Standings and Game Reviews are below the introduction

Introduction

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a time of jubilation, screaming at the refs, and profound disappointment for hockey fans everywhere, of which I am one. The team I root for, the New Jersey Devils, started this season out very well but since starting defenseman Dougie Hamilton went down for the year with a torn pec in November, the Devils have been rotting in mediocrity on the fringe of the playoffs. Somehow they are still only a handful of points out of a playoff spot despite having lost with alarming regularity. I for one am hoping beyond hope that the Devils are successful in their quest to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Regardless of whether or not New Jersey makes the playoffs, I will be covering each round, series, and game weekly from now until the trophy presentation in mid-June. Let’s start by explaining how.

You may be wondering, “Why should I care about the Stanley Cup Playoffs if I don’t even know what the teams are in the NHL?” The Stanley Cup is one of the most storied and coveted trophies in sports, in use since it was first bestowed upon the best hockey team in Canada in 1892. The leadup to it is fantastic fun to watch, and the trophy presentation is one of the most emotional moments an athlete can experience. The goals, the skating, the celebration, the atrocious officiating. It’s all good fun, and at times, nothing short of thrilling.

So what has happened in the NHL to get us to this point? Who’s in, who’s out, and for whom do we not yet know? What positions play? How is the game played? Officiated?

The NHL season started in mid-October, and it has been a very fun year to follow as a fan. There have been some things everyone expected to happen, some that no one expected to happen, and the obligatory oddball occurrences that happen every week.

Hockey is played on ice. Each team is allowed six players (five skaters and a goaltender). The skaters are divided into forwards, who typically do most of the offensive work, and defensemen, who typically do defensive work. There are further divisions within forwards and defensemen, as there are offensive and defensive players in each. Some players, like Colorado Avalanche offensive defenseman Cale Makar, are simply absurdly good at both aspects of their jobs. Makar is one of the best defenders in the league and also one of the best attackers in the league. His skill is paralleled by very few players. If a team commits a penalty, they go on the penalty kill. This means they will have one (or sometimes two, if two players are sent to the penalty box) fewer skaters on the ice for two, four, or five minutes, depending on the type and severity of the penalty. Teams have one captain and a handful of alternate captains (sometimes called assistant captains), distinguished from the rest of the team by letters on their jerseys. Usually captains are assigned based on leadership qualities and performance on the ice. I have heard of only one instance in which a team’s captain was healthy scratched (told he wasn’t playing right before the game despite being in perfectly capable physical condition).

How teams win is by scoring more goals than the other team. The goals are placed close to, but not at, either end of the ice. Their placement allows players to skate behind the goal to retrieve pucks and whatnot. The game is started and restarted with a face-off, taken at a face-off dot inside a face-off circle. The rink is divided into three zones, of which one (the neutral zone, in the center) is the same for both teams. The other two, offensive and defensive zones, depend on the orientation of the teams on the rink. The center of the rink is marked by the red line, and the neutral zone is bordered by the two blue lines. In front of each goal is the crease, also called the blue paint, which marks where offensive players are not allowed to step. It also serves as one of the areas where the goalie is allowed to play the puck, which is essentially possessing and passing it. The other area the goalie is allowed to do this is behind the goal, called the trapezoid due to its shape. If players commit infractions, for example slashing (hitting an opposing player with your stick or hitting an opposing player’s stick with your stick), high-sticking (hitting an opposing player above the waist with your stick except on shot follow-throughs), or holding, they get sent to the penalty box for two, four, or five minutes depending on type and severity. Sometimes the penalty box is playfully called the sin bin.

Those are the basics of hockey. It’s way more complicated, but to explain everything would take decades at least, so I will interweave further explanations into the reviews as needed.

Installment 3: Release April 19th

Key: clinched, not clinched, eliminated

Apr 18, 2024.

Canucks 2, Jets 4.

Oilers 1, Avalanche 5.

Ducks 4, Golden Knights 1.

