The field is set for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the brackets will be finalized Thursday with 16 teams two days away from the puck dropping. The Los Angeles Kings moved ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Super 16 rankings after clinching a berth, while the Colorado Avalanche kept rolling with a 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
Colorado’s latest result was the kind of game that can sharpen a team at the right time. Cale Makar returned from a seven-game absence with an upper-body injury and handed out three assists, helping extend the Avalanche’s seven straight road wins. They finish the regular season at home against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, with Nazem Kadri out because of a finger injury, Josh Manson sidelined by an upper-body injury and Jared Bednar missing the past two games after taking a puck to the face.
The postseason picture matters now because the matchups are almost locked in, and the teams at the top are carrying very different kinds of baggage into the opening round. For Colorado, the concern is less about form than health, while for Carolina and Dallas the questions are tied to who can answer the bell once the games start to count.
The Carolina Hurricanes still control home-ice advantage for as long as they remain alive in the Eastern Conference, and they may also get a late lift in goal. Pyotr Kochetkov, who was thought to be lost for the rest of the season after an injury on Dec. 29, made two starts on a conditioning loan to Chicago of the American Hockey League last week and was recalled Monday. Brandon Bussi posted a 2.68 goals-against average and an.876 save percentage in four April games, while Frederik Andersen had a 2.26 GAA and a.902 save percentage in four games, leaving coach Rod Brind’Amour with a decision that could shape the start of the playoffs.
Dallas has a different problem. The Stars have home-ice advantage in their first-round series against the Minnesota Wild, but Roope Hintz will not play in Games 1 or 2 at minimum after a lower-body injury on March 6, and it is still not clear whether he will appear at all in the round. Miro Heiskanen missed the last three games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, and the Stars open the first round against Minnesota with a deep lineup that will be tested early. The nhl playoff schedule 2026 is set to begin with those kinds of details deciding who arrives ready and who spends the first week chasing answers.