Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
It doesn’t take an NHL general manager to figure out that the Sharks need to improve their defense to get to the next level.
That’s no disrespect, truly, to their current blueliners, who have done admirable work to help San Jose to a surprising 23-19-3 record.
But if the Sharks are going to be a Cup contender, like their counterparts on Sunday night, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, they’re going to need some internal and external growth on the blueline in the coming years.
This isn’t an overreaction to a 7-2 loss on Sunday to Vegas.
Here’s what a league source, not with the San Jose Sharks or Knights, texted San Jose Hockey Now during the game.
Crystal Palace’s stars wilt, Manchester City’s youngsters shine, and Liam Rosenior starts in stylish fashion
Playing against lower-league opposition as a top-flight side in the FA Cup is like batting on the first morning of a Test match – you cannot really win and failure can prompt humiliation and reputational damage. To that end, some members of the Crystal Palace side deservedly beaten by Macclesfield perhaps learned a valuable lesson at Moss Rose. Marc Guéhi and Adam Wharton are linked regularly with big moves away from Palace, but part of succeeding at elite clubs – the pair are admired by Manchester City and Manchester United respectively – is coping with being overwhelming favourites. Oliver Glasner, too, may have designs on bigger things, with United again a possible destination, but to see his side schooled by part-timers was a blow to his burgeoning reputation. Glasner slammed his players after the defeat but the Austrian must take a portion of the blame. They must all do better. Dominic Booth
Former Australian captain Alex Blackwell has encouraged national selectors to recall Nicola Carey ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup, with the all-rounder making an impressive start in her maiden Women’s Premier League campaign.
Ahead of the 2025-26 season, few, if any, fantasy managers had Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie on their radar. In his first season with the team, the point guard appeared in 33 games, averaging 5.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 three-pointers in 14.0 minutes. Even with the departures of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, Gillespie did not appear well-positioned to offer deep-league fantasy value, much less make himself a fixture in 12-team formats.
To his credit, Gillespie has significantly exceeded expectations, with his play one reason the Suns find themselves in the middle of a fight for playoff seeding. A starter in 44 of the 63 games he's appeared in, Gillespie enters Week 20 averaging 13.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 3.1 three-pointers in 28.9 minutes.
Shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 85.5 percent from the foul line, Gillespie's production has been good enough to push him within striking distance of the top-60 in this week's Rotoworld Fantasy Basketball Top 200. In his most recent outing, a win over the Hornets on March 8, Gillespie tallied 24 points, five rebounds, four assists and five three-pointers, shooting 8-of-15 from the field and 3-of-3 from the foul line.
While the Suns await the returns of Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen, Gillespie is capable of holding down the fort, and then some, alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. Rostered in just under 40 percent of Yahoo! leagues, he's close to a must-add, even with the Suns playing three games in Week 20.
→ Watch the NBA on Peacock on Monday, as the Nuggets visit the Thunder at 7:30 pm EDT, followed by the Clippers hosting the Knicks at 10:00 pm EDT!
DENVER — Trent Miner stopped all 29 shots he faced to earn his first NHL victory, becoming the 17th goaltender in league history to record a shutout in his inaugural win, as the Colorado Avalanche blanked the Columbus Blue Jackets 4–0 at Ball Arena on Saturday.
The victory extended Colorado’s home point streak to 21 games. The outing marked Miner’s fifth NHL appearance and his third game of the season.
Under head coach Jared Bednar, Colorado has been nearly unbeatable at Ball Arena, improving to 19-0-2 on home ice this season while extending its home winning streak to 17 games — the second-longest in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques franchise history and just one shy of matching the record set during the 2021–22 campaign.
"It's impressive what the guys have been doing, especially at home, no question," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "It's the same as what goes into winning on a nightly basis, but then it just becomes consistency in order to win that much in a row and not take nights off or have bad nights. Like some games are better than others, but I feel like our guys are always there to compete, and their heart and minds are in the right place."
Miner Earns His Stripes
Selected 202nd overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, Miner can feel like a long-tenured member of the Avalanche organization because, in many ways, he is. It wasn’t until last season — his fourth as a professional — that he was finally entrusted with an extended opportunity as the starting goaltender for the Colorado Eagles. Miner made the most of it, posting a 22-10-9 record with a .918 save percentage and firmly putting himself on the Avalanche’s radar.
While it may have appeared at times that Bednar was slow to lean on Miner due to his limited number of starts, that situation speaks more to the Avalanche’s depth in goal than a lack of confidence. With a strong, established goaltending group in place, opportunities can be difficult to come by for a lesser-known and less-experienced netminder trying to find his footing at the NHL level.
Miner made the most of his opportunity, but at the end of the night, the only thing that truly mattered for him is that they got the win.
“In all honesty, I’m just glad we were able to get the win,” he said. “For sure, it’s exciting to get my first win, but I think for us to get a win at home is just as exciting.”
Everyone appreciates a humble player, but this is likely a day Miner will never forget.
From the start, Pittsburgh's game against the Boston Bruins on Sunday felt like one of those games where the Penguins just weren't going to generate much of anything.
And that's exactly how everything unfolded.
The Penguins were shut out by Boston, 1-0, courtesy of a 27-save effort by Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. Viktor Arvidsson scored the game's lone goal in the first period, and the Bs shut the door the rest of the way, putting on a defensive clinic to stymie every offensive opportunity - even if few and far between - that the Penguins generated.
However, it was a tight-checking game all around, and the Penguins put forth quite the effort defensively, too. They blocked 17 shots in comparison to Boston's 18, goaltender Stuart Skinner turned in another strong effort with 17 saves on 18 Boston shots, and they killed all six power plays that the Bruins had throughout the game.
Unfortunately, Pittsburgh just could not put the puck in the back of the net, and Korpisalo shut the door on every high-danger opportunity that the Bruins actually allowed.
Here are some thoughts and takeaways from this game:
- Quite honestly, the Penguins did not play a bad hockey game. Yes, they couldn't generate much offensively - and I'll get to that in a minute - but, for the most part, they did a fantastic job of limiting opportunites for the Bruins.
They simply couldn't score, which hadn't been a problem for them during their six-game win streak. Bounces weren't going their way. Calls weren't going their way. And even if they did generate some good opportunities, there weren't really too many longer periods of sustained pressure because the Bruins didn't give them any space to work with.
This is one of those games where you have to give credit to the opponent. They played about as well a defensive game as you could ask for, and they got the goaltending when they needed it.
- Speaking of not scoring, I'm not exactly sure what the idea behind the Penguins' lineup was Sunday.
Yes, they suffered their first loss in seven games against the Calgary Flames on Saturday, but they could have won that game, too, had a few more bounces gone their way - even if they didn't particularly play very well. It was also their first game without Bryan Rust, who is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and his absence in the lineup is very, very noticeable.
However, some things were still working for them. The second line of Ben Kindel, Evgeni Malkin, and Egor Chinakhov - with Kindel centering - seemed to develop a bit of chemistry and were definitely the best line in that game. The first line of Sidney Crosby, Tommy Novak, and Rickard Rakell had some chances, too, even if the third line was quiet and the fourth line had an off-night.
I understand tinkering a little bit in order to maximize what players provide in certain roles, especially with a top-line forward missing. Heading into this one, I wouldn't have been opposed to bumping Anthony Mantha or Justin Brazeau up to the top line and putting Tommy Novak in the third-line center position, which would have bumped either Kevin Hayes or the newly recalled Rafael Harvey-Pinard to the wing.
They did move Mantha to Crosby's line in place of Novak. What I did not understand was the decision to bump Kindel back down to the third line, have Novak play wing on that line, and place Hayes in the second-line center position instead of, simply, putting Malkin back in that spot.
I didn't love the idea of bumping Kindel back down to begin with, as I thought he played a pretty strong game on Saturday. But, if that was going to happen, there's no reason not to have either Malkin or Novak center the second line - and, probably, Malkin.
