Most of the teams in the NHL have either two or three regular season games remaining, and so the playoff teams are largely set. In the Eastern Conference, the eight postseason teams are in, but some movement could take place in the seeding this week. In the Western Conference, the third-place slot in the Pacific Division is still up for grabs between Vegas and Los Angeles; Vegas could also snatch one of the wild cards, as could Vancouver, winners of six of their last ten. As you think about including the NHL’s postseason in your online NHL betting, look at the standings and some news about some of the contenders.
NHL News: Last Week of the Regular Season:
Who’s In the Playoffs? Who’s Out?
Eastern Conference
| Atlantic Division | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1 | Florida Panthers* | 120 |
| 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs* | 111 |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Lightning* | 106 |
| Metropolitan Division | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1 | Carolina Hurricanes* | 112 |
| 2 | N.Y. Rangers* | 108 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins* | 101 |
| Wild Card | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Bruins* | 103 |
| 2 | Washington Capitals* | 100 |
Western Conference
| Central Division | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1 | Colorado Avalanche* | 116 |
| 2 | Minnesota Wild* | 109 |
| 3 | St. Louis Blues* | 109 |
| Pacific Division | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1 | Calgary Flames* | 108 |
| 2 | Edmonton Oilers* | 98 |
| 3 | L.A. Kings | 96 |
| Wild Card | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville Predators | 94 |
| 2 | Dallas Stars | 93 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 90 | |
| Vancouver Canucks | 87 |
Vancouver has put up a solid 30-15-9 record since the team installed Bruce Boudreau as the interim head coach, which ranks 12th in the NHL in points percentage over that stretch. The problem is that the Canucks dug themselves an immense hole at the start of the season. Even so, Thatcher Demko has emerged as a top goaltender, and Elias Pettersson has tallied 42 points in the team’s 32 games since February 1, 23rd in the NHL.
Edmonton had had some goaltending problems during the first two-thirds of the season. However, since the trade deadline, the Oiler netminders have the third best save percentage in the NHL. They have a .706 points percentage since the trade deadline, which is tied for fifth overall during that time.
Toronto has seen Auston Matthews miss three games in the last week, and he remains two goals shy of 60 for the season. They did go 2-1-1 in the last week, but Matthews only has two games left to get to that milestone. It looks like the Maple Leafs would face the Tampa Bay Lightning to start the playoffs; the teams have split four games this season, but the whole league should be ready for the Lightning to turn up their play once they hit the playoffs.
Calgary comes in as Canada’s best hope to win the Stanley Cup. The last time a Canadian team hoisted the Cup was 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens edged the Los Angeles Kings. Calgary has 86 even-strength points from Johnny Gaudreau, which puts him 10 ahead of Auston Matthews. Historically, when the Flames have had problems, they have come in the back end, with the team giving up all kinds of goals, but the Calgary defense and goaltending are top-shelf this year.
St. Louis has points in 16 straight games (14-0-2) as they work on taking home ice away from Minnesota in their first-round series. The Blues have some real issues on defense, but their offense can score in a hurry, and Ville Husso has emerged as a playoff-caliber goalie. A lot of the press is going to Colorado in the Central, but given the Avalanche have dropped foru in a row, the Blues might be the hottest team in the division, if not the West.
The N.Y. Rangers should be glad they added all that depth at the trade deadline, because Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil and Andrew Copp are all on the shelf now, doing their best to get healthy ahead of the postseason.
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