* The Sabres matched a franchise-record road point streak at 10 games as they moved into a tie in terms of standings points with the Lightning, who occupy first in the Atlantic Division.
* In his 1,500th career game, Anze Kopitar collected an assist on Artemi Panarin’s first goal with the Kings and moved within five of breaking Marcel Dionne’s 45-year-old franchise points record.
* The 2026 NHL Trade Deadline powered by SAP is today at 3 p.m. ET – Thursday saw seven trades involving nine players and 10 picks before the clock struck midnight ET. Click here for the #NHLStats Pack with more notes on the deadline.
* A seven-game Friday will include a showdown between the Central Division’s top two teams – who both made deals Thursday – when the Avalanche visit the Stars, as the NHL season enters its final quarter.
#NHLSTATS FROM FINAL QUARTER MARK ON FULL DISPLAY THURSDAY NIGHT
A number of notes from the #NHLStats Pack were on full display in the final full game slate until the 2025-26 regular season enters its final quarter (when puck drops for the third of seven games on Friday):
* Propelled by two shorthanded goals – including Ryan McLeod’s NHL-leading fifth of the season – the Sabres improved to 37-19-6 (80 points) and matched the Lightning (38-18-4, 80 points), who sit atop the Atlantic Division, for standings points. They required their fewest games (62 GP) to 80 points in a campaign since 2006-07 (57 GP). Buffalo is trending towards interrupting the combination of Boston, Florida, Tampa Bay and Toronto, which have finished in the top three of the Atlantic Division for seven consecutive seasons, and making its return to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. Buffalo owns the League’s top record over the past three months and can win its division for the first time since 2009-10.
* Nick Schmaltz (1-1—2) scored his ninth game-winning goal with Utah and tied Clayton Keller for the second most in franchise history as the Mammoth (33-25-4, 70 points) built a three-point lead over the Kraken (29-23-9, 67 points) as the first Wild Card in the West. Utah is one of 11 teams that did not make the postseason last year but are either in the bracket (8) or within three points of a playoff seed (3). An eight-team turnover for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs would be the largest in NHL history (besting 7 in 2020-21, 2017-18, 2016-17 & 2014-15).
* Filip Forsberg (1-2—3) factored on half of Nashville’s six goals and Brady Tkachuk assisted on the game winner to help the Predators (28-26-8, 64 points) and Senators (30-22-9, 69 points), respectively, move within three and four points of the playoff line in their conference. They are two of the 23 teams either in a playoff position or within six points of one. Notably, Kyle Connor (1-1—2) and Mark Scheifele (1-1—2) factored on the same goal twice – tied for the most among any duo this season – and allowed the Jets (25-26-10, 60 points) to inch within seven of a postseason spot.
* Ivan Provorov (1-2—3) led the way for Columbus and continued its offense from the blueline even with leading scorer Zach Werenski out of the lineup – the Blue Jackets pace the NHL with goals by defensemen this season (45). Columbus (32-21-8, 72 points) improved to 13-2-1 since Rick Bowness took over as head coach on Jan. 13 – the best record in the League over that span – and moved within one point of Boston (34-21-5, 73 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
* Soon after Anze Kopitar became the 25th player in NHL history to skate in 1,500 career games, he assisted on Artemi Panarin’s first goal in a Kings uniform and moved five points back of completing his pursuit of Marcel Dionne’s 45-year-old franchise points record. Kopitar is one of several NHL veterans who can achieve notable feats in the final quarter of the season: Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin could square off in their 100th all-time meeting, while Brent Burns closes in on the second-longest “Ironman” streak in NHL history.
* Mika Zibanejad (1-2—3) factored on half of his team’s goals during New York’s 6-2 win over Toronto in one of three games to feature eight-plus goals. For the first time in more than 30 years, the NHL is averaging at least 6.0 goals-per-game in a fifth consecutive season – with that value standing at 6.2 entering the final quarter, up from 6.0 a year ago. Prior to their win, ESPN, Disney, Pixar and the NHL announced the Rangers will face the Capitals next month in the Inside Out Classic, a real-time, animated NHL telecast (click here for full details).
DOWN TO HOURS BEFORE THE 2026 NHL TRADE DEADLINE
With the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline powered by SAP fast approaching today at 3 p.m. ET, seven trades involving nine players and 10 draft picks were made March 5 before the clock struck midnight. A snapshot of some of those trades:
* Each of the top three teams in the Central Division acquired an NHL veteran to help their playoff drive: Nicolas Roy to Colorado (from TOR), Michael Bunting to Dallas (from NSH) and Jeff Petry to Minnesota (from FLA). Roy, a 2023 Stanley Cup champion with Vegas, rejoins the Western Conference after being traded July 1 for Mitch Marner. Bunting climbs the Central standings with the trade, his third straight year of being moved ahead of the deadline (also March 5, 2025 to NSH & March 7, 2024 to PIT). Petry is one of 21 active players with 1,000-plus games who has yet to win a Stanley Cup (new teammate Jared Spurgeon, 995 GP, is set to join that list).
* Among the other moves Thursday: Nic Dowd was sent to Vegas (from WSH), his first new team since 2018; Warren Foegele heads to Ottawa (from LAK), approximately two hours down the highway from where he began his junior hockey career with the Kingston Frontenacs; and David Perron returns to Detroit (from OTT), where he played two seasons before signing with Ottawa – his second time rejoining a franchise (also 3 stints w/ STL). Aside from Perron, two other players this season have played multiple stints with at least two clubs (Danton Heinen: 2 w/ BOS & PIT; Marcus Johansson: 2 w/ WSH & MIN).
* NHL Network will deliver nine consecutive hours of live coverage of the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline powered by SAP, beginning with early-day buildup and continuing through the 3 p.m. ET deadline.
#NHLStats Pack: 2026 NHL Trade Deadline powered by SAP
HOCKEY DAY IN CZECHIA STARTS, HOCKEY WEEK ACROSS AMERICA CONTINUES
The celebration of hockey around the world continues with the second of four European “Hockey Day” celebrations beginning today in Pardubice as Hockey Day in Czechiais marked for a fourth year (March 6-7, culminating with the NHL Saturday presented by Fastenal game between the Capitals and Bruins). Czechia has made up at least 3% of NHL players for 35 consecutive seasons (1990-91 to 2025-26) – the only country outside of North America that can make that claim.
* In North America, Hockey Week Across America continues, with a marquee event Saturday and back-to-back national doubleheaders on TNT and ESPN on Sunday, which is International Women’s Day.
* Hockey in the U.S. continues to surge with more Americans playing in the NHL than ever before. In 2024-25, 30.8% of NHL players were born in the U.S., the highest percentage in League history and first time that number ever reached at least 30%. Across NHL rosters so far this season, 28.9% of players are from the U.S., from 32 different states (the 11th consecutive season with players from 30+ states).
* According to USA Hockey, youth hockey participation in the U.S. continues to grow YOY, with nearly 400,000 participants this season. In the last two weeks – since the women and men both won gold – a record-number of kids have registered for USA Hockey’s ‘Try Hockey for Free Day’ on March 7. The day is a chance for girls and boys ages 4-9 to try the game, for free, hosted by hundreds of rinks across the country.
* Sunday, March 8, is International Women’s Day. Since 2013, the NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund has been making strategic investments to establish, or expand, girls’ hockey programs. In partnership with the NHL’s 32 Clubs, the IGF-funded Learn to Play (U.S.) and First Shift (Canada) program, which introduces hockey to first-time participants, has seen record growth among girls. In the U.S., girls’ participation has increased 26%, compared to 22% the previous season. In Canada, more girls have registered to play than ever before, and nearly one in two participants (42%) are girls.
QUICK CLICKS
* Sharks visit local elementary school, read to students
* NHL Status Report: Mark Stone placed on injured reserve by Golden Knights
* Top storylines with Trade Deadline approaching
* Ryan Poehling signs 4-year contract with Ducks
* Josh Pauls hopes U.S. sled hockey team continues Milan gold rush in Paralympics
2025-26 ENTERS FINAL QUARTER FRIDAY WITH TRADE DEADLINE, SEVEN-GAME SLATE
Friday is set to be a busy one with seven games, including a showdown between the Central Division’s top two teams in the Avalanche (41-10-9, 91 points) and Stars (38-14-9, 85 points), set to take center stage after the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline powered by SAP is reached at 3 p.m. ET – click here to read the #NHLStats Pack for more notes on the deadline. The 2025-26 season will also reach the final quarter when the puck drops on the Canucks-Blackhawks game.
* Several of the Western Conference’s top stars will take the ice Friday looking to continue their offensive prowess in the final quarter of the season, including Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (35-70—105) and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (41-59—100) who are two of the League’s three mainstays atop the points list (also Nikita Kucherov: 32-64—96). At least one of those three players have finished among the top five in scoring in every season since 2016-17, including seven campaigns with at least two of them in that grouping and three in which they were all featured (2017-18, 2022-23 & 2023-24, when they finished top three).
* Sharks teenager Macklin Celebrini ranks fifth in League scoring and looks to remain among the top in the final quarter as his club pursues its first Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance since a run to the Conference Finals in 2018-19. Celebrini can become the fourth teenager in NHL history to conclude a campaign among the top five in scoring, after Sidney Crosby (1st in 2006-07), Wayne Gretzky (2nd in 1979-80) and Ted Kennedy (5th in 1944-45)
