The next six days will determine how the 16-team bracket will look when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin April 18. To mark the occasion, here are 16 storylines entering the final 52 games of the 2025-26 regular season:
1. Let’s start with what is to be determined: After 1,260 games — 96% of the schedule — there are still seven playoff spots, seven First Round matchups, 13 playoff seeds, two division winners and one conference title up in the air. The leaders in the races for the Art Ross Trophy and Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy have leads of five and two, respectively, while the rookie scoring race is also going down to the wire (2-point gap between top 3).
2. Five teams can clinch Saturday: NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid and the Oilers aim for a seventh consecutive postseason; Jack Eichel and the Golden Knights vie for a fourth straight clinch; Leo Carlsson and the Ducks eye the club’s first postseason since 2018; David Pastrnak and the Bruins can clinch a berth for the ninth time in 10 seasons; Brady Tkachuk and the Senators can secure consecutive appearances for the first time in 13 years. Click here for detailed scenarios. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see notes on every team that has clinched so far.
3. We know only one playoff matchup: That’s likely to remain the case down to the wire, with tight races for both divisional seeds and Wild Card spots. Last season, the bracket was set on April 16 – the second-last day of the regular season – and in 2023-24 it went down to the final 81 seconds of the 1,312th and final game.
4. Speaking of Wild Card spots: The difference between Wild Card 2 and the first team outside the bracket has been four points or fewer the entire season in the West – including a one-point gap or tiebreaker every day since March 26. In the East, the difference has been that way for 94% of the campaign.
5. Let’s focus on the East: Seven teams are still in the hunt for three spots – including one more guaranteed for a Metropolitan team. At least one of the Flyers, Islanders, Blue Jackets or Capitals will qualify – they are separated by three points, each with three games remaining. While no more Atlantic Division clubs are guaranteed a spot, they do make up the top three in the Wild Card standings: the Bruins (WC1) and Senators (WC2) are in, and the Red Wings are the first team out. Five teams have occupied Wild Card 2 in the past month (BOS, CBJ, DET, OTT & NYI), while four have sat as Metropolitan 3 (PHI, NYI, CBJ & PIT).
6. Now let’s head West: Wild Card 2 in that conference has changed 14 times since March 1 – with five teams accounting for those changes (NSH, LAK, SJS, SEA & EDM). There are seven head-to-head games left between teams still vying to clinch in the West, including two on the final day of the season.
7. Let’s jump back to that one playoff matchup: After interchanging between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the Central Division every day since Nov. 21, the Stars and Wild will meet for their third head-to-head playoff series. Determining home ice in that series is still at stake.
8. Does anyone have home-ice yet?: Game 1s will be played inColorado, Carolina and Pittsburgh. The Avalanche locked up home ice for their entire playoff journey as the Presidents’ Trophy winners, while the Hurricanes and Penguins will be No. 1 and No. 2 in the Metropolitan Division.
9. There are still two divisions to be decided: There’s a one-point gap between the top three teams in the Pacific Division – Edmonton, Vegas and Anaheim (none of which have clinched a playoff spot) – and a four-point gap between the same grouping in the Atlantic Division – Buffalo, Montreal and Tampa Bay (who will make up the top 3, order TBD). Tap the links to see how long it’s been since each club claimed a division title.
10. It’s been a minute for some of these teams: The Sabres are in for the first time since 2011 (ending the longest wait for playoff hockey in NHL history), the Mammoth have their first berth in two NHL seasons, while Sidney Crosby and the Penguins qualified for the first time since 2022. Others inside or near the bracket are looking to get back in as well (last playoff appearance): Boston (2024), Philadelphia (2020), Columbus (2020), Detroit (2016), NY Islanders (2024), Anaheim (2018), Nashville (2024), San Jose (2019) and Seattle (2023).
11. That seems like a lot of new playoff teams: That’s right, we could see the highest year-over-year playoff turnover in NHL history (tied or outright). The current record is 7 (2020-21, 2017-18, 2016-17 & 2014-15) and there are currently 11 teams either inside the bracket or within four points of it after missing out last season (including 3 that have already clinched: BUF, PIT & UTA).
12. Let’s talk about awards: Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon has been the NHL goals leader (tied or outright) since Nov. 8 – when he was tied with Cole Caufield at 12 goals – as he pursues his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. During that stretch, MacKinnon (52) has been the outright leader from Dec. 2 onward, but Caufield (50) joined him in the 50-goal club Thursday – a first for Montreal since 1989-90. MacKinnon is also in the running for the Art Ross Trophy, while his teammates Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood are frontrunners for the William M. Jennings Trophy (COL has 22 GA fewer than next closest team).
13. A little more about the scoring race: For a second time in three years, the combination of Connor McDavid (133 points), Nikita Kucherov (128) and Nathan MacKinnon (126) is battling within the top three in the Art Ross Trophy race. McDavid pulled away with a five-point night Wednesday and now leads by five with the second-highest point total of his career as he seeks his sixth scoring title – with a showdown against MacKinnon slated for Monday. For Kucherov it would be his third in a row, for MacKinnon a career-first.
14. Other players to watch: The list of players having standout seasons is long, with four players knocking on the door of 100 points – David Pastrnak, Mark Scheifele, Nick Suzuki and Martin Necas are all within two points of the milestone – and two teenagers having historic seasons (Macklin Celebrini, 19, can become the third teenager in NHL history to finish top-four in points; Matthew Schaefer, 18, needs one goal to set a new NHL record by a rookie defenseman). Also among the group of young stars to watch is Beckett Sennecke, 20, who needs two points to establish a new Ducks record. Schaefer and Sennecke are entwined in two rookie scoring races with a pair of Canadiens teammates: tied atop the goals list (one ahead of Oliver Kapanen) and both within two points of rookie points leader Ivan Demidov. Every player mentioned above is in the thick of the Rush to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
15. Key games the rest of the way: As of today, only two of 52 remaining games are between teams both eliminated from playoff contention. A few notable games to watch:
- Saturday: Playoff stakes abound during a tripleheader on ABC Hockey Saturday (TBL at BOS, WSH at PIT, VGK at COL). Sportsnet will carry a familiar First Round matchup of late (EDM at LAK) as both the East and West playoff races will be a focal point of Hockey Night in Canada (PHI at WPG & CBJ at MTL & VAN at SJS).
- Sunday: The NHL on TNT will air the 101st all-time meeting between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin to cap a weekend back-to-back between the two (get ready with Sid vs. Ovi 101) .
- Monday: The West Wild Card race will be the focus on ESPN (LAK at SEA) with four games playing into that race (also SJS at NSH, MIN at STL & WPG at VGK) as current division leaders clash on Sportsnet (COL at EDM).
- Tuesday: Ovechkin (WSH at CBJ) and Crosby (PIT at STL) are both on ESPN for their regular season finales in what could be pivotal games.
- Wednesday: The NHL on TNT could dish out a division title (DAL at BUF) – in addition to presenting the “Mr. TNT” award – as the Eastern Conference schedule wraps.
- Thursday: An ESPN doubleheader opens in Utah, where Stanley Cup Playoffs hockey will take place for the first time this spring. The night also features the Ducks, Predators, Sharks, Jets, Blues, Kings, Oilers and Kraken – all teams embroiled in a playoff race who have yet to clinch. In Canada, the way to watch might be on NHL: Coast To Coast on Prime.
16. Save the best for last: The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin April 18. For the first time since 2015, the postseason will begin with one guarantee: a new champion will be crowned.
