When the Chicago Blackhawks took on the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 11th, 2023, nobody expected it to have an impact on NHL history the way that it did. Entering the game, the Pittsburgh Penguins needed to beat the Blackhawks, one of the basement teams in the league, to secure a postseason berth for the 17th year in a row.

After a scoreless first period, the Chicago Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead in the second thanks to a goal scored by Connor Murphy. They took that lead into the second intermission.

In the final frame, the course of history took a turn. After Evgeni Malkin tied it up 5:28 into the third, the Penguins looked like they had the momentum they needed to pull it off. 

That was until 10:22, when Buddy Robinson put Chicago ahead for good with his first goal in a Blackhawks sweater. A handful of empty netters and meaningless goals followed for both sides, but it was Robinsin’s goal that allowed the Blackhawks to secure a victory. 

Not only did this goal keep the Penguins from making it to the playoffs, ending their streak at 16 years, but many teams were also impacted (both good and bad). 

For one, the Florida Panthers are the team that took that final playoff spot. One year after winning the President’s Trophy, they struggled with consistency but snuck in thanks to the Penguins’ loss.

Florida rode the wave to the Stanley Cup Final. They were defeated by the Vegas Golden Knights, but it was the start of something special. They got back to the Final again in 2023-24 and won the Cup for the first time in franchise history. Now, they are looking to repeat with a berth in the final again in 2024-25. 

If they don’t sneak in thanks to the Buddy Robinson goal in 2022-23, they might overreact and make moves that don’t allow them to do what they’ve done since. 

On the playoff run that the Panthers had as a result of getting in over the Penguins, they ended the Boston Bruins’ season, which saw them have the best record in the history of the NHL. In the second round, they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, who then fired almost their entire front office.

Even the Montreal Canadiens were impacted as they missed out on a lottery pick that they would have received as a result of a trade. 

As for the Chicago Blackhawks themselves, earning those two points in the win seemed like a detriment to their lottery odds at the time, but they ended up winning it anyway. If they weren’t the third-worst team in the NHL, they likely wouldn’t win the lottery and the right to select Connor Bedard. 

All of these dominoes fell the way they did because of Buddy Robinson scoring his only goal with the Chicago Blackhawks. One goal scored by a journeyman on his way out of the league changed history for a lot of teams.

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

The San Jose Sharks will be looking to bolster their roster this offseason, and while they have some solid options heading toward free agency, one of those options is now off the board.

Yanni Gourde, who is 33 years old, signed a six-year extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday (June 2) that has a $2.33 million average annual value. This season, he scored seven goals and added 24 assists for 31 points through 57 games, which comes out to a 0.54 points-per-game average.

The Sharks likely would have considered adding him if he hit the open market this summer, but after the recent news, they won't have a chance to sign him.

Sharks Should Target RFA Forward Nicholas RobertsonThe San Jose Sharks are solely focused on the 2025-26 campaign after a lacklustre season saw them finish at the bottom of the standings. While they can look forward to a second-overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NHL Entry Draft, they should also consider bringing in a few new faces to bolster their roster for next season.

Sharks Agree To Release Andrew Poturalski As He Seeks Another OpportunityThe San Jose Barracuda revealed in a recent statement that they had honoured the request of forward Andrew Poturalski and were releasing him as he pursues an opportunity outside of North America. 

Sharks Extend Bona Fide Offers to Multiple ProspectsThe San Jose Sharks have announced that they’ve extended contract offers to a handful of prospects ahead of the June 1 signing rights deadline.

Steph Chambers via Getty Images

The Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers are no strangers; the two NHL teams met in last year's Stanley Cup Final (the Panthers took the trophy home, winning in seven thrilling games), and they'll meet again this year for a rematch which begins this week. You can catch Game 1 – and the entire Stanley Cup series – on TNT and Max starting at 8 p.m. ET on June 4. The series begins at Edmonton's home arena, Rogers Place. Here's everything you need to know about how to watch the Panthers vs. Oilers series, and get live updates on Game 1 here.

