The NHL playoffs begin on April 18, and a handful of teams continue to jostle for playoff spots in each conference, including teams on the outside looking in that are surging. The New York Islanders jumped back into a wild-card spot on Thursday after their victory and a shootout loss by the Ottawa Senators.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how the playoff bracket would look as of Friday morning, followed by analysis of each potential playoff team.<\/p>\n
Eastern ConferenceCarolina Hurricanes (Metro 1) vs. New York Islanders (Wild-card 2)<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes have been in the Eastern Conference final in two of the last three seasons. And with the Florida Panthers all but officially out of the playoff picture, this might be the Canes\u2019 best chance of making the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006. Rod Brind\u2019Amour was captaining, not coaching, the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup 20 years ago. The Canes remain analytical darlings based off Corsi. But because of the surging Buffalo Sabres, who we\u2019ll get to in a minute, there\u2019s no guarantee Carolina will end the season as the East\u2019s top seed.<\/p>\n
The final wild-card spot remains a revolving door. The Islanders, with Matthew Schaefer blocking<\/a> shots<\/a> like he\u2019s Ryan Pulock, vaulted into the final wild-card spot with a win over Dallas on Thursday. Let\u2019s not forget about goalie Ilya Sorokin. But that final playoff spot could easily go to any number of teams.<\/p>\n Remaining schedules:<\/p>\n Hurricanes (11 games): vs. New Jersey (Saturday), vs. Montreal (March 29), at Columbus (March 31), vs. Columbus (April 2), vs. New York Islanders (April 4), at Ottawa (April 5), vs. Boston (April 7), at Chicago (April 9), at Utah (April 11), at Philadelphia (April 13), at New York Islanders (April 14).<\/p>\n Islanders (9 games): vs. Florida (Saturday), vs. Pittsburgh (March 30), at Buffalo (March 31), vs. Philadelphia (April 3), at Carolina (April 4), vs. Toronto (April 9), vs. Ottawa (April 11), vs. Montreal (April 12), vs. Carolina (April 14).<\/p>\n Pittsburgh Penguins (Metro 2) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets\u00a0(Metro 3)<\/p>\n These teams traded spots again on Thursday, after doing so on Tuesday, as Pittsburgh beat Ottawa while Columbus lost to Montreal.<\/p>\n The Penguins began this season as the likely landing spot for Gavin McKenna in the draft. Barring a season-ending catastrophe, Sidney Crosby and the Pens will return to the postseason for the first time in four years. It\u2019s an admirable turnaround for the Pens, who went from crumbling empire to playoff dark horse under first-year head coach Dan Muse. And thanks to their draft-pick stockpile \u2014 15 picks in the first three rounds over the next three years \u2014 they could be building a promising future.<\/p>\n If the playoffs started today, how would Pittsburgh fare against Columbus, another dark horse-in waiting? Rick Bowness has rejuvenated a Blue Jackets squad that looked destined for another lost season. Since Bowness took over on Jan. 12, the Jackets are 19-4-4. One big plus for the Blue Jackets: Jet Greaves looks like a starting goalie. He\u2019s 10-2-2 in his last 13 appearances.<\/p>\n Remaining schedules:<\/p>\n Penguins (10 games): vs. Dallas (Saturday), at New York Islanders (March 30), vs. Detroit (March 31), at Tampa Bay (April 2), vs. Florida (April 4), vs. Florida (April 5), at New Jersey (April 9), vs. Washington (April 11), at Washington (April 12), at St. Louis (April 14).<\/p>\n Blue Jackets (10 games): vs. San Jose (Saturday), vs. Boston (March 29), vs. Carolina (March 31), at Carolina (April 2), vs. Winnipeg (April 4), at Detroit (April 7), at Buffalo (April 9), at Montreal (April 11), vs. Boston (April 12), vs. Washington (April 14).