Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Playoff position at stake Friday

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2018 NHL postseason. There are three days left in the regular season and the races in each conference are wide open.
Here is a look at the NHL Standings and everything else that could impact the playoff picture.

On Tap

All four games Friday have meaning for Stanley Cup playoff positioning.
The Blues can move into the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with a victory. St. Louis trails the Colorado Avalanche, who are idle, by one point for the second wild card. Either the Blues or Avalanche will be the second wild card and it will be decided when the teams play each other in the final game of the regular season at Pepsi Center in Denver on Saturday. The winner plays the Nashville Predators in the first round.
The Penguins will be the first team to complete their regular season and, with at least one point, can clinch second place in the Metropolitan Division and home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference First Round. Pittsburgh is the only team not playing during a 15-game Saturday. A regulation loss could see the Penguins fall as far as the first wild card into the playoffs, which would mean a first-round series against the Washington Capitals.
The Lightning are back in control of their own destiny in the Atlantic Division. If they can record non-shootout wins against the Sabres on Friday and at the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, they will finish first in the division and in the Eastern Conference. The Lightning and Boston Bruins (each with 110 points) are tied for first in the division but after 80 games each, the Lightning hold the tiebreaker, regulation and overtime wins, 47-46.
Dallas Stars at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV) - The Ducks have clinched a playoff spot and are the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference, one point behind the Los Angeles Kings, who are third in the Pacific Division, and three back of the second place San Jose Sharks. If the Ducks can win their remaining two games, against the Stars and at the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, the worst they'll finish is third in the Pacific Division.

Second wild card in West

The second wild card into the Stanley Cup from the Western conference is going to be decided by the game Saturday between the visiting St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Avalanche, the two teams left who can qualify for the final spot in the West field.
The scenarios for what happens on Saturday (9 p.m. ET; NHLN, ALT, fS-MW, NHL.TV) will be finalized after the Blues play Chicago on Friday. Colorado is idle Friday.
To get a head start on what has to happen for each team to get the second wild card, here is a chart that explains each scenario and how it will impact each team during the next 48 hours:

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Need to know

In their final home game, Vancouver Canucks forwards Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin
teamed up once again
on a big goal as they have so many times before. Here's the story from Nick Cotsonika.
The Predators clinched the Central Division, Western Conference and Presidents' Trophy but they have a bigger trophy on their minds. Tom Gulitti explains why
Nashville still isn't satisfied
.
Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers joined exclusive company when he played in his 1,000th NHL game Thursday. Kevin Woodley explains how Luongo has been able to be so
successful for so long in the NHL
.
In the race for the
Rocket Richard Trophy
, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals extended his lead to three over Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets. Each player has one game remaining.

Thought of the Day

The road to the 2018 Stanley Cup goes through Nashville.
The Predators locked up the Presidents' Trophy with a 4-3 win at the Washington Capitals on Thursday, ensuring home-ice advantage for as long as they remain in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Predators season has been impressive.
After qualifying for the postseason last spring as the second wild card from the Western Conference, Nashville reached the Final, where it lost in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Predators had a short summer and a short hangover from a long playoff run that ended disappointment. They were a very ordinary 5-5-2 on Nov. 1, 2017, one month into the season.
Since then, they have been relentless, persistent and consistently hard to play against, explaining their 52-18-11 record and 115 points with one game to play, against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-O, NHL.TV).
The second half of the season was a particularly strong message to their rivals. The Predators had a 15-game point streak (14-0-1) from Feb. 19 to March 19 that started with a 10-game winning streak.
That run put them in control in the Central Division standings and eventually allowed them to pass the Vegas Golden Knights for the Western Conference lead.
The Predators, who have a six-point lead on Vegas in the West, trailed the golden Knights by two points, 87-85, at the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 26.
Nashville's opponent in the Western Conference First Round won't be known until Saturday, once the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues settle the battle for the second wild card with their head-to-head matchup in Denver.
Whichever team gets the playoff spot will have a mountain to climb against the Predators.-- Tim Campbell, NHL.com staff writer

About Last Night

Nine games on the schedule Thursday impacted the playoff races:
Nashville Predators 4, Washington Capitals 3-- The Predators clinched the Presidents' Trophy with their win at Washington and the Boston Bruins' loss to the Florida Panthers, meaning that they will have home-ice throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They set team records for wins (52) and points (115) in a season.
New Jersey Devils 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 1-- The Devils clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2012, when they went to the Stanley Cup Final. The Devils own the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers. They are even in points with the third-place Columbus Blue Jackets, who own the season-series tiebreaker.
-- The Blue Jackets clinched a berth and will head to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time. Phil Kessel's goal 1:06 into overtime won it for the Penguins, who are one point ahead of the Blue Jackets for second place in the Metropolitan. Pittsburgh can clinch second place and the home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference First Round with one point against the Ottawa Senators on Friday.
Philadelphia Flyers 4, Carolina Hurricanes 3 -- The Flyers moved closer to clinching a playoff berth with the win. Philadelphia, which has a four-point lead over the Florida Panthers for the second wild card in the East, can clinch a berth with one point against the New York Rangers on Saturday or one loss by Panthers in their final two games.
Florida Panthers 3, Boston Bruins 2 -- The Panthers, who stayed alive with the victory, are four points behind the Flyers for the second wild card with one game in hand. The Panthers need a Flyers loss in regulation to the Rangers on Saturday and wins in their final two games (at least one in regulation or overtime) to make the playiffs. The Bruins fell into second place in the Atlantic Division. They are tied in points with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have one more (47-46) regulation/overtime win.
Winnipeg Jets 2, Calgary Flames 1-- Winnipeg earned its 112th point of the season, but will finish second in the Central Division and play the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference First Round.
Edmonton Oilers 4, Vegas Golden Knights 3 -- The Golden Knights will finish third in the Western Conference, falling three points behind the second-place Jets with one game to go. Edmonton's Connor McDavid had three assists to improve his League-leading point total to 106 (41 goals, 65 assists).
-- Dustin Brown scored his fourth goal of the game 23 seconds into overtime to move the Kings into third place in the Pacific Division. They have one more point than the Anaheim Ducks, who have a game in hand. The Kings are two points behind the San Jose Sharks for second in the Pacific Division and would own the regulation/overtime wins tiebreaker should they finish tied. The Wild will finish third in the Central Division and play the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference First Round.
San Jose Sharks 4, Colorado Avalanche 2 -- The Sharks maintained their two-point lead over the Kings for second place in the Pacific and moved three points ahead of the fourth-place Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks and Kings each have one game remaining; the Ducks have two. The Avalanche failed to build on their one-point lead over the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card in the West. They will play the Blues, who are at the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, at Pepsi Center on Saturday in what will essentially be a play-in game for the final playoff berth in the West.

If playoffs started Friday

Here is a look at the matchups for the first round as they stand entering games Friday:
Eastern Conference
(1A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs (WC2) Philadelphia Flyers
(1M) Washington Capitals vs. (WC1) New Jersey Devils
(2M) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (3M) Columbus Blue Jackets
(2A) Boston Bruins vs. (3A) Toronto Maple Leafs
Western Conference
(1C) Nashville Predators vs. (WC2) Colorado Avalanche
(1P) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) Anaheim Ducks
(2C) Winnipeg Jets vs. (3C) Minnesota Wild
(2P) San Jose Sharks vs. (3P) Los Angeles Kings