It’s the last week of the NHL regular season and Monday is a crucial night of action, especially as it pertains to the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture.
The Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche face off on the West Coast in a matchup of the conference’s two wild-card teams. One point separates them in the standings and both teams have played 79 games.
The loser could feel the heat with the ninth-placed St. Louis Blues also in action. They host the Washington Capitals, who’ve already clinched the Metropolitan Division title.
A win for the Blues would vault them into a playoff position as long as the Kings don’t pick up a point. They have a game in hand on both the Kings and Avs, too.
Suffice it to say, hockey fans in the Eastern time zone may want to stay up past their bedtimes.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
If the season ended today:
(C1) vs. 
(WC2)
(P1) vs. 
(WC1)
(C2) vs. 
(C3)
(P2) vs. 
(P3)
If the season ended today:
Who’s in?
No one since we last checked in on Friday afternoon.
Nashville, Winnipeg and Vegas had all clinched before the weekend. Status quo.
Monday’s clinching scenarios
The San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild can punch their tickets.
The Sharks are idle and are completely reliant on others — in this case an Avalanche regulation loss, or an extra-time loss coupled with a Blues defeat in regulation.
The Wild need a win over Connor McDavid and the hapless Edmonton Oilers, plus the same circumstances with the Avalanche and Blues.
Also worth noting: Nashville can clinch the Central Division crown with a Jets loss in regulation to Ottawa.
What did I miss?
San Jose and Minnesota both lost to remain stalled at 98 and 96 points, respectively.
The biggest change saw Anaheim jump to third in the Pacific after two victories, including one over their Southern California rivals, the Los Angeles Kings, on Friday.
The Kings were idle Saturday and Sunday and dropped to the first wild card. Colorado picked up a win and an overtime loss to move to the second berth and punt St. Louis, at least temporarily, out of the mix.
Permanently out of the mix are the Dallas Stars. They were officially eliminated after the Ducks defeated the Avalanche 4-3 in overtime on Sunday. The Stars went 3-8-3 in their last 14 games to miss the playoffs for the second year in a row and for the eighth time in 10 seasons.
Fun fact:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
If the season ended today:
(A1) vs. 
(WC2)
(M1) vs. 
(WC1)
(A2) vs. 
(A3)
(M2) vs. 
(M3)
If the season ended today:
Who’s in?
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. The Pittsburgh Penguins qualified for a franchise record 12th straight season after beating the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Saturday night.
The last time they missed the post-season was 2005-06 — the first season after the year-long lockout — when Sidney Crosby was a rookie.
Monday’s clinching scenarios
None.
What did I miss?
The playoff teams haven’t changed since Friday. Even the matchups have remained the same.
What’s worth noting? Two rare playoff teams, the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes, saw their chances dwindle and vanish completely.
The Panthers dropped a 5-1 decision in Boston, which was their fourth straight loss. They’ve picked up just a single point during that span. They’re now seven points behind New Jersey for the last spot and eight back of Columbus and Philadelphia.
Although they do have two games in hand — they’ll play five games in seven days this week — they’ll need a minor miracle to make the playoffs for the second time in six seasons and third time since 2000.
The Hurricanes missed the post-season for the ninth consecutive campaign. They were officially eliminated from contention when they lost 2-1 to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
The Panthers and Hurricanes face off on Monday.
Fun fact:
Sidney Crosby’s only worn one NHL sweater, but he’s sure donned plenty of others over the course of his hockey life.
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