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NHL Wild Card Standings 2025 - 2026

Eastern

Atlantic

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

1	Montreal Canadiens	44	25	13	6	56	16	151	144	+7	12-9-1	13-4-5	0-4	7-1-2	W3
2	Detroit Red Wings	45	26	15	4	56	19	141	142	-1	15-8-1	11-7-3	0-2	7-2-1	W2
3	Tampa Bay Lightning	42	26	13	3	55	21	146	112	+34	12-9-0	14-4-3	0-1	8-2-0	W8
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

Metropolitan

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

1	Carolina Hurricanes	44	27	14	3	57	18	152	133	+19	15-8-1	12-6-2	0-2	5-5-0	W3
2	New York Islanders	44	24	15	5	53	16	130	122	+8	14-8-2	10-7-3	0-5	5-3-2	L1
3	Philadelphia Flyers	42	22	12	8	52	15	130	120	+10	12-5-5	10-7-3	0-3	5-3-2	L1
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

Wild Card

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

1	Washington Capitals	45	23	16	6	52	21	148	130	+18	13-8-3	10-8-3	0-5	4-4-2	W1
2	Pittsburgh Penguins	42	21	12	9	51	17	139	132	+7	10-6-5	11-6-4	0-5	7-3-0	W6
3	Buffalo Sabres	42	23	15	4	50	17	135	131	+4	13-5-2	10-10-2	0-0	9-1-0	W2
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	43	21	15	7	49	16	143	140	+3	15-5-5	6-10-2	0-1	6-2-2	W2
5	Boston Bruins	44	23	19	2	48	16	141	144	-3	13-8-1	10-11-1	0-1	3-5-2	W1
6	Florida Panthers	43	22	18	3	47	19	132	140	-8	14-9-3	8-9-0	0-1	4-5-1	L2
7	New Jersey Devils	44	22	20	2	46	15	115	137	-22	11-8-2	11-12-0	0-0	3-6-1	L3
8	New York Rangers	45	20	19	6	46	13	118	125	-7	5-11-4	15-8-2	0-0	4-4-2	L2
9	Ottawa Senators	43	20	18	5	45	15	139	145	-6	10-8-3	10-10-2	0-0	4-5-1	L3
10	Columbus Blue Jackets	43	18	18	7	43	11	132	147	-15	9-7-4	9-11-3	0-1	4-5-1	L3
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

Western

Central

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

1	Colorado Avalanche	43	32	4	7	71	29	175	99	+76	18-0-2	14-4-5	0-4	8-2-0	W1
2	Dallas Stars	44	26	10	8	60	22	153	124	+29	12-6-3	14-4-5	0-3	4-3-3	W1
3	Minnesota Wild	45	26	11	8	60	18	143	121	+22	13-4-5	13-7-3	0-3	5-2-3	W1
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

Pacific

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

1	Vegas Golden Knights	42	19	11	12	50	14	133	132	+1	9-6-6	10-5-6	0-5	3-5-2	W2
2	Edmonton Oilers	44	22	16	6	50	17	149	148	+1	11-5-3	11-11-3	0-2	6-4-0	W2
3	Seattle Kraken	42	20	14	8	48	14	117	123	-6	10-7-5	10-7-3	0-4	8-0-2	L1
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

Wild Card

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

1	San Jose Sharks	43	22	18	3	47	12	136	151	-15	12-8-3	10-10-0	0-1	6-4-0	W2
2	Utah Mammoth	45	22	20	3	47	16	137	127	+10	11-7-1	11-13-2	0-0	6-4-0	W3
3	Los Angeles Kings	43	18	15	10	46	12	115	122	-7	7-9-5	11-6-5	0-5	4-5-1	L2
4	Anaheim Ducks	44	21	20	3	45	13	147	163	-16	12-8-1	9-12-2	0-0	1-8-1	L8
5	Nashville Predators	43	20	19	4	44	14	122	143	-21	11-9-2	9-10-2	0-0	7-3-0	W1
6	Chicago Blackhawks	44	18	19	7	43	14	126	142	-16	10-9-4	8-10-3	0-3	5-4-1	L1
7	St Louis Blues	45	17	20	8	42	17	112	157	-45	10-9-5	7-11-3	0-2	4-5-1	L2
8	Calgary Flames	44	18	22	4	40	14	114	134	-20	12-7-2	6-15-2	0-2	5-5-0	L4
9	Winnipeg Jets	43	16	22	5	37	14	126	135	-9	9-9-3	7-13-2	0-1	1-6-3	W1
10	Vancouver Canucks	43	16	22	5	37	10	121	153	-32	4-12-3	12-10-2	0-1	3-5-2	L5
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	RW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	STRK

The NHL wild card system is a key component of the league’s playoff format, allowing two additional teams from each conference to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After the top three teams in each of the four divisions earn automatic playoff spots, the next two teams with the highest point totals in each conference—regardless of division—are awarded wild card berths. This system ensures that strong teams in competitive divisions still have a chance to compete in the postseason, even if they don’t finish in the top three of their division.

The wild card format adds intensity to the final weeks of the NHL regular season, as teams on the playoff bubble fight for valuable points. Wild card teams typically face the top-seeded division winners in the first round, creating high-stakes matchups right from the start of the playoffs. Understanding how the NHL wild card race works is essential for fans tracking playoff scenarios, team performance, and postseason predictions. It brings additional excitement and strategic depth to the league’s already competitive structure.

Acronym	Stat Name	Definition
GP	Games Played	The total number of games the team has played during the season.
W	Wins	The number of games the team has won in regulation, overtime, or shootout.
L	Losses	The number of games the team has lost in regulation time.
OTL	Overtime Losses	The number of games the team lost in overtime or shootout. Teams earn one point for each OTL.
PTS	Points	The total number of points earned (2 for a win, 1 for an OTL, 0 for a regulation loss).
RW	Regulation Wins	The number of games the team won in regulation time (used as a playoff tiebreaker).
GF	Goals For	The total number of goals the team has scored during the season.
GA	Goals Against	The total number of goals the team has allowed during the season.
DIFF	Goal Differential	The difference between Goals For (GF) and Goals Against (GA): DIFF = GF – GA.
HOME	Home Record	The team’s win-loss-overtime loss record in home games (e.g., 18-9-3).
AWAY	Away Record	The team’s win-loss-overtime loss record in away games.
S/O	Shootout Record	The team’s record in games decided by a shootout (e.g., 3-2).
L10	Last 10 Games	The team’s performance over its last 10 games, typically shown as wins-losses-overtime losses.
STRK	Streak	The team’s current streak of wins, losses, or overtime losses (e.g., W3 for a 3-game win streak).