he Sabres snapped a lengthy postseason drought by clinching a berth in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs and celebrated the occasion with an emotional video narrated by their late play-by-play announcer Rick Jeanneret.
* The Lightning also punched their ticket to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs and will compete in the postseason for a ninth consecutive year.
* Sunday is set to feature the Inside Out Classic between the Capitals and Rangers on ESPN+, Disney+, Disney Channel and Disney XD. Members of both teams answered questions from the award-winning franchise’s main character, Riley, as well as her emotions Anger, Anxiety and Sadness before the real-time animated telecast.
SABRES, LIGHTNING CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTHS thanks to RANGERS’ REGULATION WIN
Just a few short hours before they were in action, the Sabres (46-23-8, 100 points) and Lightning (48-22-6, 102 points) both clinched a berth into the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs by virtue of the Rangers defeating the Red Wings in regulation. For Buffalo, the clinch marked an end to the longest postseason drought in NHL history and for Tampa Bay, it meant matching Colorado for the longest active streak of playoff appearances. Now, the teams will continue to battle for a division title.
* The Sabres ended a 14-season playoff drought and look to build on this year’s success, which has seen them post the League’s best points percentage since mid-December. Among the four other longest stretches between postseason appearances to be halted, the Hurricanes (2019; 9 seasons) and Devils (1988; 9 seasons) each advanced the Conference Finals, the Oilers (2017; 10 seasons) reached the Second Round and the Panthers (2012; 10 seasons) got to Game 7 of their opening series. Of note, the Red Wings (9 seasons without an appearance) can also halt a lengthy streak in 2026.
* Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin enters his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut with the most points by any defenseman in NHL history prior to making their first postseason appearance (101-328—429 in 582 GP). Only two other blueliners had at least 300 points prior to their first playoff game (excludes those who never played or have yet to play): Jay Bouwmeester and Thomas Chabot.
* Darren Raddysh scored his 21st goal of 2025-26 and established a franchise record for most in a season by a defenseman, besting Victor Hedman (20 in 2021-22) and Dan Boyle (20 in 2006-07). Raddysh also became the fifth undrafted defenseman over the past 50 years with at least 21 goals in a campaign, following Guy Lapointe (25 in 1976-77 & 21 in 1975-76), Steve Duchesne (25 in 1988-89 & 21 in 1990-91), Carol Vadnais (22 in 1975-76) and Mark Giordano (21 in 2015-16).
* The Lightning extended their franchise record with a ninth consecutive postseason appearance since 2017-18, tied for the longest active streak in the NHL (w/ COL). They top the NHL in playoff wins (63), series wins (13), trips to the Final (3; tied) and championships (2; tied) over that span.
* Nikita Kucherov enters his 12th career postseason ranking sixth (tied) for points-per-game in playoff history (min. 100 GP). He also ranks in the top 10 in goals (t-7th; 53), assists (2nd; 118) and points (3rd; 171) among all active players.
* Click here for more #NHLStats on the Lightning and Sabres heading to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
VETERANS POWER PENGUINS TO NINE-GOAL PERFORMANCE
A trio of veterans put up big performances for Pittsburgh as Evgeni Malkin (3-1—4) scored a hat trick, Erik Karlsson (1-3—4) posted a four-point game and Sidney Crosby (0-2—2) notched a pair of assists to lift the Penguins (39-22-16, 94 points) to a nine-goal victory – their most in a contest this season.
* With his first goal of the game, Malkin became the third active player to reach the 1,400-point milestone, following Crosby (1,756) and Alex Ovechkin (1,684). However, Malkin wasn’t done there – the 39-year-old found the back of the net two more times and became the oldest player in Penguins history with a hat trick.
* Karlsson recorded his 58th career game with three or more points and tied Brad Park for the ninth most by a defenseman in NHL history. In the process, Karlsson also reached the 50-assist mark in a season for the seventh time in his career and tied Larry Murphy for the fifth most by a blueliner in NHL history behind Paul Coffey (14), Ray Bourque (13), Al MacInnis (10) and Denis Potvin (9).
* Crosby, meanwhile, recorded his 1,756th career point and passed Steve Yzerman (1,755) for seventh place on the NHL’s all-time list. He also passed Yzerman (1,755 w/ DET) for the second-most points with a single franchise in NHL history – a list Gordie Howe (1,809 w/ DET) tops.
AVALANCHE HIT 50 WINS, WILD GAIN GROUND IN CENTRAL DIVISION
The Avalanche and Wild both skated to victory Saturday to improve their respective positions in a competitive Central Division. Colorado (50-15-10, 110 points) defeated Dallas (45-10-12, 102 points) to build an eight-point lead as top seed, while Minnesota (43-21-12, 98 points) gained ground on the second-place Stars for home ice in their likely First Round matchup.
* Nathan MacKinnon scored his League-leading 51st goal of 2025-26 to tie his career high (51 in 2023-24) and take a two-goal lead over Cole Caufield (49) in the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race as the Avalanche became the NHL’s first team to 50 wins in a season for the third time following 2000-01 and 2021-22, when they won their second and third Stanley Cup. Colorado notched its sixth 50-win season since relocating in 1995-96 and tied Dallas as well as Detroit for the most among all teams over that span.
