As you may already be aware, the Calgary Flames are trading Rasmus Andersson. The Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights remain the favorites in a four-team bidding war, while the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs remain linked.
Last night, Elliotte Friedman reported on Sportsnet that the Bruins have been allowed to engage in conversation on an extension with Andersson as part of the frameworks of a potential transaction between Boston and Calgary.
Meanwhile, one of the major components expected in return for Andersson, Mason Lohrei, scored a pair of goals in Boston’s, 5-2, comeback win Saturday night in Chicago. It’s the first of a two-game road trip for the Bruins with a stop in Dallas coming up Tuesday night before returning home to host Vegas on Thursday.
It’s also a siblings’ road trip (similar to moms’ and dad’s trips around the league) for Boston while Saturday also happened to be Lohrei’s birthday too.
The business of professional sports sacrifices birthdays, holidays and more, but that’s understood as “just part of the industry.” What’s not usually part of the business is for a team to ruin the mood for everyone involved during a special outing like Boston’s siblings’ trip.
That might influence the timeline of the expected outcome if the Bruins are favored by the Flames, Andersson and his agent, as well as Lohrei and his respective parties (agent and sibling).
Neither Andersson, nor Lohrei were withheld from their respective lineups as Andersson registered an assist in Calgary’s, 4-2, win on home ice Saturday afternoon against the New York Islanders.
Had both players been kept out of the action– preserved in fear of an untimely injury that would otherwise negate a trade– that would’ve been a dead giveaway regarding the likely winner of the Andersson sweepstakes.
Of course, Vegas could’ve held someone out of Saturday night’s, 7-2, win against the Nashville Predators, but it wouldn’t have been likely that all three teams would’ve sat one or more players in their respective organizations that are potentially on the move as an insurance policy.
If Andersson won’t agree to an extension as part of the proposed trade with Boston and Calgary won’t make a deal with Vegas, then the Flames will have to pivot to a potential move with Dallas or Toronto.
Craig Conroy and his front office executives in the Flames organization hold a lot of leverage over the outcome of this transaction, even if Andersson believes he is more inclined on going to Vegas should an extension not get done with the Bruins.
Andersson has a modified no-trade clause that includes a six-team no-trade list per PuckPedia as part of his current contract that expires after this season.
Unless Andersson has a personal beef with a city like Dallas or Toronto, it’s hard to conceive that– should the Flames not get something done with Boston or Vegas– the 29-year-old defender wouldn’t end up in either of those organizations.
Calgary is back in action Monday night as the Flames host the New Jersey Devils.
Meanwhile, Lohrei’s impressive effort in Boston’s five unanswered goal-comeback victory over the Blackhawks could have been enough to make Bruins general manager, Don Sweeney, reconsider his offer to the Flames.
It could have also helped Sweeney market Lohrei to other potential suitors in the event Andersson does not agree to an extension and this potential trade falls through and Boston remains set on moving their 25-year-old defender.
Rasmus Andersson will be traded. When and where remains to be resolved.
The 29-year-old Calgary Flames defender is more likely than not to be dealt in the next 24-48 hours per a source and if his postgame wave to the crowd at Scotiabank Saddledome, high-fives and hugs from Jonathan Huberdeau, Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee and others are any indication, he has likely played his final game as a Flame in Saturday’s, 4-2, victory over the New York Islanders.
Andersson had one assist and was a plus-two rating in 25:40 time on ice, while recording two shots and two blocked shots in the win.
In 48 games with Calgary this season, he has 10 goals and 20 assists (30 points) and a plus-three rating– one point shy from his 11-20–31 totals and up from a minus-38 rating in 82 games last season with the Flames.
Four teams are in the running for acquiring Andersson’s services including the Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars and one more team from the Eastern Conference.
None of my sources have been able to pinpoint whether the remaining team in the bidding process is the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs or another unnamed team in the conference.
The Red Wings are believed to be buyers approaching this season’s trade deadline on March 6th, while the Leafs hold the familiarity factor if you subscribe to the theory that National Hockey League general managers only ever try to (re-)acquire players they’re had in their possession before.
Brad Treliving was previously Calgary’s general manager from 2014-23, before Don Maloney held the interim title for about a month prior to Craig Conroy‘s hiring on May 23, 2023. Treliving was later hired by Toronto on May 31, 2023.
Andersson was originally drafted by the Flames with the 53rd overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and later made his league debut during the 2016-17 season prior to becoming a full-time NHL defender in 2018-19.
He has 261 points (57 goals, 204 assists) in 584 games (all with the Flames).
What are the Boston Bruins thinking?
Sources close to the Flames and Bruins have overlapped on the big components of a potential deal that would see Andersson swapping out his red and yellow sweater for the black and gold.
Boston is offering Mason Lohrei, Matthew Poitras and a 1st round pick in exchange for Andersson with at least one condition attached to the 1st round pick.
One of the big sticking points, however, for any deal involving the Bruins is that Boston’s general manager, Don Sweeney, needs to have Andersson signed to an extension as part of the trade.
Andersson would likely yield a cap hit around the $8.000-8.500 million range on his next contract, but neither sources have indicated what the length of the extension would be.
One caveat of any long-term extension for Andersson is the fact that he will turn 30 on Oct. 27th, which means there’s a good chance that if Boston acquires Andersson, they’ll add a certified right shot defender that will slide in on their second pairing and be committed to his spot on the roster through his late prime and early twilight of his playing career.
It’s fair to ask if including a 1st round pick in the transaction is a steep price to pay. Certainly, if Andersson won’t commit to an extension with the Bruins, then Boston would be unwise to leave their best offer as the final offer on the table.
For an organization that finally adopted the best draft policy in 2025 (take the best available player at each selection), it’d be wise for the B’s to stay the course and continue to stock their prospect cupboard, while selling pieces as the 2026 trade deadline approaches– playoff race be damned.
That’d mean that a 1st round pick should be a non-starter, regardless of the fact that Boston potentially has four 1st round picks in the next two seasons. The Bruins previously acquired a top-five protected 2026 1st round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs in last year’s Brandon Carlo trade and a conditional pick that converted into a 2027 1st round pick from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Brad Marchand.
If that’s too many words for you, remember this– Boston has their own 2026 and 2027 1st round picks, plus they have Toronto’s 2026 1st round pick (unless the Leafs win the lottery and end up selecting anywhere from 1st through 5th overall) and Florida’s 2027 1st round pick (unless one of the Panthers’ previous transactions renders them unable to keep their 2027 1st round pick, in which case the Bruins will own Florida’s 2028 1st round pick).
The Bruins don’t have to use all four of those picks, but they’d be smart to yield the maximum return on their potential value.
Trading for an aging veteran defender, while giving up 25-year-old, Mason Lohrei, and 21-year-old, Matthew Poitras, in the process means there’s too much value exiting Boston’s organization– even if the majority of it is in their system currently and residing in future value.
The Bruins already have their work cut out for them in turning over aging prospects in Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov and have yet to see what current college hockey stars, James Hagens, Will Zellers, Dean Letourneau and Will Moore will bring to their organizational depth among the NHL and AHL rosters.
