The Full Rink.

This was a weekend that delivered across every lane of the sport. A national championship decided by two third-period goals. A goaltender stopping 42 shots on 42 chances. An NHL wild card race that reshuffled on Saturday and will keep reshuffling until the final horn on April 16. Let's go through all of it.

Denver Is National Champions. Again.

For most of Saturday's championship game in Las Vegas, Denver looked like a team that had run out of gas. Wisconsin's Vasily Zelenov scored six minutes into the first period — a wrister top shelf, right past Johnny Hicks — and the Badgers controlled the game from there. Through 47 minutes, Denver had nine shots on goal. Hauser was barely being tested. Wisconsin was the better team and the scoreboard said so.

Then the third period happened.

At 7:31, Kristian Epperson fed Garrett Brown at the left point. Brown's shot produced a rebound and Rieger Lorenz was there to sweep it into an open net. Tied 1-1. The building shifted. Eleven minutes later, Boston Buckberger delivered a point shot and Kyle Chyzowski got his stick on it with 5:52 remaining. 2-1 Denver. That was the championship.

Denver wins its 11th national title, third in five years.Coach David Carle is now 3-0 in championship games. The Pioneers have more national titles than any program in the history of Division I men's hockey, and they just extended their own record.

Wisconsin freshman Vasily Zelenov played one of the better individual games you'll see in a title game and went home with nothing. That's college hockey. It's brutal and it's beautiful.

Ottawa Back in the Four. Philips Makes History.

The Saturday afternoon game in Toronto between the Ottawa Charge and Toronto Sceptres was for the fourth playoff spot. In a 30-game season where three points separates every game, this was as close to a knockout punch as the PWHL regular season produces.

Ottawa won 2-0. And the number that tells the whole story is 42.

Brianne Jenner scored the winner at 11:20 of the third. Sarah Wozniewicz added an empty-netter. Ottawa wins in regulation — three points — and leapfrogged Toronto into fourth place.

The final game of this rivalry — and likely the one that decides everything — is Ottawa hosting Toronto on April 25. That game is effectively a playoff game. If it goes to regulation and Ottawa wins, they're in. If Toronto wins in regulation, they likely reclaim the spot. If it goes to overtime, both teams collect points and the math gets interesting.

One more detail worth noting: the emotional backdrop of this game was something. During a second-period stoppage, the scoreboard showed a young girl holding a sign celebrating her victory over leukemia. The arena gave her a standing ovation. Players from both teams stopped play and gave her stick taps. The Charge have played all season with their coach, Carla MacLeod, undergoing breast cancer treatment. Interim coach Haley Irwin earned her first PWHL win Saturday. The sport is not just the sport right now, and that's worth saying.

Separately, Montreal beat Boston 1-0at a sold-out TD Garden on Saturday — Lina Ljungblom's third-period goal the difference. Montreal remains first, four points ahead of Boston. Ann-Renée Desbiens and Aerin Frankel were both remarkable in net. The league's top two teams play again Friday. Consider watching it.

The Wild Card Scramble

Four days left in the NHL regular season. Things moved significantly on Saturday.

Eastern Conference:Ottawa beat the Islanders 3-0 and extended their lead in the wild card race. Meanwhile, Columbus beat Montreal 5-2 and Philadelphia demolished Winnipeg 7-1 — the Flyers are scorching hot and have now climbed into a tie in points with Ottawa and Detroit for the final Eastern wild card spot. Washington also beat Pittsburgh 6-3, keeping the Capitals' slim hopes alive. Detroit lost to New Jersey 3-5 and are slipping at exactly the wrong time.

Western Conference: Nashville beat Minnesota 2-1 Saturday to stay in the wild card picture. LA beat Edmonton 1-0, keeping the Kings right behind Nashville. Utah beat Carolina 4-1 in the other game with Central Division seeding implications. The Western wild card is still a two-horse race between Nashville and LA with a few days left.

Playoffs begin Saturday, April 18. Six days away.

One Thing to Watch This Week

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