Before the Chicago Blackhawks kicked off a road tilt with the St. Louis Blues, Patrick Maroon announced that he was retiring from the NHL after this season. 

That took over as the big story as Maroon, a St. Louis Native, was now confirmed to be playing in his hometown for the final time. 

Unsurprisingly, that didn't give the Blackhawks much of a boost as they have now lost their seventh straight game. 

After a scoreless first period, the Blues took a 2-0 lead in the second thanks to goals by Robert Thomas and Alexey Topochenko. 

In the final minute of the second period, Ilya Mikheyev gave the Blackhawks some life with a short-handed goal. Mikheyev has been great for Chicago lately and has given himself a chance to be a part of the team going into next season. 

In the third period, the Blues scored two more goals (Nathan Walker and Zack Bolduc) to put the Blackhawks away. The 4-1 score was the final in favor of the Blues. This is now the fifth straight win for the Blues who are trying to hang onto their playoff spot. 

This is a disappointing result for the Blackhawks who were looking to end a losing streak and end the momentum from their biggest rival. 

Pat Maroon didn't score but his final game in St. Louis ended with some fireworks as he had a third-period fight with Tyler Tucker to get the crowd going.

The Blues honored him with a video tribute once the story started to travel and he was named to be the first star of the game. Despite the loss, Maroon will have a fond memory of this game for a long time. 

It's now a quick turnaround for the Blackhawks as they will head home to play the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday afternoon. Will they avoid their 8th straight loss or can they finally find that gritty win to break the bad streak?

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

Ottawa Senators star goalie Linus Ullmark is a major part of the Sens' push to this year's Stanley Cup playoffs. But in this cover story from THN's March 20, 2023 edition, editor-in-chief Ryan Kennedy profiled Ullmark as he thrived with the Boston Bruins:

HITTING HIS MARK

By Ryan Kennedy

Boston goalie Linus Ullmark didn’t just walk into the room for his media availability at all-star weekend in Florida; he made an entrance. With a silver-and-white paisley suit enrobing his 6-foot-5 frame and a matching fedora that would make teammate/hockey style icon David Pastrnak proud, Ullmark was impossible to miss – just like his play on the ice for the Bruins this season. “I talked to my tailor and said, ‘Hey, we need to come up with something fancy now that it’s in Florida and it’s my first one,’” Ullmark said.

And hey, mission accomplished on that front. But the weekend also gave one of the NHL’s newest stars a chance to take it all in, as he was now in the same company as netminding titans such as Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin and Connor Hellebuyck. “It’s always fun to be around guys who are great at their job,” Ullmark said. “To see what they’re doing, pick their brains a little. It’s just about being in the moment for me.”

As Boston carved a path of carnage through the NHL – at one point, it looked like the B’s might threaten the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens’ modern record of only eight losses in a season – it was clear the team had weapons and depth everywhere. But Ullmark, whose gaudy individual numbers had him as the betting favorite to win the Vezina Trophy, has been the breakout star. His .938 save percentage at the end of February was on track to be the best mark in the past 10 years (minimum 25 games), while his league-leading 33.3 goals saved above expected showed he wasn’t simply taking advantage of playing on a juggernaut squad.

“That’s a huge reason we have the record we have,” said coach Jim Montgomery. “He’s just so rock-solid. There’s nothing coming off his body, he just swallows everything up. He takes whistles when he should. He plays the puck extremely well. He’s having a fantastic year.”

Indeed, delving more into the advanced stats, Ullmark is freezing more pucks than expected, and his wins above replacement (5.54) leads all NHL goalies. Ullmark even got himself on the score sheet, becoming the first goalie in franchise history to score a goal – shooting the puck the length of the ice into an empty net against Vancouver on Feb. 25. “He’s been standing on his head and playing unbelievable,” Pastrnak said. “It’s fun to watch him, to be honest. He’s big, he’s playing confident in the net, and he’s having a special year.”

Ullmark was good for the Bruins last season after signing on as a free agent in the summer. But he split duty equally with rookie Jeremy Swayman, and it was Swayman who played the majority of Boston’s seven-game opening-round playoff loss to Carolina after the Hurricanes bombed Ullmark in the first two games. So where did this next level come from?