On the other hand, trading for Andersson addresses a need that the Bruins have now, solidifies their lineup for the near future and presents Boston with the opportunity to continue to attract talent as a desired destination– so long as head coach, Marco Sturm, gets the most out of his players and makes the playoffs from year-to-year.
Moving on from Lohrei
Mason Lohrei is under contract through the 2026-27 season at an affordable $3.200 million cap hit, but it’s not known whether he wants to stay in Boston long-term, nor if the Bruins desire to keep him around that long either.
He had been scratched earlier this season while struggling to adapt to Sturm’s player-on-player coverage and was a league-worst minus-43 in 77 games last season, despite recording career-best totals with five goals, 28 assists and 33 points in that span.
Lohrei averaged 16:57 in 41 games in 2023-24, but was thrust into top-pairing minutes for long stretches last season– averaging 19:32 per game– due to Boston’s battered blue line while Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm missed time.
Despite only being 25-years-old, Lohrei should be entering his prime right now and taking command of a top-four spot on Boston’s defense, yet he’s struggled with elements of his defensive game– losing battles and turning the puck over at inopportune moments, rendering him to third pairing minutes from night-to-night.
If the Bruins are unsure of what they have in Lohrei, unsure of their mutual long-term plans and compatibility or want to take advantage of the fact that 31 other NHL teams would gladly take a player like Lohrei for his offensive upside, they should capitalize on his trade value.
As it is, Lohrei is on pace for another 33-point season and matched his career-high in goals (five) with the tying goal in the second period of Saturday night’s game in Chicago– his 44th game of the season compared to his five goals in 77 games last season.
Moving on from Poitras
Matthew Poitras had an impressive stint in his first five career NHL games during Boston’s Centennial season in 2023-24, but wasn’t able to sustain the momentum before tallying just 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 33 games prior to an injury that shut him down for the rest of the season.
The following year, the 5’11” or 6’0″ (depending on who you ask), 189-pound right shot center had just one goal and 10 assists (11 points) in yet another 33-game span in 2024-25, amidst injury, reassignment and concerns due to his small stature in spite of his offseason bulk.
Poitras made Boston’s NHL roster out of training camp for the second consecutive season, but missed the first game of the year due to a lingering injury.
After playing in 14 out of the first 16 games last season, Poitras was reassigned to the Providence Bruins on Nov. 11, 2024, and later made his AHL debut before amassing 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 23 games with Providence prior to being recalled by Boston.
Upon reinsertion in Boston’s lineup, Poitras recorded an assist in a, 6-2, win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 14, 2025, and remained a pretty consistent component of the Bruins’ lineup through March 6th.
He had one goal and three assists with Boston in 14 games prior to being sent down and just seven assists after his call-up in 19 games thereafter.
The acquisitions of Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov rendered a reevaluation of Boston’s depth charts. The ensuing emergence of the short statured Khusnutdinov combined with his speed and chemistry with a skilled player like David Pastrňák left No. 92 with a more favorable image compared to Poitras’ game.
Khusnutdinov could hold onto the puck, while Poitras could lose an important battle here or there, leaving his teammates helpless in poorly timed situations.
Minten eventually got his call-up in April and made his Bruins debut on April 5th– recording one goal in a six-game stint with Boston before the offseason began. He did not look out of place and was more NHL ready at 6’2″, 204-pounds than Poitras in both his playing experience prior with the Maple Leafs and in his frame.
Whereas Poitras has drawn comparisons to Jonathan Toews in the past for his playmaking abilities– if he can stay at the NHL level for long enough, Minten’s ceiling appears to be rising as the 2025-26 season goes on.
Despite Poitras’ ups and downs in 2024-25, he at least managed a consistent 41-point effort in 40 games with the Providence Bruins, including 17 goals and 24 assists in that span.
This season, however, the offensive elements of Poitras’ game have been evaporating.
Unlike the previous two years, Poitras didn’t make the NHL squad out of training camp and the preseason. Since then, he has just 6-14–20 totals in 34 games with Providence.
It’s not as if the Bruins have given up on developing Poitras, as they’ve given him just about every chance to stick in the NHL prior to this season. They’ve also given him a reason to prove beyond a doubt that he could force a call-up if his assignment to Providence prior to the season would’ve sparked a fire in him to reclaim his status as Boston’s most important prospect.
But with Dans Ločmelis receiving Olympic attention from Latvia and James Hagens, Will Moore, Dean Letourneau, Oskar Jellvik, Andre Gasseau, as well as Kristian Kostadinski turning heads at Boston College while Will Zellers lights the lamp in North Dakota, there’s a sense that Poitras could slip further and further down the Bruins’ depth charts.
It’s not that Poitras can’t become a regular NHL player, but rather that there might not be the time and space for him to become whatever that might look like in a Bruins uniform, especially if he’s only going to get the occasional look in a replacement-level position.
It might be best for both sides to cut ties and give Poitras the added advantage of a fresh change of scenery to reinvent himself in Calgary’s system.
What are the Vegas Golden Knights thinking?
A source close to the Flames indicated that Vegas has presented Calgary with an offer for Rasmus Andersson that includes Brett Howden and a 2nd round pick.
It’s not unusual for the Golden Knights to pivot from protecting one of their highly touted talents within the organization only to flip that player for an immediate impact asset in hopes of securing their second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
2023 Stanley Cup clinching goal scorer, Reilly Smith is 34, and a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
The Golden Knights are getting older and will need to make some tough decisions regardless of the outcome of the 2025-26 regular season and 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
While adding Andersson increases Vegas’ average age and would come at the cost of giving Calgary a player with significant term left on his contract– as Howden has five years remaining through the 2029-30 season– McCrimmon can patch a hole on the right side of his defense in light of Pietrangelo’s unavailability.
Regardless of an extension in place for Andersson at the time of the trade, the Golden Knights could convince Andersson that life in the desert is well worth sticking around for a longer term while presenting him with the best opportunity to win his first Cup ring sooner rather than later.
Vegas, unlike Boston, is a legitimate Cup contender this season.
They can well afford taking a risk on acquiring Andersson without an extension in place if it means they’ll use another wish on the metaphorical monkey’s paw for their second Cup banner and magic cure for the inevitable maneuvers they’ll have to make in the salary cap world.
While Boston has the better offer from Calgary’s perspective, there is Andersson’s point of view to consider. Right now, it seems as though Andersson has preference for landing in Vegas rather than in the Hub.
What’s pure speculation?
There may be an ounce of truth to the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames having discussed a swap last summer involving Andersson and prolific goal scorer (albeit not named to Team USA at the upcoming Winter Games in Milano Cortina), Jason Robertson.
What’s not known at this time is if the Stars have considered offering up Robertson in a trade for Andersson in-season.
If the Bruins and Golden Knights are the current leading favorites for a trade with the Flames, then Dallas is going to have to increase the value of whatever might be on the table.
