NHL Playoff Push: East nearly locked up, West still has questions

With their 6-3 victory over the New York Islanders Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched playoff spot for a record 16th straight season. Not only is that the NHL’s longest active playoff streak, it’s the longest of any North American men’s professional league.

That they clinched a post-season berth wasn’t really in question – the East has felt pretty locked up for a while now, and the remaining spots have Boston and Washington’s names on them in ink. The intrigue is more about how the East's eight teams stack up within the playoff picture.

Boston is just three points behind the Lightning, who also officially clinched their post-season berth Thursday night with their thrilling comeback win over Anaheim. Their quest for the three-peat continues. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, will be without Tristan Jarry for Saturday's game against Boston as the No. 1 netminder is assessed for a lower-body injury.

Who else is ready to punch their ticket to the playoffs? In the West, the only official spot that’s been secured belongs to Colorado. The real intrigue lies deep in the Pacific, where Vegas and Vancouver are gaining ground on the Kings. The heavyweight Central currently has five teams in playoff position and none officially locked in. Can Nashville and Dallas tighten their respective grips on the wild card spots?

Here's a closer look at the playoff picture and the intrigue surrounding it this weekend.

*Playoff odds mentioned throughout are from MoneyPuck.

Here’s what the Eastern Conference Standings look like heading into the weekend:

If the playoffs started today, these would be our first-round matchups in the East:

(A1) Florida Panthers vs. (WC2) Washington Capitals

(A2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (A3) Tampa Bay Lightning

(M1) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (WC1) Boston Bruins

(M2) New York Rangers vs. (M3) Pittsburgh Penguins

Here’s what the Western Conference Standings look like heading into the weekend:

If the playoffs started today, these would be our first-round matchups in the West:

(C1) Colorado Avalanchevs. (WC2) Dallas Stars

(C2) Minnesota Wildvs. (C3) St. Louis Blues

(P1) Calgary Flamesvs. (WC1) Nashville Predators

(P2) Edmonton Oilersvs. (P3) Los Angeles Kings

Checking in on President’s Trophy race

The 2021 President’s Trophy winners are the front-runners to claim the hardware once again. The Colorado Avalanche, winners of eight in a row, have racked up 114 points with eight games still to go and are just four points shy of tying their highest total to date. (They tallied 118 points in 2000-01 before going on to win the Stanley Cup.)

In any other year, they’d probably be the runaway winner but with the Florida Panthers sitting at a franchise-best 110 points with nine matchups left on the docket and an eight-game win streak of their own, this could be a really fun sprint right to the end. Of course, both teams will tell you the only trophy that matters is Lord Stanley’s Cup, but for those of us who get to watch all the action, let’s all enjoy this ride.

Bruins, Capitals on the brink of playoff berth

Boston has had a clear path to the post-season all week but with three straight losses (at Capitals, vs. Blues, vs. Senators) they’ve failed to hold up their end of the bargain. The Bruins can secure their playoff spot Friday night without even hitting the ice if the Montreal Canadiens help them out by defeating the New York Islanders.

If that doesn’t pan out, Boston can also secure a spot Saturday afternoon with either a win or an overtime/shootout loss to the Penguins. Whether they sprint, stroll, or stumble into the post-season doesn’t matter – it’s only a matter of time until they’re in.

A Montreal victory Friday night – with Carey Price back in net, no less! – would go a long way in making official Washington’s post-season bid, too, potentially clearing the path for a win-and-you’re-in situation for the Capitals against the Canadiens Saturday. With 15 points separating Washington from the Islanders and 99.99 per cent odds of making the playoffs. Well, this one’s all but officially locked up.

Can Rangers catch Hurricanes for top spot in Metropolitan?

Wire to wire, the Carolina Hurricanes have spent the season atop the Metropolitan as the consensus best in the division. But now, with just seven games to go and the Rangers just one win behind them, might we see a last-minute lead change?

The Rangers won 11 of their 15 March games, and while they opened up April on a slightly cooler note – four wins in seven games – a win Saturday afternoon against Detroit would have them in position to pounce. Both clubs have favourable schedules down the stretch, with Carolina getting the edge – of their remaining games, just two are against playoff teams. That includes a head-to-head against the Rangers themselves on April 26, which could very well be a battle for the division’s top spot.

Wild, Blues give us playoff preview

Is there a hotter division than the Central right now? Sitting behind Colorado to round out the top three is Minnesota and St. Louis, who have three- and seven-game win streaks of their own to really separate themselves from Nashville and Dallas in the wild card spots. That means we're all but guaranteed a first-round matchup between the Wild and Blues -- and we're about to get a preview of said series Saturday afternoon when they go head-to-head.

The Blues are in for a challenging weekend, as they visit Nashville to take on the hungry Predators -- desperate to stay in that first wild card spot -- on Sunday. Nashville and Dallas both have 89 points, with the Preds getting the slight edge on the tiebreaker.

Can Vegas sneak into Pacific’s top three? (And what about Vancouver?)

Thursday night saw a storybook tale unfold in Calgary – just, not for the Flames. Calgary needed a win over visiting Vegas Thursday night in order to officially punch their playoff ticket. That had to wait as they were soundly defeated by Calgary-born rookie netminder Logan Thompson. His 35 saves saw the surging Golden Knights coast to a 6-1 win over the Pacific Division front-runners.

The Golden Knights have upped their playoff odds in the past week, but remain on shaky ground. Heading into Saturday’s matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, Vegas has 54.2 per cent odds of making the post-season, gaining ground on the L.A. Kings whose odds have lowered to 71.5 per cent.

Every game is a must-win down the stretch for Vegas now, who find themselves just one point shy of the Kings (currently third in the Pacific) with one game in-hand and two points off pace of Nashville and Dallas for a wild card spot. With so many possibilities to sneak into the post-season, Vegas is one of the most interesting teams to watch down the stretch.

And then there are the Canucks, who came away from a three-game series against Vegas earlier this month with two wins and whose 4.4 per cent odds of making the post-season are the next best behind Vegas. Vancouver is riding a five-game win streak and is three points behind Vegas in the standings, four points back of L.A., and five off pace of Nashville and Dallas for a wild card spot with eight games to go.

This weekend represents a bit of a calm before the storm for Vancouver, as they don’t play until Monday’s matchup against Dallas. A sixth straight win would make things very interesting indeed.