How to watch the Florida Panthers vs. Edmonton Oilers:

Dates: Series begins June 4, 2025

Time: 8 p.m. (Game 1)

TV channel: TNT, TruTV

Streaming: Max, Sling, DirecTV and more

Where to watch the Panthers vs. Oilers:

You can tune in to every game of the Florida Panthers vs. Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Final on TNT and truTV. These channels are available on platforms like DirecTV, Sling and Fubo. Games will also be streaming on Max. 

Stanley Cup Final channel:

All games in the Stanley Cup finals series between the Oilers and the Panthers will air on TNT and truTV.

How to watch the Stanley Cup Finals without cable:

Who is playing in the Stanley Cup Finals?

This year, the Florida Panthers will play the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals.

2025 Stanley Cup Finals TV schedule:

All times Eastern.

• Game 1: Wednesday, June 4 Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers, 8 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Max)

• Game 2: Friday, June 6 Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers - 8 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Max)

• Game 3: Monday, June 9 Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers - 8 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Max)

• Game 4: Thursday, June 12 Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers- 8 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Max)

• Game 5*: Saturday, June 14 Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers - 8 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Max)

• Game 6*: Tuesday, June 17 Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers - 8 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Max)

• Game 7*: Friday, June 20 Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers - 8 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Max)

*if necessary

More ways to watch the Stanley Cup Finals:

In an unexpected but welcomed announcement on Monday morning, the Ottawa Senators revealed they signed defenceman Tyler Kleven to a two-year contract worth an average annual value of $1.6 million.

The terms of Kleven's deal represent a bridge deal that can bring the defenceman to restricted free agency at the conclusion of the 2026-27 season.

The Fargo, North Dakota native was slated to be a restricted free agent this summer, but with his signing, the Senators have taken one of their biggest internal items of business off their agenda.

Kleven took marked steps in his development in his first full NHL season. He tallied four goals and added six assists in 79 games while exhibiting strong defensive habits that continued to progress as the season went on.

According to Evolving-Hockey's 'total defence' (DEF) metric that combines a player's defensive contributions at five-on-five and while shorthanded into one single value, only Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub compiled more defensive value for the Senators than Kleven in 2024-25.

Most of Kleven's minutes were sheltered because he played on the third pairing in favourable matchups, but it is worth noting that Sanderson and Zub led the Senators in average shorthanded ice time per game, while Kleven only logged 19 minutes and 46 seconds of shorthanded ice time all season for an average of 15 seconds per game.

Should Travis Green and the coaching staff afford Kleven more defensive responsibilities and allow him to play regularly on the penalty kill, he should have a real opportunity to create more value for himself and the team. There is also the fact that Kleven spent most of his minutes playing alongside relatively inefficient partners in Nik Matinpalo, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic.

Tough Love Fuels Impressive Growth of Young Ottawa Senators DefencemanThe Ottawa Senators owe a lot to the University of North Dakota. The institute played a significant role in developing many pieces of this team's young core. During Saturday night's thrilling 4-3 overtime victory, the impact of the North Dakota boys was on full display.

Here is how the Senators fared when each of these pairings was on the ice per Evolving-Hockey:

• Kleven/Matinpalo: 362.0 TOI, 48.53 CF%, 45.58 SF%, 43.90 GF%, 40.20 xGF%
• Kleven/Bernard-Docker: 259.9 TOI, 48.73 CF%, 49.89 SF%, 55.94 GF%, 50.59 xGF%
• Kleven/Hamonic: 188.2 TOI, 45.65 CF%, 41.66 SF%, 21.55 GF%, 50.59 xGF%

Irrespective of who his partner was, the Senators tended to be on the wrong side of the shots (CF%), shots on goal (SF%), total goals (GF%), and expected goal (xGF%) battle.

A deeper look under the hood via HockeyViz, however, reveals that Kleven had strong isolated defensive metrics.

In the postseason, Kleven looked incredibly comfortable defending, but equally, there was a poise with the puck to elude the forecheckers and create extra time and space to generate clean exits.

His postseason play was an eye-opening performance that helped foster a belief that there is another level to his two-way game that he can reach more consistently as he gains experience and his confidence continues to grow.

