The Los Angeles Kings were the last team to secure a spot in the NHL playoffs. On the night of April 14, the team defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-3 in an away game during the regular season. The Kings are in eighth place in the Western Conference standings and, with two games left in the regular season, are ahead of the ninth-place Nashville Predators, who have one game remaining. Russian players Andrei Kuzmenko and Artemiy Panarin play for Los Angeles. It was previously announced that the Washington Capitals lost their chances of making the playoffs after the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout. The current Stanley Cup holder, the Florida Panthers, also failed to make the playoffs. From the Western Conference, the NHL playoffs will feature the regular season champion Colorado Avalanche, as well as the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoths, and Los Angeles Kings. In the Eastern Conference, the Stanley Cup playoffs will include the Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, and Philadelphia Flyers. The Hurricanes became conference champions for the first time in history. Currently, three matchups for the first round of the playoffs are known: Pittsburgh will play against Philadelphia, Dallas will face Minnesota, and Montreal will meet Tampa.