On March 16, Farjestad BK of the SHL and the Anaheim Ducks announced that the Ducks recalled prospect defenseman Stian Solberg to their organization with the intention of assigning him to the AHL with the San Diego Gulls. Solberg was drafted in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft after the Ducks traded the 31st and 58th overall picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the rights to select him.

Gulls’ Blue Line Strengthened by Addition of Three Prospects

Solberg (19) had played 47 games for Farjestad BK and tallied 12 points (3-9=12) in 2024-25. The cited reason for his assignment to the AHL was injuries within the Ducks’ organization.

Upon the conclusion of Harvard University’s season in the NCAA, the Ducks announced on Wednesday they had signed prospect defenseman Ian Moore to an Amateur Tryout (ATO) contract with the intention of sending him to the AHL. Moore was drafted in the third round (67th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. Due to Covid, Harvard’s 2020-21 season was canceled, and Moore played that season in the USHL for the Chicago Steel. His rights with the Ducks were extended through July 1, 2025.

Moore (23) served as Harvard’s captain for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, two seasons where they lost back-to-back in the conference quarterfinals and failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Moore finished his 2024-25 season with 14 points (3-11=14) in 32 games and he finished his collegiate career with 56 points (9-47=56) in 122 games.

On Thursday, the Ducks announced they’d also signed prospect defenseman Will Francis to an ATO, also with the intention of sending him to the AHL. Francis (24) was drafted in the sixth round (163rd overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft.

He was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2020 and has defeated the disease on three separate occasions in five years. He was forced to sit out the majority of his four-year collegiate career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and tallied one assist in 39 NCAA games.

The Gulls traveled to Henderson on Friday to face the Silver Knights for a back-to-back series against their division foe and the team at the bottom of the AHL standings. Moore and Solberg made their AHL debuts on Friday evening in a 4-0 victory over Henderson. The Gulls deployed a lineup consisting of 11 forwards and seven defensemen due to injury, which lighted the load of responsibility and ice time for the duo playing in their first games at the new level. The AHL doesn’t track TOI, so it’s difficult to know how much either defenseman played, but it seemed like Solberg received more shifts than Moore.

Stian Solberg

Solberg didn’t miss a beat in his first professional game of North American hockey. He displayed his typical brand of physicality and made an impact on every shift he played while tallying two shots on goal and taking a minor penalty for high-sticking.

Report: Ducks Organization Recalls Stian Solberg from SHL

Defensively, he did well to close gaps as pucks moved up ice, and he kept those gaps as pucks came back his way. He consistently won battles in the corners and in front of the Gulls’ net, punishing attackers attempting to gain position. He was relentless when his assignment had the puck in defensive zone coverage and unwavering when his check was off-puck.

He was poised on retrievals, baiting forecheckers toward him before sending slip passes or stretch outlets to awaiting, open teammates. He confidently swung pucks high to low in the offensive zone and walked the blueline astutely in search of shooting angles. He instantly became one of the Gulls' best defensemen in his first game.

Ian Moore

Moore’s transition to the AHL from the NCAA wasn’t quite as smooth as Solberg’s from the SHL. He was a tad more frantic in his decision-making but settled in nicely as the game wore on. He ended the game with a shot on goal in the boxscore.

Ducks Prospect Nominated for ECAC Hockey Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year

Moore’s skating was the separating factor in this game. It allowed him to recover effortlessly on the occasions when he overcommitted, close gaps swiftly on attackers, and angle opponents into chipping pucks low on the rush.

One would like to see him come away from some of his board battles with possession more often, but when he did, he neatly zipped quality stretch passes to forwards for easy exits. His lateral mobility and long reach allowed him to disrupt attacks on entry and open lanes in the offensive zone.

As Moore adjusts to the professional game, he can evolve into a modern-day shutdown defenseman, using his elite mobility to eliminate time and space before cleanly and quickly getting pucks up ice to teammates.

The Gulls will be back in action to take on the Silver Knights again on Saturday at 1 pm PST in Henderson.