Despite losing in three consecutive Western Conference Final appearances, as well as in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, Stars general manager, Jim Nill, might not want to rock the boat too much with a bold move that could jeopardize his team’s “win now” status.
Especially when you consider the fact that Nill holds all the leverage in Robertson’s future– wherever that might end up.
Robertson won’t turn 27 until July 22nd, which means he is a pending-restricted free agent on July 1st. If an extension can’t get done in Dallas, Nill can still flip Robertson’s signing rights for a decent haul.
In the meantime, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin aren’t getting any younger, even if Wyatt Johnston, Jake Oettinger, Miro Heiskanen and Co. are poised for long-term core stabilization, but is a franchise altering trade worth stunting the offensive output that Robertson brings to the lineup currently?
Wednesday night featured a lighter schedule with only three games on the docket as Logan Thompson stood on his head– in the third period especially– in Washington, D.C., Gabriel Landeskog played his first National Hockey League game in 1,032 days and everyone’s favorite harmonica group returned for Game 2 in Los Angeles.
The Washington Capitals took a 2-0 series lead over the Montréal Canadiens with a 3-1 victory in Game 2 at Capital One Arena.
Tyler Seguin scored the game-winning goal in Game 3 on the road at Ball Arena as the Dallas Stars won back-to-back games in overtime to take a 2-1 series lead over the Colorado Avalanche.
And Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe each had four points in a, 6-2, blowout victory for the Los Angeles Kings in Game 2 of their series with the Edmonton Oilers to take a 2-0 lead on home ice.
Shots shots shots shots shots (everybody)
Despite outshooting Montréal, 32-26, in Game 2, everyone was talking about Thompson’s performance after Wednesday night’s, 3-1, win for Washington.
Thompson made 25 saves and recorded a .962 save percentage in the victory and now has a 1.47 goals-against average and a .951 SV% thus far in the postseason.
The Capitals held the Canadiens to 12 shots on goal through 40 minutes Wednesday– outshooting the Habs, 9-4, in the first period and, 18-8, in the second period alone for a, 27-12, advantage entering the final frame.
That means Thompson faced a barrage of 14 shots against in the third period itself as Montréal mustered every effort to tie the game and force overtime for a second game in-a-row in the series.
Despite the loss, Sam Montembeault still had 29 saves on 31 shots faced for a .935 SV% in Game 2 for Montréal and has a respectable 2.49 GAA and .921 SV% through two games in the series.
That stat line would be fantastic in just about any other playoff series normally.
The only problem is that the Canadiens have allowed six goals against thus far to their three goals for while Thompson has put up even better numbers than Montembeault as a result.
Christian Dvorak slid a rebound under Thompson’s legs to give the Habs a, 1-0, lead 1:16 into the first period. Despite the fast start for the Canadiens, they weren’t able to get anything else past the Washington netminder.
In fact, Montréal couldn’t hold the lead for long before the Capitals evened things up, 1-1, at 3:47 courtesy of a backhand goal from Connor McMichael.
Then Washington’s leading scorer in the regular season, Dylan Strome, shoveled his own rebound past Montembeault for a, 2-1, lead a minute after McMichael had tied the game.
The shift in momentum rendered a raucous crowd inside Capital One Arena as Strome put the home team ahead.
Both teams settled in thereafter and McMichael wouldn’t add his second goal of the night until he hit the back of an empty net in the final seconds of the action to make it, 3-1, Washington.
The series shifts to Montréal for Games 3 and 4 and the Habs can get back into it by just a few lucky bounces in front of their home crowd.
Gabriel Landeskog returns! (for real this time)
But Dallas ruined the party!
Landeskog’s first game in almost three years featured six hits, one blocked shot, one giveaway and one takeaway to go along with a 50% draw on the faceoff dot.
The first hit in his return? Delivered to former Avs teammate turned current Star by way of the Carolina Hurricanes, Mikko Rantanen.
Almost halfway through the opening frame, the two teams were skating at 4-on-4 and Valeri Nichushkin made Matt Duchene look silly– shaking off the Stars forward with a quick cut and circle in the attacking zone before deking Jake Oettinger out of his mind to give Colorado a, 1-0, lead.
Unfortunately for Avalanche fans in attendance, the 8:09 mark of the first period was also the last time they would experience joy for the rest of the evening as only anguish and dread was afoot.
Posts were ringing, possession was to be had and play spent much of the time in Colorado’s own zone.
Dallas outshot Colorado, 14-5, after one period and held onto an, 18-13, advantage through 40 minutes despite the Avalanche holding an, 8-4, shot advantage in the middle frame alone.
Mackenzie Blackwood was the only reason why the Avs held their lead most of the night and finished with 26 saves on 28 shots against for a .929 SV%.
Through three games this postseason, Blackwood has a 2.07 GAA and a .923 SV% for Colorado. Oettinger has a 2.37 GAA and a .910 SV% for Dallas. The Stars lead the series 2-1, however.
Shortly after killing off a minor infraction, the Avs found themselves shorthanded once again when Nathan MacKinnon took what some experts are calling “a stupid penalty.”
MacKinnon tried to be sneaky as he just happened to plant his stick on the ice while Colin Blackwell’s was heading backwards to defend his own end– catching the Stars forward’s skates in the process and sending Blackwell flying.
The Stars were clicking on the power play opportunity just prior, but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.
This time, Dallas did not miss.
Jamie Benn tipped a shot from Thomas Harley just under the bar to tie the game, 1-1, nine seconds into the skater advantage at 9:18 of the third period.
Duchene cut a rut to the sin bin and presented the Avalanche with a chance to take momentum and the lead back into their own hands.
No dice.
Instead, Dallas had a tremendous shorthanded opportunity and sent Colorado’s power play units into disarray.
Just as everyone settled in for overtime, Rantanen bounced a lead pass off the boards for Mason Marchment to rush into the attacking zone and drop a pass back to Seguin as No. 91 in his road white jersey with the familiar Dallas green yoke crashed the net.
Seguin wristed a shot past Blackwood to secure the, 2-1, overtime victory and give Rantanen his first point of the series in the process as No. 96 for the Stars had the secondary assist on the game-winning goal.
The Stars improved to 42-49 in overtime all-time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 25-22 record in the extra frame on the road in that span.
The Avs fell to 47-37 in postseason overtimes and are now 20-21 on home ice in that span.
In all, Dallas has led for just 72 seconds three games into the series. The Stars have a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on the road Saturday night.
Martin Nečas is not living up to his full potential.
The regular season doesn’t have the same kind of pressure the postseason has. Whereas the expectations of the ebbs and flows of the regular season are predicated upon playing the right game to peak at the right time (now through June), you cannot have an “off” night in the playoffs.
Nečas is clearly a talented player in his own right and now receives the benefit of playing on a line alongside MacKinnon– picking up additional points he could have only previously dreamed of in Carolina.
But there’s an element of his game that he brought with him from the Hurricanes to the Avalanche that he hasn’t been able to shake off just yet.
His failure to elevate his game from that regular season routine to the postseason grind.
The Stars are doing enough to quell MacKinnon and Nečas. They’ve clearly done something to get under MacKinnon’s skin– just enough to annoy him and throw him off of his game.
