NHL playoff watch: The final push for the Panthers
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Tim KavanaghESPN.com
Entering the final week of the regular season, three teams are vying for two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference. Heading into Monday night’s 10-game slate, the Florida Panthers have the slightest of edges as the No. 1 wild card: 91 points and 36 regulation wins in 80 games, compared to the No. 2 wild card New York Islanders (91 and 35 in 80) and Pittsburgh Penguins (90 and 31 in 80).
The Panthers don’t need to win out, but every point onward is critical. Their journey continues Monday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+/Hulu), a team that clinched a playoff berth back on March 28 and is locked into the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Division.
The Leafs won the first matchup in overtime (5-4 on Jan. 17), then won the second game cleanly (6-2 on March 23) before the Panthers took the most recent game in OT (3-2 on March 29).
Following Monday’s game, the Panthers will close out the season Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, who may have locked up the Metro Division title by then. FiveThirtyEight’s latest projections give the Panthers a 78% chance of making the playoffs, while the Isles are at 76% and the Penguins are at 45%.
Today’s clinching scenario: The Panthers can clinch a playoff berth with a win against the Maple Leafs in regulation or overtime and a regulation loss by the Islanders against the Capitals.
As we enter the final stretch of the regular season, it’s time to check all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2023 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff chances are via FiveThirtyEight.
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Today’s schedule
Last night’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Boston Bruins vs. WC2 New York Islanders
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC1 Florida Panthers
M2 New Jersey Devils vs. M3 New York Rangers
Western Conference
C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC1 Seattle Kraken
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC2 Winnipeg Jets
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings
Monday’s games
Note: All times Eastern. All games not on ESPN, TNT or NHL Network are available via NHL Power Play, which is included in an ESPN+ subscription (local blackout restrictions apply).
Dallas Stars at Detroit Red Wings, 7 p.m.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida Panthers, 7 p.m. (ESPN+/Hulu)
Buffalo Sabres at New York Rangers, 7 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m.
New York Islanders at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m.
San Jose Sharks at Winnipeg Jets, 7 p.m.
Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Nashville Predators at Calgary Flames, 9:30 p.m.
Seattle Kraken at Arizona Coyotes, 10 p.m.
Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 p.m.
Sunday’s scoreboard
Watch “In the Crease” on ESPN+ for highlights from every game.
Boston Bruins 5, Philadelphia Flyers 3
Colorado Avalanche 5, Anaheim Ducks 4 (OT)
Expanded standings
Atlantic Division
Points: 131
Regulation wins: 52
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 2
Points pace: 134
Next game: vs. WSH (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 105
Regulation wins: 40
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 3
Points pace: 109
Next game: @ FLA (Monday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 96
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 2
Points pace: 98
Next game: vs. TOR (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 2
Points pace: 93
Next game: vs. TOR (Monday)
Playoff chances: 78%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 85
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 4
Points pace: 89
Next game: @ NYR (Monday)
Playoff chances: <1%
Tragic number: 2
Points: 83
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Points pace: 85
Next game: vs. CAR (Monday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 3
Points pace: 83
Next game: vs. DAL (Monday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Points pace: 70
Next game: @ NYI (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Metropolitan Division
Points: 109
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 3
Points pace: 113
Next game: @ OTT (Monday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 108
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 2
Points pace: 111
Next game: vs. BUF (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 106
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 2
Points pace: 109
Next game: vs. BUF (Monday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 2
Points pace: 93
Next game: @ WSH (Monday)
Playoff chances: 76%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 90
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Points pace: 92
Next game: vs. CHI (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 45%
Tragic number: 3
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 3
Points pace: 80
Next game: vs. NYI (Monday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Points pace: 73
Next game: vs. CBJ (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 56
Regulation wins: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 3
Points pace: 58
Next game: @ PHI (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Central Division
Points: 104
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 3
Points pace: 108
Next game: vs. EDM (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 102
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 3
