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SPORTS

NHL playoff standings: Key games to watch on the final day

ByESPN staff ESPN logo

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Thursday is the final night of the 2023-24 NHL regular season, with the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs set to begin Saturday.

Although the identity of all 16 playoff teams is known, the eight matchups are not all locked in. So which games matter most?

Sadly for those with early bedtimes on the East Coast, the two games most vital to the playoff bracket have opening puck drop times with four digits in them.

The Vegas Golden Knights currently hold the Pacific Division's No. 3 seed, with 98 points and 34 regulation wins. They'll host the Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET, NHL Power Play on ESPN+). One point behind them in the standings sit the Los Angeles Kings, though L.A. is ahead in regulation wins, the first tiebreaker. The Kings will host the Chicago Blackhawks (10:30 p.m. ET, NHL Power Play on ESPN+), in the swan song of Connor Bedard's rookie campaign.

Both teams are heavily favored to win. But, in the event the Knights only pick up one point to the Kings' two, the tiebreak would go to L.A.

As mentioned, the spot at stake between these two is the P3 position -- and a first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers -- or the second West wild card, which yields a matchup with the Dallas Stars.

But it's not all about the postseason! The race for the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's regular-season scoring leader could be in play as well. Currently, Nikita Kucherov leads with 144 points. Skating against each other are the Nos. 2 and 3 players in the race, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid. The Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers face off a little earlier (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), and while their playoff seeds are locked in, a scoring title for their franchise center would be a nice way for those teams to close out game No. 82. MacKinnon is six points behind, and McDavid 12 points behind; so, perhaps unlikely that they catch Kucherov, but notimpossible.

Jump ahead:

Current playoff matchups

Thursday's schedule

Wednesday's scores

Expanded standings

Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC1 Tampa Bay Lightning

A2 Boston Bruins vs. A3 Toronto Maple Leafs

M1 New York Rangers vs. WC2 Washington Capitals

M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New York Islanders

Western Conference

C1 Dallas Stars vs. WC2 Los Angeles Kings

C2 Winnipeg Jets vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche

P1 Vancouver Canucks vs. WC1 Nashville Predators

P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights

Thursday'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).

Seattle Kraken at Minnesota Wild, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Vancouver Canucks at Winnipeg Jets, 8 p.m.

San Jose Sharks at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m.

Edmonton Oilers at Colorado Avalanche, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Anaheim Ducks at Vegas Golden Knights, 10 p.m.

Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday's scoreboard

Tampa Bay Lightning 6, Toronto Maple Leafs 4

New York Islanders 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 4

Dallas Stars 2, St. Louis Blues 1 (SO)

Arizona Coyotes 5, Edmonton Oilers 2

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

y - Florida Panthers

Points: 110

Regulation wins: 42

Playoff position: A1

Games left: 0

Points pace: 110

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Boston Bruins

Points: 109

Regulation wins: 36

Playoff position: A2

Games left: 0

Points pace: 109

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Toronto Maple Leafs

Points: 102

Regulation wins: 33

Playoff position: A3

Games left: 0

Points pace: 102

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Tampa Bay Lightning

Points: 98

Regulation wins: 37

Playoff position: WC1

Games left: 0

Points pace: 98

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

e - Detroit Red Wings

Points: 91

Regulation wins: 27

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 0

Points pace: 91

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - Buffalo Sabres

Points: 84

Regulation wins: 33

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 0

Points pace: 84

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - Ottawa Senators

Points: 78

Regulation wins: 25

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 0

Points pace: 78

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - Montreal Canadiens

Points: 76

Regulation wins: 20

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 0

Points pace: 76

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

Metropolitan Division

p - New York Rangers

Points: 114

Regulation wins: 43

Playoff position: M1

Games left: 0

Points pace: 114

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Carolina Hurricanes

Points: 111

Regulation wins: 44

Playoff position: M2

Games left: 0

Points pace: 111

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - New York Islanders

Points: 94

Regulation wins: 29

Playoff position: M3

Games left: 0

Points pace: 94

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Washington Capitals

Points: 91

Regulation wins: 32

Playoff position: WC2

Games left: 0

Points pace: 91

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

e - Pittsburgh Penguins

Points: 88

Regulation wins: 32

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 0

Points pace: 88

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e -Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 87

Regulation wins: 30

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 0

Points pace: 87

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - New Jersey Devils

Points: 81

Regulation wins: 33

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 0

Points pace: 81

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 66

Regulation wins: 21

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 0

Points pace: 66

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

Central Division

y - Dallas Stars

Points: 113

Regulation wins: 40

Playoff position: C1

Games left: 0

Points pace: 113

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Winnipeg Jets

Points: 108

Regulation wins: 45

Playoff position: C2

Games left: 1

Points pace: 109

Next game: vs. VAN (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Colorado Avalanche

Points: 105

Regulation wins: 41

Playoff position: C3

Games left: 1

Points pace: 106

Next game: vs. EDM (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Nashville Predators

Points: 99

Regulation wins: 38

Playoff position: WC1

Games left: 0

Points pace: 99

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

e - St. Louis Blues

Points: 92

Regulation wins: 31

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 0

Points pace: 92

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - Minnesota Wild

Points: 87

Regulation wins: 32

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 1

Points pace: 88

Next game: vs. SEA (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - Arizona Coyotes

Points: 77

Regulation wins: 28

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 0

Points pace: 77

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 51

Regulation wins: 17

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 1

Points pace: 52

Next game: @ LA (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

Pacific Division

y - Vancouver Canucks

Points: 109

Regulation wins: 44

Playoff position: P1

Games left: 1

Points pace: 110

Next game: @ WPG (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Edmonton Oilers

Points: 104

Regulation wins: 39

Playoff position: P2

Games left: 1

Points pace: 105

Next game: @ COL (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Vegas Golden Knights

Points: 98

Regulation wins: 34

Playoff position: P3

Games left: 1

Points pace: 99

Next game: vs. ANA (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

x - Los Angeles Kings

Points: 97

Regulation wins: 37

Playoff position: WC2

Games left: 1

Points pace: 98

Next game: vs. CHI (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 100%

Tragic number: N/A

e - Calgary Flames

Points: 79

Regulation wins: 31

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 1

Points pace: 80

Next game: vs. SJ (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - Seattle Kraken

Points: 79

Regulation wins: 27

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 1

Points pace: 80

Next game: @ MIN (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - Anaheim Ducks

Points: 57

Regulation wins: 20

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 1

Points pace: 58

Next game: @ VGK (Thursday)

Playoff chances: 0%

Tragic number: E

e - San Jose Sharks

Points: 47

Regulation wins: 14

Playoff position: N/A

Games left: 1

Points pace: 48

Next game: @ CGY (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.