Thursday’s NHL slate could bring a wave of clinchers as the regular season moves into its final stretch. The Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild all have a chance to secure playoff spots, while the Tampa Bay Lightning also remain alive for a very specific set of results.
Buffalo and Carolina enter the day with a magic number of two, which means both teams can lock in their places with a win and some help from results elsewhere. The Sabres visit the Ottawa Senators at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+, and the Hurricanes host the Columbus Blue Jackets at the same time, while the Senators and Blue Jackets are both still involved in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.
Sabres close in on a long-awaited return
Buffalo is trying to end the longest playoff drought in NHL history at 14 years, and the path is simple. A win over Ottawa would put the Sabres one step closer, but they still need outside results to complete the clinch because their magic number stands at two.
The standings picture shows why Thursday matters so much for the East. Buffalo sits at 100 points through 75 games, good for the top seed in the Atlantic Division, and the Sabres have a reported 99.9% playoff chance according to Stathletes.
Canes can also clinch at home
Carolina is in nearly the same position, with 100 points in 74 games and a 99.9% playoff probability. The Hurricanes can clinch by beating Columbus, but they cannot afford a loss of any kind and still expect to secure a berth on Thursday because the required results elsewhere would not break their way.
The Blue Jackets enter the night in the second wild-card position in the East, so the matchup has direct implications for both teams. That adds pressure to a Carolina group that has already built a strong cushion, but still needs one more result to turn that cushion into a confirmed postseason ticket.
How Tampa Bay can still clinch
Tampa Bay’s path is narrower than Buffalo’s or Carolina’s, but it exists. The Lightning can clinch if they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in regulation and the Flyers beat the Red Wings in regulation, while Carolina and Buffalo also win in regulation.
The Lightning can also do it with an overtime or shootout win over Pittsburgh, but only if the Flyers, Hurricanes and Sabres all win in regulation. Tampa Bay enters Thursday with 98 points in 74 games and a 99.9% playoff chance, yet the team still needs help before an “x” can appear beside its name.
Minnesota has the easiest route
Minnesota has the clearest shot at clinching among the teams still on the bubble. The Wild own a magic number of one, and they host the Vancouver Canucks at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+ needing either a win of any kind or an overtime/shootout loss to secure a playoff spot.
The Wild are sitting at 94 points in 74 games and already look strong in the Central Division race. Their task is simpler than the Eastern clubs because one point, or one broken result from Vancouver, is enough to end the uncertainty.
Thursday’s clinching scenarios at a glance
- Buffalo clinches with a win over Ottawa, plus other required results.
- Carolina clinches with a win over Columbus, plus other required results.
- Tampa Bay clinches only under specific combinations tied to Buffalo, Carolina and Philadelphia-Detroit.
- Minnesota clinches with a win over Vancouver, or an overtime/shootout loss.
The night’s schedule also includes Detroit at Philadelphia, one of the most important games for the Eastern wild-card race. Ottawa, Columbus and Minnesota are all directly tied to the teams fighting to extend the season, which gives Thursday a rare mix of clinching possibilities and standings pressure.
With fewer than 10 games left for every club and the regular season nearing its end, the playoff picture could change quickly across both conferences. Buffalo, Carolina and Minnesota all have practical paths to clinching, and Tampa Bay still has a mathematical route if results fall into place across the East.
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