Linus Ullmark made 31 saves as the Ottawa Senators defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday night. Ridly Greig set up both of the Ottawa goals, and was excellent on both sides of the puck, but it was Ullmark who stole the show in a crucial victory for the Sens.

Shane Pinto and Jake Sanderson provided the scoring for the Senators, who increased their seven point cushion above the Eastern Conference playoff cut line, and maintained their five point lead on the (WC2) Montreal Canadiens. The Habs defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1, the Columbus Blue Jackets were being manhandled late in the game by the Colorado Avalanche, and the New York Rangers were idle.

The Senators were fortunate to escape the first period with a 1-0 lead. Tampa Bay outshot Ottawa 13-8, but many of those shots were of high quality, and Ullmark had to be extremely sharp, a trend he continued throughout the game.

The Senators didn’t get many good looks in the opening frame, but Pinto finished off a three-on-two Ottawa rush with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 1-0. Tampa Bay loudly protested, claiming that Oliver Bjorkstrand had been wronged in the Ottawa zone. Bjorkstrand laid on the ice for the entirety of the rush but didn't get a call.

Just over five minutes into the second period, after Tampa took a too many men call, Jake Sanderson's power play shot from the point made it 2-0.

But less than two minutes later, the Sens got burned by a lazy line change. Brandon Hagel then beat Tyler Kleven to the net to cash in on a rebound to cut the Ottawa lead to 2-1. 

Ullmark shut the door after that and was an easy choice as the game's first star, as the Senators were outshot 32-19. It was a fine bounce back for the Sens starter after an average performance against his old team, the Buffalo Sabres, on Tuesday night.

As pointed out by NHL Network analytics guru Mike Kelly, the Lightning outshot the Senators 26-5 from the slot and out-chanced them 11-1 off the rush.

As the Sens creep toward their first playoff spot in eight years, they'll host the Florida Panthers on Saturday night. We already know that Matthew Tkachuk will miss the game with an injury. It will be interesting to see if his brother his ready or not.

The Nashville Predators (27-40-8, 62 points) look to avoid a fifth straight loss as they wrap up a three-game road trip with a visit to the Dallas Stars (49-21-4, 102 points) Thursday at American Airlines Center.

The season series between Nashville and Dallas is split at 1-1, with the Stars earning a 4-3 Opening Night win over the Predators at Bridgestone Arena, and Nashville getting a 4-1 victory Dec. 12 in Dallas.

The Stars are chasing the Winnipeg Jets for first place in the Central Division, while the Predators are firmly in 30th place in the NHL and in the mix for a lottery pick in the upcoming NHL Draft.

Justus Annunen, who played the third period of the Predators' 8-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday after Juuse Saros was pulled from the game, will get the start in goal for Nashville against Dallas. Jake Oettinger will get the nod for the Stars.

How the Predators Lined Up vs. Dallas

Bunting-O'Reilly-Evangelista
Forsberg-Stamkos-L'Heureux
Smith-McCarron-Vrana
Bellows-Svechkov-Wiesblatt

Skjei-Blankenburg
Del Gaizo-Barron
Englund-Oesterle

Annunen
Saros

Extra: Stastney (day-to-day, upper-body), Marchessault (day-to-day, lower-body), Sissons (week-to-week, lower-body), Wood
IR: Lauzon, Josi, Wilsby

The Predators announced prior to Thursday's game that defenseman Spencer Stastney would be out of the lineup and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Forwards Colton Sissons and Marchessault, who missed each of the previous two games with lower-body injuries, will also miss Thursday's contest against Dallas.

Forward Ozzy Wiesblatt, whom the Predators recalled from the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals Thursday morning, slots in on the fourth line with Kieffer Bellows and Fedor Svechkov. Wiesblatt adds depth to the Predators' injury-depleted forward group after Nashville was forced to ice 11 forwards and seven defensemen in each of their last two games.

Forward Matthew Wood, the Predators' 2023 first-round draft pick who signed his three-year, entry-level contract on Saturday, has joined the team in Dallas but has yet to make his NHL debut with the team.

