NHL Playoff Picture 2025: Alex Ovechkin, Capitals 1st to Clinch Spot; Latest Standings

The Washington Capitals are the first team into the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals clinched a playoff berth Thursday night following a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Montreal Canadiens completed the clinching scenario by taking the New York Islanders to extra time later that night.

It's been less than one year since the Capitals earned the 16th and final ticket to the 2024 postseason with a Game 82 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

The 2024-25 Caps are now the first team in NHL history to go from being the final team into the playoffs to the first team to clinch a spot in the span of a single season.

Here's a look at the updated playoff standings now that the Caps have secured their spot.

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Eastern Conference Standings (* = clinched playoff spot, E = eliminated from playoff contention)

Atlantic Division

1. Florida Panthers (42-24-3, 87 points)

2. Toronto Maple Leafs (42-24-3, 87 points)

3. Tampa Bay Lightning (39-23-5, 83 points)

Metropolitan Division

1. Washington Capitals* (46-15-8, 100 points)

2. Carolina Hurricanes (41-22-4, 86 points)

3. New Jersey Devils (37-27-6, 80 points)

Wild Card

1. Ottawa Senators (36-27-5, 77 points)

2. Montreal Canadiens (33-27-7, 73 points)

——— POSTSEASON CUTOFF ———

3. New York Rangers (33-31-6, 72 points)

4. Columbus Blue Jackets (31-28-8, 71 points)

5. New York Islanders (31-28-8, 70 points)

6. Detroit Red Wings (32-30-6, 70 points)

7. Boston Bruins (30-30-9, 69 points)

8. Pittsburgh Penguins (28-32-10, 66 points)

9. Philadelphia Flyers (28-34-8, 64 points)

10. Buffalo Sabres (27-33-6, 60 points)

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Western Conference Standings

Central Division

1. Winnipeg Jets (47-18-4, 98 points)

2. Dallas Stars (43-21-3, 89 points)

3. Colorado Avalanche (42-25-3, 87 points)

Pacific Division

1. Vegas Golden Knights (39-20-8, 86 points)

2. Edmonton Oilers (40-24-4, 84 points)

3. Los Angeles Kings (36-21-9, 81 points)

Wild Card

1. Minnesota Wild (39-25-5, 83 points)

2. St. Louis Blues (35-28-7, 77 points)

——— POSTSEASON CUTOFF ———

3. Vancouver Canucks (32-25-12, 76 points)

4. Calgary Flames (32-25-11, 75 points)

5. Utah Hockey Club (30-27-11, 71 points)

6. Anaheim Ducks (29-31-8, 66 points)

7. Seattle Kraken (30-35-5, 65 points)

8. Nashville Predators (25-34-8, 58 points)

9. Chicago Blackhawks (20-39-9, 49 points)

10. San Jose Sharks, E (18-41-9, 45 points)

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The Caps could now claim home-ice advantage for the entirety of the playoffs if they can beat out the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets for the top spot in the league.

Washington would then look to follow the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks as the only teams since 2002 to finish atop the regular-season standings and go on to win the Stanley Cup.

The Capitals went from a fringe playoff team to a title contender in the span of a year thanks to a quick-turnaround retool around a still-dominant Ovechkin.

Offseason additions like Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jakob Chychrun, Taylor Raddysh and Andrew Mangiapane quickly become consistent producers. Logan Thompson became one of the NHL's most consistent netminders as Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas embarked on breakout seasons.

Ovechkin meanwhile cleared 30 goals for the 19th time in one of the best age-39 campaigns in NHL history.

If Thompson and Ovechkin can stay hot for a postseason run, the Capitals have the depth to contend with other top Eastern Conference teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes and reigning champion Florida Panthers.

The bottom of the Eastern playoff picture meanwhile remains in flux heading into Friday. The injured New Jersey Devils' slip down the standings could potentially open up a Metropolitan Division playoff spot, while the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings are all within range of a Wild Card bid.