This is not a knock on Hayes. He isn't the reason the Penguins have lost the last two hockey games. But he's not a viable substitute as a top-six center given the other options the Penguins have at their disposal, and - at the end of the day - swapping in Hayes for Rust is obviously not going to produce similar results, given the fact that Rust is second on the team in scoring.
Even without Rust in the top-six picture, that second line seemed to be building toward something with Kindel on it. And Novak has performed as a center this season. I think Dan Muse has largely done an excellent job this season, but I believe he may have overthought this one. I don't think he put out a lineup Sunday that was maximized to give the Penguins the highest shot at success, especially in generating offense.
Hayes is fine in a bottom-six role. But, even if he was going to bump up to the second line, Malkin was probably better off centering it.
- After a rocky start to his Penguins' tenure, Skinner has really settled in during his last four appearances.
The 27-year-old netminder has had consecutive save percentages of .964, .917, .966, and .944 in those last four games. He has made big saves when the Penguins have needed him to, and he looks very comfortable in net right now.
Arturs Silovs has been better of late as well, but I do think Skinner has separated himself, even if just a tiny little bit. The biggest knock on him throughout the years has been his consistency, and he is known for going through hot and cold stretches. He has an .899 save percentage in seven appearances with the Penguins, and the first few starts were pretty rough.
I'd continue the rotation for now. Skinner tends to perform a bit better with a lighter workload. And, honestly, this could be a perfect situation for both Skinner and Silovs. We'll see how it continues to play out.
- Parker Wotherspoon blocked a shot with his knee near the end of the second period, and he collapsed to the ice in a ton of pain. He did come back out for the third period, but it initially looked very concerning.
Quite frankly, the Penguins cannot afford to lose Wotherspoon, who has been their best defensive defenseman this season and a revelation beside Erik Karlsson. Hopefully, he's good to go. If there is a short list of players whose injuries would be detrimental to this team, he's on it.
Parker Wotherspoon blocked a shot and was down for a short while talking to head athletic trainer Kevin Elliott. He appears to be staying on the bench for now.
- The power play has looked very uninspiring for several games now, and it went 0-for-2 on Sunday. In fact, it is just three for its last 16 and zero for its last six.
Even when the Penguins have been converting on it, it's usually later on in the man advantage after a few clears. I haven't liked the lack of player movement and puck movement as well as the general tendency to defer shots, which are all typical signs of the Penguins' power play going through a cold spell.
They're still third in the league at 28.6 percent. And, when they have hit small dry pockets, they've found ways to rebound this season. I expect the same in this case, but they need to be quicker with their decision-making and create more chaos to get opposing penalty kills out of structure.
Oh, and the shot-pass? It works to perfection sometimes. But that doesn't mean they should be trying it almost every time they throw a puck in the vicinity of the net. They need to just shoot more.
- Next up for the Penguins will be a tough matchup on Tuesday against the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning, who have won nine straight games.
The Penguins won by the skin of their teeth when they played Tampa on Dec. 4 - all because of a goal that was called back on what was ruled a hand pass - which immediately preceded their eight-game losing streak. They did not play particularly well in that game, and they have had a bit of trouble with the Bolts recently, as they are 2-3-1 in their last five games against them.
Starting Tuesday, the Penguins play six games in 10 days. Things tend to pile on one way or another when a schedule is that condensed.
They haven't played poorly in the last two losses, even if they came away with no points and didn't have their A-game. That needs to change on Tuesday, as they are now a point out of a wild card spot.
The Buffalo Sabres continued their red-hot pace in a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, but are beginning to show signs late in games that could lead to defeat. For the third game in a row, the Sabres have entered the third period with a considerable lead, but have allowed the opposition to climb back to within one goal.
Against Vancouver on Tuesday, the Sabres led 4-0 midway through the third period, but the Canucks scored three goals in the waning minutes of regulation and clawed back to within a goal before losing 4-3. In New York on Thursday, Buffalo led 3-1 entering the third, but Vincent Trocheck narrowed the lead to 3-2 and the Rangers had a four-minute power play with a chance to tie, but Mattias Samuelsson’s short-handed goal ended New York’s momentum.
