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Penguins Erupt For Seven Goals, Earn Fourth Straight Win

Mar 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Danton Heinen (43) scores a goal against New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. (Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)

The Pittsburgh Penguins just keep on rolling during the stretch run of the season.

Even though goaltending has mostly been carrying them, their offense found a way to be the story on Saturday afternoon.

The Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils, 7-3, to earn their fourth straight win. And they got contributions from up and down their lineup - including from their newcomers.

Forward Connor Dewar registered two goals, and defenseman Conor Timmins notched two assists. Both were acquired on Mar. 7 from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Regardless of who is doing it and how they are doing it, the Penguins are winning games against some pretty good teams. And it's something they should feel pretty good about.

"It's just one game at a time," said goaltender Tristan Jarry, who put up his fourth straight win. "We can't get too far ahead ourselves. We just have to keep focus on the task at hand, but I think we've done a really good job just getting points and climbing. We just have to keep that mindset and keep going with it."

New Jersey opened the scoring midway through the first period, when former Penguin Cody Glass put one home from the right circle for his fourth point in four games since being traded from Pittsburgh to the Devils.

Dewar responded near the end of the third with a "garbage goal," and - 25 seconds later - Danton Heinen capitalized on a two-on-one chance with a beautiful forehand-to-backhand move, which came after a sneaky feed from Philip Tomasino.

The Penguins held the 2-1 lead into the second period, and they added on within the first five minutes of the middle frame. Rickard Rakell came in hard on the forecheck and managed to squeeze the puck from below the goal line out to Matt Grzelcyk. Grzelcyk fed it to Timmins, who fed it to Sidney Crosby, who found Rakell in just the right spot in the slot to register his 31st goal of the season.

After a disallowed shorthanded goal by the Devils during a four-minute kill in the second period, Tomasino worked hard to earn a goal of his own in the opening minutes of the third period, as he forced a turnover in front of Devils goaltender Jakob Markstrom and finished his own play to make it 4-1.

But, then, things got a bit dicey.

Pittsburgh took two consecutive double-minor penalties for high-sticking - the first by Noel Acciari, and the second by Evgeni Malkin - and New Jersey capitalized on both four-minute power play opportunities. Timo Meier got the first, and Nico Hischier got the second to make the score 4-3.

However, the Penguins responded with a power play goal of their own. Defenseman Erik Karlsson found the twine with an absolute rocket from the point to give the Penguins back a two-goal lead.

And from there, they pretty much shut it down. Dewar scored his second goal of the game on the empty net with 55 seconds left in regulation, and Kevin Hayes added an even-strength goal with 22 seconds left on the clock to score the "chili goal" and give the Penguins a 7-3 victory.

This was Pittsburgh's first win against the Devils this season and just their second win in the last 11 games against them.

"I give the players a lot of credit," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think 'Jars' played terrific. He was outstanding again tonight, and our power play gets us a huge goal late in the game to give us a little bit of a cushion.

"Guys are just competing. We're playing hard, I'm happy for the players. We've been able to string a couple in a row here together, and we're just going to take that game right in front of us and see where it takes us."


Here are just a few thoughts and observations from Saturday's win:

- Let's get the negative out of the way first. The Penguins' penalty kill is outright awful right now.

The unit surrendered another two power play goals against the Devils, which were both on third-period high-sticking double-minors. A unit that was top-12 for much of the season has free-fallen in the league standings.

The Penguins are now 19th in penalty kill percentage at 77.2 percent, and they have surrendered eight power play goals in their eight games in March - including four in the last two games.

"It's not always the cleanest game from an execution standpoint," Sullivan said. "I think we've got to do a better job staying out of the penalty box, and in some of those situations, there were a few penalties that I thought could've been avoided that would put us in a better position."

Simply put, the Penguins need to be more disciplined. Their PK unit isn't really doing much killing right now, so they're best-served to avoid it entirely for the time being.

- Speaking of which, there were three different double-minors for high-sticking in this game - two by the Penguins and one by the Devils.

Not something you see very often.

- The new guys are really playing well for the Penguins and have played pretty big roles, respectively, in their four-game win streak.

