RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Seth Jarvis had a goal and two assists and the Carolina Hurricanes eliminated New York from playoff contention, beating the Rangers 7-3 on Saturday.

Jalen Chatfield, Jackson Blake, Mark Jankowski, Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook and Logan Stankoven also scored for the Hurricanes. Pytor Kochetkov made 28 saves.

Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller and Will Cuylle scored for New York, and Igor Shesterkin stopped 21 shots. The Rangers have lost four of their last five.

Chatfield and Jarvis gave Carolina 2-0 lead in the first period. Jarvis scored his 25th goal at home this season to match the most since the franchise moved to North Carolina in 1997.

Takeaways

Rangers: New York was swept (0-4-0) in the season series for the first time since 1987-88, when the Hurricanes were the Hartford Whalers.

Hurricanes: New York knocked the Hurricanes out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2022 and ’24, so there was a small measure of payback for Carolina on Saturday. The Hurricanes’ first-round matchup in the Stanley Cup playoffs with the New Jersey Devils is already set.

Key moment

Artemi Panarin had a wide- open net with 7:27 left in the second period and the Rangers trailing 3-0. Instead of cutting into Carolina’s lead, he hit the right post and Jankowski made 4-0 just 26 seconds later.

Key stat

Kochetkov had lost four of his previous five starts and given up 21 goals in the process.

Up next

The Rangers are at Florida on Monday night. The Hurricanes host Toronto on Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were down to their final three games. Despite no opportunities to play spoil in the season's final week, they showed they are still a prideful bunch as they rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to emerge victorious 4-2 against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.

The Penguins must win their final two games to finish with a .500 record while several players chase individual milestones. Some of them inched closer on Friday. Let's discuss. 

Crosby is a Certified Legend

Only five players in NHL history scored 90 points after their 37th birthday. With a goal and an assist against New Jersey, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is now just one point shy of becoming the sixth player and two points short of Mario Lemieux's team record of 91 points at age 37 in 2002-03.

Penguins' Crosby On Pace To Become Sixth Player To Score 90 Points At 37 Or OlderPittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is on the cusp of NHL history (again). With 87 points in 77 games, he's just three points shy of 90 for the season, possibly three consecutive seasons of reaching the plateau.

In a classic down-on-one-knee goal, Crosby gave Pittsburgh their first lead in the third period, the only lead they'd need after falling behind 2-0. As many people have pointed out, no one can ask a group of 20 professional hockey players to "tank," and with Crosby continuing to pile up the points at 37, he's too prideful to give up opportunities to further cement his legacy as one of the game's greatest.  

Rust's Career Year Overshadowed by Missed Playoffs

Fans outside of Pittsburgh may not know that Bryan Rust set a career-high with 29 goals and, with two games left on the schedule, could become a 30-goal scorer for the first time. 

Rust Sets New Career-High As Penguins Defeat Devils, 4-2In a season full of lows for the Pittsburgh Penguins, there have been some bright spots.

Until 2022, Rust never missed the playoffs, but 2024-25 will mark the third consecutive year he'll miss the postseason, which is a shame considering he's on the cusp of 30 goals and surpassed 60 points for the first time. 

The 2010 Penguins draft pick scored his 200th goal this year and now has over 400 points, ranking in the top 15 in franchise history. However, with no shot to win another Stanley Cup, Rust will have to settle for a career year during a season ending with a potential sub-.500 record for the first time since 2005-06.

Jarry Rebounds After Horrific Start

Tristan Jarry has been one of the Penguins' strongest players in the past month, but there are still a few wrinkles in his game that need ironing out—like giving up a goal on the first shot.

Penguins' fans must have buried their heads in their hands when Jarry gave up a goal 15 seconds into the game, then surrendered another six minutes later to put his team in a deep hole. 

Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule: Remaining Games & Statistical NotesThe Pittsburgh Penguins are winding down their 2024-25 season and will miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season, a first in Sidney Crosby's 20-year career. However, there is plenty to play for in the final weeks.

However, Jarry responded to guide Pittsburgh to a win, making 26 saves after giving up those two goals early. Since returning in early March, the 29-year-old is quietly 8-3-2dsexW with a .904 SV%. No one would believe it, especially after recent back-to-back pulls, but he's proven that he's still capable of being a top goalie when the system in front of him is also working. 

When defenseman Matt Grzelcyk made the decision to sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer, he did so with the mindset that he'd come in and simply be given some opportunity to re-find his game.

But consistent top-four minutes and running the top power play weren't exactly what he had in mind from the jump.

“I think I’ve been given a lot of opportunity, which is all you can ask for as a player," Grzelcyk said. "I wasn’t really expecting to, maybe, play as much or be on the power play, but obviously, I welcomed that with open arms."

And he has not only welcomed that opportunity, he's made the most of it.

Fast forward nine months after signing a one-year, $2.75 million deal with the Penguins last summer, and Grzelcyk has enjoyed a career year. After a two-point effort in a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils Friday, he has a career-high 38 points, which includes 15 power play points as a result of quarterbacking a top unit with the likes of Sidney Crosby and other future hall-of-fame players on a rotating basis. And those numbers surpass previous career-highs of 26 and seven, respectively, from his eight-year tenure with the Boston Bruins. 

His work on the power play is a big reason why the unit has catapulted itself from bottom-three in the league last season to top-seven this season. And his overall progression throughout the season has not gone unnoticed.

Rust Sets New Career-High As Penguins Defeat Devils, 4-2In a season full of lows for the Pittsburgh Penguins, there have been some bright spots.

"He certainly has done a really good job on the power play," said assistant coach David Quinn, who coaches both the defense and the power play. "It's not an easy situation to step into, but I think he's had a heck of a year. He had a really good career in Boston. Last year was a little bit of a down year for him, but health had something to do with it.

"I think he's really done a great job taking advantage of the situation that he's been presented with here, and he's earned everything he's gotten. Obviously, he's done a really good job on the power play, he's played big minutes for us, and I think, defensively, he's gotten better and better as the season has gone on. So, we're fortunate to have him. He's really done a good job here."

Grzelcyk's puck-moving ability and the simplicity in his game have certainly endeared him to his teammates and to the coaching staff.

"I think he's fit in real well," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "We love his ability to move the puck, and that's an important element of our team game is getting back to pucks on retrievals and being able to advance the puck to get out of our end. That's his biggest attribute, his biggest strength, and I think he's brought that to this team."

The offensive side of his game is something he has been able to fully unleash in Pittsburgh, as the system is inherently more catered toward offense as opposed to Boston's defense-heavy system. Pittsburgh focuses a lot on generating chances off the rush and from the transition game. 

And that adjustment systems-wise has been pretty seamless for Grzelcyk - especially given the elite, offense-first players he has been sharing the ice with for most of the season.

"Not that we don’t value defense here," Grzelcyk said. "But with the caliber of players, the way that they create off the rush and get open in the o-zone… I’m just taking some time to pick their brains, seeing certain face-off plays or how they see the ice a little bit."

And when he's been deployed with those players - as he has all season long - it lends to an uptick in his offensive game, which has shown in the results. But he's also still working on some of those defensive details that were a huge part of his game prior to his stint in Pittsburgh. 

"Offensively, I'm playing in more situations, getting more o-zone starts," Grzelcyk said. "Defensively, I think there’s still some things that I want to sharpen up on and continue to improve there... have good gaps, things like that. But I feel like I have a better understanding of how things work here now."

And Sullivan also believes that he has made the most of his opportunity, especially given the fact that his deployment and minutes exceeded what even the coaching staff - not just Grzelcyk - anticipated when the blueliner was first brought in. 

"I think he's quietly had a very solid season for us," Sullivan said. He's played in the top-four all year long. I don't know that we anticipated playing him in the top-four when we first signed him, but he's earned his way in there based on the group that we have. I think, in those terms, it would be hard to sit here and say he hasn't had a solid contribution for us. I think he's quietly had a really good year for himself."

After staying put past deadline day, Grzelcyk is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. There's no telling what will happen this summer, as the team can go in multiple different directions as far as its approach to next season's roster construction.

But Grzelcyk has enjoyed his time in Pittsburgh, a city he was drawn to initially when deciding where to land last summer. And he hopes to stick around.

 “I would love to come back," Grzelcyk said. "You never know how it’s going to shake out, especially after the deadline. But it’s obviously been a very positive experience for myself, and I love the city. I got drafted here in 2012, played my first game. So that kind of just started pulling me in this direction a little bit, and then just talking with the coaches and things like that in the offseason and how it fit in.

"It’s felt pretty comfortable from the start, and the guys have been super welcoming. It was a pretty seamless transition, and I’m super thankful for the opportunity I’ve been given.”

Like Ovechkin's Capitals, Penguins Owe It To Crosby To Right The ShipOn Sunday, the hockey world got to witness Alexander Ovechkin - The Great “8” - surpass The Great “One” for the most goals in NHL history.

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The Buffalo Sabres are playing out the string of another playoffless season, but with four games left in the on the schedule, the club will have a big say on who will win the Atlantic Division and have home-ice advantage in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

The Sabres take on the Florida Panthers in the first of back-to-back weekend games in the Sunshine State on Saturday and will start James Reimer in goal. The Panthers are in third place in the Atlantic with 96 points. They would move into a tie for second place with Tampa Bay and come closer to locking up one of the top three spots in the division, moving six points ahead of the Ottawa Senators with a win over Buffalo.

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On Sunday, the Sabres play in Tampa against the Lightning, who have 98 points. Depending on the outcome of the Toronto - Montreal game on Saturday, the Lightning could move into a tie with the Leafs for first place entering the final week of the campaign. Tampa has stumbled in the last few games, with overtime losses to Toronto and Detroit, so on the eve of a critical match against the Panthers on Tuesday, they will need to get two points with Buffalo likely starting Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

The Maple Leafs make their final visit to Buffalo on Tuesday, with potentially a lot riding on the outcome. The Leafs have 100 points and will use up their game in hand on Tampa on Saturday. If they win over the Habs and on Sunday in the second of back-to-back games in Carolina on Sunday, a win at Key Bank Center could conceivably clinch the division, but with the Sabres 13-2-0 in their last 15 games and 22-14-3 overall this season at Key Bank Center and their traditional good fortune against Toronto at home, Buffalo could very well strike a blow to their hated rival’s division-winning aspirations. 

Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo

LAS VEGAS -- Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said Saturday after morning skate that he is not concerned long-term with an injury that's kept Alex Pietrangelo out of the lineup.

The veteran defenseman who has missed six of the last nine games, including the last two, will miss Saturday night's home finale against the Nashville Predators, as the Golden Knights look to clinch the Pacific Division.

Star forward Jack Eichel will also miss his third straight game.

Despite their absences, the Golden Knights come into Saturday night winners of three of their last four (3-0-1) while riding a 9-2-1 win streak.

"It's good to have depth, guys that can get in when you're injured, and that's how you end up in first place sometimes, when you have injuries, right?" Cassidy said. "You don't lose a beat because other guys are ready to go."

Pietrangelo, who has missed only nine games all season, is a key part of the Knights' defensive pairings, who Cassidy hopes to have back in time for the playoffs, which start in one week.

The 35-year-old is ninth on the team with 33 points, while his 29 assists are tied for fourth.

Cassidy confirmed it is not the same issue that kept Pietrangelo from participating in the Four Nation's Face-Off two months ago.

"If he was able to play, he would," Cassidy said. "Right now, he's dealing with something, and he's getting better. He's skating, but he's not ready to go in the lineup.

"He's one of the, probably the most competitive guy in there. The Four Nations, I think he addressed that. There was some stuff that he had to take a little time off to be better for us. He came back in the lineup after that. Unfortunately, he's dealing with something different now that should be good to go. I just can't give you an exact date."

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The New York Islanders will not reach the 2025 Playoffs following their 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

This is just the second time the Islanders have missed the playoffs in the past seven seasons.

Islanders Eliminated From Playoff Contention After 4-3 Shootout Loss To FlyersThe New York Islanders staved off elimination on Saturday afternoon after a 4-3 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers. 

Now, attention shifts towards the offseason, with the first major event being the lottery for the 2025 NHL Draft, which will be held on either May 5 or May 6.

The Islanders currently sit at 80 points through 79 games, leaving them as a borderline bottom-10 team in the NHL.

While they have three games remaining on the season, we have a decent idea of what their lottery odds will be following Game 82.

Currently, the Islanders could finish with the sixth-best odds to land the first pick, but that is an unlikely scenario.

If the Islanders win their three remaining games, they could enter with the 14th-worst record in the NHL, but this is also quite unlikely.

The most likely scenario for the Islanders is ro finish with around the 10th-best odds to land the first overall pick.

With this, they would have just over a 7% chance of landing a top-two pick: 3.5% for No. 1 and 3.7% for No. 2.

The format of the draft was changed in 2022, allowing teams to move up no more than 10 picks in the draft.

So, the Islanders must finish in the bottom 11 in the standings to have a chance at first overall.

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bobby Brink scored the only goal of the shootout, beating Marcus Hogberg to the glove side on the fifth try to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-3 victory over the Islanders on Saturday.

The loss eliminated New York from the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Tyson Foerster scored two goals in the victory — including a go-ahead goal at the 10:39 mark of the third that gave Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. Foerster now has 24 goals on the season, including five in his last two games. Jakob Pelletier added the Flyers other goal while Samuel Ersson recorded 37 saves in picking up his 22nd win of the year.

The Islanders would tie the game with just 1:01 left to play when Bo Horvat’s wrist shot snuck through a maze of bodies and beat Ersson between the pads.

Anders Lee had New York’s first goal. Hogberg recorded 19 saves in the loss.

Takeaways

Islanders: New York owned puck control for the first two periods, but seemed to fade for most of the third. They are 2-5-3 in their last 10 games — a big reason why they faded out of the playoff picture in the East.

Flyers: With Foerster, Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov now developing as wingers, general manager Daniel Briere can now look at acquiring a top-line center to help steady the Philadelphia offensive attack.

Key moment

The Flyers tied the game early in the third on a nifty passing set from Ryan Poehling to Owen Tippett to Pelletier, who squeezed it past Hogberg to flip the momentum of the game.

Key stat

Philadelphia is now 5-1 since John Tortorella was fired as coach on March 27.

Injuries

Islanders: New York forward Pierre Engvall had to be helped off the ice late in the third period with an apparent knee injury suffered in the Philadelphia defensive zone.

Up next

The Islanders visit New Jersey and the Flyers head to Ottawa for Sunday afternoon matinees.

Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith talk often.

They happened to be talking when Smith found out he was returning to Vegas in a trade with the New York Rangers.

"I was so happy for him, because I know how it is to leave there, and he left in a worse way," Marchessault said. "We just won, and 10 days later, he's in a different organization. So that was, honestly, awful. He's had a rocky year and a half, and now he's back where he had the most fun. So I was so happy for him and Karly (William Karlsson) to get back together."

They were also talking Friday, when the two discussed the highly anticipated tribute video in Vegas' regular-season finale, when the Nashville Predators visit Vegas for the Golden Knights' home finale Saturday night.

"He said he's probably gonna have tears just dripping down his face," Smith said after Saturday's morning skate."

It'll be an emotional night for not only Marchessault, but Smith and William Karlsson, the "Original Misfit" trio, who will skate on the same ice for the first time since they all shared one of the most joyous occasions in the history of sports in Las Vegas, the 2023 Stanley Cup championship.

"A little reunion," Karlsson said. "Unfortunately, he's not in our colors."

🎥 Karlsson on the fans: It's been a fun eight years, and every time you get to play at home, it's always a lot of energy. You get spoiled... I feel very fortunate. pic.twitter.com/fn3RMwAvNH

— x-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 12, 2025

The three had been linemates the first six years of the organization's existence, but were broken up when Smith was dealt to Pittsburgh less than two weeks after hoisting the Cup. Following last season, Marchessault signed with Nashville as a free agent.

"He was part of this team for seven years, and he had great success," Karlsson said. "He was a very loved member of the team. And the town's gotten to love him, so there's gonna be a lot of emotion coming into tonight, and it'll be fun to see the tribute."

Eliminated from the postseason, the emotions are sure to spill into the stands as the tribute video plays overhead in front of what's sure to be an exuberant, sold-out crowd on Fan Appreciation Night. The Knights have been known to produce their fair share of heart-clutching "welcome back" videos, but this one might top them all.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the tribute, he's earned it," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "He's probably one of the most popular guys that ever played here. So good for him, give him his due."

Over his seven years with the organization, Marchessault has been witness to many of the heartfelt video tributes, including the likes of Marc-Andre Fleury, Ryan Reaves, Gerard Gallant and even Smith, when he came back with the Penguins.

Now it's Marchessault's turn, and after speaking with former Knight Will Carrier, who is now with the Carolina Hurricanes, it's a moment he said he's ready to embrace.

"He told me it just builds you up inside," said Marchessault, the 2023 Conn Smythe winner. "I'm definitely really excited to go back, to just to see the Fortress, the arena, the roads that you take to go to the rink, and all that kind of stuff. It was home for me. It's still a part of me, is part of home a little bit. It'll be definitely weird, but I'm definitely excited to just go back and see the fans, the arena, the city, the lights. Just a great atmosphere and the great juju that's over there. Definitely just super excited to go back."

'LIKE I NEVER LEFT'

The first two times the Knights visited Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, "it was like I never left, the guys are awesome," Marchessault said.

Moments after Vegas' 3-1 on March 29, a quick 10-minute reunion full of laughter took place in an enclosed area that separated the locker rooms, as many of the Knights made sure to say hello before catching their flight.

"You get to see those guys seven years in a row, you feel so much like brotherhood," Marchessault said. "So it was really good to spend time with them and see them. Just love seeing the guys ... all the trainers, going to see the coaches and stuff. It was just great to see everybody."

And as the Predators get ready for the offseason, and the Knights prepare for another quest through the postseason, Marchessault said he's being patient with himself in his new surroundings and looking forward to spending time with his wife and kids, but also preparing for the 2025-26 campaign after "the toughest mental health year" he's ever endured.

"I mean, all the change; you got to readjust to new teammates, new team, new organization," he said. "You got to readjust (to a new) system, you got to readjust a lot. Yeah, it's been more challenging mentally this year. But I've had slumps in the past with Vegas, too, and I'm just a guy that's hard on myself, so at the end of the day, I'm never satisfied, and I want to get over my slump as fast as possible.

"That's what I built my career off, is taking it one game at a time and helping my team win a hockey game and staying humble and all that. Right now, I'm definitely getting a humbling process. Maybe it's just a sit-back year to get healthy mentally and physically, get ready to go again, and there's no doubt in my mind I'll be back on top of my game again."

The St. Louis Blues enter their penultimate game of the 2024-25 season still unclear yet whether their season will extend beyond Tuesday or not.

Things became quite clear on Saturday after the Calgary Flames once again decided they aren't going any where in this Western Conference wild card race after a 4-2 win against the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

So the scenario is that the Blues (43-30-7), who face the Seattle Kraken (34-40-6) in their final road game of the season, the place where they opened the season Oct. 8 and won 3-2, are tied with the Wild with identical records and identical points (93). Each has played 80 games and each plays on Saturday.

The Wild currently hold the tiebreaker edge on the Blues with regulation wins (33-31) and if the season were to end on Saturday, would hold the first wild card while the Blues hold the second.

Meanwhile, the Flames (38-27-14) have three games remaining, a game in hand on each the Blues and Wild, could play spoiler in this if they continue to win their games.

While the Blues are playing the Kraken, the Wild will be facing the Vancouver Canucks at the same time; the Flames host the San Jose Sharks on Sunday and finish their season Thursday, two days after the Blues and Wild conclude theirs.

If the Blues win out, and the Wild slip up anywhere, they could get the first wild card and face the Vegas Golden Knights. Whoever finishes in the second wild card will get the Winnipeg Jets, who ended the Blues' franchise-record 12-game winning streak on Monday.

The Blues have followed up that 12-game winning streak with two straight losses, including Wednesday's 4-3 defeat to the Edmonton Oilers when Edmonton scored with 20.7 seconds remaining in regulation to steal what could be at least one precious point for St. Louis, which has to regroup and forge on trying to secure that first playoff spot since 2021-22.

- - -

One bit of good news on the injury front for the Blues is defenseman Colton Parayko, who has been out since March 5 after injuring his left knee and needing a scope.

Hearing that Tuesday's season finale, at home against Utah Hockey Club, if all goes well and there aren't any sudden setbacks, is when Parayko will get back into the lineup.

However, the Blues announced that defenseman Philip Broberg returned to St. Louis due to a personal matter and will be unavailable for this game, and Matthew Kessel will jump into the lineup.

Aan updated lineup will be available in pregame warmups.

- - -

Blues Projected Lineup:

Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou

Jake Neighbours-Brayden Schenn-Jimmy Snuggerud

Mathieu Joseph-Oskar Sundqvist-Zack Bolduc

Alexey Toropchenko-Radek Faksa-Nathan Walker

Cam Fowler-Nick Leddy

Ryan Suter-Justin Faulk

Tyler Tucker-Matthew Kessel

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Philip Broberg (personal) and Dalibor Dvorsky. Colton Parayko (knee), Dylan Holloway (lower body) and Alexandre Texier (upper body) are out. Torey Krug (ankle) is out for the season.

- - -

Kraken Projected Lineup:

Jaden Schwartz-Chandler Stephenson-Jordan Eberle

Jared McCann-Shane Wright-Andre Burakovsky

Eeli Tolvanen-Matty Beniers-Kaapo Kakko

Michael Eyssimont-John Hayden-Ryan Winterton

Vince Dunn-Adam Larsson

Ryker Evans-Brandon Montour

Josh Mahura-Jamie Oleksiak

Philipp Grubauer will start in goal; Joey Daccord will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Cale Fleury and Tye Kartye. The Kraken report no injuries.