NHL Playoff Picture 2023: Latest Stanley Cup Bracket, Odds and Picks
The Winnipeg Jets kicked off their most important home stand of the NHL regular season with a win on Friday night.
Winnipeg must continue to take advantage of its home ice to remain in the second wild-card position in the Western Conference.
The Calgary Flames put some pressure on the Jets by matching their result on Friday. The two sides meet on Wednesday in a game that will decide the path of the West wild-card race for the rest of the regular season.
Both Canadian sides are behind the Seattle Kraken in the wild-card race. Seattle and the New York Islanders are both in solid position to land in eight-team playoff fields as the top wild-card side.
New York holds a three-point edge over the Pittsburgh Penguins going into Saturday, and it has odds of -1100 (bet $1,100 to win $100) to qualify for the postseason at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Pittsburgh sits at -260 to make the postseason. The Penguins are receiving some pressure from a handful of teams, with the Florida Panthers being the closest threat.
Florida could see Saturday as a golden opportunity to leapfrog Pittsburgh since the Panthers visit the Columbus Blue Jackets while the Penguins host the Boston Bruins.
Atlantic Division
1. Boston - 121 points
2. Toronto - 98
3. Tampa Bay - 94
Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina - 103
2. New Jersey - 102
3. New York Rangers - 99
Wild-Card Race
1. New York Islanders - 87
2. Pittsburgh - 84
3. Florida - 83
4. Buffalo - 79
5. Ottawa - 79
6. Washington - 77
Florida has to see Saturday as one of the few chances left to flip the complexion of the Eastern Conference wild-card race.
The Panthers, who are +155 (bet $100 to win $155) to make the playoffs, should pick up two points in Columbus.
Pittsburgh welcomes Boston to western Pennsylvania, but the Penguins may catch a break because Saturday marks the first time the Bruins are playing since clinching the Presidents' Trophy.
Boston could suffer from a celebration hangover, and that would benefit the Penguins in their attempt to hold on to the second wild-card spot.
Pittsburgh could leave the weekend with the same advantage over Florida since it also hosts the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. Four points from those two games is mandatory in the playoff hunt.
Pittsburgh finishes with the New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus. It is hard to find losses in that five-game stretch. The Penguins should win the last three, and they can match New Jersey and Minnesota's on-ice production.
Florida's biggest impact on the wild-card race may be knocking out the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators at home on Tuesday and Thursday.
Buffalo beat the New York Rangers on Friday to stay attached to the postseason race, but it faces a long climb to the second wild-card spot, as evidenced by its +1200 odds to make the postseason. Ottawa has even longer odds of +2000 to reach the postseason.
Florida is 21-12-4 on home ice, so it is hard to imagine the Panthers losing one, or both, games against the teams beneath it in the standings.
The Panthers will put the pressure on the Penguins until the end of the regular season, but the difference-maker could be their final two-game home stretch against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes, both of whom are jockeying for seeding in their respective divisions.
Carolina is 22-8-6 on its travels, and Toronto is 19-13-4 on the road. One of those sides could end Florida's wild-card chase just short of the second spot.
Wild-Card Picks: New York Islanders and Pittsburgh
Central Division
1. Minnesota - 97
2. Dallas - 96
3. Colorado - 94
Pacific Division
1. Vegas - 99
2. Edmonton - 97
3. Los Angeles - 96
Wild-Card Race
1. Seattle - 90
2. Winnipeg - 87
3. Calgary - 85
4. Nashville - 82
Winnipeg and Calgary are locked in a wild-card battle that could come to an end on Wednesday in Manitoba.
The Jets enter Saturday at -140 to qualify for the postseason, while Calgary sits at +155.
Winnipeg should carry a ton of confidence into Wednesday's wild-card battle because it beat Calgary once already at home this season and it is 23-12-2 inside its home arena.
Calgary's 17-11-11 road record is the worst among the top 10 teams in the Western Conference.
The Flames are 4-2 in their last six road games, but the two defeats were ugly. They conceded eight goals to the Los Angeles Kings and fell in overtime to the Arizona Coyotes.
The Vancouver Canucks took the Flames to overtime on Friday. The Flames pulled out the win in that contest, but it proved just how hard winning away from the Scotiabank Saddledome has been for them.
A loss to drop four points back of the Jets could mark the end of Calgary's postseason quest.
Nashville is lingering five points back of the Jets. The Predators have +850 odds to make the postseason, and they could be officially eliminated in Winnipeg next Saturday by the Jets.
Seattle has three games left against Arizona. Three victories in those games alone should be enough to stay clear of the wild-card mess.
Wild-Card Picks: Seattle and Winnipeg
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