The Tampa Bay
Lightning had a chance to clinch a playoff spot on the first Thursday
in March. While it didn’t go their way, the Bolts are undoubtedly going to be
the top seed in the Eastern Conference and are well on their way to a
President’s Trophy with a 15-point lead on the second-best team in the league.
That next team up is the Boston
Bruins, who are second only to Tampa in both the NHL and within their own
Atlantic Division. Riding an 18-game point streak, the Bruins’ playoff position
is also in little doubt. The Toronto Maple Leafs, currently holding a top-five
record in the league, are on pace to finish third in their own division and
without home ice in the first round of the playoffs. Boston and Toronto seem
destined to meet in that opening round, with the winner likely getting Tampa
Bay as its reward for moving on.
As frustrating as the current playoff format may be for the
Leafs — as well as the Bruins and Lightning — at least the three teams know
where they stand in the postseason structure with a month to go in the regular
season. The same can’t be said for the rest of the Eastern Conference
contenders.
Just eight points separate the New York Islanders, the current Metropolitan Division leaders, from
the Columbus Blue Jackets,
presently in ninth in the East and on the outside of the playoff picture.
Between the two are three more Metropolitan teams as well as the Atlantic’s
Montreal Canadiens. With all six of these competitors struggling to pull away
from the rest of the group, it could be that each team’s schedule down the
stretch determines where they end up by the end of the regular season. Three
divisional spots and two wild-card spots are up for grabs; who has the luck of
the schedule on their side?
According to the strength-of-schedule
numbers released by the NHL Friday morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ opposing point’s percentage of .555 is the
most favorable of the group. That’s not to say the Pens face an easy slate,
though. Pittsburgh faces eight current playoff teams in its final 15 games, not
including Saturday night’s tilt against Columbus, but end the year with a nice
stretch that includes a home-and-home against the lowly Red Wings and a final
matchup against the Rangers. The experienced Penguins team is a safe bet to
stay in the playoff picture.
The Montreal
Canadiens have a similarly easy schedule, a .575 opposing point’s
percentage, but they have a dramatically different ending. Fighting for just
one of two wild-card spots, the Habs will face eight current playoff teams
themselves, again not including a game against the Blue Jackets, but only three
of those contests are within their next nine games. Montreal may get a nice
boost over the next couple of weeks, but it faces a daunting final stretch;
Columbus, Winnipeg, Tampa, Washington, and Toronto await the Habs in their final
five games. How they fare against those Cup contenders could determine whether
they make or miss the postseason.
With just seven current playoff teams on the schedule from
here on out, not including two run-ins with Columbus, the New York Islanders
are in good shape with a .567 opposing point’s percentage. The team also avoids
any road trips of longer than two games for the rest of the season. While a
regular-season finale against the Capitals could prove critical, the Islanders
look as if they should be able to hold on to their playoff spot.
Things have not gone as expected since Jarmo Kekalainen and
the Columbus Blue Jackets went all-out at the trade deadline. The team sits
outside of the playoff picture — currently two points back of the final
wild-card spot — and there is no guarantee that things will get better. The
Jackets have a .581 opposing point’s percentage, including 10 games against
current playoff teams, and play just six of their final 15 games at home.
Perhaps the one saving grace will be trips to Buffalo, the Rangers and Ottawa
in three of their last four games, but they have their work cut out for them.
The Carolina
Hurricanes have a similarly tough schedule but benefit from having a
game or two in hand on all of their competitors. In their final 16 games, the
’Canes will face opposition with a .586 points percentage, 10 of which are
playoff teams. They also have three sets of back-to-back games remaining.
However, with the cushion of extra games and dates with the Devils and Flyers
to round out the year, the red-hot Hurricanes are on pace to erase their
league-worst nine-year playoff drought.
Finally, there are the defending champs. The Washington Capitals not only have
the most difficult remaining schedule in the East’s wild-card race, but in the
entire NHL. At a .599 points percentage against, the Caps are about to go
through the ringer in their final 15 games. Ten playoff teams are on the docket
for Washington, including three games against the powerhouse Lightning and five
playoff teams among its final six competitors. Fortunately, the team does play
more than half of its remaining matchups at home, but there’s little else to
find comfort in. If any team in this race is at risk of falling out of its
current playoff position, it is the Capitals, especially if the extra work of
last year’s Stanley Cup run starts to catch up to them down the stretch.
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