Professional sports are one of the most competitive fields in the world.

Athletes are paid millions of dollars to entertain the masses for a living.

The Detroit Red Wings players are a good example of these professionals. Sometimes, these professionals need to know when they are done.

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

And in no uncertain terms do I say this, but the Red Wings are done.

Kaput.

Painful 4–1 Loss in Montreal Costs Red Wings Their Playoff HopesOn Tuesday night at the Bell Center in Montreal, not long before 10 pm local time, whatever remained of the Detroit Red Wings' playoff aspirations shriveled in upon itself in a 4–1 loss to the Canadiens. 

Their best opportunity to have a sniff, hope, and a prayer of making the playoffs drifted away when the final buzzer rang on Tuesday night. A 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens punched their card to the fairways for (yet) another season.

Trending Red Wings Stories

Red Wings April 2025 Schedule: Can They Make The Playoffs?It all comes down to this.

Current Red Wings' You Didn't Know Played For The Canadiens

Red Wings Axel Sandin Pellikka Is Breaking Playoff Records

Red Wings' Most Important Game Of The Year

Red Wings Weekly Recap: Augustine, Kane, & Playoff Hunt

Red Wings Recall Austin Watson for Road TripWith the Detroit Red Wings beginning a pivotal three-game road swing Tuesday night in Montreal, they have recalled forward Austin Watson from Grand Rapids to join them for the trip.

However, there are reasons for optimism. Lucas Raymond has been the most consistent offensive producer all season. Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson have been spectacular rookies on the blueline. 

Elmer Soderblom and Marco Kasper didn’t start the season with the Red Wings, but both have been incredibly solid since being called up. They have showcased their skill and have done everything asked of them to stay in the lineup.

Their goaltending needs some work, and the position was further complicated with the acquisition of Petr Mrazek.

Red Wings Trade For Mrazek Doesn't Add Up NowSometimes, it’s better not to make a move than to make a move that hurts your team.

At this point in time, the Red Wings would need a miracle to make the playoffs. They would need to win every game remaining with the Canadiens losing every game. The Red Wings would also need the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and Columbus Blue Jackets to win less games than them.

It’s a tough way to go for the Red Wings, but that’s just how the cookie crumbled this year.

Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites. 

The Philadelphia Flyers have named goaltender Ivan Fedotov their nominee for the 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the player “who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.”

Fedotov’s journey to the NHL has been nothing short of extraordinary. Drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round (188th overall) in 2015, the 6-foot-7 Russian netminder spent years developing in the KHL, becoming one of the league’s top goaltenders. In May 2022, he signed a one-year entry-level deal with Philadelphia, poised to make the leap to North America.

But Fedotov’s path took an unexpected and harrowing turn when he was detained by Russian authorities and forced to fulfill mandatory military service, delaying his NHL debut by more than a year. Despite the setback, Fedotov remained committed to his dream, rejoining the Flyers organization and finally making his NHL debut at the end of the 2023-24 season.

vs NY Rangers 11/29/2024 pic.twitter.com/NfHkTViDb9

— brig 🐦‍🔥ᵕ̈ (@82erssy) December 1, 2024

“Just hearing his story, it’s pretty crazy,” Flyers captain Sean Couturier said of Fedotov’s nomination (Couturier was nominated for the award in the 2023-24 season). “It’d be hard for anyone to really come back and play at this level…There’s been a lot of things thrown at him and he’s had some unfair criticisms at times. But he’s always tried to just work through it.

“There’s a few times it almost seemed like [former head coach John Tortorella] quit on him, and a couple weeks later, [Fedotov] comes in the net and gets us a big win or keeps us in a big game that we shouldn’t have been in. He’s been through some ups and downs, but he’s always trying to work through it and be ready when his name is called.”

His perseverance through geopolitical turmoil, personal uncertainty, and professional delay speaks to his deep dedication to the game. 

His nomination honors not just his resilience, but the quiet strength and grace with which he’s navigated his journey.

“It’s a good feeling,” Fedotov said when asked about his nomination.

In the locker room after practice on Tuesday, after teammate Travis Konecny walked by and congratulated him by saying, “Feddy! Woo!” (To which Fedotov replied, “Woo!” back), the goaltender also spoke of what it meant to him to finally be in the NHL.

“It’s been my dream my whole life,” he said. “Every kid growing up dreams of playing in the best league in the world. It was a long road for me…I had a lot of extra steps! But most importantly, I got what I wanted, and it’s a new page for me.”

