Stanley Cup Playoff Push 2026: Topsy-Turvy

The first week in March has come and gone, as has the NHL's Trade Deadline, which is always chaotic. I always enjoy the aura of the NHL's home stretch, but this year feels, well, special. It's different. The landscape is undergoing a drastic change this year. Narratives are shifting. The few constants in this league are dwindling. So may surprises are popping up, but one thing is very certain: this home stretch is absolutely spectacular!

40 days remain in the NHL's regular season. No one has clinched, but no one's been eliminated yet, either. We have seen a few changes to the standings, but not much as far as the important positions. With that said, here's the playoff picture at this point:

Atlantic Division

The Atlantic's top three remains unchanged, but barely. Entering Saturday's action, the Montréal Canadiens were actually in fourth place, but winning in LA moved them back to the Top 3. That's not the biggest story here. During that same Saturday, for a few hours, the Buffalo Sabres were actually in first place. Yeah. The Tampa Bay Lightning's victory changed that, so right now, the Bolts and Sabres are tied in points with 82, but Tampa Bay has two games in hand. The Canadiens have 78 points, four points behind both teams, though the Sabres are clearly the hottest of the three teams.

Metropolitan Division

One change came in the Metropolitan Division; while the Top 3 features the same teams, it's the order that's shifted. The Carolina Hurricanes still lead the Metro by quite a bit--10 points. However, we now see the New York Islanders in second place by one point over the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens have been without Sidney Crosby since returning from the Olympic Break, and now, his right hand man, Evgeni Malkin, is serving a five game suspension. Pittsburgh is 2-2-2 in the six games played following the break, and the Islanders have completely capitalized on this. Positioning is important for both teams, because it does look like Carolina will finish first in the Metro, and second place means home ice in Round 1. The Isles and Penguins meet one more time on March 30.

Wild Card

Similar to last week, the Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Bruins remain in the two Wild Card positions in the Eastern Conference. Detroit really has a good chance to end their near decade long playoff drought, while Boston's positioning is a huge improvement over last year. When it comes to the teams below the playoff line, the Columbus Blue Jackets (two points out) and Ottawa Senators (four points out) are knocking at the door, but we'll see how things play out. Funny thing, last year, both Wild Card races played out like a game of Musical Chairs, and it was the hottest teams who got in. Will that be the case again this year?

Central Division

In the Group of Death, aka the Central Division, the Top 3 remains unchanged. The Colorado Avalanche lead with 93 points, followed by the Dallas Stars with 86, and the Minnesota Wild with 84. What can I say about the Central Division that I haven't already repeated on a loop? This division is wild, stacked, and chaotic. Granted, it appears to be more top heavy this year than in years past, but still, this year's Top 3 is monstrous. All three teams should finish with at least 100 points this year. And for those of you still complaining about the current playoff format and using the Central's standings to do so, just stop. "Go back to 1 vs 8," they keep saying. Do you really want these strong teams playing against also-rans in Round 1? And do you really want to deprive us Avs fans of seeing two division rivals we hate wear themselves out in a seven-game series? These fans wouldn't have made it through the NHL in the 80s.

Pacific Division

Look at this! The biggest change from the past week came from the Pacific Division, and with 40 days left in the season, the Anaheim Ducks are in first place! The Ducks lead the Pacific with 73 points, one point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights (72 points). The Edmonton Oilers are barely hanging on to third place with 66 points. Some will say that this is the result of the Pacific being terrible this year, but they really shouldn't, because it discredits how good the Ducks have been playing. Anaheim has been the best team in the division pretty much all season. Vegas hasn't been horribly flawed, but those OT/SO losses (fourteen of them) are damning. The Oilers, though, are a different story. They are a far cry from the team who was in the Final each of the last two years, and Oilers fans are angry about the goalie trade the team made earlier in the season, and they should be. Granted, Stuart Skinner had problems, but they made the Final with him. Twice. Tristan Jarry is a total mess, and he's getting worse.

Wild Cards

The Wild Card picture in the West remains the same, with the Utah Mammoth and the Seattle Kraken holding the positions. The Mammoth are way behind the Central's Top 3, but they do look like they have a strong chance to maintain that Wild Card position. The Kraken are in a very tight logjam with not only the Oilers, but with the San Jose Sharks as well. Seattle is one point behind Edmonton, but also one point ahead of San Jose, making things very interesting in the Wild Card and the Pacific. The Los Angeles Kings and the Nashville Predators both have outside chances, and even the struggling Winnipeg Jets have a shot as well.

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As I said before, the landscape is very different from last year. Eight teams who weren't even in the playoff last year are currently above the playoff line right now. That's half of the playoff field right there. Three of those teams have the three longest current playoff droughts in the league, and from the looks of it, they could and will all end this year. We have 40 days left in the regular season, and I have a very good feeling that these final 40 days will deliver some big time shockers!