, scoring within the first two minutes of the game, the Ducks fell victim to their own propensity for catastrophic mistakes. They were undisciplined, allowing two goals on four power play opportunities, and they suffered mental lapses against the rush, which led to several chances against Dotal.
As they attempted to claw out of the deficit they created for themselves, they began to take increasingly bigger chances, which, when not successful, gave way to outnumbered opportunities the other way.
The underlying numbers reflect the final score relatively accurately, as at 5v5, the Ducks only generated 47.83% of the shots on goal, 53.85% of the shot attempts, and 41.99% of the expected goals.
“We had a decent start, then we gave them three goals in the first period that were definitely all our fault,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said after the game. “They gave us a good education on playing a real solid team game, and we didn’t play with the urgency needed, and they’re capable of sustaining their game.”
Rush Defense: Mistakes, with and without the puck, from the top of the circles in the defensive zone to the top of the circles in the offensive zone, cost the Ducks dearly in this game. F3’s made poor reads to engage in puck battles instead of tracking back to cover for pinching defensemen.
At the same time, Pinching defensemen made poor reads to activate down the offensive wall without a necessary high F3 to cover for him. Even when the Ducks did have numbers tracking back into their end to defend a rush, sorting issues arose, as did a lack of desire to eliminate the middle lanes of the ice and increase the difficulty for off-puck attackers to crash the crease.
Penalty Kill: St. Louis won most of their offensive zone draws while up a man in this game. They moved pucks efficiently along the perimeter and got to loose pucks on the walls. In doing so, they sustained elongated zone time and tired out the Anaheim penalty killers.
When the Ducks’ killers were running out of gas and spread too far toward the flanks, wide east-west seams opened, and the weak side forwards were late to react and close them. The Blues rarely utilized their bumper or net front attacker. Instead, they allowed the net front forward to drift to the bottom of the circle, and they allowed their bumper to drift to the flank.
Lukas Dostal: In order for the Ducks to win games like this, Dostal needs to be spectacular or at least make the saves an NHL starting goaltender is supposed to make, as he’d done for most of this season. He rarely allows soft goals where he gets beat on perimeter shots that eek through his body, but he allowed two such goals in this game, and at critical junctures.
The Blues’ second goal came on a power play in a tie game, just over halfway through the first period, which gave them a lead in a game where the Ducks had been controlling the game flow. St. Louis’ fifth goal came in the dying minutes of the second period, which ended up as a backbreaker, extending a two-goal deficit to three.
The Ducks saw their Pacific Division lead and their games in hand evaporate in relatively short order. They have another opponent in town in less than 24 hours, who could be considered better than their record, the Calgary Flames, and the Ducks now are more desperate for a win than they’ve been in a long time. Saturday’s game against Calgary will begin at 7 PM PST.
NEW YORK (AP) — Matvei Michkov had a goal and two assists and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Friday night to move within one point of the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Travis Sanheim and Alex Bump had a goal and an assist each and Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia. Dan Vladar finished with 20 saves. The Columbus Blue Jackets are also tied with the Flyers with 88 points.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for New York and Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves in his 10th straight appearance, but the Islanders lost their third straight in a tightly contested Eastern Conference playoff race.
Michkov fired a shot from behind the goal line off Sorokin’s pad early in the second period to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead.
Tippett opened the scoring, completing a forehand-backhand move off a pass from Sanheim with less than seven minutes remaining in the first period.
Bump extended the Flyers’ lead to two goals when he caught Sorokin out of position and sent a wrist shot just inside the post.
Pageau scored off a feed from Mathew Barzal with less than five minutes remaining in the second period to pull New York within 3-1.
Sanheim scored midway through the third period to restore Philadelphia’s three-goal lead and put the game out of reach.
BLUES 6, DUCKS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Dylan Holloway scored a pair of power-play goals, Robert Thomas had a goal and two assists, and St. Louis kept its slim playoff hopes alive with a win over Anaheim.
Pius Suter and Colton Parayko each had a goal and an assist for St. Louis and Jonatan Berggren added a goal. Joel Hofer stopped 24 shots for the Blues, who pulled to within three points of the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference with seven games left.
Ryan Poehling had a goal and an assist, and Jeffrey Viel scored for the Ducks, who remain tied with Edmonton for first place in the Pacific Division but have lost four straight games. Lukas Dostal stopped 23 shots.
St. Louis extended a 3-2 first-period lead with two goals in the second. Tyler Tucker corralled a rebound behind the goal line and flicked a pass to Suter, who snapped a shot past Dostal for a 4-2 lead at the 3:08 mark. Parayko’s shot from the right circle beat Dostal glove-side for a 5-2 lead with 3:10 left.
Holloway’s power-play goal in the third made it 6-2.
The teams combined for five goals in the first period.
Head coach Patrick Roy of the New York Islanders reacts during the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena on April 03, 2026 in Elmont, New York.
Patrick Roy did not hide from responsibility after Friday’s 4-1 Islanders loss to Philadelphia that felt something like capitulation.
“I’ll take part of the blame for the first period,” Roy said. “I have a job to do to make sure our team is ready to play a strong game. So we’re together in this. We called a timeout and I felt like after that we started playing more our game.”
No small part of the game was lost in the first period, in which the Islanders went down 2-0 and did not record a shot through the first 13:15.
The head coach fell on the sword right as he is coming under more scrutiny, with his team in serious danger of blowing a playoff spot that seemed like a sure thing from December through March.
While Roy’s job has been considered safe all season — his relationship with general manager Mathieu Darche is believed to be quite good despite the two never having met before Darche was hired last spring — that would be in obvious danger of changing if the Islanders fail to make the playoffs.
Head coach Patrick Roy of the New York Islanders reacts during the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena on April 3, 2026 in Elmont, New York. NHLI via Getty Images
So, too, would a number of other assumptions that have underpinned the season, such as the likelihood of captain Anders Lee re-signing as an unrestricted free agent.
Roy said he felt he could have said more to his team before the game to better prepare them.
“Sometimes you just make sure, you say a few words in the room after the meeting,” Roy said. “Tonight I thought the team was ready to play a strong game, and I could have done a better job approaching the guys, say a few things.
“That was an important game for us. They’re all important games — no kidding. I just feel like I could have done a better job, period.”
Simon Holmstrom returned from the upper-body injury that kept him out of Tuesday’s match in Buffalo, with Anthony Duclair coming out of the lineup as a healthy scratch.
Tony DeAngelo skated on his own Friday morning before the Islanders held an optional skate. Roy said it was not his first time on the ice since suffering a lower-body injury.
Roy said he did not expect DeAngelo to travel to Carolina for Saturday’s match.
The killer, 36-year-old Guy Rivera, was convicted on lesser charges including aggravated manslaughter, attempted murder of Diller’s partner and weapons charges.
“We will always stand with his wife, Stephanie, their son Ryan and the entire Diller family. Detective Diller will be in our thoughts and hearts forever,” PA announcer Alex Anthony said.
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Sandra Abstreiter made 39 saves her first PWHL shutout, Kaitlin Willoughby scored twice and the Montreal Victoire beat the Ottawa Charge 3-0 on Friday night to take the league lead.
Abby Roque also scored for the Victoire (14-4-2-5) in front of a crowd of 17,114 fans at Canadian Tire Centre.
Gwyneth Philips stopped 23 shots for the Charge (6-7-1-11). Ottawa returned home after playing a record six straight road games.
The Victoire have already clinched a playoff spot, while the Charge are fighting to get into the final playoff position.
NEW YORK (AP) — Matvei Michkov had a goal and two assists and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Islanders 3-1 on Friday night to move within one point of the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Travis Sanheim and Alex Bump had a goal and an assist each and Owen Tippett also scored for Philadelphia. Dan Vladar finished with 20 saves. The Columbus Blue Jackets are also tied with the Flyers with 88 points.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for New York and Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves in his 10th straight appearance, but the Islanders lost their third straight in a tightly contested Eastern Conference playoff race.