Takeaways from the Ducks' 1-1-1 Road Trip

Leo Carlsson's Scorching Pace Down the Stretch of the Season

The Chicago Blackhawks have lost six straight games, and their vibes have been down because of this bad streak. They know that they need a gritty win to break the losing skid, and they will try to do that on the road against the St. Louis Blues. 

The Blues have been the exact opposite of the Hawks lately in terms of how good they’ve been playing. Winners of four straight, they are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. 

St. Louis’ winning streak has propelled them into a playoff position going into Saturday. They still have a lot of work to do, but they are trending in the right direction. 

This will be the third and final meeting between the two in 2024-25. The first was a Blues blowout in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. The second was a wild shootout win for St. Louis at their home barn. Chicago would like to get one win over St. Louis this season. 

Chicago has put their lines in a blender once again. This is how they project to line up against their big rival: 

Mikheyev - Nazar - Bedard 

Teravainen - Dickinson - Foligno 

Veleno - Donato - Bertuzzi

Slaggert - Reichel - Maroon

Vlasic - Kaiser 

Del Mastro - Murphy 

Martinez - Levshunov

Soderblom

Once again, Connor Bedard will skate on Frank Nazar's wing on the top line. It looks like it’s Ilya Mikheyev’s turn to be with them. 

Colton Dach hurt his arm during the last game, and it is day-to-day. It doesn’t sound like he is going to miss all that much time for the Blackhawks. With the NHL season winding down, the AHL club will need him healthy. 

Arvid Soderblom will start in net for the Blackhawks against the Blues. Spencer Knight, the new number-one goalie, will go on Sunday at home against the Philadelphia Flyers. Both guys deserve a start in this back-to-back situation. 

If ending a bad losing streak while simultaneously hurting the playoff chances of their biggest rival isn’t enough motivation for the Blackhawks to play well, what would be?  

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

The Chicago Blackhawks' big trade deadline move was trading Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Spencer Knight and more. This trade has set the Blackhawks up nicely for the future, and while Jones came in at the perfect time to Florida with Aaron Ekblad missing the rest of the regular season, Jones' numbers have been troubling.

The eye test hasn't looked as bad as what Jones' numbers really are. Since joining the Panthers, he has been on the ice for one goal for and six against at 5-on-5. Every single other Panther defenseman to play for them this season, no matter how long, other than Adam Boqvist (on the ice for eight goals for and nine against) has at least been on the ice at 5-on-5 for as many goals for as against. Jones' difference is big through just eight games.

It's not like Jones' has gotten unlucky either. His expected goals for percentage is the lowest among Panthers d-men to suit up for them this season as well with 44.97%. Again, only Boqvist was close to him, but still better.

There are many more poor analytics to support the struggles in Florida so far. The Panthers' shooting percentage when Jones is on the ice at 5-on-5 is 1.61%. The lowest team shooting percentage when any other Panthers defenseman is on the ice is 7.69%. This is too big of a gap to be more than a fluke.

Jones has a 46.02 Corsi For %, 46.2 Fenwick For %, 48.06 Shots For %, 43.7 Scoring Chances For %, and 42.59 High Danger Chances For %. All of these are the lowest among the nine d-men to play for Florida this season.

The numbers should get better, but it is not encouraging for the Panthers who just invested a lot into having Jones on the team for a number of years. Meanwhile, in Chicago, the Blackhawks might not be winning, but there are plenty of talented young d-men who are developing in the AHL and NHL and haven't been overpaid and underperformed yet.

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, and more.

The Montreal Canadiens enjoyed a day off on Friday after their overtime loss to the New York Islanders, but they will be all hands on deck on Saturday as they are set to host the Colorado Avalanche at the Bell Centre.

It will be the second and last game between the two sides this season. The first occurred in Denver in early January when Jakub Dobes recorded a 2-1 shutout win against a hazardous Colorado attack. The youngster finished the game with a .955 save percentage.

While Samuel Montembeault has been fantastic for the Canadiens since the 4 Nations Face-Off break, he’s let in a couple of softies over the last two games, and it will be interesting to see if Martin St-Louis decides to give him a rest on Saturday night.

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However, the Becancour native has only faced the Avs twice in his career, winning the only decision he was involved in. He has a 1.88 goals-against average against them and a .935 SP, which are pretty good numbers.  However, that’s a pretty small sample; the same can be said for Dobes.

