NHL APRIL 12, 2026 – HUTSON TIES FRANCHISE RECORD, SUZUKI HITS 100 POINTS

Lane Hutson (0-2—2) tied a franchise record for most assists in a single season and Nick Suzuki became the fifth player in 2025-26 to reach the 100-point mark to propel the Canadiens (48-23-10, 106 points) past the Lightning (49-25-6, 104 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division. Buffalo (49-23-8, 106 points) remains in first in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand over Montreal, but all three teams remain in contention for the division title.

• Suzuki (29-72—101) became the fifth player in the 108 years of the Canadiens’ franchise to record 100 points in a season. He also recorded his 29th multi-point game of 2025-26 – a total that is the most by a Montreal player in a campaign since Mats Naslund in 1985-86 (31).
• Hutson tied Larry Robinson (66 in 1976-77) for the most assists in a campaign by a defenseman in Canadiens history and has two more games remaining before the conclusion of the regular season. He improved his totals to 12-66—78 (81 GP) and passed Quinn Hughes (7-69—76) for third in scoring among blueliners.

CAPITALS EARN CRITICAL POINTS AS COUNTDOWN TO POSTSEASON CONTINUES

Alex Ovechkin collected an assist in the Capitals’ final home game and in his 100th all-time meeting (including playoffs) against longtime rival Sidney Crosby, helping his club win its second game in as many days and improve to 42-30-9 (93 points) to move within one point of the Flyers (41-27-12, 94 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Washington won in back-to-back days for the fourth time this season.

• After the Capitals captain and the Penguins’ big three – Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang – posed together during warm-up, both Malkin and Dylan Strome got tossed from the opening face-off to make way for Ovechkin and Crosby to take it. Ovechkin improved to 44-36—80 through 83 career regular-season games against the Penguins and is now the only active player to record 80 points against the franchise.

BRUINS SURPASSING SENATORS FOR WILD CARD 1

Sunday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes from the six-game slate, including Sean Kuraly (1-2—3) collecting three points in his hometown and James Hagens recording an assist during his NHL debut as the Bruins (44-27-10, 98 points) passed the Senators (43-27-11, 97 points) for the Eastern Conference’s first Wild Card spot.

Lots at stake as final week of regular season starts with 10-game slate

Three playoff berths, seven First Round matchups, 11 postseason seeds (including titles for 2 divisions & 1 conference), winners of individual NHL Awards as well as rookie leaders for goals and points will be determined during the final week of the regular season, which starts with a 10-game schedule Monday. The slate includes the Stars (48-20-12, 108 points) visiting the Maple Leafs (32-34-14, 78 points) in the campaign’s last Prime Monday Night Hockey telecast as well as the Kraken (34-34-11, 79 points) hosting the Kings (34-26-19, 87 points).

• Dallas clinched home-ice advantage in its First Round series against Minnesota and will face Wyatt Johnston’s hometown team during its penultimate game of the regular season. Johnston’s three career series-clinching goals are tied with Al MacAdam and Mike Modano for the most in franchise history entering the playoffs – MacAdam had one of his versus the Maple Leafs in Game 3 of the 1980 Preliminary Round.
• Los Angeles looks to remain in contention for the Pacific Division’s No. 1 seed and inch closer to a postseason berth, which would guarantee that Anze Kopitar could play at least four more games in his decorated career. Kopitar’s final season included him dethroning Marcel Dionne atop the all-time points list for the Kings, who could enter the playoffs with the franchise scoring leader on their roster for the first time since 1985.
• More highlights include Nashville (38-32-10, 86 points) playing San Jose (37-34-8, 82 points) during a pivotal matchup in the Western Conference’s Wild Card race; Philadelphia (41-27-12, 94 points) needing a win to clinch its first playoff berth since 2020 against Carolina (52-22-6, 110 points), which requires one point to lock up the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed; four other teams competing for division titles hitting the ice (BUF, EDM, TBL & VGK); as well as Art Ross Trophy contenders Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov in action, with McDavid set to face Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race leader Nathan MacKinnon.

