As we hit the first full week of April, and the last weeks of the 2021-22 NHL season play out, two particular playoff races have been the hottest: the near-daily flip-flop of the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars for the second wild card in the Western Conference, and the non-Florida Panthers clubs that are playoff-bound from the Atlantic Division.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins all played on Monday — with the first two squaring off against each other — and heading into tonight, the Maple Leafs are two points ahead of the other two teams, with 95 points. In terms of the regulation wins tiebreaker, the Maple Leafs have 39, the Bruins 35 and the Lightning 32, so right now, the Bruins hold the No. 3 spot in the division, with the Lightning in the first wild-card position.
There is one more instance of each matchup among these three down the stretch: Apr. 8 is Lightning-Bruins; Apr. 21 is the final Lightning-Maple Leafs game; and the Bruins and Leafs will face off on the final day of the regular season, Apr. 29. Aside from those contests, the Lightning’s schedule features fewer teams in the playoff mix than the others; six out of 13 for Tampa Bay vs. seven out of 13 for Toronto and nine out of 13 for Boston. How will it all shake out? We’ll be watching closely.
As we enter the final stretch of the 2021-22 regular season, it’s time to check in on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2022 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff chances are via FiveThirtyEight. Tragic numbers are courtesy of Damian Echevarrieta of the NHL.
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Today’s games
Last night’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC2 Washington Capitals
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Boston Bruins
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC1 Tampa Bay Lightning
M2 New York Rangers vs. M3 Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference
C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Vegas Golden Knights
C2 Minnesota Wild vs. C3 St. Louis Blues
P1 Calgary Flames vs. WC1 Nashville Predators
P2 Los Angeles Kings vs. P3 Edmonton Oilers
Today’s games
Note: All times Eastern. All out-of-market games available on ESPN+
Carolina Hurricanes at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m.
Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida Panthers, 7 p.m.
New York Rangers at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m.
Colorado Avalanche at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m.
Boston Bruins at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m.
New York Islanders at Dallas Stars, 8:30 p.m.
Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m.
Last night’s scoreboard
Watch In the Crease on ESPN+ for highlights from every game.
Boston Bruins 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 2 (OT)
Toronto Maple Leafs 6, Tampa Bay Lightning 2
St. Louis Blues 5, Arizona Coyotes 1
Calgary Flames 3, Los Angeles Kings 2
Expanded standings
Atlantic Division
Points: 102
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 13
Next game: vs. TOR (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 95
Regulation wins: 39
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 13
Next game: @ FLA (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 93
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 13
Next game: @ DET (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A
1 Related
Points: 93
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 13
Next game: @ WSH (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 61
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Next game: vs. CAR (Tuesday)
Playoff chances:
Tragic number: 2
Points: 61
Regulation wins: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 13
Next game: vs. BOS (Tuesday)
Playoff chances:
Tragic number: 3
Points: 56
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 14
Next game: @ MTL (Tuesday)
Playoff chances:
Tragic number: 1
Points: 49
Regulation wins: 13
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 13
Next game: vs. OTT (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Metropolitan Division
Points: 98
Regulation wins: 39
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 13
Next game: @ BUF (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 94
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 12
Next game: @ NJ (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 92
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 12
Next game: vs. COL (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A
This season will include 103 exclusive regular-season games across ESPN, ESPN+, Hulu and ABC, and more than 1,000 out-of-market games will be available on ESPN+.
• How to watch
• Subscribe to ESPN+
• Stream the NHL on ESPN
Points: 84
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 13
Next game: vs. TB (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 96%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 14
Next game: @ DAL (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 3%
Tragic number: 17
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Next game: @ PHI (Tuesday)
Playoff chances:
Tragic number: 10
Points: 55
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 13
Next game: vs. CBJ (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 54
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 13
Next game: vs. NYR (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Central Division
Points: 104
Regulation wins: 41
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 13
Next game: @ PIT (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 14
Next game: @ NSH (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 13
Next game: vs. SEA (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 99%
Tragic number: N/A
1 Related
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 14
Next game: vs. MIN (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 87%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 14
Next game: vs. NYI (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 80%
Tragic number: 27
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Next game: vs. DET (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 2%
Tragic number: 18
Points: 59
Regulation wins: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Next game: vs. SEA (Thursday)
Playoff chances:
Tragic number: 1
Points: 49
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 13
Next game:
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Pacific Division
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 13
Next game: @ ANA (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 10
Next game: vs. EDM (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 79%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 85
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 12
Next game: @ SJ (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 88%
Tragic number: N/A
This season will include 103 exclusive regular-season games across ESPN, ESPN+, Hulu and ABC, and more than 1,000 out-of-market games will be available on ESPN+.
• How to watch
• Subscribe to ESPN+
• Stream the NHL on ESPN
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 11
Next game: vs. VAN (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 63%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Next game: @ VGK (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 2%
Tragic number: 16
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Next game: vs. CGY (Wednesday)
Playoff chances:
Tragic number: 8
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 14
Next game: vs. EDM (Tuesday)
Playoff chances:
Tragic number: 12
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 13
Next game: @ STL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order at the top of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team may 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.
Points: 49
Regulation wins: 13
Points: 49
Regulation wins: 16
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 19
Points: 54
Regulation wins: 16
Points: 55
Regulation wins: 17
Points: 56
Regulation wins: 21
Points: 59
Regulation wins: 15
Points: 61
Regulation wins: 15
Points: 61
Regulation wins: 19
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 19
Points: 70
Regulation wins: 22
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 30
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 25