NHL Playoff Death Watch: Senators miss chance; West bubble night

Since we're down to the final moments of postseason life for teams in contention, Puck Daddy solemnly begins a daily countdown to annihilation.

While Ottawa Senators fans focus on goals that never were, their team has to move past those points that never were.

Like the two they’ve left on the table recently to their arch rivals from Toronto.

Oh, hey, look: They’re two back of the Bruins, Red Wings and Penguins …

The Senators had another chance Sunday night to really make Tuesday’s showdown vs. the Penguins worth significantly more than it actually is. A win over the Leafs, and the Senators would have had a chance to leap ahead of Pittsburgh. Instead, the best they can do is tie in points and still be behind them due to the tie-breaker.

Still, they pulled a point out of that game, which means the East is still in play.

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 Capitals clinched a playoff spot, and control their own destiny regarding the wild card. It’s looking like Washington vs. the Islanders in Round 1, which mean someone’s playoff darling is going home early.

Losses by Detroit and Pittsburgh combined with Ottawa’s shootout loss kept the bubble in flux, along with third place in the Atlantic. None of the teams ahead of the Sens are out of the woods yet. But it’s on Ottawa to make life interesting for them; they have Pittsburgh at home, and the Rangers and the Flyers left on the road.

Meanwhile, in the West …

The Wild host the Jets and the Canucks host the Kings tonight, the game in-hand for both Winnipeg and LA over the Calgary Flames.

The Kings have Calgary on April 9. The Jets have them in the season finale. Fun times!

Meanwhile, the Blues are back at the top of the Central with 105 points and three games left. Nashville has 104 points and three games left, along with a ROW advantage of 41-40. The winner of the Central likely pulls the Wild, rather than the Blackhawks, in round one.

If the playoffs started today ...

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