After a six-game winning streak, the hot and cold Ottawa Senators are suddenly showing the earmarks of another cold streak, and few things are colder than getting snowed under at home by the Avalanche.

After a 6-3 loss in Montreal on Tuesday, the Senators had a weak response on Thursday, losing 5-1 to the Colorado Avalanche.

Brock Nelson scored twice for the Avs who outshot Ottawa 32-16. Cale Makar, Jonathan Drouin and Ross Colton each had two points.

After being outshot by Ottawa 5-0 in the first five minutes, Colorado completely took the game over, scoring four goals in the second half of the first period.

With Linus Ullmark under siege for several minutes, Nathan MacKinnon finally opened the floodgates with his 28th, 10:29 into the first period. Just inside Ottawa's blue line, MacKinnon took a drop pass from Drouin and ripped a low shot through both Jake Sanderson and Ullmark.

A minute later, Brock Nelson broke free down the left wing and beat Ullmark high to the glove side to make it 2-0. 

Cale Makar scored his 26th goal on the power play on a shot from the point through traffic. And finally, right after a faceoff to the right of Ottawa's goal, Joel Kiviranta ended Ullmark's night and make it 4-0 Colorado.

The residue of Ottawa's terrible first period bled into the second as Dylan Cozens had taken a bad interference penalty with six seconds left in the first. With the extra man, Nelson scored again to make it 5-0 early in the second. 

At that point, Sens head coach Travis Green put all his forward lines in a blender. And why not?

In particular, newcomer Fabian Zetterlund finally got a chance to get off the fourth line where he's been for the past five games since arriving in Ottawa. He played mostly top six minutes in the final two periods and was noticeable, creating at least a couple of good chances.

The Senators hit a couple of goal posts along the way and finally broke the shutout on Cozens' power play goal with under four minutes left, but they were never in this game, getting just 11 shots in the final 55 minutes of the game. This, despite the fact the Avs played last night.

The good news is that the New York Rangers lost 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night so Ottawa remains five points above the Eastern Conference playoff cut line.

Fancy that, a favour from the Leafs?

The Sens will hit the road again for another difficult matchup on Saturday night, this time against the New Jersey Devils. 

By Steve Warne
Site Editor at The Hockey News Ottawa

Stay updated with the most interesting Ottawa Senators stories, analysis, breaking news and more at The Hockey News Ottawa. Tap the star here at Google News to add us to your favourites and never miss a thing.

Following their 3-1 loss in Minnesota agianst the Wild, the Los Angeles Kings (36-21-9) arrived in the Windy City as they faced the Blackhawks (20-39-9). The Kings met the Blackhawks for third and final time this season. Spencer Knight escorted his team out while Darcy Kuemper stood in net for the second game in a row. 

Kings Lead 2-0 in Opening Period

Puck drop was underway as the Kings battled for early momentum. At the 11:15 point, Trevor Moore tipped in a wrist shot and put the Kings on the scoreboard 1-0. In a flurry of plays, Alex Turcotte netted his eighth of the season moments later. With Los Angeles leading 2-0 early, the inconsistent Blackhawks found themselves already trailing. Chicago's late attempt to produce scoring opportunities was cut short by the period's end, as both teams headed into intermission for the second period. 

Picture perfect 🤩 pic.twitter.com/MeHLwspmOH

— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 21, 2025

TURC MADE IT TWO pic.twitter.com/oswGsZ4Dnl

— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 21, 2025

And We’re Back...

With the Kings up 2-0, the second period promised more intense action and a challenge for the Kings to maintain their lead. Los Angeles took the initiative and displayed increased aggression, making it difficult for the Blackhawks to mount a comeback. Despite a series of impressive saves by Kuemper, Connor Bedard's slapshot ultimately beat him, bringing the score to 2-1 at 9:10. The Kings outshot the Blackhawks 26-12, as each team relentlessly tried to establish physical dominance.

The Buffalo Sabres selected forward Noah Ostlund with the 16th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. With this, the 21-year-old is considered one of the Sabres' most promising prospects. 

Ostlund is currently in his first full season with the Rochester Americans after appearing in two games with the AHL squad this past season. So far, the Stockholm, Sweden native has been solid, posting 11 goals and 24 points in 37 games. This is after he started the season off cold by recording just one point in his first 12 games. 

Ostlund's play is that he is continuing to improve as this campaign rolls on, and he is in the middle of a long hot streak because of it. In his last 12 games, the 5-foot-11 forward has seven goals to go along with 12 points. He also has 23 points over his previous 25 contests. With numbers like these, he is undoubtedly standing out with the AHL squad.

It will now be fascinating to see how Ostlund will build on his strong play from here. He is clearly adjusting well to the AHL level, and that is very encouraging for the Sabres.

Recent Sabres News 

Buffalo Sabres Sign Defenseman To Contract Extension

Sabres Star Nearing Impressive New Career Highs

Sabres Send First-Round Pick Back To AHL

Former Sabres Star Having Strong Start With New Team

Former Sabres Defenseman Is Heating Up Big Time

Sabres' Ryan McLeod Accomplishes Rare Stat In Big Performance

The Nashville Predators (25-34-8, 58 points) look to snap their three-game skid Thursday when they host the Anaheim Ducks (29-31-8, 66 points) at Bridgestone Arena.

This marks the third and final meeting between Nashville and Anaheim this season; the Ducks won each of the two previous matchups, most recently by a score of 2-1 in Anaheim on March 14.

The Predators are coming off a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues at home on Tuesday, while the Ducks are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on the road.

Backup goaltender Justus Annunen gets the start for the Predators, and John Gibson will mind the net for Anaheim.

How The Predators lined up vs. Anaheim

Forsberg-O'Reilly-Stamkos
Bunting-Sissons-Marchessault
Smith-Svechkov-Evangelista
L'Heureux-McCarron-Vrana

Skjei-Blankenburg
Del Gaizo-Stastney
Oesterle-Barron

Annunen
Saros

Extra: Englund, Bellows
IR: Josi, Lauzon, Wilsby

Predators vs. Ducks: Live Updates

First Period (NSH 1, ANA 0)

The Predators got an early chance on the man advantage when Luke Evangelista drew a tripping call on Isac Lundestrom just past the 6-minute mark. Steven Stamkos made it count, firing home a one-timer on the power play to give Nashville a 1-0 lead at the 7:07 mark.

Stamkos' goal was the 578th of his career, giving him sole possession of 22nd place on the NHL's all-time goal scoring list. 

Comeback bid falls short as Flyers lose, continue to drop down NHL standings originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers made the Capitals sweat in the third period Thursday night.

But it wasn’t enough to take down the NHL’s best. John Tortorella’s club fell to Washington, 3-2, at Capital One Arena.

The Flyers went into the final stanza trailing 3-0. Ryan Poehling snapped the team’s drought of nine periods without a goal to draw it within two. Sean Couturier then made it a one-goal game with 2:36 minutes left.

The Flyers outshot the Capitals 16-2 in the third period and 28-16 on the night, but they couldn’t net the equalizer.

The Flyers (28-34-8) are 1-8-0 over their last nine games, a stretch in which they’ve been outscored 35-13. Since Jan. 23, Tortorella’s club has lost 16 of its last 22 games (6-14-2). Only the Sharks have fewer points than the Flyers over that span.

The Capitals (46-15-8) have 100 points and an NHL-leading .725 points percentage. The Flyers went 0-4-0 against Washington this season and gave up 4.25 goals per game.

They’re 5-15-4 against the NHL’s top-10 teams. Last season, they had 13 wins over top-10 clubs.

• Samuel Ersson finished with 13 saves.

Alex Ovechkin climbed one goal closer to passing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894. The 39-year-old made it 1-0 in the first period with career marker No. 888. He has scored 52 of those against the Flyers.

In the second period, the Flyers had a couple of turnovers that led to the Capitals taking control of the game.

Washington netminder Charlie Lindgren stopped 26 shots.

Travis Konecny had some great looks but couldn’t push one across. That’s how it has gone for the Flyers’ leading scorer. He has one goal and 10 assists in the last 23 games.

Matvei Michkov went a sixth straight game without a point.

• With 12 games left, the Flyers could fall into the bottom four of the NHL standings. While it wouldn’t be a good look for this season, it would help the Flyers’ 2025 NHL draft lottery odds.

The Flyers, 28th in the league’s 32-team standings, entered Thursday four points ahead of the Sabres, but Buffalo has three games in hand. The Flyers and Sabres have two more head-to-head matchups.

The Flyers were 24th in the NHL standings after they knocked off the Jets, 2-1, in a shootout on March 1.

• Rasmus Ristolainen missed a fourth straight game with an upper-body injury and is now considered week to week.

Garnet Hathaway hasn’t played in March as he recovers from a blindsided hit he took at the end of February.

• The Flyers have a back-to-back set this weekend when they visit the Stars on Saturday (2 p.m. ET/NBCSP) and Blackhawks on Sunday (3 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

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NBA star LeBron James was seen wearing a Columbus Blue Jackets Stadium Series jersey at the Los Angeles Lakers game last night.

LeBron, an Akron, Ohio, native, made headlines when he was spotted sitting on the bench rocking the Blue Jackets jersey.

James has always been known for supporting other teams and athletes, but seeing him in a Blue Jackets jersey was especially cool—especially considering how this season has played out for Columbus after such a difficult offseason.

Looking good, LeBron. 😮‍💨

LeBron James sported a familiar @BlueJacketsNHL#StadiumSeries jersey last night... 👀 pic.twitter.com/4yt9235ELr

— NHL (@NHL) March 20, 2025

Before tonight’s game, Blue Jackets youngster Adam Fantilli returned the favor by wearing a Lakers jersey with James' name on the back.