On Saturday, the Sabres once again led 4-0 and once again sat back and allowed Anaheim to narrow the gap to 4-3 before Josh Norris scored into an empty net.
"That's on us. That wasn't good enough. We let our goalie down. That is not up to par for our club. Our club can't accept that," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said "We're a better club than that. We played well to that point, and what we did in that last five minutes isn't isn't good enough.....I think it's just a little bit of a mental let down, but not near good enough."
The Sabres face a critical point in their bid to stay in a playoff position before the Olympic break, as their opposition in the next three home games are direct competitors for an Eastern Conference spot. Buffalo plays three games in four nights starting with a matchup against the reigning two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Monday, followed by Philadelphia and Montreal back-to-back nights Wednesday and Thursday, before finishing the homestand against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday afternoon.
The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that Kevin Korchinski, Drew Commesso, and Stansilav Berezhnoy have all been assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.
Korchinski, Commesso, and Berezhnoy were all called up to the Blackhawks' roster earlier this week due to multiple players being sidelined with illness. Now, with this latest roster move, they each will be heading back to the IceHogs' roster.
Korchinski played in two games for the Blackhawks during his call-up, where he recorded one assist, two shots, and a minus-2 rating. This was his first NHL action of the 2025-26 season after starting the year with the IceHogs.
Commesso also played in his first two games of the season with the Blackhawks during his call-up. During them, he posted a 1-1-0 record, a .917 save percentage, and a 2.50 goals-against average. This included him recording a 36-save shutout against the Nashville Predators in his most recent start.
As for Berezhnoy, he did not get into game action for the Blackhawks during his brief call-up. He will now be looking to make an impact after being sent back down to the IceHogs' roster.
Lauren Betts scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds to help No. 4 UCLA to an 83-61 win over No. 25 Nebraska on Sunday. Betts also added four blocks and five steals for the Bruins (15-1, 5-0 Big Ten). UCLA used an 11-2 first quarter run to take control of the game and stretched its lead to 35-20 on Gianna Kneepkens’ 3-pointer with 2:21 remaining in the first half.
It will be a historic night at Little Caesars Arena on Monday, as the Detroit Red Wings will officially retire the iconic No. 91 jersey number of Sergei Fedorov, one of the greatest and most exciting players not only in the club's history but in NHL history.
Fedorov, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015, was informed of the honor by Red Wings owner and CEO Chris Ilitch during the offseason, which he admitted left him breathless.
“When we spoke, we first exchanged the usual questions about how things were going, how our families were doing, and then he shared the news with me," Fedorov said about his call with Ilitch. "Honestly, in the first three or four minutes of the conversation, I wasn’t 100 percent sure where it was headed."
"But then he started listing all of our victories, our achievements, and how long it took to get there," he continued. "At that moment, it took my breath away. Memories rushed back—our struggles, our bumps along the road, and of course that unforgettable parade of emotions after winning our first Stanley Cup."
On the eve of Fedorov's historic night in Detroit, he released a heartfelt love letter to the fans of Hockeytown.
Fedorov will be appropriately honored by the Red Wings, for whom he was a key element in their historic Stanley Cup victories of 1997, 1998, and 2002. During his time in Detroit, he also won the 1994 Hart Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player, the Lester B. Pearson Award, and the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward in both 1994 and 1996.
He also earned six NHL All-Star Game appearances and was officially named as one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in 2017.
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Zoom Diallo had 22 points and Hannes Steinbach scored 21 to lead Washington to an 81-74 victory over Ohio State on Sunday. Diallo sank 7 of 14 shots with two 3-pointers and made all six of his free throws for Washington (10-6, 2-3 Big Ten Conference). Steinbach added nine rebounds and his three-point play ignited a 14-0 second-half run that gave the Huskies the lead for good.
Raphielle Johnson
