NHL podcast Jessica Kwong: Oilers have an offense that could make them #1 in West; Will the Bruins blue line help them make a push towards the post season; plus more news

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers has control of the puck at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Tue Dec 9, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP News)

NHL podcast Jessica Kwong:

#1 Can the Edmonton Oilers’ red-hot offense carry them to the top of the Western Conference?

#2 Will the Boston Bruins’ revamped blue line hold up through the playoff push?

#3 Is Connor Bedard poised to break franchise rookie records for the Chicago Blackhawks?

#4 Can the Vancouver Canucks maintain their surprising early-season dominance?

#5 Will the New York Rangers’ new coaching changes spark a deeper postseason run?

Jessica Kwong does the NHL podcasts every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Another great night in net by Askarov paves the way for Sharks 3-1 win over Bruins

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) is congratulated by teammates after scoring against the Boston Bruins during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) (Jeff Chiu/AP)

By Lincoln Juarez

SAN JOSE, Calif – Yaroslav Askarov owned the crease Sunday night as the Sharks continued to see scoring from up and down the lineup with Shakir Mukhamadullin’s first of the season. San Jose gained a place in the standings after a big night to end the homestand with smiles all around with a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins.

Looking to win their third game of a four game homestand, the Sharks (10-9-3) matched up against the Bruins (13-10-0). The Ottawa Senators took a close one Saturday night 3-2, but the Sharks hoped to turn the page and beat a good Bruins team on Sunday. San Jose opened up with their second line on the ice which included Alex Wennberg, who was playing in his 100th game as a Shark.

Early offensive pressure and a physical fourth line of Goodrow, Ostapchuk, and Reaves led to a few Sharks power plays. The 10th ranked Bruins penalty kill kept the Sharks scoreless on the power play in the first (0-for-2). However, it was right after team teal’s second try on the man advantage that Shakir Mukhamadullin scored his first goal of the season. It was Mukhamadullin (1) from Mario Ferraro (5) and Barclay Goodrow (2) at 15:53 of the first period.

The Sharks out-shot the Bruins 12-10 in the first period and left the ice with a 1-0 lead.

Things slowed down for the Sharks in the first half of the second period. The Bruins tallied a lot of shots forcing Sharks goaltender, Yaroslav Askarov to stay strong in net. He came up huge with what seemed to be his best save of the night, to keep Boston from tying the game, on a one-time shot by David Pastrnak.

Askarov was also a dominant factor of the Sharks penalty kill as they forced the Bruins to go 0-for-2 on the power play in the second period, while Askarov stopped five Bruin shots down a man.

Boston was held scoreless in the second period and trailed 2-0 heading into the second intermission thanks to Macklin Celebrini’s 14th goal of the season, on the power play, from Orlov (13) and Toffoli (7). Celebrini’s goal was a product of the momentum shift in the second for the Sharks, following Dmitry Orlov’s disruptive hit on Sean Kuraly which led to Ty Dellandrea drawing the penalty for the ensuing power play.

The Sharks defense took charge in the third period in front of Yaroslav Askarov who described his d-men as “unreal” tonight. Every attack by the Bruins in the offensive zone was answered with physicality and tight pressure. Askarov turned away nine of 10 shots he faced in the final period including another cross-crease, one-time save which triumphed over his save on Pastrnak in the second.

It was Pastrnak assisting on Morgan Geekie’s goal to bring the Bruins within one with some time left in regulation. The Sharks stood strong and turned down Boston’s attempt to tie the game. Colin Graf added his name to the score sheet with an empty-net goal to put the game away and send a packed SAP Center home happy.

Askarov stopped 34 of 35 shots he faced and the Sharks penalty kill snubbed the Bruins man advantage as they went 0-for-3 on the power play.

Team teal wrapped up the four game homestand with three wins in an effort to re-establish a home ice advantage in San Jose. “We feel the tank has got some energy back,” said head coach Ryan Warsofsky. “We want to run with the energy and use it as our advantage and make it a tough place to play.” he added as his team has won six of eight home games in the month of November with one left to play.

