With the playoffs less than two weeks away, nine of the 16 playoff spots have been clinched – five in the Western Conference and four in the Eastern Conference. Adding in the Rangers and Flyers in the East and Kings in the West, there’s really only the two wild card spots in each conference up for grabs.
In the East, five teams – the Red Wings, Blue Jackets, Maple Leafs, Capitals and Devils – are competing for those spots. The Wings and Jackets currently occupy the top spots with 84 and 83 points, respectively, and are in good position to hold those spots and sneak into the playoffs. The Maple Leafs are a point back, but have played two more games. The Capitals are two points back and can’t seem to win anymore. The Devils would be in the playoffs had they won any shootouts. At 0-for-11, even winning three of those 11 games would have them in playoff position right now.
Moving to the West, it would appear as if the Wild (89 points) will get one of the spots, as the Stars and Coyotes (85 points apiece) compete for the other. The Stars have the advantage because they’ve played one fewer game and have four more regulation wins — the second tiebreaker after points. But it just so happens, the schedule makers have the two teams meeting on the final day of the season in Phoenix, which could decide it.
It’s shaping up to be another exciting finish. And because things never seem to go as planned, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some of the teams currently holding playoff spots on the outside looking in come two weeks.
(Last week’s rankings in parentheses)
1. Bruins (1): Boston has won three straight since its 12-game winning streak was snapped, including Sunday’s 4-3 shootout win over the Flyers in which the Bruins were outshot 52-30. That’s the stuff of champions.
2. Blues (2): Ryan Miller is 10-3-1 since being traded to the Blues. He earned his first shutout since 2012 with a 31-save effort in Tuesday’s 1-0 shootout win against the Flyers.
3. Avalanche (8): The injury to leading scorer Matt Duchene hurts, but Colorado has won four straight one-goal games and appears ready for the playoffs.
4. Ducks (6): Monday’s 5-4 win against the Jets was the first time in history the Ducks came back from a four-goal deficit to win.
5. Sharks (3): There’s a strong possibility the Sharks could face the Kings in the first round for the third time in four seasons.
6. Penguins (5): Sidney Crosby picked up his 100th point of the season Tuesday, the fifth time in his nine-year career he’s topped that mark.
7. Blackhawks (4): Now Jonathan Toews is on the injured list, joining running mate Patrick Kane. Chicago hopes both return in time for the playoffs.
8. Kings (7): Fun fact: The Kings lost a game Monday after holding a lead through two periods for the second time in eight games. They were 137-1 in their previous 138 times in that scenario.
9. Rangers (10): The Rangers have a league-best 25 road wins (25-14). They’ve also won eight of 10 overall, and are peaking at the right time.
10. Lightning (12): Points in 12 of 13 games have the Lightning in the playoffs, and rookies Tyler Johnson (47 points) and Ondrej Palat (51 points) are a huge reason why.
11. Canadiens (9): Thomas Vanek has 11 points in 13 games as a Canadien. They’ll need that offense in the playoffs.
12. Wild (13): Four of their next five are against teams in the top 10 in the league in points: Blackhawks, Penguins, Bruins and Blues.
13. Flyers (11):Â In a tough stretch, facing 11 playoff teams in 12 games. They are 6-2-2 thus far.
14. Blue Jackets (14): Every point is big this time of year, and the Blue Jackets lost a huge one Tuesday after a 2-0 third-period lead ended in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Avalanche.
15. Red Wings (17): Gustav Nyquist has 22 goals in his past 27 games, including scoring a goal in 17 of those games.
16. Stars (18): Outscoring opponents 16-5 in their past three games, which certainly helps the playoff push.
17. Coyotes (16):Â The Coyotes have scored a power-play goal in seven of nine games.
18. Capitals (15): Alex Ovehckin leads the league in goals (48) and ranks dead last in plus-minus (-34). He could be the first player in history to do that.
19. Devils (20): Points in five straight games, but with shootout losses to the Islanders and Sabres bringing their mark in the skills competition to 0-11 this season, they can kiss the playoffs goodbye.
20. Maple Leafs (19): Finally stopped the bleeding with a 3-2 win against the Flames Tuesday, ending an eight game skid. Now, can they put together a streak and sneak into the playoffs?
21. Predators (22): Patric Hornqvist has points in five straight games (four goals, four assists), but it’s too little, too late for the Predators.
22. Senators (26): The Senators have strung together back-to-back wins (three in total) for the first time in almost two months.
23. Canucks (21): Did the Canucks think they had to justify trading Roberto Luongo by starting Eddie Lack for 17 straight games? Either way, he has seven wins and 10 losses and have given up a bundle of goals in those starts.
24. Hurricanes (25): Cam Ward, who backstopped the ‘Canes to the 2006 Stanley Cup as a rookie, likely will not be on the team next season, as Anton Khudobin has taken the reins in net.
25. Jets (23):Â How’s this for some symmetry? After winning 11 of 15 games, the Jets have bottomed out by losing 11 of 15.
26. Islanders (27): They may have won four of five games, but there’s plenty of work to be done and decisions to be made this offseason on Long Island.
27. Flames (24): Had been playing well before consecutive losses to their Canadian rivals, the Senators and Maple Leafs.
28. Panthers (28): They are just so bad defensively, it’s hard to notice the positives, such as how well some of their young offensive players have developed.
29. Oilers (29): Have allowed three goals or more in six straight games. That’s how you stay in the basement.
30. Sabres (30): Clinched the worst record in the league, and could end up with the top two picks in this year’s draft.