Category: Sports News

Three games into his NHL career, Adam Sykora doesn’t appear to have an “off” button. 

The 21-year-old has been an absolute ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark and gloomy Rangers season from the moment he arrived in New York. A smile has yet to leave his face. He would burst if he didn’t express the abundance of gratitude that has filled him since earning this opportunity. 

More than that, Sykora has left his fingerprints on each of his first three games in more ways than one. 

“I don’t know if you guys can see it, but his energy is unmatched,” Conor Sheary said of Sykora. “He’s constantly up on his feet. He’s banging his stick. He’s just, I mean, with all these guys, but especially him, he just brings an energy that’s contagious. He’s fun to be around, fun to play with.”

Sykora scored his second goal in as many games in a 3-1 win over the Panthers on Sunday afternoon, tipping an Adam Fox shot past Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for the 1-0 lead relatively early in the second period. 

It came not long after Sykora engaged in his “first-ever fight in my life” with the Panthers’ Luke Kunin. 

Based on Sykora’s goal celebration — jumping into the boards with an open-mouth smile — you would’ve thought it was his first. Though it’s possible the Slovak wing will never lose this level of enthusiasm. 

“I feel [my] confidence might go up a little bit just playing more with the puck and just kind of settle things down,” Sykora said. “I’m never going to change anything on my game. Just still play simple. Have a good stick on the forecheck. Play through people. Be alive on the bench. Those kinds of things I want to bring to this team, and I’ll try my best.”

#NYR Adam Sýkora confirmed it was his "first ever fight in my life" today in win over Panthers:

"I don't want to drop the gloves. I still got to watch it. I don't know what happened there, but, yeah, I just try to bring everything every day. Sometimes, these things happen too." pic.twitter.com/WHctNXCPX9

— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) March 29, 2026

Continuing to skate on the right wing of Vincent Trocheck and Will Cuylle, Sykora has racked up two goals on seven shots while averaging 12:31 of ice time per game so far. 

The production is welcome, but Sykora’s personality is one that has brought the Rangers lineup back to life. 

“It’s hard not to like that guy,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “The energy that he exudes, I don’t think he’s ever had a bad day in his life. He’s a fun guy to be around, but his work ethic, his attitude, the energy he brings is contagious. He’s an easy guy to root for, I can tell you that.”

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND RANGERS STATS

Noah Laba returned to the Rangers lineup for the first time since March 18, when the rookie was sidelined with a lower-body injury for five straight games. 

While centering the fourth line between Jonny Brodzinski and Jaroslav Chmelar, Laba assisted on Sykora’s goal in his 66th game of the season. 

“I thought he was good,” Sullivan said. “The biggest thing that I think he adds to our lineup is size and speed. He’s pretty good in the faceoff circle. He can kill penalties, but he can skate. His north-south game is good. We played him today with [Chmelar] and Jonny Brodzinski. I thought that line was excellent all night long.” 

Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced in his 23rd win of the season Sunday afternoon against the Panthers. 

Juuso Parssinen was returned to Hartford on Saturday. The Finnish center was a healthy scratch in seven of the past eight games. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins got some reinforcements at practice on Sunday.

Both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin returned to practice after missing Saturday's game against the Dallas Stars. Crosby left during Thursday's game against the Ottawa Senators with a lower-body injury and didn't return.

Malkin has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury he suffered during last Sunday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes. He took a shot off his hand and was trying to shake it off for the rest of the game. He finished that contest before the Penguins announced that he was day-to-day. 

Here's what the practice lines looked like on Sunday:

Forwards

Mantha-Crosby-Rakell

Chinakhov-Novak-Malkin

McGroarty-Kindel-Brazeau

Soderblom-Dewar-Koivunen

Defensive pairs

Wotherspoon-Karlsson

Girard-Letang

Shea-Clifton

- Ryan Graves and Ilya Solovyov were skating on a fourth pair with Jack St. Ivany. Bryan Rust and Noel Acciari missed practice due to maintenance days. Both players got a little banged up during Sunday's game.  

