The home stretch of the NHL regular season is here. With less than three weeks remaining before the playoffs, clubs are making their final pushes to reach the postseason.
A number of teams have already clinched spots and others already know they won’t get a shot at the Stanley Cup this season. However, these final couple of weeks are going to be filled with drama as teams fight for a spot in the postseason, as well as a prime first-round matchup.
The eight teams in the Eastern Conference are just about set, but both the Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions are still up for grabs.
Out West, the only sure thing is that the Avalanche are in the playoffs, and likely will win the Central Division and own the No. 1 seed. The Flames are in position to win the Pacific, but after that it’s a bloodbath for the remaining six spots.
Here is everything you need to know about the NHL playoff picture entering the final weeks of the 2021-22 regular season.
MORE: NHL all-time point leaders: Who has the most points in NHL history?
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
- A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC2 Washington Capitals
- M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
- A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
- M2 New York Rangers vs. M3 Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference
- C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Dallas Stars
- P1 Calgary Flames vs. WC1 Nashville Predators
- C2 Minnesota Wild vs. C3 St. Louis Blues
- P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings
Today’s NHL schedule
- St. Louis Blues at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m. ET
- Buffalo Sabres at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. ET
- Anaheim Ducks at Florida Panthers, 7 p.m. ET
- Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers, 7 p.m. ET
- Philadelphia Flyers at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET
- Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Islanders, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Ottawa Senators at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Edmonton Oilers at Minnesota Wild, 8 p.m. ET
- San Jose Sharks at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m. ET
- Los Angeles Kings at Chicago Blackhawks 8:30 p.m. ET
- Seattle Kraken at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m. ET
- Tampa Bay Lightning at Dallas Stars, 9:30 p.m. ET
- Vegas Golden Knights at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m. ET
- New Jersey Devils at Arizona Coyotes, 10 p.m. ET
Yesterday’s NHL results
- Winnipeg Jets 4, Montreal Canadiens 2
NHL magic numbers
Five teams have clinched a spot in the 2022 postseason, so there are still a number of spots up for grabs.
A team’s magic number is the amount of games the team needs to win in a row in order to clinch a playoff spot. With the end of the season just a couple of weeks away, more and more teams will be earning their postseason spot.
| TEAM | MAGIC NUMBER |
|---|---|
| Florida Panthers | Clinched playoff spot |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Clinched playoff spot |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Clinched playoff spot |
| New York Rangers | Clinched playoff spot |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 1 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 1 |
| Boston Bruins | 2 |
| Washington Capitals | 4 |
| TEAM | MAGIC NUMBER |
|---|---|
| Colorado Avalanche | Clinched playoff spot |
| Calgary Flames | 2 |
| St. Louis Blues | 4 |
| Minnesota Wild | 5 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 6 |
| Nashville Predators | 8 |
| Dallas Stars | 8 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 9 |
NHL tragic numbers
With a magic number comes a tragic number, which is the amount of games a team must lose in order to be eliminated from the playoffs.
There are teams in the Eastern and Western Conference outside the playoff picture that have a shot at making the playoffs, but their magic numbers are decreasing by the day.
| TEAM | TRAGIC NUMBER |
|---|---|
| New York Islanders | 4 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 2 |
| Detroit Red Wings | Eliminated from playoffs |
| Buffalo Sabres | Eliminated from playoffs |
| Ottawa Senators | Eliminated from playoffs |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Eliminated from playoffs |
| New Jersey Devils | Eliminated from playoffs |
| Montreal Canadiens | Eliminated from playoffs |
| TEAM | TRAGIC NUMBER |
|---|---|
| Dallas Stars | 10 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 9 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 6 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 6 |
| San Jose Sharks | 2 |
| Anaheim Ducks | Eliminated from playoffs |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Eliminated from playoffs |
| Seattle Kraken | Eliminated from playoffs |
| Arizona Coyotes | Eliminated from playoffs |
2022 NHL Draft order
While there are teams still fighting for a spot in the postseason, 10 teams have been eliminated and the focus now is on the 2022 NHL Draft.
With the NHL having a lottery system to determine the top two picks, the race is on to grab the best odds. It’s not a guarantee that team No. 32 gets the top spot, but it will get the highest chance at it.
Here is a look at the projected draft order for the 2022 NHL draft.
| DRAFT PICK | TEAM |
|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona Coyotes |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens |
| 3 | Seattle Kraken |
| 4 | New Jersey Devils |
| 5 | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 6 | Ottawa Senators |
| 7 | Columbus Blue Jackets (via Chicago Blackhawks) |
| 8 | Buffalo Sabres |
| 9 | Detroit Red Wings |
| 10 | San Jose Sharks |
| 11 | Anaheim Ducks |
| 12 | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| 13 | New York Islanders |
| 14 | Winnipeg Jets |
| 15 | Vancouver Canucks |
| 16 | Buffalo Sabres (via Vegas Golden Knights) |
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