NHL February 28, 2026

Chicago's season has been exactly what everyone expected it would be, which is to say it's been painful. The Blackhawks at 22-27-9 are firmly in the basement of the Western Conference, and their 10-13-4 road record tells you that leaving the United Center has been an especially miserable experience. But here's the thing about rebuilding teams in the NHL: they can absolutely steal games from better opponents, and Chicago already proved that in this very building on October 13 when they beat Utah 3-1 in the first meeting of the season series. That result feels like a lifetime ago, but it's a reminder that the Blackhawks, for all their struggles, aren't a team you can simply pencil in as a guaranteed loss.

Utah at 31-24-4 with 66 points has been one of the genuinely enjoyable stories of the 2025-26 season. The Mammoth are holding down fourth in the Central Division with an impressive 18-9-2 record at Delta Center, where the Salt Lake City fan base has turned every home game into an event. This franchise is still finding its identity after relocating, and the fans have responded with an energy that visiting teams have struggled to match. The -285 moneyline makes Utah the heaviest favorite on Sunday's board, and given their home dominance and the chasm between these two rosters, the market seems to have this one sized up correctly.

What makes this interesting beyond the obvious talent gap is what the Mammoth are playing for. Utah is in a legitimate battle for playoff positioning in the Central, and every home game against a weaker opponent is a must-win situation. They can't afford to drop points against a team like Chicago, not when the Wild, Jets, and Stars are all lurking in the division standings. The 5.5 total is the lowest on Sunday's board, and that makes sense. Utah's defensive structure at home has been solid, and Chicago isn't exactly lighting up the scoreboard on the road. This projects as a game where Utah controls the puck, generates the better chances, and wins by a comfortable margin. Whether they cover that -1.5 puck line at -115 depends entirely on whether they keep their foot on the gas in the third period or cruise to a tidy 3-1 or 4-2 victory.

Forget the records for a second and focus on the two individual stories that make this game must-watch hockey. On one side, you've got Connor Hellebuyck, the man who just delivered Team USA an Olympic gold medal with a performance for the ages: 5-0-0, a 1.18 GAA, and a .956 save percentage across the entire tournament in Milano Cortina. Hellebuyck was the best goaltender at the Olympics by a mile, and he's returning to a Winnipeg team at 23-26-9 that has given him absolutely nothing in terms of roster support. On the other side is Macklin Celebrini, who has 81 points in 55 games as a rookie and is sitting fourth in the Art Ross Trophy race. Oh, and Celebrini had the tournament-leading five goals at the Olympics himself. This isn't just Jets vs. Sharks. This is two of the most compelling individual stories in hockey colliding in the same building.

The Jets' problems are well-documented at this point. Josh Morrissey, their best defenseman, is on injured reserve with an injury sustained at the Olympics, and the blue line depth behind him has been a persistent weakness all season. Winnipeg at 23-26-9 with 55 points is essentially playing out the string, and the frustrating part for the fan base is that this team has the high-end talent to be competitive. Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor are both having outstanding seasons, but the supporting cast hasn't held up its end of the bargain, and the defensive breakdowns that have plagued this group all year are amplified without Morrissey anchoring the back end. Hellebuyck's regular-season numbers of 2.79 GAA and .900 save percentage stand in stark contrast to his Olympic brilliance, and the question is whether the gold medal adrenaline carries forward or whether the reality of this Jets roster drags him back to earth.

San Jose at 27-25-4 with 58 points might be the most interesting team in the Western Conference right now, and it all starts with Celebrini. This kid is special. 81 points in 55 games as a first-year player puts him in rarefied air historically, and he's doing it with the kind of effortless skating, vision, and finishing ability that scouts projected when he went first overall. The Sharks have built something real around him, and while they're not a legitimate Cup contender yet, they're a team that absolutely cannot be taken lightly. The +105 moneyline as a home underdog against a decimated Winnipeg squad feels almost disrespectful given what Celebrini and this Sharks group have shown this season.

The 6.5 total points to a wide-open affair, and frankly, that tracks with what both of these teams have produced lately. Winnipeg's defensive issues without Morrissey are going to create opportunities for Celebrini and the Sharks' attack, and San Jose's own defensive inconsistencies mean Scheifele and Connor should find room to operate. The individual goaltending battle is the most fascinating subplot on the entire Sunday slate. Can Hellebuyck channel that Olympic magic in a regular-season game that objectively doesn't matter for the Jets' playoff picture? Can a Sharks team riding the wave of Celebrini's brilliance steal the spotlight on home ice? This has all the ingredients for an entertaining, high-scoring game that hockey fans won't want to miss.

This is about as lopsided a Central Division matchup as you'll find in March, and the numbers tell the story without much need for embellishment. Minnesota at 35-15-10 with 80 points is second in the Central and has been one of the most consistent, well-constructed teams in hockey all season long. St. Louis at 21-28-9 with 51 points is a team that has completely fallen apart, particularly on the road where their 7-17-3 record is one of the worst in the entire league. The Blues walk into Xcel Energy Center as +205 underdogs, and honestly, given how dreadful they've been away from Enterprise Center, you could argue that price is generous.

The Wild have built something special this season under the foundation of elite goaltending depth and the brilliance of Kirill Kaprizov, who continues to make a case as one of the three or four best players in the entire sport. Minnesota's 17-6-7 home record gives them a rock-solid .683 points percentage at Xcel Energy Center, and the crowd in St. Paul has been a legitimate factor in making this building one of the toughest road stops in the West. The one concern for the Wild is the loss of Jonas Brodin, who's out for 6-8 weeks, and that's a legitimate blow to a blue line that relies heavily on his defensive acumen. But Minnesota has organizational depth, and they've shown the ability to absorb significant injuries without missing a beat.

