Stanley Cup Playoff Push 2025: April Showers

Happy April Fool's Eve! We are finally at the final day in March, which is a special day for wrestling fans, as today marks the 40th anniversary of the very first WrestleMania. In a way, it's also a special day for us puckheads, too, as after this day, the season enters the month of April--the danger zone. The last chance for many teams. So far, three teams are officially in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs. Two more teams had chances to get in on Sunday, but didn't, but only because their scenarios didn't fall through--the teams did win their games.

We also had two more eliminations; the Nashville Predators and the Seattle Kraken saw their seasons end early. Nashville's elimination was a shocker; they signed all of those big names with expectations of playing in April, May, and possibly June, but they don't even make it to April. As for Seattle, they have still not come close to bringing back that spark they had in their second year of play.

As for everything else in the playoff picture:

Atlantic Division

All is right in the world. It's the final day in March, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are in first place in the Atlantic, which is where they were when March began. This time, the lead is more sizable. Toronto led by just one point when I started writing these recaps. Now? It's a three point lead over the Florida teams. The Leafs have 94, and the Lightning and Panthers both have 91. The Florida teams played the same number of games, that leads us to the next tiebreaker: regulation wins. Guess who has more? If you guessed the defending champions, I'm sorry to say you are incorrect. Tampa Bay's 37 RWs to Florida's 35 RWs place the Bolts in 2nd place, meaning that the Bolts would have home ice if we get a fourth Battle of Florida playoff series in five seasons. As for Toronto, they look like they're in the driver's seat to win their first division title in a full season since 2000.

Metropolitan Division

The Washington Capitals have hit a bit of a lull, losing three straight, but nothing's changed. They still have a stranglehold over the Metropolitan Division, leading by 9 points over the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina has a 9 point lead over the New Jersey Devils for second place, while the Devils' hold on that third place spot is getting stronger. Out of all six pieces of this playoff puzzle, the Metro's Top 3 is the only thing that has not changed since I started on these recaps weeks ago, and it's going to stay exactly the same for the rest of the way, which means we're getting a Canes/Devils Metro Semifinal this year. The Canes can clinch a playoff spot as early as Tuesday.

East Wild Cards

How about that?! The same two teams who were in the Wild Card spots last week... are there this week! Yes, there were switches in the last week, but things ended up back to what they were last week. The Ottawa Senators maintain their hold on the WC1 spot, and they look to be destined to face whoever wins the Atlantic, which could result in the Battle of Ontario taking place for the first time in 21 years. As for the WC2 spot, the Montreal Canadiens hold it, barely. They and the Rangers are tied with 77 points, but the Habs have a game in hand over their fellow Original Six brethren. The Columbus Blue Jackets are two points out, and the Detroit Red Wings and the New York Islanders sit three points behind the line. The Pittsburgh Penguins have a bit of an outside shot, but it might be too late for them; they need too much to happen.

Central Division

The race for the Central Division is getting a bit tighter; the Winnipeg Jets lead the entire league with 106 points, but they're up by six over the Dallas Stars. As for the Colorado Avalanche, our deficit behind Dallas is now up to 7 points, because we can't lose any points due to Dallas not knowing how to lose in regulation. A Stars/Avs Central Semifinal is inevitable, and it definitely seems to be a foregone conclusion that, barring a huge letdown from Dallas, Game One of that series will be in Dallas. Even so, the Avs are closing in on a playoff spot, which would be our eighth straight, and while home ice would be nice, I have a good feeling that we won't need it.

Pacific Division

The Pacific Division remains the same with the Vegas Golden Knights leading and closing in on a playoff spot. The intriguing story remains the battle for second place, and it's still the Los Angeles Kings leading the Edmonton Oilers in that second place race. Even though Vegas is leading that division by just seven points, which is manageable, It does look like Vegas will take the Pacific and we will get, for the fourth straight year, Kings vs Oilers in Round 1. I've said this a lot: If the Kings get home ice, they'll beat the Oilers. The Oilers are an absolute mess, but their fans will say, "Well, McDavid and Draisaitl were out." Yeah, for a week. The Oilers have been a mess for about a month.

West Wild Cards

This is interesting. A few weeks ago, the Blues were behind four teams, including Utah. Now? The Blues and Wild are tied in points. Both teams are above the playoff line, but now, Minnesota's only at WC1 because of a game in hand over St. Louis. The Blues could actually surpass the Wild in the standings. Think about that. And from the looks of it, it definitely looks like Minnesota and St. Louis will nab those two Wild Card spots. The Canucks and Flames have blown too many chances and lost too many points in the standings. Utah's pretty much done, but given their overall circumstances, they should be happy with this season. Ducks are done, but if they finish well enough, there should be hope for them within the next two seasons.

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We have eighteen days left in the regular season, just two and a half weeks to go. 13 spots are open in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs. The month of April will be quite adventurous!