With one game remaining for most teams in the NHL regular season, there are officially two more playoff spots up for grabs. Only a handful of teams remain in the hunt to make a playoff berth and Saturday will top off a photo finish. The Eastern Conference playoff picture is set while the West has two remaining spots available.
Both the New York Rangers and the Ottawa Senators completed overtime victories on Thursday night to wrap up the playoff race in the East. The Randers clinched the eighth seed with a win against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Senators topped the Washington Capitals 2-1 to place themselves in sixth. With those two wins, the Winnipeg Jets were officially eliminated.
So, the Pittsburgh Penguins will enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the top seed in the East and the second-best team overall. They will face the lowest finisher among the Senators, Rangers and Islanders. Each of those teams have 54 points. The Rangers own the tiebreaker over the Islands while the Senators are a spot ahead of Rangers because it has a game in hand. The Islanders are making their first playoff appearance since 2007. These three teams will shape the playoff picture of opening round games as they finish their seasons on Saturday.
The Western Conference remains slightly less clear. The Chicago Blackhawks are the clear conference winner and best team overall as they won the Presidents' Trophy. After that, things get muddy. With a win over the Nashville Predators, the Detroit Red Wings move in the seventh spot. They must gain a point in their final game against the Dallas Stars in order to have a guaranteed playoff spot. If they do not, they run the risk of breaking the streak of 22 consecutive years of postseason appearances.
The Minnesota Wild can clinch a playoff spot in one of two games remaining. They need a win against either the Edmonton Oilers of the Colorado Avalanche to assure a spot in the top eight. The Oilers have lost three games in the past four days, making the Wild's chances to clinch against the team pretty good.
The Columbus Blue Jackets still remain an equal contender. They were sitting in the seventh spot, but dropped to eighth with the Detroit win. They have 53 points, tied with the Wild, so a loss could drop them out. After Saturday, the entire Stanley Cup playoff picture will be set and teams can begin to focus on a deep postseason run.
