Postseason Bracket Predictions 13 Days from the 2025 NHL Playoffs

It's a great time to be a hockey fan.

Not only has the sport become front-page news thanks to Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of the league's all-time goals record, but each day also brings us closer to the start of the NHL playoffs.

The first pucks will drop on April 19 as teams begin their treks toward the 16 wins it'll take to earn a Stanley Cup in mid-late June.

And the B/R team is here for it, again breaking out its blocker-shaped crystal ball 13 days out to forecast what the eight first-round matchups will look like across the Eastern and Western conferences.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.

This time last week, we were bullish on the Florida Panthers to begin a run toward a repeat Cup with a late-season drive to win the Atlantic Division.

Instead, they had lost four in a row heading into Sunday's games.

So, given their four-point lead over Tampa Bay (and six over the Panthers) with six games to play, that makes it the Toronto Maple Leafs' division title to lose.

Winning it would more than likely yield a first-round series with the Ottawa Senators, who held a five-point cushion for the East's first wild-card spot through 76 games.

Of course, it may not be such good news for the fans in Canada's most hockey-mad city, given the Maple Leafs were 0-3-0 against the Senators in the regular season and scored just three goals while giving up nine.

Prediction: Senators in 6

Remember when hockey in the Sunshine State was a joke? No, us neither.

Not only has the Eastern champion emerged from Florida for each of the last five seasons, but it would also take a brave soul to suggest the streak won't get to six by the time this year's final series begins.

Both the Panthers and the Lightning were among the league's top-tier teams heading into Sunday and a first-rounder between the two of them would be one of the most compelling series as the postseason begins.

Tampa Bay won the first two playoff meetings on the way to its championships in 2020 and 2021, but Florida got a measure of revenge by eliminating the Lightning on the way to its own championship parade last year.

The Panthers are 2-1-0 in this season's series, which will conclude with the 82nd and final game on their schedule on April 15.

Flip a coin and take the champs.

Prediction: Panthers in 7

The Montreal Canadiens have been playing like a team that wants to be in the playoffs; the New York Rangers have not.

So, we're changing course from last week's forecast and replacing the Rangers with the Canadiens, who entered Sunday with a four-game win streak and a four-point lead on New York for the final Eastern wild-card spot.

The Rangers, meanwhile, are 4-5-1 in their last 10 and have ceded six points to Montreal in just the last seven days, after holding a two-point edge last weekend.

Anyway, the prize for taking the final tournament spot will be a date with the Washington Capitals, who've held the East by the throat for most of the season and entered Sunday within a point of the top overall spot in the league.

That's not great news for the Canadiens, who beat Washington just once in three 2024-25 meetings and allowed 12 goals in the process.

Prediction: Capitals in 5

The one matchup that looked certain a week ago is no different now, with the Hurricanes and Devils seemingly on a collision course given their respective second- and third-place standings in the Metropolitan Division.

New Jersey may have a spike of optimism thanks to the three-game win streak it carried into Sunday, while Carolina had dropped two straight. Still, it's the Hurricanes' home-ice advantage to lose, given their seven-point lead and game in hand over the Devils as the weekend neared its conclusion.

The teams split four games this regular season with a collective score of 13-12 for Carolina, and the Hurricanes won the lone previous playoff meeting between the teams in five games in 2023.

Could Jacob Markstrom carry New Jersey to a series win? Sure.

For the time being, though, our coin flip still falls toward Raleigh.

Prediction: Hurricanes in 7

We're still all-in on the Stars here. And we're now leaning toward Calgary, too.

Dallas is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games and has gained five points on Central-leading Winnipeg in that stretch. It entered Sunday with six games to play, including a home clash against the Jets on Thursday.

That's good enough for us to still think they'll win the division.

Which brings us to Calgary, which reached Sunday having gained four points on Minnesota in its last 10 games and in possession of a game in hand on the Wild.

The Flames host the Wild on Friday night, which could go a long way toward determining if we'll have this matchup in place when we next revisit the crystal ball.

If so, it'll be just fine with the Stars, who were 3-0-0 against Calgary in the regular season with a 14-6 edge in goals.

Prediction: Stars in 4

It's the second projected series that stayed the same from last week, and it remains perhaps the best of the bunch if it does occur in Round 1.

Winnipeg entered Sunday in possession of the league's No. 1 overall spot, but because we're forecasting Dallas to surge, it means another matchup with Colorado, which has been five points better than the Jets since March 1.

We'll take Winnipeg's 3-1-0 season-series edge with a grain of salt, given the Jets were 3-0-0 against the Avalanche last season with a 17-4 edge in goals, then lost in five games when they played for keeps in the spring.

Connor Hellebuyck is the league's best goalie and should be a huge favorite in a head-to-head duel with Mackenzie Blackwood. But until the netminder shows us he's better than the 2-8 record, .878 save percentage and 4.28 goals-against average he's posted over the last two postseasons, we're riding with the opposition.

Prediction: Avalanche in 7

This one leapt off the page last week, when the Blues had only won nine straight games and gone 17-3-3 since Feb. 23. And now they've made it 12 in a row and boosted the league-best two-month mark to 20-3-3, it's no less interesting.

The last time St. Louis won as many as 12 straight, it won the Stanley Cup.

And don't forget, it was that same season that they made an in-season coaching change, hiring Craig Berube. Lest anyone forget, Jim Montgomery became the in-season hire this time around, replacing Drew Bannister on Nov. 24 and subsequently going 34-16-6 with a team that had been 9-12-1 before his arrival.

Does this mean the Blues are a lock for a summertime parade? No.

But if you're asking us to pick against a team on such a heater and with such a history of following precisely the same path to a title, it's a no for us, dawg.

Prediction: Blues in 6

Not only is this the same series we forecast last week, but it will also be the fourth consecutive spring in which it's happened.

As everyone knows, Edmonton has won each of the first three recent duels between the two clubs, going seven, six and five games in successive seasons.

But none of that seems to matter now, given Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are injured and Los Angeles had won four straight games entering Sunday, including a 3-0 defeat of Edmonton at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.

The Kings led Edmonton by four points with six games remaining, which means home-ice advantage is getting close to a lock. And L.A. is the league's best home-ice team, with a 29-4-4 mark after Saturday's victory.

Unless the injured players return soon, this one looks easier by the day.

Prediction: Kings in 5