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…
Who’s already clinched? Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens
Who can clinch tonight? There are no clinching scenarios on Friday.
What’d I miss? It was a night of endless drama for the Toronto Maple Leafs. In typical Leafs fashion, Toronto went up 3-1 before blowing a third-period lead to the Boston Bruins, which included Jonathan Bernier re-injuring his groin and leaving the game. It looked like the third period of last year’s Game 7 meltdown all over again. James Reimer came off the bench after Bernier’s injury, and the Leafs picked up a 4-3 victory after the sparingly used Nazem Kadri fired home a rebound in overtime. It was a needed two points for Toronto as Columbus held serve by beating Philadelphia 2-0. Sergei Bobrovsky made 37 saves to shut out his former team. The Flyers haven’t registered a goal in their past two games. The Blue Jackets lead Toronto — who have only four games left — by one point and still have two games in hand.
The Lightning wasted an opportunity to separate from Montreal in the standings by dropping a 4-1 contest at home to the Calgary Flames. Karri Ramo made 31 saves to beat the club that originally drafted him. Tampa and the Habs are now tied in points, but Montreal currently owns the tiebreaker. That could determine home-ice advantage in the opening round. Pittsburgh locked up the Metropolitan before defeating Winnipeg 4-2, thanks to Philly’s loss to the Blue Jackets. With the loss, Winnipeg was eliminated from post-season contention.
Friday’s game to watch: Washington Capitals @ New Jersey Devils — After Toronto and Columbus picked up points last night, the Capitals cannot afford to fall further in the wild card standings. The Caps are four points behind Columbus (and three behind Toronto) with six games remaining. Washington heads into New Jersey to start a crucial four-game road trip. The team will need more from Alex Ovechkin, who has not registered an even-strength point over his last 16 games. He has a minus-19 rating over that stretch. The Devils are quietly just one point behind Washington in the standings. New Jersey has a lighter schedule to close out the season with the upcoming games against the Flames, Islanders, Hurricanes, and Senators.
Fun fact: Pens bench boss Dan Bylsma became the fastest coach in NHL history to reach 250 regular-season wins. He accomplished it in 395 games.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
If the season ended today…
Who’s already clinched? St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings
Who can clinch tonight? There are no clinching scenarios on Friday.
What’d I miss? The Phoenix Coyotes and Dallas Stars continue to go tit-for-tat. A day after Phoenix faltered in a 4-0 loss to L.A, Dallas dropped a 4-1 contest to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Stars missed a chance to pull away in the wild card standings. Dallas is tied in points with Phoenix but still has a game in hand. Staying in the Pacific, San Jose beat the Kings 2-1 in what could be a playoff preview. Logan Couture scored the winner in a tight contest that saw Jonathan Quick get a night off. San Jose win moved them within one point of first-place Anaheim, but the Ducks still have two more games to play. Even without Matt Duchene, the Colorado Avalanche picked up their fifth straight victory. Tyson Barrie scored in the final minute of the third period to force overtime before the Avs defeated the New York Rangers in the shootout. Despite the victory, Colorado was unable to gain in the standings as Chicago matched its two points with a 3-2 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild. Heading into Friday, Colorado leads Chicago by three points and appears destined to have home ice when the teams face off in the first round. At the top of the standings, the St. Louis Blues set a team record for wins after beating the Buffalo Sabres.
Friday’s game to watch: Edmonton Oilers @ Phoenix Coyotes — Who would’ve thought the Oilers would be featured here this late in the season? Unfortunately for Edmonton fans, this is simply about Phoenix. If the Coyotes register a point, they would jump past the idle Stars into the final playoff spot in the West. The Coyotes have just one point over the past three games but are running into the right opponent on Friday. Phoenix is 4-0-0 against Edmonton this year and hasn’t lost in regulation to the Oilers since Jan. 25, 2011.
Fun fact: Semyon Varlamov matched an Avalanche franchise record held by now-coach Patrick Roy with his 24th home win in a season (2000-01). Varlamov may have bragging rights if he gets another victory.
The rest of tonight’s schedule:
Chicago @ Columbus: Blue Jackets have lost their last 12 games against the Blackhawks.
Montreal @ Ottawa: Habs have opportunity to gain ground on idle Lightning.
Buffalo @ Detroit: Pavel Datsyuk will make his return for the Red Wings.
Nashville @ Anaheim: After a Sharks win, the Ducks need some breathing room in the Pacific.
Calgary @ Florida: Tickets will certainly be cheap for this one.