{"id":532604,"date":"2026-03-31T10:23:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/532604\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T10:23:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:23:14","slug":"nhl-playoff-watch-hurricanes-blue-jackets-battle-for-seeding-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/532604\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL playoff watch: Hurricanes, Blue Jackets battle for seeding"},"content":{"rendered":"

As play begins on Tuesday, both the Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> and Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> are in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoff field. Where the clubs wind up will be determined by the remaining handful of games.<\/p>\n

That journey continues Tuesday as the two Metro rivals face off in Ohio (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n

2 Related<\/p>\n

The Canes hold the Metro Division’s first seed, and are a tiebreaker behind the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> to be No. 1 overall in the East. If they maintain that spot, they’ll be taking on one of the wild-card teams.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the wild cards, Columbus possesses the second wild-card position. The Blue Jackets are four points behind the Boston Bruins<\/a> for the first wild-card spot, a tiebreaker behind the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> for third in the Metro and a point behind the New York Islanders<\/a> for second. They are being chased by the Ottawa Senators<\/a>, Detroit Red Wings<\/a> and Philadelphia Flyers<\/a>, all of whom are two points back.<\/p>\n

Stathletes currently projects the Hurricanes to edge out the Lightning for first in the conference (109.9 points to 109.7), and has the Blue Jackets (97.4 points) falling just short of both a Metro spot — the Isles earn the No. 3 position with 97.7 –and the wild card, which goes to the Senators (98.0 points).<\/p>\n

Given those margins, every possible point to be earned in the final stretch — particularly against fellow Eastern teams — is crucial.<\/p>\n

Every team has 10 or fewer games remaining before the regular season concludes April 16, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch every day. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2026 NHL draft lottery.<\/p>\n

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.<\/p>\n

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups<\/a>
Today’s schedule<\/a>
Last night’s scores<\/a>
Expanded standings<\/a>
Race for No. 1 pick<\/a><\/p>\n

Current playoff matchups<\/p>\n

Eastern Conference<\/p>\n

A1 Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> vs. WC2 Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a>
A2 Buffalo Sabres<\/a> vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens<\/a><\/p>\n

M1 Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> vs. WC1 Boston Bruins<\/a>
M2 New York Islanders<\/a> vs. M3 Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a><\/p>\n

Western Conference<\/p>\n

C1 Colorado Avalanche<\/a> vs. WC2 Nashville Predators<\/a>
C2 Dallas Stars<\/a> vs. C3 Minnesota Wild<\/a><\/p>\n

P1 Anaheim Ducks<\/a> vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth<\/a>
P2 Edmonton Oilers<\/a> vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights<\/a><\/p>\n

Today’s games<\/p>\n

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+<\/a> (local blackout restrictions apply).<\/p>\n

Dallas Stars<\/a> at Boston Bruins<\/a>, 7 p.m.
New York Islanders<\/a> at Buffalo Sabres<\/a>, 7 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens<\/a> at Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a>, 7 p.m.
Ottawa Senators<\/a> at Florida Panthers<\/a>, 7 p.m.
New Jersey Devils<\/a> at New York Rangers<\/a>, 7 p.m.
Detroit Red Wings<\/a> at Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a>, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> at Washington Capitals<\/a>, 7 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> at Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a>, 7:30 p.m.
Winnipeg Jets<\/a> at Chicago Blackhawks<\/a>, 8:30 p.m.
Seattle Kraken<\/a> at Edmonton Oilers<\/a>, 9:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Last night’s scoreboard<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> 8, New York Islanders<\/a> 3
Colorado Avalanche<\/a> 9, Calgary Flames<\/a> 2
Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> 4, Vancouver Canucks<\/a> 2
Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> 5, Anaheim Ducks<\/a> 4 (OT)
San Jose Sharks<\/a> 5, St. Louis Blues<\/a> 4<\/p>\n

Expanded standings<\/p>\n

Note: An “x” with a team’s name means the club has clinched a playoff spot. An “e” means that the club has been mathematically eliminated. Teams clinch a playoff spot when their magic number reaches zero, and are mathematically eliminated when their tragic number reaches zero.<\/p>\n

