The East Will Be Over in 72 Hours
My hope you're in this article will be to make it as easy as possible to understand this crazy playoff race that's going on in the east right now. But where every single game now directly eliminates someone. We’ve got five days left in the NHL season…But the truth? This thing will be decided in the next three.
Where It Stands (The One Thing That Matters)
The Philadelphia Flyers sit at 94 points.
They we're very impressive last night in Winnipeg to push themselves to 94 points. And you'd love to think that's enough to get them into the playoffs… but unfortunately for them, it's probably not. Cause here’s the catch—and it’s a massive one: They lose every tiebreaker.
So for Philly, 94 isn’t a cushion…its really now a target fro everyone else..
But the Flyers are in control. Win and in… not easy...
The Chasers (All With 2 Games Left)
- Columbus Blue Jackets — 92 points
- Washington Capitals — 91 points
- New York Islanders — 91 points
Because of tiebreakers…. If any of these teams reach 94…they pass the Flyers.
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TODAY: Two Games…Everything Moves
Islanders vs Canadiens
- New York Islanders must win (or at least get 3 of 4 possible points total)
- Montreal Canadiens are fighting for playoff seeding
This is desperation vs motivation. Montreal wants home ice vs Tampa or Buffalo..The Islanders want to live another day. The Canadiens are 8-2 in their last ten and they are clicking,,, That’s a dangerous mix.
Capitals vs Penguins
- Washington Capitals are really coming together as a team at the right point and they are starting to look incredibly dangerous
- Pittsburgh Penguins are resting stars
And hanging over all of it? It's hard to imagine that the playoff race might actually be the subplot of this game, but the actual real plot of this game is the future of Alexander Ovechkin.
Is this his last game as a Washington Capitol in Washington?
If they don't make the playoffs, it could be. He's been I think very classy and not announcing what he's gonna do….
And also looking around at what the Capitals have in their youth movement is coming through.... if I was him, I might want to stick around another year..
Tickets are insane. The building will be shaking…
If Washington wins…
They jump to 93 points. And suddenly… They’re one point behind Philly.
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MONDAY: The Flyers’ Moment
Flyers vs Hurricanes
Philadelphia Flyers vs Carolina Hurricanes. This is it. A regulation win puts Philly at 96 points.
At that number?
- Islanders can’t catch them
- Capitals can’t catch them.
- Columbus would need to beat the Bruins on Monday to stay alive.
Two teams eliminated instantly.
Tampa vs Detroit
Is the Montréal Canadiens lose today to the New York Islanders, then Tampa, with Wind here would land Montreal in third place in the division. Why is this important? Because on Tuesday the Flyers play the Montréal Canadiens and if Montreal is already locked into third they rest players ....otherwise they're all in...
If the Flyers lose outright, Then this race goes nuclear.
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TUESDAY: The Day That Decides Everything
This is where it all converges…
Capitals vs Blue Jackets
- Washington Capitals
- Columbus Blue Jackets
Both chasing the same spot. Winner stays alive.Loser is likely done.
Islanders vs. Carolina
The isles are in a tough spot here because the capitals and blue jackets play each other.
Therefore the Isles could be eliminated already if these teams both those teams win Game 81.
Flyers vs Canadiens
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Montreal Canadiens
And here’s the twist… Montreal might still be fighting for seeding…Or they might have nothing to play for…
Which makes this either:
- A playoff-level battle
or - A massive opportunity for Philly
The Reality
This is a great deal of fun if your team isn't involved. It's kind of awful if your team is but at the same time a lot of these teams haven't played for a playoff race for a while so it's fun to watch them and their fan bases engaged…. To me Columbus and the Islanders have been too inconsistent and they have had too many chances to take this and they haven't. The Flyers had an unbelievable run to get here and were considered very much eliminated just a month ago. The Capitals have been back-and-forth on this wagon, but the reality is they also are very inconsistent… the loss to the Rangers the other night would've made this whole playoff race much different.
The Bottom Line
- Flyers control their fate…barely
- Capitals are surging at the perfect time..and get a schedule break with Pitt.
- Islanders are hanging by a thread
- Blue Jackets are lurking with just enough room
And because of the tiebreakers?
94 points might not be enough.
Now this...
TODAY'S UPDATED BUZZTRON STATS:
SEASON DATA:
Last Night 10-5 (67%)
LAST 235 GAMES: (64 % OF THE TIME CORRECT)
149 CORRECTLY PICKED WINNERS
86 INCORRECT
PERCENTAGE WINNING NIGHTS
Nights with more winners than losers: 25-6-2
848 winning percentage BY NIGHT.
New Projected standings
Todays Picks
Pitt OVER WASH
NYI OVER MTL
CBJ over Bos (OT)
NJ OVER OTT(OT)
ANA OVER VAN (OT)
UTAH OVER CGY