Who's in 2025 NHL playoffs? Updated standings, playoff bracket, tiebreakers

[ASFN Admin]

Two NHL teams learned their playoff fates on Saturday with the Dallas Stars clinching a postseason berth and the Seattle Kraken officially eliminated.

The Toronto Maple Leafs moved into the Atlantic Division lead and the New York Rangers moved into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Sunday, the Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes can clinch berths (see below). The Florida Panthers can move into the Atlantic lead with a win and a Toronto loss. The Montreal Canadiens can move past the Rangers with a win.

Also, Alex Ovechkin continues his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's goal record when the Washington Capitals face the Buffalo Sabres. The No. 2 overall Capitals (103 points) can move into first place overall with a win and a Winnipeg Jets loss.

The NHL playoff standings are a jumble with many teams in contention. Here's a look at the playoff picture:

Who's in the NHL playoffs?​

Eastern Conference: Washington Capitals

Western Conference:Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars

Who can clinch today?​

• The Hurricanes will clinch a playoff berth if they beat the Islanders and the Canadiens lose to the Panthers.
• The Maple Leafs will clinch a playoff berth if they defeat the Ducks and the Canadiens lose.

NHL games today (Sunday, March 30)​

• Montreal at Florida, 1, NHL Network
• Buffalo at Washington, 3
• Vancouver at Winnipeg, 3
• Utah at Chicago, 4
• Ottawa at Pittsburgh, 5
• N.Y. Islanders at Carolina, 5
• Toronto at Anaheim, 8
• San Jose at Los Angeles, 10, ESPN, ESPN+, Fubo

NHL Eastern Conference standings 2024-25​

(as of March 29)

Metropolitan Division

x-Washington Capitals (103 points)

Carolina Hurricanes (92)

New Jersey Devils (85)

Atlantic Division

Toronto Maple Leafs (92)

Florida Panthers (91)

Tampa Bay Lightning (91)

Wild card

Ottawa Senators (83)

New York Rangers (77)

Sitting outside playoff position: Montreal Canadiens (75), Columbus Blue Jackets (75), New York Islanders (74), Detroit Red Wings (74), Boston Bruins (69), Pittsburgh Penguins (69), Philadelphia Flyers (69), Buffalo Sabres (66)

NHL Western Conference standings 2024-25​

(as of March 29)

Central Division

x-Winnipeg Jets (104)

x-Dallas Stars (100)

Colorado Avalanche (93)

Pacific Division

Vegas Golden Knights (98)

Los Angeles Kings (89)

Edmonton Oilers (89)

Wild card

Minnesota Wild (87)

St. Louis Blues (87)

Sitting outside playoff spot: Vancouver Canucks (81), Calgary Flames (80), Utah Hockey Club (76), Anaheim Ducks (72), z-Seattle Kraken (68), z-Nashville Predators (62), z-Chicago Blackhawks (51), z-San Jose Sharks (49)

x-clinched playoff spot; z-eliminated

NHL Eastern Conference playoff bracket​

Here is how the Eastern Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended March 29:

• Washington (M1) vs. N.Y. Rangers (WC2)
• Carolina (M2) vs. New Jersey (M3)
• Toronto (A1) vs. Ottawa (WC1)
• Florida (A2) vs. Tampa Bay (A3)

The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: M - Metropolitan Division. A - Atlantic Division. WC - wild card

NHL Western Conference playoff bracket​

Here is how the Western Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended March 29:

• Winnipeg (C1) vs. St. Louis (WC2)
• Dallas (C2) vs. Colorado (C3)
• Vegas (P1) vs. Minnesota (WC1)
• Los Angeles (P2) vs. Edmonton (P3)

The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: M - Metropolitan Division. A - Atlantic Division. WC - wild card

When does the NHL regular season end?​

The NHL regular season is scheduled to end on Thursday, April 17, with six games.

When do the NHL playoffs start?​

The NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs are scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 19.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL playoff bracket standings, who's in, tiebreakers, scenarios

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