NATIONAL GAMES ON THE RADAR THIS WEEK

Five storylines you need to know about other national broadcasts this week:

1. Capitals-Blue Jackets, Blues’ ASL Awareness Night on Tuesday: Washington and Columbus enter the week contending for the Metropolitan Division’s No. 3 seed and open an ESPN doubleheader capped by St. Louis pitted against Pittsburgh during the Blues’ ASL Awareness Night, which will feature an NHL in ASL special alternate telecast available on the ESPN App for ESPN Unlimited plan subscribers. Notably, Jake Neighbours learned sign language to communicate with his best friend’s mom and was highlighted earlier this season for the work he is doing to raise money and awareness for the Deaf community.
2. Senators seeking Wild Card 1 spot on Wednesday: Ottawa and Boston enter the week jockeying for postseason seeding and the Senators could be in a position to clinch the Eastern Conference’s first Wild Card spot during a “Battle of Ontario” game on Sportsnet. Ottawa will face Carolina or the yet-to-be-determined No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Division during the First Round.
3. Rematch of 1999 Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday: The Sabres enter the week contending with the Lightning and Canadiens for the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Division as well as with the Hurricanes for first place in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo could be in a position to clinch one or both spots against its 1999 Stanley Cup Final opponent Dallas during NHL on TNT’s final telecast of the regular season.
4. Six-game finale has Blues-Mammoth, Kraken-Avalanche on Thursday: The final day of the regular season features an ESPN doubleheader which includes the Mammoth, who will face the Avalanche or the yet-to-be-determined No. 1 seed in the Pacific Division during the First Round. Vegas, Edmonton, Anaheim and Los Angeles enter the week contending for first place, with three of those teams also in action Thursday.
5. Start of 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Saturday): The postseason is set to begin on April 18. Dates, starting times and national television coverage for the First Round will be announced this week.

Forsberg, Ullmark and Larkin Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg, Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark and Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending April 12.

FIRST STAR – ANTON FORSBERG, G, LOS ANGELES KINGS

Forsberg went 3-0-0 with 0.97 goals-against average, .964 save percentage and one shutout to backstop the Kings (34-26-19, 87 points) to a perfect week as they vie for one of the two remaining playoff spots in the Western Conference. He made 29 saves, and denied all three shootout attempts, in a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators – another postseason hopeful – April 6. Forsberg then stopped 24 shots, including each of the last 20 he faced, in a 4-1 triumph against the Vancouver Canucks April 9. He finished the week with 27 saves for his 11th career shutout in a 1-0 win versus the Edmonton Oilers April 11. The 33-year-old Forsberg, playing his first season with Los Angeles, owns a 15-11-5 record through 34 total appearances to rank among the top 10 in the NHL (minimum: 25 GP) in save percentage (7th; .910), shutouts (t-9th; 3) and goals-against average (10th; 2.57).

SECOND STAR – LINUS ULLMARK, G, OTTAWA SENATORS

Ullmark also went 3-0-0, compiling a 1.00 goals-against average, .961 save percentage and one shutout to help the Senators (43-27-11, 97 points) clinch their second straight playoff berth. He stopped 28 shots, including 11 in both the first and third periods, in a 6-2 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning April 7. Ullmark then made 22 saves, falling 5:43 shy of a shutout, in a 5-1 win versus the Florida Panthers April 9. He capped the week with his 15th career shutout, turning aside 23 shots in a 3-0 victory against the New York Islanders April 11 to clinch Ottawa’s 18th all-time postseason appearance. The 32-year-old Ullmark has posted a 28-12-8 record through 49 total games this season (2.73 GAA, .891 SV%, 3 SO), sharing the League lead with 14 wins in 21 appearances since returning from a leave of absence Jan. 31 (2.41 GAA, .904 SV%, 2 SO).

THIRD STAR – DYLAN LARKIN, C, DETROIT RED WINGS

Larkin paced the NHL with 4-4—8 in three games to propel the Red Wings (41-30-9, 91 points) to a 1-1-1 week. He tallied 1-1—2 in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets April 7. Larkin then registered 3-1—4, including his third career hat trick and ninth game-winning goal of the season (tied for third in the League), in a 6-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers April 9. He added two assists in a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils April 11. The 29-year-old Larkin sits third on Detroit with 34-33—67 through 73 total contests this season; his 34 goals are a career high, one ahead of the 33 he scored in 2023-24 (68 GP).