The Stanley Cup Playoffs are less than two weeks away, and while the New Jersey Devils took a key step on Saturday, the St. Louis Blues took a tough loss.
No team has more than five regular-season games remaining in the NHL’s season, an the playoffs are starting to come into focus.
The best races are for the wild card spots, where chaos has reigning supreme.
In the East, the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils are beginning to pull away from the Florida Panthers, with the Devils holding a five-point edge over Florida while the Flyers sit six ahead. The Panthers do have a game-in-hand on both, although they have a daunting schedule that includes five games in seven nights, beginning on Monday.
New Jersey has been on fire recently, going 9-2-1 in its last 12 games. The Devils took another big step in making the playoffs for the first time since 2012 by beating the New York Islanders at the Prudential Center on Saturday night, 4-3, with the help of Taylor Hall’s two goals. For the season, Hall has 36 goals and 88 points.
Meanwhile, the St. Louis Blue blew a golden opportunity to make a move toward the postseason. St. Louis was in Arizona to take on the last-place Coyotes, but fell victim to the spoiler. The Blues lost 6-0 and have fallen out of a playoff spot at the moment. Despite being tied with the Colorado Avalanche at 92 points, the Avalanche hold the tiebreaker.
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In the Eastern Conference, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning have all clinched spots. Out in the West, the expansion Vegas Golden Knights are officially in, while the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets are joining them for some extra hockey.