NHL playoff watch: Key games to watch on the final day

Thursday is the final night of the 2023-24 NHL regular season, with the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs set to begin Saturday.

Although the identity of all 16 playoff teams is known, the eight matchups are not all locked in. So which games matter most?

Sadly for those with early bedtimes on the East Coast, the two games most vital to the playoff bracket have opening puck drop times with four digits in them.

The Vegas Golden Knights currently hold the Pacific Division’s No. 3 seed, with 98 points and 34 regulation wins. They’ll host the Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET, NHL Power Play on ESPN+). One point behind them in the standings sit the Los Angeles Kings, though L.A. is ahead in regulation wins, the first tiebreaker. The Kings will host the Chicago Blackhawks (10:30 p.m. ET, NHL Power Play on ESPN+), in the swan song of Connor Bedard‘s rookie campaign.

Both teams are heavily favored to win. But, in the event the Knights only pick up one point to the Kings’ two, the tiebreak would go to L.A.

As mentioned, the spot at stake between these two is the P3 position — and a first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers — or the second West wild card, which yields a matchup with the Dallas Stars.

But it’s not all about the postseason! The race for the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s regular-season scoring leader could be in play as well. Currently, Nikita Kucherov leads with 144 points. Skating against each other are the Nos. 2 and 3 players in the race, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid. The Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers face off a little earlier (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), and while their playoff seeds are locked in, a scoring title for their franchise center would be a nice way for those teams to close out game No. 82. MacKinnon is six points behind, and McDavid 12 points behind; so, perhaps unlikely that they catch Kucherov, but not impossible.

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Thursday’s schedule
Wednesday’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC1 Tampa Bay Lightning
A2 Boston Bruins vs. A3 Toronto Maple Leafs
M1 New York Rangers vs. WC2 Washington Capitals
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New York Islanders

Western Conference

C1 Dallas Stars vs. WC2 Los Angeles Kings
C2 Winnipeg Jets vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vancouver Canucks vs. WC1 Nashville Predators
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights

Thursday’s games

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available via NHL Power Play, which is included in an ESPN+ subscription (local blackout restrictions apply).

Seattle Kraken at Minnesota Wild, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Vancouver Canucks at Winnipeg Jets, 8 p.m.
San Jose Sharks at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m.
Edmonton Oilers at Colorado Avalanche, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Anaheim Ducks at Vegas Golden Knights, 10 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday’s scoreboard

Tampa Bay Lightning 6, Toronto Maple Leafs 4
New York Islanders 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 4
Dallas Stars 2, St. Louis Blues 1 (SO)
Arizona Coyotes 5, Edmonton Oilers 2

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

Points: 110
Regulation wins: 42
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 0
Points pace: 110
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 109
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 0
Points pace: 109
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 102
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 0
Points pace: 102
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 98
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 0
Points pace: 98
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 91
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 91
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 84
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 84
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 78
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 76
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Metropolitan Division

Points: 114
Regulation wins: 43
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 0
Points pace: 114
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 111
Regulation wins: 44
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 0
Points pace: 111
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 94
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 0
Points pace: 94
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 91
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 0
Points pace: 91
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 88
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 88
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 87
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 87
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 81
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 81
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 66
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Central Division

Points: 113
Regulation wins: 40
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 0
Points pace: 113
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 108
Regulation wins: 45
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 1
Points pace: 109
Next game: vs. VAN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 105
Regulation wins: 41
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 1
Points pace: 106
Next game: vs. EDM (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 99
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 0
Points pace: 99
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 92
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 92
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 87
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 88
Next game: vs. SEA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 77
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 77
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 51
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 52
Next game: @ LA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Pacific Division

Points: 109
Regulation wins: 44
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 1
Points pace: 110
Next game: @ WPG (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 104
Regulation wins: 39
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 1
Points pace: 105
Next game: @ COL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 98
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 1
Points pace: 99
Next game: vs. ANA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 97
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 1
Points pace: 98
Next game: vs. CHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 80
Next game: vs. SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 80
Next game: @ MIN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 57
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 58
Next game: @ VGK (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 47
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 48
Next game: @ CGY (Thursday)
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 Macklin Celebrini, a freshman at Boston University.

Points: 47
Regulation wins: 14

Points: 51
Regulation wins: 17

Points: 57
Regulation wins: 20

Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 20

Points: 77
Regulation wins: 28

Points: 78
Regulation wins: 25

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 27

Points: 79
Regulation wins: 31

Points: 81
Regulation wins: 33

Points: 84
Regulation wins: 33

Points: 87
Regulation wins: 30

Points: 87
Regulation wins: 32

Points: 88
Regulation wins: 32

Points: 91
Regulation wins: 27

Points: 91
Regulation wins: 31

* The Penguins’ first-round pick was traded to the Sharks as part of the Erik Karlsson trade. However, it is top-10 protected.