Foerster buries a few more goals as Flyers beat Islanders in shootout originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Tyson Foerster stayed hot with two goals and the Flyers picked up a 4-3 shootout win Saturday afternoon over the Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center.

Bobby Brink won it in the skills competition after four Flyers came up empty.

The Flyers lost a 3-2 lead when Bo Horvat scored with 1:01 minutes left in regulation.

Jakob Pelletier also found the back of the net for the Flyers. His goal tied the game at 2-2 in the third period. The 24-year-old has recorded a point in six of the last seven games.

Foerster then delivered the go-ahead 3-2 goal. He has five markers through the last two games after scoring a hat trick Wednesday night in the Flyers’ 8-5 win at Madison Square Garden.

“You can tell he’s a goal scorer,” Samuel Ersson said. “You see that he’s one of the toughest guys to stop in practice.”

Owen Tippett collected assists on the two third-period goals.

“I thought we had a good team effort there in the third,” Foerster said.

The Flyers (33-37-9) improved to 5-1-0 under interim head coach Brad Shaw, a stretch in which they’ve scored 28 goals. They have three games to go.

“I think for everybody, we’re still trying to work on our own games, trying to get better, I think that’s a huge part of it,” Ersson said. “As a team, having some pride, playing for the Flyers’ logo and knowing that we’re trying to do something good here with the games we have left.”

The Flyers went to overtime for the 21st time this season. They’re 12-9 after regulation.

They split their four-game regular-season series with the Islanders (34-33-12).

• Foerster’s first goal was on the power play and it opened the game’s scoring in the second period.

The 23-year-old winger has eight markers in the last six games and 24 on the season after putting up 20 as a rookie last year.

“I like how he earns his success, I like how he doesn’t cheat to get his success,” Shaw said. “That’s not an easy thing to do on a regular basis. A real good sign from a young guy that’s showing he’s going to be a good pro and a good player for a long time.”

Matvei Michkov registered an assist on Foerster’s power play tally, giving him a 60-point rookie season.

More: How Michkov embraced a ‘boring process’ to become an even greater scorer

• Ersson saw his first start since last Saturday and converted 37 saves on 40 shots.

The 25-year-old denied Horvat, Maxim Tsyplakov, Simon Holmstrom, Tony DeAngelo and Kyle Palmieri in the shootout.

“I thought he was good all game,” Shaw said. “I loved him in the shootout, he had a little bit of swagger. I like that, when we see that from Sam, it usually bodes well for how many pucks he’s going to stop.”

New York erased a 1-0 deficit with second-period goals from Anders Lee and Noah Dobson. Lee’s marker came on the power play as Cam York was hit with a high-sticking penalty. Dobson’s tally was after the Flyers turned the puck over entering the offensive zone.

Islanders netminder Marcus Hogberg stopped 19 of the Flyers’ 22 shots.

• With the win, the Flyers moved a point ahead of the Kraken and into No. 6 for the 2025 NHL draft lottery odds. Seattle has two games left, with one late tonight at home against the Blues.

The Flyers are one point back of the Sabres, who visit the Panthers tonight.

• The Flyers are right back at it Sunday when they visit the Senators (1 p.m. ET/NBCSP+).

They’ve had a nightmarish time in the second game of back-to-back sets, going 1-10-1 while being outscored 52-29. 

Foerster buries a few more goals as Flyers beat Islanders in shootout originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Tyson Foerster stayed hot with two goals and the Flyers picked up a 4-3 shootout win Saturday afternoon over the Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center.

Bobby Brink won it in the skills competition after four Flyers came up empty.

The Flyers lost a 3-2 lead when Bo Horvat scored with 1:01 minutes left in regulation.

Jakob Pelletier also found the back of the net for the Flyers. His goal tied the game at 2-2 in the third period. The 24-year-old has recorded a point in six of the last seven games.

Foerster then delivered the go-ahead 3-2 goal. He has five goals through the last two games after scoring a hat trick Wednesday night in the Flyers’ 8-5 win at Madison Square Garden.