Remember after Game 1 when I said:
“The bad news? Game 1 isn’t Dallas’ thing.
The good news? History is on their side.
The Stars dropped Game 1 against the Avalanche, 4-3, in overtime last year on home ice in their 2024 Second Round matchup. They went on to win the next three games before losing Game 5, but won Game 6, 2-1, in double overtime on the road in Denver– courtesy of former Colorado forward, Matt Duchene’s game-winner.
Dallas also holds the 4-2 series advantage against the Avalanche in their lifetime….”
Yeah, about that. The Stars still have history on their side– and not only that, they have a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4. They are trying to go from being 4-2 to being 5-2 against Colorado in all-time playoff series matchups.
Last year, when these two teams met I wasn’t enthused about the Avs’ odds. This year, that doubt has only grown further and further.
It’s always the Stars or the Minnesota Wild when you think you “deserve” it more than the other team. They’re inevitable.
Kopitar still has it, but Kempe has arrived too
Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe each had four points on Tuesday night and that’s awesome and all, but you know what’s pretty cool too? Quinton Byfield keeps scoring.
While Los Angeles’ certified stars in Kopitar and Kempe are doing their thing (as they should), Byfield has quietly been having a breakout of his own this series.
Two games into it and Byfield has two goals and one assist– good enough for three points while centering the second line for the Kings.
Kempe, meanwhile, has seven points (three goals, four assists) in two games. He’s already one point away from matching his previous postseason-high of eight points in six games in 2023.
And Kopitar? Well, he’s having a better playoff run through two games this year than he did in five games last year against the Oilers.
Kopitar has 1-4–5 totals in 2025, compared to his 1-2–3 totals in 2024 (five games played).
And the Kings have a 2-0 series lead heading up to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4. Los Angeles has the Oilers right where they want them.
All they have to do is win at least one of the next two games.
That might be pretty easy to do if Stuart Skinner is still in net for Game 3.
The Kings chased Skinner after he allowed five goals, but it’s not like the Oilers were completely out of the game– until they were really out of it.
See, Los Angeles’ power play is cooking and, well, L.A. only had a, 3-0, lead by the midpoint of the middle frame. We saw in Game 1 how Edmonton isn’t out of a game by any means until the final horn sometimes.
So Leon Draisaitl got the Oilers on the scoreboard. Then Viktor Arvidsson scored against his most recent former team on a tip-in early in the third period to bring Edmonton within one, 3-2.
The Kings watched as their three-goal lead was suddenly back down to a one-goal lead.
But a little over two and a half minutes after Arvidsson scored, Kempe answered. There would not be a weird (almost) comeback in Game 2.
Kopitar notched his first goal of the postseason on the power play at 9:07 of the third period to extend Los Angeles’ lead to three goals once more, 5-2.
Naturally, after Skinner was replaced by Calvin Pickard after a media timeout, Kempe scored on the first shot that Pickard faced to make it, 6-2, Los Angeles.
If Kris Knoblauch decides to give Skinner another start in Game 3, there’s a very real chance we end up seeing Skinner join the revolving door of goaltenders in Edmonton’s recent history (yes, even before and after Ken Holland insisted that Mike Smith was the one, then tried to convince Jimmy Howard to come out of retirement).
It’s insane, right?
Skinner and the Oilers were just in the Stanley Cup Final last year because of, well, Skinner– oh, and some guy named “Connor McDavid” (plus Draisaitl– can’t forget him too).
Yet, here we are.
Through two games this postseason, Skinner has an 0-2 record with a 6.11 GAA and an .810 SV%. Sure, that save percentage might be half decent in, like, the 1980s (fitting for the greatest team of the 1980s, to be fair), but yikes. That’s no bueno.
In his Stanley Cup Playoffs career (37 games played), Skinner has a 3.00 GAA and an .889 SV%.
Now hear this– Pickard has a 2.48 GAA and a .903 SV% in four career Stanley Cup Playoff games (all with the Oilers and including his relief appearance on Wednesday).
In Pickard’s two starts last spring, he went 1-1 with a 2.21 GAA and a .915 SV%.
The Oilers clearly rallied around their goaltender when faced with the realization that Pickard of all people would be thrust into a position he once was expected to live up to when he was drafted 49th overall by Colorado in 2010, but hadn’t yet.
So, riddle me this, why not see if the magic can work itself out again?
Goaltenders are weird in more ways than one– personality, style and sometimes postseason runs.
Is it time to consider Pickard the unlikely savior and turn to him when you need him most?
By the way, Los Angeles has not won a playoff series since they won the Cup back in 2014. In case Edmonton needed more fuel for their manifestations or whatever.
The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs continued Monday night with a pair of ones and twos– as in “Game 1s and 2s.”
First, the Montréal Canadiens paid a visit to the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of their First Round series from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
The St. Louis Blues took on the Winnipeg Jets in Game 2 of their series from Canada Life Centre.
Later on, the Colorado Avalanche visited the Dallas Stars for Game 2 of their series at American Airlines Center before the Edmonton Oilers opened up their First Round matchup with the Los Angeles Kings on the road at crypto.com Arena.
Shoutout to Dave Goucher, by the way.
The play-by-play voice of the Vegas Golden Knights took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend the good, hard-working people of regional sports networks not just for his own Scripps Sports crew, but across the entire National Hockey League in the face of some remarks from ESPN’s John Buccigross.
History doesn’t repeat itself
In 2010, Tomáš Plekanec was the overtime hero for Montréal in Game 1 as the eighth seed Habs beat the first seed Capitals and later toppled Washington in a seven-game series upset.
In 2025, none of the Canadiens skaters could be like Plekanec and recreate the magic as the second wild card in the Eastern Conference in overtime in Game 1 against the Caps.
Instead, Alex Ovechkin added to his storied career with his first-ever game-winning goal in overtime in a Stanley Cup Playoff game.
That’s right, folks, the National Hockey League’s all-time regular season goal scoring leader hadn’t scored an overtime-winner in the postseason before Monday night.
The ESPN broadcast had just finished highlighting a shot of Ovechkin on screen before the face off prior to his game-winning goal because of course that would happen.
It was written and produced by the Hockey Gods. Absolute cinema.
It only took 45 postseason overtime games, but Ovechkin finally has what has eluded him longer than getting a Stanley Cup ring and surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s 894 goal mark.
Ovechkin also kicked off the night’s scoring late in the first period with a power-play goal to put Washington ahead, 1-0, at 18:34.
Midway through the second period, Anthony Beauvillier– a clutch playoff performer reminiscent of the likes of Michael Ryder, Joonas Donskoi and my other personal favorite “glue guys” that always seemed to show up when it mattered most– made it a, 2-0, lead for the Capitals at 12:09 of the middle frame.
Dylan Strome was off to a hot start with two assists and would finish the night with three assists– playing a helping hand in all three Washington goals and becoming the 19th player in Capitals history to record three assists in a playoff game (with John Carlson having been the most recent Capital to do so on April 11, 2019).
