* The Hurricanes outlasted the Penguins in a third period that featured a record-tying four game-tying goals. Carolina earned the NHL’s 67th comeback win in the final five minutes of regulation, which tied the second most in an entire season in League history with 230 games still left to contest in 2025-26.

* The Stars defeated the Avalanche in a shootout to move within two points of Colorado at the top of the League standings. Overall, four contests required extra time Wednesday, bringing this season’s total to 281 – the most at this stage of a campaign (1,082 GP) in NHL history.

* Thursday’s slate is highlighted by a two-pack on ESPN+ that closes with a pivotal game in the Western Conference playoff race between the Pacific Division’s third-place Golden Knights and the Mammoth, who hold the first Wild Card position.

HURRICANES OUTLAST PENGUINS IN A THIRD PERIOD FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

In a contest that featured five game-tying goals – and four in the third period – it was the Hurricanes who outlasted the Penguins in a battle between the top two teams in the Metropolitan Division thanks to Sean Walker’s first career overtime goal. Carolina and Pittsburgh matched the most game-tying goals in the final frame in NHL history – the only other contests to feature as many: the Flyers-Rangers on March 26, 2024, Blackhawks-Blues on March 15, 1988 and Capitals-Penguins on Nov. 12, 1975.

* Wednesday marked the 19th consecutive game day the Hurricanes (43-19-6, 92 points) have ranked first in the Eastern Conference standings, which is their second-longest run in franchise history trailing only a 37-day stretch in 2005-06 en route to their first Stanley Cup. The only team to lead their conference for more consecutive game days this season is Colorado (117 from Oct. 31 to present).
 

* Sebastian Aho collected an assist on Walker’s overtime goal to become the third player in Hurricanes/Whalers history to record 700 points, joining Ron Francis (1,175) and Eric Staal (775). Aho (307-393—700 in 745 GP) became the fifth-fastest Finnish player to reach the milestone behind Jari Kurri (483 GP), Teemu Selanne (541 GP), Mikko Rantanen (645 GP) and Aleksander Barkov (728 GP).

STARS DEFEAT RIVAL AVALANCHE IN SHOOTOUT, MOVE WITHIN TWO POINTS OF FIRST

A showdown between the NHL’s top two teams once again needed extra time to decide a victor, with Wyatt Johnston finding the back of the net in the shootout to lift Dallas (43-15-10, 96 points) to a comeback win against Colorado (44-13-10, 98 points). The Stars are now just two points back of the League-leading Avalanche after sitting 13 points back from them on Jan. 19. The two Central Division rivals will meet one last time in what could be a pivotal contest on April 4 (3 p.m. ET on ABC).

* Dallas improved to 31-8-5 against Western Conference teams this season, which is the most wins by any club against intraconference opponents. The next closest teams are Colorado (26-4-7) and Minnesota (26-9-7).

OVECHKIN, HUTSON SCORE IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

Alex Ovechkin scored to move within one of becoming the second player in League history with 1,000 goals (regular season & playoffs) on the same day that Cole Hutson scored his first career goal in his NHL debut. Hutson became Ovechkin’s first teammate that was born after the Capitals captain’s NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2005 and, alongside his brother Lane, became the third set of brothers in the past 30 years to each record a point in their first career contest. Click here for more notes on both Ovechkin and Hutson in #NHLStats: Live Updates.

QUICK CLICKS

* Trevor Zegras receives tribute from Ducks during 1st game back in Anaheim
* Cole Hutson’s parents have priceless reaction to Capitals defenseman’s 1st goal
*Cole Eiserman signs 3-year, entry-level contract with Islanders
* Post-Olympic buzz fueling tight races for Stanley Cup Playoffs, Commissioner Gary Bettman says
* Bruins-Devils deliver ESPN’s most-viewed regular-season game in the new rights deal

TIGHT WEST PLAYOFF RACE AT FOREFRONT OF ESPN+ BROADCAST

Thursday’s 11-game slate includes an intriguing two-pack exclusively on ESPN+ that opens with the Blackhawks visiting the Wild in the back half of a home-and-home set that started with Minnesota’s 4-3 overtime win on Tuesday and closes with a pivotal game in the Western Conference playoff race when the Pacific Division’s third-place Golden Knights (31-23-14, 76 points) host the Mammoth (35-27-6, 76 points), who hold the first Wild Card position.

