The Colorado Avalanche wrap up their final road trip of the 2025–26 regular season Tuesday night in Calgary, closing out a season series they’ve controlled from start to finish.

Colorado has taken both previous meetings, including a lopsided 9–2 win on March 30 and a more measured 3–1 result on April 9, and arrives at Scotiabank Saddledome riding a tight, defense-first stretch at the right time of year.

Grinding Out Wins Without Bednar

Their latest outing offered a snapshot of that formula.

Colorado edged the Edmonton Oilers 2–1 in a shootout Monday at Rogers Place, leaning heavily on Scott Wedgewood, who turned aside 30 of 31 shots. Nathan MacKinnon delivered the decisive moment, scoring the shootout winner after Valeri Nichushkin and Martin Nečas also converted.

Wedgewood’s calm presence was the backbone of the win, particularly as Edmonton pushed late and into the shootout.

“He was rock solid all the way through… it’s a continuation of what he’s done throughout the season,” assistant coach Dave Hakstol told The Hockey News postgame, reinforcing just how steady Wedgewood has been during this late push.

The night also carried personal significance for Brock Nelson, who skated in his 1,000th NHL game, marking the milestone in a tightly contested win that reflected the kind of hockey Colorado has leaned on down the stretch.

Sam Malinski accounted for Colorado’s lone regulation goal, finishing a Nicolas Roy feed from the left circle midway through the second period. Edmonton’s only response came off the stick of Connor McDavid later in the frame, but the Avalanche locked things down from there—killing off every Oilers power play and allowing little in the way of second chances.

That defensive commitment has quietly become one of Colorado’s defining traits down the stretch. Since April 4, they’ve allowed just 1.50 goals per game—the best mark in the league over that span—while also owning the NHL’s top penalty kill at 84.3 percent.

Still, the team continues to operate under unusual circumstances behind the bench.

Head coach Jared Bednar remains away from the club as he recovers from facial fractures and a corneal abrasion suffered in a recent game against Vegas. In his absence, Nolan Pratt and Hakstol have taken over bench duties, guiding the Avalanche through this final stretch of the regular season with a steady hand.

MacKinnon Driving The Push

Offensively, the story remains familiar.

MacKinnon continues to drive everything. His 52 goals lead the NHL, and his 126 points place him firmly among the league’s elite. Nečas isn’t far behind in overall production, sitting at 99 points, while contributions from players like Malinski have added unexpected depth—particularly from the blue line, where his recent scoring surge has stood out.

Calgary, meanwhile, enters Tuesday’s matchup coming off a 4–1 win over Utah. Matt Coronato and Connor Zary struck early to set the tone, while Mikael Backlund and Brayden Pachal extended the lead in the third period. The Flames have leaned on a balanced attack at home, with Coronato leading the team in points and Morgan Frost pacing them in goals.

Historically, the matchup has been competitive. In 136 regular-season meetings, Colorado holds a 68-54-8-6 edge, and the two teams last met in the playoffs in 2019, when the Avalanche dispatched Calgary in five games.

But this version of Colorado looks different—tighter defensively, confident in goal, and still powered by one of the most dynamic players in the sport.

With one final road test before the postseason, the Avalanche aren’t just trying to complete a season sweep. They’re sharpening the identity that could carry them into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed.

The disappointment that was the finality of MSU hockey this season has still not taken its root to the depth of where my disappointment lingers. While we are glad we weren’t forced into throwing up again as Ann Arbor celebrated another title, we did get to sit in our misery and watch Porter Martone score goals for the Flyers. With that being said, here’s a quick update on the comings and goings of MSU hockey players and the massive roster overhaul that will be taking place in East Lansing.

First, let us congratulate some award winners. First team All-American nods go to Trey Augustine, Porter Martone and second team, Charlie Stramel. Martone is the first freshman in school history with the honor and Augustine secured his second. Adam Nightingale was also announced as the head coach of the 2027 U.S. National Junior Team for the World Junior Championships. 

Of course we have our outgoing seniors. Tiernan and Travis Shoudy, Dolan Gilbert, Daniel Russell, Charlie Stramel and Matt Basgall. Gilbert has entered the transfer portal and looks to play as a 5th year senior somewhere. Now that the portal is open, let’s see who’s in, who’s out, who’s where in MSU hockey.

DEPARTURES

Tiernan Shoudy

Signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 2026-2027 and signed with the Wheeling Nailers, the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the rest of 2025-2026.

