The remaining Eastern Conference opening-round series are set, the Mammoth clinch the first Western Conference wild card, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines
RECAPPING TUESDAY’S GAMES
NHL.COM: David Pastrnak collected an assist for his 100th point of the season as the Boston Bruins blanked the New Jersey Devils 4-0 to clinch the first Eastern Conference wild-card berth. Jeremy Swayman turned in a 21-save shutout while Mark Kastelic scored twice for the 45-27-10 Bruins, who finished the season with 100 points and will face the Buffalo Sabres in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nico Daws made 22 saves for the Devils.
Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth consecutive season that Pastrnak has reached the 100-point plateau. Bruins center Pavel Zacha left the game to attend to a family matter.
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi stopped 28 shots in a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders. Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Jankowski scored for the Hurricanes (53-22-7), who finish the season in first place in the Eastern Conference (113 points) and will face the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the upcoming playoffs. Bo Horvat replied for the Islanders.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The idle Senators clinched the final Eastern wild card with 97 points. They play their final game of the regular season on Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Senators captain Brady Tkachuk will miss that game with an undisclosed injury, but he’ll be ready for Game 1 against the Hurricanes this weekend.
For the first time in NHL history, the Devils, Islanders, and New York Rangers have missed the playoffs in the same year.
The Utah Mammoth (43-32-6) clinched the first Western Conference wild-card spot with 92 points after defeating the Winnipeg Jets 5-3. Nick Schmaltz scored twice, Logan Cooley had a goal and an assist, and Clayton Keller picked up an assist to extend his points streak to a franchise-record nine games. Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi each had two points for the Jets.
Philadelphia Flyers rookie Oliver Bonk had a goal and an assist in his NHL debut as his club doubled up the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. Matvei Michkov had a goal and two assists for the Flyers, who will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round of the playoffs. The Canadiens finished third in the Atlantic Division and will start their first-round playoff series in Tampa Bay against the Lightning on Sunday.
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon scored his league-leading 53rd goal of the season in a 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Martin Necas collected an assist to reach 100 points for the first time in his career, and Cale Makar collected three assists for the first-overall Avalanche. Blake Coleman scored for the Flames.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: MacKinnon will win the Maurice Richard Trophy as this season’s leading goal scorer for the first time. Makar was returning from an upper-body injury that had sidelined him for seven games.
Minnesota Wild rookie Hunter Haight scored his first NHL goal, and Jesper Wallstedt kicked out 35 shots to beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2. Mason McTavish scored both goals for the 42-33-6 Ducks, who sit third in the Pacific Division with 90 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Wild will face the Dallas Stars in the opening round. The Ducks are still waiting to find out who their first-round opponent will be.
An overtime goal by Jake DeBrusk gave the Vancouver Canucks a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings. DeBrusk finished the game with two goals for the Canucks. Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist for the Kings (35-26-20), who hold the final Western wild card with 90 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kings and Ducks each still have a game remaining. If the Kings win or collect an overtime point and the Ducks lose in regulation, the Kings will finish third in the Pacific Division while the Ducks will drop into that final wild-card spot.
The Pittsburgh Penguins finished their season with a 7-5 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Jimmy Snuggerud had two goals and two assists, and Dylan Holloway had two goals and an assist for the Blues. Rookie Avery Hayes tallied twice for the Penguins, who finished second in the Metropolitan Division and will meet the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin collected an assist in what might be his final NHL game in a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Anthony Beauvillier and Jakob Chychrun scored for the Capitals. Boone Jenner tallied for the Blue Jackets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ovechkin is still undecided about his future, but he said he hopes this game was not his last in the NHL. He’s an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and he could retire from the NHL and return to Russia to finish his playing career.
Meanwhile, Blue Jackets interim coach Rick Bowness ripped into his players after this game, citing the club’s lack of a winning culture.
“All you’ve got to do is look at the stat sheet,” Bowness said. “Three hits. Twenty-three giveaways. Like, I don’t know if I’m back (next season), but if I’m back, I’m changing this culture. These guys, they don’t care. Losing is not important to them. It doesn’t bother them. Like, how can you go out and play like that?”
The Blue Jackets hired Bowness as interim coach in mid-January. Their players responded well at first, surging from the bottom of the Eastern Conference into second place in the Metropolitan Division by March 25. However, the Jackets went 2-8-1 in their last 11 games, missing the playoffs for the sixth straight year.
IN OTHER NEWS…
DAILY FACEOFF: Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz will not be in the opening two games of his club’s first-round series against the Wild. He’s been sidelined with a lower-body injury since March 6.
THE SCORE: Former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving and Pittsburgh Penguins executive Jason Spezza will lead Canada’s management group at the 2026 IIHF World Championships.
THE ATHLETIC: The Tampa Bay Lightning is considered the NHL’s best-run franchise, and the Vancouver Canucks are considered the worst-run among a poll of NHL player agents.
The Minnesota Wild is ranked as the easiest franchise to deal with, while the Anaheim Ducks are considered to be the most difficult.