There are 17 days before the start of the NHL playoffs, and it’s still anyone’s guess as to who will occupy the final two wild-card spots in each conference. A few division crowns and home-ice advantage remain up for grabs, too. But if the playoffs began on Wednesday, here’s what they’d look like.
Eastern Conference
Buffalo Sabres (Atlantic 1) vs. Boston Bruins (Wild-Card 1)
Buffalo moved back to the top of the division on Tuesday night, and they’re a virtual certainty for the playoffs with seven games to go. Buffalo has secured its first 100-point season since 2009-10. Considering what the Sabres have endured, spending the last 15 years out of the playoffs, they’ll take it. We’re all just waiting for their playoff berth to be official. Coach Lindy Ruff’s single-season turnaround should be good enough for Jack Adams Award votes. Alex Lyon continues to be a Sabres savior with a 6-1-1 record in his last eight games.
The Bruins, meanwhile, continue to ride a strong season from goalie Jeremy Swayman, who has only lost three times in his last 11 games. Boston has done well to win as many games as they did at home, with a 27-10-1 record, but they’ll miss having that home-ice advantage these next couple of weeks. Five of Boston’s next seven games are on the road, and most of those opponents (including Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Columbus) could still have something to play for in those games.
Remaining schedules:
Sabres (7 games): at Ottawa (Thursday), at Washington (Saturday), vs. Tampa Bay (Monday), at New York Rangers (April 8), vs. Columbus (April 9), at Chicago (April 13), vs. Dallas (April 15).
Bruins (7 games): at Florida (Thursday), at Tampa Bay (Saturday), at Philadelphia (Sunday), at Carolina (April 7), vs. Tampa Bay (April 11), at Columbus (April 12), vs. New Jersey (April 14).
Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic 2) vs. Montreal Canadiens (Atlantic 3)
These matches remain very much in flux. The Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres are neck-and-neck for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. (The Montreal Canadiens have an outside chance of usurping those teams, too.) But Dom Luszczyszyn’s model still favors the Lightning as the league’s best team, with the highest odds of making the Stanley Cup Final and winning the championship. It’s hard not to like their chances when they boast a Hart Trophy candidate (Nikita Kucherov), a Vezina candidate (Andrei Vasilevskiy), a Jack Adams Award candidate (Jon Cooper) and a solid supporting cast.
The Canadiens are riding high on a six-game win streak. But they’ve been recently been struck by the injury bug, with Alexandre Carrier out for up to four weeks with an upper-body injury. Montreal’s final four games of the season might not be walks in the park either, with Columbus, the Islanders and Philadelphia all presumably having something to play for.
Remaining schedules:
Lightning (8 games): vs. Pittsburgh (Thursday), vs. Boston (Saturday), at Buffalo (Monday), at Ottawa (April 7), at Montreal (April 9), at Boston (April 11), vs. Detroit (April 13), vs. New York Rangers (April 15).
Canadiens (8 games): at New York Rangers (Thursday), at New Jersey (Saturday), vs. New Jersey (Sunday), vs. Florida (April 7), vs. Tampa Bay (April 9), vs. Columbus (April 11), at New York Islanders (April 12), at Philadelphia (April 14).
Carolina Hurricanes (Metro 1) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (Wild-Card 2)
The Corsi Canes continue to stick around in the Eastern Conference penthouse, crowded as it may be with Buffalo and Tampa Bay trying to take up residence. Remaining at the top might require a run before the end of the regular season, as they play Columbus again (beat the Blue Jackets on Tuesday), the New York Islanders, Ottawa and Boston, among other opponents. You can argue about the playoff format all you want. But the route that presents itself for Carolina could potentially lead them to another Eastern Conference Final appearance.