Blackhawks 4, Kings 5. Overtime.

Now all playoff matchups are set, the regular season having ended. The playoffs begin April 20, and this year will be a very fun year for playoff hockey. The matchups are as follows:

Panthers vs. Lightning (Battle of Florida in the first round! Yes!)

Bruins vs. Maple Leafs (classic rivalry)

Rangers vs. Capitals

Hurricanes vs. Islanders (second year in a row)

Canucks vs. Predators

Oilers vs. Kings (third year in a row)

Stars vs. Golden Knights (rematch of last year’s second round)

Jets vs. Avalanche

Apr 17, 2024.

Maple Leafs 4, Lightning 6. Two major milestones could have been hit in this game. Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov came into this game with 99 assists and Leafs forward Auston Matthews came into the game with 69 goals. Kucherov got to 100 assists, becoming the fifth player to ever do so, and also making this year the second time ever that two players hit the 100-assist mark in the same season. Matthews played a good bit in the third period, and was on the ice for all three Leafs goals in that period, but none hit him or his stick immediately before going in the net. For each goal, the whole Leafs bench looked dejected, which is very rarely seen, because Matthews was unable to hit 70 goals. Despite this late-season failure, he finished the regular season with the most goals in 28 years.

Penguins 4, Islanders 5.

Blues 1, Stars 2. Shootout.

Oilers 2, Coyotes 5. The Coyotes relocation to Salt Lake City had long been a joke and more seriously rumored this month. The owner of the Utah Jazz commented this week that the rumors were true, all but confirming the move. The Coyotes announced at this game that the relocation is official. The team had long been struggling with arena agreements and ticket sales, having downgraded to a 5,000-seat arena and almost never being able to fill it (except with Rangers fans, who go everywhere their team goes). Despite this, the fans showed up and showed out as usual and celebrated their soon-to-be-defunct team in action for the last time. This game was not relevant for anyone, so it was more of a moral win for the Yotes, who will go into the darkness of the NHL’s past teams with a win as a sendoff. Their name and logo will change because the owner intends to keep all the rights to them and bring the team back as an expansion team in 2027 or 2028.

Apr 16, 2024.

After today, all the playoff spots are filled. Sixteen teams are in, sixteen are out.

Maple Leafs 2, Panthers 5. The Panthers clinch the top spot in the Atlantic with this win in conjunction with the Bruins’ loss.

Senators 3, Bruins 1. The Bruins losing this game hands the Atlantic title to the Panthers. The Bruins’ first-round matchup will be against the Leafs, and this will be a fun one. There may be some bad blood because of past games and the general Bruins-Leafs rivalry.

Red Wings 5, Canadiens 4. Shootout. The Wings tied it with 3.3 seconds to go on a beautiful one-timer from the point (as close to the neutral zone as it’s possible to get while still being in the offensive zone) and won it in a shootout, but it didn’t matter. The Wings’ streak of missing the playoffs is extended to eight straight years.

Capitals 2, Flyers 1. The Flyers pulled their goalie when it was 1–1, and that cost them the game. The Caps only had to win and they were in the playoffs, and since they were one of four teams fighting for one spot, the other three were eliminated. That includes the Red Wings, who ground out a gritty win in Montreal in a futile effort to get in the postseason.

Apr 15, 2024.

Sabres 4, Lightning 2. The Sabres keep giving teams fits in a late push to get a better 0% chance of making the playoffs. If they only played like that when they still had a chance to make it then they might make it.

Predators 2, Penguins 4.

Bruins 0, Capitals 2.

Islanders 4, Devils 1. The Devils close their season by laying an egg (playing a terrible game). It must be the uniforms. They hardly ever win when they wear their alternate uniforms.

Canadiens 4, Red Wings 5. It was 4–1…

Sharks 2, Oilers 9. Not a remotely relevant game, but history was made. Oilers forward and captain Connor McDavid became just the fourth player in NHL history to record 100 assists in one season and the first since the 1988-89 season, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Bobby Orr, three of the greatest to ever touch ice.

