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Panthers Prep for Oilers’ Best

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SUNRISE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Edmonton Oilers showed their disdain for losing with some late-game antics in Monday’s Game 3 loss to the Florida Panthers.

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Now, the Oilers must find a way to turn their angst into a victory or risk falling into a dangerously deep hole when they resume the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday in South Florida.

With the Panthers leading 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, the next clash could either send the series back to Edmonton all-square — and with the Oilers regaining the home-ice advantage — or put the Panthers on the cusp of a second consecutive title against the Oilers.

“We’ve always been a good team at coming back out with a strong effort,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said of turning the page from Monday’s 6-1 loss. “Obviously it was not our best showing, not our best game, but we have a great chance … to show what our team is all about.”

Edmonton must do more than just talk about a better performance. The Oilers reached this point thanks to an improved defense to go with their high-octane attack, but they have been undisciplined in the finals and have struggled keeping pucks out of their net.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner is under the microscope having surrendered 13 goals in the series, and boasting an .866 save percentage. But the Oilers as a whole must find another gear to send the series back to their home on even ground.

“It’s one game. We’re looking for the whole series,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “We know we’re down 2-1 and we gotta be better next game … but we’re one win away from having the best-out-of-three (series) with two home games.”

[Read more…] about Panthers Prep for Oilers’ Best

NY Islanders Land No. 1 Pick

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Bruins Fall from No. 5 to No. 7 Pick

ELMONT – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Despite having the 10th-best chance of winning the draft lottery at 3.5 percent, the New York Islanders secured the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft on Monday.

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The Islanders will have the top overall selection for the first time since drafting John Tavares in 2009 and the fifth time overall. In 1972, the team selected forward Billy Harris, followed by Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin in 1973. In 2000, goaltender Rick DiPietro went No. 1 overall to the Islanders.

“The hockey gods smiled on us,” Islanders director of pro scouting Ken Morrow said at the lottery, not mentioning his connections to said gods via the 1980 Miracle on Ice team and four consecutive Stanley Cup championships thereafter. “And I can’t tell you how thrilled I am for Islander fans, for our ownership, for the entire Islander organization.

“It’s adding to the tradition that the Islanders have. A great fan base, a new arena, terrific ownership, and better days are ahead here.”

This year’s draft will be held in Los Angeles on June 27-28. Day 1 will feature the first round, followed by rounds 2-7 on Day 2.

The lottery only determined the top two picks, with the rest of the non-playoff team lottery field slotted by order of finish in the 2024-25 standings. The remaining selections (Nos. 17-32) will be ordered by playoff results.

Following the Islanders in the draft will be the San Jose Sharks, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Utah Hockey Club. The Sharks had the best chance to land the No. 1 pick at 18.5 percent. Utah won the drawing for the No. 2 pick, but rules state that a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots, so the franchise leapt from the would-be 14th spot to No. 4.

Rounding out the top 10 will be the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Seattle Kraken, Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Ducks.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have the No. 11 pick, followed by the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens.

As for whose name might be called first on June 27, defenseman Matthew Schafer of Erie in the Ontario Hockey League, center Michael Misa of Saginaw (OHL), Boston College center James Hagens, center Jake O’Brien of Brantford (OHL) and defenseman Radim Mrtka of Seattle in the Western Hockey League are the top five skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

On Central Scouting’s list of international skaters, center Anton Frondell and right wing Victor Eklund, who play for Djurgarden in Sweden’s second division, are ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Hand Out Season Awards

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official New Release) – The Boston Bruins announced the recipients of their 2024-25 season awards for the team. Morgan Geekie has been named the recipient of the Eddie Shore Award, given to the player who shows exceptional hustle and determination, as chosen by the “Legacy Season Ticket Holders.”

David Pastrnak has been chosen the winner of the Elizabeth Dufresne Trophy, awarded to the player exemplifying outstanding performance on home ice as determined by the Boston chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Parker Wotherspoon has been selected for the John P. Bucyk Award for providing exceptional off-ice charitable contributions, chosen by John Bucyk.

