The final few days of the 2023-24 NHL season is upon us, and there’s certainly been some drama. The playoff race is coming down the home stretch, but don’t worry because we’ve got you covered with the weekly NHL Rewind.
The New York Rangers captured the Presidents’ Trophy with a 4-0 win against the Ottawa Senators on Monday. It marks just the third time in team history that the Rangers have captured the honor.
Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights have already clinched a playoff spot, but continue to fight for the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division. Vegas beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in overtime after they erased a 3-0 third-period deficit.
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories and highlights from the last week around the NHL.
Goal of the week: Roman Josi stick-handles through Blue Jackets defense
The Nashville Predators may be firmly entrenched in the Western Conference’s top Wild Card spot, but that didn’t stop Roman Josi from making a highlight reel play.
Late in the second period, Josi received a pass from teammate Luke Evangelista, and made his move from the face-off circle. Josi stick-handled his way towards the front of the net, and was able to tuck the puck past Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves.
It was a massive performance for Josi as the Predators star defenseman tallied two goals and two assists in a 6-4 Nashville victory on Saturday.
Robbery of the week: Frederik Andersen denies Zach Dean’s rebound attempt with spectacular glove save
Since returning to the ice following a blood clot issue that sidelined him for four months, Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen has been sensational. His spectacular return continued on Friday against the St. Louis Blues.
Late in the opening period, Blues forward Brayden Schenn scooped up an errant Hurricanes pass in the neutral zone. Schenn passed the puck over to teammate Zach Dean, who had his initial shot stopped by Andersen. However, Dean corralled the rebound and looked poised to put it in the net.
Instead, Andersen made one of the more impressive saves of the 2023-24 NHL season as he robbed Dean with a tremendous glove save.
Andersen turned aside 29 of the 31 shots that he faced in a 5-2 Hurricanes win.
Golden Knights erase three-goal third-period deficit to defeat Avalanche
The Vegas Golden Knights have had an up-and-down year up to this point, but still managed to recently clinch a playoff berth. The Golden Knights are still battling it out with the Los Angeles Kings for the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division race and stayed alive in that pursuit thanks to a dramatic comeback over the weekend.
On Sunday, the Golden Knights were able to erase a 3-0 third-period deficit and defeat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in overtime. Forward William Karlsson scored a pair of third goals, while Tomas Hertl netted the game-winning goal in overtime to propel Vegas to the massive win.
It marked the Golden Knights’ third three-goal comeback win in team history. Vegas also achieved that feat on Jan. 4, 2020, against the St. Louis Blues and on March 26, 2022, against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Winger Ivan Barbashev began the comeback when he scored just 2:56 into the third period.
Less than four minutes later, Karlsson put the Golden Knights on his back. Vegas benefitted from some tremendous passing, and Karlsson found the back of the net on a shot from the face-off circle.
Karlsson wasn’t done there as he scored his second goal of the game at the 16:23 mark of the third period. Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud sent a long pass ahead to forward Brett Howden, and Howden sent a pass over to Karlsson, who ripped the puck past the blocker of goaltender Alexandar Georgiev for the goal.
After Karlsson tied the game with 3:37 to go in regulation, the two teams headed to overtime where one of Vegas’ trade deadline acquisitions made the comeback complete.
Just 1:23 into overtime, Jack Eichel sent a shot towards the net that Tomas Hertl was able to deflect past Georgiev to win the game. Hertl has now scored a goal in back-to-back games after recently making his Vegas debut.
With the win, the Golden Knights trail the Los Angeles Kings by just one point for third place in the Pacific Division. The Golden Knights have two games remaining on their regular-season schedule, while the Kings’ regular season is finished.
Rangers lock up Presidents’ Trophy with win over Senators
The New York Rangers have put an exclamation point on a phenomenal regular season as they captured the Presidents’ Trophy. New York did so with a 4-0 win against the Ottawa Senators on Monday, and have finished the season with league-best 114 points.
The Dallas Stars were the Rangers’ biggest competition, but have 111 points with just one game remaining on their regular-season schedule.
It marks the fourth time in franchise history in which the Rangers have won the Presidents’ Trophy. New York last accomplished that feat during the 2014-15 season when they finished with a 53-22-7 record (113 points).
The Rangers also set a franchise record for points in a season, which topped their previous high of 113 points from the 2014-15 season.
Rangers star forward Artemi Panarin led the way with a goal and an assist in Monday’s win. In doing so, Panarin became the league’s fourth 120-point producer of the 2023-24 season.
Panarin also became just the second Rangers player to register 120 points in a season as he joined Jaromir Jagr (123 points in 2005-06).
Now the Rangers will face the No. 2 Wild Card team in the Eastern Conference, which will be decided in the final days of the regular season.
Eastern Conference Wild Card race remains tight as regular season winds down
The Eastern Conference Wild Card race has been quite chaotic over the last week. The Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals are all separated by just two points with three more days remaining in the regular season.
On Monday evening, the Red Wings, Penguins and Capitals were all in action with the Flyers having an off day. All three of those teams that took the ice ended up coming away with wins to stay alive in the race for the East’s No. 2 Wild Card spot with just one game remaining apiece.
The Penguins earned a 4-2 win against the Nashville Predators on Monday as they were paced by another spectacular effort from Sidney Crosby. Crosby registered a goal and an assist, including scoring a power-play goal early in the opening period to help Pittsburgh race out to a 3-2 lead over the first two periods.
Pittsburgh currently sits one point out of the No. 2 Wild Card spot with 88 points as they’re trailing the Washington Capitals.
The Capitals occupy the No. 2 Wild Card spot in the East entering Tuesday. Washington managed to earn a massive 2-0 victory against the Boston Bruins on Monday. Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren had a strong outing in the crease as he tallied a 16-save shutout, while John Carlson and Nic Dowd scored goals in the win.
Finally, the Red Wings produced the most chaotic finish of the evening.
Detroit fell behind 4-1 late in the second period after the Montreal Canadiens, and things were looking rather bleak. However, the Red Wings scored three unanswered goals, including two in the third period, to tie the game and send it to overtime.
That’s when forward Lucas Raymond had the game on his stick and didn’t miss his opportunity. Raymond was able to score on a two-on-one opportunity and lifted the Red Wings to a huge 5-4 victory in overtime.
All three teams have one game remaining on their respective schedules, and every point is going to be incredibly crucial.
Appointment viewing this week
Maple Leafs at Panthers | Tuesday, April 15: The Panthers are still battling it out with the Bruins for the Atlantic Division title. As a result, Tuesday’s matchup could have a huge impact on the postseason if Florida is able to come away with the victory.
Blackhawks at Golden Knights | Tuesday, April 15: The Golden Knights are just one point behind the Kings for the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division. Vegas does have two more games on the docket, so it’s certainly possible that they could leapfrog the Kings if they’re able to defeat Chicago.
Penguins at Islanders | Wednesday, April; 16: Falling at the hands of the Bruins was a gut-punch, but the Penguins are still alive in the Wild Card race after defeating the Predators. The Islanders already clinched the No. 3 seed in the Metropolitan Division, so the Penguins will certainly be the more desperate team.
Canucks at Jets | Thursday, April 17: The Jets might be the hottest team in the NHL right now. They’re not going to catch the Stars for the top seed in the Central Division, but the motivation should be there to fend off the Avalanche. A win would be huge in this spot.
Oilers at Avalanche | Thursday, April 17: The Avalanche need to get back to their winning ways in the worst way. Meanwhile, the Oilers got Connor McDavid back in the lineup in Monday’s dominant win against the Sharks. It’s huge to see Edmonton have their star player back with the postseason right around the corner.
