As April began, the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers were on track to make the playoffs, and the Colorado Avalanche had a good chance of winning the Central Division.
Not so much anymore, the losses are cascading down like a spring shower.
The Capitals have lost their last six games, the Flyers have lost their past seven and the Avalanche have lost three of their past four. Since then, the playoff battles around the NHL have been reversed, with Pittsburgh, Detroit and New York Islanders picking up pieces in the Eastern Conference, and Dallas extending its lead over the Central with home-ice advantage, at least until the Stanley Cup Final. I lined up in a position where I could get it.
“When you're on a winning streak, you feel like you can't do anything wrong and you can't miss anything,” Capitals leading scorer Dylan Strome said Monday. “And when you're on a losing streak, you feel like bounces aren't going your way, offside possibilities aren't going your way, penalty calls aren't going your way. That's what it feels like when you're on a little losing streak.”
With just over a week left in the regular season, time is running out for all three teams to turn things around.
eastern conference
There are only two playoff spots left in the East before Sunday's game (the New York Rangers, Carolina, Boston, Tampa Bay, Florida and Toronto have all claimed it). The Flyers and Capitals look more ready to play golf than play hockey in late April. Philadelphia lost 33-15 during the downturn, with four of those losses coming against non-playoff opponents.
“We can't get discouraged,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “No one is going to help us out of this situation and being discouraged is not the answer. We have to stay positive.”
Washington has blown late leads in its past two losses, with 1:51 left in Friday's game against Carolina and 7:17 left in Sunday's game against lowly Ottawa. Out of 12 points, the Caps earned two points, dropping them to 10th place in the conference behind the Islanders, Red Wings and Penguins.
“What's frustrating is when we're winning the game with five or six minutes left, we can't get it done,” All-Star winger Tom Wilson said. “That's the frustrating part right now, but I think the care is there and the level of fight is there. We're going to do everything we can to get this over the line and into the playoffs.”
The Islanders have won four straight games and six of eight games, moving them into third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins are back in the race after trading winger Jake Guentzel to the Hurricanes and are one point behind Detroit for the second wild-card spot.
“We have faith and confidence in each other, so we just have to take it game by game and keep trying to survive,” center Lars Eller said. “There's no giving up on this group. Sometimes we have bad games, but we can't give up.”
western conference
Dallas, Colorado, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Edmonton have already clinched championships, while Los Angeles, Nashville and defending champion Las Vegas appear poised to complete the West Division slot. Of course, the standings could change significantly by the time the first round begins on April 20th.
The Stars have won nine of their last 10 games, trailing the Avalanche by nine points and right behind the New York Rangers in the President's Trophy race. Colorado coach Jared Bednar called Dallas a “different animal” than his team has faced in the past.
The Avalanche have struggled defensively, allowing 37, 47 and 46 shots over the past three games, putting too much pressure on goaltenders Alexander Georgiev and Justus Annunen. The depth that helped them win the Cup in 2022 is waning, and while coach Nathan MacKinnon intends to win most games as part of an MVP-caliber season, they don't look like favorites at this point.
“I think it happens all the time throughout the season, so we don't have to worry too much about it,” Bednar said. “We're fighting to get home ice here right now. We've got some big games coming up. So we definitely want to fix that and the most The important thing is that it gets fixed so we can play more consistently the way we want to play heading into the playoffs.”
In the Pacific Division, Connor McDavid's Oilers are ceding first place to Vancouver, but they have won an unlikely 44 of 63 games since replacing Jay Woodcroft as coach. There is. The Canucks haven't beaten a fellow playoff team in nearly a month since losing 5-0 to Winnipeg on March 9, so nothing is going in their favor.
DuPont Receives Special Status
The Canadian Hockey League has granted 14-year-old Landon Dupont special player status, making him eligible to play in the Western Hockey League for the 2024-25 season.
Dupont is the first defenseman in WHL history and the second player, following Connor Bedard (2020, Regina), to be cleared by Hockey Canada to play in the CHL one year prior to his draft year.
Red Wings forward Joe Veleno (2015, St. John Sea Dogs) is one of nine players granted exceptional player status. The remaining six players are as follows.
▶ John Tavares (2005, Oshawa)
▶ Aaron Ekblad (2011, Barry)
▶ Connor McDavid (2012, Erie)
▶ Sean Day (2013, Mississauga)
▶ Shane Wright (2019, Kingston)
▶ Michael Misa (2022, Saginaw)
playoff tracker
atlantic ocean
▶ Bruins (107)
▶ Panthers (102)
▶ Maple leaves (97)
metropolitan
▶ Rangers (110)
▶ Hurricane (105)
▶ Islanders (85)
Wildcard
▶ Lightning (93)
▶ Red Wings (84)
(Top 2 wild card teams advance to playoffs)
(Does not include Monday's game)
▶ Flyers (83)
▶ Capital (83)
▶ Penguin (83)
▶ Sabers (79)
▶ Devils (79)
If the playoffs start on Monday
Eastern Conference Playoffs bracket
▶ (1M) Rangers vs. Red Wings (WC2)
▶ (A2) Panthers vs. Maple Leafs (A3)
▶ (1A) Bruins vs. Lightning (WC1)
▶ (2M) Hurricanes vs. (3M) Islanders
Remaining games of wild card race
Flyer (83 points)
▶ Home (2): devils, capitals
▶ Away (2): canadiens, rangers
Penguin (83)
▶ Home (3): wings, bruins, predators
▶ Away (2): maple leaf, islanders
Islanders (83)
▶ Home (3): rangers, canadiens, penguins
▶ away (2): Rangers, Devils
Capital (82 points)
▶ Home (3): Senators, Lightning, Bruins
▶ Away (3): wing, saber, flyer
red wing (82)
▶ Home (3): Sabers, Capitals, Canadiens
▶ Away (3): penguin, leaves, canadian
Michigan area hockey this week
Tuesday
▶ Washington at Red Wings, 7 (ESPN/97.1)
Thursday
▶ Red Wings, Pittsburgh, 7 (BSD/950)
▶ Michigan vs. Boston College at Minnesota, 8:30 (ESPNU)
Friday
▶ Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7 (AHL/96.1)
▶ Seven NTDP U17 players from Youngstown
Saturday
▶ Red Wings at Toronto, 7 (BSD/CBC/97.1)
▶ Grand Rapids at Chicago, 8 (AHL/106.9/1300)
▶ NTDP U17 Youngstown, 7
Sunday
▶ Grand Rapids at Chicago, 4 (AHL/96.1)
