Seattle's Out, Vegas Is In: How Sunday's NHL Games Will Reshape the Playoff Picture

Saturday was chaos. Multiple teams clinched, others got eliminated, and the Kraken's season just took a hit. The Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins locked up Eastern wild card spots after New Jersey knocked out Detroit. Out West, Vegas took over the Pacific Division with an overtime win over Colorado, while Edmonton squeaked in despite losing to Los Angeles. But here's the thing that stings: the St. Louis Blues and Seattle Kraken were knocked out. That's the reality. There's still one Eastern Conference playoff spot up for grabs (the Metro's third seed) and two remaining in the West, with serious seeding movement still possible in the Pacific.

Sunday's Biggest Games

The day starts with Pittsburgh at Washington at 3 p.m. ET on TNT. The Caps just beat the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Saturday, and they're still alive, barely. A win of any kind keeps them in it. An overtime or shootout loss? They survive another day. A regulation loss? Done. The Penguins, meanwhile, are locked into the Metro's No. 2 seed.

At 6 p.m. ET, Montreal hosts New York on ESPN+. The Islanders are in the same boat as Washington: they need a win or an overtime/shootout loss to stay alive for that No. 3 Metro spot. Regulation loss eliminates them. Montreal can still win the Atlantic Division or finish third, but they'll need more points than both Buffalo and Tampa Bay. Their regulation win total of 33 is comparatively low, so points matter more than just tiebreakers.

Columbus takes on Boston at 6 p.m. ET on NHL Network. The Blue Jackets have slightly more breathing room than Washington or New York, but only slightly. A loss doesn't end their season yet, but they're running out of time to catch Philadelphia for third place. Boston's in an interesting spot: they fell behind Ottawa in seeding after their Saturday loss. If they finish tied in points with Ottawa, the Senators get the higher wild card spot. Why? The first wild card likely faces the Atlantic champ, while the second wild card probably gets the Hurricanes in Round 1.

The Survivors and the Fighters

Ottawa's playoff spot is locked, but the Senators still have seeding to figure out. New Jersey gets another chance to prove it belongs, taking on Ottawa at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ after eliminating Detroit on Saturday.

Anaheim missed clinching on Saturday but can still get in with a win or overtime/shootout loss against Vancouver at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Like Montreal, the Ducks are still in the Pacific Division title hunt. But they'll lose any regulation win tiebreaker to teams ahead of them, so they need every point they can scrape together.

Vancouver's already locked in as the No. 1 Pacific seed and will be watching to see how the chaos unfolds below them.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.