Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Races tight entering final week

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2023 NHL postseason. There are eight 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.

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If playoffs started Friday

Here is a look at
the matchups for the first round
as they stand entering games Friday:
Eastern Conference
(1A) Boston Bruins vs. (WC2) New York Islanders
(1M) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (WC1) Florida Panthers
(2A) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (3A) Tampa Bay Lightning
(2M) New Jersey Devils vs. (3M) New York Rangers
Western Conference
(1P) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC2) Winnipeg Jets
(1C) Colorado Avalanche vs. (WC1) Seattle Kraken
(2C) Dallas Stars vs. (3C) Minnesota Wild
(2P) Edmonton Oilers vs. (3P) Los Angeles Kings

About last night

There were 14 games on the NHL schedule Friday, 12 with playoff implications.
Seattle Kraken 4, Arizona Coyotes 2:The Kraken won their third in a row to clinch a Stanley Cup Playoff berth for the first time and move seven points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames for the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle each had a goal and an assist for Seattle (44-26-8), which finished 30th last season (27-49-6), its first in the NHL. The Kraken also climbed within four points of the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division with a game in hand. The Coyotes (27-38-13) have lost nine in a row (0-7-2) and have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Florida Panthers 7, Ottawa Senators 2: Alex Lyon made 56 saves to help the Panthers (41-31-7) extend their season-high winning streak to five games and remain tied with the New York Islanders for the two wild cards into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Panthers, Islanders and Penguins each have three games remaining. The Senators (37-35-7) were eliminated from playoff contention for the sixth straight season with the loss.
New York Islanders 6, Tampa Bay Lightning 1: Brock Nelson had a goal and two assists for the Islanders (40-30-9), who rebounded from two consecutive losses to remain tied with the Panthers and maintain their one-point lead on the Penguins for the second wild card. Nikita Kucherov scored his 30th goal of the season for the Lightning (45-28-6), who are locked into third place in the Atlantic Division and will begin the playoffs on the road against the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs.
Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Minnesota Wild 1: Kris Letang and Rickard Rakell each had a goal and an assist to help the Penguins (39-30-10) keep pace with the Panthers and the Islanders. Tristan Jarry made 27 saves for Pittsburgh, which rebounded from a 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Marcus Johansson scored for Minnesota (44-24-10), which lost its third in a row (0-2-1) to fall two points behind the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche for first in the Central Division.
Boston Bruins 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 (OT): David Pastrnak scored at 2:30 of overtime and the Bruins won their fourth in the row to move within one of tying the NHL record for wins in a season. Boston (61-12-15), which has already locked up home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, has four games remaining to surpass the League record of 62 wins shared by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Lightning. With the point from the overtime loss and the Lightning's loss to the Islanders, the Maple Leafs (46-21-11) clinched second in the Atlantic Division and home-ice advantage against the third-place Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.
New Jersey Devils 8, Columbus Blue Jackets 1: Jack Hughes had two goals and two assists, and the Devils (50-21-8) climbed within one point of the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes have one game in hand. Timo Meier scored twice to reach 40 goals for the first time in his career for New Jersey, which moved four points ahead of the New York Rangers for second in the Metropolitan with three games remaining. The Blue Jackets (24-45-8) have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Nashville Predators 3, Carolina Hurricanes 0:Juuse Saros made 32 saves for his second shutout of the season and the Predators climbed within one point of the idle Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames for the second wild card in the Western Conference. Nashville (40-30-8) and Winnipeg each have four games remaining, including one against each other Saturday, and Calgary has three games left. Carolina (50-19-9) lost for the first time in four games and had its lead on New Jersey for first in the Metropolitan Division trimmed to one point but has a game in hand. The Hurricanes lead the third-place Rangers by five points with a game in hand.
Buffalo Sabres 7, Detroit Red Wings 6 (SO): The Sabres (38-32-7) recovered after letting a 6-4 lead slip away in the third period to remain six points behind the Panthers and the Islanders for the two wild cards in the East. The Sabres, who are 5-1-1 in their past seven games, have two games in hand on the Panthers and Islanders, but only five games remaining. The Red Wings (35-34-9) were eliminated from playoff contention for the seventh straight season with the shootout loss.
St. Louis Blues 3, New York Rangers 2 (OT):Kasperi Kapanen scored 1:16 into overtime for the Blues, preventing the Rangers from keeping pace in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers (46-21-11) earned a point by reaching overtime after Vincent Trocheck tied the score at 2-2 with 2:03 remaining in regulation but fell four points behind the Devils for second in the Metropolitan with three games remaining. Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist his return to St. Louis following his Feb. 9 trade to New York. The Blues (37-35-7) have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Colorado Avalanche 6, San Jose Sharks 2: Mikko Rantanen scored his third hat trick for the season and the Avalanche won their third in a row to remain tied with the Stars for first in the Central Division and move two points ahead of the third-place Wild. Colorado (47-24-6) has five games remaining, one more than Dallas and Minnesota. Rantanen reached 52 goals for his first 50-goal season. San Jose (22-40-16) has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Dallas Stars 4, Philadelphia Flyers 1:Joe Pavelski had a goal and two assists to move within one point of 1,000 for his career and help the Stars maintain their share of first in the Central Division. Dallas (43-21-14) is 4-1-0 in its past five games. The Flyers (29-36-13) have lost five straight (0-4-1) and have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Vegas Golden Knights 5, Los Angeles Kings 2:The Golden Knights jumped ahead 4-0 in the first period on their way to extending their lead to three points on the idle Edmonton Oilers for first place in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference. Chandler Stephenson had a goal and two assists for Vegas (49-22-8), which is 7-1-2 in its past 10 games. Los Angeles (45-24-10) lost for the fourth time in six games to fall six points behind Vegas and remain three points back of Edmonton for second in the Pacific. The Kings also had their lead on the Kraken for third in the Pacific cut to four points. Vegas, Edmonton and Los Angeles have three games left. Seattle has four games left.

On Tap

There are no games on the NHL schedule Friday. The NHL will have its first 16-game day Saturday.