Week of March 13th
With about one month left in the regular season, the playoff race is as close as ever with plenty of great hockey to be played!
Updated Playoff Outlook
Not all NHL team have played an equal number of games, but let’s take another look at the current playoff outlook as if the season ended on March 12th:
Eastern Conference
A1: Boston Bruins
A2: Toronto Maple Leafs
A3: Tampa Bay Lightning
M1: Carolina Hurricanes
M2: New Jersey Devils
M3: New York Rangers
WC1: Pittsburgh Penguins
WC2: New York Islanders
Western Conference
C1: Dallas Stars
C2: Minnesota Wild
C3: Winnipeg Jets
P1: Vegas Golden Knights
P2: Los Angeles Kings
P3: Seattle Kraken
WC1: Edmonton Oilers
WC2: Colorado Avalanche
The Weekly Roundup
Atlantic:
Boston Bruins (105 pts | 50-10-5)
LW: L 2-3 EDM, W 3-2 DET, L 3-5 DET
3/14 @ CHI, 3/16 @ WPG, 3/18 @ MIN, 3/19 @ BUF
Boston clinched a playoff berth and had a bit of an off week.
Toronto Maple Leafs (88 pts | 40-17-8)
LW: W 4-3 NJD, W 7-4 EDM
3/13 vs. BUF, 3/15 vs. COL, 3/17 vs. CAR, 3/18 @ OTT
The Leafs had two solid wins this past week.
Tampa Bay Lightning (84 pts | 39-22-6)
LW: W 5-2 PHI, OTL 3-4 VGK, W 3-1 CHI, L 2-3 WPG
3/14 @ NJD, 3/16 @ NJD, 3/18 vs. MTL, 3/19 vs. NJD
The Lightning still aren’t playing great, but they are playing better.
Florida Panthers (73 pts | 33-27-7)
LW: W 2-1 VGK, W 4-3 CHI, OTL 4-5 WPG
3/16 vs. MTL, 3/18 vs. NJD
Florida continues to push for the playoffs with a solid week.
Ottawa Senators (70 pts | 33-28-4)
LW: L 0-5 CHI, W 5-4 SEA, L 2-5 VAN, ? CGY
3/14 @ EDM, 3/16 vs. COL, 3/18 vs. TOR
The Sens have finally cooled off.
Buffalo Sabres (69 pts | 32-28-5)
LW: L 2-3 EDM, L 2-3 NYI, L 4-10 DAL, OTL 1-2 NYR
3/13 @ TOR, 3/15 @ WSH, 3/17 @ PHI, 3/19 vs. BOS
Buffalo is struggling here down the stretch.
Detroit Red Wings (69 pts | 30-27-9)
LW: W 4-3 CHI, L 2-3 BOS, W 5-3 BOS
3/14 @ NSH, 3/18 vs. COL
The Red Wings are barely hanging on in the playoff hunt.
Montreal Canadiens (58 pts | 26-34-6)
LW: L/SO 3-4 CAR, L/SO 3-4 NYR, L 1-3 NJD
3/13 vs. COL, 3/14 @ PIT, 3/16 @ FLA, 3/18 @ TBL
The Canadiens played three hard games this past week.
Metropolitan:
Carolina Hurricanes (94 pts | 43-14-8)
LW: W 4-3 MTL, W 1-0 PHI, L 0-4 VGK, L 0-3 NJD
3/14 vs. WPG, 3/17 @ TOR, 3/18 @ PHI
Carolina is all of a sudden having scoring struggles.
New Jersey Devils (94 pts | 44-16-6)
LW: L 3-4 TOR, W 3-2 WSH, W 3-1 MTL, W 3-0 CAR
3/14 vs. TBL, 3/16 vs. TBL, 3/18 @ FLA, 3/19 @ TBL
The Devils are now tied for the division lead.
New York Rangers (83 pts | 37-19-9)
LW: W 4-3 MTL, W 2-1 BUF, OTL 2-3 PIT
3/14 vs. WSH, 3/16 vs. PIT, 3/18 vs. PIT, 3/19 vs. NSH
The Rangers went 2-0-1 this past week but are still looking shaky.
Pittsburgh Penguins (78 pts | 33-22-10)
LW: W 5-4 CBJ, OTL 3-4 NYI, W 5-1 PHI, W 3-2 NYR
3/14 vs. MTL, 3/16 @ NYR, 3/18 @ NYR
Pittsburgh is inching closer to the Rangers in the Metro standings.
New York Islanders (76 pts | 34-26-8)
LW: W 3-2 BUF, W 4-3 PIT, L 1-5 WSH
3/14 @ LAK, 3/15 @ ANA, 3/18 @ SJS
The Isles head out west.
Washington Capitals (71 pts | 32-28-7)
LW: L 2-4 LAK, L/SO 2-3 NJD, W 5-1 NYI
3/14 @ NYR, 3/15 vs. BUF, 3/17 vs. STL, 3/19 @ MIN
The Caps don’t want to get left behind in the wild card race.
Philadelphia Flyers (59 pts | 24-31-11)
LW: L 2-5 TBL, L 0-1 CAR, L 1-5 PIT
3/14 vs. VGK, 3/17 vs. BUF, 3/18 vs. CAR
Chuck Fletcher is out as GM of the Flyers.