Daniel Russell

Signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Matt Basgall

Signed with San Diego Gulls, AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks.

Porter Martone

Signed with the Philadelphia Flyers and is already scoring goals.

Trey Augustine

Signed with Grand Rapids Griffins, the AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings.

Maxim Strbak

Signed with the Rochester Americans, AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres and joins former teammates Red Savage and Jagger Joshua.

Charlie Stramel

Signed with the Minnesota Wild. He is out for the remainder of this season with a broken ankle.

Colin Ralph

Signed with the Springfield Thunderbirds, the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues.

Melvin Strahl

Transfer Portal to Minnesota. This implies that the freshman Joshua Ravensbergen was set to get the majority of playing time in East Lansing.

Austin Baker

Transfer Portal to Miami of Ohio

Nathan Mackie

Entered the Transfer Portal 

ARRIVALS

Cullen Potter

Potter has committed to MSU after two seasons at Arizona State. Potter is a center who is very quick. Here is an in-depth highlight reel prior to the 2025 NHL Draft where he was drafted by Calgary. This past season he had 12 goals and 26 points in 24 games. 

What are your thoughts TOC on the comings and goings? Minnesota has already had a successful portal haul, Michigan seems to be staying strong and Wisconsin has added. What are your wishes for MSU hockey? Are the Spartans keeping up? Let’s discuss in the comments and we’ll continue to update with any new news.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will play their final game of the regular season against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. The Penguins will be looking to finish off the regular season with a win before they kick off their first round playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers. 

The Penguins have now called up one of their depth forwards from the AHL ahead of their season finale against the Blues.

The Penguins have announced that they have recalled forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. 

Harvey-Pinard has not played in a game for Pittsburgh this season. Instead, he has spent all of this campaign in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he has recorded 19 goals, 17 assists, and 36 points in 64 games. This is after he had five goals and 19 points in 40 games last season with the Laval Rocket.

In 84 career NHL games over four seasons, Harvey-Pinard has recorded 17 goals, 14 assists, and 31 points. This includes when he set career highs with 14 goals and 20 points in 34 games with the Montreal Canadiens during the 2022-23 season. 

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The Conn Smythe Trophy is one of the most volatile awards in hockey betting because a player’s path to playoff MVP depends on both performance and team success.

The 2026 Conn Smythe Trophy odds have hit the board, and it's a flurry of NHL superstars on title contenders at the top of the board. That list starts with Nathan MacKinnon, but also includes Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and more.

🏆 2026 Conn Smythe Trophy odds

Player
Nathan MacKinnon	+640
Nikita Kucherov	+1100
Cale Makar	+1200
Connor McDavid	+1500
Andrei Vasilevskiy	+1800
Seth Jarvis	+2000
Martin Necas	+2000
Sebastian Aho	+2250
Jack Eichel	+2900
Andrei Svechnikov	+3000
Mitch Marner	+3500
Mikko Rantanen	+3500
Jake Oettinger	+3500
Rasmus Dahlin	+3500
Leon Draisaitl	+4000
Nikolaj Ehlers	+4000
Wyatt Johnston	+4000
Jason Robertson	+4000
Mark Stone	+4000
Brady Tkachuk	+4000
Sidney Crosby	+4500
Tage Thompson	+4500
Linus Ullmark	+4500
Tim Stutzle	+5000

Odds as of April 16.

img alt="Get a first bet encore up to $800 — no BET99 promo code needed" width="100%" loading="lazy" src="https://img.covers.com/editorial/2026/bet99round1boost.jpeg"Any Canadian team to reach the Second Round of the playoffs is boosted to +100.
(not available in Ontario)

Conn Smythe Trophy odds analysis

The Avalanche being +260 favorites to win the Stanley Cup means it's easy to see why Nathan MacKinnon is opening as a +640 favorite in this market. The superstar is leading the NHL in goals at 53 and is on pace to finish third in points. 

Right above him in points is Nikita Kucherov, and he's running second on this board at 11/1 with the Lightning also second in the Stanley Cup odds.

When the Avs won the Stanley Cup in 2022, it was Cale Makar who took home Conn Smythe honors, and he's back in the mix at 12/1. He remains a top-producing defenseman and is integral to Colorado's success.

Rounding out the top tier of NHL superstars is Connor McDavid, who leads the league with 134 points and is tops in ice time for non-defensemen (23:03). If the Oilers can survive Leon Draisaitl's absence and make yet another deep playoff run, McDavid will shoot up this board.

