NHL Playoff Standings 2023: Predictions for East, West Seedings
The Minnesota Wild delivered a statement to the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.
The Wild went into Ball Arena and beat the Avalanche to open up a three-point gap on the Avs and Dallas Stars in the Central Division race.
Minnesota's victory put a dent in Colorado's chances to land home-ice advantage in the Western Conference. The top six teams in the West are separated by four points.
Minnesota enters Thursday one point back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the No. 1 overall seed in the West, a race that could come down to the final day of the regular season.
The Eastern Conference playoff picture is much clearer than the West since the Boston Bruins are 16 points in front of the Carolina Hurricanes for the No. 1 overall seed.
Boston's first-round opponent may not be determined until the last day of the regular season because the Florida Panthers and a few others are mounting pressure on the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Florida's overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday brought it within one point of the Penguins. The Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals are still alive in the wild-card hunt as well, as each of them sits five points adrift of Pittsburgh.
Eastern Conference
1 of 2
Atlantic Division
1. Boston - 119 points
2. Toronto - 98
3. Tampa Bay - 92
Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina - 103
2. New Jersey - 100
3. New York Rangers - 98
Wild-Card Race
1. New York Islanders - 87
2. Pittsburgh - 82
3. Florida - 81
4. Buffalo - 77
5. Ottawa - 77
6. Washington - 77
The Eastern Conference wild-card race has the potential to take its biggest twist in over a week if the Panthers leapfrog the Penguins on Thursday.
Florida put itself one point back of Pittsburgh with a road in Toronto. It faces the Montréal Canadiens on Thursday.
Pittsburgh plays host to the Nashville Predators, who need a win in the West wild-card race, so there is the potential for the Penguins to slip up.
Wins by Florida and Pittsburgh could tighten the list of wild-card contenders. Washington visits the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Senators play host to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
A Washington loss could make the gap to the Panthers and Penguins insurmountable at this point of the season. Ottawa has a better chance of winning at home, but even if that result occurs, it still has to make up the five-point gap on the final wild-card position.
Buffalo is potentially in a must-win situation on Friday versus the New York Rangers if the Panthers and Penguins pick up wins on Thursday. Any loss at this point could be catastrophic to a chasing team's playoff hopes.
The New York Islanders are clear of the chaos in the first wild-card spot, and they look like they will visit the Metropolitan Division winner in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes need to beat the Detroit Red Wings on the road on Thursday and have the Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils to create five points of separation in the Metropolitan.
Carolina needs all the help it can get now in case it falls in a stretch of four road games in the final five to close out the regular season. The Hurricanes visit Nashville, Buffalo, Ottawa and Florida in that stretch. All of those teams could still be alive in their respective wild-card races.
New Jersey has the most ideal schedule left in the Metropolitan, as two of its remaining road games take place against the Chicago Blackhawks and a Bruins side that will have everything clinched by April 8.
Carolina just needs to keep winning and hope that some of the wild-card contenders it is scheduled to face drop out of the race in the next week so that some of those contests are easier.
Eastern Conference Projection
Atlantic Division: 1. Boston, 2. Toronto, 3. Tampa Bay
Metropolitan Division: 1. Carolina, 2. New Jersey, 3. New York Rangers
Wild-Card Spots: 1. New York Islanders, 2. Pittsburgh
Western Conference
2 of 2
Central Division
1. Minnesota - 97
2. Dallas - 94
3. Colorado - 94
Pacific Division
1. Vegas - 98
2. Los Angeles - 96
3. Edmonton - 95
Wild-Card Race
1. Seattle - 88
2. Winnipeg - 85
3. Calgary - 83
4. Nashville - 82
Minnesota upended Colorado's plans to take over the Central Division in its next two games.
The Avalanche fell at home to the Wild at the start of a stretch that also includes a home contest with the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
Minnesota is three points clear in the Central, which feels like a massive gap given how tight the Wild, Stars and Avalanche have been in recent weeks.
Minnesota is not in the clear yet because it has a back-to-back stretch against Vegas on Saturday and Monday.
The Wild have all the confidence in the world after their win over Colorado, but the gap gained on Wednesday could be quickly erased by the Pacific Division leader.
Vegas needs those two wins to fend off the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers for first place. Two wins over Minnesota could hand the Golden Knights the inside track at home-ice advantage in the West.
One of Vegas' late-season wishes has to be for the Seattle Kraken to lock up the top wild-card spot with a few games left. Vegas finishes with a pair of contests against the Kraken. Two wins in those games could be the difference between landing the No. 1 and No. 2 seed.
Seattle is three points clear of the Winnipeg Jets for the top wild-card spot, and it is five points above the Calgary Flames.
The Kraken play one team currently in a playoff position in their next seven games, and they play five of their next six at home. Their postseason spot could be clinched long before the April 11 and 13 battles with Vegas.
Winnipeg plays the next five at home. Two games in that stretch come against Calgary and Nashville in what could serve as playoff elimination games for the Flames and Predators. If both playoff chasers lose in Manitoba, they may not be able to make up the gap to the second wild-card spot.
Western Conference Projection
Central: 1. Minnesota, 2. Colorado, 3. Dallas
Pacific: 1. Vegas (No. 1 seed), 2. Los Angeles, 3. Edmonton
Wild-Card Spots: 1. Seattle, 2. Winnipeg
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