This year’s road to the playoffs is no joke, with much more traffic on it than in 2025. Looking back to April 1 last season, just two non-playoff teams in the East were three points or less out, while ninth place in the East was six points out of the race.
This year, there are 12 teams we’d consider on the “bubble,” within striking distance of the playoffs and some reason to be optimistic they can do it.
So, as we head into the final two weeks of the regular season, we continue looking into the tight races by making a case for how each of these teams battling for one of the precious few remaining spots up for grabs could find their way into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
NY Islanders: They have two paths to the playoffs through the Metro’s top three or the wild card, and currently hold the tiebreaker advantage over divisional competitors Columbus and Philadelphia. They also have Ilya Sorokin, the great equalizer, and a top Vezina Trophy candidate who makes up for any holes the team has in front of him with a league-best Goals Saved Above Expected. He should play plenty down the stretch as the Islanders only have one more back-to-back situation, this weekend against the Flyers on Friday and Hurricanes on Saturday.
Columbus: When we last touched on the Blue Jackets in our look at the Road to the Playoffs two weeks ago, we identified their X-Factor as regulation wins because they were not in a favourable tie-breaker situation compared to anyone around them. Right after that, they won four times in regulation over their next five games. Now, Columbus has lost five of its last six games — four in regulation — so they are slumping, but at least four of those losses were by just a goal. They haven’t lost it. They are still the fourth-best NHL team by points percentage since Rick Bowness took over. Their tiebreaker position is still not the greatest, but they have a game in hand on the Islanders and can still pass them in regulation wins to get in through the Metro.
Ottawa: An elite team in offensive and defensive measures for months now, the Senators would be seen as a Stanley Cup contender if they had even league-average goaltending, but we know well how much that position has held them back this season. Another awful loss to Florida Tuesday night was a brutal reminder. But the Senators do have the most regulation wins of any bubble team, so they’re well-situated in the tie-breaker, and six of their remaining eight games are at home, where they’re 7-1-2 in their last 10.
Detroit: Only Pittsburgh, Montreal and Toronto have easier remaining schedules in the East, which is a blessing for a team that’s lost seven of its past 10 and just ended yet another rocket month of March — a trend that has buried this team’s playoff hopes in recent seasons. But some of the key players they had lost to injury have all returned, particularly their No. 1 centre, Dylan Larkin. Maybe it’s easier said than done, but keeping the morale up now is key, because while it has been a tough run, these Wings have to still see an opportunity in front of them. Eight days from now, they will have played Philadelphia twice and Columbus once, and those are their three most critical games for now.
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Philadelphia: Of all these bubble teams, the Flyers had the best month of March with a 10-4-1 record. Their goals-against average was 2.53 over that time, second best in the league, even though the month ended with a 6-4 loss to Washington. Philadelphia will have to pass over everyone in the standings because the tiebreaker will not be attainable over anyone, but it’s only two points out of the wild card and three out of third in the Metro. They have also played fewer games than any of their divisional foes. The next week is huge for the Flyers because they face Detroit twice, the Islanders and surging Boston. They need a good run there before their season ends with a back-to-back against playoff locks Carolina and Montreal.
Washington: A three-game winning streak has pulled Washington back into the picture, and while is have the most points to make up, its 32 regulation wins are tied with Ottawa for fourth-most in the Eastern Conference. The Caps also have more regulation and overtime wins (ROW) than Ottawa, which is the second tiebreaker. So the Capitals might just need a tie to get in. Most of their remaining games are on the road, but the next three are against the Devils, Rangers and Maple Leafs, and those are must-have games. After that, will Alex Ovechkin signal any intention that he’ll retire after this season, and will that give the team any more of an inspired push?
Nashville: If we consider this race to be down to a battle for one wild-card spot, then Nashville is in the best position regarding the tiebreaker. The Preds have lost three in a row, but if there’s a silver lining, this team that has one of the worst goal differentials in the league all season is a plus-4 since we last wrote about them in this space two weeks ago. Tomorrow, they will play the second leg of a six-game road trip before finishing at home, but the next three games are the most important because they take on Los Angeles (twice) and San Jose, two opponents immediately behind them in the standings who also have games in hand.
Los Angeles: It’s simple, really. Los Angeles has the easiest remaining strength of schedule. Of course, this was also the case two weeks ago, and the Kings followed that up by losing five of their next six. Granted, most of that was on the road, and now Los Angeles will enjoy six games at home, including two against Nashville and one against St. Louis, a couple of direct competitors in the playoff race. If the Kings can handle the Predators and leap them in the standings, they will suddenly be in control of their destiny a week from now with games against Vancouver (two), Calgary, Seattle and Edmonton remaining.
Winnipeg: Of the six western teams on the bubble, none has more players capable of stealing games and willing the roster to victory than Winnipeg. Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey play huge minutes and roles, and the entire offence is formed around them while, of course, Connor Hellebuyck is one of the best goalies in the world who can run hot at the drop of a hat. When we wrote about the Jets in this space two weeks ago, we identified secondary scoring and, specifically, Cole Perfetti as their playoff push X-Factor, and he has three goals in Winnipeg’s past four games — all in wins.
San Jose: Macklin Celebrini. Macklin Celebrini. Macklin Celebrini. Yes, if the Sharks make the playoffs, it’s because of their super sophomore, who passed the 100-point plateau this week and has a 50-point lead on the next highest-scoring Shark. Aside from that, after a bad two-week run seemed to sink their chances, they’ve won two in a row, are two points out, and have played fewer games than any team they’re competing for a playoff spot against. They also have the third-easiest remaining strength of schedule and will be at home for their next five.
Seattle: We have to acknowledge that a lot is going against the Kraken, who always have the concern of lacking a game-breaker and any kind of high-end talent at any position. They are running the coldest of any of these bubble teams, 5-10-2 since the Olympic break. Here’s the hope: That stretch was their bottoming out, leaving them enough time to recover and lead a playoff push.
St. Louis: The Blues have the biggest point deficit to overcome, being four out, but they are on a roll: 10-2-2 in March, while they had a league-best 1.71 GAA when, we should point out, Joel Hofer earned nine starts to Jordan Binnington’s five. The Blues have been known to make these comebacks. The most famous of which was in 2019 when they were last in the league on Jan. 1 and ended up Stanley Cup champions in June, but also last season they had to put together a 12-game winning streak from March into April to squeak in to the last wild card spot via tiebreaker. Speaking of that tiebreaker, the Blues are in the driver’s seat again in 2026, with at least two more regulation wins than any other bubble team.