There’s no word yet on which goaltender will be defending the Avalanche’s net. Mackenzie Blackwood was on duty the last time the two teams met, and he was as good as Dobes until the shootout. He has faced the Canadiens six times and has a 4-0-2, with a 2.26 GAA and a .931 SP. As for Scott Wedgewood, he has lost his only duel with the Canadiens and has a 4.45 GAA and a .778 SP. He was on duty for the Avs last game and beat the Senators 5-1 on Thursday night.

The Canadiens have won their last three games against Saturday night’s visitors but only four of the previous 10 meetings between the two sides. Montreal is 6-1-3 in its last 10 games, while Colorado is 8-1-1.

Given Colorado's good attack, the Canadiens will need their attack to be ready to go on Saturday night. Patrik Laine is the Habs’ most productive player against the Avs, scoring 18 points in 20 games. Nobody else is in the double digits, but to be fair, the two teams do not face each other regularly. Nick Suzuki and Brendan Gallagher both have eight points against them, the former in as many games, while the alternate captain has faced them 15 times, but he has been red-hot over the last two games. Speaking of the alternate captain, he only needs one more points to join Pierre Mondou in 28th place of the top scorers with the Canadiens. Cole Caufield has four points in five games against the Avs, while Lane Hutson has an assist in his only tilt with Colorado.

Patrik Laine

First member of the Canadiens with 14 PP goals thru 38 games played in a season since Mats Naslund in 1985-86#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/3ROAU89EdM

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 21, 2025

As for the Avs, Nathan MacKinnon leads the pack with 17 points in 18 games, followed by Mikko Rantanen, who has 14 points in as many games, and Cale Makar, who has 10 points in eight games. Former Hab Artturi Lehkonen has four points in as many games.

The Canadiens are currently in the second wildcard spot in the Easter Conference, three points behind the Ottawa Senators, who will be taken on the severely depleted New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The New York Rangers and the New York Islanders are both trailing Montreal by two points; the former will be taking on the Vancouver Canucks, while the latter will be battling the Calgary Flames; both teams will play in the daytime, meaning Montreal will know where they stand before puck drop.

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A long and grueling road trip for the Florida Panthers will finally come to an end on Saturday in Washington D.C.

Despite averaging less than two goals per game, the Panthers have squeaked out a couple of wins so far and can close out the trip with an even .500 record if they can take care of business against the Washington Capitals.

That will be no easy task.

Washington has been leading the Eastern Conference basically the entire season, currently holding a 12-point edge over second place Carolina in the Metropolitan Division and 13 points clear of Florida, who leads the Atlantic Division.

The Capitals are also playing some very good hockey this month.

They are currently riding a 8-1-0 stretch, with their most recent win clinching the Caps’ spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Even with all the success, much of the focus this season has been on star forward Alex Ovechkin as he chases down history.

Entering play Saturday, Ovechkin has 888 career goals. He needs only seven more to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record of 894.

Here’s a fun fact: there is only one active NHL goalie who has allowed more goals to Ovechkin than Sergei Bobrovsky.

Marc-Andre Fleury has been scored on by Ovie 28 times, the most of any goaltender, active or retired.

Bobrovsky has seen Ovechkin score on him 16 times.

Florida’s backup goalie, Vitek Vanecek, has never been scored on by Ovechkin, at least not in an NHL game.

The two were teammates for a couple seasons in Washington, but practice goals don’t count toward this historic total.

Florida is not expected to have any lineup changes from Thursday’s win in Columbus.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s battle with the Caps:

Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Evan Rodrigues

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist

A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Jonah Gadjovich

Gus Forsling – Seth Jones

Niko Mikkola – Tobias Bjornfot

Nate Schmidt – Uvis Balinskis

Scratches: Tomas Nosek, Brad Marchand, Dmitry Kulikov

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In what was a must-win game for both of the teams on the ice Friday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins sure came ready to play.

And they got contributions from everywhere in their lineup - including a big boost from a somewhat unexpected source.