Washington and Montréal were pretty evenly matched despite the Caps’ two-goal lead through 40 minutes.
The Capitals led in shots on goal 23-21 entering the final frame, then pretty much forgot that there’s three periods in hockey.
The Canadiens outshot the Capitals 14-7 in the third period alone and with it scored a pair of goals about five minutes apart from one another.
Cole Caufield put the Habs on the scoreboard thanks to some good puck luck that bounced his way for an easy tally.
Then Montréal’s other longtime veteran– a relative term for such a young team– Nick Suzuki pounced on a loose puck amidst a mad scramble with bodies all over the ice and Washington goaltender, Logan Thompson, wildly out of position– far from the familiar blue paint of the crease.
Suzuki tied the game, 2-2, as the Canadiens had the Capitals holding on for dear life through the end of regulation.
And then it happened.
Just 2:26 into the extra frame after a 15-minute overtime intermission, Ovechkin sent the Washington fans home happy– especially since there was plenty of time to catch the Metro.
If you subtract Nicklas Bäckström and T.J. Oshie’s postseason experience, Washington entered the First Round with 776 games of playoff experience under their belt across the entire roster.
Montréal only had 385 games of playoff experience with none of those games stemming from a single goaltender entering Monday.
But neither of these teams have really meshed in a playoff environment like this.
The Capitals significantly overhauled their roster between their four-game exit in the 2024 First Round to the New York Rangers and the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Canadiens have been working towards getting back into the postseason, though might have been ahead of schedule in their arrival this spring.
Despite attaining the best record in the Eastern Conference, Washington hasn’t faced the adversity of being a Stanley Cup favorite and thus forced to defend their honor in a while.
Did this season pry the Cup window back open in Ovechkin’s twilight– well, biologically speaking, anyway– or are we witnessing a happy accident in the making?
Both teams will progress further going into next year from having attained a playoff berth and gaining the experience from this matchup, regardless of who wins.
More first line heroics for Winnipeg
While depth scoring is paramount, sometimes all you really need to win a playoff game is more goals than the other team and doing so thanks to your best players.
Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves on 22 shots faced for a .955 save percentage in the, 2-1, win in Game 2 for Winnipeg, while Mark Scheifele continued to cement his status as a Jets legend and Kyle Connor added the game-winner early in the final frame.
Scheifele notched his 23rd career Stanley Cup Playoff goal– the most in Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise history– and gave the Jets a, 1-0, lead late in the first period.
The Jets defenders came to play in Game 2 with some dominant shifts and big hits as Logan Stanley imprinted his opponents along the glass and Dylan Samberg cleared the slot to bail out Hellebuyck when it mattered most.
Blues forward, Jimmy Snuggerud, tied the action, 1-1, on a power-play goal in the last second of the opening frame– beating Hellebucyk’s blocker side in the process for his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal, but that was all the offense that St. Louis would get Monday night.
Luke Schenn led Winnipeg’s defenders in hits with seven, while Stanley amassed three, Neal Pionk and Samberg each had two and Josh Morrissey had one.
Only Dylan DeMelo failed to record a hit from the Jets’ blue line, while David Gustafsson, Scheifele, Nino Niederreiter and Connor were the only forwards without a hit in the action.
Snuggerud and Jordan Kyrou were the only Blues forwards without a hit, while Tyler Tucker and Justin Faulk were the only St. Louis defenders to record at least one hit (Tucker had four).
Winnipeg led the physical aspect of the game in the first period, but St. Louis responded with vengeance in the middle period as Brayden Schenn and Jake Neighbours led the charge with five hits each by the end of the night.
If Game 1 was more speed and skill based, then Game 2 was more of a calculated response with a booming physical presence crunching both Jets and Blues players in the process.
Hellebuyck and Jordan Binnington both locked in, which is good news if you like low scoring goalie battles in postseason action.
Early in the final frame, Scheifele worked the puck low from the trapezoid to Cole Perfetti, who promptly setup Connor for the one-timer in the slot to give the Jets the, 2-1, lead 1:43 into the third period.
Winnipeg takes a 2-0 series lead heading back to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4 and is doing everything they need to be doing so far: (1) ensure your star players are performing, (2) get some depth scoring, (3) Hellebuyck dials in and (4) don’t let up the pressure, like, at all.
St. Louis is doing… …whatever Jim Montgomery is doing while singing along with “Your Love” on the bench (love that for him, though– we could all use a little more fun in the midst of our workdays).
There’s no Point in warmup, but there was Landeskog
Famously, Brayden Point plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning and I’m referencing Elliotte Friedman’s tweet from back in the day, but Gabriel Landeskog did take part in warmup for the Colorado Avalanche for the first time since June 26, 2022.
Landeskog did not, however, dress for Game 2 Monday night in Dallas.
Instead, Ross Colton wasn’t good to go and Miles Wood drew into the lineup for the Avs, while Landeskog’s return will have to wait for Game 3 in Denver at the earliest.
Nathan MacKinnon grabbed a quick, 1-0, lead for Colorado with a power-play goal before Tyler Seguin tied the game, 1-1, with a power-play goal of his own for the Stars in the last minute of the opening frame.
Thomas Harley fanned on a shot attempt while traffic blocked Mackenzie Blackwood’s sight lines on Harley’s recuperated effort and the Dallas defender scored on the far, glove side– giving the Stars a, 2-1, lead.
But the Avalanche continued to get the most out of their depth as Jack Drury tied things up 62 seconds after Harley’s goal.
A couple of huge penalty kills led to a shift in momentum for Colorado and Logan O’Connor sent a backhand top shelf while falling to give the Avs a, 3-2, lead with 32.1 seconds left in the middle frame.
The goal was O’Connor’s first goal in 22 postseason games and his second career Stanley Cup Playoff goal in the process.
In the playoffs, it’s important for your top six forwards to do their job and maximize depth scoring as much as possible when you can take it.
Outside of MacKinnon’s goal, Colorado’s top six forwards weren’t doing enough to maximize their depth contributions and get the desired results of a team looking to sap the Stars of their home ice advantage.
Just past the midpoint of the final frame, Evgenii Dadonov reminded everyone that age is just a number as the 36-year-old Russian forward collected a garbage goal– pocketing a rebound to tie the game, 3-3, with 9:47 remaining in regulation.
Both goaltenders faced a barrage of shots Monday as Blackwood turned aside 35 out of 39 shots faced in the overtime loss– good enough for an .897 save percentage– while Jake Oettinger made 34 saves on 37 shots against for a .919 SV% in the win.
Blackwood made a hell of a save on Mason Marchment early in the extra frame, but it wasn’t enough to rally his teammates as the Stars continued to surge as the game progressed.
Colin Blackwell– inserted into Dallas’ lineup for Game 2 in place of Mavrik Bourque– pounced on a loose puck before roofing it short side over Blackwood’s glove and under the bar after Sam Steel screened the Colorado goaltender and the Avs defenders were out of position.
