Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Sabres can take over 1st in East

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

There are 23 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.

On Tap

There are two games on the NHL schedule Wednesday, each with playoff implications:

Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, NESN, TVAS2)

The Sabres and Bruins are among the seven teams who hold a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing last season (four in the Eastern Conference; three in the Western Conference). Buffalo (44-20-7) is on a five-game point streak (4-0-1), an NHL-best 12-1-1 since returning from the 2026 Winter Olympic break and can take over first place in the East with a win. The Sabres are one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the Eastern Conference and two points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning for first in the Atlantic Division with the Lightning holding one game in hand. The Bruins (39-24-8) are 2-1-0 in three previous games against the Sabres this season and one point ahead of the Ottawa Senators for the first wild card from the East. Bruins forward David Pastrnak has 48 points (18 goals, 30 assists) in 44 games against the Sabres; he has never reached 50 against an NHL team.

New York Rangers at Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, MSG)

The Rangers (28-34-9) will be eliminated from playoff contention if they lose to the Maple Leafs in any fashion. The Maple Leafs (30-29-13) won 4-2 at the Bruins on Tuesday and are eighth in the Atlantic Division.

If playoffs started Wednesday

Western Conference

(1P) Anaheim Ducks vs. (WC1) Utah Mammoth

(2P) Edmonton Oilers vs. (3P) Vegas Golden Knights

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

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

Eastern Conference

(1A) Buffalo Sabres vs. (WC1) Boston Bruins 

(2A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3A) Montreal Canadiens 

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

(2M) Columbus Blue Jackets vs. (3M) Pittsburgh Penguins

About last night

There were 15 games on the NHL schedule Tuesday, all with playoff implications:

Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Boston Bruins 2

The Bruins are two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for third in the Atlantic Division and have points in nine of their past 12 games (6-3-3). Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz made 18 saves in his first start in four games after he was injured in warmups prior to a 5-2 loss at Ottawa on Saturday.

Montreal Canadiens 5, Carolina Hurricanes 2

Cole Caufield scored his 44th goal and assisted on Juraj Slafkovsky's go-ahead goal at 9:19 of the second period for Montreal (39-21-10), which has won three of four and is 6-4-1 in its past 11 games. The Canadiens are third in the Atlantic Division, five points behind the second-place Lightning. The Hurricanes (45-20-6) lead the Metropolitan Division, nine points ahead of the second-place Columbus Blue Jackets.  

Ottawa Senators 3, Detroit Red Wings 2 

The Senators (38-24-9) moved into the second wild card from the East with a gutsy win despite missing five defensemen because of injury and two in the lineup making their NHL debut in the same game for the first time in franchise history (Carter Yakemchuk, Jorian Donovan). Yakemchuk and captain Brady Tkachuk each had one goal and one assist to help Ottawa to its fourth consecutive win. Dylan Larkin scored in his return from a lower-body injury for the Red Wings (38-25-8), who fell one point behind the Senators and New York Islanders.

Florida Panthers 5, Seattle Kraken 4 (SO)

Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves and stopped all three attempts he faced in the shootout for Florida (35-32-3), which is 12 points behind Ottawa in the East. The Panthers' victory came in Paul Maurice's 2,000th NHL game, the second coach in League history to reach the milestone (Scotty Bowman, 2,141). Seattle (31-29-10) is five points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild card from the Western Conference.

Chicago Blackhawks 4, New York Islanders 3 

Anton Frondell had an assist in his NHL debut and Nick Lardis had three points (one goal, two assists) for the Blackhawks (27-31-13), who are 10 points behind the Predators for the second wild card from the West. David Rittich allowed three goals on 12 shots before being replaced at the start of the second period by Ilya Sorokin, who made 11 saves in relief for the Islanders (40-27-5). New York has lost three of four (1-3-0) and is tied in points with Ottawa for the second wild card, but the Senators hold the regulation-wins tiebreaker (32-26). 

Columbus Blue Jackets 3, Philadelphia Flyers 2 

Columbus is 9-2-4 since returning from the Olympic break after Zach Werenski had a goal and an assist for his 25th multipoint game of the season. The Blue Jackets (38-22-11) occupy a top-two position in the Metropolitan Division for the first time this season and are one point ahead of the third-place Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers (34-24-12) are five points behind the Senators.

Colorado Avalanche 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 2 

Martin Necas scored two goals for the Avalanche (47-13-10), who have won three in a row and clinched a playoff berth. Colorado is first in the Central Division, seven points ahead of the Dallas Stars. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby (assist) has five points (one goal, four assists) in four games since returning from a knee injury sustained playing for Team Canada at the Olympics. The Penguins (35-20-16) dropped to third in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Blue Jackets and one ahead of the fourth-place Islanders.

Tampa Bay Lightning 6, Minnesota Wild 3 

The Lightning scored the final five goals of the game to move within two points of the Sabres for first in the Atlantic Division. Jake Guentzel scored his 300th NHL goal and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves and had an assist for Tampa Bay (44-21-5), which is 4-0-1 in its past five games. The Wild (40-20-12) are third in the Central, five points behind the Stars and 12 back of the Avalanche.

St. Louis Blues 3, Washington Capitals 0 

Joel Hofer made 21 saves for his sixth shutout of the season for the Blues (29-30-11), who are 8-1-2 in their past 11 games and eight points behind the Predators for the second wild card from the West. The Capitals (35-28-9) are six points outside of the second wild card in the East.

Nashville Predators 6, San Jose Sharks 3 

Nashville (34-28-9) became the sixth team since 2009-10 (when real-time data was officially tracked) to convert on five of its first seven shots in a game on the way to its fifth straight victory to remain the second wild card from the West, three points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and three behind the Utah Mammoth for the first wild card. Filip Forsberg had three points (one goal, two assists) for the Predators. Will Smith scored twice for the Sharks (32-31-6), who have lost five straight and are seven points behind the Predators. 

New Jersey Devils 6, Dallas Stars 4 

Jack Hughes scored two goals to extend his point streak to six games (five goals, seven assists) for the Devils (36-32-2), who are 7-3-0 in their past 10 and 11 points behind the Senators. The Stars (43-17-11) have lost three straight (0-2-1) but clinched a playoff berth.

Winnipeg Jets 4, Vegas Golden Knights 1 

Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves for the Jets (30-29-12), who remain five points behind the Predators. Vegas (32-26-14) has lost four of five (1-4-0) and is one point behind the Edmonton Oilers for second in the Pacific Division and six behind the first-place Anaheim Ducks.

Calgary Flames 3, Los Angeles Kings 2 (SO) 

The Kings (28-25-18), who are trying to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth straight season, have lost four straight (0-1-3) and are three points behind the Predators. Olli Maatta, acquired by Calgary (30-34-7) in a trade with Utah on March 4, scored his first goal with the Flames, who are 10 points behind the Predators.

Edmonton Oilers 5, Utah Mammoth 2 

Connor McDavid scored two goals to reach 400 and 1,200 points (401 goals, 799 assists) for the Oilers (35-28-9), who have won three of five and are second in the Pacific Division. McDavid became the third-fastest player in NHL history to 1,200 points (784 games), following Wayne Gretzky (504 games) and Mario Lemieux (593 games). Edmonton is five points behind the Ducks. Utah (37-29-6) is three points ahead of Nashville for the first wild card. 

Anaheim Ducks 5, Vancouver Canucks 3 

John Carlson had three assists for the Ducks (40-27-4), who extended their point streak to five games (4-0-1) and earned their first 40-win season since 2017-18, the last time they made the playoffs. Vancouver is eliminated from playoff contention.