NHL playoff clutch week

The National Hockey League playoff race reached its last squeeze on April 14, with every team down to three or fewer regular-season games. (espn.com) In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins held the first wild card at 98 points through 81 games and the Ottawa Senators held the second at 97 through 81. The Washington Capitals sat one point back at 93, and the Columbus Blue Jackets were two points behind them at 92. (espn.com) The Western Conference was just as tight. Utah held the first wild card at 90 points in 80 games, the Los Angeles Kings had the second wild card at 90 in 80, and the Nashville Predators were next at 87 in 79 with the Winnipeg Jets one point behind at 86 in 80. (espn.com) The pressure was not only about getting in. In the Atlantic Division, the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens were tied at 106 points, with the Tampa Bay Lightning two points back at 104, while the Metropolitan Division race was still moving behind the Carolina Hurricanes. (espn.com) In the West, the Colorado Avalanche led the Central Division with 115 points in 79 games, the Dallas Stars had 108 in 80, and the Minnesota Wild had 102 in 80. The Pacific Division was tighter, with the Vegas Golden Knights at 91 points in 80 games, the Edmonton Oilers at 90 in 80, and the Anaheim Ducks also at 90 in 80. (espn.com) That late-season math matters because the National Hockey League still seeds the top three teams in each division automatically, then fills the final two spots in each conference with wild cards. The bracket then pairs division winners with wild-card teams and sets up the 2-versus-3 series inside each division. (nhl.com) A tie in points does not go first to total wins. The league’s first tiebreaker is fewer games played, then regulation wins, then regulation-and-overtime wins, then total wins, then head-to-head points percentage, goal differential, and goals scored. (nhl.com) That is why the games-played column was as important as the points column this week. Nashville, for example, had fewer points than Los Angeles and Utah but also had one extra game left, while Colorado’s 79 games gave it more room than Dallas or Minnesota in the Central race. (espn.com) The league had already locked in some places. Carolina had clinched the Metropolitan Division, and Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Utah, Boston and Ottawa had at least secured playoff berths even as several seedings remained unsettled. (espn.com) The final week now comes down to a handful of point swings, and in the National Hockey League that can mean one overtime loss, one regulation win, or one tiebreaker column deciding who gets a series and who gets a summer. (nhl.com)