Owen Tippett collected assists on the two third-period goals Saturday.

“I thought we had a good team effort there in the third,” Foerster said.

The Flyers (33-37-9) improved to 5-1-0 under interim head coach Brad Shaw, a stretch in which they’ve scored 28 goals. They have three games to go.

The Flyers went to overtime for the 21st time this season. They’re 12-9 after regulation.

They split their four-game regular-season series with the Islanders (34-33-12).

• Foerster’s first goal was on the power play and it opened the game’s scoring in the second period.

The 23-year-old winger has eight markers in the last six games and 24 on the season after putting up 20 as a rookie last year.

“I like how he earns his success, I like how he doesn’t cheat to get his success,” Shaw said. “That’s not an easy thing to do on a regular basis. A real good sign from a young guy that’s showing he’s going to be a good pro and a good player for a long time.”

Matvei Michkov registered an assist on Foerster’s power play tally, giving him a 60-point rookie season.

More: How Michkov embraced a ‘boring process’ to become an even greater scorer

• Samuel Ersson saw his first start since last Saturday and converted 37 saves on 40 shots.

The 25-year-old denied Horvat, Maxim Tsyplakov, Simon Holmstrom, Tony DeAngelo and Kyle Palmieri in the shootout.

“I thought he was good all game,” Shaw said. “I loved him in the shootout, he had a little bit of swagger. I like that, when we see that from Sam, it usually bodes well for how many pucks he’s going to stop.”

New York erased a 1-0 deficit with second-period goals from Anders Lee and Noah Dobson. Lee’s marker came on the power play as Cam York was hit with a high-sticking penalty. Dobson’s tally was after the Flyers turned the puck over entering the offensive zone.

Islanders netminder Marcus Hogberg stopped 19 of the Flyers’ 22 shots.

• With the win, the Flyers moved a point ahead of the Kraken and into No. 6 for the 2025 NHL draft lottery odds. Seattle has two games left, with one late tonight at home against the Blues.

The Flyers are one point back of the Sabres, who visit the Panthers tonight.

• The Flyers are right back at it Sunday when they visit the Senators (1 p.m. ET/NBCSP+).

They’ve had a nightmarish time in the second game of back-to-back sets, going 1-10-1 while being outscored 52-29. 

The Columbus Blue Jackets have been getting a lot of help from the hockey gods lately.

The first time they faced elimination, they pulled out a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres to stay alive. Then last night, they got the help they needed—thanks to the Ottawa Senators beating the Montreal Canadiens, they're still in it.

But staying alive another day also means facing elimination again.

Here’s the scenario for today:

The Canadiens will clinch a playoff spot and eliminate the Blue Jackets if any of the following happen:

(a) They beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in regulation (b) They win in overtime or a shootout and the Blue Jackets lose to the Washington Capitals (c) They collect a point and the Blue Jackets lose (d) They win in overtime or a shootout and the Blue Jackets lose in overtime or a shootout

There’s a lot of moving parts here, but the simplest path is this: the Blue Jackets need to beat the Capitals, and hope the Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens.

If everything goes their way, they'll live to fight another day—and get a rematch with the Capitals tomorrow with their season still alive.

Columbus Blue Jackets (81 pts) vs. Washington Capitals (109 pts) Game PreviewThe

Columbus Blue Jackets Lines, Defensive Pairings, & Scratches For Tonight's Game vs. Washington Capitals The

Columbus Blue Jackets Injury UpdateJust when the Columbus Blue Jackets thought they had turned the corner in terms of injuries, the injury bug has bitten again. 

After taking on the Ottawa Senators on Friday, the Montreal Canadiens will jump back into the action on Saturday night when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. The hosts should be well rested, as they played their last game on Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, they will need all their energy since they may be forced to play with only five defensemen.

Three Takeaways From A Missed Opportunity
Canadiens: Demidov Has Landed And May Be Perfect For St-Louis
Canadiens: Where Does Demidov Slot In?