Dewar - who didn't have a goal on the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs before becoming a Penguin - has three goals in four games with Pittsburgh and is helping Blake Lizotte and Noel Acciari drive offense on the third line. Timmins had two points tonight and has been a steady presence on the blue line for Pittsburgh's bottom pairing.

"It's been great to come in and contribute right away," Dewar said. "It makes you feel a lot more comfortable, and it's nice helping out in getting these wins here."

Five games since the trade deadline, four wins. And the only loss was the first one on deadline day against the Vegas Golden Knights - which Dewar and Timmins were not available for.

- I've mentioned that Vladislav Kolyachonok's offensive instincts continually impress me. He did earn his first point as a Penguin on Heinen's goal.

Another player who has been very good in this last handful of games? Tomasino.

He has been impressive, really, since being slotted back on Evgeni Malkin's right side. The production won't pop out at you - he has three goals and seven points in his last 12 games - but he is driving offense on that line. 

"He's a really talented player," Sullivan said. "He has real good offensive instincts. He has the ability to finish, he's got a deceptive shot, and I think he's a dangerous player off the rush. I think an example of that is the two-on-one goal he scored tonight."

He continued: "The area we're trying to help him grow is to develop a grind game. If you don't have the opportunity to generate offense off the rush, you have to find different ways to generate offense. Usually, when you play the better teams in the league, they take the rush game away."

Tomasino has earned the opportunity to stay on the second line for the remainder of the season, even if he still has to iron out some of the details of his "grind" game.

Mar 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Philip Tomasino (53) reacts after being named first star of the game against the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena. (Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)

- The Penguins kept showing this young Penguins fan on the jumbotron. The first time, he was dancing, and the crowd went wild. Then, they showed him after Tomasino's goal, which garnered a huge cheer. 

Then, they showed him again with a "Celebrity Alert" AI frame around his face. The crowd responded and went nuts yet again.

This wasn't a huge crowd, but it was a good, loud one. Awesome stuff by the Penguins' video staff to make this kid a star.

- After a New York Rangers win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, the Penguins are still six points out of a playoff spot, and every team ahead of them has games in hand. At one point Saturday, they were just four points out.

Don't get your hopes up. But, obviously, if the Penguins keep winning games - their next of which comes Tuesday against the New York Islanders and then Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, both teams ahead of them in the standings - I suppose we'll have to keep monitoring the mathematics.

Who would've thought, right?


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Three Takeaways From Blues' 5-1 Win Against Wild

St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou (left) gets a shot off past Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson. Kyrou scored his fifth NHL hat trick in a 5-1 Blues win. (Matt Blewett-Imagn Images)

The St. Louis Blues closed out their longest road trip of the season in emphatic style.

They shook off a tough loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday with a solid effort all-around on Saturday, led by Jordan Kyrou's fifth NHL hat trick and his second straight against the Minnesota Wild in a 5-1 win at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday.

The Blues remain two points behind the Vancouver Canucks, who defeated the the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 late Saturday night, but St. Louis (32-28-7) are tied in points with the Calgary Flames, who have two games in hand (Vancouver has one) and two points ahead of Utah Hockey Club (one game in hand).

Brayden Schenn had a goal and an assist, Cam Fowler, Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich each had two asssists, and Joel Hofer, making his first career start against the Wild (37-25-5) made 18 saves.

The Blues closed the trip with a 3-2-1 mark and now will play nine of their final 15, including on Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks, a game originally slated to begin at 5 p.m. (CT) but has now been moved back to 7 p.m. due to travel complications by the Blues returning from Minnesota.

The Blues, for the first time in the history of matchups with the Wild, were faced with being swept in a season series.

Since the Wild made its way into the league in 2000-01, playing its 24th season in 2024-25 and had never swept the Blues in a season series.

Minnesota won the first three matchups (4-1 in St. Louis on Oct. 15, 4-2 in St. Louis on Nov. 19 and 6-4 in Minnesota on Jan. 7) and were looking for their first-ever sweep of the Blues but it was not to be.

Minnesota was missing some weaponry in this game (Kirill Kaprozov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin), but the Blues were missing Colton Parayko on the back end.

By Montgomery throwing Hofer at Minnesota, a goalie the Wild had never seen before, there's the notion of having to get used to someone's tendencies rather than facing Jordan Binnington, someone Minnesota is quite familiar with. And yes, Hofer was one zone exit away from possibly getting a shutout that resulted in a Jacob Middleton goal that made it 3-1 at 12:47 of the second period, but Hofer was solid otherwise.

Let's dive into Saturday's Three Takeaways:

* More net front presence, middle lane drives -- Despite outplaying the Penguins on Thursday, including owning a 36-22 advantage on the shot clock, the Blues and coach Jim Montgomery lamented that there wasn't enough of a net front presence in front of Tristan Jarry, not enough of a middle lane drive to the net that had made them so successful in going 7-2-2 the previous 11 games.

Consider the message delivered.

Schenn's goal at 4:17 of the first was a perfect example of what the Blues needed against a stingy defensive-minded team that has had issues scoring goals.

The Blues had an extended shift in the Wild zone, one of many throughout the first period, and were able to control the zone enough that a pair of line changes were made, but when the puck was played to Fowler at the left point, he threw it towards the net knowing Schenn was going there. The Blues captain was able to maneuver past Frederick Gaudreau, collect the loose puck and backhand it in past Filip Gustavsson for a 1-0 lead.

On Neighbours goal, same thing. Robert Thomas wins the face-off back high, puck goes low, quick pass to the slot for a one-time shot by Thomas, and Neighbours is the backside forward driving the net and yes, it was a fortuitous bounce off a block by Zach Bogosian, but if Neighbours isn't driving the net, he doesn't score, but he did and potted the puck to make it 2-0 at 10:51 of the second period.

And for Kyrou to kickstart his night to make it 3-0 at 12:22 of the second, it was another face-off win high, puck worked low, thrown to the net, but Kyrou is the middle lane driver crashing to the goal and he made no mistake when Gustavsson pushed the rebound right into his pathway.

* Holding another opponent under 30 shots -- It says that defense pays, and for the Blues, it paid off once again on Saturday.

For the 12th straight game, they held an opponent under 30 shots and have allowed an average of 23.4 shots per game in that stretch, which is second in the NHL behind the Florida Panthers (23.2).

The last team to get 30-plus shots: the Panthers, who had 34 on Feb. 6. But including that game, the Blues allowed 30 or more in four of the five prior to this run of 12 straight.

Quite frankly, Saturday was a defensive masterclass of not allowing traffic, no middle lane drives and taking away shooting lanes with 19 blocks.

* Kyrou owning the Wild -- Coming into the game, Kyrou had 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 22 career games against the Wild, and he loves playing at the Xcel Energy Center.

With Saturday's performance, it stands at 15 goals, 11 assists in 23 games now.

He made it 4-1 at 11:30 of the third period with a breakout of the puck, then slicing past Declan Chisholm and Vinnie Hinostroza, flying around the right edge with speed and catching Gustavsson over-commiting before wrapping the backhand in to make it 4-1.

And in style, Kyrou scored into the empty net at 17:40 to make it 5-1. And it could have been more with Kyrou having 12 shot attempts in the game but six of them were blocked.

Kyrou's last hat trick also came against the Wild in the very same building, on March 23, 2024.

* Click here to see what Montgomery and players had to say after the game.

Alex Ovechkin scores 887th goal to move within eight of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Alex Ovechkin shook off a rough start to this three-game California swing by scoring his 887th career goal Saturday against the San Jose Sharks to move within eight of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.

Ovechkin had failed to score a goal in the first two games of the trip and had no shots on goal in a loss at Los Angeles on Thursday night. He came up empty on his first three shots and couldn’t generate any prime chances on three power plays before scoring late against the Sharks in a 5-1 victory.

“Hopefully that helps him,” coach Spencer Carbery said. “You could feel he was gripping it a little bit. Power play, he’s been struggling. He hasn’t been getting as many quality looks with his line. ... For him to get that goal, hopefully that’s a good boost for him and grabs him some momentum heading back home and feeling good about his game going into our home games this week.”

Ovechkin deflected a shot from Martin Fehervary past Georgi Romanov with 9:06 remaining in the third period.

The goal led to loud cheers from the sellout crowd that featured many fans who came hoping to see Ovechkin score with chants of “Ovie! Ovie!” filling the building.

“It’s great,” Ovechkin said. “Lots of people are now watching and lots of attention. It’s a great feeling.”

Romanov is the NHL-record 182nd goalie that Ovechkin has scored on out of the 217 goaltenders he has faced in his 20-year career.

The goal made sure Ovechkin didn’t match his longest goal drought of the season, having also gone without one in the first three games and then again in early January.

He scored 14 goals in the next 22 games following that stretch to move closer to Gretzky’s mark of 894 that long seemed unapproachable before the end of this season.

He now has 15 games remaining to break the record this season, starting with a three-game homestand next week.

Ovechkin did have three assists in the opener of the trip at Anaheim and assisted on Dylan Strome’s goal to open the scoring in the win over the Sharks.

“He’s been passing to me too much,” Strome joked. “We got to get him the puck more. He’s doing all the little things right. Nice for (Fehervary) to find him in the slot there. You could just see the crowd. Not much left to say at this point. Hopefully he can get a couple on this homestand here and inch closer and closer. We’re all excited obviously. It’s pretty cool.”

Ovechkin’s goal came a few minutes after Trevor van Riemsdyk had given Washington a 4-1 lead when he scored to end a 145-game goal drought dating more than two years to March 9, 2023.

“I definitely understand how hard it is to score. To see O keep doing this every night it seems like, he’s right there,” van Riemsdyk said.

“It’s pretty cool. I think everyone understands how amazing this truly is. The quality of these goaltenders nowadays, how hard it is to score in this league. Every year people start doubting him, ‘Is this the year he’ll fall off?’ They’re going to have to keep waiting.”

The 39-year-old Russian star has 34 goals on the season, giving him at least 30 in a record 19 of his 20 seasons. He only fell short in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season when he scored 24 goals in a 56-game season.

Senators Win 4-2 In Toronto: Ridly Greig Gets Three Empty Net Chances

Make it six straight victories for the Ottawa Senators.

The Senators defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 in Toronto on Saturday night. The Senators got goals from Jake Sanderson, David Perron, Claude Giroux, and Michael Amadio. Linus Ullmark made 20 saves for Ottawa.

With the win, the Sens are now six points above the Eastern Conference playoff line and four points behind the Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning. Ottawa completes its season series with Toronto at 3-0 and now stands 6-1 in the Battle of Ontario over the past two seasons.

After a scoreless first period, things loosened up in the second—maybe a little too much.

William Nylander opened the scoring, taking advantage of some serious puck-watching by the Senators defence. Nylander buried one after driving the net with little opposition.

And that broke the dam.

The lead lasted barely a minute before Sanderson unleashed a lethal wrist shot upstairs that beat Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz.

A minute after that, a miscommunication between Linus Ullmark and Thomas Chabot led to a costly turnover. Ullmark coughed up the puck, and Auston Matthews made no mistake, burying it into a virtually wide-open net.

The Sens kept pressing, though. At 12:16 of the second, David Perron’s against-the-grain wrist shot evened the game once again. Finally, less than two minutes later, Claude Giroux's shot went in off Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev. That not only gave the Sens their first lead of the game, it stood up as the game-winner.

With just over five minutes left in regulation, Artem Zub tried to chip the puck out of his own zone but sent it over the glass, setting up Toronto's first power play of the evening. Giroux had the only scoring chance with a shorthanded breakaway, but he couldn't beat Stolarz five-hole.

The Leafs pulled the goalie with 2:42 to go, and Ridly Greig had a hat trick of failed empty-net chances, all of them high quality. On his first chance, he simply missed the net. Then, with a second chance to put it away, he did. Eventually. But he went offside. Then he missed a third chance on a shot blocked by Mitch Marner.

Leaf fans will surely call that karma for Greig's empty-net slap shot goal in Ottawa last season.

Amadio, who was phenomenal defensively, finally got loose and sealed the win, putting the puck into the vacant Leaf net as gently as any player ever has. Greig drew the assist.

The Senators are off until Tuesday when they play a fired-up group in Montreal. The Canadiens beat the Florida Panthers on Saturday night and are one point behind the New York Rangers for the final Eastern playoff spot.

Smoked meat: Panthers can't complete uphill climb, fall 3-1 in Montreal

Mar 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens right wing Patrik Laine (92) celebrates with his teammates his goal against the Florida Panthers in the first period at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)

It’s been a tough road trip so far for the Florida Panthers.

For the second time in three games since leaving South Florida, the Panthers couldn’t pick up the two points, this time falling to the Montreal Canadiens 3-1.

The home team got off on the right foot, and they did it on the power play.

Veteran sniper Patrik Laine was given three shot attempts from the same spot inside the left circle, and the third one finally beat Sergei Bobrovsky at the 5:15 mark of the opening frame.

Cole Caufield scored his 33rd goal of the season late in the period to give the Habs a 2-0 lead after one.

Panthers rookie Mackie Samoskevich would get the Cats on the board early in the second, picking the puck up behind Montreal’s net before walking in front and beating Sam Montembeault under the glove.

That would be as close as Florida would get on this night.

Christian Dvorak took advantage of a Sam Bennett turnover to restore Montreal’s two-goal lead in the third period, and that would be it in terms of scoring.

Florida ended up outshooting the Canadiens 11-2 during the final frame, but Montembeault stood tall and earned his team a huge two points in the standings.

On to Long Island.

QUICK THOUGHTS

Samoskevich has four points over a modest three-game point streak.

In 11 games since the start of February, Samoskevich has racked up six goals and nine points.

Bennnett extended his point streak to five games, accumulating three goals and six points during the run.

Over his past nine games, Bennett has four goals and 10 points.

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Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings: Live Game Thread

The Nashville Predators (25-33-7, 57 points) wrap up their three-game road trip with a visit to the Los Angeles Kings (35-20-9, 79 points) Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.

Justus Annunen will get the start in goal for Nashville, while Darcy Kuemper will stop the picks for the Kings.

Marc Del Gaizo, Nashville Predators

How the Predators Lined Up vs. Los Angeles

Forsberg-O'Reilly-Stamkos
Bunting-Sissons-Marchessault
L'Heureux-Svechkov-Vrana
Bellows-McCarron-Smith

Skjei-Blankenburg
Englund-Del Gaizo
Oesterle-Barron

Annunen
Saros

Extra: Evangelista, Stastney
IR: Josi, Lauzon, Wilsby

Predators at Kings: Live Updates

First Period (NSH 0, LAK 0)

The Predators' defense held the Kings to just four shots on goal in the first period, the first of which didn't even come until nearly 12 minutes into the frame. Annunen and Kuemper combined for 11 saves in the first period as the game remained scoreless heading into the first intermission.

'We Weren't Good In The Game': Devils Fall 7-3 To Penguins

On Saturday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils saw their winning streak end at PPG Paints Arena.

Mar 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Danton Heinen (43) scores a goal against New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

New Jersey's third-period comeback fell short as the Pittsburgh Penguins handed them a 7-3 loss. Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 16 saves on 22 shots for a .727 save percentage.

Devils' forward Cody Glass opened the scoring against the team that traded him a little over a week ago. It was the 25-year-old's fourth point in as many games with New Jersey. 

After that, it was all Penguins as the Devils found themselves down 4-1, entering the third period as Connor Dewar, Danton Heinen, Rickard Rakell, and Philip Tomasino all scored. 

New Jersey was awarded back-to-back four-minute power plays early in the third period and cashed in. Timo Meier scored his 19th of the season, and one minute later, Nico Hischier celebrated his team-leading 28th goal.

With 13:20 remaining in the game, the Devils were down by a goal but ultimately could not outperform their many mistakes. 

"We just weren't good in the game," Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said to NJD.TV. "We weren't good in execution with the puck. We made mistakes. We didn't play winning hockey here today."

"We stopped playing hockey for a bit," Hischier told NJD.TV. "We were not smart enough. We beat ourselves." 

The Devils will conclude their two-game road trip on Monday night when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets for their final matchup of 2024-25. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

The Mental Side of the Game: Devils Players & Mental Skills Coach Andy Swärd Take You Behind the Scenes

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Hischier's Manager Patrick Fischer: 'He's Driven to Succeed, but Not Easily Satisfied'

Buffalo Sabres Show Something They Lacked For Most Of The Season

Rasmus Dahlin (Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images)

The Buffalo Sabres haven’t had many signs of hope this season – but the way they won Saturday is one of them.

In their remaining 17 games, the Sabres still have the chance to salvage something from this season, which is about to be their 14th-straight playoff miss. In their win over the heavily favored Vegas Golden Knights, Buffalo found a way to not only come back multiple times but be a spoiler – which is what they need to be for the rest of this season.

For most of the afternoon tilt, the Sabres looked like they would lose their 40th game of the season. The Golden Knights jumped out to a 1-0 lead by the first intermission, and they made it 2-0 at the 12-minute mark of the second frame.

In most cases this season, the Sabres would not have closed the deficit.

Before Saturday, Buffalo’s record when trailing after one period this season is 2-15-1 – an abysmal showing. Their 4-23-1 record when trailing after two periods was a bit better in relation to the rest of the league but not exceptional.

Despite trailing after the first and second periods, and watching former captain Jack Eichel give the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead with only 2:33 left in regulation, the Sabres tied the game with 14 seconds left in the third. That came after Tomas Hertl passed up an empty-net goal for Vegas to try to give Eichel a second goal, making that equalizer even sweeter for Sabres fans.

Buffalo then pulled out a 4-3 shootout win to give them their second win in their last three games. That improves their record to 3-15-1 when trailing after one period and 5-23-1 when trailing after two.

Dahlin’s Meeting With Adams Was About Club Direction, Not An UltimatumDahlin’s Meeting With Adams Was About Club Direction, Not An UltimatumThe kerfuffle raised by TNT panelist and Spittin Chiclets co-host Paul Bissonette earlier this week regarding a meeting between Buffalo Sabres team captain Rasmus Dahlin and GM Kevyn Adams received some clarity courtesy of Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast on Friday, as he indicated that the meeting was not to provide an ultimatum, but to inquire about the plan for the direction of the club. 

Buffalo’s gutsy play Saturday has to be encouraging to Sabres fans. They outshot Vegas 37-19, and they ultimately deserved to win the game. The resilience against the Golden Knights has come too late to get Buffalo into the post-season, but this type of win is exactly what’s needed to build momentum into the off-season instead of wilting away for another year. Perhaps it gives Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams something positive to point to as evidence that he can continue building this Sabres team – and for Lindy Ruff to continue to coach it despite being last in the Eastern Conference.

Sabres' Ryan McLeod Accomplishes Rare Stat In Big PerformanceSabres' Ryan McLeod Accomplishes Rare Stat In Big PerformanceThe Buffalo Sabres picked up an impressive 4-3 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights on March 15. The Sabres made the Golden Knights surrender 2-0 and 3-2 leads before winning this matchup, so it was a hard-fought victory for the Atlantic Division club. 

Buffalo has the second-toughest remaining schedule this season, according to tankathon.com. So it’s unlikely the Sabres will go on a lengthy run of success the rest of the year. That said, the spoiler’s role is there for the taking, and they can do significant damage to other teams’ position in the standings.

Going through another slew of losses to end the season will only create more doubt and cynicism in the minds of Buffalo fans, ownership and management. The Sabres can’t battle for a playoff spot anymore, but they can still become a team that’s ready to turn the corner competitively and set the table for a strong performance next season. Their win over the Golden Knights is one step toward doing that.

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Devils' win streak ends at three with ugly 7-3 loss to Penguins

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Erik Karlsson scored a power-play goal and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils 7-3 on Saturday.

Rickard Rakell scored his team-leading 31st goal. Connor Dewar scored twice, and Philip Tomasino, Kevin Hayes and Danton Heinen also scored.

With an assist, Sidney Crosby tied Wayne Gretzky for the fourth-most points with a single franchise. Crosby also recorded his 12th 50-assist season, equaling Adam Oates for 8th in NHL history. He has points in 10 straight home games.

Tristan Jarry made 24 saves for his fourth straight win since he was recalled from the American Hockey League earlier this month. Jarry has stopped 123 of his last 130 shots faced.

Nico Hischier and Timo Meier scored power-play goals for the Devils. Cody Glass also had a goal. Nathan Bastian’s short-handed goal was called back on a challenge because he was offside.

Jesper Bratt had his third straight three-point game with three assists, matching the longest streak in franchise history. He has 60 assists this season, which equals Scott Stevens’ franchise record. Bratt has two goals and nine points in his last three games.

Jacob Markstrom stopped 16 shots.

Takeaways

Devils: New Jersey was unable to win four straight for the first time this season. The Devils lost three consecutive games prior to their three-game win streak.

Penguins: Pittsburgh won four straight games for the first time since a four-game win streak from Nov. 27-Dec. 3. The Penguins have five wins and points in six of their last nine games.

Key moment

Karlsson’s power-play goal gave Pittsburgh needed insurance. Meier and Hischier scored power-play goals earlier in the period for New Jersey, which turned a 4-1 hole into a one-goal deficit.

Key stat

Pittsburgh snapped a six-game home losing streak against the Devils dating back to Oct. 20, 2021.

Up next

New Jersey visits Columbus on Monday and Pittsburgh hosts the Islanders on Tuesday.

3 Takeaways From Flames Loss To Avalanche

Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

The Calgary Flames (30-24-11) are in must-win territory on a nightly basis, but dropped their second consecutive contest on Friday, losing to the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 at the Saddledome.

Despite the loss, the Flames remain in the second wildcard spot but no longer have a game-in-hand over the Vancouver Canucks. Since Calgary doesn't play until Monday, they will spend the weekend scoreboard watching.

Too Little Too Late

In a crucial game, the Flames came out flat. Even though it was a quiet opening period for both teams, as they combined for nine shots, 7-2, the Avalanche struck first at 13:21.

Meanwhile, Calgary didn't do much in the second, giving up the game's second goal at 5:55. Only in the dying minutes did the Flames get any momentum. They ended the period with many shots, which comprised the bulk of their eight. Still, ten shots through 40 minutes isn't part of the recipe for success.

Once Blake Coleman made it 2-1 at 3:08, a costly miscommunication behind the net allowed the Avalanche to restore their two-goal lead. Jonathan Huberdeau's power-play goal made things interesting in the final four minutes, but a turnover led to an empty net goal and Colorado walked away with two points. 

Flames Are Not Ready For Top Seeded Playoff Series

It's no secret that the Flames are the lowest scoring team in the NHL and their goals-per-game average also ranks at the bottom. Against the Avalanche on Friday, the Flames scored less than their 2.55 average, which would make easy pickings in a playoff series.

If the postseason started today, the Flames, as the second-seeded wildcard, would play the Vegas Golden Knights, the fourth-best team in the NHL.

NHL Highlights | Avalanche vs. Flames - March 14, 2025NHL Highlights | Avalanche vs. Flames - March 14, 2025Ryan Lindgren opened the scoring for the Colorado Avalanche, while Parker Kelly found the back of the net twice as the Avalanche roll against the Calgary Fla...

They score 3.35 goals a game and give up 2.70. Both numbers intimidate the Flames and their fan base because the team struggles to score.

Ultimately, on Friday, the Flames showed they are not in the same position as the Western Conference top teams like the Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, or Golden Knights. Although they had moments where they controlled the pace of play, the outcome of this game was never in question.

Once Again, Wolf Can Only Do So Much

Dustin Wolf finished his night with 24 saves on 27 shots, good enough for a .889 SV%, the lowest total in a game...since a loss to the Avalanche on Feb. 6, when he registered a .882 SV%. 

Any contending team wants to ride their top goalie every night to climb the standings and clinch a playoff spot in the Flames' case. 

However, Calgary hasn't done enough to support their young netminder, who just played his 40th game of the season for a career high. He may have played over 50 games in the AHL, but the NHL is a more competitive league and boasts some of the best players on the planet.

At this point, Wolf has worked his way into the Calder Trophy conversation, and many feel he should be a Hart Trophy candidate, but he's a one-person show with little to no help. 

With everything on the line on Friday, Wolf did everything he could to keep his team in the game, but with not much going on at the other end of the ice, it's been a difficult stretch for the youngster who remains one of the league's top netminders.