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SPORTS

NHL playoff standings: How high can the Predators climb?

ByESPN staff ESPN logo

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Heading into the 2023-24 season, it was unclear what to make of the Nashville Predators. GM Barry Trotz had been busy in the offseason, and that included cutting ties with veteran centers Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen. Andrew Brunette took over as the new head coach.

The club hovered in the mushy middle for much of the season, then lost 9-2 to the Dallas Stars on Feb. 15. The team canceled a planned trip to see U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, and subsequently went on an 18-game point streak. That streak was snapped with a couple of lopsided defeats this past Thursday (8-4 to the Arizona Coyotes) and Saturday (7-4 to the Colorado Avalanche), so their contest on Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins (8 p.m. ET, NHL Power Play on ESPN+) is a chance to get back on the right side of the ledger.

But beyond the game against the B's, how high can this team climb in the standings?

If the Preds win out, they'll finish with 106 points. The Dallas Stars (currently at 103 points) and Avalanche (100) might be tough to catch, particularly since those clubs are on heaters of their own as of late. But the Winnipeg Jets, with 96 points to the Preds' 90, are in bit of a tailspin, going 4-5-1 in their past 10.

After the Bruins game, the Preds have seven games remaining, six of which are against teams currently outside of playoff position. The other game is against, you guessed it, Winnipeg. As for the Jets, their final seven games include clashes with the Stars, Avs and Vancouver Canucks.

So based on schedules, it would appear the door is open for Nashville to overtake Winnipeg. What do the projections say? Stathletes' model has the Jets finishing with 103 points to the Preds' 100, and gives Winnipeg a 69.2% chance of taking the No. 3 seed compared to 26.7% for Nashville.

As we traverse 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 2024 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.

Jump ahead:

Current playoff matchups

Tuesday's schedule

Monday's scores

Expanded standings

Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Boston Bruins vs. WC1 Tampa Bay Lightning

A2 Florida Panthers vs. A3 Toronto Maple Leafs

M1 New York Rangers vs. WC2 Washington Capitals

M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 Philadelphia Flyers

Western Conference

C1 Dallas Stars vs. WC2 Los Angeles Kings

C2 Colorado Avalanche vs. C3 Winnipeg Jets

P1 Vancouver Canucks vs. WC1 Nashville Predators

P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights

Tuesday's games

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available via NHL Power Play, which is included in an ESPN+ subscription (local blackout restrictions apply).

Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m.

Florida Panthers at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m.

Pittsburgh Penguins at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m.

Chicago Blackhawks at New York Islanders, 7:30 p.m.

Boston Bruins at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m.

Ottawa Senators at Minnesota Wild, 8 p.m.

Anaheim Ducks at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m.

Vancouver Canucks at Vegas Golden Knights, 10 p.m.

Monday's scoreboard

Toronto Maple Leafs 6, Florida Panthers 4

Detroit Red Wings 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 2

Pittsburgh Penguins 5, New York Rangers 2

New York Islanders 4, Philadelphia Flyers 3 (OT)

Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Colorado Avalanche 1

St. Louis Blues 3, Edmonton Oilers 2 (OT)

Winnipeg Jets 4, Los Angeles Kings 3

Seattle Kraken 4, San Jose Sharks 2

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

x - Boston Bruins

Points: 101

Regulation wins: 33

Playoff position: A1

Games left: 7

Points pace: 110

Next game: @ NSH (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Florida Panthers

Points: 99

Regulation wins: 38

Playoff position: A2

Games left: 7

Points pace: 108

Next game: @ MTL (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

Toronto Maple Leafs

Points: 95

Regulation wins: 31

Playoff position: A3

Games left: 8

Points pace: 105

Next game: vs. TB (Wednesday)

Playoff chances: 99.9%

Tragic number: N/A

Tampa Bay Lightning

Points: 89

Regulation wins: 33

Playoff position: WC1

Games left: 8

Points pace: 99

Next game: @ TOR (Wednesday)

Playoff chances: 99.9%

Tragic number: N/A

Detroit Red Wings

Points: 82

Regulation wins: 26

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 7

Points pace: 90

Next game: vs. NYR (Friday)

Playoff chances: 28%

Tragic number: 14

Buffalo Sabres

Points: 75

Regulation wins: 29

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 7

Points pace: 82

Next game: vs. WSH (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 0.3%

Tragic number: 7

Ottawa Senators

Points: 70

Regulation wins: 24

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 9

Points pace: 79

Next game: @ MIN (Tuesday)

