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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For much of the game Thursday, it looked like the end of the winning run for the St. Louis Blues.

They fooled us again.

And by extending their winning streak to eight games with an incredible come-from-behind 3-2 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena, the Blues (39-28-7) found a new way to win.

And they found that they really can win in any fashion.

Their goal differential was plus-24 in the first seven games of this winning streak, but this was different. The Blues fought off a slow start and overcame a two-goal deficit by scoring twice in the third period in 19 seconds on goals by Cam Fowler and Dylan Holloway, who scored twice to extend his point streak to nine games (four goals, 10 assists) and after giving up two goals on his first five shots, Joel Hofer settled in to make 16 saves and win his fifth straight start.

Through it all, the Blues remained two points behind the Minnesota Wild for the first wild card in the Western Conference but moved five points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card and remained six ahead of the Calgary Flames, who lost 5-2 against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

“To have a comeback win, it wasn’t our best game by any means,” Holloway said. “We were kind of fighting it a bit early, but I think that to come back and win a game like that is huge for our team. That’s how we grow. It’s definitely crucial to know that we can do that.”

Coach Jim Montgomery said, “I think we just stuck with it. I thought it was important. Our first period was just OK and Nashville was checking really well. They were playing faster than us. The second period, we needed to win the period and we found a way to get a goal and then in the third period, we just felt that we hung around and we were going to prevail. It wasn’t a constant pressure, but we’re just a confident team that we think we’re going to find a way to win and we did tonight.”

It’s the Blues’ longest winning streak since they won nine in a row from April 2-17, 2022 but first time they were held under four goals. But all things considered, they’ll gladly take the two points.

Let’s dive into Thursday’s Three Takeaways:

* Finally found a forecheck, set play – The Blues trailed 2-1 in the third period, and it appeared that their winning streak would end.

There just didn’t seem to be that push that would be necessary to try and at least even the game up.

Through the first half of the third, they iced the puck six times and there just didn’t appear to be that desperate drive needed. They hadn’t been in this position in a while having to chase a game.

But for as well as the Predators (27-37-8), who were officially eliminated from the playoffs Thursday, checked and kept the Blues from getting to their forecheck, there was a crack.

It came on Fowler’s goal when the Blues were finally able to establish some zone time, worked the puck off the wall down low, and when Brayden Schenn found Jake Neighbours, he was able to find Fowler driving into the left circle and the defenseman sniped a wrister top shelf, short side at 11:57 to tie the game 2-2.

“Just tried to present my stick as an option if he needs it,” Fowler said of Neighbours. “That’s something we work on as a team and kind of offensive zone flow and we have to trust if a forward gets back there, he can get the puck to the net and I can crash for the rebound, or if he doesn’t like the shot, he can slide it over. Great play by him. Our whole shift, those guys worked really hard to get us that opportunity. I was happy to take advantage of it, but those guys made the whole play and made it happen for me.

“Credit to them, the first couple periods, they played a really solid game and didn’t give us much time and space. They were moving pucks fast and we didn’t get the chance to really establish our forecheck as we wanted to. It was frustrating for the first couple periods, but we came in here and tried to regroup in between and support one another. I thought we came out with a really strong third period and was able to get a couple big goals there to help us win. It was a great response by our guys.”

It was the juice needed, because at 12:19 when Holloway put the Blues ahead 3-2, it came off an icing and offensive zone face-off, a set play where Robert Thomas won the face-off to Holloway. He was supposed to find Jordan Kyrou as an option, but if it wasn’t there, get the puck to Thomas and enable to crafty center to make a play.

Thomas tried to find Kyrou from behind the net, but the puck caromed into the slot, and just like he did on the first goal he scored, Holloway used his speed to jump the play when the puck got caught in Michael Bunting’s skates and Holloway stole it and snapped it past Juuse Saros for the Blues’ first and only lead.

“We had a face-off play that we were running,” Holloway said. “’Tommer’ was hot on draws. I was supposed to go to to the corner and I get the puck, ‘Rouz’ was supposed to pop out, I give it low to ‘Tommer’ and then he looks slot. I was kind of rolling. I think he kind of missed ‘Rou’ and it was in Bunting’s skates and I was able to fish it out and get a good shot off.”

When all looked bleak, the Blues found a way, and Montgomery found something about his players again.

“That we’re resilient, that the confidence from everything that we’ve done is now come into the fact that we can win games in a lot of different fashions,” he said.

* Holloway goal key – The Blues needed something, anything to spark them. They had just three shots in the first period and little O-zone time, and Montgomery said if they can just find something positive in the second period, with the way the team has been winning and feeling confident, they would find a way.

Nathan Walker had a goal waved off earlier in the third period when a quick whistle blew a play dead – the second time in as many games it’s happened against Nashville.

But Holloway made another play. This time, again, hustling to jump into the neutral zone, disrupt a puck for Michael McCarron, and while falling down, create a loose puck for Thomas, who darted into the offensive zone, cut back and fed Holloway for a shot that got through Saros at 10:35 for a much-needed goal after Nashville had gone ahead 2-0 in the first on goals by Fedor Svechkov at 2:48 and Brady Skjei at 10:16.

“It was a neutral zone forecheck,” Holloway said. “As a F-2 there, you’re supposed to kind of take away the middle option. The guy went to the middle so I had a step in there. ‘Tommer’ made a great play, swooped in there, grabbed it. ‘Tommer’ is so good driving the ‘D’ down low and pulling it so I just tried to get him the play and he made a helluva pass to me. I was lucky enough for that one to squeak by.”

* Thomas/Schenn switch – Montgomery seems to have a pulse for when making a change, and he’s done so here in the past so many games when he flips Thomas and Schenn, so Thomas can play with Holloway and Kyrou, and Schenn goes with Neighbours and Zack Bolduc.

The Blues hadn’t had much offense, and had just 10 shots on goal through two periods, but only five through the first 30.

“Really it’s just looking for a spark,” Montgomery said. “I think we had five shots on net when I did it. It was 27 minutes into the game. I was just looking to put ‘Tommer’ with different players and ‘Schenner’ with different players and see if it sparked, and both lines scored. It worked.

“It’s just a feel that we’re not playing a normal possession game that we do and that maybe this will create something to spark, right.”

And it certainly did.

* A caveat for the end of the game was the Predators thought they had scored when Jonathan Marchessault put the puck in at the buzzer for what appeared to be a 3-3 game, but a quick review showed the puck was put in after the horn went off.

“I couldn’t hear anything,” Hofer said. “I was just getting ready for overtime. I was getting ready for overtime and all the boys came up to me and told us we won, so it was a good feeling.

“I knew it was close. I looked up and saw zeroes, but it’s happened to us a couple times this year with a couple seconds or what not. Luckily we were on the right side of it tonight.”

“It was huge. A little adversity for us at the start. We never gave up. We kept chipping at it. We got one in the second that gave us a chance in the third. It was a great third period for us. They didn’t have much. I thought we deserved that one tonight.”

There wasn't a whole lot to write home about in the Pittsburgh Penguins' brutal 7-3 road loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Goaltender Tristan Jarry was pulled for the second consecutive game, an outing which included two Sabres goals on the first two shots of the game. The Penguins' defense - on the blue line and within the forward unit - was asleep at the wheel, seemingly uninterested in, well, playing defense. Luck was not on their side, either, as bounces failed to go their way left and right.

But, in what is now almost certainly a lost season, one bounce did go their way. And - ultimately - it was the one that mattered most in this game between two teams at or near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. 

With eight minutes and 49 seconds left in the first period and trailing 2-0, the Penguins were forechecking low, and Rickard Rakell gathered the puck. He threw a pass to the net-front to Sidney Crosby, who kicked it to his own stick and flicked the puck bar-down past Sabres netminder James Reimer.

HISTORY‼️

Sidney Crosby passes Wayne Gretzky for the most point-per-game seasons with 20 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Y6f16yMzI6

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) March 27, 2025

And with that goal - Crosby's 26th of the season - he clinched his 20th consecutive season at point-per-game, which officially broke Wayne Gretzky's previous record of 19.

THE KING OF CONSISTENCY 🤯

Sidney Crosby breaks Wayne Gretzky's record with the 20th point-per-game season of his outstanding career! pic.twitter.com/Qi5zBebggh

— NHL (@NHL) March 27, 2025

The Sabres scored the next five goals, all in the second period. And Blake Lizotte and Kevin Hayes added tallies for Pittsburgh in the final frame to make the final score 7-3. But it was Crosby who was the star of the night, and he once again proved why he's been the star of the last two decades for the NHL.

"It's remarkable," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's in such rare company with where he is right now. With every milestone that he crosses, I guess, it just puts him in more elite company than he's already in. So, I just think, when you think in terms of 20 seasons in a row with such consistency, it's an amazing accomplishment.

"And it doesn't surprise me because I know how hard he works and how hard he trains, and he controls everything in his power to set himself up for success and, ultimately, the team. I've said it on so many occasions, just his passion for the game, his willingness to put the work in to continue to be at his best... it's just remarkable."

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.

His teammates are nothing short of amazed at their captain's accomplishment, too, as several of them have been around to witness it for a decade or more.

"He's a tremendously special player and person," linemate Bryan Rust said, who has been with the team since 2014. "You can see his hard work in everything. Just... 20 years is a huge accomplishment. It says more about him as a person than as a player. 

"He works extremely hard, and he knows what it takes. There's a lot of people who can be good for one, two, or five years, but to do it that long... I think that's incredibly special."

Crosby, of course, gave a lot of credit to the guys he has played with over the years in helping him achieve the milestone. But with the competitor he is, he knew it didn't taste quite the same because of the way the team lost.

And no one should expect anything less from the game's ultimate - and, literally, its most consistent - competitor.

"You play to win," Crosby said. "It's obviously a special milestone, but in a game like that, it's not really the same. So, just a tough night. Tough night."

---

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There's nothing like a Philadelphia Flyers game that makes you feel every emotion under the sun. Joy, frustration, relief, heartbreak, elation—it was all there in the leadup to and during the Flyers' 6-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

But it wasn’t just about the hockey. The game came on the heels of a bombshell morning: John Tortorella, the fiery, demanding, and often polarizing head coach, was relieved of his duties. Assistant coach Brad Shaw was suddenly thrust into the lead role, tasked with keeping the Flyers steady amid the storm.

Then, there was the curious case of Cam York—dressed but not playing, due to a "disciplinary issue." It all made for a bizarre, tension-filled day that could have easily unraveled the Flyers.

Instead, it was a night where Matvei Michkov nearly had his first NHL hat trick, the Flyers played with a renewed sense of energy even after a tough stretch of losses, and, despite all the chaos surrounding them, finally got a result that matched the effort they've been putting in. 

1. Matvei Michkov Almost Had His Moment

It felt like the entire Wells Fargo Center was ready to explode. Matvei Michkov had already lit the lamp twice and was hunting for his first career NHL hat trick. Every time he touched the puck, you could feel the anticipation in the building.

For a brief moment, it looked like he had it. His second goal of the night was originally credited to him, but after a closer look, it was determined that Sean Couturier got a piece of it in front. No hat trick—yet.

Then came the final minutes, when the Canadiens’ net was empty. The puck found Travis Konecny, who had a clear shot at an easy goal but instead opted to dish it to Michkov, wanting to set up the rookie’s milestone moment. It was the perfect storybook ending… until the puck clanked off the post.

Matvei Michkov came so close to his first career hat trick... pic.twitter.com/ny0MYEXsXP

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 28, 2025

It was a moment that summed up everything about Michkov’s rise—electrifying, dramatic, and just the tiniest bit cruel. The hat trick didn’t come, but it’s only a matter of time before it does. The kid is special, and everyone—his teammates, the fans, the entire organization—knows it.

"I had my hands up [ready to celebrate]!" Konecny laughed postgame when asked about Michkov's shot not going in. "I'm laughing. It is what it is. I feel bad for him. I don't think he has [a hat trick] yet, so I'm sure he was upset about it. But he'll have plenty more opportunities."

2. Brad Shaw Steered the Ship Through a Chaotic Day

Nobody wakes up expecting to be an NHL head coach by the time they go to bed, but that was Brad Shaw’s reality.

With John Tortorella dismissed, it fell on Shaw’s shoulders to rally a team that had just lost its leader. It was an emotional day, no matter how you slice it. Love him or hate him, Tortorella set a tone in that room. His presence was massive, and adjusting to life without him wasn’t easy.

