Buffalo, Tampa Bay and Montreal clinched playoff berths over the weekend, sharpening a nhl playoff picture that still has 12 days left before the Stanley Cup playoffs begin. The Lightning are on track to play the Bruins if the playoffs started Monday, and that matchup looks increasingly real as the last stretch of the regular season unfolds.
said, “We are 12 days away from the beginning of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and questions remain about how and when many of these races will end.” Tampa Bay has won 29 points in its last 14 games, and the club remains the favorite to represent the East in the Stanley Cup Final. Right now, the Lightning are on track to play Boston, a pairing shaped by Tampa Bay’s form and the Bruins’ goaltending edge from Jeremy Swayman, whose goals-saved-above-expected rate in all situations is 28.5.
The schedule leaves little room for drift. Tampa Bay plays at Buffalo on Monday, at Ottawa on Tuesday, at Montreal on Thursday, at Boston on Saturday, then faces Detroit on April 13 and the New York Rangers on April 15. Boston goes to Carolina on Tuesday, hosts Tampa Bay on Saturday, plays at Columbus on Sunday and hosts New Jersey on April 14.
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Montreal still has a chance at the Atlantic Division title, adding another layer to a race that has not settled cleanly even as teams clinch. Cole Caufield is two goals away from 50 for the season, and Nathan MacKinnon leads him by two goals for the NHL lead. For the Canadiens, that chase carries weight because no Montreal player has won the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals in a season since 1990.
The weekend also sent Buffalo into the field, and the Sabres now sit inside a crowded final week where each game can reshape seeding and matchups. Tampa Bay’s first playoff-series win since the 2022 Cup Final over Colorado is still pending, which is part of why the East’s bracket feels like it can still move under everybody’s feet. The most likely answer remains the one already taking shape: the Lightning, deep into another strong spring push, appear headed toward Boston first.
