Eastern Conference Playoff Picture
The Eastern Conference playoff race is more interesting than the Western one-as it usually is. In the West, only two teams have not clinched their playoff spot or haven't been eliminated from playoff contention, in the East, there are five: the Flyers, Hurricanes, Islanders, Lightning, and Bruins. With that, and the fact that only one team in the Atlantic Division has clinched a playoff spot, (the Lightning and Bruins could possibly enter the playoffs without a wild-card spot), the picture could change a lot. Let's start by looking at the Metropolitan Division.
Metro First Seed- Washington Capitals
At this point in the season, a good team like the Capitals, even with a rough schedule ahead of them (they play the division rival Blue Jackets and Rangers along with the Maple Leafs and Bruins) can't fall out of first place. The Caps have been the team for most of the year. A large part of this is because the power-play has been clicking (their 23.6% is good enough for third-best in the league) and that Niklas Backstrom (23 G, 60 A, 83 P) is leading the league in power-play goals with with 34 power-play points. Kevin Shattenkirk (11 G, 42 A, 53 P) ranks eighth in that category with 26. Meanwhile, captain Alexander Ovechkin (33 G, 33 A, 66 P) leads the league in power-play goals with 17.
Metro Second Seed-Columbus Blue Jackets
The Jackets have two tough games coming up, against Washington and Pittsburgh, but then have games against weaker Philadelphia and Winnipeg before heading to Toronto to close out. Much of the success that the Jackets have had this season is partially because of coach John Tortorella, who has gone 49-20-8 this season. Cam Atkinson (34 G, 27 A, 61 P) is having a career year, ranking in the top 10 in goal scoring with names such as Patrick Kane and Alexander Ovechkin. Brandon Saad (22 G, 28 A, 50 P) is having another 50-point season, his third in a row. The Blue Jackets are great defensively-they rank second-to-last in goals against, a good thing, behind only Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals. This is largely because of Sergei Bobrovsky, who looks like the Vezina favorite and leads the league in save percentage, goals against average, and wins. He has made a career-high 1,657 saves this year and could carry the Blue Jackets deep into the playoffs.
Metro Third Seed- Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins have been hitting a speed bump lately. Pittsburg has gone 1-2-2 in their last five games, including back-to-back thrashings at home, by Philadelphia (6-2) and Chicago (5-1). They got back on track with a shootout win against the Rangers and have some crucial games coming up, playing the Blue Jackets at home and Rangers in New York. The Penguins won't catch the Jackets because of the injury bug, but they will stay in the third slot and evade the Rangers because of captain Sidney Crosby (43 G, 41 A, 84 P), who won the game against New York on a shootout goal and had scored previously before that. That's been the story this season, as Crosby leads the league with his 43 goals. Goaltending will be the issue for Pittsburgh in a first-round matchup with a high-scoring Columbus team. Matt Murray looked like the undisputed starter after last season's playoff run, but he hasn't played well of late. Neither has Marc-Andre Fluery, who has let up 11 goals in his last four games, including a four-goal first period against Chicago where goals came from Artemi Panarin, Richard Panik, Marian Hossa, and Marcus Kruger.
Atlantic First Seed-Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens are back. After missing the playoffs last year, they went out and got the better end of the P.K. Subban-Shea Weber trade. Goalie Carey Price came ready to play this season and is fourth in the league in goals against and third in save percentage. Max Pacioretty (35 G, 31 A, 66 P) is sixth in the league in goal-scoring. The next closest teammate is Paul Byron (22 G, 18 A, 40 P) with 22 goals. That's a big gap. The Canadiens will have to use their defense, which ranks fourth-best in goals against, to carry them in the playoffs.
Atlantic Second Seed-Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs are a young and hungry team. Hiring coach Mike Babcock from the now-struggling Red Wings helped a lot. Babcock helps, but the reason for the Maple Leaf's success is William Nylander, (22 G, 37 A, 59 P) Mitch Marnier, (18 G, 41 A, 59 P) and Auston Matthews. (38 G, 28 A, 66 P). The three have combined for 184 points this season. Nylander has become a staple after only playing in 22 games last year. Marnier is a rookie, as is Matthews. The Maple Leafs are the fifth-highest scoring team in the NHL right now, and the team looks good for a long time.
Atlantic Third Seed-Boston Bruins
Recently, the Bruins have been playing great hockey. Boston has won four in a row and looks to make it five, today (but against a tougher team). Brad Marchand (39 G, 35 A, 84 P) is having a career year and is second in goals and third in points league wide. Patrice Bergeron (20 G, 32 A, 52 P) is having a fourth straight 50-point season, and captain Zdeno Chara (8 G, 18 A, 26 P) is a plus-22. They have a crucial game coming up against the Senators, their competition for the third seed, that they will win and take over third place in the process. The Bruins will stay in the third seed from there.
First Wild Card- New York Rangers
New York has looked like the wild card spot throughout the season. The Capitals and Jackets are too far ahead for them to catch, and the Penguins will hold on. The wild-card spot could work well for New York, as long as they stay the first wild-card. That would mean playing a weaker Atlantic division team in the first and second rounds, which would play to the Ranger's advantage. New York has a couple tough games ahead of them, in Washington to play the Capitals and closing out the season in Pittsburgh, neither of which will they win. They will beat Philadelphia and Ottawa to keep the first wild card seed. For the Rangers to go deep in the playoffs, it looks like they will have to get around the Montreal Canadiens and Carey Price in the first round. To do that, Mats Zucarello (15 G, 41 A, 56 P) will have to keep performing the way he is. So does Chris Kreider (27 G, 24 A, 51 P), Zucarello's linemate, who is having a career year by far with his first 50-point season.
Second Wild Card- Ottawa Senators
The Senators are where no sports team wants to be, which is stuck in the middle. The Senators have enough talent to squeeze into the playoffs (Kyle Turris (26 G, 25 A, 51 P) and Mike Hoffman (25 G, 33 A, 58 P) are both having great seasons), but not enough to carry them to the Final. Every great team has a superstar. Washington has Alex Ovechkin. Chicago has Patrick Kane. Pittsburgh has Sidney Crosby. Columbus has Sergei Bobrovsky. Edmonton has Connor McDavid. The Senators just don't have the one great player that they need, and won't for a while because they don't draft high, they draft in the middle. Senators fans may have a while to wait before the Cup returns to Ottawa.