NHL Playoff Picture 2026, Updated Bracket, Standings After Hurricanes, Wild Clinch Spots

The Carolina Hurricanes have clinched their eighth straight trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Hurricanes became the first Eastern Conference team to secure a postseason berth with an 5-1 win on Thursday night over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Minnesota Wild also secured their spot in the postseason with a win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Here's a look at the NHL playoff standings with the latest results.

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Eastern Conference (x- clinched, e- eliminated)

Atlantic

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (75 GP, 100 points)
2. Buffalo Sabres (76 GP, 100 points)
3. Montreal Canadiens (75 GP, 98 points)

Metropolitan

1. x- Carolina Hurricanes (75 GP, 102 points)
2. Pittsburgh Penguins (76 GP, 92 points)
3. New York Islanders (76 GP, 89 points)

Wild Card

1. Boston Bruins (76 GP, 94 points)
2. Ottawa Senators (75 GP, 88 points)

Outside Playoff Bubble

1. Detroit Red Wings (75 GP, 88 points)
2. Columbus Blue Jackets (76 GP, 88 points)
3. Philadelphia Flyers (75 GP, 86 points)
4. Washington Capitals (76 GP, 85 points)
5. New Jersey Devils (75 GP, 80 points)
6. Florida Panthers (75 GP, 77 points)
7. Toronto Maple Leafs (75 GP, 77 points)
8. e- New York Rangers (75 GP, 71 points)

Western Conference

Central

1. x- Colorado Avalanche (74 GP, 108 points)
2. x- Dallas Stars (76 GP, 102 points)
3. x- Minnesota Wild (75 GP, 96 points)

Pacific

1. Anaheim Ducks (75 GP, 87 points)
2. Edmonton Oilers (75 GP, 85 points)
3. Vegas Golden Knights (75 GP, 82 points)

Wild Card

1. Utah Mammoth (74 GP, 82 points)
2. Los Angeles Kings (74 GP, 78 points)

Outside Playoff Bubble

1. San Jose Sharks (73 GP, 77 points)
2. Nashville Predators (74 GP, 77 points)
3. Winnipeg Jets (75 GP, 76 points)
4. Seattle Kraken (73 GP, 75 points)
5. St. Louis Blues (74 GP, 74 points)
6. Calgary Flames (74 GP, 70 points)
7. Chicago Blackhawks (75 GP, 68 points)
8. e- Vancouver Canucks (75 GP, 52 points)

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Projected Bracket

East

• WC1 Boston Bruins at D1 Tampa Bay Lightning

• D3 Montreal Canadiens at D2 Boston Bruins

• WC2 Columbus Blue Jackets at D1 Carolina Hurricanes

• D3 New York Islanders at D2 Pittsburgh Penguins

West

• WC2 Los Angeles Kings at D1 Colorado Avalanche
• D3 Minnesota Wild at D2 Dallas Stars
• WC1 Utah Mammoth at D1 Anaheim Ducks
• D3 Vegas Golden Knights at D2 Edmonton Oilers

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The Hurricanes most recently made it as far as the Eastern Conference Final before bowing out to the eventual champion Florida Panthers in five games.

The Canes are now hoping to take advantage of the Panthers being out of the playoff picture by making it to their first Stanley Cup Final since the franchise's 2006 championship season.

Carolina went into Thursday averaging 3.49 goals per game, the fourth-most in the league, thanks to 20-goal seasons from Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, Nikolaj Ehlers and Jackson Blake.

A defensive core led by Jaccob Slavin has also limited opponents to an NHL-low 24 shots per game heading into Thursday, which has helped the Canes stay on top of the East regardless of a combined .894 save percentage from Brandon Bussi and Frederick Andersen.

Bussi, a waiver claim from the Florida Panthers back in October, has already proven to be a game-changer in his first NHL season. A hot stretch from their starting netminder could give this Canes team a chance to compete for a Cup this spring.

Who the Hurricanes will be facing in the first round remains up in the air amid a contentious race for the final Wild Card spot in the East. The Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators are among the teams battling for the slot.

For now it will be the Red Wings grabbing the WC2 spot after claiming a Thursday night victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Buffalo Sabres had the chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Ottawa Senators, but the Senators held on to remain in the Wild Card race while allowing the Tampa Bay Lightning to leapfrog the Sabres for the top of the Atlantic.

In the West, the Wild became the third team after the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars to clinch a postseason spot with a win over the Canucks.

After a disappointing first-round exit to the Vegas Golden Knights last spring, the Wild are hoping adding star defenseman Quinn Hughes to their roster in December was enough to help Kirill Kaprizov lead his franchise to the second round for the first time since 2015.