Coming into 2024-25, the Chicago Blackhawks were expected to use a goalie tandem of Petr Mrazek and Laurent Brossoit. Well, Brossoit was hurt before the season even began and never returned to action. 

That opened the door for Arvid Soderblom to take the gig, and he did. It was an impressive year for him, as there were times he was the number one over Mrazek. 

The Hawks made a big-time move ahead of the trade deadline, however, that changed the present and future of the organization's plans in the net. 

In sending Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers, Spencer Knight came the other way. He is seen as the goalie of the future in Chicago. What that means for Soderblom and the other goalies in the system remains to be seen.

There is a long-term backup to Knight needs to be solidified. Chicago has options for that spot. 

One goalie who should have an NHL future is Drew Commesso, whether it's with Chicago or elsewhere. Commesso is currently playing for the AHL's Rockford IceHogs. 

Commesso was a second-round pick (46th overall) by the Blackhawks in the 2020 NHL Draft. He has since had success with Boston University, Team USA at different levels, and now with the Hogs down in Rockford. 

He made his NHL debut in 2024-25 but didn't get more than one start and two appearances. In 39 games with Rockford in 2024-25, Commesso had a 2.54 goals against average and a .911 save percentage. 

On Wednesday night, Rockford took a 1-0 series lead over the Chicago Wolves in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. It was a tight 2-1 win that came in overtime thanks to a sudden-death goal scored by Artyom Levshunov. 

Without Commesso's brilliance, Rockford would have never pulled off the win. He made some game-changing saves throughout, including on high-danger chances in the final minute of regulation. 

"Just a continuation of the way he's been the last month and a half, two months," interim head coach Mark Eaton said of Commesso after the big win. "He's been so solid, making the saves that you expect him to make, but then making the big ones when called upon."

In the second half of this AHL season, Commesso has seemed to turn a corner in his development, which has allowed the IceHogs to elevate their overall game in front of him. It was apparent in their first postseason victory of this potential run. 

"Drew's been huge." IceHogs captain Brett Seney said following the victory. "All year, he's been great. The second half, especially down the stretch, he's won us a lot of games. He made a couple of huge saves tonight that turned the tide for us. He lets our [defense & forwards ] play a little more free." 

When skaters know that they have a solid netminder back there, they can play to their strengths with a lot more confidence. That much was clear with Commesso in the net on Wednesday. 

Next up for the IceHogs is Game 2 of this series on Friday night. If Rockford wins, they will move on and play the Milwaukee Admirals in the second round. If the Wolves take this one, a decisive game three will take place on Sunday. 

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

It’s hard to win hockey games when you don’t score goals.

After exploding for five in Game 1, the Colorado Avalanche were limited to four goals total in Games 2 and 3.

Bookmark The Hockey News Colorado Avalanche team site so you never miss the latest news, game day coverage, and information on the Avalanche players.

This cannot continue.

For the Avalanche to advance past the Dallas Stars, things have to change. The players responsible for carrying the offensive load need to step up.

The big guns need to start firing.

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Valeri Nichushkin

Valeri Nichuskin scored the Avalanche’s only goal against the Stars in Game 2. That said, he has a lot more to give the team. 

He has only scored one goal on eight shots in three games. That shooting volume is fine, but fine shouldn’t be enough for Nichuskin, who is playing nearly 22 minutes a night.

Martin Necas

Martin Necas was a great addition to the Avalanche for the regular season. Now that it’s the playoffs, it’s time for him to prove if he is a big-game player or not.

In three games, he has one assist, and four shots in 22:43 of ice time per game. For someone who plays with Nathan MacKinnon as much as he does, Necas has to dig deep down and find more offense to give.

Brock Nelson 

Things aren’t rosy for Brock Nelson in the playoffs right now. He hasn’t had great success with faceoffs (44.2 percent) and isn’t producing offensively (zero points) despite playing in the Avalanche’s top-six forward group.

It’s probably no accident that both Nichushkin and Nelson are struggling (considering they are linemates). It may be up to Jared Bednar to mix up the top-six so that the players who aren’t having success on the scoresheet can get the boost that they need to begin producing.

Things aren’t dire yet, however, if the Avalanche can’t turn things around on home ice on Saturday, the players may be practicing their golf swings earlier than expected.

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The NHL is reportedly investigating an incident between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs that occurred before Game 3.

According to TSN's Darren Dreger, there were "allegations of pregame shenanigans" in warmups, and it's still undecided whether the NHL will discipline players for the incident.

Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch followed up on Dreger's tweet, confirming that Senators players were lobbing pucks into the Maple Leafs' end during warmups. "Found it odd and didn't think anything of it at the time," Garrioch added.

Dreger then said his source indicated that this was the incident in question, and that Senators players were shooting pucks at Stolarz during warmups. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman also reported that the NHL is reviewing an incident in which Nick Cousins fires a puck at Stolarz in warmup.

Here’s what NHL is looking at from last night. “Friend of Bieksa” Nick Cousins shoots puck at Stolarz. NHL not crazy about pre-game stuff…also clamped down on funny Scheifele/Hofer standoff in Blues/Jets series pic.twitter.com/ZF08AZwdO4

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 25, 2025

It's worth noting that Cousins and Stolarz were a part of the Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup-winning team last season.

The Senators lost to the Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime on Friday and now enter a pivotal point in the series: trying to stave off a Toronto sweep. The last time the Maple Leafs swept a team in the playoffs was in 2001, against Ottawa.

Stolarz has been the better goalie of the series, winning all three games and sporting a .926 save percentage in that span. The 31-year-old hasn't lost a game since Mar. 15 against Ottawa, 12 games ago.

The Senators have been trying to get under Stolarz's skin throughout this series. It began with Ridly Greig sliding into the goaltender in Game 1 before the two got penalties in Game 2 after Stolarz chopped and got physical with Greig.

Anthony Stolarz lets Ridly Greig know he doesn’t like him hanging around the crease 😳 pic.twitter.com/MCUAQSzB4C

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 23, 2025

"It was just caught up in the heat of the battle. Just one of those things that, it didn’t matter. I didn’t even know who it was," Stolarz said after Game 2. "It’s just one of those, you’re in the heat of the moment, and it is what it is."

In the second period of Game 3, Stolarz and Shane Pinto got into it after Pinto nudged the puck away from the goaltender's stick after a whistle. The ref pulled Pinto away with Stolarz smiling on.

lol Stolarz pic.twitter.com/e7yWfrB12G

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) April 25, 2025

"Yeah, I mean, I just stay out of it. I kind of talked to the refs a little bit tonight and just said, 'Watch my back and I’ll behave.'" Stolarz said after Game 3 on Thursday. "Like I said, they’re going to try to come to the net. They got some big guys. It’s just up to me to just fight through traffic, find that puck and smother it."

After contributing to Toronto's Game 2 overtime-winner, Simon Benoit scored in overtime Thursday to send the Maple Leafs out of the Canadian Tire Centre with a 3-0 series lead.

'I Don't Score A Lot Of Goals': Leafs Take 3-0 Series Lead As Simon Benoit's Heroics Put Senators on the RopesKANATA, Ont. — After scoring the Toronto Maple Leafs' game-winning overtime goal against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, Simon Benoit took the news conference podium and was asked if it was the biggest goal of his life?

Ottawa now has its back against the wall. And the Maple Leafs have their toughest task yet: ending the Senators' season.

"It’s the hardest thing in the NHL to end a team’s season. When it comes to overtime like that, critical moments, it just takes a bounce," Matthew Knies said.

"You knew it was going to be a rebound or a chaos in front of the net kind of goal. I think that’s what we got. We just figured it out and played simple and played hard and we came out with the win."

---

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EDMONTON – Positivity can work wonders.

They may be down 0-2, but not all hope is lost.

The Edmonton Oilers will face the Los Angeles Kings for Game 3 of their opening series at Rogers Place on Friday night. It will be an intense game on many levels.

Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss the latest news, game-day coverage, and more. 

The physicality and hostility between the two teams only grow by the minute. With the addition of Evander Kane before Game 2, that is bound only to increase the animosity.

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As far as positivity goes, the Oilers aren’t up you-know-what-creek without a paddle…yet. They need to turn things around Friday night, otherwise things might get ugly.

Leading the charge offensively has been Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. With tonight’s game, Draisaitl has the opportunity to do something very special.

He currently has a 16-game point streak against the Kings in the playoffs. On Friday night, he could end up having the third-longest playoff point streak against one franchise in NHL history.

Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and Leon Draisaitl

Two former Oilers have the longest point streak in the playoffs against a single team. Wayne Gretzky scored in 19 consecutive games against the Calgary Flames and Mark Messier scored in 19 straight games against the Kings.

'Pure Genius': Oilers Legend Messier On What Made Gretzky GreatEDMONTON – “I don’t think anybody’s ever played the game the way Wayne has.”

Right now, Draisaitl is tied with Gretzky and his 16-game point streak against the Philadelphia Flyers.