The Sharks will hit the road before the Thanksgiving break in Colorado to face the Avalanche for the second time this season after their 3-2 overtime win at SAP Center on November 1st.

Mammoth Beats Bruins 3-2 To Remain Undefeated At Home

Utah Mammoth defenceman Nate Schmidt takes a shot against the Boston Bruins in the second period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sun Oct 19, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Dylan Guenther scored the third Period go-ahead goal and Vítek Vaněček locked down the net as the Utah Mammoth improves to 3-0-0 on their opening homestand beating the Boston Bruins at the Delta Center 3-2.

Coming off of back-to-back home wins at Delta Center to begin the 2025-2026 season, the Utah Mammoth (3-2-0) welcomed the Boston Bruins (3-3-0) to Salt Lake City on Sunday afternoon for the third of four games on the homestand.

At 3:30 of the first period, Boston’s Elias Lindholm was whistled for hooking against Dylan Guenther to put Utah on the power play. Nearly a minute later, Mammoth captain Clayton Keller found forward Nick Schmaltz in front of the net whose one-timer hit linemate Logan Cooley squarely in the back on the numbers, bouncing over his left shoulder and over the head of Bruins netminder Joonas Korpisalo, falling cleanly into the net to open the scoring.

Cooley was credited with his second goal of the season. Keller’s assist gave him an NHL-high 35 power play points (9G, 26A) over his last 61 games going back to December 8, 2024. Just past the halfway mark of the period, Mammoth forward Dylan Guenther was called for tripping against Morgan Geekie to give the Bruins the man advantage, which David Pastrnak cashed in for his 3rd of the season, assisted by Pavel Zacha and Charlie McAvoy, to tie things up. As the buzzer sounded, Korpisalo had stopped 11 of 12 shots in the frame while Vítek Vaněček turned away 9 of 10.

At 5:46 of the second period, Boston took its first lead of the game on a goal by David Pastrnak, his 4th of the season, assisted by Marat Khusnutdinov, as a vocal minority of yellow-clad cheering Bruins fans made their presence known. At 15:57, with Brandon Tanev and Nikita Zadorov serving offsetting roughing penalties, Keller put a rebound off a shot by Schmaltz past Korpisalo on the 4-on-4 for his second goal of the season with the additional assist going to Ian Cole. Keller and Schmaltz have combined on six goals over the past six periods. The period would end with the two squads knotted up at 2-2.

The two squads played to a draw in the first half of the third period until Dylan Guenther broke through at 10:37 of the frame with his 3rd goal on the season, assisted by JJ Peterka, to give Utah a 3-2 lead. Boston pulled Korpisalo with a minute and a half to go, but was unable to solve Vaněček who earned his first victory of the season, saving 24 of 26 shots. Guenther’s goal was his second game-winner of the season and an NHL-leading 8 over his last 36 games going back to February, putting him ahead of Sidney Crosby and Cole Caufield who have six each.

After the game, captain Clayton Keller addressed the team’s resilient third period. “We had a good third. For whatever reason, our second hasn’t been great, but we’ve been able to bounce back and play hard in the third, get back to our style of hockey, and I think we did a great job of that tonight.” Praising Vítek Vaněček’s performance in net, Keller added, “V was unreal all game, key saves at the right times, so it’s great to see him get a win here tonight at home. I’m sure that’s a huge confidence booster as well, making great stops and having an unbelievable game like that.”

Game-winning goal scorer Dylan Guenther spoke of scoring in front of his parents for the first time. “I mean it only took 25 years, so this might have been the last road trip if I hadn’t gotten one, but this one is special. Growing up as a kid always dreaming of playing in the NHL and getting to score with your family in the stands is pretty cool.” Speaking of the Mammoth playing calm in pressure situations, Guenther said, “We have a lot of leaders here, a lot of guys who have won. And heading into the third, you have to be comfortable in those situations and own it. That’s when you want to play when the game’s tied, you’re at home and the crowd is into it. I think it’s just a ton of fun. So if we embrace that, we continue to get better at it.”

