After missing their first opportunity to confirm a playoff berth against the Ottawa Senators on Friday night, the Montreal Canadiens had another chance against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, but they couldn't seal the deal once again. 

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Kaiden Guhle’s physicality

After the 5-2 defeat in Ottawa, many hoped to see Arber Xhekaj in the Canadiens’ lineup on Saturday night. The gritty blueliner has a knack for landing bone-crushing hits, and the Leafs’ stars are not particularly fond of that style of play. However, lineup decisions are all up to Martin St-Louis and he elected not to use him.

Kaiden Guhle's big hits on McMann and Tavares. #GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/WAl3e7G5ar

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 13, 2025

Thankfully for St-Louis, though, Kaiden Guhle was in fine form and was throwing his body around with a purpose. In a single shift, he managed to rock two Leafs players, including John Tavares. That didn’t sit well with Toronto, and Max Domi took exception. After coming on the ice, he went straight to Guhle to ask him to dance instead of getting involved in the play. Both men got fighting majors, but Domi got a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Canadiens couldn’t score on the man advantage, but it was still a good night for Guhle, who bounced back after a tough outing on Friday.

Shooting Is Good But…

The Great One once said that 100% of the shots you don’t take don’t go in, and he was right. The same goes for 100% of the shots you take that don’t make it to the net. After 40 minutes of action, the Canadiens only had seven shots, but they had 37 shot attempts. Some missed the net, some were blocked, but the bottom line is that opening shooting lanes is important.

Even though only seven of those attempts made it on net, according to Natural Stat Trick, scoring chances were 15-8 Montreal, and high-danger shot attempts were 8-6 for them as well through 40 minutes, but the Maple Leafs also had 14 shot blocks. This was a Toronto side playing with only five blueliners, which made it even more impressive.

About Lane Hutson

Much has been written about the rookie defenseman’s offensive game, but tonight, we got yet another example of just how good he can be defensively. In the third frame, he was dispossessed at the Toronto blueline, but he back-checked perfectly, keeping the positioning on Matthew Knies and neutralizing what could have been a scoring chance.

In a tight game with a top team, Hutson played just under 23 minutes tonight, and he was not shielded, just like he hasn’t been all year. He keeps playing big minutes against the best players, and he still finds a way to be a factor.

Jacob Dobes had a fantastic game. He stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced. It wasn’t always pretty, but he was efficient. At one point on the penalty kill, the Leafs were skating around the zone and testing the youngster, who actually spun on himself in the crease, looking very much like a Wayne Gretzky tabletop hockey goaltender.

Jakub Dobes is standing on his head for the Habs tonight 🤯

📺: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctFpic.twitter.com/HqZe6mrj1T

— NHL (@NHL) April 13, 2025

The more shots he got, the more confident he looked and I like how aggressive he is in net. He’s not as positionally sound as Carey Price was, far from it, but when he’s on his game, there’s no hesitation in his play. Sometimes, that means he overcommits, and the net can get pushed off its moorings, but nobody should complain as long as the puck stays out.

Despite the loss, this was a great game for the Canadiens. They battled hard, stuck with it, and overcame quite a bit of adversity, including a five-on-three penalty kill that shouldn’t have been, as the coach clearly stated in his post-game presser.

Mike Pezzetta played his 200th game in the NHL last night, and as much as everyone loves the human, it's time to get the player out of the lineup. If there's any kind of accountability under St-Louis, he has to scratch him after the bad holding the stick penalty he took in the third frame. The Leafs couldn't capitalize on the man-advantage, but still enough is enough and with a lineup spot being needed for Ivan Demidov, the gritty forward just made the coach's job easier by putting himself on the chopping block. 

Thanks to the one point collected from that overtime loss, the Detroit Red Wings are now officially eliminated, meaning the Columbus Blue Jackets are the only team that can still catch Montreal. The Habs have a five-point lead over the Jackets, but the Ohio outfit has a game in hand. They will play on Sunday against the Washington Capitals, whom they destroyed 7-0 on Saturday. However, not everyone was dressed for the Caps.

