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Carolina heads to United Center on Thursday night with the Metropolitan Division already locked up, but the work is not finished. The Hurricanes are 50-22-6, they still have a shot at the No. 1 seed in the East, and this four-game road trip is really about holding that edge all the way into the postseason. Chicago, at 28-36-14, is out of the race, though it has already shown it can be annoying in spoiler spots and did beat Carolina in a shootout back on January 22. The scheduling spot matters here. Carolina has won four of five and just came off a wild 6-5 overtime win against Boston that clinched the division, while Chicago has dropped six of seven and

This one looks like a playoff preview, and maybe it is. Minnesota comes into Dallas at 45-21-12 riding a four-game winning streak, while the Stars sit at 46-20-12 and are trying to hold off the Wild in the Central Division race. Puck drop is set for 9:00 p.m. ET at American Airlines Center on ESPN+, and with both teams already in the postseason mix, this game still matters for seeding, home ice, and a little bit of tone-setting before the bracket locks in. The Wild have looked sharper over the last week. They beat Seattle 5-2 on Tuesday, and before that they handled Ottawa, Vancouver, and Detroit during this run. Dallas is winning too, but it is doing it a

The Nashville Predators head to Salt Lake City on Thursday night for one of the more important games on the Western Conference board. Nashville is 37-32-10 and clinging to the second wild-card spot, while Utah sits at 41-30-6 and holds the first wild card with a little more breathing room. The setting is Delta Center, puck drop is 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+, and the standings pressure is obvious for both sides. Nashville closes a six-game road trip here, and it has mostly gone well. The Predators followed an opening loss at Tampa Bay with a 3-0-1 run in their next four games, then blanked Anaheim 5-0 on Tuesday. Utah has been even hotter offensively, winning four straight and scoring

Colorado comes home to Ball Arena on Thursday night with one more regular-season box left to check. The Avalanche have already locked up the Central Division and the No. 1 seed in the West at 51-16-10, but the President’s Trophy is still sitting there. Two more points clinch it. Calgary, meanwhile, is 32-37-9 and already out of the playoff picture, which makes this one feel a little uneven on paper but not automatically simple from a betting angle. There is still a little roster uncertainty here, and that matters. Nazem Kadri is expected to miss time after suffering a finger injury Tuesday against St. Louis, while Cale Makar remains out but is expected back before the regular season ends. Calgary