NHL Playoff Picture 2023: Maple Leafs, Rangers Clinch; Updated Standings

The Stanley Cup playoff picture continued to crystallize Monday after the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs punched their ticket to the postseason.

The latter became the second team from the Atlantic Division to clinch its spot. The other is the Boston Bruins, who have been the best team in the league by far this season and have already clinched the division title.

The Rangers and Maple Leafs join the Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils in the playoffs.

Here are the updated standings for both conferences following Monday's results.

Eastern Conference 

Atlantic Division

1. Boston Bruins: 57-11-5, 119 points (clinched division)
2. Toronto Maple Leafs: 44-20-9, 97 points (clinched playoffs)
3. Tampa Bay Lightning: 42-26-6, 90 points

Metropolitan Division

1. Carolina Hurricanes: 47-16-9, 103 points (clinched playoffs)
2. New Jersey Devils: 46-20-8, 100 points (clinched playoffs)
3. New York Rangers: 43-20-10, 96 points (clinched playoffs)

Wild-Card Race

1. New York Islanders: 38-28-9, 85 points
2. Pittsburgh Penguins: 36-27-10, 82 points
3. Florida Panthers: 36-31-7, 79 points
4. Buffalo Sabres: 35-31-7, 77 points
5. Ottawa Senators: 36-33-5, 77 points
6. Washington Capitals: 34-32-8, 76 points
7. Detroit Red Wins: 31-32-9, 71 points
8. Philadephia Flyers: 28-32-12, 68 points
9. Montréal Canadiens: 30-38-6, 66 points
10. Columbus Blue Jackets: 23-42-7, 53 points

Western Conference 

Central Division

1. Minnesota Wild: 43-22-9, 95 points
2. Colorado Avalanche: 43-23-6, 92 points
3. Dallas Stars: 39-20-14, 92 points

Pacific Division

1. Vegas Golden Knights: 46-21-6, 98 points
2. Los Angeles Kings: 43-20-10, 96 points
3. Edmonton Oilers: 41-23-9, 91 points

Wild-Card Race

1. Seattle Kraken: 40-25-8, 88 points
2. Winnipeg Jets: 41-30-3, 85 points
3. Calgary Flames: 33-26-15, 81 points
4. Nashville Predators: 36-28-8, 80 points
5. Vancouver Canucks: 34-34-5, 73 points
6. St. Louis Blues: 33-34-6, 72 points
7. Arizona Coyotes: 27-34-13, 67 points
8. Anaheim Ducks: 23-40-10, 56 points
9. Chicago Blackhawks: 24-32-6, 54 points
10. San Jose Sharks: 19-39-15, 53 points

The Rangers booked a spot in the postseason without even having to play Monday night after the Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres each lost their respective matches.

They return to the playoffs for a second-consecutive season and will look to improve upon an unexpected run to the conference finals in 2022, where they lost in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who were the defending champions at the time.

Meanwhile, Toronto has been a postseason regular over the last few years but has continually disappointed.

The Maple Leafs have lost in the first round of the playoffs every single season dating back to 2017, including last year when the team managed to score 115 points, the most in a single season in franchise history.

They'll be looking to finally get over the hump this year.