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Tim KavanaghESPN.com
Another night, another playoff spot clinched as we officially welcome the St. Louis Blues to the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blues earned one point for their overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, and with the Los Angeles Kings‘ regulation loss to the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis is now locked in to the No. 4 spot in the West Division. Here’s what to watch for in Saturday’s 14-game slate:
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There aren’t many other teams that are locked in to particular spots right now, but one of them is the Carolina Hurricanes, who have clinched the Central Division crown. They’ll face off against the Nashville Predators, who can clinch a playoff spot with a win. Elsewhere in the Central, it’s the latest skirmish in the Battle of Florida, as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers continue to joust for seeding; they’re currently tied with 75 standings points, but the Lightning hold the regulation wins tiebreaker. You can catch this game streaming on ESPN+ tonight.
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In the North Division, the Montreal Canadiens can move closer to punching their playoff ticket with a win in their contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The idle Calgary Flames will be hoping for a regulation win for the Maple Leafs, while the Vancouver Canucks must win their game against the Edmonton Oilers tonight to keep their hopes alive.
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While the Blues are locked into the No. 4 spot, the Golden Knights, Avalanche and Minnesota Wild are all still in the mix for the top seed. Vegas and St. Louis square off again tonight in a potential playoff preview (streaming on ESPN+), while the Avs get the Kings and the Wild face the Anaheim Ducks.
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The East Division has had its four playoff teams clinched longer than anyone — but there’s the least clarity as to the order in which they’ll finish. The Pittsburgh Penguins have a two-point lead in the standings over the Washington Capitals, and play their final regular-season tilt this afternoon against the Buffalo Sabres. Pittsburgh and the Caps are even in regulation wins and the Pens won the season series, 6-2. The Capitals get a rematch against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday after losing Friday night. The Boston Bruins are are two points back of Washington and four points back of Pittsburgh, but have three games remaining, the first of which is at 3 p.m. ET today against the New York Rangers. Finally, the New York Islanders need a lot of help to move out of fourth into third, but one part of the process would be a win in their game against the New Jersey Devils tonight.
Having reached the final stretch of the regular season, it’s time to check in on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2021 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff chances are via Money Puck. Tragic numbers are courtesy of Damian Echevarrieta of the NHL.
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Race for No. 1 pick
East Division
0:34
Wade Allison give the Flyers the lead in the second period after scoring off the ricochet off the boards helping Philadelphia take down Washington 4-2.
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: E1
Games left: 1
Next game: vs. BUF (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: E2
Games left: 2
Next game: vs. PHI (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: E3
Games left: 3
Next game: vs. NYR (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: E4
Games left: 2
Next game: vs. NJ (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Next game: @ BOS (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 55
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Next game: @ WSH (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 45
Regulation wins: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Next game: @ NYI (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 37
Regulation wins: 11
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Next game: @ PIT (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Central Division
0:44
Joe Pavelski scores two second-period goals leading the Stars to a dominant 5-2 win over the Lightning.
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 2
Next game: @ NSH (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 2
Next game: @ FLA (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 2
Next game: vs. TB (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 60
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: C4
Games left: 2
Next game: vs. CAR (May 8)
Playoff chances: 96%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Next game: @ CHI (May 9)
Playoff chances: 4%
Tragic number: 2
Points: 52
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Next game: vs. DAL (May 9)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 47
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Next game: @ CBJ (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 46
Regulation wins: 12
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Next game: vs. DET (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
North Division
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: N1
Games left: 3
Next game: vs. MTL (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: N2
Games left: 4
Next game: vs. VAN (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 59
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N3
Games left: 4
Next game: vs. OTT (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 57
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N4
Games left: 3
Next game: @ TOR (May 8)
Playoff chances: 99.1%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 47
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 5
Next game: vs. OTT (May 9)
Playoff chances: 0.9%
Tragic number: 1
Points: 47
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 3
Next game: @ WPG (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 43
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 8
Next game: @ EDM (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: 3
West Division
0:31
Cale Makar rips the puck into the back of the net extending Colorado’s lead en route to a 3-2 win over Los Angeles.
Points: 78
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: W1
Games left: 3
Next game: vs. STL (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: W2
Games left: 4
Next game: @ LA (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: W3
Games left: 3
Next game: vs. ANA (May 8)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 57
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: W4
Games left: 4
Next game: @ VGS (May 8)
Playoff chances: 99.6%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 52
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Next game: @ SJ (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 48
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 4
Next game: vs. COL (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0.4%
Tragic number: E
Points: 48
Regulation wins: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Next game: vs. ARI (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 42
Regulation wins: 11
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Next game: @ MIN (May 8)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Current playoff matchups
East Division
No. 1 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 4 New York Islanders
No. 2 Washington Capitals vs. No. 3 Boston Bruins
Central Division
No. 1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. No. 4 Nashville Predators
No. 2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. No. 3 Florida Panthers
North Division
No. 1 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. No. 4 Montreal Canadiens
No. 2 Edmonton Oilers vs. No. 3 Winnipeg Jets
West Division
No. 1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. No. 4 St. Louis Blues
No. 2 Colorado Avalanche vs. No. 3 Minnesota Wild
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. New for 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: 37
Regulation wins: 11
Points: 42
Regulation wins: 11
Points: 43
Regulation wins: 14
Points: 45
Regulation wins: 15
Points: 46
Regulation wins: 12
Points: 47
Regulation wins: 16
Points: 47
Regulation wins: 17
Points: 47
Regulation wins: 19
Points: 48
Regulation wins: 15
Points: 48
Regulation wins: 19
Points: 52
Regulation wins: 14
Points: 52
Regulation wins: 19
Points: 55
Regulation wins: 16
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 17
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 23