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NHL Death Watch: Nashville eliminated; can Blue Jackets make cut?

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, Nashville Predators.

They were eliminated from playoff contention with their loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night, marking just the second time since 2004 that the Predators failed to make the postseason cut. They’ve advanced to the conference semifinals in each of the last two seasons.

The Minnesota Wild, meanwhile, jumped over the St. Louis Blues into sixth place, two points in back of the San Jose Sharks for the fifth seed.

Then there are the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sweet, lovable Lumbus. Sergei Bobrovsky was incredible in Monday night’s OT win over Colorado, keeping their playoff hopes alive.

From Shawn Mitchell:

If the Jackets are to make the playoffs, they likely can lose only once more in regulation. Games at Western Conference heavies Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose loom, as does a trip to playoff-chasing Dallas.

A regulation loss tonight would have been spleen-rattling body blow, one the spoiler Avs almost landed. But the Blue Jackets dodged, thanks to late-game goals by R.J. Umberger (clutch) and Nick Foligno (double clutch), and took two points with a 4-3 overtime win.

“There have been some big goals and big games that I’ve been involved in,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “But you’re always living in the moment. And for right now, in our moment, those were two big goals. Big, big goals.”

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

-

97.2

28

14

New York Islanders (6)

7th/47/18

-

82.7

28

41

New York Rangers (7)

8th/46/17

-

93.7

37

24

Winnipeg Jets (6)

9th/44/20

10

32.8

4

15

Buffalo Sabres (5)

10th/42/13

6

0.6

0

1

New Jersey Devils (6)

11th/40/13

6

0.4

0

0

Philadelphia Flyers (6)

12th/39/17

5

0.4

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 Toronto Maple Leafs solidified their hold on the No. 5 seed with a win over the Devils, creeping to within three points of the Boston Bruins and four points of the Montreal Canadiens, who lost to the Flyers. The Bruins’ postponed game against the Senators has yet to be rescheduled.

On Tuesday night, the Washington Capitals host the Leafs while the Jets take on the Lightning. The Islanders face the Florida Panthers while the New York Rangers visit the Flyers.

The Jets have a 14-percent chance of winning the Southeast to go along with their 15-percent chance of placing eighth.

The Hurricanes can be eliminated with a regulation loss to the Senators and a Rangers' win over the Flyers.

Team (Games Remaining)

Place/Pts/ROW

Tragic #

% Chance of Playoffs

% Chance of 7th

% Chance of 8th

Minnesota Wild (6)

6th/49/19

-

93.3

28

15

St. Louis Blues (7)

7th/48/20

-

95.1

18

9

Detroit Red Wings (6)

8th/47/18

-

67.5

20

34

Columbus Blue Jackets (5)

9th/47/15

10

21.5

5

14

Dallas Stars (6)

10th/45/19

10

23.5

6

15

Phoenix Coyotes (6)

11th/43/15

8

3.1

0

3

Edmonton Oilers (7)

12th/39/14

6

0.2

0

0

Calgary Flames (7)

13th/36/16

1

OUT

-

-

The Flames can be eliminated on Wednesday night if they fail to defeat the Detroit Red Wings in regulation.

The Kings and Sharks play a key game on Tuesday, with home ice in the first round in the balance. St. Louis also has a critical one against the Canucks, as the Blues play their game in-hand over the Detroit Red Wings.