Let’s go way back and start with Ullmark’s roots. He grew up in Lugnvik, Sweden, not far from the legendary northern hockey city of Ornskoldsvik. That’s where the Modo program is based, and that’s where iconic names such as Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund, the Sedin twins and Victor Hedman honed their craft before coming to the NHL. It’s where Ullmark got his start, too.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “My goal when I was young was to play for the big-league team, and I managed to get there. I had the opportunity to go through their system when I was in high school as well and met a lot of special people during my time there who still help me on my journey.”

In fact, Ullmark made his debut with the big team when he was just 18. The following summer (in 2012), the Buffalo Sabres drafted him 163rd overall. Ullmark continued to climb the ladder with Modo in the ensuing years and was the team’s starter for two seasons before he decamped for North America in 2015. His first pro season stateside was split between the Sabres and AHL Rochester, then mostly Rochester for the two years after that. He was with Buffalo full-time starting in 2018-19. Despite the team’s struggles, the experience was vital for his growth.

“It meant a lot,” Ullmark said. “I grew up, basically, over here in Rochester and Buffalo. I have a lot of gratitude towards that organization and all my teammates and coaches there over the years. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”

Ullmark arrived in Boston during a fascinating time for the franchise. The Bruins had been on easy street when it came to goalies for more than a decade, going from 2011 Cup-winning stopper Tim Thomas to backup-turned-star Tuukka Rask. With Rask’s future in question due to a hip injury and the B’s still one of the best teams in the East, Boston needed reinforcements. Swayman was a promising option whose NHL career got off to a great start at the end of 2020-21, but the team didn’t want to rush him. Ullmark, a free-agent signing, was the safer option.

As it turned out, both Swayman and Ullmark were solid last season, and that Ullmark has seized the starting role now hasn’t led to any friction because the two have a great relationship. “It’s part of the Bruins’ culture,” Montgomery said. “Everybody supports each other. Everybody is hoping the other one has success, and those two exemplify that. I guess the only other time I’ve seen that is when I was in college (with the NCAA Maine Black Bears) when Garth Snow and Mike Dunham were close like that.”

When asked why this season has gone so well for him, Ullmark finds himself still searching for a concrete answer – but he knows he has done it as part of a unit. “It’s hard to say,” Ullmark said. “I’ve been thinking of that myself. Small pieces here and there have fallen into place. I feel more at home in Boston since it’s no longer my first year, and we have a great team, it goes hand-in-hand with my performance and also Sway’s performance. It’s not a one-man show.”

And that’s what makes Boston such an easy pick for success. The Bruins’ culture has been so strong over the years – led by the likes of Zdeno Chara to Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand – that working new guys into the lineup appears to be seamless. “We are equal,” Pastrnak said. “The guys set such a high standard and have done so for years. It doesn’t matter if you’re in your first year or last, everybody is open to each other. We speak up and try to get better together as a group.”

For the Bruins to be in the mix as long as they have is admirable, and the end goal remains the same. Hence the passion. “We have a lot of personnel on our team that know what needs to be done,” Ullmark said. “First and foremost is Bergy, our captain. He knows what needs to be done and tells us to stay humble to the process, to believe in the process. And that’s what we try to work on every single day, doesn’t matter if we win or lose. Our goal is, at the end of the year, to win the last game of the season.”

A new voice has also helped the group. Montgomery is in his first year behind the bench, and while the man he replaced, Bruce Cassidy, is having his own success with the Vegas Golden Knights, the Bruins have been very happy under ‘Monty,’ with Pastrnak calling him a “pleasure to work with” and lauding the coach’s smarts and understanding of his players. And that respect goes both ways, as the bench boss has been impressed with how unselfish the team is. “The leadership, they’re professional every day they come to the rink, they want to be coached,” Montgomery said. “It’s a special group of people that want to be great.”

But you can’t be great without goaltending, and that’s why Ullmark has been so key to Boston’s success. “That’s what my line of work is,” he said. “And for some reason, it’s been going better than normal. You know, a lot of things have fallen into place. I have a good understanding of my game. I have a great relationship with my teammates and my coaches.”

As for expectations, Ullmark is fine with them. Clearly, the Bruins were going to be one of the most targeted (or feared, depending on how good or bad your lineup is) teams down the stretch, and when you rack up as many wins as they have, you can’t go into the playoffs claiming that nobody believed in you – even Travis Kelce would probably admit that Boston is the favorite. But that’s just fine with them.

Ullmark deflects hype just as well as he bats away pucks. “We, as players in our locker room, put more pressure on ourselves than anybody else could,” he said. “We know what to expect, we know what needs to be done out there. I would much rather be in this position than the opposite position, where you have a 33-percent winning percentage instead of 70 percent or whatever we’re at.”

Currently, the franchise is stuck on six Cups – that 2011 win being the most recent. Boston has been blessed with numerous pro-sports titles recently, but you know Bostonians would love another from their Bruins. Ullmark has been doing his part to make that happen, and he doesn’t plan on stopping. “It’s been working so far, so hopefully I can keep it up,” he said. “I’m very fortunate and blessed to be here, and now, I feel a lot of gratitude to my teammates who helped me get to this point. And to Boston itself.”

On Friday night, Angus Crookshank became the Belleville Senators' all-time leading goal scorer. He scored his team-leading 22nd goal of the season, helping the Senators defeat the Toronto Marlies 3-2. This goal was Crookshank's 77th career goal, moving him past Egor Sokolov as the franchise's all-time leader in goals.

"Yeah, it's cool to think about it," Crookshank told the Belleville Senators Entertainment Network after the game. "I mean, at the end of the day, I wouldn't be able to call myself a record holder without my teammates that I've played with over the past three years. So I'm very thankful for them, and yeah, hopefully, I can score a few more down the stretch here."

Despite his continued success in the American Hockey League (AHL) and strong support from his head coach, David Bell, Crookshank’s future with the Sens organization is unknown at the moment. Based on just his time served, he'd typically be on track to be an RFA this summer.

But because he checks all the right boxes, he will be a Group 6 unrestricted free agent. A player earns that status if he's 25 (check), has completed three or more professional seasons (check), has a contract expiring (check), and has played less than 80 NHL Games (check).

Crookshank appeared in 13 NHL games last season, so when he re-signed with the club, it seemed like he might have a chance at a full-time NHL spot this season. But Ottawa general manager Steve Staios completely shuffled the deck in his first summer on the job, which appears to have pushed Crookshank down several spots on the depth chart.

The Sens moved out bottom-six regulars like Mathieu Joseph, Parker Kelly, Mark Kastelic, and Dominik Kubalik. But their roles were scooped up by new Staios additions like David Perron, Noah Gregor, Nick Cousins, Michael Amadio, and Adam Gaudette. Not only that, but with a new coaching staff in Ottawa, some of Crookshank’s AHL teammates that he outplayed last season were suddenly being favoured for NHL opportunities this season – guys like Zack Ostapchuk, Cole Reinhardt, and Matthew Highmore.

But Crookshank's head coach is still in his corner.

“He’s grown his game,” Bell told TSN 1200 Radio last month. “Before, his defensive game was probably a deficiency. He kills penalties for us now. He plays center for us sometimes. Now he’s playing right wing with Reinhardt down here. So he plays all three positions. He’s on the ice at the end of the game. He’s consciously rounded out his game to be more reliable defensively and more reliable on the walls.”

Crookshank’s work ethic and versatility continue to make him a key contributor for Belleville, and a future in the show remains a strong possibility. It's just a question now of whether that NHL opportunity lies in Ottawa or somewhere else.

By Steve Warne
Site Editor at The Hockey News Ottawa

Stay updated with the most interesting Ottawa Senators stories, analysis, breaking news and more at The Hockey News Ottawa. Tap the star here at Google News to add us to your favourites and never miss a thing.

The Pittsburgh Penguins only have 11 games left in their 2024-25 season. Although this year's club most likely won't qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, many players in the lineup still have milestones to play for.

Today, we look at those milestones and which Pittsburgh skater is closest to reaching a new personal best. 

Sidney Crosby

All eyes are on captain Sidney Crosby, who is only a few points shy of 80, which would establish a new NHL record for consecutive seasons with a point-per-game average. Meanwhile, at 25 goals, he's just five lamplighters short of recording his 13th 30-goal season. 

Penguins: Sidney Crosby's Chase Of Wayne Gretzky's NHL Point-Per-Game RecordPittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is on pace to break a Wayne Gretzky record many people thought would never fall; most seasons (19) averaging a point-per-game average. 

