NHL playoff standings: The Flyers' path to the postseason

Whether the Philadelphia Flyers make the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, there will be a number of positive takeaways from this season, particularly the play of new additions Dan Vladar and Trevor Zegras.

But Flyers fans would certainly be a lot more happy if they do earn a spot in the postseason bracket.

Can they still get there?

Philly enters play Friday two points behind the Ottawa Senators for the final wild-card position in the East, three points behind the New York Islanders for the No. 3 seed in the Metro, and six points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for No. 2. The good news is they skate against the Isles on Friday (7 p.m. ET, NHL Network); the bad news is this is the Flyers’ final game against any of those teams.

After Friday’s matchup, Philly plays six more games, three of which are against current playoff teams (Boston, Carolina, Montreal), and one of which is against another wild-card contender, Detroit.

It will be a tough road, and Stathletes gives the Flyers a 27.7% chance to pull it off, projecting them to finish with 94.8 points, 1.3 points behind the projected total of the wild-card winning Senators.

Every team has eight 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.

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.

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 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
A2 Buffalo Sabres vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens

M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 Ottawa Senators
M2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. M3 New York Islanders

Western Conference

C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 San Jose Sharks
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild

P1 Anaheim Ducks vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights

Today’s games

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).

Philadelphia Flyers at New York Islanders, 7 p.m. (NHLN)
St. Louis Blues at Anaheim Ducks, 10 p.m.

Last night’s scoreboard

Ottawa Senators 4, Buffalo Sabres 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 3
Florida Panthers 2, Boston Bruins 1
Montreal Canadiens 3, New York Rangers 2
Detroit Red Wings 4, Philadelphia Flyers 2
Carolina Hurricanes 5, Columbus Blue Jackets 1
New Jersey Devils 7, Washington Capitals 3
Dallas Stars 3, Winnipeg Jets 0
Minnesota Wild 5, Vancouver Canucks 2
Edmonton Oilers 3, Chicago Blackhawks 1
Vegas Golden Knights 6, Calgary Flames 3
San Jose Sharks 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 1
Utah Mammoth 6, Seattle Kraken 2
Nashville Predators 5, Los Angeles Kings 4 (SO)

Expanded standings

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.

Atlantic Division

Enhanced standings: Atlantic Division

Team	GP	PTS	RW	Seed	GR	Next Game	Chances	Pace	Max	Tragic Number	Magic Number
Lightning	75	100	38	A1	7	vs. BOS (Sat)	99.9	109	114	N/A	2
Sabres	76	100	38	A2	6	@ WSH (Sat)	99.9	108	112	N/A	2
Canadiens	75	98	32	A3	7	@ NJ (Sat)	99.9	107	112	N/A	4
Bruins	76	94	31	WC1	6	@ TB (Sat)	97.5	101	106	N/A	8
Senators	75	88	33	WC2	7	vs. MIN (Sat)	54.0	96	102	N/A	N/A
Red Wings	75	88	29	N/A	7	@ NYR (Sat)	18.9	96	102	14	N/A
Panthers	75	77	29	N/A	7	@ PIT (Sat)	0.0	84	91	3	N/A
Maple Leafs	76	77	23	N/A	6	@ LA (Sat)	0.0	83	89	1	N/A

Anthony Cirelli’s hat trick leads Lightning to victory

Metro Division

Enhanced standings: Metropolitan Division

Team	GP	PTS	RW	Seed	GR	Next Game	Chances	Pace	Max	Tragic Number	Magic Number
x – Hurricanes	75	102	35	M1	7	vs. NYI (Sat)	100.0	112	116	N/A	IN
Penguins	76	92	31	M2	6	vs. FLA (Sat)	97.2	99	104	N/A	10
Islanders	76	89	28	M3	6	vs. PHI (Fri)	38.2	96	101	N/A	13
Blue Jackets	76	88	27	N/A	6	vs. WPG (Sat)	56.8	95	100	12	N/A
Flyers	75	86	23	N/A	7	@ NYI (Fri)	27.7	94	100	12	N/A
Capitals	76	85	32	N/A	6	vs. BUF (Sat)	9.5	92	97	9	N/A
Devils	75	80	27	N/A	7	vs. MTL (Sat)	0.1	87	94	6	N/A
e – Rangers	76	71	22	N/A	6	vs. DET (Sat)	0.0	77	83	OUT	N/A

Andrei Svechnikov nets power-play goal

Andrei Svechnikov tallies goal for Carolina Hurricanes on the power play

Central Division

Enhanced standings: Central Division

Team	GP	PTS	RW	Seed	GR	Next Game	Chances	Pace	Max	Tragic Number	Magic Number
x – Avalanche	74	108	43	C1	8	@ DAL (Sat)	100.0	120	124	N/A	IN
x – Stars	76	102	35	C2	6	vs. COL (Sat)	100.0	110	114	N/A	IN
x – Wild	75	96	27	C3	7	@ OTT (Sat)	100.0	105	110	N/A	IN
Mammoth	75	84	30	WC1	7	@ VAN (Sat)	98.2	92	98	N/A	9
Predators	75	79	25	N/A	7	@ SJ (Sat)	9.8	86	93	14	N/A
Jets	75	76	25	N/A	7	@ CBJ (Sat)	2.2	83	90	11	N/A
Blues	74	74	27	N/A	8	@ ANA (Fri)	1.6	82	90	11	N/A
e – Blackhawks	76	68	20	N/A	6	@ SEA (Sat)	0.0	73	80	OUT	N/A

Luke Evangelista seals shootout win in 8th round for Predators

After seven scoreless shootout rounds, Luke Evangelista nets the puck and wins it for the Predators.

Pacific Division

Enhanced standings: Pacific Division

Team	GP	PTS	RW	Seed	GR	Next Game	Chances	Pace	Max	Tragic Number	Magic Number
Ducks	75	87	24	P1	7	vs. STL (Fri)	99.9	95	101	N/A	6
Oilers	76	87	30	P2	6	vs. VGK (Sat)	97.7	94	99	N/A	6
Golden Knights	76	84	26	P3	6	@ EDM (Sat)	97.8	91	96	N/A	9
Sharks	74	79	24	WC2	8	vs. NSH (Sat)	55.6	88	95	N/A	N/A
Kings	75	79	19	N/A	7	vs. TOR (Sat)	33.9	86	93	14	N/A
Kraken	74	75	25	N/A	8	vs. CHI (Sat)	3.4	83	91	12	N/A
Flames	75	70	24	N/A	7	@ ANA (Sat)	0.0	77	84	5	N/A
e – Canucks	75	52	15	N/A	7	vs. UTA (Sat)	0.0	57	66	OUT	N/A

Collin Graf scores goal vs. Maple Leafs

Collin Graf lights the lamp

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. Atop draft boards for this summer is Gavin McKenna, a forward for Penn State.