"A really good friend of mine lost his job," Shaw said postgame. "He's been a real mentor to me in my career as a coach, so it was very bittersweet. But once the day starts rolling...I got a lot of support from the staff and we kept most things status quo. We weren't interested in doing a lot of tinkering."

Brad Shaw was visibly emotional when talking about Torts and how “bittersweet” today was. Said he doesn’t think there’s a better human being in the game and that he respects Torts so much as a person and a hockey personality. #LetsGoFlyers

— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) March 28, 2025

And to their credit, the Flyers responded the right way. They played a fast, determined game—one that mirrored the style they’ve been trying to execute all season. There was no panic, no sign of a team unraveling under the weight of the news. If anything, they looked sharper, more energized.

"I thought the guys played hard and played smart and obviously we finished more plays at the net and reaped the benefits," Shaw continued. "We got a big enough lead that we could take it home and get the win."

Shaw didn’t overhaul anything overnight, but his calm, measured presence clearly had an effect. He made sure his players knew the mission hadn’t changed. And after a string of frustrating results, finally getting a win—especially under these circumstances—felt like a weight lifted off everyone’s shoulders. The collective sigh of relief in the postgame interviews was palpable.

For now, Shaw is the guy behind the bench. Whether he’s the long-term answer remains to be seen, but if his debut as head coach proved anything, it’s that the Flyers aren’t about to let this season slip away.

"I came to Philly to be an assistant coach with [Tortorella]," he explained of the whirlwind of suddenly undertaking head coach responsibilities. "I never really put a lot of thought into the head coaching because I never really planned on it. But now that it's here and I have these nine games...[we're] gonna see how good we can get those nine games to be."

Across his career behind the bench, Shaw has served as head coach twice—with the Detroit Vipers in the IHL during the 2000-01 season, and with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in the AHL from 2002-2005.

“Went to talk with Danny about what the plan was for the next nine games, went back to my desk, and tried to remember how to be a head coach.”

—Brad Shaw on what the process was for him preparing for this game as HC#LetsGoFlyers

— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) March 28, 2025

3. Cam York Was Benched, but the Flyers’ Defense Held Firm

There was an odd sight during warmups: Cam York, in full gear, going through his routine like any other night. But when the game started, he never hit the ice. The official word? A "disciplinary issue."

Brad Shaw says that Cam York did not play tonight because of a “disciplinary issue.” Said that the plan is for him to play next game. #LetsGoFlyers

— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) March 28, 2025

There was no elaboration from Shaw, but whatever happened, it was serious enough for York to get a front-row seat to the action without actually playing. Given how much responsibility he carries on the blue line, it was a bold move—especially considering the Flyers were already facing a tough workload against a fast Canadiens team.

But credit where it’s due: the rest of the defense stepped up. With one fewer body in the rotation, every blueliner had to log heavier minutes, and they handled it well. The pairing of Nick Seeler and Travis Sanheim held things down, while Jamie Drysdale, Emil Andrae, and Egor Zamula all did their part to keep the defensive wall solid. And despite some inevitable breakdowns, the Flyers’ defense did enough to keep the game from slipping away.

"I think I played with everyone!" Sanheim joked postgame. "The D-core stepped up huge. It's not easy to have five guys and have to play more minutes than they're used to...I'm just really proud of the guys sticking together. We made mistakes, had tired legs, but we battled through and I'm really happy about it."

Final Thoughts

Some wins feel routine. Others carry a little extra weight. This one? It felt downright cathartic.

After everything that happened—the firing of their coach, the questions surrounding York, the gut-punch of Michkov’s near hat trick—the Flyers emerged with a well-earned victory. It was the kind of game that proved that even without playoffs, every guy on this team has something to play for.

"We have eight games left," Nic Deslauriers said postgame. "There's some people playing for contracts, some people playing to stay in the league. We all have something to play for, and if it's not just for yourself, it's for the guy beside you. We stick together."

They’ve played good hockey lately without getting rewarded. This time, they got what they deserved.And if nothing else, it showed that this team isn’t going anywhere. They’re still here. They’re still battling. And when they're playing their brand of free, creative, energetic hockey, they’re still a force to be reckoned with.