Two weeks from Thursday, the NHL will be concluding its regular season. Despite the proximity of that date, much remains to be determined as it pertains to the field for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.
While each club has fewer than 10 games remaining to play, just two have clinched a playoff berth. However, that number could grow by the end of Thursday’s 14-game slate.
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The Buffalo Sabres are trying to end the longest playoff drought in NHL history at 14 years. It appears they’re well on the way to doing so, and with a magic number of two, the easiest path to getting the job done is a victory over the Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Senators are one of the teams battling for a wild-card position — they enter Thursday tied in standings points with the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers, who are, coincidentally, facing off on Thursday as well (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
Over in the Metro Division, the Carolina Hurricanes also have a magic number of two, and are thus in a similar scenario as Buffalo: Win and you’re in! Given that one of the Flyers or Red Wings will win that game, there’s no scenario in which a loss (either in regulation, overtime or shootout) gets it done for the Sabres and Canes.
In the West, the Minnesota Wild‘s magic number is one, so they have more options to punch their ticket to the dance. The Wild host the Vancouver Canucks (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+), needing a win of any kind or a loss in overtime/shootout to secure their spot.
Will there be three more teams with an X next to their name in the standings Thursday night? It’s going to be an exciting upcoming stretch for hockey fans.
Every team has nine or fewer games remaining before the regular season concludes April 16, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch every day. 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 matchupsToday’s scheduleLast night’s scoresExpanded standingsRace for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Buffalo Sabres vs. WC1 Boston BruinsA2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 Columbus Blue JacketsM2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. M3 New York Islanders
Western Conference
C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Los Angeles KingsC2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild
P1 Anaheim Ducks vs. WC1 Utah MammothP2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights
Thursday’s games
Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).
Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m.Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers, 7 p.m.Montreal Canadiens at New York Rangers, 7 p.m.Detroit Red Wings at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m.Columbus Blue Jackets at Carolina Hurricanes, 7 p.m.Washington Capitals at New Jersey Devils, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+/Hulu)Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars, 8 p.m.Vancouver Canucks at Minnesota Wild, 8 p.m.Chicago Blackhawks at Edmonton Oilers, 9 p.m.Calgary Flames at Vegas Golden Knights, 10 p.m.Toronto Maple Leafs at San Jose Sharks, 10 p.m.Utah Mammoth at Seattle Kraken, 10 p.m. (ESPN+/Hulu)Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 p.m.
Wednesday night’s scoreboard
Vancouver Canucks 8, Colorado Avalanche 6Los Angeles Kings 2, St. Louis Blues 1 (OT)San Jose Sharks 4, Anaheim Ducks 3
Expanded standings
Note: An “x” with a team’s name means the club has clinched a playoff spot. 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
Enhanced standings: Atlantic Division
Team GP PTS RW Seed GR Next Game Chances Pace Max TragicNumber MagicNumber Sabres 75 100 38 A1 7 @ OTT (Thurs) 99.9 109 114 N/A 2 Lightning 74 98 37 A2 8 vs. PIT (Thurs) 99.9 109 114 N/A 4 Canadiens 74 96 31 A3 8 @ NYR (Thurs) 99.9 106 112 N/A 6 Bruins 75 94 31 WC1 7 @ FLA (Thurs) 97.5 103 108 N/A 8 Senators 74 86 32 N/A 8 vs. BUF (Thurs) 54.1 95 102 14 N/A Red Wings 74 86 28 N/A 8 @ PHI (Thurs) 18.8 95 102 14 N/A Maple Leafs 75 77 23 N/A 7 @ SJ (Thurs) 0.0 84 91 3 N/A Panthers 74 75 28 N/A 8 vs. BOS (Thurs) 0.0 83 91 3 N/AMetro Division
Enhanced standings: Metropolitan Division
Team GP PTS RW Seed GR Next Game Chances Pace Max TragicNumber MagicNumber Hurricanes 74 100 34 M1 8 vs. CBJ (Thurs) 99.9 111 116 N/A 2 Penguins 75 92 31 M2 7 @ TB (Thurs) 97.3 101 106 N/A 10 Islanders 76 89 28 M3 6 vs. PHI (Fri) 38.0 96 101 N/A 13 Blue Jackets 75 88 27 WC2 7 @ CAR (Thurs) 56.9 96 102 N/A 14 Flyers 74 86 23 N/A 8 vs. DET (Thurs) 28.0 95 102 14 N/A Capitals 75 85 32 N/A 7 @ NJ (Thurs) 9.4 93 99 11 N/A Devils 74 78 26 N/A 8 vs. WSH (Thurs) 0.1 86 94 6 N/A e – Rangers 75 71 22 N/A 7 vs. MTL (Thurs) 0.0 78 85 OUT N/ACentral Division
Enhanced standings: Central Division
Team GP PTS RW Seed GR Next Game Chances Pace Max TragicNumber MagicNumber x – Avalanche 74 108 43 C1 8 @ DAL (Sat) 100.0 120 124 N/A IN x – Stars 75 100 34 C2 7 vs. WPG (Thurs) 100.0 109 114 N/A IN Wild 74 94 26 C3 8 vs. VAN (Thurs) 99.9 104 110 N/A 1 Mammoth 74 82 29 WC1 8 vs. SEA (Thurs) 98.8 91 98 N/A 13 Predators 74 77 25 N/A 8 @ LA (Thurs) 10.6 85 93 16 N/A Jets 74 76 25 N/A 8 @ DAL (Thurs) 2.9 84 92 15 N/A Blues 74 74 27 N/A 8 @ ANA (Fri) 3.8 82 90 13 N/A Blackhawks 75 68 20 N/A 7 @ EDM (Thurs) 0.0 74 82 5 N/APacific Division
Enhanced standings: Pacific Division
Team GP PTS RW Seed GR Next Game Chances Pace Max TragicNumber MagicNumber Ducks 75 87 24 P1 7 vs. STL (Fri) 99.9 95 101 N/A 8 Oilers 75 85 29 P2 7 vs. CHI (Thurs) 98.3 93 99 N/A 10 Golden Knights 75 82 25 P3 7 vs. CGY (Thurs) 98.3 90 96 N/A 13 Kings 74 78 19 WC2 8 vs. NSH (Thurs) 22.8 86 94 N/A 17 Sharks 73 77 23 N/A 9 vs. TOR (Thurs) 60.4 86 95 18 N/A Kraken 73 75 25 N/A 9 vs. UTA (Thurs) 4.2 84 93 16 N/A Flames 74 70 24 N/A 8 @ VGK (Thurs) 0.1 78 86 9 N/A e – Canucks 74 52 15 N/A 8 @ MIN (Thurs) 0.0 58 68 OUT N/ARace 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.
Draft lottery standings
*Note: The Maple Leafs’ pick belongs to the Bruins, unless it lands in the top five.
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