The fate of playoff berths from the NHL Eastern Conference remains unclear

The matches of the next day of the NHL regular season did not really clarify the very interesting situation associated with the fight for two spots in the playoffs from the Eastern Conference, which still remain vacant a few days before its finish. Five teams are still vying for them, including the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins, for which the main Russian hockey stars of this century, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, play.

When talking about the matches played on Thursday as part of the NHL regular season, all North American media resources covering hockey naturally focused on the situation in the fight for tickets to the playoffs following the results of the championship that ends on April 18, that is, in less than a week. He really is still terribly interesting. True, everything interesting concerns one of the two conferences.

The NHL regulations stipulate that eight clubs from each qualify for the playoffs. The three best clubs in the division, of which there are two in the conference, are guaranteed cup slots, and to them are added the holders of the so-called wild cards, which, of course, have nothing in common with classic wild cards, tennis ones. In this case, these are simply two clubs with the best results among those that found themselves outside the top three in the division.

So, in the Western Conference the situation is now crystal clear. Even purely formally, on Thursday evening seven of the eight play-off participants were already known there (see table).

Well, in fact, the full composition of the eight was known. There are two teams left in the fight for the only available ticket: last year’s Stanley Cup winner Vegas Golden Knights, who dropped slightly in the spring, and the St. Louis Blues. But the prospects for St. Louis, frankly speaking, looked very bad. The gap to Vegas is three points. At the same time, he will have to play four matches against three for St. Louis, which, therefore, can break into the playoffs solely thanks to a fantastically successful combination of circumstances.

Things are completely different in the Eastern Conference. There are two vacant tickets in it, which are being hunted by as many as five clubs – a mix of the rarest in terms of toughness.

And here the word “formally” is irrelevant. These are five very real hunters.

On Thursday, as it happened, they all played matches that were important to untangling this tight knot. But the results turned out to be such that he did not become any less tight.

Let’s say that Philadelphia, which was slightly behind, managed to get the better of the mighty New York Rangers. But the Washington Capitals, with Alexander Ovechkin, managed to lose – 2:4 – to the Buffalo Sabers, who flew past the playoffs. The New York Islanders avoided such a painful misfire by defeating Montreal 3:2. And the central one of these matches, which pitted two clubs from the eastern “twist”, turned into a real thriller and brought points to both opponents: Evgeni Malkin’s Pittsburgh Penguins put the finishing touches on the Detroit Red Wings in overtime – 6:5, taking two points, but one still allowing the opponent to take it.

And the standings after these games simply caressed the gaze of someone who adores intrigue. In a separate classification of the five eastern contenders for the playoffs, the leader, the Islanders, is separated by four points from the outsiders, Philadelphia, Washington and Detroit, and three points from Pittsburgh.

The chances of the New York club getting a ticket thanks to this reserve are, naturally, a little higher than those of the others. The Philadelphians’ chances are a little lower, because they have only two matches in the regular season, not three. Moreover, the second is at home with Washington, which will previously have to meet with two giants – Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. It won’t be strange if it turns out to be decisive. Although there will be nothing strange if, nevertheless, Pittsburgh and the Islanders book their trips well in advance, before their face-to-face meeting on the final day of the championship. In the end, the “hot” Pittsburgh team, which has learned to claw out victories against all odds, has two home matches before it, albeit with powerful opponents – Boston and the Nashville Predators. Although, in general, Detroit has a simpler schedule than others: first – the Toronto Maple Leafs, and then two games in a row against the rather mediocre Montreal Canadiens. So here any option is logical.

Alexey Dospehov