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Tim KavanaghESPN.com
The NHL’s playoff races have been relatively quiet this season. All eight Eastern Conference slots have been clinched. AlmostThe deal was sealed for several weeks. The Colorado AvalancheThey are miles ahead of the rest of West. The St. Louis Blues Minnesota Wildappear to be comfortably ensconced as the Central Division’s No. 2 and 3.
We have the Western wild card race to follow for the next ten nights.
As we head into Wednesday night’s action Nashville Predators Dallas StarsThe wild-card spots are held by the two wild-card players, who each have 93 points and 91 points. The Vegas Golden KnightsThey are on the hunt with 87 points and the Vancouver CanucksAlso available with 87 points
There are four games on Wednesday’s NHL calendar. Two of those matchups may have more significance for the draft-lottery standings. Chicago Blackhawks–Arizona CoyotesAvalanche and AvailabilitySeattle Kraken. The other contests, however, promise some crucial results.
The Stars will travel with them to conquer the Edmonton Oilersat 8:30 ET(NHL Network) and the Golden Knights host the event Washington Capitalsat 10 ET. The Stars have won both of their previous games against Oilers (4-1November 23, 2009 5-3On March 22, and the pre-Jack EichelCapitals fell to Knights 1-0Their only meeting thus far. Are the Stars likely to lose ground in Wednesday’s results? Or will Vegas dig deeper?
As we approach the end of the 2021-22 regular-season, it’s time for us to review all the playoff races and the teams that are vying for positions in the 2022 NHL draft lottery.
Notable: Playoff opportunities are via FiveThirtyEight. Tragic numbers are the result of Damian EchevarrietaNHL
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Wednesday’s games
Tuesday night’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC2 Washington Capitals
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
M2 New York Rangers vs. M3 Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference
C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Dallas Stars
C2 Minnesota Wild vs. C3 St. Louis Blues
P1 Calgary Flames vs. WC1 Nashville Predators
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings
Today’s Games
Notice: All times Eastern. All games outside-of-market and non-NHL Network available to stream on ESPN+.
Dallas StarsAt Edmonton Oilers, 8:30 p.m. (NHLN)
Chicago Blackhawksat Arizona Coyotes, 10 p.m.
Washington Capitalsat Vegas Golden Knights, 10 p.m.
Colorado Avalancheat Seattle Kraken, 10 p.m.
Scoreboard for last night
Highlights from all games can be seen on ESPN+ at In the Crease
Toronto Maple Leafs 5, Philadelphia Flyers 2
Minnesota Wild 2, Montreal Canadiens 0
Detroit Red Wings 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 3
New York Rangers 3, Winnipeg Jets 0
Florida Panthers 3, New York Islanders 2 (OT)
Boston Bruins 3, St. Louis Blues 2 (OT)
Nashville Predators 3, Calgary Flames 2 (SO)
Los Angeles Kings 2, Anaheim Ducks 1
Ottawa Senators 4, Vancouver Canucks 3 (SO)
San Jose Sharks 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 2
Increased standings
Note: x = clinched playoff spot; z = clinched best conference record; e = eliminated
Atlantic Division
Points: 116
Regulation wins 40
Playoff position A1
Games left: 6
Next game vs. DET (Thursday)
Chances of winning the Playoffs 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 108
Regulation wins 43
Playoff position A2
Games left: 5
Next game@ TB Thursday
Chances of winning the Playoffs 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 100
Regulation wins 34
Playoff position A3
Games left: 6
Next gamevs.TOR (Thursday).
Chances of winning the Playoffs 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 99
Regulation wins 36
Playoff position WC1
Games left: 6
Next game@ PIT (Thursday).
Playoff possibilities: 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 70
Regulation wins 19
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 5
Next game@ FLA (Thursday).
Chances of winning the Playoffs 0%
Tragic numberE
Points: 69
Regulation wins 23
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 4
Next game@ NJ (Thursday).
Chances for the playoffs: 0%
Tragic numberE
Points: 65
Regulation wins 24
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 5
Next game@ CBJ (Friday).
Chances of winning the Playoffs 0%
Tragic numberE
Points: 51
Regulation wins 14
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 5
Next gamevs. PHI, Thursday
Chances for the playoffs: 0%
Tragic numberE
Metropolitan Division
Points: 106
Regulation wins 43
Playoff position M1
Games left: 5
Next gameWPG (Thursday) vs. WPG
Chances of winning the Playoffs 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 106
Regulation wins 42
Playoff position M2
Games left: 5
Next game@ NYI (Thursday).
