Flyers shut out for 7th time as power play drops to 0 for 23 in March originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers were blanked for a second consecutive game as they fell to the Lightning, 2-0, Monday night at Amalie Arena.

Coming off a 5-0 loss Saturday night to the Hurricanes, which finished a dreadful 1-6-0 homestand, the Flyers couldn’t get things going on the road.

The power play let them down, while Tampa Bay iced the game with an empty-netter.

The Flyers (28-33-8) have been shut out seven times, the most in John Tortorella’s three seasons as the team’s head coach. With 13 games still to go, Tortorella’s club has matched its regulation loss total from last season (38-33-11).

The Flyers went 2-1-0 against the Lightning (39-23-5) this season. Their two wins came in the shootout.

• The power play hurt the Flyers again, coming up empty in 8:10 minutes of time Monday night. The Flyers had a four-minute man advantage in the second period and didn’t record a shot.

The club’s power play is 0 for 23 in March. In the last 25 games, it’s 5 for 57.

The Flyers’ rebuilding trades of four forwards in the span of five weeks haven’t helped a team that was already inconsistent offensively.

Travis Konecny has one goal and 10 assists in the last 22 games. Matvei Michkov and Owen Tippett have gone scoreless in the last five games.

More: Tortorella defends Thompson, says Flyers won’t shy away from power play criticism

• Ivan Fedotov gave the Flyers an excellent chance to win, making 21 saves on 22 shots.

The only goal he allowed was on a first-period breakaway for Nikita Kucherov, the NHL’s third-leading scorer (95 points). Konecny mishandled the puck in the offensive zone with the action at 4-on-4 and Kucherov jumped on it.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay’s 2018-19 Vezina Trophy winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion, stopped all 21 of the Flyers’ shots.

• Rasmus Ristolainen missed a third straight game with an upper-body injury. Garnet Hathaway hasn’t played in March as he recovers from a blindsided hit he took at the end of February.

• The Flyers are scheduled to practice Wednesday in Florida before heading to Washington, D.C., for a matchup Thursday with the Capitals (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

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Before the 2025 NHL trade deadline, the Colorado Avalanche traded former Buffalo Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt to the Boston Bruins. This was just one year after the Sabres dealt Mittelstadt to the Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Bowen Byram. 

Mittelstadt had trouble fitting into the Avalanche's system and had been the subject of trade rumors throughout this season. Thus, it was not necessarily surprising that the 26-year-old found a new home by the deadline. Early on, the change of scenery has benefitted Mittelstadt.

Mittelstadt has been off to a strong offensive start with the Bruins. In four games with the Original Six club since the trade, the 2017 first-round pick has one goal and two assists.

When playing at his best, Mittelstadt has the ability to be an impactful offensive contributor. He undoubtedly demonstrated this during his time with the Sabres, as he had 62 goals and 186 points in 339 games with Buffalo. This included a 59-point season in 2022-23 and Mittelstadt posting 47 points in 62 games with Buffalo before being dealt to Colorado last season. 

The Sabres will now look to slow down Mittelstadt when they face off against the Bruins at TD Garden on March 17. It will be interesting to see if they can do just that from here. 

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The Buffalo Sabres season began with the hope of ending their long playoff drought and will end on April 17th with a 14th consecutive year outside of the postseason. There are a number of contributing factors to the club’s struggles, but according to an article in the Athletic that surveyed fans from every NHL club, Sabres owner Terry Pegula is ranked last among the 32 owners.

Almost 4,000 fans and internal evaluations from the Athletic ranked ownership on their willingness to spend, organizational stability, treatment of the fan base, and franchise vision, and in all those categories, Sabres owner Terry Pegula finished at the bottom of the league, which is where his club has finished more times than they would prefer.

Sabres Disastrous Defensively In Defeat To Detroit 

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The most alarming aspect is the confidence in ownership and being able to turn things around. Only 4% of those surveyed have a higher level of confidence that things will change for the better, while 61% have less confidence that things will change. According to the article, the Buffalo fanbase was heavily represented and their input was filled with “vitriol”, including calls for Pegula to sell the club, which has been heard from an audible throng of fans at Key Bank Center since the 13-game winless skid in November and December.

The level of frustration is understandable based on the lengthy struggles that Sabres fans have endured. After initial failures with the Buffalo Bills, the hiring of Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane has provided stability for the last eight seasons. However, with the NHL franchise, there has been continual turnover in the front office and behind the bench, and Pegula seems to have no interest in hiring a team president or replacing GM Kevyn Adams after five years of failure.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo

The Vegas Golden Knights wrapped up a road trip, losing three of the four games and, on the season, are posting just a 15-13-5 record away from T-Mobile Arena. 

The Golden Knights have been a dominant team in their home arena since their inaugural season and are doing so once again this year, posting a 24-7-3 record. Similar to the 2023-24 campaign, the Golden Knights have struggled to consistently pick up wins on the road. 

The season they won the Stanley Cup was their best road season, recording 26 wins, and just seven regulation losses and eight overtime losses. 

The Golden Knights recently concluded a four-game road trip, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets but losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime, the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout and were shut out by the Detroit Red Wings. 

The Golden Knights were outplayed by the Sabres and Red Wings, outshot 37-19 and 27-18. A common theme this season has been a lack of offence on the road. The Golden Knights lost the first five of their six-game road games to start the season, scoring three or fewer goals in each of them. 

Their current road struggles signify the importance of winning the Pacific Division and ensuring they have home-ice advantage in the first two rounds. Chasing down the Winnipeg Jets for first in the Western Conference is becoming nearly impossible, trailing by 12 points with 15 games remaining. At the moment the Golden Knights sit in third place in the conference, trailing the Dallas Stars by a point. 

With eight road games on the schedule, the Golden Knights have limited time to fix their struggles, but finding a solution will go a long way when the playoffs begin.

Stay updated with the most interesting Golden Knights stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.

Ottawa Senators prospect Jan Jenik just had himself a uniquely excellent weekend.

On Friday night, Jenik tied the Belleville Senators' franchise record for most assists in a single game, recording five against the Bridgeport Islanders, and matching the B-Sens record set by Ottawa’s Drake Batherson.

On Saturday, he tormented the Islanders again in another 6-1 Belleville win, scoring the game-winner and adding two assists. And finally, on Monday, as good things often happen in threes, Jenik became the fifth Belleville Senator to be named the American Hockey League Player of the Week.

The others are Ottawa assistant coach Ben Sexton (Dec. 29/18), two-timer Drake Batherson (Nov. 11/18, Feb. 10/19), Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nick Paul (Feb. 24/19), and CSKA Moscow winger Vitaly Abramov (Dec. 29/19).

Like their NHL parent club, the Belleville Senators are on a hot streak as they fight for a playoff spot. Belleville has been untouchable at home lately, posting an 8-0-1 record in their last nine games.

This is Jenik’s first season with the Ottawa organization, but he has long-standing ties to Sens GM Steve Staios and team owner Michael Andlauer. Jenik played for them with the Hamilton Bulldogs during the 2019-2020 season, racking up 56 points in just 27 games. That led Staios to call him the best player in the OHL at the time.

Drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the third round, Jenik has had solid success in the past with their AHL affiliate in Tucson, though he has yet to make a significant impact in his 24 NHL games. The Senators acquired him in a trade last summer, sending Egor Sokolov to Arizona in exchange for Jenik. Sokolov was a key player for Belleville and, after four years there, holds most of the team’s career scoring records.

Jenik has missed 21 games this season due to injury but has still posted nine goals and 23 points in 38 games. Standing at 6'2" and 199 pounds, the Senators are hoping the 24-year-old forward can build on this and further regain his scoring touch.

After a weekend like that, anything's possible.

By Steve Warne
Site Editor at The Hockey News Ottawa

Stay updated with the most interesting Ottawa Senators stories, analysis, breaking news and more at The Hockey News Ottawa. Tap the star here on Google News to add us to your favourites and never miss a thing.

Goalie Darcy Kuemper has been named NHL 1st Star of the Week for his outstanding play during the week of March 10-16.

The 34 year-old native of Saskatoon went 3-0, including back-to-back shutouts against the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators.  Kuemper stopped 78 of 79 shots during the week, good for an almost invisible to the naked eye GAA of 0.33.

In addition to helping the Kings gain ground on Pacific Division rivals Edmonton and Vegas, Kuemper also etched a place in LA Kings' history. 

Kuemper now has a home point streak of 13 games dating back to December 7th, which is the longest such streak since Kelly Hrudey's 12 game run in 1991.

A Stanley Cup winner in 2022 with the Colorado Avalanche, Kuemper's consistent excellent play for Los Angeles has the Kings within striking distance of Vegas for a Pacific Division banner. 

Although not really mentioned as a serious Vezina Trophy candidate, one wonders if he should be. Kuemper currently ranks second in goals-against average at 2.16 and is third in save percentage at .919.

Given backup goalie Dave Rittich's lackluster play in his last dozen starts, LA is counting on Kuemper to maintain this stellar level of goaltending well into the playoffs.