Thursday night’s Washington Capitals game is about more than just Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s goal record.
Under certain circumstances, the Capitals can become the first NHL team to clinch a playoff berth this season.
Washington has been running away with the Eastern Conference standings, led by the balanced scoring of Ovechkin (34 goals), Tom Wilson (30), Aliaksei Protas (29), Dylan Strome (67 points) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (60 points).
The rest of the NHL playoff standings are a jumble with many teams in contention. Here’s a look at the playoff picture:
Who can clinch an NHL playoff berth today?
The Capitals will clinch a playoff berth if they beat the Philadelphia Flyers in regulation and the New York Islanders-Montreal Canadiens game ends in any result other than an Islanders regulation win.
They Capitals also would clinch if they beat the Flyers in overtime or shootout and the Islanders lose to the Canadiens. Also, if they lose to the Flyers in overtime or a shootout and the Columbus Blue Jackets lose to the Florida Panthers and the Islanders lose to the Canadiens in regulation.
NHL games today
Colorado at Ottawa, 7 p.m. ET
Calgary at New Jersey, 7
Toronto at N.Y. Rangers, 7
Philadelphia at Washington, 7
Florida at Columbus, 7
Montreal at N.Y. Islanders, 7:30
Vancouver at St. Louis, 7:30
Anaheim at Nashville, 8
Tampa Bay at Dallas, 8
Los Angeles at Chicago, 8:30
Winnipeg at Edmonton, 9
Buffalo at Utah, 9
Boston at Vegas, 10
Carolina at San Jose, 10:30
NHL Eastern Conference standings 2024-25
Metropolitan Division
New Jersey Devils (80)
Atlantic Division
Wild card
Sitting outside playoff position:New York Rangers (72), New York Islanders (70), Columbus Blue Jackets (70), Detroit Red Wings (70), Boston Bruins (69), Pittsburgh Penguins (66), Philadelphia Flyers (64), Buffalo Sabres (60)
NHL Western Conference standings 2024-25
Central Division
Winnipeg Jets (98)
Pacific Division
Vegas Golden Knights (86)
Edmonton Oilers (84)
Wild card
Sitting outside playoff spot: St. Louis Blues (75), Calgary Flames (73), Utah Hockey Club (71), Anaheim Ducks (66), Seattle Kraken (65), Nashville Predators (58), Chicago Blackhawks (49), z-San Jose Sharks (45)
z-eliminated
NHL Eastern Conference playoff bracket
Here is how the Eastern Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended March 19:
Washington (M1) vs. Montreal (WC2)
Carolina (M2) vs. New Jersey (M3)
Florida (A1) vs. Ottawa (WC1)
Tampa Bay (A2) vs. Toronto (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
Winnipeg (C1) vs. Vancouver (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.