NHL Standings: The real March Madness
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 22: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Carolina Hurricanes makes a save in front of Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 22, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images The NHL playoff race is reaching it’s peak this year, no where more than in the competitive and tight Eastern Conference. While the West is something of a pillow fight in the Pacific and a turtle race in general (Nashville is on a statistical pace for 89 points and currently holding a playoff spot), the East is a much more unforgiving place to be.
The Islanders and Red Wings are currently on pace for 97 points and find themselves below the playoff line as of this morning. Here’s the standings as of today. It’s tough times in Detroit, the Red Wings are just 5-6-2 since play resumed after the Olympics and now in serious trouble with their playoff outlook.
While Detroit’s season pace may be for 97 points, that is dropping by the game with their recent results in shambles. Ottawa, boasting a 10-2-2 record since the break, have now pulled ahead of Detroit. It’s a similar story in the Metropolitan Division, where a run by the Columbus Blue Jackets (9-2-4) have overtaken the Penguins and Islanders in the standings as of this morning with 11 games to play, 10 for NYI.
Further down the line, any spoiler hopes for a last gasp run by Philadelphia and Washington took major hits with regulation losses last night. The four point swing in the Flyers/Blue Jackets game last night could have meant just a three point separation had the Flyers won last night. Instead, they lost and now are seven points behind Columbus and five points behind the playoff line, dealing a serious blow to any far-flung playoff hopes.
The Penguins have been in a mode of hanging on lately, their 17 games in March is an NHL high and presented a monumental challenge. They’ve had to do much of it without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. They have had some great moments lately – like an OT comeback win over Boston and a great performance against Colorado mixed in with some ugly defeats to Carolina, Vegas and the Avalanche.
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