Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Sabres look to pad Atlantic Division lead

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

There are 21 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, both with playoff implications:

Detroit Red Wings at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET: FDSNDET, NHLN, MSG-B, TVAS2)

The Red Wings (38-25-8) and Sabres (44-20-8) meet at KeyBank Center in what could very well be a preview of a best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round Series in three weeks. For that to happen, the slumping Red Wings will have to end their recent funk in which they've lost two straight and have gone 3-5-2 in their past 10. Detroit comes into the game three points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. With goalie Cam Talbot day to day with an undisclosed injury, the Red Wings recalled 24-year-old Michal Postava from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League under emergency conditions to back up John Gibson on Friday. The Sabres, who have lost two straight games in overtime but enter with a six-game point streak (4-0-2), can move four points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division and two points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the Eastern Conference with a victory.

Chicago Blackhawks at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET: CHSN, MSG)

The Blackhawks (27-32-13) will attempt to keep their faint postseason hopes alive when they visit the New York Rangers (28-35-9) at Madison Square Garden. In order for that to happen, Chicago will have to get off to a better start than they did in their 5-1 loss against the host Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. The Blackhawks were down 2-0 three minutes into the game and never recovered. One of the bright spots for Chicago continues to be forward Connor Bedard who scored his 30th goal of the season, a career high, and tied his career high for points with 67. The Blackhawks are 10 points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild card in the west. The Rangers have been eliminated from playoff contention.

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) Nashville Predators
(2C) Dallas Stars vs. (3P) Minnesota Wild 

Eastern Conference

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

About last night

There were 13 games in the NHL last night, all with playoff implications.

Montreal Canadiens 2, Columbus Blue Jackets 1
Zachary Bolduc ended a 31-game goal drought by scoring the winner at 4:36 of the third period to give the Canadiens  (40-21-10) their third consecutive win. The Canadiens remained in third in the Atlantic Division, moving two points ahead of the idle Boston Bruins with a game in hand. The Blue Jackets (38-23-11) are tied for third in the Metropolitan Division with the Islanders, who have played one more game. Columbus is one point behind the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins.

Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Ottawa Senators 3 (SO)
The Penguins (36-20-16) moved into second in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Blue Jackets, but not without paying a price. Captain Sidney Crosby left early in the second period with a lower body injury and did not return. Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse did not have an update after the game. Forward Rickard Rakell had three points (two goals, one assist) in the shootout win. The Senators (38-24-10) extended their point streak to five games (4-0-1) and are one point behind the Islanders for the second wild card in the East with a game in hand.

New York Islanders 2, Dallas Stars 1
Rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer had two assists for the Islanders (41-27-5), who moved into the second wild card in the East, one point ahead of the Senators. The slumping Stars (43-18-11) have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and are three points ahead of the Minnesota Wild for second place in the Central Division with a game in hand.

Philadelphia Flyers 5, Chicago Blackhawks 1
The surging Flyers (35-24-12) have won four of their past five and are 6-1-1 in their past eight games to their playoff hopes alive. Philadelphia is five points behind the Islanders for the second wild card in the East with two games in hand. Chicago (27-32-13) is 10 points behind Nashville for the second wild card in the West.

Edmonton Oilers 4, Vegas Golden Knights 3 (OT)
In what could be a preview of a Western Conference First Round matchup, Evan Bouchard's goal at 3:10 of overtime gave the visiting Oilers (36-28-9) their second consecutive victory to move two points ahead of Vegas (32-26-15) for second in the Pacific Division. Connor McDavid had three points (one goal, two assists) for Edmonton, which is five points behind the Anaheim Ducks for top spot in the Pacific. The Golden Knights are in third in the division, three points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings.

Minnesota Wild 3, Florida Panthers 2
Forward Joel Eriksson Ek authored the late-game heroics for the Wild (41-20-12), scoring the winner with five seconds remaining in regulation to bring Minnesota to within three points of the Stars for second place in the Central Division. Of note: forward Marcus Foligno returned to the lineup and scored a goal after missing the previous 12 games with a lower body injury. The Panthers (35-33-3) have lost four of their past six and are 14 points behind the Islanders for the second wild card in the East.

Seattle Kraken 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (OT)
The Kraken (32-29-10) ended a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) when defenseman Brandon Montour scored his second goal of the game at 2:47 of overtime. The victory brought Seattle to within three points of the Predators for the second wild card in the West. By earning a point, the Lightning (44-21-6) moved to within two points of the Sabres for first place in the Atlantic Division. Tampa holds a game in hand.

Los Angeles Kings 4, Vancouver Canucks 0
Goalie Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves for his third shutout of the season to help the Kings (29-25-18) end a four-game losing skid (0-1-3) and move to within one point of the Predators for the second wild card in the West. The Canucks (21-42-8) have lost 14 of their past 17 (3-11-3) and have been eliminated from postseason contention.

New Jersey Devils 4, Nashville Predators 2
The surging Devils (37-32-2) won their fifth game in their past six thanks in part to captain Nico Hischier's two-goal performance. New Jersey is 11 points behind the Islanders for the second wild card in the East with two games in hand. The Predators (34-29-9) had their five-game winning streak end and lead the Kings by one point for the second wild card in the West. 

Washington Capitals 7, Utah Mammoth 4
Another game, another NHL record for future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin. The Washington forward set a League mark by scoring a hat trick against a 21st NHL franchise in his illustrious career, one more than Brett Hull. The Capitals (36-28-9) are six points behind the Islanders for the second wild card in the East. Despite the suddenly-slumping Mammoth going 1-3-0 on their four-game homestand, they remain three points ahead of the Predators for the first wild card in the West.

Anaheim Ducks 3, Calgary Flames 2 (OT)
Ducks forward Mikael Granlund had a flair for the dramatic in this one, completing his hat trick with one second left in overtime for Anaheim (41-27-4). Granlund now has seven goals in his past four games for the Ducks, who are five points ahead of the Oilers for first place in the Pacific with a game in hand. The Flames (30-34-8) are nine points behind the Predators for the second wild card in the West.

Colorado Avalanche 3, Winnipeg Jets 2
Forward Nathan MacKinnon scored twice in the third period to give him an NHL-best 48 goals and help the Avalanche (48-13-10) move nine points ahead of the Stars in the Central Division. Forward Artturi Lehkonen had an assist in his return after missing the previous 11 games with an upper-body injury. The Jets (30-30-12) have now lost four of six (2-2-2) and are five points behind the Predators for the second wild card in the West.

St. Louis Blues 2, San Jose Sharks 1 (OT)
The sizzling Blues (30-30-11) have gone 9-1-2 in their past 12 games after forward Dylan Holloway scored the winner with three seconds remaining in overtime. The victory moved St. Louis within six points of Nashville for the second wild card in the West. The Sharks (32-31-7) are now tied with the Blues and have lost six straight (0-5-1).