* Stanley Cup Playoffs hockey will be played in “The Beehive State” for the first time as the Mammoth clinched their first postseason berth in franchise history.
* Nathan MacKinnon posted his League-leading 20th three-point game of 2025-26 as the Avalanche clinched their fourth Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history – and second in the past six seasons.
* Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang will begin the quest for their fourth Stanley Cup as the Penguins clinched a playoff berth by virtue of their victory versus the Devils.
* There are no games scheduled today but 30 teams will be in action for the final 15-game day of the season tomorrow, including the Penguins and Capitals who open their back-to-back set during an ABC Hockey Saturday matinee. The contests will mark the 100th and 101st head-to-head games (including playoffs) between Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.
KELLER USHERS UTAH TO FIRST PLAYOFF BERTH IN FRANCHISE HISTORY
Clayton Keller (0-3—3) had a game-high three points as the Mammoth clinched the first Stanley Cup Playoffs berth in franchise history by virtue of their regulation win against the Predators and the Ducks’ victory versus the Sharks. Utah will become the 23rd U.S. state to host at least one playoff game in NHL history including Washington, D.C. 
* The Mammoth will enter the postseason holding one of the Western Conference’s Wild Card spots and their First Round opponent will be the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche or the No. 1 seed in the Pacific Division. The Mammoth would be the fifth NHL franchise to play their first playoff series against the first-place team from the regular season, following the Predators (2004 CQF vs. DET), Oilers (1980 PRLM vs. PHI), Sabres (1973 QF vs. MTL) and Toronto Arenas (1918 NHLF vs. MTL) – the last clubs whose first postseason round was against a division champion were the Kraken (2023 R1 vs. COL) and Blue Jackets (2009 CQF vs. DET).
* Keller became the third American in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to captain a franchise to its first-ever playoff berth, following Rod Langway with the 1982-83 Capitals and Dave Christian with the 1981-82 Jets. Keller could face Christian’s nephew, Avalanche forward Brock Nelson, in the First Round.
* Click here for more #NHLStats on the Mammoth heading to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
AVALANCHE CLINCH FOURTH PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY IN FRANCHISE HISTORY
Nathan MacKinnon (1-2—3) and Martin Necas (1-2—3) combined on all three Avalanche goals to help Colorado defeat Calgary and clinch the fourth Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history – and its second in six seasons. The Avalanche (52-16-10, 114 points) tied their second-highest single-season win total in franchise history, trailing only 2021-22, when they had 56.-10120409.png)
* Jared Bednar became the eighth head coach in NHL history to win the Presidents’ Trophy at least twice with the same team. The others: Scotty Bowman (3x w/ DET), Barry Trotz (2x w/ WSH), Alain Vigneault (2x w/ VAN), Mike Babcock (2x w/ DET), Ken Hitchcock (2x w/ DAL), Terry Crisp (2x w/ CGY) and Glen Sather (2x w/ EDM).
* MacKinnon logged his 20th three-point game of 2025-26 and passed Joe Sakic (19 in 2000-01) and Peter Stastny (19 in 1982-83) for the most in a single season in Avalanche/Nordiques history. MacKinnon became the third player since 1996-97 with at least 20 three-point performances in a campaign, joining Nikita Kucherov (23 in 2023-24) and Connor McDavid (22 in 2022-23).
CROSBY AND CO. READY TO RETURN TO THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
Iconic Penguins trio Sidney Crosby (0-2—2), Evgeni Malkin (1-1—2) and Kris Letang (0-1—1) all found the score sheet against the Metropolitan Division-rival Devils and helped Pittsburgh not only clinch its first Stanley Cup Playoffs berth since 2021-22 but also home-ice advantage in the First Round.
* Crosby and Malkin each enter their franchise-leading 16th postseason. Crosby enters the 2026 playoffs tied with Jaromir Jagr (201) for the fifth-most playoff points in NHL history while Malkin (180) owns the fourth most by a player born outside of North America behind only Jari Kurri (233), Jagr (201) and Nicklas Lidstrom (183).
* Crosby collected career assist No. 1,106 and 1,107 in the outing and moved within two of tying Joe Thornton (1,109) for seventh place on the NHL’s all-time list. Overall, his 263rd career multi-assist game passed Adam Oates (262) for seventh place on the NHL’s all-time list. Jagr (266) sits in sixth.
* Malkin collected multiple points for the third straight game to eclipse 60 points in 2025-26 (19-42—61) – a mark Crosby has already reached this season (29-45—74). The Penguins became the first team in NHL history to feature multiple players age 38 or older to each register 60-plus points in a single campaign.
* Click here for more #NHLStats on the Penguins heading to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
CARLSON SCORES FIRST CAREER HAT TRICK IN ANAHEIM WIN
John Carlson (3-0—3) scored his first career hat trick and Beckett Sennecke (0-2—2) became the second rookie to reach the 60-point mark this season as Anaheim (42-32-5, 89 points) moved one point back of idle Edmonton (40-29-10, 90 points) for first in the Pacific Division.
* Sennecke (23-37—60) became the second rookie in Ducks history with a 60-point season (Trevor Zegras: 61 in 2021-22) and tied Bobby Ryan (14 in 2008-09) for the second-most multi-point games in a season by a Ducks rookie, trailing only Zegras (19 in 2021-22).
* Carlson became the fourth defenseman in Ducks history to score a hat trick, joining Cam Fowler (Nov. 4, 2018), Hampus Lindholm (Dec. 21, 2017) and Lubomir Visnovsky (March 4, 2011). Carlson tallied his first career hat trick in his 1,156th career contest – Nicklas Lidstrom (1,442 GP) is the only blueliner in NHL history to have played more games prior to his first three-goal outing.
SEIDER’S FIVE-POINT GAME ONE OF MANY PLATEAUS HIT FOR RED WINGS THURSDAY
Moritz Seider (1-4—5) matched the Red Wings record for points in a game by a defenseman and recorded his first career 50-assist season – a plateau Lucas Raymond also hit Thursday – while his teammate Alex DeBrincat notched his first 40-goal season in a Red Wings sweater. Detroit’s potent offense, which also saw Dylan Larkin (3-1—4) post his third career hat trick, helped them improve to 41-29-9 (91 points) and pass Columbus (39-28-12, 90 points) as the first team outside the playoff line in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race.
* Seider’s fourth assist of the game was his 50th of 2025-26 as he became the first Detroit defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom (60 in 2007-08) to reach the mark in a campaign. It also marked his second career four-assist outing, a feat only three other blueliners have achieved for the franchise: Paul Coffey (2), Reed Larson (2) and Lidstrom (2).
* DeBrincat became the Red Wings’ first 40-goal scorer since Marian Hossa in 2008-09 (40) and also tied Jason Robertson and Jake Guentzel (both w/ 3) for the second-most 40-goal campaigns by an active American, behind only Auston Matthews (6).
* Raymond became the eighth player in Red Wings history to record consecutive 50-assist seasons and the first since Pavel Datsyuk (4 from 2005-06 – 2008-09). Seider and Raymond combined to mark the first Red Wings season to feature multiple players reach the 50-assist mark since 2007-08 (Lidstrom & Datsyuk).
OTHER TEAMS IN WILD CARD RACES TALLY TRIUMPHS THURSDAY
Four other teams in the thick of Wild Card races recorded wins Thursday:
* Adrian Kempe scored half of his team’s four goals and helped Los Angeles (33-26-19, 85 points) retake Wild Card 2 over Nashville (37-32-10, 84 points). Kempe scored his 114th and 115th career home goals, passing Charlie Simmer (114) and Mike Murphy (113) for the ninth most in Kings history.
* Mark Scheifele (0-2—2) assisted on two of his team’s three goals as the Jets (35-31-12, 82 points) kept pace with the Kings. Winnipeg (28) owns the second most regulation wins among all teams in the Wild Card race, behind St. Louis (29). Scheifele’s multi-assist outing tied the franchise record for most in a single season (also Marc Savard: 21 in 2005-06) and moved within one point of becoming the franchise’s second 100-point scorer.
* Fabian Zetterlund scored two of five Ottawa goals as the Senators (42-27-10, 94 points) skated to their third straight win and moved within two points of the idle Bruins (43-26-10, 96 points) for the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Ottawa scored five-plus goals (excluding shootout-deciding goals) for the third straight game, marking the club’s longest run since Jan. 30 – Feb. 3, 2025 (3 GP).
* Matthew Schaefer scored his 23rd goal on the campaign to tie Brian Leetch (23 in 1988-89) for the highest single-season total by a rookie defenseman in NHL history and help the Islanders defeat his hometown team during Peter DeBoer’s head coaching debut. New York (43-31-5, 91 points) moved within one point of Philadelphia (40-27-12, 92 points), which occupies third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Sabres maintain Atlantic Division lead, Canadiens move into second place
Buffalo (49-23-8, 106 points) blanked Columbus to remain two points up on the Atlantic Division’s second-place team, which is now Montreal (47-22-10, 104 points):
* Colten Ellis recorded his first career shutout and became the second Sabres rookie in the past 10 years to post a shutout, following Linus Ullmark (Oct. 13 & Dec. 22, 2018). Ellis also became Buffalo’s third netminder with a blank sheet in 2025-26, tied for its most in a single season (also 3 in 2002-03, 1985-86 & 1970-71).
* Cole Caufield collected his first career 50-goal season to stay within two of Nathan MacKinnon (52) in the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race and Juraj Slafkovský scored the winner with 1:04 remaining in regulation as the Canadiens leapfrogged the Lightning (48-25-6, 102 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division. Caufield became the seventh different 50-goal scorer in franchise history and first since Stephane Richer (51 in 1989-90).
* Caufield was the NHL’s third player listed as 5’8” or shorter with a 50-goal season, following Dennis Maruk (60 in 1981-82 & 50 in 1980-81) and Theo Fleury (51 in 1990-91). Caufield corralled his 29th go-ahead goal on the campaign to pass Pavel Bure (28 in 1999-00) for the second highest single-season total in League history behind Brett Hull (39 in 1990-91).
STARS RALLY PAST WILD IN FIRST ROUND PREVIEW
The Stars (47-20-12, 106 points) and Wild (45-22-12, 102 points) will go head-to-head in the First Round when the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin April 18 (ESPN, TNT, SN & TVAS), but Dallas rallied on Thursday and skated to an early edge – opening up a four-point cushion on Minnesota for home-ice advantage. Click here for the latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates for all the storylines from a 14-game Thursday.
* The contest featured four of the NHL’s 10 skaters with 40 goals this season as Wyatt Johnston (1-1—2) and Jason Robertson (1-0—1) helped the Stars erase 3-1 and 4-3 deficits after Kirill Kaprizov (2-0—2) established a Wild franchise record for career multi-goal games (42) and matched his own single-season record for power-play goals (19).
* Johnston (44-40—84) and Robertson (42-50—92), who became the third set of teammates in franchise history with 40 goals and 40 assists in the same campaign, scored in the same game for the 16th time this season and overtook Jake Guentzel and Brandon Hagel (15) for the second most among all sets of two teammates, behind Kaprizov and Matt Boldy (19).
QUICK CLICKS
* Cole Caufield scores 50th goal of season for Canadiens
* NHL EDGE stats behind Jason Robertson’s offensive prowess for Stars
* James Hagens practices with Bruins, could debut Saturday against Lightning
* Unmasked: Keeping calm key for goalies’ success during playoff pandemonium
* Cole Caufield’s dad tears up after forward scores 50th goal of season
SID VS. OVI 101: A LOOK-AHEAD TO THEIR WEEKEND BACK-TO-BACK
The final weekend of the 2025-26 NHL regular season will include 21 games, including 20 with playoff implications as well as both the 100th and 101st all-time head-to-head meetings (including playoffs) between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.
* What to expect from #NHLStats heading into the weekend: two #NHLStats Packs – one looking ahead to the final six days of the season and an update to Sid vs. Ovi 101– as well as an early publication of Live Updates for the seventh and final 15-game day of the season.
* This weekend will be the third time Crosby and Ovechkin go head-to-head on consecutive days (also March 10-11, 2014 & Games 4-5 of 2009 CSF) – the first contest is in the middle of an ABC Hockey Saturday tripleheader packed with playoff implications and the second will be Sunday on TNT (both at 3 p.m. ET). To honor their memorable dueling hat tricks during their second-ever head-to-head playoff game in 2009, here are three key takeaways from Sid vs. Ovi 101:
1. They both have scored a goal in 17 meetings (11 regular season, 6 playoffs) and both had a point 49 times (35 regular season, 14 playoffs).
2. Crosby and Ovechkin have faced a combined 256 total goaltenders, including 149 who have allowed a goal against both players. Only two goaltenders who faced both players multiple times have escaped without ever allowing a goal.
3. Crosby is both the only teenager with multiple 100-point seasons and only player with three 90-point NHL campaigns after age 35, while Ovechkin is one of only four 50-goal rookies in League history and has the most goals in NHL history from age 30 onward.
SID VS. OVI QUICK CLICKS
* Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby by the numbers
* NHL EDGE stats behind Sidney Crosby–Alex Ovechkin rivalry
* Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin: NHL.com writers choose sides in historic rivalry
* Top 10 Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin moments highlighted by dueling hat tricks, playoffs
* Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard had fierce NHL rivalry long before Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin
