NHL APRIL 11, 2026 – THE FINAL WEEKEND OF 2025-26 IS UPON US

The NHL enters the final weekend of the 2025-26 regular season and after 1,260 games played – 96% of the total schedule – and 52 games remaining across six days, Saturday’s 15-game schedule will see five teams have the possibility to clinch a playoff berth, a tripleheader on ABC that includes five teams either in a playoff spot or closing in on clinching one and the 100th all-time meeting between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. There is a five-pack of games on Hockey Night in Canada that includes the NHL’s newest 50-goal scorer, Cole Caufield, and the Canadiens looking to again draw even atop the Atlantic Division.

WHAT’S AT STAKE ENTERING SATURDAY

There are still seven playoff spots, seven First Round matchups, 13 playoff seeds, two division winners and one conference title up in the air. The leaders in the races for the Art Ross Trophy and Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy have advantages of five and two, respectively, while the rookie scoring race is also going down to the wire (2-point gap between top 3).

Five teams have a clinching scenario Saturday

The top three positions in the Pacific Division have been a tightly contested cluster all season (just 1 point separates them entering play) and all three could end Saturday clinching a playoff spot: Connor McDavid and the Oilers for a seventh consecutive season, Jack Eichel and the Golden Knights for the fourth straight campaign as well as Leo Carlsson and the Ducks for the first time since 2018. In the Eastern Conference, David Pastrnak and the Bruins can clinch a berth for the ninth time in 10 seasons while Brady Tkachuk and the Senators can qualify for the postseason in consecutive years for the first time in 13 years (2011-12 to 2012-13).

Which First Round matchups are set?

We currently know only one playoff matchup with the postseason now one week away (April 18) and that’s likely to remain the case down to the wire, with tight races for both divisional seeds and Wild Card spots. Last season, the bracket was set on April 16 – the second-last day of the regular season – and in 2023-24 it went down to the final 81 seconds of the 1,312th and final game. While we know the Stars and Wild will face off in the opening round, home ice in that series is still to be determined.

Wild Card races continue to be close

The difference between Wild Card 2 and the first team outside the bracket has been four points or fewer the entire season in the West – including a one-point gap or tiebreaker every day since March 26. In the East, the difference has been that way for 94% of the campaign.

Eastern Conference snapshot

Seven teams are still in the hunt for three spots – including one more guaranteed for a Metropolitan team. At least one of the Flyers, Islanders, Blue Jackets or Capitals will qualify – they are separated by three points, each with three games remaining. While no more Atlantic Division clubs are guaranteed a spot, they do make up the top three in the Wild Card standings: the Bruins (WC1) and Senators (WC2) are in, and the Detroit Red Wings are the first team out. Five teams have occupied Wild Card 2 in the past month (BOS, CBJ, DET, OTT & NYI), while four have sat as Metropolitan 3 (PHI, NYI, CBJ & PIT).

Western Conference snapshot

Wild Card 2 in that conference has changed 14 times since March 1 – with five teams accounting for those changes (NSH, LAK, SJS, SEA & EDM). There are seven head-to-head games left between teams still vying to clinch in the West, including two on the final day of the season.

There are still two divisions to be decided

While we know the Hurricanes (Metropolitan Division) and Avalanche (Central Division) will be a top seed going into the postseason, there are two extremely close division races still at play with six days to go. There’s a one-point gap between the top three teams in the Pacific Division – Edmonton, Vegas and Anaheim (none of which have clinched a playoff spot) – and a four-point separation between the same grouping in the Atlantic Division – Buffalo, Montreal and Tampa Bay (who will make up the top 3, order TBD).

New teams in the playoff picture

As we enter the final Saturday of the regular season, three of the four division winners from the 2024-25 season as well as the most recent Stanley Cup champion sit outside the playoff bracket. The Sabres are in for the first time since 2011 (ending the longest wait for playoff hockey in NHL history), the Mammoth have their first berth in two NHL seasons, while Sidney Crosby and the Penguins qualified for the first time since 2022. Others inside or near the bracket are looking to get back in as well (last playoff appearance): Boston (2024), Philadelphia (2020), Columbus (2020), Detroit (2016), NY Islanders (2024), Anaheim (2018), Nashville (2024), San Jose (2019) and Seattle (2023).

PLAYERS TO WATCH ON SATURDAY

While the focus will be on the scoreboard and the standings on Saturday, there are multiple players in action who could hit major benchmarks or milestones:

• Connor McDavid (47-86—133 in 79 GP) not only holds a five-point lead in the Art Ross Trophy race, he is closing in on his second career 50-goal season (and first since scoring 64 in 2022-23) and five goals back of Nathan MacKinnon (52) in the race for the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. McDavid would join a short list of Oilers to record multiple 50-goal seasons with the franchise.
• Four players in action Saturday are closing in on the 100-point benchmark. Mark Scheifele (34-65—99 in 78 GP) is trending toward his first 100-point season and would become the first player to do so for this iteration of the Jets (and second in Jets/Thrashers history). David Pastrnak (29-70—99 in 74 GP) is moving toward his fourth 100-point season – only Bobby Orr (6x) and Phil Esposito (6x) have as many with Boston. Colorado’s Martin Necas (38-60—98 in 75 GP) and Montreal’s Nick Suzuki (28-70—98 in 79 GP) are both closing in on reaching triple digits for the first time in their career – in Suzuki’s case it would be the first 100-point season by a Canadiens skater in 40 years.
• Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals visit Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in the 100th all-time meeting (including playoffs) between the two decorated stars who entered the League together in 2005-06, rank among the top 10 on the NHL’s all-time points list and have combined to win 31 individual NHL Awards and four Stanley Cups. Saturday’s game on ABC opens a full weekend of the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry (they play again Sunday).