Latest NHL Playoff Standings 2026, Odds on Wild Card Races on East, West Brackets

The wild-card races in the Eastern and Western Conferences carry the most intrigue in the NHL right now.

The East has five teams within six points of each other. Four of those teams have two points separating them.

The West is likely down to Nashville and Los Angeles for the final wild-card spot, but there's still plenty of drama there because the Predators and Kings have two games left against each other.

Eastern Conference

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Atlantic Division

1 Buffalo - 95 points

2. Tampa Bay - 93

3. Montreal - 88

Metropolitan Division

1 Carolina - 96

2. Columbus - 87

3. Pittsburgh - 86

Wild-Card Race

1 Boston - 86

2. Ottawa - 85

3. New York Islanders - 85

4. Detroit - 84

5. Philadelphia - 80

You could argue that the Eastern Conference wild-card race is down to four teams after Tuesday's results.

Boston, Ottawa, the New York Islanders and Detroit are within two points of each other. Philadelphia's loss to Columbus kept it four points back of the Red Wings.

Ottawa owns the best odds to make the playoffs of the group at -280 (bet $280 to win $100) at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Boston sits at -130, the Islanders are -120, the Red Wings are -110 and the Flyers are +470 (bet $100 to win $470).

Ottawa is on a four-game winning streak and plays six of its next eight games on home ice.

The Senators do have to play Buffalo, Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Carolina during its run of home games, so there is a chance they drop out of a playoff spot.

The Bruins, Red Wings and Islanders all lost on Tuesday night and all of those teams are trending in the wrong direction.

That's why Tuesday's loss to Columbus seemed like a missed opportunity for the Flyers, who came into that game with a 5-1 record in their last six games.

The Flyers play Detroit twice and both Boston and the Islanders once in the next two weeks, so there's still an outside chance for them to contend for a wild-card spot.

Western Conference

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Central Division

1 Colorado - 104

2. Dallas - 97

3. Minnesota - 92

Pacific Division

1 Anaheim - 84

2. Edmonton - 79

3. Vegas - 78

Wild-Card Race

1 Utah - 80

2. Nashville - 77

3. Los Angeles - 74

4. Seattle - 72

5. Winnipeg - 72

6. San Jose - 70

The Nashville Predators are still -120 to make the playoffs despite their five-game winning streak and the three points between them and the Los Angeles Kings.

Los Angeles is on a four-game losing streak, but it is still -110 to qualify for the postseason.

The Kings still have an outside chance to claim third place in the Pacific Division as well. They are four points back of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Seattle, Winnipeg and San Jose all have long odds to make a surge into a wild-card position.

San Jose is +550 to make the postseason, while Seattle sits at +700 and Winnipeg is at +1100.

Nashville is expected to beat New Jersey and Montreal before it embarks on a six-game road swing in which it plays Los Angeles twice and San Jose once.

The Kings have a favorable schedule with three more games against Vancouver and one against Calgary, Toronto and St. Louis.

If the Kings win the games they are supposed to win and beat Nashville twice, they will be in great shape.