NHL playoff scenarios: Predators and Kings clinch, Presidents’ Trophy still up for grabs

Cam Lewis
Cam Lewis
Apr 27, 2022, 09:36 EDT
NHL playoff scenarios: Predators and Kings clinch, Presidents’ Trophy still up for grabs
Credit: © Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

It was a wild night of NHL action on Tuesday as 13 games were played, many of which had major playoff implications.

Let’s go through what happened and what lies ahead…

The Presidents’ Trophy is still up for grabs

The Florida Panthers had a chance to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in their franchise history but they got dropped by the Boston Bruins by a score of 4-2. Later on, the Colorado Avalanche picked up a win over the St. Louis Blues, bringing them to two points back of the Panthers, well within striking distance of their second consecutive season with the league’s top record.

Both teams have two games remaining and the Avalanche have the tiebreaker in regulation wins in the event that the two teams are tied in the standings. Florida has a light schedule, as it plays the bottom-feeding Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators, while Colorado goes up against the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators.

Only one playoff spot in the Western Conference remains unclaimed

All eyes were on Dallas as the Stars had a chance to put a dagger in the Vegas Golden Knights’ playoff aspirations. The Stars and Knights were locked at 2-2 after overtime and it took until the seventh round of the shootout for somebody to score.

Miro Heiskanen buried a backhander past Logan Thompson and then Jake Oettinger stopped William Karlsson to give Dallas the win.

With the victory, the Stars have moved four points clear of Vegas in the standings, though the Golden Knights can still catch them. Vegas needs to win its final two games of the season and for the Stars to lose both of their games. If that happens, both teams would be tied at 95 points and the Golden Knights would squeeze in based on regulation wins.

Vegas picking up only one point also means that the L.A. Kings have clinched the third spot in the Pacific Division. They’ll play the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs. Despite beating the Seattle Kraken, the Vancouver Canucks have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference, the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators had a wild game in what very likely could be a first-round preview. Matthew Tkachuk scored with one second left and then the Flames won in overtime.

The loser point resulted in Nashville clinching a spot, but the big story from that game is the health of goaltender Juuse Saros, who left in the third period with an apparent foot injury and didn’t return.

Hurricanes clinch Metropolitan Division; Home ice for Rangers, Maple Leafs

With a win over the New York Rangers, the Carolina Hurricanes have clinched the Metropolitan Division, guaranteeing themselves home-ice advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

The Rangers are locked into second place and will host the Pittsburgh Penguins or Washington Capitals. The Penguins have 101 points and one game left while the Caps are at 100 points with two games remaining.

It’s the same deal in the Atlantic Division, as the Panthers are locked into first place and the Toronto Maple Leafs have guaranteed themselves second place. The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently in third with 108 points and two games left but the Bruins can still catch them as they have 105 points and two games remaining.

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