NHL Playoffs Saturday: 3 Game 4s, Two Sweeps in Sight

The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs delivered a three-game first-round Saturday slate with potential sweeps in two series, headlined by the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers chasing series-clinching wins. The Dallas Stars also took the ice in Minnesota for a Game 4 with the series tilted in their favor.

Hurricanes-Senators Game 4

The Carolina Hurricanes traveled to face the Ottawa Senators at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, leading the series 3-0 and hunting for a sweep, according to NHL.com, Bleacher Report and CBS Sports. A Carolina win would close out the series and send the Hurricanes through to the second round.

The 3-0 series lead means Ottawa came into the night needing wins in four straight games to advance, an exit-margin scenario teams have rarely escaped in the modern playoff era.

Stars-Wild Game 4

The Dallas Stars visited the Minnesota Wild at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, leading the series 2-1, per NHL.com and ESPN. With the series still competitive, Game 4 carried clear stakes for both teams: a Stars win would put Dallas one game from advancing, while a Wild victory would send the series back to Texas tied 2-2.

Penguins-Flyers Game 4

The Pittsburgh Penguins traveled to face the Philadelphia Flyers at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, with Philadelphia leading 3-0 and looking for the sweep, according to NHL.com and Athlon Sports. Two potential first-round sweeps in one night, by Carolina over Ottawa and by Philadelphia over Pittsburgh, would mark a notable headline night for the league.

Schedule Note for Baku Readers

All three games were scheduled to finish between roughly 6 p.m. and 12 a.m. Eastern Time, which translates to approximately 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. Baku time on Sunday April 26, per NHL.com. Final scores will be in by Sunday morning Baku time, making this a Saturday-night NHL scoreboard event for Azerbaijani readers.