Category: Sports News

Playing with four call-ups from the Milwaukee Admirals, fresh off four trades and without their top center, the Nashville Predators were led by their youth, seeing Matthew Wood score twice in a 6-3 win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena. 

"Nothing, they do what really surprises me," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. "Right from our leaders, grabbing it and our young kids brought some energy, and it was a good synergy tonight. I'm proud of the group.

"It's been an emotional week for a lot of guys and we stuck together like we have all year." 

Nashville faced a ton of adversity coming into the game, as it had traded Michael McCarron and Cole Smith on Tuesday, Nick Blakenburg on Wednesday and Michael Bunting just hours before its matchup against Boston. 

The Predators were also without Ryan O'Reilly, who was day-to-day with an upper-body injury after he was nicked in the eye by Charlie Coyle's stick in Tuesday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

In response, Nashville called up Ryan Ufko, Reid Schaefer and Fedor Svechkov from the Admirals on Wednesday night.  
"They (the call-ups) brought so much energy," Roman Josi said. "It's been a hard week to see that many guys go and it's a big opportunity for a lot of young guys to get in the lineup, to have a bigger role, play more minutes. We saw tonight that they want to grab it." 
Joakim Kemell was a late call-up on Thursday afternoon. It was a quick turnaround for Kemell as he landed in Nashville at 6:26 p.m. and arrived at Bridgestone Arena a little after 7 p.m.

Despite missing warmups, Kemell was dressed and ready for puck drop. In his first NHL game since October, he logged 16 shifts for 12:24 of ice time and recorded two shot blocks. 

"To jump into those little circumstances, I thought he showed very well. 
Especially in the early parts of the game, for him to come and do that is hard, and it's a credit to him. He wants it. He wants to play and he showed it." 

Nic Hague opened the scoring, sneaking in a one-time slap shot from the point through the five-hole of Joonas Korpisalo to make it 1-0. It was his first goal since Jan. 3 and his third of the season.

Wood notched his first of the night shorthanded in the second period, scoring on a drop pass from Nick Perbix, who intercepted a David Pastrnak pass to spark the breakaway opportunity. 

"I was very fortunate and he (Perbix) made an unbelievable play," Wood said on the goal. "I don't know how he saw me, but I'm glad he did. It was a great pass. I probably won't get many shorties in my career, but there's the first one." 

Boston responded on the power play, but Erik Haula restored a two-goal lead, tipping in a shot from Brady Skjei to make it 3-1. 

Filip Forsberg extended the lead on a wrist shot on the power play. It was his eighth power play goal of the season and 28th of the year. Ufko also recorded his first point as a Predator on a secondary assist. 

Wood found the net for the second time on the night, tipping in a shot from Josi. Thursday was his second career multi-goal game. The first was a 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Nov. 10, where he recorded his first career hat trick. 

ABSOLUTE ROBBERY BY JUUSE SAROS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/by72I5vRaB

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) March 6, 2026

"He's probably, through the middle of the ice, our best player," Brunette said of Wood. "With his deceptiveness, speed and range, he makes plays, and I'm a big proponent of speed through the middle of the ice.

"I know he hasn't played (center) in a few years. I think he was excited to get that opportunity. I thought he's looked really good so far." 

Boston made a push in the third period, getting goals from Charlie McAvoy and Viktor Arvidsson to make it a two-goal game. 

Luke Evangelista added an empty net goal with 2:27 left in the game. 

Juuse Saros made 20 saves on 23 shots, including a highlight reel glove save while falling backwards. It was his 22nd win of the season and first since February 2nd. 

This was the Predators' final game before the trade deadline, which will occur on Friday at 2 p.m. CST. Nashville has traded away all of its pending unrestricted free agents except for two: Haula and Tyson Jost. 

Nashville is on the road on Saturday, taking on the Buffalo Sabres at 4:30 p.m. CST. 

On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins played in their final game prior to the NHL Trade Deadline against the Buffalo Sabres. Going into it, they were second in the Metropolitan Division with 75 points, and they were less than 24 hours away from the 3:00 p.m. deadline on Friday.

And a second-period decision by one of their best players could end up having major consequences for both the team's playoff hopes and for GM and POHO Kyle Dubas on deadline day. 

Early in the second period with the score tied, 1-1, Penguins' foward Evgeni Malkin got tied up with Sabres' defenseman Rasmus Dahlin near Buffalo's goal line. The two exchanged cross-checks, and in frustration, Malkin slashed his stick at Dahlin's jaw area.

The result of the altercation was matching cross-checking minors and a five-minute slashing major for Malkin as well as a game misconduct.

Since Malkin has had a history of stick infractions, it would not be surprising to see supplemental discipline handed to him by the Department of Player Safety. Forward Bryan Rust was suspended three games earlier this season for a hit to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser. 

Pittsburgh next plays Saturday at home against the Philadelphia Flyers, which comes one day after the NHL trade deadline. Penguins' GM and POHO Kyle Dubas said Wednesday that he may look to add a forward and a defenseman, and since the Penguins could possibly be without both Malkin and Sidney Crosby - week-to-week with a lower-body injury - for a length of time, it may force his hand to add a center by 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday.

The 'Chinakhov Template': 10 Penguins' Trade Targets Who Fit The Dubas MoldPittsburgh Penguins GM and POHO Kyle Dubas spoke on Wednesday's 'GM Show' about the types of deals he'll be looking for by Friday's NHL trade deadline - and here are some trade candidates who fit his mold.

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

On trade deadline eve, the Winnipeg Jets hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning in an inter-conference tilt at Canada Life Centre.

The game was the second of Winnipeg's eight-game homestand and proved to be its fifth-straight registering at least a point, as the Jets took care of the Lightning by way of a 4-1 final. 

Thanks to a strong second period that saw goals from Morgan Barron and Mark Scheifele, the Jets pulled to within seven points of the Seattle Kraken for the final spot in the Western Conference Wild Card playoff run. 

Prior to puck drop, the Jets announced the recall of defenceman Isaak Phillips from the AHL. Neither Logan Stanley nor Luke Schenn came out for warmup, signifying the team's interest in protecting the two players in advance of Friday's trade deadline.

With Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk and Colin Miller already injured and out of action, the Jets dressed a defensive corps that included Ville Heinola, Dylan Samberg, Dylan DeMelo, Haydn Fleury, Elias Salomonsson and Isaak Phillips.

“It’s not fun. That’s the business," Scheifele said. "Obviously, I don’t think I’ve been through that in a long time. Something I had to do was refocus before the game. But I was really happy for this group. Philly and Ville, both coming in and playing awesome. Guys stepped up. Fleurs stepped up, Salo has been great. Samby and Smoke stepped in and played awesome, so that was good to see.”

The Jets kept the Bolts in check through the first period, actually maintaining an 8-5 shot lead through 20 minutes of play. 

It was in the second period where they took the lead, blowing the shot chart wide-open, pulling ahead to a 1-0 lead and a +12 differential in shots.

Barron's ninth of the season came late in the period, to which he rebounded home a perfect shot-pass from Cole Koepke on a rush up ice, opening the scoring 35:31 in.

Then, with just 18 seconds left, Scheifele hammered home his 29th of the season. With Kyle Connor executing a perfect forecheck, he dished the puck to Alex Iafallo, who set Scheifele up for the one-time strike. 

Through 40 minutes of play, Winnipeg led 2-0 and held a 22-10 shot advantage.

The third period began slowly for the hosts, which gave up eight-straight shots on goal to start the frame, including Tampa's first of the game - a Brayden Point power play marker, just seven seconds into a Salomonsson high sticking minor.

