Tag: NHL

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

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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.

Cooley and Kerfoot Strike Lightning Twice In 6-4 Utah HC Win Over Tampa Bay

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Utah Hockey Club’s Logan Cooley (92) scored a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sat Mar 22, 2025 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Here is Cooley getting congratulated by teammates after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Sun Mar 16, 2025. (Canadian Press via AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah forwards explode for six goals while notching the team’s seventh home win over the past 9 games in hard fought victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Utah Hockey Club played a rare early afternoon game at Delta Center on Saturday, hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning who have outscored every other team in the league except the Washington Capitals and boasts the highest plus/minus differential in the NHL.

Josh Doan struck first for the home team at 6:42 of the opening frame connecting at the goal crease on a perfect pass from Jack McBain from behind the net for his fifth goal of the season, with the second assist to Lawson Crouse.

With a little more than two minutes remaining in the period, Utah forward Nick Schmaltz fed Michael Kesselring the puck on a breakaway which was stopped by Lightning netminder Brandon Halverson, but Logan Cooley followed the play and punched the rebound into the back of the net for his 20th goal of the season and a 2-0 lead.

Shortly after the ensuing faceoff, Ian Cole was whistled for tripping against Nikita Kucherov, resulting in a power play goal for Brayden Point, his 33rd on the season, assisted by Jake Guentzel and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

At 5:22 of the second period, Tampa Bay forward Anthony Cirelli evened the score on a slap shot for his 24th goal of the season, assisted by Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov. 36 seconds later Utah would regain the lead when forward Kevin Stenlund one-timed a cross ice pass from John Marino to find Alexander Kerfoot in front of the net who knocked it in for his 9th goal of the season.

With 2:37 remaining in the period, Lightning forward Jake Guentzel tied things up once again, tipping in a pass from Nick Perbix for his 34th goal of the season, but 30 seconds later John Marino launched a shot from the blue line which Logan Cooley deflected into the net for his 21st of the season, putting Utah back on top 4-3 as the period closed.

Barely a minute into the third period, Clayton Keller was stopped at close range by Brandon Halverson, who immediately turned away a rebound attempt by Logan Cooley but was unable to stop Nick Schmaltz on a second rebound backhand shot for his 17th goal of the season and a 5-3 lead.

Less than two minutes later Brayen Point could cut the lead to one again with his second goal of the game, assisted by Ryan McDonagh and Jake Guentzel. Earlier in the season Utah struggled to maintain third period leads, but Karel Vejmelka, playing in his career high 13th consecutive game, held the Lightning offense scoreless the rest of the way, fending off a Tampa Bay power play with 2:09 remaining due to a too many men on the ice penalty.

With 57 seconds remaining, Alexander Kerfoot fired the puck into an empty net for his 2nd goal of the night and 10th of the season, giving Utah the 6-4 victory, their seventh at home over their past 9 contests.

In the locker room, Kerfoot talked about Utah’s recent success at home. “I think the crowd’s been unreal. I mean, third period there towards the end of the game—that’s a loud building that’s fun to play in. We’ve obviously placed an emphasis on being at home, I don’t think that our mindset has really changed, but we’ve just dug in here down the stretch and it’s a fun place to play. It feels like we’ve got momentum when we come home and when we’re playing in front of our fans. … I think that this was a great atmosphere for kids to come and watch the game and this is a new market, we’re trying to grow hockey here. SEG’s done an awesome job of growing the game in this community and to have a night like this where we get to bring in some youth hockey players and some kids during an early game on the weekend, it’s really fun and I hope that we can do that again in the future.”

In a game full of momentum swings, Logan Cooley talked about managing emotions. “It was kind of a crazy game, honestly. We were up two but then a goal gets called back, but you know, we just kept going at it and I thought we were playing the right way the whole third [period] there and then we got the outcome with a big two points.” With regard to his personal compete level, Cooley remarked, “I think just for me, I try to be the best version of myself each and every day and just try to get as good as I can to become the player I want to be. Obviously, it comes back to the team and trying to get into the playoffs. Eventually, I want to get a Cup and I think that’s the biggest drive for me right now. Being in Utah, it’s special in front of these fans. There’s no better feeling than coming to the rink every day and working together towards one goal here.”

Head coach André Tourigny was all smiles in the media room. “Really happy about the offense we created tonight, but even more proud of the way we defended the rush and the way we closed the middle of the ice. That was a really tough challenge, tough team to do that against them. Obviously for individual performance, I think Sergey [Mikhail Sergachev] was really good. Cooley and his line, they were something else. They were really, really good. I think it’s a huge character win. … Right from the start of the game, the focus, the execution, the urgency was elite. I think everybody was engaged. Everybody was connected. We’re really disciplined, and in the way we had to play against those guys. Great effort from the boys.” Comparing his club’s protecting the lead in the third period with difficulties earlier in the season, Tourigny said, “It’s day and night. I think that the mindset, the composure, the assertiveness, you cannot even compare. I think our team grew a lot, and I think we have way more maturity now.”

Utah will square off on Monday against the Detroit Red Wings before embarking upon a three game road trip to Tampa Bay, Florida, and Chicago. They will then return for one final homestand of five games before finishing out the regular season on the road.

NHL podcast Len Shapiro Thu Mar 20, 2025: Ovechkin closes in on Gretzky now 7 short of record as Caps edge Flyers; Taveras’ two goals help Leafs beat Rangers 3-2; plus more NHL news

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42 year old Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin (8) celebrates his 888th career goal putting him seven goals behind NHL goal scoring leader Wayne Gretzky against the Philadelphia Flyers Thu Mar 20, 2025 at the Capital One Center in Washington DC (AP News photo)

NHL podcast Len Shapiro Thu Mar 20, 2025:

#1  Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin lit the lamp for a career 888th time and now moves within seven goals to break former NHL great Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record at 894 goals. The Caps defeated the Philadelphia Flyers at Capital One Arena in Washington on Thursday night 3-2.

#2  The Toronto Maple Leafs edged the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night 4-3 and got some big help from John Tavares who had three points to reach 1,100 points for his career total. Taveras also scored two goals and got an assist to become the eighth NHL player to achieve 1,100 points.

#3 The Ottawa Senators have cooled off after winning six in a row dropped their second straight game this time to the visiting Colorado Avalanche at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa 5-1 on Thursday night. The Aves Brock Nelson scored the first two goals of the game. Cale Makar scored a goal and an assist and Nathan MacKinnon also scored. The Avalanche are on a roll having won nine of their last 11 games.

#4 The New Jersey Devils couldn’t hold the 3-1 lead as the visiting Calgary Flames came back with flurry scoring four times in the third period to defeat their hosts at the Prudential Center 5-3 in Newark NJ. It took the Flames 15 third period shots on net to convert four of them for goals. Scorers for Calgary Connor Zary, Danil Miromanov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Nazem Kadri.

#5 It was a battle that carried over into overtime at Nationwide Arena in Columbus between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers resulting in a 1-0 Panthers win on Thursday night. The Jackets Alexsander Barkov scored from the top slot. The Jackets Kirill Marchenko at 19:30 put the puck over the glass and was called for delay of game and Barkov afterward ended up scoring the game winner. Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots for the shutout his fifth this season.

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

Dylan Guenther’s 9th Game-Winning Goal Rattles Sabres In 5-2 Utah HC Victory

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Utah Hockey Club’s Dylan Guenther (11) celebrates a third period goal against the Anaheim Ducks on Wed Mar 12, 2025 at the Delta Center. On Thu Mar 20, 2025 Guenther scored the go ahead goal against the Buffalo Sabres at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City (AP file photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Buffalo unraveled late in the third period, scoring their own goal for Utah on a delayed penalty to seal the Utah Hockey Club’s 5-2 sixth home win in the past eight contests.

The Utah Hockey Club returned to home ice on Thursday night after a three-game road trip where they won against Wild Card contender Vancouver but lost to Seattle and Edmonton.

Logan Cooley gave Utah the first lead of the game at 17:27 of the first period on a snap shot which got past Buffalo netminder James Reimer, his 19th goal of the season, assisted by Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller. With 11 seconds remaining in the opening frame, Sabres forward JJ Peterka beat Karel Vejmelka on the power play to tie things up, assisted by Jason Zucker and Tage Thompson.

Utah would regain the lead at 11:50 of the second period as defenseman Mikhail Sergachev fired a shot from the blue line which flew through traffic for his career high 12th goal of the season, assisted by Jack McBain.

Early in the third period Buffalo would tie the score again on an unassisted short-handed breakaway goal by Ryan McLeod. Utah forward Dylan Guenther recovered a rebound in front of the Sabres net at 14:13 of the period and scored his 25th of the season on a wrist shot for what would become his ninth game-winning goal of the season, assisted by Barrett Hayton and Michael Carcone.

With just over a minute remaining in the game, Utah forward Kevin Stenlund was whistled for high-sticking against Bowen Byram. As play continued with Buffalo still controlling the puck, Tage Thompson missed the stick of Rasmus Dahlin on an attempted pass which banked off the dasher boards and straight into the empty Sabres net to give Utah a 4-2 lead.

Stenlund, the last Utah player to touch the puck before the penalty, was credited with his 11th goal of the season. With James Reimer still sitting on the Buffalo bench, Mikhail Sergachev launched a shot the full length of the ice to make what had been a tight game a 5-2 blowout. The goal added to Sergachev’s career high for his 13th of the season, assisted by winning goaltender Karel Vejmelka, his first assist on the year.

In the locker room, Sergachev talked about the final moments of the game. “Obviously, that was lucky. To get those lucky bounces, you gotta work hard, and I think that stretch in the third, we worked hard and had a lot of chances to score. We didn’t score, and we got those two, so I guess we’ll take them.” With regard to Vejmelka making a career high 12th consecutive start, Sergachev added, “He’s our guy. He’s there when we need him. It showed tonight. He’s unbelievable.”

Dylan Guenther talked about the importance of Thursday night’s bounce back win following the previous game’s drubbing against the Oilers. “It gets a little bit of our confidence back. That was a tough ending [in Edmonton], and it’s just one game that’s kind of the beauty of it. We have to play a lot, but we just had to make sure that we got back on track. It was a step in that direction.” With regard to his ninth game-winner, Guenther commented, “That’s pretty cool, maybe a bit of a coincidence too, just getting lucky on some of them. Those are the times of the game that you want to play in. Those are the fun times. So, it’s nice to be recognized.”

Head coach André Tourigny also talked about his team’s response to the loss in Edmonton. “We talked briefly about it as a team. It’s what happened and let’s learn from it. We moved on and I think in our situation, it’s easier because the game tonight was huge. That was a really important game for us with the scores everywhere around the league on top of it. We didn’t know that before, but we know that the team we’re fighting to win, they’re fighting too. They want to win their game, so we need to keep getting points. There are a lot of games left, there’s a lot of hockey left, and we need to be consistent and win on a regular basis.” Speaking of how the club is fighting to make the playoffs, Tourigny said, “There’s no doubt about it. For me, I think we had it all year long, and we had moments where we talked about how much pressure we’re putting on ourselves and how tough it was to manage it. All season long we’re really demanding ourselves, we believe in ourselves, and we know we can achieve great things. We talk about the process of a young team to live with that expectation and that pressure and so on and so forth. It’s a lot of learning. It’s learning on steroids, and we need to keep going and keep doing our job at that point and stay in the hunt. We need to wear opponents down and that’s the way it will be. Every point is important.”

Utah returns to action on Saturday at home for a 3:00pm afternoon game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Earlier in the day, Utah Hockey Club issued the following press release with the headline, “Smith Entertainment Group Offers $1 Subscription to UtahHC+ as Utah Hockey Club Seeks Inaugural Season Playoff Spot.”

Thursday, Smith Entertainment Group introduced a limited-time, $1 subscription option for UtahHC+ – the official streaming service of Utah Hockey Club – that includes the ability to stream all of the team’s remaining 14 regular season games and any games Utah would play during the first round of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs, if they qualify. The offer is open to fans across Utah, along with six neighboring states, inviting them to tune in and support Utah Hockey Club as they continue their push for the playoffs during a historic inaugural season. Utah is currently four points out from securing a wild card position in the NHL Western Conference and would be the 13th franchise to qualify for the playoffs in their first year in the NHL.

Fans can secure the $1 “Push for the Playoffs” UtahHC+ subscription offer now through March 31 at 11:59 P.M. MT by visiting http://www.segplus.com. In addition to live games, the subscription includes access to video-on-demand (VOD) content, game replays, game-specific alternative broadcasts, and other engaging behind-the-scenes content. Users who take advantage of this limited-time $1 offer will have access to the platform from the date of subscribing until May 14, 2025.

Utah’s remaining regular season NHL games conclude on April 15 against the St. Louis Blues. The NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs are expected to begin in the second half of April, with a full schedule of games available in the coming weeks. .”

More than 16.8 million plus hockey fans can subscribe to UtahHC+ including all 3.5 million Utahns, as well as those living in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Wyoming, and parts of Nevada.

Fans can learn more about subscription availability and sign up for the promotional offering by visiting http://www.segplus.com.

