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Top-5 : the Wild did not dress Fleury in what would have been his last game of the regular season

There are not many games left before the start of the playoffs, and therefore, each matchup is generally of great importance for the standings.

Yesterday, several teams played for their survival, while others fought to retain their spot or even move up in the standings.

Here are the highlights of the day in the National Hockey League.

1. Wild changes strategy and sends Gustavsson into the fray instead of Fleury

The Minnesota Wild is fighting for a playoff spot, as they haven’t been able to confirm their place yet, given that the Calgary Flames refuse to give up.

Every game and every point is crucial, and the Wild can’t afford any more mistakes like the one on Friday, when they lost to the Flames.

This means making tough decisions, such as taking away Marc-Andre Fleury’s chance to play his last regular season game of his career.

In fact, Fleury was supposed to play yesterday against the Vancouver Canucks, but the Wild changed their mind and decided to send Filip Gustavsson into the fray instead.

The Wild is fighting for the playoffs, and John Hynes decided to send his number one goalie into a very important game.

It’s a shame for Fleury, especially for his five friends who made the trip to see him play his last game, but the Wild needs to give themselves every chance.

In the end, the Wild won 3-2 in overtime against the Canucks and now has a serious option for a playoff spot with 98.3% chance of qualifying.

Notably, the Canucks’ fans took the time to applaud Fleury for his last appearance in Vancouver.

 

2. Stars vs Avalanche: a promising series

With the Winnipeg Jets’ 5-4 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars’ 5-3 loss to the Utah Hockey Club, a series has been confirmed.

The Jets have been crowned Central Division champions, which confirmed the matchup between the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the same division.

We will have a very interesting duel in the first round, as the Dallas Stars will face the Colorado Avalanche.

This will be an exciting series between two big teams, and it will be even more interesting to watch given that Miko Rantanen will face his former team.

The Finnish forward, who signed with Dallas for eight years after a huge saga with the Carolina Hurricanes, will face all his former teammates in the first round.

This will be very interesting to watch, as the series could really go either way.

Personally, I’m taking the Avalanche in seven games.

3. Oilers vs Kings: Chapter 4

Here’s another series that was confirmed last night with the Vegas Golden Knights’ 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators.

The Golden Knights confirmed they were Pacific Division champions, which officially confirmed the matchup between the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the division.

And for the fourth consecutive year, the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings will face off in the first round of the playoffs.

We’re all a bit tired of seeing these two teams face off in the first round, but for once, the outcome could be different.

In fact, the Kings seem more threatening than ever, while the Oilers are not as dominant and have several injured players, including Mattias Ekholm, who could miss the entire playoffs.

In short, for the first time in four years, I’m giving the advantage to the Kings.

4. A nice sequence by Adam Fantilli

The Columbus Blue Jackets refuse to give up and remain the only ones in the playoff hunt in the East with the Montreal Canadiens.

Yesterday, they played for their survival against the powerful Washington Capitals and won 7-0.

The Blue Jackets gave it their all, and it paid off with a surprising result.

And in this game, we had a nice sequence by young Adam Fantilli, who served a violent hit on Ryan Leonard before scoring his 26th goal of the season.

Leonard seemed stunned on the sequence, while Fantilli scored a beautiful goal.

The 20-year-old is having a great season with 50 points, including 27 goals, in 79 games.

5. Jesse Puljujarvi scores his first goal with the Panthers

Yes, he still exists!

Jesse Puljujarvi still plays in the NHL, believe it or not, and this time it’s with the Florida Panthers.

The former fourth overall pick in 2016 by the Edmonton Oilers still hasn’t left the NHL, as a team always seems to give him a chance.

And who knows, maybe he’ll find his place with the Panthers.

In any case, last night, he scored his first goal with the Panthers, which was also his first point in three games with the team.

 

Overtime

– Here are all the results from the previous day.

– Here are the top scorers from the previous day.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today’s schedule: nine games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)
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25 saves, one goal allowed and a win for Jacob Fowler in his professional debut

Tonight, we obviously had to watch the Canadiens’ game, who finally lost in overtime.

