The NHL season is starting to wind down and as such, the playoff races are getting serious. In the Western conference there wasn't really much question as to who would make the playoffs for much of the season, but some of the teams that were somewhat close have not given up. Those teams include the Minnesota Wild, who had their most important game of the season against Vegas today. In an effort to win the game, head coach John Hynes pulled his goalie in overtime.
Since the Wild were nine points back of the Golden Knights for the second wild card spot in the Western conference, they were desperate for every point they could get. That is why Hynes decided to pull the goalie in overtime, giving his team a lethal 4-on-3 advantage. Obviously, it did not work in this instance as Jonathan Marchessault picked up his 40th goal of the season on the empty net.
With the loss, the Wild are effectively eliminated while the Golden Knights have secured their ticket to the playoffs. Anything can happen in the last days of the season, but at this point any other outcome would be extremely unlikely.
| POLL | ||
MARS 30 | 81 ANSWERS Shocking Coaching Decision Loses Minnesota a Point in Overtime Do you think John Hynes made the right call to pull the goalie in overtime? | ||
| Yes | 34 | 42 % |
| No | 47 | 58 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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YESTERDAY
FEBRUARY 5, 2026
| ||||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Jakob Chychrun | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Mark Stone | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Avery Hayes | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Benjamin Kindel | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Oliver Bjorkstrand | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Pierre-Luc Dubois | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Pontus Holmberg | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Bo Horvat | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Dylan Strome | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Adam Wilsby | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mathew Barzal | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Erik Cernak | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Casey Cizikas | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nick Cousins | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jamie Drysdale | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Zemgus Girgensons | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jake Guentzel | 1 | - | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||
| 2025-2026 NHL STANDINGS | ||||||
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Lightning | 55 | 37 | 14 | 4 | 78 | |
| Canadiens | 57 | 32 | 17 | 8 | 72 | |
| Red Wings | 58 | 33 | 19 | 6 | 72 | |
| Sabres | 57 | 32 | 19 | 6 | 70 | |
| Bruins | 57 | 32 | 20 | 5 | 69 | |
| Senators | 57 | 28 | 22 | 7 | 63 | |
| Maple Leafs | 57 | 27 | 21 | 9 | 63 | |
| Panthers | 57 | 29 | 25 | 3 | 61 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Hurricanes | 57 | 36 | 15 | 6 | 78 | |
| Penguins | 56 | 29 | 15 | 12 | 70 | |
| Islanders | 58 | 32 | 21 | 5 | 69 | |
| Blue Jackets | 56 | 29 | 20 | 7 | 65 | |
| Capitals | 59 | 29 | 23 | 7 | 65 | |
| Flyers | 56 | 25 | 20 | 11 | 61 | |
| Devils | 57 | 28 | 27 | 2 | 58 | |
| Rangers | 57 | 22 | 29 | 6 | 50 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Avalanche | 55 | 37 | 9 | 9 | 83 | |
| Wild | 58 | 34 | 14 | 10 | 78 | |
| Stars | 57 | 34 | 14 | 9 | 77 | |
| Mammoth | 57 | 30 | 23 | 4 | 64 | |
| Predators | 57 | 26 | 24 | 7 | 59 | |
| Blackhawks | 57 | 22 | 26 | 9 | 53 | |
| Jets | 56 | 22 | 26 | 8 | 52 | |
| Blues | 57 | 20 | 28 | 9 | 49 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Golden Knights | 57 | 27 | 16 | 14 | 68 | |
| Oilers | 58 | 28 | 22 | 8 | 64 | |
| Kraken | 56 | 27 | 20 | 9 | 63 | |
| Ducks | 56 | 30 | 23 | 3 | 63 | |
| Kings | 56 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 60 | |
| Sharks | 55 | 27 | 24 | 4 | 58 | |
| Flames | 56 | 23 | 27 | 6 | 52 | |
| Canucks | 57 | 18 | 33 | 6 | 42 | |
COMPLETE STANDINGS | ||||||