With Jake McCabe already injured, Craig Berube confirmed after practice on Friday that Oliver Ekman-Larsson would miss Saturday night’s game against the Habs. The Toronto outfit will be forced to play a defenseman down, thanks to roster limitations and cap rules.

Saturday night’s duel will be the fourth and final matchup between the two teams; the Canadiens won the first game 1-0 in October, while Toronto won 4-1 in November and 7-3 in January. The Leafs have also won seven of the last ten meetings and three of their previous four games, while the Canadiens are still reeling from their first loss in seven games.

Samuel Montembeault was in the net last night, and Martin St-Louis has already confirmed that Jakub Dobes will be facing the Leafs for the first time in his young career. In 15 games this season, the youngster has a 7-4-2 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

As for the Leafs, Anthony Stolarz is 3-2-0 in 5 games with a GAA of 2.78 and a .910 SP versus the Canadiens, while Joseph Woll has never lost against the visitors; he’s 3-0-0 with a 1.67 GAA and a .942 SP.

If you were still hoping to see Ivan Demidov take his first strides as a Canadiens against the Leafs, forget it. The coach has already said it’s not happening. It will be interesting to see if St-Louis does make some changes to his lineup, given Friday night’s 5-2 loss and the fact that this is the tail end of a back-to-back. He should, however, put on the Canadiens’ jersey for Saturday morning’s optional skate.

Canadiens with 34+ points in a 22-game span since 1960:

— Nick Suzuki (active)
— Stéphane Richer (1990)
— Steve Shutt (1976)
— Guy Lafleur (1975, 1976)
— Bernie Geoffrion (1961)

Elite company. pic.twitter.com/EPUcwlmCAV

— Canadiens Muse (@Canadiens_Muse) April 11, 2025

It will be interesting to see if St-Louis tinkers with his lineup. Michael Pezzetta had a tough fight on Friday night and looked worse for wear. Perhaps an opportunity to bring Emil Heineman back in the lineup if he’s ready to go after the injury that made him day-to-day. It could be a good idea for Arber Xhekaj to reintegrate the defense corps. The Leafs aren’t overly physical, and some of their forwards can think twice before engaging in brutal board battles.

The Canadiens will have another opportunity to book their playoffs spot on Saturday night, but if they hope to, they’ll need a better contribution from their top line. In 27 games against the Leafs, captain Nick Suzuki has 22 points to his name, second only to Brendan Gallagher, who has 23 in 46 duels. Josh Anderson takes the third spot with 17 points in 36 tilts, while Cole Caufield and Patrik Laine have 13 points in 15 and 14 games, respectively. Suzuki currently has a seven-game point streak; he’s put up 13 points in that span.

As for the Leafs, John Tavares leads in points production against Montreal with 51 points in 58 games, followed by captain Auston Matthews, who has 46 points in 36 games, Mitch Marner with 38 points in 39 games, and William Nylander, who has 31 in 35 duels. Needless to say, the Canadiens need to stop the big four to win.

Montreal will need to have a good start if they want to prevail. Toronto is quite stingy in the first period, allowing only 68 games this season. Their worst defensively is the third, in which they’ve given up 84 goals on the year, which is good news for Martin St-Louis’ men who usually have a strong third.

The Habs have played 384 games in Toronto and have a 139-194-45-6 record away from home against the old enemy. With an assist tonight, Suzuki could join Chris Chelios as the 36th most prolific passer in franchise history with 237. Speaking of the former blueliner, Lane Hutson remains on the verge of breaking his record for most points by a Canadiens rookie defenseman. Meanwhile, with three games left to play, sniper Cole Caufield is on 37 goals, while the team’s main objective remains to qualify for the playoffs, getting the right winger to 40 lamplighters would be quite the milestone, something Montreal hasn’t seen since Vincent Damphousse did it in 1993-94.

The Canadiens will head back home after the game. They have a date with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night for what should be Demidov’s NHL debut. Something tells me the Bell Centre crowd will be deafening for that rookie lap.

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As the Toronto Maple Leafs inch closer to the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, there’s cautious optimism surrounding the status of the return of defenseman Jani Hakanpaa — but no guarantees.

The 6-foot-7 blueliner, who hasn’t played an NHL game since November 16 against the Edmonton Oilers, continues to skate with the team and move forward in his recovery from a lingering knee injury. On Friday, Hakanpaa took reps with the third defensive pair at practice, replacing the absent Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jake McCabe.

“Pretty good spot right now, been making some good improvements. Getting back out there with the guys has been good,” said Hakanpaa after practice. “Slowly working our way towards playing again here.”

#Leafs lines during practice Apr. 11/25

Knies-Matthews-Marner
Jarnkrok-Tavares-Nylander
McMann-Domi-Robertson
Holmberg-Laughton-Lorentz
Pacioretty

Rielly-Carlo
Benoit-Tanev
Hakanpaa (LTIR)-Myers
Absent: OEL, McCabe (injuired)

Stolarz, Woll@BodogCA

— David Alter (@dalter) April 11, 2025

Hakanpaa was filling the void at Friday’s practice, but the Leafs are forced to go with five defensemen on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens. The Leafs do not have any salary cap room ($195,333) to call up an additional player with Jake McCabe (undisclosed) injured and forward David Kampf still out with an upper-body injury – as well as the new undisclosed injury to Ekman-Larsson.

The 33-year-old underwent minor knee surgery earlier this season in hopes of returning for the second half. He was officially placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) on December 2, and despite steady progress over the past month – skating before or with the Leafs at practice – he remains ineligible to return.

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.

Asked if he could suit up come playoff time, Hakanpaa remained hopeful but noncommittal.

“That’s a tough one to kind of say anything really,” Hakanpaa explained. “It’s been trending really good in the gym and on the ice, off the ice, everything. Hopefully, we'll get there; we’ll see.”

Head coach Craig Berube offered little clarity when asked about the status of both Hakanpaa and forward Max Pacioretty, who is also recovering from an injury, for the postseason.

“That I don’t know. I don’t have that answer for you. They’re still working away through things, so that’s all I know on that,” said Berube.

Back on April 1, Berube was slightly more optimistic about the outlook, noting that both players were actively working toward being healthy.

“It’s good that they’re out there,” Berube said at the time. “They’ve been working with our development crew and people back here skating and trying to get healthy. Hopefully, they can get healthy and be part of the team at some point.”

‘It’s Good That They’re Out There’: Max Pacioretty, Jani Hakanpaa, Return To Maple Leafs Practice Amid Long-Term Injury Absence The Toronto Maple Leafs returned to practice at Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday following their three-game California road trip, preparing for a divisional matchup against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday.

Hakanpaa has had an up-and-down year, only suiting up for two games with the Maple Leafs this season and logging two conditioning stints with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies — going pointless in all four outings. He was initially named to Team Finland’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off but was forced to withdraw due to his recovery progress.

“It’s been up and down, highs and lows. It has the good parts to it, too,” said Hakanpaa of the season. “You just have to enjoy the little victories every day. Something feels really good; you can improve on something and really take a lot of joy in that.”

“Obviously, it’s been trying, but just trying to keep that positive mindset and cheer the boys on as much as I can when they’ve been here,” he added.

'I Don't Have A Timeline': Jani Hakanpaa Will Not Play For Finland At 4 Nations Sparking More Questions About His NHL FutureHakanpaa hasn't played since Nov. 16 and had a second knee procedure in early December.

As for how he’s feeling now, the Finnish defender says it’s a mix of good days and ongoing issues still preventing him from returning to full speed.

“It’s a little bit of both,” Hakanpaa admitted. There are a few things still there that I’d like to be a little better feeling on the ice, and other than that, just stringing good days together. Adding a little more load every day, adding a little more here and there, and then trying to string those good days, and make them good weeks into good months.”

Whether Hakanpaa gets a shot at playoff action remains to be seen. For now, he remains on the outside looking in, but seems to be trending in the right direction. However, a clear timeline has yet to come to the surface.

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