Will Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon face each other in the first round? There's an outside chance of it happening, but we will know the rest of the confirmed first-round matchups on Thursday.
Thursday marks the final day of the 2025-26 NHL regular season.
And we still do not know all of the first-round matchups.
All the Eastern Conference matchups have been set for two days now, with the Carolina Hurricanes facing the Ottawa Senators, the Buffalo Sabres going up against the Boston Bruins, the Tampa Bay Lightning taking on the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins battling the Philadelphia Flyers.
But four teams in the West don't have a first-round opponent yet.
We may even see Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon facing off in the first round, or yet another Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings series.
Speaking of McDavid and MacKinnon, both players have all but officially won the Art Ross and 'Rocket' Richard Trophies, respectively.
Let's take a closer look at the playoff matchup scenarios on Thursday and the scoring races.
Western Conference Playoff Race
- The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday to clinch the top spot in the Pacific Division. They will face the first wild-card team in the West, the Utah Mammoth. That's the second confirmed series in the West, with the other being between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild.
- The Oilers, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings play during Thursday's six-game schedule. Their results will decide the rest of the Western Conference's playoff matchups.
Each of the three teams can finish either second in the Pacific, third in the Pacific or in the second wild-card spot.
- Edmonton just needs one point against the Vancouver Canucks or the Kings and Ducks to lose to clinch second place in the Pacific. They hold the regulation wins tiebreaker if they end up tied in points with the Ducks or Kings.
- Anaheim must beat the Nashville Predators and have the Oilers lose in regulation to clinch second place in the Pacific. The Ducks also have more regulation wins than the Kings.
- Los Angeles must beat the Calgary Flames and have the Oilers lose in regulation and the Ducks to lose in any fashion to clinch second place in the Pacific Division.
- If the standings remain as they are now, the Oilers and Ducks will face off, and the Kings will take on the Avalanche.
If the Ducks and Kings win and the Oilers lose in regulation, Edmonton will face Colorado, and the Ducks would have the home-ice advantage versus Los Angeles.
If the Oilers get at least one point, the Kings win and the Ducks lose in any fashion, Anaheim will face the Avs, and we would get an Edmonton-Los Angeles first-round series for the fifth straight year.
Eastern Conference Playoff Race
- All the Eastern teams have wrapped up their regular season. It was fun while it lasted.
- The Hurricanes and Senators play Game 1 at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Penguins and Flyers start at 8 p.m. ET Saturday.
- The Lightning-Canadiens series and Bruins-Sabres series starts Sunday, with Game 1 times to be determined.
Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy Race
1. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado: 53 goals, one game left (Colorado plays Seattle at 10 p.m. ET)
2. Cole Caufield, Montreal: 51 goals, no games left
3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton: 48 goals, one game left (Edmonton plays Vancouver at 9 p.m. ET)
Art Ross Trophy Race
1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton: 134 points, one game left
2. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay: 130 points, no games left
3. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado: 127 points, one game left
Rookie Scoring Race
1. Ivan Demidov, Montreal: 62 points, no games left
2. Beckett Sennecke, Anaheim: 60 points, one game left (Anaheim plays Nashville at 8 p.m. ET)
3. Matthew Schaefer, NY Islanders: 59 points, no games left
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