Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Flyers look to stay hot, tighten race in Metro, East

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2026 NHL postseason.

There are 14 days left in the regular season and the races for playoff spots and seeding are heating up. The top three teams in each of the four divisions and the next two highest-place finishers in each conference reach the playoffs.

Here is a look at the NHL standings and everything else that could impact the playoff picture.

On Tap

There are two games on the NHL schedule Friday, each with playoff implications:

Philadelphia Flyers at New York Islanders (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NHLN, NBCSP+, SN, TVAS)

The Flyers will be looking to close ground on the Islanders in the race for a Stanley Cup Playoff berth in the Eastern Conference in what stands to be a key matchup for each team at UBS Arena. A regulation victory would pull Philadelphia (37-26-12) to within one point of New York (42-29-5) for third place in the Metropolitan Division. It would also lift the Flyers into a four-way tie in points with the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the playoffs from the East. Philadelphia holds a game in hand on New York and Columbus. The Flyers, 8-3-1 in their past 12 games, missed an opportunity to tighten the gap with a 4-2 loss to the Red Wings on Thursday and will be looking to make amends. The Islanders have 89 points; along with putting some distance between the teams chasing them, they can climb to within one point of the Pittsburgh Penguins for second place in the Metro with a win.

St. Louis Blues at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; KMOV-TV, Matrix-MW, FDSNMW, Victory+, KCOP-13, SN, TVAS)

The Blues’ Cinderella pursuit of the second wild card in the Western Conference continues with an important matchup against the Ducks at Honda Center as they attempt to reel in the five teams ahead of them vying for that same spot. A 10-2-3 run in their past 15 games has put St. Louis (31-31-12) back in the postseason race but any kind of hiccup will significantly hinder those aspirations, given the number of teams they need to leapfrog. A victory would pull them to within three points of the San Jose Sharks, who have 79 points, for the second wild card, but consider the Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings each also have 79 points, followed by the Winnipeg Jets with 76 and Seattle Kraken with 75. The Ducks (41-29-5) will try to gain sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division, where they're tied with the Edmonton Oilers with 87 points apiece; Anaheim holds a game in hand on Edmonton.

If playoffs started Friday

Western Conference

(1P) Anaheim Ducks vs. (WC1) Utah Mammoth
(2P) Edmonton Oilers vs. (3P) Vegas Golden Knights
(1C) Colorado Avalanche vs. (WC2) San Jose Sharks
(2C) Dallas Stars vs. (3C) Minnesota Wild

Eastern Conference

(1A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC1) Boston Bruins
(2A) Buffalo Sabres vs. (3A) Montreal Canadiens
(1M) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (WC2) Ottawa Senators
(2M) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (3M) New York Islanders

About last night

There were 14 games on the NHL schedule Wednesday, all with playoff implications:

Minnesota Wild 5, Vancouver Canucks 2: Two-goal efforts from Matt Boldy and Ryan Hartman helped the Wild clinch a playoff berth for a second consecutive season. Defenseman Quinn Hughes faced his former team for the first time since he was acquired by Minnesota in a trade with Vancouver and chipped in with an assist, his 46th of the season. The Wild remain six points behind the Dallas Stars for second place in the Central Division. The Canucks are no longer in playoff contention.

San Jose Sharks 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 1: Zack Ostapchuk and William Eklund each had a goal and an assist to help the Sharks win their fourth consecutive game and move into the second wild card in the west. San Jose is tied with Nashville and Los Angeles, all with 79 points, but holds a game in hand on each. The Maple Leafs were eliminated from playoff contention with the defeat and will miss the postseason for the first time since 2016.

Vegas Golden Knights 6, Calgary Flames 3: Mitch Marner had a hat trick and two assists to lead the Golden Knights to their second straight victory since John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy as coach on Sunday. Vegas, which came back from deficits three times, is three points behind Anaheim and Edmonton for the Pacific Division lead. The Flames have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Edmonton Oilers 3, Chicago Blackhawks 1: Captain Connor McDavid had an assist to stretch his point streak to six games (11 points; six goals, five assists) en route to helping the Oilers to a season-high fifth straight win and move into a tie with the Ducks for first place in the Pacific; Anaheim holds one game in hand. The loss was the Blackhawks' fifth in a row and eliminated them from playoff contention. Chicago has not reached the postseason since 2020.

