2023 NHL Playoff Races as of March 31, 2023

Welcome to a new series from Full Press Hockey. With NHL rumors slowing down until the summer draft, we will only cover them once a week on Sundays. To replace the Wednesday rumors article, we will present a daily analysis of the playoff races called NHL 2023 playoff races. The analysis will be done daily when enough games affecting the playoffs are scheduled, with the article being published every morning after games are played. We will cover trends in the standings, and which teams are hot and which teams are not. With less than 20 games remaining in the 2022-23 season, all NHL fans will be tracking their team’s progress to see where they will finish.

NHL 2023 Playoff Races – As of March 31

NHL Schedule For March 29, 2023:

MATCHUP		TIME
Florida	@  Toronto	4:30 PM
New York	@  Washington	4:30 PM
Minnesota	@  Colorado	7:00 PM

NHL Scores for March 29, 2023:

Florida Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Sam Reinhart tied it with 1 minute left in regulation and Brandon Montour scored 1:41 into overtime as the Florida Panthers rallied to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Wednesday night, snapping a four-game skid. The Panthers remain one point behind the Penguins for the last wild-card spot with the Pittsburgh club holding a one-game-in-hand advantage.

New York Islanders vs Washington Capitals

Trade deadline pickup Pierre Engvall scored, Ilya Sorokin, made 28 saves and the New York Islanders took another stride toward returning to the playoffs by beating the Washington Capitals 2-1 in a shootout Wednesday night. With their second consecutive win – and first in six shootouts this season – the Islanders strengthened their hold on the first Eastern Conference wild card. They’re now five points up on Pittsburgh and six ahead of Florida with five games left to play in the regular season.

Minnesota Wild vs Colorado Avalanche

Frederick Gaudreau scored two short-handed goals, Filip Gustavsson stopped 39 shots, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 Wednesday night. The Wild hold a three-point lead over both the Dallas Stars and Avalanche who are tied with 94 points in 74 games.

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NHL Schedule For March 30, 2023:

MATCHUP		TIME
Columbus	@  Boston	4:00 PM
Florida	@  Montreal	4:00 PM
New York	@  New Jersey	4:00 PM
Philadelphia	@  Ottawa	4:00 PM
Nashville	@  Pittsburgh	4:00 PM
Washington	@  Tampa Bay	4:00 PM
Carolina	@  Detroit	4:30 PM
St. Louis	@  Chicago	5:30 PM
Los Angeles	@  Edmonton	6:00 PM
Anaheim	@  Seattle	7:00 PM
Vegas	@  San Jose	7:30 PM

NHL Scores for March 30, 2023:

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Boston Bruins

David Pastrnak scored his 53rd goal of the season 41 seconds into overtime and the Boston Bruins wrapped up the Presidents’ Trophy with their franchise-record 58th victory, 2-1 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. Tyler Bertuzzi had a tying power-play goal in the second and Linus Ullmark made 25 saves to help the Bruins win for the eighth time in nine games.

Florida Panthers vs  Montreal Canadiens

Matthew Tkachuk had his fifth career hat trick and one assist to lead the Florida Panthers to a 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. The Florida win helped them keep pace with the Penguins, who also won. The Cats trail the Pens by one point with the Pittsburgh club having a game-in-hand.

New York Rangers vs New Jersey Devils

Erik Haula and Timo Meier scored and Vitek Vanecek made three big third-period saves to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers on Thursday night in a feisty matchup between teams that could meet in the first round of the playoffs. There was a lot of anticipation about this game with the teams so close in the standings. While the fans were loud, the game didn’t pick up a playoff feeling until the latter part of the second period.

Philadelphia Flyers vs Ottawa Senators

Alex DeBrincat scored at 1:36 of overtime off goalie Felix Sandstrom‘s giveaway in the Ottawa Senators’ 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. After the Flyers scored three straight goals to force overtime, Sandstrom misplayed the puck behind the net, with DeBrincat scoring into an open net to keep the Senators’ playoff hopes alive.

Nashville Predators vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh is still trying to prop the Stanley Cup window open a little longer for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. The core of a franchise that has reached the postseason 16 straight years hardly looks like they’re slowing down. It’s nearly everywhere else – including depth scoring and goaltending – that has the Penguins sweating out a shot at the playoffs.

Washington Capitals vs Tampa Bay Lightning

Pat Maroon scored twice in the third period, Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the slumping Washington Capitals 5-1 on Thursday night. The Caps are five points out with seven games left. That could be tough to overcome.

Carolina Hurricanes vs Detroit Red Wings

Defenseman Jake Walman scored with 3.2 seconds left to give the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour was disappointed by losing two important points. The Devils are just one point behind the Canes who have played one less game.

St. Louis Blues vs Chicago Blackhawks

*NO PLAYOFF RAMIFICATIONS

Los Angeles Kings vs Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid scored his NHL-leading 61st goal of the season and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 on Thursday night for their third straight victory. The win moved the Oilers to within one point of the Kings who have one less game played. It appears that these two Pacific clubs may be opponents in the postseason.

Anaheim Ducks vs Seattle Kraken

The Kraken strengthened their lead for the first wild-card spot with a key win. They now have a five-point lead over Winnipeg and have played one fewer game. Both Jaden Schwartz and Matthew Beniers tallied a goal and an assist to pace the Kraken.

Vegas Golden Knights vs San Jose Sharks

The Golden Knights clinched a playoff spot with an overtime loss to the spoiler San Jose Sharks. Logan Couture scored his 26th of the season just 50 seconds into the extra stanza to give the Sharks the win. The Golden Knights have a two-point lead over Edmonton and have played one less game.

CLICK HERE For NHL Standings as of 3/31/23

That concludes this edition of NHL 2023 Playoff Races. Be sure to catch our next article to stay tuned in with the playoff races. Thanks for reading!