With six days left in the 2026 NHL regular season, four more playoff berths could fall in a single night. The Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights are all in clinching scenarios tied to upcoming games, putting the nhl playoff standings in sharp focus as the race narrows.
The Bruins will clinch if the New Jersey Devils beat the Detroit Red Wings in regulation, while the Senators will clinch if New Jersey beats Detroit in any fashion. Edmonton can lock up a spot with at least one point against the Los Angeles Kings, or with any result in the Jets-Flyers game other than a Jets regulation win. Vegas can clinch by beating the Colorado Avalanche in any fashion, or by getting one point against Colorado if several other results break its way.
The standings format leaves little room for error. The top three teams in each of the four divisions and the next two highest-place finishers in each conference advance to the playoffs, so every point now carries postseason weight. That is why one result in New Jersey, another in Los Angeles and a handful of other games could quickly change the picture across both conferences.
Read Also: Quinn Hughes powers Wild to playoff spot with record-setting season
The most striking part of the race is how many paths still remain open for Vegas. The Golden Knights can clinch with a win over Colorado, but they can also do it with a point if the Flyers beat the Jets in any fashion and the Minnesota Wild beat the Nashville Predators in any fashion. A separate path also opens if Vegas gets a point, Vancouver beats San Jose in any fashion and Philadelphia beats Winnipeg in regulation.
Read Also: Bruins Vs Hurricanes: Carolina Eyes Division Clinch in Final Home Game
That makes this stretch less about one scoreboard than a chain of them. The Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz is framed as a daily look at the 2026 NHL postseason races, and this is the kind of night that can turn that daily snapshot into a set of official playoff berths before the calendar runs out.
