NHL Playoff Push: How this weekend’s games affect the post-season picture

We’re down to single digits. Just eight days remain until the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs arrive and the league’s post-season hopefuls begin their treks towards championship glory.

But before we get there, there’s another chapter still to close, the regular season’s final handful of games still to be played out over the coming week. While much of the playoff picture seems already locked up, there are still wild-card winners to be cemented, positional jostling to be sorted, and first-round matchups to be set.

With that in mind, in this instalment of Playoff Push, we look at a few key games this weekend and how they could impact the post-season matchups to come.

Friday: Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m. ET
Saturday: Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. ET

The Canadiens head into a weekend of fireworks, with back-to-back road tilts against Ottawa and Toronto on Friday and Saturday. Montreal arrives in Ontario riding high, the Habs meeting Ottawa on the heels of a six-game win streak. 

It all seems to be coming together for Martin St. Louis’s club, the young group peaking as the playoffs loom, and another young, dynamic talent in Ivan Demidov set to jump into the mix soon, too. But the Canadiens still have to lock up their playoff spot and officially stave off the Blue Jackets, who sit six points back. A regulation win against Ottawa on Friday would clinch their spot and return Montreal to the post-season after a three-year playoff drought — more interestingly, though, wins against both Ottawa and Toronto could potentially move the Habs past the Senators into the first wild-card slot. Which certainly makes a difference for Montreal — as it stands now, the Canadiens’ first-round opponent would be a Capitals squad that’s looked like one of the league’s best since October, a squad that beat Montreal in three of four meetings this season. Move up to the first wild-card spot, and Montreal would get Toronto, who are no strangers to a first-round wobble. 

if (!res.ok) { throw new Error('Failed to fetch odds data'); }

const data = await res.json(); const oddsData = data?.data?.game?.details?.current_line; const visitingTeam = data?.data?.game?.visiting_team; const visitingTeamLogo = data?.data?.game?.visiting_team?.image_url_90; const homeTeam = data?.data?.game?.home_team; const homeTeamLogo = data?.data?.game?.home_team?.image_url_90; const gameTimestamp = data?.data?.game?.details?.timestamp;

return { oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp }; }

async function renderBetMGM(componentId, league, gameId) { let oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp, error;

const container = document.getElementById(componentId + '-odds'); if (!container) return;

try { ({ oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp } = await fetchOddsData(league, gameId)); } catch (err) { error = err.message; }

if (error) { container.innerHTML = `

Error: ${error}

`; return; }

if (!oddsData) { container.innerHTML = `

Odds data not available

`; return; }

let gameDate = new Date(gameTimestamp * 1000); const gameDateFormatted = gameDate.toLocaleDateString('en-US', { year: 'numeric', month: 'long', day: 'numeric' });

container.innerHTML = `

BetMGM Odds

${gameDateFormatted}

VS

Moneyline

${visitingTeam.short_name}

${oddsData.away_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.away_money}` : oddsData.away_money}

${homeTeam.short_name}

${oddsData.home_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.home_money}` : oddsData.home_money}

Spread

${oddsData.fav_id === visitingTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_points : oddsData.fav_points > 0 ? `-${oddsData.fav_points}` : `+${Math.abs(oddsData.fav_points)}`}

${oddsData.fav_id === visitingTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.fav_money}` : oddsData.fav_money : oddsData.underdog_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.underdog_money}` : oddsData.underdog_money}

${oddsData.fav_id === homeTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_points : oddsData.fav_points > 0 ? `-${oddsData.fav_points}` : `+${Math.abs(oddsData.fav_points)}`}

${oddsData.fav_id === homeTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.fav_money}` : oddsData.fav_money : oddsData.underdog_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.underdog_money}` : oddsData.underdog_money}

Over/Under

O ${oddsData.total}

${oddsData.over_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.over_money}` : oddsData.over_money}

U ${oddsData.total}

${oddsData.under_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.under_money}` : oddsData.under_money}

Powered by

${gameDateFormatted}

VS

Powered by

`; }

// Example usage renderBetMGM('block_0c6cd1bb6edcf84ee12740b594975267', 'NHL', 'e73c8243-8f56-410a-a21b-fa315a71aff0');

On the other side of the ledger, the Senators will be looking to hold off the Habs and remain in their current position. That said, a late-season Sens run could move them up even higher, with third-place Florida still catchable in the division race. For Toronto, the task at hand is simple: collecting as many points as possible down the stretch and holding onto the division lead, rather than risking a fall to No. 2 and a meeting with either Tampa Bay or Florida in Round 1.

Friday: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings, 7 p.m. ET

Speaking of the Bolts, they’ll be putting pressure on Toronto with a winnable meeting of their own this weekend, as Steve Yzerman’s old club meets his current one in Friday’s Lightning-Red Wings tilt.

if (!res.ok) { throw new Error('Failed to fetch odds data'); }

const data = await res.json(); const oddsData = data?.data?.game?.details?.current_line; const visitingTeam = data?.data?.game?.visiting_team; const visitingTeamLogo = data?.data?.game?.visiting_team?.image_url_90; const homeTeam = data?.data?.game?.home_team; const homeTeamLogo = data?.data?.game?.home_team?.image_url_90; const gameTimestamp = data?.data?.game?.details?.timestamp;

return { oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp }; }

async function renderBetMGM(componentId, league, gameId) { let oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp, error;

const container = document.getElementById(componentId + '-odds'); if (!container) return;

try { ({ oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp } = await fetchOddsData(league, gameId)); } catch (err) { error = err.message; }

if (error) { container.innerHTML = `

Error: ${error}

`; return; }

if (!oddsData) { container.innerHTML = `

Odds data not available

`; return; }

let gameDate = new Date(gameTimestamp * 1000); const gameDateFormatted = gameDate.toLocaleDateString('en-US', { year: 'numeric', month: 'long', day: 'numeric' });

container.innerHTML = `

BetMGM Odds

${gameDateFormatted}

VS

Moneyline

${visitingTeam.short_name}

${oddsData.away_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.away_money}` : oddsData.away_money}

${homeTeam.short_name}

${oddsData.home_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.home_money}` : oddsData.home_money}

Spread

${oddsData.fav_id === visitingTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_points : oddsData.fav_points > 0 ? `-${oddsData.fav_points}` : `+${Math.abs(oddsData.fav_points)}`}

${oddsData.fav_id === visitingTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.fav_money}` : oddsData.fav_money : oddsData.underdog_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.underdog_money}` : oddsData.underdog_money}

${oddsData.fav_id === homeTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_points : oddsData.fav_points > 0 ? `-${oddsData.fav_points}` : `+${Math.abs(oddsData.fav_points)}`}

${oddsData.fav_id === homeTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.fav_money}` : oddsData.fav_money : oddsData.underdog_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.underdog_money}` : oddsData.underdog_money}

Over/Under

O ${oddsData.total}

${oddsData.over_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.over_money}` : oddsData.over_money}

U ${oddsData.total}

${oddsData.under_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.under_money}` : oddsData.under_money}

Powered by

${gameDateFormatted}

VS

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`; }

// Example usage renderBetMGM('block_80e8ce5fc669b38d986f03c3baf163bb', 'NHL', 'a2c132f6-0558-42ce-a375-d1ba0570c3ad');

The Bolts sit just three points back of Toronto for the Atlantic lead, and stare down two seemingly winnable games this weekend, against Detroit on Friday and Buffalo on Sunday. Wins in both, coupled with Maple Leafs losses in their next two — after Toronto meets Montreal on Friday, they face Carolina on Sunday — would put Tampa Bay in the top spot. 

That shift would reset a slew of playoff matchups in the East. Sticking in their current spot would force the Lightning into a first-round bout with the defending champion Panthers, who’ve beaten them twice in three meetings so far this season. Moving up to first in the Atlantic would match them up with one of Ottawa or Montreal — the Lightning didn’t have incredible success against either club during the regular season, but it’s a fair bet the experienced Bolts would prefer meeting the inexperienced Sens or Habs rather than the defending champions to kick off their playoff run.

Saturday: Florida Panthers vs. Buffalo Sabres, 6 p.m. ET

The Cats have their own weekend matchup to navigate, a date with the Sabres on the books for Saturday. And Florida has their own place in the standings to lock up down the stretch, after a recent slide that threatened even more Atlantic Division plot twists.

Up until a two-game turnaround this past week, the Panthers stumbled through a five-game losing streak — their first such stretch since 2019 — as their offence all but dried up. With the Atlantic’s top three essentially standing neck and neck for much of this campaign, the Cats’ slide was enough to drop them down to third and take them out of the division title race. But heading into their final three games of the season, Florida’s playoff path could still go a number of different directions.

Three straight wins, starting with Saturday against Buffalo, could technically move them back to first place if the Bolts and Leafs stumble down the stretch, booking a first-round bout with either the Senators or Canadiens. Sticking where they are now, or moving one spot up, would leave them in a first-round meeting with the Lightning. But there’s also the chance Florida takes their foot off the gas again, drops points, and gets overtaken by Ottawa — doing so would push the Panthers down into the first wild-card spot, lining up a first-round meeting with Toronto. 

