Here's today's NHL Nugget – this Birthday Backcheck features San Jose Sharks rookie Will Smith, who turns 20 years old on March 17.
Smith became the youngest player in Sharks history since Patrick Marleau to score multiple goals in a game when he netted his first two NHL markers.
Brian T. Dessart takes fans on a distinctive ride through the historic-laden NHL with the #NHLNugget. Check out NHLNugget.com to find where to follow NHL Nugget on social media. And for past NHL Nuggets, click here.
Here's today's NHL Nugget – this Birthday Backcheck features San Jose Sharks rookie Will Smith, who turns 20 years old on March 17.
Smith became the youngest player in Sharks history since Patrick Marleau to score multiple goals in a game when he netted his first two NHL markers.
Brian T. Dessart takes fans on a distinctive ride through the historic-laden NHL with the #NHLNugget. Check out NHLNugget.com to find where to follow NHL Nugget on social media. And for past NHL Nuggets, click here.
While nagging can build frustration, a little reminder never hurt anyone.
The Detroit Red Wings have been a busy team over the last week. Like the rest of the NHL, they are dealing with the aftermath of a hectic trade deadline.
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
*Highlights from the Red Wings' most recent win.
Last Sunday (March 9th, to be precise), Red Wings newcomers Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith joined the team for their first practice. Their new jersey numbers were also revealed at that time.
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The following day, the Red Wings took on the Ottawa Senators in a very important matchup. They ultimately lost the contest 2-1, with goaltender Linus Ullmark pulling out all the stops - 48 of them.
Players can only participate in a playoff run if they are acquired by the NHL's Trade Deadline. However, teams are still allowed to make trades. The Red Wings AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, pulled off a minor deal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins by acquiring defender Nikolai Knyzhov for future considerations.
Swedish prospect Axel Sandin-Pellikka is having a season. Just this past week, he set an SHL record. Additionally, rumors are swirling that he will join the Red Wings once his SHL season and playoffs have reached their end.
While this hasn't been officially confirmed at this time, all signs point to it being the case.
The Red Wings broke a streak of bad luck by walloping the Buffalo Sabres 7-3. Patrick Kane had a huge night, recording two goals and three assists in 17:21 minutes of work to propel them to a victory.
Another Swedish defenseman made headlines with the Red Wings last week. Anton Johansson signed a three-year entry-level contract with the team. The 6-foot-4 right-handed defender has played full-time in the SHL for the last two years and will report to the Griffins under an AHL tryout.
And just when you thought things were going well, the Red Wings get handed another loss. This time, it came at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex DeBrincat and Michael Rasmussen scored for the Red Wings in a 4-2 result.
Thanks to Trey Augustine, Michigan State is going to the Big Ten Championship game. Augustine is having quite the season. He's already won a World Junior Gold Medal with Team USA this season, and adding another Big Ten Championship would put an emphatic exclamation point on his season.
Finally, the Red Wings capped off their week by gaining ground on the final Eastern Conference Wild Card spot. They earned a 3-0 shutout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. Mrazek earned an 18-save shutout while Albert Johansson, Lucas Raymond, and Marco Kasper contributed the run support.
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ELMONT, NY -- The New York Islanders entered Sunday night's matchup against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers six points back of the second wild-card spot with 18 games to go.
After a 4-2 comeback win, the Islanders woke up on Monday morning four points back of the second wild-card New York Rangers, who could not help themselves with a 3-1 loss to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
So, that means, for now, the Islanders are chasing their cross-town rival.
The good news for the Islanders is that the Rangers have played two more games (a potential four-point swing) and the two sides go head-to-head on Apr. 10.
The Detroit Red Wings, who began their night two points up on the Islanders, inched within two points of the Rangers following a 3-0 shutout win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Here's a look at Monday's games that impact the Eastern Conference wild-card race:
The Boston Bruins, who are tied for the Islanders in points, battle the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. The Philadelphia Flyers, who are four points back of the Islanders, play the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Metropolitan Division's second seed, the New Jersey Devils, battled the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are two points back of a wild-card spot.
Up next for the Islanders is the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are just two points behind them in the standings and have won four straight.
Stay updated with the most interesting Islanders stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.
Bruins prospect Fraser Minten scores hat trick for Providence originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
One of the best assets the Boston Bruins acquired across their NHL trade deadline deals was talented prospect Fraser Minten.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound center was part of the trade that sent defenseman Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs on deadline day. The B’s also got a 2026 first-round pick in that deal.
Minten has been playing for the AHL’s Providence Bruins since the trade, and he put on a show in Sunday’s game against the Springfield Thunderbirds.
