Canadiens Take 3-2 Series Lead over Sabres

Lane Hutson (Boston University) set up two goals, and Cole Caufield scored for the third straight game, as the Montreal Canadiens moved within one win of the Eastern Conference final with a 6-3 victory over the host Buffalo Sabres last night. Montreal, which trailed, 3-2, after 20 minutes of play, now leads the best-of-seven 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff series, three games to two.

Josh Doan (Arizona State) scored Buffalo's second goal, assisted by Owen Power (Michigan), as the Sabres outshot Montreal, 36-26, on the evening. Alex Newhook (Boston College) drew an assist on the game-winning goal for the Canadiens, giving him six points so far in five games. Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) made 33 saves in net for Montreal, which can wrap matters up Saturday night at home in Game Six. The series winner will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final.

In the Western Conference last night, the visiting Vegas Golden Knights routed the Anaheim Ducks, 5-1, to wrap up that quarterfinal series in five games. The Golden Knights will now face the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final.

Quinnipiac Tops Princeton, 4-1, for Sweep

Ethan Wyttenbach and Matthew McGroarty each scored one goal and set up another as fifth-ranked Quinnipiac topped host Princeton, 4-1, this afternoon at Hobey Baker Memorial Rink before 2,230 on-lookers. The Bobcats thus completed a two-steep sweep in ECAC Hockey play, having bested the visiting Tigers by the same score on Saturday evening in Hamden, Conn.

McGroarty opened the scoring on Sunday, wristing a shot from the right circle into the far side of the Princeton net just over three minutes into the second period. David Ma responded for Princeton on a power play just under two minutes later, before Quinnipiac's Alex Power put the Bobcats ahead for good less than 90 seconds later off a deflection in front for his first goal of the season.

Antoni Verreault made it a two-goal game with a shot from the right circle on a power play nine minutes into the final frame, before Wyttenbach closed out the scoring on an empty-netter from center ice with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.

Dylan Silverstein finished with 21 saves in goal for Quinnipiac (24-5-3 overall, 15-2-1 ECAC Hockey), while Arthur Smith made 21 stops for Princeton (14-11-1, 10-8-0). The Bobcats outshot the Tigers, 25-22, and also won 40 of 70 faceoffs in all. Both teams finished 1-for-4 on the power play.

Quinnipiac remains in first place in ECAC Hockey, while Princeton falls to fifth. 

Devils Sweep Sabres to Open NHL Season

Paul Cotter (Western Michigan) scored a goal in each game as the New Jersey Devils opened the 2024-25 NHL regular season with a two-step sweep of the Buffalo Sabres in the Czech Republic. The Canton, Mich. native tallied a goal and an assist in New Jersey's season-opening 4-1 win on Friday, and then added another goal in Saturday's 3-1 triumph. Owen Power (Michigan) and Tage Thompson (UConn) scored for the Sabres on the weekend, while Devon Levi (Northeastern) stopped 37 shots on Saturday.

Cotter played in eight games with WMU during the 2018-19 campaign, recording one assist before leaving Kalamazoo to play for London (OHL). He spent the last three seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, notching career highs of 18 assists and 25 points last year in 76 outings. The Devils return to action at home in Newark on Thursday against Toronto, while the Sabres will visit Los Angeles that evening.

Michigan's Power Scores First NHL Goal

It took five games, but much-heralded rookie defenseman Owen Power (Michigan) finally has his first NHL goal.

Power, 19, the top selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, scored their fourth goal in last night's 5-2 victory at New Jersey. He took a pass from a prone Jeff Skinner on the left side in-close, and then swept the puck underneath Devils goaltender Andrew Hammond (Bowling Green) less than nine minutes into the third period to break open a 3-2 game. Tage Thompson (UConn) also assisted on the goal.

Power, from Mississauga, Ontario, now has one goal and one assist in five NHL games, four of which have been Buffalo victories. He recorded six goals and 42 assists for 48 points over the past two seasons at Michigan, and led the Wolverines to both this year's Big Ten championship and the NCAA Frozen Four.

Also concerning former Michigan players on Thursday night, Andrew Copp tallied a natural hat trick for the visiting New York Rangers in a 6-3 win over the rival New York Islanders. The Ann Arbor native, who was acquired by the Rangers from Winnipeg earlier this year, skated with his hometown Michigan from 2012 to 2015, collecting 40 goals and 81 points over three seasons. He has now appeared in over 500 NHL contests, regular and post-season combined, and has registered just over 200 career points to date.

More NCAA Players Sign with NHL

The annual exodus of college talent to the NHL has begun in the wake of the recently-completed NCAA Frozen Four.

The first-round University of Michigan trio of Owen Power, Kent Johnson and Matty Beniers have all signed NHL contracts, with Buffalo, Columbus and Seattle, respectively. Power and Beniers are expected to make their pro debuts this week. All three had two years of college eligibility remaining. 

Bobby Brink, the nation's top scorer and a Hobey Hat Trick finalist who just helped Denver to its ninth NCAA title overall, inked a deal with Philadelphia. Nathan Smith, a Florida native who led Minnesota State to its first-ever NCAA Division I national championship game this season, has signed with Arizona, which had recently acquired his rights from Winnipeg. Brink and Smith both had one year of NCAA eligibility left. 

All those players signed with the NHL clubs that had drafted them, or, in Smith's case, had traded for them. Ohio State freshman Georgii Merkulov bypassed his last three seasons with the Buckeyes to sign with Boston as a free agent, and will report to Providence (AHL).

More to come ...

ADDENDUM: Power was a plus-2 in Buffalo's 5-2 win at Toronto, Beniers notched an assist in Seattle's 5-3 loss at Calgary, Brink recorded an assist in Philadelphia's 9-2 defeat at Washington, and Smith had one shot on goal and two hits in Arizona's 6-2 loss to New Jersey, all on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Hobey Hat Trick finalist Ben Meyers (Minnesota) signed with Colorado as a free agent.