Friday: Calgary Flames vs. Minnesota Wild, 8 p.m. MT

The West’s wild-card race has largely been settled by this point. Only one club is still standing as a challenger, the Flames sitting on the outside looking in, while the Blues and Wild have pulled away over the past few weeks. But the Flames’ hopes are still alive as long as they’re mathematically in it, and Friday will be crucial for the Albertan club in that regard.

if (!res.ok) { throw new Error('Failed to fetch odds data'); }

const data = await res.json(); const oddsData = data?.data?.game?.details?.current_line; const visitingTeam = data?.data?.game?.visiting_team; const visitingTeamLogo = data?.data?.game?.visiting_team?.image_url_90; const homeTeam = data?.data?.game?.home_team; const homeTeamLogo = data?.data?.game?.home_team?.image_url_90; const gameTimestamp = data?.data?.game?.details?.timestamp;

return { oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp }; }

async function renderBetMGM(componentId, league, gameId) { let oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp, error;

const container = document.getElementById(componentId + '-odds'); if (!container) return;

try { ({ oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp } = await fetchOddsData(league, gameId)); } catch (err) { error = err.message; }

if (error) { container.innerHTML = `

Error: ${error}

`; return; }

if (!oddsData) { container.innerHTML = `

Odds data not available

`; return; }

let gameDate = new Date(gameTimestamp * 1000); const gameDateFormatted = gameDate.toLocaleDateString('en-US', { year: 'numeric', month: 'long', day: 'numeric' });

container.innerHTML = `

BetMGM Odds

${gameDateFormatted}

VS

Moneyline

${visitingTeam.short_name}

${oddsData.away_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.away_money}` : oddsData.away_money}

${homeTeam.short_name}

${oddsData.home_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.home_money}` : oddsData.home_money}

Spread

${oddsData.fav_id === visitingTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_points : oddsData.fav_points > 0 ? `-${oddsData.fav_points}` : `+${Math.abs(oddsData.fav_points)}`}

${oddsData.fav_id === visitingTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.fav_money}` : oddsData.fav_money : oddsData.underdog_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.underdog_money}` : oddsData.underdog_money}

${oddsData.fav_id === homeTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_points : oddsData.fav_points > 0 ? `-${oddsData.fav_points}` : `+${Math.abs(oddsData.fav_points)}`}

${oddsData.fav_id === homeTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.fav_money}` : oddsData.fav_money : oddsData.underdog_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.underdog_money}` : oddsData.underdog_money}

Over/Under

O ${oddsData.total}

${oddsData.over_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.over_money}` : oddsData.over_money}

U ${oddsData.total}

${oddsData.under_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.under_money}` : oddsData.under_money}

Powered by

${gameDateFormatted}

VS

Powered by

`; }

// Example usage renderBetMGM('block_2625f503a86d7faeebf19c47f0d1bcc6', 'NHL', 'a6a62ad1-3729-4149-8c53-4482d839099d');

A win over Minnesota on Friday would move Calgary to 90 points, still three back of both the Blues and the Wild, who sit tied in the two wild-card slots. If they can handle that bit of business, though, the dream remains alive — the Flames’ next matchup after Minnesota is a Sunday-night tilt with the basement-dwelling Sharks, while the Wild’s next meeting is a Saturday-night bout with a Canucks team that just took down Western Conference behemoths Dallas and Colorado.

Two straight wins for Calgary, and two straight losses for Minnesota, would put the Flames at 92 points, just one back of a playoff ticket. That would take the wild-card race right down to the final week of the season — Calgary closes out its schedule with two tough matchups against Vegas and Los Angeles, while the Wild finish with a finale against Anaheim. Depending on how this weekend pans out, those final games could be sealing a playoff berth for Calgary or putting an end to their 2025 dream — but it all starts with a must-win tilt on Friday.

Friday: Edmonton Oilers vs. San Jose Sharks, 7:30 p.m. MT
Sunday: Edmonton Oilers vs. Winnipeg Jets, 5 p.m. MT / 6 p.m. CT

Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Oilers have yet to officially clinch a playoff berth, a sign of the tougher road the 2024-25 group has faced compared to last year’s Cup finalist iteration. A point of any kind against the Sharks on Friday will lock up their spot and book their ticket to the dance, and that should be manageable for an Oilers squad that’s beaten San Jose in both meetings so far this season.