Points pace: 106
Next game: @ DET (Monday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 100
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 3
Points pace: 104
Next game: @ CHI (Monday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 3
Points pace: 95
Next game: vs. SJ (Monday)
Playoff chances: 77%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 3
Points pace: 91
Next game: @ CGY (Monday)
Playoff chances: 5%
Tragic number: 3
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Points pace: 83
Next game: vs. DAL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Points pace: 71
Next game: vs. SEA (Monday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 56
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 3
Points pace: 58
Next game: vs. MIN (Monday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Pacific Division
Points: 107
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 2
Points pace: 110
Next game: vs. SEA (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 105
Regulation wins: 44
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 2
Points pace: 108
Next game: @ COL (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 100
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 2
Points pace: 103
Next game: vs. VAN (Monday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 98
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 3
Points pace: 102
Next game: @ ARI (Monday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 90
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Points pace: 92
Next game: vs. NSH (Monday)
Playoff chances: 19%
Tragic number: 3
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 3
Points pace: 82
Next game: @ LA (Monday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 60
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 3
Points pace: 62
Next game: @ WPG (Monday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 13
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 2
Points pace: 60
Next game: vs. VAN (Tuesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
P — Clinched Presidents’ Trophy; Y — Clinched division; X — Clinched playoff berth; E — Eliminated from playoff contention
Race for the No. 1 pick
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. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Connor Bedard, who has been lauded as a generational talent.
Points: 56
Regulation wins: 15
Points: 56
Regulation wins: 17
Points: 58
Regulation wins: 13
Points: 60
Regulation wins: 16
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 21
Points: 69
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 28
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 27
Points: 83
Regulation wins: 30
Points: 85
Regulation wins: 29
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 29
Points: 90
Regulation wins: 30
Points: 90
Regulation wins: 31
Former Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George was named the next head coach at Bowling Green on Sunday.
George agreed to a five-year deal, sources told ESPN.
His hiring came two days after George, who spent the past four seasons as the head coach at Tennessee State, was one of three finalists to interview for the position.
“Today, we add another transformative leader to this campus in Eddie George,” Derek van der Merwe, Bowling Green’s vice president for athletics strategy, said in a news release. “Our students are getting someone who has chased success in sports, art, business, and leadership. As our head football coach, he will pursue excellence in all aspects of competition in the arena. More importantly, beyond the arena, he will exemplify what excellence looks like in the classroom, in life, in business, and in relationships with people.”
George emerged as a successful head coach in the FCS at Tennessee State. This past season, he led the program to the FCS playoffs and a share of the OVC-Big South title, the school’s first league title in football since 1999.
“I am truly excited to be the head coach at Bowling Green State University,” George said in the news release. “Bowling Green is a wonderful community that has embraced the school and the athletics department. We are eager to immerse ourselves in the community and help build this program to the greatness it deserves. I am overwhelmed with excitement and joy for the possibilities this opportunity holds.”
George returns to the state where he rushed for 3,768 yards over four seasons as a running back for Ohio State, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1995.
George went on to star in the NFL for nine seasons, rushing for more than 10,000 yards. He was a 1996 first-round pick of the Houston Oilers and made his name by playing seven seasons in Nashville for the Titans, becoming the franchise’s all-time leading rusher. The Titans retired his jersey in 2019.
Tennessee State hired George despite his lack of traditional coaching experience, with the school president at the time calling the move “the right choice and investment” for the future of TSU. George has worked as an actor and entrepreneur and earned an MBA from Northwestern.
George paid back the administration’s faith by building Tennessee State into a winner, including a 9-4 season in 2024 that culminated in its first FCS playoff appearance since 2013. Tennessee State lost to Montana in the first round.
George’s hire at TSU continued the trend of former star players being hired at historically Black colleges and universities. Jackson State made the biggest splash in hiring Deion Sanders, who went on to a successful stint at Colorado. Michael Vick’s hire at Norfolk State and DeSean Jackson’s hire at Delaware State continued that trend in the current hiring cycle.