Clearly, if Avalanche head coach, Jared Bednar, utilizes Landeskog in his lineup for Game 3, Colorado can continue the trend of “guys who just made their debut this postseason scoring the game-winning goal” in this series.
The Stars dictated the pace of Game 2 more than they did in Game 1, which if they’re able to do in Game 3 on Wednesday (9:30p ET on ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, Victory+, ALT) in front of a raucous crowd in enemy territory could be a good sign moving forward.
Dallas can’t get caught up in the emotion of the game, but rather needs to stay focused on the unfinished task at hand– getting back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2020, and winning it for the first time since 1999.
Colorado, meanwhile, could use a tremendous boost from the potential return of Landeskog in front of their home crowd and what Avs fan wouldn’t want to see him score in his first game back since Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final? Especially if it plays a pivotal role of taking command of a 2-1 series lead.
Phillip Danault is probably a little tired of the Oilers
For a guy that alleged the Edmonton Oilers were trying to hurt the Los Angeles Kings in their final meeting in the regular season to disrupt Los Angeles’ chances of (a) getting home ice in their divisional matchup and (b) potential long-term success in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, Phillip Danault sure played like a guy that was pissed.
And it’s not like you can blame him when the Oilers have had the Kings’ number eight times in their 10 previous postseason series’– let alone for the last three years in the First Round in progressively fewer games each time.
Edmonton eliminated Los Angeles in seven games in 2022, six games in 2023, and five games in 2024, and each time it seemed like the Kings lost their footing more and more– even on their own ice.
But not Monday.
“Not one more day.” — Phillip Danault, probably
The Kings had a, 4-0, lead late in the second period. Danault had his first goal of the game at 17:43 of the middle frame, mind you, to give Los Angeles and all but in the bag effort for the night.
Then it looked like Kings head coach, Jim Hiller, might need to utilize a bag skate for his players to shake off whatever colossal collapse of Maple Leaf-sized proportions they were about to encounter.
Leon Draisaitl planted the seeds of doubt when he scored at 19:54 of the second period to get the Oilers on the scoreboard, 4-1.
Mattias Janmark scored at 2:19 of the third period to pull Edmonton to within two. How’s that for a wake up call?
“No worries, Kevin Fiala’s got this.” — Kings fans everywhere, probably after Fiala scored a little more than two minutes after Janmark’s tally
BUT THEN
Corey Perry notched his 55th career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal to pull Edmonton back to within two goals of tying the game at 7:43.
Maybe start to panic a little? But then again, there was still plenty of time left on the clock for Kris Knoblauch to pull Stuart Skinner for an extra skater and, well, Los Angeles would surely put it away by then, right? Right!?
Zach Hyman made it a one-goal game, 5-4, at 17:56. Connor McDavid once again put his team on his back and tied the game, 5-5, less than a minute later in the chaos.
Uh oh. The Kings were on their backs again at the hands of the Oilers. Surely the inevitable was looming.
Nope.
Trevor Moore rushed into the attacking zone on a lead pass from Vladislav Gavrikov and dropped the puck back to Danault.
Danault fluttered a knucklepuck shot past Skinner 46 seconds after McDavid knotted things up.
Danault’s goal at 19:18 of the third period was the latest that anyone in Kings history has scored a game-winning goal in the postseason.
Los Angeles had done it. They had one, 6-5.
But it’s only Game 1. The recent trend would’ve indicated that the Oilers were going to pull of the sweep this year, but it’s at least going to take five games now. A gentleman’s sweep.
Unless the Kings have anything to say about it.
They just might– especially if Andrei Kuzmenko, Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe, Danault and Fiala keep scoring. They also might want a little more effort from their defenders in Game 2 (I’m sure Darcy Kuemper would appreciate that as well).
Oh, but shoutout to Oilers forward, Jeff Skinner, by the way for making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut after playing in 1,078 regular season games before doing so. That ended the longest active postseason appearance drought.
The first night of action in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs is in the books and if you didn’t get a chance to watch, you missed out on some fun Saturday.
First, the Winnipeg Jets rallied on home ice to beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-3, in Game 1 of their First Round matchup after trailing, 3-2, entering the third period at Canada Life Centre.
Then the Colorado Avalanche took advantage of the Dallas Stars’ recent streak of bad luck in Game 1s and secured a, 5-1, victory on the road as the two teams opened up their series at American Airlines Center.
Whiteout conditions
Winnipeg takes a 1-0 series lead over St. Louis entering Game 2 Monday night (7:30p ET on ESPN2, CBC, TVAS2, FDSNSW) and is poised to take a commanding 2-0 series lead provided they– you know– maintain their home ice advantage.
The Jets won 30 out of their 41 home games in the regular season and spread out their scoring pretty evenly in Game 1 with goals from Mark Scheifele, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Alex Iafallo, Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry.
You may say “but, wait, three out of five of their goals came from the stereotypical first line forwards, isn’t that a little concerning?” and, well, you need your top six forwards to produce this time of year without question.
Scheifele’s goal came on the power play and he later added an assist– giving him Winnipeg’s all-time leading playoff scorer status, having entered Saturday night tied with Blake Wheeler at 39 points.
Scheifele now has 41 career Stanley Cup Playoff points with the Jets in 43 games compared to Wheeler’s 39 in 44 games.
Meanwhile, Iafallo is getting off on the right foot and needs to continue to be a factor throughout the series. The Jets had an early exit in five games against the Avalanche in the 2024 First Round and Iafallo only had one assist in that span.
Connor led the team in regular season scoring with 41-56–97 totals in 82 games– establishing career-highs in assists and points in the process– and is expected to be a point per game type of player.
Lowry added an empty net goal from the third line and Anderson-Dolan picked up his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal in Game 1 as a fourth line winger.
Here’s hoping the positive momentum continues this time around against the Blues.
If anything, the second line was quiet with clutch postseason scorer, Nino Niederreiter, and his linemates, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti recording just three shots combined– one for Niederreiter and two for Perfetti. But, hey, fourth line center, Morgan Barron, failed to record a shot on goal.
At the other end of the rink, St. Louis got ahead at 9:31 of the first period courtesy of Robert Thomas opening up postseason scoring with a power-play goal and cast doubt in the minds of weary Jets fans that have watched countless Vezina Trophy-winning (and worthy) regular seasons from Connor Hellebuyck come to a screeching halt.
Despite Oskar Sundqvist tying the game in the final two minutes of the middle frame and 26-year-old phenom, Jordan Kyrou, capitalizing on another power play to give the Blues a, 3-2, lead at 1:13 of the third period, St. Louis couldn’t hold on as Winnipeg played the long game.
By the end of the night, the Blues became undisciplined and both teams engaged in sending and receiving messages ahead of Game 2.
If there’s one thing St. Louis head coach, Jim Montgomery, can’t afford to do ahead of Monday night– it’s lose the room.
Montgomery’s tenure in Boston saw the Bruins lose focus on the big picture time and time again as they lost in the 2023 First Round and 2024 Second Round to the Florida Panthers– blowing a 3-1 series lead in the former.