- Crosby and Malkin took contact during practice, but their status for Monday's game against the New York Islanders remains uncertain. Crosby traveled with the team to Long Island on Sunday, but nobody knows for sure if Malkin did yet. He stayed on the ice for a bit after practice ended. 

- If the Penguins can get both Crosby and Malkin back for Monday's game, it would go a long way towards their chances of securing two points. Heck, even if it's only Crosby who returns, it would be huge. This is a good team when healthy, but they've been banged up so much throughout the season that we haven't been able to see them at full strength for long stretches. 

Takeaways: Penalties Costly As Penguins Lose Key Game In Regulation To Dallas StarsThe Pittsburgh Penguins remain in a playoff spot by the skin of their teeth after a regulation loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

- I'm going to say this in Monday's preview, but I'll say it here first: The game against the Islanders will be the Penguins' biggest game in two years. They're in the fight for their lives to make the playoffs, and a win would vault them into second place in the Metropolitan Division. It's one of their last divisional games of the season, and it comes with so much on the line. The Islanders are one point ahead of them going into this contest. 

- I'd like to see Justin Brazeau get going down the stretch. I know his hot start to the season wasn't sustainable, but he has scored only two goals in his last 21 games and hasn't scored since Mar. 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights. A big goal or two would go a long way for his confidence and the team as the Penguins try to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

- The Eastern Conference standings have gotten even tighter heading into this week. The Penguins are only one point up on the Columbus Blue Jackets and two points up on the Philadelphia Flyers. This is going to be an insane finish to the season before the playoffs start the weekend of Apr. 18. 

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!  

The Chicago Blackhawks have had a rough go on their East Coast road trip. They earned a win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday, but they would not say that they played particularly well. They found a way to hang onto their built-up lead, but their play was a sign of things to come. 

The back-to-back on Thursday and Friday against the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers was a disaster for Chicago. They lost both by a combined score of 11-2. 

This game went a little differently. The Blackhawks played well to open the game. They looked like the team that had a day off, while the Devils looked like they played one night prior (loss to the Carolina Hurricanes). 

Early on, New Jersey goalie Jake Allen gave the puck away to Anton Frondell behind the net, and he found Ilya Mikheyev, who scored one of the easiest goals he'll ever score to make it 1-0. 

The Devils tied it just after the halfway point of the first period, as Connor Brown tipped in a Luke Hughes shot. Just under two minutes later, however, Frank Nazar regained the lead for the Blackhawks with his 13th goal of the season. That 2-1 score held through the first intermission. 

In the second period, the Devils severely outplayed the Blackhawks. New Jersey outshot Chicago 16-5, but thanks to Spencer Knight, only one goal was scored. Simon Nemec's game-tying goal made it 2-2. 

The final frame was a back-and-forth affair. Penalties had something to do with that, as the Blackhawks took a 3-2 lead with a two-man advantage. Frank Nazar completed a pretty passing play with him, Connor Bedard, and Anton Frondell for his second of the game. 

At that point, it looked like the Blackhawks were going to skate away with a win. Sometimes, coming up with that extra goal to reward a goalie is needed for the dressing room. 

That would not be the case in this one, as Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils took over from there. Working with one assist already, Hughes set up a snipe by Dougie Hamilton to tie things up at 3. His cross-ice feed gave Hamilton all the room he needed to challenge Knight's far side. 

Just 19 seconds later, Jack Hughes scored a goal of his own to give the Devils a 4-3 lead. To seal the deal, he threw one into an empty net to seal a 5-3 Devils win. 

In yet another game in which the Blackhawks gave up 40 shots, Spencer Knight kept them in it with 35 saves. Both Chicago goalies have been excellent, but the young defense in front of them is living up to their age and inexperience. 

Three young forwards presented a positive for the Blackhawks in this game. For one, Connor Bedard's 68th point set a new career high. He would have blown past that a while ago if he had never hurt his shoulder, but he has 8 games to build on that and go into next year ready to take another step. 

Frank Nazar's first career multi-goal game set and extended a new career high in goals. When he's going strong, the Blackhawks are a stronger team in all three zones and on special teams, and he's been going strong for the last couple of weeks. 