St. Louis' road struggles paint a picture of a team that simply checks out when they leave home. A 7-17-3 record means they're collecting points in only about 30% of road games, and that kind of futility doesn't happen by accident. Robert Thomas's status remains unclear, and even when the Blues are at full strength, the gap between these two teams is substantial. The 5.5 total suggests a lower-scoring affair, which makes sense. The Wild are a disciplined defensive team, and the Blues, for all their offensive struggles, don't exactly invite track meets. This has the feel of a game where Minnesota controls the pace from start to finish, limits St. Louis's chances, and wins by two or three goals in a workmanlike, professional performance.

The -1.5 puck line at -105 for Minnesota is one of the most interesting prices on Sunday's board. Given the home/road split for both teams and the talent gap on paper, the Wild covering by two goals is a very realistic outcome. St. Louis just doesn't have the roster depth or the defensive structure to keep this game close on the road, and Minnesota is playing with the confidence and purpose of a team that knows it's one of the legitimate contenders in the Western Conference. Barring a vintage goaltending performance from whoever the Blues throw between the pipes, this projects as one of the more predictable outcomes on the slate.

The defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions on national television, and it's not a coronation anymore. It's something closer to an autopsy. Florida at 30-26-3 with 63 points is fighting for its postseason life, and the loss that hangs over everything is Aleksander Barkov, who's been out the entire season with a torn ACL and MCL. Barkov was the engine that drove this team's two championship runs, the two-way force who shut down opposing top lines while producing offensively at an elite rate. Without him, the Panthers have been a fundamentally different team, one that still has the talent to beat anyone on a given night but lacks the consistency and defensive identity that championships are built on.

Sergei Bobrovsky, the goaltender who backstopped both titles, recently returned from an IR stint with a lower-body issue and has been cleared to play, but his season numbers tell a concerning story. The 37-year-old has struggled with the workload, and without Barkov in front of him to suppress high-danger chances, the job has become significantly harder. Matthew Tkachuk has also missed time this season, and even when the forward group is healthy, the Panthers just haven't been able to replicate the suffocating defensive structure that made them champions. Florida won the first meeting of the season series 4-1 on December 7, but that feels like a different era for this team given the injuries and inconsistency that have followed.

The Islanders at 33-21-5 with 71 points are quietly having an excellent season, and UBS Arena has become one of the tougher buildings to play in across the Eastern Conference. New York plays a structured, physical, defensive-minded game that strangles opponents' transition games and forces you to earn every inch of ice. That style is tailor-made to frustrate a Florida team that relies on speed and skill to generate offense, and the Islanders' home record has been a testament to how effective that system is when the crowd is behind them. The +114 moneyline as a home underdog against the struggling champions is a line that speaks volumes about the market's residual respect for Florida's name and pedigree.

This is the kind of game where we find out whether the Panthers still have the championship DNA to dig deep in a hostile environment, or whether the cumulative weight of the Barkov injury, Bobrovsky's struggles, and the general erosion of this roster has finally caught up with them. The 5.5 total is low, which tracks with both teams' defensive tendencies and the Islanders' style of play. New York wants this game played in the low-scoring mud, where their structure and discipline give them the best chance to win. Florida needs to generate enough offense to stay ahead of a team that won't give them many transition opportunities. On ESPN, in a building that's going to be rocking for a Sunday evening game, the Islanders look like a dangerous opponent for a Panthers team that's running out of answers.

The nightcap on Sunday's slate features one of the most exciting young teams in hockey hosting a Calgary squad in what shapes up as a critical game for Anaheim's wild card aspirations. The Ducks at 32-23-3 with 67 points are holding onto a playoff spot with a combination of jaw-dropping young talent and the kind of fearless, high-event hockey that makes them appointment viewing on any night. This is not the Anaheim of old, the patient, defensive-first team that ground opponents into dust. This is a Ducks squad that wants to push the pace, create chaos, and let its skill players go to work in open ice.

And what a collection of skill players it is. Beckett Sennecke has been an absolute revelation, and the moment that defined his breakout came on January 25 when he completed the first hat trick of his NHL career, capping it off with an overtime winner against these very same Flames. That's the kind of confidence-boosting performance that turns a prospect into a legitimate NHL star, and Sennecke has been playing with that swagger ever since. Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, and Troy Terry round out an offensive group that has the depth and the talent to match up against anyone, and when this attack gets rolling in transition, opposing defenses simply cannot keep up.

Calgary's season has been a mixed bag, and their playoff positioning reflects a team that's been inconsistent in the most frustrating way possible. The Flames have the talent to beat good teams but also have a maddening tendency to drop games they should win, and the road has been particularly unkind at various stretches. Against Anaheim's speed and skill, Calgary needs to play a disciplined, low-event game and try to keep this contest tight heading into the third period. The problem is that the Ducks don't let opponents play that way at Honda Center, where the crowd feeds off the energy of their young stars and creates an atmosphere that visiting teams struggle to match.

The 6.5 total is the joint-highest on Sunday's board alongside the Vegas/Pittsburgh and Winnipeg/San Jose games, and that number tells you the market expects an entertaining, up-and-down affair with goals. Anaheim's aggressive style creates opportunities at both ends of the ice, and the Ducks have shown all season that they're perfectly comfortable in 5-4 or 6-4 type games where the quality of their offensive talent is the deciding factor. The -170 moneyline makes Anaheim a solid favorite, and given their home record and the playoff implications that come with every game in March, the Ducks should be playing with an urgency and an edge that Calgary, sitting further down the standings, might not be able to match. This projects as a fun way to close out the Sunday slate, with Anaheim's electric young core providing the kind of highlight-reel hockey that keeps fans glued to their screens.