George will replace Scot Loeffler, who left the school to become the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Bowling Green has become one of the top coaching springboards of this generation, with Urban Meyer, Dave Clawson and Dino Babers all advancing from the school to power conference jobs. Loeffler went 27-41 over six seasons, a run that included bowl appearances in each of the past three seasons.
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Eli Lederman
Defensive end prospect Richard Wesley, one of the nation’s top recruits in the 2027 high school class, has reclassified into the 2026 cycle and will sign with a college program later this year, he told ESPN on Friday.
A 6-foot-5, 245-pound pass rusher from Chatsworth, California, Wesley completed his sophomore season at Sierra Canyon (California) High School this past fall. His move marks the latest high-profile reclassification in the current cycle, following wide receiver Ethan “Boobie” Feaster (No. 21 in the ESPN Junior 300), tight end Mark Bowman (No. 23), running back Ezavier Crowell (No. 29) and cornerback Havon Finney Jr. (not ranked) in the line of the elite former 2027 prospects to reclassify into the 2026 class since the start of the new year.
ESPN has not yet released its prospect rankings for the 2027 class, but Wesley is expected to slot in among the nation’s top five defensive line recruits in 2026. He took unofficial visits to Oregon and Texas A&M in January and holds a long list of offers across the SEC, Big Ten and ACC.
Following his reclassification, Wesley told ESPN he will take trips to Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Miami, Oregon, USC, Ole Miss and Texas A&M across March and April before finalizing a slate of official visits for later this spring.
“I really can’t say what the future holds for me,” Wesley said. “I’m excited for more opportunities to go talk with these coaches and see what they’re about. I’m really open to everyone that’s offered me and who really wants me in their program.”
Wesley emerged as one of the nation’s most coveted high school defenders after he totaled 55 tackles and 10 sacks in his freshman season at Sierra Canyon in 2023. He followed this past fall 44 tackles (16 for loss) with nine sacks and four forced fumbles as a sophomore.
The rash of reclassifications into the 2026 class comes after a series of top prospects opted to reclassify during the 2025 recruiting cycle, headlined by five-star recruits Julian Lewis (Colorado) and Jahkeem Stewart (USC) and Texas A&M quarterback signee Brady Hart. Wesley told ESPN that his decision to enter college early was motivated by conversations with college coaches and his belief that he will be physically ready to compete at the next level by the time his junior season ends later this year.
“All the colleges I talk to have shown me their recruiting boards and told me I’m at the top of their list at the position regardless of class,” Wesley said. “They’ve told me good things and they’ve told me the things I need to work on. I need to work on my violence. I’ve been grinding at that every single day.”
Wesley now joins a talented 2026 defensive end class that features 11 prospects ranked inside the top 100 in the ESPN Junior 300.
Five-star edge rusher Zion Elee, ESPN’s No. 1 defender in the class, has been committed to Maryland since this past December and closed his recruitment last month. JaReylan McCoy, a five-star prospect who decommitted from LSU in February, and four-stars Jake Kreul (No. 19 overall) and Nolan Wilson (No. 54 overall) stand among the cycle’s top uncommitted defensive ends.
IRVING, Texas — The Big 12 has moved six of its conference football games to Friday nights next fall, along with another matchup of league teams that won’t count in the standings.
Those were among the 10 games involving Big 12 teams selected Friday by the league’s television partners, ESPN and Fox, for Friday night broadcasts. There will be two games on three of those nights.
On the opening weekend of the season, Baylor will host SEC team Auburn and Colorado will be home against ACC team Georgia Tech on Aug. 29. Arizona plays at Arizona State and Utah is at Kansas on Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving.
There will also be two games Sept. 12, with Colorado at Houston and Kansas State at Arizona. That matchup of Wildcats won’t count in the Big 12 standings since it was part of a preexisting schedule agreement between the two teams before the league expanded to 16 teams last year.
The other four Friday night games are Tulsa at Oklahoma State (Sept. 19), TCU at Arizona State (Sept. 26), West Virginia at BYU (Oct. 3) and Houston at UCF (Nov. 7).
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