The former 2022 second-round pick scored his first goal with the P-Bruins in the opening period. He established good position in front of the net and capitalized on a nice pass from Georgii Merkulov to give Providence a 1-0 lead.
Minten’s second goal again came in front of the net, this time off a nice pass from Billy Sweezey. He completed the hat trick later in the second period after collecting a rebound in the slot and showing off a pretty move to beat the Thunderbirds goalie from a tough angle. This whole sequence began with a faceoff win by Minten in the attacking zone.
Check out all three of Minten’s goals from Providence’s 4-1 win in the video below. He also picked up the primary assist on Riley Duran’s third-period goal.
Now playing: Fraser Minten's afternoon hat trick🎬️🍿@AHLBruins | #PROvsSPRpic.twitter.com/UF1HZqmJAl
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) March 17, 2025
One of the most impressive aspects of Minten’s hat trick was his willingness to crash the net. Establishing inside ice isn’t easy, but he’s not afraid to go to the tough areas to win puck battles and score goals. He also impressed on faceoffs in this game, which is another encouraging sign for the Bruins.
Even though it would be fun for Bruins fans to watch Minten play some games at the NHL level over the final few weeks of the regular season, the best course of action is to leave him in Providence. He can play a ton of minutes in all situations down in the AHL and continue to refine his skill set, create good habits and build some confidence.
You don’t want to rush a top-tier prospect’s development. And now that he’s really settling in at Providence, it doesn’t make much sense to switch things up.
The Bruins have desperately needed good young centers for a long time. It’s a position where they’ve really struggled to draft well for many years. Minten has a bright future as a two-way center who could fill a middle-six role in the NHL fairly soon.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Jean-Gabriel Pageau had a goal and two assists, Ilya Sorokin stopped 38 shots and the Islanders beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Saturday night.
Anders Lee, Anthony Duclair and Adam Boqvist also scored for the Islanders, who have won four of their last five games. Noah Dobson and Simon Holmstrom each had two assists.
Nikolai Kovalenko and Will Smith scored for the Sharks, who have lost 10 of their last 12 (2-7-3). Macklin Celebrini had two assists and Alexandar Georgiev finished with 24 saves.
Duclair scored on a power play midway through the opening period and Pageau made it 2-0 with 39 seconds left in the first.
Kovalenko’s power-play goal got the Sharks on the scoreboard at 6:27 of the second.
Lee and Boqvist scored about 2 1/2 minutes apart early in the third, before Smith pulled the Sharks within two with 1:27 remaining.
Islanders: New York lost five out of six before its current strong stretch.
Sharks: The league-worst Sharks dropped to 3-13-3 in their last 19 games.
After a faceoff in the right circle in the Sharks’ zone, Lee jumped on a loose puck in the circle, spun and fired a shot past Georgiev while falling down to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead 1:13 into the third period.
Both teams came in ranking in the bottom third of the league in penalty-killing — the Sharks 27th at 74.5 percent and the Islanders 29th at 71.2 percent — and both were 2 for 4 in this game.
Islanders visit Anaheim on Sunday, and Sharks host Nashville on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Marc Gatcomb kicked off the scoring in the third period and the New York Islanders scored three more times to defeat the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Sunday night.Marc Gatcomb kicked off the scoring in the third period and the New York Islanders scored three more times to defeat the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Sunday night.
Maxim Tsyplakov and Noah Dobson also scored and Simon Holmstrom added an empty-net goal to seal the win. Anthony DeAngelo added two assists, and Anders Lee earned his 499th career point with an assist. Ilya Sorokin made 22 stops for the Islanders.
Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov each scored and added an assist for the Panthers. Vitek Vanecek made 30 stops.
Islanders defenseman Mike Reilly had an assist in his first game back since sustaining a concussion Nov. 1 against Buffalo. He also missed time because of a heart defect.
The Panthers had won the previous two meetings this season 6-3, and looked to be on track to win this one after going up 2-0.
The Islanders had lost three straight and were coming off 2-1 overtime loss to Edmonton at home Friday night.
During a mad scramble in the closing seconds, Sorokin stopped several attempts, losing his blocker in the process, to keep the Islanders ahead.
The Islanders scored four straight goals in the third period to come back from a 2-0 deficit.
The Panthers visit Columbus on Thursday. The Islanders visit the Penguins on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) — Viktor Arvidsson scored the tiebreaking goal just early in the third period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the New York Rangers 3-1 on Sunday night.
Corey Perry and Connor McDavid also scored for Edmonton, which won its second-straight to complete a four-game trip. The Oilers were coming off a 2-1 overtime win over the Islanders on Friday. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had three assists and Stuart Skinner finished with 21 saves.
Will Cuylle scored for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin had 20 saves. New York snapped a two-game win streak.
Arvidsson beat Shesterkin with high shot at 6:09 of the third for his ninth goal of the season to put Edmonton up 2-1.
McDavid made it a two-goal lead with his 25th with 3:25 remaining.
Perry scored a power-play goal off a goalmouth scramble with 43 seconds left in the first to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. It was the 39-year-old’s 15th of the season and 444th of his career.
Cuylle tied it with his 18th at the 5-minute mark of the second.
Rangers: New York lost its third straight at home to slip to 16-15-3 at Madison Square Garden.
Oilers: Edmonton improved to 19-13-2 on the road.
Skinner stopped Rangers forward J.T. Miller at 9:40 of the third on the power play, then denied Adam Fox with 6:39 left.
Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl also assisted on Perry’s goal. Draisaitl leads the Oilers with 101 points, including 52 assits. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon has 103 points to lead the NHL.
Oilers host Utah on Tuesday, and Rangers host Calgary.
With four goals in the third period, the New York Islanders defeated the Florida Panthers 4-2 to snap their three-game losing streak and keep alive playoff hopes.
The big news entering the game was that defenseman Mike Reilly returned for the first game since Nov. 1 following a heart procedure he underwent on Nov. 19.
Reilly replaced Adam Pelech, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.
Here's how it happened:
The Islanders earned the first power play of the game at 8:16 when Eetu Luostarinen elbowed Alexander Romanov.
The Islanders were unable to convert, but Romanov was able to return without missing a shift.
After recording 11 of the first 12 shots of the game, the Islanders earned their second power play at 17:26 when Dmitry Kulikov was caught by Anthony Duclair’s speed and took a holding penalty.
Kulikov went to the locker room with an upper-body injury and did not return.
The Islanders could not beat Vitek Vanecek, concluding the period ahead in shots 12-1 yet without a goal.
After getting outplayed in the opening period, the Panthers found the scoresheet first when Aleksander Barkov recovered Gustav Forsling’s rebound and fed Sam Reinhart at 1:00 of the second period.
This was Reinhart’s 33rd goal of the season.
The Islanders went to the penalty kill for the first time at 2:49 when Kyle MacLean tripped Forsling.
The Panthers applied pressure, and with just one second remaining on the man advantage, Barkov tipped Reinhart’s shot which crept past Ilya Sorokin to put the Panthers ahead 2-0. It was Barkov’s 18th goal of the season.
After a strong second half in the period, the Islanders received a too many men on the ice penalty at 19:47.
The Islanders outshot the Panthers 10-9 in the second period.
Patrick Roy’s squad killed the minor penalty to start the third period then went to the power play on a Nate Schmidt hooking call at 2:48, but the score remained.
At 6:29, Marc Gatcomb put the Islanders on the board with a wraparound goal following Vanecek’s sprawling save:
Marc Gatcomb: Keeper. #Islespic.twitter.com/CeCHaCzoD0
— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) March 17, 2025
This was Gactomb’s fourth goal of the season.
The Islanders found the equalizer at 12:16 when Reilly sent a stretch pass to Max Tsyplakov who went five-hole on Vanecek:
Tsyplakov breakaway 🚨beats Vanecek and it's 2-2 with 7:44 to go in the third. pic.twitter.com/K0F4bDaKv3
— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) March 17, 2025
This was Tsyplakov’s eighth goal of the season.
Just 17 seconds later, the Islanders took the lead for the first time in the game when Noah Dobson flew into the offensive zone and beat Vanecek glove-side:
This was Dobson’s seventh goal of the season.
#Isles take a 3-2 lead 17 seconds later.
— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) March 17, 2025
Huge comeback.
Noah Dobson showing his skill! pic.twitter.com/2AIZXMTgLw
The Panthers pulled Vanecek for an extra attacker in the final minutes, but a Simon Holmstrom empty net goal at 19:53 following multiple sprawling saves by Sorokin secured the comeback victory.
The Islanders are in action again on Tuesday as they face the Penguins in Pittsburgh at 7 PM.
For the second time in a week, the Florida Panthers saw a third period two-goal lead slip through their fingertips.
This time it was Sunday night, with Florida playing on the second night of a back-to-back and facing a desperate New York Islanders team trying to keep pace in a packed Wild Card race.
Holding a 2-0 lead entering the final frame, the Panthers couldn’t find their usual, aggressive form until it was too late, losing on Long Island 4-2.
