NHL playoff watch: The clinching scenarios for Sunday
Heading into Saturday, there was much anticipation that multiple teams would clinch playoff spots (and others would be mathematically eliminated) — to put it mildly, that anticipation was met. Editor’s Picks 2 Related The Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins clinched the Eastern wild cards after the New Jersey Devils defeated the Detroit Red Wings in…
Heading into Saturday, there was much anticipation that multiple teams would clinch playoff spots (and others would be mathematically eliminated) — to put it mildly, that anticipation was met.
The Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins clinched the Eastern wild cards after the New Jersey Devils defeated the Detroit Red Wings in regulation, thus eliminating the Red Wings as well.
Out West, the Vegas Golden Knights clinched their spot — and took over first place in the Pacific Division — with an overtime win over the Colorado Avalanche, while the Edmonton Oilers earned a playoff ticket despite losing to the Los Angeles Kings. In the process, the St. Louis Blues and Seattle Kraken were knocked out.
There is one spot left in the East (the No. 3 seed in the Metro), and two spots open in the West — with the added possibility of quite a bit of seeding movement in the Pacific. Here’s what we are watching Sunday:
Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals
3 p.m. ET (TNT)
The first game of the day is the Penguins at the Capitals, a matchup that the Caps won in Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Caps stay alive in the playoff race with a win of any kind, or an overtime/shootout loss; a regulation loss eliminates them. The Penguins are locked in to the No. 2 seed in the Metro.
Montreal Canadiens at New York Islanders
6 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Like the Caps, the Islanders need a win of any variety or an OT/shootout loss to stay alive in the race for the No. 3 Metro spot; a regulation loss eliminates them. The Canadiens will finish no worse than third in the Atlantic, and can still finish first — but must have more standings points than the Sabres and Lightning, since their regulation wins total (33) is so low comparatively.
Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets
6 p.m. ET (NHL Network)
The Blue Jackets have a little more wiggle room than the Caps and Isles — but not much. A loss doesn’t eliminate them, but time is running out to catch the Flyers in third. Due to tiebreakers, Boston fell behind Ottawa with its loss on Saturday; if the two teams finish tied in points, the Sens will be the higher of the two wild cards. Why does that matter? The first wild card will (most likely) take on the Atlantic Division champ, while the second wild card will (again, most likely) face off against the Hurricanes in Round 1.
Ottawa Senators at New Jersey Devils
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
With their spot in the postseason secure (albeit with the above seeding situation to resolve), will the Senators take their foot off the gas? And can the Devils knock off another team ahead of them in the standings for a second straight day?
Vancouver Canucks at Anaheim Ducks
8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
The Ducks narrowly missed out on clinching a playoff spot based on Saturday’s results, but can right that wrong with a win of any kind or an OT/shootout loss to the Canucks. Like Montreal, Anaheim is also still alive for a division title; but also like the Canadiens, the Ducks will lose the RW tiebreaker to either team ahead of them, so they need all the points they can get. The Canucks have been locked in as the No. 1 seed in the draft lottery order for quite some time now, so they will have no lower than the No. 3 overall pick in June’s draft.
Utah Mammoth at Calgary Flames
9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
The Mammoth have a little more work to do to lock in the first wild-card position; a win here puts them two points closer. Why is that important? The first wild card will face off against the Pacific Division champ in the first round, while the second wild card earns a matchup with the mighty Colorado Avalanche. On the other side, the Flames could finish second overall in the draft lottery order — or out of the top five — based on how their final three games go, along with what their fellow lottery teams do.
Every team has three or fewer games remaining before the regular season concludes on Thursday, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2026 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Today’s schedule
Last night’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Buffalo Sabres vs. WC1 Ottawa Senators
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 Boston Bruins
M2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. M3 Philadelphia Flyers
Western Conference
C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Los Angeles Kings
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Anaheim Ducks
Today’s games
Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).
Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals, 3 p.m. (TNT)
Montreal Canadiens at New York Islanders, 6 p.m.
Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets, 6 p.m. (NHLN)
Ottawa Senators at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m.
Vancouver Canucks at Anaheim Ducks, 8 p.m.
Utah Mammoth at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m.
Last night’s scoreboard
Tampa Bay Lightning 2, Boston Bruins 1
Ottawa Senators 3, New York Islanders 0
Washington Capitals 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 3
Los Angeles Kings 1, Edmonton Oilers 0
New Jersey Devils 5, Detroit Red Wings 3
St. Louis Blues 5, Chicago Blackhawks 3
Nashville Predators 2, Minnesota Wild 1
Dallas Stars 2, New York Rangers 0
Carolina Hurricanes 4, Utah Mammoth 1
Florida Panthers 6, Toronto Maple Leafs 2
Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Montreal Canadiens 2
Philadelphia Flyers 7, Winnipeg Jets 1
Seattle Kraken 4, Calgary Flames 1
Vegas Golden Knights 3, Colorado Avalanche 2 (OT)
Vancouver Canucks 4, San Jose Sharks 3 (SO)
Expanded standings
Note: An “x” with a team’s name means the club has clinched a playoff spot; a “y” means that they have clinched the division; a “z” indicates that they have clinched the best record in the conference; a “p” means they have clinched the top overall seed. An “e” means that the club has been mathematically eliminated. Teams clinch a playoff spot when their magic number reaches zero and are mathematically eliminated when their tragic number reaches zero.
Atlantic Division
Metro Division
Central Division
Pacific Division
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Atop draft boards for this summer is Gavin McKenna, a forward for Penn State.
*Note: The Maple Leafs’ pick belongs to the Bruins, unless it lands in the top five. The Red Wings’ pick belongs to the Blues, unconditionally.
