Canadiens, Canucks in middle of fight for final wild-card spots
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After a packed weekend of action around the National Hockey League, the wild-card picture is as tight as ever.
In the Eastern Conference, the Ottawa Senators have ripped off six wins in a row and have a firm hold on the first wild-card spot with a five-point lead over the New York Rangers, who sit in the final spot with 72 points.
Since arriving from the Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline, centre Dylan Cozens has two goals and two assists in five games. In goal, Linus Ullmark is 6-1-0 in his past seven starts and is coming off a 21-save performance on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Senators captain Brady Tkachuk has been a man on a mission since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off as he is in the midst of a nine-game point streak with seven goals and three assists.
Only one point behind the Rangers is the Montreal Canadiens. While they had a tough 5-4 overtime loss in Seattle on Wednesday, they bounced back on Saturday, defeating the Florida Panthers with a 3-1 victory on home ice in their return from a four-game road trip.
“From start to finish, I think it was one of the best games we’ve played since I’ve been here,” said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis after the game. “The fans spoiled us in the third period, and we wanted to give them our all. It was a nice experience for everyone in the building tonight. I really enjoyed the third period, the way we carried ourselves and all the atmosphere.
“Now it’s about trying to go out and deserve more moments like that.”
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings have pulled even at 70 points each after Columbus had a tough outing this week with three straight losses. Detroit meanwhile is 3-7-0 in their past 10 games but remain in the picture after defeating the Buffalo Sabres and Vegas Golden Knights this past week.
One team that is pushing their way back into the conversation is the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have won four straight games, including a massive 7-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Out west, the Minnesota Wild own the first wild-card spot with 79 points as the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche have separated themselves as the Central Division’s best.
The Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues both have 73 points, but the Canucks, with a game in hand, are currently in the second wild-card spot.
The Canucks have done enough to stay in the playoff picture despite some inconsistency. They edged the Calgary Flames in a shootout on Wednesday and beat the lowly Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday but they followed up those outings with a 3-1 loss to Utah on Sunday.
“Obviously, we could have separated ourselves today, and I think that was something that everyone knew how big that would be,” Canucks captain Quinn Hughes said after the loss. “But now we're just still in the same position we've been in, which is do or die pretty much every day. And it's exciting, so everyone should be up in here and excited.”
The Blues beat Minnesota and Anaheim last week and will face Vancouver on Thursday night.
The Flames and Utah are the other teams in the West with a realistic shot as they are tied at 71 points apiece and have a six-point lead over Anaheim.
Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf has placed himself firmly in the Calder Trophy race this season. The 23-year-old is 22-13-5 in 40 appearances this season with a .914 save percentage and 2.54 goals-against average.