The Winnipeg Jets can still hang with the best.

Playing without star forward Gabe Vilardi (who is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury) the Jets bounced back from losses to the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres this past week with a 3-2 overtime victory over the league-leading Washington Capitals. 

On Tuesday, Alex Ovechkin scored his 889th career NHL goal, tying the game between the NHL's top two clubs with four minutes remaining.

Ovechkin's goal was the second deficit the Capitals were able to rally back from, coming back from 1-0 and 2-1 Jets leads as the visitors.

But it was Winnipeg's Nikolaj Ehlers who got the game-winner for the Jets at 1:28 of the overtime period, improving the Jets to 49-19-4 on the season. 

Josh Morrisey and Mason Appleton got the other goals for  Winnipeg, while Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 27 shots, helping the jets pull to within one point of Washington and securing a place in the postseason. 

Tuesday's game was the third-straight sellout of the season at Canada Life Centre, which saw the Jets improve to 26-6-4 at home. 

Morrissey opened the scoring for Winnipeg on a heavy slap shot 6:50 into the first period. Dylan DeMelo got the puck up to Mark Scheifele, who teed it up for his fellow alternate captain. Morrissey stepped into the puck, which deflected off a Washington player and int the net. 

Alex Iafallo - who was called up from the fourth line to fill in for the injured Gabe Vilardi - caused problems in front of the net, contributing to Morrissey's 12th of the season. 

Washington got one back late in the first period, with Andrew Mangiapane beating Hellebuyck high, blocker-side on a three-on-two up-ice. Winnipeg led 8-6 on the shot chart through 20 minutes of 1-1 hockey.

The Jets killed off back-to-back penalties to Cole Perfetti and Luke Schenn in the second period, keeping the always-potent Alex Ovechkin and power play off the board. Shortly after a man advantage of their own expired, Winnipeg restored its lead.

Nino Niederreiter found Appleton speeding up the wing, who put wrist shot through Logan Thompson with just 10.4 seconds to play, handing the Jets a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes to play. 

Winnipeg failed to find the twine on a third period power play, keeping the door open for a Washington comeback. 

That was all Ovechkin needed - a glimmer of hope. He struck off a play from Alaiksei Protas, and from the offensive zone face-off dot, he has been nearly unstoppable. 

The goal sent the game to overtime, to which the Capitals hit the post in the early going. 

But it was a stretch pass from Dylan Samberg that found Ehlers flying up the wing. He ripped home his 24th of the season, sealing the deal on the Jets' 49th win of the season.

Hellebuyck turned aside 27 of the 29 shots he faced, collecting his 41st win of the season, while Thompson, the former Brandon Wheat King star, made 22 stops for Washington. 

Next up for the Jets is the third test of the four-game homestand on Friday night, as the New Jersey Devils roll into town for a 7:00 PM central showdown. Vancouver makes its way back to Manitoba on Sunday afternoon to close out the homestand. 

The Buffalo Sabres’ playoff chances may be almost nonexistent, but they continue to be a nightmare for the Ottawa Senators. The Senators fell to 0-3 against the Sabres this season with a 3-2 loss in Buffalo on Tuesday night.

37-year-old James Reimer continued his career dominance against Ottawa, improving to 18-6-4 against them and making 30 saves.

The Senators were the better team through 40 minutes, but the scoreboard wasn't buying it. Tied at 2 heading into the third period, Tage Thompson broke the deadlock early in the frame, scoring what stood up as the game-winner. It didn't seem like a particularly dangerous situation, but with Ottawa defenders stumbling about, Thompson buried a pass from behind the net.

After that, the Sabres—led by Reimer—were able to shut the door.

Brady Tkachuk and David Perron scored for the Senators, while Cobden's Jack Quinn and former Senator Jacob Bernard-Docker netted the other goals for Buffalo.

For Bernard-Docker, the goal was likely the most satisfying of his NHL career. Playing his first game against the organization that drafted him in the first round in 2018, he scored his first goal of the season to tie the game at two in the second period.

