The Los Angeles Kings are in the fight of their life trying to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs this season, which would mark the fifth consecutive post-season appearance, beginning in 2021-22.

But in a way, the playoffs have already begun for the Kings, and the rest of those post-season hopefuls in the Western Conference.

One of those teams is the Nashville Predators, Los Angeles' opponent on Thursday and Monday. These will be two of the Kings' most important outings all season long. In addition to those two affairs with the Predators, the Kings will also meet the Seattle Kraken on April 13, the third-last game of their regular season.

Los Angeles has just one point more than Nashville going into their Thursday game, and has three points more than Seattle, but the Kraken have a game in hand on the Kings.

They also need to be wary of Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks, as they've won their last three games. Now, the Sharks are one point behind the Kings with a game in hand on them.

While every game for Los Angeles at this point is critical, those three highlighted contests can extend or end the Kings' season, the principle of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Kings' Kopitar Proving He's Not Hanging Up His Skates Without An Honest FightLos Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar is retiring at the end of this year. But with the way he's been playing lately, he's not interested in letting his career end without a fight to get into the post-season.

The Kings' 2-1 overtime victory against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday was massive, and it pushed them back into a playoff position. It's the first time they've been in a wild-card position since March 20. 

The game against the Blues was tight-checking and impersonated a playoff atmosphere in some ways. Each shift was taken with caution, but with a high-level of intensity and attention to detail. That's why it required another extra frame, and was 0-0 for most of the evening.

There's a good chance that a handful of the remaining games in the Kings' regular season will wind up that way. Especially because of Los Angeles' final eight outings, five of which are against Pacific Division opponents.

To add to the drama of this final stretch and the implications of this push for the post-season, the Kings have one of the worst tiebreakers in the NHL. With only 19 regulation wins this season, they'll have to beat opponents in the standings by points outright. They have the second-fewest regulation wins in the league, only the last-place Vancouver Canucks have fewer.

Despite being on track for their worst season since the 2020-21 campaign, the Kings will need to bring their playoff-style game immediately in hopes of getting into the post-season.

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Flyers lose a tough one and second straight in regulation originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Tyson Foerster’s return and Porter Martone’s promising effort weren’t enough to prevent the Flyers from suffering a costly loss Thursday night.

Rick Tocchet’s club fell to the Red Wings, 4-2, at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Foerster scored in his first game back from an arm injury that required surgery and cost him four months. The goal tied the game at 1-1 just 31 seconds into the middle stanza.

But Detroit regained its lead with 1:31 minutes left in the second period.

Travis Konecny put up the Flyers’ other goal. It came in the final stanza and was assisted by Martone, who recorded his first career NHL point.

However, the Red Wings had another response, this one just 15 seconds after Konecny trimmed the Flyers’ deficit to 3-2.

“They work their butt off, but there are times when you’ve just got to sense danger,” Tocchet said of his team. “There were a couple of goals where we need a guy to reload behind and stay above. I don’t want to say we’re cheating for offense, but we’re on the wrong side.”

The Flyers (37-26-12) lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time since late January. They were unable to bounce back from a 6-4 loss Tuesday night to the Capitals, a game in which the early physicality caught them off guard and mistakes burned them.

“You should learn from last game,” Tocchet said Thursday at morning skate. “We talk about learning lessons. Let’s learn from it in a high-pressured game.”

The Flyers dropped to two points back of Detroit, a team that’s also trying to chase down the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. The Flyers beat the Red Wings (40-27-8) five days ago at Little Caesars Arena and head back there in a week for one more meeting.

• Tocchet’s club entered the day two points back of the Blue Jackets for the second wild-card position.

Columbus lost to the Hurricanes, 5-1, Thursday night.

The Senators, though, beat the Sabres, 4-1, to take over the second wild-card spot via tiebreakers. Ottawa is two points up on the Flyers.

So the Senators, Red Wings and Blue Jackets all have 88 points. The Flyers have 86 with seven games to go.

The Flyers had a chance to gain ground on the Islanders, who were idle Thursday night and hold third place in the Metropolitan Division. But the Flyers remained three points back of New York.

