{"id":589000,"date":"2026-04-06T11:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T11:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/589000\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T11:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T11:22:12","slug":"nhl-playoff-standings-whos-winning-the-atlantic-division","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/589000\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL playoff standings: Who’s winning the Atlantic Division?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> and Buffalo Sabres<\/a> clinched playoff spots Saturday, and thanks to the Minnesota Wild<\/a> defeating the Detroit Red Wings<\/a> on Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> also have punched their postseason ticket.<\/p>\n

While the Metro and Central Divisions remain well in hand for the Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> and Colorado Avalanche<\/a>, respectively, there are multiple scenarios in which any of the three top Atlantic contenders win the regular-season title.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n

2 Related<\/p>\n

Following Sunday’s games, the Lightning are in first place, with 102 points and 39 regulation wins through 76 games; the Sabres are in second, with 100 points and 38 RW through 77 games; and the Canadiens are in third, with 100 points and 32 RW through 77 games.<\/p>\n

Our next data point in the race will come Monday, as the Lightning visit the Sabres (7 p.m. ET, NHL Network<\/a>), the final regular-season matchup between the clubs. You’ll remember the previous game, an 8-7 win for Buffalo<\/a>, included 102 combined penalty minutes.<\/p>\n

Beyond Monday, the Sabres’ remaining schedule includes the Rangers, Blue Jackets, Blackhawks and Stars — two teams that are lottery-bound, one on the playoff fringes, and one whose seeding might very well be clinched by the time they play.<\/p>\n

After Buffalo, the Lightning face off once more against the Canadiens (Thursday), as well as the Senators, Bruins, Red Wings and Rangers. That’s three games against current playoff teams, one against a playoff bubble team and a closeout against the lottery-bound Rangers.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Lightning game, the Habs take on the Panthers, Blue Jackets, Islanders and Flyers. This is somewhat more difficult than the Sabres’ slate (given that the Isles, Flyers and Blue Jackets are still battling for playoff positioning), but not as challenging as the Lightning’s.<\/p>\n

Playoff Hockey Challenge<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Who will lift the Stanley Cup? Create up to two brackets today. Create A Bracket<\/a><\/p>\n

So what do the projections say?<\/p>\n

Stathletes has the Lightning taking the title, with 109.5 points, followed by the Canadiens in second (107.4) and Sabres in third (105.7).<\/p>\n

Every team has seven or fewer games remaining before the regular season concludes April 16, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch every day. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2026 NHL draft lottery.<\/p>\n

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.<\/p>\n

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups<\/a>
Today’s schedule<\/a>
Last night’s scores<\/a>
Expanded standings<\/a>
Race for No. 1 pick<\/a><\/p>\n

Current playoff matchups<\/p>\n

Eastern Conference<\/p>\n

A1 Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> vs. WC1 Boston Bruins<\/a>
A2 Buffalo Sabres<\/a> vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens<\/a><\/p>\n

M1 Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> vs. WC2 Ottawa Senators<\/a>
M2 Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> vs. M3 Philadelphia Flyers<\/a><\/p>\n

Western Conference<\/p>\n

C1 Colorado Avalanche<\/a> vs. WC2 Nashville Predators<\/a>
C2 Dallas Stars<\/a> vs. C3 Minnesota Wild<\/a><\/p>\n

P1 Edmonton Oilers<\/a> vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth<\/a>
P2 Anaheim Ducks<\/a> vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights<\/a><\/p>\n

Today’s games<\/p>\n

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+<\/a> (local blackout restrictions apply).<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> at Buffalo Sabres<\/a>, 7 p.m. (NHLN)
Seattle Kraken<\/a> at Winnipeg Jets<\/a>, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks<\/a> at San Jose Sharks<\/a>, 10 p.m.
Nashville Predators<\/a> at Los Angeles Kings<\/a>, 10:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Last night’s scoreboard<\/p>\n

Minnesota Wild<\/a> 5, Detroit Red Wings<\/a> 4
Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> 5, Florida Panthers<\/a> 2
Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> 2, Boston Bruins<\/a> 1 (OT)
Ottawa Senators<\/a> 6, Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> 3
New Jersey Devils<\/a> 3, Montreal Canadiens<\/a> 0
New York Rangers<\/a> 8, Washington Capitals<\/a> 1
St. Louis Blues<\/a> 3, Colorado Avalanche<\/a> 2<\/p>\n

Expanded standings<\/p>\n

Note: An “x” with a team’s name means the club has clinched a playoff spot. An “e” means that the club has been mathematically eliminated. Teams clinch a playoff spot when their magic number reaches zero, and are mathematically eliminated when their tragic number reaches zero.<\/p>\n

Atlantic DivisionEnhanced standings: Atlantic DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragic
NumberMagic
Numberx – Lightning<\/a>7610239A16@ BUF (Mon)100.0110114N\/AINx – Sabres<\/a>7710038A25vs. TB (Mon)100.0106110N\/AINx – Canadiens<\/a>7710032A35vs. FLA (Tues)99.9106110N\/AINBruins<\/a>789531WC14@ CAR (Tues)96.2100103N\/A3Senators<\/a>779034WC25vs. TB (Tues)67.596100N\/A8Red Wings<\/a>778829N\/A5vs. CBJ (Tues)22.494988N\/Ae – Maple Leafs<\/a>777823N\/A5vs. WSH (Weds)0.08388OUTN\/Ae – Panthers<\/a>777729N\/A5@ CAR (Tues)0.08287OUTN\/Aplay<\/p>\n

0:49<\/p>\n

Brady Tkachuk lights the lamp<\/p>\n

Brady Tkachuk lights the lamp<\/p>\n

Metro DivisionEnhanced standings: Metropolitan DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragic
NumberMagic
Numberx – Hurricanes<\/a>7710436M15vs. BOS (Tues)100.0111114N\/AINPenguins<\/a>789633M24@ NJ (Thurs)99.7101104N\/A2Flyers<\/a>779024M35@ NJ (Tues)41.996100N\/A8Islanders<\/a>788928N\/A4vs. TOR (Thurs)21.8949778Blue Jackets<\/a>778827N\/A5@ DET (Tues)32.394988N\/ACapitals<\/a>788733N\/A4@ TOR (Weds)18.291955N\/ADevils<\/a>778328N\/A5vs. PHI (Tues)0.188933N\/Ae – Rangers<\/a>787524N\/A4vs. BUF (Weds)0.07983OUTN\/Aplay<\/p>\n

1:17<\/p>\n

Martone’s OT power-play goal lifts Flyers past Bruins, 2-1<\/p>\n

Martone’s OT power-play goal lifts Flyers past Bruins, 2-1<\/p>\n

Central DivisionEnhanced standings: Central DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragic
NumberMagic
Numberx – Avalanche<\/a>7611044C16@ STL (Tues)100.0119122N\/AINx – Stars<\/a>7710235C25vs. CGY (Tues)100.0109112N\/AINx – Wild<\/a>7710029C35vs. SEA (Tues)100.0106110N\/AINMammoth<\/a>768631WC16vs. EDM (Tues)99.69398N\/A7Predators<\/a>768126WC26@ LA (Mon)20.38793N\/A12Blues<\/a>767829N\/A6vs. COL (Tues)1.784909N\/AJets<\/a>767826N\/A6vs. SEA (Mon)1.284909N\/Ae – Blackhawks<\/a>777021N\/A5@ SJ (Mon)0.07580OUTN\/Aplay<\/p>\n

0:56<\/p>\n

Robert Thomas’ hat trick sees Blues past Avalanche<\/p>\n

Robert Thomas stars for St. Louis in a gritty 3-2 win over Colorado.<\/p>\n

Pacific DivisionEnhanced standings: Pacific DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragic
NumberMagic
NumberOilers<\/a>778730P15@ UTA (Tues)97.39397N\/A6Ducks<\/a>778724P25vs. NSH (Tues)99.49397N\/A6Golden Knights<\/a>778627P35@ VAN (Tues)99.79296N\/A7Kings<\/a>768119N\/A6vs. NSH (Mon)39.8879312N\/ASharks<\/a>757924N\/A7vs. CHI (Mon)40.9869312N\/AKraken<\/a>757525N\/A7WPG (Mon)0.182898N\/AFlames<\/a>767225N\/A6@ DAL (Tues)0.078843N\/Ae – Canucks<\/a>765215N\/A6vs. VGK (Tues)0.05664OUTN\/ARace for the No. 1 pick<\/p>\n

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here<\/a>. Atop draft boards for this summer is Gavin McKenna, a forward for Penn State.<\/p>\n

Draft lottery standings<\/p>\n

*Note: The Maple Leafs’ pick belongs to the Bruins, unless it lands in the top five.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres clinched playoff spots Saturday, and thanks to the Minnesota Wild defeating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-589000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}