With the NHL heading into its final week of the regular season, a number of teams have already locked up first-round playoff berths. The East, Central, and West Divisions each have three teams that have clinched.
The North has just one team – Toronto – that has locked up a playoff berth. Which teams will get the final 2021 NHL playoff spots?
Predators In; Stars Out
Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Florida are in. Lagging 15 points behind the third-place Panthers is Nashville. The Predators have four games remaining – two against last-place Columbus and two against the Hurricanes.
Nashville owns a 6-1 record against the Blue Jackets and is 0-6 against Carolina. The Preds do get the Hurricanes at home and they are the final two games of the season. If Carolina has the top seed wrapped up, they might not be as motivated.
Even if Dallas, which trails Nashville by four points, matches Nashville over their final five games; the Stars still won’t make up the difference. The team that represented the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup last year will be at home early this year.
The Coyote Blues?
Arizona has just three games left and trails fourth-place St. Louis by five points in the West Division. The Coyotes picked the wrong time for a slump. They have won just three of their last ten games.
The Blues, on the other hand, are 6-3-1 in their last ten and, at 24-19-7, have six games left. One of those is against Anaheim, the worst team in the division. There is also a game at Los Angeles, which is sixth in the division. The remaining four games are against Vegas and Minnesota.
Still, with Arizona playing so poorly, even four games against two of the worst teams in the division (Anaheim and San Jose) won’t be enough to overtake St. Louis.
Oh Canada
Only Toronto and Edmonton have clinched a playoff spot in the all-Canadian North Division. The Maple Leafs are eight points ahead of second-place Edmonton. Winnipeg is third and Montreal fourth.
There is a significant drop-off from fourth- to fifth-place. Montreal (23-18-9) has 57 points where Calgary (22-25-3) has 47.
Winnipeg and Montreal have five games remaining. The Flames actually have a very favorable schedule with four of the six games they have left against last-place Vancouver. Even so, Calgary would have to win all six games and hope for help.
Too little, too late. The Oilers, Jets, and Canadiens will join Toronto in this year’s postseason.
