NHL Death Watch: Avalanche eliminated from playoff chase; big night in Northeast
Since we're down to the final moments of postseason life for teams in contention, Puck Daddy solemnly begins a daily countdown to annihilation.
Fare thee well, Colorado Avalanche, eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday. May the dice roll in your favor in Las Vegas, and may the lottery balls bounce your way to bring Seth Jones to Denver …
Meanwhile in the East, there’s a trio of big games affecting the Northeast Division, including the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators in Beantown. From Causeway Crowd:
The Ottawa Senators sit at sixth place in the conference. After losing five games in a row, they quickly turned it around by winning two straight. They will have to keep that winning effort up as the season winds down to secure a spot in the playoffs.
This will be the fifth and final time that these two teams will play each other in the regular season. The Bruins have won the first four meetings and will look to sweep the season series on Monday night. Although the Bruins have won all four meetings, they have all been decided by one-goal. Both these teams play each other with great intensity and I would expect nothing less this time around from these two Northeast Division teams.
So say we all …
Coming up, the playoff pictures for the East and West, as we shift the focus to playoff seeding. The full NHL standings and schedules can be found on Y! Sports.
All playoff percentages are from Sports Club Stats; tragic numbers and other figures via the NHL. A team is eliminated from play-offs when their "Tragic Number" hits 0.
Team (Games Remaining) | Place/Pts/ROW | Tragic # | % Chance of Playoffs | % Chance of 7th | % Chance of 8th |
Ottawa Senators (7) | 6th/48/17 | - | 97.3 | 27 | 14 |
New York Islanders (6) | 7th/47/18 | - | 83.0 | 28 | 41 |
New York Rangers (7) | 8th/46/17 | - | 93.5 | 36 | 24 |
Winnipeg Jets (6) | 9th/44/20 | 10 | 32.0 | 3 | 14 |
Buffalo Sabres (5) | 10th/42/13 | 6 | 0.6 | 0 | 1 |
New Jersey Devils (7) | 11th/40/13 | 8 | 1.3 | 0 | 1 |
Philadelphia Flyers (7) | 12th/37/16 | 5 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
Tampa Bay Lightning (6) | 13th/37/16 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Carolina Hurricanes (7) | 14th/36/17 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
The Sabres’ win on Sunday saw them move ahead of the Devils into 10th, but their tragic number remains six.
Three key games on Monday night: The Canadiens host the Flyers, the Bruins host the Senators and the Leafs host the Devils. As done as the Devils look, they do still have two games left with the No. 8 seeded Rangers. But they might need to win out to make the cut.
Team (Games Remaining) | Place/Pts/ROW | Tragic # | % Chance of Playoffs | % Chance of 7th | % Chance of 8th |
St. Louis Blues (7) | 6th/48/20 | - | 95.0 | 14 | 7 |
Minnesota Wild (7) | 7th/47/18 | - | 85.7 | 23 | 17 |
Detroit Red Wings (6) | 8th/47/18 | - | 65.8 | 21 | 26 |
Dallas Stars (7) | 9th/45/19 | 12 | 37.2 | 11 | 18 |
Columbus Blue Jackets (7) | 10th/45/14 | 10 | 15.0 | 4 | 9 |
Phoenix Coyotes (7) | 11th/43/15 | 10 | 12.9 | 4 | 8 |
Edmonton Oilers (7) | 12th/39/14 | 6 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
Nashville Predators (5) | 13th/38/13 | 1 | 0.0 | - | 0 |
Calgary Flames (7) | 14th/36/16 | 3 | 0.0 | - | 0 |
Dallas hosts the Blackhawks in a critical game on Monday night, as the Stars get Chicago after a physical affair vs. St. Louis.
Speaking of the Blues: They’re officially in the Death Watch after that regulation loss to the Blackhawks. With seven games left and a 4-point cushion on the No. 9 seed, they should be OK. But Dallas does have a crack at them on Friday night, April 19.
The Predators will be officially eliminated with a loss to the Canucks on Monday.
Hey, cheer up Shea: The Flyers aren’t a playoff team either …
