Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2025 NHL postseason. There are 22 days left in the regular season and the races in each of the four divisions are tight. The top three teams in each of the four divisions and the next two highest-place finishers in each conference reach the playoffs.

Nikolaj Ehlers scored in overtime as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the visiting Capitals 3-2 on Tuesday night in a battle in which Washington's Alex Ovechkin scored his 889th career goal.

The Washington Capitals became the first NHL team this season to clinch a playoff spot, doing so after playing 69 games.

The Capitals captain is now six goals shy of surpassing Gretzky’s 894-goal mark. With 11 games left in the regular season and a 0.654 goals-per-game pace (36 goals in 55 games), Ovechkin is projected to tie the record in eight games and break it in nine, rounding those numbers.

Hayes, who recently earned an NHL contract from parent club Pittsburgh, continued his breakout season, giving Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 2-1 lead with a power play goal in the first period, before ending the game in the closing seconds of overtime, giving him 21 goals on the season.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 888th career goal to continue his pursuit of the NHL record, and the Washington Capitals clinched a playoff berth by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 and getting some help elsewhere.