* Lane Hutson reached 66 assists on the campaign to tie the single-season franchise record for most by a defenseman and Nick Suzuki became the fifth 100-point scorer in the 108-season history of the Canadiens.
* Alex Ovechkin had an assist in his 100th head-to-head game with Sidney Crosby as Washington kept its playoff hopes alive by sweeping a back-to-back set with Pittsburgh. Ovechkin shared several special moments with Crosby as well as other longtime opponents Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
* Three playoff berths, seven First Round matchups, 11 postseason seeds as well as winners of the Art Ross, Maurice “Rocket” Richard and William M. Jennings Trophy are at stake as the League enters its final week of the regular season, which starts with a 10-game slate Monday.
HUTSON tieS FRANCHISE RECORD, SUZUKI HITS 100 POINTS
Lane Hutson (0-2—2) tied a franchise record for most assists in a single season and Nick Suzuki became the fifth player in 2025-26 to reach the 100-point mark to propel the Canadiens (48-23-10, 106 points) past the Lightning (49-25-6, 104 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division. Buffalo (49-23-8, 106 points) remains in first in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand over Montreal, but all three teams remain in contention for the division title.
* Suzuki (29-72—101) became the fifth player in the 108 years of the Canadiens’ franchise to record 100 points in a season. He also recorded his 29th multi-point game of 2025-26 – a total that is the most by a Montreal player in a campaign since Mats Naslund in 1985-86 (31).
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* Hutson tied Larry Robinson (66 in 1976-77) for the most assists in a campaign by a defenseman in Canadiens history and has two more games remaining before the conclusion of the regular season. He improved his totals to 12-66—78 (81 GP) and passed Quinn Hughes (7-69—76) for third in scoring among blueliners.
CAPITALS EARN CRITICAL POINTS AS COUNTDOWN TO POSTSEASON CONTINUES
Alex Ovechkin collected an assist in the Capitals’ final home game and in his 100th all-time meeting (including playoffs) against longtime rival Sidney Crosby, helping his club win its second game in as many days and improve to 42-30-9 (93 points) to move within one point of the Flyers (41-27-12, 94 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Washington won in back-to-back days for the fourth time this season.
* After the Capitals captain and the Penguins’ big three – Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang – posed together during warm-up, both Malkin and Dylan Strome got tossed from the opening face-off to make way for Ovechkin and Crosby to take it. Ovechkin improved to 44-36—80 through 83 career regular-season games against the Penguins and is now the only active player to record 80 points against the franchise.
* ICYMI: After the game, Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin met up to sign and exchange jerseys and sticks.
BRUINS SURPASSING SENATORS FOR WILD CARD 1 FEATURED IN LIVE UPDATES
Sunday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes from the six-game slate, including Sean Kuraly (1-2—3) collecting three points in his hometown and James Hagens recording an assist during his NHL debut as the Bruins (44-27-10, 98 points) passed the Senators (43-27-11, 97 points) for the Eastern Conference’s first Wild Card spot.
QUICK CLICKS
* Alex Ovechkin ‘will think about’ 1 more year with Capitals after season concludes
* NHL EDGE stats behind Cole Caufield’s ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy chances
* Penguins fan dresses up as coach Dan Muse, sits rink side
* Jake Guentzel Community Feature
Lots at stake as final week of regular season starts with 10-game slate
Three playoff berths, seven First Round matchups, 11 postseason seeds (including titles for 2 divisions & 1 conference), winners of individual NHL Awards as well as rookie leaders for goals and points will be determined during the final week of the regular season, which starts with a 10-game schedule Monday. The slate includes the Stars (48-20-12, 108 points) visiting the Maple Leafs (32-34-14, 78 points) in the campaign’s last Prime Monday Night Hockey telecast as well as the Kraken (34-34-11, 79 points) hosting the Kings (34-26-19, 87 points) on ESPN.
* Dallas clinched home-ice advantage in its First Round series against Minnesota and will face Wyatt Johnston’s hometown team during its penultimate game of the regular season. Johnston’s three career series-clinching goals are tied with Al MacAdam and Mike Modano for the most in franchise history entering the playoffs – MacAdam had one of his versus the Maple Leafs in Game 3 of the 1980 Preliminary Round.
* Los Angeles looks to remain in contention for the Pacific Division’s No. 1 seed and inch closer to a postseason berth, which would guarantee that Anze Kopitar could play at least four more games in his decorated career. Kopitar’s final season included him dethroning Marcel Dionne atop the all-time points list for the Kings, who could enter the playoffs with the franchise scoring leader on their roster for the first time since 1985.
* More highlights include Nashville (38-32-10, 86 points) playing San Jose (37-34-8, 82 points) during a pivotal matchup in the Western Conference’s Wild Card race; Philadelphia (41-27-12, 94 points) needing a win to clinch its first playoff berth since 2020 against Carolina (52-22-6, 110 points), which requires one point to lock up the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed; four other teams competing for division titles hitting the ice (BUF, EDM, TBL & VGK); as well as Art Ross Trophy contenders Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov in action, with McDavid set to face Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race leader Nathan MacKinnon.
NATIONAL GAMES ON THE RADAR THIS WEEK
Five #NHLStats and storylines you need to know about other national broadcasts this week:
1. Capitals-Blue Jackets, Blues’ ASL Awareness Night on ESPN (Tuesday): Washington and Columbus enter the week contending for the Metropolitan Division’s No. 3 seed and open an ESPN doubleheader capped by St. Louis pitted against Pittsburgh during the Blues’ ASL Awareness Night, which will feature an NHL in ASL special alternate telecast available on the ESPN App for ESPN Unlimited plan subscribers. Notably, Jake Neighbours learned sign language to communicate with his best friend’s mom and was highlighted earlier this season for the work he is doing to raise money and awareness for the Deaf community.
2. Senators seeking Wild Card 1 spot on Sportsnet (Wednesday): Ottawa and Boston enter the week jockeying for postseason seeding and the Senators could be in a position to clinch the Eastern Conference’s first Wild Card spot during a “Battle of Ontario” game on Sportsnet. Ottawa will face Carolina or the yet-to-be-determined No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Division during the First Round.
3. Rematch of 1999 Stanley Cup Final on TNT (Wednesday): The Sabres enter the week contending with the Lightning and Canadiens for the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Division as well as with the Hurricanes for first place in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo could be in a position to clinch one or both spots against its 1999 Stanley Cup Final opponent Dallas during NHL on TNT’s final telecast of the regular season.
4. Six-game finale has Blues-Mammoth, Kraken-Avalanche on ESPN (Thursday): The final day of the regular season features an ESPN doubleheader which includes the Mammoth, who will face the Avalanche or the yet-to-be-determined No. 1 seed in the Pacific Division during the First Round. Vegas, Edmonton, Anaheim and Los Angeles enter the week contending for first place, with three of those teams also in action Thursday.
5. Start of 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Saturday): The postseason is set to begin on April 18. Dates, starting times and national television coverage for the First Round will be announced this week.
