By Basil Stroh

Playoff Spots
* The Canadiens will clinch a playoff berth if they defeat the Senators in regulation.

* The Oilers will clinch a playoff berth if they get at least one point vs. the Sharks OR if the Flames lose to the Wild in any fashion.

* The Wild will clinch a playoff berth if they defeat the Flames in any fashion.

Atlantic Division
* The Lightning will clinch a top-three finish in the Atlantic Division (‘Atlantic 1’, ‘Atlantic 2’ or ‘Atlantic 3’ playoff berth) if they get at least one point vs. the Red Wings OR if the Senators lose to the Canadiens in any fashion.

* The Panthers (idle) will clinch a top-three finish in the Atlantic Division (‘Atlantic 1’, ‘Atlantic 2’ or ‘Atlantic 3’ playoff berth) if the Senators lose to the Canadiens in regulation.

Already Locked In
* CLINCHED: 12 of 16 playoff spots

* Home Ice for First Round:

• Capitals (Clinched No. 1 seed in Metropolitan)
• Jets (CEN 1 or CEN 2)
• Golden Knights (PAC 1 or PAC 2)
• Hurricanes (MET 2)
• Stars (CEN 1 or CEN 2)

* First Round Matchups:

• Carolina vs. New Jersey

* * *

Pre-game
* The Senators can tie their fifth-most home wins in a single campaign should they find the win column tonight (also 25 in 2006-07). The list is topped by 2005-06 (29), 2002-23 (28), 2009-10 (26) and 2000-01 (26).

* The Canadiens (39-30-9, 78 points) can record their first 40-win season since 2018-19 (44).

In-game
* Shane Pinto opened the scoring 28 seconds into the contest. It marked Ottawa’s second-fastest game-opening goal this season, following March 11 (Brady Tkachuk: 0:24).

* Shane Pinto and Dylan Cozens gave Ottawa a 2-0 lead 4:18 into the game. The last time the Senators scored two faster goals from the start of a contest was Dec. 15, 2023 (2:51 at DAL).

* Jake Sanderson (234 GP) became the sixth defenseman to record 100 assists with the Senators. Only two hit the mark in fewer games: Erik Karlsson (196 GP) and Thomas Chabot (225 GP).

* Nick Suzuki (1-0—1) has recorded 7-6—13 over the Canadiens’ six-game winning streak and is tied for the second most goals and points among all players over that span.

Post-game
* Shane Pinto became the fifth skater to hit the 20-goal mark with the Senators this season. Ottawa has had more 20-goal scorers in a season only twice: 2022-23 and 2005-06 (both w/ 6).

* The Senators (43-30-6, 92 points) built a five-point lead over the Canadiens (39-31-9, 87 points) in the first Wild Card spot in the East. Ottawa also moved within four points of Florida (46-29-4, 96 points) for third place in the Atlantic Division.

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Pre-game
* Lucas Raymond (26-49—75 in 78 GP) can become the first Red Wings player to record a 50-assist season since Henrik Zetterberg in 2016-17 (51).

* Nikita Kucherov (354-635—989 in 799 GP) is set to skate in his 800th NHL game and will become the sixth members of the Lightning to reach the milestone. Kucherov will enter his 800th contest with the second-most points by an active player at the time of that milestone, behind Sidney Crosby (387-653—1,040 in 800 GP). Of note, Connor McDavid has 361-714—1,075 despite playing in only 709 games.

In-game
* Gage Goncalves scored both the tying and go-ahead goal for Tampa Bay. He can become the third player to record a natural hat trick with the Lightning this season, following Brandon Hagel (Oct. 22, 2024) and Nikita Kucherov (Oct. 11, 2024).

* Patrick Kane (1-1—2) recorded his 354th career multi-point game to move within four of equaling Mike Modano (358) for the most by a U.S.-born player in NHL history.

* Patrick Kane assisted on Marco Kasper’s game-tying goal with under 10 minutes to go in regulation. Kane has now factored on 250 game-tying goals in his career, passing Joe Pavelski for the third most by a U.S.-born player in NHL history. The only players with more are Keith Tkachuk (313) and Mike Modano (285).

* The Lightning clinched a top-three finish in the Atlantic Division (‘Atlantic 1’, ‘Atlantic 2’ or ‘Atlantic 3’ playoff berth) by virtue of at least one point versus the Red Wings.

Post-game
* Marco Kasper (21 years, 3 days) became the fourth-youngest player in Red Wings history at the time of his first career overtime goal, behind Steve Yzerman on Oct. 26, 1983 (18 years, 170 days), Lucas Raymond on Nov. 27, 2021 (19 years, 244 days) and Moritz Seider on Nov. 6, 2021 (20 years, 214 days).

