With the number of games remaining in the 2024-25 season down to single digits, the Anaheim Ducks took to the road for a two-game trip to Western Canada, starting on Thursday with a matchup against the Calgary Flames.

The Ducks were coming off of a shootout win on Tuesday in which they fended off a comeback from the San Jose Sharks and entered Thursday having won three of their previous four games.

The Flames came into this game hoping to remain relevant in the Western Conference wild card standings and creep within five points of the Minnesota Wild with a game in hand. They had only logged one win in their prior four games.

Brett Leason was inserted into the lineup in place of Nikita Neserenko on the fourth line. Pavel Mintyukov was given the night off as a healthy scratch in favor of Oliver Kylington, who slotted in on the left side of Drew Helleson.

John Gibson received the start in net for the Ducks in this game. He saved 23 of the 26 shots he faced before he was forced to exit the game after the second period. He has started six games since the NHL 4 Nations break and has only been able to finish half of them.

Gibson was relieved by Lukas Dostal, who saved seven of eight shots in the third period.

In net for Calgary was rookie sensation Dustin Wolf, who stopped 26 of the 27 shots Anaheim was able to get through to him.

Here are my notes from this game:

Breakout-Anaheim didn’t have much trouble connecting on first outlets out of the defensive zone, but they did have trouble manufacturing any sort of impactful offense from those passes. Calgary did well to always have an aggressive pinching defenseman down the board and a high or backtracking F3 to cover and thwart any rush threat.

The Flames were able to pounce on second passes out of the zone and quickly turn them up ice for counterattacks, keeping Anaheim’s defense on their heels.

Trevor Zegras-This was a rare undetailed effort from Zegras, especially low in the defensive zone. Because of the constant motion of the Flames’ attackers, he was often tasked with assuming traditional center responsibilities as the low forward in the defensive zone, but often lost his assignment, was late to react, and became too puck-focused away from it.

Olen Zellweger-Zellweger may have been the Ducks' best player in this game. He was playing free and active in all three zones, looking to jump into rushes and search for passing lanes. He trusted his elite skating to recover and protected the middle of the ice well.

Radko Gudas-Gudas’ lack of lateral mobility was apparent when defending Calgary’s speed on counterattacks. An adjustment to angling techniques will be necessary if he’s to limit the number of times forwards are going to drive or make moves to the outside.

He does well when making simple plays with the puck on his stick, but judgment and overcommitments without the puck often take him out of plays.

The Ducks will next travel to British Columbia to take on the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday for a 1 pm PST matinee.

"PLAYOFFS OR BUST" remains a live Rangers theme and that's a fact.

But the final make-it-or fail  result will hinge on the remaining games scheduled for the Rangers and its competitors.

Realistically, the schedule works against New York. That starts with the fact that the Montreal Canadiens won over Boston last night.

The victory leapfrogged the Habs over New York for the final Wild Card position. So, let's check out the homestretch schedule for the WC contenders from here to the Finish Line.

RANGERS: The Blueshirts are in Newark tomorrow afternoon. After that they have six more games: Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Islanders, Hurricanes, Panthers and Tampa again.

CANADIENS: Leading for the remaining Wild Card spot, Montreal next faces Nashville, Detroit, Ottawa, Toronto, Chicago and Carolina.

COLUMBUS: Having lost to Colorado, the Blue Jackets still have games in hand on their rivals. Next up for the BJ's are Toronto, Ottawa (home and home), Buffalo, Washington (home and home) followed by Philadelphia and concluding with the Islanders.

DETROIT: Carolina, Panthers, Habs, Panthers, Dallas, New Jersey and Toronto.

FORECAST: The Maven's Supreme Analyst, Jess Rubenstein, puts Montreal in the Catbird Seat and insists that the Canadiens will get the final plum.

"The Habs have the easiest schedule as they play just three playoff contenders," says Rubenstein. "Starting tomorrow in New Jersey, the Rangers will face a total of five playoff contenders.

"Columbus will have to play six of the better teams while Detroit has the worst schedule – all seven remaining games are against contenders."