Columbus Blue Jackets (47 pts | 20-38-7)
LW: OTL 4-5 PIT, L 2-5 STL
3/14 @ SJS, 3/16 @ LAK, 3/17 @ ANA, 3/19 @ VGK
The Blue Jackets had another tough week before heading out west.
Central:
Dallas Stars (85 pts | 36-17-13)
LW: L 4-5 CGY, W 10-4 BUF, W 4-3 SEA
3/13 @ SEA, 3/14 @ VAN, 3/16 @ EDM, 3/18 @ CGY
The Stars put up ten goals against Buffalo.
Minnesota Wild (83 pts | 38-21-7)
LW: L/SO 0-1 CGY, W 4-2 WPG, W 5-2 SJS, ? ARI
3/15 @ STL, 3/18 vs. BOS, 3/19 vs. WSH
The Wild remain hot and look to take the division lead.
Winnipeg Jets (79 pts | 38-26-3)
LW: OTL 2-3 SJS, L 2-4 MIN, W 5-4 FLA, W 3-2 TBL
3/14 @ CAR, 3/16 vs. BOS, 3/18 @ NSH, 3/19 @ STL
Winnipeg is weathering some inconsistent hockey right now.
Colorado Avalanche (78 pts | 36-22-6)
LW: W 6-0 SJS, L 2-5 LAK, W 3-2 ARI
3/13 @ MTL, 3/15 @ TOR, 3/16 @ OTT, 3/18 @ DET
Colorado heads east on a road trip this week.
Nashville Predators (71 pts | 32-24-7)
LW: L/SO 3-4 VAN, L 1-4 ARI, W 2-1 LAK, ? ANA
3/14 vs. DET, 3/16 vs. CHI, 3/18 vs. WPG, 3/19 @ NYR
The Preds’ playoff hopes appear to be hanging by a thread.
St. Louis Blues (63 pts | 29-32-5)
LW: L 2-6 ARI, W 4-2 SJS, W 5-2 CBJ, L 3-5 VGK
3/15 vs. MIN, 3/17 @ WSH, 3/19 vs. WPG
St. Louis went par this past week.
Arizona Coyotes (57 pts | 23-32-11)
LW: W 6-2 STL, W 4-1 NSH, OTL 2-3 COL, ? MIN
3/14 vs. CGY, 3/16 vs. VAN, 3/18 vs. CHI
The Coyotes continue to play some decent hockey.
Chicago Blackhawks (50 pts | 22-38-6)
LW: W 5-0 OTT, L 3-4 DET, OTL 3-4 FLA, L 1-3 TBL
3/14 vs. BOS, 3/16 @ NSH, 3/18 @ ARI
Chicago had a nice shutout win over Ottawa this week.
Pacific:
Vegas Golden Knights (88 pts | 41-20-6)
LW: L 1-2 FLA, W 4-3 TBL, W 4-0 CAR, W 5-3 STL
3/14 @ PHI, 3/16 vs. CGY, 3/19 vs. CBJ
Vegas had a very solid week to remain on top of the Pacific.
Los Angeles Kings (85 pts | 38-20-9)
LW: W 4-2 WSH, W 5-2 COL, L/SO 1-2 NSH
3/14 vs. NYI, 3/16 vs. CBJ, 3/18 vs. VAN
The Kings had another strong week and are in striking distance of the division lead.
Seattle Kraken (81 pts | 37-22-7)
LW: W 5-2 ANA, L 4-5 OTT, OTL 3-4 DAL
3/13 vs. DAL, 3/16 @ SJS, 3/18 vs. EDM
The Kraken lost two close ones this past week.
Edmonton Oilers (80 pts | 36-23-8)
LW: W 3-2 BUF, W 3-2 BOS, L 4-7 TOR
3/14 vs. OTT, 3/16 vs. DAL, 3/18 @ SEA
The Oilers took down Boston on the road but had some defensive struggles in Toronto.
Calgary Flames (71 pts | 29-24-13)
LW: W 5-4 DAL, W 1-0 MIN, L 1-3 ANA, ? OTT
3/14 @ ARI, 3/16 @ VGK, 3/18 vs. DAL
Calgary’s margin for error is very slim now.
Vancouver Canucks (61 pts | 28-32-5)
LW: W 4-3 NSH, W 3-2 ANA, W 5-2 OTT
3/14 vs. DAL, 3/16 @ ARI, 3/18 @ LAK, 3/19 @ ANA
The Canucks had a great week.
Anaheim Ducks (53 pts | 22-35-9)
LW: L 2-5 SEA, OTL 2-3 VAN, W 3-1 CGY, ? NSH
3/15 vs. NYI, 3/17 vs. CBJ, 3/19 vs. VAN
The Ducks scrapped their way put of last place in the Pacific.
San Jose Sharks (50 pts | 19-36-12)
LW: W 3-2 WPG, L 0-6 COL, L 2-4 STL, L 2-5 MIN
3/14 vs. CBJ, 3/16 vs. SEA, 3/18 vs. NYI
The Sharks are back to the bottom of the Pacific.