NHL playoff watch: Who wins the Central Division?

As has been the case for the past few campaigns, the Central Division includes multiple top-tier Stanley Cup contenders this season.

Going simply by points percentage, the Central boasts the second- ( Winnipeg Jets ) and third-best ( Dallas Stars ) teams in the league, as well as the eighth ( Colorado Avalanche ).

Editor's Picks Inside the Sabres' never-ending rebuild -- and how they get back to the playoffs 46m Ryan Clark NHL Power Rankings: Capitals back at No.

1, plus each team's playoff scoring leaders 39m ESPN Staff New team, new timeline? What to expect out of Ritchie, Minten, other traded NHL prospects 23h Rachel Doerrie Those first two clubs face off Friday night ( 8 p.m.

ET, NHL Network ), with one additional matchup on the schedule (April 10 in Dallas).

The Jets and Stars have split the season series thus far, and Winnipeg holds the No.

1 spot in the division, with 94 points and 37 regulation wins in 66 games.

Dallas is not out of range to make a run at that spot, with 86 points and 35 RW in 64 games.

Neither team wants to match up against Colorado in the first round, as the Avs loaded up (again) at the trade deadline, including deals for Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle .

Colorado is at 81 points and 34 RW through 66 games and theoretically could catch the other two teams, but it would need losing streaks out of its opponents to make much of a dent.

The Avs visit the Calgary Flames on Friday ( 9 p.m.

ET, ESPN+ ).

How do the projections see this playing out for the rest of the season -- and beyond? Stathletes projects the three teams to finish in the exact same order: Jets (115.2 points), Stars (106.7) and Avalanche (103.0).

But, of those three clubs, the Avs have the highest chance of winning it all (15.3%), followed by the Jets (8.8%) and Stars (2.4%).

There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we'll help you keep track of it all with the NHL playoff watch.

As we traverse the final stretch, we'll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.

Jump ahead: Current playoff matchups Today's schedule Yesterday's scores Expanded standings Race for No.

1 pick Current playoff matchups Eastern Conference A1 Florida Panthers vs.

WC1 Ottawa Senators A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs.

A3 Tampa Bay Lightning M1 Washington Capitals vs.

WC2 Columbus Blue Jackets M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs.

M3 New Jersey Devils Western Conference C1 Winnipeg Jets vs.

WC2 C algary Flames C2 Dallas Stars vs.

C3 Colorado Avalanche P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs.

WC1 Minnesota Wild P2 Los Angeles Kings vs.

P3 Edmonton Oilers Friday's games Note: All times ET.

All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).

Breaking News from Emily Kaplan Download the ESPN app and enable Emily Kaplan's news alerts to receive push notifications for the latest updates first.

Opt in by tapping the alerts bell in the top right corner.

For more information, click here .

Detroit Red Wings at Carolina Hurricanes , 7 p.m.

Edmonton Oilers at New York Islanders , 7:30 p.m.

Dallas Stars at Winnipeg Jets , 8 p.m.

(NHLN) Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames , 9 p.m.

Nashville Predators at Anaheim Ducks , 10 p.m.

Utah Hockey Club at Seattle Kraken , 10 p.m.

Thursday's scoreboard Florida Panthers 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 2 Ottawa Senators 6, Boston Bruins 3 Philadelphia Flyers 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (SO) Pittsburgh Penguins 5, St.

Louis Blues 3 Vegas Golden Knights 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 0 New Jersey Devils 3, Edmonton Oilers 2 New York Rangers 3, Minnesota Wild 2 (OT) Los Angeles Kings 3, Washington Capitals 0 San Jose Sharks 4, Chicago Blackhawks 2 Expanded standings Atlantic Division Florida Panthers Points: 85 Regulation wins: 35 Playoff position: A1 Games left: 16 Points pace: 105.6 Next game: @ MTL (Saturday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A Toronto Maple Leafs Points: 81 Regulation wins: 31 Playoff position: A2 Games left: 17 Points pace: 102.2 Next game: vs.

OTT (Saturday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A Tampa Bay Lightning Points: 79 Regulation wins: 32 Playoff position: A3 Games left: 17 Points pace: 99.7 Next game: @ BOS (Saturday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A Ottawa Senators Points: 75 Regulation wins: 26 Playoff position: WC1 Games left: 17 Points pace: 94.6 Next game: @ TOR (Saturday) Playoff chances: 97.7% Tragic number: N/A Montreal Canadiens Points: 69 Regulation wins: 22 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 87.1 Next game: vs.

FLA (Saturday) Playoff chances: 10.9% Tragic number: 34 Detroit Red Wings Points: 68 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 85.8 Next game: @ CAR (Friday) Playoff chances: 12% Tragic number: 33 Boston Bruins Points: 68 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 83.2 Next game: vs.

TB (Saturday) Playoff chances: 13.7% Tragic number: 29 Buffalo Sabres Points: 56 Regulation wins: 21 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 18 Points pace: 71.8 Next game: vs.

VGK (Saturday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 23 Metro Division Washington Capitals Points: 94 Regulation wins: 36 Playoff position: M1 Games left: 16 Points pace: 116.8 Next game: @ SJ (Saturday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A Carolina Hurricanes Points: 82 Regulation wins: 34 Playoff position: M2 Games left: 17 Points pace: 103.5 Next game: vs.