With a two-game winning streak on the line tomorrow against New Jersey, the Rangers are now in "Mustwinland" – and had better have their Victory visas ready!

Otherwise it will be a question of better luck next time! And "next time" – or next year – may never be!

The Buffalo Sabres have announced that they have recalled forward Noah Ostlund from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans. 

Seeing Ostlund get called up to the Sabres is entirely understandable, as he has been red-hot with Rochester. The 2022 first-round pick currently has an eight-game point streak with the club, posting eight goals and five assists over that span. Furthermore, he has scored at least one goal in each of his last six AHL games.

Due to his excellent play, Ostlund was named AHL Rookie of the Month for March. In addition, he was named the AHL's Player of the Week from March 21 to March 30.

After recording just one point in his first 12 games with Rochester this season, Ostlund now has 18 goals, 17 assists, and 35 points in his last 32 games. He has been only getting better as he continues to adjust to the AHL level, and he is now getting this big opportunity with the Sabres because of it. 

It will now be intriguing to see how much of an impact Ostlund makes with the Sabres during his call-up from here. When noting that he is one of the Sabres' top prospects, he is a player fans should watch very closely. 

Recent Sabres News 

Young Sabres Forward Is Heating Up Big Time

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

Chris Chelios didn’t even know he still held the scoring record for a rookie defenseman with the Montreal Canadiens until someone brought it up to him this season as Lane Hutson kept piling up the points.

Three Takeaways From Montreal's Dominant Win Over Boston
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In an interview with Jeremy Filosa on 98.5, the former blueliner said he was impressed by the youngster, especially since today’s game is not made for defensemen, given all the rule changes that aim to increase scoring. However, he added the game's skills orientation has favoured smaller players.

Reminiscing about his rookie season, Chelios explained that he knew he was chasing Larry Murphy’s record of 76 points back then, but he started thinking about it too much and just stopped getting points. So far, that doesn’t seem to be an issue for Hutson, who’s been racking up the points at an increased rate of late, aside from being held off the scoresheet on Thursday night.

Chelios spoke about Hutson’s elite skating and called him very skilled and fun to watch. He seems genuinely happy for the youngster and for the Canadiens being in the wild card spot. The NHL coverage isn’t great in Chicago, so he cannot watch the Habs that much, but he’s keeping an eye on the Habs and their push for the playoffs.

Speaking about Team USA, Chelios explained he’s glad the Americans now have depth and options for the upcoming Olympics. He added that there will be more Olympics roster spots than the Four Nations Face-Off.

Lane Hutson yesterday when asked about breaking Chris Chelios’ Habs assist record for a rookie defenseman:

“I guess it’s cool but we’re in a pretty good playoff race, so first & foremost that’s what it’s all about. I feel like there’s so much more to do.” pic.twitter.com/6wckEINQkL

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) April 2, 2025

These days, the former defenseman works as an ambassador for the Chicago Blackhawks alongside Denis Savard, the player he was traded to Chicago for back in 1990. The pair attend most Blackhawks games these days, and he enjoys being with the team even though he doesn’t have a hockey operations role.

At the end of the interview, he added that if the Canadiens want to fly him around like the league does with Wayne Gretzky as the watch for Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin breaking his goal-scoring record goes on, he would like to be there when Hutson beats his record.

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Three top Philadelphia Flyers prospects, and, potentially, their future teammates, have been recognized by OHL coaches as some of the top players in different categories in this year’s annual OHL Coaches Poll.

Denver Barkey, Jett Luchanko, and Oliver Bonk all placed highly in at least one category, though Barkey, the captain of the London Knights, was the most prominently featured Flyers prospect in the poll.

Barkey, 19, earned 11 points for the Western Conference’s Smartest Player category, trailing potential 2025 No. 1 overall pick Michael Misa (32) and breakout star Ilya Protas (30).

The Flyers’ 2023 third-round pick again placed behind Misa (23) and Protas (36), picking up 21 points in polling for the Western Conference’s Best Playmaker.

As for the Best Stickhandler, Protas came out on top with 27 points, but Barkey was narrowly behind him with 19 points, which also put him level with top Calgary prospect Zayne Parekh.

Luchanko, who recently recorded his first professional point, only appeared as a finalist in one category, though it is the one you’d most expect from the Flyers’ 2024 first-round pick.

Defenseman Matthew Schaefer, contending with Misa and others for the right to be the top pick this summer, was named the Best Skater in the Western Conference with 34 points, though Luchanko was a very close second with his 30 points.

Bonk, Barkey’s teammate, fellow Flyers prospect, and draft classmate, was a finalist in two categories, but was not particularly close to winning either.

The 20-year-old defenseman placed third for the Best Shot Blocker in the Western Conference (13 points), but notably finished second for Best Defensive Defenseman (14 points) ahead of Schaefer (13 points). Ottawa’s Matthew Andonovski ran away with top honors with his 33 points.

Takeaways from the OHL Coaches Poll

As noted above, Barkey is the clear standout here, though the Flyers are assuredly happy to see any prospects recognized this way.

Due to an offseason bout with mono, Barkey was unable to participate in the Flyers’ development camp and training camp, and upon returning to the Knights, got off to a slow start offensively.

The 19-year-old exploded for 35 goals and 102 points for the Knights last season, and while his 25 goals and 82 points this season pale in comparison, he also played 14 fewer regular season games.

At the end of the day, 10 goals and 20 points in 14 games are nothing for a talented prospect like Barkey playing in the OHL in his D+2 season. Accounting for the slow start, Barkey would have easily shattered his career-highs in those categories.

Barkey and the Knights just made quick work of the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL playoffs, sweeping their opponents in four games and winning by no fewer than three goals in all four.

Quietly, Barkey has 16 points in his last five games and 24 points in his last 10. The Knights’ season might not end in time for Barkey to make his pro debut for the Flyers organization, but it’s now a matter of when, not if.

What the diminutive 5-foot-9 forward lacks in size, he makes up for in skill and a never-say-die attitude on the ice.

Some Flyers fans are concerned with the lack of offensive production from Bonk, who scored 13 fewer goals and 27 fewer points than last season despite only playing in eight fewer games.

The reality is that Bonk was never going to be a major point-producer at the NHL level, as nice as it would be. A lot of his production came from filling a niche role on the Knights’ power play (see: Bumper Bonk), and we know the Flyers’ power play is not exactly one that is prolific.

Placing highly in two defensive categories bodes well for Bonk’s future as an NHL player.

Luchanko had a strange season. The 18-year-old played four NHL games for the Flyers between Oct. 11 and Oct. 19, then returned to the Guelph Storm.

The issue is that Guelph was not a good team all season and traded away much of their talent aside from Luchanko.

The first-year Storm captain finished his third OHL season with 21 goals (career-high), 35 assists, and 56 points in 46 games.

Now that he’s made his debut for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Luchanko has played in the NHL, AHL, OHL, and World Junior Championships this season.

From personal experience talking to him and meeting him, Luchanko works hard, takes things easy, and never complains. But he’s had quite the busy season overall.

Coaches Poll notwithstanding, it would not at all be a surprise to see Luchanko rocking the Orange and Black again next season, just for more than a four-game trial.

All three of these Flyers prospects were drafted to be meaningful pieces for the future, and they all appear to be well on their way to becoming that.

When the Boston Bruins turned up at the Bell Centre to face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, only seven of their dressed players were with the team at the end of the last season. No more Brad Marchand, no Charlie McAvoy (due to injury), and no more Linus Ullmark who was traded to Ottawa last offseason. It’s been a tough season in Boston, but before this final tilt, the Bs had managed to win their first two games against the Canadiens this year.

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Rough Stuff

The actors of past memorable battles may not be there, but as long as those two teams face each other, there will be extracurricular activities after the whistle, as sure as the sky is blue. In the first frame, 23 hits were thrown, 13 by Boston and 10 by Montreal.

