SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox each scored two goals, Jonathan Quick had 21 saves, and the New York Rangers beat the San Jose Sharks 6-1 on Saturday.

Jonny Brodzinski and Vincent Trocheck also scored for New York.

Cam Lund scored a power play goal for San Jose for his first career point, and Sharks goalie Alexandar Georgiev had 27 saves.

Panarin, who scored his team-leading 32nd and 33rd goals, got New York started scoring twice in less than two minutes in a first period in which the Rangers out-shot San Jose 14-5. His first goal broke a scoreless tie at 12:04 of the first and then next at 13:58 made it 2-0.

Takeaways

Rangers: New York solidified its position in the wild card playoff race. The Rangers had lost eight of their previous 11 games (3-6-2) going into Saturday.

Sharks: Were seeking what would have been their first three-game winning streak since early December.

Key moment

Fox’s goal at 4:48 of the second period made it a 3-0 game and gave New York some breathing room a day after the Rangers blew a two-goal lead in the third period of Friday’s 5-4 overtime loss to Anaheim.

Key stat

The Rangers won 67.9 percent of the faceoffs in Saturday’s game. New York ranked third in the NHL in faceoff win percentage (53 percent) going into Saturday, and San Jose ranked No. 25 (48.2 percent)

Up next

The Rangers play host to Minnesota on Wednesday, and the Sharks play the Kings in Los Angeles on Sunday.

It’s been a fun week at home for the Florida Panthers.

After picking up a pair of wins over Pittsburgh and Utah while enjoying some down time in-between, the Panthers will look to complete their second straight perfect homestand when they host the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday afternoon in Sunrise.

It’s the start of a home-and-home between the two Atlantic Division rivals, one that concludes on Tuesday at Bell Centre in Montreal.

One thing that is quite certain is that the Panthers should get a hell of a fight from the playoff hopeful Habs.

Entering play Sunday, Montreal holds the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference despite being in a three-way tie with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers points-wise.

The Canadiens have lost five straight though (0-3-2) and, at least until now, have squandered a chance solidify their standing in the playoff race.

Instead, the Canadiens will have to fight for points against the defending Stanley Cup champs over the next few days.

Florida arrives on Sunday one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the top spot in the Atlantic Division and with a game in hand.

Much of the attention in Pantherland this week was on Brad Marchand.

Acquired at the NHL Trade Deadline while recovering from an upper-body injury, Marchand made his Panthers debut on Friday against Utah.

Marchand played well and picked up the primary assist on Sam Bennett’s overtime winner.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Sunday’s showdown with the Pens:

Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist

A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Evan Rodrigues

Gus Forsling – Seth Jones

Niko Mikkola – Tobias Bjornfot

Nate Schmidt – Uvis Balinskis

Scratches: Tomas Nosek, Jonah Gadjovich, Dmitry Kulikov

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NASHVILLE -- The Golden Knights extended their win streak to six games by closing out their three-game road trip with a 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators.

Reilly Smith scored his 11th goal of the season, and first since returning to the Golden Knights just before the trade deadline, to break a 1-1 tie 6:25 into the third period.

"It's definitely nice to be able to help the team win, and a little bit of relief just to see it go in," Smith said. "I feel like I've gotten a lot of opportunities over the last few games and just hitting something and not going in. Sometimes your worst opportunities are the ones that go in and just find it fortunate it bounces in the crease. At the end of the day that it's a big win for us and a really good road trip."

Smith's goal was the team's 52nd power-play goal of the season, tying a franchise record.

🗣️ REILLY
SMITH 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/uFf4Ole5m8

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 30, 2025

Jack Eichel scored his 27th goal while Brett Howden celebrated his 27th birthday with his 22nd goal of the campaign.

Adin Hill made a spot start and made 23 saves for the Knights, one night after making 18 saves in a 5-3 win at Chicago.

Vegas now has 98 points with nine games left on the schedule, nine points ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division.

Ryan O'Reilly scored Nashville's lone goal while Justus Annunen made 27 stops for the Predators, who were eliminated from the playoffs last week.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

ON THE SPOT: Hill wasn't scheduled to start in Nashville, after playing the night before, but after taking warm-ups, coach Bruce Cassidy said Ilya Samsonov wasn't able to go.

"Sammy just wasn't able to go," he said. "Something tightened up. So that was that. It was not going to be Hilly. We tend not to play a guy back to back, especially this time of year. But that was the choice we were left with, and good on him.

Cassidy added he had "no idea ... because it's something we expected to play right up until 5:10, or something. So hopefully not. Once we get back, it'll be re-evaluated."

COMING TOGETHER: Vegas' third line of Smith, William Karlsson and Victor Olofsson continues to build chemistry. Smith's goal came on the heels of Olofsson's two he scored in Chicago on Friday. With Smith and Karlsson's built-in chemistry after playing together in Vegas from 2017-2023, and now Olofsson a part of the line, the trio becomes an integral combination in the bottom six.

"I think the last two games is a testament of us trying to work with each other more and trying to create more on the rush and in zone," Smith said. "I think our reads have been better over the last two games. We're playing a little bit quicker, a little bit more in sync, and we're getting more opportunities because of it."

PLAYOFF READY: With just nine games remaining and the Golden Knights playing well, Cassidy wasn't ready to concede that his team is in playoff form... yet.

"You never want to get ahead of yourself, but I said last week, I thought we're trending really well, so we're certainly closer to the top of the scale than the bottom, especially our overall game," Cassidy said. "We're not only winning because we're scoring. It's not one thing, it's not one line, it's not one special team. It's, I think, a little bit of everything."

For the second straight game, the Ottawa Senators picked up a huge victory at the expense of an Eastern Conference wild-card hopeful.

Ridly Greig had a goal and an assist as the Senators defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 at Canadian Tire Centre in front of 17,758 fans. Shane Pinto added two assists, while Linus Ullmark made 29 saves.

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The victory leaves the Senators eight points above the Eastern Conference playoff cut line, ahead of Columbus, the idle Montreal Canadiens, and the New York Rangers. The Rangers will play later on Saturday night in San Jose.

Greig opened the scoring just over seven minutes into the first period, tipping in a low wrist shot from Thomas Chabot. However, the lead lasted only 31 seconds. Ullmark kicked out a big rebound into the slot, allowing Boone Jenner to fire a wrist shot past him to tie the game at 1.

With under six minutes left in the first, Drake Batherson corralled a loose puck in the slot and beat Daniil Tarasov between the legs, restoring Ottawa’s lead.

The Senators were even more dominant in the second period, but Tarasov stymied several great scoring chances. Jake Sanderson did manage to find the net on a two-on-one opportunity. Pinto directed the puck toward the crease, and the rebound deflected off Sanderson’s body and in, making it 3-1.

Entering the third period down by two, Columbus was likely feeling the effects of an emotional game the night before against the Vancouver Canucks. But the Senators failed to take advantage, letting the Blue Jackets hang around, and with under nine minutes to play, Kirill Marchenko cut the Ottawa lead to 3-2.

That gave the Blue Jackets some life and they dominated the rest of the way but couldn't find the equalizer. As it was in Thursday's win in Detroit, the third period for the Senators was a 'bend don't break' scenario.

On Sunday, just like Columbus tonight, the Senators will be the ones in part two of a back to back with travel in between as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in Steeltown. 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Nico Hischier scored three goals for his second hat trick of the season and the New Jersey Devils beat the Minnesota Wild 5-2 on Saturday.

Paul Cotter and Tomas Tatar also scored, Jesper Bratt had two assists, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 22 shots for the Devils. New Jersey won for the second time in six games (2-3-1).

Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartman scored and Filip Gustavsson made 28 saves for the Wild, who have lost three of four.

Minnesota is tied with St. Louis for the top wild card in the Western Conference, with the teams six points ahead of Vancouver. The Blues beat Colorado 2-1 Saturday for their ninth straight win.

After New Jersey was blanked 4-0 Friday in Winnipeg, Hischier scored 29 seconds into the game and Cotter scored before six minutes elapsed for a 2-0 lead.

Hischier made it 3-1 early in the third, but Hartman answered two minutes later for the Wild. Hischier completed his first three-goal game since Nov. 25 with a power-play goal with 5:10 remaining. Hischier has a career-high 33 goals this season.

Foligno also had an assist on Hartman’s goal in the third period, and a major for fighting the Devils’ Jonathan Kovacevic for a Gordie Howe hat trick.

Takeaways

Devils: Hischier, whose first goal was the fastest to start the game for New Jersey this season, has points in 10 of his last 11 games with seven goals and six assists.

Wild: Minnesota finished 5-5-1 in a stretch it played 10 of 11 games at home. Five of the last eight games are on the road, where the Wild are second in the NHL with 47 points (22-11-3).

Key moment

New Jersey just missed making it 3-1 with 15 seconds left in the second period. On a 3-on-1 Bratt’s shot looked to be going in, but it went off the skate of teammate Timo Meier who was crossing at the edge of the crease and the puck deflected wide.

Key stat

Per NHL Stats, Bratt’s two assists give him 15 this month, the most in a month by a Devils player since Scott Gomez had 16 in March 2004. Bratt has a career-high 66 assists this season.

Up next

Wild visit New Jersey on Monday to complete the home-and-home set.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is a first-ballot Hockey Hall of Famer whose career is worthy of skipping the mandatory three-year waiting period to enter the hall immediately upon retirement.

Recently, Crosby broke Wayne Gretzky's record for averaging a point per game for 20 seasons, a mark the Great One held for over 27 years. Considering these hockey legends are two of the greatest to play professional hockey, their longevity has allowed them to break or hold some important NHL records.

BREAKING: Sidney Crosby Breaks Wayne Gretzky's Point-Per-Game Seasons RecordAfter 20 years in the making, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has made NHL history.

However, both missed some milestones despite playing 20 or more seasons in the league. Today, we want to look at three NHL records that Crosby, who still has two seasons left on his contract, won't be able to tie or break despite over two decades in the NHL.

Most Seasons by a First Overall Pick

Crosby was the top pick in the 2005 Draft, which took place seven seasons into Joe Thornton's career. Thornton was the first overall selection in the 1997 Draft and would play 24 seasons in the NHL, including 17 after Crosby entered the league in 2005-06.

Interestingly, these two top picks met in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. The Penguins won the series in six games, and Crosby took home the Conn Smythe Trophy, Thornton's only appearance in the Final.

Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule: Remaining Games & Statistical NotesThe Pittsburgh Penguins are winding down their 2024-25 season and on pace to miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season, a first in Sidney Crosby's 20-year career. However, there is plenty to play for in the final weeks of the regular season. 

Although Crosby has outscored Thornton in goals (618-430) and points (1,676-1539), Sid the Kid is still chasing Jumbo Joe in assists (1,109-1,058). He needs 51 over the two seasons to move up to seventh all-time, which is Thornton's place.

Since Crosby is wrapping up his 20th season, when his contract expires in 2027, he'll be two seasons short of Thornton's record of 24 seasons. However, if he remains healthy, Crosby will surpass Mike Modano (21 seasons) for second-most seasons by a first-overall pick. 

Most Seasons With 80 Points

On March 27, 2025, Crosby scored a first-period goal to net his 80th point, which gave him the NHL record for most seasons averaging a point per game.

That historical night also marked the 14th time in his career that Crosby scored at least 80 points, breaking a four-way tie for most 80-point seasons, a mark he shared with Dale Hawerchuk, Mark Messier, and Marcel Dionne at 13.

'When He Speaks, Everyone Listens': How Sidney Crosby's Mentorship Has Passed On To Multiple Generations Of TeammatesFollowing the team's regular practice on Dec. 16, Pittsburgh Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby took some extra time out of his day to do something pretty much everyone around him is accustomed to witnessing on a day-to-day basis.

As mentioned before, Crosby has two seasons left on his deal. The Penguins captain hasn't scored less than 80 points since the shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns, the only two years he failed to reach 80 in over a decade dating back to the shortened 2012-13 season.

However, even if he continues collecting 80 points over the next two seasons, Crosby will end up one year short of Gretzky's record of 17 seasons of 80 points or more. 

