The Florida Panthers wrapped up their regular season schedule on Tuesday night in Tampa Bay.

Locked into third place in the Atlantic Division, Florida rested several of their key players in preparation for the battles to come in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Tampa Bay, on the other hand, still had a shot at the division title, so they were going all out, and that led to a lopsided 5-1 final score.

It didn’t take long for the Lightning to strike first.

Yanni Gourde sent a cross-ice pass to Brayden Point as he crossed into Florida’s zone, and Point fired a quick shot that beat Vitek Vanecek glove side and put the Bolts up 1-0 just 92 seconds into the game.

A Conor Geekie one-timer and a shorthanded goal by Jake Guentzel less than three minutes apart sent Tampa into the first intermission riding high and leading 3-0.

Things got worse for Florida early in the second period when Nikita Kucherov was the recipient of a pretty passing play.

A failed zone clear by Seth Jones led to Point finding Yanni Gourde who quickly fed Kucherov at the side of the net.

His 37th goal and 120th point extended Tampa’s lead to 4-0.

Florida finally got on the board thanks to newcomer Brad Marchand.

Taking a neutral zone pass from Carter Verhaeghe, Marchand wired a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy’s glove to get the Cats going.

Kucherov picked up point 121 when he assisted on a 5-on-3 power play goal by Darren Raddysh late in the third after a round of penalties that started with an illegal check to the head by Jesse Puljujarvi.

These teams will meet again, soon and often.

On to the playoffs.

QUICK THOUGHTS

Florida and Tampa will meet in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.

Marchand played in his 1,100th NHL game on Tuesday.

He’s now got two goals and three points over his past four games.

Verhaeghe closed out the regular season on a five-game point streak, racking up three goals and six points during the run.

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During the St. Louis Blues' April 15 contest against the Utah Hockey Club, top prospect Jimmy Snuggerud scored his first career NHL goal. It was a significant one, too, as it gave the Blues a 3-0 lead in the first period. 

JIMMY SNUGGERUD!

That's his first NHL goal! 💥 pic.twitter.com/c5SvDSiI3y

— NHL (@NHL) April 16, 2025

Snuggerud certainly worked hard to score his first NHL goal, as the 2022 first-round pick jammed in front of the net before getting the puck past Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka.

Before this goal, Snuggerud already was making an impact in this contest against Vegas. Earlier on in the first period, the promising youngster was denied on a breakaway attempt, but Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich scored on the rebound. As a result, Snuggerud recorded an assist on this play. 

Snuggerud is one of the Blues' most exciting young players, and he certainly showed off his offensive potential against Utah with this multi-point game. 

Exciting Blues Goalie Prospect Continuing To ThriveSt. Louis Blues goalie prospect Colten Ellis is enjoying an excellent season down in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Springfield Thunderbirds. In 41 appearances, the 24-year-old netminder has a 22-13-3 record, a 2.62 goals-against average, and a .922 save percentage.  However, what's more encouraging about Ellis' strong play is that he is only continuing to thrive as the campaign carries on. In his last appearance against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on April 12, he stopped 40 out of 43 shots, which equates to a .930 save percentage. Furthermore, he has had a .900 save percentage or better in six out of his last seven appearances. This includes a 36-save shutout against the Iowa Wild on March 28. Blues Star Is Heating Up In A Big WaySt. Louis Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich is one of the team's most important players. When playing at his best, the 29-year-old is a big difference-maker because of his high offensive skill.  Former Blues Star Struggling With New TeamDuring this past off-season, former St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko signed a two-year, $9.5 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings. This was after he appeared in 76 games split between the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers last season, posting 23 goals and 55 points in 76 games. He also won his second career Stanley Cup with Florida that spring.

On Monday, Quinn Hughes celebrated a special milestone. The Vancouver Canucks captain recorded his 350th career assist, becoming just the seventh player and first defenceman in franchise history to achieve the feat. Over his 432-game career, Hughes has developed into one of the best passers in the NHL and now finds himself in elite company alongside some of the best players ever to play in the NHL.

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With his assist on Monday, Hughes became the 21st player in NHL history to record at least 350 assists before turning 26. The list includes many Hall of Famers, including Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemiux, as well as current NHLers in Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Mitch Marner and Nathan MacKinnon. Hughes is currently tied with MacKinnon for 20th on the list and will have one final chance to move past the Colorado Avalanche superstar before his 26th birthday as Vancouver battles the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

As for defensemen, Hughes is the fifth defender to record 350 assists before turning 26. The other four are Bobby Orr (522), Paul Coffey (460), Phil Housley (380), and Ray Bourque (366). Hughes also ranks 11th in all-time points by a defenceman before turning 26, while his 409 points are the most by any defender currently playing in the NHL. 

To wrap things up, the 2024-25 season was also the fourth time in Hughes' career he has recorded at least 60 assists. That ranks tied for sixth with Jaromír Jágr, Joe Sakic, Lemieux and Denis Savard for the most by any skater before their 26th birthday. As for the players with more, those would be Gretzky (7), McDavid (6), Bryan Trottier (6), Orr (5) and Coffey (5).

While Hughes still has a ways to go, he is on pace to become one of the highest point-producing defensemen in NHL history. His .95 points per game ranks sixth among defenders in NHL history who have played at least 200 games, while he leads all defensemen in points since the start of the 2018-19 season, during which he only played five games. Ultimatley, if Hughes can keep up this production, and be signed to a long-term contract, he could very well finish his career as the greatest player in Canucks history.

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