Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Hurricanes can win their division, Avalanche West

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2026 NHL postseason.

There are 12 days left in the regular season and the races for playoff spots and seeding are heating up. 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.

Clinching scenarios

EASTERN CONFERENCE

The Montreal Canadiens will clinch a playoff berth:

If they get at least one point against the New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, MSGSN)

OR

If the Minnesota Wild defeat the Detroit Red Wings in any fashion (1 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN360)

OR

If the Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Ottawa Senators in any fashion (5 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, FDSNSO)

The Carolina Hurricanes will clinch the Metropolitan Division title:

If they get at least one point against the Senators

OR

With any result in the Florida Panthers-Pittsburgh Penguins game (3 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, SCRIPPS) other than a Penguins regulation win

WESTERN CONFERENCE

The Colorado Avalanche will clinch the Central Division and Western Conference titles:

If they defeat the St. Louis Blues in any fashion (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN)

On Tap

There are seven games on the NHL schedule Sunday, all with playoff implications:

Minnesota Wild at Detroit Red Wings (1 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN360)

The Red Wings (40-28-8) remain on the outside looking in after a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday. Detroit is tied in points with the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, but the Senators hold the tiebreaker in regulation wins (33-29). The Wild (43-21-12), who clinched a playoff berth with their 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, are third in the Central Division.

Florida Panthers at Pittsburgh Penguins (3 p.m. SN-PIT, SCRIPPS)

The back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers (37-36-3) won't get the chance to three-peat after they were eliminated with a 9-4 loss to the Penguins on Saturday. The Penguins, (39-22-16) who have missed the playoffs the past three seasons, strengthened their hold on second place in the Metropolitan Division, where they're five points ahead of the third-place New York Islanders.

Boston Bruins at Philadelphia Flyers (3:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, NBCSP, SN360)

The Flyers (38-26-12) are part of a tight race for the second wild card in the East held by the Senators as one of four teams with 88 points along with the Senators, Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets. The Bruins (43-26-8) have lost two in a row but remain the first wild card out of the East, six points ahead of the Senators and six behind the Buffalo Sabres for third in the Atlantic Division.

Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators (5 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, FDSNSO)

The Senators (39-27-10) couldn't gain any breathing room from the Red Wings on Saturday. Jake Sanderson (48 points in 63 games), who returned to the lineup Saturday, can join Erik Karlsson (five times from 2013-14 to 2017-18) as the second Senators defensemen with at least 50 points in consecutive seasons. The Hurricanes (49-21-6) will clinch the Metropolitan Division with at least one point against the Senators or with any result in the Panthers-Penguins game other than a Penguins.

New Jersey Devils at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, MSGSN)

Competition in the Atlantic Division continues with the second-place Canadiens (45-21-10) two points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning. The Canadiens will clinch a playoff berth with at least one point against the Devils or if the Wild defeat the Red Wings in any fashion. They've won eight in a row, reached 100 points for the first time since 2016-17 (103) and if they win Sunday, it'll be their third run of at least nine games in 35 years. They went 9-0-0 from Oct. 7-24, 2015, and Oct. 19 to Nov. 6, 1991. The Devils (39-34-3) are seven points behind the Senators for the second wild card from the East.

Washington Capitals at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN)

The Capitals (39-29-9) are 6-2-2 in their past 10 games and still in the hunt for the postseason, one point behind the Senators. Alex Ovechkin has scored 24 goals in 39 games at the current Madison Square Garden, second-most behind Mario Lemieux (32 in 35 games). The Rangers have been eliminated from playoff contention.

St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN)

The Blues (32-31-12) are three points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild card from the Western Conference. The Avalanche (50-15-10) will clinch the Central Division and Western Conference with a win against the Blues in any fashion. Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon has 51 goals for the second time in his NHL career (2023-24) and can score the third-most goals in a season in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history (Mikko Rantanen, 55 in 2022-23; Joe Sakic, 54 in 2000-01).

If playoffs started Sunday

Eastern Conference

(1A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC1) Boston Bruins

(2A) Montreal Canadiens vs. (3A) Buffalo Sabres

(1M) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (WC2) Ottawa Senators

(2M) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (3M) New York Islanders

Western Conference

(1P) Edmonton Oilers vs. (WC1) Utah Mammoth

(2P) Anaheim Ducks vs. (3P) Vegas Golden Knights

(1C) Colorado Avalanche vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators

(2C) Dallas Stars vs. (3C) Minnesota Wild

About last night

There were 15 games on the NHL schedule Saturday, each with playoff implications:

New York Rangers 4, Detroit Red Wings 1

David Perron scored with 33 seconds remaining in the third period and the Red Wings failed to gain ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Gabe Perreault had the first hat trick of his NHL career and Jonathan Quick made 30 saves for the Rangers (32-36-9), who have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Minnesota Wild 4, Ottawa Senators 1

Ryan Hartman had two goals and Mats Zuccarello had two assists for the Wild. Drake Batherson scored for the Senators.