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny was all smiles in the interview room. Speaking of the chemistry between Dylan Guenther and JJ Peterka, Tourigny said, “I liked their third period, and I talked to JJ after the second about using his speed in every phase and putting speed on their D and stuff like that. I really like the way he responded too, he attacked right in from the first shift in the third period, and he attacked with a lot of speed. He (Dylan Guenther) elevated this game in the third, and on the winning goal, he had a great reload, great strip, made a good pass, and obviously, Gunner took a really good shot. But I like that line in the third, and the way they responded.” What is it like to be undefeated at home to begin the season? “Trying not to get ahead of ourselves, in the sense that I don’t want to get too excited, but obviously we’re happy about how it happened so far. And we know we have 41games at home, and we want to take advantage of it. But so far, so good.”

Utah (4-2-0) concludes its homestand on Tuesday against the visiting Colorado Avalanche (5-0-1) who previously defeated the Mammoth on their October 9 home opener.

NHL podcast Len Shapiro Fri Apr 11, 2025: Blackhawks score 3 third period goals in 1:33; Panthers closing in on Lightning; plus more news

Apr 10, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chicago Blackhawks left wing Nick Foligno (17) shoots and scores a goal while Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke (52) defends during the second period at TD Garden. Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

NHL podcast Len Shapiro Fri Apr 11, 2025:

#1 The Chicago Blackhawks shot a barrage of four goals in the third period and scored three of those goals in a span of 1:33 against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday for a 5-2 win. The Hawks Nick Foligno scored twice and Ryan Donato picked up his 30th goal for the first time in his NHL career. It was a sweet win for the struggling Blackhawks who had lost six of their last seven games.

#2 Brad Marchand scored his first goal as a Florida Panthers as the Panthers upended the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise Florida. The Panthers Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich, and Alexsander Barkov all scored. The Panthers are now just one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning.

#3 Columbus Blue Jackets Jet Greaves saved 39 shots and the Jackets came back from behind to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Thursday night. Greaves got called up from AHL Cleveland after Elvis Merzlikins had to leave morning skate due to a undisclosed injury.

#4  The Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin was honored before the Capitals game Thursday night for setting an NHL record for most goals with his 895th career goal against the New York Islanders on Sunday. Ovechkin picked up an assist to extend his six game point streak in Thursday’s game as well.

#5 The Capitals in the game defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 at the Capital Center in DC. The Caps win clinched the number one seed in the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tom Wilson also picked up his 33rd goal of the year and the Caps are now 8-1-0 in their last nine games.

#6 The Winnipeg Jets one of the hottest teams in the NHL and the number one seed for the Presidents Cup. The Jets 54-21-4 and they pass the audition.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro Fri Apr 4, 2025: Caps Ovechkin 3 goals away to catch the Great One: Canadiens push to make post season since 2021 win 3rd straight game; Senators Ullmark saves 31 shots in 3-1 win over Lightning; plus more news

Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) and the Boston Bruins defenceman Ian Mitchell (14) push each other as linesman Jonathan Deschamps (80) intervenes in the first period at the Belle Centre in Montreal on Thu Apr 3, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro Fri Apr 4, 2025

#1 It’s been a long time coming for the Montreal Canadiens as their push for a Stanley Cup Playoff birth continues. The last time the Habs were in the post season was in 2021. The Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1 for their third straight win at the Belle Centre on Thursday night. Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki scored a goal a piece and an assist. Sam Montembeault had 18 saves. The win gives Montreal a two point lead over the New York Rangers for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

#2  Linus Ullmark stopped 31 shots for the Ottawa Senators and put an end to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s four game win streak. The Senators came up with a 3-1 win on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Lightning’s Brandon Hagel tried to score on a short handed break away but Ullmark stopped the shot at 5:58 in the third period to keep the score at the time to 2-1.

