2023 NHL Playoff Races as of April 7, 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 7

NHL Schedule For April 6, 2023:

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Toronto Maple Leafs vs Boston Bruins

David Pastrnak scored his 57th goal of the season at 2:30 of overtime to give the history-chasing Boston Bruins a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

Buffalo Sabres vs Detroit Red Wings

Tage Thompson scored his 45th goal of the season, Dylan Cozens had two goals and the Buffalo Sabres outlasted the Detroit Red Wings 7-6 in a shootout Thursday night. The Sabres remain six points out of a playoff spot with five games left.

Ottawa Senators vs Florida Panthers

Alex Lyon set a franchise record for saves in a regulation game and Aleksander Barkov scored twice as the Florida Panthers beat the Ottawa Senators 7-2 on Thursday night for their fifth consecutive victory. Florida remains tied with the New York Islanders for the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference but holds the tiebreaker with more wins.

Washington Capitals vs Montreal Canadiens

*NO PLAYOFF RAMIFICATIONS

Columbus Blue Jackets vs New Jersey Devils

Instead of looking at possible first-round playoff opponents, the New Jersey Devils are focusing on finishing the NHL regular season on a roll. That’s exactly what they did Thursday night, as Jack Hughes scored two goals and set up two by Timo Meier in an 8-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team’s biggest offensive output in more than four years.

For the past few weeks, it seemed the Devils would face the rival Rangers in the first round of the postseason. However, the win pulled New Jersey within a point of first-place Carolina (109 points) in the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes, who have four games left, were beaten 3-0 by Nashville on Thursday.

Minnesota Wild vs Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins responded with the kind of responsible, selfless borderline boring hockey they’ll need to rely on if they want to reach the playoffs for a 17th straight year.

Tristan Jarry stopped 27 shots, Kris Letang scored at the expense of good friend Marc-Andre Fleury and the Penguins kept pace in the chase for the Eastern Conference’s two wild-card spots with a 4-1 win over Minnesota on Thursday night.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Islanders

Adam Pelech, Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri and Ryan Pulock all scored second-period goals, Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves and the New York Islanders kept pace in the Eastern Conference wild-card race with a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.

Simon Holmstrom and Bo Horvat also scored for the Islanders, who had lost their previous two games and three of their last five before emerging with two key points in a battle with Florida and Pittsburgh for the two wild-card spots. All three teams won Thursday night. The Panthers and Islanders are tied with 89 points, with the Penguins just one point behind. Each has three games remaining.

Carolina Hurricanes vs Nashville Predators

Mark Jankowski had an assist in the first period and the young Nashville Predators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 on Thursday night to keep their improbable playoff hopes alive with four games left. Nashville beat the NHL’s best in Boston on March 28. They edged the Western Conference leader in overtime Tuesday night and came into Thursday night three points back of Winnipeg, currently holding the second wild-card spot in the West, and Calgary a slot above the Predators.

New York Rangers vs St. Louis Blues

Kasperi Kapanen scored 1:16 into overtime to help the St. Louis Blues beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Thursday night. Vladimir Tarasenko scored and added an assist in his first game in St. Louis since being traded to New York along with Niko Mikkola on Feb. 9. The Rangers fell four points behind second-place New Jersey in the Metropolitan Division with each team still having three games to play.

Philadelphia Flyers vs  Dallas Stars

Jason Robertson beat the first-period buzzer while scoring twice and the Dallas Stars kept pace in the tight Central Division playoff race with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. The Wild lost 4-1 at Pittsburgh to stay at 98 points, and Colorado was at San Jose later. The Avalanche have a game in hand on the Stars and Wild, but Dallas owns the tiebreaker against both teams with more regulation wins.

Chicago Blackhawks vs Vancouver Canucks

*NO PLAYOFF RAMIFICATIIONS

Los Angeles Kings vs Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights scored four goals on their first six shots and took a major step toward clinching the Pacific Division and the top seed in the Western Conference with a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. The Knights, 11-2-2 in their past 15 games, have 106 points to lead Edmonton by three and the Kings by six in the Pacific with three games to go. Vegas also is six points clear of Dallas out of the Central Division.

Colorado Avalanche vs San Jose Sharks

Mikko Rantanen scored a hat-trick to lead the Colorado Avalanche past the San Jose Sharks 6-2 Thursday night. Rantanen reached 52 goals on the season and finished with four points in the game. Nathan MacKinnon also scored a goal and had four points. Ben Meyers scored the other two goals for Colorado. Alexandar Georgiev made 21 saves.

Arizona Coyotes vs Seattle Kraken

Both Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle tallied a goal and two assists to pace the Seattle Kraken. Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 of 29 shots in net. The Kraken possess a solid seven-point lead to retain the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference with just four remaining games.

 

CLICK HERE For NHL Standings as of 4/72023

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!