Juraj Slafkovsky had some words with David Pastrnak, and it looked like the Czech was asking him to dance, but nothing came of it. Still, shortly after that, the former first-overall pick had to handle a punishing hit from Nikita Zadorov. As the Canadiens led 2-0 in the middle frame, the youngster was enjoying poking fun at several Bruins, the Slovak isn’t scared to poke the sleeping bear apparently.

As for Josh Anderson, he was his usual wrecking ball self, throwing three hits, second only to Emil Heineman, who had four in the first frame. He was tied with Zadorov for the most hits across both teams. Anderson and Heineman finished the game with five hits each while Michael Pezzetta, who played 7:47 recorded seven hits.

By the end of the game, the Canadiens had 33 hits and the Bruins 29, which was the only aspect in which the Bruins weren’t manhandled.

A Dominant Second

In the first frame, the Canadiens didn’t look like they were playing a team that had lost its last six games in regulation and nine in a row; they looked like they were playing down to the competition. They looked nervous, and couldn't execute properly in the offensive zone. Someone must have said something during the break because the Habs dominated the middle frame.

Boston struggled to get out of its own end and could only muster three shots on net in that frame—full marks to Samuel Montembeault for not falling asleep out there.

The Tricolore had complete control of the puck in Boston’s territory and took 18 shots on goal. Had it not been for Swayman, it could have been 5-0 for the Canadiens after 40 minutes. We’ve seen this team dominate in the past but struggle to separate itself from the opponent, but on Thursday night, the goals were there.

The Veteran Line

While some may not have noticed, the third line formed by Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak, and Andeson has a goal in nine of the last 10 games, including five goals for the pivot. Asked for his thoughts about that line, Martin St-Louis said:

I think those are three vets who understand how we want to play, the moments of the game, and the momentum; they’re all on the same page. They are dedicated; they shoot, shoot, and shoot again. It’s a line that’s a good example of how direct they are in their play. They don’t take too many risks in the neutral zone and are efficient on the forecheck.

-

Gallagher was named the game's first star thanks to a goal and an assist, and he received a big ovation. There’s no doubt these fans are right there with the Canadiens’ biggest warrior as he navigates through the pain of losing his mother.

être travaillant, ça rapporte 👷

great forecheck, great shot, great goal#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/XuD6qCVOb2

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 4, 2025

The Canadiens won the game 4-1 in the end and remain in the second wild card spot with seven games to go. It was a big night for Nick Suzuki, who reached the 80-point mark, the first Canadiens player to do so since Alex Kovalev. As for Cole Caufield, he recorded his 35th goal of the season. While the 40-goal mark is in sight, it may be out of reach for this season, but it feels like he will get there sooner rather than later.

You can see the excitement in the coach's eye in his post-game pressers, St-Louis the player was a competitor and the coach wants to be as well:

Learning's over at this stage, we have to execute and that's what we did tonight. 

-

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The Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday - which gave the Blues their whopping 11th straight win - obviously wasn't the desired result.

But there were a lot of good things happening in this effort - particularly from the two youngest players on the team.

Penguins top prospect Rutger McGroarty scored his first NHL goal with 23.8 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime and earn Pittsburgh a point. Fellow rookie Ville Koivunen earned the primary assist on the play, which was his first point in the NHL. 

“It was pretty cool, especially at that point in the game versus a team like that and how hot they are,” McGroarty said. “It was pretty cool for Ville and I to do that on the same goal. We might have to split the puck in half, I'm not sure.”

Koivunen saw the opportunity there for McGroarty, and he wasted no time distributing the puck to him. 

"I just saw Rutger open, and Rutger was doing his magic there," Koivunen said. "So, just give him the puck."

FIRST NHL GOAL FOR RUTGER 🙌
FIRST NHL POINT FOR VILLE 🙌 pic.twitter.com/q02wOvXjjD

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 4, 2025

Both rookies have clearly earned the trust of the coaching staff, as head coach Mike Sullivan decided to deploy both of them in the six-on-five situation at the end of the game. They shared the ice with Rust, Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, and Erik Karlsson - and they did not disappoint. 

