Monthly Archives: April 2025

Hockey News

Columbus Blue Jackets (83 pts) vs. Washington Capitals (109 pts) Game Preview

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Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images

The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Washington Capitals play the final game of their season series on Sunday. 

On Saturday, the Columbus Blue Jackets dismantled a shorthanded Capitals team missing many of its regulars. The assumption is that Washington will send out its full roster today against Columbus to get complete retribution against the CBJ for the 7-0 drubbing at Nationwide Arena yesterday. 

Although we shouldn't expect the Capitals to put themselves in any situations to cause injuries or suspensions, I fully expect them to come out and hit everything that moves wearing a Columbus jersey. Adam Fantilli should be especially cautious after putting a big, legal hit on Caps rookie Ryan Leonard. The hit sent Leonard to the ice, where he would kneel on all fours as Fantilli would go back down the ice and score. 

With yesterday's win and the Canadiens OT loss, the Jackets were able to stay alive in the wild card race for one more day. With any kind of loss today, though, that dream would be over. 

Blue Jackets Stats

  • Power Play - 19.7% - 22nd in NHL
  • Penalty Kill - 76.1% - 25th in NHL
  • Goals For - 254 - 10th - 3.22 GPG - 10th
  • Goals Against - 265 - 25th - 3.35 GPG - 27th

Capitals Stats

  • Power Play – 23.5% - 13th in NHL
  • Penalty Kill – 81.7% - 6th in NHL
  • Goals For - 280 – 1st – 3.59 GPG – 1st
  • Goals Against – 219 – 9th – 2.72 GPG – 9th

Series History vs. The Capitals

  • Columbus is 9-14-4 on the road and 20-26-11 in 57 all-time meetings vs. the Capitals.
  • The Jackets are 9-9-4 in the last 22 games vs. Washington.

Who To Watch For The Capitals

  • Dylan Strome leads the team with 51 assists and 77 points.
  • Alex Ovechkin leads the Caps with 42 goals. 
  • Charlie Lindgren is 19-13-3 with a SV% of .893. 

CBJ Player Notes vs. Capitals

  • Boone Jenner has 12 points in 34 career games against Washington.  
  • Zach Werenski has 10 points in 24 games.  
  • Sean Monahan has 17 points in 23 games against the Capitals. 

Injuries

  • Kevin Labanc (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve as of Feb. 21 and is out for the season (21 Games) 
  • Elvis Merzļikins (upper body) has missed 1 game. 
  • Jake Christiansen (upper body) has missed 2 games. 

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 315

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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Is The Brock Boeser Era With The Vancouver Canucks Truly Drawing To A Close?

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Brock Boeser (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)

Will the next few days really mark the end of Brock Boeser’s time with the Vancouver Canucks?

Earlier this week, the sharp-shooting winger who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 updated Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre on the low odds that he’ll re-up with the team that drafted him in 2015. 

“Honestly, it's unlikely at this point,” Boeser said. “It sucks, it's unfortunate.”

The 28-year-old also admitted that he’s currently not in contact with his agent, Ben Hankinson, because he’s trying to concentrate on his game and avoid distractions. 

So he may not be aware of the nugget that Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman dropped during his Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, saying that the sticking point between the Canucks and Boeser’s camp was term. That may or may not mean that it’s still possible to find common ground, but it does sound like negotiations are ongoing.

At this stage of Boeser’s career, it’s understandable that he’s looking for security. All three of his previous contracts have been three-year durations, and he settled for a relatively small raise on July 1, 2022, when he went from $5.875 million to $6.65 million at a time where he could have elected to file for arbitration and potentially reach UFA status one year sooner than he is.

Just a few months into that deal, both sides were thinking about cutting ties. But a trade never materialized and Boeser went on to have the best year of his career in 2023-24 — hitting 40 goals in the regular season and lighting up the playoffs with a point per game before a blood clot sidelined him for the critical Game 7 of Vancouver’s second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers.

This season, along with nearly everyone on his team, Boeser has dealt with still more adversity. His came in the form of a concussion that sidelined him for seven games and the trade of his long-time center, J.T. Miller.

“Millsy’s such a good playmaker,” Boeser said last fall. “I just go to the net and try to get open.”

Boeser put up 16 goals and 33 points in the 43 games he played with Miller this season. During the eight games that Miller missed due to his personal leave of absence in November, he was also solid, with seven points in eight games. But since Miller’s late-January trade, Boeser has dipped to nine goals and 16 points in 30 games. 