However, the Oilers are at the point where the wins matter more than the personal points. Draisaitl is doing what he can to drag his team into the fight. 

Unfortunately, he can’t do it all by himself.

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The list of former Ducks making an impact in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs continues to grow.

Cam Fowler had five points and Simon Benoit scored the overtime winner as both players aided their teams in Game 3 of their respective series.

Since being traded to the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 14, Fowler has 36 points in 51 games. His nine goals put him just shy of his career-high (11) set in 2016-17. It’s fair to say he would have set new career-highs in scoring if he had spent the entire season with the Blues.

Playing in the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons, Fowler is averaging over two points per game through three games and set a new Blues record for points in a postseason game with his five-point performance in Game 3.

Per NHL PR, Fowler became the ninth defenseman in NHL history to post at least seven points through their first three games of the postseason. He also became the eighth different defenseman to post five points in a single playoff game.

Fowler has looked like a completely different player since leaving Anaheim. Playing in a system which suits his strengths alongside a steady presence in Colton Parayko has allowed him to flourish. There’s no question that his impact played a key part in the Blues’ journey to a playoff berth this season.

It’s been two seasons since Benoit was a Duck, becoming an unrestricted free agent after not being tendered a qualifying offer. 

After signing a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs in Aug. 2023, Benoit’s physical nature and no-nonsense style of play endeared him to the Leafs and their fans.

Benoit was rewarded with a three-year contract extension in Mar. 2024 and has entrenched himself on the Leafs’ third defensive pair.

Not known very much for his offensive ability, Benoit was the Game 3 hero, scoring just 1:19 into overtime and giving the Leafs a 3-0 series lead over the Ottawa Senators. He also provided the primary assist on Max Domi’s overtime winner in Game 2.

Benoit’s journey to the NHL is one of perseverance after he went undrafted and signed a one-year with the San Diego Gulls in the AHL in 2018 after attending Ducks development camp the previous summer. He earned an entry-level contract (ELC) with the Ducks in Mar. 2019 and played in 137 games over parts of three seasons.

His time with the Ducks was during some of the franchise’s worst seasons and it’s clear that a system change and playing for a much better team has benefited the 26-year-old Québécois greatly. 

With Anthony Stolarz and Frederik Andersen holding things down for their teams in net, there’s now almost enough player to make a pair of 3-on-3 teams up of former Ducks making an impact in this season’s playoffs.

ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild walked away with a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. 

But so far, the Wild have stung together three very good games. Game 1 the Wild played great but lost after a great night fron Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill.

In Game 2 the Wild poured it on Hill and in Game 3 on Thursday night, the Wild chased Hill out of the crease after two periods.

Kirill Kaprizov got the Wild on the board first after he circled around the net on the power play before firing home a shot from the point. It was Zeev Buium's first NHL point and it came on the power play. 

Marco Rossi scored three minutes later to give the Wild a 2-0 lead. Rossi went to the slot after Justin Brazeau and Yakov Trenin got in on the forecheck and did some dirty work. 

"It was a good forecheck," Rossi said on the goal. "Our coach was saying for the game, how we have to forecheck to go with it. It was a great pass by Braz to Trenny and Trenny made a really good pass for me. My shot got deflected from the D."

One of the stories coming in the playoffs was how the Wild decided to put Rossi on the fourth line. The 23-year-old center played in all 82 games for the second straight year and was one of their most important players. 

Rossi doesn't seem to let the decision affect him. 

"Sure. You know, it's the playoffs. I couldn't care less about anything. We wanna win as a team, and it doesn't matter where the coach puts me, you wanna be the best out there and try to help a team to win."

Alex Pietrangelo got Vegas on the board not long after but Matt Boldy was able to hustle out an icing in the second period and make one heck of a play on Noah Hanifin to force a turnover. 

"Those guys bring it every night, whether the puck is going in or not. Their work ethic on the ice is - they’re the hardest workers and the most skilled players," Brock Faber said on Kaprizov and Boldy. "When you got two guys who have both of those traits, they’re hard to stop and we’re hard to beat. Definitely fun to watch those two."

Boldy is in BEAST MODE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/5mUHnT7jNl

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 25, 2025

Kaprizov and the Wild made it a 4-1 game with two seconds left in the second period after Ryan Hartman fired a shot on the net that hit Kaprizov and went in. 

Hartman got the puck on the boards before he looked up at the clock and fired a shot on the net. 

