Tracking the elimination and playoff clinching of all NHL teams. 

With the Blues win last night, San Jose has become the first team mathematically eliminated from playoff contention this year. They can do no better than 73 points, tied with both Vancouver and St  Louis who are in a dead heat for the final playoff spot in the West. Since those two teams play each other on Thursday, the Sharks will be officially eliminated that night. 

Smallest magic # (to clinch a playoff spot): 6 - Winnipeg (both the Jets and the Capitals can clinch a playoff spot as early as March 20). 

Smallest tragic # (to be eliminated from playoff contention): 1 - San Jose (can be eliminated as early as March 18, will be eliminated no later than March 20). 

After the Blue Jackets loss, Washington’s magic number is down to 5. 

Magic/Tragic # as of March 18

 

West - Magic #

 

Winnipeg - 6

Dallas - 17

Vegas - 18

Colorado - 19

Edmonton - 22

Los Angeles - 23

Minnesota - 23

Vancouver - 31

———————

Tragic #

 

Calgary - 33

St. Louis - 29

Utah - 29

Anaheim - 23

Seattle - 19

Nashville - 18

Chicago - 7

San Jose - 1 (mathematically eliminated already, will be officially eliminated as early as tonight, no later than March 20)

 

 

East - Magic #

 

Washington - 5

Carolina - 15

Florida - 16

Tampa Bay - 18

Toronto - 18

New Jersey - 21

Ottawa - 24

Montreal - 30

——————-

Tragic #

 

Columbus - 30

Detroit - 30

NY Islanders- 30

NY Rangers - 30

Boston - 25

Buffalo - 22

Pittsburgh - 22

Philadelphia - 20

Crazy gap between Winnipeg and Dallas and then Washington and Carolina. Winnipeg vs Washington finals would be a good one. 2 best teams. Would love to see us beat ovi Dubois and the capitals. 

Edited March 18, 2025Mar 18 by Goalie

Magic/Tragic # as of March 19

 

West - Magic #

 

Winnipeg - 6

Dallas - 15

Vegas - 18

Colorado - 19

Edmonton - 20

Los Angeles - 23

Minnesota - 23

Vancouver - 29

———————

Tragic #

 

Calgary - 29

St. Louis - 27

Utah - 25

Anaheim - 20

Seattle - 17

Nashville - 14

Chicago - 3

San Jose - Eliminated

 

 

East - Magic #

 

Washington - 3

Carolina - 15

Florida - 16

Tampa Bay - 18

Toronto - 18

New Jersey - 21

Ottawa - 24

Montreal - 28

——————-

Tragic #

 

Columbus - 28

NY Islanders- 28

Detroit - 26

NY Rangers - 26

Boston - 23

Buffalo - 20

Pittsburgh - 18

Philadelphia - 18

Edited March 19, 2025Mar 19 by TrueBlue4ever

March 20 update:

Magic/Tragic #

 

West - Magic #

 

Winnipeg - 6

Dallas - 15

Vegas - 18

Colorado - 19

Edmonton - 20 

Minnesota - 21

Los Angeles - 23

Vancouver - 29

———————

Tragic #

 

Calgary - 29

St. Louis - 27

Utah - 25

Anaheim - 20

Seattle - 15

Nashville - 14

Chicago - 3

San Jose - Eliminated

 

 

East - Magic #

 

Washington - 3

Carolina - 15

Florida - 16

Toronto - 16

Tampa Bay - 18

New Jersey - 21

Ottawa - 24

Montreal - 28

——————-

Tragic #

 

Columbus - 28

NY Islanders- 28

Detroit - 26

NY Rangers - 26

Boston - 23

Buffalo - 20

Pittsburgh - 18

Philadelphia - 18
 

Clinching/elimination scenarios today -

Washington can clinch a playoff spot with a win and a NY Islanders loss of any kind (Capitals hold the tiebreaker over Columbus) OR an OT/SO loss and a loss of any kind by Columbus AND a regulation loss by NY Islanders. 

Chicago is eliminated with a loss of any kind and a Vancouver win OR a regulation loss and a Vancouver OT/SO loss. 

March 22 update:

Magic/Tragic #

 

West - Magic #

 

Winnipeg - 2 (hold tiebreaker over Vancouver/St. Louis)

Dallas - 13

Vegas - 15

Colorado - 16

Edmonton - 18 

Minnesota - 20

Los Angeles - 20

Calgary - 28

———————

Tragic #

 

Vancouver- 27

St. Louis - 25

Utah - 23

Anaheim - 18

Seattle - 13

Nashville - 10

 

Chicago - Eliminated

San Jose - Eliminated

 

 

East - Magic #

 

Washington - Clinched playoff spot (hold tiebreaker over NY Islanders) 

Carolina - 13

Florida - 14

Toronto - 14

Tampa Bay - 16

New Jersey - 21

Ottawa - 24

Montreal - 27

——————-

Tragic #

 

NY Islanders- 27

Detroit - 25

Columbus - 24

NY Rangers - 23

Boston - 20

Buffalo - 17

Pittsburgh - 17

Philadelphia - 15
 

Clinching/elimination scenarios today: Winnipeg can clinch a playoff spot with a regulation loss by Vancouver AND a loss of any kind by St. Louis. 

Edited March 22, 2025Mar 22 by TrueBlue4ever

Not that it matters in the least cuz just make the damn playoffs, but curious in why the Capitals are listed ahead of us in the overall standings when both teams are tied in points (to date 100)?

1 hour ago, HardCoreBlue said:

Not that it matters in the least cuz just make the damn playoffs, but curious in why the Capitals are listed ahead of us in the overall standings when both teams are tied in points (to date 100)?

Less games played, is my guess. Jets played 70, Wash only 69. 

Correct. Also, the first tiebreaker if they finish tied on points at season’s end is regulation wins. With the Jets having gone to overtime in their last two wins, Washington now leads that category 39 to 38. The regulation and overtime wins total is next tiebreaker, then total wins of any kind. Jest lead in those two categories. Head-to-head results is the 5th tiebreaker so the Jets win in Washington is pretty irrelevant at this point. 

March 23 update:

Magic/Tragic #

 

West - Magic #

 

Winnipeg - 1 (hold tiebreaker over St. Louis)

Dallas - 10

Vegas - 12

Colorado - 13

Edmonton - 15 

Minnesota - 17

Los Angeles - 17

Calgary - 25

———————

Tragic #

 

St. Louis - 25

Vancouver- 24

Utah - 23

Anaheim - 18

Seattle - 11

Nashville - 10

 

Chicago - Eliminated

San Jose - Eliminated

 

 

East - Magic #

 

Washington - Clinched playoff spot Carolina - 12

Florida - 13

Toronto - 13

Tampa Bay - 15

New Jersey - 20

Ottawa - 21

Montreal - 25

——————-

Tragic #

 

NY Islanders- 25 

Columbus - 23

Detroit - 22

NY Rangers - 22

Boston - 17 

Pittsburgh - 16

Buffalo - 14

Philadelphia - 13
 

Clinching scenarios today:

Winnipeg can clinch a playoff spot with a win or OT/SO loss OR a loss of any kind by St. Louis. 

Lesss go get it done so then we can call up our AHL team for the remaining games. Kidding, sort of.

Gabe Villardi out for a while, week to week.

1 hour ago, HardCoreBlue said:

Gabe Villardi out for a while, week to week.

Happens yearly for Gabe unfortunately 

March 24 update:
Magic/Tragic #

 

West - Magic #

 

Winnipeg - 1 (hold tiebreaker over St. Louis)

Dallas - 10

Vegas - 10

Colorado - 13

Edmonton - 15 

Los Angeles - 15

Minnesota - 17

Calgary - 25

———————

Tragic #

 

St. Louis - 25

Vancouver- 20

Utah - 19

Anaheim - 12

Seattle - 7

Nashville - 4

 

Chicago - Eliminated

San Jose - Eliminated

 

 

East - Magic #

 

Washington - Clinched playoff spot Carolina - 10

Florida - 11

Toronto - 13

Tampa Bay - 15

New Jersey - 20

Ottawa - 21

Montreal - 25

——————-

Tragic #

 

NY Islanders- 25 

Columbus - 23

Detroit - 22

NY Rangers - 22

Boston - 15

Pittsburgh - 15

Buffalo - 14

Philadelphia - 11

Clinching/elimination scenarios tonight: None

Next possible clinching/elimination scenario: March 25. 

March 25 update
Magic/Tragic #

 

West - Magic #

 

Winnipeg - 1 (hold tiebreaker over St. Louis)

Dallas - 8

Vegas - 10

Colorado - 13

Edmonton - 15 

Los Angeles - 15

Minnesota - 17

Calgary - 25

———————

Tragic #

 

St. Louis - 25

Vancouver- 20

Utah - 17

Anaheim - 12

Seattle - 7

Nashville - 4

 

Chicago - Eliminated

San Jose - Eliminated

 

 

East - Magic #

 

Washington - Clinched playoff spot Carolina - 9

Florida - 10

Toronto - 12

Tampa Bay - 14

New Jersey - 18

Ottawa - 20

Montreal - 24

——————-

Tragic #

 

NY Islanders- 24

Columbus - 23

Detroit - 22

NY Rangers - 22

Boston - 15

Pittsburgh - 15

Buffalo - 14

Philadelphia - 11

Clinching/elimination scenarios today:

Winnipeg clinches a playoff spot with a win or OT/SO loss against Washington OR a loss of any kind by St. Louis against Montreal

Nashville is eliminated from playoff contention with a regulation loss against Carolina and a win by St.Louis against Montreal.

March 26 update

Magic/Tragic #

 

West - Magic #

 

Winnipeg - Clinched playoff spot

Dallas - 8

Vegas - 8

Colorado - 11

Los Angeles - 13 

Edmonton - 15 

Minnesota - 17

Calgary - 23

———————

Tragic #

 

St. Louis - 23

Vancouver- 18

Utah - 15

Anaheim - 10

Seattle - 4

Nashville - 2

 

Chicago - Eliminated

San Jose - Eliminated

 

 

East - Magic #

 

Washington - Clinched playoff spot Carolina - 9

Florida - 10

Toronto - 12

Tampa Bay - 14

New Jersey - 18

Ottawa - 20

Montreal - 24

——————-

Tragic #

 

NY Islanders- 24

Columbus - 23

Detroit - 22

NY Rangers - 20

Boston - 15

Pittsburgh - 15

Buffalo - 14

Philadelphia - 11

Clinching/elimination scenarios tonight: None

Next possible clinching/elimination date: March 27

March 27 update:
Magic/Tragic #

 

West - Magic #

 

Winnipeg - Clinched playoff spot

Dallas - 6

Vegas - 8

Colorado - 11

Los Angeles - 13 

Edmonton - 15 

Minnesota - 17

Calgary - 23

———————

Tragic #

 

St. Louis - 19

Vancouver- 18

Utah - 15

Anaheim - 10

Seattle - 4

Nashville - 2

 

Chicago - Eliminated

San Jose - Eliminated

 

 

East - Magic #

 

Washington - Clinched playoff spot Carolina - 9

Florida - 10

Toronto - 12

Tampa Bay - 14

New Jersey - 15

Ottawa - 20

Montreal - 24

——————-

Tragic #

 

Columbus - 23 

NY Islanders- 22

Detroit - 20

NY Rangers - 20

Buffalo - 14

Boston - 13

Pittsburgh - 13

Philadelphia - 9

Tonight’s clinching elimination scenarios:

Nashville eliminated if they lose in regulation to St. Louis

Seattle eliminated with a regulation loss to Edmonton and a win by St. Louis over Nashville

15 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

 

March 27 update:
Magic/Tragic #

 

West - Magic #

 

Winnipeg - Clinched playoff spot

Dallas - 6

Vegas - 8

Colorado - 11

Los Angeles - 13 

Edmonton - 15 

Minnesota - 17

Calgary - 23

———————

Tragic #

 

St. Louis - 19

Vancouver- 18

Utah - 15

Anaheim - 10

Seattle - 4

Nashville - 2

 

Chicago - Eliminated

San Jose - Eliminated

 

 

East - Magic #

 

Washington - Clinched playoff spot Carolina - 9

Florida - 10

Toronto - 12

Tampa Bay - 14

New Jersey - 15

Ottawa - 20

Montreal - 24

——————-

Tragic #

 

Columbus - 23 

NY Islanders- 22

Detroit - 20

NY Rangers - 20

Buffalo - 14

Boston - 13

Pittsburgh - 13

Philadelphia - 9

Tonight’s clinching elimination scenarios:

Nashville eliminated if they lose in regulation to St. Louis

Seattle eliminated with a regulation loss to Edmonton and a win by St. Louis over Nashville

Get the banner ready for the toothless Preds. 🙂

“Playoff contenders for 72 games!”

So what do people think is the best first round opponent scenario for the Jets? Right now I would rank them as follows:

1. Minnesota falls to 8th behind St  Louis and we meet them as the #1 seed - if Kaprizov comes back that may change my view, but I think this is our best match-up and easiest travel load

2. Calgary - they can’t score much, only X factor is Dustin Wolf on net stealing a game or two.  

3. Vancouver - Demko’s return changes things a bit, and they have always had more talent than they have shown, but it would be surprising if they played this badly and had so many psychological issues all year to suddenly shrug them off in the playoffs and be a threat again. 

4. St. Louis - I think we can take them, but they are on a roll like they weee in 2019 and I don’t wish to repeat that first round match-up if we can avoid it.  

5. We fall to second and face Dallas who fall to third- would suck to blow the division lead now and have to run the gauntlet of Stars - Avalanche in two rounds

6.We finish 2nd and face the Avs, I think we have a better teams but they have the better stars who can dominate for one round. 

Thoughts?

41 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

So what do people think is the best first round opponent scenario for the Jets? Right now I would rank them as follows:

1. Minnesota falls to 8th behind St  Louis and we meet them as the #1 seed - if Kaprizov comes back that may change my view, but I think this is our best match-up and easiest travel load

2. Calgary - they can’t score much, only X factor is Dustin Wolf on net stealing a game or two.  

3. Vancouver - Demko’s return changes things a bit, and they have always had more talent than they have shown, but it would be surprising if they played this badly and had so many psychological issues all year to suddenly shrug them off in the playoffs and be a threat again. 

4. St. Louis - I think we can take them, but they are on a roll like they weee in 2019 and I don’t wish to repeat that first round match-up if we can avoid it.  

5. We fall to second and face Dallas who fall to third- would suck to blow the division lead now and have to run the gauntlet of Stars - Avalanche in two rounds

6.We finish 2nd and face the Avs, I think we have a better teams but they have the better stars who can dominate for one round. 

Thoughts?

There's definite match-up differences both good and bad for the Jets but at EOD shouldn't matter. Ultimate goal: win 16 playoff games to secure championship. First objective: Making Playoffs. Second objective winning first round etc etc.

I'm hoping though it's the Wild in the first round because of the rivalry and would be extremely enjoyable to show them the first round exit. I loathe this team almost as much as I loathe the Leafs.

Btw, aren't the Oilers another possible first-round match-up?

Only way the Oilers are a first round match-up is if they utterly collapse and either Calgary or Vancouver pass them for third  in the division. This also assumes St. Louis misses the playoffs. 

Would love to see the Jets spank the fLames in 4 to open the playoffs. Few things would bring me greater joy. 

1 hour ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

So what do people think is the best first round opponent scenario for the Jets? Right now I would rank them as follows:

1. Minnesota falls to 8th behind St  Louis and we meet them as the #1 seed - if Kaprizov comes back that may change my view, but I think this is our best match-up and easiest travel load

2. Calgary - they can’t score much, only X factor is Dustin Wolf on net stealing a game or two.  

3. Vancouver - Demko’s return changes things a bit, and they have always had more talent than they have shown, but it would be surprising if they played this badly and had so many psychological issues all year to suddenly shrug them off in the playoffs and be a threat again. 

4. St. Louis - I think we can take them, but they are on a roll like they weee in 2019 and I don’t wish to repeat that first round match-up if we can avoid it.  

5. We fall to second and face Dallas who fall to third- would suck to blow the division lead now and have to run the gauntlet of Stars - Avalanche in two rounds

6.We finish 2nd and face the Avs, I think we have a better teams but they have the better stars who can dominate for one round. 

Thoughts?

I would agree with that order.  Biggest goal is lock up 1st.

17 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Would love to see the Jets spank the fLames in 4 to open the playoffs. Few things would bring me greater joy. 

Even better would be a gentleman’s sweep like the Avs did to us last year. Give them hope then squash it into many pieces.