Sullivan said they were "terrific," and he made a point to shout out a play that McGroarty made prior to the goal that helped prevent a Blues empty-net goal.

“Rutger chased the puck down prior to that, where, if we gave them the separation, they might have hit an empty net," Sullivan said. "They don't, because he puts pressure on it. I thought they were terrific in that circumstance."

'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.

He also added that the two young forwards earned the opportunity through performance to get those critical minutes.

"If we didn't think they were deserving, we wouldn't put them out there," Sullivan said. "We think they're making a difference. They're earning their opportunities."

Early in the game, McGroarty also earned his first NHL point, setting up linemate Bryan Rust for one of his signature power-move goals. The Penguins took the 1-0 lead into the second period, which was a bit of a back-and-forth affair that saw Pittsburgh unravel a bit defensively.

Jake Neighbours scored just 39 seconds into the middle frame for St. Louis, but Penguins forward Connor Dewar - who has scored all four of his goals this season with the Penguins since being traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs on deadline day - gave the Penguins back the lead a few minutes later.

However, Pittsburgh gave up several odd-man rushes before the midway point of the period, and Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou - on a breakaway - scored a minute and 17 seconds apart to give the Blues a 3-2 lead. Neighbours added his second of the game a little less than six minutes into the third period to put St. Louis up, 4-2, but the Penguins responded for the remainder of regulation.

Blues defenseman Justin Faulk went to the box for holding midway through the period, and Rickard Rakell - positioned in the slot - finished a feed from Sidney Crosby for his 33rd goal of the season, putting him just one goal shy of his career-high set in 2017-18. The assist also extended Crosby's point streak to 11 games, which is the longest active streak in the NHL and the longest by a player age 37 or older since Nikolas Lidstrom's with the Detroit Red Wings in 2010-11 (11 games).

Penguins Crosby Has Shot At Unofficial Gretzky RecordDuring Sunday's TSN broadcast between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators, announcer Gord Miller pointed out that Sidney Crosby, who ranks 10th all-time in assists, has set up a player's first NHL goal on 14 occasions. 

Then, the kids were given the opportunity to make something happen in the waning seconds of regulation, and they didn't waste it. Suffice to say, it was quite the night for two of the best prospects in the Penguins' system, and particularly for McGroarty.

And he appreciates the coaching staff's trust in him and Koivunen to put them out on the ice in the game's most critical moment.

"It means a lot," McGroarty said. "I feel like that's something... a minute and a half left, six-on-five, a pulled goalie, down by one... it means a lot. It's pretty cool."

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A lot changed for Utah HC in 44 seconds. 

What had been a 1-1 game, one that seemed like Utah’s to take control of at any moment, thanks in large part to its 25-9 advantage in shots on goal through two periods, suddenly had turned into a 3-1 deficit that the team could never recover from.

With a quick, unassisted goal from Kings forward Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles would not only take the lead back, but would never give it up for the rest of the game. 

GO KEVIN GO pic.twitter.com/5ZdfpW7DRx

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 4, 2025

With Utah defenseman John Marino attempting a dangerous cross-ice pass right after the faceoff, the puck went straight to Fiala’s stick, right in front of the net, leading to an immediate goal for the Kings.

The uncharacteristic mistake from Marino would prove to be fatal for Utah later in the game. 

After two penalties were called on Anze Kopitar for cross-checking Kevin Stenlund, and Stenlund was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for going down a little too easily after the cross-check, a 4-on-4 situation was set up for both teams.

We've got 4-on-4 hockey at 3:47 of the third period. Anze Kopitar is called for cross-checking and Kevin Stenlund called for embellishment.

— Belle Fraser (@bellefraser1) April 4, 2025

But with Fiala’s goal coming just 19 seconds into the 4-on-4, play resumed with both Stenlund and Kopitar still in the box.

Without the extra man on the ice, Utah made yet another costly mistake.