Having a more effective partner would also benefit Kleven, and there is every reason to believe that will happen in 2025-26. With news that Nick Jensen had surgery this offseason to correct an undisclosed lower-body injury, it is widely believed the Senators are looking to add a right-shot defenceman to guard against the possibility that Jensen either will not be ready to start the season or may not be able to return to the level that he demonstrated in the first three months of the season.

Ottawa Senators Clear a Natural Path for Defenceman Tyler Kleven to Become an NHL RegularAfter the Senators moved out two left-shot NHL defencemen in the offseason, Kleven rightly took it as a positive sign.

If Kleven were a natural right-shot, he would certainly merit consideration for a top-four role. Heck, he may still get it if the asking prices in the free agent and trade markets are prohibitively expensive. With so many other organizations electing to use left-shot defencemen rather than overpay for lesser alternatives because of their handedness, the Senators could follow suit. They could pair Kleven with Chabot before targetting strong defensive left-shot options like Jon Merrill or Calvin de Haan in free agency.

The likelihood of the top-of-the-class free agents choosing Ottawa as a destination is small, but the path of using Kleven on his off-side would prevent the organization from having to overpay on the trade market as well. With an already thin farm system and the loss of their 2026 first-rounder as punishment for the organization's involvement in the Evgenii Dadonov scandal, moving a ton of futures or valued pieces off the parent roster may not be desirable.

It all depends on the return.

If the Senators find that right-shot alternative, however, it will allow Kleven to remain on the third pairing, where he would likely partner with the returning Jensen. Even if it takes time for Jensen to return to his pre-injury level, he represents a significant improvement over the alternatives.

Whereas Kleven's partners last season were more of the prototypical third-pairing sorts, Jensen is a hardworking defender who can skate and move the puck effectively - which, in theory, would create a balanced duo and give the organization three strong pairings to build off. 

Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News Ottawa

Recent Senators News at The Hockey News Ottawa:

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The Sens' Short History Of Offer Sheets Isn't Likely To Grow This Summer

Senators Open To Re-Signing Adam Gaudette – But At What Cost?

Ex-Sens Head Coach Enters Ottawa Sport Hall Of Fame

Former Sens Defenceman Officially Signs On To Play In Switzerland

Building A Contender: What The Ottawa Senators Can Learn From The Oilers And Panthers

While Lane Hutson got most of the media attention when it came to Montreal Canadiens’ rookies, Emil Heineman was no slouch either. The Swedish winger, drafted 43rd overall by the Florida Panthers, was acquired in the Tyler Toffoli deal with the Calgary Flames in February 2022. Although he took some time to reach the NHL, he was worth the wait.

In his first full season in the NHL, Heineman showed he is ready to do whatever it takes to help his team win, even if it’s not the most glamorous job. Martin St-Louis put him on the fourth line alongside Jake Evans and Joel Armia, and the 23-year-old took to the job like a fish to water.

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Canadiens Farm Team Without Two Big Players For Game Three
Canadiens: Is Mailloux On The Market?

Unfortunately for the youngster, he suffered a freak injury when he was hit by a car in Utah in early January, which derailed his production in what had been a very respectable offensive season for a fourth-line player. The accident sidelined him until February 22, and once he returned, he could only muster a single point in 21 games, compared to 17 points in the first 41 games. In the end, he scored 10 goals and recorded eight assists in the regular season, totaling 18 points.

While his ten goals were most welcome on a team that has struggled for offensive production in the past, it’s not his offensive input that was the most valuable to the Canadiens, but his forechecking abilities. In just 62 games, he landed 173 hits, the fourth most on the team and the highest average per game with 2.79.

Heineman utilizes his 6-foot-2, 198-pound frame effectively to land punishing hits and dispossess opponents’ defensemen. He also has the speed necessary to get possession of the puck and feed it to his linemates.

Overall, I believe the youngster deserves a B+ for his performances this season. It’s not easy for a European player to adapt to the North American style of play, and Heineman was able to do it flawlessly after just one season in the AHL. His ability to perform with consistency allowed him to beat the likes of Joshua Roy for a spot in the NHL, and he never looked back.

After the Canadiens’ elimination in the first round, he was called upon to represent Sweden at the World Championships, where he recorded three points in 10 games and finished the tournament with a plus-2 rating and a bronze medal.

Photo Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

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