Senators, Canadiens stuck in crowded wild-card race as deadline nears

With Friday's NHL trade deadline just days away, the clock is ticking for teams to decide whether they want to be buyers or sellers.

The crowded standings in the Eastern Conference are making that an even harder decision for some.

Entering play on Monday, five teams sit within two points of the Detroit Red Wings (30-24-6), who hold the final wild-card spot in the East at 66 points - with a few more teams just outside that range.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have been a surprise story in the NHL this season, buoyed by career performances from a number of players - including defenceman Zach Werenski, whose 18 goals and 64 points both rank second in the NHL among defencemen behind Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar.

As such, they're not looking to sell at the trade deadline. TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported on Friday that the team is not intent on trading veterans, including pending unrestricted free agent Mathieu Olivier. "Virtually no chance he’s traded," Dreger wrote on X. "Big part of the Jackets team."

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun also reports that the Blue Jackets continue to get calls on defenceman Ivan Provorov. "[The team] will keep listening but at this point it would probably have to be quite the offer for Columbus to move the pending UFA D while sitting in a playoff spot. Likely take another run at contract talks. Meanwhile, CBJ still looking to add a forward as well," he said on X.

Finally healthy, Senators building momentum towards stretch run

The Ottawa Senators got three major pieces back in their lineup on Saturday, and rallied to a big win over the San Jose Sharks that snapped a five-game losing skid.

Trailing 2-1 in the third period, Ottawa rattled off three goals in the first nine minutes of the frame to take a 4-2 lead, and secured the victory with an empty-net goal by Michael Amadio with a minute remaining.

“Those are going to be positions that we're going to sometimes maybe get used to and be confident [in],” said captain Brady Tkachuk.  “Being down going into the third, and just still finding a way to get the job done, just a big two points. I mean, playoff hockey starts now, so you’ve got to win these games to get into the dance.”

Tkachuk, who sat out two games with a lower-body injury suffered at the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier in February, was one of the three players to return to the lineup, joining forwards Josh Norris and Shane Pinto.

Norris had missed the previous six games with an upper-body injury. Pinto had missed the last four games with an upper-body injury. The fifth-year player had 12 points in 14 games before he went down with the injury on Feb. 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Tomorrow, if we have everybody back, expect everybody to be ready to go from the start ... treat every game like it’s a Game 7 at this point of the year,” Tkachuk said on Friday after practice.

The three have combined for 53 goals and 99 points this season, forming a major part of the Senators' offensive attack.

“It's huge,” Tim Stutzle said of the win. “I think the fans were awesome tonight, coming out, last home (game) here for a bit, and obviously we want to keep this momentum going.”

Bruins hanging on for dear life amid trying season

The Boston Bruins' situation is looking more dire by the day - with veteran forward Brad Marchand missing Sunday's 1-0 defeat with an injury adding another problem to the fold.

“It was a tight-checking game. It was hard fought,” Bruins coach Joe Sacco said. “There wasn’t a lot of easy ice out there for either team. I thought our guys showed a real strong effort today, coming off back-to-back games. It’s disappointing. Obviously, we want points right now, and we’ve got to find ways to get it behind the goaltender."

Boston has scored only 2.69 goals per game this season, which ranks fifth-worst in the NHL.

Injuries have slowed the team, but they've also struggled with fading production from veteran stars - including Marchand, who is on his lowest point-per-game pace since the 2014-15 season.

Trade rumours were brewing surrounding forward Trent Frederic, but he suffered a lower-body injury in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs a week ago and is now considered week-to-week with the injury, further complicated the Bruins' position.

Rangers appear to be choosing the role of sellers

The New York Rangers have struggled to find consistent sustained success this season - with their only winning streak of longer than three games coming in the first two weeks of action, when they started 5-1-0.

New York decided to sell two veterans in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche over the weekend, sending defenceman Ryan Lindgren and forward Jimmy Vesey out west.

Further, the team sat veteran forward Reilly Smith for their game on Sunday for the purpose of finding a trade partner, LeBrun reported.

Barring a major change in philosophy or performance in the coming days, the Rangers are not likely to compete for the wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference.

Canadiens riding winning streak back into contention

The Montreal Canadiens earned their fourth consecutive victory by beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on Saturday, and it's made general manager Kent Hughes' decision a bit more difficult ahead of the trade deadline.

The Canadiens have gone through a couple of hot and cold stretches this year, further complicating the goals for the team.

From Oct. 14 to Nov. 9, the team won only two of 10 games. From Dec. 17 to Jan. 16, they looked like the elite of the league, winning 11 of 13 - with one of those two losses coming in a shootout. 

The other complicating factor is the recent loss of forward Kirby Dach, who was ruled out for the remainder of the season on Feb. 28 after knee surgery.

Amidst ongoing trade rumours involving forward Jake Evans, the Canadiens' players are enjoying the success and momentum as best they can.

“It feels good,” Montreal captain Nick Suzuki said after Saturday's win over the Sabres. “We knew we had to come out of the break (for the 4 Nations Face-Off) and get a bunch of wins. Boys are really bought in right now and it’s showing, and that’s a big reason we’re getting success.”

Watch TradeCentre all day Friday, March 7 on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App.