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A point is nice, but from a selfish standpoint, the St. Louis Blues needed another.

The Blues turned up empty on their season-ending three-game road trip, falling to the Seattle Kraken, 4-3 in a shootout, on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena.

So that makes three straight losses (0-2-1) after a franchise-record 12-game winning streak by the Blues (43-30-8), who lost ground to the Minnesota Wild, who rallied from a 2-0 third-period deficit to down the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2 in overtime on Saturday.

So as it stands going into Sunday, the Wild have 95 points, the Blues have 94 and each have one game remaining; the Calgary Flames have 90 points and have three games remaining it stands as this for the Blues:

* They can clinch if the Flames lose in regulation against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

* They clinch with a regulation win in their season finale against Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday.

The Flames can technically catch the Blues in points. The two teams can max out at 96 points, but if the Flames win all three of their remaining games in regulation, and the Blues win against Utah in overtime or a shootout, the Flames would own the first tiebreaker and that’s regulation wins (32-31) and thus would eliminate the Blues.

Any Flames loss in regulation would eliminate the Flames altogether, because they could tie the Blues in regulation wins (RW, 31-31), but the Blues own the next tiebreaker, which is regulation or overtime wins (ROW) 39-34.

Sound complicated enough? We will break it all down as each day passes.

As for Saturday, it was the return of Colton Parayko for the Blues. The defenseman missed the past 17 games (the Blues were 13-3-1) with a left knee injury suffered March 5 against the Los Angeles Kings. He would score in his return and play 23:21 and was a plus-1 with two shots on goal, two hits and five blocks.

Nick Leddy had a goal and an assist, and Radek Faksa scored for the Blues, while Jordan Binnington made 14 saves.

The Blues lost the shootout in seven rounds when Chandler Stephenson scored, and Jimmy Snuggerud was denied to end it.

Let’s go into Saturday’s Three Takeaways:

* Five chances in a shootout to get extra point – The Blues need points, and even a shootout point would have been massive.

They had five chances – five – to end the game in a shootout after Jake Neighbours and Robert Thomas opened with shootout goals off Philipp Grubauer.

It was 2-1 in the third round, but Binnington couldn’t make the save on Kappo Kakko, but then Brayden Schenn had a chance to win it but hit the post.

And when Binnington made saves on Matt Beniers, Shane Wright and Jared McCann, the Blues had the puck on their stick three times to win, and Zack Bolduc, Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou each failed to produce the winner.

And when Stephenson beat Binnington, who was 4-for-7 on his shootout attempts, Snuggerud pulled the puck back to his backhand and not sure if Grubauer got a stick on his attempt or not, but the puck sailed over the net to end it on his first NHL shootout attempt.

It ended the trip with one point, and at least a point was lost when the Blues fell to the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3, on Wednesday giving up a late third-period goal to lose that one.

* Unable to hold lead in third period after fighting back – The Blues entered the third period down a goal, thanks to old friend Jaden Schwartz’s fortuitous bounce that gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 3:44 of the second period and needed a comeback.

They started it and it was Radek Faksa who tied it 1-1 at 1:06 on an effort play and forecheck, keeping a puck alive at the blue line before getting it to the net and finish by banking it in off a flailing Grubauer.

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Radek Faksa with 18:54 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Nathan Walker and Nick Leddy.

Seattle: 1
St. Louis: 1#STLvsSEA#SeaKraken#stlbluespic.twitter.com/I56IpGR9FR

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 13, 2025

But Seattle would retake the lead 2-1 when Mikey Eyssimont scored at 6:44 after a Tyler Tucker turnover making a pass from his zone into the neutral zone that was picked off.

But the Blues would strike twice in 13 seconds when Parayko tied it 2-2 at 7:21 off a little 2-on-1 with Robert Thomas, who extended his point streak to 11 games (four goals, 19 assists) when the Blues caught Seattle with a couple forwards back behind the Blues’ goal line.

