With the season winding down and the playoff picture sorting itself out, we’ll be taking a look at the night’s games and how they’ll potentially affect the playoff races. This is ProHockeyTalk’s “Race for the Playoffs.”
Eastern Conference playoff race
y-1. Washington - 105 pts (2 GR)
x-2. Philadelphia 103 pts (2 GR)
y-3. Boston - 99 pts (3 GR)
x-4. Pittsburgh - 102 pts (2 GR)
x-5. Tampa Bay - 99 pts (2 GR)
x-6. Montreal - 93 pts (2 GR)
7. Buffalo - 92 pts (2 GR)
8. NY Rangers - 91 pts (2 GR)
9. Carolina - 87 pts (3 GR)
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot
GR - games remaining
Detroit @ Carolina – 7 p.m. ET
Carolina’s mission to make the playoffs is simple on paper and highly difficult to pull off. They must win out the rest of the way and hope that the Rangers slip up in one of their final games. Starting off that mission facing the Central Division champions from Detroit makes the immediate hill to climb look like a mountain.
A loss by Carolina by any means puts the Buffalo Sabres into the playoffs. Carolina loss would also put their tragic number at one as the Rangers would only need to earn one point in their final two games to make the playoffs.
Florida @ Washington – 7 p.m. ET
The Caps have taken hold of the top seed in the Eastern Conference thanks to their own great play of late and the Flyers’ disturbing swoon. The Caps can really put the pressure on the Flyers to win out to stay in the hunt for the East’s top spot by beating Florida. Of course, the Caps winning the East could mean they end up being rewarded with facing the Rangers in the first round and that might not be the match up they’d be hoping for. Even without Ryan Callahan, the Rangers have given the Caps fits all season long and a playoff series between the two would surely be more of the same.
NY Islanders @ Boston – 7 p.m. ET
The Bruins have an extreme outside shot at the top spot in the East (all it takes is one point from the Caps to shut the Bruins out of that), but they’ve got a sincere chance at moving up to the two seed. With a game in hand on the Flyers, a win over the Isles tonight would inch them to within two points of Philly. Getting that higher seed and a potential home ice advantage over them in a potential second or third round match-up would be huge for the Bruins. While home ice didn’t help them last year against Philly, we’d like to think the same mistakes won’t be made two years in a row should they meet yet again.