NHL Playoff Race: Half of Last Year’s Teams Could Miss the Cut

The kick to the finish line to earn tickets to the Stanley Cup playoffs has hit high gear with three weeks remaining in the regular season.

The way things stand heading into the weekend’s action, as many as half of last year’s playoff teams will not make the cut.

Yep, of the 16 teams to advance one year ago, eight of them may fail this season. Crazy turnover.

Five Eastern Conference clubs are on the verge of coming up short, headlined by the two-time defending Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers. Also on the list are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals (both division champs last season), Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils.

In the Western Conference, the Winnipeg Jets — the 2024-25 Presidents’ Trophy winners as regular-season champs — along with the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings are in trouble.

Currently in their place are some clubs who have gone through massive mid-season turnarounds in the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators, along with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Anaheim Ducks and Utah Mammoth.

But do not be hasty writing off those outside a playoff position.

For example, the Kings are only a couple of points away from owning a wild-card spot and have arguably the easiest schedule down the stretch, starting with two more games against the sad-sack, last-place Vancouver Canucks, a team Los Angeles easily handed a 4-0 loss on Thursday. The biggest key to reaching the second season is a pair of games against the Predators.

Utah right now has the inside track for one wild-card position, and in what appears to be the battle for the final spots, the Kings may also make it, since Nashville also has a couple of clashes with the San Jose Sharks — who have an outside chance of making a last-second push — with the Seattle Kraken also in the mix.

Prediction time: there will be no change from the current top three in both the Central and Pacific divisions, while the Mammoth and Kings claim the west’s wild-card spots.

As for the east, Buffalo, Tampa Bay and the Montreal Canadiens should hang on to the top three slots in the Atlantic Division, while the Carolina Hurricanes are running away with the Metropolitan Division crown.

After that, things may get wild. Two of the Penguins, Blue Jackets and Islanders are in-line to make it by finishing in the top three of the Metropolitan. The Penguins have what appears to be the easiest schedule, but with Sidney Crosby suffering an injury on Thursday, Pittsburgh’s odds have grown longer. Meanwhile, both the Blue Jackets and Islanders have very tough schedules ahead.

In the favor of all those Metropolitan clubs is the likelihood whoever falls to fourth in the division will scoop a wild-card spot.

Here’s the simple logic for that. Boston, which holds the first wild-card spot, but may not for long. Not only do the Bruins have arguably the most difficult schedule based on opposition, but they have seven of 12 games remaining on the road, and have been a sub-par squad away from Beantown.

Looking in the crystal ball, that will be enough for the Bruins to falter and end up outside, with Ottawa slipping in to the final wild-card position.