NHL playoff watch: What to watch in each of Tuesday's games

Well, that was a consequential Monday night. The three final spots in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs were secured -- welcome back to the Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings -- which eliminated the five other teams that were still on the bubble.

Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton analyzed all 16 eliminated teams to identify the keys to each of their offseasons, but not quite everything is settled on the playoff front yet (or the draft lottery order).

So with that in mind, let's roll through the stakes at play in each of Tuesday's nine games, which is the season finale for 10 teams.

New Jersey Devils at Boston Bruins
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

With a win, the Bruins will clinch the first wild-card spot in the East, which would draw a first-round matchup against the Sabres. With any other result in this game, they must wait to see what the Senators do on Wednesday against the Maple Leafs; the second wild card will take on the Hurricanes in Round 1. The Devils enter the game 12th in the draft lottery order, one point ahead of the Preds in 11th and three points ahead of the Sharks in 10th. Why is this important? Teams can move up only 10 spots if they win the lottery, meaning New Jersey needs to finish 11th or better to be able to jump all the way to No. 1.

Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Carolina's shootout loss on Monday gave them enough points to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, so there isn't much on the line for them aside from personal stats and the psychology of finishing out strong. The Isles were eliminated over the weekend, and enter this game 13th in the draft lottery order. A win can drop them as low as 15th, but 13th is as high as they can get.

Montreal Canadiens at Philadelphia Flyers
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Both of these clubs are playoff-bound, and the points on the line here matter a lot more to one team than the other. Philly is locked in to a matchup with Pittsburgh, and will be the No. 3 seed no matter what happens here. The Canadiens, on the other hand, are tied in standings points with the Lightning in the Atlantic Division, and must be ahead in standings points to earn home-ice advantage in their first-round matchup. The Lightning close out their season with the Rangers on Wednesday.

Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets
7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Had Philly lost in regulation on Monday, this game would've had considerably higher stakes, with both clubs still alive for the No. 3 spot in the Metro. As it stands, it will be the final game of the season for Alex Ovechkin, and as we know, his future beyond 2025-26 remains unclear.

Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild
8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

There was some shakiness towards the end, but the Ducks have made their triumphant return to the Stanley Cup playoffs. With two games left, they can now finish anywhere from first to fourth in the Pacific Division; as the games begin Tuesday, they are third, with 90 points and 25 regulation wins through 80 games. That RW total means that a tie with the Golden Knights or Oilers will go to the other team; they will finish ahead of the Kings in RW, so would win a tie with them. Vegas currently leads the division with 93 points, followed by the Oilers at 91, with the Kings a point behind Anaheim, at 89. Minnesota's first-round matchup is secure, as they'll be the No. 3 seed in the Central, squaring off with the No. 2-seeded Stars.

Winnipeg Jets at Utah Mammoth
9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

A loss on Monday knocked the Jets out of contention, but they can say they made it to the final week of the season still alive in the race -- which is quite the accomplishment given that they were in the league's basement earlier this season. They're currently eighth in the draft lottery order, and can finish as high as sixth with two more losses. The Mammoth looked like their hold on the first Western wild card was quite secure in recent weeks; now, they are just a point ahead of the Kings (although they do hold a 10-RW lead). Why is this important? The first wild card matches up with the Pacific Division winner, while the second wild card earns a matchup against the mighty Avalanche.

Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames
9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Speaking of the Avalanche, they are locked in as the No. 1 overall seed, but are still battling hard to the very end (including a shootout win over the Oilers on Monday night). The Flames are fourth in the draft lottery order, and must lose their final two games (and have the Rangers win their season closer on Wednesday) to move up to third.

Pittsburgh Penguins at St. Louis Blues
9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

As noted above, the Penguins will be facing off against their Keystone State rivals as the playoffs open this coming weekend, which is a win for all hockey fans given the typical ferocity of those series in the past. On the other side, St. Louis is ninth in the draft lottery order, and can move as high as sixth pending the results of other teams. One thing to note: they already have 31 regulation wins, which is more than any teams near them in the lotter order aside from the Panthers, so they would "lose" that tiebreaker to all but Florida.

Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks
10 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Welcome back to the postseason, Kings! And yes, unfortunately, there is a path to a fifth straight first-round matchup of Kings and Oilers; maybe fifth time is the charm for L.A.? The Kings enter Tuesday one behind the Ducks for the No.3 position and two behind Edmonton (with a game in hand) for the No. 2 spot. L.A.'s RW total will not beat any other team in a tiebreak, so they will need to jump over them in standings points outright. The Canucks clinched the worst record in the league weeks ago, so they will have the best chances of winning the first overall pick, and at worst will select No. 3 overall in June.

The regular season concludes on Thursday, and we'll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we'll provide details on all the playoff races -- along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2026 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.

Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Today's schedule
Last night's scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Buffalo Sabres vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens

M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 Ottawa Senators
M2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. M3 Philadelphia Flyers

Western Conference

C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Los Angeles Kings
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild

P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Anaheim Ducks

Today's games

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).

New Jersey Devils at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders, 7 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m.
Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild, 8 p.m.
Winnipeg Jets at Utah Mammoth, 9 p.m.
Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins at St. Louis Blues, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m.

Last night's scoreboard

Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Detroit Red Wings 3 (OT)
Florida Panthers 3, New York Rangers 2
Philadelphia Flyers 3, Carolina Hurricanes 2 (SO)
Dallas Stars 6, Toronto Maple Leafs 5
St. Louis Blues 6, Minnesota Wild 3
San Jose Sharks 3, Nashville Predators 2
Buffalo Sabres 5, Chicago Blackhawks 1
Colorado Avalanche 2, Edmonton Oilers 1 (SO)
Los Angeles Kings 5, Seattle Kraken 3
Vegas Golden Knights 6, Winnipeg Jets 2

Expanded standings

Note: An "x" with a team's name means the club has clinched a playoff spot; a "y" means that they have clinched the division; a "z" indicates that they have clinched the best record in the conference; a "p" means they have clinched the top overall seed. An "e" means that the club has been mathematically eliminated. Teams clinch a playoff spot when their magic number reaches zero and are mathematically eliminated when their tragic number reaches zero.

Atlantic Division

Metro Division

Central Division

Pacific Division

Race for the No. 1 pick

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 No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Atop draft boards for this summer is Gavin McKenna, a forward for Penn State.

*Note: The Maple Leafs' pick belongs to the Bruins, unless it lands in the top five. The Panthers' pick belongs to the Flames, unless it lands in the top 10. The Red Wings' pick belongs to the Blues, unconditionally.