NHL playoff standings: How will the Pacific Division finish?ESPN staffMar 26, 2026, 07:00 AM ETMultiple Authors
tamil yogi
It’s not every day that one of the top players in the NHL refers to his division’s playoff race as a “pillow fight,” but such was the case this past weekend when Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid did so in regard to the 2025-26 Pacific Division.
Saturday was the second time in a three-day stretch that the Pacific teams went winless with six of them in action, which was the immediate cause for McDavid’s remarks. From a longer-term standpoint, two Eastern Conference teams that are currently out of playoff position — the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings — would be leading the Pacific, and two more — the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals — would be in second place.
Nevertheless, the Pacific will qualify at least three teams for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs. And the good news is that three games on Thursday feature Pacific teams playing one another, so the division will get at least three wins!
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Heading into Thursday night, the Anaheim Ducks lead the division with 84 points and 24 regulation wins through 71 games. They take on the Calgary Flames (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+), who are battling for the No. 2 slot in the draft lottery. The team Calgary is “chasing” for the No. 1 spot in the lottery, the Vancouver Canucks, faces off against the Los Angeles Kings (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+); the Kings begin the night three points and seven regulation wins behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild-card spot.
The final Pacific-on-Pacific battle is between McDavid’s Oilers and the Vegas Golden Knights (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). This is the current No. 2 vs. No. 3 matchup in the division and is the fourth-most-likely first-round series according to Stathletes’ projections, at 62.54%.
The Seattle Kraken, who are five points behind the Preds in the wild-card race and tied in regulation wins, visit the Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+). Finally, the San Jose Sharks, whose playoff chances have taken a nosedive the past few days, are facing off against the St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+). San Jose is seven points and five regulation wins in back of Nashville.
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Stathletes projects the division to finish in a similar order to what it is now: The Ducks earn the No. 1 seed (96.7 points), followed by the Golden Knights (92.0) and the Oilers (89.3). Next are the Kings (85.9), Sharks (83.7) and Kraken (80.1), all of whom fall short of the Predators (86.2) for wild card No. 2.
Every team has around 12 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 every day. 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 Buffalo Sabres vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 Ottawa Senators
M2 Columbus Blue Jackets vs. M3 Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference
C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Nashville Predators
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild
P1 Anaheim Ducks vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights
Thursday’s games
Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).
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Columbus Blue Jackets at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m.
Seattle Kraken at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.
Minnesota Wild at Florida Panthers, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Dallas Stars at New York Islanders, 7 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m.
San Jose Sharks at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m.
New Jersey Devils at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m.
Colorado Avalanche at Winnipeg Jets, 8 p.m.
Washington Capitals at Utah Mammoth, 9 p.m.
Anaheim Ducks at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m.
Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m.
Wednesday night’s scoreboard
Boston Bruins 4, Buffalo Sabres 3 (OT)
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, New York Rangers 3
Expanded standings
Atlantic Division
Buffalo Sabres
Points: 96
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 10
Points pace: 109.3
Next game: vs. DET (Friday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 9
Tragic number: N/A
Tampa Bay Lightning
Points: 93
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 12
Points pace: 108.9
Next game: vs. SEA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 12
Tragic number: N/A
Montreal Canadiens
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 12
Points pace: 103.1
Next game: vs. CBJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 94.3%
Magic number: 17
Tragic number: N/A
Boston Bruins
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 10
Points pace: 100.2
Next game: vs. MIN (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 54.7%
Magic number: 17
Tragic number: N/A
Ottawa Senators
Points: 85
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 11
Points pace: 98.2
Next game: vs. PIT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 81.8%
Magic number: 20
Tragic number: N/A
Detroit Red Wings
Points: 84
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 97.0
Next game: @ BUF (Friday)
Playoff chances: 39.4%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 21
Toronto Maple Leafs
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 84.3
Next game: @ STL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 8
Florida Panthers
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 85.5
Next game: vs. MIN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 12
Metro Division
Carolina Hurricanes
Points: 96
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 11
Points pace: 110.9
Next game: vs. NJ (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 9
Tragic number: N/A
Columbus Blue Jackets
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 11
Points pace: 100.5
Next game: @ MTL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 92.1%
Magic number: 18
Tragic number: N/A
Pittsburgh Penguins
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 11
Points pace: 99.3
Next game: @ OTT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 81.4%
Magic number: 19
Tragic number: N/A
New York Islanders
Points: 85
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 96.8
Next game: vs. DAL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 44.6%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 20
Philadelphia Flyers
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 93.7
Next game: vs. CHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 8%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
Washington Capitals
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 90.0
Next game: @ UTA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 3.4%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 14
New Jersey Devils
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 86.7
Next game: @ NSH (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.3%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 13
e – New York Rangers
Points: 65
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 74.0
Next game: vs. CHI (Friday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: OUT
Central Division
x – Colorado Avalanche
Points: 104
Regulation wins: 41
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 12
Points pace: 121.8
Next game: @ WPG (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Magic number: IN
Tragic number: N/A
x – Dallas Stars
Points: 97
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 11
Points pace: 112.0
Next game: @ NYI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Magic number: IN
Tragic number: N/A
Minnesota Wild
Points: 92
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 10
Points pace: 104.8
Next game: @ FLA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 4
Tragic number: N/A
Utah Mammoth
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 10
Points pace: 91.1
Next game: vs. WSH (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 98%
Magic number: 16
Tragic number: N/A
Nashville Predators
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 11
Points pace: 88.9
Next game: vs. NJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 46.9%
Magic number: 19
Tragic number: N/A
Winnipeg Jets
Points: 72
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 83.2
Next game: vs. COL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 5.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 17
St. Louis Blues
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 80.8
Next game: vs. SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 7.8%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 16
Chicago Blackhawks
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 77.4
Next game: @ PHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 12
Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks
Points: 84
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 11
Points pace: 97.0
Next game: @ CGY (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 12
Tragic number: N/A
Edmonton Oilers
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 10
Points pace: 90.0
Next game: @ VGK (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 88.4%
Magic number: 17
Tragic number: N/A
Vegas Golden Knights
Points: 78
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 10
Points pace: 88.8
Next game: vs. EDM (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 97.9%
Magic number: 18
Tragic number: N/A
Los Angeles Kings
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 85.5
Next game: @ VAN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 36.7%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
Seattle Kraken
Points: 72
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 84.3
Next game: @ TB (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 2.3%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
San Jose Sharks
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 13
Points pace: 83.2
Next game: @ SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 16.9%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
Calgary Flames
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 77.4
Next game: vs. ANA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 12
e – Vancouver Canucks
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 58.6
Next game: vs. LA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: OUT
Note: An “x” with a team’s name means the club has clinched a playoff spot. An “e” means that the club has been mathematically eliminated.
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.
1. Vancouver Canucks
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 14
2. New York Rangers
Points: 65
Regulation wins: 19
3. Chicago Blackhawks
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 20
4. Calgary Flames
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 23
5. St. Louis Blues
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 26
6. San Jose Sharks
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 20
7. Winnipeg Jets
Points: 72
Regulation wins: 24
8. Seattle Kraken
Points: 72
Regulation wins: 25
9. Florida Panthers
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 27
10. Los Angeles Kings
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 18
11. New Jersey Devils
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 24
12. Toronto Maple Leafs*
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 23
13. Washington Capitals
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 30
14. Philadelphia Flyers
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 21
15. Detroit Red Wings
Points: 84
Regulation wins: 27
16. New York Islanders
Points: 85
Regulation wins: 26
*Note: The Maple Leafs’ pick belongs to the Bruins, unless it lands in the top five.
