Johnathan Walker:NHL Stanley Cup playoff bracket: League standings, potential first-round matchups

The Johnathan WalkerNHL season has passed the quarter mark and the playoff picture is looking different this season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, who made the postseason since 2018 with two championships and one Stanley Cup Final appearance during that time, were out of a playoff position on the morning of Dec. 4. So were the New Jersey Devils. The 2022-23 non-playoff Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings were in a playoff spot.

In the West, the 2022-23 non-playoff Vancouver Canucks, Arizona Coyotes and St. Louis Blues sat in a playoff spot. Currently out: the Seattle Kraken, Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers, though the last two teams are playing better after coaching changes.

Here's a look at the NHL standings (points in parentheses) and projected playoff bracket as of the morning of Dec. 4, plus the key games of the week. This file will be updated every Monday.

NHL STANDINGS

Eastern Conference

Metropolitan Division

New York Rangers (37)

Carolina Hurricanes (30)

Washington Capitals (29)

Atlantic Division

Boston Bruins (37)

Florida Panthers (30)

Detroit Red Wings (29)

Wild cards

Toronto Maple Leafs (28)

New York Islanders (26)

Currently out of playoffs

Philadelphia Flyers (26)

Tampa Bay Lightning (25)

Pittsburgh Penguins (25)

New Jersey Devils (23)

Montreal Canadiens (23)

Buffalo Sabres (22)

Columbus Blue Jackets (20)

Ottawa Senators (18)

Eastern Conference playoff bracket

(if season ended on Dec. 3)

New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders

Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Washington Capitals

Florida Panthers vs. Detroit Red Wings

Western Conference

Central Division

Colorado Avalanche (32)

Dallas Stars (31)

Winnipeg Jets (28)

Pacific Division

Vegas Golden Knights (36)

Vancouver Canucks (33)

Los Angeles Kings (31)

Wild cards

Arizona Coyotes (26)

St. Louis Blues (25)

Currently out of playoffs

Nashville Predators (24)

Calgary Flames (23)

Seattle Kraken (22)

Minnesota Wild (20)

Anaheim Ducks (20)

Edmonton Oilers (20)

Chicago Blackhawks (14)

San Jose Sharks (14)

Western Conference playoff bracket

(if season ended on Dec. 3)

Vegas Golden Knights vs. St. Louis Blues

Colorado Avalanche vs. Arizona Coyotes

Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings

Dallas Stars vs. Winnipeg Jets

Key games this week

MONDAY

Dallas Stars at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7: Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman will appear in his 1,000th NHL game. The Stars won Saturday's meeting 8-1 in Dallas and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled after two periods. The Lightning have scored only five goals during a four-game losing streak.

Washington Capitals at Arizona Coyotes, 9: Capitals star Alex Ovechkin needs one point to become the 16th NHL player to reach 1,500 career points. According to the Washington Post, Ovechkin's usual center, Evgeny Kuznetsov, will be a healthy scratch for the game.

TUESDAY

Los Angeles Kings at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7: A Kings victory would tie them with the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres for most road wins (10) to start a season. They could break the record on Thursday at Montreal.

New Jersey Devils at Vancouver Canucks, 10: Three Hughes brothers - Vancouver's Quinn and New Jersey's Jack and Luke - will play in the same NHL game for the first time. Quinn is a Norris Trophy candidate, leading NHL defensemen with nine goals and tied for the lead with 34 points. Jack leads the league with 1.76 points a game and Luke leads rookie defensemen with 14 points.

THURSDAY

San Jose Sharks at Detroit Red Wings, 7: Could this be when Patrick Kane makes his Red Wings debut? That would fit within last week's prediction of seven to 10 days. Kane told reporters Monday that didn't expect to play in his hometown Buffalo on Tuesday.

Anaheim Ducks at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30: Connor Bedard, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, meets No. 2 pick Leo Carlsson. Bedard has 20 points to Carlsson's 12.

FRIDAY

Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers, 9: A meeting of the most recently named coaches. Edmonton's Kris Knoblauch has gone 6-3 since replacing Jay Woodcroft and Minnesota's John Hynes has gone 3-0 since Dean Evason was fired.

SATURDAY

New York Rangers at Washington Capitals, 7: Coach Peter Laviolette has the Rangers atop the league standings after being fired by the Capitals during the offseason.

When do the Stanley Cup playoffs begin?

They're scheduled to begin on April 22. The last possible day of the Stanley Cup Final is June 24.