* The Oilers, Maple Leafs and Lightning all clinched a berth into the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, leaving just five more spots up for grabs – two in the East and three in the West – with 13 days left in the regular season.

* Connor McDavid became the fifth active player with eight-plus 30-goal campaigns, while teammate Leon Draisaitl joined a group of six other skaters this season to have reached the century mark for points.

* The Blues and Blues Alumni presented $600,000 to The V Foundation for Cancer Research to support projects at Siteman Cancer Center, with the donation including proceeds from Friday's “Puck Cancer” charity game at Centene Community Ice Center and a $200,000 commitment from this season's Hockey Fights Cancer initiative.

* Playoff races take center stage during the second-last Saturday of the regular season as all eight First Round matchups remain uncertain.

from Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now,

With the game tied 3-3 midway through the third period, Perron was called for high sticking at 9:29 and Chris Kreider turned that into a game-winning power play goal.

“That was a tough penalty,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “The momentum felt good and we put their power play on for the third time and they cashed in.”

That wasn’t the only reason the Red Wings lost. Other veterans made mistakes that were just as costly, but Perron’s penalty will be remembered because it led to a goal.

“It’s magnified now on every play,” Lalonde said. “This is why it’s really good for our guys to be going through this. It’s just different this time of year. It’s amplified this time of year and you learn, especially against a really good team, we left some plays out there. Unfortunately, it cost us.”

This lost cost the Red Wings in a big way because other teams helped them out Friday. The Buffalo Sabres knocked off Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2 and the Carolina Hurricanes downed the Washington Capitals, 3-2. Even with the loss, Detroit is only one point behind the Flyers for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals are also only one point back. The Pittsburgh Penguins are two behind.

The New York Islanders are now in third place in the Metropolitan Division, putting them in a playoff position. By winning, the Sabres are now only three points behind Detroit. Those teams meeting Sunday in a matinee at Little Caesars Arena....

“We played good enough to get a point, to get two points tonight,” Larkin said. “I think when you get to this time of the year, every time that you drop a game it feels like an opportunity missed. It’s been hard. The hockey’s been hard and tight. We’ve been talking about every play and making sure we make every play. We left a couple out there tonight, which makes it hurt more.”

more

Pretty evenly played first period but until the Rangers scored with 29 seconds left in the first. Rangers lead 2-1 after 20 minutes.

Wings actually had their first lead of the game at 3-2 in the second, but the NYR quickly tied it 3-3.

The teams started the third tied 3-3 and the only goal in the period was from the Rangers who win 4-3.

Team Stats

Detroit goals are below plus what is a cross check penalty.

Professional sports are no stranger to innovation, and hockey is no exception. With the rise of technology comes the opportunity for expansion and advancement. One such example is the adoption of cryptocurrency, more specifically Bitcoin, in the world of hockey. The explosion of Bitcoin across different sectors of the economy has not left the hockey arena untouched, and we dive deep to explore this innovation.

Good evening and welcome to all. The Wings are coming into tonight’s game after a hard fought win against the Lightning, but, that was four days ago, and all 19 of us expect to see an even better game/effort tonight. There’s not much else to say about tonight’s game against the Rangers, except that it is an absolute must win if the Red Wings want to stay in it down the final stretch.

Lyon is in goal. Sprong is in. Rasmussen is out(upper body), Maatta is a healthy scratch. No other changes to the lineup have been announced.

It’s the Rangers vs the Red Wings in an Original Six matchup. The puck is set to drop around 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit Extra, and on the Red Wings Radio Network 97.1 (The Ticket in Detroit) for your listening pleasure. Also available on ESPN+/NHLPP, MSGSN, SPORTSNET+, and TVAS.

It’s a Live Blog!

Below, Alex Lyon is Detroit's nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

Hey folks, an open birthday post for Paul. Feel free to send a wish or two.😉☘️

* Gabriel Vilardi scored a hat trick to cap off a night that saw the Jets become the eighth team to clinch a berth in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Brad Marchand became the fifth player in franchise history to reach the 400-goal milestone as the Bruins were one of a trio of Atlantic Division clubs to pick up wins during Thursday’s nine-game slate.

