16.03.2025
Buffalo Sabres 4 - 3 Vegas Golden Knights
In a thrilling matchup, the Buffalo Sabres secured a 4-3 shootout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights, highlighted by captain Rasmus Dahlin's dramatic tying goal with just 14 seconds left in regulation. Dahlin's slap shot from the blue line set the stage for a shootout where Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch scored for the Sabres. Vegas took initial leads with goals from Brett Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev, but Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker answered for Buffalo, with Zucker capitalizing on a defensive mistake to tie the game in the third period. Jack Eichel extended his point streak to eight games for the Golden Knights, but a missed empty-net opportunity by Tomas Hertl contributed to the game's wild finish. Despite making 34 saves, Vegas goaltender Adin Hill couldn't secure the win. Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen recorded 16 saves in the victory, while significant players like Jiri Kulich and Josh Norris missed parts of the game for Buffalo due to injuries.
Pittsburgh Penguins 7 - 3 New Jersey Devils
The Pittsburgh Penguins secured their fourth consecutive win with a decisive 7-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils, showcasing standout performances from Connor Dewar, who scored twice, and Tristan Jarry, who made key saves. Dewar, recently traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs, has boosted the Penguins' offense with three goals in two games, contributing to their longest winning streak since late November. Sidney Crosby continued to make history, tying Wayne Gretzky's points record with a single franchise. Meanwhile, Jesper Bratt of the Devils recorded his third straight three-point game, tying a franchise record. The match also featured key moments like Nathan Bastian's disallowed goal due to an offside call, illustrating the game's intense pace and competitive nature. Despite a brief rally with two quick power-play goals from the Devils, the Penguins pulled away, with noteworthy support from players like Philip Tomasino and Erik Karlsson, underscoring Pittsburgh's relentless pursuit of victory.
San Jose Sharks 1 - 5 Washington Capitals
In a commanding 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks, Alex Ovechkin added another milestone to his illustrious career by scoring his 887th NHL goal, moving him just eight goals shy of Wayne Gretzky's all-time record. Ovechkin's deflection during the third period was part of a strong performance by the Washington Capitals, who have now won six of their last seven games. The Capitals, featuring key contributions from Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas, initiated a solid first-period lead. Despite San Jose Sharks goalie Georgi Romanov making his third NHL game appearance as a relief, the Sharks couldn't recover from their early deficit, with Macklin Celebrini scoring their lone goal. Throughout the game, significant plays, including Trevor van Riemsdyk's first goal since March 2023, highlighted the Capitals' impressive form on the road, where they maintain a league-best .727 road points percentage this season.
Boston Bruins 2 - 6 Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning ended a three-game losing streak with a dominant 6-2 victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Anthony Cirelli led the charge with two goals, while Nick Paul, Victor Hedman, and Darren Raddysh each scored a goal and contributed an assist. Notably, Tampa Bay's relentless play in the second period not only resulted in three goals but remarkably held the Bruins without a single shot on goal, a feat accomplished only twice before in the franchise's history. Nikita Kucherov returned from illness and added an assist in nearly 20 minutes of ice time. The win was crucial for the Lightning as they surpassed the Toronto Maple Leafs for second place in the Atlantic Division. Additionally, Nick Paul reached personal milestones with his 20th goal of the season and 100th NHL assist, tying a franchise record with six players hitting the 20-goal mark this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs 2 - 4 Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators achieved their sixth consecutive win, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 at Scotiabank Arena, matching a season-high streak. Victorious in all three encounters against Toronto this season, Ottawa's win was highlighted by goals from Claude Giroux, David Perron, and Jake Sanderson, with Linus Ullmark making 21 saves. Despite improvements in Toronto's third-period play, they couldn't recover from earlier setbacks, including a puck deflected into their own net by Chris Tanev during a power play. Maple Leafs stars William Nylander and Auston Matthews scored, but it wasn't enough to overcome Ottawa's resilient performance, which was bolstered by a timely penalty kill and Michael Amadio's final empty-net goal. Senators coach Travis Green praised the team's composure, while Toronto's coach Craig Berube noted the need for greater urgency and detail. As for individual milestones, Brady Tkachuk extended his point streak to nine games, and Nylander's goal stretched his to eight games, though Maple Leaf Scott Laughton exited in the third period due to an eye injury.
Montreal Canadiens 3 - 1 Florida Panthers
The Montreal Canadiens secured a 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers at Bell Centre, with standout performances from Cole Caufield, who contributed a goal and an assist, and Sam Montembeault, who made 21 critical saves, including a highlight-reel glove save against Carter Verhaeghe's late power-play chance. Christian Dvorak celebrated a milestone by netting his 100th NHL goal, while coach Martin St. Louis praised the team's full-game effort, crediting the lively atmosphere created by the fans. Florida's recent hot streak took a hit as they suffered their second loss in three games, despite Mackie Samoskevich's goal. Notably, Lane Hutson, with his assist, maintained his lead among NHL rookies in points and continued to set an impressive pace in reaching career milestones.
Philadelphia Flyers 0 - 5 Carolina Hurricanes
Jankowski scores 2, Hurricanes shut out Flyers for 7th straight win
PHILADELPHIA --
It was Jankowski's second two-goal game in the four he's played since being acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on March 7.
"I feel like it's just coming to me right now," Jankowski said. "Playing with great players, obviously we're a great team so we're having the puck a lot right now. We're playing well as a team. Luckily it's finding me right now and I'm able to finish them."
Philadelphia had points in five straight (4-0-1) prior to the homestand.
"Obviously just not great at home the past week or two weeks," forward
The goal was upheld after the Flyers challenged for goaltender interference.
"Any time your name is getting mentioned with a player like him, it's unreal," Aho said. "This is my ninth year. I played a lot of games until this point, and hopefully a lot more to come."
Jankowski's first goal made it 2-0 at 15:46 of the first period.
Hall swept in a loose puck at the right post for a power-play goal 19 seconds into the second period to extend the lead to 3-0.
Jankowski then made it 4-0 at 13:15, holding off
The 30-year-old forward, who was acquired for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, has scored on all four of his shots on goal with the Hurricanes. He's the first player on record (since 1997-98) to score on each of his first four shots with any team.
"It's been great from Day 1 coming into this group," Jankowski said. "Everyone's just made me feel right at home right away. ... When you're going to different teams there's nerves, there's jitters, you don't really know anyone. But then when I came into this locker room, I felt like I was here for years. Everyone just made me feel so welcome. I was able to just go out and play my game and focus on hockey right away." Aho said he only knew Jankowski from playing against him, but he's been impressed by what he's seen.
"You know who he is, but you don't know necessarily what kind of player he is," Aho said. "But he's been really good. He looks like he's adapting to our system really well. Smart guy, learns quickly the system; looks like he's played years within our system. And on top of that he's been pretty hot in the goal-scoring department, which always helps when you come to a new place."
Morrow batted in the puck from the top of the crease for the 5-0 final at 19:28. The 22-year-old defenseman has one goal and two assists in six NHL games this season
"When we played north, and quickly, I felt ... even at 2-0, at 3-0, we had some chances," Flyers coach John Tortorella said. "We need to score one just to give us some life. We don't score, they come down and get the fourth one and then it's just an uphill climb from there."
NOTES: It's the second time this season the Hurricanes have won seven straight; they won eight in a row from Oct. 22-Nov. 7. ... Hurricanes defenseman
Columbus Blue Jackets 0 - 4 New York Rangers
Shesterkin makes 21 saves, Rangers shut out Blue Jackets
COLUMBUS --
“Early on, I thought we had a little bit too many turnovers when we weren't taking care of the puck as much as we wanted to,” Trocheck said. “They're very good on transition. But I thought after the first 10 minutes of the first period, we really started playing the right way, getting pucks in, making sure at the blue lines we weren't turning the puck over and then our defense led to offense.”
New York now holds the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 72 points.
“We're in charge of what we do. We're in complete charge of winning hockey games and won't have to look anywhere else,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “It's great if other teams don't win on any given night, but we've just got to be responsible for ourselves right now. There's still a ton of work, though, and so that's, I think, the focus.”
“I'll be honest, there was some frustration at the end. Like you could tell that we were frustrated,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “And when you get frustrated, you kind of throw some blame around and we haven't done that, right? We’ve stuck together and that's what our message was after and will be again moving forward.”
Lafreniere opened the scoring at 1:43 of the first period. Blue Jackets defenseman
“It was just kind of a bit of a cluster of bad things that could happen there,” Severson said. “So, yeah, bad bounce there.”
Evason saw it another way.
“We need one of those to come our way, but we have to work towards that as well,” he said.
Panarin made it 2-0 at 11:36 of the second period when he skated in from the left wall and sent a wrist shot past Tarasov's blocker from the left circle. He has 12 points (six goals, six assists) during an eight-game point streak.
“We're getting down the stretch here,” Blue Jackets forward
“We’re up 2-0 in the third,” Lafreniere said. “You don't want to sit back but you also want to be careful and make the right plays. So, that's all we really wanted to do.
“We didn't really give up much and it was a really good, complete team effort.”
Trocheck then scored short-handed with Tarasov pulled for an extra attacker at 16:41 for the 4-0 final.
“I thought we got better, honestly, almost every minute of the game,” Laviolette said. “Started a little bit jumpy but by the end of the first I thought we were playing pretty well, and then the second and third, I thought outstanding. So that's three periods, three games in a row where I thought we defended well, defended hard, gives us a chance to be successful.”
NOTES: Panarin’s streak tied his season best (Oct. 9-26). He had three eight-game point streaks in 2023-24, including a career-high 15 games, which set a Rangers record for the longest run to open a season. … Blue Jackets forward
Minnesota Wild 1 - 5 St Louis Blues
In a decisive victory, Jordan Kyrou powered the St. Louis Blues to a 5-1 win over the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul with his fifth NHL hat trick, extending his team's strong 8-2-2 performance in their last 12 games. Brayden Schenn contributed a goal and an assist, while Joel Hofer made 17 saves. The Blues capitalized on significant chances, with Jake Neighbours and Kyrou both scoring, before Jake Middleton briefly cut the deficit for Minnesota. Kyrou's third-period wraparound goal and his empty-netter sealed the win, highlighting his 24th career multigoal game, a feat only a few Blues players, including Vladimir Tarasenko, have surpassed in the last 25 seasons. Meanwhile, Minnesota's struggles continued, dropping their fourth game in five, as they prepare to regroup for an upcoming matchup against the Los Angeles Kings.
Los Angeles Kings 1 - 0 Nashville Predators
Byfield scores in OT, Kings blank Predators for 5th straight win
LOS ANGELES --
“I mean, just trying to play how I always play, and right now I just feel like I just find the back of the net, I’m getting some bounces,” Byfield said. It was Byfield’s second overtime goal during the streak after picking up the winner in a 2-1 victory against the St. Louis Blues on March 8.
“I’ve kind of said it before, like, I used to be scared of (overtime),” said Byfield, who hit the right post 33 seconds into the extra period. “Now, just going 3-on-3 with all that ice, it’s so much fun out there. I just [need to] enjoy being out there. You get a lot of time and space, and just make plays.”
Kuemper is 12-0-1 in his past 13 home starts, the longest home point streak by a goaltender in Los Angeles history.
“He was awesome,” Kings defenseman
“We played a solid game,” Nashville defenseman
After a complete performance against Washington, Los Angeles came out slow with only four shots on goal in the first period and two in the second. The Kings fared better in the third period, carrying over the momentum after Kempe hit the post at 19:48 of the second on a power play, putting 12 shots on goal in the final frame and three in overtime.
“I think they played within 22 hours, so, you know, it’s a quick turnaround for them, and playing those games are definitely tough,” Byfield said. “For us, it wasn’t the cleanest game of hockey. Obviously, ‘Darce’ has been unreal for us, and did it again for us, just giving us a chance in that game. … I think, in the third, we simplified it and kind of just got to our game, just dumbed it down.”
The Predators were pleased with another strong defensive showing, holding an opponent to two goals or fewer for the fourth straight game (2-1-1), but Skjei said their offensive execution needed to improve to take advantage of that solidity.
“I think it comes down to making a few plays with the puck to score,” Skjei said. “Our D-zone has been pretty good and just got to work on getting pucks through neutral zone and then making some plays offensively. Defensemen getting shots through and just creating a little traffic in front and those arteries usually how you score in this league. Got to work a little bit more on that.”
NOTES: Kuemper got his 200th career win in 427 NHL games (200-143-53). … Predators forward
Vancouver Canucks 6 - 2 Chicago Blackhawks
The Vancouver Canucks showcased a dominant performance, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 at Rogers Arena. Key contributions came from Elias Pettersson, Conor Garland, and Pius Suter, each tallying a goal and an assist. Notably, Arturs Silovs, in his first start in seven games, made 17 saves, helping the Canucks secure their second consecutive win. The Canucks seized control early, with Quinn Hughes and Tyler Myers netting first-period goals, while Garland, with a highlight-reel goal, extended the lead. Chicago's Alex Vlasic and Wyatt Kaiser responded, but Pettersson's fourth goal in five games and a quick succession of goals from Nils Aman and Suter sealed the victory. The Blackhawks' Arvid Soderblom struggled, conceding six goals on 15 shots, contributing to their winless road trip.