For much of the last five seasons, the Eastern Conference playoff picture from year to year has been familiar. The Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning have all made frequent trips to try and capture the elusive Stanley Cup. All of those teams are in the playoff mix to begin the 2025 calendar year, but the remainder of the race to the postseason includes a few wrinkles.
First is the Washington Capitals, who are currently atop the Metropolitan Division. As of January 5th, they are four points up on the New Jersey Devils with three games in hand. Despite losing star Alexander Ovechkin for a period of time this season, the Caps have received offensive contributions from Pierre Luc DuBois, Andrew Mangiapane, and Connor McMichael which has aided them in their surprising ascent.
Elsewhere the Ottawa Senators are finally making a playoff push. As of January 4th, they only sit four points behind the Bruins for third in the Atlantic Division and have two games in hand on Boston. Unfortunately for the Sens, they will be without goaltender Linus Ullmark who is week-to-week with a back injury.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, who are no strangers to playoff hockey, sit atop the Wild Card race even though they have played the least number of games in the league as a result of hurricane postponements to begin the season.
Finally, the Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, and Philadelphia Flyers have overcome underwhelming stretches to find themselves all within two points of a playoff spot.
Even the New York Rangers, who started horribly and traded Jacob Trouba and Kappo Kakko, finished Sunday with 37 points, now sit one behind the aforementioned contenders.
These trends, along with the belief that the Panthers and Bruins probably haven't played their best hockey yet, reinforce the idea that while the standings are narrow, the race in the Eastern Conference is still wide open.