* Brothers Nick and Marcus Foligno, who became teammates for the first time at the NHL Trade Deadline,continue their efforts with the NHL, NHLPA, the V Foundation for Cancer Research and the Wild through Hockey Fights Cancer powered by the V Foundation for cancer research to raise funds for breast cancer research in honor of their late mother, Janis Foligno. Fans are encouraged to join the Foligno Face-Off by donating $17, $71, a nod to the brothers’ jersey numbers, or any amount you can give. Click here for more information.

* The Pacific Division’s third-place Golden Knights enter Thursday two points back of the division-leading Ducks (37-27-4, 78 points) as Vegas looks to climb back towards the top of a division it led as recently as March 14. The Golden Knights, who are looking to qualify for the postseason for the eighth time in the franchise’s nine-season history, are also only five points ahead of the Kings (28-24-15, 71 points), who have a game in hand and sit as the first team outside the playoff line (fourth in the Pacific Division).

* The Mammoth and the Kraken (31-27-9, 71 points), the NHL’s two newest franchises, hold the first and second Wild Card position, respectively, with the closest four teams chasing them – all within four points of the final playoff position – also in action on Thursday.

* Did You Know? The playoff line in the Western Conference has been one point or a tiebreaker every day since March 7. The “playoff line” is the difference between the lowest ranked playoff team and the first team outside the bracket.

ALSO ON TAP THURSDAY…

The rest of Thursday’s slate also features a Stanley Cup Final rematch, several clubs jockeying for postseason positioning in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race and the streaking Sabres looking to push their lead atop the Atlantic Division

* Connor McDavid (398-799—1,197 in 781 GP) can reach the 400-goal and 800-assist milestones when the Oilers face the Panthers in a rematch of the past two Stanley Cup Finals – Florida owns a 2-1-0 edge over Edmonton in the previous regular-season meetings between the clubs since their first Final in 2024. McDavid can become the fifth Oilers player with at least 400 goals and just the second with 800-plus assists.

* A pivotal Atlantic Division matchup between Original Six clubs pits Montreal (A3; 37-20-10, 84 points) against Detroit (WC2; 37-23-8, 82 points). A regulation win by the Red Wings could put them above the Canadiens in the standings and into the Atlantic Division’s top three, depending on the result of the Bruins (WC1; 37-23-8, 82 points) game against the Jets. Also in action tonight is Columbus (35-21-11, 81 points), which is riding a 10-game point streak (6-0-4) – the League’s longest active run – and is sitting one point below the playoff line.

* Did You Know? The “playoff line” in the Eastern Conference has been two points or fewer for all but four days since the Olympic break, including every day since March 9.

* The Sabres set a franchise record their last time out by extending their road point streak to 11 games (10-0-1). They’ll look to push that stretch to 12 when they visit Macklin Celebrini (60-98—158), who’s nearing 100 career assists, and the Sharks. Buffalo can become the third team this season with a road point streak of at least a dozen contests (TBL & DAL: 13 GP).

NEW YORK – Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for high-sticking Columbus Blue Jackets forward Conor Garland during NHL Game No. 1070 in Columbus on Tuesday, March 17, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 1:57 of the third period. Jarvis was assessed a double-minor penalty for high-sticking.

The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

* Nikita Kucherov scored a hat trick in his ninth career five-point game and overtook Nathan MacKinnon for second in the Art Ross Trophy race in 2025-26. Kucherov now trails Connor McDavid by just four points for the top spot.