Senators 0, Rangers 4. The Rangers did not need this game, but winning it clinched them the President’s Trophy, awarded to the team with the best record in the regular season. Its winners have been ousted within the first two rounds almost every season recently, so we shall see whether the President’s Trophy Curse strikes again.

Apr 14, 2024.

Avalanche 3, Golden Knights 4. Overtime. Another three-goal lead at the end of the second period was squandered in spectacular fashion. The Avs had a few good chances to retake a two-goal lead but failed each time, and the Golden Knights took it in overtime on another tip-in game winner, this time from trade-deadline (the time after which players who are signed or traded for are ineligible to play for their new team until the following season) acquisition Tomas Hertl.

Apr 13, 2024.

Islanders 2, Ranges 3. Shootout.

Jets 7, Avalanche 0. Everyone was thinking the whole year that the Jets might be frauds, but they dispelled those notions once and for all with this dominant win over a juggernaut team.

Sabres 2, Panthers 3. Shootout. Once again, the Sabres play their best when it doesn’t in the least matter for them.

Devils 0, Flyers 1.

Lightning 2, Capitals 4. The Caps move back into a playoff spot with this win.

Red Wings 5, Maple Leafs 4. Overtime. The Wings had a 4–1 lead at the end of the second period, and what do you know! They blew it. Captain Dylan Larkin came in clutch with the OT game winner on a beautiful tip-in (redirecting the puck into the net).

Bruins 6, Penguins 4.

Canucks 3, Oilers 1.

Apr 12, 2024.

Hurricanes 5, Blues 2.

Wild 2, Golden Knights 7.

Apr 11, 2024.

Red Wings 5, Penguins 6. Overtime.

Flyers 4, Rangers 1. The Flyer’s eight-game losing streak comes to a close against the Rangers, who are far from the first team one would expect to lose to Philadelphia, especially considering that Philly lost 9–3 to the Canadiens only two days prior.

Sabres 4, Capitals 2.

Devils 6, Maple Leafs 5. Goaltending went to die in this game, but forward Jesper Bratt put the game on his stick in the third period.

Jets 3, Oilers 0.

Apr 10, 2024.

Golden Knights 1, Oilers 5,

Apr 9, 2024.

Maple Leafs 5, Devils 2. Disappointing. In fairness, the Leafs are a terrific hockey team and they have now-66-goal scorer Auston Matthews. They are a formidable foe for sure. The Leafs scored two in 10 seconds late in the second (lucky me tuned in just for that), which put them up 3–2. The third goal, a slapshot (when a player raises their stick and slaps it at the puck to shoot) from the blue line, was scored by 40-year-old Mark Giordano.

Hurricanes 4, Bruins 1. The Michigan strikes again. Brief side note mentioning retroactively two other goals: In a fairly irrelevant game between the eliminated Blue Jackets and the Islanders on April 4, there were two absolute beauties scored. I was going to mention it last week but forgot. Anyway, these goals were amazing and I was reminded of them by something even better, which I will share after. First, Isles forwards Matt Barzal and Bo Horvat were in on goal in a 2-on-1 (two attackers and one defender) situation. Barzal slid an absolutely pretty pass to Horvat who one-timed (hit once, that is to say, did not control it first) the puck into the net. It was reminiscent of a pair of filthy one-timers earlier in the year that were some of the most impressive goals this season. Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko was not to be outdone, however. The very next goal scored was his. From behind the goal line he banked it off Isles goalie Ilya Sorokin’s face and in. Rare and pretty is the goal that is scored in such a fashion. Both of these were beaten by Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov, who pulled off the THIRD Michigan goal (when a player picks the puck up sideways on the blade of their stick and throws it into the net) of the year (and of his career)! The first two were on the same night, one from rookie phenom Connor Bedard (he’s the only rookie who has the guts to try it) and Ducks forward Trevor Zegras, who has built himself somewhat of a reputation for ridiculous stick handling, having pulled off four Michigans and a Michigan assist (he tossed it in front of goal where them- teammate Sonny Milano batted it in baseball-style). Zegras is one of the only players, maybe the only player, who can pull off the Michigan while skating full speed, but Svechnikov came close. He possessed the puck, skated behind net, picked it up, and tossed it in over the ever encroaching stick of a Bruins defenseman. Yes, this was against the Boston Bruins, one of the best teams in the NHL. The puck went in and out of the net so fast that it had to be reviewed to be confirmed as a goal, but what a goal it was.

