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NHL Playoff Death Watch: Capitals, Bruins poised to shake up East
Since we're down to the final moments of postseason life for teams in contention, Puck Daddy solemnly begins a daily countdown to annihilation.
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night pushed them down to the No. 3 seed in the Metro … and opened the door a little wider for the Washington Capitals to shake up the seedings.
The Caps face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, the start of a three-game road trip. With a victory and an Islanders’ loss or overtime loss to Columbus, and the Capitals would go from the first wild card to the No. 2 seed in the Metro.
The Penguins would suddenly be the first wild card, seeded against Montreal.
Here are the current standings. The Death Watch tracks the final Wild Card spot and the teams that are chasing it. Their “tragic number” is the number of points gained by the final wild card team or lost by the team chasing it.
All playoff percentages are from Sports Club Stats; tragic numbers and other figures via the NHL. A team is eliminated from play-offs when their "Tragic Number" hits 0.
Here’s the Eastern Conference picture…
The Boston Bruins visit the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night, while the Ottawa Senators host the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Sens still have a game in-hand, but don’t have a game left against the B’s.
Yes, welcome to the Death Watch, Detroit. The Bruins are two points behind the Wings, who have a game in-hand. A victory in regulation would knot the teams in points and ROW.
This would also mean that the Senators could close to within three points of the Wings…
The Panthers, hanging on dearly at this point, host the Carolina Hurricanes, looking at a tragic number of four.
The Rangers host the Minnesota Wild, trying to increase their lead for the conference’s top seed.
Meanwhile, in the West …
The Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues battle, as do the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks, as the No. 2 and No. 3 hit the road.
The Wild host the Rangers, trying to keep pace with the Blackhawks and increase their lead over idle Winnipeg.
The Kings host the Edmonton Oilers, with a chance to move ahead of Winnipeg by virtue of ROW, playing their game in-hand.
Oh, and the Sharks are now within five points of the Jets SHUT UP SHUT UP THIS CAN’T BE REAL JUST IGNORE IT…
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