News and Notes from Thursday, April 16th, 2026
News
- The National Hockey League unveiled their final Central Scouting Rankings with Penn State F Gavin McKenna ranking #1 amongst North American skaters and Ivar Stenberg ranking #1 amongst International Skaters.
- These rankings will determine who takes the top spot in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, which begins June 26th.
- The New Jersey Devils announced that they have hired Sunny Mehta as their sixth General Manager in franchise history.
- Mehta spent the last six seasons with the Florida Panthers organization as their assistant General Manager and Head of Analytics.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that Rick Bowness will return as head coach for the 2026-27 season after signing an extension.
- The 2026 Stanley Cup bracket was finalized with Round 1 contests taking place on Saturday.
- Upon the conclusion of the contests, the following regular season awards were announced:
- The William M. Jennings Trophy winners went to the Colorado Avalanche goaltending duo of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood
- The Art Ross Trophy went to Edmonton Oilers C Connor McDavid for the sixth time in his career
- The Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy went to Colorado Avalance F Nathan MacKinnon
Jersey Tracking and Mini Recaps
St. Louis Blues v. Utah Mammoth – 730p ET
- In Utah, the Mammoth hosted the Blues in the season finale for both squads and in the first St. Louis took the 1-0 lead with Pavel Buchnevich’s 20th of the year but then Utah ties the game when Michael Carcone scored his 16th of th eyear. In the second, Lawson Crouse scored his 24th of the year to put Utah up 2-1 but then Robert Thomas scored a pair of goals to put St. Louis back in the lead. Kailer Yamamoto then went on to scored his 13th of the year as the Mammoth tied the game 3-3. In the third, St. Louis re-took the lead when Logan Mailloux scored his fifth of the year and then Robert Thomas closed the game by completing the hat trick with an empty net goal and giving the Blues the 5-3 win over the Mammoth.
Anaheim Ducks v. Nashville Predators – 8p ET
- In Nashville, the Predators and Ducks faced off in the season finale for both teams and in the first Anaheim took the 1-0 lead when Cutter Gauthier scored his 41st but then Nashville tied the game when Steven Stamkos netted his 41st. Then, Filip Forsberg scored a power play goal, his 39th of the year, to put the Preds up 2-1, but then Jackson LaCombe netted his 10th of the year to tie the game for the Ducks. In the second, Anaheim took the 3-2 lead when Alex Killorn scored his 15th but then Filip Forsberg scored his second of the night to tie the game for Nashville. Then, Steven Stamkos scored his second of the night as the Preds went up 4-3 with a power play goal. In the third, Tristan Luneau scored his first goal of the season as Anaheim tied the game 4-4 and then Troy Terry scored a power play goal, his 19th score of the year, as the Ducks defeated the Predators 5-4.
San Jose Sharks v. Winnipeg Jets – 8p ET
- In Winnipeg, the Jets hosted the Sharks as both squads closed the books on their seasons and in the first Winnipeg took the 1-0 lead when Cole Koepke scored his eighth of the season but then San Jose tied the game when Igor Chernyshov scored a power play goal, his ninth goal on the year. Then, Will Smith scored his 24th of the year to put the Sharks up 2-1. In the second, Collin Graf netted his 21st of the season to put San Jose up 3-1 and then Michael Misa’s ninth gave the Sharks the three goal lead. William Eklund then scored his 15th of the year to put San Jose up 5-1. In the third, Macklin Celebrini scored his 45th of the year as the Sharks closed out their season with a 6-1 win over the Jets.
Late Games
Los Angeles Kings v. Calgary Flames – 9p ET
Vancouver Canucks v. Edmonton Oilers – 9p ET
Seattle Kraken v. Colorado Avalanche – 1030p ET
Today’s Games
- BOS v. MON – 7p ET (PWHL)
Noteworthy in Hockey
- The Sheet with Jeff Marek: McLellan Follows Bowness + Matthews & Ovechkin Comments ft. Greg Wyshynski – (Daily Faceoff)
- With gesture to 10-year-old fan, Dustin Wolf proves that small goalies can make big impact – (Sportsnet)
- Maple Leafs notebook: Rielly, Knies reiterate desire to stay in Toronto – (Sportsnet)
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