On a bobblehead night for Pittsburgh Penguins' legend Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh ousted the Columbus Blue Jackets, 6-3, with six goals from six different players. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic was solid as well, stopping 45 of 48 Columbus shots and shutting down their attack off the rush with several key saves.

But he wasn't the biggest story of the night.

To open the scoring, Evgeni Malkin capitalized just over five minutes into the contest, as he poked in a redirected pass from Connor Dewar and Philip Tomasino from along the goal line. That goal got the Penguins off to a good start.

And the big catalyst for the rest of the evening happened minutes later. Nearing the midway point of the period, Penguins forward Boko Imama and Columbus forward Mathieu Olivier dropped the gloves for their second boxing match of the season.

They made great theater out of it, too, as both players threw down the gloves in dramatic fashion, had a slow-burn squaring-off as they approached, and exchanged punches back-and-forth throughout the fight, which was eventually broken up by the referees.

Both teams seemed to build off that momentum, as Noel Acciari scored a garbage goal about two minutes later, Columbus forward Boone Jenner scored 16 seconds after Acciari, and Rickard Rakell put home his 32nd of the season 46 seconds after Jenner.

Less than two minutes into the second period, Justin Danforth added a Columbus goal to make it 3-2. But Imama struck again - this time, in the goal column.

He took a feed in the slot from Danton Heinen, and he found the upper-left corner of the net for his first goal of the season and just the second of his NHL career to make it 4-2. Imama didn't even realize he scored at first, and he threw up both his arms in elation when he realized it went in.

WE'RE LOKO FOR BOKO 😜 pic.twitter.com/YULX0jLxM2

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 22, 2025

"I mean, 'Hayesy', he's the one patrolling the line, and he pretty much told us what he wanted to happen," Imama said. "I just kind of followed his direction, and he was right. The puck just came out - perfect pass from 'Heino' - and all I had to do was to put it on target, and it went in."

Later in the period, Sidney Crosby made a ridiculous redirection on a Matt Grzelcyk shot-pass to make the score 5-2. The goal was Crosby's second on the night, which puts him just four points shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky's point-per-game seasons record at 20.

Columbus did get some momentum at the beginning of the third period, as Kent Johnson put one home just three minutes and 45 seconds into the period. However, Nedeljkovic and the Penguins were able to shut it down, with Bryan Rust potting an empty-netter with less than two minutes to go to seal it off at 6-3.

The Penguins got contributions from everywhere. But Imama was the catalyst for all of it, and it couldn't have happened for a better guy in the room.

"He's a terrific person," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "He brings so much positive energy to the rink every day. It's hard not to smile when you're around him. He's just an enthusiastic person, he loves hockey, he loves being at the rink, loves being part of the team... and he loves being a Penguin."

They're trying to make the most of the opportunity here that's in front of them. That energy is contagious amongst the group. It's inspiring.

Here are some thoughts and observations from this one:

- Imama's fight brought some energy to an otherwise slow game. And the crowd went absolutely nuts both when he fought and when he scored his goal.

He's someone I'd like to see stick around. He shouldn't be an everyday player - younger, more future-oriented guys guys should get some opportunities next season instead - but he's completely fine to have around as a 13th or 14th forward.

His roster spot isn't one that should be blocking any younger guys, anyway.

- Malkin's line seems to have found some chemistry late in the season. Him and Tomasino have been working pretty well together, but I think the addition of Dewar has brought some much-needed forechecking prowess to that line.

Dewar goes to the dirty areas, is good along the wall, and brings energy to the line. Tomasino and Malkin - although both very skilled - play a lot on the perimeter, so it's always good to have that hardline, north-south guy to complement them.

Really good work by Dewar leading up to the Malkin goal. And Malkin really seems to have his gallop right now, too. This was a good game for them.

- Leading off of that, Tomasino continues to look pretty good next to 71. 

I'll keep saying it: He needs to stay put on that line. He's found a different level on it.

- It was a bit strange seeing Kris Letang play on his off-side Friday. 

And you could tell it was a bit strange for him, too.

He didn't play a bad game. There were just a few times he was a bit out-of-position and - likely, out of reaction - committed a little to far to the right side.

