WHAT'S ON THE LINE
ON SATURDAY
With the entire 16-team Stanley Cup playoff field already
set, there's not too much team drama heading into the NHL's final
regular-season day, although some seeds remain in the air.
SEEDING SHUFFLE
Only two of the eight playoffs matchups are entirely set.
The Boston Bruins will
face the Toronto Maple
Leafs in a matchup that's felt inevitable for months, while
the San Jose
Sharks will face off against the Vegas Golden
Knights. After that, it's a total scramble. The Central Division
title will come down to the final game of the season, with the Nashville
Predators (98 points), the Winnipeg Jets (97)
and the St. Louis
Blues (97) all within one point, and all in action on Saturday.
- The Columbus
Blue Jackets snuck into the playoffs on Friday with a
shootout win against the New York
Rangers, but can clinch the first wild-card
spot with one point against the lowly Ottawa
Senators as long as the Carolina
Hurricanes lose in regulation.
- The
Canes, meanwhile, can clinch the third Metro spot with a win and a Pittsburgh
Penguins regulation loss to the Rangers.
- If the
Penguins win on Saturday and see the New York
Islanders suffer a regulation loss, Sidney
Crosby & Co. will receive home-ice advantage in the
first round. The Islanders need one point against Washington to clinch
home ice themselves.
THE TAMPA BAY
LIGHTNING'S HUNT FOR 62
Everyone knew Tampa Bay would be one of the best teams in
the NHL this season. But they turned out to be one of the league's biggest
overachievers, too. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook opened the season
projecting the Lightning to have 107.5 points. They can finish as high as 20.5
points higher -- the highest differential in the league.
And though the Lightning can't set the NHL record with 63
wins, they have a chance to tie the 1995-96 Red Wings with 62. The standings
points record of 132 (1976-77 Montreal
Canadiens) is also out of reach, though Tampa Bay can get as high as
No. 4 overall with a win today against the Bruins.
Please note, Lightning fans: One of those teams won the
Stanley Cup, the other exited early.
CHASING MILESTONES
Nikita
Kucherov is at 126 points. If he notches just one more in the
Lightning's final game against the Bruins, he'll match Jaromir Jagr (1998-99
Penguins) for the highest single-season point total in the last 20 seasons. Of
course, at the pace Kucherov has been scoring, he totally has a chance to surpass the
mulleted legend.
Edmonton
Oilers winger Leon
Draisaitl needs one goal to join Alex Ovechkin as
the NHL's only 50-goal scorers this season. (Toronto's John Tavares sits
at 47 ahead of the Leafs' finale against Montreal). Draisaitl is only 23; the
most recent players to reach the 50-goal plateau at age 23 or under? Steven
Stamkos in 2011-12, Sidney Crosby in 2009-10, Alex Ovechkin
(three times), and Ilya
Kovalchuk in 2005-06. Before then, the previous player to do it
was Paul Kariya in
1995-96.
Another note if Draisaitl reaches 50: According to the Elias
Sports Bureau, no team has had two separate players where one scored 50 goals,
another had 75 assists and the team missed the postseason. In fact, with Connor
McDavid already having 75 assists for the Oilers, the last team
to have a 75-assist player who failed to make the playoffs was ... the Oilers
in 1995-96 (Doug Weight).
Five players have already reached the 100-point club, but
Sidney Crosby (98), Johnny
Gaudreau (98), Nathan MacKinnon (98)
and Steven Stamkos (97) are knocking. That's potentially nine 100-point
scorers; there were only five 100-point seasons over the previous three seasons
combined. If Crosby gets 100, he'll join Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Joe Sakic as
the only players in the last 30 years with six 100-point seasons.
A LAST HURRAH?
Scott Gordon did an admirable job as the interim coach of
the Philadelphia
Flyers, but he could be sent back down to the AHL Lehigh Valley
Phantoms after the season.
Willie Desjardins is almost certainly not coming back with
the Los Angeles
Kings after Saturday's finale.
This could also be the final regular season farewell for
35-year-old Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza and
an NHL farewell to Florida
Panthers goalie Roberto
Luongo, who just turned 40 and has battled several health issues.
It's been a difficult season for 15-year-veteran Chris Kunitz (nine
points in 54 games), and he could mull retirement also. Jason
Pominville (35), Niklas
Kronwall (37) and Joe Thornton (38)
are all on the final years of their deals; you'll get to see more of Thornton
in the playoffs, though.
THE ISLANDERS LOOK
FOR HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE
It's been a wild season so far for the New York Islanders,
who saw their captain, John Tavares, leave in free agency ... then exceed all
expectations by improbably clinching a playoff berth, with much improved
defensive structure and goaltending.
The story can be even sweeter with a win in Saturday's
finale against the Washington
Capitals. The Caps already clinched a Metropolitan Division title,
but with a win the Islanders would capture home-ice advantage in the first
round for the first time since 1998. That's a huge boon to this fan base, which
has weathered a nomadic season. (The Islanders will play their first-round
series at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island; should they advance, all subsequent
rounds will be at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn).
The Isles will face either the Carolina Hurricanes or
Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. If the Islanders get one point, they'll
have their most in a season since 1983-84 (104), the season of their fifth
straight Stanley Cup Final appearance.
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