Nashville Predators 5, Los Angeles Kings 4 (SO): Luke Evangelista scored in the eighth round of the shootout to give the Predators the win and lift them into a tie with the Kings and Sharks for the second wild card in the west. Los Angeles, 2-2-4 in its past eight, scored three three consecutive times to erase a 4-1 Nashville lead and salvage a point.

Utah Mammoth 6, Seattle Kraken 2: The visiting Mammoth scored six unanswered goals to erase a 2-0 deficit and strengthened their hold on the first wild card in the West, five points ahead of the Sharks. Logan Cooley (two goals, one assist) and Dylan Guenther (one goal, two assists) led the way for Utah. Seattle has lost seven of eight (1-5-2) to fall four points behind San Jose for the second wild card in the West.

Dallas Stars 3, Winnipeg Jets 0: Jake Oettinger’s 22-save performance helped lift the Stars to within six points of the Colorado Avalanche for first place in the Central, West and NHL. The Jets had a setback after having won four of their previous five and are three points behind the Sharks for the second wild card in the West.

Carolina Hurricanes 5, Columbus Blue Jackets 1: The Hurricanes, thanks to a two-goal performance from Logan Stankoven, clinched a playoff berth for the eighth consecutive time under coach Rod Brind’Amour and moved two points clear of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres for first place in the East. The Blue Jackets lost their fifth straight game (0-4-1) and remain one point behind the Islanders for third in the Metropolitan. Columbus is tied in points with Ottawa and Detroit for the second wild card in the East, with the Senators holding the tiebreaker.

Montreal Canadiens 3, New York Rangers 2: Cole Caufield scored twice as the Canadiens pulled to within two points of the Lightning and Sabres atop the Atlantic Division. Caufield is one away from becoming the first Montreal player to reach 50 goals since Stephane Richer scored 51 in 1989-90. The Rangers are no longer in playoff contention.

Ottawa Senators 4, Buffalo Sabres 1: The Senators moved into the second wild card in the East thanks in part to a goal by Lars Eller at 5:55 of the third period that snapped a 1-1 tie and put the hosts ahead for good. The Sabres, who could have clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2011 with a win, are now in a first-place tie with the Lightning atop the Atlantic, with Tampa Bay holding the tiebreaker.

New Jersey Devils 7, Washington Capitals 3: Jack Hughes (two goals, three assists) and Jesper Bratt (one goal, four assists) each had five points for the Devils, who are eight points behind the Senators for the second wild card in the East. Hughes has been on a tear with 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 18 games since scoring the overtime winner to give the United States a 2-1 win against Canada in the gold medal game at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. The loss was a blow to the playoff hopes of the Capitals, who are three points behind the Senators, Red Wings and Blue Jackets in the race for the second wild card in the East.

Detroit Red Wings 4, Philadelphia Flyers 2: Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists to help lift the Red Wings into a three-way tie in points with the Senators and Blue Jackets for the second wild card in the East. The Flyers, who have lost two straight after going 8-1-1 in their previous 10, are two points behind those three teams and three points behind the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan.

Florida Panthers 3, Boston Bruins 1: Goals by Mackie Samoskevich and Sam Bennett helped the Panthers end the Bruins' four-game winning streak, leaving Florida 11 points behind Ottawa for the second wild card in the East. The Bruins lead the Senators by six points for the first wild card and trail the Canadiens by four points for second place in the Atlantic.

Tampa Bay Lightning 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 3: The Lightning, 7-1-2 in their past 10 games, took the Atlantic Division lead thanks in part to Anthony Cirelli's second NHL hat trick and first since Jan. 17, 2020. Tampa Bay and Buffalo each have 100 points, with the Lightning holding a game in hand. The Penguins remained three points ahead of the Islanders for second in the Metropolitan Division.