NHL Playoff Picture: If Playoffs Start Today

With the NHL season winding down, I wanted to take a look at the current NHL Playoff picture and how the First round matchups would look like, if the playoffs were to start today.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic

1. Boston Bruins-121 pts

2. Toronto Maple Leafs-98

3. Tampa Bay Lightning-94

Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs have already clinched a playoff spot, and the Tampa Bay Lightning are close to clinching.

Metropolitan

1. Carolina Hurricanes-103

2. New Jersey Devils-102

3. New York Rangers-98

All of the top 3 seeds in the Metropolitan Division have already clinched a playoff spot.

Wildcard

1. NY Islanders-87

2. Pittsburgh Penguins-84

Florida Panthers-83

Ottawa Senators-79

Buffalo Sabres-77

Washington Capitals-77

Detroit Red WIngs-75

The NY Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins currently hold the two wildcard spots in the Eastern Conference, with the Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Washington Capitals, and Detroit Red Wings on their tail.

Western Conference

Central

1. Minnesota Wild-97

2. Dallas Stars-94

3. Colorado Avalanche-94

No team in the Central has clinched the division yet, race for the Central will go right down to the wire with only 3 points separating 1st place Minnesota from Dallas and Colorado. Dallas and Colorado will likely be battling for who gets home ice in the playoffs.

Pacific

1. Vegas Golden Knights-99

2. Edmonton Oilers-97

3. Los Angeles Kings-96

Vegas has clinched a playoff spot, while the red-hot Oilers and Kings are both close to clinching a playoff spot.

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Wildcard

1. Seattle Kraken-90

2. Winnipeg Jets-85

Calgary Flames-83

Nashville Predators-82

Seattle and Winnipeg hold the two wildcard spots in the Western Conference, with Calgary and Nashville on their tail.

Potential First-Round Matchups

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Carolina Hurricanes vs New York Islanders

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning

New Jersey Devils vs New York Rangers

Western Conference

Vegas Golden Knights vs Winnipeg Jets

Minnesota Wild vs Seattle Kraken

Edmonton Oilers vs Los Angeles Kings

Dallas Stars vs Colorado Avalanche

Comments

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