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.
There is a potential Round 1 playoff preview in Toronto on Tuesday night when the Maple Leafs play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It is still only a potential Round 1 matchup at this point because the Maple Leafs are suddenly feeling quite a bit of pressure from a Florida Panthers team that is not quite ready to go away just yet.
Toronto enters Tuesday’s action riding a three-game losing streak (all on a Western Conference road trip that saw them lose to three of the league’s bottom teams) while having lost 10 of their past 17 games overall. It has been a maddening run of inconsistency where they have struggled to solidify their standing as a playoff team. Their recent slump, combined with the Panthers stacking a couple wins together (including Monday’s impressive 2-1 win against the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues) has closed the gap between the two teams to just a single point. They now face a very real risk of not only dropping into a Wild Card spot, but perhaps even out of the playoff picture entirely. It is something that seemed almost unimaginable at the start of the season.
Given the expectations this team had at the start, as well as their struggles at times this season, their precarious spot in the playoff race would create enough pressure on its own. Now they have an absolutely brutal three-game stretch ahead of them this week that will see them play Tampa Bay, Nashville, and Boston. If they are going to solidify their standing in the playoff race, they are going to have to earn it.
While much of the criticism for this year’s Maple Leafs team falls on their defense and goaltending, the big culprit on their recent losing streak has been an offense that has gone cold, scoring just three goals in the three games (including only one over the past two games).
On Monday, coach Sheldon Keefe put his lines into a blender in an effort to help jumpstart the offense. He split up the Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner duo, putting Matthews with Zach Hyman and William Nylander, while Marner skated alongside John Tavares and Kasperi Kapanen.
The Maple Leafs are also getting top defenseman Morgan Rielly back on Tuesday night after he missed the past two months due to a broken foot.
IF PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Washington Capitals vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
WESTERN CONFERENCE
St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Winnipeg Jets
Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames
TODAY’S GAMES WITH PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. ET
Nashville Predators vs. Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. ET
Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m. ET
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m. ET
New York Rangers vs. Dallas Stars, 8:30 p.m. ET
New York Islanders vs. Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m. ET
EASTERN CONFERENCE
PLAYOFF PERCENTAGES (via Hockey Reference)
Boston Bruins -- 100 percent
Tampa Bay Lightning -- 100 percent
Washington Capitals -- 100 percent
Philadelphia Flyers -- 99.9 percent
Pittsburgh Penguins -- 94.2 percent
Carolina Hurricanes -- 76.2 percent
Toronto Maple Leafs -- 67.1 percent
New York Islanders -- 63.9 percent
Florida Panthers -- 44.5 percent
Columbus Blue Jackets -- 35.3 percent
New York Rangers -- 18.5 percent
Montreal Canadiens -- 0.4 percent
Buffalo Sabres -- Out
Ottawa Senators -- Out
New Jersey Devils -- Out
Detroit Red Wings -- Out
WESTERN CONFERENCE
PLAYOFF PERCENTAGES
St. Louis Blues -- 100 percent
Colorado Avalanche -- 100 percent
Vegas Golden Knights -- 98.9 percent
Edmonton Oilers -- 98.3 percent
Dallas Stars -- 97. 9 percent
Calgary Flames -- 66.5 percent
Vancouver Canucks -- 64.1 percent
Minnesota Wild -- 56.2 percent
Winnipeg Jets -- 49.9 percent
Nashville Predators -- 47.1 percent
Arizona Coyotes -- 19.2 percent
Chicago Blackhawks -- 2 percent
Anaheim Ducks -- Out
San Jose Sharks -- Out
Los Angeles Kings -- Out
THE DRAFT LOTTERY PICTURE
Detroit Red Wings — 18.5 percent
Ottawa Senators — 13.5 percent
Los Angeles Kings — 11.5 percent
Ottawa Senators* — 9.5 percent
Anaheim Ducks — 8.5 percent
Buffalo Sabres — 7.5 percent
New Jersey Devils — 6.5 percent
Chicago Blackhawks — 6 percent
Montreal Canadiens — 5 percent
New Jersey Devils** — 3.5 percent
Nashville Predators — 3 percent
Vancouver Canucks — 2.5 percent
New York Rangers — 2 percent
Florida Panthers 1.5 percent
New York Islanders — 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 TROPHY RACE
Leon Draisaitl, Oilers -- 110 points
Connor McDavid, Oilers -- 96 points
David Pastrnak, Bruins -- 94 points
Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche -- 93 points
Artemi Panarin, Rangers -- 93 points
ROCKET RICHARD RACE
Alex Ovechkin, Capitals -- 48 goals
David Pastrnak, Bruins -- 48 goals
Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs -- 46 goals
Leon Draisaitl, Oilers -- 43 goals
Mika Zibanejad, Rangers -- 39 goals
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.