The annual Bill Masterton Trophy nominees are out.

Every season, each of the 32 local chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers Association selects the Masterton nominees.

The Bill Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the player who for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game of hockey.

This season, the Florida chapter of the PHWA selected Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist as their nominee.

After spending time in both the NHL with the Boston Bruins and AHL in Providence last season, Boqvist signed a one-year prove-it deal with Florida during the offseason.

Arriving on a new team with no guarantees for a roster spot, Boqvist got to work showing that he could be a valuable piece to Florida’s lineup.

“Right from day one, everyone was so nice and welcoming,” said Boqvist. “Obviously it takes some time to get used to everything, but I feel like off the ice it was pretty much right away, and then obviously still working stuff on the ice, right? So it takes time, but it's been a lot of fun.”

He’s played in all situations for Florida, on the left and the right, and shown that he can hold his own regardless of where he lines up.

It was simply a matter of showing what he could do, but as Boqvist explains, he had to get the consistency down.

“I feel like every player's road to where they're at is different, and for me, it's always try to stay patient and believe in myself,” he said. “I think I've shown in the past what I can bring to the team, but not long enough.”

With a steady role in Florida’s high-speed, physical, defensive systems, Boqvist was able to show the Panthers coaching staff and front office how valuable he could be for the team.

That’s why, almost eight months to the day after Boqvist signed his initial contract with the Panthers, Florida offered the young forward a two-year extension for double the average annual value of his first deal.

He’s played 74 games with the Cats so far this season, putting up a career high 12 goals and matching his career high with 23 points.

It may not have been the kind of success he envisioned back when he initially signed with Florida, but the belief in himself was always there.

“I want to say yes, but obviously you don't want to jump too, too far ahead, right?” said Boqvist. “I just tried to take it day by day, game by game, but obviously it was something you were hoping for. I always had that hope to take steps, so I think I've done that so far, but I have more in me and it's going to be a lot of fun here down the stretch.”

LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA

Lundell, Forsling help Panthers get back in win column with 3-1 victory over Toronto

Key divisional matchup unfolds in Florida between Panthers, Maple Leafs

'We're just healing them': As Stanley Cup Playoffs near, Panthers could continue holding players out

Three takeaways: Panthers making best of injuries, Puljujarvi has strong debut

Panthers drop fifth straight, ending road trip with 2-1 loss in Detroit

Minten scores first Bruins goal, gives fans hope amid tough season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The 2024-25 NHL season hasn’t been a fun one for Boston Bruins fans. In fact, it’s been brutal at times.

But it’s not all bad, though. One positive for fans to be excited about is Frasen Minten, the prospect acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Brandon Carlo trade just prior to the March 7 NHL trade deadline.

Minten started his career in the Bruins organization down in Providence, where he scored a hat trick for the P-Bruins on March 16 and tallied seven points in 10 AHL games before making his Boston debut last Saturday versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

Minten scored his first goal with the Bruins in a 7-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.

“That was an awesome feeling,” Minten told reporters postgame. “Fun to be able to contribute to a good game like that.”

“Each game feels more and more comfortable. The more you get reps, touch the puck and make plays you just feel like you can make (things happen).”

The best-case scenario in the short term for Minten is that he ends the season strong, improves in the summer, shines in training camp and makes a strong case to be the No. 3 center on Opening Night in October.

Minten has an improving offensive game, and it’s possible he could become a 20-goal scorer at some point. But he’s more of a two-way forward who is responsible defensively, kills penalties, plays the right way, etc. Kind of in the Charlie Coyle mold — good offense, trustworthy on defense, a high hockey IQ and hard on the puck.

And the Bruins need help at center, which makes Minten’s development so important to the short- and long-term health of the franchise.

The 2022 second-round pick might not turn into a star, but he has all the tools to be a very good, dependable player for a long time. And that’s exactly what the Bruins need as they continue to build around their core of David Pastrnak (age 28), Charlie McAvoy (age 27), and Jeremy Swayman (age 26).

The 2024-25 fantasy hockey season has just about reached its end. As always, there were several things that went according to plan and many that did not. Here we will take a look at the latter in hopes of improving the process for the 2025-26 campaign.