Rickard Rakell

Through 70 games, Rickall Rakell has scored 32 goals and is two shy of matching a personal best of 34 that he collected in 2017-18. Meanwhile, at 791 career games, if he skates in nine of the final 11 contests, he'll surpass 800 to become the 44th Swedish-born player to reach the plateau.

Bryan Rust

Bryan Rust has already scored 20 goals for the sixth consecutive season, bringing him to 195 for his career. If he scores five more goals, he'll reach 200 and become the ninth player in Penguins history to score that many goals. 

Erik Karlsson

After 1,073 games, Erik Karlsson is sitting on 199 career goals. If and when the 34-year-old scores 200, he'll become only the second Swedish-born defenseman to reach the milestone behind Hall of Famer Niklas Lidstrom (264). 

Evgeni Malkin

Evgeni Malkin may not reach 20 goals for the 16th time in his career, but at 1,341 points, the future Hall of Famer can collect nine points in the final 11 games to reach 1,350. He's already the second-highest scorer from Russia, behind Alex Ovechkin (1,607).

Kris Letang

Kris Letang is already the highest-scoring defenseman in Penguins history, and after 1,151 games, he's collected 596 assists and needs only four more helpers for 600. If and when he picks up those four assists, he'll join Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Malkin, and Jaromir Jagr as the only Pittsburgh players with 600 assists.

5 Best Penguins Performances In MarchIn March, the Pittsburgh Penguins are usually entrenched in a playoff race, battling for the division's top spot or home-ice advantage. 

Philip Tomasino

In 42 games with the Penguins, Philip Tomasino has ten goals and 20 points. He's one goal shy of matching a career-high of 11, which he set in 2021-22 with the Nashville Predators. At this point, he's closer to setting a personal best in goals, but if he manages nine points in the last 11 games, Tomasino will reach 100 in his career.

Kevin Hayes

Kevin Hayes has ten goals and 20 points during his first season with the Penguins. He's tallied four power-play goals and is just two-man advantage lamplighters away from tying a career-high in the category, which he set in 2017-18 and duplicated in 2022-23. 

Noel Acciari

Noel Acciari wears his heart on his sleeve and bleeds black and gold. This year, the bottom-six center leads the Penguins with 93 blocked shots. He's on pace to match or surpass his career-high of 103, which he set as a member of the Florida Panthers in 2019-20. 

Danton Heinen

Although Danton Heinen won't duplicate his 17 goals from last season, he's at eight and has two since rejoining the Penguins in a January trade. If he can light the lamp five more times, he'll collect his 100th NHL goal.

Penguins On Collision Course With Franchise History In Salary Cap EraThe Pittsburgh Penguins have 12 games left in the 2024-25 season. Through 70 games, the team has averaged 2.90 goals a game while surrendering 3.56. Based on their totals, the Penguins are on pace for 228 goals scored and 291 against. 

Connor Timmins

In 51 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Connor Timmins had just eight points. Since coming to Pittsburgh at the NHL Trade Deadline, he's already collected four in six games. If he can get seven more in the final 11 games, he'll reach 50 career points.

Bokondji Imama

Recently, Bokondji Imama scored his first goal in three years and has two career goals in 29 career games. Interestingly, the 28-year-old has never recorded an assist at the NHL level and could collect his first before the end of the season.

Tommy Novak

If Tommy Novak can return from his injury and score one more goal before the end of the regular season, he'll net his 50th career goal. He had 13 goals in 52 games with the Predators before a trade and is pointless in just two games with the Penguins. 

Alex Nedeljkovic

After his recent victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, Alex Nedeljkovic is sitting at 73 career wins and is just two more away from 75. Moreover, if he can record one more shutout, he'll reach ten in his career.

Tristan Jarry

Just like Nedeljkovic, Tristan Jarry is two victories and one shutout away from new milestones. If Jarry can win two more games, he'll reach 150, and with one more shutout, he'll get 20, becoming only the third Penguins goalie to record that many behind Marc-Andre Fleury (44) and Tom Barrasso (22). 

Can Penguins Achieve Goal Scoring Feat For Second Time In Crosby Era?Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Joona Koppanen scored his first NHL goal on Tuesday night against the New York Islanders.