Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Maple Leafs can clinch top seed in North

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2021 NHL postseason. There are 11 days left in the regular season and two of the 16 spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are available, one in the seven-team Scotia North Division and one in the eight-team Discover Central Division. The four berths in the in eight-team MassMutual East Division and the eight-team Honda West Division have been clinched. Still, the battles for playoff positions in each division are tight.
Here is a look at the NHL Standings and everything else that could impact the playoff picture.

Clinching Scenarios

The Toronto Maple Leafs will clinch the No. 1 seed in the Scotia North Division if they get at least one point against the Montreal Canadiens or if the Vancouver Canucks defeat the Edmonton Oilers.
The Canadiens will clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they defeat the Maple Leafs and the Oilers defeat the Canucks OR if they get one point against the Maple Leafs and the Oilers defeat the Canucks in regulation.
The Nashville Predators will clinch a playoff berth if they defeat the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will clinch the No. 1 seed in the MassMutual East Division if they defeat the Buffalo Sabres in regulation and the Washington Capitals do not defeat the Flyers in regulation OR if they defeat the Sabres and the Flyers defeat the Capitals OR if they get one point against the Sabres and the Flyers defeat in the Capitals in regulation and the New York Rangers defeat the Boston Bruins.
The Capitals will clinch the No. 1 seed in the East if they defeat the Flyers in regulation, the Sabres defeat the Penguins in regulation and the Rangers defeat the Bruins in regulation.

On Tap

There are 14 games on NHL schedule Saturday, 12 with playoff implications:
New York Rangers at Boston Bruins (3 p.m. ET; NBC, NESN, MSG): The Bruins are two points behind the Washington Capitals for second in the East and four points behind the first-place Pittsburgh Penguins. They have one game in hand on the Capitals and two on the Penguins. Boston is three points ahead of the fourth-place New York Islanders. Each of the top four teams have clinched a playoff berth in the division. The Rangers have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Buffalo Sabres at Pittsburgh Penguins (3 p.m. ET; NBC, ATTSN-PIT, MSG-B): The Penguins will be without goalies Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith for their regular-season finale. They lead the Capitals by two points for first in the East and the third-place Bruins by four points, and can clinch the No. 1 seed in one of several ways Saturday. The Sabres have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Philadelphia Flyers at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA+, NBCSP, NHL.TV): The second-place Capitals are two points behind the Penguins for first in the East with a game in hand. The Capitals will clinch the No. 1 seed in the East if they defeat the Flyers in regulation, the Sabres defeat the Penguins in regulation and the Rangers defeat the Bruins in regulation. Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, who has missed six of their past seven games, could return to the lineup. The Flyers have been eliminated from playoff contention.
New Jersey Devils at New York Islanders (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV): The fourth-place Islanders are three points behind the Bruins for third in the East. New York can finish no better than third and will open the playoffs on the road. The Devils have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Ottawa Senators at Winnipeg Jets (7 p.m. ET; SN360, CITY, SNW, NHL.TV): The Jets are third in the North, two points ahead of the fourth-place Montreal Canadiens with one game in hand, and seven points behind the second-place Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers and Jets each have four games remaining. The Senators have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, NHL.TV): The Maple Leafs can clinch the top seed in the North with one point or a loss by the second-place Oilers. The fourth-place Canadiens, who can clinch a playoff berth if they defeat the Maple Leafs and the Oilers defeat the Vancouver Canucks or if they get one point against the Maple Leafs and the Oilers defeat the Canucks in regulation, are two points behind the Jets for third in the division but have played one more game. If Montreal gets one point Saturday, the idle Calgary Flames would be eliminated from playoff contention.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ESPN+, BSSUN, BSFL, NHL.TV): The two Florida-based NHL teams will face each other in the first round of the playoffs after the Carolina Hurricanes clinched first place in the Central on Friday. The Lightning and Panthers are tied for second in the division and play their final two games against each other. If they finish the season tied in points, the Lightning would get the second seed and home-ice advantage because they'd have more regulation wins.
Carolina Hurricanes at Nashville Predators (8 p.m. ET; BSSO, BSSO, NHL.TV): The Predators, who are fourth in the Central, missed a chance to clinch a playoff berth Friday when the fifth-place Dallas Stars defeated the Lightning. Nashville can lock up a spot in the playoffs and eliminate idle Dallas from playoff contention with a win against Carolina, which clinched the division Friday.
Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; BSN, BSWI+, KCOP-13. NHL.TV): The Wild are third in the West, one point behind the second-place Colorado Avalanche. Minnesota has played one more game than Colorado. The Ducks have been eliminated from playoff contention.
St. Louis Blues at Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-RM, BSMW, NHL.TV): The Golden Knights look to build on their two-point lead on the Avalanche for first in the West. Vegas has played one more game than Colorado, which owns the first tiebreaker, having more regulation wins. The Blues, who have clinched a playoff berth, will finish fourth in the West and play the division winner in the first round of the playoffs.
Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles (10 p.m. ET; BSW, ALT, NHL.TV): The second-place Avalanche are two points behind the Golden Knights for first in the West with one game in hand. They also own the first tiebreaker, which is regulation wins. Colorado is one point ahead of third-place Minnesota with a game in hand and the regulation wins tiebreaker.
Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers (10 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SN, TVAS, NHL.TV): Connor McDavid is four points from 100 in this 56-game season for the Oilers, who are seven points ahead of the third-place Jets for second in the North, each with four games to play. The Canucks can be eliminated with a loss and a win by the Canadiens.

About last night

There were seven games Friday, five with playoff implications:
Dallas Stars 5, Tampa Bay Lightning 2: Joe Pavelski had two goals and two assists to help the Stars gain ground in the Central race. Dallas moved to within two points of the idle fourth-place Nashville Predators; each has two games remaining. The Stars visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday and Monday and the Predators are at home against the first-place Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday and Monday. Tampa Bay's loss allowed Carolina to clinch first in the division and means that the Lightning will play the Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. Tampa Bay and Florida are tied for second and play their final two regular-season games at Florida on Saturday and Monday.
Philadelphia Flyers 4, Washington Capitals 2: The Capitals failed to gain ground on the first-place Pittsburgh Penguins in the East, remaining in second, two points behind Pittsburgh and two points ahead of the third-place Boston Bruins. Washington has two games to play, hosting the Flyers again Saturday and the Bruins on Tuesday. Pittsburgh has one game remaining, at home against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. The Flyers have been eliminated from playoff contention.
: Kirill Kaprizov scored 17 seconds into overtime to lift the Wild, who are 3-0-1 in their past four games. Minnesota remained third in the West, one point behind the second-place Colorado Avalanche. The Wild have three games remaining; the Avalanche have four. The Ducks have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Colorado Avalanche 3, Los Angeles Kings 2: Cale Makar had a goal and an assist and Mikko Rantanen scored his 30th goal of the season to help the Avalanche remain second in the West, four points behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights and one point ahead of the third-place Wild with one game in hand on each. Colorado has four games to play; Vegas and Minnesota have three each. The defeat, combined with the point gained by the fourth-place St. Louis Blues in an overtime loss to the Golden Knights, eliminated the Kings from playoff contention.
: The Blues clinched a berth in the playoffs with the point for losing in overtime, combined with the regulation loss by the Kings. St. Louis will finish fourth in the West and rallied with an eight-game point streak (5-0-3) to secure a berth in the postseason for the third straight season. The Golden Knights remained first in the division, four points ahead of the second-place Avalanche.

If playoffs started Saturday

Here is a look at the matchups for the first round as they stand entering games Saturday:
North Division
1. Toronto Maple Leafs vs. 4. Montreal Canadiens
2. Edmonton Oilers vs. 3. Winnipeg Jets
East Division
1. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 4. New York Islanders
2. Washington Capitals vs. 3. Boston Bruins
Central Division
1. Carolina Hurricanes vs. 4. Nashville Predators
2. Tampa Bay Lightning vs. 3. Florida Panthers
West Division
1. Vegas Golden Knights vs. 4. St. Louis Blues
2. Colorado Avalanche vs. 3. Minnesota Wild