Who has edge in NHL playoff bracket as regular season hits final week?
Who has edge in NHL playoff bracket as regular season hits final week?
Mike Brehm, USA TODAYSat, April 11, 2026 at 10:04 AM UTC
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Who has edge in NHL playoff bracket as regular season hits final week?
The NHL playoffs start a week from Saturday.
After a rare day off on Friday, teams will have two to four games left before the April 16 end of the regular season and contenders will try to cement playoff positions.
So far, the Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins have clinched Eastern Conference playoff spots and the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and Utah Mammoth have clinched in the West. Colorado and Carolina have won division titles.
Five more teams have the potential to clinch berths during Saturday's 15-game schedule.
Here's what is still to be decided in the final week of the regular season:
1 / 0NHL physicality: Players fight, deliver big hits
Feb. 28: Referee Cody Beach stops the fight between the Washington Capitals' Connor McMichael and Montreal Canadiens' Kaiden Guhle (21) during the third period at the Bell Centre.
Atlantic Division title
The Sabres (106 points), Canadiens (104) and Lightning (102) have a shot. Buffalo has two games left and the other teams have three. The Sabres lead in the first tiebreaker (regulation wins). The Canadiens have been the hotter team, going 9-1 in their last 10 games, while the Lightning have lost three in a row.
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Third in the Metropolitan Division
The top three teams in each division make the playoffs and that might be the best path for Metropolitan teams to get back into a playoff position. The New York Islanders, led by recently hired coach Peter DeBoer, are a point behind the third-place Philadelphia Flyers, compared to three points out of the second wild-card spot. The Columbus Blue Jackets are two points behind the Flyers. Each team has three games left and the Islanders lead in regulation wins.
Eastern Conference wild card spots
The Boston Bruins (96) and Ottawa Senators (94) hold the two positions, and they can clinch berths on Saturday. Boston will get in with a win. Ottawa would need a win and a Detroit Red Wings loss. If that happens, Detroit's playoff drought would hit 10 seasons. The Senators lead the Bruins in regulation wins and will take the first wild card if the teams end up tied in points.
Pacific Division title
The division-leading Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights and idle Anaheim Ducks have a chance to clinch berths on Saturday. One point separates the Oilers and the other two. All have three games left and the Oilers have more regulation wins. Edmonton and Vegas will play the No. 1 overall Colorado Avalanche, and the Oilers and Ducks will play the last-overall Vancouver Canucks.
Western Conference wild card
The second wild card keeps changing hands and the Los Angeles Kings have a one-point lead on the Nashville Predators plus a game in hand. But the Kings have only 20 regulation wins and their closest pursuers have 25 or more. The Winnipeg Jets, who are three points back, are on a 7-2-1 run.
Home ice in the Central Division
The Dallas Stars beat the Minnesota Wild on Thursday and need only one win or a Wild regulation loss to clinch second place and have home ice advantage in the first round. Dallas-Minnesota is the only first-round series that is set.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL playoff bracket: What's to be decided in final week
Source: “AOL Sports”
