LOS ANGELES — The Islanders may have just had the worst run in Southern California since Magic Johnson tried hosting late-night television.

After 5-1 in Anaheim came 5-3 in Los Angeles on Trade Deadline Eve, as the Islanders fell to the Kings on Thursday in a game where they were completely overmatched from the jump. As messages to management go, this was one Mathieu Darche would probably like to erase.

One bad game was something the Islanders could wave away off the heels of a five-game winning streak. Two is a harder sell.

“It’s a wake-up call for us that we still have a lot of work to do,” said Bo Horvat, whose line has been a shell of its usual shelf so far on this trip. “We still have to play confident, good hockey in order to make the playoffs.”

It is easier to list the couple positives for the Islanders on Thursday than the many, many things that went wrong.

Ryan Pulock was back from injury, and going 8:35 without allowing an empty-net goal was fairly impressive. That is, pretty much, it.

The Islanders turned pucks over, they had no net presence on either side of the ice, they were anemic on the power play.

They have yet to come out of a first period without trailing since the Olympic break, and Thursday was their worst start yet, as the Isles were outshot 19-5 and barely touched the puck.

“I wasn’t surprised the way they came out,” Roy said. “We talked about it. We knew it was the second game for their new coach, and they lost against Colorado.”

Of course, Roy’s team also lost on Wednesday and should have had plenty of motivation.

Somehow, they were still within arm’s length going into the third period thanks to Horvat scoring in, literally, the final second of the second period. After one second was put back onto the clock, Horvat whipped one in from above the left circle off a faceoff to bring the Islanders within 3-1.

The momentum proved fleeting.

The Islanders and Kings ended up trading goals throughout the third, with the deficit never getting below two as Alex Laferriere, Adam Pelech, Adrian Kempe and Emil Heineman all added to the scoresheet.

There is just no way to come back down three goals without being much, much better around the crease and below the hash marks than the Islanders were on Thursday. Let alone when giving the opponent free access through the neutral zone.

Come to think of it, forget coming back, it’s hard to win a game at all under those conditions.

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• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NHL STANDINGS AND ISLANDERS STATS

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“In the games where we came back, the previous five games, we were getting to the [dirty] areas, creating more havoc our front,” Horvat told The Post. “These last two games, we’re trying to be too pretty. It’s kind of backfired on us. We got to get back to being more simple.”

Horvat’s commentary on his own line, which was on for two goals against and made little positive impact for the second straight night, was just as scathing.

“Right now we’re trying to make something out of nothing,” he said. “We got to be a heck of a lot better in order for our team to win here. My line has to step up in bigger ways and create offense. And be reliable in our own end too. We have to be a lot better than we have been the last two games.”

Making matters worse was that, aside from JG Pageau’s line, pretty much the entire lineup has had a brutal two nights.

The fourth line, which can usually generate some kind of a forecheck, didn’t have much in the tank and Kyle MacLean committed a brutal turnover leading to the Kings’ second goal, via Samuel Helenius.

The second line has been a total nonfactor two straight nights and looks an obvious candidate to be broken up.

Pelech turned it over leading to Mikey Anderson’s third goal just 1:31 later.

Scott Mayfield has had a tough two games and though Matthew Schaefer is beyond any serious criticism, the superstar rookie hasn’t looked like his usual self in either game out West.

Maybe there is something in the air in this building, where the Islanders haven’t won since 2018. Or maybe it is Southern California in general, even though the smog is largely a thing of the past.

Either way, the Islanders will be glad to get out of here.

It’s a good thing the Islanders managed three dramatic comeback wins coming out of the Olympic break, because then they headed to southern California and played like doodoo. Actually, their starts and play in SoCal wasn’t that much different from the prior three games, just the bounces and outcomes were a little different.

They followed up a 5-1 loss in Anaheim with a 5-3 loss to the Kings in Los Angeles Thursday. For moments, I had Scott Gordon Era flashbacks, staying up late to watch depressing performances on the West Coast and questioning life choices.