Capitals 2, Red Wings 1. The Wings outshot the Caps 43–23 but lost. Surely that’s an isolated incident…

Jets 4, Predators 3. The Jets got outshot 48–22. Massive advantages in shots definitely don’t always correspond to wins.

Flyers 3, Canadiens 9. The Flyers’ playoff chances are dwindling with every game in their current losing streak and surrendering nine goals on 30 shots is not what you want to see from your goalies.

Wild 2, Avalanche 5.

Rangers 2, Islanders 4.

Sabres 2, Stars 3.

Installment 2: Release April 10th

Standings

As of Apr 8, 2024 12:00 PM.

Key: clinched, not clinched, eliminated

Breakdown of NHL Events by Day

Apr 8, 2024.

Penguins 2, Maple Leafs 3.

Golden Knights 3, Canucks 4.

Apr 7, 2024.

Predators 3, Devils 2. Shootout. Penalty shots always give the Devils fits.

Sabres 1, Red Wings 3.

Stars 7, Avalanche 4. This was a good game between two Central juggernauts. The Avs are consistently in the top of the standings and talked about, but the Stars have been the silent killer all season. They have a young superstar in forward Jason Robertson, an aging but still invaluable weapon in forward Joe Pavelski, an excellent stalwart defenseman in Miro Heiskanen, and a top-tier goaltender in Jake Oettinger. The Stars seem poised to make a deep playoff run and will be an incredibly fun team to watch this year.

Apr 6, 2024.

Lightning 4, Penguins 5. 4–1 must be a cursed lead. The Penguins were up 4–1 at the end of the second (it’s alway the end of the second), but allowed three straight for the tie. They ended up scoring the game winner with about five minutes to go. Early in the third period, an official collided with a Lightning defenseman in a scary collision and was stretchered off the ice. The official was briefly unconscious but quickly recovered consciousness and is expected to recover.

Panthers 2, Bruins 3.

Jets 4, Wild 2.

Devils 4, Senators 3. 4–1 must be a cursed lead. Jersey led 4–1 at one point in the second then allowed two. Got the win anyway. It was a tense last couple minutes.

Predators 0, Islanders 2.

Oilers 4, Flames 2. The Battle of Alberta isn’t what it used to be, but it is still fun. The Oilers scored two, then the Flames scored two, and then the Oilers scored two more.

Canucks 3, Kings 6.

Apr 5, 2024.

Flyers 2, Sabres 4.

Capitals 2, Hurricanes 4.

Rangers 4, Red Wings 3.

Avalanche 2, Oilers 6.

Golden Knights 4, Coyotes 7. A meaningless game but I have to talk about it. Vegas was up 4–1 at the end of the second period, and then they had a colossal choke, allowing six straight goals in the third to lose the game.

Apr 4, 2024.

Bruins 4, Hurricanes 1.

Penguins 4, Capitals 1.

Avalanche 5, Wild 2.

Blues 3, Predators 6.

Flames 2, Jets 5. With this game, the Flames are eliminated from playoff contention and the Jets clinch a spot, becoming the third team in the Central Division to do so.

Apr 3, 2024.

