Mammoth vs. Golden Knights: Prelude to NHL Playoffs?

Less than a month before the end of the 2025-26 NHL regular season, fans are watching the standings, closely following potential playoff matchups and how they could change in the final weeks.The most likely path for the Utah Mammoth to secure a playoff spot is through the wildcard, unless something unexpected happens with the top three teams in the Central Division. Currently, it is very probable that their first-round opponent will be the winner of the Pacific Division.Given the tight standings, any of the top three teams, the Anaheim Ducks, the Edmonton Oilers, and the Vegas Golden Knights, could be the Mammoth’s opponent in their first playoff series in history.On Thursday, the Mammoth will have another opportunity to establish their game against the Golden Knights, in their last regular season matchup. The game is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on ESPN+/Hulu. Each team has won a game against the other this season.Stathletes gives the Mammoth a 91.5% chance of finishing in the top wildcard spot, but the situation is a bit more uncertain in the Pacific.The Ducks, with 78 points in 68 games, have a 52.2% chance of winning the Pacific title; the Golden Knights, with 76 points in 68 games, have the second-highest probability, with 41.2%. The Oilers, who will be without Leon Draisaitl for the rest of the regular season, have only a 5.2% chance.Will Thursday’s matchup be the start of an exciting rivalry between Utah and Vegas? This is a game to watch closely.Each team has approximately 15 games remaining before the regular season concludes on April 16th. We will be updating daily on the playoff race, along with the teams competing for positions in the 2026 NHL draft lottery.

Contents

Current Playoff Games Thursday Games Wednesday Night Results Expanded Rankings Race for the No. 1 Selection

Note: Playoff probabilities are courtesy of Stathletes.

Current Playoff Games

Eastern Conference

A1 Buffalo Sabres vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 Detroit Red Wings
M2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. M3 New York Islanders

Western Conference

C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Seattle Kraken
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild
P1 Anaheim Ducks vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights

Thursday Games

Note: All times are ET. All games not broadcast on TNT or NHL Network are available for streaming on ESPN+ (local restrictions apply).

Winnipeg Jets at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m.
New York Islanders at Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens at Detroit Red Wings, 7 p.m.
New York Rangers at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks at Minnesota Wild, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+/Hulu)
Seattle Kraken at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m.
Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers, 9 p.m.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m.
Utah Mammoth at Vegas Golden Knights, 10 p.m. (ESPN+/Hulu)
Buffalo Sabres at San Jose Sharks, 10 p.m.
Philadelphia Flyers at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday Night Results

New Jersey Devils 6, New York Rangers 3
Carolina Hurricanes 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 5 (OT)
Washington Capitals 4, Ottawa Senators 1
Dallas Stars 2, Colorado Avalanche 1 (SO)
Calgary Flames 2, St. Louis Blues 1 (SO)
Philadelphia Flyers 3, Anaheim Ducks 2 (OT)

Expanded Rankings

Atlantic Division

Buffalo Sabres

Points: 90
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: A1
Remaining games: 14
Points pace: 108.5
Next game: @ SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.5%
Magic number: N/A

Tampa Bay Lightning

Points: 86
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: A2
Remaining games: 16
Points pace: 106.9
Next game: @ VAN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: N/A

Montreal Canadiens

Points: 84
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: A3
Remaining games: 15
Points pace: 102.8
Next game: @ DET (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 87.9%
Magic number: N/A

Boston Bruins

Points: 82
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: WC1
Remaining games: 14
Points pace: 98.9
Next game: vs. WPG (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 55.8%
Magic number: N/A

Detroit Red Wings

Points: 82
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: WC2
Games remaining: 14
Points pace: 98.9
Next game: vs. MTL (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 40.8%
Magic number: N/A

Ottawa Senators

Points: 77
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point pace: 94.2
Next game: vs. NYI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 65%
Magic number: 25

Toronto Maple Leafs

Points: 70
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 13
Point pace: 83.2
Next game: vs. CAR (Friday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Magic number: 14

Florida Panthers

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Points pace: 84.5
Next game: @ EDM (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Magic number: 17

Metro Division

Carolina Hurricanes

Points: 92
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: M1
Remaining games: 14
Points pace: 110.9
Next game: @ TOR (Friday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: N/A

Pittsburgh Penguins

Points: 84
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: M2
Remaining games: 14
Points pace: 101.3
Next game: vs. WPG (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 82.7%
Magic number: N/A

New York Islanders

Points: 83
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: M3
Remaining games: 14
Points pace: 100.1
Next game: @ OTT (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 77%
Magic number: N/A

Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 81
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Points pace: 99.1
Next game: vs. NYR (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 85.5%
Magic number: 29

Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point pace: 93.0
Next game: @ LA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 2.8%
Magic number: 24

Washington Capitals

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 13
Points pace: 90.3
Next game: vs. NJ (Friday)
Playoff chances: 2.7%
Magic number: 20

New Jersey Devils

Points: 72
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Points pace: 86.8
Next game: @ WSH (Friday)
Playoff chances: 0.4%
Magic number: 18

New York Rangers

Points: 64
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games remaining: 14
Points pace: 77.2
Next game: @ CBJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Magic number: 10

Central Division

Colorado Avalanche

Points: 98
Regulation wins: 39
Playoff position: C1
Remaining games: 15
Points pace: 119.9
Next game: @ CHI (Friday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: N/A

Dallas Stars

Points: 96
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: C2
Remaining games: 14
Points pace: 115.8
Next game: @ MIN (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: N/A

Minnesota Wild

Points: 90
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: C3
Remaining games: 13
Points pace: 107.0
Next game: vs. CHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: N/A

Utah Mammoth

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: WC1
Remaining games: 14
Points pace: 91.7
Next game: @ VGK (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 97.5%
Magic number: N/A

Nashville Predators

Points: 69
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point pace: 84.5
Next game: vs. SEA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 6.3%
Magic number: 28

Winnipeg Jets

Points: 67
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point pace: 82.0
Next game: @ BOS (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 3.5%
Magic number: 26

St. Louis Blues

Points: 65
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Point pace: 78.4
Next game: @ VAN (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 2.3%
Magic number: 22

Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 62
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Points pace: 75.9
Next game: @ MIN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0.2%
Magic number: 21

Pacific Division

Anaheim Ducks

Points: 78
Wins in regulation time: 22
Playoff position: P1
Remaining games: 14
Points pace: 94.1
Next game: @ UTA (Friday)
Playoff chances: 99.5%
Magic number: N/A

Edmonton Oilers

Points: 77
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: P2
Remaining games: 13
Points pace: 91.5
Next game: vs. FLA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 85.9%
Magic number: N/A

Vegas Golden Knights

Points: 76
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: P3
Remaining games: 14
Points pace: 91.7
Next game: vs. UTA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 99.1%
Magic number: N/A

Seattle Kraken

Points: 71
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: WC2
Remaining games: 15
Points pace: 86.9
Next game: @ NSH (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 11.6%
Magic number: N/A

Los Angeles Kings

Points: 71
Regulation wins: 18
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Points pace: 86.9
Next game: vs. PHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 35.4%
Magic number: 30

San Jose Sharks

Points: 70
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 16
Point pace: 87.0
Next game: vs. BUF (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 58.7%
Magic number: 31

Calgary Flames

Points: 61
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Points pace: 73.6
Next game: s. FLA (Friday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Magic number: 18

Vancouver Canucks

Points: 50
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point pace: 61.2
Next game: vs. TB (Thursday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Magic number: 9

Race for the No. 1 Selection

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the number 1 pick. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if they win the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the number 1 pick. For all the details on the process, see.At the top of the draft lists for this summer is Gavin McKenna, forward from Penn State.