Most Points by a Player in Their 30s

Crosby will turn 38 in August, and at the end of his contract in July 2027, he'll be 39, approaching 40. Since turning 30 ahead of the 2017-18 season, the captain has played 563 games, scored 236 goals with 413 assists, and has 649 points.

Ahead of his next game, Crosby ranks 18th all-time for points scored by an NHL player in his 30s. He's four points shy of catching Joe Pavelski (653) for 17th all-time. Pavelski is the only name ahead of Crosby on this list who is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

As expected, Gretzky owns this record thanks to 217 goals and 601 assists for 878 points, breaking the mark formerly held by Jean Ratelle, who had 861 points in his 30s.

 

Penguins Crosby Joins Exclusive Club With Another 80-Point Season Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby scored a first-period goal against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, March 27, securing his 14th 80-point season.

Thus far, only four players have scored over 800 points in their 30s, including Adam Oates (842) and Martin St. Louis (822). After these names, there are six names in the 700-point club, including Alex Ovechkin, who sits at 715. 

Once Crosby catches and surpasses Pavelski, next up is Joe Sakic (662), Norm Ullman (668), Daniel Alfredsson (672), Ray Bourque (680), and Brett Hull (690).

Considering the Penguins' captain has a career 1.24 points per game average, if he remains healthy over the next two seasons, he could potentially finish with an additional 204 points, which would give him an estimated 853 points in his 30s, which could be 25 points shy of Gretzky's all-time mark.

The Toronto Maple Leafs (44-25-4) are in California for a back-to-back series, as they faced the Los Angeles Kings (40-23-9) today and are scheduled to play the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow. Anthony Stolarz led the Leafs onto the ice for the game against the Kings, while Darcy Kuemper started in net for Los Angeles. Tanner Jeannot and Alex Turcotte remained day-to-day with their injuries. Playoffs are weeks away. The Kings need to stay sharp and win today – those two points are vital.

First Period Showdown 

The first period was underway with both the Kings and the Maple Leafs displaying a high level of physicality, energy, and engagement. The teams exchanged numerous hits until a fight broke out between Jeff Malott and Brandon Carlo, leading to five-minute major penalties for both. With the power play over, Kuemper continued to defend well, making key saves. Despite the scoreless outcome at the buzzer, the first period was anything but dull, played in front of a highly energetic and vocal crowd.

This is what you call a TILT 🥊 pic.twitter.com/LAlx5YHcdM

— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 29, 2025

Bring On the Second

Alex Laferriere opened the scoring early, netting a backhand goal just one minute into the second period to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. Shortly after, the play saw Matthew Knies push Mikey Anderson, sending him into a collision with the Kings' net. Kuemper was slow to his feet but resumed in his net, nonetheless. As the period wound down, the Kings showcased their strengths: getting on the scoreboard early and keeping the puck out of their defensive zone. 

WHAT A MOVE LAFFY pic.twitter.com/5i7IRJSHep

— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 30, 2025

The Third Period Push

Kuemper provided solid and reliable goaltending, consistently bouncing back to his feet with impressive tenacity in the last forty minutes of play. As the last twenty minutes was underway, Auston Matthews' first shot was turned aside, but he scored on his second try at 19:05 with a snap shot, his twenty-ninth of the year. Immediately after, Los Angeles called a timeout for a review of the play. Los Angeles challenged Matthews' goal for a high stick, and the review was unsuccessful for the Kings, leading to a delay of game penalty against them. Locked at 1-1, the game took a turn for the worse for the Kings when Drew Doughty tripped Mitch Marner, resulting in a power-play and a potential goal for the Leafs. The Kings, now in a state of panic, scrambled frantically to defend their zone. Kuemper then tripped Matthews, drawing a tripping penalty. Almost as if on cue, John Tavares found the back of the net, giving the Leafs a 2-0 lead. The goal marked his 490th in his career. 

As Jim Fox nicely puts it, "it's one of those games." Tavares scored his second goal of the night and his 35th of the season, ultimately securing the win for the Maple Leafs. The final score saw the Kings fall to the Maple Leafs 3-1. Their next challenge would be a home game against the San Jose Sharks tomorrow.