Push for the Playoffs will run every morning through the end of the 2021-22 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 Hurricanes’ 5-3 win over the Coyotes Monday night put them ahead of the Rangers by two points in the race for the Metropolitan Division title. New York does have a game in-hand, however, and could be back in a tie with Carolina if they beat the Jets tonight.
For most of the season, the Hurricanes had been in control of the division, owning the top spot. But since March 1 the Rangers have gained ground and moved from a likely First Round matchup with the Penguins as the No. 2 or 3 seed to having a shot at the Metro crown. In their last 25 games, Carolina is 12-9-4, earning 28 points. New York is 15-6-1 in their last 22 games, picking up 31 points. Strength of schedule is in play here in the Rangers’ recent surge, but you can only play the teams the NHL tells you to play, right? Points earned are points earned.
Both teams have three games to go before they meet next Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, which could tip the scales in the race to grab the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed. But if you’re the Rangers, you probably need to win the division outright with more points as the tiebreakers are currently not in your favor.
The first two standings tiebreakers are Regulation Wins and Regulation/Overtime Wins, which the Hurricanes lead both. Carolina has 43 regulation wins to to New York’s 41, and 48 regulation and overtime wins to 45. Even head-to-head it’s the Hurricanes with a 2-1-0 series lead.
Every team wants home ice in the postseason and securing that through at least two rounds would certainly be atop the list of goals as both teams finish out these final 10 days of the regular season.
IF PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY (sorted by points percentage)
ATLANTIC DIVISION Panthers vs. Capitals Maple Leafs vs. Lightning
METROPOLITAN DIVISION Hurricanes vs. Bruins Rangers vs. Penguins
CENTRAL DIVISION Avalanche vs. Stars Blues vs. Wild
PACIFIC DIVISION Flames vs. Predators Oilers vs. Kings
TODAY’S KEY GAMES
Jets vs. Rangers, 7 p.m. ET Flames vs. Predators, 8 p.m. ET Bruins vs. Blues, 8 p.m. ET Kings vs. Ducks, 10 p.m. ET
PLAYOFF PERCENTAGES (via MoneyPuck)
Panthers - clinched Maple Leafs - clinched Lightning - clinched Bruins - clinched Red Wings - eliminated Sabres - eliminated Senators - eliminated Canadiens - eliminated
PLAYOFF PERCENTAGES (via MoneyPuck)
Hurricanes - clinched Rangers - clinched Penguins - clinched Capitals - clinched Islanders - eliminated Blue Jackets - eliminated Flyers - eliminated Devils - eliminated
PLAYOFF PERCENTAGES (via MoneyPuck)
Avalanche - clinched No. 1 seed in Western Conference Blues - clinched Wild - clinched Stars - 93.4% Predators - 90% Jets - 0% Blackhawks - eliminated Coyotes - eliminated
PLAYOFF PERCENTAGES (via MoneyPuck)
Flames - clinched Oilers - 99.9% Kings - 85% Golden Knights - 20% Canucks - 11.7% Ducks - eliminated Sharks - eliminated Kraken - eliminated
DRAFT LOTTERY PICTURE (via Tankathon)
16.6% - Coyotes 12.1% - Canadiens 10.9% - Kraken 9.7% - Flyers 8.5% - Blackhawks (*conditional) 7.6% - Devils 6.7% - Senators 5.8% - Sabres 5.4% - Red Wings 4.5% - Sharks 3.1% - Ducks 2.7% - Blue Jackets 2.2% - Islanders 1.8% - Jets 1.4% - Golden Knights (*conditional) 1% - Canucks
ART ROSS TROPHY RACE
Connor McDavid, Oilers - 110 points Jonathan Huberdeau, Panthers - 108 Johnny Gaudreau, Flames - 107 Leon Draisaitl, Oilers - 105 Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs - 102 Matthew Tkachuk, Flames - 98
ROCKET RICHARD RACE
Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs - 58 goals Leon Draisaitl, Oilers - 54 Chris Kreider, Rangers - 50 Alex Ovechkin, Capitals - 48 Kyle Connor, Jets - 43 Kirill Kaprizov, Wild - 43 Connor McDavid, Oilers - 42
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.