if (!res.ok) { throw new Error('Failed to fetch odds data'); }

const data = await res.json(); const oddsData = data?.data?.game?.details?.current_line; const visitingTeam = data?.data?.game?.visiting_team; const visitingTeamLogo = data?.data?.game?.visiting_team?.image_url_90; const homeTeam = data?.data?.game?.home_team; const homeTeamLogo = data?.data?.game?.home_team?.image_url_90; const gameTimestamp = data?.data?.game?.details?.timestamp;

return { oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp }; }

async function renderBetMGM(componentId, league, gameId) { let oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp, error;

const container = document.getElementById(componentId + '-odds'); if (!container) return;

try { ({ oddsData, visitingTeam, visitingTeamLogo, homeTeam, homeTeamLogo, gameTimestamp } = await fetchOddsData(league, gameId)); } catch (err) { error = err.message; }

if (error) { container.innerHTML = `

Error: ${error}

`; return; }

if (!oddsData) { container.innerHTML = `

Odds data not available

`; return; }

let gameDate = new Date(gameTimestamp * 1000); const gameDateFormatted = gameDate.toLocaleDateString('en-US', { year: 'numeric', month: 'long', day: 'numeric' });

container.innerHTML = `

BetMGM Odds

${gameDateFormatted}

VS

Moneyline

${visitingTeam.short_name}

${oddsData.away_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.away_money}` : oddsData.away_money}

${homeTeam.short_name}

${oddsData.home_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.home_money}` : oddsData.home_money}

Spread

${oddsData.fav_id === visitingTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_points : oddsData.fav_points > 0 ? `-${oddsData.fav_points}` : `+${Math.abs(oddsData.fav_points)}`}

${oddsData.fav_id === visitingTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.fav_money}` : oddsData.fav_money : oddsData.underdog_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.underdog_money}` : oddsData.underdog_money}

${oddsData.fav_id === homeTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_points : oddsData.fav_points > 0 ? `-${oddsData.fav_points}` : `+${Math.abs(oddsData.fav_points)}`}

${oddsData.fav_id === homeTeam.id ? oddsData.fav_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.fav_money}` : oddsData.fav_money : oddsData.underdog_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.underdog_money}` : oddsData.underdog_money}

Over/Under

O ${oddsData.total}

${oddsData.over_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.over_money}` : oddsData.over_money}

U ${oddsData.total}

${oddsData.under_money > 0 ? `+${oddsData.under_money}` : oddsData.under_money}

Powered by

${gameDateFormatted}

VS

Powered by

`; }

// Example usage renderBetMGM('block_e7d7d102a461e19a28c72977e640389c', 'NHL', '199c507c-373b-4c6d-86ea-4a38cf5776a0');

The more important game, though, comes two days later. The Oilers have navigated a far more tumultuous campaign than expected this season, marred by injuries, underperforming stars, and off-season additions not panning out as hoped. But the time for tinkering and adjusting and seeing what they have has long past — Connor McDavid’s club now stares down a four-game slate to get themselves rolling before the chance to get back to the Cup Final begins. On that front, Sunday’s meeting with the Jets seems key.

Winnipeg has been flat-out dominant since Game 1 of the season. Quite literally — the Jets began the 2024-25 campaign with a 6-0 drubbing of the Oilers, on the road. Now, they get set to host Edmonton on Sunday as they try to lock up the Presidents’ Trophy. For Edmonton, the question isn’t really whether or not they get into the playoffs, or who they’ll face in Round 1 — it’s whether they have enough to put together another meaningful run in 2025. Sunday’s tilt offers as clear a measuring-stick opportunity as Edmonton is going to get before the real test arrives.

Saturday: Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche, 1 p.m. PT

Above them, the Kings have their own measuring-stick tilt to prep for, Los Angeles set to face the Avalanche on Saturday afternoon. A win over Colorado would give the Kings just their second 100-point campaign in the past eight seasons, and would help in their efforts to seal up home ice in the first round.

There might not be another club in the post-season crop who needs that home-ice advantage as desperately as the Kings. For three straight seasons, L.A. has finished third in the Pacific. And for three straight seasons, they’ve watched Edmonton lock up No. 2, claiming home ice for the annual first-round meeting between the two teams. The Kings have seen their playoff dream dashed by the Oilers in all three meetings. Now, the pair barrel towards what will almost certainly be a fourth straight meeting.

The Kings are surely looking to give themselves something different to hold onto this time around. Starting the battle in their own barn would help. Of course, the Kings also technically still have a chance at getting out of the rerun matchup altogether. If they win out the rest of the season, and the Golden Knights drop their remaining three games, L.A. would jump to first in the Pacific. Doing so would set up a Kings meeting with whichever of Minnesota or St. Louis finishes tops in the wild-card race — not necessarily a preferable path if it winds up being the recently-dominant Blues, but something different, at least. Either way, it starts with a tough meeting Saturday against Colorado, L.A.’s playoff fate in their own hands.

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