This time, Trevor Moore knocked Utah's Sean Durzi to the ice, then took off on a breakaway and buried another goal for L.A. during the 4-on-4.

GET! OUT! THE! WAY! pic.twitter.com/z5KnB1dq4I

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 4, 2025

“I think the first one was an unfortunate turnover," said coach André Tourigny. "Johnny (John Marino) doesn't do a lot of those... just happened at the wrong time. I think it was an unnecessary risk but that's happened. The other one, there's a few things on that. I think we didn't move our feet to get up ice... Veggie (Karel Vejmelka) could have, should have, gotten that puck."

The Kings would add one more with an empty-netter to go up 4–1, before conceding Utah’s only other goal—Jack McBain's first career power play goal—with under 30 seconds remaining and far too little time left to mount a comeback.

"We were in the driver's seat for the first two periods, and unfortunately, what happened on the four on four and they capitalized on two chances," said Utah's Lawson Crouse. "That's how quick the game can get away from you, and we were playing catch up from there." 

While the game ultimately ended in a convincing win for the Kings, it's hard not to look back at a few key moments in the first two periods that went Los Angeles' way. 

The first tough break for Utah came just two minutes in, when what looked like an early goal was called back.

Play was offside... no goal for Gunner. Boys are gonna work to get that one back. pic.twitter.com/YKMdEPEiPe

— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) April 4, 2025

Upon review, a pass from Utah’s Clayton Keller to Dylan Guenther, who was wearing a bubble after breaking his nose in Utah’s win over the Flames, never crossed back in front of the blue line and instead traveled along it.

As a result, Keller crossed the line before the puck, making the play offside. While it wasn’t initially called and it appeared as though Guenther had scored, a quick challenge by the Kings led to the play being overturned and play resumed shortly after.

Pics that go hard pt. 2 pic.twitter.com/cm6n15EDNx

— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) April 4, 2025

“I think [the team is learning] how every play matters...," said Guenther. "Every shift, no matter what happens, all you can do is go out there and try to win your shift so just take it a step at a time.”

While Utah never looked fazed, even after the unfortunate offside call, the team found itself on the wrong side of yet another goal

This time, the Kings scored their first goal of the night following a wild sequence in which L.A.'s Adrian Kempe collided with Vejmelka after being pushed by Utah’s Logan Cooley.

believe it or not, this is a goal highlight 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/0Rf0DGKskA

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 4, 2025

Because it was deemed that Kempe ran into Vejmelka because of Cooley,  no goalie interference penalty was called against Kempe.

All of the sudden, what could have been a 1–0 lead heading into the second period instead turned into a 1–0 deficit.

Those breaks for the Kings were a big reason why the game stayed close early on, even with Utah's offense humming and controlling much of the play.

While Lawson Crouse scored Utah’s first goal of the game in the second to tie things up and keep it competitive, being on the wrong end of a two-goal swing early proved costly once Utah began making mistakes in the third.

Though Utah's playoff hopes are still statistically possible, the team can't seem to catch a break with each win the Blues get, this time with its second consecutive overtime victory coming against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The win extended St. Louis' win streak to 11, tied for the longest in the NHL this season, and has singlehandedly snuffed Utah's hopes of making the playoffs. 

With only six games remaining and sitting nine points behind the Minnesota Wild, holders of the final Wild Card spot, Utah will need to win out the rest of its schedule if it has any hope of making the playoffs.

Minnesota has struggled recently, losing five of its last six games, but it would still take a remarkable collapse, like losing all six of its remaining games, for the Wild to fall out of playoff position.

So while tonight's loss has all but eliminated Utah from the race, the club will need to keep fighting while there's still a statistical chance, starting with its game against Winnipeg on Saturday, April 5.

Its Do or Die For Utah Hockey Club 

ST. LOUIS – The old adage that good teams find ways to win when they’re not at their best has found its way to the St. Louis Blues once again.

And in doing do on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the same team that was last in the NHL to put together a three-game winning streak has now matched a franchise record 11 straight wins.