However, this one also had a distinctly Patrick Roy flavor, with a very early goalie pull that provided some surrealist entertainment for the final 8:30 of the game.

[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]

Things got off to a weird start when Ilya Sorokin lost his stick in an encounter with Anze Kopitar, and no Islander bothered to sweep it back to him. Even after the Islanders cleared the zone once and the Kings had the puck at their own blueline with all five Isles skaters between them and Sorokin, no one bothered to retrieve the goal stick from the corner.

Sorokin made a couple of sterling, groin-defying saves without his stick, but then they left Artemi Panarin all alone in front, and the Russian was patient in beating his countryman (no)stick side.

This is just frustrating to see. What the hell were they doing and thinking?

Patience pays off for Panarin 🍞

Watch Islanders-Kings on ESPN and the ESPN App 🍿 pic.twitter.com/XY7zSz8yyL

— ESPN (@espn) March 6, 2026

In DJ Smith’s second game as interim head coach, the Kings committed two too many men penalties in the second period, one with six skaters and one with seven(!). During an in-game interview, Smith took the heat for it while noting “one by the D, one by the forwards” as too eager to get on.

But what’s the risk? The Islanders power play, rarely inspiring, was downright abysmal. The Kings had the best scoring chances on both advantages.

Meanwhile, the defense continues to be mind-boggling, too:

This can’t happen. Like ever. pic.twitter.com/Fnhsg4pmtg

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) March 6, 2026

Speaking of which, the Kings made it 2-0 late in the second period with the Islanders coverage scrambling all over the place. Carson Soucy was bodied off the puck, did well enough (maybe?) to reach and poke the puck around the boards, but it was intercepted, and Soucy spent the intervening time complaining to the ref while covering no one.

Within a couple minutes, it was 3-0.

The Islanders would get one more power play to try to get back into the game, and while they at least gained the zone a few times — progress! — they still posed no threats.

HOWEVER…a J-G Pageau faceoff win and a Bo Horvat bullet led to the all-too-rare faceoff goal with 0.2 seconds left on the clock. Horvat put everything into the shot and whipped it in off the far post. Impressive.

At least Bo Horvat gives a shit to shoot pic.twitter.com/mUjFjwTZ0e

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) March 6, 2026

The Islanders followed that up by coming out in the third with a little more pep, but Veteran Experienced Ondrej Palat took an offensive zone slashing penalty, and the Kings cashed in on the ensuing power play to make it 4-1 just 2:30 into the period.

Then Ilya Sorokin sailed a puck over the glass to put the Kings on the power play again, and it looked like we were in for more pain. But that was a failure of the imagination, because I neglected to envision the classic Pageau-Adam Pelech shorthanded 2-on-1, which Pelech finished like an opportunistic sniper to cut the lead to 4-2.

Adam Pelech just scored shorthanded lmao pic.twitter.com/VEwXrXM7ha

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) March 6, 2026

Did that make it a game again? It did not. A 3-on-2-ish from the Kings four minutes later restored the three-goal lead.

Patrick Roy pulled Sorokin for a sixth attacker with over eight minutes left, which provided some late-night entertainment at least. The Islanders mostly controlled the puck and were able to make some goal-saving blocks on Kings empty-net tries.

With 1:59 left and after a few more blocked empty-net tries, the Isles finally got one through. Matthew Schaefer’s point shot was deflected by Emil Heineman past Darcy Kuemper to make it 5-3.

That’s where things would finish, after one final empty-net block by Schaefer. Sorokin got himself a nice long rest. The Isles got zero points from their southern tour.

Up Next

The trade deadline, and then a visit to San Jose Saturday to complete the California swing.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Artemi Panarin scored his first goal in a Kings uniform, and Los Angeles beat the New York Islanders 5-3 on Thursday night for the club’s first victory under interim head coach D.J. Smith.

Panarin, Mikey Anderson and Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist apiece for the Kings, and Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves. Samuel Helenius and Alex Laferriere also scored in just Los Angeles’ second victory since January.