Columbus vaulted into playoff contention thanks to their new-coach bump, after hiring Rick Bowness in mid-January. They’re now hanging by a thread after losing four of their last five games, including a brutal shootout loss to Boston over the weekend, in which they blew a 3-0 lead. And now Mathieu Olivier is out for the next few weeks after getting injured in that game. It doesn’t help that three teams — Ottawa, Philadelphia and Detroit (and it could be four if Washington continues to make up ground) — are knocking on the door, primed to jump Columbus in the standings. They need a win in the worst way, but they also have one of the toughest schedules remaining.
Remaining schedules:
Hurricanes (8 games): vs. Columbus (Thursday), vs. New York Islanders (Saturday), at Ottawa (Sunday), vs. Boston (April 7), at Chicago (April 9), at Utah (April 11), at Philadelphia (April 13), at New York Islanders (April 14).
Blue Jackets (7 games): at Carolina (Thursday), vs. Winnipeg (Saturday), at Detroit (April 7), at Buffalo (April 9), at Montreal (April 11), vs. Boston (April 12), vs. Washington (April 14).
Pittsburgh Penguins (Metro 2) vs. New York Islanders (Metro 3)
The Penguins are second in their division, keeping themselves afloat in the race for a playoff spot. And now they have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin back. Also, where would the Pens be without Erik Karlsson, who has 21 points in his last 14 games? Talk about turning back the clock. The Pens, ultimately, will need to do that once they return to the postseason, which looks promising barring a late-season collapse.
Meanwhile, the Islanders could still flip back into the Metro’s second position. They’ve also been benefiting from the Blue Jackets’ recent struggles. Matthew Schaefer, Matthew Barzal, Bo Horvat and Ilya Sorokin continue to lead the Isles as they hope to return to the playoffs.
Remaining schedules:
Penguins (7 games): at Tampa Bay (Thursday), vs. Florida (Saturday), vs. Florida (Sunday), at New Jersey (April 9), vs. Washington (April 11), at Washington (April 12), at St. Louis (April 14).
Islanders (6 games): vs. Philadelphia (Friday), at Carolina (Saturday), vs. Toronto (April 9), vs. Ottawa (April 11), vs. Montreal (April 12), vs. Carolina (April 14).
Other playoff candidates
Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers (each with 86 points, two behind Columbus), Washington Capitals (85 points)
Western Conference
Colorado Avalanche (Central 1) vs. Nashville Predators (Wild-card 2)
All eyes are on Cale Makar and his health in Colorado. Makar was injured against the Calgary Flames on Monday night. And according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, Makar will miss some time so he can be ready for the playoffs. It’s the right call for an Avalanche team still out in front in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. And they’ve earned that status, given how dominant they’ve been offensively and defensively this season.
The Predators, similarly to the Blue Jackets in the East, are under siege for the second wild-card spot. Nashville has lost three consecutive games. And a handful of teams, including Los Angeles, Seattle, San Jose, Winnipeg and St. Louis, are close behind them. The Predators can ill-afford any more dropped points between now and the end of the season.
Remaining schedules:
Avalanche (9 games): vs. Vancouver (Wednesday), at Dallas (April 4), vs. St. Louis (April 5), at St. Louis (April 7), vs. Calgary (April 9), vs. Vegas (April 11), at Edmonton (April 13), at Calgary (April 14), vs. Seattle (April 16).
Predators (8 games): at Los Angeles (Thursday), at San Jose (April 4), at Los Angeles (April 6), at Anaheim (April 7), at Utah (April 9), vs. Minnesota (April 11), vs. San Jose (April 13), vs. Anaheim (April 16).
Dallas Stars (Central 2) vs. Minnesota Wild (Central 3)
The Stars and Wild have long been on track to play each other in the first round.
Dallas spent much of this season looking strong, with great offense and depth throughout their lineup. The Stars even got Mikko Rantanen back, after he was injured during the Olympics. But the Stars have lost seven of their last nine games. Dallas needs points as they attempt to hold off the Wild, who are six points behind them. One player who’s performed particularly well of late: Jason Robertson, who has 14 points in his last 11 games.
Minnesota is 18 points ahead of fourth-place Winnipeg despite having four wins in its last 10 games. But once the Wild enter the playoffs, they shouldn’t be taken lightly, given their roster of stars, supporting pieces and the goaltending duo of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. With most of these potential playoff matchups in flux, Minnesota-Dallas still looks like the most certain matchup of them all.
Remaining schedules:
Stars (7 games): vs. Winnipeg (Thursday), vs. Colorado (Saturday), vs. Calgary (April 7), vs. Minnesota (April 9), vs. New York Rangers (April 11), at Toronto (April 13), at Buffalo (April 15).
Wild (8 games): vs. Vancouver (Thursday), at Ottawa (Saturday), at Detroit (Sunday), vs. Seattle (April 7), at Dallas (April 9), at Nashville (April 11), at St. Louis (April 13), vs. Anaheim (April 14).
Anaheim Ducks (Pacific 1) vs. Utah Mammoth (Wild-Card 1)
The Ducks’ youth movement has powered them this season and has them on the verge of a Pacific Division title. But the injury bug has hovered around them in recent days. Cutter Gauthier was injured on Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and his status is day to day. They nearly lost Leo Carlsson to an injury in that game, too. Fortunately, there are upcoming opportunities for Anaheim to earn points against lesser opposition — but some of those teams are still hungry for playoff spots.
The Mammoth hope to build on their point gap above the second wild-card spot, but they’ve also only won four out of their last 10 games. What has helped Utah is the fact that the teams below them have also hit losing skids — excluding San Jose and Winnipeg. The Mammoth are still among the league’s best generating shot attempts, high-danger chances and expected goals, and sit on the verge of their first playoff berth in their new home.
Remaining schedules:
Ducks (8 games): at San Jose (Wednesday), vs. St. Louis (Friday), vs. Calgary (Saturday), vs. Nashville (April 7), vs. San Jose (April 9), vs. Vancouver (April 12), at Minnesota (April 14), at Nashville (April 16).
Mammoth (8 games): at Seattle (Thursday), at Vancouver (Saturday), vs. Edmonton (April 7), vs. Nashville (April 9), vs. Carolina (April 11), at Calgary (April 12), vs. Winnipeg (April 14), vs. St. Louis (April 16).
Edmonton Oilers (Pacific 2) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (Pacific 3)
Goaltending has been in the spotlight for the Oilers for some time, and that won’t change now that they’re on the doorstep of another playoff appearance. Connor Ingram has won his last two starts with a .919 save percentage, while Tristan Jarry defeated the Mammoth in his last start. Can Ingram and Jarry hold up in the playoffs, and make the job a little less difficult for Connor McDavid and others? We will see. The Oilers are 6-3-1 in their last 10, but superstar Leon Draisaitl is still sorely missed.
The Vegas Golden Knights are 1-0 in the John Tortorella era. The NHL world is still processing the late-season firing of Bruce Cassidy. Tortorella likely won’t tweak much with his group. But he needs to get them going ahead of the playoffs, and a potential matchup against the Oilers. Vegas has struggled at times to knock off teams in playoff position this year. Five of their seven remaining games are against non-playoff teams, a chance to get points and push for second place in the Pacific.
Remaining schedules:
Oilers (7 games): vs. Chicago (Thursday), vs. Vegas (Saturday), at Utah (April 7), at San Jose (April 8), at Los Angeles (April 11), vs. Colorado (April 13), vs. Vancouver (April 16).
Golden Knights (7 games): vs. Calgary (Thursday), at Edmonton (Saturday), at Vancouver (April 7), at Seattle (April 9), at Colorado (April 11), vs. Winnipeg (April 13), vs. Seattle (April 15).
Other playoff candidates
Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets (76 points, one behind Nashville), Seattle Kraken (75 points), San Jose Sharks (75 points), St. Louis Blues (73 points).
