NHL playoff watch: Capitals in a must-win game against the Maple Leafs?

April 8, 2026 No Comments

NHL playoff standings: Capitals in a must-win game?ESPN staffApr 8, 2026, 07:00 AM ETMultiple Authors

A year ago, the Washington Capitals were on their way to finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference and a first-round matchup against the Montreal Canadiens, which they won 4-1. Alex Ovechkin also finished off his historic chase of Wayne Gretzky’s career goal-scoring record.

Ovechkin has added 31 goals to his ledger this season, but the Capitals’ playoff status is nowhere near as secure as it was at the tail end of the 2024-25 campaign.

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As the games begin Wednesday, the Caps are five points behind the Ottawa Senators for the second wild-card spot and two regulation wins behind. They are also five points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the No. 3 seed in the Metro Division, with eight more regulation wins than the Flyers.

Unfortunately, there are three other teams between Washington and Ottawa (the Red Wings, Islanders and Blue Jackets) and two between the Capitals and Philly (New York and Columbus). So there’s a path to the postseason for the Caps, but they will need some help.

The next step in the process is Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m., ESPN+). This is not technically a must-win game, but there is not much wiggle room left. After Toronto, the Caps visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday (3 p.m. ET, ABC), then host the Pens in Washington, D.C., on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, TNT). Washington’s final game of the season is Tuesday at the Blue Jackets (7 p.m., ESPN).

The projections are not buying a miraculous run here for the Capitals, with Stathletes giving them just a 4.0% chance of making the playoffs. But that’s not zero, and Washington will certainly be battling to the bitter end.

Every team has six or fewer games remaining before the regular season concludes April 16, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details 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
Today’s schedule
Last night’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
A2 Buffalo Sabres 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 Nashville Predators
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild

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

Today’s games

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

Buffalo Sabres at New York Rangers, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Washington Capitals at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m.
Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks, 10 p.m. (TNT)

Last night’s scoreboard

Montreal Canadiens 4, Florida Panthers 3 (SO)
Ottawa Senators 6, Tampa Bay Lightning 2
Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Detroit Red Wings 3 (SO)
Philadelphia Flyers 5, New Jersey Devils 1
Carolina Hurricanes 6, Boston Bruins 5 (OT)
Colorado Avalanche 3, St. Louis Blues 1
Dallas Stars 4, Calgary Flames 3 (OT)
Minnesota Wild 5, Seattle Kraken 2
Utah Mammoth 6, Edmonton Oilers 5 (OT)
Vegas Golden Knights 2, Vancouver Canucks 1
Nashville Predators 5, Anaheim Ducks 0

Expanded standings

Note: An “x” with a team’s name means the club has clinched a playoff spot; a “y” means that they have clinched the division; a “z” indicates that they have clinched the best record in the conference. An “e” means that the club has been mathematically eliminated. Teams clinch a playoff spot when their magic number reaches zero and are mathematically eliminated when their tragic number reaches zero.

Atlantic Division

Enhanced standings: Atlantic DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragicNumberMagicNumberx – Lightning 78 102 39 A1 4 @ MTL (Thurs) 100.0 107 110 N/A IN x – Sabres 78 102 39 A2 4 @ NYR (Weds) 100.0 107 110 N/A IN x – Canadiens 78 102 32 A3 4 vs. TB (Thurs) 100.0 107 110 N/A IN Bruins 79 96 31 WC1 3 vs. TB (Sat) 98.5 100 102 N/A 2 Senators 78 92 35 WC2 4 vs. FLA (Thurs) 86.7 97 100 N/A 6 Red Wings 78 89 29 N/A 4 vs. PHI (Thurs) 6.2 94 97 5 N/A e – Maple Leafs 77 78 23 N/A 5 vs. WSH (Weds) 0.0 83 88 OUT N/A e – Panthers 78 78 29 N/A 4 @ OTT (Thurs) 0.0 82 86 OUT N/A

Metro Division

Enhanced standings: Metropolitan DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragicNumberMagicNumbery – Hurricanes 78 106 36 M1 4 @ CHI (Thurs) 100.0 111 114 N/A IN Penguins 78 96 33 M2 4 @ NJ (Thurs) 99.9 101 104 N/A 2 Flyers 78 92 25 M3 4 @ DET (Thurs) 55.4 97 100 N/A 6 Blue Jackets 78 90 27 N/A 4 @ BUF (Thurs) 29.2 95 98 6 N/A Islanders 78 89 28 N/A 4 vs. TOR (Thurs) 19.9 94 97 5 N/A Capitals 78 87 33 N/A 4 @ TOR (Weds) 4.0 91 95 3 N/A e – Devils 78 83 28 N/A 4 vs. PIT (Thurs) 0.0 87 91 OUT N/A e – Rangers 78 75 24 N/A 4 vs. BUF (Weds) 0.0 79 83 OUT N/A

Central Division

Enhanced standings: Central DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragicNumberMagicNumberz – Avalanche 77 112 45 C1 5 vs. CGY (Thurs) 100.0 119 122 N/A IN x – Stars 78 104 35 C2 4 vs. MIN (Thurs) 100.0 109 112 N/A IN x – Wild 78 102 30 C3 4 @ DAL (Thurs) 100.0 107 110 N/A IN Mammoth 77 88 31 WC1 5 vs. NSH (Thurs) 99.3 94 98 N/A 5 Predators 78 84 27 WC2 4 @ UTA (Thurs) 11.6 88 92 N/A 9 Jets 77 80 27 N/A 5 @ STL (Thurs) 1.3 85 90 6 N/A Blues 77 78 29 N/A 5 vs. WPG (Thurs) 2.9 83 88 4 N/A e – Blackhawks 78 70 21 N/A 4 vs. CAR (Thurs) 0.0 74 78 OUT N/A

Pacific Division

Enhanced standings: Pacific DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragicNumberMagicNumberOilers 78 88 30 P1 4 @ SJ (Weds) 95.5 93 96 N/A 5 Golden Knights 78 88 28 P2 4 @ SEA (Thurs) 99.5 93 96 N/A 5 Ducks 78 87 24 P3 4 vs. SJ (Thurs) 99.1 91 95 N/A 6 Kings 77 83 19 N/A 5 vs. VAN (Thurs) 49.9 88 93 9 N/A Sharks 76 81 25 N/A 6 vs. EDM (Weds) 41.0 87 93 9 N/A Kraken 77 75 25 N/A 5 vs. VGK (Thurs) 0.1 80 85 1 N/A e – Flames 77 73 25 N/A 5 @ COL (Thurs) 0.0 78 83 OUT N/A e – Canucks 77 52 15 N/A 5 @ LA (Thurs) 0.0 55 62 OUT N/A

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. Atop draft boards for this summer is Gavin McKenna, a forward for Penn State.

Draft lottery standingsTeamGPPTSRWPicktraded?1. Canucks 77 52 15 2. Blackhawks 78 70 21 3. Flames 77 73 25 4. Rangers 78 75 24 5. Kraken 77 75 25 6. Panthers 78 78 29 7. Maple Leafs* 77 78 23 x 8. Blues 77 78 29 9. Jets 77 80 27 10. Sharks 76 81 25 11. Devils 78 83 28 12. Predators 78 84 27 13. Capitals 78 87 33 14. Islanders 78 89 28 15. Red Wings 78 89 29 16. Blue Jackets 78 90 28

*Note: The Maple Leafs’ pick belongs to the Bruins, unless it lands in the top five.

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