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The Buffalo Sabres made one of the notable moves leading up to last Friday's NHL trade deadline, shipping center Dylan Cozens to the Ottawa Senators for center Josh Norris. 

Cozens, 23, had been a fixture in the rumor mill throughout this season. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams held firm for a “hockey trade,” getting a suitable established player in return. Cozens has three points in his first three games for Ottawa, while Norris has an assist in two games for Buffalo.

Time will tell whether this deal helps the Sabres one day end their league-record playoff drought that is poised to reach 14 years. What's clear is Sabres owner Terry Pegula still has confidence in Adams. 

Conjecture over Adams' future in Buffalo grew as the Sabres sank in the standings this season. Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News believes Pegula never would've allowed the Cozens-for-Norris swap to go down if he intended to replace Adams. 

Harrington believes Adams shouldn't get too comfortable. He suggests Pegula is giving his embattled GM one last chance to improve the struggling Sabres. 

Adams is expected to attempt to boost his roster through trades and free agency in the off-season. Last December, he admitted he tried to add to his lineup last summer but had little success finding free agents willing to sign with the Sabres or players with no-trade protection keen to accept a move to Buffalo. 

The Sabres did re-sign Jason Zucker at the trade deadline instead of trading the pending UFA. The 33-year-old has 44 points in 55 games this season and wanted to stay, so the youngest roster in the NHL kept a veteran presence. The Hockey News' Michael Augello mentioned Zucker can establish some roots in Buffalo, where he has a leadership role.

Zucker Re-Signed To Complete Unfinished Business With SabresThe Buffalo Sabres made some significant roster changes before the NHL trade deadline, including trading center Dylan Cozens to Ottawa. However, GM Kevyn Adams also accomplished one of his stated goals before 3 p.m. last Friday: signing veteran forwards Jordan Greenway and Jason Zucker to contract extensions.

Meanwhile, Adams denied a recent rumor linking left winger JJ Peterka to the New York Rangers. The 23-year-old Sabre is an RFA this summer. He's completing his entry-level contract and lacks arbitration rights, giving Adams leverage in contract negotiations. 

One thing Adams won't do is move his captain. On Tuesday, Rasmus Dahlin firmly dismissed a report by TNT hockey analyst Paul Bissonnette claiming he told the Sabres GM that he wanted out if the team didn't improve soon. 

“I don't know what he's talking about,” Dahlin told reporters.

How Much More Losing Can Rasmus Dahlin Take Before He Demands Out Of Buffalo Like Eichel and Reinhart?They say patience is a virtue. But even the most virtuous people have limits on how much they are willing to take.

The Sabres won't be the only team looking to add to their roster this summer. 

Following the trade deadline, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic speculated that the Philadelphia Flyers could take a big swing at acquiring a major name in the off-season. GM Daniel Briere could make that addition in the trade market, but he didn't rule out making a splash in this summer's free-agent pool. 

If the salary cap reaches the projected $95.5 million for 2025-26, the Flyers will have over $27.5 million in cap space. They have four notable players – Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, Jakob Pelletier and Cam York – to re-sign. They're RFAs who should be affordable signings, leaving plenty of cap room to make a big move or two.

PuckPedia indicates the Flyers have seven picks in the first two rounds of this year's draft, including three first-rounders. Some of those picks could be used in a trade package before the opening round of the 2025 draft. 

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It was another night of missed opportunities. 

The Philadelphia Flyers played better than the scoreline suggests, but once again, their inability to finish chances came back to haunt them. 

They controlled stretches of the game, got some timely saves from Ivan Fedotov, and continued to see strong play from Jamie Drysdale.

But it wasn’t enough.

A few soft goals, a continued scoring slump from key players, and a lack of sharpness in critical moments allowed the Senators to walk away with a 5-2 win.

The frustrating part? It’s not that the Flyers are playing bad hockey. In fact, they’ve strung together some of their more structurally sound performances in recent games. But when the same issues—goal-scoring struggles, defensive lapses, inconsistent goaltending—keep costing them, it starts to wear on a team.

1. Finishing Issues Continue to Plague the Flyers

We’ve said it before, and we’re saying it again: the Flyers are generating enough chances. They’re just not burying them.

Against Ottawa, they controlled play for long stretches. They got in behind the defense, they had numbers on the rush, they created scrambles in front of the net. But when it came time to put the puck in the net—with the exception of goals from Drysdale and Rodrigo Abols—they either missed their opportunities, ran into solid goaltending, or simply couldn’t execute the final touch.