While Joel Hofer had a .921 save percentage on the season against Winnipeg– turning aside 70 out of the 76 shots he faced in three matchups while Jordan Binnington turned in an .875 SV% stopping 21 out of 24 shots against in one game against the Jets back in October– Binnington has the proven track record of taking over a playoff series both in the stat lines and in the opponents’ heads.
Whereas the last two years saw Montgomery and his players scrambling to wrap their minds around Florida’s antics, the Blues could be the Panthers this time around. All Montgomery has to do is not screw it up.
And, unfortunately for U.S. hockey fans, there’s the “big game” factor for Binnington in that he did win the 4 Nations Face-Off as Canada’s goaltender back in February, so he’s bound to steal Hellebuyck’s thunder again if St. Louis can channel their antagonistic qualities for the better.
Meanwhile, in Dallas…
The Colorado Avalanche are good. There’s a reason why they won the Stanley Cup in 2022, and remain a Cup contender from year-to-year since then.
The Dallas Stars should be good. There’s a reason why they went out and added Mikko Rantanen ahead of the trade deadline last month and made it to the Western Conference Final in 2023 and 2024.
All of this, of course, after losing in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Since that Cup Final, however, the Stars haven’t been able to get over the hump that is the Western Conference Final and, well, Game 1s.
Dallas has now dropped eight consecutive series-opening games. The last time they won a Game 1 was actually that 2020 Stanley Cup Final against Tampa, when they had a, 4-1, victory in Edmonton during the pandemic-infused “bubble” playoffs.
The bad news? Game 1 isn’t Dallas’ thing.
The good news? History is on their side.
The Stars dropped Game 1 against the Avalanche, 4-3, in overtime last year on home ice in their 2024 Second Round matchup. They went on to win the next three games before losing Game 5, but won Game 6, 2-1, in double overtime on the road in Denver– courtesy of former Colorado forward, Matt Duchene’s game-winner.
Dallas also holds the 4-2 series advantage against the Avalanche in their lifetime having beaten Colorado in seven games in the 1999 Western Conference Final and 2000 Western Conference Final, as well as seven games in the 2020 Second Round and six games in the 2024 Second Round.
Jake Oettinger is the type of goaltender that can get better as the series goes on. He nearly stole the 2022 First Round series against the Calgary Flames in a Game 7 on road ice.
Oettinger faced 67 shots against and made 64 saves that night in the process before Johnny Gaudreau sent the Flames onto the Second Round with a game-winning overtime goal.
We probably– and by probably, I mean we shouldn’t see Jamie Benn on a line with Rantanen again in this series and if Dallas can find a way to get by without Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen, the Stars will get better depth throughout the lineup as they return to full health by the Second Round.
Well, assuming they get there. Rantanen should probably try not to have another minus-two plus/minus rating Monday night (9:30p ET on ESPN, SN360, TVAS-D, Victory+, ALT).
Nathan MacKinnon notched two goals in Colorado’s, 5-1, victory Saturday night and usual playoff performers, Devon Toews and Artturi Lehkonen, found ways to get on the scoreboard as well– albeit Lehkonen in a rather unconventional, though unintentional manner.
If the Stars can figure out how to (1) remain undisciplined because Cale Makar is a penalty drawing machine and (2) uh, stop MacKinnon and Makar while in the process shutting down Colorado’s heavily invested in depth at the trade deadline, then Dallas can go back to Colorado even in the series 1-1.
The problem is that even if you shutdown MacKinnon’s line which includes Martin Nečas, the Avalanche still have Brock Nelson, Jack Drury and Charlie Coyle working their middle six while waiting for the potential return of Gabriel Landeskog for the first time in Colorado’s lineup since Landeskog raised the Cup above his head in late June 2022.
Avs netminder, Mackenzie Blackwood, however, is largely untested.
Both teams only managed 24 shots on goal aside in Game 1 and Blackwood is still new to playoff hockey even if he is now past his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut heading into Game 2.
Dallas really has to come out on all cylinders Monday otherwise it could a short series.
Even on an off night for MacKinnon– he’s still one of the top two, three or four best players in the world depending on whether or not Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl or Nikita Kucherov are also playing that night for their respective teams.
Round 1 of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft was held Thursday night at Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec marking the first time since the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver that the selections were made in person in front of a live audience as the 2020 and 2021 editions of the draft were held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coverage of this year’s first round began Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and streaming on ESPN+ in the United States, as well as on SN and TVAS in Canada.
Rounds 2-7 will be televised on NHL Network and ESPN+ in the U.S., while viewers in Canada can tune to SN or TVAS starting at 11 a.m. ET Friday morning.
Here’s a quick recap of the First Round in case you had other things going on Thursday night.
2022 NHL Entry Draft Round 1
Montréal Canadiens – LW Juraj Slafkovsky, TPS (Liiga)
New Jersey Devils – D Simon Nemec, Nitra (Slovakia)
Arizona Coyotes – C Logan Cooley, USA U-18 (USHL)
Seattle Kraken – C Shane Wright, Kingston (OHL)
Philadelphia Flyers – C/LW Cutter Gauthier, USA U-18 (USHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (from Chicago) – D David Jiricek, Plzen (Extraliga)
Chicago (from Ottawa Senators) – D Kevin Korchinski, Seattle (WHL)
Detroit Red Wings – C Marco Kasper, Rögle BK (SHL)
Buffalo Sabres – C Matthew Savoie, Winnipeg (WHL)
Anaheim Ducks – D Pavel Mintyukov, Saginaw (OHL)
Arizona Coyotes (from San Jose Sharks) – C Conor Geekie, Winnipeg (WHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets – D Denton Mateychuk, Moose Jaw (WHL)
Chicago (from New York Islanders via Montréal Canadiens) – C Frank Nazar, USA-U18 (USHL)
Winnipeg Jets – RW Rutger McGroarty, USA U-18 (USHL)
Vancouver Canucks – RW Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
Buffalo Sabres (from Vegas Golden Knights) – C Noah Ostlund, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
The Montréal Canadiens trade D Alexander Romanov and the 98th overall pick to the New York Islanders for a 2022 1st round pick (13th overall).
Montréal traded a 2022 1st round pick (13th overall, originally belonging to the New York Islanders) and a 2022 3rd round pick (66th overall)Chicago for D Kirby Dach.
The San Jose Sharks traded a 2022 1st round pick (11th overall) to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2022 1st round pick (27th overall), a 2022 2nd round pick (34th overall) and a 2022 2nd round pick (45th overall).
Chicago acquired G Petr Mrázek and a 2022 1st round pick (25th overall) from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2022 2nd round pick(38th overall).
The Arizona Coyotes acquired F Zack Kassian, a 2022 1st round pick (29th overall), a 2024 3rd round pick and a 2025 2nd round pick from the Edmonton Oilers for a 2022 1st round pick (32nd overall).
Trades made earlier in the day prior to the first round of the draft:
The Colorado Avalanche acquired G Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2022 3rd round pick, a 2022 5th round pick and a 2023 3rd round pick.
The Ottawa Senators traded a 2022 1st round pick (7th overall), a 2022 2nd round pick (39th overall) and a 2024 3rd round pick to Chicago for F Alex DeBrincat.
Nick and Cam present cases for James Norris Memorial Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Calder Memorial Trophy finalists and predict how the rest of the 2022 First Round should go.
Casey DeSmith made 52 saves in a, 4-0, shutout for the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday night against the Boston Bruins at PPG Paints Arena– setting a pair of franchise records for each team in the process.
DeSmith made the most saves in a shutout win in Penguins history, surpassing Jean-Sebastian Aubin’s 45-save effort in a, 4-0, win against the Dallas Stars on March 9, 2004, at Pittsburgh’s former home, Mellon Arena.
Meanwhile, for the first time in Bruins history, Boston had 50 or more shots on net in a shutout loss.
Also Jake Guentzel scored a hat trick to reach the 40-goal plateau for the second time in his career and first time since the 2018-19 season.
Talk about burying the lede.
DeSmith (9-5-5, 2.75 goals-against average, .915 save percentage in 23 games played) made 52 saves on 52 shots against in the shutout win for the Pens, while Jeremy Swayman (22-13-3, 2.35 goals-against average, .916 save percentage in 39 games played) stopped 28 out of 31 shots faced in the loss for the B’s.
The Penguins improved to 44-23-11 (99 points) overall and remain in command of 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division, while the Bruins fell to 47-25-5 (99 points) and remain stuck in 4th place in the Atlantic Division.
Boston is still two points ahead of the Washington Capitals for the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with the second wild card going on to face the Florida Panthers in the 2022 First Round as a result of the Panthers clinching the number one seed in the Eastern Conference on Thursday night.
The B’s went 1-2-0 in their regular season series against the Penguins after going 5-3-0 against Pittsburgh in 2020-21 and 2-1-0 in 2019-20.
The Bruins remained without Jakub Zboril (right ACL), David Pastrnak (undisclosed), Hampus Lindholm (lower body), Linus Ullmark (undisclosed) and Jesper Frödén (lower body) on Thursday.
Head coach, Bruce Cassidy, informed reporters prior to the matchup with the Penguins that Ullmark could be back on Saturday afternoon in Boston and made no changes to his lineup from Tuesday night’s, 3-2, overtime victory in St. Louis to Thursday night’s loss in Pittsburgh.
Jack Studnicka, Josh Brown, Jack Ahcan and Anton Blidh made up the short list of healthy scratches for the B’s against the Pens.
Rickard Rakell sent a pass to Sidney Crosby before Crosby bumped it over to Guentzel along the blue line as the Penguins entered the attacking zone almost midway through the opening frame.
Guentzel (38) drove to the net as the Bruins botched a line change and buried a shot through Swayman’s five-hole to give Pittsburgh a, 1-0, lead at 7:49 of the first period.
Crosby (52) and Rakell (20) tallied the assists on Guentzel’s first goal of the game.
Moments later, Pittsburgh had the first power play of the night as a result of Taylor Hall’s slashing infraction at 11:48, but the Pens failed to convert on the ensuing skater advantage.
After one period the Penguins led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 13-11, in shots on goal.
Boston, meanwhile, held the advantage in giveaways (4-1), hits (15-7) and faceoff win% (59-41).
Both teams had four blocked shots and five takeaways each heading into the middle period while Pittsburgh was 0-for-1 on the power play and the Bruins had yet to see any action on the skater advantage.
Early in the middle frame, Boston’s defense erred once more as Jeff Carter sent fed Jason Zucker a lead pass into the attacking zone.
Zucker (8) broke free behind Brandon Carlo and buried a shot in the top right corner as Carlo opted to cover Bryan Rust in the center of the ice.
Carter (24) and John Marino (24) notched the assists as the Penguins took a, 2-0, lead at 6:10 of the second period.
About ten minutes later, the Pens extended their lead to three goals when Carlo failed to clear the zone and ended up giving the puck away to the high slot whereby Pittsburgh kept it in the zone and worked it around before Kris Letang dished a pass through the slot to connect with Guentzel (39) on a one-timer goal.
Letang (56) had the only assist as the Penguins made it, 3-0, at 16:12 of the second period.
Through 40 minutes of action, Pittsburgh led on the scoreboard, 3-0, despite trailing in shots on goal, 30-25.
Boston even had a, 19-12, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone, while also maintaining control in takeaways (8-6), giveaways (6-3) and hits (29-19).
The Penguins, on the other hand, led in blocked shots (7-6), while both teams managed to split faceoff win%, 50-50, after two periods.
Only the Pens had seen any power play action heading into the second intermission and Pittsburgh was 0-for-1 as a result entering the final frame.
Marcus Pettersson cut a rut to the penalty box for interference at 7:27 of the third period, but the Bruins weren’t able to convert on the resulting power play– falling to 0-for-28 on their last 28 power play opportunities as a result.
The B’s had another chance on the skater advantage at 10:16 when Chad Ruhwedel was penalized for holding, but Boston ended up extending their power play drought to 0-for-29 on their last 29 power plays instead.
With about four minutes left in the game, Cassidy pulled Swayman for an extra attacker.
He’d end up yanking him again about a minute later after a stoppage in play resulted in a defensive zone faceoff, but Pittsburgh made quick work of the open net regardless.
Guentzel (40) retrieved a loose puck in his own end and flung the rubber biscuit with enough velocity to reach the back of the empty twine across the rink– giving the Penguins a, 4-0, lead as a result at 17:55 of the third period.
Hats rained down from the stands at PPG Paints Arena as Guentzel completed his hat trick with an unassisted empty net goal.
At the final horn, Pittsburgh had won, 4-0, with DeSmith earning a shutout despite Boston exiting the ice with a, 52-32, advantage in shots on goal, including a, 22-7, advantage in shots on net in the third period alone.
The Bruins exited PPG Paints Arena with the advantage in giveaways (6-5), hits (36-26) and faceoff win% (52-48), while the Penguins left their own ice leading in blocked shots (14-8).
The Pens went 0-for-1 and the B’s went 0-for-2 on the power play on Thursday.
Boston has now lost five out of their last eight games and dropped to 13-16-3 (6-8-2 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 6-14-2 (2-7-1 on the road) when trailing after one and 4-19-2 (1-8-1 on the road) when losing after two periods this season.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, improved to 33-5-3 (17-3-1 at home) when scoring first, 22-3-2 (13-2-1 at home) when leading after the first period and 30-1-2 (15-0-1 at home) when leading after two periods in 2021-22.
The Bruins return home to host the New York Rangers Saturday afternoon at TD Garden. Puck drop is set for a little after 3 p.m. ET on ABC.
Boston heads to Montréal on Sunday before hosting Florida and Buffalo next Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, prior to their regular season finale in Toronto next Friday.
Sean returns to the program to talk about the Boston Bruins, a plethora of injuries around the league, Doug Wilson, the Western Conference wild card race, Mike Bossy and more including an all-new segment where Sean flips the script and asks Nick stuff.
Down the Frozen River 
You must be logged in to post a comment.