NHL Wild Card Standings: Who among Capitals, Devils and Islanders has best shot at securing playoff berth?

The 2023-24 NHL regular season is coming to an end but the final weeks of the season will be very interesting as the Eastern Conference has a tight battle for the final wild card playoff spot.

The Tampa Bay Lightning look to be locked into the top wild card spot, but the second spot is still to be decided. So, who might get it?

Who will get the final Wild Card spot in the East?

Currently, the Detroit Red Wings are holding onto the final spot with 78 points, and are three points up on the Washington Capitals. However, Detroit has played two more games than Washington, so if the Capitals simply win those games in hand they would be in a playoff spot.

The New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils are five and six points back, and with just over 10 games to go, it seems unlikely they will make the post-season. Ultimately, the final wild card spot seems likely to come down to Detroit and Washington.

The Capitals do have an advantage with the games in hand, but Alexander Ovechkin knows it won't be easy to make the playoffs.

"We keep fighting, keep playing and we go game by game," Ovechkin said, via HockeyNews. "How I said, we all understand we still can do it; we still in the battle. Every point counts. Of course, we all knew we gonna play against teams who are fighting for playoff spot as well, and it's gonna be playoffs mode, playoffs atmosphere. It's kind of good for us."

Currently, according to MoneyPuck, they give the Detroit Red Wings a 40.4% chance of making the playoffs while they give Washington a 38.2% chance of making the postseason.

The Red Wings have 12 games left this season while Washington has 14 games. These two teams also play on Tuesday as Detroit goes on the road to play Washington, and the winner of that game will have the best shot to make the postseason.

Right now, it does seem like the Red Wings have the best path to getting the final wild card spot.