NHL Playoff Picture 2024: Complete Standings, Bracket and Wild-Card Race

The NHL postseason is drawing near, with teams in the East and West still looking to solidify their positions in the dance.

Six teams from each conference have already cashed their ticket to the playoffs, leaving two spots in each, with several teams vying for them.

Who are those teams, and which two teams are the most interesting to keep an eye on?

Find out with this preview.

1. x-New York Rangers (53-22-4)]
2. x-Carolina Hurricanes (50-22-7)
3. x-Boston Bruins (46-18-15)
4. x-Florida Panthers (49-24-6)
5. x-Toronto Maple Leafs (46-23-9)
6. x-Tampa Bay Lightning (44-27-7)
7. New York Islanders (36-27-15)
8. Washington Capitals (37-30-11)
9. Pittsburgh Penguins (36-30-12)
10. Detroit Red Wings (38-32-8)
11. Philadelphia Flyers (36-32-11)
12. New Jersey Devils (37-37-5)
13. Buffalo Sabres (37-37-5)
14. Ottawa Senators (34-40-4)
15. Montreal Canadiens (30-36-12)
16. Columbus Blue Jackets (26-41-12)

x-clinched playoffs

1. x-Dallas Stars (50-20-9)
2. x-Vancouver Canucks (48-22-9)
3. x-Colorado Avalanche (49-24-6)
4. x-Winnipeg Jets (48-24-6)
5. x-Edmonton Oilers (48-24-5)
6. x-Nashville Predators (45-29-5)
7. Los Angeles Kings (41-26-11)
8. Vegas Golden Knights (42-28-8)
9. St. Louis Blues (42-32-5)
10. Minnesota Wild (37-32-9)
11. Seattle Kraken (33-31-13)
12. Calgary Flames (35-37-5)
13. Arizona Coyotes (34-40-5)
14. Anaheim Ducks (26-48-5)
15. Chicago Blackhawks (23-50-5)
16. San Jose Sharks (18-51-9)

x-clinched playoffs

The playoff bracket as of April 11 would feature:

• Bruins (Atlantic Division 1) vs. Lightning (Wild Card 1)
• Panthers (A2) vs. Maple Leafs (A3)
• Rangers (Metropolitan Division 1) vs. Capitals (WC 2)
• Hurricanes (M2) vs. Islanders (M3)

Spotlight: Boston Bruins

Despite an uncharacteristically sluggish 4-1 loss to Carolina Wednesday, the Bruins had strung together four straight wins prior and are among the teams most likely to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final.

Some of that can be attributed to quality offense and defense, not to mention a goalie situation that is the best in the league.

Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark make up the NHL's best one-two punch in net.

Ullmark, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner as the league's best goaltender, has been slightly better than his teammate of late, with a save percentage of .922. Swayman currently sits at .900.

Ullmark figures to get the start in the postseason because of his sharper play, Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic wrote, but it is the manner in which coach Jim Montgomery uses his goalies that could very well determine whether Boston is a force in the postseason or if they are one-and-done for the second year in a row.

Does Montgomery rotate the two in and out of net based on the opponent's strengths and weaknesses, or does he take the more logical approach of playing the hot hand? Should he go the alternating route, he already has an idea of what that would look like.

"I think if we commit to a rotation, it's gonna be Game 1, Game 2, Game 3, [then] Game 4 if that's what we end up deciding and then we can go from there."

In a game that can be very momentum-based, the idea of rotating goalies just to get both in the net in the postseason is a risky proposition. Given how good both have been while essentially splitting duty in 2023-24, it would not be surprising if they managed to buck the trend and make it work.

The playoff bracket as of April 11 would feature:

• Stars (Central Division 1) vs. Golden Knights (Wild Card 2)
• Avalanche (C2) vs. Jets (C3)
• Canucks (Pacific Division 1) vs. Predators (WC1)
• Oilers (P2) vs. Kings (P3)

Spotlight: Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks may be first in the Pacific Division and second overall in the Western Conference, but the team's uneven play may very well be its downfall.

The Canucks dropped a 4-3 game to the Coyotes Wednesday with the Edmonton Oilers keeping pace for the division lead. Vancouver has made it incrementally more difficult on itself to secure the division title and Elias Lindholm, the veteran center, knows it.

"The way we played today wasn't playoff hockey and wasn't good enough," he said after the loss.

The team has not played with the sort of consistency one needs to win a championship since the first two-thirds of the season. It has been choppy and uneven, with an appropriate 5-5 record in their last 10 games.

The idea that they can just turn things on once the postseason begins is absurd and will lead to bitter disappointment.

Missed shots, a lack of urgency, and ill-timed penalties have cost them opportunities and, ultimately, games.

That is a recipe for an early exit from the postseason and another year without a title.