NHL clinches and trophy
Two playoff berths were clinched and the regular‑season title decided: the Pittsburgh Penguins and Utah Mammoth locked up postseason spots, and the Colorado Avalanche secured the Presidents’ Trophy. (usatoday.com) With every NHL team down to four or fewer games left, ESPN says final seeding and wild‑card order will be decided in a very small window, and the league’s official clinching scenarios were posted on April 9. (espn.com) (nhl.com)
With four or fewer games left for every team, the National Hockey League finally got three of its biggest late-season answers on April 9: Pittsburgh is in, Utah is in, and Colorado finished first overall. (usatoday.com) Colorado locked up the Presidents’ Trophy by beating the Calgary Flames 3-1 at Ball Arena, which gave the Avalanche the league’s best regular-season record. Nathan MacKinnon scored his 52nd goal and added two assists in the clinching win. (nhl.com) The Presidents’ Trophy is the National Hockey League award for the team that finishes with the most standings points, so it is the regular-season crown, not the Stanley Cup itself. The trophy has been awarded since the 1985-86 season. (nhl.com) Pittsburgh grabbed its spot the direct way, by beating the New Jersey Devils and ending a playoff drought that had lasted since the 2021-22 season. The Penguins said the berth is their first since that season and noted they rank second in the league in goals scored with 282. (nhl.com) Utah needed help as well as a win, and it got both pieces on the same night. The Mammoth beat the Nashville Predators 4-1, and the Anaheim Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks, which together clinched Utah’s first playoff berth in franchise history. (nhl.com) That made April 9 a landmark night for a team still in only its second season under the Utah name. National Hockey League coverage called it the first Stanley Cup Playoffs berth in franchise history, and the win over Nashville was Utah’s fifth straight. (nhl.com) The reason these clinches came so late is the standings math: the National Hockey League gives two points for a win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss, and no points for a regulation loss. When almost every contender is separated by only a few points in early April, one night can flip a division seed or a wild-card place. (espn.com) The league had posted exact clinching paths before the games, and Utah’s was a good example of how narrow the window had become. The Mammoth needed a regulation win over Nashville plus any Anaheim win over San Jose, and that is exactly what happened. (nhl.com) Pittsburgh’s clinch mattered beyond just getting in, because the Penguins were also fighting for second place in the Metropolitan Division and the home-ice edge that comes with it in the first round. National Hockey League playoff coverage said Pittsburgh entered the night holding that second-place spot. (nhl.com) Colorado’s trophy win settled the top of the league, but it did not settle the bracket underneath it. ESPN said the final seeding and wild-card order would be decided in a very small window, which means the matchups can still move even after teams have already punched their tickets. (espn.com) So the picture now is simple in one way and chaotic in another: the Avalanche own the regular season, the Penguins are back in the postseason, and Utah has its first playoff team. The remaining days before April 16 are mostly about who starts where, who gets home ice, and who draws the hardest first-round opponent. (usatoday.com)