* A six-game Friday will feature a TVA Sports doubleheader that pits Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche against Connor McDavid and the Oilers – the second- and third-ranked players in the 2023-24 Art Ross Trophy race.

Open post, feel free to discuss.

Washington (74 gp, 82 pts) is tied with the Wings (75 gp, 82 pts) for the 2nd wild card spot. They hold a one point lead on the Islanders (75 gp, 81 pts) and a three point lead on Pittsburgh (75 gp, 79 pts).

from Emily Kaplan of ESPN,

Bedard was anointed as the next face of the league before ever taking a shift, and the fanfare surrounding his NHL arrival has sometimes felt astronomical.

"Everyone is asking everything of him," Blackhawks president Jaime Faulkner said recently. "The league is asking for a lot. We are asking for a lot, the media, sponsors and fans. But he always responds with kindness, even when he doesn't need to. He is referred to as a robot because people only see his intensity. But both can be true. He can be driven and highly competitive, but grounded and gracious at the same time."

Bedard's veteran teammates like Taylor Hall cautioned against overexposure as the season began -- not out of jealousy, but protection for the teenager. "It can be a little much at times," Hall said. "He doesn't say that, but it feels like it is."

But Bedard has handled it all with professionalism, settling in on two to three media sessions a week, mostly in scrum settings. Even though he missed his first All-Star appearance because of his jaw, Bedard showed up in Toronto anyway (and, again successfully, still campaigned to participate, passing pucks to players in the skills competition).

"The number of directions he is pulled in, the attention and spotlight he receives in a new city -- it has to be taxing and exhausting," Davidson said. "But he rarely shows it."

It was full bore ever since he took his opening faceoff against his childhood idol, Crosby.

"Looking back," Bedard told ESPN recently, "it definitely was a lot. Kind of overwhelming, but fun at the same time. I just tried to take it all in and enjoy it."

much more

14 minutes of talk.

5 1/2 minutes to watch.

from Joe Smith of The Athletic,

Jesper Wallstedt wrapped up a local TV interview at Wells Fargo Arena last week and left the rink for the day.

The Minnesota Wild’s touted goalie prospect was asked during the segment about how the American Hockey League could also be called the “Always Hungry League,” and he had no disagreements.

“It really is,” he said.

It’s hard for every decision Wallstedt makes not to be about the next level right now. The 21-year-old Swede has rethought and rewatched his mid-January NHL debut countless times; a 7-2 loss will tend to stick with you. He was disappointed but not deterred. More so, he’s determined, especially after the pep talk he received from coach John Hynes on a plane ride home during a brief NHL stint this year.

Spend an afternoon with Wallstedt, and you’ll see the determination everywhere. Even his car: a humongous white Dodge Ram 4×4. He used to drive an Audi but notes that this will be better for inclement weather in the Twin Cities.

“Perfect in a snowstorm,” Wallstedt said.

“I’ll take anything to get up there.”

It shouldn’t be long.

continued

* Nikita Kucherov became the fifth player in the past 30 years to record 130 or more points in a single season and bested his own franchise record in the process as the Lightning defeated the Maple Leafs.

* Jason Robertson helped the Western Conference-leading Stars establish a franchise record with their eighth straight win while Quinn Hughes set a franchise mark of his own as the Canucks kept pace in second place.

* The Rangers earned a comeback win and maintained the top spot in the NHL standings as they continued to push for their first Presidents’ Trophy since 2014-15.

* A nine-game Thursday will feature pivotal matchups in both the Eastern and Western Conference Wild Card races, including the 69th all-time regular-season head-to-head between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, with the Penguins captain entering the night just three assists shy of 1,000.

from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

The buzz word in hockey today is “mature.” As in, every team that weathers a storm or plays a solid third period talks about how “mature” a game they played.