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Colton Parayko with 12:39 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.

Seattle: 2
St. Louis: 2#STLvsSEA#SeaKraken#stlbluespic.twitter.com/Rj3zUFKTyi

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 13, 2025

Then Leddy made it 3-2 at 7:34 after a pressure forecheck, winning a puck back, Bolduc finding Leddy and his shot from the high slot into the top shelf.

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Nick Leddy with 12:26 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Nathan Walker and Oskar Sundqvist.

Seattle: 2
St. Louis: 3#STLvsSEA#SeaKraken#stlbluespic.twitter.com/QSTLAvuAlk

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 13, 2025

That makes it 46 goals by Blues D-men, which is second behind the Colorado Avalanche, who have 52.

That’s when the Blues needed to buckle down and take away ice and again allowed the tying goal, this time to Wright, after Jamie Oleksiak walked past Ryan Suter before sliding the puck into the bottom of the slot and the puck caromed in off Wright’s skate while being contested by Alexey Toropchenko to tie the game 3-3 at 9:53.

The Blues had been so good at shutting down things in the third period, but in the past three games have allowed, that’s six goals allowed on this trip (including one empty-netter) in three third periods.

* Played slow, sluggish early – For the second time in three games on this trip, the Blues started slow and looked uninspired.

Their three first-period shots and minimal O-zone time marked three straight games with fewer than 10 shots in the opening period and just 14 total, including three at Winnipeg and three tonight.

We keep going back to having to play without Dylan Holloway, who remains out week to week with a lower-body injury, but his absence has affected the play of all the lines.

It’s hardly the kind of play you want to see while desperately trying to lock down a wild card berth and forced them to play from behind twice in this game before they got things going in the right direction in the third.

* Hear what coach Jim Montgomery, Parayko and Leddy had to say postgame:

“We’ve just got to remember how we played in the third period and get to that right away.”

Colton Parayko, Nick Leddy, and Jim Montgomery on Saturday’s shootout loss and returning home to face Utah. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/HqVTGhwwlT

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 13, 2025

The Calgary Flames will host the San Jose Sharks for the second time in the last seven days.

Well, here is the deal....

After Seattle beat St. Louis, now Calgary has one job: go 3-0 in their remaining games. More on that in the playoff odds below…

One game at a time.

The Flames first face off against the Sharks, the same team that pushed them to the limit for the first two periods before Calgary’s third period comeback on April 8. San Jose players definitely want to finish the job this time. And if it comes with the perk of knocking Calgary out of the playoff picture, then I’m sure this team will not be short on motivation to do so.

HEAD 2 HEAD

Based on all three prior games this season, the Calgary Flames have the third-best save percentage against the San Jose Sharks at even-strength situations. On 4 vs 5 penalty kill situations, Calgary’s save percentage against San Jose is 14th. The Sharks average 27.3 shots on goals per game to the Flames. That is 15th amongst all teams. San Jose, meanwhile, has the fifth-lowest shooting percentage when playing against Calgary. Despite the favorable numbers, it is expected that Wolf will make his seventh consecutive start in net. At this point, considering the direness of the Flames’ situation, it won’t be shocking if he’s goalie for the rest of the regular season.  

However, Calgary’s shooting percentage is 16th against San Jose. In the power play, Flames are 2-for-8 against San Jose. They could work on that. Still, Calgary does average 33.7 shots on goal per game against San Jose. That’s 6.4 shots better than what Sharks average against the Flames.

TALE OF THE TAPE (SKATERS)

TALE OF THE TAPE (GOALIES)

PLAYOFF ODDS

After the Blues got only one point against the Kraken last night, they are four points ahead of the Flames, while the Wild are ahead by five. Calgary have two more games in hand on both teams. For the Flames to have a chance to qualify, the have to hope that the Blues DON’T get a regulation win in their final game against Utah. If that happens, Calgary is out...unless Minnesota loses its final game.