The goaltending market is more volatile than ever

This is by far the most important one. I've always been an advocate for drafting goalies early simply because there aren't enough top-tier ones to go around. Sure, Connor Hellebuyck has been great, and Jake Oettinger and Andrei Vasilevskiy have helped anchor fantasy teams, but players like Igor Shesterkin, Jeremy Swayman and especially Juuse Saros, have been woeful given where they went on draft day.

Shesterkin has actually played pretty well relative to how bad his teammates have been, but Swayman and Saros have really struggled. What they all have in common is that the Rangers, Bruins and Predators have all woefully underachieved as a team. Among the top 10 in the league in GAA are a player who was so bad he was included in a salary dump trade in the offseason (Darcy Kuemper), a guy on his fifth NHL team who had never played more than 28 games in a single year (Anthony Stolarz) and a goaltender who spent the first quarter of the year playing for the worst team in the league (Mackenzie Blackwood).

My initial reaction is to continue to draft the same way simply because I don't see how fantasy managers can accurately predict which of these mid-to-late-round dart-throw goaltenders will fare, but it's important we analyze the potential worst-case scenario for each team prior to the season. 

Rookies still aren't worth reaching for

This has been my opinion for years, and it held true once again this season. Every NHL team has roughly 3-5 games remaining on their schedule. The current rookie point leaders are Lane Hutson (64), Matvei Michkov (58), Macklin Celebrini (57), Cutter Gauthier (40) and Will Smith (40). Michkov has exploded with 11 points in his last seven games to fly up the list. All remain elite, top-tier assets in keeper/dynasty leagues, but in redraft formats, fantasy managers can do better.

Hutson is a bit of a different case because he's a defenseman, but the other four haven't been fantasy difference makers. Michkov and Celebrini would be late-round options if they were to finish in the range of 60 points. Gauthier and Smith are non-playable in redraft formats. Everyone loves rookies because of the potential unknown and massive upside, but there are very few guys like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews who step in right away and dominate in the best league in the world. 

The top drafted defenders are indeed, that

This is essentially what I expected to happen with the goalie market that didn't. Here are the current top 11 scoring defensemen in the NHL with their point totals:

• Cale Makar (91)

• Zach Werenski (75)

• Quinn Hughes (74)

• Lane Hutson (64)

• Evan Bouchard (63)

• Rasmus Dahlin (62)

• Victor Hedman (61)

• Josh Morrissey (57)

• Adam Fox (56)

• Jake Sanderson (54)

• Shea Theodore (54)

The only two guys on that list who weren't projected to be there before the season were Hutson, and perhaps Werenski, although he led all NHL rearguards in goals in 2019-20 and has always been one of the best offensive defenders in the league when healthy. Defensemen scoring is driven by power-play production, and it's exceedingly rare for a player to come out of nowhere and become an effective PP quarterback at the NHL level. The projected top rearguards before the season feel like safer investments than ever.

Fantasy managers can find some secondary scoring to complement hits

Hits aren't valued in every league, but in those in which they are, they can make a major difference. When considering hits, fantasy managers used to think of players like Matt Martin, Ryan Reaves and Radko Gudas, guys who would throw the body around a lot and bring minimal offense to the table. That's not the case anymore. Of the current top 15 hits leaders in the NHL, six of them — Kiefer Sherwood, Will Cuylle, Mathieu Olivier, Paul Cotter, Brady Tkachuk, Eeli Tolvanen — have scored at least 15 goals this season, while 10 of the 15 have posted at least 22 points. Outside of Tkachuk, none of these players are going to be true difference-makers from an offensive standpoint, but there are guys who can help fantasy managers in both hits and be a nice source of secondary scoring, and that's a potential major advantage depending on your format. 

Don't bet on players with limited power-play production

This is more of a lesson for next year. As I mentioned earlier, fantasy usefulness is largely determined by effectiveness with the man advantage. Take Mika Zibanejad of the Rangers.

The prior two years, he had 70 power-play points combined, while he's had just 19 this year. That's why he has just 52 points after finishing with no fewer than 72 points in any of the prior five full seasons. He's not the best example because he's been on New York's No. 1 power-play unit all season, but it just illustrates the point of how a player's numbers can tank if he isn't scoring a man up.

The poster boy for this this season is Aliaksei Protas of the Capitals. Protas is currently 44th in the NHL in scoring with 30 goals and 66 points in 76 games. He's been riding a heater all season and is currently a plus-40, second-best in the NHL. The numbers on the surface are exceptional, but he averages just eight seconds worth of power-play time per game and has just a single assist with the man advantage all season and even has five shorthanded points. Unless Protas' power-play time increases next season, expect a significant drop in production.

