Stanley Cup Playoff Push 2026: Step by Step, Inch by Inch

We're really down to the wire here, hockey fans! We are Joe Sakic days away from the end of the regular season! Nineteen days! It seems like yesterday that the Olympic Break happened. It seemed like yesterday that the month of March began and I wrote the first piece of the home stretch. That was four weeks ago! We are at the end of March, and April is coming. We are at the point where the numbers get thinned out. We already have a pair of eliminations.

This past week saw the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Rangers as the first two teams to be eliminated from playoff contention. Twisted, isn't it? These two teams were in the playoffs together two years ago. Canucks almost made it to the Final Four. Rangers, who won the Presidents' Trophy that year, did. Yet here they are, out of it already. What a mess. Fourteen more teams will suffer that same fate this year, but on the plus side, fourteen more teams will also nab the remaining playoff spots, so let's take a look at the playoff picture:

Atlantic Division

The Atlantic Division is getting very close. For a cup of coffee, the Tampa Bay Lightning actually had the division lead, but the Buffalo Sabres did get it back. Even so, it's two points separating the two clubs, and overall, it's eight points separating four teams. But let's talk about the team on top right now. How close are the Sabres to actually making the playoffs? How close are they to ending the longest running playoff drought in the NHL? Seven points. At max, that's what they need to get in. With a magic number that small, Sabres fans will only have to wait about a week after waiting 15 years.

Metropolitan Division

The mad race for 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division strikes again, and the New York Islanders have stumbled their way into 2nd place after actually being behind the playoff line a few days ago. While it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Carolina Hurricanes will finish 1st in the Metro, 2nd place is a key spot, as it does mean home ice in Round 1. At the moment, the Isles are leading a three team race for 2nd place, and regarding the Pittsburgh Penguins, they are in a peck of trouble. Their top two players, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, are out again. I'm not saying it's doom and gloom for the Penguins, but they need to get cracking and right this ship somehow before they end up as a Wild Card.

Wild Cards

Speaking of Wild Cards, we have a new holder of the WC2 spot, and it is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who did slip just a tad out of the Metro's Top 3. The Boston Bruins are still hanging on to the WC1 spot, and they're actually two points out of the Atlantic's Top 3, but the Montréal Canadiens are just so strong. I wouldn't be shocked if we see some heavy duty shuffling in the Eastern Conference in the next week. Columbus could easily jump from WC2 to 2nd in the Metro just like that. It wouldn't shock me if they do. And I have to mention the Detroit Red Wings. They were above the playoff line for so long, but now they're falling off. They can't end like this. It's been a decade since Detroit has experienced playoff hockey. They are close. The Wings need to get it together.

Central Division

One of these teams is not like the others... yet. Don't worry, Minnesota Wild fans, you'll make it. Saturday saw the Wild with a chance to clinch, but it fell through. However, they're still about two points (maximum) away from getting in, so they'll be in. The Wild will eventually join the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars in the playoff party. Minnesota can forget about the division, but they do have a chance to do the funniest thing: pass Dallas in the standings. I don't usually make predictions on Vocal, but I'll say this. If Minnesota gets home ice against Dallas in Round 1, they're beating the Stars out. As for the Avs, we're still 11 points away from winning the division, but even so, we have the best seat in the house as Dallas and Minnesota are playing tit for tat with each other.

Pacific Division

And now on to the fun house mirror known as the Pacific Division. You know what? I think it's high time we stop picking on this division, and I am including myself in the "we." Is it a mess? Yes. But come on, isn't this division fun to watch? I'm local, so of course, I see this up close and personal, but still, the Pacific has been very interesting. I am happy to see the Anaheim Ducks on top, and it looks like they may stay there even though their lead is miniscule (three points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers). The Oilers seem to be on track even with Leon Draisaitl out, but then there's Vegas. Right now, the Golden Knights should be glad that they're not the Kings.

Wild Cards

I'll be honest, when I looked at the standings last week and saw that the Nashville Predators were in the WC2 position, I drank that in, because I figured by this time, it would be a different team in that spot. The West's WC2 spot has been a game of Musical Chairs for weeks. Yet here it is, a week later, and the Preds are still there. It's close. They're barely ahead of a motley pack, but they are there. The Los Angeles Kings, the Seattle Kraken, the Winnipeg Jets, even the San Jose Sharks and the St. Louis Blues, all have legit shots. All while the Utah Mammoth sit perched at the WC1 spot. Seriously, with the immense logjam for the WC2 spot, I'm tempted to say that those six teams should duke it out in the Elimination Chamber!

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We are down to the final 19 days of the regular season, and that means things will get real very fast. More eliminations will come, more teams will clinch. April is almost here, folks, and this final bit of the regular season will be truly chaotic!