Sports
Matt Boldy's 4-point effort steers Wild past Avalanche
Feb 26, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (39) makes a save against Minnesota Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek (14) as defenseman Cale Makar (8) defends in the first period at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Matt Boldy had two empty-net goals and added two assists, Joel Eriksson Ek also scored twice and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 in Denver on Thursday night.
Filip Gustavsson made 44 saves for Minnesota, which has won six in a row and tightened the race in the Central Division. Mats Zuccarello also scored, and Kirill Kaprizov had two assists.
Colorado leads the NHL with 85 points and the Wild have 80, tied for second most in the league.
Martin Necas had two goals, Nathan MacKinnon contributed two assists and Mackenzie Blackwood turned away 31 shots for the Avalanche, who were playing the second game of a back-to-back after the three-week Olympic break.
Eriksson Ek’s first goal of the game, at 7:48 of the second period, gave Minnesota a 1-0 edge. The Avalanche answered when MacKinnon left a drop pass for Necas as they skated into the Wild zone, and Necas beat Gustavsson with a wrister at 13:30.
Colorado took three minor penalties in a span of 53 seconds, giving Minnesota an extended 5-on-3 power play late in the second period. The Avalanche killed off the first two penalties before Eriksson Ek’s shot went off the inside of Blackwood’s right skate and in at 17:37 for a 2-1 lead.
The Avalanche came out strong at the start of the third period, outshooting the Wild 12-5 in the first 10 minutes of the frame, though Gustavsson stopped them all. Necas had a point-blank chance that Gustavsson snagged with his glove.
Colorado went on the power play at 12:36 but couldn’t score, but Zuccarello made it a two-goal game when his pass to the crease went off the skate of Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinksi and by Blackwood at 15:08.
Colorado got another power play with 3:48 remaining and Blackwood came off to give the Avalanche a 6-on-4. Boldy sealed it with a short-handed, empty-net goal at 16:38.
Gustavsson left the game with just over a minute remaining after vomiting in his crease. Necas scored on the first shot on Jesper Wallstedt at 19:03, but Boldy restored the three-goal margin 25 seconds later.
Wallstedt wound up saving one of the two shots he faced.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Wings' Dylan Larkin ties it, then wins it in OT vs. Sens
Feb 26, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Detroit Red Wings right wing Alex DeBrincat (93) reacts after a goal from center Dylan Larkin (71) during the second period against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Keito Newman-Imagn Images Dylan Larkin scored his second goal of the game at 1:50 of overtime and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Senators 2-1 in Ottawa.
Larkin, an Olympic gold medalist for Team USA, started the winning rush with a pass to Lucas Raymond at center ice. Larkin then got behind Ottawa’s Shane Pinto, took the return pass, deked and slid a backhand shot between the pads of Linus Ullmark for his 28th goal of the season.
Each team was playing its first game following the break for the Milan-Cortina Olympics and looking to get off to a fast start in the final sprint for a spot in
the Eastern Conference playoffs.
John Gibson made 26 saves for the Red Wings, who had lost four of five before the break. Raymond had two assists.
Gold medalist Brady Tkachuk scored for the Senators, who had won five of six before the break. Ullmark made 18 saves.
The Red Wings have won the first three meetings of the season, including two in overtime.
Tkachuk gave the Senators a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 18:44 of the first period. Jake Sanderson’s point shot deflected off the skate of Detroit’s Michael Rasmussen to Tkachuk, who scored on a wrist shot from the high slot.
Larkin answered with a power-play goal at 5:24 of the second period. Raymond skated along the goal line and slid a back-hand pass to Larkin, who one-timed it past Ullmark from the bottom of the left circle.
Gibson maintained the tie early in the third period when a shot by Pinto got behind him but he knocked the puck away with his left skate before it crossed the goal line.
Pinto had a good opportunity on the rush in the final seconds of regulation but Gibson made a blocker save.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sebastian Aho goal helps Hurricanes edge Lightning
Feb 26, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) shoots past Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (77) during the first period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images Carolina’s Sebastian Aho broke a third-period tie with a power-play goal after the Hurricanes had a three-goal lead vanish in Thursday night’s 5-4 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams in Raleigh, N.C.
Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall both had a goal and an assist and Nikolaj Ehlers also scored — all in the opening seven minutes — for the Hurricanes., who were in their first game since the Olympic layoff. Seth Jarvis also supplied a goal and an assist and Andrei Svechnikov assisted on two goals for Carolina. Brandon Bussi made 24 saves.
Brandon Point posted a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who opened their post-break schedule a night earlier by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs. Brandon Hagel, Nikita Kucherov and Dominic James also scored for the Lightning. Jake Guentzel provided three assists. Jonas Johansson stopped 28 shots.
Carolina has a four-game winning streak as part of an 11-game points string. The Lightning’s six-game winning streak ended, with Tampa Bay limited to six shots on goal in the third period.
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper missed a game for the second night in a row following the death of his father. Assistant coach Rob Zettler filled in.
Aho, a member of Finland’s bronze-medal team, notched his 21st goal of the season with the Hurricanes on their second power play of the game.
The goals from Ehlers, Stankoven and Hall gave the Hurricanes a 3-0 lead, but Hagel and Kucherov countered in a 35-second stretch later in the first period. James’ goal 1:58 into the second period evened the score.
Jarvis, a member of Canada’s silver-medal Olympic team, put Carolina back on top before Point’s power-play tally with 5:58 left in the second period.
After being out since Jan. 12 with an injury, Point has played in both Tampa Bay games this week and has compiled three goals and two assists.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Penguins stay hot, take down free-falling Devils
Feb 26, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New Jersey Devils left wing Jesper Bratt (63) moves the puck against Pittsburgh Penguins center Connor Dewar (19) during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Connor Clifton and Egor Chinakhov scored 50 seconds apart during a three-goal third period to help the Pittsburgh Penguins, minus superstar Sidney Crosby, break open a tight contest and beat the visiting New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Thursday night.
Tommy Novak opened the scoring, Evgeni Malkin recorded two assists and Blake Lizotte added an empty-netter for the Penguins, who returned from the Olympic break to improve to 15-3-3 since Dec. 28.
Arturs Silovs was stout in making 28 saves for Pittsburgh,
which didn’t seem phased playing without Crosby, who will miss at least four weeks with a lower-body injury suffered while playing for Canada at the Milan Cortina Games earlier this month.
With the game knotted 1-1, Pittsburgh was amid a barrage on New Jersey goaltender Jacob Markstrom (31 saves) when Clifton’s drive from the top of the circle, courtesy of Ryan Shea’s shot that caromed off the iron, put the Penguins ahead with 13:30 left in regulation. Less than a minute later, Malkin sent the puck through the neutral zone for Chinakhov to collect, then break free and eventually go forehand-backhand to beat Markstrom.
Paul Cotter scored for the Devils, who are second-to-last in the Eastern Conference standings and matched a season high with their fifth consecutive loss, which is part of a 1-7-0 rut. New Jersey, which failed to convert any of its five power-play chances — four in the second period– has been outscored 15-4 in the last five contests.
The Penguins opened the scoring with 1:09 left in the first period. Thanks to some precision passing on a power play, Novak redirected Kris Letang’s one-timer off a Malkin pass by Markstrom.
New Jersey, though, answered at 4:56 into the second period. On a delayed penalty, and in somewhat similar fashion to Pittsburgh’s opening tally, Dougie Hamilton’s drive glanced in off the leg of Cotter, who snapped a 23-game goal drought in the process.
United States Olympic hero Jack Hughes had an assist for the Devils.
–Field Level Media