Kings captain Anze Kopitar had an assist while playing his 1,500th game, becoming the 25th player in NHL history to hit the mark. The Slovenian center, who is retiring this spring after 20 seasons in Los Angeles, is just five points away from passing Marcel Dionne to become the Kings’ career scoring leader.

Bo Horvat scored an improbable goal off a faceoff taken with a second left in the second period for the Islanders, but it didn’t prevent a second straight blowout loss for New York in Southern California.

Adam Pelech scored the second short-handed goal of his 11-year career and Ilya Sorokin stopped 30 shots for the Isles, who had won five straight before losing to Anaheim and Los Angeles by a combined 10-4 over the past two nights.
Emil Heineman scored with 1:59 to play while Sorokin was pulled for the final 8 1/2 minutes of the third period.

Smith replaced Jim Hiller on Sunday after the Kings’ slump took them out of playoff position. Los Angeles played decently in his debut while losing to NHL-leading Colorado on Monday.

Panarin had three assists in his first four games with the Kings, who acquired the Russian star from the Rangers and signed him to a $22 million contract extension a month ago.

Panarin finally got his first Kings goal 3:17 after the opening faceoff when Kopitar found him utterly unmarked 10 feet from Sorokin. He also secured his 10th career 20-goal season.

Down 3-0, the Islanders finally scored on an unbelievable play: With one second showing on the clock, Jean-Gabriel Pageau won a faceoff straight to Horvat, who whipped a perfect one-timer past Kuemper’s pad for his 26th goal.

Up next

Islanders: At San Jose on Saturday.

Kings: Host Montreal on Saturday.

After talks picked up towards the beginning of this week, the Vancouver Canucks have officially traded Conor Garland. The forward, who spent five seasons with the Canucks, has been sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a second-round pick in 2028 and a third-round pick in 2026. Garland finishes his time in Vancouver with 82 goals scored and 139 assists in 371 games. 

Aside from the 2025–26 season, Garland has consistently been a 45–50-point player for the Canucks since being acquired via trade in 2021. He recorded a career-high in points in 2021–22, scoring 19 goals and 33 assists in 77 games. Last year, he registered his second career 50-point season. 

Garland is a valuable player for any team — contending or not — due to his ability to provide offence, help drive a line, and kill penalties if needed. Many teams will likely find him best suited for an energy role, which he often provides night-in and night-out. 

Discussions around a potential Garland trade picked up when Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reported that the New York Islanders were engaging in conversations revolving around the forward. Things escalated on Thursday when Pierre LeBrun of TSN, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV, and Jimmy Murphy of RG all confirmed multiple teams’ interest in acquiring Garland. Interested teams at the time included the Islanders, Blue Jackets, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils, and San Jose Sharks. 

With this trade, Vancouver now has multiple second-round picks in the next three NHL drafts. They also have two first-round picks in this year's draft and two fourth-round selections in the next three after 2026. 

Vancouver will face the Chicago Blackhawks later tonight in what will be their first game without Garland on the team since 2021. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:30 pm PT. 

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

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site: 

Report: Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Vancouver Canucks Forward Conor Garland Ahead Of The 2026 Trade Deadline

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Canucks Trade Longtime Defenceman Jett Woo To The San Jose Sharks

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CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Dylan Cozens scored a power-play goal 6:33 into the third period to snap a tie and lift the Ottawa Senators to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.

Brady Tkachuk found Cozens alone in front and he beat Devin Cooley on the blocker side to give the Senators a 2-1 lead. Tim Stutzle and Shane Pinto added empty-netters for the final score. Lars Eller also had a goal as the Senators, who are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games, moved within four points of the Boston Bruins for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Eller’s goal ended a 34-game goalless drought. His last goal came on Oct. 30 against Calgary.

Linus Ullmark made 19 stops to improve to 8-0-3 in his last 11 decisions.

Martin Pospisil scored his first goal of the season for Calgary and Cooley made 33 saves.

