Capitals can secure No. 1 seed in Eastern Conference with Maple Leafs regulation loss
By NHL.com
Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2025 NHL postseason.
There are nine days left in the regular season and the races in each of the four divisions are tight. The top three teams in each of the four divisions and the next two highest-place finishers in each conference reach the playoffs.
Here is a look at the NHL standings and everything else that could impact the playoff picture.
Here are the Stanley Cup Playoff clinching scenarios for April 9:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
The New Jersey Devils (idle) will clinch a playoff berth if the New York Rangers lose to the Philadelphia Flyers in any fashion or defeat the Flyers in a shootout (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, TVAS).
The Washington Capitals (idle) will clinch the No. 1 seed in the East if the Toronto Maple Leafs lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning in regulation (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, SN).
The Carolina Hurricanes will face the Devils in the first round if New Jersey clinches a playoff berth. Home-ice advantage still to be determined.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
The Edmonton Oilers will clinch a playoff berth if they defeat the St. Louis Blues in any fashion (10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN360, SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, TNT, truTV, MAX) AND the Calgary Flames lose to the Anaheim Ducks in regulation (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, KCOP-13, SNW).
The Blues will clinch a playoff berth if they defeat the Oilers in regulation AND the Flames lose to the Ducks in regulation.
On Tap
There are five games on the NHL schedule for Wednesday, all with playoff implications:
Toronto Maple Leafs at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, SN): First place in the Atlantic Division will be on the line at Amalie Arena with the Lightning (45-26-6) two points behind the Maple Leafs (47-26-4). Each team has 39 regulation wins, which is the first tiebreaker.
Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, TVAS): The Rangers (36-34-7) have scored a total of one goal in back-to-back losses and have fallen eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers (31-37-9) have been eliminated from postseason contention.
San Jose Sharks at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; FDSNNO, NBCSCA): Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek will return from injury for the Wild (42-29-7), who seemed to be a lock for the playoffs a few weeks ago but find themselves in a heated race for the second wild card in the West. They enter Wednesday four points ahead of the Calgary Flames for the final playoff spot and have played one more game. They face each other in Calgary on Friday. The Sharks (20-47-10) have been eliminated from playoff contention.
St. Louis Blues at Edmonton Oilers (10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN360, SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, TNT, truTV, MAX): The Blues (43-29-7), who had their 12-game win streak end Monday, lead the Wild by two points for the first wild card in the West, but have played one more game. Minnesota currently owns the first tiebreaker, which is regulation wins (33/31). The Oilers (44-28-5) return home after losing the last two of a four-game road trip. They are four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for second place in the Pacific Division.
Calgary Flames at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, KCOP-13, SNW): The Flames (37-27-13) look to draw closer to the Wild in the race for the second wild card in the West. They have five fewer regulation wins than the Wild (33/28). The Ducks (34-35-8) have been eliminated from playoff contention.
If playoffs started Wednesday
Eastern Conference
(1A) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (WC1) Ottawa Senators
(2A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3A) Florida Panthers
(1M) Washington Capitals vs. (WC2) Montreal Canadiens
(2M) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (3M) New Jersey Devils
Western Conference
(1P) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) St. Louis Blues
(2P) Los Angeles Kings vs. (3P) Edmonton Oilers
(1C) Winnipeg Jets vs. (WC2) Minnesota Wild
(2C) Dallas Stars vs. (3C) Colorado Avalanche
About last night
There were 10 games on the schedule Tuesday, nine with playoff implications:
Buffalo Sabres 3, Carolina Hurricanes 0: James Reimer made 33 saves, but the Sabres (35-36-6) were eliminated from playoff contention with the Canadiens’ 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings. The Hurricanes (46-27-4) remained seven points ahead of the Devils for second place in the Metropolitan.
Montreal Canadiens 4, Detroit Red Wings 1: The Canadiens (39-30-9) won their sixth straight and moved closer to clinching a playoff berth in the East. They are eight points ahead of four teams -- the New York Rangers, Red Wings, New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets -- for the second wild card. Detroit (36-34-7) has five games remaining.
Florida Panthers 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 1: The Panthers (45-29-4) ended a five-game skid (0-4-1) and moved within two points of the second-place Lightning and four points of the first-place Maple Leafs (47-26-4) in the Atlantic. Florida has played one more game than each.
Boston Bruins 7, New Jersey Devils 2: The Devils (41-30-7) missed a chance to clinch a playoff berth and remained seven points behind the Hurricanes for second place in the Metropolitan. The Bruins (32-38-9) have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Ottawa Senators 2: The Senators (42-30-6) clinched a playoff berth for the first time since the 2016-17 season when the Red Wings lost to the Canadiens. Ottawa is three points ahead of Montreal for the first wild card in the East with four games remaining. Justin Danforth and Mathieu Olivier each had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets (35-33-9) remained eight points behind Montreal for the second wild card.
Nashville Predators 7, New York Islanders 6 (OT): The Islanders (34-32-11) blew a two-goal lead in the final 2:07 of the third period and failed to keep pace in the East wild-card race when Fedor Svechkov scored at 1:56 of overtime. New York trails Montreal by eight points for the second wild card with five games left. The Predators (28-42-8) have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Vancouver Canucks 6, Dallas Stars 5 (OT): The Canucks, who would have been eliminated from playoff contention with a regulation loss, became the first team in NHL history to overcome a three-goal deficit in the final minute of regulation, and Kiefer Sherwood won it with 1:16 left in overtime. Vancouver (36-29-13) trails Minnesota by six points for the second wild card in the West with four games remaining and would be eliminated if the Wild defeat the Sharks on Wednesday. The Stars (50-22-6) trail the Jets by four points in the Central.
VAN@DAL: Canucks make late-3rd period comeback with 3 in the final minute
Utah Hockey Club 7, Seattle Kraken 1: Utah (36-30-12) avoided eliminated by scoring a franchise-record seven goals for its fourth win in five games. It trails Minnesota by seven points and would be eliminated if the Wild get one point Wednesday. The Kraken (34-39-6) have been eliminated.
Colorado Avalanche 3, Vegas Golden Knights 2 (SO): Nathan MacKinnon extended his home point streak to 26 games (43 points; 16 goals, 27 assists) for the Avalanche (48-27-4), who rallied for a victory and moved within six points of the Stars for second place in the Central. The Golden Knights (47-22-9) moved six points ahead of the Kings for first in the Pacific.
