NHL.com provides a daily portrait of the Stanley Cup playoff race for the 2022-23 season. There are nine days left in the regular season, and the various races in the four sections are very close. The first three teams in each section will take part in the spring tournament, as will the holders of the two fourth ace places in each of the associations.
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So take the time to consult the classification as well as being aware of all the elements that could have an impact on the race for the playoffs.
Clashes to watch
Today there are three games on the schedule and they all have a direct impact on the playoff race.
The Lightning want to continue to gain momentum for the playoffs
The Tampa Bay Lightning will look for a fourth straight win when they visit the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET; TNT), in a duel between two Stanley Cup contenders .
Jon Cooper’s troop will be given a real test and they want to continue to build momentum for the spring tournament. The Lightning’s winning streak comes after a four-game losing streak, so it’s safe to say Tampa Bay is coming back to life at an opportune time this season. The Lightning secured their playoff berth with a 5-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday and are guaranteed to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round for the second straight year.
“We’re starting to find our team identity and we’ve played some really good teams,” Cooper said Saturday. The score is not representative of the team we have just faced. We compete against teams that will be playoffs. We’ve had Boston (2-1 loss on March 25) and Carolina (4-0 victory on March 28), and today it was the Islanders. We didn’t win all of our games, but we competed in all of them. »
The Lightning (45-26-6) have not played since winning Saturday and begin a three-game stint on opposing rinks. Tampa Bay, which plays the Islanders on Thursday, is six points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and second in the Atlantic Division.
The Guardian Andrei Vasilevskiy has allowed just one goal on 99 shots he has faced in the last three games. He is 34-20-4 with a 2.57 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and four shutouts in 58 games this season. He should face Igor Shesterkin at the Rangers on Wednesday.
The Rangers rebounded from a short two-game losing streak (0-1-1) by outscoring the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Sunday. Like the Lightning, they’re playing their first game in two days, as the Blues await them in St. Louis on Thursday.
New York (45-21-11) crossed the 100-point plateau with its victory against Washington and can still hope to grab second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers are five points behind the New Jersey Devils, but they have one more game to play. New York is eight points behind the Carolina Hurricanes and the top tier.
“It’s awesome,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said of hitting the 100-point plateau. “It means you had a good season, but it won’t mean anything in two weeks. You start over and you try to win. We’ve had two good seasons in a row and we want to keep improving. »
Also in action today…
Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, ESPN+, SN NOW) | FULL OVERVIEW
The Jets (43-31-3) are two points ahead of the Flames (36-27-15) for second-fourth place in the Western Conference. Winnipeg has one more game to play (5-4) and holds the tiebreaker advantage in regulation time wins (33-29).
Oilers d’Edmonton vs Ducks d’Anaheim (22 h HE; TVAS, SNW, SN 360, TNT)
The Oilers can come within a point of the Vegas Golden Knights and the top of the Pacific Division and Western Conference.
If the playoffs started today
Here’s a look at first-round matchups should the playoffs begin before Wednesday’s fixtures.
Eastern Association
(1A) Bruins de Boston vs (QA2) Islanders de New York
(1M) Carolina Hurricanes vs (QA1) Florida Panthers
(2A) Maple Leafs de Toronto vs (3A) Lightning de Tampa Bay
(2M) Devils du New Jersey vs (3M) Rangers de New York
Western Association
(1P) Golden Knights de Vegas vs (QA2) Jets de Winnipeg
(1C) Colorado Avalanche vs. (QA1) Seattle Kraken
(2C) Stars de Dallas vs (3C) Wild du Minnesota
(2P) Oilers d’Edmonton vs (3P) Kings de Los Angeles
About last night
There were 11 games scheduled for Tuesday. Check out our April 4 matches roundup to know the different implications in connection with the series.
