NHL Weekend Games Recap: March 25th & 26th, 2023
Playoff Push Heats Up Over Weekend

NHL WEEKEND IN REVIEW: March 25th & 26th, 2023
With fifteen games on Saturday and five more on Sunday, it was a jam-packed weekend of action in the National Hockey League with all of the playoff races and positioning taking place, clubs have just ten games or less left in the Regular Season, NHL Let’s take a look at Saturday and Sunday’s NHL hockey game scores with this NHL Weekend Games Recap in review.
Saturday Games
Forward Eeli Tolvanen scored two goals against the club that waived him earlier this season as the Seattle Kraken beat the Nashville Predators by a 7-2 final score on Saturday afternoon. The Kraken, who hold onto the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with 88 points, exacted revenge after Thursday’s 2-1 shootout loss in the Music City. For the Predators, they have now lost four of their last six games overall and sit five points behind the Winnipeg Jets, who hold the last Wild Card spot, and one point behind the Calgary Flames in the Western Conference standings.
The Calgary Flames picked up an important pair of points on Saturday, beating their division foe, the San Jose Sharks, by a score of 5-3 as large home favorites. Veteran winger Tyler Toffoli scored two goals and Nazem Kadri scored the eventual game-winner early in the third period. Rookie forward Walker Duehr assisted on that game-winning tally, along with scoring his fifth goal of the season for the Flames, who now sit four points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second and final Wild Card spot in the National Hockey League’s Western Conference. San Jose has now lost nine consecutive games and 18 of their last 21 contests overall.
Winger Patrick Kane scored his 20th goal early in the third period along with Filip Chytil, who’s 21st goal of the season sealed the 4-3 victory for the New York Rangers over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night. The Rangers were +120 underdogs, which now gives them back-to-back victories in that role. Backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak turned in another strong start, making 31 saves on 34 shots faced for his tenth victory of the season. Florida has now lost three straight games and with 79 points, sit just three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final Wild Card spot in the NHL Eastern Conference with just nine games left to play.
Forward Evgeni Malkin scored a breakaway goal with under 90 seconds left in regulation to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night in prime-time National Television action. Goalie Casey DeSmith made 31 saves on 34 shots faced to earn his 14th victory of the season in his career-high 31st start on the year. Jake Guentzel, Ryan Poehling and Chad Ruhwedel scored for the Penguins, who sit in the second and final Wild Card spot in the East, and trail the New York Islanders by one point for that top Wild Card slot.
Forward Nicolas Roy scored the game-winner in overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 4-3 victory on the road over the Edmonton Oilers. Vegas now leads the Pacific Division with 98 points, four more than the second-place Los Angeles Kings. The Golden Knights have won eight of their last ten games overall with nine games left in the regular season. Winger Leon Draisaitl scored his 45th goal of the year, a power-play tally in the second period for Edmonton, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. The Oilers have earned at least one point in eight of their last ten games overall and hold the third place spot in the Pacific Division with 91 points, three more than the Seattle Kraken with nine games remaining.
SUNDAY GAMES
Forward Valeri Nichushkin scored the only goal in the shootout, finishing in the seventh round to give the Colorado Avalanche a 4-3 win against the Arizona Coyotes as big road favorites on Sunday afternoon. Arizona scored three goals in the third period to force overtime, the last of the goals coming from forward Clayton Keller, his 35th tally of the season. Goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 35 saves on 38 shots faced in regulation and in overtime, along with seven more saves in the shootout for his 33rd victory on the year. The Avalanche are now tied with the Dallas Stars for second-place in the Central Division with 92 points. Colorado holds the home-place edge by percentage points, and they also trail the Minnesota Wild by one point for the top spot in the Division.
The Toronto Maple Leafs pick up a solid 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Sunday afternoon. Forward John Tavares scored twice and picked up an assist while Mitch Marner saw his point streak reach ten games with an assist. Goalie Joseph Woll made 23 saves on 25 shots faced for his third win in four starts for the Maple Leafs, who have now won three of their last five games on the road. Nashville has now lost five on their last seven games and drop to five points behind the Winnipeg Jets and one point behind the Calgary Flames in the Wild Card race in the Western Conference. Predators forward Matt Duchene suffered a hand injury from a shot deflection. He is currently listed as “week-to-week”
Other News & Notes Around The League
- The New York Islanders were shutout 2-0 by goaltender Eric Comrie and the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday evening. The third-string netminder stopped all 26 Isles shots he faced for his ninth victory of the season and second shutout of his career. Forward Kyle Okposo scored his tenth goal of the year to finally crack the scoring midway through the final period. Center Jeff Skinner scored his 31st of the year with an empty-net tally in the final seconds of play.
- The Boston Bruins had a tremendous weekend once again on this journey towards the best record and most points in National Hockey League Regular Season history. On Saturday afternoon, Boston beat the Tampa Bay Lightning by a 2-1 final score thanks to the 26-save performance by goalie Linus Ullmark. With that win, the Bruins clinched the Atlantic Division title. On Sunday, they headed north to Raleigh to take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Forward David Pastrnak scored twice, giving him 50 and 51 goals on the season. He is the first B’s skater since Cam Neely in the 1993-94 season to score more than 50 goals. Jeremy Swayman was in goal for this contest, making 34 saves on 37 shots faced as the Bruins beat the Canes 4-3 in a shootout decided by goals from forwards Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle.
- The Vancouver Canucks continue their winning ways on Sunday evening, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 as road favorites. Forward Elias Pettersson scored two goals and picked up an assist while defenseman Ethan Bear picked up two assists and Brock Boeser scored his 15th goal of the year and notching an assist. The Canucks have won 11 of their last 14 games while Chicago is on a five-game losing streak. The Blackhawks have dropped 12 of their last 15 games overall as they look to fall to the worst record in the National Hockey League.
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