The daily lead story on HockeyHotStove is powered by Benevolent Bakery, by SoShel beverages and by Smokiez vegan fruit choice, dedicated to quality and consumer education. Today’s topic: NHL docket for April 12, 2026.
Saturday was a jam-packed day on the NHL schedule. Thirty of the league’s 32 teams were in action. The exceptions were the Atlantic Division leading Buffalo Sabres and the Anaheim Ducks (third place in the Pacific Division). On Sunday, there are six games on the docket. The latest playoff odds follow with one spot still available in the East (third place in the Metropolitan Division) and two in the West (third in the Pacific and one wildcard slot). The Los Angeles Kings currently hold the lower wildcard in the Western Conference.
NHL Game of the Night: Bruins @ Blue Jackets
Both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Boston Bruins have something to play for in this game. However, Columbus is the team with a lot more to lose. Entering Sunday, the Blue Jackets are not mathematically playing for their playoff lives. Nevertheless, the teams odds will rise or fall dramatically based on Sunday’s outcome.
Meanwhile, the Bruins have already clinched one of the wildcard spots in the East. The Ottawa Senators own the other. At this point, the Bruins have their first-round playoff opponent at stake. Finish with the top wildcard seed and they likely play the Atlantic Division winner (Buffalo, Tampa Bay or Montreal). The second wildcard teams will almost certainly run into the Carolina Hurricanes (110 points).
Projected goalie matchup: Korpisalo (13-9-6, 3.19 GAA, .892 SV%) vs. Merzlikins (14-11-3, 3.40 GAA, .883 SV%)
Playoff implications: Entering Sunday, the Philadelphia Flyers‘ magic number (or Blue Jackets “tragic number”) stands at three. Any combination of Philadelphia points (two points for a win, one for a regulation tie that ends in an overtime or shootout loss) and points the Blue Jackets do not get (zero for a regulation loss, one for an OT/SO loss) clinches third place for Philly in the Metro.
However, a Blue Jacket win on Sunday (by any means) changes the calculus significantly. The Blue Jackets have the regulation wins tiebreaker edge over Philadelphia. The Flyers are idle on Sunday. Therefore, a Columbus win over Boston creates a points tie at 94 apiece. Philly would still temporarily be listed ahead in the standings by points percentage (94 points in 80 games vs. 94 points in 81 games). However, the winning percentage tiebreaker dissappers when the games played even out come Monday.
The Bruins enter Sunday tied in points with Ottawa (96 apiece), The Senators (37 RW to 31 RW) have already clinched the tiebreaker. Boston can retake the upper wildcard with a win on Sunday paired with an Ottawa loss of any kind. A Boston win of any kind paired with an Ottawa regulation loss would cut the magic number to one for the upper wildcard slot. Playing Carolina is the less appealing possibility.
Moneypuck.com odds: Money Puck has the Blue Jackets as the favorites (54.2% winning probability to 45.8%) with both team projected to start their normal backup goalies in the second game of their respective back-to-back sets this weekend. Based on analytics, teams generally are better off splitting B2Bs between their two goaltenders even if the normal starter has had the superior season.
Home › Forums › NHL Game of the Night: April 12, 2026
Tagged: nhl