Perhaps the biggest game of the day features the Columbus Blue Jackets heading to Canada’s capital to take on the Ottawa Senators (5 p.m., ESPN+). The Blue Jackets are six points behind the Canadiens, while the Senators are starting to look ahead to the No. 3-seeded Florida Panthers; they begin the day four points back. Speaking of the Cats, they visit the Detroit Red Wings (5:30 p.m. ET, TNT), who are also six points behind the Canadiens for WC2.
With the regular season ending April 17, we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 83 Regulation wins: 27 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 6 Points pace: 89.6 Next game: vs. VGK (Sunday) Playoff chances: 1.1% Tragic number: 7
Points: 74 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 6 Points pace: 79.8 Next game: vs. EDM (Monday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 72 Regulation wins: 27 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 5 Points pace: 76.7 Next game: @ LA (Monday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 50 Regulation wins: 14 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 6 Points pace: 54.0 Next game: vs. CGY (Monday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Note: An “x” means that the team has clinched a playoff berth. An “e” means that the team has been 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 No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
The 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs begin on April 19. The Winnipeg Jets are the NHL’s top overall seed, having finished the regular season with the most points in the standings, and the Washington Capitals earned the No. 1 seed in the East.
This page will be your home throughout the postseason, including schedules, scores, highlights and other preview content.
Read on for the full playoff coverage from every first-round series all the way through the Stanley Cup Final.
First round
Atlantic Division
Regular-season records:
Maple Leafs: 51-26-4, 106 points Senators: 44-30-7, 95 points
Dallas forward Jason Robertson sustained a lower-body injury during the Stars’ regular-season finale at Nashville on Wednesday and left the game.
Robertson, the Stars’ second-leading points producer with 80 (35 goals, 45 assists) this season, left the game early in the second period after being hit into the boards by Nashville’s Michael McCarron. The team announced that Robertson would not return.
Dallas, which went on to lose 5-1, is locked into second place in the Central Division and will host the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs. However, the Stars are mired in a season-worst 0-5-2 slide.
Robertson, the Stars’ second-round draft pick in 2017, is in his sixth season with Dallas, having recorded 79 or more points in each of the past four campaigns.
Field Level Media and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Winnipeg Jets forward Alex Iafallo signed a three-year contract extension worth $11 million Wednesday.
The extension will begin next season for Iafallo, who has recorded 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists), 15 penalty minutes and a plus-21 rating in 81 games this season.
Iafallo, 31, has totaled 262 points (111 goals, 151 assists) in 583 career games with the Los Angeles Kings and Jets. He was an undrafted free agent who was signed by the Kings out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2017.