The playoff picture is nearly set after the Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings clinched the final spots on Monday.

Good morning, hockey folks. There are just seven more days (!) and 52 games left in the NHL’s regular season, which means a week from today we’ll be all-in on playoff matchups and projections. Let’s set the table for where the races sit after last night’s jam-packed 14-game schedule.

The Montreal Canadiens (idle) and Lightning will lock in an Atlantic 2 vs. Atlantic 3 First Round playoff series (home ice TBD): If the Sabres clinch the Atlantic Division. The Flyers will clinch a playoff berth (Metropolitan 3) and a locked-in First Round playoff series vs the Penguins (Metropolitan 2):

The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff bracket is officially locked. Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Anaheim snagged the last berths, while Carolina and Buffalo secured division titles.

The Buffalo Sabres can help their playoff cause and hurt another team on Friday, March 27. The Sabres are hosting the Detroit Red Wings and can move past the idle Carolina Hurricanes into the top spot of the NHL's Eastern Conference playoff standings with ...

Why is one of the NHL's top seven teams from the regular season guaranteed to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs?