NHL playoff standings: Who will win the Pacific Division?

12 hours ago

ESPN staffMar 8, 2026, 07:00 AM ET

The NHL schedule makers don’t always give us great matchups each day of the week. However, sometimes they outdo themselves.

Sunday features four marquee games:

The Minnesota Wild visit the Colorado Avalanche at 2 p.m. ET (TNT)
The Evgeni Malkin-less Pittsburgh Penguins host the Boston Bruins at 4:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Two of the top Atlantic Division challengers square off as the Buffalo Sabres host the Tampa Bay Lightning at 6 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
In the nightcap, two of the top Pacific Division contenders face off as the Edmonton Oilers visit the Vegas Golden Knights at 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

It’s no surprise that the Knights and Oilers are vying for the division crown, and this game is a “four-point swing” if one of the two can win in regulation. What’s a little more surprising is that this game will begin with the Anaheim Ducks in the No. 1 spot in the Pacific. So how will this race shake out?

Anaheim plays the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, and the Ducks could open a three-point lead on Vegas with a win (and a Vegas loss). After Sunday, the Ducks have 19 games left; they play the Oilers one more time (March 28) but have completed their slate against the Knights. Of those 19 remaining games, Anaheim plays against a team currently in playoff position just five times.

The Knights have 18 games left after the Sunday tilt against the Oilers, and 10 of them are against current playoff teams, including two more vs. Edmonton (March 26 and April 4). They also face the juggernaut Avalanche once and the near-juggernaut Dallas Stars twice.

As for the Oilers, they also have 18 games left after Sunday, and have 10 of those against teams in a playoff spot. They have to play Dallas only once … but have to play Colorado twice, as well as the Atlantic-leading Lightning.

The Oilers still need to play the rest of their games, of course, but based on strength of remaining schedule, the Ducks have a bit of an edge at this juncture.

Every team has about 20 games left before the season concludes April 16, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch every day. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2026 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Sunday’s schedule
Saturday’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. WC1 D etroit Red Wings
A2 Buffalo Sabres vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens

M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 Boston Bruins
M2 New York Islanders vs. M3 Pittsburgh Penguins

Western Conference

C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Seattle Kraken
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild

P1 Anaheim Ducks vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth
P2 Vegas Golden Knights vs. P3 Edmonton Oilers

Sunday’s games

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).

Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche, 2 p.m. (TNT)
Boston Bruins at Pittsburgh Penguins, 4:30 p.m. (TNT)
Tampa Bay Lightning at Buffalo Sabres, 6 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks at Dallas Stars, 6 p.m.
Detroit Red Wings at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
St. Louis Blues at Anaheim Ducks, 9 p.m.
Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Saturday’s scoreboard

Boston Bruins 3, Washington Capitals 1
New Jersey Devils 6, New York Rangers 3
Buffalo Sabres 3, Nashville Predators 2
Philadelphia Flyers 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 3 (SO)
Tampa Bay Lightning 5, Toronto Maple Leafs 2
Utah Mammoth 5, Columbus Blue Jackets 4 (OT)
Winnipeg Jets 3, Vancouver Canucks 2 (OT)
Montreal Canadiens 4, Los Angeles Kings 3
Calgary Flames 5, Carolina Hurricanes 4
New York Islanders 2, San Jose Sharks 1 (OT)
Ottawa Senators 7, Seattle Kraken 4

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

Tampa Bay Lightning

Points: 82
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 21
Points pace: 110.2
Next game: @ BUF (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Buffalo Sabres

Points: 82
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 106.7
Next game: vs. TB (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.1%
Tragic number: N/A

Montreal Canadiens

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 20
Points pace: 103.2
Next game: vs. TOR (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 89.2%
Tragic number: N/A

Detroit Red Wings

Points: 77
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 100.2
Next game: @ NJ (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 53.7%
Tragic number: N/A

Boston Bruins

Points: 75
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 99.2
Next game: @ PIT (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 73.6%
Tragic number: N/A

Ottawa Senators

Points: 71
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 93.9
Next game: @ VAN (Monday)
Playoff chances: 59.1%
Tragic number: 36

Florida Panthers

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 84.6
Next game: vs. DET (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 5.1%
Tragic number: 28

Toronto Maple Leafs

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 83.3
Next game: @ MTL (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 26

Metro Division

Carolina Hurricanes

Points: 86
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 111.9
Next game: vs. PIT (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

New York Islanders

Points: 77
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 18
Points pace: 98.7
Next game: @ STL (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 51.1%
Tragic number: N/A

Pittsburgh Penguins

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 20
Points pace: 100.5
Next game: vs. BOS (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 78.2%
Tragic number: N/A

Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 73
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 96.6
Next game: vs. LA (Monday)
Playoff chances: 56.5%
Tragic number: 38

Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 91.3
Next game: vs. NYR (Monday)
Playoff chances: 9.4%
Tragic number: 34

Washington Capitals

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 18
Points pace: 88.4
Next game: vs. CGY (Monday)
Playoff chances: 19.3%
Tragic number: 30

New Jersey Devils

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 85.9
Next game: vs. DET (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 5.7%
Tragic number: 29

New York Rangers

Points: 56
Regulation wins: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 74.1
Next game: @ PHI (Monday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 21

Central Division

Colorado Avalanche

Points: 93
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 21
Points pace: 125
Next game: vs. MIN (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Minnesota Wild

Points: 84
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 19
Points pace: 109.3
Next game: @ COL (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Tragic number: N/A

Utah Mammoth

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 19
Points pace: 93.7
Next game: @ CHI (Monday)
Playoff chances: 98.2%
Tragic number: N/A

Nashville Predators

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 83.3
Next game: @ SEA (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 5.4%
Tragic number: 35

Winnipeg Jets

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 82
Next game: vs. ANA (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 5.7%
Tragic number: 35

St. Louis Blues

Points: 57
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 75.4
Next game: @ ANA (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.7%
Tragic number: 30

Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 56
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 74.1
Next game: @ DAL (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 29

Pacific Division

Anaheim Ducks

Points: 73
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 20
Points pace: 96.6
Next game: vs. STL (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 96.4%
Tragic number: N/A

Vegas Golden Knights

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 19
Points pace: 93.7
Next game: vs. EDM (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 96.3%
Tragic number: N/A

Edmonton Oilers

Points: 68
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 19
Points pace: 88.5
Next game: @ VGK (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 77%
Tragic number: N/A

Seattle Kraken

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 20
Points pace: 88.6
Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 34%
Tragic number: N/A

San Jose Sharks

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 21
Points pace: 88.7
Next game: @ BUF (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 78.6%
Tragic number: 41

Los Angeles Kings

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 84.7
Next game: @ CBJ (Monday)
Playoff chances: 7.6%
Tragic number: 37

Calgary Flames

Points: 57
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 20
Points pace: 75.4
Next game: @ WSH (Monday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Tragic number: 30

Vancouver Canucks

Points: 46
Regulation wins: 13
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 19
Points pace: 59.9
Next game: vs. OTT (Monday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Tragic number: 17

Race for the No. 1 pick

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting atop draft boards for this summer is Gavin McKenna, a forward for Penn State.