It’s becoming a recurring theme—games where they look good but fail to capitalize on their best looks. It’s not for lack of trying, but the end result is the same. This team is built on hard work, structure, and a willingness to outcompete opponents, but that only gets you so far when the goals aren’t coming.

John Tortorella has stressed the need for certain players to "get going," particularly Travis Konecny, who remains in a frustrating scoring drought.

"We have guys that can score goals," he said postgame. "Those are the guys who have to step up."

John Tortorella highlights guys like Owen Tippett, Travis Konecny, and Matvei Michkov as needing to get going. Pointed out that Konecny’s scoring slump has been a “big hole” in the #LetsGoFlyers offense as of late.

— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) March 12, 2025

"A big hole for us is TK," Tortorella continued. "He does a lot of the work as far as carrying us when we're struggling scoring goals."

He’s still making plays, still getting to the right areas, but the puck isn’t going in. And when your leading scorer is struggling, it creates a ripple effect throughout the lineup. Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov were also singled out by Tortorella as players who need to produce more.

This isn’t a team that lacks offensive talent. They have players capable of turning things around. But time is running out, and if they want to stay in the playoff race, the finishing needs to improve—fast.

2. Ivan Fedotov Had Some Strong Moments—But Gave Up a Few Soft Ones

Fedotov made some big stops in this game, continuing his really solid, if limited, starts in net. He showed flashes of why the organization still has a ton of belief in him—his size, positioning, and calm demeanor in net give the Flyers a solid foundation to build from.

But there were also a few goals he’d probably want back. The Senators had stretches where they overwhelmed the Flyers offensively, and they took advantage of the moments where Fedotov was just a little off his angle or where he let in a goal that looked stoppable.

It’s not fair to pin the loss on him, but in a game where the Flyers needed to be airtight to compensate for their scoring issues, those moments made a difference.

Fedotov continues to show how good he can be, and he’s had games where he’s been excellent. But there is no doubt extra pressure on him when the offense isn’t scoring a ton—every goal allowed carries a little extra weight. 

3. Jamie Drysdale’s Confidence is Growing

Amidst the rampant negativity that has engulfed the Flyers' sphere, Jamie Drysdale has been a true bright spot as of late.

The young defenseman has been on a roll lately, and he continued that with another strong performance, capped off by a goal. He’s looking more and more comfortable jumping into the play, making confident decisions with the puck, and showing off his skating ability.

"He's been obviously playing really well," Drysdale's defensive partner Nick Seeler said postgame. "I think his confidence has been a lot better. You can just see it in his skating ability—he's getting up the ice and his first instinct is usually the right one, and he's acting on that now. It's fun to see."

When the Flyers traded for Drysdale, they did so with the belief that he could continue developing into a top offensive defenseman—a "rover" position, as Tortorella puts it. And while there have been ups and downs in his Flyers career, it’s becoming clear that he’s trending in the right direction.

What’s most encouraging is that Drysdale isn’t just playing safe hockey—he’s actively looking to make things happen. He’s carrying the puck with authority, driving offense from the back end, and stepping into the play at the right moments. If the Flyers’ forwards can start finishing with more consistency, Drysdale could be a major factor in turning their offensive struggles around.

It’s easy to focus on the negatives after a loss, but Drysdale’s emergence is a real positive. He’s playing with confidence, and that’s exactly what the Flyers need from him.

Final Thoughts

This loss felt like a microcosm of the Flyers’ recent struggles. The effort was there. The structure was there. They had moments where they controlled the game. But the same issues—finishing problems, defensive lapses, inconsistent goaltending—kept them from getting the result they wanted.

It’s frustrating, especially because they’re not playing bad hockey. They’re just missing that extra level of sharpness that turns close games into wins.

The key now is finding a way to snap out of this pattern before it’s too late. The playoffs are still within reach, but if the Flyers can’t start finishing their chances and getting more consistent performances across the board, they might run out of time.

Nikita Grebenkin Talks Readiness For Flyers Future In New InterviewNikita Grebenkin knew a trade was possible. 

'I'm Not Gonna Give You That Information': Flyers' John Tortorella Explains Matvei Michkov BenchingJohn Tortorella doesn’t care what you think.

Flyers’ Rasmus Ristolainen Is Focused On The Present, Unbothered by the NoisePhiladelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (55). (Megan DeRuchie-The Hockey News)

Wonky, wacky, just plain weird.

The Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Islanders to finish a perfect three-in-four-game stretch in a game that included eight minor penalties and two disallowed goals in one period.

Outside of these three 'W' adjectives, the Kings took the lead and never looked back despite a rush goal by Anders Lee, who was up to his usual tactics all game, being in and around the net. LA was never fully out of control, but despite the reflected score, it did not look like the structured and defensively sound team we are so used to seeing playing at the Crypto.com arena.

What fueled this was the gap control and overall game management, which completely slipped away in the second period.

In the second period alone, via NST, the Kings were outchanced 14-11. Those 14 chances were the vast majority of the 19 the Islanders would put up in three periods total. Five of the eight high danger chances the Isles had come in the middle frame. Fortunately for the Kings in this game, they had Darcy Kuemper, and in all reality, they faced the Islanders.

That's no intended disrespect for a franchise with its own deeply embedded legacies in the sport; it's a team that traded away its heart and soul player in Brock Nelson and currently has star player Matthew Barzal off the ice. It's a team with significant hurdles to make the playoffs this season, with the sands of time trickling away now with five weeks more or less left in the season. It's a team with a dead-last powerplay that looked every bit the part despite the disallowed goals.

Tough period for the Islanders, with two goals coming off the board after very similar goaltender interference challenges#Islespic.twitter.com/EytxkaXGyc

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 12, 2025

For the Kings, that's a much-needed win to keep their home playoff aspirations flowing. Those aspirations would be fleeting if the team wasn't bailed out last night. The vast majority of the team gave it their 'C+' game, except for Kuemper, who was excellent. With a .971 SV%, I don't believe anyone wouldn't say that without Kuemper, this game is possibly as ugly as that middle frame was supposed to be.

Those wins are typically the type of games mid-tier teams lose, even if the game of hockey is finicky, with bounces going in and out for the good or the bad. It's been said, though, that good teams can sometimes get by on their 'B' game and, in this instance, their 'C+' game.

That was on full display last night, and the Kings were fortunate it was the Islanders and their 0-8 powerplay.

There are some positives from last night; it isn't all dread and gull. While the top line cratered, it was the fourth line, the newly formed line for just three games now, that stood out in their limited time on ice. None of three would break eight minutes of TOI, which certainly doesn't help to take them out of the game due to the eight penalties. But, at even strength, for reference, the trio of Alex Turcotte, Samuel Helenius, and Tanner Jeannot played just ten seconds shy of the Quinton Byfield line and a minute under the Phillip Danault line.

The three had the highest Corsi out of any line combination, at 64.29% during the game. The three out-chanced the opposition 5-3 and were the only line with a superior high-danger chance margin against the Isles: 3-0. That's a massive sign of progression as the line starts to gel as a fixture into the lineup, keeping an organizationally loved player like Trevor Lewis in the press box (11-2-2 now with Lewis out).

It's as if, at first, I didn't believe when Rob Blake said at his Trade Deadline press conference that Helenius would be a factor down the stretch. Well, shoot. He's formed an identity line that has been very good for these LA Kings.

So, while most people will be singing the praises of Byfield, and in all respects, that's certainly something to keep on eye on for scoring four straight. Byfield's shot was a laser, beating one of the top tenders in the league, and his confidence must be burgeoning right now. However, it is also a reminder of a comment made earlier: Hockey is a finicky sport. A broken stick off of a pass reception, not a shot? What are the odds?

QUINTON BYFIELD SHORTHANDED OH MY pic.twitter.com/jDuEmVkeU8

— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 12, 2025

Certainly, lower than the odds of the Islander player calling his stick sponsor postgame.

There is an underlying story about how this new line is starting to become a factor. The Kings are now becoming a team that can roll four lines, albeit at home for now (the Helenius line did perform well on the road in Vegas). The team will need that down the stretch and certainly some maintenance days for Drew Doughty (who had one before the game) despite the ascension of Mikey Anderson playing more minutes over the longtime rearguard.

Jim Hiller should throw the 37-year-old Anze Kopitar into that maintenance bucket, too.

The team will need to review this one and chop it up at the end of the day, as their next opponent would be salivating to have eight powerplays and a plethora of rush chances despite coming into the hardest barn to play in the league. A reunion on Figueroa for Pierre Luc Dubois and a quick turnaround back towards Kings hockey.

Since, in all fairness, that game against the Islanders opened a portal of time back toward Willie Desjardins hockey.

Take the two points. The team is now breathing on Edmonton's neck (78-77 points with a game in hand). Rinse and move on towards what should be an epic collision of two franchises on Thursday.