Well, that was a consequential Monday evening. The three closing spots in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs had been secured — welcome again to the Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings — which eradicated the 5 different groups that had been nonetheless on the bubble.
Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton analyzed all 16 eradicated groups to determine the keys to each of their offseasons, however not fairly every thing is settled on the playoff entrance but (or the draft lottery order).
So with that in thoughts, let’s roll by the stakes at play in each of Tuesday’s 9 games, which is the season finale for 10 groups.
New Jersey Devils at Boston Bruins
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
With a win, the Bruins will clinch the primary wild-card spot in the East, which might draw a first-round matchup towards the Sabres. With some other outcome in this sport, they have to wait to see what the Senators do on Wednesday towards the Maple Leafs; the second wild card will tackle the Hurricanes in Round 1. The Devils enter the sport twelfth in the draft lottery order, one level forward of the Preds in eleventh and three factors forward of the Sharks in tenth. Why is that this necessary? Teams can transfer up solely 10 spots in the event that they win the lottery, that means New Jersey wants to end eleventh or higher to have the option to soar all the best way to No. 1.
Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Carolina’s shootout loss on Monday gave them sufficient factors to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, so there is not a lot on the road for them except for private stats and the psychology of ending out robust. The Isles had been eradicated over the weekend, and enter this sport thirteenth in the draft lottery order. A win can drop them as little as fifteenth, however thirteenth is as excessive as they’ll get.
Montreal Canadiens at Philadelphia Flyers
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Both of these golf equipment are playoff-bound, and the factors on the road right here matter much more to one staff than the opposite. Philly is locked in to a matchup with Pittsburgh, and would be the No. 3 seed it doesn’t matter what occurs right here. The Canadiens, then again, are tied in standings factors with the Lightning in the Atlantic Division, and should be forward in standings factors to earn home-ice benefit in their first-round matchup. The Lightning shut out their season with the Rangers on Wednesday.
Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets
7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Had Philly misplaced in regulation on Monday, this sport would’ve had significantly greater stakes, with each golf equipment nonetheless alive for the No. 3 spot in the Metro. As it stands, it is going to be the ultimate sport of the season for Alex Ovechkin, and as we all know, his future beyond 2025-26 remains unclear.
Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild
8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
There was some shakiness towards the tip, however the Ducks have made their triumphant return to the Stanley Cup playoffs. With two games left, they’ll now end anyplace from first to fourth in the Pacific Division; because the games start Tuesday, they’re third, with 90 factors and 25 regulation wins by 80 games. That RW whole implies that a tie with the Golden Knights or Oilers will go to the opposite staff; they are going to end forward of the Kings in RW, so would win a tie with them. Vegas presently leads the division with 93 factors, adopted by the Oilers at 91, with the Kings a degree behind Anaheim, at 89. Minnesota’s first-round matchup is safe, as they will be the No. 3 seed in the Central, squaring off with the No. 2-seeded Stars.
Winnipeg Jets at Utah Mammoth
9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
A loss on Monday knocked the Jets out of rivalry, however they’ll say they made it to the ultimate week of the season nonetheless alive in the race — which is fairly the accomplishment on condition that they had been in the league’s basement earlier this season. They’re presently eighth in the draft lottery order, and might end as excessive as sixth with two extra losses. The Mammoth appeared like their maintain on the primary Western wild card was fairly safe in current weeks; now, they’re only a level forward of the Kings (though they do maintain a 10-RW lead). Why is that this necessary? The first wild card matches up with the Pacific Division winner, whereas the second wild card earns a matchup towards the mighty Avalanche.
Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames
9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Speaking of the Avalanche, they’re locked in because the No. 1 general seed, however are nonetheless battling arduous to the very finish (together with a shootout win over the Oilers on Monday evening). The Flames are fourth in the draft lottery order, and should lose their closing two games (and have the Rangers win their season nearer on Wednesday) to transfer up to third.
Pittsburgh Penguins at St. Louis Blues
9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
As famous above, the Penguins can be dealing with off towards their Keystone State rivals because the playoffs open this coming weekend, which is a win for all hockey followers given the standard ferocity of these sequence in the previous. On the opposite aspect, St. Louis is ninth in the draft lottery order, and might transfer as excessive as sixth pending the outcomes of different groups. One factor to notice: they have already got 31 regulation wins, which is greater than any groups close to them in the lottery order except for the Panthers, so they might “lose” that tiebreaker to all however Florida.
Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks
10 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Welcome again to the postseason, Kings! And sure, sadly, there’s a path to a fifth straight first-round matchup of Kings and Oilers; perhaps fifth time is the attraction for L.A.? The Kings enter Tuesday one behind the Ducks for the No. 3 place and two behind Edmonton (with a sport in hand) for the No. 2 spot. L.A.’s RW whole is not going to beat some other staff in a tiebreak, so they are going to want to soar over them in standings factors outright. The Canucks clinched the worst report in the league weeks in the past, so they are going to have the very best possibilities of successful the primary general decide, and at worst will choose No. 3 general in June.
The common season concludes on Thursday, and we’ll assist you to preserve observe of all of it right here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the ultimate stretch, we’ll present particulars on all of the playoff races — together with the groups jockeying for place in the 2026 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff chances are high through Stathletes.
Jump forward:
Current playoff matchups
Today’s schedule
Last night’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Buffalo Sabres vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 Ottawa Senators
M2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. M3 Philadelphia Flyers
Western Conference
C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Los Angeles Kings
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Anaheim Ducks
Today’s games
Note: All occasions ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (native blackout restrictions apply).
New Jersey Devils at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders, 7 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m.
Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild, 8 p.m.
Winnipeg Jets at Utah Mammoth, 9 p.m.
Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins at St. Louis Blues, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m.
Last evening’s scoreboard
Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Detroit Red Wings 3 (OT)
Florida Panthers 3, New York Rangers 2
Philadelphia Flyers 3, Carolina Hurricanes 2 (SO)
Dallas Stars 6, Toronto Maple Leafs 5
St. Louis Blues 6, Minnesota Wild 3
San Jose Sharks 3, Nashville Predators 2
Buffalo Sabres 5, Chicago Blackhawks 1
Colorado Avalanche 2, Edmonton Oilers 1 (SO)
Los Angeles Kings 5, Seattle Kraken 3
Vegas Golden Knights 6, Winnipeg Jets 2
Expanded standings
Note: An “x” with a staff’s title means the membership has clinched a playoff spot; a “y” implies that they’ve clinched the division; a “z” signifies that they’ve clinched the very best report in the convention; a “p” means they’ve clinched the highest general seed. An “e” implies that the membership has been mathematically eradicated. Teams clinch a playoff spot when their magic quantity reaches zero and are mathematically eradicated when their tragic quantity reaches zero.
Atlantic Division
Metro Division
Central Division
Pacific Division
Race for the No. 1 decide
The NHL makes use of a draft lottery to decide the order of the primary spherical, so the staff that finishes in final place is just not assured the No. 1 choice. As of 2021, a staff can transfer up a most of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so solely 11 groups are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 decide. Full details on the process can be found here. Atop draft boards for this summer season is Gavin McKenna, a ahead for Penn State.
*Note: The Maple Leafs’ decide belongs to the Bruins, until it lands in the highest 5. The Panthers’ decide belongs to the Flames, until it lands in the highest 10. The Red Wings’ decide belongs to the Blues, unconditionally.
