With less than two weeks until the start of the playoffs, five teams in each conference had clinched a playoff spot as of Monday morning.
- Toronto, Tampa Bay, Florida, Washington and Carolina have clinched in the Eastern Conference.
- Winnipeg, Dallas, Colorado, Vegas and Los Angeles have clinched in the Western Conference.
- Four teams (Detroit, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and Columbus) are within eight points of the second and final wild-card spot in the East, currently held by Montreal.
- Three teams (Calgary, Vancouver and Utah) are within nine points of the second and final wild-card spot in the West, currently held by Minnesota.
The matchups from our check-in last week largely remain the same this week, with a couple of changes, and some teams are threatening to make more. Here is how things look, if the first round started today.
Eastern Conference
Washington Capitals (M1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (WC2)
Carolina Hurricanes (M2) vs. New Jersey Devils (M3)
Toronto Maple Leafs (A1) vs. Ottawa Senators (WC1)
Tampa Bay Lightning (A2) vs. Florida Panthers (A3)
Other contenders: NY Rangers (79 pts), Detroit (79 pts), NY Islanders (78 pts), Columbus (77 pts)
Washington Capitals (M1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (WC2)
Now that Alex Ovechkin’s great goal-scoring chase has been completed, the Caps can put all of their focus toward winning the Metropolitan Division, finishing first in the Eastern Conference and chasing the Presidents’ Trophy. Depending on how Ovechkin feels, it could either be his last run or perhaps a precursor to a retirement tour next year. Only Ovechkin knows at this point. By the way, the Caps are firmly in the driver’s seat for a Metro division title: they could’ve clinched it on Sunday had they beaten the New York Islanders. Washington has the largest point lead (11) of all division leaders entering Monday’s games.
All signs point to the Capitals holding down the top spot in the East to face Montreal, armed with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky and Calder Trophy favorite Lane Hutson. The Canadiens have won five in a row and could pull away from other wild-card hopefuls, such as the New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Remaining schedules:
Washington (five games): vs. Carolina (Thursday), at Columbus (Saturday), vs. Columbus (Sunday), at New York Islanders (April 15), at Pittsburgh (April 17)
Montreal (five games): vs. Detroit (Tuesday), at Ottawa (Friday), at Toronto (Saturday), vs. Chicago (April 14), vs. Carolina (April 16)
Carolina Hurricanes (M2) vs. New Jersey Devils (M3)
This matchup looks like a lock. The Rangers and Islanders have only fleeting chances at making it as wild-card teams, let alone vaulting themselves into the division’s top three. Conversely, the Devils would need the Hurricanes to fall off drastically if they want to jump into second place. But the Devils have the second-easiest strength of schedule remaining, according to Tankathon. They have a hot Jacob Markstrom in time for playoff action. The Swedish goaltender has won his last four starts. More importantly, the Devils still have to clinch a playoff spot. That could come as early as Tuesday if the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Rangers.
With Washington firmly atop their division, the Canes should remain in second place. Carolina would be fortunate to start their series at home. They’re currently the league’s best home team, with a 30-8-1 record. Carolina also has a seven-point lead on the third-place Devils with a game in hand and the tiebreaker on regulation wins. There’s a reason why the Devils aren’t likely to pass them, and that they’d likely start on the road in a series against Carolina.
Remaining schedules:
Carolina (six games): at Buffalo (Tuesday), at Washington (Thursday), vs. New York Rangers (Saturday), vs. Toronto (Sunday), at Montreal (April 16), at Ottawa (April 17)
New Jersey (five games): vs. Boston (Tuesday), vs. Pittsburgh (Friday), vs. New York Islanders (Sunday), at Boston (April 15), vs. Detroit (April 16)
Toronto Maple Leafs (A1) vs. Ottawa Senators (WC1)
It looks like we’ll have a Battle of Ontario in the first round. Toronto has a four-point lead on Tampa Bay for the Atlantic Division lead, while Ottawa is running away with that first wild-card spot. But it all takes one little push and this matchup isn’t as probable as it once was. What if Toronto stalls and Tampa Bay or Florida has a late season surge? The Senators are just two points behind the banged-up Panthers and have won three straight (but Florida currently holds the tiebreaker). If they beat the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, they’ll clinch a playoff spot.
If we do get the Battle of Ontario, get ready for a lot of nostalgic look-backs to the early 2000s from Down Goes Brown. Daniel Alfredsson laying out Darcy Tucker before scoring. Steve Thomas’s electric overtime finish in the 2000 playoffs. Curtis Joseph going ballistic on a referee after trying to fend off a crowded crease and allowing a goal.
Remaining schedules:
Toronto (six games): at Florida (Tuesday), at Tampa Bay (Wednesday), vs. Montreal (Saturday), at Carolina (April 13), at Buffalo (April 15), vs. Detroit (April 17)
Ottawa (five games): at Columbus (Tuesday), vs. Montreal (Friday), vs. Philadelphia (April 13), vs. Chicago (April 15), vs. Carolina (April 17)
Tampa Bay Lightning (A2) vs. Florida Panthers (A3)
The Lightning have a game in hand on their in-state rivals, but the Panthers are within two points. But as we alluded to earlier, Florida’s injury list is quite long for this time of year. At least seven key players missed Sunday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, including Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov. Considering Florida has already punched its ticket to the playoffs, the Panthers might use these next few games to heal up.
Of course, some people are going to say the Panthers are doing this so they can play the Leafs in the first round (TNT’s Paul Bissonnette did that the other night). I don’t think we need to go that far. More importantly, the Lightning-Panthers would be more than fine as an opening-round playoff series pitting two of the best franchises of the decade.
Remaining schedules:
Tampa Bay (six games): at New York Rangers (Monday), vs. Toronto (Wednesday), vs. Detroit (Friday), vs. Buffalo (April 13), vs. Florida (April 15), at New York Rangers (April 17)
Florida (five games): vs. Toronto (Tuesday), vs. Detroit (Thursday), vs. Buffalo (Saturday), vs. New York Rangers (April 14), at Tampa Bay (April 15)
Western Conference
Winnipeg Jets (C1) vs. Minnesota Wild (WC2)
Dallas Stars (C2) vs. Colorado Avalanche (C3)
Vegas Golden Knights (A1) vs. St. Louis Blues (WC1)
Los Angeles Kings (P2) vs. Edmonton Oilers (P3)
Winnipeg Jets (C1) vs. Minnesota Wild (WC2)
Winnipeg and St. Louis play on Monday night. If it wasn’t for St. Louis’s 12-game win streak, we’d still be talking about it as a first-round matchup in this exercise. But the Blues have jumped the Minnesota Wild for that first wild-card spot. The Wild have become the hunted in that spot, but their points lead — ahead of teams such as Calgary, Vancouver and Utah — might be insurmountable. Minnesota just earned two massive points against the Dallas Stars and have four games left in their season. Those games are all against teams below them in the standings, including the Flames. Tankathon says the Wild have the easiest strength of schedule of all 32 teams, as of Monday.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg has lost two of its last three games, and its hold atop the Central Division isn’t guaranteed with the Stars just three points behind. Both teams have five games left. It is not a guarantee that the Jets will remain atop the Western Conference. It may mean having to face off against the Colorado Avalanche in the first round, again. But for now, the Jets and Wild are projected to clash in the opening round.
Remaining schedules:
Winnipeg (five games): vs. St. Louis (Monday), at Dallas (Thursday), at Chicago (Saturday), vs. Edmonton (April 13), vs. Anaheim (April 16)
Minnesota (four games): vs. San Jose (Wednesday), at Calgary (Friday), at Vancouver (Saturday), vs. Anaheim (April 15)
Dallas Stars (C2) vs. Colorado Avalanche (C3)
Do not count out the Stars for a Central Division title. They have won seven of their last 10 and are just three points behind the Jets for first in the Central with five games to go. Dallas and Winnipeg play on Thursday, and there could be serious divisional implications depending on how both teams handle their early-week games.
The Avs won’t catch Winnipeg or Dallas for the Central Division (Colorado’s chances of finishing higher than third are slim enough). But they could still end the season as a 100-point team for the fourth consecutive year and pose a big problem for whoever ends up in the Central Division’s second seed. If their opponent is the Dallas Stars, we anticipate a high-octane, star-driven series.
Remaining schedules:
Dallas (five games): vs. Vancouver (Tuesday), vs. Winnipeg (Thursday), vs. Utah (Saturday), at Detroit (April 14), at Nashville (April 16)
Colorado (four games): vs. Vegas (Tuesday), vs. Vancouver (Thursday), at Los Angeles (Saturday), at Anaheim (April 13)
Vegas Golden Knights (A1) vs. St. Louis Blues (WC1)
Vegas enters the week with a three-point lead atop the Pacific Division with six games to go. The Golden Knights needed that win over Vancouver on Sunday to give them some kind of points cushion with the Los Angeles Kings hot on their trail, and that’s after winning seven of their last 10 games. Three of Vegas’s five final games will be interdivisional, and there’s a matchup against Colorado in that final five. Vegas should be favored to win most, if not all, but they can’t afford to slip up too many times if the Kings keep winning.
The Blues have jumped into the first wild-card position thanks to their 12-game win streak, including two wins over the Avalanche. It’s not impossible for them to jump a spot, but the Blues are five points behind Colorado for third in the Central. A wild-card spot seems more likely, and upcoming road matchups against Winnipeg and Edmonton threaten to ground St. Louis. At least the Blues have pulled away from the Western Conference have-nots. Dom Luszczyszyn’s model gives the Blues a 98 percent chance to make the playoffs. It could mean trekking to Vegas for Game 1 of their first-round series.
Remaining schedules:
Vegas (five games): at Colorado (Tuesday), vs. Seattle (Thursday), vs. Nashville (Saturday), at Calgary (April 15), at Vancouver (April 16)
St. Louis (four games): at Winnipeg (Monday), at Edmonton (Wednesday), at Seattle (Saturday), vs. Utah (April 15)
Los Angeles Kings (P2) vs. Edmonton Oilers (P3)
We pondered last week if this was the year the Kings would get the better of the Edmonton Oilers, thanks to their record at home and their defensive play. But after winning eight of their last 10, the Kings still have a chance of winning the Pacific Division. The Kings would have to hope Vegas falters in their final five games while playing well in their final six games. But the Pacific Division crown is very much in play. In any case, the Kings have every reason to feel good about their playoff future.
The Oilers, meanwhile, are still waiting on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to get fully healthy ahead of a lengthy playoff run. Draisaitl briefly returned, but he’s injured again with a lower-body injury. Not having No. 97 and 29 won’t help them in their efforts to jump the Kings with six games to go, as Edmonton is four points behind. But right now, they seem destined to finish the year as third-place finishers in the Pacific Division.
Remaining schedules:
Los Angeles (six games): vs. Seattle (Monday), vs. Anaheim (Thursday), vs. Colorado (Saturday), at Edmonton (April 14), at Seattle (April 15), vs. Calgary (April 17)
Edmonton (six games): at Anaheim (Monday), vs. St. Louis (Wednesday), vs. San Jose (Friday), at Winnipeg (April 13), vs. Los Angeles (April 14), at San Jose (April 16)
(Photo of Winnipeg’s Vladislav Namestnikov and Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek: David Berding / Getty Images)