Anton Frondell had two assists in this game. It was his first career multi-point game, and he now has four points in four games played. He possesses a big shot, but he is still searching for his first goal to go with four assists. Based on his play, it won't be long before he finds that goal. 

This game was an improvement over the first three on the road trip, despite the loss. They played better and competed much harder. Spencer Knight masked some mistakes, but this is all a part of their process. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

from 0 to 95 in no time 🏁 pic.twitter.com/cgOKYp7XU3

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 29, 2026

scoring a goal, but it's #frankswaypic.twitter.com/6sUcTyWHiM

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 29, 2026

FRANK NAZAR'S ✌️ OF THE NIGHT!!!

A slick fake shot from Anton Frondell helps start the play! pic.twitter.com/rAhemm1VGf

— NHL (@NHL) March 30, 2026

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Chicago Blackhawks will be back in action again on Tuesday night when they will be back at the United Center to take on Jonathan Toews and the Winnipeg Jets. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Adam Sykora broke a scoreless tie early in the third period and Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves and the New York Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Sunday.

Sykora, a rookie who was a second-round pick in 2022, scored his second goal of the season at 5:10, tipping Adam Fox’s shot past Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Conor Sheary then scored his fifth of the season — on a short-handed breakaway — at 11:14 before Fox added an empty-netter at 16:06.

Sykora also scored in the Rangers’ 6-1 win against Chicago on Friday. The Rangers are just 11-18-7 at home this season.

Florida’s Mackie Samoskevich scored with 40.2 seconds left to end Shesterkin’s shutout bid.

LIGHTNING 3, PREDATORS 2

NASHVILLE (AP) — Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists while Corey Perry broke a third-period tie to give Tampa Bay a victory against Nashville to move into first place in the Atlantic Division.

Brandon Hagel also scored for the Lightning, who improved to 6-0-2 in the past eight games. Guentzel has scored in four consecutive games.

Jonas Johansson finished with 29 saves.

Joakim Kemell and Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators who hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference despite three consecutive losses. Justus Annunen finished with 25 saves.

CANADIENS 3, HURRICANES 1

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Nick Suzuki scored two goals and had an assist to lead Montreal to a win over Carolina.

Suzuki fueled a three-goal second period for the Canadiens, who have won five straight and won all three regular-season games against the Eastern Conference-leading Hurricanes.

Cole Caufield added a goal and assist for Montreal and goalie Jakub Dobes made 34 saves in his third win of the season over the Hurricanes.

Andrei Svechnikov scored for the Hurricanes, and Frederik Andersen stopped 15 shots.

BRUINS 4, BLUE JACKETS 3, SO

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Viktor Arvidsson scored the decisive goal in the shootout and had three assists in the third period as Boston rallied from a three-goal, third-period deficit to defeat Columbus.

It is the ninth time in franchise history the Bruins have posted a three-goal, third-period comeback, and the first since March 13, 2018, when they defeated Carolina 6-4.

Fraser Minten also scored in the shootout for the Bruins, who have won three straight and five of six. The victory also kept Boston in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 92 points.

Pavel Zacha had two power-play goals — including the tying score with 11 seconds remaining — and an assist while Charlie McAvoy had a goal and an assist. Jeremy Swayman stopped 21 shots.

DEVILS 5, BLACKHAWKS 3

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes scored 19 seconds apart late in the third period and Jake Allen made 28 saves as New Jersey rallied to defeat Chicago.

With New Jersey trailing 3-2, Hamilton scored at 14:32 before Hughes scored at 14:51 to put the home team ahead and electrify the Prudential Center crowd. Hughes — who also had two assists — added his 22nd goal of the season into an empty net with 31 seconds left.

Connor Brown and Simon Nemec also scored for New Jersey, which has won six of its last eight games.

With the Blackhawks on a 5-on-3 advantage, Frank Nazar rifled a pass from Connor Bedard past Allen at 10:51 of the third for his second goal of the night. Ilya Mikheyev also scored for Chicago, which ended its four-game trip with a third-straight loss after resounding defeats to the Flyers and Rangers.

