Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Bruins can win Atlantic, top seed in East

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2018 NHL postseason. There is one day left in the regular season and the top seed in the Eastern Conference has yet to be determined.
Six of the eight first-round series have been set, but two are undecided with one game left on the NHL schedule.
Here is a look at the NHL Standings and heading into the final day.

What's on tap

--It's all there for the Bruins. Win in any fashion and they take the Atlantic Division crown, the top seed in the Eastern Conference and play the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference First Round. Lose in any fashion, and the Tampa Bay Lightning win the division and the conference. The Bruins would finish second and play the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.

Thought of the day

The high-stakes games Saturday were so much fun, why not add a bit more drama Sunday?
In the only game of the day, the Boston Bruins face the Florida Panthers at TD Garden (7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, SN360, NESN, FS-F, NHL.TV) with first place in the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division on offer to the Bruins.
Win in any fashion, they clinch the Atlantic and the top seed in the East, and play the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference First Round. Lose in any fashion, and they finish second in the division and play the Toronto Maple Leafs.
There were two similar games Saturday and neither disappointed.
The Philadelphia Flyers needed a win against the New York Rangers in a matinee game in Philadelphia. Claude Giroux delivered with a hat trick when the Flyers won 5-0 and ended up finishing third in the Metropolitan Division after losses by the Columbus Blue Jackets and Devils.
Out west, the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche played in Denver with the second wild card hanging in the balance, a true play-in game.
The home team responded with a 5-2 victory, fueled by a three-point night from captain Gabriel Landeskog and the first goal in nine games by Nathan MacKinnon, that gave the Avalanche the final berth into the playoffs. A first-round matchup against the Nashville Predators, the Presidents' Trophy winner, is the reward for a 47-point improvement from last season by the Avalanche.
What drama awaits in Boston on Sunday? Make sure to tune in and find out! -- Shawn P. Roarke, NHL.com Director of Editorial

About Last Night

Nine games on the schedule Saturday impacted the playoff races:
Colorado Avalanche 5, St. Louis Blues 2 -- The Avalanche, who had the worst record in the League last season, clinched the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with the win, eliminating the Blues at the same time. The Avalanche will play the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference First Round.
Boston Bruins 5, Ottawa Senators 2 -- The Bruins kept their hopes of winning the Atlantic Division and the top seed in the Eastern Conference alive with the win combined with the Tampa Bay Lightning's overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Bruins need a win in their regular-season finale against the Florida Panthers on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, SN360, NESN, FS-F, NHL.TV) to capture the division and home ice throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. If they win, they will play the New Jersey Devils in the first round. If they lose, they will play the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Lightning missed a chance to lock up the division and conference, and now their fate rests with the Panthers-Bruins game Sunday. Tampa Bay will face either the Devils or Maple Leafs in the first round.
Anaheim Ducks 3, Arizona Coyotes 0 -- The Ducks won their fifth straight game to end the season and finish second in the Pacific Division. They will play the San Jose Sharks, who were in second entering Saturday but were defeated by the Minnesota Wild, in the first round.
Dallas Stars 4, Los Angeles Kings 2 -- The Kings missed a chance to finish third in the Pacific, and instead earned the first wild card in the Western Conference. They will face the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round.
Minnesota Wild 6, San Jose Sharks 3 -- The Sharks missed a chance to lock up home-ice advantage in the first round and instead will open at the Anaheim Ducks. The Wild will play the Winnipeg Jets.
Philadelphia Flyers 5, New York Rangers 0 -- The Flyers clinched a playoff berth and third place in the Metropolitan Division with the win and will play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.
Washington Capitals 5, New Jersey Devils 3 -- The Devils dropped to the second wild card in the East with the loss. They will play the Bruins or Lightning in the first round. Alex Ovechkin won the League goal-scoring title, finishing with 49 for the Capitals, who will play the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Nashville Predators 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 2 --Columbus needed a win to take third place in the Metropolitan Division; instead, the Blue Jackets are the first wild card from the East and will play the Capitals in the first round. The Predators, who won the Presidents' Trophy, will play the Avalanche.

First-round matchups

Six of the eight first-round series are set. Here is a look at the matchups. If Boston wins Sunday, it will play New Jersey in the first round and Tampa Bay will play Toronto. If Boston loses, it will play Toronto and Tampa Bay will play New Jersey
Eastern Conference
(1A) Tampa Bay Lightning/Boston Bruins vs (WC2) New Jersey Devils


(2A) Lightning/Bruins vs. (3A) Toronto Maple Leafs
Western Conference