NHL Playoff Death Watch: Bruins, Senators showdown; Kings on bubble

Since we're down to the final moments of postseason life for teams in contention, Puck Daddy solemnly begins a daily countdown to annihilation.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Thursday night could be the Ottawa Senators’ season.

A regulation win at home against the Boston Bruins would jump the Senators’ percentage chance to make the playoffs from 37.7 percent to 50 percent. A regulation loss would drop them to 28.2 percent.

They’ve split the season series, 2-2, thus far.

But this is the first time the Bruins will face THE HAMBURGLAR!!!

(And just to ensure that Andrew Hammond’s sensational play will end in defeat tonight, the Sens are giving out Hamburglar masks. The Hockey Gods are not amused, sirs.)

Here are the current standings. The Death Watch tracks the final Wild Card spot and the teams that are chasing it. Their “tragic number” is the number of points gained by the final wild card team or lost by the team chasing it.

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.

Here’s the Eastern Conference picture:

Oh what a fun night in the East. On top of the B’s and Sens, we have:

Carolina at Montreal: The Canadiens attempt move back into sole possession of first in the conference. Which would mean either the Bruins or Sens in the first round. Carolina could be eliminated tonight.

Detroit at Florida: The Wings are trying to catch the Lightning for home ice. The Panthers know they can gain ground on either Boston or Ottawa with a win.

Pittsburgh at Dallas: The Penguins are two points up on the Capitals.

Washington at Minnesota: The Capitals are two points in back of the Penguins.

Meanwhile, in the West …

The Kings’ overtime loss to the Ducks last night means the Flames could hop over them back into third in the Pacific with a win over the Flyers. And if that happens, and depending what the Wild does against Washington and Winnipeg does against St. Louis, they could be outside the bubble at night’s end.

Because that’s how quickly this nutty thing can change.

The Blues are trying to extend their lead over the Predators in the “Who doesn’t want to play Chicago?” race. Vancouver hosts the Blue Jackets, looking to add two points in their game in-hand over the Kings.

The San Jose Sharks visit the Toronto Maple Leafs so they can compare the size of their tire fires.

Also, the Avalanche play the Coyotes, because someone has to.

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