Playoff watch: Projecting the Eastern wild-card teams

3 hours ago 1

ESPN staffMar 11, 2026, 07:00 AM ET

In Tuesday's edition of the NHL playoff watch, we looked at the race for the two Western wild-card spots in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.

With just two games on the docket Wednesday -- but all four teams mathematically in the mix for a wild card -- let's shift our focus back East.

After Tuesday's monstrous 13-game slate, the two Eastern wild-card tickets belong to the Detroit Red Wings (79 points through 65 games) and Boston Bruins (78 through 64).

The Montreal Canadiens (just a point ahead of the Red Wings) are in action Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+); the Sens have 73 points through 63 games. While that game is proceeding, the Washington Capitals (71 points through 65 games) and Philadelphia Flyers (69 through 63) will be facing off in Philly (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT). In between the Sens and the two current wild cards are the Columbus Blue Jackets, with 74 points through 63 games.

Which teams have the edge in terms of best remaining schedule beyond Wednesday?

The Red Wings have 17 additional games, eight of which are against current playoff teams
The Bruins also have 18 games left, with eight against playoff clubs
The Blue Jackets are another team with 18 games left, including 11 games against teams currently in a postseason spot
The Senators have 18 games beyond Wednesday, 10 of which are against teams in playoff position
The Capitals will have just 16 games left, with eight against playoff teams
The Flyers will also have 18 games remaining, with 10 of them against playoff clubs

According to Stathletes, the Canadiens have the best overall playoff chances of the bunch (84.2%), followed by the Bruins (71.8%), Senators (68%), Blue Jackets (65.9%), Capitals (18%) and Flyers (5.7%). Notably, those first four have better projected chances than three teams currently holding down playoff spots: the Pittsburgh Penguins (65.7%), New York Islanders (61.3%) and Detroit Red Wings (51.7%). It would appear that we're going to get an exciting final stretch to the season!

Every team has fewer than 20 games left before the season concludes April 16, and we'll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch every day. As we traverse the final stretch, we'll provide detail on all the playoff races -- along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2026 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Wednesday's schedule
Tuesday's scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Buffalo Sabres vs. WC1 Detroit Red Wings
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens

M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 Boston Bruins
M2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. M3 New York Islanders

Western Conference

C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Seattle Kraken
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild

P1 Anaheim Ducks vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights

Wednesday's games

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).

Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators, 7:30 p.m.
Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)

Tuesday's scoreboard

Boston Bruins 2, Los Angeles Kings 1 (OT)
Buffalo Sabres 6, San Jose Sharks 3
Montreal Canadiens 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 1
Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Tampa Bay Lightning 2
Florida Panthers 4, Detroit Red Wings 3
New York Rangers 4, Calgary Flames 0
Carolina Hurricanes 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 4 (SO)
New York Islanders 4, St. Louis Blues 3 (OT)
Dallas Stars 2, Vegas Golden Knights 1
Minnesota Wild 5, Utah Mammoth 0
Anaheim Ducks 4, Winnipeg Jets 1
Edmonton Oilers 4, Colorado Avalanche 3
Nashville Predators 4, Seattle Kraken 2

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

Buffalo Sabres

Points: 86
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 17
Points pace: 108.5
Next game: vs. WSH (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.5%
Tragic number: N/A

Tampa Bay Lightning

Points: 82
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 106.7
Next game: vs. DET (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Montreal Canadiens

Points: 80
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 19
Points pace: 104.1
Next game: @ OTT (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 84.2%
Tragic number: N/A

Detroit Red Wings

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 17
Points pace: 99.7
Next game: @ TB (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 51.7%
Tragic number: N/A

Boston Bruins

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 18
Points pace: 99.9
Next game: vs. SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 71.8%
Tragic number: N/A

Ottawa Senators

Points: 73
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 95.0
Next game: vs. MTL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 68%
Tragic number: 33

Florida Panthers

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 85.8
Next game: vs. CBJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 4.1%
Tragic number: 25

Toronto Maple Leafs

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 82
Next game: vs. ANA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 21

Metro Division

Carolina Hurricanes

Points: 88
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 18
Points pace: 112.8
Next game: vs. STL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Pittsburgh Penguins

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 18
Points pace: 101.2
Next game: @ VGK (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 65.7%
Tragic number: N/A

New York Islanders

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 17
Points pace: 99.7
Next game: vs. LA (Friday)
Playoff chances: 61.3%
Tragic number: N/A

Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 97.4
Next game: @ FLA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 65.9%
Tragic number: 34

Washington Capitals

Points: 71
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 17
Points pace: 89.6
Next game: @ PHI (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 18%
Tragic number: 27

Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 89.8
Next game: vs. WSH (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 5.7%
Tragic number: 29

New Jersey Devils

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 84.6
Next game: vs. CGY (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 4.2%
Tragic number: 24

New York Rangers

Points: 60
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 76.9
Next game: @ WPG (Thursday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 18

Central Division

Colorado Avalanche

Points: 95
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 123.7
Next game: @ SEA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Minnesota Wild

Points: 87
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 17
Points pace: 109.8
Next game: vs. PHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Utah Mammoth

Points: 73
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 17
Points pace: 92.1
Next game: vs. CHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 98%
Tragic number: N/A

Nashville Predators

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 84.6
Next game: @ VAN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 6.8%
Tragic number: 35

Winnipeg Jets

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 80.7
Next game: vs. NYR (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 10.4%
Tragic number: 33

St. Louis Blues

Points: 60
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 76.9
Next game: @ CAR (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 1.4%
Tragic number: 29

Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 59
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 75.6
Next game: @ UTA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 28

Pacific Division

Anaheim Ducks

Points: 75
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 18
Points pace: 96.1
Next game: @ TOR (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 96.5%
Tragic number: N/A

Edmonton Oilers

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 17
Points pace: 90.8
Next game: @ DAL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 84.3%
Tragic number: N/A

Vegas Golden Knights

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 17
Points pace: 90.8
Next game: vs. PIT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 96.1%
Tragic number: N/A

Seattle Kraken

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 87.2
Next game: vs. COL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 22.4%
Tragic number: N/A

Los Angeles Kings

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 85.8
Next game: @ NYI (Friday)
Playoff chances: 12.9%
Tragic number: 36

San Jose Sharks

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 87.3
Next game: @ BOS (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 71.2%
Tragic number: 39

Calgary Flames

Points: 57
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 73.0
Next game: @ NJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 26

Vancouver Canucks

Points: 46
Regulation wins: 13
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 58.9
Next game: vs. NSH (Thursday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 15

Race for the No. 1 pick

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting atop draft boards for this summer is Gavin McKenna, a forward for Penn State.