The Detroit Red Wings are knee-deep in pursuing the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference. They held firm to a position for a very long time. However, a recent losing streak has knocked them out of the playoff picture.
The hockey website MoneyPuck publishes updates on every NHL team’s playoff chances. Earlier on Friday, they posted the latest chances. Rejoice, Red Wings fans – there’s still a chance.
The only other Eastern Conference teams with a lower chance of making the playoffs are the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Buffalo Sabres. Of those teams, only the Sabres have no chance of making it.
The Red Wings currently have 68 points, two points back of the final Wild Card team, the Columbus Blue Jackets. The New York Rangers also have 70 points but have played 66 games to the Red Wings' (and Blue Jackets') 65.
There is always a chance because so much of making the playoffs is outside of the players’ control. They can’t influence how other games play out.
What they can control is their individual performances. The Red Wings have 17 games remaining on the schedule, which is plenty of time to close the gap and pull ahead of other teams in the running.
Buckle up, Red Wings fans, the end of this season could be a photo finish.
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On Wednesday night, the Vancouver Canucks did something they previously hadn’t done at all this season — they won a game after trailing two periods. Taking the 4–3 shootout win against the Calgary Flames brings them up to 71 points on the season with 17 games remaining. Two of those games occur this weekend at Rogers Arena, where the Canucks will play the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday and Utah Hockey Club on Sunday. While Chicago is pretty much a shoe-in for a top-three draft pick this year, Utah is sneakily only two points back of Vancouver. Let’s take a look at what this weekend could have in store for the Canucks.
Vancouver’s first matchup this weekend comes against Chicago, who are currently sporting a 20–37–9 season record that puts them second-last in the Western Conference with 49 points. Only the San Jose Sharks have a lower point total than them. Despite their abysmal record, Vancouver can’t approach this game with the expectation of automatically gaining two points.
Chicago’s most dangerous factor coming into this game is the newly-acquired Spencer Knight, who is sporting a 2.24 GAA and .928 SV% in his three games with the Blackhawks so far. Knight has led the Blackhawks to a win against Utah and the Los Angeles Kings. In his two losses against the Colorado Avalanche and Sharks with Chicago, he only let in two goals and three goals respectively, still posting save percentages of .900% and .875%. Prior to being traded, he registered two shutouts and a 2.40 GAA with the Florida Panthers.
Another thing Vancouver should also be aware of is Chicago’s strong special teams. Their power play currently sits at fifth in the NHL with an effectiveness rate of 24.8%. Notably, they have scored five power play goals in their last 10 games. Their penalty kill has been steady as well, posting a killing percentage of 80.9% — 11th in the league.
Vancouver and Chicago are the bottom-two shot producers in the NHL. They’re both also towards the bottom of the standings in goals-for. While it’s likely that this game could be a low-scoring affair, since the start of March, Vancouver has seen a significant increase in shots-for, while Chicago has not. In this case, the key to securing two points against the Blackhawks will be to play the same way they did at the end of their match against the Flames. They’ll need to control play and keep applying pressure (or should I say, meet pressure with pressure?).
Utah has been a surprise team for many this season. A rebranded version of the Arizona Coyotes, Utah wasn’t expected to perform too well given the circumstances. However, they’ve put on quite the show for their new fanbase and have climbed up to a 29–25–11 record. This puts them at 69 points with 17 games left in their season, only a hair away from reaching Vancouver’s current position. Utah has had Vancouver’s number in both of their season matchups so far, taking both of their victories by only one goal.
As it stands, Utah has two players at the 50-point mark and above, and five who have more than 40 points. Vancouver’s lone player with more than 50 points is Quinn Hughes, who has 61 in 51 games played. Next in line are Conor Garland and Elias Pettersson with 39. For reference, Clayton Keller (74), Nick Schmaltz (50), Dylan Guenther (48), Logan Cooley (47), and MIkhail Sergachev (43) all have more points than Vancouver’s top-scoring forwards. While Utah is not a particularly high-scoring team compared to others in the NHL, their goals-for count of 184 is still higher than Vancouver’s 176.
One surprising stat about Utah is their corsi-for percentage, which tracks even-strength shot attempts by a team. They are currently ninth in the NHL in this stat with 51.68%, putting them higher than the Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals, and Winnipeg Jets. Vancouver is 22nd in the league with 49.03%.
As is the case with all games at this time of year, this weekend’s back-to-back is a big one for Vancouver. They have the opportunity to escape with all four points, taking two away from a team currently chasing them in the standings. Puck drop for Saturday is at 7:00 pm PT, while Sunday’s game starts at 5:00 pm PT.
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LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights have signed goaltender Adin Hill to a six-year contract extension worth $37.5 million, rewarding him for backstopping them to the Stanley Cup in 2023 and excelling in the starting job since.
Hill will count $6.25 million against the salary cap from when the deal kicks in next NHL season through 2031. General manager Kelly McCrimmon announced the extension.
This season at age 28, Hill has played in a career high 53 games and has a 2.53 goals-against average and .906 save percentage to help Vegas vault to the top of the Pacific Division. That included a 27-save shutout at Columbus.
