The Washington Capitals appear to have only one viable road to the playoffs remaining. And because of a Philadelphia Flyers’ regulation loss tonight, the Caps still have some hope.
The Flyers were blown out by the Detroit Red Wings 6-3 at Little Caesars Arena. The two points kept the Red Wings’ slim playoff hopes alive for the second wild card spot, while the Flyers’ hold on the Metropolitan Division’s third spot is now much more tenuous.
In other important M3 results this evening, the New York Islanders stayed in the race after beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3, outshooting the Leafs 44-16 in Pete DeBoer’s coaching debut.
Columbus also suffered a crushing 5-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
In the final days of the 2025-26 regular season, there are four teams still in contention for the highly sought-after third spot in the Metro: the Flyers (92 standings points), Islanders (91), Blue Jackets (90), and Capitals (89).
Race for the Metropolitan Division’s third spot
All four teams have three games remaining, so the maximum ceiling of standing points they can reach is:
Flyers: 98
Islanders: 97
Blue Jackets: 96
Capitals: 95
The Capitals currently trail the Flyers by three points, but if they can win all three of their final games and none of the other teams go over 95, there is a chance the team can still make the playoffs. The Capitals have clinched the Regulation Wins tiebreaker over the other three Metro clubs, so if they tie any of these other teams at 95, they would be the team that gets in.
Each team’s schedule at the end of the year is:
Flyers: @WPG, CAR, MTL
Islanders: OTT, MTL, CAR
Blue Jackets: @MTL, BOS, WSH
Capitals: @PIT, PIT, @CBJ
While the Capitals’ matchups are all difficult games, they got some good news this evening. The Penguins clinched the second spot in the Metro and no longer have anything to play for in the regular season after beating the New Jersey Devils 5-2.
The Capitals play the Penguins in a home-and-home, back-to-back over the weekend. If the Capitals qualify for the playoffs in the M3 spot, they’d play Pittsburgh in the first round.
While the Metro games were mostly encouraging, the Capitals are nearly eliminated from the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot.
Race for the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot
The Ottawa Senators defeated the Florida Panthers 5-1, jumping up to 94 points.
If the Senators get two more points in their final three games, they will seal up the position. They also have two more regulation wins than the Capitals. So, unless the Senators completely collapse, that spot appears to be theirs.
