With the NHL playoff race heating up, we track the teams impacted by last night’s results and which of tonight’s games will affect the playoff picture.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
If the season ended today…
BOSTON BRUINS vs. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
MONTREAL CANADIENS vs. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs. DETROIT RED WINGS
NEW YORK RANGERS vs. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Who’s already clinched? Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins
Who can clinch tonight? There are no clinching scenarios for Monday’s games.
What’d I miss? The Detroit Red Wings capped off an impressive weekend (two wins in two nights) with a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Gustav Nyquist continued his rampant scoring pace with one of the highlight-reel goals of the year, while David Legwand added the game-winner. Nyquist has scored 21 goals in his past 27 games. The Washington Capitals needed two points to keep up with Detroit but dropped a 4-3 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators. Detroit holds a three-point lead over Washington — who sits in ninth place — with just seven games to play. Ottawa also continued its late push in the wild card race with a 37-save performance from Robin Lehner in a 6-3 win over Calgary. The Sens are six points back of the final spot. At the top of the conference, the Boston Bruins extended their March record to 15-1-1 with a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Reilly Smith and Patrice Bergeron scored in the shootout, and Tuukka Rask stopped four of five shooters. Heading into Monday, Boston has a three-point lead over the St. Louis Blues in the Presidents’ Trophy race.
It was an even tougher loss for Philly after the New York Rangers blew out the Edmonton Oilers 5-0. Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello each added two goals to give the Rangers a two-point lead over the Flyers in the standings, although Philly still has two games in hand. Staying in the Metropolitan, Pittsburgh capped off its weekend by defeating the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks 3-0, thanks to 26 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury and two goals from Sidney Crosby. Crosby has all but wrapped up the scoring race with a 17-point cushion over Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf.
Monday’s game to watch: Carolina @ Ottawa — It’s a quiet night in the Eastern Conference, but it’s a critical juncture for the Ottawa Senators. Even with just three wins in their past 10 games, the Sens remain only six points behind Columbus in the wild card standings. Ottawa picked up a win over Calgary Sunday and desperately needs another two points to have any chance at making a late run. The Sens have been buoyed by Erik Karlsson, who has a point in nine of his past 10 games (13 points over that stretch). Ottawa has just eight games left to play in the regular season.
Fun fact: Karlsson is the first defenceman since Brian Leetch in 2000-01 to have 20 goals and 50 assists in a season.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
If the season ended today…
ST. LOUIS BLUES vs. PHOENIX COYOTES
COLORADO AVALANCHE vs. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
ANAHEIM DUCKS vs. MINNESOTA WILD
SAN JOSE SHARKS vs. LOS ANGELES KINGS
Who’s already clinched? St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks
Who can clinch tonight? There are no clinching scenarios for Monday’s games.
What’d I miss? It was a really tough outing for the Chicago Blackhawks. They dropped their third straight game (3-0 to the Penguins) and lost their top centre Jonathan Toews, who left the game with an upper-body injury after taking a huge hit from Brooks Orpik (//www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/toews-leaves-game-with-upper-body-injury/). It remains unclear how long the Blackhawks captain will be out. With the loss to Pittsburgh, Chicago was unable to gain on idle Colorado, who have a one-point lead in the Central Division with two games in hand. With St. Louis leading the division by seven points, the likelihood of a Blackhawks-Avalanche first round matchup is rapidly increasing.
Monday’s game to watch: Minnesota Wild @ Los Angeles Kings — Minnesota owns the top spot in the wild card race heading into the final stretch of the season. The Wild are three points ahead of Phoenix and four points up on Dallas, who are fighting for the final wild card spot. Minnesota has been inconsistent as of late but got a huge win over the Coyotes on Saturday to give them some breathing room. They won’t have an easy matchup on Monday. Despite six straight victories, Los Angeles remains entrenched in the third spot in the Pacific Division. The Kings are nine points out of second and will likely take on one of Anaheim or San Jose in the opening round of the playoffs.
Fun fact: Teemu Selanne will play his final game against the Winnipeg Jets franchise — although it was a different Jets franchise that drafted him in 1988 — Monday night.
The rest of tonight’s schedule:
Winnipeg @ Anaheim: The Ducks are only three points behind St. Louis for top spot in the West.
-lorida @ New Jersey: Mathematically alive, the Devils sit five points behind Columbus with eight games to play.