The Senators had traded Bernard-Docker at the deadline, and even when healthy this season, he was used sparingly. With victories over Winnipeg on the weekend and Ottawa on Tuesday, JBD has put up three points.

The Senators pulled Anton Forsberg in the dying moments and pushed for the equalizer but couldn’t find the back of the net. The win marked the 600th career victory for Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff.

With the Senators closely watching the standings and the out-of-town scoreboard in a tight Eastern Conference wild-card race, squandering all six points so far against the last-place Sabres—as they rock the longest playoff drought in NHL history—is, to put it kindly, a major missed opportunity. Being outscored 12-3 in the process takes it to a ridiculous level.

Ottawa’s next game is Thursday night in Detroit against the Red Wings, the team with the NHL’s second-longest playoff drought.

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.

Earlier, the Buffalo Sabres recalled first-round pick Isak Rosen from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Now, they have made another roster move, recalling forward Josh Dunne from Rochester as well. 

Dunne has played in one game for the Sabres this season, which was back on March 8 against the Florida Panthers. During it, he recorded one shot, five penalty minutes, and a minus-2 rating in 7:18 of ice time. 

Down in the AHL with Rochester, Dunne has scored nine goals and recorded 26 points in 58 games. This includes a goal and three points over his last five contests with the AHL squad. 

In 15 career NHL games split between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Sabres over three seasons, Dunne has zero points, 12 blocks, 35 hits, and a minus-9 rating. 

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The Vegas Golden Knights are welcoming back Shea Theodore, but will be without Alex Pietrangelo as he is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

The new injury status comes as a surprise, with no prior sense that Pietrangelo has been dealing with any injury.

The 35-year-old has played in 67 games this year, scoring four goals and 32 points. He's averaging 22:29 of ice time, the lowest of his Golden Knights tenure. 

With Pietrangelo out, Kaedan Korczak will remain in the lineup, skating alongside Nicolas Hague on the third pairing. It'll be his 14th consecutive game in the Golden Knights lineup, continuing his solid play despite limited minutes. 

Stay updated with the most interesting Golden Knights stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.

Unlike the other major North American sports leagues (MLB, NBA, and the NFL), the NHL has codified fighting into its game. Five-minute majors for fighting and two-minute minors for instigating are right there in the rulebook and have been for a long time.

While there has been endless debate about whether fighting belongs in the game, most hockey fans seem to enjoy a good tilt between a couple of heavyweights from time to time. 

Even better? A goalie fight! The very thought of two netminders skating all the way out to center ice to “chuck the knucks” can send typical NHL crowds into a frenzy. 

On March 23rd, Crypto.com Arena fans came very close to witnessing the very rare goalie fight when the Kings’ Darcy Kuemper and the Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman left their creases and made their way to center ice. 

However, to the disappointment of many, both players were separated by officials before anything could get started. 

Jeremy Swayman and Darcy Kuemper were so close to fighting. 👀 pic.twitter.com/PjFhePaNh9

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 24, 2025

Sportsnet analyst Elliotte Friedman literally booed the decision on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, asking “why are you ruining our entertainment?”. To drive the point home even more, the title of the episode is “Let The Goalies Fight.”

LA Kings’ head coach Jim Hiller, on the other hand, seemed relieved that his number one goalie was stopped from trading blows with Swayman:

“I was thinking that somebody should have grabbed him (Kuemper). I’m glad it turned out the way it did,” remarked Hiller during the postgame media availability. 

And who could blame him? Kuemper is having a Vezina Trophy type of season for the Kings. His GAA of 2.13 is good for second in the league and his SV% of .918 is tied for second as well. Losing him for any reason, let alone for an injury sustained in a goalie fight, would be catastrophic for a team intent on finally changing their playoff narrative this season. High performing number one goalies with Cup winning experience are hard to come by in this league, so one can understand why coaches and GMs are loath to see them fighting. 

The last NHL goalie fight took place on February 1st, 2020, between Calgary's Cam Talbot (ex-King) and Edmonton's Mike Smith during the pandemic bubble. In recent LA Kings’ history, the last fight goes back to Felix “The Cat” Potvin and Ottawa goalie Jani Hurme on December 20th, 2001. As a testament to how much the league’s tolerance for goalie fights has changed, Potvin and Hurme were allowed to fight for close to two minutes that night. This would be unthinkable now in 2025.

In addition to the Kuemper near fight, Pheonix Copley left his crease to challenge Anaheim’s John Gibson on February 17th, 2023, but the guys in stripes once again deprived the fans of a goalie scrap.

Does the entertainment value of a goalie fight outweigh the injury risks? When cooler heads prevail, most NHL fans would probably prefer not to lose their starting goalie to some broken knuckles or a wrist sprain due to dropping the gloves.

Thus, it is probably the right decision for the league to crack down on goaltender brawls, but it will never stop the fans from wanting to see it. And that isn’t going to change any time soon.

We witnessed maybe the biggest hockey crime there is, breaking up a goalie fight.https://t.co/4NTDWVVXddpic.twitter.com/TbAphVxBMf

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

Another benching for York as Flyers are routed by Maple Leafs originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

John Tortorella benched Cam York early in a 1-1 game Tuesday night and the Flyers went on to lose, 7-2, to the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.

The Flyers (28-36-9) have dropped six straight, matching their season-worst skid. Their other six-gamer was in October.

Even worse, they’ve lost 11 of their last 12 games (1-10-1) and have been outscored 52-21 over that span. Tortorella’s club has won just six times in its last 25 games (6-16-3).

With the Flyers in full-on rebuild mode to finish this season, they’re just one point ahead of the Sabres for the Eastern Conference’s worst record. Buffalo has played three fewer games.

Ryan Poehling and Sean Couturier provided the Flyers’ goals Tuesday night.

The Flyers have been dominated by the Maple Leafs (43-25-3). They’re 1-9-2 in their last 12 matchups with Toronto. The lone victory came last season when Scott Laughton recorded the game-winning goal.

• Tortorella is not exactly helping his cause here.

The last two games, the Flyers were outworked, outplayed and outscored a combined 14-6.

But on top of that, the head coach benched his young, top-pair defenseman Tuesday night. Tortorella played York only 3:50 minutes, sitting him for the rest of the night after the Maple Leafs scored a game-tying goal in the first period. York quickly lost a puck battle behind the net before John Tavares’ shot went off his leg and past Samuel Ersson.

As York was stapled to the pine, Toronto went on to score five more goals before the Flyers finally answered.

In 2022-23, their first season together, Tortorella really pushed York. He sent him to the minors before the Flyers even reached their final cuts of training camp. Since then, York had been one of the Flyers’ most improved players.

But this season has not gone well. York missed 13 games because of a shoulder injury and had been healthy scratched twice before Tuesday night’s in-game benching.

“I’ll admit, when I sent him down, I tried to pick a fight with him when I sent him down, I was so upset with his camp,” Tortorella said two weeks ago. “I think he went to Lehigh, he put the time in, I felt he had a chip on his shoulder coming back here, mainly at me. I was so proud of him as far as where he brought his game to; there is no reason why I can’t still look for that. And I’m going to continue to look for that.”

Tortorella is challenging York again, but the timing of this simply isn’t good. Not only are the Flyers losing games by lopsided scores as they stumble to the finish line, but York is also in a contract year and due for a considerable raise. And he’s getting benched? This can’t be helping negotiations for the summer.

It’s just not a good look at all for Tortorella. But he’s sticking to his word. He’s not going to care about optics.

• The Flyers faced Laughton for the first time since he was traded to the Maple Leafs earlier this month.

Laughton, after spending parts of 12 seasons in Philadelphia, is playing a depth role for Toronto. He’s still looking for his first point with the Maple Leafs, but he had five hits and a blocked shot against his old club.

• Ersson gave up the seven goals on 30 shots.

The Flyers were not sharp in front of him. They were outshot by double digits and Toronto had five more blocked shots.

Two days ago, the Flyers lost to the Blackhawks, 7-4, with Ivan Fedotov in net.