The Blues were not at their best, but they found a way for a second straight overtime game when Robert Thomas’ power-play goal at 2:12 won it, 5-4, after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period at Enterprise Center.

Jake Neighbours scored twice to surpass the 20-goal mark for the second straight season, and Thomas and Jordan Kyrou each had a goal and an assist for the Blues (42-28-7), who moved two points ahead of the Minnesota Wild for the first wild card in the Western Conference. They matched the Stanley Cup-winning team of 2018-19 for consecutive wins (Jan. 23-Feb. 19) and won their 10th in a row at home.

“It’s been a fun ride,” Thomas said. “We’ve beaten some really good teams and we’re playing really good hockey. We just got to consistently be there every single night and that’s what makes a great team and that’s what we’re on our way to be.”

Added forward Oskar Sundqvist, who was part of the 2019 team, “It's awesome. I was here for the last 11 straight wins. It's a good feeling in our group right now. Even if we haven't played our best games our last two games, but we're finding ways to win. That's what's important right now.”

Jimmy Snuggerud had an assist for his first NHL point in his second game, and Joel Hofer won his fifth straight start with 24 saves.

“Another one of those games where we didn’t think we played to our standard, but finding ways, goalies are playing well, guys are making big plays in big moments and keep finding ways,” Neighbours said.

Here are Thursday’s Three Takeaways --

* The power play finally connected – Even with the Blues scoring four times at 5-on-5, it was a game in which they could have put it away with better special teams.

Earlier in the game, they had a 38-second two-man advantage lumped in with a four-minute double minor for high-sticking and did nothing with it.

The Blues led the game 3-2 and had the chance to put the game away then but their unwillingness to be more direct allowed the Penguins to stay in the game despite Neighbours scoring at 5:56 on a great play by Snuggerud both defensively, then starting the transition offensively to make it 4-2.

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Jake Neighbours with 14:04 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Jimmy Snuggerud and Oskar Sundqvist.

St. Louis: 4
Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsSTL#stlblues#LetsGoPenspic.twitter.com/hmGJMc5Zlm

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025

But on the 4-on-3 in overtime, after Penguins defenseman Kris Letang was called for slashing Kyrou, the Blues had to be more direct, they had to take advantage of the open ice.

It wasn’t clean, but Thomas and Kyrou worked the puck off the left side and after corralling the puck, Thomas wired a wrister high glove on Tristan Jarry to end it.

Power play goal for St. Louis!

Scored by Robert Thomas with 02:48 remaining in the OT period.

Assisted by Jordan Kyrou.

St. Louis: 5
Pittsburgh: 4#PITvsSTL#stlblues#LetsGoPenspic.twitter.com/nvcmpKI032

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025

“They pressured hard and we weren’t able to beat it early,” Thomas said. “I missed a couple good looks. We did have some good looks. I think just more consistent on the 5-on-3 and the couple minutes, I think we had six minutes of power play 5-on-4. Got to find a way to do a better job early in the game, but it came through in the end.”

* Staying with it despite frittering away third-period lead – The first period was as poor as the Blues have played in quite some time, and coach Jim Montgomery attributed it to “energy.”

The Blues just weren’t connected on the ice, their puck play was passive, zone exits weren’t clean, and the Penguins (30-34-12) had something to do with it, but they finally turned the game around in the second period.

“We just don't seem to have juice, and it's going to happen, but it's a sign of a good team when you don't have our legs and we're still pulling out wins,” Montgomery said. “This is a hard league to win in, as we found out earlier in the year.

“I thought we were significantly better (in the second period), I thought we skated, I thought we worked better and I thought it led to a lot of opportunities.”

Neighbours tied the game 1-1 on a beautiful sequence with Philip Broberg, Pavel Buchnevich and Thomas, who fed Neighbours on the last pass 39 seconds in.

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Jake Neighbours with 19:21 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Robert Thomas and Philip Broberg.

St. Louis: 1
Pittsburgh: 1#PITvsSTL#stlblues#LetsGoPenspic.twitter.com/JT5p4qdztg

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025

After Pittsburgh took a 2-1 lead during a sequence that Thomas took a stick to the face on a follow-through shot by Rickard Rakell, Buchnevich tied the game 2-2 after Nathan Walker broke up a play in the neutral zone, and Buchnevich used his stick magic to lift a backhand in at 6:48 before Kyrou whipped a wrister past Jarry for their first lead at 3-2 at 8:05 on an incredibly strong flipper out of the zone in stride by Cam Fowler.

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Pavel Buchnevich with 13:12 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Nathan Walker.

St. Louis: 2
Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsSTL#stlblues#LetsGoPenspic.twitter.com/9aSGrJWcAO

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025

St. Louis goal!

Scored by Jordan Kyrou with 11:55 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Cam Fowler.

St. Louis: 3
Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsSTL#stlblues#LetsGoPenspic.twitter.com/mTZ1ssW58S

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025

“Got the perfect spin on it, English on it too, right,” Montgomery said. “So he could skate right into it. It was nice.”

But after the Neighbours goal, the Blues, who were 0-for-4 on the power play at the time, were not going to get any more man advantages unless it was something egregious, and the Penguins had yet to have a power play.

But when a failed clearance of a puck seconds later resulted in Justin Faulk taking a holding minor, the Penguins didn’t waste much time all of the sudden making a game of it when it didn’t have to be a game when Rakell scored from the high slot at 11:15 of the third period, using all of 30 seconds to score on their lone power play to make it 4-3.

The Blues didn’t do a good job of closing the game out the rest of the way either, and when Pittsburgh pulled Jarry, eventually it was Rutger McGroarty scoring his first NHL goal at 19:35 to tie the game 4-4.

“We have won all different kinds of games, but I am not happy that we were up 4-2 in the third and we went to overtime,” Montgomery said. “We have to close out games. We have to get better.

“Attention to detail, knowing your responsibilities. There’s a couple mistakes there in that (tying goal). It’s a wraparound goal, they make a power move, but we shouldn’t be that far from the net.”

* Holloway goes down, now what – When Blues forward Dylan Holloway left the game late in the first period with a lower-body injury, as a result of a McGroarty check in the Blues’ offensive zone along the wall at 17:09 and Holloway trying one more shift roughly a minute later, it would remove a 26-goal scorer and 63-point player from the Blues’ lineup.

Now what?

Who can jump into the top six and play with Kyrou and Brayden Schenn, or whoever it may be?

Well, Zack Bolduc comes to mind. Snuggerud, who made a strong defensive stick play that ultimately led to a beautiful pass to Neighbours for the Blues’ fourth goal, would get more ice time and more responsibilities.

Game management was important at that time, and those that handled the extra ice time handled the minutes effectively.

“It’s kind of just a little scrambly on the bench,” Neighbours said. “We’re trying to mix and match lines, get guys out there. Obviously that’s an elite player for us, someone who plays in all situations and a really important piece for our team. But we had to focus on the task at hand. We weren’t playing great and obviously it sucked losing Dylan. Just hope he’s OK and we get him back.”

Snuggerud finished with 16:22 of ice time, significantly more than the 10:43 he played on Tuesday in a 2-1 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings.

“Really impressive. He’s been making a lot of plays,” Montgomery said of Snuggerud. “I think once he gets used to the speed, strength and less time and space in the NHL, he’s going to be a real good player for us. He’s already playing well.

“It gets a little difficult. It can, but we have a lot of players than can play all three forward positions. And I found out that Snuggerud can play left wing. It just worked out that I could manage the bench quite easily with the depth of the talented players that we have.

“I haven’t seen any egregious mistakes, and in the D-zone, surprisingly, because he’s never played our D-zone before, he’s executing really well. He cut the top off the one time, sprinted out, made sure they stayed on the same side of the ice and Sunny was able to get out and kill it. It’s a sign of a really smart player because our D-zone’s very different than man-on-man.”