2023 NHL Playoff Races as of April 6, 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 April 6

NHL Schedule For April 4, 2023:

MATCHUP		TIME
Buffalo	@  Florida	4:00 PM
Detroit	@  Montreal	4:00 PM
Pittsburgh	@  New Jersey	4:00 PM
Columbus	@  Toronto	4:00 PM
Vegas	@  Nashville	5:00 PM
Philadelphia	@  St. Louis	5:00 PM
Chicago	@  Calgary	6:00 PM
Seattle	@  Vancouver	7:00 PM
Edmonton	@  Los Angeles	7:30 PM

NHL Scores for April 4, 2023:

Final	1	2	3	OT	Tot
Ottawa	0	1	1	0	2
Carolina	2	0	0	1	3

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Buffalo	1	0	0	1
Florida	1	0	1	2

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Detroit	2	2	1	5
Montreal	0	0	0	0

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Pittsburgh	0	0	1	1
New Jersey	2	2	1	5

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Columbus	1	0	1	2
Toronto	1	1	2	4

Final	1	2	3	OT	Tot
Vegas	0	2	0	0	2
Nashville	2	0	0	1	3

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Philadelphia	0	0	2	2
St. Louis	1	2	1	4

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Chicago	2	0	2	4
Calgary	1	1	1	3

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Seattle	1	3	1	5
Vancouver	2	0	0	2

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Edmonton	0	1	2	3
Los Angeles	0	0	1	1

Final	1	2	3	OT	Tot
Colorado	2	1	0	1	4
San Jose	0	1	2	0	3

Ottawa Senators vs Carolina Hurricanes

Necas scored with 40.1 seconds left on the clock in overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Brady Skjei each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who maintained their three-point lead over New Jersey atop the Metropolitan Division despite squandering a two-goal lead. Stefan Noesen had two assists.

Buffalo Sabres vs Florida Panthers

Matthew Tkachuk snapped a tie in the opening minute of the third period, and the Florida Panthers topped the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Tuesday night for their fourth consecutive victory. It’s the longest win streak of the season for the Panthers (40-31-7), who moved into a tie with the New York Islanders for the top spot in the Eastern Conference wild-card standings. Florida owns the first tiebreaker because of its regulations wins. Pittsburgh is one point behind Florida and New York with four games left for each team.

Detroit Red Wings vs Montreal Canadiens

*NO PLAYOFFS RAMIFICATIONS

Pittsburgh Penguins vs New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils bounced back from their worst performance of the season with the help a 21-year-old second-year player. The young Devils also put a major dent in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ bid for a 17th straight Stanley Cup playoff berth. Dawson Mercer scored his first career hat trick, Vitek Vanecek made 22 saves and the Devils beat the fading Penguins 5-1 Tuesday night, knocking Pittsburgh out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with four games left in the regular season.

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Zach Aston-Reese scored twice, Joseph Woll made 24 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 on Tuesday night. Woll was recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis after Matt Murray left with a head injury Sunday in a 5-2 loss to Detroit. Woll improved to 4-1-0 this season with the Maple Leafs.

Vegas Golden Knights vs Nashville Predators

Cody Glass scored a power-play goal 3:30 into overtime, and the Predators rallied Tuesday night to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2. The Predators pulled within three points of the second wild card in the Western Conference currently held by Winnipeg with Calgary just ahead of Nashville. The Predators visit Winnipeg on Saturday night with five games remaining.

Philadelphia Flyers vs St. Louis Blues

*NO PLAYOFFS RAMIFICATIONS

Chicago Blackhawks vs Calgary Flames

Andreas Athanasiou scored twice, and the Chicago Blackhawks stopped an eight-game slide by topping the desperate Calgary Flames for a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night. With four games left in the Flames’ regular season, Calgary remains two points back of Winnipeg for the second wild card in the Western Conference. The Jets, who host the Flames on Wednesday, have a game in hand and also own the tiebreaker.

Seattle Kraken vs Vancouver Canucks

Jordan Eberle had a goal and an assist as the Seattle Kraken rallied from two goals down to beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Tuesday night. The Kraken solidified their lead for the top wild-card position with this victory. They now have a comfortable lead with five games remaining.

Edmonton Oilers vs Los Angeles Kings

 Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers’ power play continue to operate at peak efficiency. The Oilers scored twice with the man advantage, including Draisaitl’s go-ahead score with 7:20 left as Edmonton vaulted into second place in the Pacific Division with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night in a pivotal game for playoff seeding.

Colorado Avalanche vs San Jose Sharks

Nathan MacKinnon scored his second goal of the game 3:13 into overtime, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Tuesday night to clinch a playoff spot. In the extra period, MacKinnon got a pass from Toews on the right side, skated in on Kahkonen on a breakaway, and fired a shot past the goalie’s blocker side for his 36 goal and 100th point of the season.

 

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NHL Schedule For April 5, 2023:

MATCHUP		TIME
Tampa Bay	@  New York	4:30 PM
Calgary	@  Winnipeg	4:30 PM
Edmonton	@  Anaheim	7:00 PM

NHL Scores for April 5, 2023:

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Tampa Bay	1	2	0	3
NY Rangers	3	1	2	6

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Calgary	0	1	2	3
Winnipeg	1	0	0	1

Final	1	2	3	Tot
Edmonton	0	2	1	3
Anaheim	0	0	1	1

Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers

Chris Kreider and Tyler Motte each scored twice and the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 on Wednesday night. It was a physical game that featured four fights and several hard hits in a matchup of teams that met in the Eastern Conference Final last year, which the Lightning won in six games to advance to their third straight Stanley Cup Final.

Calgary Flames vs Winnipeg Jets

Andrew Mangiapane and Nikita Zadorov each had a goal and assist and the Calgary Flames beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on Wednesday night to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Flames (37-27-15) and Jets (43-32-3) each have 89 points, but Winnipeg maintained its hold on the second Western Conference wild-card spot based on victories. The Jets have four games remaining, one more than the Flames. The Jets play another crucial game Saturday when they host the Nashville Predators, who have 86 points and five games remaining.

Edmonton Oilers vs Anaheim Ducks

 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins became the third Edmonton skater to reach 100 points this season, Klim Kostin had a goal and an assist and the surging Oilers extended their points streak to 12 games with a 3-1 victory over the woeful Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night. Nick Bjugstad and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, who have won six straight and strengthened their hold on second place in the Pacific Division. Jack Campbell stopped 27 shots.

 

CLICK HERE For NHL Standings as of 4/6/2023

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!