NHL playoff daily: Can the Capitals or Sabres get a wild-card spot?

March 15, 2023

6 minutes read

Officially, less than a month is left before the end of the regular season. The Boston Bruins finished in the playoffs (and are on their way to the President’s Trophy), while the San Jose Sharks are mathematically out of contention for the playoffs after Tuesday night’s games.

Some playoff spots remain open.

The wildcard spots in the East are currently held by the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders, but there are a few more teams. Two of those teams, the Washington Capitals and the Buffalo Sabers, will face each other in DC today.

Is not enough “The loser leaves the match out of town” – each club has more than a dozen games left – but defeat will certainly be another obstacle to the playoffs. The Sabers won both games of the season, 5-4 in the OT on January 3 and 7-4 on February 26. Will the result be the same today?

With the final stretch of the regular season ahead, it’s time to check out all of the playoff races, as well as the teams vying for a spot in the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery.

Note. Playoff chances are determined by FiveThirtyEight.

Jump forward:
Current playoff matches
Today’s Games
Last night’s results
Extended standings
Race for Choice #1

Current playoff matches

Eastern Conference

A1 Boston Bruins vs WC2 New York Islanders
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs WC1 Pittsburgh Penguins
M2 New Jersey Devils vs. M3 New York Rangers

Western conference

C1 Dallas Stars vs WC1 Seattle Cracken
C2 Minnesota Wild vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs WC2 Winnipeg Jets
P2 Los Angeles Kings vs. P3 Edmonton Oilers

games on Wednesdays

Note: All times are Eastern Time. All games not featured on Sportzshala, TNT, or the NHL Network are available through NHL Power Play, which is included with your Sportzshala+ subscription (local shutdown restrictions apply).

Colorado Avalanche at Toronto Maple Leafs at 19:00 (TNT)
Buffalo Sabers at the Washington Capitals, 7:00 p.m.
Minnesota Wild to St. Louis Blues, 9:30 pm (TNT)
New York Islanders at the Anaheim Ducks, 10:00 p.m.

tuesday scoreboard

Watch In the Crease on Sportzshala+ for the highlights of each game.

Carolina Hurricanes 5, Winnipeg Jets 3
New York Rangers 5, Washington Capitals 3
Tampa Bay Lightning 4, New Jersey Devils 1
Vegas Golden Knights 5, Philadelphia Flyers 3
Montreal Canadiens 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 4
Nashville Predators 2, Detroit Red Wings 1
Chicago Blackhawks 6, Boston Bruins 3
Edmonton Oilers 6, Ottawa Senators 3
Arizona Coyotes 4, Calgary Flames 3 (OT)
Vancouver Canucks 5, Dallas Stars 2
Los Angeles Kings 5, New York Islanders 2
Columbus Blue Jackets 6, San Jose Sharks 5 (OT)

Extended standings

Atlantic Division

x – Boston Bruins

Points: 105
Rules Win: 43
Playoff position: A1
Remaining games: 16
Point speed: 131
Next game: @ WPG (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
tragic number: N/A

Toronto Maple Leafs

Points: 88
Rules Win: 34
Playoff position: A2
Remaining games: 16
Point speed: 109
Next game: vs. COL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
tragic number: N/A

Tampa Bay Lightning

Points: 86
Rules Win: 33
Playoff position: A3
Remaining games: 14
Point speed: 104
Next game: @ New Jersey (Thursday)
Playoff chances: >99%
tragic number: N/A

Florida Panthers

Points: 73
Rules Win: 28
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point speed: 89
Next game: vs MTL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 46%
tragic number: 27

Buffalo Sabers

Points: 71
Rules Win: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 16
Point speed: 88
Next game: @ WSH (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 16%
tragic number: 27

Ottawa Senators

Points: 70
Rules Win: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point speed: 86
Next game: vs. COL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 4%
tragic number: 24

Detroit Red Wings

Points: 69
Rules Win: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point speed: 85
Next game: vs. COL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 2%
tragic number: 23

Montreal Canadiens

Points: 60
Rules Win: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Point speed: 72
Next game: @ FLA (Thursday)
Playoff chances:
tragic number: 12

Capital Division

Carolina Hurricanes

Points: 96
Rules Win: 33
Playoff position: M1
Remaining games: 16
Point speed: 119
Next game: @TOR (Friday)
Playoff chances: >99%
tragic number: N/A

New Jersey Devils

Points: 94
Rules Win: 32
Playoff position: M2
Remaining games: 15
Point speed: 115
Next game: versus TB (Thursday)
Playoff chances: >99%
tragic number: N/A

