Worldwide Sports News

The Philadelphia Flyers have had some tough losses this season. This was one that will leave you staring at the scoreboard, hands on your hips, wondering how it all went so wrong.

It’s not just that they lost 7-4—it’s who they lost to. The Chicago Blackhawks, firmly planted near the bottom of the league standings, shouldn’t have been able to hang with a team that can skate and apply pressure across 60 minutes in ways not many other groups can, especially at this point in the season. Instead, they dictated play, pounced on mistakes, and exposed cracks in the Flyers’ defensive structure all night long.

“Sloppy game, sloppy goalies, their powerplay works, ours doesn’t,” head coach John Tortorella told reporters postgame. “That’s the story of the game.” 

Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) on XFlyers are handed a 7-4 loss by the Blackhawks. Flyers have lost 10 of their last 11 games (1-9-1) and 18 of their last 24 (6-15-3). They're 1-10-1 in the second game of back-to-back sets.

It’s not as if the Flyers didn’t show up. They scored four goals, gave Ivan Fedotov some refreshing goal support, and even carried long stretches of play. But every time they inched closer, Chicago found another way to slip behind them and bury the puck in the back of the net.

With just a handful of games left in the season, this isn’t just a tough loss—it’s the kind that makes you wonder where do they go from here?

1. Defensive Breakdowns Were Costly

It’s hard to place the blame solely on Fedotov when the defense in front of him was leaky, but no matter who you point the finger at, the fact remains—seven goals against is ugly.

It wasn’t all bad—Fedotov made a few key saves that kept the game from getting out of hand earlier—and the fact that Tortorella started him again after having to pull him in the last game against Dallas shows that the team still has plenty of faith in the 28-year-old netminder—something that can go a long way, even after a bad game.

However, when asked postgame if Fedotov was still having to prove himself as belonging on an NHL roster, Tortorella gave a short, blunt, and quite telling response: “S— yeah.” 

2. The Penalty Trouble Won’t Go Away

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: you can’t win hockey games from the penalty box.

The Flyers have been flirting with disaster in this department for weeks now, taking more penalties than they’d like and forcing their penalty kill to bail them out over and over again. But in a game where they desperately needed a structured, disciplined effort, they still found themselves in the box too often.

Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) on XThe Flyers just took 2 minor penalties on the same play in the span of a few seconds 😭😅

And it wasn’t just the quantity—it was the timing. Every time it felt like the Flyers were gaining some momentum, there was a player in orange getting sent to the box. The Blackhawks aren’t exactly an offensive powerhouse, but give any NHL team enough power plays, and they’ll make you pay.

At this stage of the season, with the playoff race as tight as it is, the Flyers can’t afford to keep playing this undisciplined. They need to clean it up—and fast—if they want to have any chance of surviving against better teams down the stretch.

3. The Flyers’ Offense Deserved Better

Here’s the cruel irony of this game: for all of the Flyers’ defensive shortcomings, their offense actually put in a strong performance.

Four goals should be enough to win most nights. They generated chances, they sustained offensive pressure, and they didn’t look like a team struggling to score. That’s not nothing, especially in a game where they were chasing from behind for most of the night.

“I think it’s just symplifying, throwing pucks on net,” Jamie Drysdale told media postgame. “I think we’ve been due for some bounces…Just chuck pucks on net, and usually good things will happen.” 

Travis Konecny netted another goal, proving that his scoring slump is a thing of the past. Even the defensemen got involved, with Drysdale and Travis Sanheim both contributing tallies of their own.

B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) on XTravis Sanheim puts it past Spencer Knight after the draw 👀

It’s cruel that when the offense is clicking the way that they’ve been trying so hard to do recently, the Blackhawks had an answer. It’s frustrating. It’s demoralizing. And it’s the kind of loss that can weigh on a team, especially at this point in the season.

Final Thoughts

There’s no sugarcoating it—this loss hurts. Even with threadbare playoff hopes, every point matters, and dropping a game to the second-worst team in the league is the kind of result that lingers.

The Flyers now have to turn around and face a high-powered Toronto team that won’t be nearly as forgiving. If their defensive effort doesn’t improve, they’re going to get burned. If their goaltending doesn’t stabilize, they’re going to find themselves in another track meet they can’t afford to lose.

The Nashville Predators (26-35-8, 60 points) visit the St. Louis Blues (36-28-7, 79 points) Saturday at Enterprise Center.

It is the second of three meetings between the Central Division rivals in a span of 10 days. St. Louis won the previous matchup, 4-1, March 18 at Bridgestone Arena, and the teams will meet in Nashville for a final time this season on Thursday.