#3  Cale Makar had himself an evening for the Colorado Avalanche scoring his 30th goal and picking up two assists in a 7-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus Thursday. Makar became the ninth defenseman to score 30 goals in a season since the Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green had 31 in 2008-09.

#4  The red hot St Louis Blues tied a franchise record with their 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Enterprise Center on Thursday night. Robert Thomas scored at 2:12 in the overtime stanza for the winning goal. The win ties the Blues with the Stanley Cup Champions Blues who won 11 in a row between Jan 23-Feb 19 2019.

#5 The Dallas Stars Wyatt Johnson got a goal in his sixth game in a row and the Stars won their seventh game in a row with a 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday. In the NHL Johnson’s streak is the longest active run. The Stars Jake Oettinger saved 28 shots in the win.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks At Long Last Beat Bruins 3-1; SJ gets key goal from Carlsson in third period

San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky directs the players from behind the bench against the Boston Bruins in the third period on Sat Mar 22, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

It has been a very long time since the San Jose Sharks beat the Boston Bruins, in fact it has been 3,294 days ago. They broke that chain Saturday night winning the game 3-1 with the go ahead and winning goals scored in the third period. William Ecklund, Barclay Goodrow and Lucas Carlsson each scored a goal in a solid offensive effort.

Game recap: Although neither team was able to score in the opening period; it was the Sharks scoring the first goal of the game in the second period. San Jose’s William Ecklund scored assisted by Macklin Celebrini and Luca Cagnoni for the San Jose 1-0 lead. The Sharks held onto the slim lead as the time-clock began to wear down. The Bruins tied up this with a little over three minutes left in the period. At 16:50 Casey Mittlestadt scored assisted by Cole Koepke. This game had been a tight one from the opening face-off.

The 1-1 tie held deep into the third period. The Sharks had some great opportunities but Bruin goalie Joonas Korpisalo was just as stingy as San Jose’s Alexander Georgiev. Both goalies were doing a solid job but that was all to change in the late minutes of the third period.

San Jose would take back the lead and break the tie at 16:37. Lucas Carlsson scored assisted by Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini. Lucas Carlsson back after years and playing his first game as a Shark ending up scoring the winning goal. He was activated from the Barracuda for Saturday night’s game and what an incredible night he finished with finishing off the Bruins and handing them their fifth loss in a row.

The Sharks really took it to the Bruins in the final period. After taking back the lead, San Jose’s Barclay Goodrow slugged in his fifth goal of the season to solidify the win. He was assisted by William Ecklund and Lucas Carlsson who had a very busy night. The Sharks now improve their season record 19-42-9. This win has been a long time coming almost a decade ago.

Game notes: Saturday night the Sharks hosted the Bruins at the SAP Center. The Sharks continued to struggle losing on Thursday to the Hurricanes 3-1 as Carolina won their eighth game in a row while the Sharks took their fifth loss of their last 6 games and 32 of their last 40 games prior to Saturday night’s win.

They have struggled all season and had to contend with the loss of Marc-Edouard Vlasic who did not play with an upper body Issue. Vlasic was unable to take the ice Saturday night with a projected return date of March 27.

His absence didn’t affect the team’s defensive lineup as the Sharks held the Bruins to just one goal and unfortunately Vlasic has already missed 12 games due to injury this season. The Bruins have had a rough patch as well now having lost five games in a row and couldn’t turn this game around for a win over San Jose.

The Sharks have a 19-42-9 record this season and the Bruins have a 30-32-9 record with both teams taking up residence near or at the bottom of their respective divisions. The Sharks has been without Logan Couture for five months now and there still remains no timeline for his return. He remains a week to week with a lower body injury incurred during offseason training. This was to be be his 15th season with the Sharks.