Eddie Shore Award
Bruins forward Morgan Geekie has been selected by the “Legacy Season Ticket Holders” as the 2024-25 Eddie Shore Award winner for demonstrating exceptional hustle and determination throughout the season. The 6-foot-3, 208-pound forward, has appeared in 74 games with the Bruins this season, recording career highs in goals (30), assists (23) and points (53). Among active Boston skaters, the Strathclair, Manitoba native ranks second in goals, points, even strength goals (26), even strength points (44) and power play goals (4).

Elizabeth Dufresne Trophy
David Pastrnak has been selected as the Elizabeth Dufresne Trophy recipient for the 2024-25 season for his outstanding performance on home ice this season. Through 39 games at TD Garden this season, the 6-foot, 200-pound forward has totaled 24 goals and 28 assists for 52 points with a plus-17 rating. The Havirov, Czechia native leads the Bruins in goals, assists, points, even strength goals (20), even strength points (42), power play goals (4), power play points (10) and shots (157) in home games this season. This is the second consecutive year and the fourth season that Pastrnak has received the Elizabeth Dufresne Trophy (2025, 2024, 2022, 2020).

John P. Bucyk Award
Parker Wotherspoon will receive the John P. Bucyk Award for his contributions in the Boston community this season. Wotherspoon has been involved in several community events including the team’s annual holiday toy shopping, a Halloween visit at Massachusetts General Hospital and various meet and greets. In January 2025, he visited the Richard J. Murphy School to participate in a STEM lesson with a 7th grade classroom. Later in the season, Wotherspoon also participated in a game of goalball with students from the Perkins School for the Blind. The award is named after Bruins legend John P. Bucyk, who is in his 68th season with the organization.

Two Great Ones; Different Eras

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ELMONT, NY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) -Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has finally caught up to Wayne Gretzky, tying him for the most goals scored in an NHL career.

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While they each have 894 goals, the eras in which they played were far from equal.

Ovechkin tied Gretzky’s 31-year-old record by scoring twice in a 5-3 win against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.

The 39-year-old Russian scored 3:52 into the game on a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle off a feed from behind the net, and tied the record at 6:13 of the third with his patented one-timer from the left circle while on a power play.

Gretzky will be back in attendance on Sunday afternoon when Ovechkin goes for No. 895 against the New York Islanders on Long Island.

“It’s really been a wonderful journey for everyone,” said Gretzky, who went on to play five more seasons after breaking Howe’s record. “It’s great for hockey. I’m so happy for the league. I’m so proud of Alex. … Great for the people in Washington and hockey fans all over the world.”

The paths Ovechkin and Gretzky took to 894 were both long and varied.

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Gretzky became the NHL’s all-time goals leader while also serving as the league’s premier playmaker. He totaled more than twice as many assists (1,963) as goals during his 20-year career.

Ovechkin, on the other hand, has been a prototypical goal scorer ever since notching a pair in his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2005, less than a month after his 20th birthday.

He has 724 assists in his career, producing more assists than goals only five times in his 20 seasons, most recently in 2023-24, when he totaled 31 goals and 34 assists.

Ovechkin’s blistering one-timer has also made him one of the league’s biggest threats on the power play throughout his career.

Ovechkin has an NHL-record 324 power-play goals, more than a third of his goal total.

Gretzky amassed 204 power-play goals in his career, which is 18th on the NHL’s all-time list, but he holds the NHL record with 686 assists with the man-advantage.

Gretzky also didn’t have the benefit of playing 4-on-4 or 3-on-3 overtime during his career, thus he only tallied two overtime goals, compared to 27 for Ovechkin, which is another NHL record.

Overtime was added prior to Gretzky’s fifth season in the league in 1983-84 and remained 5-on-5 until it was changed to 4-on-4 in the 1999-2000 season, one season after Gretzky retired.

Ovechkin joined the NHL the first season the shootout was added after five minutes of overtime, which was later changed to 3-on-3 prior to the 2015-16 season.

Ovechkin had an opportunity to break Gretzky’s record when Chicago pulled its goalie in the waning minutes on Friday, but Ovechkin opted to stay on the bench.

“I said, ‘Let’s wait,’” Ovechkin said.

Ovechkin has taken advantage of previous opportunities to shoot into an unguarded net. Eight of his 41 goals this season have been scored into an unoccupied net, and he owns an NHL record 65 empty-netters for his career.

Gretzky took advantage of empty nets in his career as well, scoring 56, which is second most in NHL history.

There’s no doubt that today’s rules have also made it easier for speedy players to weave from zone to zone, something Gretzky was not always afforded.

One particular rule that was set aside just as Ovechkin’s career was starting in an effort to open up the ice for more scoring was the elimination of a stoppage for a two-line pass.

Previously, teams were not permitted to pass the puck over both their blue line and the red line, preventing long stretch passes.

One of Ovechkin’s favorite hangouts is along the wall at the opponent’s blue line, where he waits for stretch passes to spring him loose.

The goalies who tried to stop Gretzky and Ovechkin have also gone through a makeover.

Netminders today are bigger and more technically sound than during Gretzky’s era, and their equipment also fills up more of the cage.

Ovechkin will try to break Gretzky’s record against one of the best goalies in the NHL, five-time All Star Ilya Sorokin.

Gretzky will be ready to congratulate Ovechkin if he does.

“When I broke Gordie’s record my dad told me that same night, ‘Be as proud of the guy that breaks your record,’ ” Gretzky said. “When I was breaking Gordie Howe’s record, he was there. And I said two years ago that if Alex gets close to my record, I’ll be here.”

-Field Level Media

Ullmark Sticks It to Bruins

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OTTAWA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) -Two goals and an assist from Drake Batherson led the Ottawa Senators to a 6-3 win over the visiting Boston Bruins. Ottawa opened a 4-1 lead after one period and never looked back, ensuring its fifth straight win and a seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1).

Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto each added a goal and an assist, Tyler Kleven and Claude Giroux also scored, and Linus Ullmark made 22 saves for the Senators.

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Ullmark stopped eight Boston shots in the third period.

Casey Mittelstadt, David Pastrnak and Marat Khusnutdinov each scored for Boston, which was looking to win its third straight for just the second time this season.

The goals by deadline acquisitions Mittelstadt and Khusnutdinov were their first as Bruins.

Boston’s Jeremy Swayman allowed four goals on 15 shots before Joonas Korpisalo relieved him with 15 saves on 16 shots after the first period.

Ottawa landed the first six shots and validated its dominant start with a 2-0 lead. Pinto scored first on a turnaround shot from the right circle just 3:44 into the proceedings.

The Senators doubled their lead at 9:09 when Nikolas Matinpalo wrapped the puck around the boards to Kleven, who fired a one-timer from high on the left.

Mittelstadt made it 2-1 at the 10:57 mark. After a hard forecheck forced a turnover, Vinni Lettieri sent a backhand pass across the crease to his fellow Minnesota native, who beat Ullmark with a wrist shot.

Then, two goals in a 22-second span put the hosts back in full control at 4-1. Batherson moved the buffer back to two at 16:21, finishing a tic-tac-toe passing sequence with Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle on the power play.

A Swayman misplay helped keep Ottawa’s offense in the zone, and Greig netted the second quick-fire goal after Pinto’s point shot created an open net-front rebound.

Pastrnak struck first in the middle period, deflecting John Beecher’s wrist shot from the point from near the crease at 6:59.

Batherson reestablished the three-goal difference again at 11:01, potting the rebound of a Thomas Chabot point shot that Dylan Cozens tipped. The Bruins responded just 2:54 later, as Khusnutdinov took Elias Lindholm’s feed down the slot for a wrist shot goal.

Ullmark made a highlight-reel save with 1:29 left in the second, diving across to snatch Mason Lohrei’s one-timer after Jakub Lauko threaded a cross-ice pass. A Nikita Zadorov post in the final minute also kept Ottawa’s lead at 5-3 after two periods.

Giroux’s empty-netter with 1:16 left in regulation iced the game.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Complete 3-Goal Comeback

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BOSTON – Boston’s Pavel Zacha scored the game-winner with 3:17 left in regulation to punctuate the Bruins’ three-goal third period in a 3-2 win over the visiting Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.

On the clinching goal, Zacha was the beneficiary of a backhand pass from David Pastrnak, who spun off a check in the corner and dished a backhand pass out to the crease.

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Pastrnak was the lone Bruin with multiple points (one goal, one assist). His 33rd goal of the season came on the power play and got Boston on the scoreboard with 11:04 left in regulation.

