Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Capitals can secure No. 1 seed in Eastern Conference

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2025 NHL postseason.

There are eight days left in the regular season and the races in each of the four divisions are tight. The top three teams in each of the four divisions and the next two highest-place finishers in each conference reach the playoffs.

Here is a look at the NHL standings and everything else that could impact the playoff picture.

Here are the Stanley Cup Playoff clinching scenarios for April 10:

There are no playoff berths up for grabs. Scenarios for seeding and guaranteed finishes are noted below.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Metropolitan Division

The Washington Capitals will clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference if they defeat the Carolina Hurricanes (7:30 p.m. ET; Disney+, MNMT, HULU, ESPN+, SN1) in any fashion.

The Hurricanes will clinch the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division and home-ice advantage against the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference First Round if they get at least one point against the Capitals. This would also lock the Devils in as the No. 3 seed in the division.

Atlantic Division

The Toronto Maple Leafs (idle) will clinch a top two finish in the division and home-ice advantage in the first round if the Florida Panthers lose to the Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m. ET; FDSNDET, SCRIPPS) in regulation.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division

The Dallas Stars will clinch a top two finish in the division and home-ice advantage in the Western Conference First Round if they get at least one point against the Winnipeg Jets (8 p.m. ET; Victory+, TSN3) OR any result between the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche (9 p.m. ET; KUSA, ALT, SNP) other than an Avalanche regulation win.

Pacific Division

The Vegas Golden Knights will clinch the No. 1 seed in the division if they defeat the Seattle Kraken in regulation (10 p.m. ET; KHN, KING 5, SCRIPPS, KONG, TVAS) AND the Los Angeles Kings lose to the Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, SN1) in regulation.

On Tap

There are 10 games on the NHL schedule for Thursday, eight with playoff implications:

Detroit Red Wings at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; FDSNDET, SCRIPPS): The Red Wings (36-34-7) are desperate to gain ground, trailing the Montreal Canadiens by eight points for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference with five games to play. The Panthers (45-29-4) are third in the Atlantic Division, four points ahead of the Ottawa Senators and three points behind the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning. A Panthers loss will clinch at least second place in the division for the idle Maple Leafs.

Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, MSG-B): The Blue Jackets (35-33-9) can be eliminated from playoff contention with a regulation loss to the Sabres. They're eight points behind the Canadiens with five games to play. Buffalo was eliminated from contention Tuesday.

Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals (7:30 p.m. ET; Disney+, MNMT, HULU, ESPN+, SN1): The Capitals (49-19-9) have won the Metropolitan Division and can clinch home-ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs with a win in any fashion. The Hurricanes (46-27-4) will play the New Jersey Devils in the first round and can secure home-ice advantage in that series with one point.

New York Rangers at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, MSG 2, TVAS): The Rangers (36-35-7) can be eliminated from contention with any kind of loss. One season after winning the Presidents' Trophy, the Rangers are eight points behind Montreal with four games to play. The Islanders (34-32-11) also trail the Canadiens by eight points and have five games left.

Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars (8 p.m. ET; Victory+, TSN3): The Jets (53-21-4) can take a big step toward winning the Central Division with a victory. They lead the Stars (50-22-6) by four points for first in the division and Western Conference. Each team has four games left and the Jets hold the first tiebreaker, which is regulation wins (42-41). The Stars will clinch at least second place in the Central and home-ice advantage in the first round with at least one point and if the Canucks-Avalanche game ends with a result other than a regulation win for Colorado.

Vancouver Canucks at Colorado Avalanche (9 p.m. ET; KUSA, ALT, SNP): The Canucks (36-29-13) were eliminated from contention when the Minnesota Wild defeated the San Jose Sharks 8-7 in overtime Wednesday. The Avalanche (48-27-4) are six points behind the Stars for second in the Central.

Seattle Kraken at Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET; KHN, KING 5, SCRIPPS, KONG, TVAS): The Golden Knights (47-22-9) can clinch the Pacific Division and home-ice advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs with a regulation win and if the Kings lose to the Ducks in regulation. Vegas has a six-point lead on Los Angeles for first place. Seattle has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Anaheim Ducks at Los Angeles Kings (10 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, SN1): The Kings (44-24-9) will try to build their two-point lead on the Oilers for second in the Pacific. They have a game in hand on Edmonton and own the regulation-wins tiebreaker (39-33). The Ducks have been eliminated from postseason contention.

If playoffs started Thursday

Eastern Conference

(1A) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (WC1) Ottawa Senators

(2A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3A) Florida Panthers

(1M) Washington Capitals vs. (WC2) Montreal Canadiens

(2M) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (3M) New Jersey Devils

Western Conference

(1P) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) Minnesota Wild

(2P) Los Angeles Kings vs. (3P) Edmonton Oilers

(1C) Winnipeg Jets vs. (WC2) St. Louis Blues

(2C) Dallas Stars vs. (3C) Colorado Avalanche

About last night

There were five games on the schedule Wednesday, all with playoff implications:

Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (OT): Matthew Knies completed a hat trick at 2:56 of overtime and the Maple Leafs (48-26-4) moved three points ahead of the Lightning (45-26-7) for first in the Atlantic Division. Tampa Bay moved three points ahead of Florida for second place.

Philadelphia Flyers 8, New York Rangers 5: The Rangers (36-35-7) lost their third straight and were pushed to the brink by the Flyers (32-37-9), who already have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Minnesota Wild 8, San Jose Sharks 7 (OT): Kirill Kaprizov returned after missing 28 games because of a lower-body injury and scored twice, including at 1:01 of overtime, to put Minnesota back into a points tie with the St. Louis Blues for the first wild card in the West. The Wild (43-29-7), who blew a three-goal, third period lead, have a game in hand on the Blues and own the regulation-wins tiebreaker (40-39). Minnesota's victory also eliminated Vancouver and the Utah Hockey Club from playoff contention. The Sharks (20-47-11) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Edmonton Oilers 4, St. Louis Blues 3: Edmonton captain Connor McDavid had three assists in his return after the forward missed eight games because of a lower-body injury. The Oilers (45-28-5) moved within two points of the Kings for second in the Pacific. The Blues (43-30-7) fell into the second wild card from the West after losing their second straight following a 12-game winning streak.

Anaheim Ducks 4, Calgary Flames 3 (OT): The Flames (37-27-14) picked up one point on the Blues for the second wild card in the West and are five points behind St. Louis and Minnesota with two games in hand on the Blues and one on the Wild. Calgary has four games remaining, including at Minnesota on Friday. The Ducks (35-35-8) have been eliminated from playoff contention.