NHL Playoff Death Watch: Lightning try to pop East bubble; Pacific showdown

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

Fare thee well, Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets, eliminated from playoff contention after the St. Louis Blues’ victory on Monday night. May you find some semblance of inner peace, and also consistent goaltending …

The Blues’ win was matched by the Nashville Predators’ victory over the New York Islanders, so the Preds remain one point ahead for third in the Central and a first-rounder against the Minnesota Wild. The Blues also remained two points behind the Calgary Flames for the first wild card, who defeated the Colorado Avalanche, as teams typically do when they play the Avalanche.

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.

Here’s the Western Conference:

As you can see, the giant cluster that are the Pacific top three are in action tonight, with the Anaheim Ducks at the Vancouver Canucks, the San Jose Sharks hosting the New York Rangers and the Edmonton Oilers attempting to clinch a playoff spot in a game against the Los Angeles Kings.

For the moment (via Sports Cub Stats), the Ducks have a 44-percent chance at the Pacific title, while the Oilers have a 27-percent shot and the Sharks have a 25-percent chance. All we really care about is Sharks vs. Ducks and Flames vs. Oilers in Round 1, so however you want to suss it out is fine by us, Pacific Division.

Here’s the Eastern Conference:

What a win for the Tampa Bay Lightning last night: Down 4-1, Jon Cooper yo-yoing Andrei Vasilevskiy in and out of the game, and then they rally for the overtime win to move within a point of the idle Bruins (with the same seven games left) and two points in back of the Toronto Maple Leafs (who have eight games left).

The Eddie Lack situation – one of the most disturbing scenes I can recall, given the eerie silence at the end of the game for 15 minutes – understandably overshadowed the fact that Carolina pulled a point out the Red Wings to move within four of the last playoff spot, with a game in-hand on the Bruins, Lightning and Islanders (82 points).

At the top of the conference, the Washington Capitals are on a four-game roadie that begins at the struggling Wild while the Columbus Blue Jackets play their game in-hand on the Pittsburgh Penguins by hosting the streaking Buffalo Sabres.

Alas, a Boston Bruins’ win could mean formal elimination for the Red Wings or Sabres if they lose in regulation.

Sports Club Stats says the Jackets have a 58-percent chance of getting second in the Metro and home-ice in the first round.

Here’s the Money Puck take:

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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