Former Blue Jackets Defensemen Having Tough Time With New TeamFormer Columbus Blue Jackets blue liner David Jiricek is in a situation he is all too familiar with. He has been a healthy scratch for the last nine games for his new team, the Minnesota Wild. What Happened After Cam Atkinson Was Waived By The Tampa Bay Lightning?A few days before the NHL's trade deadline, the Tampa Bay Lightning put former Jackets great Cam Atkinson on waivers. Of course, this sent Columbus fans into a frenzy, begging GM Don Waddell to "bring him home."  Sean Monahan Back Soon? Sean Monahan, who was injured back on January 7th against the Pittsburgh Penguins, practiced with the main group today at Nationwide Arena. Does this indicate his return is close?

Matt Rempe is out against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night due to an apparent illness. 

Rempe was on the ice before the New York Rangers’ morning skate on Thursday, which hinted something was up. 

Brennan Othmann will take Rempe’s spot in the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch for the past two games.

Meanwhile, Carson Soucy is set to replace Urho Vaakanainen in the lineup with Peter Laviolette looking to make a defensive shake up. 

Soucy was acquired by the Rangers from the Vancouver Canucks one day before the NHL Trade Deadline, but he’s been scratched for three consecutive games.

Two weeks ago, on March 6th, Ottawa Senators winger Fabian Zetterlund was a member of the San Jose Sharks, preparing for a game against the Colorado Avalanche. That night, Zetterlund played almost 19 minutes, took seven shots on goal, and scored his 17th goal of the season.

On Thursday night, Zetterlund is preparing for another game against the Avalanche, only now he's preparing as a fourth-line player. So far, the 25-year-old is averaging 9:43 of ice time with zero goals, zero points, and four shots on goal in his first five games with the Senators.

The deadline-day deal for Zetterlund and a fourth-round pick seemed at the time like an absolute steal. He was San Jose's leading goal scorer last year with 24 goals and only cost the Senators Zack Ostapchuk, Noah Gregor, and a second-round draft pick. That felt inexpensive, especially when viewed through the lens of a scoring upgrade for the top nine, maybe even the top six.

But Senators head coach Travis Green hasn’t yet viewed it that way. Green has had Zetterlund on the fourth line for each of his first five games in Ottawa.

His usage initially raised eyebrows in some circles, but since the Senators were in the middle of a winning streak, the assumption was that Zetterlund would eventually get his chance when the team cooled off. The Senators did cool off in Montreal on Tuesday night, losing 6-3 to the Canadiens and ending their six-game winning streak.

But at practice on Thursday morning, there was Zetterlund again, skating on the fourth line.

Green’s intent isn’t to bury Zetterlund, nor is it a reflection of his play. And he’s trying to keep the lines of communication open with the player.

“You know, I've had good conversations with him,” Green told the media after Thursday’s game-day skate. “Probably three times, I've just talked to him. The coaches have done a good job showing video. He's learning a lot on the fly, system-wise, different players. He's a younger player who hasn't played a whole lot in the league. And also, being patient—it’s not always easy.

“I think if we, as coaches, can have open dialogue with a player, it’d be different if we were saying, ‘Hey, we don’t like your play. You know, this is where you're slotted,’ but that's not the case.”

That said, despite an uninspiring effort in Montreal on Tuesday, Green doesn’t want to start tinkering with his lineup yet.

“Our team's been playing well, and (Zetterlund) is going to have to wait for more ice time. I'd like to get him some more ice time here and there. But that's the reality. We're also here to win every night. And it’s a fine line, making those decisions on who goes on the ice and who doesn't.”

Interestingly, Green’s strategy wasn't also applied to fellow newcomer Dylan Cozens, who arrived in Ottawa with fewer goals and points than Zetterlund. Cozens got here ice cold, with one point in his previous five games, all losses with the Sabres. His coach, Lindy Ruff, said the kid "just couldn't find his game."

What he found here was the second-line centre role and a boatload of power play time. As a result, Cozens has five points in six games as a Senator and now stands tied with Zetterlund at 36 points.

In a parallel universe, Green could have made Cozens his fourth-liner for his first five games to ease him in and not mess with a winning formula, just as he has with Zetterlund. When Cozens arrived, the Sens had just pulled five out of a possible six points out of their previous three games. Centre Shane Pinto had three goals in those three games and could have easily moved up until further notice.

We know now that it's good that Green didn't choose that route. So why is he choosing it with Zetterlund? Zetterlund isn’t here to be a fourth-liner, nor is he particularly well-suited for the role.

And while having plug-and-play scoring depth in the event of a slump or injury is a nice notion in theory, the Sens are playing with fire in assuming Zetterlund will be unfazed by any of this. They're trusting that he can flick the switch on command when they finally move him up and give him a chance.

That's a lot easier said than done, but hopefully, for the Sens' sake, he can.

Because the longer the player goes without providing secondary scoring, the more people will start to wonder why they bothered to make this trade.

By Steve Warne
Site Editor at The Hockey News Ottawa

Stay updated with the most interesting Ottawa Senators stories, analysis, breaking news and more at The Hockey News Ottawa. Tap the star here at Google News to add us to your favourites and never miss a thing.