Predators at Stars: Live Updates

First Period (NSH 0, DAL 0)

While the 2024-25 season has been another tough one for the Buffalo Sabres, they have been playing better hockey as of late. The Atlantic Division squad has won four out of their last five games and seven of their previous 10. 

Sabres forward Peyton Krebs has certainly stepped up during the team's recent strong stretch of play. The Calgary, Alberta native is currently sporting a five-game point streak, where he has three goals, six points, and a plus-6 rating over that span. This includes scoring a goal in each of the Sabres' last two games. 

With his ongoing hot streak, Krebs now has nine goals, 15 assists, and 24 points in 73 games this season. He also just needs one more goal and three more points to set new career highs in those stats. 

It is encouraging to see Krebs starting to heat up offensively. At 24 years old, there is still time for the 2019 first-round pick to hit a new level and become a more prominent force on the Sabres' roster. Perhaps this could be the start of him doing just that. 

It will now be intriguing to see if Krebs can stay hot in the Sabres' next contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 5 from here. 

Recent Sabres News 

Buffalo Sabres Send First-Round Pick Back To AHL

Ex-Sabres Star Jack Eichel Rewarded For Incredible Month

Ex-Sabres Defender Expected To Be Done For The Season

Buffalo Sabres Send Defenseman Back To AHL

Buffalo Sabres Announce Exciting Rasmus Dahlin News

Sabres' Isak Rosen Records First NHL Point With Great Assist

With just seven games remaining in the regular season, the Pittsburgh Penguins will embark on their final road trip of 2024-25.

And it starts Thursday in St. Louis.

The Penguins will take on the St. Louis Blues, which happens to be the hottest team in hockey. After a rough start - and heading into the trade deadline - St. Louis was out of the playoff picture.

Now? An active 10-game winning streak has catapulted them to the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.

"They've gone a pretty good run here over the last month or month-plus," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. "They're 10-0 in their last 10, and I don't think they've lost since the last time we played them. So, that's a pretty good run. [Blues head coach Jim Montgomery] is a good coach. He's done a good job with these guys."

Tristan Jarry will get the start in goal for the Penguins, and he has been very good against St. Louis in his career. He is 7-1-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average versus the Blues in his career.

Jarry is 5-3-1 since his return from a long stint in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - the Penguins' AHL affiliate, which practiced in Pittsburgh on Thursday - and Sullivan is happy with what he's seen from his goaltender in that overall stretch.

'We Have A Close Team': WBS Penguins Practice In Pittsburgh, Talk Chemistry Of GroupThe Penguins took to the ice for practice on Thursday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, Pa.

"Jars has played extremely well for us since he's come back," Sullivan said. "And he's playing up to his capability. That was our hope when we brought him back up, and he certainly has done that for us."

As far as the rest of the lineup, young forwards Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen - called up Friday prior to Pittsburgh's 1-0 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday - figure to remain in their top-six roles. And forward Evgeni Malkin - despite making the trip and skating with the team on Thursday morning - will not be in the lineup.

Here is the rest of the projected lineup for the Penguins:

McGroarty-Crosby-Rust
Dewar-Rakell-Koivunen
Hayes-Acciari-Tomasino
Heinen-Lizotte-Bemstrom

Grzyleck-Letang
Timmins-Karlsson
Graves-Shea

Crosby Earns OT Winner For 1-0 Win Over Senators On Koivunen's DebutThere was hockey being played on Sunday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, although one might not even know it for how low-event it was.

Heading into the game against St. Louis, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is riding a 10-game point streak (8-7-15), which is the longest active streak in the NHL. The Penguins won the first of their matchups with the Blues on Mar. 13, which was a 5-3 victory that saw contributions from up and down their lineup - including five different goal-scorers.

Robert Thomas paces the Blues in scoring with 19 goals and 69 points in 65 games, while Jordan Kyrou leads the team with 32 goals.

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The Nashville Predators have announced that defenseman Spencer Stastney will be out of the lineup for the club's April 3 contest against the Dallas Stars due to an upper-body injury. In addition, the Predators shared that he is considered day-to-day. 

Stastney, 25, has appeared in 22 games this season with the Predators, where he has three assists, 24 blocks, and a minus-7 rating. He also has played in 23 games this campaign with the Milwaukee Admirals, posting two goals, 11 assists, 13 points, and a plus-3 rating. 

Stastney was selected by the Predators with the 131st overall pick of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. In 50 career NHL games over three seasons with the Central Division club, the 6-foot defenseman has two goals, seven assists, nine points, and a plus-7 rating.

The Predators will now need to adjust without Stastney in the lineup against a very challenging Stars club from here. 

The Colorado Avalanche pulled out a come-from-behind, 3-2 shootout win over Chicago Wednesday night to improve their regular-season record to 46-26-4. The win was the Avs' fifth win in their past seven games, but with the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets still playing well, Colorado is likely to finish the season in third place in the highly-competiive Central Division.

Still, the Avalanche need to thrive in their final six games in order to go into the Stanley Cup playoffs on a high note. And a look at their final six opponents demonstrates that the Avs will face a tough test before the post-season arrives.

Colorado has a desperate Blue Jackets team to deal with Thursday night in Columbus. The Blue Jackets have won three of their past four games, and they can move into a tie with Montreal for the second and final wild card berth with a victory over the Avalanche. The Avs lost to the Jackets 6-4 in their previous meeting this season, but that was in Colorado's second game of the year. The Avalanche should fare considerably better this time around.

The Avs get a day off after Thursday's tilt, but they're right back into the fire Saturday as they take on the white-hot Blues in St. Louis. The Blues have won 10 straight games, and on Thursday, they host the sad-sack Pittsburgh Penguins, so 11 straight wins is very possible for them. St. Louis doesn't want to take its foot off the gas, as they could overtake the Minnesota Wild for the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, so Colorado should expect a fierce fight from the Blues on Saturday.

Then, next Tuesday, the Avalanche host the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas doesn't quite have first place in the Pacific Division locked up, with the Los Angeles Kings currently five standings points behind the Golden Knights. Vegas just had a six-game win streak snapped by the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday, so they'll be motivated to get back on the winning side of the ledger, but they have three road games against Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver before taking on the Avs.

A week from today, the Avalanche will host the Canucks, whose playoff dreams are all but dead after their latest loss to Seattle. Vancouver may be eliminated from playoff contention by the time Colorado takes them on, so this game may be relatively easy for the Avalanche to win.

Three Takeaways From Avalanche's 3-2 Loss To The Calgary FlamesThe Colorado Avalanche suffered their second straight loss Monday, falling to the Calgary Flames by a 3-2 score in a shootout. Here are three key takeaways from the Avs' loss, which dropped Colorado's season record to 45-26-4:

Finally, the Avs wrap up the regular season with back-to-back road games against the Kings on Sat. April 12, and Anaheim Sun. April 13. By then, it could be a tale of two different opponents for Colorado, as the Kings could be fighting off Edmonton for second place in the Pacifc -- or challenging Vegas for first place in the Pacific. But on the other hand, the Ducks will be eliminated from the playoffs well before that final game against the Avalanche, so you could see Avs coach Jared Bednar giving some rest to his veterans if there's nothing really to play for in that Sunday game.

As you can see, the road ahead for Colorado is not going to be easy. They may be stuck in third spot in the Central and be set to face the Stars in Round One. But they're going to be tested multiple times before then -- and the way they respond to those challenges could help determine how they perform when the playoff games arrive.

The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that they have recalled center Justin Robidas from the Chicago Wolves. It is his first NHL callup.

Robidas, 22, has been terrific this year in his first AHL season, with 17 goals and 48 points in 65 games to show for his hard work.

The 5-foot-8 centerman is a relentless workhorse who has had a positive impact on the ice whether it's at 5v5, on the power play or on the penalty kill.

A perfect fit really to be a Hurricanes callup.

It also sets a good example for the younger guys down in Chicago that their hard work can result in opportunity as Robidas is the fourth different forward that the team has called up from the AHL this year.

The son of 15-year NHL veteran Stephane Robidas was a 2021 fifth-round pick by the Hurricanes and spent last season playing in the  ECHL with the Norfolk Admirals where he had 12 goals and 27 points in 32 games played.

However, while it's an exciting time for Robidas, it doesn't bode well for the availability of the Canes forwards who are currently questionable: Jordan Staal and Andrei Svechnikov.

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