標籤: kicked

The Montreal Canadiens faced the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night with the goal of extending their winning streak to six games.

Apart from the points in the standings, the game was quite important, as there is a good chance that both teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs.

It was another tough battle, but in the end, the Canadiens emerged with a 4–1 victory.

Let’s look at the highlights!

happy belated birthday!

Juraj Slafkowski, who turned 22 on Monday, opened the scoring with a spectacular shot on the power play that actually pushed Andrei Vasilevskiy’s stick out of the five-hole before finding the back of the net.

It was his 29th goal of the year, although it should be noted that the power play would never have happened without a spectacular individual effort from Lane Hutson, which saw him easily navigate all traffic before falling in front of the Lightning net.

Juraj Slafkowski made the score 1-0 #GoHabsGo With a bang on the powerplay. His shot actually knocked Vasilevskiy’s stick out of the way! pic.twitter.com/K6PFyJ3uJG

– Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) 31 March 2026

mr every night

While it’s true that Cole Caufield loves to score on Saturdays, they call him ‘Mr.’ ‘Saturday Night’ is selling him a little short, as he likes to score for every day that ends with ‘y’.

He scored his 47th goal of the year midway through the second period to give the Canadiens a 2–1 lead, although it should be noted that Slafkowski produced an excellent zone entry, not to mention a great pass before the goal. Additionally, Mike Matheson recorded his 300th career point in a scoring play.

He proceeded to score an empty-net goal, the first of two by the Habs, securing Montreal’s victory in the process.

Score 47 goals for Cole Coffield!!

Also great work by Juraj Slafkowski on Rush. 2-1 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Zk0QiBpgfa

– Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) April 1, 2026

first star of the week

Jacob Dobbs stopped 35 of 36 shots sent his way to secure his 26th win of the season, not to mention his fourth win in a row.

He’s stepping up when the Habs need him most, and although new goaltending coach Marco Marciano deserves some credit, the 24-year-old netminder has certainly done a great job of bolstering Montreal’s push for the playoffs, despite his lack of NHL experience.

Jacob Dobbs, the first star of the week, emerges early in the first period. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Fw8GOEvjdT

– Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) 31 March 2026

The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Thursday facing the New York Rangers. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm ET.

All Montreal Canadiens stats are 5v5, via Natural Stat Trick, unless otherwise noted.

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont

Thursday’s 108-97 loss to the Atlanta Hawks felt like a turning point for the Brooklyn Nets’ tanking efforts. With Igor Demin and Deron Sharp recently shut down for the season, the Nets ruled out Michael Porter Jr. (right ankle sprain), Nolan Traore (rest) and Ziaire Williams (illness) for the matchup.

When that wasn’t enough, he took matters into his own hands during the game.

Despite taking an 83–82 lead early in the fourth quarter, the Nets did not play their top two available players, Nick Claxton or Noah Clowney, for the entire final period. They even benched Josh Minot, who scored a season-high 24 points. Brooklyn’s closing lineup included two rookies and three two-way players: Tyson Etienne, Ben Saraf, Drake Powell, EJ Liddell and Cheney Johnson.

As the game progressed, it became clear that the Nets would not allow themselves to win. They’ll have to take measures like these if they hope to come out on top in a historic tank race.

Nets increase readiness for tanking during tough loss to Hawks

Brooklyn’s aggressive tank maneuvers on Thursday were followed by consecutive wins over the Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday and Monday. Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez rode a veteran-heavy rotation to a 23-point comeback in Detroit, playing Michael Porter Jr. 39 minutes and benching rookies Ben Saraf and Traore. Despite the Grizzlies’ eight highest-paid players being sidelined on Monday, Brooklyn played most of its rotation and won 126–115.

However, Thursday’s loss signaled a philosophical shift in line with other tanking teams. For much of this season, the Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz and others have made extreme efforts to maximize their draft lottery odds, and for good reason.

The 2026 draft is one of the most talented in the last several decades, with three franchise-altering prospects – Darin Peterson, AJ DiBunsta and Cam Boozer – at the top.

These are the types of players the Nets had their eye on when they paid a hefty price to re-acquire 2025 and 2026 first-round picks from the Houston Rockets during the 2024 offseason. However, Brooklyn went soft last season, finishing with the NBA’s sixth-worst record and falling to the eighth pick in the draft, a mistake a rebuilding team cannot afford to make twice.

Nets owner Joe Tsai acknowledged this long before the season.

“We have a selection in 2026, and we hope to get a good selection. So you can guess what kind of strategy we will use for this season,” Tsai said.

The Nets still have an opportunity to put themselves in the optimal position to clinch the top spot. They have only one more win than the Wizards and Sacramento Kings, who are second and third, respectively, in the lottery standings, and two more than the Pacers, who are in the top spot. Brooklyn’s remaining schedule includes a matchup with Sacramento and meetings with Indiana and Washington.

Rotations like Thursday’s should become common for the Nets in the final month of the season. The potential gains this summer are worth it.

Friday night at Little Caesars Arena was already headed toward “weirdest of all time,” but things escalated from technical chaos to sideline drama. While the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers were busy navigating a broken scoreboard and a handheld air horn, some fans in the front row decided to test Dennis Schroder’s patience, and they lost.

The veteran guard, who has been a steady force for the Cavs since arriving via trade, found himself at the center of a heated exchange during the second half.

While the specific “dis” remains secret, it was enough for the officiating crew and area security to intervene. After a brief discussion near the baseline, security escorted a group of fans out of their seats. Schroder, never one to shy away from a verbal debate, seemed unfazed while guiding the offense through the strangest environment of the NBA season.

A fan was kicked out of Cavs-Pistons because of something he said to Dennis Schroder.pic.twitter.com/gvOOIH0dV7

– ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) 28 February 2026

Before the ejection and power surge that broke the arena buzzer, the game featured some legitimate heavyweight basketball. The Cleveland Cavaliers were forced to lean heavily on their frontcourt with both Donovan Mitchell and James Harden sidelined.

Evan Mobley played massive minutes to keep Cleveland in it, finishing regulation with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Sam Merrill also stepped up in a big way and finished the fourth quarter with 20 points while knocking down key shots.

The Detroit Pistons, on the other hand, continued to rely on their young core. Jalen Duren was an absolute force in the paint, scoring 33 points and 16 rebounds. Cade Cunningham nearly equaled that scoring output, dropping 25 points of his own, while dishing out seven assists to keep the Pistons’ offense fluid despite the lack of a working game clock.

When the “manual” air horn was sounded to end the fourth quarter, the score was stuck at 114–114. We’re headed for free basketball in Detroit.

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham had a night at Madison Square Garden on Thursday and led the New York Knicks to a game-high 42 points.

With Cunningham scoring at will, the Pistons defeated the Knicks 126–111 for their fourth consecutive win.

The two-time All-Star made 17-of-34 shots from the field, including 5-of-11 from long range. He added eight rebounds, 13 assists and two blocks as he continued to show that he should also be considered the face of the NBA.

Actor Ben Stiller, a longtime Knicks fan, praised Cunningham’s stellar performance.

“Cade kicked our ass. We have to be better,” Stiller wrote on X.

The 60-year-old star of “Zoolander” and “There’s Something About Mary” is regularly seen courtside at Madison Square Garden cheering for his beloved team.

He has lived through poor campaigns for the Knicks, and while the team has had success in recent years, Stiller knows there is always room for improvement.

Perhaps he could urge the Knicks to watch “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.”

New York coach Mike Brown admitted that he failed to execute his defensive strategy against the 24-year-old Cunningham, who is averaging 25.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 9.6 assists.

Like other stars, the do-it-all guard seems to enjoy playing at Madison Square Garden, a place that knows how to appreciate good basketball, even by the opponent.

The Knicks have canceled three of their meetings with the Pistons this season.

Cunningham has become an unstoppable force in his fifth year in Detroit, carrying over the momentum of his breakout campaign last season, where he was named to the All-NBA Third Team.