* Cole Caufield became the first Canadiens player in more than 30 years to record a 40-goal season when he netted the overtime winner against the Bruins to keep Montreal third in the Atlantic Division.

* Today marks exactly one month to puck drop on the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, scheduled to begin on April 18. As the Rush to the Playoffs hits the one-month countdown, everything is yet to be decided – all 16 playoff berths and standings seeds need to be clinched including each of the Wild Card positions, the Presidents’ Trophy and all four division titles, which are within reach for a number of teams.
 

KUCHEROV RACKS UP FIVE POINTS, MOVES UP ART ROSS TROPHY RACE

Nikita Kucherov (3-2—5) scored his seventh career hat trick and ninth career five-point game to help the Lightning (41-21-4, 86 points) keep pace with the Sabres (42-20-6, 90 points) atop the Atlantic Division. Kucherov boosted his totals to 37-74—111 and moved four back of Connor McDavid (37-78—115) for the most points this season.

* Kucherov climbed into sole possession of third on Tampa Bay’s all-time hat tricks list and tied Peter Forsberg, Teemu Selanne and Kent Nilsson for the third-most five-point games among skaters born outside of North America, behind only Jari Kurri (16) and Peter Stastny (12).

* Kucherov was as many as 22 points back of the scoring lead this season (Dec. 23, 2025) and moved back into sole possession of second after his five-point night put him past Nathan MacKinnon (45-65—110). In the process, he tied Stastny (5) for the most 110-point seasons among players born outside of North America and matched McDavid (5) for the most among active players.

CAUFIELD SCORES 40TH GOAL IN OT, KEEPS CANADIENS IN ATLANTIC’S TOP THREE

With Montreal holding a one-point edge over Boston heading into Tuesday, a 2-2 contest between the teams headed into overtime, with the Atlantic Division’s third spot up for grabs for the winner. It was Cole Caufield (1-1—2) who scored his 13th career overtime tally and 40th goal of the season to keep the Canadiens (37-20-10, 84 points) in third place as they built a two-point cushion over the Bruins (37-23-8, 82 points) and Red Wings (37-23-8, 82 points) with a game in hand.

* Caufield recorded his first career 40-goal season and became the first Canadiens player to reach the mark since Vincent Damphousse (40 in 1993-94). Caufield also became the first American to score 40 goals in a campaign with Montreal, a feat former captain Max Pacioretty (39 in 2013-14) was close to achieving more than 10 years ago.

* Caufield’s League-leading 24th go-ahead goal of the season was his 19th career overtime point – he passed Howie Morenz (18) for sole possession of the second most in Canadiens history, behind only Nick Suzuki, who recorded his 20th with the assist on Caufield’s winner. That helper was Suzuki’s 80th point of 2025-26 and made him the franchise’s first player with consecutive 80-point campaigns since Damphousse (1995-96 – 1996-97).

COYLE HAS FOUR-POINT NIGHT AS BLUE JACKETS CONTINUE STRING OF SUCCESS
Charlie Coyle (1-3—4) factored on four of five Columbus goals to help the Blue Jackets push their point streak to 10 games and tie their fifth-longest run in franchise history – the last time they had a lengthier stretch was in 2019-20 (12 GP). Columbus (35-21-11, 81 points) moved within one point of Boston (37-23-8, 82 points) and Detroit (37-23-8, 82 points), which own the first and second Wild Card spots, respectively.

* Coyle notched his third four-point outing of 2025-26 and tied Artemi Panarin (3 in 2017-18) for the most in a single campaign by a Blue Jackets skater. Since head coach Rick Bowness took over behind the Blue Jackets bench on Jan. 13, Coyle has logged 10-19—29 (22 GP) – tied for the eighth-highest point total in the NHL.

ROOKIE SCORING RACE SPOTLIGHTED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured rookies finding the score sheet, including Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer (0-1—1), Predators forward Matthew Wood (1-0—1) and Sharks forward Pavol Regenda (1-0—1). The latter two scored the League’s 500th and 501st goals by rookies this season, which is the highest total in a single campaign since 2021-22 (611).

