NHL races are tight with one month to go in regular season. Here's what's at stake.
The NHL season ends in a month, and there's plenty of intrigue this time.
Last season, the record-setting Boston Bruins had clinched a playoff spot one month out, there was only one change in division leaders and only one team outside the playoff picture squeezed in. Plus, Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid was running away with the scoring title.
Two seasons ago, there was a big gap between haves and have-nots in the Eastern Conference.
But this season, the races are tight, with eight teams having between 90 and 95 points in the battle for the Presidents' Trophy as top regular-season team. Also, the scoring race is highly competitive between the Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon and Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov.
Here's a look at where things stand with one month to go:
Where do the NHL playoff races stand?
Central Division
The Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are tied with 91 points. The Jets have played the fewest games and hold the top tie-breaker. But the Avalanche have won six in a row and have the most home games remaining. The Stars play the Jets and Avalanche in April.
Atlantic Division
The Bruins moved a point ahead of Florida during the weekend, but the Panthers have a game in hand and hold the tiebreaker. The teams meet on March 26 and April 6. The Panthers will be without defenseman Dmitry Kulikov for the next two games because of a suspension for an illegal hit to the head.
Metropolitan Division
The New York Rangers lead the Carolina Hurricanes by four points and hold the tiebreaker. But the Rangers have lost defenseman Ryan Lindgren to an injury. He's expected to miss a couple weeks, reports say.
The third-place Philadelphia Flyers have been falling recently but have coach John Tortorella back from a two-game suspension. They have to keep an eye on the Washington Capitals (one point back) and New York Islanders (three back). The Flyers play those teams once each down the stretch.
Pacific Division
The Vancouver Canucks are in good position to win the division because they hold an eight-point lead on the Edmonton Oilers. The third-place Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights are tied with 79 points. The Golden Knights beefed up at the trade deadline, but have several big injuries.
Eastern Conference wild card
The Lightning hold the top spot with 78 points. The Capitals moved into the second spot when Monday's victory gave them 75 points. They passed the Detroit Red Wings (74), who have lost eight of their lost nine games but could get injured captain Dylan Larkin back soon. The Islanders (73) had a recent surge under new coach Patrick Roy but are on a 0-3-1 slide. The Buffalo Sabres (71) are trying to end the NHL's longest playoff drought. The Pittsburgh Penguins (69) picked up a crucial win against the Red Wings on Sunday, and the New Jersey Devils (68) are heading in the wrong direction.
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Western Conference wild card
The Nashville Predators (82 points) have surged into the top wild-card spot with a 12-0-2 run. The defending champion Golden Knights have the second spot with 79 points. They have just five wins in their last 15 games, though three of those came in the last four games. Trailing them are the St. Louis Blues (75), Minnesota Wild (74) and Calgary Flames (71). The Blues are playing the best among those three teams.
Presidents' Trophy
The Bruins (95), Rangers (94), Panthers (94), Canucks (92), Jets (91), Avalanche (91), Stars (91) and Hurricanes (90) have a chance for the best regular-season record and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. The Jets have played the fewest games among that group, and the Avalanche are the hottest team, though all eight are playing well.
Who is leading the scoring race?
MacKinnon leads Kucherov 116 to 114. Kucherov has a game in hand and is on a 10-point streak. MacKinnon has a 15-game point streak and has least a point in all 32 home games. He can break Gretzky's record of a 40-game point streak from the start of the season if he gets a point in each of his last home games.
Who are the favorites for NHL awards?
Here are the potential three finalists if the season ended Monday:
Hart (MVP to his team): MacKinnon, Avalanche; Kucherov, Lightning; Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs (he could win if he gets 70 goals, though that seems less likely now). MacKinnon has never won the Hart.
Vezina Trophy (goalie): Connor Hellebuyck, Jets; Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers; Thatcher Demko, Canucks.
Norris Trophy (defenseman): Quinn Hughes, Canucks; Cale Makar, Avalanche; Noah Dobson, Islanders.
Calder Trophy (rookie): Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks; Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild; Marco Rossi, Wild.
Jack Adams Award (coach): Rick Tocchet, Canucks; Tortorella, Flyers; Peter Laviolette, Rangers
Who has the best draft lottery odds?
The bottom four teams are the same as last year, though in a different order. The San Jose Sharks' loss to Chicago on Sunday has them four points behind the 31st-place Blackhawks. The Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets also are in the bottom four. The bottom 11 teams have a chance to win the lottery. The Sharks, who have never won, would have 25.5% odds of landing the top pick in the draft if they finish last overall. Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini is the top-ranked prospect.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL season has one month left: Sizing up playoff and scoring races