Mason Lohrei also scored and Jeremy Swayman stopped 26 shots for the Bruins, who have won back-to-back games since finalizing a series of deadline transactions that included dealing captain Brad Marchand to Florida. The longtime Bruin didn’t suit up against his former team in this one.

Dmitry Kulikov and Mackie Samoskevich scored for the Atlantic Division-leading Panthers, who had a six-game win streak snapped.

Sam Bennett and Seth Jones had one assist each for Florida, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves.

Florida led 28-24 in shots on goal, and special teams played a role with both teams finding the back of the net during a power play.

Minutes after Bobrovsky stopped Pastrnak’s partial breakaway, Casey Mittelstadt centered a pass that found the star winger on the doorstep for the first Boston goal.

The Bruins then tied the game with 6:09 left, as Lohrei skated into the slot and fired a wrist shot past Bobrovsky. Jakub Lauko won a puck battle along the wall to create the play.

Kulikov netted Florida’s second shot for the game-opening goal at 4:27 and ultimately took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The defenseman sent a one-timer from the high slot past Swayman, triggering the shot directly off a Bennett faceoff win.

The hosts generated quality chances on back-to-back power plays in the second, but were unable to find a tying goal on either. Bobrovsky made a key stop as the first advantage expired, getting a piece of Pavel Zacha’s drive from the right circle that Ian Mitchell set up.

Swayman recovered from a potential misplay of a carom off the boards, keeping his team in a one-goal game when he dove back to stop Anton Lundell’s open chance with 5:47 left in the second.

Jets Beat Bruins, 6-2

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BOSTON – Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele capped a two-goal effort with the eventual game-winner and Wakefield, R.I., native Parker Ford scored in his NHL debut as the visiting Jets beat the Boston Bruins 6-2 Thursday night.

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Scheifele’s second goal 35 seconds into the third period marked the 328th of his Winnipeg career, tying him with Ilya Kovalchuk for the most in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise history.

Nikolaj Ehlers and Vladislav Namestnikov added a goal and an assist, Kyle Connor scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves for Winnipeg, which is on a five-game win streak.

The Jets scored four third-period goals and found the back of the net on two of four power plays in the game (50 percent).

Elias Lindholm led the Bruins with a goal and an assist, while Brad Marchand also scored and added 14 penalty minutes.

Joonas Korpisalo stopped 21 shots in Boston’s second consecutive loss and third in a five-game span (2-3-0).

The Bruins climbed out of a 2-0 hole to tie the game when Lindholm buried a shorthanded goal off Pavel Zacha’s faceoff win 11 seconds into the third. Winnipeg never trailed after Scheifele took an Ehlers feed down the middle to provide an answer just 24 ticks later.

Ehlers was credited with the Jets’ insurance goal less than a minute later, poking the puck off Boston defenseman Mason Lohrei’s stick and into an open left side of Korpisalo’s net at 1:17.

Ford extended Winnipeg’s lead to 5-2 at 5:57. After Alex Iafallo settled down a Logan Stanley centering feed in the slot, the former Providence College captain cashed in with a wrister.

Connor scored an empty-net goal with 36.6 seconds remaining.

Namestnikov lifted the visitors to a 1-0 lead just 2:55 into the first, putting home a power-play goal from low on the left side. Cole Perfetti’s shot from the wing created a rebound that Nino Niederreiter sent to Namestnikov across the crease to bang into an open side of the net.

Minutes after a Josh Morrissey snipe past Korpisalo was called back due to offside, Scheifele doubled Winnipeg’s lead with a goal that counted, tipping in Neal Pionk’s point shot at the 11:31 mark.

Marchand scored his second goal on the man advantage in as many games to bring Boston within one at 15:34. The Bruins captain slid down from the top of the left circle and snapped a shot past Hellebuyck.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Win in Matinee at Garden

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Charlie Coyle scored the tying and winning goals in the third period as part of a three-point effort, helping the Bruins surge past the visiting San Jose Sharks 6-3 on Monday afternoon.

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Coyle was the beneficiary of Matthew Poitras’ primary assists on both late-game goals, including the deciding tally at 14:11

David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm each registered a goal and an assist, while Vinni Lettieri also scored for Boston, which is 3-0-1 in its last four games.

Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 25 saves.