If Minnesota wins its last game against Anaheim, they qualify, regardless of whether it is in regulation or overtime.

If a St. Louis regulation win doesn't happen, Calgary has to beat out St. Louis in whatever points the Blues have remaining at that time, whether it is 94 or 95.

But the common denominator in all these scenarios is, as mentioned earlier, Calgary has to go 3-0 the rest of the way.

LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights clinched the Pacific Division for the fourth time in eight years after defeating the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Saturday night.

Noah Hanifin snapped a 15-game goal drought by scoring with 1:55 left in the game to snap a 3-3 tie with a blistering shot from the point to put the Golden Knights ahead after they squandered a two-goal lead to start the third period.

"I was asked this morning what I thought one of the great qualities of our team was, and I thought it was our resilience, our willingness to push back and keep playing no matter what," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Now, do we want to give up a two-goal lead right out the gates to start the third? Of course not. You got to be mindful of another team might not let you off the hook if you do that. We have to be careful with that. Every team in this league is good. If you don't play the right way, I don't care who you're playing, a team that's eliminated, (a) first-place (team), whatever, you know they're going to make you pay."

Vegas, which has won four of its last five games, also got goals from Brett Howden, Nic Roy, Alexander Holtz and Ivan Barbashev in the win, while Adin Hill made 14 saves.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

SHEA-D BUSINESS: Shea Theodore's assist on Roy’s goal broke the franchise record for points in a single season by a defenseman. It was Theodore's 55th point of the season (7 goals, 48 assists). The 55 points are a career-high for the 29-year-old. His previous high was 52 points, set during the 2021-22 season. His 48 assists are also a career-high.

🚨 FRANCHISE RECORD ALERT 🚨

Shea Theodore has broken the record for points in a single season by a VGK defenseman with his 55th point of the year!!!#VegasBorn

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 13, 2025

HENDERSON HOLTZ: After spending a good portion of the first half of the season with the Golden Knights, Holtz was sent down the interstate to the team's AHL franchise in nearby Henderson. Holtz said his time spent with the Silver Knights helped with his poise on the ice, while he felt his puck control improved which translated into more confidence on the ice upon returning to Vegas. The goal was his fourth of the season for the Golden Knights.

"He's a better player than when he left, so that's a positive," Cassidy said. "That's a credit to the player that goes down there, identifies that this isn't punishment. You're on a good hockey team, a first-place team when he left, and you got to get better if you expect to push through and grab someone's job."

🎥 Holtz: It was really fun to be out there, it's really fun to be up with this group again, nice to get a win. pic.twitter.com/5XPjKNMcOp

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 13, 2025

MARCHESSAULT'S RETURN: Former Golden Knight Jonathan Marchessault returned to T-Mobile Arena for the first time since signing with the Predators last summer. An original member of the franchise, Marchessault remains one of the most beloved players in the team's short history, as he helped lead the team to the 2023 Stanley Cup title.

The 34-year-old, who scored a goal early in the third period, received a standing ovation after an 80-second video played on the area's large video above the ice.

Thanks for all the memories, Marchy. Welcome back to The Fortress!! 📣 #VegasBornpic.twitter.com/h7UGdVH9B6

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 13, 2025

"It was unbelievable," Marchessault. "That's what you expect. High-class organization, high-class people from top to bottom. Great fans, unbelievable. They were always there for me and my family, but for anyone that puts on a jersey there. It was just unbelievable to see Vegas. It's gonna be unbelievable memories for me for sure."

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Mermis has played one game in the NHL this season, with the Utah Hockey Club in mid-December.

Dakota Mermis will join the Toronto Maple Leafs on their flight to Carolina and play against the Hurricanes on Sunday.

Toronto will recall the 31-year-old ahead of their game in Carolina after playing with five defensemen in their 1-0 overtime win on Saturday versus the Montreal Canadiens. Mermis signed a one-year, $775,000 contract in the summer but has yet to play a game with the Maple Leafs.

