Late NHL scramble

The National Hockey League’s playoff bracket is almost set, but the last two nights changed the Western Conference matchups again. Colorado beat Edmonton 2-1 in a shootout on Monday, and Vegas routed Winnipeg 6-2, leaving the Golden Knights two points ahead of the Oilers in the Pacific Division race. (espn.com) (espn.co.uk) If the playoffs started now, the official National Hockey League bracket would have Colorado facing Nashville, Dallas meeting Minnesota, Edmonton playing Utah, and Vegas drawing Anaheim in the first round. In the East, Buffalo would face Boston, Tampa Bay would play Montréal, Carolina would meet Ottawa, and Pittsburgh would draw Philadelphia. (nhl.com) The standings remain tight because most teams have only one, two, or three games left, and the regular season ends on Thursday, April 16. The first round is scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 18. (usatoday.com) (nhl.com) Colorado has already locked up first place in the Central Division and entered Monday at 115 points through 79 games. The Avalanche pushed that total to 117 with the shootout win in Edmonton, where Nathan MacKinnon scored the deciding goal and Scott Wedgewood made 30 saves. (nhl.com) (espn.co.uk) Edmonton’s loss kept the Oilers on 90 points after 81 games, while Vegas moved to 91 points after 80 games with its win over Winnipeg. That gives the Golden Knights both a two-point edge and a game in hand in the race for the Pacific Division title. (nhl.com) (espn.com) That race matters because the top two teams in each division get the cleaner path into the bracket, while the wild-card teams cross over. Under the current setup, the Pacific winner would open against Anaheim, and the Pacific runner-up would get Utah. (nhl.com) (usatoday.com) The Western wild-card line is not fully settled either. Utah held the first wild card at 90 points through 79 games, Los Angeles held the second at 87 points through 79, and Nashville was one point back at 86 through 80. (nhl.com) In the East, Buffalo led the Atlantic with 106 points through 80 games, while Carolina led the Metropolitan with 110 through 80. Ottawa and Boston occupied the two wild-card spots with 96 points each, and Columbus sat four points back with two games left. (nhl.com) Monday’s results also sharpened individual storylines. Connor McDavid scored his 48th goal in the loss to Colorado and reached 134 points, one shy of becoming the seventh player in league history to record 135 points in a season at least twice. (espn.co.uk) The next 72 hours should finish the sorting. Edmonton’s regular season ends Thursday at home against Vancouver, Colorado plays at Calgary on Tuesday, and the bracket will keep moving until the final games on April 16. (espn.co.uk) (usatoday.com)