Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2025 NHL postseason. There are 32 days left in the regular season and the races in each of the four divisions are tight. 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 five games on the NHL schedule Monday, each with playoff implications.
Calgary Flames at Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m. ET; Prime)
The Flames (30-24-11) have lost two in a row (0-1-1), six of eight (2-3-3) and begin a four-game road trip two points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference with two games in hand. The Maple Leafs (39-24-3) are 1-4-1 in their past six games and tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for second in the Atlantic Division, four points behind the Florida Panthers. Toronto forward William Nylander is on an eight-game point streak (four goals, six assists).
Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; NESN, MSG-B, TVAS)
The Bruins (30-30-8) have lost five of seven (2-5-0) and are four points behind the New York Rangers for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference. The Sabres (26-33-6) have won two of three (2-1-0) after a 0-5-1 skid and sit 14 points behind the Rangers.
Philadelphia Flyers at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, NBCSP)
The Lightning (38-23-5) ended a three-game slide (0-2-1) with a 6-2 win at the Bruins on Saturday and hold two games in hand on the Panthers. The Flyers (28-32-8) completed a 1-6-0 homestand with a 5-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday and are eight points behind the Rangers.
New Jersey Devils at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, MSGSN)
The Devils (36-26-6) are third in the Metropolitan Division, eight points behind the second-place Hurricanes, who have a game in hand. They're also just one point ahead of the Ottawa Senators, who hold the first wild card in the East and have played two fewer games. The Blue Jackets (31-27-8) have lost three in a row while getting shut out in two straight and are two points behind the Rangers.
Los Angeles Kings at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, FDSNW)
The Kings (36-20-9) are on a five-game winning streak and third in the Pacific Division, one point behind the Edmonton Oilers and five behind the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights with two games in hand on each team. The Wild (37-25-5) have lost four of five (1-3-1) but hold the first wild card in the West. They're six points behind the Colorado Avalanche for third in the Central Division with a game in hand.
If playoffs started Monday
Here is a look at the matchups for the first round as they stand entering games Monday:
Eastern Conference
(A1) Florida Panthers vs. (W1) Ottawa Senators
(M1) Washington Capitals vs. (W2) New York Rangers
(A2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (A3) Toronto Maple Leafs
(M2) Carolina Hurricanes vs (M3) New Jersey Devils
Western Conference
(C1) Winnipeg Jets vs. (W2) Vancouver Canucks
(P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) Minnesota Wild
(C2) Dallas Stars vs. (C3) Colorado Avalanche
(P2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (P3) Los Angeles Kings
About last night
There were seven games Sunday, all with playoff implications:
Detroit Red Wings 3, Vegas Golden Knights 0: Petr Mrazek made 18 saves for his 14th shutout with Detroit and Lucas Raymond scored his first goal in 11 games to help the Red Wings (32-29-6) inch closer to playoff contention after losing seven of eight (1-7-0). Detroit is two points behind the Rangers for the second wild card in the East with a game in hand. Vegas (39-20-8) lost for the fourth time in five games (1-2-2) but leads the Pacific Division, four points ahead of Edmonton.
Colorado Avalanche 4, Dallas Stars 3 (OT): Cale Makar capped a three-point game (one goal, two assists) at Ball Arena by scoring 34 seconds into overtime for the Avalanche in a potential Western Conference First Round matchup. Colorado (41-24-3) is 8-0-1 in its past nine and third in the Central Division, two points behind Dallas (42-21-3), which has played two fewer games. Jason Robertson, Mavrik Bourque and Matt Duchene scored for the Stars, who have lost three of four (1-2-1). Mikko Rantanen had an assist in his first game against the Avalanche since being traded to the Hurricanes on Jan. 24 and then to the Stars on March 7.
Edmonton Oilers 3, New York Rangers 1: Leon Draisaitl had an assist at Madison Square Garden to extend his point streak to 18 games (14 goals, 13 assists) for the Oilers (39-24-4), who are second in the Pacific Division, four points behind the Golden Knights and one ahead of the Kings. Will Cuylle scored and Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves for the Rangers (33-29-6), who kept hold of the second wild card in the East and are five points behind the Senators for the first.
New York Islanders 4, Florida Panthers 2: The Islanders (30-28-8) scored four goals in the third period to rally past the Panthers at UBS Arena and end an 0-2-1 slide. Marc Gatcomb, Maxim Tsyplakov, Noah Dobson and Simon Holmstrom scored for the Islanders, who are four points behind the Rangers and have played two fewer games. Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers (41-24-3).
St. Louis Blues 7, Anaheim Ducks 2: Dylan Holloway and Jake Neighbours each had a goal and an assist, and Jordan Kyrou had three assists at Enterprise Center for the Blues (33-28-7), who have won nine of 13 (9-2-2) yet trail the Canucks for the second wild card. Cutter Gauthier had a goal and an assist for the Ducks (29-31-7), who are eight points behind Vancouver.
Utah Hockey Club 3, Vancouver Canucks 1: Logan Cooley scored the go-ahead goal at 5:08 of the third period at Rogers Arena and Karel Vejmelka made 18 saves for Utah (30-26-11), which swept the three-game regular-season series from the Canucks and moved within two points of the second wild card in the West. Quinn Hughes scored for the Canucks (31-25-11).
Winnipeg Jets 3, Seattle Kraken 2 (OT): Dylan Samberg scored 1:47 into overtime at Climate Pledge Arena to give the Jets (47-17-4) their fifth win in six games (5-1-0) and boost their lead to two points on the Washington Capitals (44-15-8; 96 points) for most in the NHL. Jani Nyman scored for the second time in three NHL games and Joey Daccord made 23 saves for the Kraken (29-34-5), who 10 are points behind the Canucks.
