NHL playoff scramble
The NHL playoff picture is extremely tight with less than a week left in the regular season and most teams holding three or fewer games, so every remaining result matters for seeding. (nhl.com) Concrete notes from Sunday reporting: the Capitals remained alive in the race, Alex Ovechkin’s recent home appearance raised questions about whether it was his last, the Anaheim Ducks would clinch a berth with any win over the Vancouver Canucks, and outlets said three playoff spots were still open with five days left. (usatoday.com) ( | )
With five days left in the National Hockey League regular season, the playoff field was still shifting on Sunday night. (nhl.com) The league’s format leaves little room late: the top three teams in each division qualify automatically, then each conference adds two wild cards, with regulation wins as the first tiebreaker. (cbssports.com) That left one Eastern Conference race centered on the Metropolitan Division’s No. 3 spot, where the Philadelphia Flyers led and the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders were still chasing entering Sunday. (cbssports.com) The Western Conference had its own squeeze point. The Anaheim Ducks could have clinched a berth Sunday with any win over the Vancouver Canucks after the National Hockey League listed that as the day’s Western clinching scenario. (nhl.com) Anaheim did not finish the job Sunday, losing in overtime to Vancouver. The Ducks still moved to 42-32-6 and stayed three points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings, who had a game in hand. (nhl.com) Washington stayed alive by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 at Capital One Arena on Sunday. The win pulled the Capitals within one point of the Flyers for third in the Metropolitan, though Philadelphia still had a game in hand. (nhl.com) Before that game, the National Hockey League said a Capitals regulation loss would eliminate them. Its Sunday playoff-race roundup also noted that Alex Ovechkin had not decided whether he would play beyond this season, turning the latest Crosby-Ovechkin meeting into a possible last home look at that rivalry. (nhl.com) The Islanders did not survive the night. Montreal’s win eliminated New York from playoff contention, trimming the Metropolitan chase by one team. (nhl.com) Columbus also lost ground, falling 3-2 to Boston. National Hockey League coverage said the Blue Jackets ended Sunday two points behind Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan, with one game remaining and the tiebreaker in hand. (nhl.com) The Bruins’ win also reshaped the wild-card order in the East. Associated Press coverage said Boston moved into the first wild-card spot, while Sunday’s CBS Sports playoff picture said Boston and Ottawa were locked into the two wild cards and the remaining Eastern question was the Metropolitan’s third seed. (sports.yahoo.com) (cbssports.com) So the final week is less about who is safely in than where they land. By Monday, the Islanders were out, the Capitals were still alive, the Ducks were still waiting, and the bracket still depended on a handful of games. (nhl.com)