Against the Minnesota Wild at Rogers Arena on Saturday, he was quiet. He logged more than 20 minutes but finished with just three shot attempts, which were all blocked. 

The Canucks are now dealing with so many injuries that they’re making call-ups to replace the call-ups. Down the middle, the original Elias Pettersson and Filip Chytil have both been shut down for the year. AHL replacements Nils Aman and Max Sasson were both unavailable for Saturday’s game. So with Pius Suter, Aatu Raty and Teddy Blueger handling duties down the middle, an emergency call had to be placed to Abbotsford on Saturday to summon 22-year-old Ty Mueller, a first-year pro who was drafted in the fourth round in 2023.

For his NHL debut, Mueller slotted straight into the top six, centering Boeser and Jake DeBrusk in what became a 3-2 comeback win in overtime for the Wild.

“We didn’t really help him too much as a line, me and Brock,” DeBrusk candidly admitted after the game. “I wish I could have done more for him, in terms of generating chances.”

Famously, Boeser’s first-ever NHL game also came against the Minnesota Wild, his hometown team. On March 25, 2017, Boeser joined Daniel and Henrik Sedin as part of the starting lineup at Xcel Energy Center. Then, in the second period, he scored his first NHL goal on a tap-in after a rush by Sven Baertschi and Bo Horvat.

This season, Boeser hit multiple milestones: 500 games as a Canuck, 400 points and 200 goals. He sits eighth in goals in franchise history, sandwiched between Henrik Sedin and Horvat, and is also eighth in goals among the highly regarded 2015 draft class — impressive for a player who was selected 23rd overall. 

Because Boeser has had one foot out the door so often before, it’s still possible to imagine him finding common ground with the Canucks again. Right now, though, this feels different. 

His status is just one big question that the Canucks will need to work to resolve soon after the curtain drops on this season on Wednesday. 

Rick Tocchet’s future is also up in the air — but Friedman also reported on Saturday that both sides are looking to come to a resolution quickly after the season’s end. And after Quinn Hughes spoke passionately about the positive influence that Tocchet and Adam Foote have had on his game earlier this week, perhaps that bodes well for long-term stability going forward.

That would be a welcome outcome after such a tumultuous year.

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'Hopefully Our Fans Are Ready To Go': Maple Leafs Clinch Home-Ice Advantage In First Round Of NHL Playoffs With Win Against Canadiens

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Toronto can win the Atlantic division with a win against Carolina and a Lightning loss on Sunday.

Apr 12, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz (41) is greeted by forward Auston Matthews (34) as they celebrate an overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

As Mitch Marner fired the puck past Jakub Dobes in overtime on Saturday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs won the game and clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

After Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki's chance to end the game was stopped by Anthony Stolarz 20 seconds into overtime, Toronto went the other way with numbers.

Marner hopped on for Brandon Carlo, received the puck in Montreal's zone, and found the back of the net for his 98th point of the season.

As this group has often discussed, individual accolades are significant, but team success is paramount. And when the Maple Leafs walk into Carolina's PNC Arena, they're one step closer to locking up the Atlantic division.

With the Tampa Bay Lightning (three games left) and Florida Panthers (two games left) four points behind Toronto in the standings, a Maple Leafs win and a Lightning loss on Sunday would clinch them the division.

"You want to be home as much as you can for the playoffs so it will be great," Marner said Saturday. "It’s always exciting in this barn when playoffs come around."

If both teams win, Toronto can beat one of the Buffalo Sabres or Detroit Red Wings next week to win the Atlantic. For now, though, they'll have home-ice versus whoever they play (likely Ottawa) in the first round.

"I think it’s important to have home ice, but we’re not done yet," head coach Craig Berube said. "We got games yet so we gotta focus on the next game, but it’s a great job by our guys."

Brandon Carlo, although happy to play in Toronto more in the first round, shared a similar sentiment.

"When you’re playing at home, you have a good opportunity, especially going into the later games of the rounds," the defenseman said.

"But overall, you have to have the same mindset regardless that each game matters. It’s not really where it’s played. It’s just taking it one game at a time and focusing on the process rather than the outcome."

There are several reasons why a team would want home-ice advantage. You're at home for longer periods, and you'll have the fans on your side, two of the more important things.

Being on the road, however, can be useful because players can put everyday distractions in the rear-view mirror. Knowing your schedule in round one is key, but the next step is figuring out the opponent, which should come soon.

"I think any time you can lock up, it’s massive, especially going into whoever we’re going to play," Max Domi said on Saturday. "It’s going to be a heck of a battle in the first round, so hopefully our fans are ready to go because we will be for sure."

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