The Chase of Great Ove Continues with a 5-1 win Against the Sharks

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Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin scored a goal at 10:54 in the third period against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Mar 16, 2025. Ovechkin is now just eight short from surpassing the all time goals leader Wayne Gretzky (AP News photo)

By Fernando Abarca

SAN JOSE–Tough battle at SAP against Ovi and the great Caps.

Saturday afternoon’s contest was a contrast from Thursday night which was very special for the Sharks after getting another W in a while plus two more points in the standings. People also witnessed the first duel between two former first-round picks, Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard. Saturday the Sharks got leveled by the visiting Washington Capitals at SAP Center in San Jose 5-1.

The assignment this evening, a tough one as the Sharks will try to get a second consecutive game in front of the best team in the east, the Washington Capitals.

The team is not just the best team in the east, but also has one of the greatest players in the history of the sport of Ice Hockey, Alex Ovechkin, who is in the chase to surpass Wayne Gretzky for most goals.

The first period was absolutely dominated by the Capitals, scoring three goals in the period. Dylan Strome put the first of the visitors seven minutes in from the start of the period. Then, two back-to-back goals by Aliaksei Protas two minutes apart.

During the second period, the game did not see any scoring, however, the game was plagued with fights, penalties, tension, and frustration by the Sharks for not finding ways to score. Tom Wilson, a familiar heavyweight, dropped the mitts with Zack Ostapchuk, soon after Brandon Duhaime will do the same against Noah Gregor.

Mario Ferraro picked up a penalty against Pierre Luc-Dubois.

The teal recorded only ten shots whereas the visitors managed to get 22 attempts on goal. The Sharks towards the end of the period got their minds locked in again and tried to set up plays, which neither one ended in goal. The team was clearly overwhelmed by the quality of the Capitals hockey.

In the second period, Macklin Celebrini opened up the scoring for the Sharks, and again, putting the team on his shoulders, setting the tone for more scoring. The Caps turned off any spark of shine for the Teal as 30 seconds apart, Trevor Van Riemsdyk netted the fourth goal in weird fashion.

Last time, Coach Ryan Warsofsky addressed having a special preparation to avoid any scoring from Alex Ovechkin, but the attempts did not work as thought. The Great Ove as he is known, scored the final goal of the game while also scored his 887th goal of his career, putting him just eight goals away from passing the Great One Wayne Gretzky.

The Sharks will have a few days off to brush off the loss and recover some energy to face another playoff team in the Eastern Conference, the Carolina Hurricanes on Thu Mar 20, 2025 at SAP Center.

San Jose Sharks podcast Charanbir Mahal Sat Mar 15, 2025: Graf big help in last Sharks win over Blackhawks; Capitals Ovechkin nine away from becoming goal king

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Alexander Ovechkin is nine goals short of the all time goals record held by Wayne Gretzkey here is Ovechkin skating against the Los Angeles Kings on Thu Mar 13, 2025. Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals face off with the San Jose Sharks Sat Mar 15, 2025 at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast with Charinbir Mahal (INDTVUSA):

#1  Colin Graf made headlines on Thursday night for the San Jose Sharks. Graf an undrafted rookie showed his handy work scoring twice. Will Smith scored a goal and an assist as the Sharks defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2.

#2 Talk about the job that Sharks goaltender Alexander Georgiev did between the pipe stopping 24 shots and allowing two goals and holding Chicago just enough for the Sharks to come away with a two goal win.

#3 The Sharks Tyler Toffoli added the scoring with an empty netter for insurance in the win. Toffoli was fired up needless to say after scoring. It’s goals like these that can get a team motivated?

#4 Smith opened up the game in the first period with a goal at 3:48 getting a pass from Macklin Celebrini. Smith now has seven goals, 12 assists and 19 points in his last 19 games.

#5 The Sharks in a Saturday matinee will host the Washington Capitals at SAP Center for a 2:00pm faceoff. Needless to say the all the attention will be on the Capitals Alexander Ovechkin who needs nine more goals to pass all time NHL scoring leader Wayne Gretzky to achieve his 895th goal.

#6 Big day today it’s the celebration of the South Asian Culture, celebrating diversity in the South Bay. On had local color artist Suhita Shirodkar. The celebration included a Bollywood dance, drama, and entertainment company based in Milpitas. Free henna tattoo art.

Charinbir Mahal is a reporter for INDTVUSA and podcasts San Jose Sharks hockey at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Capitals-Sharks face off on Saturday at SAP; All eyes on Ovechkin nine goals away from goal scoring record

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San Jose Sharks forward Tyler Toffoli (73) is seen here after scoring a goal in a Mon Mar 3, 2025 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. On Thu Mar 13, 2025 Toffoli scored an unassisted empty net goal at 19:27 in the third period against the Chicago Blackhawks. (Canadian Press via AP)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1  Colin Graf made headlines on Thursday night for the San Jose Sharks. Graf an undrafted rookie showed his handy work scoring twice. Will Smith scored a goal and an assist as the Sharks defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2.

#2 Mary, talk about the job that Sharks goaltender Alexander Georgiev did between the pipe stopping 24 shots and allowing two goals and holding Chicago just enough for the Sharks to come away with a two goal win.

#3 The Sharks Tyler Toffoli added the scoring with an empty netter for insurance in the win. Toffoli was fired up needless to say after scoring. It’s goals like these that can get a team motivated?

#4 Smith opened up the game in the first period with a goal at 3:48 getting a pass from Macklin Celebrini. Smith now has seven goals, 12 assists and 19 points in his last 19 games.

#5 The Sharks in a Saturday matinee will host the Washington Capitals at SAP Center for a 2:00pm faceoff. Needless to say the all the attention will be on the Capitals Alexander Ovechkin who needs nine more goals to pass all time NHL scoring leader Wayne Gretzky to achieve his 895th goal.

Mary Lisa does the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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

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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

Mikhail Sergachev Scores 300th Career Point in 3-2 Utah HC Victory over Anaheim

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Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) and Anaheim Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier (61) battle for the puck in the first period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wed Mar 12, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev fed Dylan Guenther the game-winning goal in the third period for his 300th career point en route to defeating the Ducks on home ice.

The Utah Hockey Club welcomed the Anaheim Ducks to Delta Center on Wednesday night for the third and final meeting between the clubs this season. Anaheim prevailed 5-4 during both previous encounters which ended in overtime and a shootout. Utah entered the game 4 points of Anaheim in the Wild Card hunt.

At 11:03 of the first period, Utah forward Jack McBain tipped in a blast from Ian Cole for his 12th goal of the season with the additional assist by Josh Doan. Anaheim backup goaltender Ville Husso turned away 16 of 17 shots in a lopsided frame wherein the Ducks unsuccessfully challenged Karel Vejmelka with 8 shots on goal.

Alexander Kerfoot put Utah up 2-0 at 14:31 of the second period on a snap shot for his 8th of the season, assisted by Dylan Guenther and Barrett Hayton. Less than two minutes later the Ducks got one back on a goal from forward Alex Killorn, his 14th of the season, assisted by Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier.

Early in the third period, Mikhail Sergachev went to the box for hooking against Mason McTavish who would immediately cash it in and tie the score on the power play for his 18th goal of the season, assisted by Trevor Zegras and Jackson LaCombe. A few minutes later, with Olen Zellweger in the sin bin for hooking against Josh Doan, Sergachev would redeem himself assisting on a slap shot by Dylan Guenther which put Utah up for good 3-2 as Karel Vejmelka locked down the Utah net the rest of the way. Guenther’s goal was his 24th of the season and his 8th game-winner. The assist gave Sergachev 300 points in his NHL career, the last 43 of which coming in his debut season with Utah.

In the locker room, Utah forward Barrett Hayton talked about tonight’s win. “Definitely a huge win, huge home stand. Obviously, it would have been really nice to get all four points, but the way we were able to fight back in that Toronto game and get a point, it’s huge for us. Same thing tonight, it was a grind. They were playing tight, they’re a dangerous team, and it was obviously a fight to the end there. But [Vejmelka] was kicking the guys who were doing a good job in front of them. Great three points.” Utah had 3rd period leads in each of their prior games against Anaheim which were lost in overtime. When asked about maintaining focus to hold on to tonight’s one-goal lead in the third, Hayton said, “It’s just about keeping poise in our game. Obviously, I think probably in the last couple of weeks, we’ve done a pretty good job with that once we’ve gotten a lead and not sitting back. That’s something that can kill you when you’re in these games. If you sit back and let them come and play with pace on you, it’s just not a not a good game plan. So I think we’ve done a good job of playing with poise, making plays, playing smart, but still playing with pace. … It all starts with preparation. I think all the guys in here are professionals and take their preparation really seriously. It’s kind of just a mental thing, knowing you need to start with pace and play direct, especially early on in games as you’re getting into the game, you don’t want to play too fancy or too risky. You want to get into the game, get on them, and allow that flow to build before you make those plays that might be a little more high risk.”

Dylan Guenther also talked about protecting the late lead. “We’re getting a little bit better at those situations every game. I don’t think we played our best game today, but we found a way to win, and we managed the puck pretty well at the end of the game.” On his game-winning power play goal, Guenther remarked, “When I saw [Anaheim] was low, I wanted [Keller] to go up to [Sergachev], and then he gave it over to me. So, it was just good recognition. I feel like we’ve gotten pretty good chemistry as we’ve continued to play together.”

Head coach André Tourigny opened his briefing by saying, “What I take from that game is the way we played in the third, how we protected the lead, the sacrifices our guys (made), the way they were engaged and disciplined, the resilience we had. That was great to see.” Talking about Guenther’s late-game, Tourigny commented, “A lot of confidence (in Guenther)…I’m more happy about the shot he blocked when the game was on the line than his goal–in the sense that that’s a choice you make. Scoring a goal is a pretty easy choice when you have the opportunity. But when you decide to put your body on the line and sacrifice yourself for the team and do that for your brothers, I think that’s huge.” His comment about brothers prompted one reporter to ask about the family mindset on the team, to which Bear responded, “I think it’s a strength of our organization. For a few years now, the togetherness and brotherhood we have; it’s special. I think the guys care so much about each other. Sometimes when you care about someone, you try to do too much. I think, in general, our team is really close. They love each other, they fight for each other, they’re together and everything.”

With Connor Ingram out of the lineup, Tourigny was asked how he plans to manage Vejmelka’s time in net during the final month of the regular season. “We will do one game at a time. For us it’s playoff time. We need to make sure we manage a lot of practice time. You need to practice to keep the skill level at a high level, but you can have shorter practice, you can do half of a practice or not taking shots after the morning skate, those kinds of things to make sure we keep the workload lower so it’s not as much the number of times he will go on the ice, it’s more the length.”

Utah’s win places the club just two points out of a Wild Card spot as they embark upon a 3-game road trip to Seattle, Vancouver, and Edmonton before returning March 20 against the Buffalo Sabres.

Sharks Get to 40 Losses Against Predators in 3-2 decision

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After a tough loss against the New York Islanders, The boys are back at the tank again.

Ty Dellandrea and Ryan O’Rielly Battled the for Puck at the End-Zone Face off at SAP Center in San Jose on Mar 11, 2025. (AP Photo)

SAN JOSE, CA — Last home game on Saturday was hard for the boys in Teal because it was the first game at home in more than a month due to the Four Nations Tournament. The Sharks suffered a 4-1 loss against the New York Islanders, a team that is in the hunt for a playoff spot. Tuesday night, The boys are back for a second game at home against the Nashville Predators.

Leading up to this game, the Preds are in a hot streak, winning three of their last five games while the Sharks hope not to add the 40th loss of the season. It was a tough outcome one again as San Jose dropped a 3-2 contest to the Predators after trying to make a comeback in third period scoring two goals and coming one short for the loss.

The game unravelled with physicality, intensity, and penalties. Two fights between V. Desharnais Fighting against C. Smith and B. Goodrow Fighting against A. Englund set the mood for a match that during the first period was marked by tension and opportunities for both teams.

During the second period, Nashville looked constantly precise in terms of playmaking that eventually led to the first goal of the night eight minutes into the second period, Filip Forsberg who registered his 25th goal of this season, minutes later the former Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos joined him with the second goal of the night.

The figure of the night was Juuse Saros, Predators goaltender, who had a magnificent night and an absolute performance by stopping 13 shots on goal, undoubtedly a key player tonight.

During the second period, Sharks kept the scoring for them in zero.

Then, in the third period, things changed a bit, and this time it seemed to be in favor of the Sharks. Patrick Giles scored his first goal of the season, while Colin Graf scored his second of the season, with a record ten seconds between each goal.

The joy didn’t last long, though, as Kieffer Bellows scored the last Nashville goal of the night for the Predators, putting them up by a goal. Once again, penalty kill errors buried the loss for the San Jose Sharks that reached 40 losses Tuesday night.

The Teal comes back to action this Thursday night when San Jose hosts the Chicago Blackhawks, a very anticipated game as the crowd in attendance will witness two former first rounder draft picks in the first ever Celebrini- Connor Bedard clash faceoff at 7:30pm PST.