Five Teams Fighting for Two Spots as the Eastern Conference Playoff Race Heats Up
The NHL regular season is coming down the home stretch, and the Eastern Conference playoff race is heating up. Six of the eight available spots have already been clinched, leaving the last two spots up for grabs. Five teams are in contention for those two spots. For those who might not be familiar with the playoff format in the NHL, both the Eastern and Western Conferences are split up into two divisions, and the top three teams in each division automatically qualify for the playoffs. The last two spots are Wild Card spots, which are awarded to the two next-best teams regardless of division. In this scenario, the third spot in the Metropolitan Division and the second Wild Card spot are the playoff spots that are up for grabs. The five teams in contention for these spots are the New York Islanders, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals, the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Detroit Red Wings, and they are all separated by just two points. Now, let’s look at each team and their outlook down the stretch.
New York Islanders: The Islanders are in the best position of the five to make the playoffs since they currently hold the third Metropolitan division spot with 85 points. The Penguins are right behind them with 84, and the Capitals and Flyers are right there as well with 83 points. New York is playing great hockey at the best time, as they are currently in the midst of a four-game winning streak, including a crucial 4-3 win over the Flyers in overtime to begin the month of April. The Islanders have five games left; however, two of those five will have to be against the New York Rangers, who currently hold the number one seed in the Eastern Conference standings. The Islanders also end the season at home against the Penguins in a game that could end up being a win-or-go-home game, depending on how the next couple of weeks play out.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Speaking of the Penguins, they are right behind the Islanders, as mentioned above for the final Metropolitan spot. The Penguins have also been playing some of their best hockey, as they were undefeated in April until losing in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Pittsburgh is currently tied with the Red Wings for the second Wild Card spot, which makes the upcoming matchup between the Red Wings and Penguins on Thursday an absolutely massive matchup for positioning in the standings. After the Red Wings matchup, the last three games do not get much easier for Pittsburgh as they play the Bruins, Predators, and Islanders, all of whom are currently in playoff spots. Sidney Crosby and company will have to continue to play their best hockey if they want to be playing into May. Luckily for the Penguins, they have been here before, and they can lean on that Stanley Cup experience from guys like Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
Washington Capitals: The Capitals are going in the opposite direction of the previous two teams mentioned. Washington has lost its last six games in a row and has only three wins in its last ten games. Washington is 0-4 in April, which includes a crucial loss to the Penguins at home. A significant issue of the Capitals has been their ability to score and create quality scoring chances. They rank 28th in the league in goals scored per game and 31st in shots on goal. The evidence of this can be seen in their recent losing streak, where they have failed to score more than two goals in all six of their losses during this brutal stretch. In their last five games, they will have chances to defeat teams they are competing with for playoff positions as they play both the Red Wings and the Flyers. However, the Capitals need to find some offense, and they need to find it fast, or their playoff hopes will officially wither away.
Philadelphia Flyers: If the playoffs are in the north, the Flyers are flying straight south right now. Philadelphia is on a season-high seven-game losing streak at the absolute worst time possible, and what makes this streak even worse is that they have lost to some struggling teams, including the Blackhawks, Canadiens, and Blue Jackets, who are all well out of playoff contention at this point. The Flyers only have four games left, and besides another matchup with the Canadiens, the other three games remaining are all against teams with winning records. They end the season at home against the Capitals in a game that could have significant playoff implications. Still, Philadelphia and Washington need to win some games before that matchup for that game to be meaningful.
Detroit Red Wings: Detroit is the lone team in this race that is not from the Metropolitan Division. The Red Wings reside in the other Eastern Conference Division, the Atlantic, which already has three automatic qualifiers in the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Tampa Bay Lightning is fourth in the division and have clinched the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. This leaves Detroit only fighting for the last Wild Card spot. They are tied for that spot with the Penguins as of today with 84 points. Luckily for Detroit, their final stretch of games is full of opportunities for them to capitalize on. They play both the Capitals and Penguins this week, and then after a tough matchup with the Maple Leafs, Detroit will finish the season with back-to-back games with the Canadiens, who are near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. They have been playing mediocre hockey over the past couple of weeks, going just 4-4-2 in their last ten games, but they have continued to be competitive. Given their current position in the standings and their preferred schedule, the Red Wings should not have to rely on any other team besides themselves to help them get to the playoffs.