• Foerster did not look like a player that was returning from a four-month absence.

He jumped onto the Flyers’ top line and was highly impactful. He was fired up after collecting a puck in the slot and flinging it home for his goal. Owen Tippett and Trevor Zegras gave him a big hug when they all returned to the bench. The Flyers absolutely missed the release and accuracy of Foerster’s shot.

“He’s one of the best goal scorers I’ve ever played with,” Konecny said after morning skate. “He’s one of those guys that has the knack to be around the net, he has got a great shot. Key piece to the team.”

Martone played his first home game with the Flyers and continued to fit in well.

“I’m trying to come in here and just give a jolt to this group and help them try to win games,” Martone said. “It’s unfortunate we haven’t gotten one yet, but it’s a big response for us tomorrow.”

The 19-year-old winger has a bona fide shot mentality, he plays around the net and there’s an edge to his game. He finished with nine shots in 18:15 minutes.

“He knows his role, he knows what he’s good at, he sticks to it and he’s in good areas,” Konecny said. “He’s only going to get better.”

• Samuel Ersson suffered his first loss since the Olympic break, dropping to 5-1-0. He had 15 saves on 19 shots.

The 26-year-old was rock solid through two periods, but he wasn’t at his best in the third period.

Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat beat him in the final stanza. The timing of DeBrincat’s 4-2 goal was killer. The shot from DeBrincat ricocheted off the stick of Rasmus Ristolainen.

Kane, a future Hall of Famer, made it 3-1. It was a 2-on-1 rush for Detroit.

In the first period, Tocchet became livid with the officials. The Flyers were whistled for two ticky-tacky penalties, the second of which led to the Red Wings’ first goal.

The Flyers had one power play on the night.

On Detroit’s go-ahead goal in the second period, Lucas Raymond was left alone right around the goal line. Ersson had no chance to stop it.

Ersson came into the game with a 1.46 goals-against average and .933 save percentage since the Olympic break. But the third and fourth goals Thursday night were ill-timed.

“I’ve got to come up with a couple of more saves to keep us in it,” Ersson said. “It sucks, but reload here and get ready for tomorrow.”

Red Wings netminder John Gibson stopped 32 of the Flyers’ 34 shots. The Flyers had 21 missed shots.

“We’re missing the net way too much, it has become a problem this year,” Tocchet said. “I love the effort tonight. … We had our chances, we just didn’t put them in.”

• The Flyers are right back at it Friday when they visit the Islanders (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP+).

“Every game’s a must-win at this point, so that’s how we’re looking at it tomorrow,” Konecny said. “Another good team we’re playing against, but this locker room in here, we all believe that we’re better than any opponent we’re playing right now. Tough to get the loss, but we have all the confidence in the world that we’re going to keep playing good.”

The Pittsburgh Penguins have made some changes to their roster ahead of their Thursday night contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Penguins have announced that they have assigned forwards Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. 

Koivunen has played in 36 games this season with Pittsburgh, where he has recorded two goals, five assists, and seven points. This is after he had seven assists in his first eight career NHL games with Pittsburgh this past season. 

Down in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Koivunen has 11 goals, 22 assists, 33 points, and a plus-7 rating in 29 games. 

As for McGroarty, the 6-foot-1 forward has two goals, three assists, five points, and 23 hits in 21 games this season with Pittsburgh. The 2022 first-round pick has also played in 25 games this season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he has posted seven goals, 19 assists, 25 points, and a plus-4 rating.

Welcome to Bruins vs. Florida Men: Part 1!

The B’s are in Sunrise tonight to face a Florida Panthers team just playing out the string for the first time in several years.

On the opposite side, the Bruins will look to keep their positive momentum going against a team that has been a thorn in their side for quite a while.

After tonight, the Bruins will face Tampa on Saturday evening, followed by a Sunday afternoon game against the Flyers in Philly.

Relevant scoreboard watching tonight:

• Buffalo vs. Ottawa
• Montreal vs. New York Rangers
• Detroit vs. Philadelphia
• Carolina vs. Columbus
• Washington vs. New Jersey

The B’s have put themselves in a position where if they take care of their own business, they don’t need any scoreboard help, but it still merits watching.

