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Breaking down NHL playoff matchups if season ended today

By Matt McGinnis

TORONTO, CANADA - DECEMBER 20: Nikita Kucherov #86 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates against Alexander Kerfoot #15 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on December 20, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Lightning 4-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - DECEMBER 20: Nikita Kucherov #86 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates against Alexander Kerfoot #15 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on December 20, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Lightning 4-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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The NHL’s 2023 Stanly Cup Playoffs begin on April 17, which means that teams have only one more month to punch their tickets to the postseason and earn a favorable seed or matchup in the spring tournament.

With such little time remaining before the field of teams is narrowed from 32 to 16, fans, analysts, and everyone else in the hockey world will look ahead at playoff races and projected first-round matchups.

The NHL standings that we see entering play on Friday will change many times before they settle in a few weeks, but it’s always fun to think ahead and try to predict what will happen.

What would the NHL postseason look like if the season ended today?

The favorite among most people in the hockey community is the Boston Bruins, the only team to win 50 games and the lone squad to clinch a playoff berth as of St. Patrick’s Day. Boston has led the league for basically the entire season and is on a historic pace.

While the Bruins lead the Atlantic, other division leaders include the Carolina Hurricanes (Metropolitan), Dallas Stars (Central), and Vegas Golden Knights (Pacific). All of those teams are expected to be legitimate threats come playoff time.

In addition, you’ve got the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche, in the current playoff field, as well as the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In other words, there is no shortage of talented teams that are capable of making a deep run through the playoffs.

As those teams prepare for the postseason, some positions seem to be all but locked in, while others will come down to the very last day of the regular season. Regardless of the race, teams have between 12 and 16 games left to solidify their positions.

Not only is the NHL regular season nearly over, but the sports world has its attention fixed on the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments. So, in the spirit of March Madness, let’s imagine how the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs would play out if the season ended today.

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