Friday night was light as far as NHL action goes, with only 10 teams squaring off against one another. But it didn’t stop the plot from thickening in both conference’s playoff races.
New Jersey and St. Louis picked up big wins their respective conferences. The Devils put a three-point gap between themselves and the Florida Panthers, who still hold two games in hand over New Jersey. The Blues, meanwhile, moved to within one point of the final wildcard in the West and three points of the third-place Minnesota Wild in the Central Division.
Both teams are coming into the second game of back-to-backs on Saturday, and both need wins again, especially New Jersey as the Panthers play host to the lowly Arizona Coyotes.
[The 2018 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs begin April 11 on the networks of NBC]
The Panthers still hold the keys to their own playoff fate in the East, and with the Devils in tough against a rested Tampa Bay Lightning team on Saturday, that gap could close to one after the night is over.
With the Boston Bruins idle, the Lightning will be looking to push their lead atop the Atlantic Division to six points. Boston will have two games in hand after the day is through. Columbus can move into second in the Metropolitan Division with a win, two points behind the Washington Capitals if the latter fails to pick up points against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Blues face their toughest test yet this season when they host the Blue Jackets, who have won 10 straight and are the NHL’s hottest team. Both teams have something to gain and, thus, something to lose in the matchup, but it’s the Blues who need the points more.
St. Louis is on even terms when it comes to games with the Colorado Avalanche, who hold the second wildcard in the West. The Avs don’t have it easy against the Vegas Golden Knights in a matinee affair on Saturday, but a loss by Colorado could give the Blues some extra motivation against Columbus.
The Sharks will look to tighten their grip on the second spot in the Pacific Division with a win coupled with a Los Angeles Kings loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Saturday’s late game.
Tank wars:
Buffalo got some help in the race for the best chance at Rasmus Dahlin as there is now a three-point gap at the bottom.
Coyotes: 61 points in 74 games, 23 ROW
Canucks: 61 points in 75 GP, 26 ROW
Sabres: 58 points in 74 GP, 22 ROW
If the playoffs started today
Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New Jersey Devils
Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Western Conference
Nashville Predators vs. Colorado Avalanche
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Anaheim Ducks
Winnipeg Jets vs. Minnesota Wild
San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings
Saturday’s games
Golden Knights at Avalanche, 3 p.m. ET
Flames at Sharks, 4 p.m. ET
Red Wings at Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. ET
Capitals at Canadiens, 7 p.m. ET
Hurricanes at Senators, 7 p.m. ET
Coyotes at Panthers, 7 p.m. ET
Lightning at Devils, 7 p.m. ET
Blackhawks at Islanders, 7 p.m. ET
Sabres at Rangers, 7 p.m. ET
Blues at Jackets, 7 p.m. ET
Predators at Wild, 8 p.m. ET
Kings at Oilers, 10 p.m. ET
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck