Category: Ice Hockey

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues knew their fate during their 5-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

They followed through and won the hockey game despite knowing their playoff fate had been sealed when they were eliminated for the third time in four seasons.

Now with three games remaining in the regular season, including Monday’s 7 p.m. game against the Minnesota Wild (45-23-12), who will be going to the playoffs, what’s left for them to accomplish?

Plenty, according to coach Jim Montgomery, who along with his coaching staff and management, will have a keen eye on who approaches these so-called meaningless, play-out-the-string games and how they take them.

“We’re just trying to see who’s going to compete in these games, because there’s a lot of games in the regular season that are like this that we were playing three in four and you need a gut-check and who’s going to have a gut check,” Montgomery said. “Today, that’s about personal pride, how you want to represent yourself and the St. Louis Blues organization. I said this after the first period in Chicago, you only have so many games in your career, and do you want to look back and you want to lay an egg in one of these games where you could have been good for your team? It’s not going to change. We all understand human nature, but the competitive fire that has been in you since you were an eight-year-old to play in this game, it’s either there at eight years old and it’s there when you’re 28. If it’s not there when you’re eight years old, it’s not going to be there when you’re 28.”

That means for those tank-a-thon fans that want to see the Blues (34-33-12) lose out to get the best possible draft lottery result, don’t count on losing in so-called on-purpose fashion.

When the Blues were as much as 14 points out of a wild card in the Western Conference at one point, and 12 back coming out of the Olympic break, all the talk was about tanking and getting as high a lottery pick as possible.

But they have gone 14-5-3 since and got to as close as three points of reaching the goal of playoffs. It was a good run, yes, but in the end, it all meant nothing because of the results that were troublesome earlier in the season.

But Montgomery has learned at least something out of this recent push.

“That there’s some young guys emerging that possibly can be really good players in this team in the future,” he said.

But there’s also that analogy of needing to figure out an 82-game season, and not a good stretch of the the season, like the last 22 games.

“I try not to get too excited about playing really well when you’re so far out of it,” Montgomery said. “There’s so many teams … you look at the NFL, I looked at one year, the Redskins were 0-8 and they finished 8-8 … this team’s set to go to the Super Bowl; they were 4-12 the next year. There’s a lot of people that make a livelihood of being really good when your team’s basically eliminated. We need to find more players that want to be really good right from the start of the year, and that’s something as an organization that we have to instill and something that we’re going to try and make sure we do from the start of the year next year.

“Sorry to not give you a great answer for your question, but it annoys me at times. Not the question, the performance.”

So with games against the Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday and Utah Mammoth to close out 2025-26 on Thursday, what will be evaluated?

“You see the guys that keep competing,” Montgomery said. ‘Who’s cheating for offense, who’s trying not to play the right way for the team but they do play the right way when it’s convenient for them. The guys that play the right way all the time, and that’s something that we’ve been harping on, something we talked about for the last 40 minutes in Chicago. We want to play the right way. In the end at the end of your career, you want to know that you do the reunion where you played with your teammates and they know that you gave them everything they had, that they can rely on you. That’s the sign of a great teammate.”

- - -

The Blues will play a version of the Wild that resembles more of a preseason lineup than the regular-season version.

Minnesota will not dress, among their top players, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman, Quinn Hughes and Kirill Kaprizov, due to rest purposes.

Minnesota is locked in as the No. 3 seed in the Central Division and will play No. 2 Dallas Stars in the first round.

“I think it’s two years in a row that it’s going to be in the Central Division that a Stanley Cup contender is going to be eliminated in the first round,” Montgomery said. “Do I think that’s fair? Life isn’t fair, that’s the rules, so they’ve got to play by them. The person that’s going to win the Stanley Cup has to go through the best teams at some point. Just the way it is.

“… They’ve used a different lineup the last three games, I think, since everybody’s been locked into their position. They’re heavy on the third and fourth lines, they’re skilled and talented and fiercely competitive on the first two. They’re deep on defense. This is a really good hockey team that is built for the playoffs, in my opinion.”

- - -

The Blues will make a couple changes to their forward lines, including inserting Jonathan Drouin and Jack Finley in against the wild, in place of Jonatan Berggren and Oskar Sundqvist.

Joel Hofer will start in goal, meaning Jordan Binnington will get the home finale -- and perhaps his final game in front of the home crowd (?) on Tuesday against the Penguins.

- - -

Blues Projected Lineup:

Dylan Holloway-Robert Thomas-Jimmy Snuggerud

Pavel Buchnevich-Pius Suter-Jordan Kyrou

Jake Neighbours-Dalibor Dvorsky-Jonathan Drouin

Alexey Toropchenko-Jack Finley-Otto Stenberg

Philip Broberg-Logan Mailloux

Theo Lindstein-Colton Parayko

Cam Fowler-Tyler Tucker

Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Justin Holl, Jonatan Berggren, Matthew Kessel, Oskar Sundqvist and Nathan Walker. The Blues report no injuries.

- - -

Wild Projected Lineup:

Yakov Trenin-Danila Yurov-Vladimir Tarasenko

Marcus Johansson-Hunter Haight-Bobby Brink

Nico Sturm-Michael McCarron-Nick Foligno

Robby Fabbri-Ben Jones-Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Jonas Brodin-Jared Spurgeon

Jake Middleton-Brock Faber

Daemon Hunt-Matt Kiersted

Filip Gustavsson will start in goal; Jesper Wallstedt will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Mats Zuccarello, Joel Eriksson Ek, Zach Bogosian, Jeff Petry, Viking Gustafsson-Nyberg, Matt Boldy, Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman, Quinn Hughes, and Kirill Kaprozov. The Wild report no injuries.

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Jonathan Quick will officially retire at the end of the 2025-26 season. 

Quick confirmed that the New York Rangers’ Monday night matchup against the Florida Panthers will be his last NHL game. 

“Obviously, the past few years, very lucky to be part of this organization and wear this jersey, but tonight will be my last game in the league,” Quick said. “You know, I'm looking forward to it. Very fortunate. Wife flew down with the kids. So they'll be here in attendance tonight. My parents will be here. So looking forward to this last one and try to get one more win here.”

For 16 of his 19 NHL seasons, Quick spent with the Los Angeles Kings, where he won two Stanley Cups as the starting goaltender and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012. 

After winning the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, Quick signed with the Rangers, and he has spent his last three seasons in New York, serving as Igor Shesterkin’s backup.

In 75 games for the Blueshirts and 69 starts, the 40-year-old goaltender has recorded a 35-29-6 record, .911 save percentage, and 2.46 goals against average. 

Quick revealed that he had made up his mind about retirement quite a while ago and had informed both Chris Drury and Mike Sullivan.

Mike Sullivan Explains Reasoning Behind Drew Fortescue Scratching On Saturday, for the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a>' matchup against the Dallas Stars, Mike Sullivan decided to scratch Drew Fortescue from the lineup, replacing him with Urho Vaakanainen.&nbsp;

“With the ups and downs the season, you don't really want to admit it to yourself, you know? So as we kind of got towards the end of the season here, I let Chris [Drury] know and Sully know,” Quick said. “Just so they can plan accordingly. I'm grateful for them. They've helped me out through this process. And let me know games I'm going to start so I can make sure to get the family there and stuff like that.”

Dylan Garand, a potential candidate to take over the backup goaltending role behind Shesterkin next season, has been with the Rangers since being called up on Mar. 20. 

During Quick’s seven-game absence due to an upper-body injury, Garand started in two games, posting a 1-0-1 record, 1.44 goals against average, and .954 save percentage.

The Philadelphia Flyers won't get a better opportunity to clinch a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs than this.

With the season on the line, the Flyers are recipients of a huge favor from the Metropolitan Division rival Carolina Hurricanes, who have little left to play for this late in the season.

On Monday afternoon, Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff shared that Carolina is likely resting many of its top players, including leading scorers Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, No. 1 defenseman Jaccob Slavin, and captain Jordan Staal.

Shayne Gostisbehere and Seth Jarvis were also among the Hurricanes not on the ice to start the team's morning skate on Monday.

Flyers Set Up For Win-And-In Scenario vs. HurricanesThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> got all the help they could have possibly asked for, and now it's up to them to seal the deal and book their place in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Carolina's lines, according to Ruff, were as follows:

Hall - Stankoven - Blake,
Ehlers - Kotkaniemi - Nadeau,
Carrier - Jankowski - Deslauriers,
Robinson - Brind'Amour - Martinook, 
Miller - Chatfield,
Nikishin - Walker,
Reilly - Legault, 
Bussi (S)

And, yes, that is former Flyers tough guy Nick Deslauriers, who was virtually traded away for free--a conditional seventh-round pick--playing his off-wing on the third line for the Hurricanes.

As for the Flyers, they figure to be at full strength for Monday night's game.

Unsurprisingly, Dan Vladar will start in goal for the Flyers; defenseman David Jiricek joined the team for practice and has taken Egor Zamula's old No. 5 as his number with the NHL club.

Without question, the Flyers need to pounce on this Hurricanes team that is far from full strength.

If they win, they're in.

Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick told reporters that Monday night's matchup against the Florida Panthers will be the final game of his distinguished NHL career.

"Obviously, the past few years, very lucky to be part of this organization and wear this jersey, but tonight will be my last game in the league," Quick said, via Mollie Walker of the New York Post. "You know, I'm looking forward to it. Very fortunate. Wife flew down with the kids. So they'll be here in attendance tonight. My parents will be here. So looking forward to this last one and try to get one more win here.”

Quick, 40, is a three-time Stanley Cup champion (2011-12, 2013-14, 2022-23), winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most outstanding player of the Stanley Cup Final for the Kings in 2012.

After spending 16 years in Los Angeles and one year with Las Vegas, Quick has played the past three seasons with the Rangers. In 69 games as a Ranger, Quick has a 2.94 GAA and a .900 save percentage.

"In a career that spanned close to two decades in the National Hockey League, Jonathan Quick became not just the winningest American-born goaltender of all-time, but also one of the best goaltenders in hockey history," Rangers president and GM Chris Drury said in a statement.

"A three-time Stanley Cup Champion, he earned the utmost respect of teammates, coaches, and staff members through his work ethic and dedication to his craft.

"Jonathan is a special person and player, and the entire Rangers organization wishes him - along with his wife Jackie and three children, Madison, Carter, and Cash - all the best in retirement."

Quick's 410 career wins rank 12th in NHL history.

Every NHL team could have a "clinched" or an "eliminated" symbol by its name in the standings by the end of the night on Monday, April 13.

Then the rest of the season will come down to determining seeding.

Thirteen of the 16 NHL playoff spots have been filled, and the Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings can clinch the remaining three on Monday.

The Flyers can it do it outright, setting up a first-round matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Kings and idle Ducks will need help. The Ducks and Flyers have been out of the playoffs a combined 12 seasons.

Also Monday, the Carolina Hurricanes can wrap up the Eastern Conference title and the Buffalo Sabres can clinch the Atlantic Division title. The Pacific Division lead and the Western Conference's second wild card seed could change hands.

Here's what to know about the NHL standings, including the latest playoff bracket, Monday's clinching scenarios and the tiebreaker procedures for the 2025-26 season before the postseason begins on April 18:

Who's in the 2026 NHL playoffs?

Eastern Conference: Carolina, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Boston

Western Conference: Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Utah, Edmonton, Vegas

Who could clinch an NHL playoff berth today?

• The Flyers will clinch a playoff berth if they beat the Hurricanes. If they do, they will open the first round in Pittsburgh.
• The idle Ducks will clinch a playoff berth if the Predators lose to the Sharks.
• The Los Angeles Kings will clinch a playoff berth if they beat the Kraken and the Nashville Predators lose in regulation.
• The Hurricanes will clinch the Eastern Conference title if they get at least one point against the Flyers or if the Sabres lose to the Blackhawks.
• The Sabres will clinch the Atlantic Division title if they beat the Chicago Blackhawks in regulation and the Tampa Bay Lightning do anything but beat the Detroit Red Wings in regulation.

NHL games today (Monday, April 13)

• Detroit at Tampa Bay, 7
• N.Y. Rangers at Florida, 7
• Carolina at Philadelphia, 7
• Dallas at Toronto, 7:30
• Minnesota at St. Louis, 8
• San Jose at Nashville, 8
• Buffalo at Chicago, 8:30
• Colorado at Edmonton, 9:30
• Los Angeles at Seattle, 9:30, ESPN
• Winnipeg at Vegas, 10

NHL playoff standings

NHL Eastern Conference standings 2025-26

After April 12 games. x-clinched playoff spot. y-clinched division. z-eliminated.

Metropolitan Division

• y-Carolina Hurricanes (110)
• x-Pittsburgh Penguins (98)
• Philadelphia Flyers (94)

Atlantic Division

• x-Buffalo Sabres (106)
• x-Montreal Canadiens (106)
• x-Tampa Bay Lightning (104)

Wild card

• x-Boston Bruins (98)
• x-Ottawa Senators (97)

Sitting out of playoff position: Washington Capitals (93), Columbus Blue Jackets (92), z-Detroit Red Wings (91), z-New York Islanders (91), z-New Jersey Devils (87), z-Florida Panthers (80), z-Toronto Maple Leafs (78), z-New York Rangers (75)

NHL Western Conference standings 2025-26

After April 12 games. x-clinched playoff spot. y-clinched division. z-eliminated.

Central Division

• y-Colorado Avalanche (115) - Presidents' Trophy winner
• x-Dallas Stars (108)
• x-Minnesota Wild (102)

Pacific Division

• x-Vegas Golden Knights (91)
• x-Edmonton Oilers (90)
• Anaheim Ducks (90)

Wild card

• x-Utah Mammoth (90)
• Los Angeles Kings (87)

Sitting out of playoff position: Nashville Predators (86), Winnipeg Jets (82), San Jose Sharks (82), z-St. Louis Blues (80), z-Seattle Kraken (79), z-Calgary Flames (75), z-Chicago Blackhawks (70), z-Vancouver Canucks (56)

NHL playoffs if they started today

NHL Eastern Conference playoff bracket

Here is how the Eastern Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended on April 12:

• Carolina (M1) vs. Ottawa (WC2)
• Pittsburgh (M2) vs. Philadelphia (M3)
• Buffalo (A1) vs. Boston (WC1)
• Montreal (A2) vs. Tampa Bay (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 April 12.

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

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. When more than two clubs are tied, the percentage of available points earned in games among each other (and not including any odd games) shall be used to determine standings.
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 2026 standings and clinching scenarios

Jonathan Quick is calling it a career.

The Rangers goalie said Monday morning that his start Monday night against the Panthers will be his final NHL game, capping an illustrious 19-year career.

The 40-year-old, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Kings and 2012 Conn Smythe award winner, will be looking for the 411th win of his career against Florida.

Quick is 12th all-time in goalie wins, 15th in games played and 17th in shutouts.

The Connecticut native spent the final three seasons of his career with the Rangers as Igor Shesterkin’s backup.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick told reporters that this is his final season in the NHL. Quick announced that Monday's game against the Florida Panthers will be the last of his career.

The 40-year-old netminder is in his 19th NHL season and will mark his 829th appearance in Florida to sign off on his illustrious career, and as one of the best American-born goaltenders in history.

Quick holds the record for most wins among American goaltenders with 410, and is second in that group in games played with 828. Only John Vanbiesbrouck has played more games among U.S.-born goalies, with 882.

The veteran netminder will always be remembered for his time with the Los Angeles Kings. He played 16 seasons with the Kings, recording 370 wins and averaging a .911 save percentage across 743 games with the team that selected him 72nd overall in the 2005 NHL draft.

Quick goes down as easily the best goaltender in the Kings' franchise history. He holds the record for the most games in the crease by a King, as well as the most victories and shutouts.

Not only was he a superstar for Los Angeles in the regular season, but he was also a monster during the team's runs to the Stanley Cup. 

That includes his Conn Smythe Trophy-winning campaign in 2011-2012 when he put up a .946 SP in 20 post-season appearances.

He backstopped the Kings to two Stanley Cups and won another with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2022-23.

In addition to his Cup rings and Conn Smythe Trophy, Quick also picked up a pair of William M. Jennings Trophies, which are awarded to the goalie or tandem "having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it" in the regular season.

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Fans in Edmonton will get one last regular-season glimpse at McDavid vs. MacKinnon tonight at Rogers Place before the NHL playoffs begin this weekend.

Both clubs have secured playoff berths, but the Oilers are on the cusp of winning the pillow fight in the Pacific Division and will be desperate for a victory as they sit just one point (90) behind the Vegas Golden Knights (91), with both teams having two games remaining.

Where are you tuning in from tonight? pic.twitter.com/xiDqhdlMPX

— P – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 13, 2026

Will Edmonton pass the test and position themselves as home-icers in the first two rounds of the playoffs, or will Colorado play spoiler?

Colorado Avalanche

I’m not sure who spilled the salt at team dinner, but Colorado has been hit with an injury wave that has even extended to their head coach, Jared Bednar.

The puck he took to the face against Vegas has him still recovering from facial fractures and an abrasion in Colorado.

Maybe the view from the vantage of a fan can offer some insight, but I imagine Bedsy has his ways of influencing the group even from afar.

Now, as far as skaters go, I doubt we see Cale Makar, Josh Manson, or Nazem Kadri tonight or for the rest of the regular season.

Josh Manson left the Vegas game with an upper-body injury and did not return.

Josh Manson (upper body) will not return to the game.

— P – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 12, 2026

As mentioned in the intro, without any opportunity for advancement, there’s no reason not to shut these guys down until the playoffs.

Projected Lineup:

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Gabriel Landeskog
Valeri Nichushkin — Brock Nelson — Martin Necas
Ross Colton — Nicolas Roy — Joel Kiviranta
Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Logan O’Connor

Devon Toews — Sam Malinski
Brett Kulak — Brent Burns
Nick Blankenburg — Jack Ahcan

Scott Wedgewood
MacKenzie Blackwood

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers have been without Leon Draisaitl for quite some time, but still run with McDavid and have been a team that can’t consistently find their stride, but appear and often prove plenty capable.

Do the @EdmontonOilers have some tricks up these sleeves? 🟠🔵

Currently outscoring their opponents 26-10, the Oilers look to extend their alternate uniform win streak to FIVE games tonight‼️ pic.twitter.com/YxR4pjxkTg

— NHL (@NHL) January 12, 2026

Interestingly, if the Oilers and Avalanche meet later in the playoffs as both sides intend, the Oilers will have won two playoff rounds, and any doubts will dissipate, as that would mark their 3rd Western Conference Final in a row.

The question marks in Edmonton still largely revolve around netminding, with the Skinner for Jarry deal not really panning out early on.

For now, I’d say it’s Ingram’s net.

Projected Lineup:

Vasily Podkolzin — Connor McDavid — Matthew Savoie
Max Jones — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Kasperi Kapanen
Colton Dach — Josh Samanski — Trent Frederic
Curtis Lazar — Adam Henrique — Jack Roslovic

Mattias Ekholm — Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse — Connor Murphy
Jake Walman — Ty Emberson

Connor Ingram
Tristan Jarry

The St. Louis Blues may have come up short in their attempt to make the playoffs and have also worsened their odds of landing the first overall pick in the process, but a wise trade by GM Doug Armstrong may have salvaged it.

For a large part of the season, the Blues sat within the bottom three of the NHL standings, giving them strong odds of landing a top-three pick, which could have added any of Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg or several young defensemen to a prospect pool that is already thriving.

The Blues pool does lack a franchise-altering player, and when the Blues were struggling, the hope was that they would finish towards the bottom of the standings and get that player. 

Fast forward to April 13, and the Blues have three games remaining on the schedule and are more likely than not to finish between 23rd and 27th in the NHL, giving them a top-10 pick if the lottery goes their way. As it stands, they sit in 25th place in the NHL. 

An eighth overall pick is very good, and it could give them a high-end, skilled player, but that player likely won’t reach the level of McKenna or Stenberg. While that might feel like a letdown, the Blues acquired another first-round pick this season from the Detroit Red Wings, who will also be a lottery pick after being eliminated from playoff contention.

Blues Officially Eliminated From Playoff Contention Despite 5-3 Win Over BlackhawksSt. Louis will miss playoffs for third time in four seasons after Kings' 1-0 win over Oilers

The Blues acquired the pick in the deal that sent Justin Faulk to Detroit. Faulk hasn’t had an easy time on a Red Wings team that plummeted out of a playoff spot. When the Red Wings acquired Faulk, they sat in third place in the Atlantic Division with 77 points. 

Now, they are up to just 91 points, sitting in 14th place in the NHL. But because of the NHL’s playoff format, they are 15th in the NHL draft lottery. The new lottery format means the Red Wings can move up at most 10 spots, so if nothing changes, the Blues could land either the 15th pick or the fifth overall pick from the Red Wings. 

Although there could be an argument that one of the top three picks is better than two top 15 picks, the Blues can add to their already impressive prospect depth. 

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to snap a five-game losing streak when they host the Dallas Stars at Scotiabank Arena on Monday, April 13.

My top Stars vs. Maple Leafs predictions and NHL picks are calling for Toronto goalie Artur Akhtyamov to be busy between the pipes and go Over his saves total again tonight.

Stars vs Maple Leafs prediction

Stars vs Maple Leafs best bet: Artur Akhtyamov Over 25.5 saves (-105)

Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Artur Akhtyamov turned away 39 shots in his first career start, and he’ll be seeing plenty of rubber again tonight.

