Thursday night’s Washington Capitals game was about more than just Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s goal record.
The Capitals, the last team to clinch a playoff berth in 2023-24, became the first NHL team to do it this season.
Washington has been running away with the Eastern Conference, led by the balanced scoring of Ovechkin (35 goals), Tom Wilson (30), Aliaksei Protas (29), Dylan Strome (67 points) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (60 points).
They clinched when they beat the Philadelphia Flyers in regulation and the New York Islanders-Montreal Canadiens game went to overtime. The Islanders won that game to pull one point closer to the second wild-card spot. In the West, the St. Louis Blues moved into a playoff spot Thursday.
The NHL playoff standings are a jumble with many teams in contention. Here’s a look at the playoff picture:
Who’s in the NHL playoffs?
Eastern Conference: Washington Capitals
Western Conference: None
Who can clinch an NHL playoff berth Friday?
No one. There’s one game, Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins, with both teams sitting out of a playoff spot. The Blue Jackets will try to end a 1-6-1 skid that dropped them out of a wild-card spot.
NHL schedule today
Columbus at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. ET
NHL Eastern Conference standings 2024-25
(as of March 20)
Metropolitan Division
x-Washington Capitals (100 points)
New Jersey Devils (80)
Atlantic Division
Wild card
Sitting outside playoff position:New York Islanders (72), New York Rangers (72), Columbus Blue Jackets (71), Detroit Red Wings (70), Boston Bruins (69), Pittsburgh Penguins (66), Philadelphia Flyers (64), Buffalo Sabres (60)
NHL Western Conference standings 2024-25
(as of March 20)
Central Division
Winnipeg Jets (100)
Pacific Division
Vegas Golden Knights (88)
Edmonton Oilers (85)
Wild card
Sitting outside playoff spot: Vancouver Canucks (76), Calgary Flames (75), Utah Hockey Club (73), Anaheim Ducks (68), Seattle Kraken (65), Nashville Predators (58), z-Chicago Blackhawks (49), z-San Jose Sharks (45)
x-clinched playoff spot; z-eliminated
NHL Eastern Conference playoff bracket
Here is how the Eastern Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended March 20:
Washington (M1) vs. Montreal (WC2)
Carolina (M2) vs. New Jersey (M3)
Florida (A1) vs. Ottawa (WC1)
Toronto (A2) vs. Tampa Bay (A3)
The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: M – Metropolitan Division. A – Atlantic Division. WC – wild card
NHL Western Conference playoff bracket
Here is how the Western Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended March 20:
Winnipeg (C1) vs. St. Louis (WC2)
Dallas (C2) vs. Colorado (C3)
Vegas (P1) vs. Minnesota (WC1)
Edmonton (P2) vs. Los Angeles (P3)
The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: C – Central Division. P – Pacific Division. WC – wild card
What is the tiebreaker procedure for the NHL playoffs?
If two or more teams are tied in points at the end of the regular season, here are the tiebreakers:
Regulation wins
Regulation and overtime wins
Total wins
Most points earned in head-to-head competition: If teams had an uneven number of meetings, the first game played in the city that has the extra game is excluded.
Goal differential
Total goals
When does the NHL regular season end?
The NHL regular season is scheduled to end on April 17 with seven games.
When do the NHL playoffs start?
The NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 19.