California's Three-Team Playoff Scramble Comes Down to the Final Stretch
April has arrived, and the 2025-26 NHL regular season is in its final days. For the first time in a while, all three California-based teams are still fighting for a playoff spot, and the drama is about to get intense. With just over two weeks left before April 16, every game matters, and Wednesday night could tell us a lot about who actually makes it through.
The Ducks Have a Stranglehold on First
Let's start with the good news for Anaheim fans: the Ducks are sitting pretty atop the Pacific Division with 87 points and 24 regulation wins through 74 games. According to Stathletes, they've got a 99.9% chance of making the playoffs. That's basically a lock. The Ducks are heading to San Jose Wednesday night to face the Sharks at 9 p.m. ET on TNT, and they're in the driver's seat.
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Now it gets messy. The Los Angeles Kings sit at 76 points with 19 regulation wins through 73 games, while the San Jose Sharks have 75 points and 22 regulation wins in 72 games. Both teams are chasing the second wild-card spot and trying to stay ahead of the Nashville Predators, Edmonton Oilers, and Vegas Golden Knights.
Here's the thing: the Sharks have games in hand on everybody. They've got one game in hand on the Kings, two on the Preds, and three on both the Oilers and Golden Knights. If they start winning consistently, they're in. Stathletes gives them a 60.5% playoff chance.
The Kings? They're in trouble. Having the second-lowest regulation win total in the entire league (only the Vancouver Canucks are worse, and they're 20 points underwater) kills their tiebreaker chances. L.A. sits at just 22.6% according to Stathletes. They need to get hot right now, starting with Wednesday's home game against the St. Louis Blues at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Can All Three Make It?
Mathematically, yes. If the Oilers or Golden Knights absolutely tank down the stretch, all three California teams could squeeze in. Every team has 10 or fewer games left, so we're talking about a razor-thin margin here. Wednesday's games will give us the first real hint of whether that's actually going to happen.
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