Craig Berube confirmed that Dakota Mermis will be called up on an emergency basis and be in the lineup against the Hurricanes tomorrow. @BodogCA

— David Alter (@dalter) April 13, 2025

Toronto was forced to play with five defensemen because of salary cap restraints after Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson suffered undisclosed injuries. Mitch Marner took some shifts on the back-end against Montreal, something he's done plenty of times before.

"I like it back there. I think I expressed that to you guys last year. I don’t feel lost or uncomfortable," he said on Saturday night. "I try to not make it difficult on myself, just try to make easy, quick plays. I enjoy it back there when I get the chance to play D, to be honest."

After playing a player short, the Maple Leafs can bring up Mermis from the AHL on an emergency basis. His cap hit is below the $875,000 threshold and will count as $0 towards Toronto's cap.

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.

Neither McCabe nor Ekman-Larsson will travel with the team to Carolina. Head coach Craig Berube confirmed on Friday that McCabe will return to the lineup before the regular season concludes.

Mermis has spent most of the season in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies. He joined the Utah Hockey Club for part of this year after being claimed by the club on waivers on Dec. 13.

He appeared in one game with Utah before being placed on waivers again. Mermis was picked back up by the Maple Leafs on Jan. 3 and was immediately assigned to the Marlies.

Jake McCabe Expected To Return To Maple Leafs' Lineup Before Regular Season Ends, Other Injury NotesMcCabe has been out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury since April 2.

Mermis has seven assists in 32 games with the AHL club. He plays in almost all situations with the Marlies and has recently been an assistant captain after Kyle Clifford went down with an injury.

The Alton, Illinois native has played 75 NHL games, split between Utah, the Arizona Coyotes, the New Jersey Devils, and the Minnesota Wild. He has four goals and eight assists and has averaged 14:25 of ice time in that span.

Toronto has three more regular season games: Sunday against Carolina, Tuesday vs. Buffalo, and Thursday at home against the Detroit Red Wings. Their win on Saturday against Montreal gives them home-ice advantage in the first round, no matter who they face.

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CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night. This game against the Central Division’s leader ended the home portion of Chicago’s schedule for 2024-25. 

The Blackhawks came out firing as they took a 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to goals by Nick Foligno and Connor Bedard. Going up against Connor Hellebuyck, one of the best goalies in the world, it was a wonderful start. 

In the second period, the Jets did what they do best and came back. The Blackhawks looked good early in the middle frame, but things went south when Nino Niederreiter scored to get Winnipeg on the board. 

Not long after that, Kyle Connor tied the game with his 41st goal of the season. That 2-2 deadlock went to the second intermission, setting up an incredible finish to the home schedule. 

In the final frame, the Jets took less than three minutes to take a 3-2 lead in the hockey game. Josh Morrissey threw one through traffic, and it went in the net off of Spencer Knight. 

The Blackhawks didn’t roll over. In the second half of the third, Ryan Donato scored his 31st goal of the season to keep his special run going strong. On the goal, Connor Bedard collected his 81st career assist, which is the most by a teenager in Blackhawks history.

Frank Nazar put the Blackhawks ahead not long after, but the lead didn’t stand for long as Josh Morrissey tied it right back up with his second of the game before regulation was over. Despite plenty of chances in overtime for both sides, the game required a shootout. 

Connor Bedard was the only Blackhawk to score in the shootout while both Kyle Connor and Cole Perfetti tucked one in to give the Jets the win. This victory secured the Central Division title for them. 

After the game ended, the Jets stayed on the ice to deliver handshakes to both Patrick Maroon and Alec Martinez. Both of them ended wonderful careers that saw each of them win three Stanley Cups. It was a wonderful sign of sportsmanship as two amazing players are leaving the game. 

Now, the Blackhawks will hit the road without Martinez and Maroon for their final two games of the season. It begins with a trip to Quebec to visit the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. 

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