Injury issues for the New Jersey Devils had really been piling up and there is always hope things aren't as bad as they seem. There had been some rumblings (not Ramblings!) that Devils defenceman Dougie Hamilton would be out for at least the rest of the regular season with his lower-body injury, though, and that was confirmed by the team on Thursday as Hamilton will indeed miss the remainder of the regular season:

#NEWS: Dougie Hamilton will miss the remainder of the regular season.

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 13, 2025

Between this, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Jack Hughes, the team is missing a lot of talent. The hope is that either (or both) of Hamilton and Siegenthaler could return for the postseason, but that seems very much up in the air as well.

The short-handed Devils held on for a 3-2 win at home on Thursday night against the Edmonton Oilers. Simon Nemec and Brett Pesce scored goals from the back-end and Jesper Bratt registered his 19^th goal of the season to lift the Devils to the win.

Bratt assisted on the other two goals, giving him back-to-back three-point games. It also gives him 57 assists on the year, setting a career-high by surpassing last season's total of 56 helpers.

Pesce assisted on the Bratt goal, giving Pesce a goal and an assist on the night. It was the first time he had a goal and an assist in the same game since November of 2022.

Jake Allen stopped 31 of 33 shots to hold off Edmonton in the win.

Evan Bouchard and Leon Draisaitl scored Edmonton's goals. Bouchard had five shots, two blocks, and a hit in the loss. Connor McDavid assisted both goals, giving McDavid 60 assists for the ninth straight season. The only time he didn't was when he got injured in his rookie season.

Stuart Skinner took the loss, allowing three goals on 21 shots. He has an .874 save percentage in eight games since the Four Nations break.

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Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary was suspended for two games following his elbow to Elias Pettersson on Wednesday night. There was no major/match penalty at the time, which seems rather silly when looking at what happened, but Zary will miss the home game against Colorado on Friday night and the road game in Toronto on Monday.

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The New York Rangers provided something of an update on Arthur Kaliyev and Adam Fox:

Arthur Kaliyev has returned to New York. He has an upper-body injury and will receive further evaluation and testing.

Adam Fox is in a non-contact sweater again.

— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) March 13, 2025

Let's hope that Kaliyev's injury is nothing serious, but it's good to see Fox continue practicing, even in a non-contact jersey. Hopefully he can be back for the team to make a real run at a playoff spot over the final month of the season.

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Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz was not at practice for the team on Thursday. On Wednesday, the team was hopeful Hintz could return by Sunday, and there's still a chance he could once he starts skating over the next couple of days, but being unable to practice doesn't seem like a good sign.

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The Minnesota Wild gave a sort-of update on forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek:

Hynes did not have an update on a timeline for Brodin, who (ICYMI) skated this morning with Andy Ness.

Kaprizov and JEEk have not started skating. #mnwild

— Jessi Pierce (@jessi_pierce) March 13, 2025

There are still several weeks between now and the start of the postseason, but it would be nice to see them get back on the ice sooner rather than later.

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In Columbus's home game on Thursday night, forward Yegor Chinakhov was a healthy scratch while Boone Jenner was moved to the top power-play unit over Dmitri Voronkov. After posting seven goals and seven assists in 21 games to start the season, he suffered a back injury and missed over three months of action. Perhaps he needs more time to get up to speed because he has not looked right since his return.

Columbus lost that game on Thursday night by a 4-0 margin to Vegas. The Golden Knights got another goal from Brandon Saad, his third in four games and his fifth in 13 games with his new team. Saad also had an assist on Pavel Dorofeyev's 26^th goal of the season, and that pushed Saad to eight points in those 13 games. His fantasy night was a goal, assist, four shots, and a block.

Nicolas Roy had a goal (PP) and an assist for the Golden Knights and Tomas Hertl had a pair of helpers himself. Hertl is now up to 27 goals and 27 assists, making it a very real possibility he hits the 30-30 mark for the first time since 2021-22.

Alex Pietrangelo sank the empty netter to seal the win. He finished with two shots and five blocks.

Adin Hill stood tall for the shutout, stopping all 25 shots he faced. That was Hill's fourth shutout of the season in his 39^th start, or as many as he had in the previous 84 starts dating to the 2021 Bubble season.

Elvis Merzlikins allowed three goals on 28 shots for the loss.

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St. Louis was in Pittsburgh on Thursday and the Blues got an absolute 10/10 goal from winger Alexei Toropchenko:

Alexey Toropchenko goes coast-to-coast for an absolutely BEAUTIFUL goal! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/loB7DNV5gi

— NHL (@NHL) March 14, 2025

The Penguins got a lot of scoring support from their secondary players as both Ryan Graves and Conor Dewer scored their first goals of the season, and Conor Timmins his third, as they skated out of the rink with a 5-3 win over the Blues. Rickard Rakell tallied the eventual game-winning goal, his 30^th tally of the season, before scoring an empty netter. It gives Rakell his first 30-goal season since the 2017-18 campaign.

Sidney Crosby assisted on both Rakell goals, giving Crosby 49 assists on the season. He has 23 goals as well, so it seems a virtual certainty he reaches the 25-goal, 50-assist marks this year. If (when) he does, he'll be just the fourth player in NHL history with at least 12 separate seasons with 25-plus goals and 50-plus assists. The others are Wayne Gretzky (15), Joe Sakic (13), and Marcel Dionne (13).

Tristan Jarry was solid in net again for the Penguins, stopping 33 of 36 shots in the win. He has a .942 save percentage and wins in all three games since being recalled from the AHL.

Toropchenko, Zach Bolduc, and Dylan Holloway had the goals for the Blues.

Justin Faulk managed an assist (PP), two shots, a block, and a hit. After a horrific fantasy start to the season, Faulk had 15 points in 28 games since Christmas.

Jordan Binnington was pulled after allowing four goals on 19 shots.

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In what could be a playoff preview at some point, Florida went into Toronto and took a 3-2 win over the Leafs. That gives the Panthers a four-point cushion in the division as they are hoping to secure a division title.

Sam Bennett scored a pair of power-play goals and Niko Mikkola had the other tally for Florida. Bennett finished the game with four shots, a block, two PIMs, and a hit in a great multi-cat night. Following a 20-game stretch where Bennett failed to score, he now has 9 goals, 7 assists, and 75 shots in his last 19 games. He is up to 22 goals, and that at least puts 30 goals on the table for him this season.

Both Mackie Samoskevich and Sam Reinhart assisted on Bennett's goals. Samoskevich wound up with four shots and two hits along the way as well. Samoskevich has 11 points in his last 15 games, and 12 goals and 12 assists in 57 games on the season. It has been a fine year for the rookie who looks like a potential breakout player for the next fantasy campaign.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 of 25 shots in the win.

John Tavares and Max Domi had the goals for Toronto. Domi also had a pair of hits, including one that led to a fight. He was very noticeable in this game.

Anthony Stolarz gave up three goals on 25 shots to take the loss.

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The Ottawa Senators were at home to the Boston Bruins last night and Linus Ullmark was doing everything he could to ensure the Senators would earn their fifth straight win:

We are not worthy of this diving glove save by Linus Ullmark

Strong SOTY candidate pic.twitter.com/CtAuzeHn2j

— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) March 14, 2025

That is truly one of the best saves we've seen this season.

Ottawa won that game, doubling up Boston 6-3. Drake Batherson had a pair of goals (one on the PP) while both Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto each had a goal and an assist. Pinto totaled three shots and a hit in this one as he continues his stellar resurgence: After starting the year with three points in his first 20 games, Pinto has 15 goals and 25 points in his last 33 games.

Batherson assisted on a Tyler Kleven goal to give the former a three-point night. It is his second three-point game since February 1^st, a stretch that has seen him post 13 points in 14 games.

Thomas Chabot had a great across-the-board night with an assist, three shots, two blocks, and three hits.

Ullmark held off Boston by stopping 22 of the 25 pucks launched his way.

David Pastrnak, Casey Mittelstadt, and Marat Khusnutdinov got on the board for Boston. Mittelstadt ended the night with three shots, two blocks, and a hit, and he now has points in all three games with the Bruins.

Jeremy Swayman was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots.

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Bobby Brink had a three-point night with two goals and an assist as the Philadelphia Flyers churned out a 4-3 shootout win at home to Tampa Bay. That pushes Brink over the 30-point mark for the first time in his career, sitting with 32 points in 64 games.

Olle Lycksell had a pair of assists in the game, one on Brink's first goal and Ryan Poehling's game-tying tally at the end of the second period.

Samuel Ersson earned the win by stopping 17 of 20 shots in normal play and four of five shots in the shootout.

With Nikita Kucherov out of the lineup with an illness, the Lightning got goals from their depth as Zemgus Girgensons, Gage Goncalves, and Cam Atkinson scored their second, fourth, and fourth goals of the year, respectively.

Victor Hedman assisted the Atkinson goal, giving Hedman 40 assists on the season. That makes eight straight seasons in which Hedman has reached that mark, excepting the 2021 shortened COVID season.

Jonas Johansson was in net for Tampa Bay and took the loss, allowing three goals on 29 shots.

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The New York Rangers pulled out a big road win with a 3-2 overtime victory in Minnesota. On a night where both Columbus and Boston lost in regulation, the Rangers picking up two points was big news for their potential playoff hopes.

Braden Schneider scored the game-winner in the extra frame, adding to goals scored earlier by Vincent Trocheck and Jonny Brodzinski. J.T. Miller assisted on the OT winner and totaled three shots with a pair of hits. He is still over a point-per-game pace with the Rangers.

Igor Shesterkin stopped 26 of 28 shots for the win.

Marcus Johansson and Frederick Gaudreau tallied for the Wild, and Filip Gustavsson allowed three goals on 31 shots to take the loss.

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Los Angeles cruised to a 3-0 shutout win at home to Washington. Darcy Kuemper stood tall in net, saving all 21 shots he faced. He is up to a .917 save percentage on the season, which sits third among all goalies with at least 30 starts. Only Connor Hellebuyck and Andrei Vasilevskiy are higher.

Warren Foegele, Kevin Fiala (PP), and Quinton Byfield all scored for the Kings. Not for nothing, but the Kings are now 2-for-8 on the power play since Andrei Kuzmenko was added to the lineup. Considering how this power play has generally performed this year, that is a good sign, albeit in a very small sample.

That goal from Byfield extends his goal streak to five games, and he now sits four goals shy of his second consecutive 20-goal season. Fiala assisted on that goal, too, and he is up to 10 goals and 19 points in his last 20 games.

Charlie Lindgren was in net for the Capitals and took the loss, allowing three goals on 24 shots.

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Collin Graf scored twice (once on the power play) while Will Smith had a goal and an assist (PP) was the San Jose Sharks took a 4-2 win at home to Chicago. Those two points brought the Sharks to within four points of the Blackhawks for 31^st in the league.

Smith's two-point night was his fourth two-point game since the Four Nations break, or in less than three weeks. He has 20 points in his last 20 games and is actually ahead of both Macklin Celebrini and Matvei Michkov by points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.

Alexandar Georgiev stopped 24 of 26 shots in the victory.

Ilya Mikheyev and Frank Nazar scored for Chicago as Spencer Knight took the loss in net, allowing three goals on 24 shots.