Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has not decided if he will use a forward on defense as the club dresses an undermanned lineup against the Montreal Canadiens and Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. However, he did say it was a possibility.
"I don't have a lot of guys with experience that have played back there other than Mitch (Marner)," Berube said following the club's optional morning skate.
The Maple Leafs will be forced to dress only five defensemen due to a combination of injuries and a lack of salary cap space. With a long-term injured reserve exception not possible due to how late injuries to Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson occurred and with no salary cap space, Toronto has to play one game short before they are allowed a call-up exception under article 50.10 of the NHL's collective bargaining agreement.
Why The Maple Leafs Will Dress 5 Defensemen Against The Canadiens On SaturdayThe Toronto Maple Leafs will likely dress one player short when they host the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
Marner is the obviously choice to play some minutes on defense given, that the player occupies the role on the club's top power-play unit.
"I heard he's played it a couple of times throughout and looked pretty good. So, yeah, I think he would be the pick," Maple Leafs forward Scott Laughton said.
During the club's pre-game meeting there appears to be no shortage of volunteers that would move up to play on the back end.
"It seems like they want to play D," Steven Lorentz revealed. " I've played some D in my career too over the years, just trying to, again, fill in at times. And I think I've been exposed a few times, so hopefully I'm not back there for too long. But, no, if that were to come up, then I'd feel comfortable doing that. But there are a few guys that are more incapable of filling in for a few shifts, I think."
Marner is the only player who played in NHL games on defense via a true experiment.
Following the training camp discussions ahead of the 2022-23 NHL season, then-head coach Sheldon Keefe he had indeed used Marner on defense late in games when the team was chasing a lead.
While Marner did help on the offensive end of things, there was one instance when Marner lost a one-on-one battle with New Jersey Devils forward Nico Hischier, resulting in a quality scoring chance against.
He stated that Marner "delivered as good of a scoring chance and puck delivery to the net as we had all period" and that his puck touches were crucial in breaking out of the defensive zone. Keefe explicitly noted, "He's not out there to defend; he's out there to spark our offense". While acknowledging a defensive breakdown occurred on Marner's shift (a one-on-one against Nico Hischier). Keefe attributed it mistake more to a lack of backchecking support from the other forwards rather than Marner's individual defending.
On Feb. 29, 2024, veteran defenseman Mark Giordano suffered an injury, leaving the Maple Leafs with only five defensemen. To manage the workload, Marner was called upon to take shifts on the blueline. Keefe revealed post-game that the possibility of using Marner on defense had been discussed before Giordano's injury. The Leafs had dressed a lineup with six left-shot defensemen due to Timothy Liljegren being out, creating an imbalance. The pre-game consideration involved using Marner, a right shot, to provide a different look on the back end even before the injury forced their hand.
The Leafs quickly rectified this by acquiring right-handed defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin ahead of the trade deadline.
Report: Maple Leafs to Re-Acquire Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin From Ducks For Draft PicksAccording to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Leafs are acquiring the Russian defenseman with 75 percent of his salary cap hit retained in exchange for third and sixth-round draft picks.
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With the New York Rangers on the verge of missing the Stanley Cup playoffs entirely, the already deafening noise around head coach Peter Laviolette is beginning to reach a fever pitch.
Laviolette’s Rangers had led the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 and 4-3 on Wednesday night before eventually falling 8-5, virtually eliminating them from playoff contention.
One individual, a name that the Rangers are already intimately familiar with, appears to be gaining traction as a potential Laviolette replacement.
When on the topic of Flyers interim head coach Brad Shaw, with just over a minute left in the first period of Wednesday night’s Rangers game, broadcaster John Davidson subtly dropped a key piece of information regarding former Flyers head coach John Tortorella, who was relieved of his duties on March 27.
“By the way, John Tortorella said he wants to coach again because he’s got energy, he loves teaching,” Davidson said. “So, good luck, Torts! We had him in Columbus, and he did a great job for us.”
When Tortorella first took the Flyers’ head coaching job in 2022, he claimed that Philadelphia would be his last stop as an NHL head coach.
But, the 66-year-old likely did not have getting axed with less than a dozen games remaining in his third season on his bingo card. That was sure to leave a sour taste in Tortorella’s mouth, especially knowing the amount of pride he has in his work.
Taking Davidson’s comments one step further, one NHL insider already believes that a Rangers reunion makes the most sense for both Tortorella and the team.
Making a guest appearance on the FlamesNation podcast, TSN NHL insider Darren Dreger says he feels the Rangers are the only logical option for the stoic American coach.
"For me, the New York Rangers are the only team that, right now, makes sense. And the reason I feel like that, and no disrespect to Peter Laviolette, it's because I know that James Dolan, the owner of the New York Rangers, loves John Tortorella,” Dreger postulated.
"That owner has a ton of clout. Let's see what happens. If they miss the playoffs in New York, all bets are off. Maybe Chris Drury has some vote of confidence that he's coming back as general manager, but I can't be sure of that. I don't know that to be certain.
"What I do know is you've got a very hands-on, volatile owner who is not going to sit back and say 'Yeah, okay, status quo, that works. I'm comfortable with the way things are.' He does like John Tortorella, so that would be a scenario that does make some sense."
Tortorella, of course, began his NHL head coaching career with a four-game stint as an interim head coach with the Rangers in 2000, and previously coached parts of five seasons in New York as a full-time head coach, guiding the Rangers to a 171-118-1-29 regular-season record and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance during his time.
If the two-time Jack Adams Award winner is looking for a veteran team with established stars and a full-circle moment to close out his career, there’s no better place to do it than in New York with the Rangers.
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The Winnipeg Jets will play their final road game of the regular season against the 31st-ranked Chicago Blackhawks.
The Jets have defeated the Blackhawks in their two previous meetings this season, winning the first matchup 2-1 in overtime and the second 4-2. The Central Division foes haven't played one another since Dec. 7, 2024.
The Jets enter tonight's game after dominantly beating the Dallas Stars and are now just a point away from clinching the Central Division and first place in the Western Conference. A win or an overtime loss will confirm their spot.
If the Jets can clinch their spot at the top, they likely won't know their opponent until the final game of the regular season. The St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild are tied with 93 points, each with two games remaining. The Wild currently hold the tiebreaker with two more regulation wins, meaning if the standings do not change, the Jets will face the Blues in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Blackhawks are once again one of the worst teams in hockey. They have the second-worst goal differential (-71) and the second-fewest wins. Tonight's opportunity is one that needs to be taken by the Jets.
Puck drop is at 6:00 PM CST at the United Center.
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Foerster buries a few more goals as Flyers beat Islanders in shootout originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Tyson Foerster stayed hot with two goals and the Flyers picked up a 4-3 shootout win Saturday afternoon over the Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center.
Bobby Brink won it in the skills competition after four Flyers came up empty.
The Flyers lost a 3-2 lead when Bo Horvat scored with 1:01 minutes left in regulation.
Jakob Pelletier also found the back of the net for the Flyers. His goal tied the game at 2-2 in the third period. The 24-year-old has recorded a point in six of the last seven games.
Foerster then delivered the go-ahead 3-2 goal. He has five goals through the last two games after scoring a hat trick Wednesday night in the Flyers’ 8-5 win at Madison Square Garden.
Owen Tippett collected assists on the two third-period goals Saturday.
“I thought we had a good team effort there in the third,” Foerster said.
The Flyers (33-37-9) improved to 5-1-0 under interim head coach Brad Shaw, a stretch in which they’ve scored 28 goals. They have three games to go.
The Flyers went to overtime for the 21st time this season. They’re 12-9 after regulation.
They split their four-game regular-season series with the Islanders (34-33-12).
• Foerster’s first goal was on the power play and it opened the game’s scoring in the second period.
The 23-year-old winger has eight markers in the last six games and 24 on the season after putting up 20 as a rookie last year.
“I like how he earns his success, I like how he doesn’t cheat to get his success,” Shaw said. “That’s not an easy thing to do on a regular basis. A real good sign from a young guy that’s showing he’s going to be a good pro and a good player for a long time.”
Matvei Michkov registered an assist on Foerster’s power play tally, giving him a 60-point rookie season.
More: How Michkov embraced a ‘boring process’ to become an even greater scorer
• Samuel Ersson saw his first start since last Saturday and converted 37 saves on 40 shots.
The 25-year-old denied Horvat, Maxim Tsyplakov, Simon Holmstrom, Tony DeAngelo and Kyle Palmieri in the shootout.
“I thought he was good all game,” Shaw said. “I loved him in the shootout, he had a little bit of swagger. I like that, when we see that from Sam, it usually bodes well for how many pucks he’s going to stop.”
New York erased a 1-0 deficit with second-period goals from Anders Lee and Noah Dobson. Lee’s marker came on the power play as Cam York was hit with a high-sticking penalty. Dobson’s tally was after the Flyers turned the puck over entering the offensive zone.
Islanders netminder Marcus Hogberg stopped 19 of the Flyers’ 22 shots.
• With the win, the Flyers moved a point ahead of the Kraken and into No. 6 for the 2025 NHL draft lottery odds. Seattle has two games left, with one late tonight at home against the Blues.
The Flyers are one point back of the Sabres, who visit the Panthers tonight.
• The Flyers are right back at it Sunday when they visit the Senators (1 p.m. ET/NBCSP+).
They’ve had a nightmarish time in the second game of back-to-back sets, going 1-10-1 while being outscored 52-29.
Foerster buries a few more goals as Flyers beat Islanders in shootout originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Tyson Foerster stayed hot with two goals and the Flyers picked up a 4-3 shootout win Saturday afternoon over the Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center.
Bobby Brink won it in the skills competition after four Flyers came up empty.
The Flyers lost a 3-2 lead when Bo Horvat scored with 1:01 minutes left in regulation.
Jakob Pelletier also found the back of the net for the Flyers. His goal tied the game at 2-2 in the third period. The 24-year-old has recorded a point in six of the last seven games.
Foerster then delivered the go-ahead 3-2 goal. He has five markers through the last two games after scoring a hat trick Wednesday night in the Flyers’ 8-5 win at Madison Square Garden.
“You can tell he’s a goal scorer,” Samuel Ersson said. “You see that he’s one of the toughest guys to stop in practice.”
Owen Tippett collected assists on the two third-period goals.
“I thought we had a good team effort there in the third,” Foerster said.
The Flyers (33-37-9) improved to 5-1-0 under interim head coach Brad Shaw, a stretch in which they’ve scored 28 goals. They have three games to go.
“I think for everybody, we’re still trying to work on our own games, trying to get better, I think that’s a huge part of it,” Ersson said. “As a team, having some pride, playing for the Flyers’ logo and knowing that we’re trying to do something good here with the games we have left.”
The Flyers went to overtime for the 21st time this season. They’re 12-9 after regulation.
They split their four-game regular-season series with the Islanders (34-33-12).
• Foerster’s first goal was on the power play and it opened the game’s scoring in the second period.
The 23-year-old winger has eight markers in the last six games and 24 on the season after putting up 20 as a rookie last year.
“I like how he earns his success, I like how he doesn’t cheat to get his success,” Shaw said. “That’s not an easy thing to do on a regular basis. A real good sign from a young guy that’s showing he’s going to be a good pro and a good player for a long time.”
Matvei Michkov registered an assist on Foerster’s power play tally, giving him a 60-point rookie season.
More: How Michkov embraced a ‘boring process’ to become an even greater scorer
• Ersson saw his first start since last Saturday and converted 37 saves on 40 shots.
The 25-year-old denied Horvat, Maxim Tsyplakov, Simon Holmstrom, Tony DeAngelo and Kyle Palmieri in the shootout.
“I thought he was good all game,” Shaw said. “I loved him in the shootout, he had a little bit of swagger. I like that, when we see that from Sam, it usually bodes well for how many pucks he’s going to stop.”
New York erased a 1-0 deficit with second-period goals from Anders Lee and Noah Dobson. Lee’s marker came on the power play as Cam York was hit with a high-sticking penalty. Dobson’s tally was after the Flyers turned the puck over entering the offensive zone.
Islanders netminder Marcus Hogberg stopped 19 of the Flyers’ 22 shots.
• With the win, the Flyers moved a point ahead of the Kraken and into No. 6 for the 2025 NHL draft lottery odds. Seattle has two games left, with one late tonight at home against the Blues.
The Flyers are one point back of the Sabres, who visit the Panthers tonight.
• The Flyers are right back at it Sunday when they visit the Senators (1 p.m. ET/NBCSP+).
They’ve had a nightmarish time in the second game of back-to-back sets, going 1-10-1 while being outscored 52-29.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have been getting a lot of help from the hockey gods lately.
The first time they faced elimination, they pulled out a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres to stay alive. Then last night, they got the help they needed—thanks to the Ottawa Senators beating the Montreal Canadiens, they're still in it.
But staying alive another day also means facing elimination again.
Here’s the scenario for today:
The Canadiens will clinch a playoff spot and eliminate the Blue Jackets if any of the following happen:
(a) They beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in regulation (b) They win in overtime or a shootout and the Blue Jackets lose to the Washington Capitals (c) They collect a point and the Blue Jackets lose (d) They win in overtime or a shootout and the Blue Jackets lose in overtime or a shootout
There’s a lot of moving parts here, but the simplest path is this: the Blue Jackets need to beat the Capitals, and hope the Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens.
If everything goes their way, they'll live to fight another day—and get a rematch with the Capitals tomorrow with their season still alive.
Columbus Blue Jackets (81 pts) vs. Washington Capitals (109 pts) Game PreviewThe Columbus Blue Jackets and the Washington Capitals play the first of back-to-back games this weekend, today at 12:30 PM.
Columbus Blue Jackets Lines, Defensive Pairings, & Scratches For Tonight's Game vs. Washington Capitals The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Washington Capitals play the first of back-to-back games this weekend, today at 12:30 PM.
Columbus Blue Jackets Injury UpdateJust when the Columbus Blue Jackets thought they had turned the corner in terms of injuries, the injury bug has bitten again.
After taking on the Ottawa Senators on Friday, the Montreal Canadiens will jump back into the action on Saturday night when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. The hosts should be well rested, as they played their last game on Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, they will need all their energy since they may be forced to play with only five defensemen.
Three Takeaways From A Missed Opportunity
Canadiens: Demidov Has Landed And May Be Perfect For St-Louis
Canadiens: Where Does Demidov Slot In?
With Jake McCabe already injured, Craig Berube confirmed after practice on Friday that Oliver Ekman-Larsson would miss Saturday night’s game against the Habs. The Toronto outfit will be forced to play a defenseman down, thanks to roster limitations and cap rules.
Saturday night’s duel will be the fourth and final matchup between the two teams; the Canadiens won the first game 1-0 in October, while Toronto won 4-1 in November and 7-3 in January. The Leafs have also won seven of the last ten meetings and three of their previous four games, while the Canadiens are still reeling from their first loss in seven games.
Samuel Montembeault was in the net last night, and Martin St-Louis has already confirmed that Jakub Dobes will be facing the Leafs for the first time in his young career. In 15 games this season, the youngster has a 7-4-2 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.
As for the Leafs, Anthony Stolarz is 3-2-0 in 5 games with a GAA of 2.78 and a .910 SP versus the Canadiens, while Joseph Woll has never lost against the visitors; he’s 3-0-0 with a 1.67 GAA and a .942 SP.
If you were still hoping to see Ivan Demidov take his first strides as a Canadiens against the Leafs, forget it. The coach has already said it’s not happening. It will be interesting to see if St-Louis does make some changes to his lineup, given Friday night’s 5-2 loss and the fact that this is the tail end of a back-to-back. He should, however, put on the Canadiens’ jersey for Saturday morning’s optional skate.
Canadiens with 34+ points in a 22-game span since 1960:
— Canadiens Muse (@Canadiens_Muse) April 11, 2025
— Nick Suzuki (active)
— Stéphane Richer (1990)
— Steve Shutt (1976)
— Guy Lafleur (1975, 1976)
— Bernie Geoffrion (1961)
Elite company. pic.twitter.com/EPUcwlmCAV
It will be interesting to see if St-Louis tinkers with his lineup. Michael Pezzetta had a tough fight on Friday night and looked worse for wear. Perhaps an opportunity to bring Emil Heineman back in the lineup if he’s ready to go after the injury that made him day-to-day. It could be a good idea for Arber Xhekaj to reintegrate the defense corps. The Leafs aren’t overly physical, and some of their forwards can think twice before engaging in brutal board battles.
The Canadiens will have another opportunity to book their playoffs spot on Saturday night, but if they hope to, they’ll need a better contribution from their top line. In 27 games against the Leafs, captain Nick Suzuki has 22 points to his name, second only to Brendan Gallagher, who has 23 in 46 duels. Josh Anderson takes the third spot with 17 points in 36 tilts, while Cole Caufield and Patrik Laine have 13 points in 15 and 14 games, respectively. Suzuki currently has a seven-game point streak; he’s put up 13 points in that span.
As for the Leafs, John Tavares leads in points production against Montreal with 51 points in 58 games, followed by captain Auston Matthews, who has 46 points in 36 games, Mitch Marner with 38 points in 39 games, and William Nylander, who has 31 in 35 duels. Needless to say, the Canadiens need to stop the big four to win.
Montreal will need to have a good start if they want to prevail. Toronto is quite stingy in the first period, allowing only 68 games this season. Their worst defensively is the third, in which they’ve given up 84 goals on the year, which is good news for Martin St-Louis’ men who usually have a strong third.
The Habs have played 384 games in Toronto and have a 139-194-45-6 record away from home against the old enemy. With an assist tonight, Suzuki could join Chris Chelios as the 36th most prolific passer in franchise history with 237. Speaking of the former blueliner, Lane Hutson remains on the verge of breaking his record for most points by a Canadiens rookie defenseman. Meanwhile, with three games left to play, sniper Cole Caufield is on 37 goals, while the team’s main objective remains to qualify for the playoffs, getting the right winger to 40 lamplighters would be quite the milestone, something Montreal hasn’t seen since Vincent Damphousse did it in 1993-94.
The Canadiens will head back home after the game. They have a date with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night for what should be Demidov’s NHL debut. Something tells me the Bell Centre crowd will be deafening for that rookie lap.
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