• NHL odds
• NHL picks
• Stanley Cup odds

📈 Conn Smythe Trophy trends

• There have only been five players to win the Conn Smythe without winning the Stanley Cup.
• Skaters have won the Conn Smythe over a goalie 74% of the time.
• There have been seven repeat winners of the Conn Smythe since its establishment.
• Only one player has won the Conn Smythe more than twice. Patrick Roy won it three times.

📜 Conn Smythe Trophy history

A quick look at recent NHL Conn Smythe Trophy winners and the teams they played for.

Season	Player	Team
2024-25	Sam Bennett	Florida Panthers
2023-24	Connor McDavid	Edmonton Oilers
2022-23	Jonathan Marchessault	Vegas Golden Knights
2021-22	Cale Makar	Colorado Avalanche
2020-21	Andrei Vasilevskiy	Tampa Bay Lightning
2019-20	Victor Hedman	Tampa Bay Lightning
2018-19	Ryan O'Reilly	St. Louis Blues
2017-18	Alex Ovechkin	Washington Capitals
2016-17	Sidney Crosby	Pittsburgh Penguins
2015-16	Sidney Crosby	Pittsburgh Penguins
2014-15	Duncan Keith	Chicago Blackhawks
2013-14	Justin Williams	Los Angeles Kings
2012-13	Patrick Kane	Chicago Blackhawks
2011-12	Jonathan Quick	Los Angeles Kings
2010-11	Tim Thomas	Boston Bruins
2009-10	Jonathan Toews	Chicago Blackhawks
2008-09	Evgeni Malkin	Pittsburgh Penguins
2007-08	Henrik Zetterberg	Detroit Red Wings
2006-07	Scott Niedermayer	Anaheim Ducks
2005-06	Cam Ward	Carolina Hurricanes
2003-04	Brad Richards	Tampa Bay Lightning

Understanding Conn Smythe Trophy odds

Sportsbooks will post Conn Smythe Trophy odds as early as the beginning of the playoffs. These NHL futures are constantly adjusted throughout the postseason depending on how well players perform as well as their team success. Sportsbooks will also adjust the NHL awards odds based on handle and liability to certain players.

Conn Smythe Trophy odds will usually look like this:

• Nathan MacKinnon +290

This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to win $290 if MacKinnon takes home the Conn Smythe Trophy. If it's close to the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs and a player has stood out as the obvious MVP of the series they might have a minus sign (-) ahead of their odds like this: 

• Connor McDavid -175

This means that if you bet on McDavid to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, you would have needed to bet $175 to profit $100.

All of the odds listed above are in American format, but if you prefer decimal or fractional odds, simply plug them into our odds converter tool.

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 NHL Draft Lottery is slated to take place on May 5, in what will be a critical night for the New York Rangers. 

With one game remaining for the Rangers this season, they currently slot 30th in the NHL’s standings with 75 points, only ahead of the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks. 

That means the Blueshirts have the third-best odds to land the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. 

As it stands right now, the Rangers have a 11.5% chance to get the first pick, 11.2% chance to get the second pick, 7.8% chance to get the third pick, 39.7% to get the fourth pick, and 29.8% chance to get the fifth pick. 

“Of course I have interest,” Mike Sullivan said of the draft lottery. “But I just don’t think right now with where we’re at — I’m immersed in this daily endeavor of trying to do my very best to help this team continue to move forward. 

“And it starts with trying to instill the right habits and trying to hold the group accountable to a certain standard — a standard that we want to be proud of. And it starts with attitude, effort, energy, things of that nature. I’m trying to help us get better, and that’s where all my energy is right now. There’ll be a time for (draft conversation). It’s not now.”

Jonathan Quick Recounts Last Career NHL Game As A ‘Special’ NightThe New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a>’ 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday night marked the last game of Jonathan Quick’s 19-year illustrious NHL career.&nbsp;

The Rangers had won five out of six games before most recently losing three games in a row, ultimately helping them increase their odds of landing a higher pick in this year’s draft. 

Despite clinching last place in the Eastern Conference, the Rangers can still leapfrog the Calgary Flames in the overall standings.

It’s now confirmed; the Montreal Canadiens will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The two teams met four times this season, and each won twice. Montreal won the last two meetings but was outscored 13-11 in the season series.

As of now, it’s unknown whether the series will start in Montreal or Tampa Bay, since both teams could finish second in the Atlantic Division. What we do know, however, is that if the series starts in Tampa, it will kick off on Sunday because the Benchmark International Arena is unavailable on Saturday night due to a concert. Since the NHL has already announced that the playoffs will kick off on Saturday, if Montreal were to get home-ice advantage, the duel could start then. On the Bell Centre events page, game 1 is provisionally scheduled for Monday but is still listed as TBD. We’ll get confirmation once all games have been played.

Canadiens’ Hutson Has Had Two Fantastic Seasons
The State Of The Canadiens’ Defense
Canadiens Bury The Islanders With 4-1 Win

What we do know, however, is that both teams have some question marks about their defense corps. For the Canadiens, it’s the status of Noah Dobson, and to a lesser extent, that of Alexandre Carrier, that is a cause for concern. Carrier has started skating again but did not accompany the team in its last road trip of the season, while Dobson will be reevaluated about halfway through the first round. Given the fact that the Canadiens don’t have much depth when it comes to right-shot defensemen, this could be an issue.

As for the Lightning, they have been without ace blueliner and captain Victor Hedman since March 25, when he took an official leave of absence from the team. No further details have been revealed, and the date of his return remains unknown. While he has been limited to 33 games this season because of various injuries and has only put up 17 points while playing less than he has in the past (18:52 TOI compared to 23:05 TOI last season), he remains a key leader for the team and one who has valuable experience in the postseason (120 points in 170 games). The former Norris Trophy winner guided the Bolts to two Stanley Cups in 2019-20 and in 2020-21, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy after their first triumph.

Both teams have a high-octane offense; Tampa has scored 284 goals this season and ranks fourth in the league, while the Canadiens have 277. That works out to 3.51 goals-per-game for the Bolts and to 3.42 goals-per-game for the Habs. Tampa has three players in the top 40 scorers in the league: Nikita Kucherov, who has 130 points in 75 games, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the league with 134 points; Jake Guentzel, who has 88 points; and Brandon Hagel, who has 74 points.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens have four players in the top 40 scorers in the league: captain Nick Suzuki, who’s fifth in the league with 101 points, sniper Cole Caufield, who, just like Guentzel, has 88 points; defenseman Lane Hutson, who has 78 points; and power forward Juraj Slafkovsky, who sneaks in the top 40 with 73 points.

While this will be a rematch of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, the Canadiens are a completely different side from what they were five years ago. Back then, they had put all their chips on phenomenal goaltending by Carey Price and big, punishing defensemen. Now, the Canadiens play an exciting brand of hockey led by former Tampa Bay star forward-turned-coach Martin St-Louis.

In 2021, Montreal lost the final in five games, being outscored 17-8. Back then, the Canadiens’ top scorer was Tyler Toffoli with 44 points in 52 games, while the league leader, Connor McDavid, had 105 points in 56 games. A young Suzuki, playing his sophomore season, had 41 points in 56 games. Needless to say, the Canadiens have a much stronger offense this time around.

In net, Andrei Vasilevskiy is still the man to beat. He leads all goaltenders with a 2.31 goals-against average, has a .912 save percentage, and a 39-15-4 record on the season. In the playoffs, he’s 67-50-0 with a .918 SV and a 2.45 GAA. Back in 2021, he was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner and a real thorn in the Canadiens’ side.

Meanwhile, Jakub Dobes will be the Canadiens’ number one when the puck drops on the series. The 24-year -old has a 29-9-4 record on the season with a 2.75 GAA and a .903 SV. He’s 1-2-0 in the playoffs, with a 2.91 GAA and a .881 SV, his only experience having been last year’s first-round series against the Washington Capitals, when he replaced Samuel Montembeault when he went down with an injury. Jacob Fowler will be waiting in the wings if Dobes Falters. 

This promises to be an exciting series, pitting one of the youngest teams in the league (the Canadiens are now second to the Chicago Blackhawks, who have an average age of 25.04 years old, while Montreal’s is 25.63 years old) against one of the oldest ones with an average age of 29.37 years old. Furthermore, there were 126 penalty minutes the last time the two teams faced off; there is already a lot of animosity between them.

Interestingly, behind the bench, St-Louis will take on the man who was his last coach when he played for the Bolts, Jon Cooper. Over the years, the former lawyer has coached 155 playoff games, winning 88 and losing 67, for a .568 winning percentage. Meanwhile, St-Louis has only won a single playoff game behind the bench and will face a big challenge. If Tampa gets home-ice advantage, Cooper will also have the last change to start the series, which would complicate matters even further for St-Louis.

Buckle up, Habs fans, this is going to be a wild one!

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