Hill was a journeyman on his third organization with no playoff experience when he was thrust in net during the second round two years ago after injuries to Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit. He went 11-4 with a 2.17 GAA and a league-best .932 save percentage to deliver the first championship in franchise history.
The Athletic's Josh Yohe reported there was “heavy interest” in Pittsburgh Penguins winger Rickard Rakell. One of those clubs was the Edmonton Oilers. On March 8, TSN's Ryan Rishaug reported the Oilers looked into Rakell's availability.
Yohe indicated the Penguins set a high price for the 31-year-old Rakell. He believes GM Kyle Dubas didn't expect anyone to meet it, adding that they never really wanted to move him.
Erik Karlsson is another story. Yohe believes Dubas discussed moving the 34-year-old defenseman with several teams, suggesting that Karlsson's puck-moving skills could be valuable on a good team where his defensive flaws could be offset.
Yohe cited two NHL sources claiming Karlsson could be moved this summer if Dubas is willing to retain $3 million of his cap hit. The Penguins carry $10 million of his $11.5-million average annual value, with the Sharks holding the rest.
With the salary cap projected to rise to $95.5 million for next season, Dubas could try to find a club willing to take the entirety of Karlsson's cap hit off the Penguins' books. Nevertheless, teams will likely squeeze him to retain part of it.
Shifting our gaze to the New York Islanders, defenseman Noah Dobson surfaced in the rumor mill after it was reported he changed agents a couple of weeks before the trade deadline. However, Ethan Sears of the New York Post reported they weren't shopping Dobson, nor was the 25-year-old blueliner seeking a trade.
Dobson will become an RFA with arbitration rights on July 1. He indicated that the change of agents occurred well before the report emerged in the press.
Meanwhile, The Athletic's Arthur Staple reported the Islanders didn't float Jean-Gabriel Pageau's name in the trade market before the deadline. He anticipates Pageau and captain Anders Lee could be shopped in the off-season as management attempts to make the roster younger. He also speculated that Pierre Engvall and Scott Mayfield could be bought out in June.
The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Tyson Kozak from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
Kozak, 22, has played in his first 11 NHL games this season with the Sabres, where he has one goal and a minus-2 rating. His last appearance was against the Nashville Predators on Jan. 31, where he had 10:02 of ice time in 15 shifts.
Kozak has taken a step forward offensively down in the AHL with Rochester this season, posting new career-highs with eight goals and 14 points in 31 games. This is after he had five goals and 12 points in 41 games last season with Rochester.
Kozak will now look to make an impact during this latest call-up to the Sabres' roster from here. If he does well, it would help his chances of sticking around with the NHL club.
Here's today's NHL Nugget – this Birthday Backcheck features New York Rangers center J.T. Miller, who turns 32 years old on March 14.
Miller is in his second stint with the Rangers after the team drafted him 15th overall in 2011. During his first stint, he became the first Rangers player to have a multi-goal game in more than two decades. He then played for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver Canucks before returning to New York.
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.
The Vegas Golden Knights have signed goaltender Adin Hill to a six-year, $6.25M AAV contract extension.
The 28-year-old is enjoying his third season with the Golden Knights, posting a career-high in games played with 17 games remaining on the schedule.
In the 39 games he's played, Hill has posted a .906 SV% and a 2.53 GAA. The save percentage is the lowest of his three years in Vegas, but the numbers have been steadily rising as the season has progressed.
The Golden Knights defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets last night, and Hill recorded his fourth shutout of the season, turning away 27 shots.
The Golden Knights and GM Kelly McCrimmon placed a lot of trust in Hill when they elected to trade away Logan Thompson. Thompson has been enjoying a great season with the Washington Capitals, but the recent performances by Hill have put fans at ease about the decision the franchise made.
McCrimmon has been busy this season with re-signings. Last season, he watched multiple integral players leave in free agency and seems determined to avoid doing so this season. During the 2024-25 campaign, McCrimmon has re-signed Brett Howden, Keegan Kolesar, Brayden McNabb, and Shea Theodore. He's also handed out entry-level contracts to Trent Swick, Kai Uchacz and Braeden Bowman.
With the salary cap rising, McCrimmon has put the Golden Knights in a better position to chase after free agents, instead of replacing key players.
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Kings left wing Warren Foegele, left, celebrates with teammates after his first-period goal opened the scoring Thursday. (Eric Thayer / Associated Press)
The biggest obstacle to a long playoff run for the Kings may be the airport.
Provided the Kings make the playoffs, of course, and right now things are looking pretty good. With a dominant 3-0 win Thursday over Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at Crypto.com Arena, the Kings jumped over Edmonton into second place in the Pacific Division and moved within six points of first-place Las Vegas.
The win was the team’s fourth in a row, its longest winning streak in more than two months. But it wasn’t just that the Kings won; it was how they won and where they won that mattered.
They controlled every phase of the game, outshooting and outhitting the physical Capitals. They scored a power-play goal while killing five penalties of their own. And they shut out the highest-scoring team in the league while stopping Ovechkin, the second-highest-scoring player in history, leaving him nine goals shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s once-unbreakable record of 894 career goals.
“That was as complete as it's been all year,” coach Jim Hiller said of his team’s effort. “We had a game plan. We adhered to it as well, for 60 minutes, as each player can.”
That’s how they won. Where they won is just as important.
The Kings have lost in regulation just three times in 29 games at home this season, the best record in the NHL. On the road, their 17 losses are the most among likely Western Conference playoff teams. So if the team begins the playoffs with a trip to LAX, its postseason run could be a short one.
Which wouldn’t be novel. The Kings have been eliminated in the playoffs in the first round in each of the last three seasons — and each time they opened the postseason on the road in Edmonton. In fact, the team has never won a playoff series under general manager Rob Blake, whose job may depend on the Kings winning one this spring.
But then they’ve never had home-ice advantage in a playoff series under Blake, either. Finishing first or second in the division would give them that this year and that would potentially flip the script since the Kings haven’t lost at home to any of the top 15 teams in the NHL this year.
On the road, they’ve beaten just one of those same 15 teams in the last two months.
“We feel, especially on home ice, that it doesn't matter who we're playing. If we play our game, we're going to come out in front,” said goalie Darcy Kuemper, who hasn’t lost in regulation at home since Nov. 7, matching a 34-year-old franchise record by earning a point in 11 consecutive games.
“Obviously we have our eye on trying to get home ice for playoffs,” said Kuemper, who posted his first shutout since New Year’s Day against a team that hadn’t been blanked since the seventh game of the season. “Every team in the race wants that and we know how important every point is going to be down the stretch.”
“We're strong at home this year, way better than last year,” added Kevin Fiala, who had a goal and an assist Thursday. “We feel comfortable we can beat anybody and we’re showing it.”
Thursday’s game definitely had a playoff feel to it and the Kings rose to the challenge, with Warren Foegele giving them the only goal they’d need when he banged in a loose puck from the edge of the crease with 6:52 left in the opening period. The goal, Foegele’s 19th of the season, gave him 200 points for his NHL career.
Fiala doubled the lead with his 22nd goal of the season on a power play 65 seconds into the third period, and while the goal was being announced over the PA system, Quinton Byfield made it 3-0 off an assist from Fiala.
It was the team's 15th goal in the four-game home winning streak; they scored just 16 times in the last eight road games.
“In the locker room, we always believed,” Fiala said. “Doesn’t matter the standings. Doesn’t matter who we beat. But tonight we beat the best team in the league.”
The game turned chippy as the minutes ticked away, with five players sharing the penalty boxes at one point. But the Kings didn’t back down. If they play like that in the playoffs, they’re going to win a lot of games.
“I do believe that our players know that if we are all together, we all do the same thing and play the game the way we believe that our team has to play it to have success, then we can beat anybody,” Hiller said.
This is what Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman says to himself as he falls asleep every night (probably). A little healthy competition never hurts anyone, and there is competition for ice time on the Red Wings' blueline.
The contract includes performance bonuses and signing bonuses for each of the three years.
The fourth-round pick in the 2022 entry draft has had a solid two years in Sweden. Johansson played full-time SHL last season and is doing so again this season.
He played 46 games for Leksands IF this year, recording 10 points, 98 shots, and 50 penalty minutes. Johansson averaged 16:38 of ice time per game.
This represents a big step forward for the defender. In 46 games last season, he only recorded eight points, 59 shots, 16 penalty minutes, and 13:32 ice time per game.
The right-handed defender will report to the Red Wings AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, on an amateur tryout. The ice in North America is smaller than in the SHL. This is a bigger deal for defenders than it is for forwards.
Defenders must react quicker and be more aggressive on the smaller ice surface. The AHL is a great place for a young Swede to acclimate to making faster decisions.
It remains to be seen whether or not Johansson has an NHL future ahead of him - but at the very least, he’s one step closer.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Was it wise to sign Johansson at this point?
Elvis Merzļikins stopped 25 of 28 Vegas shots, but it was the Columbus offense that couldn't get anything going in the loss.
Elvis made some really good saves on Thursday, including a few show-stoppers. The first two goals he gave up weren't on him, as he did everything he could to keep the Jackets in the game against a very good VGK team.
Vegas didnt even have a shot attempt until they scored their first goal with 8 minutes left in the first. Up to that point, shot attempts were 14-0 in favor of the CBJ.
As for the rest of the game, and as former HC John Tortorella would say - "Burn the Tape!"
Dean Evason said after the game that defenseman Jake Christiansen suffered an upper-body injury and has already been ruled out for Saturday. Christiansen had played every game of the season up to this point.
Final Stats
Player Stats
Elvis Merzļikins stopped 25 of 28 Vegas shots.
Zach Werenski led the team with 4 shots and 27:53 of ice.
Team Stats
The CBJ PP went scoreless on three tries which included a double minor.
The Jackets PK stopped 2 of 3 Vegas power play's.
Columbus won 59.5% of the faceoffs.
What's Next: The New York Rangers visit Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
Let us know what you think below.
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