* The Red Wings (37-35-7, 81 points) gained ground on the Canadiens (39-31-9, 87 points), who fell to the Senators on Friday, for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

***

Pre-game
* Sidney Crosby (31-56—87 in 77 GP) is three points shy of recording his ninth career 90-point season, which would tie Connor McDavid for the most among active players.
* Nico Hischier has points in each of his past eight home games. Only three Devils players have posted a longer such run over the past eight years: Jack Hughes (13 GP in 2021-22), Jesper Bratt (10 in 2021-22) and Taylor Hall (10 GP in 2017-18).

In-game
* Erik Haula opened the scoring 15 seconds into the contest. The last Devils skater to score a faster game-opening goal was Blake Coleman (0:13 on Feb. 6, 2020).

* Evgeni Malkin recorded his 30th career goal against the Devils. Malkin has reached the 30-goal mark against four franchise (also NYI, PHI & NYR) which is the third most among active players, behind Alex Ovechkin (14) and Sidney Crosby (8).

* Sidney Crosby (1-1—2) and Evgeni Malkin (1-1—2) each scored in a game for the 128th time. Pittsburgh owns an overall record of 111-10-6 when both players score in the same contest.
* Sidney Crosby recorded the 262nd multi-point period of his career and moved within one of tying Steve Yzerman (263) for the sixth most in NHL history. The list is topped by Wayne Gretzky (611), Mario Lemieux (362), Jaromir Jagr (299), Marcel Dionne (287) and Phil Esposito (283).

Post-game
* Sidney Crosby scored his 99th career game-winning goal and moved past Bobby Hull and Guy Lafleur (both w/ 98) for the 10th most in NHL history.

***

Pre-game

* Macklin Celebrini (24-38—62 in 66 GP) is coming off his first career hat trick and sits one goal shy of tying Pat Falloon (25) for the second most in a season by a Sharks rookie. Logan Couture (32 in 2010-11) tops the list.

In-game
* Connor McDavid factored on a game-opening goal for the 165th time in his career and passed Wayne Gretzky (164) for the most instances in Oilers history.

* Will Smith extended his goal streak to four games and matched Rob Gaudreau (1992-93) and Devin Setoguchi (2007-08) for the third longest by a Sharks rookie. The only players with a longer run for San Jose are Jeff Friesen (5 GP in 1994-95) and Melker Karlsson (5 GP in 2014-15).

* Connor McDavid became the fourth player in NHL history to record five consecutive 70-assist seasons. He joined Wayne Gretzky (13), Bobby Orr (6) and Adam Oates (5).
* Connor McDavid recorded his second consecutive three-assist game to improve his season totals to 26-70—96. McDavid would become the 13th player in NHL history to record five consecutive 100-point seasons should he find the score sheet four more times over Edmonton’s final three games.
* Connor McDavid (0-4—4) recorded the 11th four-assist game of his career and surpassed Jari Kurri (10) for the second most in Oilers history behind only Wayne Gretzky (51).

Post-game
* The Oilers clinched their sixth straight berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Edmonton will take another crack at hoisting the Stanley Cup after making it to the Final last season. The Oilers look to become the seventh team in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to reach the Stanley Cup Final the year after losing in the championship series, following the 2024 Panthers, 2009 Penguins, 1984 Oilers, 1978 Bruins, 1970 Blues and 1969 Blues. Florida, Pittsburgh and Edmonton all went on to win the Stanley Cup.

* The Oilers have 41 all-time series wins, which are the second most by a non-Original Six franchise behind only the Flyers (44). Their series win percentage is also the second highest in NHL history at .661, behind only the Golden Knights (.688).

Oilers Clinch Sixth Straight Berth into Stanley Cup Playoffs

Clinched: #NHLStats for Teams in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs

***

Pre-game

* Matt Boldy can become the first Wild player to record three points in three consecutive games. Boldy can also become the fifth player this season to achieve the feat, following David Pastrnak (3 GP from April 5-8 & Jan. 11-18), Nikita Kucherov (3 GP from March 25-29), Jesper Bratt (3 GP from March 11-15) and Roope Hintz (3 GP from Feb. 28 – March 4).

* Nazem Kadri (19-14—33 in 38 GP) can become the fourth different Flames player in the past decade with 20 home goals in a single season, following Matthew Tkachuk (26 in 2018-19 & 25 in 2021-22), Johnny Gaudreau (23 in 2015-16 & 21 in 2021-22) and Elias Lindholm (20 in 2021-22).

In-game
* Mikael Backlund (213-346—559) opened the scoring for Calgary. Backlund surpassed Sean Monahan (212) and moved into a tie with Al MacInnis (213) for the seventh-most goals in Flames history.

* Nazem Kadri scored his 32nd goal of the season to match his career high (32 in 2017-18 & 2016-17). Calgary has a 3-0 lead over Minnesota – one of the teams they’re battling with for a Wild Card spot – and can move within three points of the Wild and Blues while owning a game in hand.

Post-game 
* Calgary (38-27-14, 90 points) moved within three points of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with three games remaining. The Flames can become the second team in NHL history to overcome a five-point deficit within their final four games to qualify for the playoffs. The only team to do so is the 1958-59 Maple Leafs.

COURTESY NHL PUBLIC RELATIONS