<\/p>\n Buffalo Sabres (Atlantic 1) vs. Boston Bruins (Wild-card 1)<\/p>\n Sabres fans, hopefully you don\u2019t mind your bandwagon filling up. Everyone is just happy you\u2019ve become a virtual lock for the playoffs. We haven\u2019t seen you in the playoffs since 2011.<\/p>\n The Sabres\u2019 playoff chances were once as low as 10.2 percent in December. Now they\u2019re leading the Atlantic Division and their best players are leading the way \u2014 as many thought they would, with all the potential they\u2019d accumulated over the years. Even journeyman goalie Alex Lyon has been a revelation, posting some of the best numbers of his career. The Tampa Bay Lightning are trailing them by two points, but there\u2019s a very real chance the Sabres will begin the postseason with home-ice advantage.<\/p>\n And then you have the Bruins, who are in a wild-card spot while having a strong home record (26-10-1). A big reason why is the play of Jeremy Swayman, who has the second-best goals-saved above expected rate behind Washington\u2019s Logan Thompson. Boston will need all the home fortune they can muster, since they have only four home games remaining among their final 10 games.<\/p>\n Remaining schedules:<\/p>\n Sabres (10 games): vs. Detroit (Friday), vs. Seattle (Saturday), vs. New York Islanders (March 31), at Ottawa (April 2), at Washington (April 4), vs. Tampa Bay (April 6), at New York Rangers (April 8), vs. Columbus (April 9), at Chicago (April 13), vs. Dallas (April 15).<\/p>\n Bruins (10 games): vs. Minnesota (Saturday), at Columbus (March 29), vs. Dallas (March 31), at Florida (April 2), at Tampa Bay (April 4), at Philadelphia (April 5), at Carolina (April 7), vs. Tampa Bay (April 11), at Columbus (April 12), vs. New Jersey (April 14).<\/p>\n Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic 2) vs. Montreal Canadiens (Atlantic 3)<\/p>\n Tampa Bay might not win its division, thanks to Buffalo. But when the playoffs begin, don\u2019t be surprised if the Lightning are still considered the favorites. The Lightning have the highest odds to make the Final and win this year, according to The Athletic\u2019s model. Of course, they\u2019re led by Hart Trophy candidate Nikita Kucherov and Vezina Trophy candidate Andrei Vasilevskiy, and have arguably the best coach in the league in Jon Cooper plus a veteran-heavy supporting cast. But remember, the Lightning haven\u2019t gotten out of the first round since 2021-2022, when they advanced to the Final. They had Corey Perry on that team. No wonder they brought him back<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Canadiens could return to the playoffs under coach Martin St. Louis, who might relish the opportunity to coach against the team he won a Stanley Cup with two decades ago. What\u2019s also funny \u2014 or infuriating, depending on which team you support \u2014 is that the Canadiens were locked in a rebuild the last time the Lightning were in the Final four years ago. Now the Canadiens are ascending with Cole Caufield scoring on Hockey Night in Canada and Nick Suzuki creeping toward the 100-point plateau. But questions about their goaltending, their center depth and team health will surround them once they enter the postseason.<\/p>\n Remaining schedules:<\/p>\n Lightning (11 games): vs. Ottawa (Saturday), vs. Nashville (March 29), vs. Montreal (March 31), vs. Pittsburgh (April 2), vs. Boston (April 4), at Buffalo (April 6), at Ottawa (April 7), at Montreal (April 9), at Boston (April 11), vs. Detroit (April 13), vs. New York Rangers (April 15).<\/p>\n Canadiens (11 games): at Nashville (Saturday), at Carolina (March 29), at Tampa Bay (March 31), at New York Rangers (April 2), at New Jersey (April 4), vs. New Jersey (April 5), vs. Florida (April 7), vs. Tampa Bay (April 9), vs. Columbus (April 11), at New York Islanders (April 12), at Philadelphia (April 14).<\/p>\n Other playoff candidates<\/p>\n Ottawa Senators (86 points, one behind Islanders) Detroit Red Wings (84 points), Philadelphia Flyers (82 points), Washington Capitals (81 points)<\/p>\n Western ConferenceColorado Avalanche (Central 1) vs. Nashville Predators (Wild-card 2)<\/p>\n The Avalanche were the first team to reach 100 points this season, and it\u2019s a squad that\u2019s been dominant since the beginning of the season. You\u2019re more than familiar with marquee names Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. But the Avs also have the league\u2019s best goaltender in goals-against average and save percentage in Scott Wedgewood. Colorado has the best offense (3.70 goals per game) and defense (2.44 goals allowed per game), and the second-ranked penalty kill (83.5 percent). Why didn\u2019t we mention the power play? We\u2019d rather not. (It\u2019s the sixth-worst in the league at 16.9 percent.)<\/p>\n Nashville\u2019s surge is more recent. They had a five-game winning streak ended with a loss to New Jersey on Thursday. These are the same Predators who sold pieces at the deadline while keeping veterans Ryan O\u2019Reilly, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. If you\u2019re wondering about their chances of staying afloat in the playoff chase, they\u2019re still an arm\u2019s length from the Winnipeg Jets and also must fend off underachieving Pacific Division teams.<\/p>\n Remaining schedules:<\/p>\n Avalanche (11 games): vs. Winnipeg (Saturday), vs. Calgary (March 30), vs. Vancouver (April 1), at Dallas (April 4), vs. St. Louis (April 5), at St. Louis (April 7), vs. Calgary (April 9), vs. Vegas (April 11), at Edmonton (April 13), at Calgary (April 14), vs. Seattle (April 16).<\/p>\n Predators (10 games): vs. Montreal (Saturday), at Tampa Bay (March 29), at Los Angeles (April 2), at San Jose (April 4), at Los Angeles (April 6), at Anaheim (April 7), at Utah (April 9), vs. Minnesota (April 11), vs. San Jose (April 13), vs. Anaheim (April 16).<\/p>\n Dallas Stars (Central 2) vs. Minnesota Wild (Central 3)<\/p>\n Thanks to the current playoff format, two of the NHL\u2019s top five teams are on a collision course to face each other in the opening round. As entertaining a series as Dallas-Minnesota would be, wouldn\u2019t it be more fun to see them play each other in the second or third round? Commissioner Gary Bettman doesn\u2019t think so!<\/p>\n The Stars hope to return to the Western Conference final for the fourth consecutive year. With a new coach behind the bench in Glen Gulutzan, they pose a significant threat with Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertson, Miro Heiskanen and Jake Oettinger. Dallas has a top-10 offense and allows the second-fewest goals in the league. They haven\u2019t lost their luster as Cup contenders, but a big decision awaits them this offseason with Robertson headed toward restricted free agency and captain Jamie Benn\u2019s contract expiring this summer. The time to strike is now.<\/p>\n That motto has also rung true in Minnesota. Last September, the Wild signed Kirill Kaprizov to a lengthy extension. Months later, they swung for the fences and acquired superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes from Vancouver. They made ancillary tweaks at the deadline, landing pieces such as Nick Foligno, Michael McCarron, Bobby Brink and Jeff Petry. Should they have landed a center such as Vincent Trocheck? Maybe. But this is a strong Wild team armed with a strong goaltending tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. This would be the strongest matchup of the opening round if the postseason began today.<\/p>\n Remaining schedules:<\/p>\n Stars (10 games): at Pittsburgh (Saturday), at Philadelphia (March 29), at Boston (March 31), vs. Winnipeg (April 2), vs. Colorado (April 4), vs. Calgary (April 7), vs. Minnesota (April 9), vs. New York Rangers (April 11), at Toronto (April 13), at Buffalo (April 15).<\/p>\n Wild (9 games): at Boston (Saturday), vs. Vancouver (April 2), at Ottawa (April 4), at Detroit (April 5), vs. Seattle (April 7), at Dallas (April 9), at Nashville (April 11), at St. Louis (April 13), vs. Anaheim (April 14).<\/p>\n Anaheim Ducks (Pacific 1) vs. Utah Mammoth (Wild-card 1)<\/p>\n