Bruins! Panthers! IN FLORIDA!

Discuss.

Follow Michael Whitaker On X

Three of the past four games for the Detroit Red Wings have yielded discouraging results, the most recent being a 5-1 setback at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who led 3-0 at the end of 20 minutes on Tuesday evening. 

Tonight, they have a chance to avenge their setback from Saturday evening against the Philadelphia Flyers, who raced out to a 4-0 lead at Little Caesars Arena and later withstood a late third-period rallying attempt by Detroit. 

Head coach Todd McLellan, who has repeatedly emphasized the need for the club's leadership to step up at such a critical time in the season, once again echoed those sentiments following Thursday morning's skate in Philadelphia. 

“We, like any other team, went to Training Camp and put the foundation into place, and worked on our game all the way through to get to this spot in the season,” said McLellan. “What we have in front of us is an opportunity, and it's up to us to seize it or give it it away.

“To get that done, you have to have good leadership. Now, when I talk like that, I'm not just talking about the players; it comes from me too, and the rest of the coaching staff and everybody in the organization." 

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

McLellan emphasized that the leadership needs to come from all areas of the room, not just the most high-profile players and stat leaders. 

“Once the equipment is put on and the game starts, we need guys to step up," he said. "Leadership shows up in a lot of different ways; it's not just the vocal guy in the locker room, although that's important. It's not just the best player scoring goals, it's the shot blocking, the taking a hit to make the play (guy), that's all forms of leadership. The teams that get through have really good leadership at this time of the season.”

Going into their game against the Penguins, the Red Wings emphasized playing with greater urgency and desperation while avoiding the kind of poor decision-making that can come with it.

"We're Sticking Together": Red Wings Remain Optimistic Despite Recent Slide Now that the month of March is over, the Detroit Red Wings have eight games remaining on their schedule and insist that they're sticking together.

However, they found themselves not only trailing by three goals after the first period but also being outshot, 14-5.

In addition to reiterating the need for the club's leadership to step up its game in the remaining eight games, McLellan also noted that the team’s structure should already be ingrained by this stage of the season. 

“If playing with urgency negatively affects our structure and what we do, then we’ve probably done a poor job of putting it in play,” McLellan continued. “That’s why you go through all of these exhibition games, you go through the first 60, 70 games, because you rely on your structure when it counts. And the urgency should already be there in your game, and then you take your chances."

"There’s not much that’s going to change between now and the end of the year for many teams.”

The Red Wings battle the Flyers at 7:00 p.m. ET, and a much better start than what they've shown in three of their last four outings is a necessity. 

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The Hockey News' main site has revealed the top 10 players from their top 100 NHL-affiliated prospects rankings, and a Chicago Blackhawks first-round pick was given the No. 1 spot: Anton Frondell.

Frondell being named the best NHL-affiliated prospect by THN is not difficult to understand. The 18-year-old forward has the potential to blossom into a star forward at the NHL level. It is precisely why the Blackhawks selected him with the third-overall pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. 

Frondell had a strong season with Djurgardens IF in 2025-26, as he recorded 20 goals, 28 points, and a plus-15 rating in 43 games. With numbers like these, Frondell certainly showed off his offensive upside in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) this campaign. 

Now, since joining the Blackhawks, he is only continuing to shine. In his first five NHL games with the Blackhawks, Frondell has recorded one goal, four assists, and five points. This included him recording two assists against the New Jersey Devils on May 29 and scoring his first NHL goal in his most recent appearance against the Winnipeg Jets on March 31. 

With this, there is a lot to like about Frondell's game, and it is hard not to be excited about his future with Chicago. 

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Connor McDavid is chasing down another Art Ross and needs to keep stacking multi-point performances down the stretch.

My Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks predictions expect him to do just that tonight.

Find out more in my free NHL picks for Thursday, April 2.

Blackhawks vs Oilers prediction

Blackhawks vs Oilers best bet: Connor McDavid Over 1.5 points (-130)

The Edmonton Oilers are on a four-game win streak, thanks to Connor McDavid's nine points over that stretch — which includes three multi-point games.

What's even more impressive is none have come on the power play, meaning McDavid is doing his damage 5-on-5. Considering the Chicago Blackhawks have a -38 goal differential in those scenarios, McDavid can still get points even if their lethal power play is quiet. 

Chicago has given up five goals per game in their last four— and now it has to contain a man who has averaged 1.8 points per game over the last 10 head-to-head meetings.

Blackhawks vs Oilers same-game parlay

An Evan Bouchard assist is an SGP staple at this point. The Oilers blue liner leads all NHL defensemen with 86 points, 66 of them being assists. He’s also registered at least one assist in 14 of his last 18 games.

Getting 24:41 minutes of ice time on the fifth-best offensive team in the league has its perks, especially when over half of that time is spent skating with the best player in the world.

For my final leg, I’ll take the Oilers team total Over 3.5, a number they eclipsed in seven of their 14 March games. Now they run into a Blackhawks squad bleeding goals.

Blackhawks vs Oilers SGP

• Connor McDavid Over 1.5 points
• Evan Bouchard Over 0.5 assists
• Oilers team total Over 3.5

Blackhawks vs Oilers odds

• Moneyline: Blackhawks +170 | Oilers -210
• Puck Line: Blackhawks +1.5 (-135) | Oilers -1.5 (+115)
• Over/Under: Over 6.5 (-120) | Under 6.5 (+100)

Blackhawks vs Oilers trend

The Oilers have covered the first-period puck line six of eight. Find more NHL betting trends for Blackhawks vs. Oilers.

How to watch Blackhawks vs Oilers

Blackhawks vs Oilers latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Chicago Blackhawks were defeated in overtime on Tuesday night at the United Center by the Winnipeg Jets. In their one home game that split two separate multi-game road trips, they played better, but still failed to skate off with a win. 

Now, they have another huge test back on the road. They will face the Edmonton Oilers in Alberta in a game that has playoff implications. The Oilers, who have won four straight games, are just two points behind the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific Division. 

Scouting Edmonton 

The Edmonton Oilers are surging. It's been an up-and-down year as the back-to-back defending Western Conference champions, but they are figuring it out at the perfect time. 

Everything to do with the Oilers starts and ends with Connor McDavid, the best player on the planet. McDavid currently leads the National Hockey League with 125 points and is starting to heat up to another level with his overall game. 

An issue for the Oilers is that Leon Draisaitl is out for the rest of the regular season. He hasn't played since March 15th, and he is still 4th in points (97), which quantifies just how dominant he is on his own.

McDavid and Draisaitl don't play together at even strength, so you know that they give the Oilers a magnificent two-headed monster when both are healthy. The Blackhawks won't have to deal with it in this game. 

Podkolzin - McDavid - Savoie

Hyman - Nugent Hopkins - Roslovic

Henrique - Dickinson - Kapanen

Frederic - Samanski - Lazar

Ekholm - Bouchard

Nurse - Murphy

Walman - Emberson

Ingram

Jarry

With Draisaitl out, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has resumed playing center. He normally plays wing now when Draisaitl is in the lineup, but his absence has created the need for him to play his natural position, as he did full-time back in the day. 

Jason Dickinson was traded from Chicago to Edmonton to be the shutdown center that they've been lacking. This will be his first game against the Blackhawks since the trade. Dickinson admitted that he has given some tips to his new teammates on how to play against Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks' penalty kill. 

This is also Connor Murphy's first game against the Blackhawks in close to a decade. He claims nobody asked him for advice, and then joked that they probably saw him fail to stop Bedard during practice when they were teammates. 

Evan Bouchard is the defenseman for everyone on the ice to always be wary of. He brings one of the hardest shots in the league, along with an incredible ability to generate offense for those around him. His 86 points lead all NHL defensemen.  

Whether it's Tristan Jarry or Connor Ingram in the net is essentially a moot point for the Blackhawks. They are both middle-of-the-pack goaltenders who rely on the team in front of them to maintain their structure and feed on offense from their top guys. 

Last Sunday, the Blackhawks let Jack Hughes take over the hockey game for the New Jersey Devils. If they want to have any chance of even slightly slowing down Connor McDavid, they must be much better defensively on the West Coast than they were on the East Coast. 

Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago

The Blackhawks will have Sacha Boisvert back in the lineup on Thursday after a healthy scratch on Tuesday. Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, and Frank Nazar playing in front of him down the middle gives the Blackhawks a great young center core. The wings on those lines have been pretty set for a while. 

Greene-Bedard-Lardis

Bertuzzi-Frondell-Mikheyev

Donato-Nazar-Burakovsky

Teräväinen-Boisvert-Slaggert

Vlasic-Crevier

Kaiser-Rinzel

Korchinski-Del Mastro

Knight

Soderblom

The Chicago Blackhawks appear to be going with Spencer Knight again against the Oilers. Arvid Soderblom spent a lot of time on the ice during Chicago's Thursday optional morning skate, a sure sign of backing up. 

Outside of Boisvert coming in for Slaggert, they have been rolling with this lineup ever since Frondell moved to be a center. Defending well has been a problem for this makeup on the road, but scoring goals can come in bunches for this young group if they're all clicking at the same time. 

How To Watch

The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found on CHSN locally. Nationally, it is available to stream on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 8:00 PM CT. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay up to date on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will conclude their season series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night in Tampa.

The two teams have split the previous two meetings, with the Penguins winning 4-3 on Dec. 4 and the Lightning winning 2-1 in a shootout on Jan. 13. Both games have been fantastic to watch, and Thursday's game should be no different. 

The Penguins are 8-4-2 in their last 14 games against the Lightning, but they might be getting an upset Bolts team since they lost 4-1 to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. The Bolts are also trying to clinch a playoff spot on Thursday.

Nikita Kucherov was named the NHL's First Star of March after finishing the month with nine goals and 26 points in 14 games. He compiled six multi-point games in March and has 40 goals and 121 points in 68 games this season. He has a great shot of winning the Hart Trophy this year. 

Former Penguin Jake Guentzel has fit like a glove with the Bolts, compiling 36 goals and 81 points in 74 games this year. He plays a lot with Kucherov and Brayden Point, the latter of whom has 17 goals and 46 points in 56 games. 

Darren Raddysh has also been great for the Lightning this season, racking up 20 goals and 66 points in 67 games as a defenseman. He's set to be a free agent after this season and will get a huge pay raise from the $975,000 salary he earned this year. 

Don't forget about Anthony Cirelli, either. The two-way center has 20 goals and 49 points in 66 games.

Andrei Vasilevskiy will start in goal for the Lightning, and he has been his usual self this year with 22.2 goals saved above expected and a .912 save percentage.

The Penguins will get Bryan Rust back from his brief one-game absence, meaning Avery Hayes will come out of the lineup.

Here's a look at the projected lines and pairings:

Forwards

Chinakhov-Crosby-Rust

Novak-Kindel-Malkin

Mantha-Rakell-Brazeau

Soderblom-Dewar-Acciari

Defensive pairs

Wotherspoon-Karlsson

Girard-Letang

Shea-Clifton

Stuart Skinner will start in goal for the Penguins after playing great against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'

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The Hockey News' main site has revealed the top 10 players from their top 100 NHL-affiliated prospects rankings. Without much surprise, Montreal Canadiens top prospect Michael Hage has made the cut. 

Hage was given the No. 9 spot by THN, and it makes sense when noting that he has all the tools to become a high-impact player at the NHL level. 

Hage has had a spectacular sophomore season with the University of Michigan, as he has recorded 13 goals, 38 assists, 51 points, and a plus-14 rating in 38 games. This is after the 2024 first-round pick had 13 goals, 21 assists, and 34 points in 33 games with the school during his freshman year. 

With how Hage has performed at the collegiate level, it is hard not to be excited about his future with the Habs. His high skill and potential are exactly why the Canadiens selected him 21st overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, and it will be fascinating to see how he continues to grow his game from here. 

The Nashville Predators (34-31-9) is back in action tonight against the Los Angeles Kings (30-26-18) for the first of five games on the road and the first of two meetings between the two playoff hopefuls.

With a win last night, the Kings passed the Predators for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. The San Jose Sharks also won last night, which tied them with the Predators at 77 points.

Tonight's game and this road trip in general will be a playoff-defining moment. It starts against the Kings and continues against the Sharks on Saturday and back to face the Kings on the front end of a back-to-back that ends with the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.

Nashville will return home next Saturday for three games at home to end the season in hopes of being in a playoff spot.

“This is playoff hockey at springtime. You control your own destiny," Predators' head coach Andrew Brunette said Tuesday. "We’re in a really good spot. Nobody expected us to be here. We put in a lot of work to get here; we should feel good about ourselves, and we should have a lot of energy. I mean, this is why you play.”

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.

Other Predators News

Could Bruce Cassidy Be A Good Fit As Nashville Predators Head Coach? A Stanley Cup winner and Jack Adams recipient suddenly available. Could this championship coach revitalize the struggling Predators?

- Ryan Johansen Reflects On His Time With Predators Upon Retirement.

- Peter Chiarelli Could Be A Candiate For Predators GM Position.

- Predators' Prospects Ryker Lee, Jack Ivankovic Advance To NCAA Frozen Four.

An NHL rarity could happen on Thursday, April 2: The Buffalo Sabres could clinch a playoff berth and end a league-record 14-year postseason drought.

All the Sabres need to do is beat the Ottawa Senators and they’re in the playoffs for the first time since 2010-11, although there are other ways to clinch.

Buffalo was in last place in the Eastern Conference on Dec. 8 before winning three in a row to get back to .500.

They then fired general manager Kevyn Adams on Dec. 15 and promoted Jarmo Kekalainen to the position.

The team took off, extending their winning streak to 10 games. They have gone 32-7-4 under the former Columbus Blue Jackets GM heading into Thursday’s game.

The Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning and Minnesota Wild also are in position to clinch on Thursday. In the late game, the Nashville Predators visit the Los Angeles Kings, who passed them on Wednesday and moved into the second wild-card spot in the West.

Here's what to know about the NHL standings, including the latest playoff bracket, who can clinch today and the tiebreaker procedures for the 2025-26 season:

Who's in the 2026 NHL playoffs?

Eastern Conference: None

Western Conference: Colorado, Dallas

Who can clinch today?

• The Buffalo Sabres will clinch a playoff berth if they beat the Ottawa Senators. They'd also clinch if they get one point and the Red Wings and Blue Jackets lose.
• The Carolina Hurricanes will clinch if they beat the Blue Jackets. They'd also clinch if they get one point and the Red Wings lose, plus the Senators lose in regulation.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning will clinch if they beat the Penguins in regulation and all of the following occur: the Senators lose and the Red Wings and Blue Jackets lose in regulation. They would also clinch if they beat the Penguins in overtime or a shootout and the Red Wings, Blue Jackets and Senators lose in regulation.
• The Minnesota Wild will clinch if they get at least one point against the Canucks. They would also clinch if they get one point and 1) the Sharks lose and the Oilers and Golden Knights lose in regulation or 2) the Sharks lose in regulation or 3) the Kings fail to win in regulation.

NHL games today (Thursday, April 2)

All times p.m. Eastern

• Buffalo at Ottawa, 7
• Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, 7
• Boston at Florida, 7
• Montreal at N.Y. Rangers, 7
• Detroit at Philadelphia, 7
• Columbus at Carolina, 7
• Washington at New Jersey, 7:30
• Winnipeg at Dallas, 8
• Vancouver at Minnesota, 8
• Chicago at Edmonton, 9
• Calgary at Vegas, 10
• Toronto at San Jose, 10
• Utah at Seattle, 10
• Nashville at Los Angeles, 10:30

NHL Eastern Conference standings 2025-26

After April 1 games. x-clinched playoff spot. z-eliminated

Metropolitan Division

• Carolina Hurricanes (100)
• Pittsburgh Penguins (92)
• New York Islanders (89)