Colorado Avalanche 2, Dallas Stars 0

Scott Wedgewood made 17 saves and MacKinnon scored for the West-leading Avalanche. The Stars, who have already clinched a playoff berth, are 2-5-2 in their past nine games.

Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Boston Bruins 1

Darren Raddysh scored for the Lightning, who clinched a playoff berth earlier Saturday when the Rangers defeated the Red Wings. Raddysh's 21 goals is a new Lightning record for goals by a defenseman. Dan Boyle had 20 goals in 2006-07 and Victor Hedman had 20 in 2021-22. Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves for the Bruins.

Pittsburgh Penguins 9, Florida Panthers 4

Evgeni Malkin had three goals and an assist to pass 1,400 points in his NHL career. The Penguins scored six goals in the second period to defeat the Panthers, who were led by A.J. Greer with a goal and an assist.

Montreal Canadiens 4, New Jersey Devils 3 (SO)

Cole Caufield had two assists and Oliver Kapanen scored in the fifth round to get the shootout win for the Canadiens. Jack Hughes and Timo Meier each had a goal and an assist for the Devils, who are 7-3-1 in their past 11 games.

Washington Capitals 6, Buffalo Sabres 2

Logan Thompson made 37 saves for the Capitals, who scored three first-period goals to move within one point of the Senators in the East. Alex Ovechkin had two assists. Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist for the Sabres (46-23-8), who clinched their first playoff berth since 2010-11 when the Rangers defeated the Red Wings prior to their game Saturday. The Sabres are third in the Atlantic, two points behind the first-place Lightning.

Carolina Hurricanes 4, New York Islanders 3

Sebastian Aho scored a short-handed goal, and Seth Jarvis had two goals and an assist for the Hurricanes. Ilya Sorokin made 36 saves for the Islanders (42-31-5), who have lost a season-high four in a row. New York is third in the Metropolitan Division, five points behind second-place Pittsburgh and one behind fourth-place Philadelphia.

Winnipeg Jets 2, Columbus Blue Jackets 1

Kyle Connor scored both goals for the Jets (33-31-12), who are three points behind the Predators for the second wild card from the West. Ivan Provorov scored for the Blue Jackets (38-27-12), who have lost six in a row (0-5-1) and remain behind the Senators for the second wild card with Ottawa holding a game in hand.

Utah Mammoth 7, Vancouver Canucks 4

Clayton Keller had his third NHL hat trick with an assist to lead the Mammoth (40-30-6), who have won three in a row. Utah holds the first wild card in the West, five points ahead of the Predators. Linus Karlsson had two goals for the Canucks, who have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Los Angeles Kings 7, Toronto Maple Leafs 6 (OT)

Quinton Byfield scored two goals, the second coming at 2:33 of overtime, to lead the Kings (31-26-19). Los Angeles, which is 3-1-1 in its past five games, is tied with Nashville in points but the Predators have more regulation wins (26-19). Matthew Knies had two goals and an assist for the Maple Leafs (32-31-14), who have been eliminated from postseason contention.

Vegas Golden Knights 5, Edmonton Oilers 1

Jack Eichel had three assists for the Golden Knights (35-26-16), who have won three in a row and are third in the Pacific Division, one point behind the first-place Oilers (39-29-9) and second-place Anaheim Ducks. Evan Bouchard scored for the Oilers, but the Golden Knights ended their season-high five-game winning streak.

Calgary Flames 5, Anaheim Ducks 3

Beckett Sennecke, Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish scored for the Ducks (41-31-5), who have lost five in a row (0-4-1). The Ducks are tied with the Oilers in points, but Edmonton has more regulation wins (30-24). Morgan Frost scored twice for the Flames (32-36-8), who avoided elimination from playoff contention.

Nashville Predators 6, San Jose Sharks 3

Filip Forsberg had two goals and an assist for the Predators (36-31-9), who took back the second wild card from the Sharks (36-32-7) on Saturday. Nick Leddy had a goal and an assist for the Sharks, who are two points behind the Predators. Their four-game winning streak also ended.

Chicago Blackhawks 4, Seattle Kraken 2

Jaden Schwartz and Kaapo Kakko scored but the Kraken (32-32-11) have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and are slipping in the playoff race. Seattle is six points behind Nashville. Sacha Boisvert scored the first goal of his NHL career for the Blackhawks (28-35-14), who were eliminated from playoff contention in their 3-1 loss to the Oilers on Thursday.