Atlantic DivisionEnhanced standings: Atlantic DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragic
NumberMagic
NumberLightning<\/a>739837A19vs. MTL (Tues)99.9110116N\/A6Sabres<\/a>749837A28vs. NYI (Tues)99.9109114N\/A6Canadiens<\/a>739430A39@ TB (Tues)98.1106112N\/A10Bruins<\/a>749230WC18vs. DAL (Tues)81.2102108N\/A12Senators<\/a>738632N\/A9@ FLA (Tues)69.39710416N\/ARed Wings<\/a>738628N\/A9@ PIT (Tues)24.99710416N\/AMaple Leafs<\/a>757723N\/A7@ SJ (Thurs)0.084913N\/APanthers<\/a>737327N\/A9vs. OTT (Tues)0.082913N\/Aplay<\/p>\n

0:45<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs top Ducks in final seconds of overtime<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs earn a dramatic victory over the Ducks as they in closing seconds of overtime.<\/p>\n

Metro DivisionEnhanced standings: Metropolitan DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragic
NumberMagic
NumberHurricanes<\/a>739833M19@ CBJ (Tues)99.9110116N\/A6Penguins<\/a>749030M28vs. DET (Tues)73.1100106N\/A14Islanders<\/a>758928M37@ BUF (Tues)62.497103N\/A15Blue Jackets<\/a>748827WC28vs. CAR (Tues)68.398104N\/A16Flyers<\/a>738623N\/A9@ WSH (Tues)16.49710416N\/ACapitals<\/a>748331N\/A8vs. PHI (Tues)6.3929911N\/ADevils<\/a>737826N\/A9@ NYR (Tues)0.188968N\/Ae – Rangers<\/a>746921N\/A8vs. NJ (Tues)0.07685OUTN\/Aplay<\/p>\n

0:53<\/p>\n

Anthony Mantha lights the lamp for Penguins<\/p>\n

Anthony Mantha lights the lamp<\/p>\n

Central DivisionEnhanced standings: Central DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragic
NumberMagic
Numberx – Avalanche<\/a>7310843C19vs. VAN (Weds)100.0121126N\/AINx – Stars<\/a>7410034C28@ BOS (Tues)100.0111116N\/AINWild<\/a>749426C38vs. VAN (Thurs)99.9104110N\/A1Mammoth<\/a>748229WC18vs. SEA (Thurs)98.59198N\/A13Predators<\/a>747725WC28@ LA (Thurs)17.38593N\/A18Jets<\/a>737425N\/A9@ CHI (Tues)2.4839215N\/ABlues<\/a>737327N\/A9@ LA (Weds)14.0829114N\/ABlackhawks<\/a>746720N\/A8vs. WPG (Tues)0.174836N\/Aplay<\/p>\n

0:51<\/p>\n

Nathan MacKinnon tallies goal for Colorado Avalanche on the power play<\/p>\n

Nathan MacKinnon scores power-play goal vs. Flames<\/p>\n

Pacific DivisionEnhanced standings: Pacific DivisionTeamGPPTSRWSeedGRNext GameChancesPaceMaxTragic
NumberMagic
NumberDucks<\/a>748724P18@ SJ (Weds)99.996103N\/A8Oilers<\/a>748328P28vs. SEA (Tues)96.89299N\/A12Golden Knights<\/a>758225P37vs. CGY (Thurs)96.79096N\/A13Kings<\/a>737619N\/A9vs. STL (Weds)24.7859417N\/AKraken<\/a>727525N\/A10@ EDM (Tues)9.3859518N\/ASharks<\/a>727522N\/A10vs. ANA (Weds)40.4859518N\/AFlames<\/a>747024N\/A8@ VGK (Thurs)0.178869N\/Ae – Canucks<\/a>735014N\/A9@ COL (Weds)0.05668OUTN\/Aplay<\/p>\n

0:51<\/p>\n

Celebrini becomes 6th teenager in NHL history with 100-point season<\/p>\n

Macklin Celebrini scores on the power play for the Sharks to reach 100 points on the season.<\/p>\n

Race for the No. 1 pick<\/p>\n

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here<\/a>. Atop draft boards for this summer is Gavin McKenna, a forward for Penn State.<\/p>\n

Draft lottery standings<\/p>\n

*Note: The Maple Leafs’ pick belongs to the Bruins, unless it lands in the top five.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As play begins on Tuesday, both the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets are in the 2026 Stanley…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532605,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[463,464],"tags":[5,4,60,14,104,718],"class_list":{"0":"post-532604","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl-playoffs","8":"category-stanley-cup-playoffs","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-nhl-playoffs","12":"tag-stanley-cup","13":"tag-stanley-cup-playoffs","14":"tag-stanley-cup-playoffs-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116323299557871333","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}