So what do we call the game the Oilers laid down in Dallas Wednesday night, if not immature?

A veteran Oilers team folded up like a cheap tent in the second period of a 1-0 game, allowing four goals in a 5:48 span en route to a 5-0 loss.

“They get that second one and we completely go off script. That's just not our game,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, after the Oilers’ third shutout effort of the season. “That's not how you're going to win at any point in the season, especially with nine games left against one of the best teams in the league.”

And the worst thing? Edmonton’s best players were their worst players, particularly assistant captains Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse.

continued

Watch the highlights below.

We may wax lyrical about the absurd rate of point scoring of Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid. We can even be in awe of Auston Matthews’ return to scoring 60 goals. However, the goaltender is invariably the most important player on the ice.

So, the Vezina Trophy race is invariably one of great interest. This season, there have been several worthy contenders to the crown. With the season moving through to the playoffs, it’s time to explore where the trophy currently owned by Linus Ullmark may go.

from John Niyo of the Detroit News,

And so is this, perhaps. After enduring a winless March, Lyon seemed to find his groove again over the past week, allowing two goals or fewer in three of four starts while posting a .934 save percentage in that stretch.

“He looks a lot more comfortable in his game,” Lalonde said, pointing to Lyon’s puckhandling and rebound control, among other encouraging signs. “And you can see he just exudes some confidence. You can tell when a goalie is on his ‘A’ game, and he's been there.”

He certainly was in the 4-2 win over the Lightning, stopping 34 shots, including a handful of high-danger chances in a frantic third period. Lyon called it a “grind” afterward.

“But those are games that you’re proud of,” he added. “The ones that are hard but you find a way. And I felt like that was the name of our game. It wasn't easy, but we stuck to it.”...

“Right now, we're just desperate,” said Lyon, who signed a two-year, $1.8 million deal with Detroit in July and then didn't get into a game until mid-November, when starter Ville Husso went down with an injury. “And that's what it feels like for me. And it's a good feeling. It's fun. It's intoxicating. There's a level of stress to it that isn't there at all points of the year. But you have to enjoy it and be excited for it. Because if you're scared of it, it's a problem.”

The Wings have their share of problems, no doubt. And you can add another injury to the list, as winger Michael Rasmussen likely will miss the next two games, according to Lalonde. But at the start of the season, nobody expected this team to be a shoo-in for the playoffs. And now that the calendar has flipped to April, here they are, with a chance to show everyone what they’re about.

“It's gonna be hard,” Lyon said. “And it's going to be nerve-racking. And it's gonna be ugly sometimes. But as long as you just keep trying, good things are gonna happen. That's the mindset that we have.”

more ($)

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

Veleno played only 4:42 against the Lightning, getting just two shifts in the first period and one in the second before returning after Rasmussen got hurt. He has logged less than 10 minutes in three of the past four games.

“You’re seeking consistency from him,” Lalonde said. “The first time Dylan (Larkin) was out, there were some games he was at 20-22 minutes, playing one or two center.

“There’s just some inconsistencies in his game. Last game it got away from us a little bit in that he only had a handful of minutes, but Tampa is a different animal on the road. Every time I was ready to have him up, (Braydon) Point and (Nikita) Kucherov were coming out and then the special teams started rolling. We kind of got into a little rhythm. But early in the game, he turns the puck over and it ends up in our zone for 90 seconds against their top guys.

“He’s showing flashes of some elite hockey and then there’s some flashes of his game where it’s not where any of us want it to be. It’s just consistency, because it’s all there -- the tools, he can skate.”

more on the Wings

9 1/2 minutes of goals.

Much longer version is below.

via the YouTube page of TSN,

A communication breakdown in Montreal leads to a very awkward moment for the referees. Jeff Skinner hits his 1,000th game. The Vancouver Canucks drop another game in dramatic fashion. All that and more as 7-Eleven That's Hockey host Gino Reda takes you through the trending topics of the day!