Who's in 2026 NHL playoffs? Bracket, standings, today's clinching scenarios

Every NHL team could have a “clinched” or an “eliminated” symbol by its name in the standings by the end of the night on Monday, April 13.

Then the rest of the season will come down to determining seeding.

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Thirteen of the 16 NHL playoff spots have been filled, and the Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings can clinch the remaining three on Monday.

The Flyers can it do it outright, setting up a first-round matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Kings and idle Ducks will need help. The Ducks and Flyers have been out of the playoffs a combined 12 seasons.

Also Monday, the Carolina Hurricanes can wrap up the Eastern Conference title and the Buffalo Sabres can clinch the Atlantic Division title.

Here’s what to know about the NHL standings, including the latest playoff bracket, Monday’s clinching scenarios and the tiebreaker procedures for the 2025-26 season:

Eastern Conference: Carolina, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Boston

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Western Conference: Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Utah, Edmonton, Vegas

• The Flyers will clinch a playoff berth if they beat the Hurricanes. If they do, they will open the first round in Pittsburgh.

• The idle Ducks will clinch a playoff berth if the Predators lose to the Sharks.

• The Los Angeles Kings will clinch a playoff berth if they beat the Kraken and the Nashville Predators lose in regulation.

• The Hurricanes will clinch the Eastern Conference title if they get at least one point against the Flyers or if the Sabres lose to the Blackhawks.

• The Sabres will clinch the Atlantic Division title if they beat the Chicago Blackhawks in regulation and the Tampa Bay Lightning do anything but beat the Detroit Red Wings in regulation.

• Detroit at Tampa Bay, 7

• N.Y. Rangers at Florida, 7

• Carolina at Philadelphia, 7

• Dallas at Toronto, 7:30

• Minnesota at St. Louis, 8

• San Jose at Nashville, 8

• Buffalo at Chicago, 8:30

• Colorado at Edmonton, 9:30

• Los Angeles at Seattle, 9:30, ESPN

• Winnipeg at Vegas, 10

After April 12 games. x-clinched playoff spot. y-clinched division. z-eliminated.

Metropolitan Division

• y-Carolina Hurricanes (110)

• x-Pittsburgh Penguins (98)

• Philadelphia Flyers (94)

Atlantic Division

• x-Buffalo Sabres (106)

• x-Montreal Canadiens (106)

• x-Tampa Bay Lightning (104)

Wild card

• x-Boston Bruins (98)

• x-Ottawa Senators (97)

Sitting out of playoff position: Washington Capitals (93), Columbus Blue Jackets (92), z-Detroit Red Wings (91), z-New York Islanders (91), z-New Jersey Devils (87), z-Florida Panthers (80), z-Toronto Maple Leafs (78), z-New York Rangers (75)

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After April 12 games. x-clinched playoff spot. y-clinched division. z-eliminated.

Central Division

• y-Colorado Avalanche (115) – Presidents’ Trophy winner

• x-Dallas Stars (108)

• x-Minnesota Wild (102)

Pacific Division

• x-Vegas Golden Knights (91)

• x-Edmonton Oilers (90)

• Anaheim Ducks (90)

Wild card

• x-Utah Mammoth (90)

• Los Angeles Kings (87)

Sitting out of playoff position: Nashville Predators (86), Winnipeg Jets (82), San Jose Sharks (82), z-St. Louis Blues (80), z-Seattle Kraken (79), z-Calgary Flames (75), z-Chicago Blackhawks (70), z-Vancouver Canucks (56)

Here is how the Eastern Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended on April 12:

• Carolina (M1) vs. Ottawa (WC2)

• Pittsburgh (M2) vs. Philadelphia (M3)

• Buffalo (A1) vs. Boston (WC1)

• Montreal (A2) vs. Tampa Bay (A3)

The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second in the second round. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: M – Metropolitan Division. A – Atlantic Division. WC – wild card

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Here is how the Western Conference playoff bracket would look if the season ended on April 12.

• Colorado (C1) vs. Los Angeles (WC2)

• Dallas (C2) vs. Minnesota (C3). This series is set

• Vegas (P1) vs. Utah (WC1)

• Edmonton (P2) vs. Anaheim (P3)

The winner of the first series would play the winner of the second in the second round. The winner of the third series would play the winner of the fourth. Key: C – Central Division P – Pacific Division. WC – wild card

If two teams are tied in points at the end of the regular season, here are the tiebreakers:

1. Regulation wins

2. Regulation and overtime wins (ROW)

3. Total wins

4. 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. When more than two clubs are tied, the percentage of available points earned in games among each other (and not including any odd games) shall be used to determine standings.

5. Goal differential

6. Total goals

The NHL regular season is scheduled to end on Thursday, April 16, with six games.

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The NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 18.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL playoff bracket, latest 2026 standings and clinching scenarios