Ottawa has been strong of late with the man advantage, entering the game 5 for 12 over its previous five games. The Senators finished 1 for 4 against Calgary.

Down 2-1, the Flames got a power play of their own with just over three minutes to go in the third period. But Stutzle intercepted Yegor Sharangovich's pass and scored into the empty net to put the game on ice.

Stutzle extended his point streak to 11 games (seven goals, eight assists).

The loss dropped the Flames to 31st overall in the league standings, ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks. Calgary is 0-3-1 in its last four games.

Up next

Senators: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.

Flames: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

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

The Calgary Flames dropped a 4–1 decision to the Ottawa Senators Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, in a game where strong goaltending kept Calgary within reach but Ottawa capitalized when it mattered most.

It was the Flames’ first game without veteran defenceman MacKenzie Weegar after he was dealt to the Utah Mammoth the night before, leaving Calgary’s blue line noticeably shorthanded.

The Senators pushed the pace early, applying pressure in the opening minutes, but Flames goaltender Devin Cooley held firm. He turned aside all eight shots he faced in the first period and came up with a key pad save in the final minute to keep the game scoreless.

Calgary broke through late in the frame. Rookie Matvei Gridin tracked down a loose puck and slid it across to Martin Pospisil, who tucked it past Linus Ullmark at 17:04 for his first goal of the season.

The Flames carried a 1–0 lead into the intermission.

Ottawa responded midway through the second. At 9:35, Ridly Greig found Lars Eller in the slot, and the veteran forward blasted a one-timer past Cooley to even the game 1–1.

The remainder of the period featured tight checking and solid goaltending at both ends, sending the teams into the third period deadlocked.

Special teams made the difference in the final frame.

After drawing multiple penalties, Ottawa converted on their second power-play opportunity. During a battle along the boards, Brady Tkachuk dug the puck free and spotted Dylan Cozens alone in the slot. Cozens quickly picked his corner and snapped the puck past Cooley at 6:33 to give the Senators their first lead of the night.

With Calgary pressing late and the net empty, Tim Stützle sealed the victory with an empty-net goal, extending his point streak to 11 games and Shane Pinto scored again into the empty net securing the 4–1 Ottawa win.

Three Takeaways

1. Cooley making his case

Even in a loss, Devin Cooley looked composed and confident, making 35 saves. The Flames netminder made several timely saves and kept Calgary within striking distance throughout the game. Performances like this suggest he could be pushing for a larger role moving forward, and the Saddledome crowd responded to his effort like he’s quickly becoming a fan favourite.

2. Youth movement on the power play

The Flames’ first power-play unit featured young talent on the blue line, with Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin handling duties at the point. It’s a glimpse of the organization’s future as Calgary begins leaning more on its developing prospects.

3. Trade deadline uncertainty

With the NHL trade deadline approaching, Thursday’s game could potentially mark the final appearance in a Flames sweater for veterans Nazem Kadri or Blake Coleman. After the Weegar trade, Calgary’s roster could see more movement in the coming day.

Adam Edstrom returned to the Rangers lineup for the first time in more than three months.

The Blueshirts activated the 6-foot-7 forward off injured reserve ahead of Thursday’s game against the Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden.

In his first game since suffering a lower-body injury in practice in early December, Edstrom skated on the fourth line next to Jaroslav Chmelar and Juuso Parssinen.

“So I’ve been going through some struggles,” Edstrom said after the Rangers won 6-2. “Just kind of something that blew up again in practice, so it was something that they just thought I should take care of now instead of keep on playing through it. It’s always tough to miss time, but I feel way better now.”

This was Edstrom’s second long-term injury in the span of 10 months.

He sustained a different lower-body injury last February, which required surgery to repair and knocked him out for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign.

After earning a spot out of training camp this season, Edstrom was scratched with “bumps and bruises” for a couple of games in early November.

On Nov. 18, however, the 25-year-old served as a healthy scratch.

Whatever sidelined him on Nov. 7 and 8 continued to nag him and ultimately forced the Rangers to put him on long-term injured reserve in mid-December.

Edstrom went on to miss 33 consecutive games.

The big-bodied Swede recorded a team-low 8:24 of ice time in the Rangers first regulation win on home ice since Nov. 24.

“At the start, you can kind of tell that you missed some time,” Edstrom said. “You always get a chance to come back in practice, but it’s always a little different coming out there in a game situation. I feel like I worked my way into the game, kind of happy to get the first one out of the way and now I can just look forward.”

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Parssinen appeared in his first NHL game since Nov. 22.

After dealing with a long-term hand injury for a majority of his season with AHL Hartford, Parssinen skated in his 15th NHL contest of the season.

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Thursday night was also Chmelar’s first game since Dec. 16 and the seventh NHL game of his career.

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Goalie Igor Shesterkin got the nod Thursday night, marking his 38th start of the season.

After returning out of the Olympic break from a 13-game injury-related absence, he has backstopped the Blueshirts to a four-game point streak (2-0-2).

On Thursday, Shesterkin stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced.

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At 7 p.m. April 5, tune into ESPN+, Disney+, Disney Channel or Disney XD to watch the Rangers and Capitals skate alongside Joy and Sadness in the Inside Out Classic, a real-time animated alternative broadcast featuring characters from the award-winning Pixar films.

Watch as “Inside Out” characters compete with animated versions of the NHL players, who will be virtually transported to Hockey Island inside the mind of the film’s main character, Riley.

Dylan Cozens snapped a 1-1 tie early in the third period as the Senators went on to defeat the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Thursday night in the second game of their four-game Western road swing.

The victory looked nothing like Ottawa’s previous stop in Alberta. Two nights earlier in Edmonton, the Senators lost 5-4 in overtime after squandering a 4-2 third-period lead.

Thursday’s game in Calgary was the polar opposite as the Sens outshot the Flames 37-20. 

Calgary opened the scoring late in the first period when Martin Pospisil capitalized on an Ottawa turnover. Senators defenceman Nick Jensen accidentally over-skated the puck in his own zone, allowing Calgary to pounce. Pospisil finished the play for his first goal of the season, sending the Flames to the intermission with a 1-0 lead.

Ottawa answered midway through the second period, and the goal ended a lengthy drought for Lars Eller. Eller snapped home a shot off a beautiful feed from Ridly Greig to tie the game at 1. The goal was Eller’s third of the season and his first since October 30.

The game remained tight heading into the third period before the Sens finally broke through on the power play.

At 6:33, Cozens ripped a wrist shot past Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley, the game's first star with 35 saves. The goal gave Ottawa its first lead and it stood up as the game-winner.

The finish wasn’t without a little drama.

Artem Zub was called for a penalty with just over three-and-a-half minutes to play, giving Calgary a late power-play opportunity. The Flames pulled their goaltender to create a 6-on-4, but this just in, the Flames don't have the Oilers' power play and Ottawa’s much-maligned penalty kill held firm.

Tim Stützle and Shane Pinto put the game away with a pair of empty net goals. Stutzle's was a shorthanded effort, while Pinto’s goal was meaningless but welcome. He had entered the game with just three goals in his last 26 games.

Stützle was held off the scoresheet for most of the night before his late goal, but for the second straight game he may have been Ottawa’s best player, consistently driving play and creating chances.

The win was an important one for the Senators as they try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

Ottawa not only picked up two points in Calgary, but also got some help out of town. The Nashville Predators defeated the Boston Bruins 6-3 on Thursday night, tightening the Eastern wild-card race.

With 21 games still to play, the Senators now sit four points behind Boston for the final wild-card spot and six points back of the Montreal Canadiens, who hold the first wild card.

With the trade deadline less than a day away (Friday at 3 pm), Thursday's results won't necessarily push general manager Steve Staios into full buyer mode, but the Sens still have every reason to believe they can claw their way back in the race. 

Steve Warne
The Hockey News