Rookie Will Smith, a native of nearby Lexington, Mass., led the Sharks with a goal and an assist in his first NHL game in Boston.

Barclay Goodrow and Fabian Zetterlund also scored and Yaroslav Askarov stopped 27 shots for San Jose, which has lost three in a row and six of seven.

Performing well with new linemate Marchand, Coyle took a Poitras feed off the rush and banked the go-ahead goal off Askarov’s pads. The game-tying goal came several minutes earlier at 8:22 when Poitras fed Coyle a backhand pass, who sniped a shot past Askarov from the slot.

Marchand and Lindholm iced the game with empty-netters in the final 1:15.

The Sharks had scored twice in the second period to turn around a 2-1 deficit, with Smith bringing them back even at 8:52. The local native capitalized on a neutral-zone turnover by placing a perfect glove-side wrist shot off a give-and-go with Mikael Granlund.

Smith’s goal was his seventh and the 25th goal by Sharks rookies this season, the most in the NHL.

A successful penalty kill helped vault San Jose to its first lead when Zetterlund scored with 4:42 left before the second intermission. After Smith’s shot was blocked, Zetterlund picked up the puck, skated down the wing and buried his own rebound after a net drive.

Boston’s opening goal came as Vinni Lettieri tipped Jordan Oesterle’s shot from the right point five-hole on Askarov at 9:21 of the first. It was his second tally in as many games.

Goodrow evened the score for San Jose at 13:16, charging down the middle of the ice to snap home Nico Sturm’s centering pass from behind the end line.

The Bruins’ power play converted for the fourth time in as many games at 7:02 of the second. Pavel Zacha circled the cage and fed Pastrnak for a one-time goal from close range just below the right circle for a 2-1 Boston lead.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Win with 1.2 Seconds Left

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SUNRISE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s David Pastrnak scored with 1.2 seconds left in overtime for theBruins, who snapped a six-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon in Florida.

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Pastrnak, who finished with two goals and one assist, got the game winner on an attempted pass that deflected in off the stick of Florida’s Sam Reinhart. The puck carried over the head of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for Pastrnak’s sixth goal in his past five games.

The Bruins, who earned their first win of the calendar year after an 0-5-1 stretch since 2025 began, got one goal each from Morgan Geekie and Oliver Wahlstrom.

The Panthers got two goals from Reinhart and one from Evan Rodrigues.

Maple Leafs Trick Bruins

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TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Toronto’s Matthew Knies recorded his first career hat trick and added two assists as the Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Boston Bruins 6-4 on Saturday night.

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Mitch Marner added an empty-net goal and four assists for the Maple Leafs, who have won three games in a row.

Auston Matthews (upper-body injury) returned after missing six games and had an empty-net goal and two assists. Jake McCabe contributed a goal and an assist, and Joseph Woll made 26 saves.

David Pastrnak scored twice for the Bruins, who have lost three straight. Morgan Geekie and Trent Frederic also scored, and Pavel Zacha had two assists. Jeremy Swayman stopped 23 shots.

Pastrnak hit the goal post with a shot 32 seconds into a fast-paced first period.

McCabe opened the scoring at 3:29 of the first with a wrist shot from the left circle on a nifty pass from Marner.

The teams traded goals 12 seconds apart early in the second period.

Knies redirected a shot by Matthews at 3:37 after Boston failed to clear the puck, and Toronto led 2-0.

Geekie answered immediately with an eight-foot wrist shot. He pounced on a loose puck after Zacha jabbed at it following Charlie Coyle’s shot.

Boston tied the game at 18:44 of the second. After an icing call against Toronto, Frederic won the faceoff and scored with a 21-foot wrist shot from the slot after the return pass from Charlie McAvoy.

Knies scored on an eight-foot backhand at the end of a two-on-one with John Tavares at 3:43 of the third period.

Pastrnak tied the game 34 seconds later on a 34-foot snap shot after stealing the puck from a Maple Leafs player.

Toronto regained the lead when Knies scored at 5:28 on a high shot that hit the post and went in. Matthews won the puck at the end boards and made the pass into the slot.

Marner scored into an empty net at 17:55 of the third.

Pastrnak responded with a goal on a 14-foot wrist shot at 18:10, and Matthews sealed the result with an empty-net goal at 19:29.

–Field Level Media