Top-5: After qualifying for the playoffs, the Wild allowed Fleury to play in Overtime

Tuesday night was busy in the NHL as 10 games were on the schedule.

And there was a lot of action.

Let’s see what happened:

Tuesday saw the @MapleLeafs clinch the Atlantic Division title and the @mnwild and @StLouisBlues secure berths into the #StanleyCup Playoffs.#NHLStats: https://t.co/KAgdmi7DmU pic.twitter.com/AN36OgEl0t

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) April 16, 2025

1: Bravo to the Wild

The Wild only needed one point against the Ducks to secure their place in the playoffs.

That’s exactly what they were able to do thanks to a goal from Joel Eriksson-Ek with 20 seconds left in the game. The Wild tied the game 2-2 and overtime was necessary:

ERIKSSON-EK TIES THE GAME WITH 20 SECONDS LEFT TO CLINCH THE PLAYOFFS FOR THE WILD pic.twitter.com/59Gyw4dbfu

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 16, 2025

Since the Wild had obtained their playoff ticket, John Hynes made a decision.

He decided to send Marc-André Fleury to the net for overtime… because initially, the plan was to have him play last night. But the Wild had to go get a point and in the circumstances, the club trusted their number one goalie.

But Flower still had the opportunity to play a few minutes and Matt Boldy helped him sign a last win in the NHL:

THE WILDEST FINISH

Matt Boldy caps off an amazing night in Minnesota with the Subway Canada OT winner pic.twitter.com/FfoAWJlU8g

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 16, 2025

After the game, the Ducks players lined up to shake Marc-André Fleury’s hand.

It was his last regular season home game of his career and the Wild did things big.

Bravo!

Heading into overtime, having already clinched a spot in the #StanleyCup Playoffs, the @mnwild put Marc-Andre Fleury in net.

The Wild won the game in the extra frame, and everyone in the building got to show their love for Flower after his final regular season game. pic.twitter.com/rGxFTGHMzA

— NHL (@NHL) April 16, 2025

2: Beautiful evening for Marner and Matthews

The Leafs won 4-0 against the Sabres last night.

But that’s not what’s important here.

In the win, two Leafs players reached an important plateau.

We start with Mitch Marner… who collected his 100th point of the season last night. He became the 4th player in Leafs history to have a 100-point season:

MITCH MARNER BECOMES THE FOURTH PLAYER IN MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY TO RECORD A 100-POINT SEASON pic.twitter.com/HfAg6eFCUV

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 16, 2025

Auston Matthews, for his part, took advantage of an empty net at the end of the game to score his 400th goal in the NHL.

Only Gretzky, Bossy, Lemieux, Hull, and Karri have achieved the feat faster than Matthews:

Fewest games to score 400 goals, NHL history

Wayne Gretzky 436
Mike Bossy 506
Mario Lemieux 508
Brett Hull 520
Jari Kurri 608
Auston Matthews 628 pic.twitter.com/b7yJ8VDSBW

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) April 16, 2025

The guys were smiling in the dressing room after the game and we felt like they enjoyed the moment.

At least, they look really happy in this photo:

Milestone 1634 pic.twitter.com/h8R0z9IbC2

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 16, 2025

3: Hat-trick for Dylan Strome

Alex Ovechkin has already broken Wayne Gretzky’s record. He’s letting his teammates score (hehe)… and last night, it was Dylan Strome who benefited.

The Capitals’ center player allowed his team to win 3-1 against the Islanders… by scoring three goals.

A true victory signed Dylan Strome:

Dylan Strome gets all three goals for the @Capitals!

Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/q3Lt1McXqj

— NHL (@NHL) April 16, 2025

We don’t often talk about it, but Dylan Strome’s season deserves attention.

He now has 81 points (29 goals) in as many games this season: it’s his best production in his career.

Strome has really found his niche in Washington. Good for him… because we knew the 3rd overall pick in the 2015 draft had the talent to explode in the NHL.

4: Connor Bedard takes care of the Sens

After playing against the Canadiens on Monday, the Hawks played their second game in as many nights.

And as part of their annual visit to Ottawa, Connor Bedard led the charge by scoring two goals… like Connor Bedard:

Connor Bedard WIRED that puck pic.twitter.com/XEKMnq4kih

— NHL (@NHL) April 15, 2025

CONNOR BEDARD DOUBLES DOWN pic.twitter.com/V8C6PIbrN4

— NHL (@NHL) April 16, 2025

The Sens fought until the end and Drake Batheson scored at the end of the game to force overtime… but Bedard didn’t want to know.

The young Hawks player set the table for Frank Nazar, who deceived Anton Forsberg with a good shot.

Blackhawks win 4-3… who end their season with three wins in four games.

At least, they found a way to end their season well:

FRANK NAZAR

His 12th goal of the season gives the @NHLBlackhawks the win in @Energizer overtime! pic.twitter.com/61DX671DKR

— NHL (@NHL) April 16, 2025

5: The games are made in the West

With the Wild’s win and the Blues’ 6-1 win over Utah, we now know what the playoff matchups will be in the West.

It’s going to be good:

Jets vs Blues
Wild vs Golden Knights
Kings vs Oilers
Stars vs Avalanche

The Flames won last night and did everything to get their ticket… but it was already too late:

Avalanche vs Stars… I’m really looking forward to seeing this series. Especially with Mikko Rantanen in Dallas!

Note that it’s almost set in the East.

We know it will be…

Sens vs Leafs
Lightning vs Panthers
Devils vs Hurricanes
Capitals vs Habs / Blue Jackets

Remains to be seen if the Habs can qualify with a single point tonight in Carolina…

Overtime

– Well played.

Adam Fantilli has his first career 30-goal season

Fantilli was picked No. 3 overall in the 2023 NHL draft behind Connor Bedard and Leo Carlsson.

He is the first of the three to reach the goal mark! pic.twitter.com/cPm7pqXnGG

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 16, 2025

– A lot of respect for Matt Martin.