This win came as a result of some solid play as well as solid decisions. San Jose played a well-rounded game Saturday night. It was William Ecklund, Barclay Woodrow and Lucas Carlsson who spear-headed the win but the entire team was playing as a unit. Goalie Alexander Georgiev had what may have been his best game this season. He was solid but for the one goal scored by Boston.

The Sharks will next take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at SAP this Thursday night with face-off scheduled for 7:30 PM.

NHL podcast Len Shapiro Fri Mar 14, 2025: Panthers get the edge on Leafs 3-2; Senators rolling with fifth straight win 5-3 over Bruins; plus more NHL news

Florida Panthers Sam Bennett second from left scores on Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) as the Maple Leafs Jake McCabe (22) defends in the first period at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Fri Mar 14, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP)

NHL podcast Len Shapiro Fri Mar 14, 2025:

#1 The Florida Panthers edged the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Thursday night. The Panthers Sam Bennett helped out with two goals in the winning cause.

#2 The Ottawa Senators are becoming to be known as Hottawa. They have now won five straight games. In the latest win on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre the Senators scored four goals against the Boston Bruins in the first period. The Sens Drake Batherson scored two goals with an assist, Brady Tkachuk has now scored a point in eight straight games with seven goals and two assists. There was nothing the Bruins could do as they ran into a hot Ottawa team losing 6-3.

#3 The Philadelphia Flyers Bobby Brink scored two goals as they edged the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Thursday night. The win ended the Flyers five game losing streak and the Lightning lost their third game in a row.

#4 The Pittsburgh Penguins Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust scored a goal each and had an assist in the Pens win over the St Louis Blues 5-3 at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night. The Penguins Sidney Crosby and Blake Lizotte had two assists to help the Pens pick up their third straight win. The last time the Penguins won three in a row was when the won four in a row back on Nov 27-Dec 3.

#5  The Vegas Golden Knights chalked up their fourth straight win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-0 shutout. Knight’s goaltender Adin Hill stopped all 27 Jackets shot on goals. Hill stopped 14 shots in the first period and gave the Knights an opportunity to score to goals to take the lead in the first period.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro Fri Mar 7, 2025: Utah’s Veimelka 31 saves shutout Red Wings 3-0; Bjorkstrand scores game winner for Bolts 6-5 win over Sabres; plus more news

Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Veimelka saved 31 shots for a 3-0 shutout against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Thu May 6, 2025 (AP file photo)

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro Fri Mar 7, 2025

Len before we start just a quick run down about the NHL trade deadline and the Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin’s run at the all time goal scoring record.

#1  Karel Veimelka stopped 31 shots for the Utah Hockey Club and Utah scored three unanswered goals against the Detroit Red Wings for a 4-2 win at Little Caesars Arena Thursday night in Detroit. Vejmelka just signed a five year extension before the game for Utah.

#2 Jake Guentzel had a big night for the Tampa Bay Lightning picking up a hat trick that helped the Bolts edge the visiting Buffalo Sabres at Amailie Arena on Thursday night 6-5. Oliver Bjorkstrand ended a 5-5 tie in the third period in his Tampa Bay debut with a goal. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves.

#3 Florida Panthers Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 16 shots as the Florida Panthers picked up their fifth straight game in a shutout over the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 at Amerant Bank Arena Thursday night. Bobrovsky picked up his 433rd career win which tied goaltender great Tony Esposito for the tenth spot on the NHL all time list.

#4 Winnipeg Jets Mark Scheifele scored a goal and had two assists as the Jets got a convincing 4-1 win over Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night. Gabriel Vilardi picked up three assists teammate Kyle Connor scored a goal and got an assist. The Jets snapped a three game losing streak with the win.

#5  Carolina Hurricanes Seth Jarvis scored a key goal with 19 seconds left in regulation to get the Canes a 3-2 win against the visiting Boston Bruins at Lenovo Center in Raleigh on Thursday night. Jarvis scored his goal from the short side at the left hash marks after defenseman Nikita Zadrorov broke his stick in an attempt to clear the puck in the right circle.