* Schaefer factored on the game winner with his family in the audience at Scotiabank Arena as New York (39-24-5) recorded its 83rd point of the season – one more than its total at the end of 2024-25 (35-35-12, 82 points) – and inched closer to idle Pittsburgh (34-18-15, 83 points) for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Schaefer boosted his 2025-26 totals to 20-29—49 (68 GP) and surpassed Bryan Berard (1996-97: 8-40—48 in 82 GP) for the fourth-most points in a season by a rookie defenseman in franchise history.

* Wood scored his 15th goal of the season as the Predators (30-28-9, 69 points) defeated the Jets (28-28-11, 67 points) in the shootout to keep pace in the Western Conference’s Wild Card Race. Wood (62 GP) became the third-fastest skater to score their first 15 NHL goals with Nashville, following Tanner Jeannot (48 GP) and Filip Forsberg (52 GP).   

NICK AND MARCUS TEAM UP FOR FOLIGNO FACE-OFF

Nick and Marcus Foligno continue their efforts with the NHL, NHLPA, the V Foundation for Cancer Research and the Wild through Hockey Fights Cancer powered by the V Foundation for Cancer Research to raise critical funds for breast cancer research in honor of their late mother, Janis. What started as a sibling rivalry on two opposing teams has evolved into them joining forces. The brothers will play alongside one another for the first time in their careers, turning their long-standing competition into a shared mission to advance cancer research. Together, they have already raised over $140,000 to help change the future of breast cancer research.

* Click here for full details on how the Foligno Face-Off continues, including how to get involved Thursday when Nick faces his former team with the Blackhawks visiting the Wild on March 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+, HULU, Sportsnet+).

QUICK CLICKS

* Nick Foligno receives warm welcome back from Blackhawks fans
* Panthers could pull off late playoff push like Maple Leafs in 1949, ’67

* Leon Draisaitl expected to be out rest of regular season for Oilers
* USA baseball wears Olympic hockey jerseys before final

* Women in Hockey feature: Karilyn Pilch, Blackhawks’ Director of Player Personnel

PUCK DROPS ON THE 2026 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS IN ONE MONTH TODAY

A six-game Wednesday will feature another NHL on TNT doubleheader that concludes with the top two teams in the League standings – the Avalanche (44-13-9, 97 points) and Stars (42-15-10, 94 points) – on the date that marks exactly one month to the start of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, scheduled to begin April 18. All 16 playoff berths are yet to be clinched, as well as a number of titles, including the Presidents’ Trophy, which could be captured by one of the two teams battling in the final TNT game tonight – Dallas can move within one point of Colorado for top spot in the League standings. The last time any club was within one point of the Avalanche was through Dec. 5, 2025 (DAL: 19-5-5, 43 points; COL: 19-2-6, 44 points).

* With all 16 playoff berths still up for grabs – the 2026 postseason is trending towards historic turnover. It is on pace for an eight-team playoff turnover, which would be an NHL record. A total of 11 teams that did not make the postseason last year are either in the bracket (8) or within four points of a playoff seed (3). The playoff line is within slim margins in both conferences – one point in the East and even in the West (requiring tiebreakers).

* Two teams currently holding a playoff spot – the Atlantic Division-leading Sabres and Wild Card-holding Red Wings – can end the NHL’s lengthiest active postseason droughts. Buffalo could make its return for the first time in 15 years (2010-11), while Detroit is looking to do so for the first time in a decade (2015-16).

* At least one team has clinched a playoff spot in its final game in three straight seasons – overall 10 teams have done so since 2013-14. The Senators, in action on Sportsnet on Wednesday, will look to follow that trajectory and inch closer to the playoff line when they face off against the Capitals. Should Ottawa earn a win, it will move within three points of a Wild Card spot.