The end of the NHL regular season is Thursday, April 17, which means playoff hockey lurks around the corner. Most teams are locked into their postseason positions, but there’s a handful of wild card spots still up for grabs over the final days.
Here, we’ll track the postseason picture to see how things shake out through the regular season’s conclusion later this week. The Stanley Cup Playoffs officially begin Saturday, April 19, so be on the lookout for DraftKings Network’s postseason previews and betting content in the coming days.
UPDATE: As of Wednesday night, the final postseason spots have been clinched and the 16-team Stanley Cup Playoff is officially set. Brackets are updated to reflect the changes.
Eastern Conference playoff bracket
1M: Washington Capitals, 111 points
WC2: Montreal Canadiens, 91 points1A: Toronto Maple Leafs, 106 points
WC2: Ottawa Senators, 95 points2A: Tampa Bay Lightning, 102 points
3A: Florida Panthers, 98 points2M: Carolina Hurricanes, 99 points
3M: New Jersey Devils, 91 points
WEDNESDAY NIGHT UPDATE: The Montreal Canadiens beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Wednesday night. Thanks to the win, the Canadiens clinch the final Eastern Conference wild card spot and eliminate the Columbus Blue Jackets from postseason contention.
TUESDAY NIGHT UPDATE: The Toronto Maple Leafs officially clinched the Atlantic Division’s top seed with a 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night, which sets up a first-round matchup against the Ottawa Senators. The Tampa Bay Lightning also clinched the No. 2 seed and home-ice advantage with a 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers, who they will face in the opening round of the postseason. Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, the Columbus Blue Jackets kept their playoff dreams alive with a 3-0 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers. For Columbus to remain in the hunt, the Montreal Canadiens must lose on Wednesday night.
As things currently stand, seven Eastern Conference teams are secure in their playoff spots as the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets compete for the final wild card slot. The latter are still in the mix fighting tooth and nail to make it in, but their postseason fate doesn’t lie entirely in their own hands. The Blue Jackets must win their final two games, but assuming Columbus does beat the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night, they’ll also require a Canadiens loss on Wednesday in order to make it in.
Over in the Atlantic Division, the top seed is still available. However, the Toronto Maple Leafs can lock up the division title for the first time since 2000 with one more point (or a loss by the Tampa Bay Lightning). Toronto’s matchup against the lowly Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night looks like a prime spot to secure that coveted point and set up a first-round series with the wild-card Ottawa Senators.
Assuming the Maple Leafs claim the Atlantic Division’s top seed, that leaves the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning on deck for the No. 2 vs. No. 3 series. They face off on Tuesday in a preview of what’s to come, though there’s plenty of postseason history between these intra-state rivals — they’ve clashed in three consecutive postseasons, with the Panthers finally vanquishing their demons en route to last year’s Stanley Cup win.
Finally, the mid-seed Metropolitan Division series between the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils is essentially set in stone already. While they don’t have a true superstar (though they did have Mikko Rantanen for a brief few weeks), the Hurricanes punch above their weight as a cohesive unit and lead the NHL in xG differential. They’ve won a playoff series in each of the last four postseasons, but the league-leader in the aforementioned stat hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks. A run by Carolina is one to keep an eye on.
Western Conference playoff bracket
1C: Winnipeg Jets, 116 points
WC2: St. Louis Blues, 96 points2C: Dallas Stars, 106 points
3C: Colorado Avalanche, 102 points1P: Vegas Golden Knights, 108 points
WC1: Minnesota Wild, 97 points2P: Los Angeles Kings, 105 points
3P: Edmonton Oilers, 99 points
TUESDAY NIGHT UPDATE: All of the Western Conference playoff matchups are officially set following Tuesday night’s games. The Minnesota Wild narrowly defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2, a win which locks them into the first wild card seed. They will face the Vegas Golden Knights in round one. Additionally, the St. Louis Blues clinched the second wild card berth with a 6-1 drubbing of the Utah Hockey Club. The Blues take on the Winnipeg Jets in the opening round. With these two wins, the Calgary Flames are the final Western Conference team to be eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention.
Out in the Western Conference, both wild card berths remain available as the Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, and Calgary Flames fight to stay alive. A slim three-point margin separates these three squads, with Calgary’s 92-point campaign leaving them just behind the 94-point Blues and 95-point Wild. For the Flames to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they require a regulation loss by either of the two teams ahead of them and have to win their own final two contests of the regular season.
Where the other two teams are concerned, the Blues and Wild each play their final regular-season tilt on Tuesday night — the Blues host the Utah Hockey Club, while the Wild host the Anaheim Ducks. These games are pivotal as St. Louis can still jump Minnesota in the standings, though the latter needs just one point to clinch a surefire playoff berth. Regardless of which team finishes as the second wild card, a tough matchup with the Presidents’ Trophy-winner Winnipeg Jets awaits in the opening round.
The upcoming date between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche has been circled on each team’s calendar for weeks now. Now locked-in as their first-round series, it might be one of the most intriguing storylines to watch on the playoff slate. While the Stars remain the DraftKings Sportsbook favorites to win the Stanley Cup at -650 odds, they’re actually not even favored to come out of the first round (-110 odds either way). Dallas’ roster is full of attacking talent, but the defense is depleted while they await Miro Heiskanen’s return and they’ve lost six straight following an eight-game winning streak. Coming into the playoffs cold against Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar is scary, to say the least.
Out in the Pacific Division, the Vegas Golden Knights safely hold the top seed and await whichever team finishes with the first wild card berth. They actually face the Flames on Tuesday night with the opportunity to end their season with a win, so the Knights’ first-round opponent is somewhat determined at their own hands. It does appear likely they’ll face off with the Wild to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it’s not a done deal just yet.
Finally, the Los Angeles Kings are locked into their fourth straight playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers. There’s plenty of history here, but is it really a rivalry if the same team always wins? Edmonton has emerged victorious in each of the last six postseason series against Los Angeles — the Kings’ last series win against the Oilers came over three decades ago in 1989. Still, the Kings aren’t a team to write off (especially when playing at home) and this Edmonton team shows some cracks in the foundation which could doom them come playoff time.
Stay Tuned…
This article will be updated over the final days of the regular season as the final postseason berths are earned and playoff matchups become official.