* Quinn Hughes (0-1—1) factored on one of four Minnesota goals and matched a franchise record as the Central Division’s third-place Wild (43-21-12, 98 points) defeated the Senators (39-27-10, 88 points) at Canadian Tire Centre. Hughes boosted his 2025-26 totals to 6-68—74 and tied Phil Housley (68 in 1992-93) and Brian Leetch (68 in 1991-92) for the most assists through 70 games in a season by an American defenseman in NHL history. Forty-seven of Hughes’ assists have come since he was acquired by Minnesota on Dec. 12 (4-47—51 in 44 GP), tying him with Mikko Koivu (47 in 2008-09) for the ninth most in a single season in Wild history.
JARVIS’ JUMP, SCHAEFER SURPASSING HOUSLEY FEATURED IN LIVE UPDATES
Saturday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes from the penultimate 15-game day of the season (also April 11). Some highlights include:
* Nick Suzuki (0-1—1) extended his point streak to five games to propel the Canadiens (45-21-10, 100 points) to their eighth straight win and into second place in the Atlantic Division. It marks their second-longest run in the past 30 years (also 8 GP in 2016-17 & 2005-06), behind 2015-16 (9 GP).
* Alex Ovechkin (1,831) recorded two assists to pass Joe Sakic (1,829) for sole possession of ninth place on the NHL’s all-time points list (including playoffs) and helped the Capitals (39-29-9, 87 points) move within one point of the Senators (39-27-10, 88 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
* Adrian Kempe (2-2—4) recorded his fourth career four-point game and Artemi Panarin (1-2—3) added to his totals since joining the Kings to help Los Angeles (31-26-19, 81 points) move into a Wild Card seed, where they stayed for two hours before being overtaken by Nashville. Saturday’s contest featured four combined game-tying goals between the Maple Leafs and Kings and also saw Los Angeles set the NHL record for the most games requiring overtime in a single season (31 GP). The Kings’ next contest is against the Predators on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.
* Clayton Keller (3-1—4) scored his third career hat trick – and first since Jan. 22, 2023 – to power Utah (40-30-6, 86 points) to a third straight win as the Mammoth retained a five-point lead as the first Wild Card in the West. Utah has scored six hat tricks this season, tied with Edmonton for the most among all teams.
* Ryan O’Reilly (1-1—2) recorded the go-ahead tally as the Predators (36-31-9, 81 points) quelled a three-goal comeback attempt by the Sharks and surpassed San Jose (36-32-7, 79 points) for the Western Conference’s final Wild Card spot, which has changed hands three times since April 1.
* Jack Eichel (0-3—3) propelled the Golden Knights (35-26-16, 86 points) to a pivotal win against the Oilers (39-29-9, 87 points), who top the Pacific Division, and their third straight since John Tortorella took over as head coach. Eichel recorded his 25th three-point game as a member of the Golden Knights, which tied Jonathan Marchessault for the second most in franchise history behind Mark Stone (31).
* Seth Jarvis (2-1—3) helped the Hurricanes (49-21-6, 104 points) maintain their two-point lead atop the Eastern Conference standings, while Matthew Schaefer (0-1—1) reached 58 points to pass Phil Housley (57) for the most by an 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history.
MOODY FEATURED AS PART OF WOMEN IN HOCKEY SERIES
Saturday’s Women in Hockey presented by Canadian Tire put the spotlight on Wynn Moody, Canucks’ senior vice president, fan experience and assistant general manager of Rogers Arena. With 14 years of experience with the organization, Moody leads a talented team who focuses on creating unforgettable moments for fans.
QUICK CLICKS
* Brent Burns becomes second player in NHL history with 1,000-game “Ironman” streak
* ‘Absolute horse’ Owen Tippett’s speed, scoring, power fueling Flyers‘ playoff push
* Legendary broadcaster Howie Rose honored by Rangers
* Sabres celebrate playoff berth with late Rick Jeanneret
* Taber, Alberta named winner of Kraft Hockeyville 2026
SUNDAY HAS INSIDE OUT CLASSIC AND DOUBLEHEADERS ON ESPN, TNT, SPORTSNET
Sunday’s seven-game slate is highlighted by the NHL, ESPN, Disney and Pixar teaming up to bring fans the Inside Out Classic between the Capitals (39-29-9, 87 points) and Rangers (32-36-9, 73 points). ESPN+, Disney+, Disney Channel and Disney XD will present the real-time animated telecast from “Hockey Island,” which will leverage tracking technology to present the action with characters from the franchise Inside Out skating alongside animated versions of Washington and New York players.
* The traditional broadcast of the Capitals–Rangers game will be available on ESPN in the first half of a doubleheader capped by the Blues (32-31-12, 76 points) battling the League-leading Avalanche (50-15-10, 110 points), with each contest also carried by Sportsnet in Canada. Sunday is also set to feature a pair of NHL on TNT matinees involving the Wild (43-21-12, 98 points) visiting the Red Wings (40-28-8, 88 points) followed by the Flyers (38-26-12, 88 points) hosting the Bruins (43-26-8, 94 points).