Anthony Stolarz, a former Flyers goaltender, made 17 saves on 19 shots for the Maple Leafs.

• Garnet Hathaway (undisclosed) and Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body) remained out.

Aleksei Kolosov was recalled from AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley, but did not suit up. Fedotov was Ersson’s backup.

• After going 0-4-1 on their road trip, the Flyers return home for a matchup Thursday against the Canadiens (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

The end of the regular season brings the yearly tradition of out-of-town scoreboard watching. This season, Vancouver Canucks fans will be keeping a careful on what happens around the league, especially when it comes to the St. Louis Blues. Tuesday will be no different as Canucks fans will shed their blue and green for red and blue as they will be hoping the Montréal Canadiens can do them a massive favour. 

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At 5 pm PT, the Canadiens will take the ice at the Enterprise Center to face the Blues. Both teams are currently involved in playoff races, with each occupying the final Wild Card spot. While a win either way wouldn't clinch a berth in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, it would ensure that each team remains above the playoff bar, at least for the night.

As mentioned, this game has a significant impact on Vancouver's playoff hopes. According to MoneyPuck.com, if St. Louis wins in regulation, their playoff percentage jumps to 62.6%. If they lose regulation, the Blues would drop to 40.6%, which would be good news for the Canucks who currently sit three points behind St. Louis. 

St. Louis versus Montréal is not the only game fans in Vancouver need to watch. At 6:00 pm PT, the Calgary Flames will take on the Seattle Kraken from the Scotiabank Saddledome. A regulation win by Calgary would see their playoff odds jump to 37%, while a regulation loss would drop them to 20.7%. 

Almost every night between now and the end of the 2024-25 season will be tense for Canucks fans. Not only does Vancouver need to go on a long winning streak, but fans also need to hope for long losing streaks from the Blues, the Flames, and the Utah Hockey Club. With the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs less than a month away, all four teams will be under pressure on a nightly basis, with the smallest slip-up potentially being the difference between securing a playoff berth and entering the off-season early.

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.

 

Utah Hockey Club forward Dylan Guenther recorded his 100th career NHL point last night against the Detroit Red Wings.

Guenther has played just 137 NHL games, and with his milestone point, he is producing at a 0.729 points-per-game rate. If he were to maintain this pace over 1,000 games, he would finish with 729 points—an impressive mark for a first-round draft pick.

Utah HC Give Up 5 Unanswered Goals in 5-1 Loss to Red Wings After scoring a combined 11 goals in its past two home games, with the recent Tampa game being one of its most electric performances this season, Utah ran out of steam against the Detroit Red Wings. 

He is the seventh player from the 2021 NHL Draft to reach 100 career points, but he is the fastest to do so.

It’s a significant milestone, especially considering some had labeled him a potential bust heading into the 2024-25 season.

Andre Tourigny Among Many Supporting Ryan Smith and the New Utah OwnershipOn Monday, March 17, James Mirtle of the Athletic put out an article ranking every NHL owner from 1-32, based on surveyed responses from over 4000 readers, including fans of every NHL team.

The Nashville Predators (26-36-8, 60 points) visit the Carolina Hurricanes (43-23-4, 90 points) for the teams' second and final meeting this season Tuesday at Lenovo Center.

The Predators beat the Hurricanes, 5-2, on Dec. 23 at Bridgestone Arena behind a three-point performance from Jonathan Marchessault. 

Nashville is coming off a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, and the Predators are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. Carolina is coming off a 5-2 defeat of the Anaheim Ducks and has just one loss in the last 10 games.

Tuesday's game marks Nashville's first time facing Mark Jankowski since trading him to the Hurricanes at the March 7 NHL trade deadline. Since arriving in Carolina, Jankowski has six goals in seven games.

Juuse Saros will start in goal for the Predators in Raleigh, while Pyotr Kochetkov will tend the twine for Carolina.

How the Predators Lined Up vs. Carolina

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

Skjei-Blankenburg
Del Gaizo-Barron
Oesterle-Stastney

Saros
Annunen

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

Predators at Hurricanes: Live Updates

First Period (NSH 0, CAR 0)