Wild finish inevitable to NHL regular season

April 04, 2025

key points from this story:

• The NHL regular season ends April 17.
• Ottawa Senators likely secure first East wildcard.
• Five teams battle for the second East wildcard.
• Vancouver and Calgary chase West wildcard spots.
• Winnipeg Jets compete for the President's Trophy.
• Five Canadian teams could make NHL playoffs.

There couldn't be a more appropriate word for the scramble to determine the final few teams for the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s wild, man, so the term ‘wildcard’ could not be more apropos. The 82-game regular season winds up April 17 and while some teams locked up berths weeks ago — hello, Washington; hi there, Winnipeg — there are division positions and wildcard spots still up for grabs. The situation is extreme in the East, where at one point in late March, there were five teams battling for the second and final wildcard position and separated by a mere three points. Barring a late collapse, Ottawa Senators have seemingly locked up the first wildcard berth in the East, but Montreal, the Islanders, Rangers, Columbus and Detroit were all neck-and-neck. It’s not so crazy tight in the West, but fans of Vancouver and Calgary will be on pins and needles down the stretch as they try to sneak into one of the wildcard spots. Minnesota and the hard-charging St. Louis Blues appeared fairly secure as the calendar flipped to April, with the Canucks and Flames needing late-season winning streaks to have a hope.