Michkov fired a shot from behind the goal line off Sorokin’s pad early in the second period to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead.
Tippett opened the scoring, completing a forehand-backhand move off a pass from Sanheim with less than seven minutes remaining in the first period.
Bump extended the Flyers’ lead to two goals when he caught Sorokin out of position and sent a wrist shot just inside the post.
Pageau scored off a feed from Mathew Barzal with less than five minutes remaining in the second period to pull New York within 3-1.
Sanheim scored midway through the third period to restore Philadelphia’s three-goal lead and put the game out of reach.
Simon Holmstrom returned to the Islanders’ lineup after missing the previous game against the Buffalo Sabres with an upper-body injury. Anthony Duclair was a healthy scratch.
Up next
Flyers: Host the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
Islanders: Visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
A first period that couldn’t be overcome, a goaltending situation that suddenly feels precarious and a potential collapse that suddenly seems all too possible.
The Islanders have been flirting with disaster for about two weeks. It arrived fully formed Friday night with a 4-1 defeat to the Flyers at UBS Arena.
A win would have all but eliminated Philadelphia. The loss means that the Islanders no longer control their own destiny with five games left in the season, and the postgame dressing room projected the opposite of confidence.
“After this one, we gotta stick together,” Anders Lee said. For a captain who is usually nothing but upbeat, the shift in tone felt highly notable. “We’ve lost three in a row [at an] important time of year, but we can’t lose sight of what’s gotten us here, who we are as a team and our ability to fight through adversity. It’s tough, there’s no doubt about it.
New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) makes a save against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, April 3, 2026 in Elmont, N.Y. Noah K. Murray for NY Post
“We talked about what we needed to do tonight. We didn’t execute on a few things. The mistakes ended up in the back of our net. We gotta have each other’s backs here. It’s been a tough week.”
For now, the Islanders are still in a playoff spot with 89 points. But the Blue Jackets and Flyers, both with 88, have each played one fewer game. So, too, have the Senators, who have 88 points in the second wild-card spot.
So beyond needing a win in what will be a tough second end of this back-to-back in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday, the Islanders will be glued to their televisions during the ensuing four days off, over which everyone else will catch up on games played.
Coach Patrick Roy, whose job seemed secure all year but might be on the line if he cannot get this team over the playoff finish line, took the blame for a putrid start in which the Islanders got outshot 12-2 in the first, failed to record a shot through 13:15 and burned burnt their timeout 15:01 into the match, only to commit a penalty off the very next faceoff.
“I’ll take part of the blame for the first period,” Roy said. “I have a job to do to make sure our team is ready and play a strong game.”
Roy declined to say whether Ilya Sorokin will start a second straight game Saturday, but the decision is all the more crucial now. Sorokin stopped just 17 of 21 shots and looked decidedly mortal Friday, his 10th straight game with an appearance, and has not looked quite like himself in any of the last three games.
Matthew Schaefer (48) controls the puck against Philadelphia Flyers center Christian Dvorak (22) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, April 3, 2026 in Elmont, N.Y. Noah K. Murray for NY Post
“We didn’t do a good enough job in front of him to protect him,” Roy said. “… Certainly not to be blamed. Absolutely not. We’re together in this. We all have to play better hockey.”
It’s true, and all too obvious, that Sorokin was far from the only culprit. Still, other than Owen Tippett’s opener, the next three goals he allowed were ones he would’ve liked back.
Alex Bump’s shot from the left-hand dot beat Sorokin short side, Matvei Michkov took advantage of a heinous Brayden Schenn turnover and banked one off the goaltender 2:52 into the second and then Travis Sanheim’s shot beat him clean and short side 9:16 into the third.
