The Vancouver Canucks quest for a spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs got a little harder thanks to their regulation loss against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. Vancouver fell 3-1, finishing their six-game road trip with a 2-2-2 record. The loss had a massive impact on the Canucks playoff odds, as Vancouver finally dipped below a 10% chances of qualifying for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

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According to MoneyPuck.com, Vancouver's odds to secure a playoff spot have dropped to 9.7%. The Canucks are projected to finish with around 90 points, which would be five points below the playoff bar. As of 3:55 pm PT on Sunday, the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild are projected to secure Wild Card spots, while the Pacific Division will be made up of the Vegas Golden Knights, L.A. Kings and Edmonton Oilers. 

While the regulation loss to Winnipeg did not eliminate the Canucks, it means Vancouver will need to go on a long run to end the season. The Canucks have eight games remaining, and may need to win at least seven to qualify for the playoffs. This is in large part due to the recent play of the Blues, who have won nine straight and currently have a six-point advantage over Vancouver. 

The Canucks return home from their road trip on Wednesday to face the Seattle Kraken. Seattle has already been eliminated from playoff contention and will be looking to put another massive dent in Vancouver's 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs hopes. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT from Rogers Arena. 

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The Pittsburgh Penguins (30-34-11) ended a miserable three-game losing streak with a 1-0 overtime win over the playoff-bound Ottawa Senators on Sunday evening at PPG Paints Arena. 

In one of the least expected outcomes in recent memory, the Penguins, led by Tristan Jarry, kept the pesky Senators off the board just 24 hours after their 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Like last week, the Penguins will depart their hometown victorious as they embark on a grueling three-game swing in the Western Conference. 

Let's discuss their latest overtime triumph. 

Will the Real Tristan Jarry Please Stand Up

Social media collectively sighed when Mike Sullivan announced that Jarry would start his third consecutive game despite giving up eight goals on 19 shots and getting the hook in each contest.

Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule: Remaining Games & Statistical NotesThe Pittsburgh Penguins are winding down their 2024-25 season and on pace to miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season, a first in Sidney Crosby's 20-year career. However, there is plenty to play for in the final weeks of the regular season. 

However, Jarry silenced the critics on Sunday with a 31-save shutout, his first of the 2024-25 season and 20th in his career. He is now the third Penguins goalie to earn 20 shutouts behind Marc-Andre Fleury and Tom Barrasso.

Jarry didn't stand on his head or bail Pittsburgh out. He just played solid and made the necessary saves when called upon. It was quite a rebound performance from his previous two outings on the road.

Crosby Does It Again

Captain Sidney Crosby, fresh off securing his 20th season with a point-per-game average, tallied Sunday's only goal, his 24th overtime lamplighter. He remains second in the NHL record book behind Alex Ovechkin, who is still ahead by three overtime winners. 

After receiving a standing ovation for his latest achievement, Crosby played a passionate game. With less than five minutes left, he took a late penalty after getting into a tussle with Artem Zub.

BREAKING: Sidney Crosby Breaks Wayne Gretzky's Point-Per-Game Seasons RecordAfter 20 years in the making, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has made NHL history.

Crosby led the Penguins with six shots on goal and was 69.2% in the face-off circle. Meanwhile, he was out skating with rookie Rutger McGroarty and Ville Kouivnen, who are now sitting next to the future Hall of Famer in the dressing room. 

Even though the season is winding down, and there's no chance at the playoffs, Crosby continues to dazzle and lead the Penguins.

Rookies Defy the Odds

Head coach Sullivan is famously known for playing his veterans and never letting the young kids get a fair shot. On Sunday, in a scoreless game through regulation, both McGroarty and Koivunen played over 16 minutes, each logging more than 25 shifts.

Koivunen made his NHL debut and had two shots, while McGroarty suited up for his fourth NHL contest and had three shots with a blocked shot and four hits. 

Penguins Call Up Star Prospects Koivunen & McGroartyAfter a disastrous road trip, the Pittsburgh Penguins are calling up some reinforcements from the AHL. On Friday morning, they announced that prospects Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty are bound for Pittsburgh.

At the AHL level, Koivunen is the league's second-best scorer and didn't get to find the back of the night in Pittsburgh. But he should be up for the remainder of the season and could become the 30th Penguins player to score this season on the upcoming road trip. 

Meanwhile, McGroarty is also looking for his first NHL point, and departed Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has one of the team's hottest players with 18 points in 19 games. 

It will be fun to watch the duo down the stretch and the impact they can have given top-six minutes and a chance to utilize the skills that have earned them a call-up in the first place. 

The Chicago Blackhawks lost to the Utah Hockey Club 5-2 on Sunday afternoon, but that is far from the main story. This rebuilding team hasn't been in the playoff race once this season, and that's not what they are thinking about now. 

All they care about is the development of the organization from top to bottom. Right now, more than half of the roster is 25 years old or younger. The NHL team is a developmental team at this point. 

Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel are the latest additions to the group. After losing with the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the NCAA Tournament last week, they decided to turn pro. On Sunday, they made their debuts together as a pair. 

"It's unbelievable, having to do it with a buddy." Sam Rinzel said about making his debut alongside his college teammate in Moore. "It means the world. It brings a level of [comfort] to you, it adds to your confidence, I think for sure." 

Rinzel was incredibly noticeable in his first NHL game. He had a handful of grade-A scoring chances that will eventually go in as his timing and awareness improve. After the game, he admitted that "scoring is hard". 

"I felt good. Honorable." Rinzel said when asked how he felt about his debut as an individual. "It was so fun, guys are great."

The Blackhawks have a young room with a lot of players within the same age bracket. They are all there to grow and learn together. 

"It was obviously really fun," Oliver Moore said of his NHL debut. "Definitely something I'll never forget. Right from the national anthem and on, something I'll never forget." 

Moore knows that winning is the most important thing, but he was also clearly over the moon about making his NHL debut. 

"At the end of the day, I just want to play hockey. That's what I'm here to do." Moore continued. "I think trying to play your game, trying to help the team win in any way you can out there." 

It is not going to be easy for these guys every single night once they get going in their NHL careers. It is hard to recreate the jubilation of your first NHL game, so now they need to adjust to playing hockey at the highest level night in and night out. 

"I felt good. I think Fliggy and Veleno did a really good job of helping me, just talking to me. You know, it's a different game than college. It's a lot bigger." Moore said when asked about what he learned from his first game that he can improve on going forward. 

The Blackhawks put him on a good line with two other forwards at different stages of their careers who can help him along the way. They did something right, as Moore praised them the first opportunity he got. 

Neither of them collected their first career NHL goal or point in the loss, but they both made an impact. Rinzel had a handful of high-quality scoring chances that will go in if he continues to go at that pace. Moore created a breakout for Artyom Levshunov and Nick Foligno that resulted in a Joe Veleno goal as well. His speed was noticeable as well. 

There are eight more games for the Chicago Blackhawks. These two will likely skate in all eight of them as they prepare for a summer of NHL prep. If all goes right, they have as good of a chance as anyone to make the opening night roster. Like their NHL debut, they'd like to do that together too. 

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Barring some drastic change in the remaining weeks of the NHL's 2024-25 regular season, the Colorado Avalanche are more or less locked into third place in the highly-competitive Central Division. However, the two teams currently above them in the Central -- the first-place Winnipeg Jets and second-place Dallas Stars -- aren't nearly as secure in where they are at the moment. 

Indeed, with the Jets having another eight games left to play, and with the Stars having another nine games left, there could be a switching of positions beween the two teams. Winnipeg presently has 106 standings points, while Dallas has 100 points with a game in hand on the Jets.

So, with that in mind, which of the Jets or Stars should the Avalanche hope to play in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs? For a few different reasons, we're going to argue that the Avs should be hoping Winnpeg slides to second place and Colorado gets the Jets in the opening round.

Why? Well, for one thing, the Stars are arguably the deepest team in the league after the addition of star winger Mikko Rantanen. And Winnipeg's recent playoff history has been far from ideal -- and not nearly as good as Dallas' recent playoff runs. To that end, last season, the Avalanche beat the Jets in the first round, before Colorado fell to the Stars in Round Two. So you can see why the Avs would probably prefer to take on Winnipeg in the opening round.

Now, the season series between Colorado and Dallas and Winnipeg would suggest the Stars should be the Avalanche's preferred first-round opponent. The Avs went 2-1-0 against Dallas this season, and they only went 1-2-1 against Winnipeg. In addition, the Jets have the best goaltender in the league in Connor Hellebuyck, and Winnipeg has been slightly more dominant than the Stars.

That said, Dallas also has an elite goalie in Jake Oettinger, and the Stars also have the best defeseman (other than Avs superstar Cale Makar and Canucks star Quinn Hughes) in Miro Heiskanen. This is to say it's going to be very difficult for Colorado no matter who they get in the first round, because in the second round, the Avalanche is almost assuredly going to take on either Dallas or Winnipeg.

Still, if we were an Avalanche fan and we had to choose either the Stars or Jets in Round One, we'd pick the Jets without hesitation. Winnipeg simply hasn't proven itself worthy of being a favorite in the post-season, and Dallas has continually proven itself to be a team that can win at least a round or two.

The Avs should want to avoid the Stars until the second round -- or even more ideally, they ought to hope that Dallas is eliminated in the first round -- and that means taking on the Jets in the first round. Time will tell if we're right in that regard, but one way or another, the Avalanche are going to get a tough test right off the hop. And the way they respond in Round One will set the table for their subsequent destiny.