Chances for the playoffs: 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 97
Regulation wins 34
Playoff position M3
Games left: 5
Next game vs. BOS (Thursday)
Chances of winning the Playoffs 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 96
Regulation wins 34
Playoff position WC2
Games left: 6
Next game@ VGK
Playoff possibilities: 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 80
Regulation wins 32
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 6
Next gamevs. NYR, Thursday
Chances for the playoffs: 0%
Tragic numberE
Points: 76
Regulation wins 24
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 5
Next gamevs. OTT Friday
Chances of winning the Playoffs 0%
Tragic numberE
Points: 61
Regulation wins 19
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 6
Next gameBUF (Thursday).
Chances of winning the Playoffs 0%
Tragic numberE
Points: 57
Regulation wins 18
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 5
Next game@ MTL (Thursday).
Playoff possibilities: 0%
Tragic numberE
Central Division
Points: 116
Regulation wins 45
Playoff position C1
Games left: 6
Next game @ SEA (Wednesday)
Playoff possibilities: 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 103
Regulation wins 34
Playoff position C2
Games left: 6
Next gameVAN (Thursday).
Chances for the playoffs: 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 103
Regulation wins 41
Playoff position C3
Games left: 5
Next game@ SJ (Thursday).
Chances of winning the Playoffs 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 93
Regulation wins 35
Playoff position WC1
Games left: 5
Next game@ TB Saturday
Playoff possibilities: 97%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 91
Regulation wins 29
Playoff position WC2
Games left: 6
Next game @ EDM (Wednesday)
Chances for the playoffs: 92%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 81
Regulation wins 28
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 5
Next game@ CAR Thursday
Playoff possibilities:
Tragic number 1
Points: 61
Regulation wins 15
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 6
Next game @ ARI (Wednesday)
Chances of winning the Playoffs 0%
Tragic numberE
Points: 49
Regulation wins 16
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 6
Next game vs. CHI (Wednesday)
Chances of winning the Playoffs 0%
Tragic numberE
Pacific Division
Points: 104
Regulation wins 42
Playoff position P1
Games left: 5
Next gameDAL (Thursday).
Chances for the playoffs: 100%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 94
Regulation wins 35
Playoff position P2
Games left: 6
Next game vs. DAL (Wednesday)
Playoff possibilities: >99%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 92
Regulation wins 32
Playoff position P3
Games left: 4
Next gameCHI (Thursday), vs.
Chances of winning the Playoffs 87%
Tragic number N/A
Points: 87
Regulation wins 33
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 5
Next game vs. WSH (Wednesday)
Chances of winning the Playoffs 16%
Tragic number 7
Points: 87
Regulation wins 31
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 5
Next game@ MIN Thursday
Playoff possibilities: 8%
Tragic number 7
Points: 74
Regulation wins 21
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 5
Next gameLA (Saturday).
Chances of winning the Playoffs 0%
Tragic numberE
Points: 72
Regulation wins 21
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 6
Next gamevs. STL
Chances for the playoffs: 0%
Tragic numberE
Points: 56
Regulation wins 21
Playoff position N/A
Games left: 7
Next game vs. COL (Wednesday)
Playoff possibilities: 0%
Tragic numberE
You can race for the No. The No. 1 pick
To determine the order in which the teams finish in the first round of the NHL draft lottery, the No. 1 selection is not guaranteed to the last-place team. 1 selection. If a team wins the lottery in 2021, it can move up a maximum 10 spots. This means that only 11 teams will be eligible to participate in the draw for No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here.
Points: 49
Regulation wins 16
Points: 51
Regulation wins 14
Points: 56
Regulation wins 21
Points: 57
Regulation wins 18
Points: 61
Regulation wins 15
Points: 61
Regulation wins 19
Points: 65
Regulation wins 24
Points: 69
Regulation wins 23
Points: 70
Regulation wins 19
Points: 72
Regulation wins 21
Points: 74
Regulation wins 21
Points: 76
Regulation wins 24
Points: 80
Regulation wins 32
Points: 81
Regulation wins 28
Points: 87
Regulation wins 31
Points: 87
Regulation wins 33
Notes about conditionally traded picks that impact the top 16
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Chicago will pick Columbus’ first-round pick in the event that Chicago does not win one of the two 2022 draft lottery draws. The pick will be deferred to 2023 if Chicago does not win either of the two draws in the 2022 draft lottery.
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If Buffalo isn’t among the top 10, Vegas will get Buffalo’s first-round selection. If it is not in the top 10, then the pick will be deferred to 2023.