All in all, he didn't look all that out-of-place. And he and Conor Timmins seemed to mesh well together.

- I was just about to say that Grzelcyk had quieted down a bit offensively since the Mar. 7 trade deadline. And then he went and made that pass on Crosby's goal.

Grzelcyk shot it from the blue line and Crosby tipped it in for his 25th of the season 🫣 pic.twitter.com/NWWE6bapF6

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 22, 2025

Well, the other half of what I was going to say still stands: Even though he had been relatively quiet, I don't think that's a bad thing. He's cleaned up many of the glaring defensive zone mistakes that were present in his game for most of the season. They still happen, but they're not nearly as loud, and they're not nearly as frequent.

Don't be surprised if the Penguins offer Grzelcyk an extension to stay for another season or two. The coaching staff is happy with the work he's put in this season to find his game again, and he's been effective on the power play, in transition, and in the attacking zone. They like him quite a bit.

- What else can you say about 87?

Honestly, it's pretty incredible that we're talking about the two greatest players of a generation - Crosby and Alex Ovechkin - breaking what were long thought to be "unbreakable" Wayne Gretzky NHL records, but here we are.

Ovechkin needs just six more goals for the goal record. Crosby needs just four more points for the point-per-game seasons record.

Enjoy this, folks. This is truly one of the greatest times in history to be a hockey fan.

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ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild announced on Friday the signing of defensive prospect Stevie Leskovar from the Brampton Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). 

Leskovar, 20, has one goal and five points in 33 OHL games this season. He is a very physical shutdown defenseman for the Steelheads. He has 70 penalty minutes in 33 games this year as well. 

The 6-foot-4 defenseman was drafted with the 174th pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. The 216-pound native of Cambridge, Ontario, has recorded four goals, 16 assists, 20 points, and 237 penalty minutes in 158 career OHL games across four seasons. 

It will remain to be seen what kind of career Leskovar carves out but I would imagine he becomes a solid physical defenseman for the Iowa Wild (AHL) and the Iowa Heartlanders (ECHL). 

The Pittsburgh Penguins are well-aware of how every game matters from here on out.

And they will have a crucial matchup against a division rival - and a team they are chasing in the standings.

The Penguins will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets in Pittsburgh on Friday. They have won six of their last 10 games against Columbus, and the Blue Jackets bested the Penguins in a shootout, 4-3, on Jan. 7 - which was their first win in Pittsburgh since Dec. 21, 2015.

Columbus currently sits three points back of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, while Pittsburgh is eight points back. Needless to say, this is a must-win game for both teams - and a clean two points is nearly essential.

Alex Nedeljkovic will get his first start in goal since Mar. 7, when the Penguins lost to the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-0. Sullivan stressed the importance of making sure both of their goaltenders get reps down the stretch, but he also realizes he needs to ice the guy who gives them the best chance to win.

"The reality is with the amount of games that we've just played and that we have moving forward, it requires us to get both guys involved," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "So, when we make these types of decisions, we're thinking in terms of helping the team win the game right in front of us... but, also, there's a little bit of 'big picture' decision-making. 

"How do we set both of these guys up for success, so when they do go in the net, they have the ability to give us a chance to win? Ultimately, if we can set them up for success, it's going to help the Penguins have success."

Nedeljkovic should certainly be tested, too, as Columbus has five players with 20 or more goals on their roster. They are also getting a lot of offense from their blue line - including from Zach Werenski, who is having a career year with 20 goals and 69 points in 67 games. 

"They generate a lot of offense from their defense," Sullivan said. "If I'm not mistaken, they might be second in the league in terms of goals scored by their defensemen. And Zach's a big part of that... he's a difference-maker as far as a defenseman with the way he drives offense."

Here is the rest of the lineup for the Penguins on Friday, which includes Kris Letang in a new home on the left side of the top defensive pairing alongside Conor Timmins:

How we're lining up tonight vs. CBJ ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/yYanM7mhNU

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 21, 2025

The Penguins have points in 16 consecutive home games against Columbus, and captain Sidney Crosby enters this game just six points shy of his 20th consecutive point-per-game season, which would break Wayne Gretzky's previous record of 19.

You can track Crosby's progress here.

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