But the Jets responded with Gustav Nyquist's first goal of the season. Although taking significantly longer to earn his first marker with the Jets than he would have liked, Nyquist picked up the puck off a hard-working shift from Tanner Pearson and Jonathan Toews, who assisted on his first in Winnipeg 5:34 into the third period.

"I mean, it feels great, obviously for the support there," Nyquist said of the cheers after his goal. "I know it's been a long time coming. So, overall, I thought we played a good, really good game all throughout. And then obviously they came out with a push in the third and got the early goal on the power play. And then, so it's nice to put that goal in for 3-1."

Five minutes later, Kyle Connor thought he had the Jets up 4-1, but his goal was called back due to his linemate Scheifele skating in offside before he carried the puck into the Bolts' zone and ripped it past Andrei Vasilevskiy, negating the goal.

With Andrei Vasilevskiy on the bench for the extra attacker, Scheifele made it up to his linemate, handing him the puck on the doorstep, where he sealed the deal into the wide open net, finishing off the visitors with the 4-1 strike. 

“There was no chance I was shooting another puck the rest of the game," Scheifele laughed post-game.

"I was going to do everything in my power to get him that goal back because I was so mad at myself. I was very angry with myself there. That is a loss of focus. You should never go offside in that situation - you should never go offside in general, really. I’m going to hear about that one from Oatsie and from a lot of my buddies, trust me. It won’t be a fun conversation or text I’ll be getting from some of the guys. But yeah, I wasn’t going to shoot another puck until KC got one.”

Hellebuyck finished the night with 26 stops on Tampa Bay's 27 shots, while Vasilevskiy turned aside just 26 of Winnipeg's 29 shots on goal.

Next up for Winnipeg is a test with the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday in a 6:00 PM central Hockey Night in Canada spectacle. 

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Logan Mailloux sat at his locker inside Centene Community Ice Center recently, still catching breath after a good, hard practice for the St. Louis Blues and had this calming ease about him.

He sits down, knows questions are coming, happy to answer them, even though there's gear to sweaty sling off, shower, change and head to the airport for the next road trip.

Remember when the Mailloux-for-Zack Bolduc trade was dubbed the steal of the century for the Montreal Canadiens before allowing these two young 2021 first-round picks to grow into their respective games? Seems like an eternity ago, doesn't it?

Regardless, it's been a challenging, at times arduous, sometimes tough and exhausting, and definitely moments of learning of the past half year since the defenseman arrived in St. Louis, after being dealt to the Blues by the Canadiens on July 1, 2025.

As the great Chris Pronger said in October when Blues fans were already to crucify the young D-man: it takes patience. Give it some time and let's see how it plays out.

We're not anointing the 22-year-old as the next Pronger clone here by any means, but things are certainly looking brighter for the 31st pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Has Mailloux, who scored in his second straight game on Wednesday in a 3-2 win over the Seattle Kraken, turned the corner? He's still got plenty of growing to do, but little by little, he's figuring things out, and quite honestly, he's taken some really nice steps here despite having a way to go. But if you're a Blues fan and the organization for that matter, you have to be pleased with what you've seen from the right-handed blueliner.

With Colton Parayko missing his third game Wednesday because of back spasms, someone had to step up and grab a bigger bite of the apple. Mailloux not only bit it but has inhaled it. He played in a career-best 22:52 on Wednesday and has surpassed 20 or more minutes in all three games playing alongside Cam Fowler.

Unlike earlier in the year when it felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders -- and they still in a sense may be -- and when confidence was scarce, that confidence is growing with each shift, with each touch of the puck, with each defensive play and with more added responsibilities. And with more experience comes more assertiveness, a sense of calm, understanding what to do and staying within himself.

Believe it when Mailloux understood what he was coming into here. He was the guy replacing a budding, young, fan favorite that Blues fans were gravitating towards, and when things weren't going right and even having to leave the team and go refine himself for a bit in Springfield of the American Hockey League, hearing and reading comments that the trade was a disaster because Bolduc had scored in each of his first three games with the Canadiens and was off to a roaring start was naturally on the mind of Mailloux. It's easier to see, hear and read with the world of social media and what the naysayers were were feeling.

