NHL clinches, Presidents’ Trophy
The playoff picture tightened Thursday as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Utah Mammoth clinched postseason berths while the Colorado Avalanche secured the Presidents’ Trophy for the league’s best regular‑season record. ( ) With most clubs having four or fewer games left, the focus shifts now to exact seeding and first‑round matchups. (espn.com)
With one Thursday left on the schedule, two teams that looked very different a year ago both got in: the Pittsburgh Penguins are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2022, and the Utah Mammoth reached the postseason in their first season under that name. (nhl.com) Pittsburgh didn’t just sneak in. The Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils 5-2, moved to 96 points, and locked up second place in the Metropolitan Division, which also gives them home-ice advantage against the third-place Philadelphia Flyers in the first round. (nhl.com) Utah’s path was messier and more dramatic. The Mammoth beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 to get to 88 points, then needed the Anaheim Ducks to beat the San Jose Sharks later that night, which is exactly what happened. (nhl.com) That left Utah holding the first Western Conference wild-card spot, five points clear of the Los Angeles Kings with both teams sitting on only a handful of games left. If the bracket froze there, Utah would open against the Edmonton Oilers. (nhl.com) The other big piece fell in Denver. Colorado beat the Calgary Flames 3-1, climbed to 112 points, and secured the Presidents’ Trophy, which goes to the team with the best regular-season record in the National Hockey League. (nhl.com, nhl.com) Colorado’s win also settled the top of the league before the playoffs even start. The Avalanche improved to 52-16-10, and National Hockey League standings listed them with a +93 goal differential, the best margin shown among playoff teams on April 9. (nhl.com, nhl.com) The playoff format is why Thursday changed so much without finishing the whole bracket. The top three teams in each division qualify automatically, and each conference adds two wild cards, so one win can clinch a spot while still leaving the exact opponent unsettled. (nhl.com) That’s where the race sits now. If the playoffs started Friday, Colorado would face the second Western Conference wild card, Nashville would draw the Avalanche, Dallas would meet Minnesota, Edmonton would get Utah, and Vegas would play Anaheim. (nhl.com, nhl.com) The East is tighter in a different way. Carolina had already clinched the Metropolitan Division, but Buffalo, Tampa Bay, and Montreal were separated by only two points at the top of the Atlantic Division in the official standings update after Thursday’s games. (nhl.com) Friday brings no games at all, so the next shift is purely about sorting seats, not sending invitations. With seven days left in the regular season, the clubs still playing for something are mostly fighting over whether they open at home, on the road, or against Colorado. (nhl.com, nhl.com)
