NHL Playoff Standings 2016: Current Bracket Matchups and Postseason Picture

A wild Thursday night of hockey shook up the NHL's playoff standings, but with every team having at least one regular-season game remaining, the field that will vie for the Stanley Cup is far from set.

While it is known which eight teams will play extra hockey in the Western Conference this season, the divisional standings could still change significantly. In the Eastern Conference, nine teams are still alive, with the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers battling for the final two playoff spots.

With the end of the 2015-16 NHL regular season in sight, here is a rundown of the standings and potential first-round matchups should they remain as they are.

Eastern Conference Standings

Metropolitan	GP	W	L	OT	ROW	PTS
Atlantic	GP	W	L	OT	ROW	PTS
Wild Card	GP	W	L	OT	ROW	PTS
In the Hunt	GP	W	L	OT	ROW	PTS
Washington Capitals	80	55	17	8	51	118
Pittsburgh Penguins	81	48	25	8	44	104
New York Islanders	80	45	26	9	40	99
Florida Panthers	81	46	26	9	39	101
Tampa Bay Lightning	81	46	30	5	43	97
Detroit Red Wings	81	41	29	11	39	93
New York Rangers	81	45	27	9	42	99
Boston Bruins	81	42	30	9	38	93
Philadelphia Flyers	80	39	27	14	36	92

Western Conference Standings

Central	GP	W	L	OT	ROW	PTS
Pacific	GP	W	L	OT	ROW	PTS
Wild Card	GP	W	L	OT	ROW	PTS
Dallas Stars	81	49	23	9	47	107
St. Louis Blues	81	49	23	9	44	107
Chicago Blackhawks	81	47	26	8	46	102
Los Angeles Kings	81	48	28	5	46	101
Anaheim Ducks	80	44	25	11	41	99
San Jose Sharks	81	45	30	6	41	96
Nashville Predators	81	41	26	14	37	96
Minnesota Wild	81	38	32	11	35	87

Current Eastern Conference Playoff Matchups

Matchup	Team 1	Team 2
A1 vs. WC1	Florida Panthers	New York Rangers
A2 vs. A3	Tampa Bay Lightning	Detroit Red Wings
M1 vs. WC2	Washington Capitals	Boston Bruins
M2 vs. M3	Pittsburgh Penguins	New York Islanders

Current Western Conference Playoff Matchups

Matchup	Team 1	Team 2
P1 vs. WC1	Los Angeles Kings	Nashville Predators
P2 vs. P3	Anaheim Ducks	San Jose Sharks
C1 vs. WC2	Dallas Stars	Minnesota Wild
C2 vs. C3	St. Louis Blues	Chicago Blackhawks

Top Potential Playoff Matchups

St. Louis Blues vs. Chicago Blackhawks

There are several tantalizing prospective playoff matchups, and there is little doubt the potential clash between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks is chief among them.

The Central Division rivals have been quite even this season, with St. Louis taking three of five from Chicago, including a 2-1 overtime win Thursday.

The Blackhawks held a late lead before giving it up. They could have closed the gap on the Blues for second place in the division with a victory, but they instead have to settle for third.

Despite the defeat, head coach Joel Quenneville is optimistic since he was without the services of several top players, according to Tracey Myers of CSNChicago.com: "I don't mind the way we're playing here. We're missing five guys right now in a game [in which] I thought we played pretty good. I thought we did some good things in a lot of ways, a lot of areas so, I didn't mind it."

The Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup champions, and they have the likely Art Ross and Hart Trophy winner on their side in the form of winger Patrick Kane. They are perhaps the most dangerous offensive team in hockey, but as pointed out by Myers, the Blues entered Thursday's game firing on all cylinders as well:

Both St. Louis and Chicago are capable of making a deep run in the playoffs, but one of them will have an early exit if the standings remain unchanged.

The Blues have a chance to unseat the Dallas Stars for the top spot in the division, which is significant since it's unlikely that either team wants to deal with a battle-hardened team like Chicago in the first round.

Anaheim Ducks vs. San Jose Sharks

The Pacific Division race has been tight all season long, and while it is still far from settled, the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks are slated to face off in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Anaheim trails the Los Angeles Kings by two points for first place after a loss to L.A. Thursday, but it has a game in hand, which means a divisional crown is still within reach.

The Sharks are guaranteed to finish in third, so they are in wait-and-see mode with regard to knowing the identity of their hosts in the opening round.

Neither matchup is ideal for San Jose, but the Ducks have won three of four meetings this season, including each of the past three. All of Anaheim's wins were by one goal, though, which suggests the teams are fairly even.

Both teams have a penchant for losing in heartbreaking fashion in the playoffs, but at least one of them would have an opportunity to beat that trend should they meet in the first round.

The Ducks have a pair of veteran forwards who know what it takes to win a Cup in the form of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, while the likes of Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau may not have many more chances to go all the way for San Jose.

There promises to be a feeling of desperation should this series come to pass, and that is what makes playoff hockey so exciting.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings have developed an entertaining rivalry since being placed in the same division, and another chapter to their feud may well be written in the first round of the playoffs.

Tampa is locked into second place in the Atlantic Division, while Detroit is clinging to third. The Red Wings could be displaced by the Bruins, though, depending upon what the teams do in their final games of the season.

The Bolts and Wings split the season series at 2-2, but Tampa Bay won each of the past two, including a convincing 6-2 victory in March.

Despite that, NBCSN NHL analyst Keith Jones believes a matchup between the two teams would favor Detroit, according to 1130 AM WDFN The Fan:

The Lightning figure to have a ton of confidence after going all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last season, plus they boast a bevy of dangerous scorers to go along with a fantastic goalie in Ben Bishop.

Detroit has a great mix of youngsters and veterans such as Dylan Larkin, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. The latter pair are Stanley Cup winners who tend to raise their level of play on the big stage.

After the Lightning and Red Wings engaged in a seven-game series during last year's first round, there is little doubt most impartial hockey fans are pulling for a rematch.

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