Devils 3, Rangers 4. The game started with a very likely planned-in-advance line brawl (when all five skaters fight each other at the same time). Four game misconducts were assessed each team: defensemen Kevin Bahl and John Marino and forwards Kurtis MacDermid and Chris Tierney for New Jersey and defensemen Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller and forwards Matt Liability (I mean Rempe) and Barclay Goodrow for New York. Forwards Curtis Lazar (NJ) and Jimmy Vesey (NYR) were additionally assessed major penalties for fighting. All of that occurred two seconds into the game. Later in the first period, Devils forward Dawson Mercer and Rangers forward Will Cuylle fought and were each given five minutes for it. Mercer was also assessed a minor for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct. In total, New Jersey was assessed 88 penalty minutes, and New York 78. Of those, four total came after the first period. Half of a hooking (holding an opponent back with your stick) minor was served in the second, but only one Rangers minor was assessed in that period, and only one Devils minor in the third. That means that 162 penalty minutes were assessed in the first period, including the 130 from the opening line brawl (game misconducts are calculated as ten for some reason?). Why hockey players plan fights in advance is beyond me. Personally, I find it disgraceful and just awful. Staged fights bring nothing to the game. I don’t mind a good fight if it’s someone answering the bell for a dangerous hit, but staged fights, especially line brawls, are a waste of everyone’s time. For all the NHL preaches about preserving the integrity of the game, allowing line brawls (let’s be real, sitting out the rest of a game is hardly a punishment) is in direct opposition to it. NHL officiating is awful and has been for decades, and the league is a bunch of hypocrites at times. Line brawls do nothing for the game, but many fans love them. I don’t understand it, but that’s just me.

Oilers 0, Stars 5. This surprised me since the Oilers have so much offensive firepower. That is not to say the Stars don’t, it’s just that the Oilers have a level of talent that’s almost unfair and only paralleled by the Avalanche.

Kraken 2, Kings 5.

Lightning 4, Maple Leafs 1.

Installment 1: Release April 3rd

Not all games will be shown here. That would just take too long to write and too long to read. I’m only talking about marquee matchups and games with influence over the playoffs.

Mar 9, 2024.

The Chicago Blackhawks are eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Washington Capitals and a Vegas Golden Knights win over the Detroit Red Wings.

Mar 12, 2024.

The San Jose Sharks are eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers and a Vegas Golden Knights win over the Seattle Kraken.

Rangers forward Matt Rempe was tossed late in the second period for elbowing Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in the face. He was suspended for four games. I was at that game and saw the play live, and it reinforced my disdain for Rempe. In his twelve games with the Rangers, he has one goal, one assist, four fighting majors, 69:10 total ice time (5:45 average), 54 penalty minutes (4.5 penalty minutes per game), two game misconducts (both against the Devils for elbows to the head, although one was called illegal head contact and one was called elbowing), and a four-game suspension. Way to go, Matt Liability…I mean Rempe. The Rangers won that game, 3–1.

Mar 14, 2024.

Devils 2, Stars 6. The Devils finally were able to break out of mediocrity, if even for one game. This one was a good one for fans who like seeing players who haven’t scored in a while score a goal or two.

Panthers 0, Hurricanes 4.

Rangers 3, Lightning 6.

Maple Leafs 6, Flyers 2.

Golden Knights 1, Flames 4.

Mar 16, 2024.

Devils 1, Coyotes 4. Absolute show of incompetence on the part of New Jersey. The Coyotes are one of the worst teams in the league and chronically can’t fill their 5,000-seat arena (yes, it is puny), and yet the Devils, widely expected to be one of the better teams this year, manage to lose 4–1? Pathetic.

Lightning 5, Panthers 3. Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had a rare off night, surrendering four goals on fifteen shots. (The fifth Lightning goal was an empty netter.) Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed just three goals on a whopping 50 Panthers shots. Panthers defenseman Dmitri Kulikov was ejected in the second period for an illegal check to the head of Lightning defenseman Conor Sheary.

Mar 17, 2024.

