Stanley Cup Playoff Push 2025: When You're Hot, You're Hot

How time flies! I went from being amped for March to begin to suddenly seeing April on the horizon. We are down to less than a month left in the season; 25 days remain in the regular season, and 27 days remain until this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs start. And yes, like every year around this time, I find myself watching all sorts of past Stanley Cup Playoff videos on YouTube, as my eagerness for the NHL's Sweet 16 to begin increases more and more.

The past week has seen a lot of things occur. One team locked in a spot in this year's playoffs, and we did get another elimination. The Chicago Blackhawks found themselves eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth straight year, with the team now having reached the playoffs only three times in the last decade that passed since they last won the Stanley Cup. As for the playoff picture, here's how things look:

Atlantic Division

The Atlantic Division remains cluttered, but what also remains is that, despite sputtering in the last week or so, the Florida Panthers still lead the division with 89 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs are in second place with 87 points, while the Tampa Bay Lightning are in third place with 85 points. With all three teams being up and down as of late, the Atlantic has turned into the division that nobody wants to win. It has disappointed me that the Leafs haven't taken advantage of this, but they do have a favorable remaining schedule ahead, which includes one final meeting this season with the Panthers on April 2.

Metropolitan Division

On March 20, the Washington Capitals became the first team to lock in a spot in this year's playoffs, and right now, they're still running away with the Metropolitan Division with 102 points in the standings, a twelve point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes, who have 90 points. The New Jersey Devils are trying to hang on to third place with 80 points, which is six points ahead of the New York Rangers. The Capitals are one point away from ensuring that they will start the playoffs at home, and they could clinch the Metro by the end of the month. As for the Hurricanes, they've won nine of their last ten, and with a 10 point lead over New Jersey, it does look like a foregone conclusion that the Canes will start the playoffs in Raleigh.

East Wild Cards

The WC2 spot in the Eastern Conference continues to be a revolving door, and this week is no exception. The Ottawa Senators are still hanging on to the WC1 position, and definitely look like they are playoff bound--the Sens are 10 wins away from reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2017. As for that aforementioned WC2 spot, it now belongs to the Montréal Canadiens, who sit one point ahead of the Rangers, and two points ahead of the Islanders. The Habs have been on a roll, only losing once in regulation in the last 10 games. Sure, it's a 5-1-4 record in their last 10, but hey, points are points. It's been four years since the Habs made their crazy Cinderella run to the Final, and they've been in the doldrums since then. Is this the year they claw their way out?

Central Division

In the Central Division, the Top 3 remains the same for the second straight week. The Winnipeg Jets became the first West team to reach 100 points, but they still remain one point away from reaching the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years. Regarding the battle for second place (because it's a foregone conclusion that Peg's winning the division), the Dallas Stars lead that battle with 92 points, while the red hot Colorado Avalanche have 89 points. The Avs are 8-1-1 in our last ten games; a very impressive hot streak matched by two other teams in the West. Unfortunately, Dallas seems to keep getting points somehow, and their schedule remains quite soft. Thank goodness the Avs have a homestand coming up.

Pacific Division

We do have a bit of a change in the Pacific Division. While the Vegas Golden Knights still lead with 92 points, the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers are tied with 87 points, and it's the Kings who are the second place team due to having a game in hand. Going 8-1-1 in their last ten definitely did the trick, while the Oilers have had to deal with both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl being sidelined. Both teams have a decent shot at the Pacific Division crown, but regarding the race for 2nd in the Pacific, the Kings are in the driver's seat. Oilers/Kings Part IV could see a different ending if LA gets home ice advantage. The two teams have two meetings left this regular season, one in each venue.

West Wild Cards

Who had this happening? The Minnesota Wild are still in the WC1 spot in the West, but look who is now above the playoff line all of a sudden. The Blues. The Blues. Six years removed from their amazing Cup run. One playoff series win since then. Fell off after losing to the Avs in 2022. Tore it down during that stretch, but look at them now. 8-1-1 in their last ten, though their hot streak started weeks before this. St. Louis capitalized on the sputtering from the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames, and took the WC2 spot by storm, leading by four points. Vancouver, Calgary, and Utah all have at least two games in hand (in Calgary's case, it's three), but with the way the Blues have been winning games left and right and down the middle, it may not matter.

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25 days until the regular season ends. 27 days until the Stanley Cup Playoffs start. 15 spots remain open. So many games remain. But the main number is 1. That's the number of goals that each contending team has: just one, and we all know what it is--to get that Cup. The final 25 days will be quite intriguing, and will definitely tell the entire tale.