NHL Playoff Standings 2025: Predicting Which Teams Won't Make Postseason Bracket
The 2024-2025 NHL regular season is quickly coming to a close, and the playoff race has been more competitive than ever.
In both conferences, three to four teams are vying for the final wild card spot, with a slim margin separating them.
In the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021, while the Ottawa Senators are on track to make the postseason for the first time since 2017—when the team's captain Brady Tkachuk was not yet in the NHL.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings are looking to end an eight-year postseason drought while the Columbus Blue Jackets are hoping their late struggles won't fully derail their season.
Then, there's the New York Islanders, who are hoping their late surge is enough to keep their season alive.
In the Western Conference, the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues currently occupy the two wild card spots.
However, the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and first-year Utah Hockey Club are all in legitimate contention to usurp them.
So, how will it all unfold over the next three weeks?
Here's a look at the current standings and a few teams who may miss out on playoff hockey this year.
Eastern Conference Standings
1 of 4
1. Washington Capitals (47-15-8; 102 points)
2. Carolina Hurricanes (43-23-4; 90 points)
3. Florida Panthers (43-25-3; 89 points)
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (42-25-3; 87 points)
5. Tampa Bay Lightning (40-25-5; 85 points)
6. New Jersey Devils (37-28-6; 80 points)
7. Ottawa Senators (37-27-5; 79 points)
8. Montreal Canadiens (33-27-9; 75 points)
9. New York Rangers (34-31-6; 74 points)
10. New York Islanders (32-28-9; 73 points)
11. Columbus Blue Jackets (31-29-9; 71 points)
12. Detroit Red Wings (32-31-6; 70 points)
13. Boston Bruins (30-33-9; 69 points)
14. Pittsburgh Penguins (29-32-11; 69 points)
15. Philadelphia Flyers (28-35-9; 65 points)
16. Buffalo Sabres (28-35-6; 62 points)
Western Conference Standings
2 of 4
1. Winnipeg Jets (48-19-4; 100 points)
2. Dallas Stars (44-21-5; 92 points)
3. Vegas Golden Knights (42-20-8; 92 points)
4. Colorado Avalanche (43-25-3; 89 points)
5. Los Angeles Kings (39-21-9; 87 points)
6. Edmonton Oilers (41-24-5; 87 points)
7. Minnesota Wild (40-25-5; 85 points)
8. St. Louis Blues (37-28-7; 81 points)
9. Calgary Flames (33-25-11; 77 points)
10. Vancouver Canucks (32-26-12; 76 points)
11. Utah Hockey Club (32-27-11; 75 points)
12. Anaheim Ducks (30-32-8; 68 points)
13. Seattle Kraken (30-36-5; 65 points)
14. Nashville Predators (26-36-8; 60 points)
15. Chicago Blackhawks (21-41-9; 52 points)
16. San Jose Sharks (19-42-9; 47 points)
New York Rangers
3 of 4
Just last year, the New York Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in three years.
A year later, with 11 games remaining in the 2024-25 season, the Blue Shirts are currently outsiders, in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2020-21.
Against the Eastern Conference elites (Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning), the Rangers are 0-6 with a -15 goal differential.
On top of having to face the trio of teams a combined four more times, the Blue Shirts have played two more games than both the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators, the latter of whom are a point above the Rangers for the final wild card spot.
With the season winding down, the squad is on pace to surrender 246 goals, which would be their most across an 82-game season since 2018-19.
Yes, Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick have had quite a few hiccups this season, but the root of the problem is the team's defense: Of the defensemen with 1,000+ minutes in ice time, Adam Fox, Braden Schneider, and Will Borgen all rank in the top 30 in on-ice high-danger shot attempts against per 60 minutes.
Barring a last-minute surge and rapid improvement on defense, it's quite likely that Madison Square Garden will be without playoff hockey this season.
St. Louis Blues
4 of 4
Since coming back from the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off tournament, the St. Louis Blues have been one of the hottest teams, going 12-2-2 in their last 16 games.
Fresh off leading Team Canada to a 4-Nations Face-Off championship in the tournament's first year, Blues goalie Jordan Binnington has been outstanding, resembling the 2019 Stanley Cup goalie he is.
Binnington is 8-2 in his last 10 starts, with a 2.32 goals against average.
But here's where things get interesting.
The Blues have played three more games than the Calgary Flames, who are just four points behind them for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Calgary just swept all three games on their New York/New Jersey road trip and has five remaining games against teams such as the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Seattle Kraken, whom they've gone 5-0-2 against.
With the Blues' three-game advantage, the final wild card spot is for the Flames' taking unless St. Louis continues to stay near-perfect.
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