The Maple Leafs have surrendered a league-high 34 shots per game since the NHL trade deadline while ranking last in Corsi For percentage at 5-on-5, after all.

I’m expecting the Dallas Stars to hem Toronto in its own zone and generate more than enough shooting opportunities for Akhtyamov to turn away 26 or more shots tonight.

Stars vs Maple Leafs same-game parlay

Dallas has nothing on the line, so I expect the Stars to play structurally sound and keep the Maple Leafs offense in check in a low-scoring game tonight. The Stars have surrendered the ninth-fewest goals per game and the seventh-fewest expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 since the March 6 NHL trade deadline.

Turning to the final leg of this same-game parlay, Toronto winger William Nylander has recorded three or more shots in four of his past six games for 22 total on 44 attempts while logging a monster 21:19 of ice time in a top offensive role.

Stars vs Maple Leafs SGP

• Maple Leafs +1.5
• Under 6.5
• William Nylander Over 2.5 shots on goal

Stars vs Maple Leafs odds

• Moneyline: Stars -180 | Maple Leafs +155
• Puck Line: Stars -1.5 (+135) | Maple Leafs +1.5 (-155)
• Over/Under: Over 6.5 (+100) | Under 6.5 (-120)

Stars vs Maple Leafs trend

The Dallas Stars have hit the 1P Game Total Under in 11 of their last 15 away games (+7.15 Units / 46% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Stars vs. Maple Leafs.

How to watch Stars vs Maple Leafs

Stars vs Maple Leafs latest injuries

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The Montreal Canadiens have one game left to play, and they could still finish in first place in the Atlantic Division if they win their last game and the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres both lose their last two games. That’s much easier said than done, however.

Why? Because the Canadiens’ last game will be against the Philadelphia Flyers, a side that, even though in their place in the Metropolitan Division, has yet to book its place in the playoffs and will be desperate for the win. Unless, of course, the Flyers can triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes tonight and punch their ticket to the spring dance. Then, Philadelphia would have nothing left to play for, as they cannot get home ice advantage since they cannot catch up to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are four points ahead and own the tiebreaker.

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When Montreal and Philadelphia play on Tuesday, the other two teams vying for the Flyers’ place will be taking on each other, meaning that either the Columbus Blue Jackets will have 94 points (and with more regulation wins, they would pass Philadelphia) or the Washington Capitals will have 95 points and overtake the Flyers outright if the Canadiens’ hosts can’t muster two points in their last two games (Ovechkin and co. also have more regulation wins than Philadelphia).

Meanwhile, the Canadiens’ rivals won’t face great opposition. The Sabres' last two games will be on Monday night, against the Chicago Blackhawks, who have been eliminated for some time, and on Wednesday night against the Dallas Stars. While the Stars will be taking part in the race for Lord Stanley’s mug, they have nothing left to play for. They cannot catch the Colorado Avalanche, and they’ve already clinched home-ice advantage. Meaning they may well decide to rest some of their key players.

As for the Lightning, they have a date with the already eliminated Detroit Red Wings on Monday night, a side that has lost seven of its last 10 games. Since the game is in Tampa, they won’t even have the pressure to give their fans one last good game, which they’ve already failed to do, losing 5-3 to the New Jersey Devils in their last home game. Then, on Wednesday night, the Bolts will host the New York Rangers, a team eliminated some time ago and which has lost its last two games.

In other words, unless the Flyers win tonight, the playoff race will go down to the wire in the East, and the race to first place between the Habs, Bolts and Sabres won’t be settled until the end either.

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The pair of weekend games for the Penguins against the Washington Capitals were about as low stakes as it gets in the NHL regular season from Pittsburgh’s perspective. The Pens had already locked up the second seed in the Metropolitan Division, regardless of results the rest of the way.

As a result of that knowledge, the team shifted gears into preparing for the playoffs. 18-year old rookie Ben Kindel was out for both games. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang and Parker Wotherspoon all sat out on Saturday and played on Sunday. Noel Acciari, Anthony Mantha, Ryan Shea and Connor Clifton played Saturday then sat out on Sunday. In a move unrelated to playoff rest, Connor Dewar is now week-to-week with a more serious injury and his status for the start of the playoffs would seem to be in real jeopardy.

