Post-Olympics NHL Bubble Watch: Every team's playoff chances - ESPN

The NHL paused its season on Feb. 6 to allow its players to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Some of them return as newly minted gold medalists. Some return as bitter runners-up. Many will return worn down from an epic best-on-best tournament — a few return having been injured during those intense games.

Around 143 players saw action in the Olympic men's hockey tournament. Of course, that means most NHL players didn't participate, getting a multiweek break from the action before the games resume on Wednesday.

That includes all the Russian-born stars who would have played in the Olympics were it not for their country being banned from competing by the IOC and IIHF. Players such as Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning (third in scoring), Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild (seventh) and Artemi Panarin, who was traded to the Los Angeles Kings before the break, all had a chance to rest up while their peers battled for gold.

What's the state of the NHL playoff races as the season restarts? What kind of impact will the Olympics have on teams and players?

The NHL Bubble Watch is our monthly check-in on the Stanley Cup playoff races using playoff probabilities from The Athletic's Dom Luszczyszyn, Stathletes and Money Puck for all 32 teams. We utilize stats from the NHL, Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.

But first, a look at the playoff bracket as the NHL regular season resumes:

A1 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. WC2 Boston Bruins
A2 Montreal Canadiens vs. A3 Detroit Red Wings

M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC1 Buffalo Sabres
M2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. M3 New York Islanders

C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Anaheim Ducks
C2 Minnesota Wild vs. C3 Dallas Stars

P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth
P2 Edmonton