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Around the NHL: Capitals’ Ovechkin thinking about 1 more year, 8 teams vying for 3 playoff spots
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Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Jeremy Tingly
Apr 13, 2026, 09:30 EDTUpdated: Apr 13, 2026, 09:23 EDT
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Welcome back to the final regular-season edition of Around the NHL. The 2025-26 season is wrapping up, and while the Toronto Maple Leafs are hitting the golf course early, there’s several teams who are fighting for the final Stanley Cup Playoff spots in each conference, with the Metropolitan, Atlantic, and Pacific Divisions still up for grabs.
Individually, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid has started to separate himself from the rest of the pack, as McDavid enters the final week with a five-point lead on Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov. McDavid has registered 133 points, meanwhile Kucherov sits at 128, with Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon at 126.
This week’s going to be one of the more entertaining in hockey, as there’s a slew of teams trying to either still clinch a Stanley Cup Playoff spot, or at least maximize controlling their own destinies, as a couple of the divisional top spots look to get locked up.
Here’s the very latest from around the NHL:

Alex Ovechkin confirms he’ll consider coming back for another season

This past weekend there was an epic home-and-home series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, and Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby were front and centre. These two games were the 99th and 100th times the two have faced each other, and this time around there was certainly a different look and feel to the game.
Off the opening faceoff, Washington Capitals’ Dylan Strome got himself kicked out of the faceoff circle, allowing Ovechkin to come to center ice off the wing, for a historic Crosby vs. Ovechkin faceoff to kick off game 100 between the two. Kudos to Strome for the gesture:
The Capitals went on to win the game 3-0 as Logan Thompson stood tall and held the fort down for the Caps. Washington now enters the final game of the season one point back of the Philadelphia Flyers, who have one game in hand, for the last spot of the Metro.
Another very cool scene from this 100th meeting between Crosby and Ovechkin came after the game. While Ovechkin hasn’t confirmed if he’s coming back for another NHL season, seeing Crosby and Evgeni Malkin head over after the game and get a variety of items signed, and pose for pictures together, certainly gives everyone watching an inclination that this could very well be it for Ovechkin. Still, he confirmed that he’s still considering returning for another year.
Sorry Flyers fans, but everyone is hoping for the Caps to get in.

8 teams vying for 3 Stanley Cup Playoff spots

Heading into the final week of the regular season, there’s still three spots for the postseason up for grabs.
The Pacific Division pillow fight continues, as the Vegas Golden Knights, Oilers, and Anaheim Ducks are all within one point of each other. Each team has two games left and it’s going to come down to the wire this week for the divisional top spot. The second wild-card spot in the Western Conference has yet to be clinched, with the Los Angeles Kings currently holding it down.
The Kings are trailed by the Nashville Predators, who are one point behind, but have one less game than the Kings left, meanwhile, the Winnipeg Jets and San Jose Sharks are holding out for glimmers of hope. The Jets are five points back of the Kings, with three games remaining, and the Sharks are also in the exact same position. In the Eastern Conference, as mentioned, the Capitals are trailing the Flyers for the final spot in the Metropolitan Division, with also the Columbus Blue Jackets still in the race.
The good news for Leafs Nation? As it stands right now, the Leafs sit as the fifth worst team in the NHL entering the final two games, and if they manage to lose both in regulation, there’s a slim chance one of the Calgary Flames or New York Rangers leapfrog them, if not both.

Quick hits from Around the NHL

  • Montreal Canadiens’ Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield hit major milestones, as Suzuki hit the 100-point mark, the first time in 40 years for a Canadien, meanwhile, Caufield notched his 50th goal of the season last week.
  • Ottawa Senators expecting captain Brady Tkachuk to be ready for the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite getting hurt recently and sitting out.
  • Travis Green was let go of his duties as general manager by the New Jersey Devils, and head coach Sheldon Keefe admitted he knows he’s skating on thin ice with more changes brewing.
  • The Devils are expected to make significant roster changes this summer, with Dougie Hamilton and Dawson Mercer two prime trade candidates.
  • Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar will miss the team’s final few games after getting a puck in the face which resulted in facial fractures, and corneal abrasions.
  • Boston Bruins top prospect James Hagens made his NHL debut over the weekend, meanwhile Canadiens top prospect Michael Hage decided to go back to Michigan for another NCAA season.
  • Sticking in Montreal, defenceman Noah Dobson suffered an upper-body injury and will be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks, meaning he’ll miss the first half of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Huge blow for the Habs.
  • Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs for a NHL-leading 10th straight time, and there’s some speculation Steve Yzerman’s job isn’t safe.
  • Seattle Kraken president Ron Francis has stepped down from his role, and there’s likely some significant changes coming in Seattle this summer, on and off the ice.
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