The final 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket is set after the Montreal Canadiens clinched the final available postseason spot with a 4-2 home win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Here’s a look at how everything stands.
A1. Toronto Maple Leafs vs. WC1. Ottawa Senators
A2. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3. Florida Panthers
M1. Washington Capitals vs. WC2. Montreal Canadiens
M2. Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3. New Jersey Devils
P1. Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1. Minnesota Wild
P2. Los Angeles Kings vs. P3. Edmonton Oilers
C1. Winnipeg Jets vs. WC2. St. Louis Blues
C2. Dallas Stars vs. C3. Colorado Avalanche
This year’s Stanley Cup playoffs has no shortage of storylines, but the Washington Capitals and the NHL’s new all-time leading goalscorer, Alex Ovechkin, may be at the forefront.
The 39-year-old has enjoyed a brilliant season with 43 goals in just 64 games. That feat is made more remarkable when considering that Ovechkin missed a month and 10 days with a fractured left fibula.
He returned on Dec. 28 and didn’t miss a beat en route to leading the Capitals to the Eastern Conference’s highest point total.
Other storylines abound in the East, including whether the Toronto Maple Leafs can finally engineer a deep playoff run and whether the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, who finished the regular season 7-10-1 in their last 18 games, can get it together for the postseason.
In the West, the President’s Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets have the look of a potential Stanley Cup champion, thanks largely to superstar goalie Connor Hellebuyck and a standout defense in front of him. Of course, the forwards have been exceptional as well, led by Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele.
But this is a loaded conference. The defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers will notably go into the playoffs as a No. 3 seed, and the league’s hottest team in the back stretch courtesy of a 12-game winning streak, the St. Louis Blues, are a wild card.
Ultimately, this looks to be an exciting postseason, which is par for the course in the NHL.