The Panthers opened the scoring 6:44 into the first when Carter Verhaeghe and Evan Rodrigues worked behind the net to claim the puck. Verhaeghe sent the biscuit from low to high to Aaron Ekblad at the right point. Filip Gustavsson failed to glove Ekblad's shot, which ticked off Ryan Hartman and appeared to be going wide, and Sam Reinhart pounced on the rebound to collect his 25th goal.
Florida started the trek north with a 2-1 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Matthew Tkachuk set up Sam Bennett's seond period one-timer to collect his first point of the season. Daniil Tarasov made 17 saves to get the Cats to the shootout, where Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart made quick work of Connor Hellebuyck, keeping the Panthers within five points of a playoff spot.
The B's are feeling good about themselves, and they have legitimate reasons for that. They managed to weather what some would have thought to be an apocalyptic combination of injuries to both Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak, keeping their heads just above the water line until their two stars returned last week. Now they're riding a four-game win streak that has put them firmly in the playoff hunt.
The Vancouver Canucks sent their captain to the Minnesota Wild for an eye-watering haul. The Canucks essentially got four first-round picks as the return featured three players selected in the first round plus a future first-round selection. So, the question begs: How does the Quinn Hughes trade affect the Toronto Maple Leafs? The short answer is: Not much. This trade mainly affects the balance of power in the Western Conference. The Wild will now move into a whole different category of contention.
It's pretty cool. It's hard to realize it's happened. I try not to think about it too much, and not worry about it, and then all of a sudden it's there. I'll enjoy this for sure.
We don't know whether this will be Alex Ovechkin's final season as a Washington Capital or not, but there's never a bad time to reflect back on two decades of being treated to this amazing talent. So each game day throughout the 2025-26 season, we're going to be picking an Ovechkin moment to remember against that day's opponent! Two goals, three points - March 3, 2020
The Minnesota Wild squeaked into the playoffs by clinching a Wild Card spot with one point to spare, but the team faced yet another first-round exit, leaving some unasnwered questions as we approach the 2025-26 season. Can the Wild's young players continue trending in the right direction? The greatest reason for optimism for the Wild is definitely its young squadron of skaters at all positions.
Bill Guerin's management of the Minnesota Wild is hindered by a long-standing salary cap weight of over $10 million due to the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, making roster improvements difficult.
