Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Oilers, Blues can clinch berths

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2025 NHL postseason.

There are 11 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 7:

WESTERN CONFERENCE

The Edmonton Oilers will clinch a playoff berth:

If they defeat the Anaheim Ducks in any fashion (10:30 p.m. ET; Victory+, KCOP-13, SNW) AND the Calgary Flames lose to the San Jose Sharks in regulation (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, SN1)

The St. Louis Blues will clinch a playoff berth:

If they defeat the Winnipeg Jets in regulation (7:30 p.m. ET; Prime, NHLN, FDSNMW) AND the Flames lose to the Sharks in regulation

On Tap

There are five games on the schedule for Monday, all with playoff implications:

Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, MSG, TVAS)

The Lightning (44-26-6) wrap up a four-game road trip (1-1-1) looking to pad their lead for second place in the Atlantic Division; they are two points ahead of the Florida Panthers and four behind the first-place Toronto Maple Leafs. The Rangers (36-33-7) trail the Montreal Canadiens by six points for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand.

St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets (7:30 p.m. ET; Prime, NHLN, FDSNMW)

The Blues (43-28-7) look to extend their franchise-best 12-game winning streak and pad their lead on the Minnesota Wild for the first wild card in the Western Conference; St. Louis, which can potentially clinch a playoff berth, is two points ahead with four games remaining for each. The Jets (52-21-4) are one point ahead of the Washington Capitals in the Presidents’ Trophy race and three ahead of the Dallas Stars for first in the Central Division.

Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks (10:30 p.m. ET; Victory+, KCOP-13, SNW)

The Oilers (44-27-5) can potentially clinch a playoff berth in the finale of a four-game road trip; they are 2-1-0 thus far after a 3-0 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday that dropped them four points behind for second in the Pacific Division. The Ducks (33-35-8) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Seattle Kraken at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; FDSNW, KHN, KONG)

A four-game winning streak has helped the Kings (44-23-9) move four points ahead of the Oilers for second in the Pacific; they trail the Vegas Golden Knights by five points for first place. The Kraken (33-38-6) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Calgary Flames at San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, SN1)

The Flames (36-27-13) play the first of two games in California and trail the Wild by six points for the second wild card in the West. The Sharks (20-46-10) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

If playoffs started Monday

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 eight games on the NHL schedule Sunday, all with playoff implications:

New York Islanders 4. Washington Capitals 1: Alex Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky and set the NHL record with his 895th goal, but the Capitals (49-19-9) were unable to clinch the Metropolitan Division. Washington is 11 points ahead of the second-place Carolina Hurricanes with five games left; Carolina has six. The Islanders (34-32-10) have won their past two games and trail the Canadiens by seven points for the second wild card in the East.

Minnesota Wild 3, Dallas Stars 2 (OT): Marco Rossi scored a power-play goal 58 seconds into overtime for the Wild (42-29-7), who moved within two points of the Blues for the first wild card in the West, and six ahead of the Flames for the second wild card. Dallas (50-22-5) moved within three points of the Jets for first in the Central Division and the Presidents’ Trophy race.

Ottawa Senators 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 0: Linus Ullmark made 30 saves, and the Senators (42-29-6) moved within two points of the Panthers for third place in the Atlantic. The Blue Jackets (34-33-9) were shut out for the second straight game, have lost three in a row and fell eight points behind the Canadiens for the second wild card in the East.

Buffalo Sabres 6, Boston Bruins 3: Tage Thompson scored a hat trick for the Sabres (34-36-6), who won their fourth straight but remained 11 points behind the Canadiens for the second wild card in the East. The Bruins (31-38-9) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Chicago Blackhawks 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 1: The Penguins (31-35-12) were eliminated from playoff contention for the third straight season. The Blackhawks (22-45-10) have already been eliminated.

Detroit Red Wings 2, Florida Panthers 1: The Red Wings (36-33-7) improved to 3-0-1 in their past four games but remained six points behind the Canadiens for the last playoff spot in the East. The Panthers (44-29-4) fell have lost five in a row (0-4-1) and remained two points behind the Lightning for second place in the Atlantic, having played an extra game. Their lead on the Senators for third place was trimmed to two points.

Montreal Canadiens 2, Nashville Predators 1: Jakub Dobes made 36 saves, and the Canadiens (38-30-9) won their fifth straight game to move six points ahead of the New York Rangers for the second wild card in the East, having played one extra game. The Predators (27-42-8) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Vegas Golden Knights 3, Vancouver Canucks 2: Victor Olofsson scored the go-ahead goal at 16:46 of the third period for the Golden Knights (47-22-8), who moved five points ahead of the Kings for first place in the Pacific. The Canucks (35-29-13) lost for the fourth time in five games (1-3-1) and fell eight points back of the Wild for the second wild card in the West.