FLYERS 2, STARS 1, OT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trevor Zegras wristed a sharp-angle shot past Casey DeSmith with 1:33 remaining in overtime, leading hard-charging Philadelphia to a victory over slumping Dallas.

Travis Konecny scored in regulation for the Flyers, who are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. With 86 points, they pulled within two of both Columbus — which is in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference — and Pittsburgh — which is in third place in the Metropolitan Division. Samuel Ersson made 17 saves.

Rookie Arttu Hyry, playing his sixth game since being recalled from Dallas’ AHL affiliate, scored the lone goal for the Stars, who are in second place in the Central Division but have lost five of their last six. DeSmith finished with 28 saves.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes scored 19 seconds apart late in the third period and Jake Allen made 28 saves as the New Jersey Devils rallied to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Sunday night.

With New Jersey trailing 3-2, Hamilton scored at 14:32 before Hughes scored at 14:51 to put the home team ahead and electrify the Prudential Center crowd. Hughes — who also had two assists — added his 22nd goal of the season into an empty net with 31 seconds left.

Connor Brown and Simon Nemec also scored for New Jersey, which has won six of its last eight games.

With the Blackhawks on a 5-on-3 advantage, Frank Nazar rifled a pass from Connor Bedard past Allen at 10:51 of the third for his second goal of the night. Ilya Mikheyev also scored for Chicago, which ended its four-game trip with a third-straight loss after resounding defeats to the Flyers and Rangers.

Mikheyev started the scoring with his 15th goal at 4:19 of the first.

Brown tied it with his 15th goal at 11:15.

Nazar put the visitors ahead 2-1 at 13:11 of the first. A first-round pick by Chicago in 2022, Nazar was one of 11 players on the Blackhawks roster on Sunday age 23 or younger.

Nemec tied the contest 2-2 at 15:48 of the second with his 11th goal of the season, assisted by Dawson Mercer who was playing his 401st consecutive game to tie Travis Zajac for the franchise record.

Chicago will miss the postseason for the sixth-straight season.

Spencer Knight made 35 saves in defeat.

New Jersey is 10 points behind Columbus for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining.

Devils captain Nico Hischier played his 600th career game. The 27-year-old forward from Switzerland was the first overall pick by New Jersey in the 2017 draft.

Up next

Blackhawks: Host Winnipeg on Tuesday.

Devils: Visit Rangers on Tuesday.

The Buffalo Sabres appeared to be headed for another loss during on four-game homestand against the Seattle Kraken, falling behind 2-0  in the second period, but the goaltending of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and goals by Rasmus Dahlin and Peyton Krebs evened the score, and perfection from the Sabres goalie in the shootout earned the club a 3-2 victory on Saturday and kept Buffalo temporarily in top spot in the Atlantic Division. 

"I thought we got a heck of a night from our goaltender, because I thought defensively, we made some big mistakes. We put (Seattle) in a position to probably score four or five, but I thought UPL was really good for us." Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "We gave them a breakaway at the start of the second period on really a nothing play. We gave another three-on-one; we already had a D pinched in. Those are the things that we hadn't been doing.”

The victory ended the Sabres three-game losing skid, their longest since early December, just prior to the firing of GM Kevyn Adams and the club’s 10-game winning streak. Overtime losses to Anaheim and Boston, and a regulation loss to Detroit on Friday, allowed the Tampa Bay Lightning to gain ground in the Atlantic race.  

Other Sabres Stories

Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere

The Lightning were without likely Hart Trophy finalist Nikita Kucherov (illness) on the weekend, but they were able to post home victories over Ottawa and Nashville. Tampa and Buffalo are tied with 98 points, but the Lightning have a game in hand and more ROW (regulation and overtime wins). The two clubs face each other at KeyBank Center on April 6, in the most anticipated game of the season after the melee-filled 8-7 Sabres victory earlier this month. 