Playoff chances:0%

Tragic number: 6

Montreal Canadiens

Points: 68

Regulation wins: 18

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 9

Points pace: 76

Next game: vs. FLA (Tuesday)

Playoff chances:0%

Tragic number: 4

Metropolitan Division

x - New York Rangers

Points: 104

Regulation wins: 39

Playoff position: M1

Games left: 7

Points pace: 114

Next game: vs. NJ (Wednesday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Carolina Hurricanes

Points: 101

Regulation wins: 39

Playoff position: M2

Games left: 7

Points pace: 110

Next game: vs. BOS (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 83

Regulation wins: 28

Playoff position: M3

Games left: 6

Points pace: 90

Next game: @ BUF (Friday)

Playoff chances: 71.9%

Tragic number: N/A

Washington Capitals

Points: 82

Regulation wins: 28

Playoff position: WC2

Games left: 9

Points pace: 92

Next game: @ BUF (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 75.5%

Tragic number: N/A

New York Islanders

Points: 79

Regulation wins: 23

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 8

Points pace: 88

Next game: vs. CHI (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 15.6%

Tragic number: 13

Pittsburgh Penguins

Points: 77

Regulation wins: 28

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 8

Points pace: 85

Next game: @ NJ (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 1.8%

Tragic number: 11

New Jersey Devils

Points: 76

Regulation wins: 31

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 8

Points pace: 84

Next game: vs. PIT (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 6.9%

Tragic number: 10

e - Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 62

Regulation wins: 19

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 7

Points pace: 68

Next game: vs. NYI (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

Central Division

x - Dallas Stars

Points: 103

Regulation wins: 36

Playoff position: C1

Games left: 7

Points pace: 113

Next game: vs. EDM (Wednesday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Colorado Avalanche

Points: 100

Regulation wins: 39

Playoff position: C2

Games left: 7

Points pace: 109

Next game: @ MIN (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

Winnipeg Jets

Points: 96

Regulation wins: 40

Playoff position: C3

Games left: 7

Points pace: 105

Next game: vs. CGY (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 99.9%

Tragic number: N/A

Nashville Predators

Points: 90

Regulation wins: 35

Playoff position: WC1

Games left: 8

Points pace: 100

Next game: vs. BOS (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 99.6%

Tragic number: N/A

St. Louis Blues

Points: 84

Regulation wins: 29

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 7

Points pace: 92

Next game: @ NSH (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 1.8%

Tragic number: 11

Minnesota Wild

Points: 79

Regulation wins: 28

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 9

Points pace: 89

Next game: vs. OTT (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 1.4%

Tragic number: 10

e - Arizona Coyotes

Points: 67

Regulation wins: 25

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 8

Points pace: 74

Next game: vs. VAN (Wednesday)

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 49

Regulation wins: 16

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 8

Points pace: 54

Next game: @ NYI (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

Pacific Division

x - Vancouver Canucks

Points: 100

Regulation wins: 40

Playoff position: P1

Games left: 8

Points pace: 111

Next game: @ VGK (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

Edmonton Oilers

Points: 95

Regulation wins: 35

Playoff position: P2

Games left: 9

Points pace: 107

Next game: @ DAL (Wednesday)

Playoff chances: 99.9%

Tragic number: N/A

Vegas Golden Knights

Points: 90

Regulation wins: 31

Playoff position: P3

Games left: 8

Points pace: 100

Next game: vs. VAN (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 99.2%

Tragic number: N/A

Los Angeles Kings

Points: 87

Regulation wins: 32

Playoff position: WC2

Games left: 8

Points pace: 96

Next game: vs. SEA (Wednesday)

Playoff chances: 98.1%

Tragic number: N/A

Seattle Kraken

Points: 75

Regulation wins: 25

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 8

Points pace: 83

Next game: @ LA (Wednesday)

Playoff chances:0%

Tragic number: 4

Calgary Flames

Points: 73

Regulation wins: 29

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 9

Points pace: 82

Next game: vs. ANA (Tuesday)

Playoff chances:0%

Tragic number: 4

e - Anaheim Ducks

Points: 52

Regulation wins: 18

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 7

Points pace: 57

Next game: @ CGY (Tuesday)

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - San Jose Sharks

Points: 42

Regulation wins: 13

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 8

Points pace: 47

Next game: vs. LA (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

p -- clinched Presidents' Trophy

y -- clinched division

x -- clinched playoff berth

e -- eliminated from playoff contention

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. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Macklin Celebrini, a freshman at Boston University.