Atlantic Division

• Buffalo Sabres (100)
• Tampa Bay Lightning (98)
• Montreal Canadiens (96)

Wild card

• Boston Bruins (94)
• Columbus Blue Jackets (88)

Sitting out of playoff position: Ottawa Senators (86), Detroit Red Wings (86), Philadelphia Flyers (86), Washington Capitals (85), New Jersey Devils (78), Toronto Maple Leafs (77), Florida Panthers (75), z-New York Rangers (71)

NHL Western Conference standings 2025-26

After April 1 games. x-clinched playoff spot. z-eliminated

Central Division

• x-Colorado Avalanche (108)
• x-Dallas Stars (100)
• Minnesota Wild (94)

Pacific Division

• Anaheim Ducks (87)
• Edmonton Oilers (85)
• Vegas Golden Knights (82)

Wild card

• Utah Mammoth (82)
• Los Angeles Kings (78)

Sitting out of playoff position: San Jose Sharks (77), Nashville Predators (77), Winnipeg Jets (76), Seattle Kraken (75), St. Louis Blues (74), Calgary Flames (70), Chicago Blackhawks (68), z-Vancouver Canucks (52)

NHL Eastern Conference playoff bracket

Here is how the Eastern Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended on April 1:

• Carolina (M1) vs. Columbus (WC2)
• Pittsburgh (M2) vs. N.Y. Islanders (M3)
• Buffalo (A1) vs. Boston (WC1)
• Tampa Bay (A2) vs. Montreal (A3)

The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second in the second round. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: M - Metropolitan Division. A - Atlantic Division. WC - wild card

NHL Western Conference playoff bracket

Here is how the Western Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended on March 31.

• Colorado (C1) vs. Los Angeles (WC2)
• Dallas (C2) vs. Minnesota (C3)
• Anaheim (P1) vs. Utah (WC1)
• Edmonton (P2) vs. Vegas (P3)

The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second in the second round. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: C - Central Division P - Pacific Division. WC - wild card

More: Vegas Golden Knights fire coach Bruce Cassidy, hire John Tortorella

NHL tiebreakers: What is the first tiebreaker in NHL standings?

If two teams are tied in points at the end of the regular season, here are the tiebreakers:

1. Regulation wins
2. Regulation and overtime wins (ROW)
3. Total wins
4. Most points earned in head-to-head competition: If teams had an uneven number of meetings, the first game played in the city that has the extra game is excluded.
5. Goal differential
6. Total goals

When does the NHL regular season end?

The NHL regular season is scheduled to end on Thursday, April 16, with six games.

When do the NHL playoffs start?

The NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 18.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL playoff bracket, latest standings and clinching scenarios

If you were glancing at the Senators' schedule in early December, you might have looked ahead to Ottawa's April 2 home game against the Buffalo Sabres as a highly winnable matchup in the final battles for playoff positioning.

At the time, the Sabres were dead last in the East with a record of 11-14-4, nicely on track to miss the playoffs for an NHL record 15th straight season. But since then, they've pulled off one of the greatest in-season turnarounds in NHL history.

Since Dec. 8, they've gone 35-7-4; they lead the Atlantic Division with 100 points, and with a win on Thursday night against a banged-up Senators team, they will clinch their first playoff spot since 2011.

As the Senators open a five-game homestand that will make or break their season, they're in a three-way tie with Detroit and Philadelphia, and all of them are two points behind Columbus (WC2) with a game in hand. With just eight games left in the season, any loss now will probably be hard to come back from.

The Sens have an outrageous number of defencemen on the injury list, including their best two, Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot.

It was hoped that Carter Yakemchuk, their top prospect, might be able to pick up some of that slack after he was called up earlier than the team wanted. But he suffered an apparent concussion on Tuesday in Florida, so he's out as well, along with Nick Jensen and Dennis Gilbert.

Ottawa native Cam Crotty was called up on Thursday morning to replace Yakemchuk and make his Senators debut. The 26-year-old brings some good size at 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, but he's only played two NHL games in his career, one with Arizona and one with Minnesota. He has 10 points in 49 games with Belleville this season.

The Senators are also dealing with more team drama at the worst possible time. Linus Ullmark was shelled for five goals in the first period on Tuesday night. In the Senators' previous game in Tampa, where James Reimer was a surprise starter, head coach Travis Green publicly announced that the reason Ullmark wasn't available to start was that he needed rest.

Ullmark will start on Thursday, which is Pride Night at Canadian Tire Centre. Had they gone with Reimer, and there's certainly a decent argument that he should be the starter, it might have made things a little awkward. Three years ago in San Jose, Reimer was criticized for skipping warmups and not wearing a special jersey to commemorate the Sharks' Pride Night.

Based on the morning skate combos, Fabian Zetterlund, who started the Florida game on the fourth line, will skate on the top line with Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson.

Zetterlund has taken the spot of Claude Giroux as Travis Green tries to get both players going. Giroux is on a five-game pointless drought, while Zetterlund's is at six. Giroux moves down to the third line and bumps Nick Cousins to the fourth, even though Cousins had more points in March than either Giroux or Zetterlund.

Senators Projected Lineup

Zetterlund-Stützle-Batherson
Tkachuk-Cozens-Greig
Giroux-Pinto-Amadio
Foegele-Eller-Cousins

Kleven-Zub
Matinpalo-Spence
Thomson-Crotty

Ullmark
Reimer

For Buffalo, the popular Josh Norris returns in enemy colours. Norris had two assists in the win over the Islanders on Tuesday, ending a cold spell that saw him record just two points in his previous 11 games.

Sabres projected lineup

Krebs-Thompson-Tuch
Zucker-McLeod-Quinn
Benson-Norris-Doan
Greenway-Dunne-Malenstyn

Samuelsson-Dahlin
Byram-Power
Stanley-Metsa

Luukkonen
Lyon

Game time is 7 p.m. (RDS2, TSN5)

Steve Warne
The Hockey News

EAST MEADOW, NY -- Following an off day after back-to-back losses, the New York Islanders were back on the practice ice in preparation for their Friday night showdown against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Friday marks the first leg of the Islanders' second-to-last back-to-back of the season.

They travel to Raleigh to take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. 

However, they will go to battle against Philadelphia without defenseman Tony DeAngelo and forward Simon Holmstrom.

DeAngelo, who sustained a lower-body injury while backchecking against the Chicago Blackhawks in a 4-3 loss on March 24, has not skated. His timeline was 1-2 weeks. 

Holmstrom, who suffered an upper-body injury early in their 8-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday but stayed in the game, was unavailable on Tuesday in their 4-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. 

Head coach Patrick Roy had no further updates on either of his injured players, with their status remaining the same. 

He did say that forward Anders Lee, who missed practice due to maintenance, will be good to go. 

Here were the lines with Maxim Shabanov skating in Lee's spot:

#Isles practice lines are brought to you by @bullsmithsli (No Lee, Holmstrom, or DeAngelo):

Shabanov (fill in)-Horvat-Heineman
Duclair-Schenn-Barzal
Palat-Pageau-Ritchie
MacLean-Cizikas-Gatcomb

Schaefer-Pulock
Pelech-Soucy
Mayfield-Boqvist:
E: Romanov-George

Sorokin
Rittich

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) April 2, 2026

The Hockey News asked head coach Patrick Roy about moving Calum Ritchie off of Brayden Schenn's line and sticking with Anthony Duclair in that spot for a second straight game. 

Asked Roy about separating Ritchie from Schenn line & playing Duclair there instead:

“It's just the fact that Barzy & Duke played well together earlier this season, scored some goals. I think Cal playing with Pager and Ondrej, I feel like that's a good fit for them.”#Isles

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) April 2, 2026

Ilya Sorokin will start against the Flyers, which will mark his fifth straight start and 10th straight appearance. Roy wasn't willing to discuss 

He is 12-3-3 with a 1.53 GAA and a .946 SV% in his career against Philadelphia.

Puck drop between the Islanders and Flyers comes your way at 7 PM ET.