2026 NHL Playoff Picture, Bracket Predictions and Teams to Watch

The weekend results around the NHL tightened up a handful of playoff races.

The Pacific Division has three teams separated by one point and the Western Conference wild-card race still has four involved with a serious chance to claim the final spot in the bracket.

The Philadelphia Flyers' hot run in the Eastern Conference shook up the order in the Metropolitan Division and dropped the New York Islanders into the wild-card race.

The Islanders, Columbus and Detroit are all in bad form with two weeks left in the regular season.

With that in mind, the West wild-card race might turn into the more intriguing one because all of the teams involved are playing solid hockey right now.

Eastern Conference

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Atlantic Division

1 Tampa Bay - 102

2. Buffalo - 100

3. Montreal - 100

Metropolitan Division

1 Carolina - 104

2. Pittsburgh - 96

3. Philadelphia - 90

Wild-Card Race

1 Boston - 95

2. Ottawa - 90

3. New York Islanders - 89

4. Detroit - 88

5. Columbus - 88

6. Washington - 87

Philadelphia took advantage of the losses by their wild-card rivals on Saturday and hopped all the way up to third place in the Metropolitan Division with a win over Boston on Sunday.

The Flyers have won eight of their last 11 games to go from the outside of the wild-card race to the top three in the Metro.

With five games remaining, the Flyers seem poised to run away from the wild-card race and keep their spot in the Metro top three.

Ottawa, Detroit, Columbus and the New York Islanders are the teams fighting for the second wild-card spot.

The Senators need to pick up points against Tampa Bay and Florida at home over the next two games to potentially create more than a one-point gap over the field.

The Islanders, Red Wings and Blue Jackets are all on losing streaks and seem to be trending in the wrong direction at the wrong time.

Tampa Bay is the team to watch at the top of the Atlantic Division. The Lightning have control of the Atlantic right now and can clinch the division title with wins over Buffalo and Montreal this week.

Carolina has a favorable schedule over the final five games to claim the No. 1 overall seed in the East. The Hurricanes are two points ahead of the Lightning for home-ice advantage in the East.

The Lightning and Hurricanes are not just the two best teams in the East, but the two squads with the most experience as well. A Tampa Bay-Carolina Eastern Conference Final seems likely given those factors.

Bracket Predictions

Ottawa (WC2) vs. Carolina (Metropolitan 1)

Boston (WC1) vs. Tampa Bay (Atlantic 1)

Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh

Montreal vs. Buffalo

Western Conference

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Central Division

1 Colorado - 110

2. Dallas - 102

3. Minnesota - 100

Pacific Division

1 Edmonton - 87

2. Anaheim - 87

3. Vegas - 86

Wild-Card Race

1 Utah - 86

2. Nashville - 81

3. Los Angeles - 81

4. San Jose - 79

5. St. Louis - 78

6. Winnipeg - 78

7. Seattle - 75

Colorado is the team to beat across the entire NHL.

The Central Division leader will win the Presidents' Trophy and have home ice throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Avalanche's first playoff opponent may not be determined until the final game of the regular season.

Nashville and Los Angeles are tied on 81 points. The two sides meet on Monday in southern California.

Even if Nashville wins, it still has to get through Anaheim twice, Utah, Minnesota and San Jose. All of those teams are still involved in some sort of playoff race.

The Kings have a cleaner finish with two contests against Vancouver and one versus Calgary, Edmonton and Seattle.

A Kings victory on Monday might provide some clarity in the wild-card race because of how easy their remaining schedule is after the clash with Nashville.

San Jose and Winnipeg are hanging on in the wild-card race. Both teams must win on Monday to take advantage of the loss that one of the teams in front of them will suffer.

Vegas' win in Edmonton on Saturday tightened up the Pacific Division race.

The Oilers need to get through a three-game road swing against Utah, San Jose and Los Angeles with at least four points to keep first place in their hands ahead of the final two games against Colorado and Vancouver.

The Ducks need to split with Nashville and beat at least one of San Jose and Minnesota to be in the race until the final day.

Vegas should beat Vancouver on Tuesday and has two winnable games against Seattle left. The only real challenges left for the Golden Knights come against Colorado and Winnipeg.

If the Oilers and Ducks slip up more, the Golden Knights could slide in to win the Pacific.

Bracket Predictions

Los Angeles (WC2) vs. Colorado (Central 1)

Utah (WC1) vs. Edmonton (Pacific 1)

Minnesota vs. Dallas

Anaheim vs. Vegas