"Yeah, I mean, the fans were yelling ‘shoot’ as usual, and you could never really trust how much time is left because it seems they're yelling with 20 seconds left in the period," Hartman said. "Thought I'd give a check, because obviously I didn't want to shoot it after the whistle and I wasn't sure how much time was left. Just trying to throw it. Kirill made a good play there, standing off that far post."

BUZZER BEATER FOR THE WILD, KAPRIZOV RIGHT BEFORE ZEROS ON THE CLOCK ⏰ pic.twitter.com/KoKtks6ZrK

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 25, 2025

Reilly Smith was able to score on a shorthanded 2-on-1 with William Karlsson to make it a 4-2 game. 

It got interesting after that because the Wild took two huge penalties to put Vegas on the power play in a two-goal game. 

The Wild were able to kill it off. 

"Well, number one, your goalie is your best penalty killer," Wild head coach John Hynes said. "And they did, our penalty kill, did a great job. They had some looks, and he came up with some big saves. I think the attention to detail is really strong. I think the guys that are out there are doing a good job. They're working as a four-man unit. And when you get good goaltending on the penalty kill, number one and number two, you have strong discipline and details of what you need to do and guys are on their assignments, that usually helps."

Filip Gustavsson finished with nine saves on the penalty kill and kept the Wild in the game without allowing Vegas to get back in. 

"Oh, he played great," Kaprizov said on Gustavsson. "He played all season, great. But, especially tonight at the end. So many huge saves."

With the win, the Wild are now out in front with a 2-1 series lead. Which is a norm as of late for Minnesota. 

In 2022 the Wild had a 2-1 series lead over the St. Louis Blues and in 2023, the Wild had a 2-1 series lead over the Dallas Stars. 

They lost both of those in six games. 

The hope is the Wild can put that behind them. Game 4 is Saturday at 3:00. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins just wrapped up their 57th season, missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season. Despite their recent lack of success, the franchise has appeared in the playoffs 37 times and won five championships.

Our newest series will take a look back at how the Penguins performed on specific days leading up to the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.

Today, April 25, Pittsburgh has compiled a 7-3 record in ten games on this date.

• 1989 - Game 5 Win vs. Philadelphia Flyers (10-7)
• 1991 - Game 5 Win vs. Washington Capitals (4-1)
• 1992 - Game 4 Loss vs. Washington Capitals (7-2)
• 1993 - Game 4 Loss vs. New Jersey Devils (4-1)
• 1994 - Game 5 Win vs. Washington Capitals (3-2)
• 1998 - Game 2 Win vs. Montreal Canadiens (4-1)
• 1999 - Game 3 Win vs. New Jersey Devils (4-2)
• 2008 - Game 1 Win vs. New York Rangers (5-4)
• 2009 - Game 6 Win vs. Philadelphia Flyers (5-3)
• 2011 - Game 6 Loss vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (4-2)

Notable Penguins Performances On This Day

April 25, 1989 - Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux establishes a franchise record with eight points, thanks to five goals and three assists, in a wild 10-7 win over the Flyers. Additionally, Paul Coffey had four assists with 11 Pittsburgh skaters collecting a point.

 

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Rod Buskas led the team with 17 penalty minutes, while Philadelphia netminders Ron Hextall (10) and Ken Wregget (14) combined for 24 of their team's 84 penalty minutes. 

April 25, 1993 - Jaromir Jagr establishes a career-high for penalty minutes in a playoff game, registering 15 minutes in a 4-1 loss to the Devils. 

April 25, 1998 - Stu Barnes, a 30-goal scorer with the Penguins, scores two goals in a Penguins 4-1 win over the Canadiens, his only two-goal playoff performance during his tenure with Pittsburgh. Overall, he finished his career with four playoff two-goal games. 

April 25, 1999 - Martin Straka records his only career playoff hat trick in a 4-2 win over the Devils. Interestingly, five of his seven hat tricks occurred while he was skating in Pittsburgh. 

Penguins' Crosby Continues To Pace NHL In Top 10 Scoring Finishes During Salary Cap EraPittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby just finished his ninth 90-point campaign in the NHL, finishing as the league's 10th highest scorer, the 13th time he's accomplished that feat in 20 seasons. 

Meanwhile, Scott Niedermeyer had 12 penalty minutes in this game, the only time in his Hall of Fame career he'd get called for more than six minutes in 202 playoff games. 

April 25, 2009 - Sidney Crosby tallies two goals in a 5-3 win over the Flyers, marking only the third occasion (at the time) that the captain would have a multi-goal playoff game. As of 2025, Crosby has three playoff hat tricks and seven two-goal games.