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The Buzzer: Karlsson’s killer clincher for Vegas; Lucic fights Glass

By James O'BrienApr 1, 2018, 2:10 AM EDT
5 Comments

Clinching

  • The Vegas Golden Knights probably couldn’t have clinched the Pacific Division in a more fitting way: on a dramatic, shorthanded goal by William Karlsson. Karlsson scored his 42nd goal of 2017-18 with incredible style, confounding Martin Jones with a ridiculous between-the-legs shot. See that goal in the highlight of the night section.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins will be able to defend their repeat title (in other words, go for a “threepeat”) after clinching their 12th consecutive trip to the playoffs.
  • Nashville wasn’t able to clinch the Central Division, but the Winnipeg Jets will finish no worse than second after winning against Toronto. So, a franchise without a single playoff win will get at least one round of home-ice advantage.
  • Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The Stars kept their slim odds alive.

Injury concerns

Ryan Suter, Viktor Arvidsson, Travis Dermott, Brandon Carlo, and Victor Antipin rank among players with injury worries. Find out more here and here.

Highlights of the Night

This Karlsson goal is just ridiculous.

Let’s watch it from another angle.

There were a lot of ugly moments for Nashville in its 7-4 loss to Buffalo, with Scott Hartnell hurting Victor Antipin. This was pretty, however:

[The 2018 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs begin April 11 on the networks of NBC]

Players of the Night

  • Jack Eichel collected a ridiculous five assists in Buffalo’s win against Nashville, crossing the 100-assist barrier for his career. Sam Reinhart generated a hat trick for the Sabres, too.

  • Antti Raanta collected a 34-save shutout as the Coyotes shocked the Blues 6-0. Solid night for spoilers.
  • The Blue Jackets lost in overtime, but don’t blame their top guys. Seth Jones scored a goal and three assists while Artemi Panarin collected four helpers as Columbus generated a key standing point.

Heavyweight bout

It hasn’t been a great season for Milan Lucic, but hey, at least he handled heavyweight bruiser Tanner Glass in this brutal fight:

Scores

Bruins 5, Panthers 1
Red Wings 2, Senators 0
Canucks 5, Blue Jackets 4 (OT)
Jets 3, Maple Leafs 1
Devils 4, Islanders 3
Penguins 5, Canadiens 2
Rangers 2, Hurricanes 1
Sabres 7, Predators 4
Stars 4, Wild 1
Coyotes 6, Blues 0
Flames 3, Oilers 2
Golden Knights 3, Sharks 2

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

Tough injury night for defensemen, including Suter?

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By James O'BrienMar 31, 2018, 10:18 PM EDT

NHL teams who’ve already locked up playoff spots – or virtually have done so – might want to rest players to cut down on fatigue. Doing so might also be useful just in helping them to avoid new injuries.

Saturday’s been a tough one in that regard, especially for defensemen. Let’s rattle off a few of the troubling names.

  • The Minnesota Wild have tempered his ice time a bit over the years, yet Ryan Suter still came into tonight with the highest time on ice average in the NHL at right under 27 minutes (26:54). When you lean on a blueliner that much and for so many years, maybe you’re rolling the dice that something like this might happen:

The Wild haven’t provided an update regarding Suter just yet, but one would assume that they’ll play it very safe as the regular season winds down. The question is: was there too much damage already done?

Babcock has been easing Dermott into the lineup (16:20 ATOI), but he’s been playing well when called upon, with nice possession stats in particular.

PHT’s also covered:

Keep an eye on PHT for updates regarding these situations and more, whether teams provide more information later on Saturday, sometime on Sunday, or perhaps into this coming week. Hopefully each instance isn’t as bad as they looked.

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

WATCH LIVE: Toronto Maple Leafs at Buffalo Sabres

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By James O'BrienMar 5, 2018, 6:45 PM EDT

CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE

PROJECTED LINES

Toronto Maple Leafs

Zach Hyman — William Nylander — Connor Brown

Patrick Marleau — Nazem Kadri — Mitch Marner

James van Riemsdyk — Tyler Bozak — Leo Komarov

Matt Martin — Tomas Plekanec — Kasperi Kapanen

Morgan Rielly — Ron Hainsey

Jake Gardiner — Nikita Zaitsev

Travis Dermott — Connor Carrick

Starting Goalie: Frederik Andersen

[Maple Leafs – Sabres preview.]

Buffalo Sabres

Zemgus Girgensons — Ryan O'Reilly — Sam Reinhart

Scott Wilson — Johan Larsson — Jason Pominville

Jordan Nolan — Jacob Josefson — Kyle Okposo

Benoit Pouliot — Kyle Criscuolo — Nicholas Baptiste

Marco Scandella — Rasmus Ristolainen

Brendan Guhle — Casey Nelson

Nathan Beaulieu — Victor Antipin

Starting Goalie: Chad Johnson

WATCH LIVE: NHL Stadium Series 2018 – Capitals vs. Leafs

AP Images
By Sean LeahyMar 3, 2018, 7:45 PM EDT
2 Comments

NBC’s coverage of the 2017-18 season continues on Saturday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals face off in a 2018 Stadium Series game at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland at 8 p.m. ET. You can catch all of the action on NBC or our live stream by clicking here.

PROJECTED LINES

Toronto Maple Leafs
Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Tomas Plekanec – William Nylander
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Connor Brown
Leo Komarov – Dominic Moore – Kasperi Kapanen

Morgan Rielly – Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev
Travis Dermott – Roman Polak

Starting goalie: Frederik Andersen

[NHL On NBC: Maple Leafs, Capitals meet outside in Stadium Series]

[WATCH LIVE]

Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana – Evgeny Kuznetsov – T.J. Oshie
Brett Connolly – Lars Eller – Andre Burakovsky
Chandler Stephenson – Jay Beagle – Devante Smith-Pelly

Michal Kempny – John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov – Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik – Christian Djoos

Starting goalie: Braden Holtby

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.

The Buzzer: Rookies get all the goals

Associated Press
By Scott BilleckJan 31, 2018, 11:39 PM EDT
2 Comments

Players of the Night:

Travis Dermott and Justin Holl, Toronto Maple Leafs: Both Dermott and Holl scored their first NHL goals on Wednesday, Dermott in his ninth NHL game and Holl in his first. Dermott assisted on Holl’s goal, because of course he did.

Chandler Stephenson, Washington Capitals: Stephenson scored his third and fourth career NHL goals to help drag the Capitals back from an early first-period 2-0 deficit. His goals began a run of five straight for the Caps, who beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3.

Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks: Jones sure could have used some run support on Wednesday. He made 43 of 44 saves in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Someone owes the man a dinner.

Highlights of the Night:

Nice pass from Wayne Simmonds. Nice finish from Nolan Patrick.

Geez, Louise, Tomas Tatar.

Factoids of the Night:

MISC:

Scores:

Maple Leafs 5, Islanders 0

Capitals 5, Flyers 3

Red Wings 2, Sharks 1 (SO)

Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck