Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2025 NHL postseason. There are 21 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.
On Tap
There are six games on the NHL schedule Friday, each with playoff implications.
Utah Hockey Club at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; Utah16, SCRIPPS, NHLN, SNW, SNO, SNE)
Brad Marchand is expected to make his debut for the Panthers (43-25-3), who look to leapfrog the Toronto Maple Leafs into the Atlantic Division lead. The forward was acquired in a trade with the Boston Bruins on March 7 but has been out since March 1 with an upper-body injury. Utah (32-29-11), which plays the second of back-to-back games after an 8-0 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, is 10 points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference with two games in hand.
Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, TSN2, RDS)
The Canadiens (33-29-3) will try to end a four-game losing streak (0-2-2), their latest a 6-4 defeat at the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. Montreal holds the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, leading the New York Islanders and New York Rangers by one point with a game in hand on the Rangers. The Hurricanes (43-24-4) have lost two of three after winning eight in a row and are second in the Metropolitan Division, seven points ahead of the New Jersey Devils with two games in hand. Forward Taylor Hall has four goals in his past two games for Carolina.
Vancouver Canucks at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, SNP)
Quinn Hughes and the Canucks (34-26-12) seek their third straight win, which would move them within three points of the Blues for the second wild card in the West; Vancouver has two games in hand. Hughes, a defenseman, has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past eight games. The Blue Jackets (32-29-9) are two points behind the Canadiens for the second wild card in the East with a game in hand following a 4-3 shootout win at the Islanders on Monday.
New Jersey Devils at Winnipeg Jets (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, MSGSN)
The Devils (38-28-7) ended a three-game losing streak (0-2-1) with a 5-3 win at the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday and are seven points behind the Hurricanes, who have played two fewer games, for second in the Metropolitan. The Jets (49-19-4) clinched a playoff berth with a 3-2 overtime win against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday and can pass Washington in the Presidents' Trophy race for the best record in the NHL with a win.
Vegas Golden Knights at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. ET; CHSN, SCRIPPS, SN360)
Center Jack Eichel has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in a four-game point streak for the Golden Knights (43-20-8), who look to win their fifth straight and extend their five-point lead on the Los Angeles Kings atop the Pacific Division. The Blackhawks (21-42-9) have been eliminated from playoff contention.
New York Rangers at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, KCOP-13, MSG-2, SNP, SNW, SNE, TVAS)
The Rangers (34-32-6) will try to rebound from a 3-1 loss at the Kings on Tuesday and overtake the Canadiens, who have one game in hand, for the second wild card in the East. The Ducks (31-32-8) are 15 points back of the Blues for the second wild card in the West.
If playoffs started Friday
Eastern Conference
(1A) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (WC1) Ottawa Senators
(2A) Florida Panthers vs. (3A) Tampa Bay Lightning
(1M) Washington Capitals vs. (WC2) Montreal Canadiens
(2M) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (3M) New Jersey Devils
Western Conference
(1P) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) Minnesota Wild
(2P) Los Angeles Kings vs. (3P) Edmonton Oilers
(1C) Winnipeg Jets vs. (WC2) St. Louis Blues
(2C) Dallas Stars vs. (3C) Colorado Avalanche
About last night
There were 10 games on the schedule Thursday, each with playoff implications:
Buffalo Sabres 7, Pittsburgh Penguins 3: Sidney Crosby broke Wayne Gretzky's NHL record with his 20th straight season averaging at least a point a game, but the Penguins (29-34-11) lost their third straight (0-2-1) and sit six points behind the Canadiens for the second wild card in the East. Jiri Kulich scored twice for the Sabres (30-35-6), who have won three straight and are nine points back of Montreal.
Ottawa Senators 4, Detroit Red Wings 3: Linus Ullmark made 31 saves for the Senators (38-28-5), who are 8-3-0 in their past 11 games and hold the first wild card in the East, six points ahead of Montreal. Lucas Raymond had a goal and an assist for Detroit (33-33-6), which is 1-4-0 in its past five and three points behind the Canadiens having played one more game.
Tampa Bay Lightning 8, Utah Hockey Club 0: Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists and Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded his 40th NHL shutout for the Lightning (42-25-5), tied with the Panthers for second in the Atlantic, one point behind the Maple Leafs. Florida has a game in hand on each. Utah (32-29-11) is 10 points behind St. Louis for the second wild card in the West with two games in hand.
Philadelphia Flyers 6, Montreal Canadiens 4: The Flyers (29-36-9) won their first game under coach Brad Shaw, who replaced John Tortorella after the latter was fired Thursday. Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov each had two goals and an assist for Philadelphia, which ended a six-game losing skid (0-5-1) and are eight points behind the Canadiens (33-29-9) for the second wild card in the East. Alex Newhook, Cole Caufield, Christian Dvorak and Patrik Laine scored for Montreal, which lost its fourth straight (0-2-2) and remain one point ahead of the Islanders and Rangers for the second wild card.
Minnesota Wild 4, Washington Capitals 2: Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist for the Wild (41-27-5), who are 4-2-0 in their past six, two points ahead of the Blues for the first wild card in the West and six points behind the Colorado Avalanche for third place in the Central Division. Matt Roy and Brandon Duhaime scored for Washington (47-16-9) and Alex Ovechkin remains six goals from passing Gretzky (894) for the NHL all-time record. Washington leads the NHL with 103 points, one point ahead of Winnipeg.
St. Louis Blues 3, Nashville Predators 2: Dylan Holloway scored twice for the Blues (39-28-7), who won their eighth straight game and eliminated the Predators (27-37-8) from postseason contention. The win puts St. Louis five points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card in the West with Vancouver holding two games in hand. Juuse Saros made 18 saves for Nashville, which has missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
Dallas Stars 5, Calgary Flames 2: Casey DeSmith made 46 saves to lead the Stars (47-21-4) to their fourth straight win. Dallas, which has a seven-game point streak (5-0-2), moved within four points of Winnipeg for first in the Central Division and Western Conference. Nazem Kadri scored twice to extend his goal-scoring streak to five games (seven goals) for the Flames (34-26-11), who had a four-game winning streak end. Calgary is six points behind St. Louis for the second wild card in the West with three games in hand.
Colorado Avalanche 4, Los Angeles Kings 0: Nathan MacKinnon ran his home point streak to 23 games and Mackenzie Blackwood had his fourth shutout of the season for the Avalanche (45-25-3), who have won 11 straight at home and are 12-1-1 in their past 14 overall. Colorado remained five points behind Dallas Stars, which has a game in hand, for second place in the Central. David Rittich made 22 saves for the Kings (40-22-9), who remained two points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers for second in the Pacific with a game in hand.
Seattle Kraken 6, Edmonton Oilers 1: Jaden Schwartz scored twice for the Kraken (31-36-6), who avoided elimination from playoff contention with the win but are 17 points behind the Blues for the second wild card in the West. Zach Hyman scored for the Oilers (41-26-5) who are 1-2-1 in their past four games and third in the Pacific, two points behind the Kings.
San Jose Sharks 6, Toronto Maple Leafs 5: William Nylander scored the tying goal with 14 seconds remaining in the third period for the Maple Leafs (43-25-4) but the Sharks prevailed in the shootout. Toronto is 1-1-1 in its past three but remains in first place in the Atlantic, one point ahead of Florida and Tampa Bay; the Panthers have one game in hand on each of their two division foes. Tyler Toffoli had two goals and an assist for the Sharks (20-42-9), who have been eliminated from playoff contention.
