* Dylan Guenther scored one of the Mammoth’s four goals to lift them to a win in the first-ever playoff game in the state of Utah just hours after NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the 2027 Discover NHL Winter Classic will take place in Salt Lake City on New Year’s Eve.
* With help from their young stars Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson, the Ducks scored seven goals in a playoff game for the first time in franchise history and took a 2-1 series lead over the Oilers.
* Lane Hutson became the seventh-youngest defenseman in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to play overtime hero as the Canadiens broke their series deadlock in front of an electric crowd at Bell Centre.
* A three-game Saturday in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs features a tripleheader on TNT that sees the Senators and Penguins both attempt to keep their Second Round hopes alive when they face the Hurricanes and Flyers, respectively, while the Stars look to push the Wild to the brink.
MAMMOTH WIN FIRST-EVER PLAYOFF HOME GAME, TAKE 2-1 SERIES LEAD
The celebration of postseason hockey in Utah began before puck drop with a helicopter flyover and continued through the night as Dylan Guenther (1-0—1) factored on one of his team’s four goals to help the Mammoth earn a win in their first-ever playoff home game and take a 2-1 series lead in front of an ecstatic crowd at Delta Center. Utah became the sixth franchise that has debuted since the 1990s or later to win their first-ever Stanley Cup Playoffs home game.
* Guenther became the fourth player in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to score in a franchise’s first home regular-season and playoff game, following Mark Messier (Oct. 13, 1979 & April 11, 1980 w/ EDM), Ray Cullen (Oct. 21, 1967 & April 9, 1968 w/ MNS) and Larry Keenan (Oct. 11, 1967 & April 10, 1968 w/ STL).
* Ahead of the contest Friday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the 2027 Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Mammoth and Avalanche will take place on Dec. 31, 2026 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Utah owner Ryan Smith said that fans can expect a “weekend of full programming of events — sports, concerts, activities — that will be pretty special.”
DUCKS YOUTH DELIVER FOR HOME FANS, EARN WIN AND TAKE 2-1 SERIES LEAD
In a series that saw comeback wins in the first two contests, the Ducks kept the trend going with their come-from-behind victory in Game 3 that saw Beckett Sennecke (1-0—1) net his first career playoff goal, Leo Carlsson (1-1—2) score the winner and Jackson LaCombe (1-1—2) match an NHL benchmark. Anaheim scored seven goals in a playoff game for the first time in franchise history and earned its 28th comeback win of the season (regular season & playoffs), which matched 2013-14 for their second most in a campaign, behind only 2014-15 (30).
* Sennecke became the third rookie in Ducks history to score a go-ahead goal in the third period of a playoff game. He joined Dustin Penner (Game 4 of 2007 SCF & Game 1 of 2007 CQF) and Andrew Ebbett (Game 2 of 2009 CQF).
* Carlsson (21 years, 119 days) became the third-youngest player in Ducks history to score a game-winning goal in the playoffs, behind Stanislav Chistov (19 years, 362 days in Game 3 of 2003 CQF) and Ryan Getzlaf (20 years, 362 days in Game 2 of 2006 CSF).
* LaCombe boosted his 2026 postseason totals to 1-5—6 (3 GP) and became the third defenseman in Ducks history to find the score sheet in each of his first three playoff games with the franchise, following Ryan Whitney (4 GP in 2009) and J.J. Daigneault (3 GP in 1997). He also became the third Ducks blueliner with consecutive multi-point playoff outings, joining Chris Pronger (2 GP in 2009 & 2007) and Daigneault (2 GP in 1997).
* Anaheim took a 2-1 lead in a best-of-seven series for the first time since the 2015 Conference Finals versus Chicago. The win was also the 123rd of Joel Quenneville’s Stanley Cup Playoffs career, which tied Al Arbour (123) for second place in NHL history among head coaches behind Scotty Bowman (223).
HUTSON’S OVERTIME HEROICS LIFT CANADIENS TO 2-1 SERIES LEAD
Lane Hutson played the role of overtime hero Friday as he scored the winner and lifted the Canadiens to a 2-1 series lead in the First Round in front of a raucous crowd at Bell Centre. Hutson became the third Canadiens defenseman to score a playoff overtime goal in the past 25 years, joining Jeff Petry (Game 1 of 2020 SCQ) and P.K. Subban (Game 1 of 2014 R2), as well as the youngest American blueliner in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to do so at 22 years, 69 days.
* Montreal finished the regular season tied with Anaheim for the League lead in comeback wins (26) and that trend has continued into the First Round with the club earning both of its victories in come-from-behind fashion. This marks the second time in the past 15 years that the Canadiens have earned multiple comeback wins in a playoff series, following the 2015 First Round (3 GP vs. OTT).
* The Canadiens and Lightning have required overtime for all three contests so far in the First Round, with defensemen netting the winners in Game 2 and 3. The only teams to play more consecutive overtime games in a single series are Phoenix-Chicago (Game 1-5 in 2012 CQF), Montreal-Toronto (Game 1-5 in 1951 SCF) and Carolina-Nashville (Game 3-6 in 2021 R1).
CROWDS COALESCE ACROSS EVERY CITY IN 2026 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
The NHL has officially played in every city participating in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the lively and electric atmosphere from fans continuing last night in Utah for the state’s first-ever playoff game, in Montreal for a rematch of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final against Tampa Bay and in Anaheim for its first postseason action on home ice since 2018.
QUICK CLICKS
* Canadiens legend Yvan Cournoyer carries torch into Bell Centre for Game 3
* Youppi gifts Cole Caufield’s dad Canadiens hats before Game 3 of Eastern 1st Round
* Evgeni Malkin hoping to extend Penguins’ season, return in ’26-27
* Celebrities, sports stars cheer on teams during Stanley Cup playoffs
* Wednesday’s Penguins-Flyers match most-watched non-Game 7, Round 1 game in TNT history
HURRICANES, FLYERS HAVE TAKEN DIFFERENT PATHS TO 3-0 SERIES LEAD
Two series are on the line today but the teams looking to advance took drastically different paths to this point. Sebastian Aho and the Hurricanes spent the entire season in a playoff spot – including three-quarters of it sitting atop the Metropolitan Division – and finished as the No. 2-ranked team in the entire NHL. On the other hand, Trevor Zegras and the Flyers fell out of the playoff bracket Jan. 13 and didn’t jump back in until April 5, with five games left in their season. Philadelphia shared the League lead in wins after the Olympic break and overcame a standings deficit of nine points just to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* The Flyers and Hurricanes would set up their first ever head-to-head playoff series if they both advance. Philadelphia is vying for its first best-of-seven sweep in more than 30 years (1995 CSF vs. NYR) and fourth overall, while the Hurricanes seek their second (2019 R2 vs. NYI).
* The Senators face a 3-0 series deficit in the First Round for the second straight postseason and are 10-17 all-time in potential elimination games, while Claude Giroux faces that scenario for the sixth time in his career following the 2025 First Round (w/ OTT), 2022 Second Round (w/ FLA), 2016 First Round (w/ PHI), 2011 Conference Semifinals (w/ PHI) and 2010 Conference Semifinals (w/ PHI) – he won Game 4 and avoided elimination in 2025, 2016 and 2010. Giroux and the Flyers went on to defeat the Bruins in that 2010 series and establish one of just four instances in NHL history of a team overcoming a 3-0 series deficit to win. Giroux now aims to join Mike Richards (2014 R1 w/ LAK & 2010 CSF w/ PHI) as the second player in League history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit to win twice. Of note, Jeff Carter played for both the 2014 Kings and 2010 Flyers but missed the 2010 Conference Semifinals due to injury.
* Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will look to help the Penguins survive a potential elimination contest for the first time since Game 7 of the 2017 Conference Finals en route to their most recent Stanley Cup. Crosby and Malkin own a career record of 10-12 in those contests and can tie Kevin Stevens (11-4) for the second-most wins by a Penguins skater when facing elimination behind only Jaromir Jagr (14-9).
* Did You Know? Flyers forwards Porter Martone and Trevor Zegras were NHLShop.com’s top-selling player jerseys during the first week of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Since the start of the postseason, sales of Martone jerseys have increased 1,714%.
WILD AIM TO TIE SERIES VERSUS STARS, ROBERTSON LOOKS TO EXTEND HIS STREAK
The Stars own a 2-1 series lead thanks to a double-overtime victory in Game 3 and are 13-13 all-time in that scenario during a best-of-seven series, while the Wild are 2-6 all-time when facing a 2-1 deficit in a best-of-seven. Jason Robertson, who logged three points in Game 3, can join Steve Payne (4 GP in 1981) as the second player in Stars/North Stars history to score in each of the team’s first four games to start a postseason. Find more notes on this contest and the rest of Saturday’s three-game slate in #NHLStats: Live Updates.
NHL PODCAST WEEKLY ROUNDUP
* NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers (April 23): Bruce Cassidy Would Rather be Coaching
* La Tasse de Café LNH (April 23): Pas de quartier entre les Canadiens et le Lightning!
* 100% Hockey with Millard & Shannon (April 22): CBJ HC Rick Bowness on What Comes Next
* NHL @TheRink (April 22): Craig Button & Mike Zeisberger join; SCP 1st Round, NJD Hires Mehta
* Never Offside with Julie and Cat (April 21): Michael Misa & Sam Dickinson join; Feeling 19
* 100% Hockey with Millard & Shannon (April 20): Dave Hodge on Playoffs & What he’s Seeing Around NHL
