With 9 days left until the first day of the NHL Playoffs, the question on everyone’s minds is, if the Stanley Cup Playoffs started today, how would the seeding look? Who has the home-ice advantage in round 1, while the other teams have to wait until game 3 to play at home? In this article, we will go over the seeding match-ups and whether or not one team has home-ice advantage, why they have home ice, and what caused the team to have home-ice advantage.
Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs
If the Stanley Cup Playoffs started today, the Ottawa Senators would play against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. The reason for Toronto having home ice is because the team is in first place, while Ottawa is in the second wild-card spot.
Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Although the Florida Panthers have plenty of time to try to get out of third place, for now, the Panthers would have to play at Amalie Arena. The Lightning, who are in first place with 98 points, have the first crack at taking the series lead 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes In NHL Playoffs
The Hurricanes currently have an 8-point lead over the Devils meaning that Carolina would have home-ice advantage. If the Devils want to change that they have to win all their remaining 4 games. The Hurricanes have to lose their remaining 5 games, which is unlikely to happen.
Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are currently in control of having home-ice advantage. The Capitals have 107 points, while the Canadiens, who are in wild card #2, have 87 points. The 107-point leader in the Capitals also currently has 5 games remaining before the playoffs, so they could not only win home ice but win the Presidents Trophy.
Colorado Avalanche at Dallas Stars
While Dallas currently holds the home-ice advantage title, if they lose their next 4 games and Colorado wins their remaining 3 games, Colorado will hold the tiebreaker and hold home-ice advantage in the NHL Playoffs. The Avalanche will hold the tiebreaker due to having fewer overtime losses than the Stars.
Minnesota Wild at Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg is currently in a race with the Capitals for the Presidents Trophy push having a shocking 110 points. St. Louis, on the other hand, is currently struggling against Minnesota to see who can get to the first wild card in the NHL Playoffs.
St. Louis Blues at Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights are currently 10 points ahead of the St. Louis Blues. The Knights have home-ice advantage by a wide margin. The Knights clinched it by getting at least 1 point when they faced the Avalanche on April 8. In the likely scenario the Blues lose their remaining 2 games and Calgary, who are right below them on the standings, win their remaining 4 games, we might not see the Blues in the NHL Playoffs.
Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers
Although the odds are slim for both teams, the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers are both in a battle to see who claims home-ice advantage. Both teams collide on April 14, so we’ll see if that game decides who is claiming home ice in the NHL Playoffs.
Summed Up
If the NHL playoffs started today, we would have two teams that haven’t made the playoffs in 4+ years finally make it this far. Who knows what will happen once the season ends on April 17? The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs start rolling on April 19, 2025.
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