If the Panthers weren’t happy with their performance on Saturday night, it sure didn’t show during the first period on Long Island.
Florida was lucky to get out scoreless after being outshot 12-1 in the opening frame, putting up only eight shot attempts and giving up a pair of power play opportunities.
An early shift in the second period by the Cats’ top line would lead to the game’s opening goal.
Standing at the side of the goal crease, Sam Reinhart first deflected a point shot by Gus Forsling before jumping on a quick pass by Sasha Barkov at the one-minute mark of the middle frame.
Exactly 3:48 later, Reinhart fired a shot from the right half wall that deflected off the backside of Barkov and up and over the shoulder of Ilya Sorokin to give Florida a sudden 2-0 lead.
The Islanders finally got a puck past Vitek Vanecek, and it came immediately after he made his latest impressive save.
Sliding to his left, Vanecek got his leg pad on a shot by Marc Gatcomb, but the feisty forward picked up the rebound and skated behind the net, wrapping the puck inside the far post to cur Florida’s lead to 2-1 with 13:31 to go.
The Islanders continued to put the pressure on, and eventually Mike Reilly found Maxim Tsyplakov behind the Cats defense and he beat Vanecek five hole to tie the game.
Just 17 seconds later, Noah Dobson picked up the puck in the neutral zone and quickly beat Seth Jones to the net, firing the puck over Vanecek’s glove.
Just like that, not only was Florida’s lead gone but they were also losing the game.
A couple big saves by Sorokin down the stretch pushed the Islanders over the finish line, as the puck dribbled across Florida’s vacated goal line with six seconds to go.
On to Columbus.
QUICK THOUGHTS
Barkov’s assist on Reinhart’s goal was his first point in four games.
Reinhart has logged eight points over his past six games, but he’s scored only two goals in a 14-game span.
Vanecek stopped the first 47 shots he saw as a Panther, a shutout streak that lasted 106 minutes and 29 seconds.
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The Colorado Avalanche won their second straight game Sunday afternoon against Central Division rival Dallas -- the Avs' eighth win in their past nine games that improved their record to 41-24-3 this season.
Here are three key takeaways from Colorado's victory over the Stars:
1. Avs overcome Dallas' early lead, stake out 3-1 advantage after two periods
The Avalanche were down 1-0 to the Stars at the 4:10 mark of the first period on a goal from Dallas winger Jason Robertson. However, the Avs stormed back with the next three goals of the game to go up 3-1 after two periods of play.
Star forward Martin Necas got Colorado on the scoreboard with his 23rd goal of the season -- and in the middle frame, the Avalanche got goals from forwards Valeri Nichushkin and Jonathan Drouin to take a commanding lead into the third period. The Avs limited the Stars to just 10 shots on net in the first two periods, and that defensive success was reflected on the scoresheet.
2. Sloppy third period from Avalanche allows Stars to force OT
After generating 27 shots on net through the first 40 minutes, the Avs allowed Dallas to out-shoot them 12-8 in the third period -- and that's was what the Stars needed to get back into the game.
First, Dallas forward Mavrik Bourque struck for his 10th goal of the season with 5:48 left in regulation time -- then, just 20 seconds later, the Stars evened things up when forward Matt Duchene posted his 26th goal of the season to force overtime. Simply put, Colorado took its foot off the gas late in the game, and Dallas was able to secure a valuable point in the standings by pushing the game to extra time.
3. Superstar Makar caps off three-point day by scoring game-winner, pushing Avs closer to Stars in Central standings
Avalanche superstar defenseman Cale Makar had a banner day on offense Sunday, posting a primary assist on Necas' goal, then adding another assist on Nichushkin's marker. But Makar's biggest contribution was a terrific individual effort in OT, as he potted his 25th goal of the year just 34 seconds into the extra period to give the Avs the victory.
With the win, Colorado crept one point closer to the Stars in the Central standings. The Avs are now 8-1-1 in their past 10 games, and they're now just two points behind Dallas for second place in the Central. The Stars do have two games in hand on the Avalanche, but as the possibility of a Dallas-Colorado playoff series looks more and more like what we're going to get in Round One, the Avs' win Sunday was a statement game.
This was the final regular-season game between Colorado and Dallas this season, and the Avalanche's win put the season series at 2-1-0 in the Avs' favor. If we do see the Stars and Avalanche squaring off in the opening round -- or at any point in the post-season -- we're definitely going to get entertaining hockey. And the Avs have shown repeatedly that they're up to the challenge of taking on one of the NHL's deepest teams.