DET (Friday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A New Jersey Devils Points: 78 Regulation wins: 32 Playoff position: M3 Games left: 15 Points pace: 95.5 Next game: @ PIT (Saturday) Playoff chances: 95.5% Tragic number: N/A Columbus Blue Jackets Points: 70 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: WC2 Games left: 17 Points pace: 88.3 Next game: vs.

NYR (Saturday) Playoff chances: 32.8% Tragic number: N/A New York Rangers Points: 70 Regulation wins: 29 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 16 Points pace: 87.0 Next game: @ CBJ (Saturday) Playoff chances: 23.9% Tragic number: 33 New York Islanders Points: 65 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 18 Points pace: 83.3 Next game: vs.

EDM (Friday) Playoff chances: 12.4% Tragic number: 32 Philadelphia Flyers Points: 64 Regulation wins: 17 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 78.3 Next game: vs.

CAR (Saturday) Playoff chances: 1.0% Tragic number: 25 Pittsburgh Penguins Points: 64 Regulation wins: 18 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 14 Points pace: 77.2 Next game: vs.

NJ (Saturday) Playoff chances: 0.3% Tragic number: 23 Central Division Winnipeg Jets Points: 94 Regulation wins: 37 Playoff position: C1 Games left: 16 Points pace: 116.8 Next game: vs.

DAL (Friday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A Dallas Stars Points: 86 Regulation wins: 35 Playoff position: C2 Games left: 18 Points pace: 110.2 Next game: @ WPG (Friday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A Colorado Avalanche Points: 81 Regulation wins: 34 Playoff position: C3 Games left: 16 Points pace: 100.6 Next game: @ CGY (Friday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A Minnesota Wild Points: 79 Regulation wins: 29 Playoff position: WC1 Games left: 16 Points pace: 98.2 Next game: vs.

STL (Saturday) Playoff chances: 94.9% Tragic number: N/A Utah Hockey Club Points: 69 Regulation wins: 21 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 87.1 Next game: @ SEA (Friday) Playoff chances: 26.6% Tragic number: 33 St.

Louis Blues Points: 69 Regulation wins: 22 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 16 Points pace: 85.7 Next game: @ MIN (Saturday) Playoff chances: 29.2% Tragic number: 31 Nashville Predators Points: 57 Regulation wins: 21 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 18 Points pace: 73.0 Next game: @ ANA (Friday) Playoff chances: 0.1% Tragic number: 23 Chicago Blackhawks Points: 49 Regulation wins: 17 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 16 Points pace: 60.9 Next game: @ VAN (Saturday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 11 Pacific Division Vegas Golden Knights Points: 85 Regulation wins: 36 Playoff position: P1 Games left: 17 Points pace: 107.2 Next game: @ BUF (Saturday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A Los Angeles Kings Points: 79 Regulation wins: 31 Playoff position: P2 Games left: 18 Points pace: 101.2 Next game: vs.

NSH (Saturday) Playoff chances: 98.2% Tragic number: N/A Edmonton Oilers Points: 78 Regulation wins: 27 Playoff position: P3 Games left: 17 Points pace: 98.4 Next game: @ NYI (Friday) Playoff chances: 99.7% Tragic number: N/A Calgary Flames Points: 71 Regulation wins: 24 Playoff position: WC2 Games left: 18 Points pace: 91.0 Next game: vs.

COL (Friday) Playoff chances: 29.4% Tragic number: N/A Vancouver Canucks Points: 71 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 89.6 Next game: vs.

CHI (Saturday) Playoff chances: 22.1% Tragic number: 35 Anaheim Ducks Points: 63 Regulation wins: 20 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 79.5 Next game: vs.

NSH (Friday) Playoff chances: 0.1% Tragic number: 27 Seattle Kraken Points: 60 Regulation wins: 22 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 16 Points pace: 74.6 Next game: vs.

UTA (Friday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 22 San Jose Sharks Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 55.1 Next game: vs.

WSH (Saturday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 5 Race for the No.

1 pick Top stories of the week from Get exclusive access to thousands of premium articles a year from top writers.

2025 NBA draft: 76ers with a top-5 pick? Men's coaching tracker: IU's next coach How will NHL players impact new teams? More ESPN+ content The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No.

1 selection.

As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No.

1 pick.

Full details on the process are here .

Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL's Erie Otters, is No.

1 on the draft board .

1.

San Jose Sharks Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 2.

Chicago Blackhawks Points: 49 Regulation wins: 17 3.

Buffalo Sabres Points: 56 Regulation wins: 21 4.

Nashville Predators Points: 57 Regulation wins: 21 5.

Seattle Kraken Points: 60 Regulation wins: 22 6.

Anaheim Ducks Points: 63 Regulation wins: 20 7.

Philadelphia Flyers Points: 64 Regulation wins: 17 8.

Pittsburgh Penguins Points: 64 Regulation wins: 18 9.

New York Islanders Points: 65 Regulation wins: 23 10.

Boston Bruins Points: 68 Regulation wins: 23 11.

Detroit Red Wings Points: 68 Regulation wins: 23 12.

Utah Hockey Club Points: 69 Regulation wins: 21 13.

Montreal Canadiens Points: 69 Regulation wins: 22 14.

St.

Louis Blues Points: 69 Regulation wins: 22 15.

New York Rangers Points: 70 Regulation wins: 29 16.

Vancouver Canucks Points: 71 Regulation wins: 23.

This article has been shared from the original article on espn, here is the link to the original article:

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/44240469/nhl-playoffs-bracket-standings-2025-wild-card-bracket-games-matchups