24/7 LivePhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaNew JerseyDelaware

SPORTS

NHL playoff watch standings update: Minnesota Wild-St. Louis Blues a pre-playoffs preview

ByTim Kavanagh ESPN logo

Friday, April 8, 2022

As we gaze upon the current NHL standings, one first-round playoff matchup appears to be more locked in than all of the rest: the Minnesota Wild vs. the St. Louis Blues in the Central Division's No. 2-vs.-No. 3 seed matchup.

Luckily for us, we get a preview of that series Friday night.

These two teams have met only once thus far this season, a 6-4 win by the Blues in the 2022 Winter Classic. They'll play Friday night's matchup indoors at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, so fans can keep their winter weather gear at home.

The clubs both come into this matchup reasonably hot, with the Wild on an 8-1-1 streak in their past 10, and the Blues going 6-3-1 in that same span. Both teams are also somewhat banged up, with the Wild's Matt Dumba, Jon Merrill and Matt Boldy on the injury report, joined there by the Blues' Scott Perunovich, Logan Brown and Torey Krug.

Will we get the intensity ramped up to full volume Friday night, or will the clubs hold a little bit back for their eventual meetings down the road? The game streams live for out-of-market for ESPN+ subscribers, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

As we enter the final stretch of the 2021-22 regular season, it's time to check in on all the playoff races -- along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2022 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via FiveThirtyEight. Tragic numbers are courtesy of Damian Echevarrieta of the NHL.

Jump ahead:br/>Current playoff matchupsbr/>Today's gamesbr/>Last night's scoresbr/>Expanded standingsbr/>Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC2 Washington Capitals

>A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Boston Bruins

>M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC1 Tampa Bay Lightning

>M2 New York Rangers vs. M3 Pittsburgh Penguins

Western Conference

C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Dallas Stars

>C2 Minnesota Wild vs. C3 St. Louis Blues

>P1 Calgary Flames vs. WC1 Nashville Predators

>P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Los Angeles Kings

Friday night's games

Note: All times Eastern. All out-of-market, non-NHL Network games available on ESPN+

Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m. (NHLN)

>Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers, 7 p.m.

>New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes, 7 p.m.

>Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m.

>Colorado Avalanche at Winnipeg Jets, 8 p.m.

Last night's scoreboard

Watch In the Crease on ESPN+ for highlights from every game.

New York Rangers 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 0

>Philadelphia Flyers 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 1

>Nashville Predators 3, Ottawa Senators 2

>Montreal Canadiens 7, New Jersey Devils 4

>Carolina Hurricanes 5, Buffalo Sabres 3

>Seattle Kraken 2, Chicago Blackhawks 0

>Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Dallas Stars 3 (OT)

>Vancouver Canucks 5, Arizona Coyotes 1

>Edmonton Oilers 3, Los Angeles Kings 2

>Calgary Flames 4, San Jose Sharks 2

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

x - Florida Panthers

Points: 104

>Regulation wins: 36

>Playoff position: A1

>Games left: 12

>Next game: vs. BUF (Friday)

>Playoff chances: 100%

>Tragic number: N/A

Toronto Maple Leafs

Points: 98

>Regulation wins: 39

>Playoff position: A2

>Games left: 11

>Next game: vs. MTL (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: >99%

>Tragic number: N/A

Boston Bruins

Points: 93

>Regulation wins: 35

>Playoff position: A3

>Games left: 12

>Next game: @ TB (Friday)

>Playoff chances: >99%

>Tragic number: N/A

Tampa Bay Lightning

Points: 93

>Regulation wins: 32

>Playoff position: WC1

>Games left: 12

>Next game: vs. BOS (Friday)

>Playoff chances: >99%

>Tragic number: N/A

Detroit Red Wings

Points: 65

>Regulation wins: 17

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 11

>Next game: vs. CBJ (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: <1%

>Tragic number: 1

e - Buffalo Sabres

Points: 63

>Regulation wins: 20

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 10

>Next game: @ FLA (Friday)

>Playoff chances: 0%

>Tragic number: E

e - Ottawa Senators

Points: 58

>Regulation wins: 22

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 12

>Next game: @ NYR (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 0%

>Tragic number: E

e - Montreal Canadiens

Points: 51

>Regulation wins: 14

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 11

>Next game: @ TOR (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 0%

>Tragic number: E

Metropolitan Division

x - Carolina Hurricanes

Points: 100

>Regulation wins: 40

>Playoff position: M1

>Games left: 11

>Next game: vs. NYI (Friday)

>Playoff chances: >99%

>Tragic number: N/A

New York Rangers

Points: 98

>Regulation wins: 38

>Playoff position: M2

>Games left: 10

>Next game: vs. OTT (Saturday)

strong>Playoff chances: >99%

>Tragic number: N/A

Pittsburgh Penguins

Points: 92

>Regulation wins: 33

>Playoff position: M3

>Games left: 10

>Next game: vs. WSH (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: >99%

>Tragic number: N/A

Washington Capitals

Points: 86

>Regulation wins: 29

>Playoff position: WC2

>Games left: 12

>Next game: @ PIT (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 99%

>Tragic number: N/A

New York Islanders

Points: 73

>Regulation wins: 30

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 13

>Next game: @ CAR (Friday)

>Playoff chances: 1%

>Tragic number: 13

Columbus Blue Jackets

Points: 72

>Regulation wins: 23

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 10

>Next game: @ DET (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: <1%

>Tragic number: 6

e - Philadelphia Flyers

Points: 57

>Regulation wins: 18

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 11

>Next game: vs. ANA (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 0%

>Tragic number: E

e - New Jersey Devils

Points: 54

>Regulation wins: 16

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 11

>Next game: @ DAL (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 0%

>Tragic number: E

Central Division

x - Colorado Avalanche

Points: 106

>Regulation wins: 42

>Playoff position: C1

>Games left: 12

>Next game: @ WPG (Friday)

>Playoff chances: 100%

>Tragic number: N/A

Minnesota Wild

Points: 91

>Regulation wins: 31

>Playoff position: C2

>Games left: 13

>Next game: @ STL (Friday)

>Playoff chances: >99%

>Tragic number: N/A

St. Louis Blues

Points: 90

>Regulation wins: 37

>Playoff position: C3

>Games left: 12

>Next game: vs. MIN (Friday)

>Playoff chances: >99%

>Tragic number: N/A

Nashville Predators

Points: 86

>Regulation wins: 34

>Playoff position: WC1

>Games left: 12

>Next game: vs. FLA (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 94%

>Tragic number: N/A

Dallas Stars

Points: 84

>Regulation wins: 26

>Playoff position: WC2

>Games left: 12

>Next game: vs. NJ (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 88%

>Tragic number: N/A

Winnipeg Jets

Points: 76

>Regulation wins: 26

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 11

>Next game: vs. COL (Friday)

>Playoff chances: <1%

>Tragic number: 14

e - Chicago Blackhawks

Points: 59

>Regulation wins: 15

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 11

>Next game: vs. DAL (Sunday)

>Playoff chances: 0%

>Tragic number: E

e - Arizona Coyotes

Points: 49

>Regulation wins: 16

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 11

>Next game: @ VGK (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 0%

>Tragic number: E

Pacific Division

Calgary Flames

Points: 95

>Regulation wins: 38

>Playoff position: P1

>Games left: 11

>Next game: @ SEA (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: >99%

>Tragic number: N/A

Edmonton Oilers

Points: 89

>Regulation wins: 33

>Playoff position: P2

>Games left: 10

>Next game: vs. COL (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 93%

>Tragic number: N/A

Los Angeles Kings

Points: 86

>Regulation wins: 29

>Playoff position: P3

>Games left: 9

>Next game: @ MIN (Sunday)

>Playoff chances: 81%

>Tragic number: N/A

Vegas Golden Knights

Points: 82

>Regulation wins: 31

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 10

>Next game: vs. ARI (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 41%

>Tragic number: 18

Vancouver Canucks

Points: 78

>Regulation wins: 27

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 10

>Next game: vs. SJ (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 3%

>Tragic number: 14

Anaheim Ducks

Points: 68

>Regulation wins: 19

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 10

>Next game: @ PHI (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: <1%

>Tragic number: 4

San Jose Sharks

Points: 67

>Regulation wins: 20

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 12

>Next game: @ VAN (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: <1%

>Tragic number: 7

e - Seattle Kraken

Points: 52

>Regulation wins: 20

>Playoff position: N/A

>Games left: 11

>Next game: vs. CGY (Saturday)

>Playoff chances: 0%

>Tragic number: E

Race for the No. 1 pick

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order at the top of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team may move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here.