Push for the Playoffs will run every morning through the end of the 2019-20 NHL season. We’ll highlight the current playoff picture in both conferences, take a look at what the first-round matchups might look like, see who’s leading the race for the best odds in the draft lottery and more.
The expectations around the Columbus Blue Jackets heading into this season weren’t too high. After all, they had lost Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel in free agency. But thanks to their team depth and the emergence of certain young players, they’ve found a way to put themselves in the mix for a playoff spot.
Heading into tonight’s game against the Calgary Flames, the Jackets find themselves in the final Wild Card spot, with 78 points. The Carolina Hurricanes are three points behind them, but they have three games in hand. This should be a tight finish.
The bad news for Columbus, is that they’ve been hit pretty hard by the injury bug this week. Not only did they find out that Josh Anderson, who has been out since mid-December, won’t be returning this year, they also lost Oliver Bjorkstrand for eight-to-10 weeks.
Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins has also missed the last three games due to a concussion. Seth Jones has been sidelined with a right ankle injury and Cam Atkinson is also out with an ankle injury.
They caught a break on Sunday, as they welcomed back Ryan Murray back from a prolonged lower-body injury. He played 20:28 in the victory over the Canucks.
They’re about to hit the road for a three-game road trip through Western Canada.
“Yeah, we have a good trip planned,” head coach John Tortorella said, per The Athletic. “We’re going to take off to go to an area up there to practice. I think it’s a good time for our team to get off and get away … quite honestly and just concentrate on each and every game. We’re looking forward to it.”
IF PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Bruins vs. Blue Jackets
Capitals vs. Islanders
Lightning vs. Maple Leafs
Flyers vs. Penguins
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Blues vs. Jets
Golden Knights vs. Canucks
Avalanche vs. Stars
Oilers vs. Flames
TODAY’S GAME WITH PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
Flyers at Capitals, 7 p.m. ET (watch live on NBCSN)
Blue Jackets at Flames, 8:30 p.m. ET
Ducks vs. Avalanche, 9:30 p.m. ET (watch live on NBCSN)
Coyotes vs. Canucks, 10:30 p.m. ET
PLAYOFF PERCENTAGES (via Hockey-Reference)
Bruins - 100 percent
Lightning - 100 percent
Capitals - 99.9 percent
Flyers - 98.6 percent
Penguins - 96.9 percent
Maple Leafs - 84.6 percent
Islanders - 71.9 percent
Hurricanes 62.9 percent
Blue Jackets - 38.2 percent
Panthers - 23.3 percent
Rangers - 22.4 percent
Canadiens - 1.1 percent
Sabres - 0.2 percent
Senators - 0 percent
Devils - 0 percent
Red Wings - Out
PLAYOFF PERCENTAGES
Avalanche - 100 percent
Blues - 100 percent
Stars - 99.6 percent
Oilers - 97 percent
Golden Knights - 96.2 percent
Canucks - 77 percent
Flames - 62.9 percent
Wild - 54.5 percent
Jets - 37 percent
Coyotes - 32.5 percent
Predators - 30.4 percent
Blackhawks 12.7 percent
Sharks - 0.2 percent
Ducks - 0 percent
Kings - 0 percent
THE DRAFT LOTTERY PICTURE
Red Wings - 18.5 percent
Kings - 13.5 percent
Senators - 11. 5 percent
Ducks - 9.5 percent
Senators - 8.5 percent*
Devils - 7.5 percent
Sabres - 6.5 percent
Blackhawks - 6 percent
Canadiens - 5 percent
Devils - 3.5 percent**
Jets - 3 percent
Predators - 2.5 percent
Panthers - 2 percent
Rangers - 1.5 percent
Blue Jackets - 1 percent
(* SJ’s 2020 first-round pick owned by OTT)
(** ARZ’s lottery-protected 2020 first-round pick owned by NJ. If top three, moves to 2021)
ART ROSS RACE
Leon Draisaitl, Oilers - 108 points
Connor McDavid, Oilers - 95 points
David Pastrnak, Bruins - 92 points
Artemi Panarin, Rangers - 90 points
Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche - 86 points
ROCKET RICHARD RACE
David Pastrnak, Bruins - 47 goals
Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs - 46 goals
Alex Ovechkin, Capitals - 45 goals
Leon Draisaitl, Oilers - 43 goals
Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes - 36 goals
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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.