On a very exciting day in Montreal, with Ivan Demidov signing his ELC, the Canadiens were hosting the Detroit Red Wings at the Bell Centre. Once again, the Habs showed up fashionably late for the game, being dominated 23-4 shots-wise in the first 20 minutes.

Ivan Demidov Signs His ELC
Jakub Dobes Got An Interesting Gift Following Ovechkin’s Record
Tyler Thorpe Earns a Contract

Matheson Mighty Struggles

Mike Matheson isn’t having his best season. That’s a well-known fact, and fans are well on their way to making him the new Patrice Brisebois, and on Tuesday night, he showed why. On the Red Wings’ first goal, the puck was sliding to him at the offensive blue line, and he couldn’t decide if he should skate to it and wait for it to get to him.

By the time he decided to go for it, it was too late. The puck was poked past him, and the Wings took flight on an odd-man rush that ended with the puck behind Samuel Montembeault. That’s not the hesitant play you expect from a seasoned vet like Matheson.

Minutes later, a shot deflected on him and nearly beat the goaltender, who had to be quick as a cat to avoid going down 2-0. However, he made amends during a penalty kill in the middle frame, blocking a cross-crease pass, and was solid for the rest of the game. Asked about the way Matheson handles adversity, Martin St-Louis explained:

I feel hockey is a game of mistakes. You’re trying to limit those, and I think the mentality we’re taking is “what’s next?”. You can’t do anything about what just happened; you move forward and focus on the next action, which is what he’s done. He’s a very important player for us; he logs in a lot of minutes. It’s another guy whose role kind of changed a bit this year. He embraced it, and he’s very valuable.

The Wings Did Their Homework

Detroit showed up knowing full well they were playing for their playoff lives, and it showed in their play. They came out strong in the first and were entirely ready to counter two of the Canadiens’ biggest weapons: Patrik Laine on the power play and Lane Hutson at all times.

On the penalty kill, they isolated Laine, forcing him to stand further out and making it easier for Cam Talbot to stop his shot, not that he managed to get a shot on target from there.

As for Hutson, the Wings pressured him just enough to rush him, but without fully committing themselves and leaving themselves exposed. There are times when he did manage to escape, but there were also occurrences of him turning the puck over because he rushed his play.

Still, at times, he managed to escape, including on a particular play in the third frame, where his twists and turns in the offensive zone allowed him to deliver a pass straight on Josh Anderson’s tape. The big winger didn’t score, but the Bell Centre was ignited, and minutes later, Anderson did score.

Montreal might have won the game, but the scoreboard doesn't really reflect how the game went down. 

Montembeault Wins 30

On Tuesday night, Samuel Montembeault was astonishing. In the first period alone, he made 22 saves, and the only goal he surrendered was in an odd-man rush. At the night's end, the netminder had made 35 saves on 36 shots for a .972 save percentage. Not all of the shots he faced were dangerous, but enough of them were that if he didn’t play well, Montreal wouldn’t have won.

The timing for St-Louis to finally accept the importance of resting his goaltender was also great. Had he used Montembeault in the last back-to-back instead of allowing Dobes to get a start, he might not have been able to pull off that kind of performance.

The coach was asked if Montembeault is becoming an elite goaltender in the league, and he explained:

I think when you’re a number one goaltender on an NHL team, you’re an elite goaltender, but it takes a collective game in front of you to really look elite as well. We’re helping Mounty; we didn’t help him in the first, but we needed him in the first. If he hadn’t had that kind of period, we would have dug ourselves too deep a hole. Just like our team, Mounty is making tremendous progress, and he’s going through these moments because he deserves it.

With Tuesday night's 4-1 win, Montembeault signed his 30th triumph of the season, it's the first time he reaches the milestone. It was also the first time since 2017 that the Canadiens won six games in a row.

QUEL MATCH DE MONTY

WHAT A GAME FOR MONTY
#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/HovrUpq7SA

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 9, 2025

Tonight was also a big night for Brendan Gallagher; his empty net goal was the 239th of his career, tying him for the 15th most prolific goal scorer in the team's history with Bob Gainey. However, Gainey did it in 1,160 games, while the alternate captain got there in 830 games. It was also his 21st goal of the season, giving him sole possession of third place in goals on the team behind Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, just ahead of Patrik Laine, who has 20.

Josh Anderson may have saved a late-game goal prior to Gallagher's empty netter.#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/8FRGZlamnX

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 9, 2025

The Canadiens will now have a much-needed and deserved night off. They played five games in the last eight nights, and the coach explained that at this time of the year, rest is a weapon that he needs to use.

Asked about the upcoming arrival of Ivan Demidov, the coach smiled and said, “You’ve all seen how exciting a player he looks”, but he added he doesn’t know when the kid will turn up. That being said, the youngster looks like he’s tailor-made to play under St-Louis and fans would no doubt be counting down the days if only they knew exactly when he will arrive. According to GM Kent Hughes, who spoke on TSN during the first intermission, Demidov will be there as soon as the work permit issues are resolved; I can’t imagine that will take very long.

Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.  

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. 

‘His story is quite remarkable' — Fedotov named Flyers' Masterton nominee originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Two seasons ago, Ivan Fedotov wasn’t playing hockey.

He was far from it, far from the NHL, a dream that suddenly appeared incapable of being reached.

Not even two months after signing his entry-level contract with the Flyers, he was detained for allegedly evading military service in his home country of Russia. His 2022-23 season was not spent competing for a roster spot in the NHL; it was spent on a remote military base in northern Russia.

“It was a long road for me,” the 28-year-old said Tuesday.

The road finally met the Flyers late last season. And it has led to Fedotov being nominated for the 2024-25 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

The 6-foot-7 goaltender was voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association’s Philadelphia chapter as the Flyers’ nominee for the NHL award, which is given annually to “the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.”

“His story is quite remarkable,” Sean Couturier said Tuesday. “I’m not too sure of exactly all the details of what he has went through, but just hearing the story, it’s pretty crazy, pretty wild. It would be hard for anyone to really come back and play at this level.”

After Fedotov fulfilled his military duty, the doubt surrounding his future with the Flyers only grew in 2023-24. He opened that season back in the KHL, Russia’s top pro league. But once his season wrapped up with CSKA Moscow, Fedotov had his KHL contract terminated and joined the Flyers at the end of March for their final eight games.

He made his NHL debut over eight and a half years after the Flyers selected him in the seventh round of the 2015 draft.

“Anytime a guy comes on the scene at this level at that sort of later age, you know that their ability to withstand things is pretty high,” interim head coach Brad Shaw said Tuesday. “Because that’s a long journey.”

This season has been Fedotov’s first full one in the NHL. And it hasn’t been without obstacles. He battled early struggles and also went about a month without playing when he was relegated to No. 3 on the depth chart.

“It’s not a great spot to be in, but it is what it is,” former head coach John Tortorella said in December. “I haven’t changed my decision on that stuff there. But you never know what happens. He continues to do his stuff here and has handled himself really well.”

Fedotov has gone 6-13-3 this season with a 3.12 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage. In four of his six wins, he has given up one goal.

“There were a few times it almost seemed like Torts had quit on him and a couple of weeks later, he comes in the net and gets us a big win or keeps us in a big game that we shouldn’t have been in,” Couturier said. “He has been through some ups and downs, but he has always tried to work through it and be ready when his name was called.

“I think he’s kind of trying to get familiar with North America, new language, bringing his wife over — there has been a lot of things thrown at him. He has had, I feel, some unfair criticisms at times, but he has always tried to work through it and be a good pro, show up and work. That’s what you want to see.”

Fedotov’s best performance of the season was March 1 when he took down the NHL-leading Jets on the road, 2-1, in a shootout.

“I have a ton of respect for guys that stay with it that long to realize a dream that I’m sure for a long portion of his career maybe felt like a very long way off,” Shaw said. “For him to get here and play some fantastic hockey for us, as well. That game in Winnipeg was about as good a game I’ve seen a goalie play in a while.”

Oskar Lindblom won the Masterton Trophy in 2020-21, becoming the fourth Flyer to ever take home the award. He joined Bob Clarke (1971-72), Tim Kerr (1988-89) and Ian Laperriere (2010-11) as the Flyers’ recipients. Kevin Hayes was a finalist in 2021-22 and Couturier was the Flyers’ nominee last season.

Following a vote by the PHWA, the winner of the honor will be announced among the NHL awards.

“It has been my dream the whole time, to be here and play in the NHL,” Fedotov said. “Finally I’m here where I want to be. I had a lot of extra steps.”