In league news, former Sabres assistant and Rochester head coach John Tortorella is back amongst the employed, as the Vegas Golden Knights fired head coach Bruce Cassidy on Sunday. Tortorella was relieved of his duties in Philadelphia late last season and was working as an analyst for ESPN. The Golden Knights, who the Sabres shut out 2-0 on St. Patrick’s Day in Vegas, have struggled in spite of an excellent season from former Sabres captain Jack Eichel. They have fallen to third place in the Pacific and are just four points up in the Western Conference playoff race with just over two weeks to go in the regular season.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo

New Jersey Devils forward Evgenii Dadonov recorded his first point of the season in the team's 72nd game. ​

With 23 seconds left in a 5-2 loss to the Hurricanes, Dadonov scored his first goal as a Devil, the team's second of the game. ​

Dadonov, 37, has battled injuries, playing only 20 games after joining the Devils as a free agent on July 1, 2025. ​Dadonov has signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the team.

​The Florida Panthers drafted Dadonov 71st overall in the 2007 NHL Draft.

​In his 13 years in the NHL, he has played a total of 637 games, tallying 362 points. He has played for the Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, and Montreal Canadiens.

​Injuries, time on Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR), healthy scratches, and waivers have limited Dadonov this season. ​

Game 73 #NJDevils  Lineup:
Meier - Hischier - Mercer
Bratt - Hughes - Brown
Dadonov - Glass - Hämeenaho
Cotter - Bjugstad - Tsyplakov

Siegenthaler - Hamilton
Hughes - Kovacevic
Dillon - Nemec

Allen

— Kristy Flannery (@InStilettos_NHL) March 29, 2026

Sunday’s matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks had Dadonov in the projected lineup. ​The Devils have nine games remaining on their 2025-26 schedule. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

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

The Nashville Predators struggled to hold off the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, falling 3-2 for their third straight loss. The stretch also opens up a six-game road trip.

Filip Forsberg had tied the game early in the third period, tipping in a shot from Fedor Svechkov, but the Lightning responded two minutes later with a tap-in from Corey Perry, which ended up being the game-winning goal.

Nashville had a better start, outshooting Tampa, 10-1, in the first period and went on the power play four times. However, the power play unit went 0-for-4 on the night. 

*pats on head*

Nicely done Kemmy! pic.twitter.com/hUEVyPabb7

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) March 29, 2026

Joakim Kemell scored his first career NHL goal as he was taken down by Erik Cernak while driving to the net, and the puck deflected off Kemell into the net. It gave Nashville a 1-0 lead in the second period. 

Jake Gientzel scored to tie the game in the second and Brandon Hagle gave the Lightning their first lead of the game early in the third period. 

Justus Annunen made 25 saves on 28 shots, falling to 8-11-2 on the year. 

With none of the Predators' Wild Card competition playing on Sunday, they will remain in the final Wild Card spot with 77 points.

Nashville won't play again until Thursday, against the Kings in Los Angeles at 9:30 p.m. CST. LA, who trails the Predators by just 1 point, will play the Blues at home on Wednesday.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Nick Suzuki scored two goals and had an assist to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.

Suzuki fueled a three-goal second period for the Canadiens, who have won five straight and won all three regular-season games against the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes.

Cole Caufield added a goal and assist for Montreal and goalie Jakub Dobes made 34 saves in his third win of the season over the Hurricanes.

Andrei Svechnikov scored for the Hurricanes, and Frederik Andersen stopped 15 shots.

Suzuki tied the game 1-1 by beating a diving Sean Walker to the net at 6:18 in the second period.

After a Dobes’ glove save on Jordan Staal with 3:13 left in the period, Caufield made it 2-1 after Suzuki drew two defenders to the left circle and gave Caufield a clean look at Andersen.

Montreal scored on the power play after a tripping penalty was called on Eric Robinson with 15 seconds left in the period.

Suzuki leads the Canadiens with 91 points. He has five goals and 12 assists in the past 10 games as Montreal vies for position in a tight playoff race in the Atlantic Division.

Svechnikov gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 8:37 in the first period. It was the eighth power-play goal in 16 opportunities for the Hurricanes but they went 0 for 2 the rest of the game.

The Hurricanes have won four of their last six game with both losses to Montreal.

Up next

Canadiens: At Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

Hurricanes: Visit Columbus on Tuesday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl