With the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 spot under lock and key the Presidents’ Trophy is theirs to lose, the Bruins let a couple games slip away. Still, one regulation loss in Boston’s last 20 games is insane.

Earning points in 10 of their last 12, the Ducks have positioned themselves to seize home ice through the first three rounds. The back-to-back Pacific Division champs are 28-8-4 at Honda Center and have already set club records for standings points (112) and goals scored (257). P.S.: Cam Fowler’s back.

By defeating St. Louis, the Avalanche have now beat every other NHL team at least once this season. Fifty-one victories and counting for Colorado.

The NHL’s third-stingiest defence allowed four goals per game in three straight losses to the Capitals, Blackhawks and Avalanche while mustering just three goals total for themselves in that span. The Ducks could nab the No. 1 seed in the West.

A nice four-game run, including Sunday’s big W over St. Louis, might give the supporting cast some confidence as Chicago awaits the return of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane — both promised to be back for the playoffs.

Dan Bylsma became the fastest coach in NHL history to reach 250 career regular-season victories, by reaching the milestone in 396 games. (Bruce Boudreau held the former mark at 416 games.) Unfortunately for Bylsma, he’ll be judged on playoff success alone.

“All right Canada, let’s do this. #bringStanleyhome,” tweeted the only team north of the border that qualified for the playoffs. Josh Gorges (hand) is back in the lineup, and the Habs are scoring at will these days.

Drew Doughty is nursing an upper-body injury and the Kings have lost four of five. They are destined to be a road team in the playoffs, but that shouldn’t bother them (see: 2012).

As the Rangers target home ice for Round 1 of the playoffs, one imagines coach Alain Vignault looking westward this week with a big Cheshire grin.

The Sharks have barley played .500 hockey since mid-March and haven’t defeated a playoff-bound team by more than a single goal in over a month. Solid, but far from dominant right now.

Ben Bishop, injured Tuesday against the Leafs, is done for the regular season. This is bad news. Backup Anders Lindback has a .878 save percentage. We could well see “Carey Price vs Kristers Gudļevskis: The Sequel” when the Habs and Bolts face-off in the opening round.

So what if he’s flakier than a turnover? Ilya Bryzgalov has been spectacular for another playoff-bound Wild team. Minnesota has won three in a row, and Bryz will be the team’s Game 1 starter.

Winning three straight, including an overtime thriller over Phoenix, a young Columbus team has shown tremendous spark down the stretch and secured the franchise’s second ever playoff spot.

Of all the teams who haven’t clinched a playoff spot yet, Dallas deploys the greatest offence — 231 goals rank the Stars ninth overall in that category. Think the Stars want back in the dance?

On Oct. 21, the Flyers were 1-7-0. Captain Claude Giroux made a promise that his team would make the playoffs. Everyone scoffed. Tuesday night, Giroux earned a great, big told-you-so.

I have no doubt Mike Babcock could devise an appropriate system and drag a midget house-league team into qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Detroit’s postseason streak turns 23.

The Devils’ shootout woes continue, and a crushing loss to Calgary put the nail in the coffin here. That, and Columbus has rolled along nicely.

A nice little road trip for the Preds sees Nashville defeat the Sharks and Ducks and split points with Dallas. Character finish for an irrelevant club.

Washington paradox: Alex Ovechkin has a league-leading 50 goals. But his minus-34 rating (if it holds) will be the worst of any 50-goal scorer in NHL history.

The Senators never could recover from their awful start. Ottawa has earned points in seven of nine, but it was too little too late. One nice thing: Bobby Ryan said he could see himself committing to the team for the long term.

Goaltender Karri Ramo (16-13-4, .914 save percentage, two shutouts) has been one of many bright spots on a roster that figured to have almost none. Calgary continues to play teams tough down the stretch, winning three in a row.

Not having Mike Smith has hurt Phoenix, but not as much as an inability to score big goals. With their postseason dream vanishing, the Dogs have lost five straight; three of those were one-goal affairs.

Amidst another shutout loss and another humbling by a California-based hockey team, the Canucks’ fan base lost their patience and their appetite to renew season tickets. With a finger snap, GM Mike Gillis loses his job and Vancouver enters the Trevor Linden era.

The boys on the ice aren’t doing much to increase the value of owner Charles Wang’s team. New York is on a three-game skid, and the Isles’ minus-46 goal differential ranks them 27th overall.

Injuries to captain Andrew Ladd and roving behemoth Dustin Bufuglein add to Winnipeg’s woes. But Saturday’s healthy-scratching of Evander Kane and the tense media scrums that ensued foreshadow a compelling summer in the Slurpee Capital of the World.

Upon the Leafs’ mathematical elimination, a total of 45,279 NHL regular-season and playoff games have been played since Toronto last won the Stanley Cup. A total of 3,253 NHL players have been born since that 1967 championship. (Thanks to @SportsnetTicker for what is a ton of math.)

Still looking for his 20th goal, disappointed Hurricanes captain Eric Staal accepted responsibility for his team’s poor performance this season.

Dead last in the West again. Nice season for Taylor Hall, though: 77 points, and 80 is within reach.

Scottie Upshall leads all Panthers with 37 points through 80 games. Fun fact: In a non-shortened season, the NHL record for fewest points by a team’s leader is 39 (Scott Pellerin with the 2000-01 expansion Minnesota Wild).

The Sabres began their 2013-14 campaign with seven consecutive losses. If they can’t defeat the Rangers, Bruins or Islanders, they will also end their 2013-14 campaign with seven consecutive losses. Circle of death.

The Blues are settling into stingy-playoff-hockey mode, having not allowed more than two goals in regulation during their past eight outings. Ryan Miller has a .925 save percentage and 1.78 goals-against in five games with his new club.

The Sharks have ripped off three-straight home wins against Eastern foes and their depth at forward is just scary. Right winger Tommy Wingels is going to start getting more notoriety around the league for his contributions.

The top line of David Krejci between Milan Lucic and Jarome Iginla is really cooking. At 36, Iginla is showing he’s still got it, with five goals and 11 points in his past 10 games.

After winning just once in 10 contests, the Kings have become the hottest team in the league with eight straight W’s. In true smothering L.A. style, the club has held its opponent to one or fewer goals in five of those wins.

Hot play by other heavyweights drops the Avs a bit, but they’re still looking strong. Have you snapped up 22-year-old defenceman Tyson Barrie in your pool yet? The puck-mover has 15 points in his past 15 games.

Captain Serious isn’t suffering from any post-Olympic hangover. Jonathan Toews has fired six goals in his past four outings.

Newcomer Lee Stempniak is starting to blend with Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz on the top line, posting three assists in his past two games, both wins over the Washington Capitals.

Along with a four-game losing streak at the beginning of November, the Ducks’ recent 3-4-2 record represents the team’s worst stretch of the year. With seven of its next nine on the road, Anaheim is in real danger of being passed by San Jose for the Pacific Division lead.

Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn carry this team offensively, and you wonder if the lack of scoring depth may eventually be the Stars’ undoing.

The Leafs wrap their California trip on Thursday in Los Angeles, then start a brutal run of eight games in 14 nights to close out March. If they come through that two-week endurance test looking OK, the rest of the season will feel like a breeze.

Blowing a 3–0 lead to the Edmonton Oilers at home is an effective way of unsettling a fan base. The Wild—who close March with seven of nine on the road—suddenly don’t look 100-percent secure as a wild-card team.

Deadline acquisition Andrew MacDonald has 10 hits and seven blocked shots in his first three games as a Flyer, which is exactly what Philly envisioned when it added him to the blueline.

Isn’t everyone kind of pulling for this team to make the playoffs? We’d be willing to bet this is the year the Jackets get their first-ever post-season victory.

At this point, Phoenix is the only Western team outside the playoff picture with a realistic chance of clawing in. Mike Smith, who struggled for so much of the year, has a .936 save percentage in his past 10 games to help the Coyotes’ push.

The Habs still don’t have Carey Price in net, which is part of the reason they were outscored 14–6 on a recent trip through Phoenix and California. Stress levels will continue to spike until Price returns and proves he’s in Olympic form.

Just a single assist for Marty St. Louis through four games as a Blueshirt. Still, if you had to bet on an Eastern Conference team not based in Boston or Pittsburgh to make a playoff run, wouldn’t you be tempted to circle the Rangers?

Winless in five, the Bolts have to get it together to avoid being completely sucked into the vortex of Eastern teams fighting for their playoff lives. With St. Louis gone, the search for Steven Stamkos’s next soulmate wears on.

Though the addition of Jaroslav Halak has only resulted in a single victory, he’s looked pretty sharp in his first three games with the Caps. If Halak doesn’t help lower this team’s goals-against, Washington has no real hope of sneaking into the post-season.

Adam Henrique is on fire, with nine goals in his past 10 outings. That’s keyed a surprising scoring surge that’s helping the Devils quietly hang around in the playoff chase.

Ales Hemsky has been a hit since coming over from Edmonton, but it might be too little, too late for a team that just hasn’t been able to get in an extended groove all year.

Losing Mark Scheifele to a sprained MCL was likely the deathblow to this team’s post-season hopes. The young centre was really hitting his stride before the injury.

Just writing about this team is enough to get you injured right now. How tempted do you think the Wings were to ask Nicklas Lidstrom to stick around and play after they raised his No. 5 to the rafters last week?

Moral victories mean nothing for this franchise anymore, so nobody should care much that Edmonton has earned points in five of its past six games.

Pekka Rinne better not salvage too many points for this team; the Preds could use another high pick after selecting Seth Jones fourth overall last year.

The Flames continue to win their share of games, and when they lose it’s usually still close. Unlike Edmonton, Calgary is entitled to take some satisfaction in that.

Hard to think these aren’t Cam Ward’s final days with the only NHL team he’s known. Carolina is in no-man’s land right now—not quite bad enough to draft a stud at the top of the board, but nowhere near good enough to make the post-season.

Look at the Islanders getting all chesty, hanging seven third-period goals on a quality Western Conference team like the Canucks. Wait a minute….

How ugly are things in Vancouver? Roberto Luongo didn’t even make fun on them on Twitter for the Isles debacle, presumably because he just feels straight bad for them at this point.

Keep an eye on six-foot-six, 21-year-old Nick Bjugstad. The 19th overall pick in the 2010 draft might look like a nice No. 2 centre very shortly.

Michal Neuvirth saw 44 shots in his first game as a Sabre. Welcome to Buffalo, pal.