The Predators are 5-4-1 in their last 10 and are coming off a 5-2 win at home over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Blues, also on the second end of a back-to-back, are coming off a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Justus Annunen gets the start in net for the Predators against St. Louis, while Jordan Binnington will guard the crease for the Blues.

How the Predators Lined Up vs. St. Louis

Forsberg-O'Reilly-Evangelista
Bunting-Stamkos-Marchessault
Smith-Svechkov-Bellows
L'Heureux-McCarron-Sissons

Skjei-Blankenburg
 Del Gaizo-Barron
 Englund-Stastney

 Annunen
Saros 

Extra: Vrana, Oesterle
IR: Lauzon, Josi, Wilsby

Predators at Blues: Live Updates

First Period (NSH 0, STL 2)

The Blues struck first in this one as Robert Thomas entered the zone and made a quick drop pass to Jordan Kyrou, whose shot got past Annunen off the near post and in to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead at the 12:13 mark of the first period.

The goal extended Kyrou's point streak to six games; he has 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) in that span. He has now recorded three consecutive 30-goal seasons.

A roughing penalty from Michael Bunting gave the Blues their first power play opportunity, and they took advantage. A tic-tac-toe play finished with Thomas finding Alexandre Texier on the doorstep to tap it in and extend the Blues' lead to 2-0.

The first period ended with a scuffle that ensued behind the Blues' net when Jonathan Marchessault laid a hit on Philip Broberg. Broberg and Alexei Toropchenko were each assessed minor penalties, as was Marchessault, to give the Predators a 5-on-4 advantage with two seconds remaining in the period.

Second Period (NSH 1, STL 2)

The Predators started the second period with 1:58 remaining on the man advantage and capitalized quickly with a beauty of a goal from Filip Forsberg. Forsberg skated around Ryan Suter inside the right circle and snapped a shot through Suter's legs that went inside the post and past Binnington to cut the Blues' lead to 2-1.

Scoresberg back at it again ✅ pic.twitter.com/x6f5mrKVwf

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) March 23, 2025

Nashville held the Blues to just three shots in the second period and outshot them 16-12 through 40 minutes of play.

Third Period (NSH 1, STL 3)

An offensive zone face-off for Nashville turned into a 3-on-2 going the other way, leading to a quick and easy goal for Justin Faulk to allow St. Louis to regain the two-goal lead at the 10:30 mark of the third period.

The Chicago Blackhawks came into Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers looking for a win in the worst way. After losing seven in a row, the pressure to finally get one was starting to weigh heavy. 

The Flyers, despite not being quite as bad as the Blackhawks, are a lottery team as well so it felt like a chance to end the bad streak. 

It didn't start on a positive note for Chicago though as they found themselves down 1-0 under four minutes into the game. From there, however, they started to show more life. 

Patrick Maroon and Joe Veleno each scored within a minute to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead.

For Maroon, he scored in his first home game since announcing his upcoming retirement at the end of the season. For Veleno, it was his first goal in a Blackhawks sweater. Those are both memorable moments for them. 

12 seconds after the Veleno goal, Travis Sanheim slapped one on the net and it squeaked through the paraphernalia of Spencer Knight. It crawled past the goal line to tie the game. 

In what became a barn-burner of a first period, Bobby Brink gave the Flyers the lead back which couldn't feel good for a team on a seven-game losing streak. Instead of mailing it in this time, however, the Blackhawks started to take over from there. 

Before the first period was over, Connor Bedard took a wrist shot to score his 20th of the season which tied the game at three. Bedard now has 20 goals in back-to-back years to start his career. Most 18 and 19-year-old seasons don't go that well. 

Under three minutes into the middle frame, Tyler Bertuzzi gave the Blackhawks the lead once more. From there, things went mostly well for Chicago.

Ryan Donato put them ahead by two for the first time in the game at 6:43 of the period before Travis Konecny got the Flyers back within one a few minutes after that. 

Remarkably, Ryan Donato scored again before the period was over. His 25th of the season secured a 6-4 lead for the Hawks which would hold through the end of the period. To say that Donato is having a strong year would be an understatement. 

Lukas Reichel scored early into the third period to extend Chicago's lead to three. The 7-4 score stood up as the final.

With Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson in attendance, the Blackhawks scored a touchdown and made the extra point. This is the first time in 2024-25 that Chicago scored seven goals. 

Now, they can forget about the losing streak and get back to playing an honest game as they close out the year. Their next contest will come on Wednesday night as they take on the New Jersey Devils at United Center. 

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

Try as they might, the Winnipeg Jets just couldn't find a way to get the job done on Sunday afternoon.

Taking on the Buffalo Sabres in the first test of a four-game homestand, Winnipeg gave up five goals and only managed three despite outshooting the visitors 36-17. 

The Jets fell behind and just couldn't seem to catch up, tailing by multiple goals on multiple occasions in the 5-3 loss.

Winnipeg dropped to 48-19-4 on the season and will now face the league-best Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. 

JJ Peterka opened the scoring 9:15 into the first period, beating Comrie cleanly on the glove side. 

Nino Niederreiter suffered a heavy check into the boards from Connor Clifton late in the period, to which he skated over to the Jets' bench rather wobbly. But he returned for the start of the second, and his presence was felt almost immediately.

With none other than Clifton in the box a few minutes later, Niederreiter found a goal of his own. After going 15 games without a goal, the veteran forward bounced a net-front puck off the foot of a Sabres' defenceman, knotting things at ones.

“You obviously never want to see one of your teammates take a hit and get called into protocol," Brandon Tanev said of Niederreiter. "But he took all the right steps and did all the right things to get back and put on the ice and he got rewarded by playing the right way. That’s as teammate, taking a hit to make a play to get the puck in and do a job and that’s ultimately how we need to keep playing and it was great to see him get rewarded.” 

The Jets piled on the offence as the middle stanza wore on, to no avail.

Leading 24-7 on the shot chart, 46-18 in shot attempts and 8-0 in high-danger scoring chances through 40 minutes of play, it was Buffalo that got the 2-1 marker late in the second period.

Rasmus Dahlin hammered home a long-range one-timer from the point with 1:14 to play, putting the visitors ahead by one entering the third period. 

But with Mark Scheifele in the box for tripping, Souris' Tyson Kozak produced a power play goal, giving the Sabres a two-goal lead with just over a half period to play.

Just 28 seconds later Colin Miller took things into his own hands, carrying the puck the length of the ice and roofing it past Reimer, to bring Winnipeg back to just one goal from the Sabres with 12 minutes to play.

Reimer made up for the Miller goal with a sensational desperation stop on Scheifele on a late-game power play. The puck went the other way up-ice, with Alex Tuch potting a breakaway finisher past Comrie with 6:39 to play and 41 seconds left in the penalty.

Nik Ehlers hit the post after deking Reimer out of position, but the puck had other ideas and skirted into the corner, rather than into the gaping net. 

Ehlers made things right with 3:27 to play, as he wiring his 23rd goal of the year past a beleaguered Reimer on a screamer from down the left wing. 

Comrie found his way to the bench for the last three minutes but Winnipeg was unable to get another into the net. Ryan McLeod potted a long-range empty-net goal, sealing it for Buffalo. 

“We definitely had our chances," Miller said. "Their goalie played well. They did a good job of clogging up the neutral zone and their own end. But, just one of those nights, a little bit snake-bitten. They played well defensively, so we’ll look at it and move on.”

Comrie turned aside 12 of the 16 pucks he faced, while Reimer made 33 saves on the 36 shots taken by Winnipeg. 

Next up for Winnipeg is the second leg of the four-game homestand. And it will be biggest test of the year for the Jets, with the No. 1 seed Washington Capitals visiting Canada Life Centre for a battle of first place teams. Winnipeg will finish off the homestand with games against New Jersey and Vancouver. 

On March 22, the St. Louis Blues recalled top prospect Dalibor Dvorsky from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. This was in response to Blues star Pavel Buchnevich being labeled day-to-day due to an illness. 

Dvorsky certainly earned this call-up, as he is in the middle of an excellent rookie season with the Thunderbirds. In 57 games, the 2023 first-round pick currently has 20 goals, 23 assists, and 43 points. He also has been heating up as of late, posting four goals and six points over his last six AHL games.

Now, after earning this call-up, Dvorsky has a golden opportunity to show the Blues what he can do at the NHL level. The Blues confirmed that the youngster will make his NHL debut in their March 23 matchup against the Nashville Predators. If he impresses while with the Blues, it could help his chances of getting a more extended look on the NHL roster. 

No matter the case, Blues fans will certainly be keeping an eye on Dvorsky during his NHL debut. The top prospect has an immense amount of potential and is a key part of the Central Division club's future. It will be fascinating to see if he can make an impact with the NHL club against Nashville from here. 

Recent Blues News 

Blues Big Winger Getting Hot At Right Time

Former Blues Fan Favorite Pat Maroon To Retire After Season

Former Blues Forward Breaks Single-Season KHL Goal Record

Blues Made Right Call Not Trading Brayden Schenn

Blues Coach Provides Encouraging Colton Parayko Injury Update

Blues Breakout Star Is Continuing To Thrive

Blues Surging Forward Nearing New Impressive Career-High