LA Kings in Calgary. What's gonna happen?
Chris Kreider scores against Ottawa goalie Andrew Hammond on March. 26. (Marc DesRosiers, USA TODAY Sports)
The Ottawa Senators and Calgary Flames hold the key Thursday to making the NHL playoff picture clearer – or a lot murkier.
The red-hot Senators are facing the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden, and if Ottawa loses in regulation, the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings would clinch playoff berths. If the Boston Bruins also win at Florida, they’re in. That would leave the Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins battling for the final spot in the Eastern Conference, with Pittsburgh having a game in hand.
If the Senators win, they move ahead of the Penguins and possibly the Bruins in the standings. The Red Wings can still clinch on their own with a victory in Montreal, but the Islanders will have to wait a day.
The Rangers are the lone team to beat Senators goalie Andrew “Hamburglar” Hammond in regulation, driving him from the net in a 5-1 win on March 26. But Hammond was banged up in that game and appears healthy now.
With the Rangers already clinching the best record in the league, they could end up resting some players tonight. They recalled Chris Summer and Ryan Bourque.
Meanwhile, in Calgary, the Flames face the defending champion Los Angeles Kings, who sit two points back of the Flames and three back of the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference race.
If the Flames win in regulation, they clinch a berth, as do the Jets, and the Kings and their “flip the switch” mentality will come up short. They’d be the first defending champion since the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes to fail to qualify the following year.
The Jets also can clinch on their own tonight if they win in Colorado.
But if the Kings win tonight and the Jets lose in regulation, they Kings are still alive and in good shape. The Jets would have 96 points, the Flames would have 95 or 96 and the Kings would have 95.
If the Kings beat the San Jose Sharks Saturday, they would have 97 points. The Flames and Jets are playing each other Saturday, with Winnipeg’s Dustin Byfuglien returning from his four-game suspension. The team that wins that game is in and the loser could be out. One caveat: If the Flames start Saturday with 96 points and lose to the Jets in overtime to get to 97 points, they hold the tiebreaker over the Kings. That sends the Kings home.
The Kings also could get in by picking up three points over their next two games, if the Jets or Flames lose both their final two games in regulation.
But the best way for the Kings to get in: Win tonight in regulation, hope the Jets lose tonight and hope that the Sharks forget that the Kings embarrassed them in the playoffs last season.
Buckle up.
[h=4]Western[/h][h=5]Central[/h]
Central[h=5]Pacific[/h]
Pacific
| 9:05 PM |
| ||||||||||
| 9:05 PM |
|
The red-hot Senators are facing the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden, and if Ottawa loses in regulation, the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings would clinch playoff berths. If the Boston Bruins also win at Florida, they’re in. That would leave the Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins battling for the final spot in the Eastern Conference, with Pittsburgh having a game in hand.
If the Senators win, they move ahead of the Penguins and possibly the Bruins in the standings. The Red Wings can still clinch on their own with a victory in Montreal, but the Islanders will have to wait a day.
The Rangers are the lone team to beat Senators goalie Andrew “Hamburglar” Hammond in regulation, driving him from the net in a 5-1 win on March 26. But Hammond was banged up in that game and appears healthy now.
With the Rangers already clinching the best record in the league, they could end up resting some players tonight. They recalled Chris Summer and Ryan Bourque.
Meanwhile, in Calgary, the Flames face the defending champion Los Angeles Kings, who sit two points back of the Flames and three back of the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference race.
If the Flames win in regulation, they clinch a berth, as do the Jets, and the Kings and their “flip the switch” mentality will come up short. They’d be the first defending champion since the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes to fail to qualify the following year.
The Jets also can clinch on their own tonight if they win in Colorado.
But if the Kings win tonight and the Jets lose in regulation, they Kings are still alive and in good shape. The Jets would have 96 points, the Flames would have 95 or 96 and the Kings would have 95.
If the Kings beat the San Jose Sharks Saturday, they would have 97 points. The Flames and Jets are playing each other Saturday, with Winnipeg’s Dustin Byfuglien returning from his four-game suspension. The team that wins that game is in and the loser could be out. One caveat: If the Flames start Saturday with 96 points and lose to the Jets in overtime to get to 97 points, they hold the tiebreaker over the Kings. That sends the Kings home.
The Kings also could get in by picking up three points over their next two games, if the Jets or Flames lose both their final two games in regulation.
But the best way for the Kings to get in: Win tonight in regulation, hope the Jets lose tonight and hope that the Sharks forget that the Kings embarrassed them in the playoffs last season.
Buckle up.
[h=4]Western[/h][h=5]Central[/h]
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA | Diff | Home | Road | Last 10 | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x St. Louis | 80 | 49 | 24 | 7 | 105 | 40 | 242 | 198 | 44 | 25-12-2 | 24-12-5 | 4-4-2 | L-1 |
| x Nashville | 80 | 47 | 23 | 10 | 104 | 41 | 229 | 200 | 29 | 28-8-4 | 19-15-6 | 4-3-3 | L-4 |
| x Chicago | 80 | 48 | 26 | 6 | 102 | 39 | 226 | 184 | 42 | 24-12-5 | 24-14-1 | 5-5-0 | L-2 |
| x Minnesota | 80 | 45 | 27 | 8 | 98 | 41 | 225 | 195 | 30 | 22-13-6 | 23-14-2 | 6-3-1 | W-1 |
| Winnipeg | 80 | 42 | 26 | 12 | 96 | 35 | 225 | 208 | 17 | 22-13-5 | 20-13-7 | 7-3-0 | W-3 |
| Dallas | 81 | 40 | 31 | 10 | 90 | 36 | 257 | 259 | -2 | 16-16-8 | 24-15-2 | 7-3-0 | W-3 |
| Colorado | 80 | 37 | 31 | 12 | 86 | 28 | 215 | 225 | -10 | 21-15-3 | 16-16-9 | 4-5-1 | W-1 |
Central
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | ROW | GF | GA | Diff | Home | Road | Last 10 | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y Anaheim | 81 | 50 | 24 | 7 | 107 | 42 | 234 | 225 | 9 | 26-12-3 | 24-12-4 | 6-4-0 | L-2 |
| x Vancouver | 80 | 46 | 29 | 5 | 97 | 40 | 231 | 217 | 14 | 22-15-2 | 24-14-3 | 6-3-1 | W-1 |
| Calgary | 80 | 44 | 29 | 7 | 95 | 40 | 237 | 210 | 27 | 22-13-5 | 22-16-2 | 6-2-2 | W-2 |
| Los Angeles | 80 | 39 | 26 | 15 | 93 | 37 | 215 | 201 | 14 | 24-9-7 | 15-17-8 | 5-4-1 | L-2 |
| San Jose | 80 | 39 | 32 | 9 | 87 | 35 | 224 | 227 | -3 | 19-17-5 | 20-15-4 | 5-4-1 | L-2 |
| Edmonton | 80 | 24 | 43 | 13 | 61 | 19 | 192 | 274 | -82 | 15-22-3 | 9-21-10 | 5-4-1 | W-1 |
| Arizona | 80 | 24 | 48 | 8 | 56 | 19 | 169 | 265 | -96 | 11-24-5 | 13-24-3 | 3-7-0 | L-1 |
Pacific