"You couldn't let it get to you," Mailloux said. "I knew who I was coming in here for and how passionate these fans are, I've come to see it. You had to block out the noise, put your head down and continue to work. I've come to realize these fans here appreciate hard work and an honest effort every night."

And work he's done as well as put in the effort. Not that it wasn't there before but the execution of it all just didn't come together. But that was then and this is now. How times have changed.

"It's been a roller-coaster year, but I feel like I've been building in the right direction, especially the last couple months," Mailloux said. "I feel bit by bit, I've been growing my game and feeling good about my game for sure."

Why wouldn't he?

In his first five games as a Blue, Mailloux was a minus-9 and really had no real sense of direction of of what to become of himself, and all that is because simply a lack of games played.

The Blues were saying all the right things, including coach Jim Montgomery, who said before the season started that Mailloux was "NHL-ready."

That was wishful thinking obviously. Sure you want to talk yourself into believing it, but the Blues knew they had a project on their hands. But it's safe to say the steps to being NHL ready are finally developing before their very eyes, and it's a pleasant sight to see the confidence starting to shine.

"I feel like I am," Mailloux said. "Obviously confidence is huge. I feel like whether it's with the puck or without the puck, if you're feeling better you're just going to kill more plays, so I think I've just felt pretty good out there.

"The more plays you kill, the more times you're going to have the puck on your stick and stuff like that. I feel like if I can kill plays as quick as I can and do my responsibility in the D-zone, then the more times I get the puck, I'm going to be skating with it more and making more plays."

Mailloux, who has taken it upon himself to be a defensive-minded player to fuel other parts of his game, has shown the knack of taking the stick, being properly positioned and as he mentioned earlier, killing plays. In doing so, the puck's on his stick more, which allows him to make plays.

"He's more assertive and it's just confidence," Montgomery said. "With Parayko out, he's getting more ice time. I don't know how much his ice time has jumped up, I don't know if it's four minutes, if it's more than that, he's getting penalty killing reps. You're just into the rhythm of the game and when you're going right5 back out there, you don't have time to get in your own head about something that might have gone wrong.

"He's starting to take off the same time Bolduc took off last year. Not to be comparable to the trade, but that's what happens. Not everybody comes to this league and is [Macklin] Celebrini. It just doesn't happen. It's the best league in the world, and good players, really talented young players like Logan Mailloux, they're going to figure it out because they're that talented and that competitive."

Teammates see it too.

"Obviously confidence does a lot to a player," captain Brayden Schenn said after Wednesday's game. "Obviously you get rewarded with a few goals, all of the sudden you start seeing the ice differently or making different plays. He's a guy that has lots of skill and talent, the full package. As you get more opportunity, more minutes, you always have to take advantage of it, and right now, he is."

And how the tides have turned. Bolduc hasn't scored in his past 22 games, even being a healthy scratch on Feb. 26, and Mailloux is now played 19 or more minutes in each of the four games after the Olympic break. But this stronger play was coming even before that. However the fan bases look at it, each player is still so young, allow them to grow at their own merits. And Mailloux is figuring out how.

"It's the consistency that you have to bring, whether it's every day in practice or in the games, I feel like you can't take a day off at all," Mailloux said. "You've got to take care of yourself and be ready to go, whether it's every practice day or every game day. I feel like just being able to be consistent kind of night in, night out is definitely the main thing I think.

"When you're playing more minutes, if you ask a lot of guys, it's easier to kind of get into the flow of things and stuff like that. But when you lose a guy like Colton, it kind of takes a committee to replace a guy like that. I don't think it's one guy. It's all of us that have been stepping up and I feel like I've had a bunch of great help from all the guys around here."

