The NHL regular season closed Saturday with the playoff bracket finalized after a tiebreaker run between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes. The Rangers secured the Metropolitan Division title with 113 points, edging Carolina by a single point and earning home-ice advantage through at least the second round, according to figures published by the league.
Western Conference seeding shook out with the Dallas Stars on top at 110 points, followed closely by the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers. The Stars will open against the Nashville Predators, who clinched the second wild-card spot on the final day after Calgary lost in regulation to Vancouver.
Eastern Conference Matchups
The Atlantic Division produced the tightest race in years, with Florida, Toronto, and Boston separated by four points. Florida finished first at 109 points and drew the Tampa Bay Lightning, setting up a fourth meeting between the Sunshine State rivals in five postseasons. Toronto plays Ottawa in a Battle of Ontario series, the first time the franchises have met in the playoffs since 2004.
The Rangers open against Washington, with the Capitals having clinched the first wild-card spot on Friday. Carolina draws the New York Islanders, who edged Detroit on tiebreaker after both teams finished at 92 points. The Metropolitan Division finished with three teams above 100 points for the second straight season.
Western Conference Matchups
Dallas opens at home against Nashville on Tuesday. The Predators have won six of their past eight against Dallas in the regular season, though the teams have not met in the playoffs since 2019. Vegas plays Los Angeles in a third consecutive first-round meeting, a streak the Golden Knights lead 2-0.
The Central Division sent five teams to the postseason, with Colorado at 104 points facing Minnesota in a Wild West rematch. Edmonton drew Winnipeg, the Oilers having finished second in the Pacific Division at 107 points behind Vegas at 109. Connor McDavid led the league in scoring with 138 points across 78 games, his fourth Art Ross Trophy.
Schedule and Format
The first round opens Tuesday night with a doubleheader on the league's national broadcast partners. Game 1 of Stars-Predators starts at 8:30 p.m. Central, followed by Oilers-Jets at 10 p.m. The remaining six series open Wednesday and Thursday, with the league spreading start times across two networks to maximize national exposure.
Series will follow the standard 2-2-1-1-1 format, with home-ice belonging to the higher seed. The league confirmed Friday that all first-round games will be played in their original arenas, ending speculation about neutral-site contingencies that had circulated earlier in the spring.
Storylines to Watch
Toronto enters the postseason with the longest active drought among Original Six franchises, last winning a Stanley Cup in 1967. The Maple Leafs have not advanced past the second round since 2002. Auston Matthews finished the regular season with 58 goals, second behind Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov at 61.
The Stars are seeking a second straight Western Conference Final after losing to Edmonton last May. Dallas added center Mikko Rantanen at the trade deadline, a move general manager Jim Nill called the most aggressive in his tenure. The first round is expected to conclude by May 5, with the second round opening the following Tuesday.