Join Len Shaprio for the NHL podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Lightning get shutout help from Vasilevskiy; Isles edge Bruins 2-1 at the Garden; plus more NHL news

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) and defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) put the stop on the Calgary Flames right wing Matt Coranato (27) at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay on Thu Feb 27, 2025 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 27 Calgary Flames shots on goal for a 3-0 shutout at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay on Thursday. The Lightning got goal scoring from Brandon Hagel, Erik Cemak, and Nikita Kucherov.

#2 The New York Islanders just got by the Boston Bruins 2-1 at the Garden in Boston. The Islanders Alexander Romanov scored his fourth goal of the season at 16:11 in the first period and teammate Kyle Palmieri scored his 18th goal of the season at 4:21 in the second period. The Bruins got their only goal of the game at 10:04 when David Pastrnak scored in the third period.

#3 The Columbus Blue Jackets won a three goal contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Most of the game’s scoring came in the second period when the Red Wings Alex DeBrincat scored his 27th goal at 27 seconds making it 1-0, the Blue Jackets would follow up with four unanswered goals from James Van Riemsdyk, Sean Kuraly, Kent Johnson, and Riemsdyk scored his second goal of the period making it 4-1 CBJs. The Red Wings JD Compher scored at 16:30 for the final goal of the period making it 4-2. The Jackets Kirill Marchenko scored at 19:03 in the third period to round out all the goals in a 5-2 win for Columbus.

#4 The San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens skated to a 2-2 after the first period. The Sharks getting first period goals from Fabian Zetterlund and Nico Sturm. The Habs got first period goals from Nick Suzuki scoring twice in the period. In the second period the Sharks Will Smith scored at 17:21 making 3-2 Sharks. The Canadiens added two more in the third period Alex Newhook and in overtime Cole Caulfield scored the game winner for the 4-3 win.

#5 The Carolina Hurricanes came away with a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. Wearing their Hartford Whalers uniforms the Hurricanes scored three unanswered goals in the first period taking a 3-1 lead after the first period. Carolina would score a goal in each of the second and third periods for the 5-2 win.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each Friday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Jets Ford scores first NHL goal; Wild goalie Fleury shuts out Habs 4-0; plus more NHL news

Winnipeg Jets center Vladislav Namestnkov (7) puts a backhanded shot in the net past the Boston Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo (70) in the first period at TD Garden in Boston on Thu Jan 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Winnipeg Jets Parker Ford who grew up rooting for the Boston Bruins as a kid scored in his NHL debut against the Bruins as well as the Jets scoring a total of four straight goals in the third period in a four goal 6-2 win over the Bruins.

#2  Minnesota Wild goaltender 40 year Mark Andre Fleury stopped 19 shots and recorded his 76th NHL shutout for the Wild’s third straight win 4-0 over the Montreal Canadiens. Fleury picked up his first shutout since March 14th. This could very well be Fleury’s last game in Montreal as he is retiring after this season. Fleury who grew up a Canadiens fan lived in Sorel, Quebec just an hour from Montreal.

#3 The Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin scored his career 876th goal and needs 19 to surpass former Los Angeles Kings NHL goal leader Wayne Gretzky who has 894 career goals. Despite the Ovechkin goal the Caps lost to the Ottawa Senators 5-4 at Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa on Thursday.

#4 Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andre Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots in the Lightning’s 3-0 shutout over the Los Angeles Kings at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay. For Vasilevskiy this was his third shutout for the season and his 37th career shutout. The Lightning got two goals from Brandon Hagel and a goal from Anthony Cirelli.

#5 Mikko Rantanen scored his first goal since joining the Carolina Hurricanes in their 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Lenovo Center on Thursday night. Rantanen who came over to Carolina from the Colorado Avalanche that involved a three trade deal that included the Blackhawks forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury and a 2025 second round NHL draft pick.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com