But we also had to take a look at the Rocket’s game from time to time. Why? Because Jacob Fowler was making his professional debut. He made a good first impression by stopping 25 of the 26 shots directed at him.

He allowed a goal in the Rocket’s win. Welcome to pro hockey, Jacob!

In the first period, he only stopped six shots, but three of those shots were dangerous.

He was extremely solid and for a guy who had never played pro hockey before, he looked very calm and composed. A future Carey Price?

In the second period, with his team leading 2-0, the goalie allowed his first goal.

Certainly not his last…

During this second engagement, the Crunch dominated, but after the goal, Fowler didn’t feel sorry for himself and allowed his team to return to the locker room with the lead.

And in the third period, he closed the door once again and thus won his first professional game.

Will we see him again before the end of the season?

Laval has three more games to play.

Riley Kidney and Lucas Condotta took care of the offense, though.

Overtime

– A forgotten prospect.

– It’s over for Alec Martinez.

– Oh well.

– To follow.

– Beautiful tribute.

– A Hutson is heading to Edmonton, after all.

– Anyway.

– The Lions know their opponent in the first round.

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Race to the playoffs: only the Blue Jackets are still alive against the Habs

For the second evening in a row, the Canadiens failed to qualify for the playoffs. The loss – in overtime – to the Maple Leafs tonight means that the habs, who have forgotten how to shoot, can still be overtaken in the standings.

That being said, the fact that they earned a point in overtime (thanks to Jakub Dobes) means that the Red Wings can no longer surpass the Canadiens in the standings. Detroit is eliminated… just like the two New York teams.

In fact, the standings are simple right now: the Blue Jackets are the only team that can still hope to overtake the Canadiens in the standings to make the playoffs in the East.

(Credit: NHL.com)

As can be seen, the Blue Jackets are five points behind the habs and have three games left to play before the end of the season. The habs have two games left: Monday against the Blackhawks and Wednesday against the Hurricanes. Both are home games for the habs.

The Blue Jackets have two ways to make the playoffs.

  • See the habs get one point before the end of the season and see the Blue Jackets win three regular season games
  • See the habs lose their last two regular season games and see the Blue Jackets win three games

This means that if the Blue Jackets lose tomorrow (in overtime or not), the habs will be officially qualified for the playoffs. And this, even if the Habs have no game scheduled for tomorrow.

Here is the Blue Jackets’ schedule for the rest of the season.

(Credit: NHL.com)

The habs did not help themselves over the weekend, but they are still in the driver’s seat with a five-point lead just a few days before the end of the regular season.

But the Habs are not guaranteed to make the playoffs at this point.

It should be noted that the habs have two more regular season wins than the Blue Jackets, which is the first tiebreaker in case of a tie. The second tiebreaker is regular season and overtime wins… and there, the habs have a good lead: 37 against 31.

So tomorrow, we will have to watch the Capitals and Blue Jackets game. The game will be broadcast on TVA Sports at 6 p.m.

overtime

– The habs can no longer overtake the Senators in the standings because if the two teams have 92 points, the tiebreaker belongs to the Senators. And since the Capitals are guaranteed to finish first in the East, it’s Washington or no playoffs for the Habs.

– We’ll see if Ivan Demidov’s first game in Montreal (likely on Monday) will be important for the playoffs or not.

– The habs are at risk of making the playoffs and the Flames are at risk of missing them. The Canucks won’t be there and the other four Canadian teams (Jets, Oilers, Maple Leafs, and Senators) will be.

– Martin St-Louis’ advice? Keep looking ahead.

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The Canadiens unable to qualify in a loss against Toronto

The Canadiens could have qualified yesterday by defeating the Ottawa Senators. Unfortunately, they didn’t succeed.

As early as tonight, in Toronto this time, Montreal could bounce back.

Here are the lineups:

What we had to watch was the start of the game.

In recent games, it wasn’t going well for Martin St-Louis’ team.

Luckily, they didn’t allow a goal in the first moments. In fact, they didn’t allow any in the first period.

A very conservative period and after 20 minutes, it was 0-0.

In the second period, with the score still tied, Kaiden Guhle accepted Max Domi’s invitation.

Guhle had just given two good hits to the opponents.

Like the first period, no goal was scored in the second.

Montreal had only seven shots…

The real hero of the game is Jakub Dobes. He made several spectacular saves.

He’s not perfect, but he’s a fighter!

He reminds me a bit of Jordan Binnington.

In overtime, he couldn’t do anything about Mitch Marner’s goal, however. It’s still thanks to him that his team earned a point.

Final score: 1-0 Leafs.

Martin St-Louis’ team will continue their season on Monday against Chicago. Probably Ivan Demidov’s first game.

For the second consecutive evening, the habs are unable to qualify officially. They will be able to do so tomorrow if the Jackets lose to Washington.

Overtime

– It wasn’t a joke.

– It was close.

– It’s not the Centre Bell.

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When a Blue Jackets player continues to play even though he has been kicked out of the game

This afternoon, we had to watch the Capitals-Blue Jackets game.

Columbus finally crushed Washington with a score of 7-0 and Dean Evason’s club is still alive.

A funny moment occurred during the game. Dmitri Voronkov, who had an assist, was kicked out of the game, but still decided to stay on the ice.

The officials noticed a few moments later and this time, Voronkov understood the message.

The Russian’s goal was not necessarily to disobey, but apparently, he misunderstood, as his English is not good. In addition to the game misconduct, the Blue Jackets received a two-minute penalty on the sequence.

Luckily, Columbus was already leading 6-0…

It’s worth noting that Tom Wilson was also kicked out of the game in the first period for verbal abuse towards one of the officials.

With this victory, the Ohio club moved within four points of the Habs.

(Credit: NHL.com)

With the two losses by New York clubs, there are only three teams left in the playoff race in the East.

Montréal can still qualify tonight with a win in regulation.

In Overtime

– Not just in Montréal that we were watching this closely.

– Meanwhile, Ivan Demidov is at the game.

– Obviously.

– A live shot.

– Good.

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Majority government for Mark Carney’s Liberals?

The latest projections from 338Canada indicate that Mark Carney is on track to form a majority government.

338Canada🍁federal update | April 8, 2025Details here → 338canada.com/federal.htmFind your riding here → 338canada.com/districts.htm

— Philippe J. Fournier (@338canada.bsky.social) 2025-04-08T11:52:36.767Z

This spectacular turnaround comes after months of decline for the Liberals under Justin Trudeau, who have seen their popularity plummet against the Conservatives.

According to the latest 338Canada projections as of April 2025, Mark Carney’s Liberal Party is on track to win a majority in the House of Commons with 196 seats, far surpassing the required threshold of 172.

Getty Images

The Conservative Party and Pierre Poilievre would obtain 120 seats, while the Bloc Québécois would garner 17. The NDP would be relegated to 8 seats, and the Green Party would retain only 2.

These figures confirm a spectacular reversal of the political landscape in just a few months, as the Liberals were given as losers at the beginning of the year.

Getty Images

The arrival of Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, has given new momentum to the Liberal Party, which now reaches 44% of voting intentions.

Capture338canada.com

This progress is partly explained by the reaction of Canadians to the tariff threats and aggressive statements by Donald Trump towards Canada’s sovereignty.

Faced with this situation, Mark Carney’s firm response seems to have convinced the electorate more than Pierre Poilievre’s hesitant attempt to distance himself from the American president.

Getty Images

Faced with Carney, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is struggling to maintain the momentum of his party, which was still enjoying a comfortable lead in voting intentions not so long ago. His image remains tarnished by controversial statements and a political line often perceived as mirroring that of Donald Trump, which hinders his ability to broaden his electorate.

According to Philippe J. Fournier of 338Canada, the Liberals now have a 55% chance of winning a majority, compared to less than 1% in January.

Getty Images

Canadians are called to the polls on April 28th.

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Tesla stops taking orders from China, as Xi Jinping claims his country is «not afraid»

The trade war triggered by the Trump administration against China has reached a new level, with a direct speech by Xi Jinping on the subject and the entry of Tesla into play.

Trump Tariffs Live: China hits back at US by increasing tariffs to 125%. Follow our live coverage here reut.rs/3G33Ea6

— Reuters (@reuters.com) 2025-04-11T11:20:26.432Z

For the first time since the beginning of the tariff escalation between China and the United States, President Xi has spoken out, stating that China is “not afraid”, as Beijing raises its customs duties on American products to 125% in a new episode of the trade war.

Getty Images

China has stated that it does not want to exceed 125%, considering that further escalation would be unnecessary. It has also criticized Trump’s strategy, which is based exclusively on tariff pressure, seeing it as proof of an intimidation tactic used by a tyrant to force the hand of its trading partners.

“There are no winners in a trade war, and opposing the rest of the world only leads to isolation,” Xi said in his first public comments on the situation.

Getty Images

On the US side, the company Tesla, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, an ally of Trump, seems directly affected by the trade war.

Getty Images

In response, the company has stopped taking orders in China for two of its imported models, namely the Model X SUV and the Model S sedan.

According to Reuters, Tesla has even removed the “order now” buttons from its Chinese website, as well as the ordering features on its mini-program accessible via the Chinese WeChat app.

Getty Images

Although Elon Musk proudly claims that Tesla is the most “American-made” vehicle, the company remains heavily dependent on foreign suppliers, particularly Chinese ones, for essential components such as battery materials.

This dependence, combined with trade tensions and the controversies surrounding Musk, makes Tesla’s future uncertain, especially in the face of unpredictable decisions that Donald Trump may make.

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41 goals allowed in 9 games: The Caps have the 9th worst defense in the NHL since February 1st

It’s not going super well for the Capitals lately.

The Washington formation played this afternoon against the Blue Jackets and even if some players were left out – including Alex Ovechkin -, the Jackets easily won the game with a score of 7-0.

The Caps have only three wins in their last nine games…

But it goes even further than that.

If the Capitals have only three wins in their last nine games… it’s also because they have conceded a total of 41 goals (!) during that period.

Statistician Guillaume Villemaire also reports that the team has the 9th worst defense in the NHL since February 1st.

As the series approaches, we’re starting to find flaws in this team. Adding to that the fact that Logan Thompson is injured right now and the team’s number one goalie hasn’t played since April 2nd…

It’s relevant to talk about it because the Canadiens risk not joining the Senators in the standings in the East.

And if the Habs get their ticket to the series without joining the Senators, they will face the Capitals in the first round of the playoffs.

Despite everything, we must not forget one thing: the Capitals have a big top-6 with players who have a big physical presence.

The Habs will have to be careful…

Being physical: the Canadiens’ mission against the Capitals

When we look at the Capitals’ formation on paper, it’s easy to notice one thing: the team relies on several players with a large physical presence.

On the top-6, we find…

  • Alex Ovechkin – 6’3″ and 238 pounds
  • Aliaksei Protas – 6’6″ and 247 pounds
  • Dylan Strome – 6’3″ and 196 pounds
  • Tom Wilson – 6’4″ and 225 pounds
  • Pierre-Luc Dubois – 6’4″ and 220 pounds
  • Connor McMichael – 6’0″ and 180 pounds

Taylor Raddysh (6’3″ and 200 pounds) and Brandon Duhaime (6’2″ and 210 pounds) are also two big players who play in a depth role.

The Capitals’ attack is not small, to put it mildly

And to neutralize the Capitals’ top-6, the Habs will have to find a way to be physical to destabilize the Washington formation.

Otherwise, the Caps will have fun against the Habs – especially in the offensive zone – because they have the assets to disrupt their opponents night after night.

But that’s also why the idea of inserting Arber Xhekaj into the formation makes sense.

The Canadiens must use the Sheriff in these moments… and they must trust him against a more physical team than the Habs.

Arber Xhekaj – following the return of Kaiden Guhle – has only participated in one of the Canadiens’ last seven games.

And without saying that his absence is sorely felt, we notice that the physical aspect is less present in the formation when he doesn’t play.

The Habs must exploit their strengths if they face a team like the Capitals in the playoffs.

Otherwise… what’s the point of having Arber Xhekaj if the Canadiens don’t take advantage of his qualities?

Xhekaj is not perfect and we all agree on that. But his presence on the ice disrupts other teams because he can be mean when needed.

And that’s where the Habs must take advantage… especially in the context where the team will need to hit in the series because we know how different it is.

Overtime

– Ouch.

– The guys are ready. I’m looking forward to seeing Fowler tonight!

– Note:

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Mitch Marner as defenseman against the Habs tonight : Craig Berube opens the door

Tonight, the Canadiens will face the Maple Leafs in Toronto. This will be the team’s last game on the road until the end of the regular season.

Let’s recall that even if Ivan Demidov skated this morning, he will not play tonight. He was with the extras this morning, including the poor Arber Xhekaj, whom he roughed up.

Now, tonight, the Habs will face a team that is in a funny situation. With Oliver Ekman-Larsson injured, the Maple Leafs only have five healthy defensemen… and they are too close to the salary cap to make a recall.

This means they will play with one less player… and since they will be missing a defenseman, coach Craig Berube has an idea in mind:

[Mitch Marner] is capable, if we need it, of giving us minutes [on defense]. – Craig Berube

What seems to be understood is that Marner will not be a defenseman per se tonight. However, it’s really hard to rule out the possibility of seeing him take at least a few shifts on the blue line.

We’ve already seen him do that in the past, after all, and he also does it on the power play for the Maple Leafs (even if it’s not the same game, we get it).

We know Marner has solid defensive instincts, which means he can fill in on the blue line in case of extreme emergency. That being said, we understand that it’s not optimal… and it could smile at the Habs, that.

Because with the Blue Jackets’ win, the Habs need to win in 60 minutes at most tonight if they want to secure their spot in the playoffs.

Let’s recall that the team would still have excellent chances of making the playoffs even if they lose tonight… but with the Blue Jackets not losing anymore, it would be a good thing for the Habs to settle it once and for all against the Maple Leafs in a few hours.

This would allow the guys to breathe until the start of the playoffs… and most importantly, it would allow Ivan Demidov to make his debut in a context where there will be much less pressure.

Overtime

– The Islanders are officially eliminated.

– Tough break for the Oilers: Mattias Ekholm may have played his last game in 2024-25.

– This statistic is still just as surreal.

– The Yankees need to put an end to the Marcus Stroman experiment.

– Do we like it or not?

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Hall of Fame: Ivan Demidov took pictures with young Québécois

Thursday evening, Ivan Demidov set foot in Toronto. The habs prospect, who skated with the team’s extras this morning (and completely destroyed Arber Xhekaj), took advantage of yesterday’s day to spend some time in Toronto.

The team was going to join him today anyway… and he had to recover from the time difference.

And during his day yesterday, his girlfriend shared photos of their visit to the Hall of Fame. He therefore saw the different trophies and the famous habs dressing room… but he also met some fans of the Canadiens.

As reported by the QMI Agency, three young Québécois adults were also at the Hall of Fame yesterday as part of a school trip… and they quickly recognized Demidov.

The young habs forward agreed to chat with them a bit and take a few photos with them.

The three young people, who were not even supposed to be at the Hall of Fame (they changed their itinerary to take a tour), were therefore lucky enough to meet the young forward, who took the time for them.

Maybe that will calm the ardor of the few people who thought Demidov was not grateful enough for the welcome committee that was waiting for him at the airport Thursday evening, that.

The good news is that according to the three young people, Demidov did not seem too destabilized by all this. He was very generous in all this, offering a few minutes to three fans who were happy to meet him.

So much the better, because if it happens in Toronto, imagine what it will be like when he arrives in Montreal. It’s the reality of being a player of his caliber in a market as crazy (in the good sense) as hockey.

Overtime

– The Capitals are not helping the habs’ cause today. Reminder: four points separate the habs from the Blue Jackets, but Montreal has the tiebreaker and can qualify with a win in regulation time tonight.

– He will almost certainly win the Jack Adams, him. Martin St-Louis risks getting a lot of votes anyway.

– Notice to interested parties.

– The two players who were waived yesterday were not claimed.

– Lando Norris had a difficult end to the session.