NHL playoff standings: Latest on the Eastern wild-card chaos

Heading into Friday's slate of six games, there are four teams within two points battling for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

Three of those teams are in action Friday:

• The Montreal Canadiens, who hold the playoff spot at the moment, visit the Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)


• Simultaneously, the Columbus Blue Jackets will host the Vancouver Canucks (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)


• In the evening's nightcap, the New York Rangers will head to Orange County to take on the Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+)


• The New York Islanders are idle, with their next game on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning

Obviously, every point matters when it comes to these teams. But two specific games down the stretch will have an outsized impact: Islanders-Rangers on April 10, and Islanders-Blue Jackets on April 17 (the final day of the regular season).

Stathletes gives the Canadiens an edge right now (43.7% chance to make the playoffs), followed by the Blue Jackets (18.5%), Islanders (18.4%) and Rangers (18.1%); Montreal also has the best chance among the four to reach the second round (11.2%). Stay tuned.

There are less than three weeks left until April 17 and we'll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we'll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.

Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.

Jump ahead:br/>Current playoff matchupsbr/>Today's schedulebr/>Yesterday's scoresbr/>Expanded standingsbr/>Race for No. 1 pick

Current playoff matchups

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Friday's games

Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).

Thursday's scoreboard

Expanded standings

Atlantic Division

Toronto Maple Leafs

Points: 90