There was movement across the Eastern Conference standings on a 15-game night: Zach Werenski led Columbus into second place in the Metropolitan Division for the first time this season while Ottawa withstood a Detroit comeback to climb into a postseason position for the first time in more than three months.
* Connor McDavid became the third-fastest player in NHL history to 1,200 career points as Edmonton bested Utah to move into second place in the Pacific Division.
* The 2025-26 Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race was on full display Tuesday as four of the NHL’s five 40-goal scorers all found the back of the net with three looking to claim the award for the first time in their careers.
COLUMBUS CLIMBS TO SECOND IN METROPOLITAN, OTTAWA JUMPS INTO WILD CARD
Crucial wins by Columbus (38-22-11, 87 points) and Ottawa (38-24-9, 85 points) helped shake up the Eastern Conference as both clubs climbed the standings.
* The Blue Jackets occupy a top two position in their division for the first time this season after Zach Werenski (1-1—2) led Columbus to victory as it leapfrogged Pittsburgh (35-20-16, 86 points) for second in the Metropolitan Division. The Blue Jackets last ranked among the top two teams in their division on Oct. 15, 2021 – four days into the 2021-22 season.
* Werenski recorded his 25th multi-point game of 2025-26 and tied Artemi Panarin (2018-19) for the most in a single season in Blue Jackets history. Werenski (64 GP) also matched Erik Karlsson (64 GP in 2022-23) for the fewest games by a defenseman to reach the mark in the past 35 years – the last blueliner to hit the threshold in fewer games was Paul Coffey (53 GP in 1985-86).
* The Senators entered a pivotal matchup against the Red Wings missing five defensemen due to injury – and with two blueliners in the lineup making their NHL debut in the same game for the first time in franchise history – but still earned their fourth consecutive victory to jump into the second Wild Card spot and a playoff position for the first time since Dec. 3.
* Carter Yakemchuk (1-1—2), one of the two Ottawa defensemen making their NHL debut alongside Jorian Donovan, became the second Senators blueliner to record multiple points in his League debut (also Maxime Lajoie: 1-1—2 on Oct. 4, 2018) and the third defenseman in franchise history to score a goal in his NHL debut, alongside Lajoie and Wade Redden (Oct. 5, 1996).
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McDAVID HITS MULTIPLE MILESTONES, SEASON PLATEAU IN OILERS VICTORY
Connor McDavid (2-0—2) scored twice to reach 400 career goals and 1,200 career points (401-799—1,200 in 784 GP) as the Oilers (35-28-9, 79 points) defeated the Mammoth (37-29-6, 80 points) to move into second place in the Pacific Division behind the Ducks (40-27-4, 84 points), who secured their 40th victory of the season with the help of a three-assist night by John Carlson.
* With his first goal of the game, McDavid became the fifth player in franchise history to reach 400 with the club. With his second, the Edmonton captain became the seventh active skater to hit the 1,200-point milestone while also notching his fifth career 40-goal season – the fourth most in Oilers history.
RACE FOR THE “ROCKET” CONTINUES AS 40-GOAL SCORERS SHINE ON 15-GAME NIGHT
Three of the League’s other 40-goal scorers also found the back of the net Tuesday and continued their pursuit of their first career Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy: Nathan MacKinnon (46), Cole Caufield (44) and Wyatt Johnston (40). The NHL can feature a first-time winner of the “Rocket” Trophy for the second straight season (Leon Draisaitl in 2024-25) and fifth time in seven campaigns.
* MacKinnon scored one of six Colorado goals and kept his two-goal lead in the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race. MacKinnon (412) can become the first player in NHL history to claim his first goal-scoring title after amassing 400-plus career goals. Leon Draisaitl in 2024-25 (399) currently holds the distinction for most career tallies prior to their first scoring title.
* Caufield scored the second of five straight Canadiens goals as Montreal earned its 24th comeback win of the season and tied their most in a single campaign (also 1992-93 & 1975-76). Caufield, on pace to produce the first 50-goal season by a Canadiens player since 1989-90, can become the franchise’s first skater to capture the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy since its inception in 1998-99 and just the third in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to lead the League in goals (outright or tied) following Guy Lafleur (1977-78) and Steve Shutt (1976-77).
* Johnston (2-1—3) scored twice to record his first career 40-goal season, which is tied with Nikita Kucherov and Connor McDavid for the third most among all players this season. The 22-year-old Stars forward can become the youngest player to win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy since Steven Stamkos scored 60 goals to claim the award in 2011-12.
WILD CARD SPOTS IN THE WEST STILL TO BE DETERMINED
The streaking Predators lengthened the League’s longest active winning streak to maintain Wild Card 2, while the Jets jumped the Sharks and kept pace with Nashville for that final spot.
* Filip Forsberg (1-2—3) and Roman Josi (1-0—1) accounted for two of Nashville’s five first-period goals as the Predators (34-28-9, 77 points) extended their winning streak to five games and inched closer to the Mammoth (37-29-6, 80 points) for the Western Conference’s first Wild Card spot. Forsberg and Josi have 16 combined points over Nashville’s five-game run, while Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Ryan O’Reilly – who all joined the team within the last three seasons – have a total of 18.
* Mark Scheifele (1-2—3) helped the Jets (30-29-12, 72 points) capture a regulation win to leapfrog the Sharks (32-31-6, 70 points) in the Western Conference standings and kept pace with the Predators for Wild Card 2. Winnipeg can become the first team to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs after suffering an 11-game winless streak earlier in the season (Dec. 15, 2025 – Jan. 8) since the 1998-99 Flyers (12 GP from Feb. 24 – March 16, 1999).
KUCHEROV’S FOURTH CAREER 120-POINT SEASON FEATURED IN LIVE UPDATES
Tuesday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes from the fourth-last 15-game day this season (also March 28, April 4 & April 11), including Nikita Kucherov (0-1—1) reaching 120 points on the season before Erik Cernak collected the go-ahead goal with 2:53 remaining in regulation as the Lightning (44-21-5, 93 points) climbed within two points of the idle Sabres (44-20-7, 95 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division. Kucherov has a two- and five-point lead on Connor McDavid (118) and Nathan MacKinnon (115), respectively, in the Art Ross Trophy race.
QUICK CLICKS
* Saturday’s BOS-DET game on ABC was 3rd-most viewed NHL game this season
* Sergei Bobrovsky climbs into seventh place on NHL’s all-time wins list
* Matthew Tkachuk meets with Tiger Woods at TGL finals
* Paul Maurice honored for coaching 2,000 NHL regular season games
* NHL releases Heritage Classic logo, tickets available via Ticketmaster
BRUINS, SABRES CONTINUE PUSH FOR PLAYOFF RETURN ON TNT
A key contest in the Eastern Conference playoff race will play out on TNT (as well as NESN & TVAS2) when the Bruins (39-24-8, 86 points), who hold the first Wild Card position, visit the Atlantic Division-leading Sabres (44-20-7, 95 points). Boston and Buffalo are among the seven teams who currently hold a playoff position after missing last season (4 in the East & 3 in the West).
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