NHL Playoffs Buzz: West wild-card contenders Kraken, Jets face off on Prime

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

There are 11 days left in the regular season and the races in each of the four divisions are tight. 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 four games on the NHL schedule Monday, all with playoff implications.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET; The Spot, NHLN, MSG-B, TVAS)

The Lightning (48-22-6) can strengthen their hold on first in the Atlantic Division and the Sabres (46-23-8) can pull even with them in points in their first meeting since Buffalo's thrilling 8-7 victory March 8. Tampa Bay is two points ahead of Buffalo and the Montreal Canadiens in the division race and two points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the Eastern Conference.  The Lightning and Sabres each clinched a playoff berth with the Detroit Red Wings' 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, but they've been headed in different directions lately. Tampa Bay, which qualified for the playoffs for the ninth straight season, is 8-1-2 in its past 11 games. Buffalo, which will make its first postseason appearance since 2011, is 2-3-2 in its past seven.

Seattle Kraken at Winnipeg Jets (7:30 p.m. ET; Prime, KONG, KHN/Prime)

The Jets and Kraken will try to stay within reach of second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference on "Prime Monday Night Hockey." Winnipeg (33-31-12) is 5-2-0 in its past seven games to climb within three points of the Nashville Predators, who hold the regulation wins tiebreaker (26-19) on the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card. Seattle (32-32-11) has just one win in its past nine games (1-6-2), including four straight losses (0-3-1), to fall six points behind Nashville and Los Angeles. Jets forward Kyle Connor has five goals in his past six games.

Chicago Blackhawks at San Jose Sharks (10 p.m. ET; CHSN, NBCSCA, TVAS)

With the Predators and Kings facing off, the Sharks need a win to remain two points out of the second wild card in the West. San Jose (36-32-7) won four in a row before losing to Nashville on Saturday. After scoring six goals in his past five games, 19-year-old Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini has 41 this season, tying Rick Nash (2003-04) and Brian Bellows (1983-84) for sixth most by a teenager in NHL history. Chicago (28-35-14) has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; FDSNSC, FDSNSO)

The bad news for all the teams chasing the second wild card in the West is the Predators (36-31-9) and Kings (31-26-19) play each other, so one of them will get two points Monday. Nashville will look for its third straight victory against an opponent it is battling for the second wild card, following a 5-4 shootout win at Los Angeles on Thursday and a 6-3 victory at the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. The Kings have points in six of their past seven games (3-1-3), including a 7-6 overtime victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, but will try to win consecutive games for the first time since a three-game winning streak from Jan. 20-27. 

If playoffs started Monday

Western Conference

(1P) Edmonton Oilers vs. (WC1) Utah Mammoth

(2P) Anaheim Ducks vs. (3P) Vegas Golden Knights

(1C) Colorado Avalanche vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators

(2C) Dallas Stars vs. (3C) Minnesota Wild

Eastern Conference

(1A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC1) Boston Bruins

(2A) Buffalo Sabes vs. (3A) Montreal Canadiens

(1M) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (WC2) Ottawa Senators

(2M) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (3M) Philadelphia Flyers

About last night

There were seven games on the NHL schedule Sunday, and each had playoff implications:

Philadelphia Flyers 2, Boston Bruins 1 (OT)

Porter Martone scored his first NHL goal, on a 5-on-3 power play, at 2:31 of overtime to push the Flyers one point ahead of the Islanders into third in the Metropolitan Division. Martone also assisted on Christian Dvorak's first-period goal for Philadelphia (39-26-12), which is 10-3-1 in its past 14 games. The Bruins (43-26-9) lost their third straight (0-2-1) but picked up a point to strengthen their hold on the first wild card from the East, five points ahead of the Ottawa Senators, and moved within five points of the Canadiens for third in the Atlantic Division.

Ottawa Senators 6, Carolina Hurricanes 3

In a potential first-round playoff matchup, Brady Tkachuk scored twice to help the Senators (40-27-10) remain in the second wild card from the East with their second win in six games (2-3-1) to move one point ahead of the Islanders and two points ahead of the Red Wings with five games remaining. Taylor Hall's 300th NHL goal wasn't enough for the Hurricanes (49-22-6), whose three-game winning streak ended while missing a chance to clinch the Metropolitan Division.

Minnesota Wild 5, Detroit Red Wings 4

The Red Wings (40-29-8) fell two points behind the Senators for the second wild card in the East despite erasing a 4-1 deficit with three third-period goals. Kirill Kaprizov scored the winning goal on the power play with 1:51 remaining to complete his sixth NHL hat trick for the Wild (44-21-12). Detroit has lost two in a row and four of its past five. Minnesota won its third straight game to climb within two points of the Dallas Stars for second in the Central Division.

Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Florida Panthers 2

Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists and Rickard Rakell scored twice to help the Penguins complete a sweep of a back-to-back set with the Panthers in Pittsburgh. The Penguins (40-22-16), who won for the fourth time in five games, are second in the Metropolitan Division, eight points behind the first-place Hurricanes and six ahead of the third-place Flyers. The Panthers (37-37-3) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

New Jersey Devils 3, Montreal Canadiens 0

Jacob Markstrom made 18 saves for his first shutout of the season to end the Canadiens' eight-game winning streak. Montreal (45-22-10) clinched a playoff berth when Detroit lost to Minnesota earlier in the day. The Canadiens missed a chance to tie the Lightning in points atop the Atlantic, though, and remained two points back, tied with the second-place Sabres, who hold the regulation wins tiebreaker (38-32). New Jersey (40-34-3) trails Ottawa by seven points for the second wild card from the East with five games remaining. 

New York Rangers 8, Washington Capitals 1

Will Cuylle scored his first NHL hat trick to help the Rangers win for the fifth time in six games and deliver a big blow to the Capitals' playoff chances. Washington (39-30-9) fell three points behind Ottawa for the second wild card from the East and three behind Philadelphia for third in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers (33-36-9) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

St. Louis Blues 3, Colorado Avalanche 2

Robert Thomas scored his first NHL hat trick and the Blues (33-31-12) climbed within three points of the Predators for the second wild card from the West. St. Louis improved to 6-1-1 in its past eight games to keep its postseason hopes alive. Colorado (50-16-10) missed on a chance to clinch first in the Central Division and Western Conference but continues to lead Dallas by eight points.