New York Rangers

Points: 86
Rules Win: 28
Playoff position: M3
Remaining games: 15
Point speed: 105
Next game: vs. PIT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: >99%
tragic number: N/A

Pittsburgh Penguins

Points: 78
Rules Win: 25
Playoff position: WC1
Remaining games: 15
Point speed: 96
Next game: @ New York (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 80%
tragic number: N/A

New York Islanders

Points: 76
Rules Win: 29
Playoff position: toilet2
Remaining games: 13
Point speed: 90
Next game: @ ANA (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 43%
tragic number: N/A

Washington Capitals

Points: 71
Rules Win: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Point speed: 86
Next game: vs. BUF (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: eleven%
tragic number: 24

Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 59
Rules Win: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point speed: 72
Next game: vs. BUF (Friday)
Playoff chances:
tragic number: 13

Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 49
Rules Win: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 16
Point speed: 61
Next game: in Los Angeles (Thursday)
Playoff chances:
tragic number: 5

Central Division

Minnesota Wild

Points: 84
Rules Win: 27
Playoff position: C2
Remaining games: 15
Point speed: 103
Next game: @ STL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 97%
tragic number: N/A

Colorado Avalanche

Points: 80
Rules Win: 26
Playoff position: C3
Remaining games: 17
Point speed: 101
Next game: @ TOP (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 99%
tragic number: N/A

Winnipeg Jets

Points: 79
Rules Win: 29
Playoff position: toilet2
Remaining games: 14
Point speed: 95
Next game: vs BOS (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 67%
tragic number: N/A

Nashville Predators

Points: 75
Rules Win: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 17
Point speed: 95
Next game: vs. CHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 40%
tragic number: thirty

St. Louis Blues

Points: 63
Rules Win: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 16
Point speed: 78
Next game: vs. MIN (Wednesday)
Playoff chances:
tragic number: 16

Arizona Coyotes

Points: 61
Rules Win: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Point speed: 74
Next game: vs WAN (Thursday)
Playoff chances:
tragic number: 10

Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 52
Rules Win: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point speed: 64
Next game: @ NSH (Thursday)
Playoff chances:
tragic number: 3

Pacific Division

Vegas Golden Knights

Points: 90
Rules Win: thirty
Playoff position: P1
Remaining games: 14
Point speed: 109
Next game: vs CGY (Thursday)
Playoff chances: >99%
tragic number: N/A

Los Angeles Kings

Points: 87
Rules Win: 29
Playoff position: R2
Remaining games: 14
Point speed: 105
Next game: vs. CBJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 98%
tragic number: N/A

Edmonton Oilers

Points: 82
Rules Win: 35
Playoff position: P3
Remaining games: 14
Point speed: 99
Next game: vs. DAL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 97%
tragic number: N/A

Seattle Kraken

Points: 81
Rules Win: thirty
Playoff position: WC1
Remaining games: 15
Point speed: 99
Next game: @ SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 88%
tragic number: N/A

Calgary Flames

Points: 74
Rules Win: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Point speed: 89
Next game: @ VGK (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 14%
tragic number: 23

Vancouver Canucks

Points: 63
Rules Win: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 16
Point speed: 78
Next game: @ ARI (Thursday)
Playoff chances:
tragic number: 16

Anaheim Ducks

Points: 54
Rules Win: 12
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point speed: 66
Next game: vs. NYI (Wednesday)
Playoff chances:
tragic number: 5

e – San Jose Sharks

Points: 51
Rules Win: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Point speed: 62
Next game: vs SEA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
tragic number: E

Race for Choice #1

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine order at the start of the first round, so the last-placed team is not guaranteed a #1 pick. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 positions if they win the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the #1 pick draw. Full details of the process can be found here. This summer, Connor Bedard sits on the No. 1 draft board, who is praised as the talent of a generation.

1. Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 47
Rules Win: 15

2. San Jose Sharks

Points: 51
Rules Win: 14

3. Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 52
Rules Win: 15

4 Anaheim Ducks

Points: 54
Rules Win: 12

5. Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 59
Rules Win: 22

6. Montreal Canadiens

Points: 60
Rules Win: 18

7. Arizona Coyotes

Points: 61
Rules Win: 18

8. Vancouver Canucks

Points: 63
Rules Win: 18

9. St. Louis Blues

Points: 63
Rules Win: 21

10. Detroit Red Wings

Points: 69
Rules Win: 24

11. Ottawa Senators

Points: 70
Rules Win: 26

12. Buffalo Sabers

Points: 71
Rules Win: 25

13. Washington Capitals