The Anaheim Ducks are eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the St. Louis Blues and a Vegas Golden Knights win over the Devils. Speaking of the Vegas win over Jersey,

Devils 1, Golden Knights 3. Excusable. The Knights are a good team. Not a great game, but excusable.

Mar 19, 2024.

Sharks 2, Predators 8. The Predators’ point streak continues, fifteen games as of this one.

Penguins 2, Devils 5.

Jets 4, Rangers 2. Both teams have essentially stamped their tickets to the playoffs already, so at this point it is all about where they will place in the standings. Placing higher often means an easier opponent in the first round.

Maple Leafs 3, Flyers 4.

Hurricanes 4, Islanders 1.

Avalanche 4, Blues 3. Avalanche star forward (one of a few) Mikko Rantanen scored three in this one, recording a hat trick.The Avalanche have won nine straight as of the 25th, outscoring their opponents by a collective score of 42–18 during that span, including a thriller on national TV against the Penguins in which the Avs came back from 4–0 down to win 5–4 in overtime. The Avs proceeded to lose their next game to one of the worst teams in the league, the Montreal Canadiens, 2–1.

Lightning 5, Golden Knights 3. This was a huge game for both teams, and Tampa Bay came out on top. This win helped them massively in their playoff hunt. Since then, the Lightning have padded their lead over the second wild-card team in the Eastern Conference. Each division sends its top three to the playoffs, and each conference sends the top two outside of that bracket as well. Those final four are the wild card teams.

Mar 20, 2024.

Wild 0, Kings 6.

Maple Leafs 7, Capitals 3. Capitals forward Tom Wilson was suspended for 6 games for high-sticking Toronto Maple Leafs center Noah Gregor. This means Wilson’s stick was above the level of the crossbar at the time of contact and not on the follow-through of a shot. Wilson has a lengthy rap sheet and a reputation for being a dirty player. He has had numerous run-ins with the officials over the years, getting suspended several times.

Mar 21, 2024.

Jets 1, Devils 4. Good to see Jersey stringing together some wins again. Let’s hope that it lasts longer than two games…

Mar 23, 2024.

Senators 5, Devils 2. The streak didn’t last.

Mar 24, 2024.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are eliminated from playoff contention with a Washington Capitals shutout win over the Winnipeg Jets.

Devils 4, Islanders 0. It would really be nice if the Devils found an identity. Either be good or be terrible. The inconsistency is exasperating.

Mar 26, 2024.

The Arizona Coyotes are eliminated from playoff contention when the Vegas Golden Knights gained a point in their overtime loss to the Nashville Predators.

Devils 6, Maple Leafs 3. I’m very happy the Devils are finally starting to find a rhythm (only to lose to the Ottawa Senators recently), starting to win some games, starting to finally get half-decent goaltending, and above all, the power play is humming again. The Devils went four for 62 over the course of about four months between Dougie Hamilton’s injury and the firing of head coach Lindy Ruff. Since then, New Jersey has been much, much better with a man advantage. Hopefully teams should again be wary of taking penalties against the Devils.

Flyers 5, Rangers 6. Overtime. The Rangers clinch a playoff spot, the first team to do so.

Red Wings 3, Capitals 4. Overtime.

Hurricanes 1, Penguins 4. Surprising loss for the Canes, having been the best team in the league in the calendar year 2024.

Bruins 4, Panthers 3. In another repeat of last year’s first-round series between the record-breaking, 65-win, 135-point, best-of-all-time Boston Bruins and eighth-seeded Florida Panthers (who ended up being a dark horse all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals), the Panthers lose this one by the same score as they won the series by after Boston blew a 3–1 series lead.

Predators 5, Golden Knights 4. Overtime. Vegas was up 4–1 at one point, and lost the game in overtime. This one had shades of an infamous playoff game in 2012 in which the Toronto Maple Leafs, now famous for not being able to maintain a lead until the end of the game, had a 4–1 lead erased by the Bruins in the last 11 minutes of the third period in game 7 of the second round. The Bruins won that game, 5–4.

