NHL playoff watch: The stakes for the Stars, Golden Knights on Wednesday

There is a distinct lack of drama in regard to some of the NHL’s playoff races this season.

All eight spots in the Eastern Conference have been clinched (and have seemingly been clinched for weeks). The Colorado Avalanche are a country mile ahead of the rest of the West. The St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild seem to be ensconced in a first-round matchup as the Central Division’s Nos. 2 and 3 seeds.

Luckily, we have the Western wild-card race to follow for the next 10 nights.

Heading into Wednesday night’s action, the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars hold the two wild-card spots, with 93 and 91 points, respectively. The Vegas Golden Knights are in the hunt with 87 points, as are the Vancouver Canucks, also with 87 points.

It’s a four-game slate on the NHL calendar Wednesday night, and two of the matchups perhaps have more meaning to the draft-lottery standings than anything else — Chicago Blackhawks–Arizona Coyotes and Avalanche-Seattle Kraken. But the other two contests promise to yield some pivotal results.

The Stars will travel to take on the Edmonton Oilers at 8:30 p.m. ET (NHL Network), and the Golden Knights will host the Washington Capitals at 10 ET. The Stars won both previous games against the Oilers this season (4-1 on Nov. 23 and 5-3 on March 22), and the pre-Jack Eichel Knights took down the Capitals 1-0 in their lone meeting thus far. Will Wednesday’s results reduce the Stars’ lead? Or will Vegas dig itself more of a hole?

As we enter the final stretch of the 2021-22 regular season, it’s time to check in on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2022 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via FiveThirtyEight. Tragic numbers are courtesy of Damian Echevarrieta of the NHL.

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

Note: All times Eastern. All out-of-market, non-NHL Network games available to stream on ESPN+.

Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers, 8:30 p.m. (NHLN)
Chicago Blackhawks at Arizona Coyotes, 10 p.m.
Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights, 10 p.m.
Colorado Avalanche at Seattle Kraken, 10 p.m.

Last night’s scoreboard

Watch In the Crease on ESPN+ for highlights from every game.

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

Expanded 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)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 108
Regulation wins: 43
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 5
Next game: @ TB (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 100
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 6
Next game: vs. TOR (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 99
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 6
Next game: @ PIT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 70
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 5
Next game: @ FLA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 4
Next game: @ NJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 5
Next game: @ CBJ (Friday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 51
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 5
Next game: vs. PHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Metropolitan Division

Points: 106
Regulation wins: 43
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 5
Next game: vs. WPG (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 106
Regulation wins: 42
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 5
Next game: @ NYI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 97
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 5
Next game: vs. BOS (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 96
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 6
Next game: @ VGK (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 80
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 6
Next game: vs. NYR (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 5
Next game: vs. OTT (Friday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 6
Next game: vs. BUF (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 57
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 5
Next game: @ MTL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Central Division

Points: 116
Regulation wins: 45
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 6
Next game: @ SEA (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 103
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 6
Next game: vs. VAN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 103
Regulation wins: 41
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 5
Next game: @ SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 93
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 5
Next game: @ TB (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 97%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 91
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 6
Next game: @ EDM (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 92%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 81
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 5
Next game: @ CAR (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 1%
Tragic number: 1

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 15
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 6
Next game: @ ARI (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 49
Regulation wins: 16
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 6
Next game: vs. CHI (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Pacific Division

Points: 104
Regulation wins: 42
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 5
Next game: vs. DAL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 94
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 6
Next game: vs. DAL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 92
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 4
Next game: vs. CHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 87%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 87
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 5
Next game: vs. WSH (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 16%
Tragic number: 7

Points: 87
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 5
Next game: @ MIN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 8%
Tragic number: 7

Points: 74
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 5
Next game: @ LA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 6
Next game: vs. STL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Points: 56
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 7
Next game: vs. COL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E

Race for the No. 1 pick

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order at the top of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team may 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.

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 on conditionally traded picks impacting the top 16:

• Columbus will receive Chicago’s first-round pick if Chicago does not win either of the two draws in the 2022 draft lottery. Otherwise, the pick defers to 2023.

• Buffalo will receive Vegas’ first-round pick if it is outside the top 10 selections. Otherwise, the pick defers to 2023.

Source: www.espn.com