Pittsburgh Penguins at Boston Bruins (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SNW, NESN, ATTSN-PT, NHL LIVE)
The Penguins have struggled, losing five of six before clinching a playoff berth with a 6-3 win against the New York Islanders on Thursday. Forwards Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust and defenseman Kris Letang have led the way, although Malkin will serve the third of a four-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety and won't play. Tristan Jarry has been in the conversation for the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL all season but will not play because of a lower-body injury. Casey DeSmith will start in this one and he's played well down the stretch for them.
The Bruins have been without forward David Pastrnak (undisclosed, four games) and defenseman Hampus Lindholm (lower body, three games) because of injuries. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy has been great offensively and defensively for them. I also think they have finally gotten support from depth players in forwards Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk and Craig Smith. But they have struggled, losing three straight, including 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday with a chance to clinch a playoff berth.
Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
This is a Central Division matchup with playoff implications as the Blues and Wild are tied for second place and fighting for home ice advantage in the first round. The Blues are faster and more dynamic. Forwards Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas are having breakout seasons. Forward David Perron has been an underrated player for a long time now. The line of Pavel Buchnevich, Thomas and Vladimir Tarasenko has been excellent. And Ville Husso has proven he's capable of handling the starting goalie role for St. Louis, which defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-2 on Thursday to win its seventh straight game.
For the Wild, general manager Bill Guerin and coach Dean Evason have done a great job with this team after they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. Forward Kirill Kaprizov set the Wild record for points in a season (83) and is tied for the single-season goals record (42). Forwards Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Fiala and Ryan Hartman have also had a big impact on the offense and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (5-1-0, 2.36 goals-against average, .929 save percentage) has been as advertised in six games since he was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Carolina Hurricanes at Colorado Avalanche (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET; ALT, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
This game features two Stanley Cup contenders and two of the most consistent teams in the NHL. They're evenly matched with offensive depth, great defense and excellent goaltending. The coaches, Rod Brind'Amour of the Hurricanes and Jared Bednar of the Avalanche, are two of the best. And there will be plenty of stars on the ice in Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar, and Carolina's Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen, to name a few.
The Avalanhe have won eight games in a row and are first in the Central. The Hurricanes are first in the Metropolitan Division but lost to the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 on Thursday. You can bet they will be up for this game, which will be a big test for them.