Mailloux, who has three goals and two assists in 46 games, is also taking his game back to the offensive side where it was prior to the season. He has 48 shots on goal on the season, but 13 of them have come in the past four games. So not only is he honing in on the defensive side that's leading to more offense, but he's not deferring pucks as often as perhaps earlier in the season

"I've definitely taken more of a shooting mindset," Mailloux said. "I feel like that's one of my assets is my shot. I'm going to try and use it. If I get the opportunity, I've got to take it."

Despite the 13 shots in four games, Montgomery said he can still shoot the puck more.

"Yes he can. He can. He needs to be shot-ready even more," Montgomery said. "He's got a really good one-timer, but he only used the one-timer when he's up. We want him to pound it when he's on his strong side as a defenseman even more. Kind of like you see [Justin] Faulk do.

"I think it's just not having practiced it enough, not understanding what that shot gives the team offensively. In junior hockey, American (Hockey) League, you have more time to get that puck and walk middle, stick-handle and let it go. In this league if you do that, the lane's closed and now you've got to throw it back behind the goal line."

Mailloux credits having a mentor-type in Fowler as his partner, someone with over 1,100 games' worth of experience that's guided him through the trials and tribulations of growing into the player he can be.

"He's the best," Mailloux said. "I really like him. I really like playing with him. I feel like he controls the game so well. He can slow it down, speed it up and I just am kind of able to bounce ideas off of him, what he saw or what he thinks. He's definitely been big for me."

Even though it's a sample size that Mailloux and the Blues would like to see more of, he's not going to be content. There's still plenty of work -- and learning -- left.

"Just put my head down and continue to work hard, keep gaining confidence and keep plugging away," Mailloux said. "It does feel like I'm absorbing things more cleaner and better now. I just have to working at it and put that effort in.

"The one thing I've learned is you can't look back. Just put your head down and put your best foot forward, and that's what I'm going to try and keep doing."

BREAKING NEWS: Colton Parayko Invokes No-Trade Clause, Nixing Deal To SabresBlues defenseman, who has four-plus years remaining on contract, has full no-trade clause through 2028, decided to nix potential deal to Buffalo Sabres

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The Winnipeg Jets and Buffalo Sabres are reportedly discussing a deal that could send defenseman Logan Stanley to Buffalo, with veteran blueliner Luke Schenn potentially included in the package. According to early reporting from Fourth Period's Dave Pagnotta, the two teams are engaged in advanced discussions.

The potential move would align with Buffalo’s recent efforts to strengthen its blue line as the Sabres explored a trade for Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, but the deal ultimately fell through when Parayko declined to waive his no-move clause on Thursday. With that option off the table, Buffalo appears to be evaluating other defensemen who could provide size and stability to its back end.

Things happen fast… quick update. Per sources, Sabres are working on a trade to acquire BOTH Schenn and Logan Stanley from Winnipeg. https://t.co/BFEoSyfFVF

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) March 6, 2026

Stanley, 27, has emerged as one of Winnipeg’s most productive defensemen this season. The Kitchener, Ontario native is in the midst of a career year, recording nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 59 games.

His breakout campaign has made him an appealing trade target around the league, particularly given his ability to handle significant minutes while playing under a very manageable cap hit. Stanley is averaging just over 17 minutes of ice time per game and carries a cap hit of $1.25 million. Over the course of his NHL career, he has appeared in 261 games with 14 goals and 43 assists.

Schenn, 36, could also be part of the discussions according to early rumours surrounding the negotiations. This season he has recorded one goal and seven points in 46 games while providing a physical presence through hits and shot blocking. The veteran defenseman brings a wealth of experience, including two Stanley Cup championships across a career that has spanned more than 1,100 NHL games.

Despite the growing speculation, no official confirmation has emerged from league insiders or the teams themselves. However, with the deadline rapidly approaching, trades involving Stanley and Schenn will likely materialze before Friday's trade deadline.

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.