NHL playoff standings: What to watch on Showdown Saturday - ESPN

By this time next week, the 2024 Stanley Cup playoff bracket will be finalized. And by the end of Saturday's 13-game schedule, a number of playoff fates — division titles, seeds and playoff spots in general — could officially be in the books.

And perhaps the best news for hockey fans? The NHL has spread out the games, with a game at 12:30 p.m. ET, five starting between 3 and 5:30 p.m., and only two in the traditional 7 p.m. ET slot. See, it can be done!

Here are the Saturday games with the most on the line:

New York Islanders at New York Rangers (12:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+): The Islanders were seemingly out of the playoff mix as of a few weeks back, but a recent surge for them (and a swoon by all the others in the non-elite tier of Eastern teams) has them in the No. 3 spot in the Metro. They'll want to keep piling on the points to stick in that spot. For the Rangers, the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top standings-point collector remains on the line, and there will also be some vengeance on their minds after a rough-and-tumble matchup against the Isles on Tuesday.

Seattle Kraken at Dallas Stars (3 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+): Speaking of the Presidents' Trophy race, the Stars are one point and three regulation wins behind the Rangers. In other words, they will need to finish with more stadings points than New York to earn the overall No. 1 seed this postseason (since they have only two games left). Bear in mind that the Carolina Hurricanes have an equal number of standings points to Dallas, and one more regulation win than the Rangers.

Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche (4 p.m. ET, NHL Power Play on ESPN+): If the Stars win, this matchup is officially a preview of the Central Division's No. 2 vs. No. 3 first-round series. Not