Oilers 4, Jets 3. Overtime.

Mar 27, 2024.

Bruins 1, Lightning 3. Boston could have clinched a spot in the playoffs with a point, but failed to do so.

The Predators’ point streak is eighteen as of this day. They have won sixteen games during that span and lost two in overtime. How standings points work is that wins get a team two points, overtime losses almost always get one, and regulation losses get zero.

Mar 28, 2024.

Capitals 1, Maple Leafs 5.

Islanders 3, Panthers 2.

Red Wings 0, Hurricanes 4.

Golden Knights 4, Jets 1.

Flames 3, Blues 5. Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington had two points. Yes, you read that right. A goalie had multiple points, both assists. How points for players work is that each of the last three players on the scoring team to touch the puck before the goal is scored get points, unless fewer than three players touched the puck between the time the scoring team gained possession and the goal.

Rangers 3, Avalanche 2. Shootout.

Kings 1, Oilers 4.

Stars 3, Canucks 1.

Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle slashed Flyers forward Travis Konecny and earned himself a one-game suspension.

Mar 29, 2024.

Devils 2, Sabres 5. Disgraceful.

Mar 30, 2024.

Red Wings 2, Panthers 3. Shootout.

Golden Knights 2, Wild 1. Overtime. This game demonstrated a very confusing and interesting quirk in overtime rules. Normally, if a team loses in overtime, they get one point in the standings. This point is not awarded if the team that loses pulls their goalie, usually only done when a team is losing by one or two goals late in a game. Goalies are pulled (called to the bench) in order to gain a man advantage not by getting a power play, but by simply putting a sixth skater on the ice. The Wild pulled their goalie in overtime once already this year, but forward Matt Boldy scored the game winner. He said after the game that he didn’t know of the rule. This time, the Wild pulled their goalie again, but the Knights scored an empty netter, winning the game and denying the Wild the loser point. Wild forward Ryan Hartman also got suspended for three games for acting in an unsportsmanlike manner towards the officials. This is his second suspension this season.

Predators 4, Avalanche 7.

Islanders 1, Lightning 4.

Maple Leafs 3, Sabres 0.

Kings 2, Flames 4.

Apr 1, 2024.

Islanders 4, Flyers 3. Overtime.

Penguins 5, Rangers 2.

Red Wings 4, Lightning 2.

Maple Leafs 6, Panthers 4.

Kings 3, Jets 4.

Oilers 2, Blues 3.

Apr 2, 2024.

Penguins 6, Devils 3. The Penguins are the oldest team in the NHL, with players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, the three of whom have played together for eighteen seasons. I’m not too happy about this one, but Pittsburgh scored five in the third period, and that certainly helped their push to victory.

Bruins 3, Predators 0.

Capitals 2, Sabres 6.

Canucks 3, Golden Knights 6. An epic Pacific Division showdown between two very good teams, one of whom has already clinched a playoff spot and one of whom is closer to doing so. The Canucks, having already clinched a spot, would be hesitant to give it their all in an effort to preserve their stars’ energy for the playoffs. Canucks star defenseman and captain Quinn Hughes scored twice, but the Knights’ continuous onslaught was too much for Vancouver. Not that Vancouver was definitely really trying, though.

Standings

As of Apr 3, 2024 12:00 PM. The standings show where each team is in their respective division in terms of points (wins, losses, and overtime losses). A few other stats are shown, but they are far less important. Each conference (Eastern and Western, shown in parentheses) has sixteen teams divided amongst two divisions. The top three from each division go to the playoffs automatically. The next best two from each conference are the wild-card teams. Those that miss the playoffs are entered into the draft lottery, which determines at which point they will select in the upcoming draft. There have been exceptions and peculiarities, but for the most part it is uniform.

Team has clinched playoff spot

Team has not clinched any spot

Team has clinched draft lottery spot