While the games themselves had no impact for the Penguins, they can still carry some level of individual importance. Kevin Hayes dressed for his first games in a while, having only played twice since January 11th. Rutger McGroarty and Ryan Graves got in the lineup, both only having played two and three NHL games respecitvely since the start of February. Jack St. Ivany was back after last appearing in the NHL on January 25th, Ilya Solovyov got a chance to play for the first time since being rotated out as a healthy scratch after the March 18th game.

Other recent lineup regulars like Elmer Soderblom, Justin Brazeau and Tommy Novak received opportunities in good spots to continue to make their cases on why they could be options for the postseason. So the games mattered on some level, even if the results did not. Here’s a look at the Game Score cards for both games over the weekend.

NHL Game Score Impact Card for Pittsburgh Penguins on 2026-04-11: pic.twitter.com/WTDKp6k4q5

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) April 11, 2026

NHL Game Score Impact Card for Pittsburgh Penguins on 2026-04-12: pic.twitter.com/EUfJdUNl7a

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) April 12, 2026

On the positive side, Kevin Hayes scored a goal on Saturday and showed well on Game Scores across both games. His skating at this point of his career makes him an overall liability but he was able to pick his spots well. Dewar’s injury (as well as the status of Blake Lizotte coming back from an injury of his own) might add a little drama to the depth chart moving forward. The Pens have no shortage of fill-in depth options and K. Hayes might not be at the very front of that line, though with his 56 career NHL playoff games he could be in the mix at some point.

Ilya Solovyov and Jack St. Ivany had tough days on Saturday – where to be fair, in context the under-manned Pens team had a major uphill climb all game that day when they got out-shot 31-12 – but bounced back with better performances on Sunday. Solovyov especially has shown some skating and puck moving skills with the ability to lineup on the left or right side of the lineup. At this point he probably is factoring in as the seventh defenseman and first one up for the playoffs if needed, which the team can feel a little more comfortable with after seeing his performance on Sunday.

Soderblom also showed enough over the weekend – and more importantly over the last few weeks – to lock down a spot in the lineup for Game 1. That would have been a tougher squeeze had Dewar remained healthy, now the path to a spot is virtually automatic for Soderblom.

On the negative side, Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty let some chances slip away to stand out. So too did Avery Hayes, who was made a scratch for Sunday’s game. Koivunen’s game on Saturday was particularly disappointing with a -0.67 Game Score coming off playing a forward team-high 17:49 in a nice role on a line with Rickard Rakell and Egor Chinakhov, a game where Koivunen did not manage a shot on goal. Overall right now Koivunen is a skilled forward who cannot score, his 5v5 points/60 dropped to 404th out of 407 forwards across the NHL (minimum 400 minutes) and doesn’t look like he will be a factor for the NHL playoffs this spring.

Similarly, McGroarty’s weekend was too quiet, held without a shot in almost 15 minutes on Saturday and then relegated to 9:55 played on Sunday. A. Hayes popped out with a big goal in the March 30th game against NYI, his only point in his last 14 NHL games since his two-goal debut, and the Pens decided to sit Hayes on Sunday following his forward-worst -1.00 Game Score instead of resting a player like Brazeau or Novak in a weekend where plenty of NHL regulars got a game off. Forwards like Soderblom and Acciari performing well lately has had the effect to wall off a spot in the lineup for A. Hayes.

Graves was another player with a disappointing turn, suffering some ugly play on a pair of goals against on Saturday leading to a -3.46 Game Score while playing the fewest minutes among defensemen (15:30) and then returning to become a familiar scratch for Sunday’s game. Not that such a development is particularly surprising at this point given how things have gone for Graves in Pittsburgh, but it sure doesn’t look like he belongs anywhere near a game in the playoffs and his showing this weekend did nothing but reinforce that position.

Overall for the Penguins, this weekend was about getting some rest in and simply checking boxes to get to the playoffs. Every game presents opportunity for someone and there were plenty of positive and negative signs from their depth players to help provide extra information if there becomes a need to dig deeper into the organization for players who need to step in for the playoffs.

Mike and Dan react immediately to the Islanders getting eliminated from playoff contention after a lost weekend against Ottawa and Montreal.

We’ve seen the Islanders lose in many different ways over the years. But we’ve never seen them choke away a season like this. They played almost every game since the Olympic Break as if they were playing out the string, whittling away a playoff berth that they might not have totally deserved. And while a few players get a Hall Pass, namely Matthew Schaefer and Cal Ritchie, many of the guys who have been here a while conducted themselves in a despicable, cowardly fashion. Which calls into question what the franchise’s real intentions are and where their true priorities lie. Do they want to get people to watch them and spend money on them, or do they actually want to win games first and foremost? Do they want to be just good, or truly great?

In the second half, we look ahead to their final, meaningless game against Carolina and the few milestones that we’d like to see get hit. We also talk briefly about the week’s one victory over a DOA Leafs team in a game we can’t even enjoy anymore because, like everything else, it amounted to nothing. Very few of their games over the last five seasons have been purely enjoyable because of the team’s attitude. There have been players and moments to remember but overall, this era can be personified by a noticeable and unsatisfying lack of accomplishment.

REFERENCES:

• The Islanders enjoyed Patrick Roy’s old Cup stories, actually.
• At least one Islanders team made the playoffs.

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Go back to the start of September when the Pittsburgh Penguins were just entering training camp, and imagine somebody telling you this week the Penguins would be playing their third consecutive meaningless game, preparing to sit everybody important for Game 82 so they can be ready for the playoffs.

Then imagine the Penguins would be spending that week likely preparing to play either the Philadelphia Flyers or Washington Capitals in the first round.

Chaos. Mayhem. You would have never believed it.

Nor would you have believed an 18-year-old Ben Kindel would show up right from the NHL Draft and make an immediate impact. Or that Anthony Mantha would be the team’s leading goal-scorer. Or that they would find another potential star in Egor Chinakhov, one that is just entering his prime years, in a mid-season trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Or that Stuart Skinner would be their starting goalie thanks to a Tristan Jarry trade. Or that Erik Karlsson would rediscover his Norris Trophy form. Or that Parker Wotherspoon would be a reliable first-pairing defenseman partner for him.

Each of these things on their own seem a little unbelievable. All of them together would have seemed impossible. But here we are, and after playing two meaningless games (for themselves) over the weekend, the Penguins have one more game that does not matter on Tuesday night at the St. Louis Blues.

It is really not even worth trying to analyze that game because it means literally nothing.

The Penguins spot as the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division is locked in. They will not move up. They will not move down. They have home-ice advantage in the first-round, no matter who they play. The Blues, meanwhile, are already mathematically eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention. None of the Penguins top players are expected to play, and it is the right call.

The focus now is Saturday. That is when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, and the Penguins are still waiting to see who their opponent will be.

The odds are that it will be the Flyers. Philadelphia needs just one win, or two points via two overtime losses, to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Metropolitan Division.

They can do that on Monday night with a win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

If they lose that game, and especially if they lose that game in regulation, it would set up a potentially massive game between the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. The winner would still be relying on yet another Flyers loss, but it would at least produce some tremendous theatre.

Regardless of which team the Penguins play, I would put them as favorites in any matchup, but the Capitals would be the one I feel the worst about from their perspective. Washington is better than its record indicates, is the best 5-on-5 team of the three potential opponents and also has the best goalie in Logan Thompson. Thompson is a legitimate Vezina candidate this season and has been one of the league’s best goalies. I would rather take my chances against Dan Vladar or Elvis Merzlikins and Jet Greaves than him.

The Flyers defend exceptionally well, allowing just 2.38 expected goals against per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play, the third-best mark in the NHL behind only the Vegas Golden Knights and Ottawa Senators. They are not an especially potent offensive team, however, and have only won 26 games in regulation going into Monday.

Assuming they get in, they will be the only Eastern Conference playoff team that will have less than 30 regulation wins. They have 26 going into Monday, and can only max out at 28. Every other team that has clinched a spot has at least 32. They also have just 32 regulation and overtime wins, also the fewest among Eastern Conference playoff teams. They have been heavily boosted by a 9-4 shootout record.

Columbus has had one of the weirdest seasons in the league, underwhelming for the first half of the season, looking unbeatable after the coaching change from Dean Evason to Rick Bowness, and then completely going in the tank when it played itself back into playoff contention, losing nine of their past 12 games going into play on Tuesday.

There would be some intrigue with this matchup given the presence of Chinakhov in Pittsburgh and the way his season (and potentially career) has turned around since the trade. This would be a different type of revenge series.

Overall the Penguins are 5-2-4 against the three teams this season, with all four overtime losses being in shootouts. There is no shootout in the playoffs. The only two regulation defeats were against the Capitals this past weekend, games where the Penguins had nothing to play for, rested a bunch of people, and games the Capitals absolutely had to have.

They should matchup well with any of these teams. They can beat any of these teams. Now they have to actually show they can do it.