NHL roundup: Leon Draisaitl's 51st goal lifts Oilers in OT
Mar 29, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; The Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal scored by forward Leon Draisaitl (29), his 50th of the season, during the third period against the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images Leon Draisaitl’s second goal of the night — his 51st of the season — in a three-point game was the overtime winner to give the host Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 comeback victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
Viktor Arvidsson also scored for the Oilers, who snapped a two-game skid. Goaltender Calvin Pickard made 26 saves for Edmonton, who are even with the Los Angeles Kings in points for second place in the Pacific Division but have played one more game.
Draisaitl, the first NHL player to score 50 goals this season, returned after missing four games due to injury, but Edmonton was without fellow superstar Connor McDavid for a fourth consecutive outing. No. 1 goaltender Stuart Skinner and defenseman Mattias Ekholm are also out.
Yegor Sharangovich and Brayden Pachal each scored goals, with Pachal also collecting one assist for the Flames. Calgary is seven points outside a playoff position but has three games in hand on the St. Louis Blues, who hold the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. Goalie Dustin Wolf stopped 26 shots.
Stars 5, Kraken 1
Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists, while Jason Robertson added one of each as Dallas clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs by beating host Seattle.
Rantanen scored an empty-net goal to earn his first three-point game since coming to Dallas at the trade deadline It was his fourth straight game with a point, and Robertson notched his third consecutive multi-point game. Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist, while Mason Marchment and Wyatt Johnston scored as well. Jake Oettinger stopped 35 shots.
Eeli Tolvanen scored off assists from Jared McCann and Andre Burakovsky, but it was far from enough as Seattle lost for the fourth time in five games. Joey Daccord finished with 16 saves.
Golden Knights 3, Predators 1
Reilly Smith broke a third-period deadlock and Vegas ran its winning streak to six games with a road victory over Nashville.
Jack Eichel and Brett Howden also scored for the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights, who have only two regulation-time defeats in 15 games (11-2-2). Goaltender Adin Hill made 23 saves in a solid goaltending battle that capped his team’s perfect three-game road trip.
Ryan O’Reilly replied for the Predators, who have only two wins in nine outings. Goalie Justus Annunen stopped 26 shots for Nashville, which has been eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention.
Rangers 6, Sharks 1
Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox scored two goals apiece for visiting New York, which moved into the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot by routing San Jose.
Jonny Brodzinski and Vincent Trocheck also scored for the Rangers, who won for just the second time in seven games (2-4-1). Goalie Jonathan Quick carried a shutout deep into the third and finished with 21 saves.
Cam Lund scored his first NHL goal in his second game with 2:14 left for the league-worst Sharks, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. Alexander Georgiev, who opened his career by spending five seasons with the Rangers, recorded 27 saves.
Lightning 5, Islanders 3
Nikita Kucherov registered a goal and three assists as Tampa Bay rode a three-goal first period en route to a sweep of their three-game homestand in a win against New York.
Kucherov, Nick Perbix and Brayden Point all potted first-period goals for the Lightning. Point added his team-high 38th tally in the second period off a pass from Kucherov, whose three points gave him 11 on the red-hot homestand and 109 overall. Backup Jonas Johansson made his first start since March 13 and stopped 35 shots.
In dropping their fourth straight (0-2-2), the Islanders hurt their wild-card playoff chances and sit three points back of the New York Rangers, who hold the second wild-card spot. Ryan Pulock, Marc Gatcomb and Tony DeAngelo each scored, while goalie Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves.
Blues 2, Avalanche 1
Pavel Buchnevich scored a tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and surging St. Louis beat Colorado in Denver.
Zack Bolduc also scored, Robert Thomas had two assists and Jordan Binnington turned away 28 shots for St. Louis, which has won nine in a row — the longest current streak in the NHL.
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and Mackenzie Blackwood had 25 saves for Colorado, which had its 11-game home winning streak snapped. MacKinnon’s goal extended his home point streak to 24 games.
Maple Leafs 3, Kings 1
John Tavares’ first of two third-period goals broke a tie and Toronto rallied with three goals in the period for a win over host Los Angeles.
Auston Matthews had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, who won for the second time in four games (2-1-1). Anthony Stolarz stopped 35 shots.
Alex Laferriere scored for the Kings, who lost their second straight. Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves.
Devils 5, Wild 2
Nico Hischier scored a hat trick to lift New Jersey to a win over Minnesota in Saint Paul, Minn.
Paul Cotter and Tomas Tatar also scored for New Jersey, which bounced back from a shutout loss one night earlier. Jesper Bratt had two assists. Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom turned aside 22 of 24 shots to earn the win.
Marcus Foligno had a goal and an assist for Minnesota. Ryan Hartman also scored a goal. Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson allowed five goals on 33 shots.
Senators 3, Blue Jackets 2
Jake Sanderson scored the eventual game-winner as Ottawa topped visiting Columbus to win for the ninth time in its last 12 games (9-3-0).
Ridly Greig scored and added an assist, and Drake Batherson also tallied for the Senators. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves, and Shane Pinto added a pair of helpers as the Senators moved to 21-10-2 on home ice this season.
Boone Jenner and Kirill Marchenko responded for Columbus, while Zach Werenski added a pair of assists. Daniil Tarasov stopped 24 shots for the Blue Jackets, who won just three of their last 12 games (3-8-1).
Flyers 7, Sabres 4
Ryan Poehling had two goals and one assist and Matvei Michkov also had two goals to help Philadelphia beat visiting Buffalo.
Noah Cates had a goal and two assists, Tyson Foerster had a goal and an assist, Jakob Pelletier scored a goal while Owen Tippett, Bobby Brink and Travis Konecny had two assists for the Flyers, who have won their first two games under interim coach Brad Shaw. Samuel Ersson made 17 saves for Philadelphia.
Jack Quinn had two goals and an assist, JJ Peterka had a goal and an assist, Alex Tuch had a goal and Ryan McLeod had three assists for Buffalo. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves for the Sabres.
Red Wings 2, Bruins 1
Marco Kasper scored an unassisted goal in the first period and Lucas Raymond scored in the second as host Detroit edged slumping Boston.
Cam Talbot made 20 saves as the Red Wings won for just the fourth time in their last 15 games.
Morgan Geekie scored the Boston goal and Jeremy Swayman stopped 20 shots. The Bruins have lost eight straight and 16 of their last 19. It’s the longest slide for Boston since the 2009-10 season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Minnesota United blank Timbers for 3rd straight win
Apr 18, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota United FC forward Kelvin Yeboah (9) shoots the ball as Portland Timbers defender Finn Surman (20) and defender Brandon Bye (5) defend during the first half at Allianz Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Tomas Chancalay had a goal and an assist as the Minnesota United won their third match in a row with Saturday night’s 2-0 victory against the Portland Timbers at Saint Paul, Minn.
Kelvin Yeboah scored the other goal, making it three matches in a row that he has a goal for the Loons (4-2-2, 14 points). Minnesota goalkeeper Drake Callender made two saves for the clean sheet.
Yeboah has half of his team’s 10 goals in MLS play. He’s the team’s only player with more than one goal.
James Pantemis made five saves for Portland (2-5-1, 7 points), which fell to 0-4-0 in road matches.
Chancalay scored his first goal of the season in the 16th minute off Jefferson Diaz’s assist.
Yeboah’s goal in the 60th minute capped a fastbreak with a short-range shot after Chancalay provided the final pass. Chancalay has four assists this year.
Portland has surrendered two or more goals in each of its last three road matches.
The Timbers began a busy stretch that includes several road assignments with a largely solid game despite failing to score. They held a 4-3 edge in corner kicks and a 55%-45% possession advantage, but Minnesota outshot the visitors 17-12, including 7-2 on shots on target.
The teams played to a 1-1 draw last August in the same stadium.
Portland stays on the road next Saturday, visiting San Diego FC. Minnesota plays twice next week, visiting FC Dallas on Wednesday before hosting LAFC on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
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Troy Johnston's clutch double leads Rockies' comeback win over Dodgers
Apr 18, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker (23) is congratulated by designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) after a two-run home run during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images Troy Johnston hit a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning and the Colorado Rockies held on for a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night in Denver.
Johnston had three of Colorado’s seven hits as the Rockies won for only the second time in nine games.
Kyle Tucker and Dalton Rushing homered for the Dodgers, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Shohei Ohtani was 1-for-4 to extend his on-base streak to 50 games.
Brennan Bernardino (2-0) delivered 1 1/3 no-hit innings in relief, and Victor Vodnik pitched the ninth for his third save.
Will Klein (1-1) allowed hits to each of the first three batters he faced in the sixth, including Johnston’s game-winning double.
The first two Dodgers reached in the eighth against Jaden Hill and they loaded the bases with two outs before Hill retired Max Muncy on a groundout to second base.
Colorado starter Ryan Feltner went 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) and five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
Los Angeles starter Emmet Sheehan gave up two runs on four hits in five innings, with two walks and four strikeouts.
The Dodgers led 2-0 two pitches into the game. After Ohtani hit the first pitch into play and reached on an error by Johnston, Tucker drove the first pitch he saw into the second deck in right for his third home run with the Dodgers.
TJ Rumfield’s RBI single made it 2-1 in the bottom of the first.
Rushing’s solo homer with one out in the second restored the two-run lead.
Kyle Karros’ sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning made it 3-2, scoring Johnston, who had singled, stolen second and moved to third on a groundout.
The Dodgers threatened when Freddie Freeman tripled with one out in the visitor’s half of the sixth. But Karros at third dove to stop Teoscar Hernandez’s grounder down the line, retiring him at first. Bernardino replaced Feltner and struck out Muncy to end the threat.
The Dodgers threatened with a pair of two-out singles in the ninth before Tucker’s flyout to left ended the game. Los Angeles was hitless in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position, stranding eight in the narrow loss
–Field Level Media
Sports
Flyers emerge with win over Penguins in opening tussle of playoff series
Apr 18, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Cam York (8) checks Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) in front of Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar (80) during the first period against in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Porter Martone scored a timely goal late for the Philadelphia Flyers, who skated away with a 3-2 road victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven, first-round playoff series on Saturday night.
Travis Sanheim and Jamie Drysdale also scored for Philadelphia. Trevor Zegras, Denver Barkey, Rasmus Ristolainen, Christian Dvorak and Travis Konecny registered assists.
Dan Vladar stopped 15 shots for the Flyers, none bigger than a point-blank stop on Anthony Mantha in the closing seconds to preserve the win.
Evgeni Malkin scored his 68th postseason goal for the Penguins and assisted on Bryan Rust’s goal. Tommy Novak, Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson earned assists.
Stuart Skinner faced 20 shots and made 17 saves.
The postseason renewal of the Battle of Pennsylvania was exactly that for the two teams ending lengthy playoff droughts. It was a physical affair that featured just 26 shots on goal and 59 hits through the first two periods. That favored the Flyers, who finished the season fourth in the league in hits.
Martone, the 19-year-old who joined Philadelphia from Michigan State on March 31, scored what appeared to be an insurance goal with 2:37 left that gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead. That prompted Pittsburgh to pull Skinner for a sixth attacker.
A tussle between Penguins star Sidney Crosby and Sanheim sent both to the penalty box with 1:09 left, and Rust made it a one-goal game from the high slot eight seconds later.
Drysdale gave Philadelphia the lead midway through the second. Zegras skated behind the net and found the defenseman in the faceoff circle. Denver Barkey also assisted on the goal and further helped by screening Skinner.
Less than seven minutes later, Malkin provided the equalizer as the Penguins applied pressure in the attack zone. Vladar stopped Rakell but allowed a long rebound to his right that Novak tapped to the 39-year-old, who scored from the faceoff circle with 4:09 left in the period.
Sanheim reclaimed the lead for Philadelphia at the midway point of the third.
Pittsburgh’s 17 shots on goal were its fewest in a postseason game since the Penguins mustered just 12 in Game 5 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final against the Nashville Predators.
–Field Level Media
Minnesota United blank Timbers for 3rd straight win
Troy Johnston's clutch double leads Rockies' comeback win over Dodgers