Sanheim’s goal put an official end to a comeback attempt that appeared promising with JG Pageau’s tally that put an exclamation mark on a second period in which the Islanders mostly looked like themselves.
The momentum fizzled quickly to start the third, and Roy’s move to change the lines — putting Barzal with Pageau and Simon Holmstrom while Ondrej Palat moved to the second line with Cal Ritchie and Brayden Schenn — seemed to hurt the team more than help it.
“We gotta find a way to get some energy, to look after one another and fix our mistakes,” Lee said. “Our mistakes are killing us right now. It’s putting us behind in games and it’s costing us points. We gotta regroup and look after one another.”
Three losses in a row equals the Islanders’ worst losing streak of the season, and they are an abysmal 3-6-0 in their last nine, a span over which a better record might have meant an “X” next to their name in the standings by now.
On Thursday night, after the Flyers suffered a second straight regulation loss, Travis Konecny labeled every game “a must-win at this point.”
The Flyers sure played like their season was on the line Friday night at UBS Arena.
They picked up a 4-1 win over the Islanders and are very much alive with six games to go.
Owen Tippett, Alex Bump, Matvei Michkov and Travis Sanheim supplied the Flyers’ goals. Michkov added two assists. The Flyers improved to 8-0-0 this season when he records a multi-point game.
The Flyers (38-26-12) gained important ground in their playoff push (more on that below).
A real sign of growth under Rick Tocchet has been the Flyers’ 7-5-1 mark in the second game of back-to-back sets. Last season, the Flyers were a dreadful 1-10-2.
This was a critical win when it comes to the Flyers’ chances in the Metropolitan Division race. They climbed to within one point of the Islanders (42-30-5), who hold the final playoff spot (third place) in the division.
The Flyers took the regular-season series from New York, going 3-1-0. The other two victories were 4-3 shootout decisions.
• Tocchet’s club has played one fewer game than the Islanders, who have 89 points.
The Flyers and Blue Jackets have 88 points. The Flyers don’t want to finish even with either of those teams if they hope to make the playoffs through the division. That’s because they’ll very likely fall short in the tiebreaker of regulation wins.
Things are also super tight in the battle for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. The Flyers are locked in a four-way tie with the Senators, Red Wings and Blue Jackets, but they don’t own the tiebreakers.
• Dan Vladar looked much more like himself after a somewhat shaky three-start stretch in which he allowed 11 goals on 71 shots.
The 28-year-old denied 21 of New York’s 22 shots. He converted three saves in a chaotic 11-second sequence around the midway mark of the game. That kept the Flyers in control at 3-0.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau made it 3-1 later in the second period, but Sanheim gave the Flyers third-period insurance. Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen were excellent as the Flyers’ top defensive pair.
Vladar now has 25 wins. His career high coming into the season was 14.
The Flyers got the best of a goaltender who has been a thorn in their side. Ilya Sorokin surrendered four goals on 21 shots. He entered the game 12-3-3 with a 1.53 goals-against average, .946 save percentage and five shutouts lifetime against the Flyers.
• The Flyers appeared to survive an injury scare with Trevor Zegras.
The 25-year-old center exited with around 4:15 minutes left in the first period after taking a hit from Adam Pelech at the offensive blue line.
But Zegras was able to return to the game at the start of the second period. He finished with 11:03 minutes.
How he feels heading into Sunday will be something to monitor.
• Bump made the most of his return to the lineup after back-to-back healthy scratches.
The 22-year-old rookie scored his first-period goal on a great shot 1:07 minutes after Tippett gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead. Bump also collected an assist, giving him eight points (four goals, four assists) through 13 games with the Flyers.
• The Flyers are back in action Sunday when they host the Bruins (3:30 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov #44 of the New York Rangers greets defenseman Adam Fox #23 of the New York Rangers after Fox scores a goal during the third period at Madison Square Garden, Thursday April 2nd, 2026, in New York, NY.
Off a faceoff play the Rangers believed should’ve been blown dead, Vladislav Gavrikov was beaten by Cole Caufield for the Canadiens’ game-winning goal Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
It was a skillful move from a young star in the midst of a career season.
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It was a posterizing moment for the Rangers defenseman.
Most of Gavrikov’s first season with the Blueshirts has been much more assuring than the aforementioned sequence. He’s exactly the type of defenseman the Rangers wanted as Adam Fox’s partner, valuing defense first and playing a reliable game on a nightly basis.
The fact that the 30-year-old more than doubled his previous career high in goals and is on pace to set a personal points record has just been an added bonus.
Vladislav Gavrikov of the New York Rangers holds back Brendan Gallagher of the Montréal Canadiens during the third period at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2026. Getty Images
“I just think we’ve discovered a different dimension to his game,” head coach Mike Sullivan said of Gavrikov, who has 14 goals and 18 assists in 76 games entering the matchup with the Red Wings on Saturday afternoon. “Vladi’s core competency is his ability to defend. He’s hard to play against and that was what attracted us to him in the first place. The other element is, with respect to his defensive game, there’s some predictability around his game. So we thought he’d be a really good partner for Foxy, which has turned out he has been. You never really know if that’s going to be the case. You try to think things through and figure out who might have complementary skill sets, and try to make some predictions on who you think might work.
“We do with line combinations, we do with defense pairs. Sometimes they make a whole lot of sense on paper, but they don’t actually work out, for whatever reason. This one, in our estimation, has worked out. We think that pair has been excellent … I just think he has a dimension that we’ve discovered that has helped us on the offensive side. But we don’t want him to become a different player than he already is. We want him to defend well. That, for me, is the foundation of his game, and that’s what he excels at.
“When he defends hard for us and adds the offensive dimension to his game, he’s even more effective as far as helping us win. I think he’s had a terrific year for us. He’s a real competitive guy. He’s been a great pair for Foxy, and he’s helped us on both sides of the puck.”
The underlying numbers of the Gavrikov-Fox pairing indicate they are one of the Rangers’ few success stories this season.
Despite playing significantly fewer games together — due to Fox’s missing 27 contests with injuries — they have still logged a team-high 783:21 of five-on-five minutes in 2025-26 so far. While the gap in games should be considered, Gavrikov and Fox still rank highly among the NHL’s other top defensive pairs.
Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov of the New York Rangers greets defenseman Adam Fox after Fox scores a goal during the third period at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2026. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
Among 27 defensive pairings with at least 700 five-on-five minutes, their 57.74 expected goals percentage is the fourth best behind only the Lightning’s Darren Raddysh-Janis Moser (60.15), the Hurricanes’ Sean Walker-K’Andre Miller (58.18) and the Avalanche’s Brent Burns-Josh Manson (58.07), per Natural Stat Trick.
Gavrikov and Fox also own the third-lowest expected goals against at 28.49. Only the Senators’ Jake Sanderson-Artem Zub (27.87) and the Golden Knights’ Brayden McNabb-Shea Theodore (25.62) own a lower xGA.
“I think the offensive side of it speaks for itself,” Sullivan said of his top D pair after an optional practice Friday. “I think when they’re committed to defending — and they’re both very capable in that aspect of the game. I think Vlad is elite defending when he’s committed to defend. And Foxy, I think his ability to defend flies under the radar because everybody looks at the offensive side of this game. But we believe that Foxy is very capable of defending. He’s hockey strong in the puck battles. He uses his brain and his stick skills to win pucks, and he’s competitive.
“I think when those guys are at their best, they’re committed to defend. Their offense always seems to speak for itself. Those are the conversations that we have with them a lot, just reinvesting in that commitment to play defense. And when they do that, they’re a very effective defense pair. They’re excellent.
“That was our hope when we signed Vladi, that we could find a partner for Foxy that would be complementary, that could hopefully set up Foxy for success. And I think that has actually turned out to be the case, that they’ve become a very good pair on both sides of the puck.”
