Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Six postseason matchups remain undecided

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2022 NHL postseason. There are three days left in the regular season and the races in each of the four divisions are tight. The top three teams in each of the four divisions and the next two highest-place finishers in each conference reach the playoffs.

Here is a look at the
NHL standings
and everything else that could impact the playoff picture.

#

Stanley Cup Playoffs clinching scenarios for Friday:

EASTERN CONFERENCE
The Tampa Bay Lightning will clinch the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division and a first-round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins will clinch the first wild card from the Eastern Conference and a first-round matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes if:
The Lightning defeat the New York Islanders in any fashion (7:30 p.m. ET; MSG+ 2, BSSUN, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
OR
If the Lightning get one point against the Islanders AND the Maple Leafs defeat the Bruins in any fashion (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN4, NESNplus, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
OR
If the Maple Leafs defeat the Bruins in regulation.
The Bruins will clinch the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division and a first-round matchup against the Maple Leafs and the Lightning will clinch the first wild card and a first-round matchup against the Hurricanes:
If the Bruins defeat the Maple Leafs in any fashion AND the Islanders defeat the Lightning in any fashion
OR
If the Bruins get one point against the Maple Leafs AND the Islanders defeat the Lightning in regulation.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will clinch the No. 3 seed in the Metropolitan Division and a first-round matchup against the New York Rangers, and the Washington Capitals will clinch the second wild and a first-round matchup against the Florida Panthers:
If the Penguins get at least one point against the Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, BSOH, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
OR
If the Rangers defeat the Washington Capitals in any fashion (7 p.m. ET; MSG, NBCSWA, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
The Capitals will clinch the No. 3 seed in the Metropolitan Division and a first-round matchup against the Rangers, and the Penguins will clinch the second wild card and a first-round matchup against the Panthers:
If the Capitals defeat the Rangers in any fashion AND the Blue Jackets defeat the Penguins in regulation.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
The Minnesota Wild will clinch the No. 2 seed in the Central Division and home-ice advantage in their first-round matchup against the St. Louis Blues:
If the Wild get at least one point vs. the Colorado Avalanche (8 p.m. ET; BSN, BSWIX, ALT, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
OR
If the Vegas Golden Knight defeat the Blues in any fashion (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, BSMW, ATTSN-RM, NHL LIVE).
The Blues will clinch the No. 2 seed in the Central Division and home-ice advantage in their first-round matchup against the Wild:
If the Blues defeat the Golden Knights in any fashion AND the Avalanche defeat the Wild in regulation.
The Nashville Predators will clinch the first wild card and a first-round matchup against the Calgary Flames and the Dallas Stars will clinch the second wild card and a first-round matchup against the Avalanche:
If Nashville gets at least one point against the Arizona Coyotes (10:30 p.m. ET; BSAZX, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
OR
If the Anaheim Ducks defeat the Stars in any fashion (8:30 p.m. ET; BSSWX, BSSC, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
The Stars will clinch the first wild card and a first-round matchup against the Flames and the Predators will clinch the second wild card and a first-round matchup against the Avalanche:
If the Stars defeat the Ducks in any fashion AND the Coyotes defeat the Predators in regulation.

#

On Tap

There are 15 games on the NHL schedule Friday, nine with playoff implications.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, BSOH, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Penguins, who are 4-7-1 in their past 12 games, lead the Washington Capitals by one point for third in the Metropolitan Division, with each playing its final regular-season game Friday. Pittsburgh will hold the tiebreaker with Washington if they finish even in points either by regulation wins (36-35) or regulation and overtime wins (42-39). The Blue Jackets have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN4, NESNplus, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Bruins hold the first wild card in the East and are one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for third in the Atlantic Division. Boston, which has won four straight, will hold the tiebreaker on Tampa Bay because of its 40-38 advantage in regulation wins. The Maple Leafs are locked into second in the Atlantic and will face the third-place finisher in the first round. Toronto is 2-0-0 against Boston this season and 2-2-0 against Tampa Bay.
Washington Capitals at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; MSG, NBCSWA, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Alex Ovechkin's status remains uncertain for the Capitals because of an upper-body injury that has sidelined him for the past two games. Washington, which has lost three straight (0-2-1), holds the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference and can pass Pittsburgh for third in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers, who have lost three in a row, are locked into second in the Metropolitan and will face the third-place finisher in the first round. The Rangers are 3-1-0 against the Penguins and 1-1-0 against the Capitals this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS2, MSG+ 2, BSSUN, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Lightning will try again to clinch third in the Atlantic Division after a 5-2 loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday prevented them from clinching a first-round series against the Maple Leafs. Nikita Kucherov would break the Tampa Bay record he shares with Brian Bradley (Nov. 11-24, 1992) by scoring in a ninth straight game. The Islanders have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Vegas Golden Knights at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, BSMW, ATTSN-RM, NHL LIVE)
The Blues are two points behind the Wild for second in the Central but hold the tiebreaker with a 43-36 advantage in regulation wins. St. Louis has been off since having its team-record 16-game point streak (14-0-2) ended with a 5-3 loss to Colorado on Tuesday. The Golden Knights have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Colorado Avalanche at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; BSN, BSWIX, ALT, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Wild lead the St. Louis Blues by two points for second in the Central Division and home-ice advantage in their first-round playoff series with each playing its regular-season finale Friday. Minnesota is 9-1-2 in its past 12 games. The Avalanche have clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and will play the Nashville Predators or the Dallas Stars in the first round. Colorado is 1-1-2 against Nashville and 1-2-0 against Dallas this season.
Calgary Flames at Winnipeg Jets (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, SNW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Flames have clinched first in the Pacific Division, and with a victory will assure that they finish ahead of the Wild in the Western Conference for home-ice advantage should they meet in the conference final. The Flames will play the Predators or the Stars in the first round. Calgary is 2-0-1 against Dallas and 1-0-2 against Nashville this season. The Jets have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Anaheim Ducks at Dallas Stars (8:30 p.m. ET; BSSWX, BSSC, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Stars hold the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference and are one point behind the Nashville Predators for the first wild card entering their regular-season finale. Dallas, which clinched a playoff berth with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, is 2-0-1 so far on its season-ending four-game homestand. The Ducks have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Nashville Predators at Arizona Coyotes (10:30 p.m. ET; BSAZX, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The final game Friday could decide the final two first-round matchups in the Western Conference. The Predators lead the Stars by one point for the first wild card in the West and hold the tiebreaker with a 35-30 advantage in regulation wins. The Coyotes have been eliminated from playoff contention.

#

If playoffs started Friday

Here is a look at the matchups for the first round as they stand entering games Friday:
Eastern Conference
(1A) Florida Panthers vs. (WC2) Washington Capitals
(1M) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (WC1) Boston Bruins
(2A) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (3A) Tampa Bay Lightning
(2M) New York Rangers vs. (3M) Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference
(1C) Colorado Avalanche vs. (WC2) Dallas Stars
(1P) Calgary Flames vs. (WC1) Nashville Predators
(2C) Minnesota Wild vs. (3C) St. Louis Blues
(2P) Edmonton Oilers vs. (3P) Los Angeles Kings

About last night

There were nine games Thursday, seven with playoff implications:
New York Islanders 5, Washington Capitals 1:The Capitals missed another opportunity to move ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins into third in the Metropolitan Division by losing their third straight game (0-2-1). Washington, which was outscored 9-2 in being swept by New York in their home-and home series, remained in the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference, one point behind Pittsburgh. Each team has one regular-season game remaining. Brock Nelson, Anders Lee and Kyle Palmieri each scored a power-play goal and Mathew Barzal had three assists for the Islanders, who have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Boston Bruins 5, Buffalo Sabres 0:Patrice Bergeron had three goals and an assist and Linus Ullmark made 37 saves for his first shutout with the Bruins, who climbed within one point of the Tampa Bay Lightning for third in the Atlantic Division. Boston, which has won four in a row, holds the first wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Boston and Tampa Bay each plays its final regular-season game Friday. The Sabres have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Florida Panthers 4, Ottawa Senators 0:The Panthers won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL regular-season points leader for the first time with the victory combined with the Colorado Avalanche's 5-4 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators. Spencer Knight made 27 saves for his second shutout of the season and Carter Verhaeghe scored twice for Florida, which is 14-2-0 in its past 16 games and will have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. The Senators, who had won four straight, have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Carolina Hurricanes 6, New Jersey Devils 3:The Hurricanes finished the regular season with their sixth straight win and clinched finishing ahead of the Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference standings in the battle for home-ice advantage should they meet in the Eastern Conference Final. Jesperi Kotkaniemi had a goal and two assists for the Hurricanes, who have clinched first in the Metropolitan Division. The Devils have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Tampa Bay Lightning 2:The Lightning missed a chance to clinch third in the Atlantic and a first-round series against the second-place Maple Leafs. Tampa Bay had won four straight. Nikita Kucherov tied a Lightning record by scoring for an eighth straight game. Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and an assist and Elvis Merzlikins made 25 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Minnesota Wild 3, Calgary Flames 2 (OT):Kirill Kaprizov scored a power-play goal 44 seconds into overtime and the Wild moved two points ahead of the St. Louis Blues for second in the Central Division and home-ice advantage when they meet in the first round of the playoffs. Minnesota and St. Louis each plays its final regular-season game Friday. Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau became the third player on his line to score at least 40 goals this season, joining Elias Lindholm (42) and Matthew Tkachuk (41). Calgary has clinched first in the Pacific Division.
Nashville Predators 5, Colorado Avalanche 4 (SO):The Predators overcame deficits of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 to move one point ahead of the Dallas Stars for the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference with the victory. The Predators and Stars each play their final regular-season game Friday. Matt Duchene scored the lone shootout goal, Roman Josi had a goal and an assist and David Rittich made 42 saves for Nashville, which had lost three straight (0-1-2). The Avalanche set a franchise record with 119 points. Colorado previously clinched the No. 1 seed in the West but was eliminated from contention for the Presidents' Trophy with the loss.