NHL Playoff Standings 2015: Updated Postseason Picture and Stanley Cup Bracket

Playoff hockey nears, with April 15 marking the NHL postseason's first puck drop. Each squad only has a few games left on the season schedule to solidify positioning in sports' most enthralling tournament.

Several spots remain unclaimed in both the Eastern and Western Conference, and seeding is up for grabs across the board. Top placement hardly forebodes NHL postseason success, yet establishing a favorable matchup wouldn't hurt.

Entering the final week of the season, let's take a look at the league's updated standings along with a current snapshot of the opening round:

Place	Team	Points	W	L	OT
Atlantic Division
1	Montreal Canadiens	106	48	22	10
2	Tampa Bay Lightning	104	48	24	8
3	Boston Bruins	95	41	25	13
Metropolitan Division
1	New York Rangers	109	51	21	7
2	Washington Capitals	99	44	25	11
3	New York Islanders	98	46	27	6
Wild Card
1	Pittsburgh Penguins	95	42	26	11
2	Detroit Red Wings	95	41	25	13
In the Hunt
3	Ottawa Senators	93	40	26	13

Place	Team	Points	W	L	OT
Pacific Division
1	Anaheim Ducks	107	50	23	7
2	Vancouver Canucks	97	46	29	5
3	Calgary Flames	93	43	29	7
Central Division
1	St. Louis Blues	105	49	23	7
2	Nashville Predators	104	47	22	10
3	Chicago Blackhawks	102	48	25	6
Wild Card
1	Minnesota Wild	96	44	27	8
2	Winnipeg Jets	94	41	26	12
In the Hunt
3	Los Angeles Kings	93	39	25	15

Conference	Away Team	Home Team
Conference	Away Team	Home Team
East	Pittsburgh Penguins	Montreal Canadiens
East	Boston Bruins	Tampa Bay Lightning
East	Detroit Red Wings	New York Rangers
East	New York Islanders	Washington Capitals
West	Minnesota Wild	St. Louis Blues
West	Chicago Blackhawks	Nashville Predators
West	Winnipeg Jets	Anaheim Ducks
West	Calgary Flames	Vancouver Canucks

Playoff Outlook

Alex Trautwig/Getty Images

Holding a three-point lead for the top spot, the New York Rangers also sit pretty with the NHL's best goal differential at plus-59.

They scooped up their 50th victory of the season on Friday, finding the net six times against the New Jersey Devils. The win marked a couple of noteworthy milestones for head coach Alain Vigneault, per the team's official Twitter page:

After taking the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final during his inaugural year at the helm, he has a tough act to top. New York received a major boost with star netminder Henrik Lundqvist's return. In five games back from a neck injury that cost him nearly two months, the star goalie has posted a .925 save percentage.

With a healthy Lundqvist guarding the net, the Rangers can't be discounted. Their geographic rivals, however, present a dangerous threat.

The New York Islanders have corralled 98 points this year, solidifying their highest score since the 1983-84 campaign. On the precipice of joining the Rangers and Washington Capitals as the top three Metropolitan Division representatives, they'll look to win their first postseason series in 23 years.

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Looking at the advanced numbers, their chances are good. They rank No. 5 in Corsi percentage (52.9) and No. 2 in Fenwick percentage (54.2). However, they've hit a rough patch since turning the calendar from February, going 5-6-4 since the beginning of March.

Newsday's Arthur Staple discussed their poor fortune during the rough patch, during which they regularly outshot the opposition:

"

The advanced stat PDO, a made-up acronym that adds a team's on-ice save percentage with its on-ice shooting percentage, is essentially a measure of what you might call "puck luck." The mean is about 100. The Isles' PDO for the month of March was 95.8, worst in the NHL, below even the Sabres and Coyotes. The good news is that all teams either revert or rise close to 100 over time.

"

Defenceman Thomas Hickey offered Staple a simpler explanation when presented the data.

"As players, I think you tend to take the old-school view, which is when you're not winning, you just need to work harder to get yourself out of it," Hickey said.

One of NHL's best in terms of puck possession, the Islanders have attempted 305 more shots than their adversaries this season.

Those traits all correlate to future success, so don't be surprised if John Tavares—currently embroiled in a tight battle with Sidney Crosby and Alex Ocheckin for the points title—leads the Islanders deep into the postseason.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics courtesy of Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.