NHL Eastern Conference playoff race heating up for stretch drive
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With Canada capturing the 4 Nations Face-Off championship with a thrilling 3-2 overtime win over the United States Thursday night in Boston, it’s now back to regular season business in the NHL.
The Eastern Conference playoff race is shaping up to be a tight one, with just six points separating the Detroit Red Wings (61 points), the second wild-card spot holder, from the ninth-place Philadelphia Flyers, who have 55 points.
There are two Canadian teams in the wild-card race in the Ottawa Senators, who hold the first wild card spot with 62 points, and the Montreal Canadiens who are seventh with 55 points.
The Senators had four players participate in the 4 Nations, including captain Brady Tkachuk and defenceman Jake Sanderson for the Americans, goaltender Linus Ullmark for Sweden and defenceman Nikolas Matinpalo for Finland.
Tkachuk was a critical piece for the Americans, scoring three times, including the opening goal in the championship game against Canada. Sanderson, who was an injury replacement for Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes, played 19:44 minutes on Thursday and also scored a goal.
Ullmark played just 41:38 minutes in the tournament, coming on as a replacement for Filip Gustavsson against Finland as Sweden lost 4-3 in overtime.
The 31-year-old is in his first season with Ottawa since coming over via trade from Boston and it has been a frustrating year for him. He recently returned after a back injury cost him more than a month and missed four games in October with a muscle strain.
“Absolutely brutal, sucks,” said Ullmark on Wednesday of his injuries this season. “It’s not something you want to do in the first year or second year or whatever year. It happens.”
The Senators have not made the playoffs since the 2016-17 season but FanDuel has them at -330 to make the postseason.
In Montreal, the Canadiens have struggled since mid-January and went into the 4 Nations break on a sour note with three straight losses. Their odds of making the playoffs have dropped as FanDuel has the Canadiens with the second-longest odds in the Eastern Conference at +1700. Only the Buffalo Sabres have worse odds at +4000.
Canadiens look to start fast
As the Canadiens have ramped up the intensity since returning to the ice on Wednesday, defenceman Arber Xhekaj says they have to be ready right at puck drop on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators and not in the middle of the game.
“We’ve got to be sharp; every guy has got to be on,” said Xhekaj. “I mean, it’s a five-man unit out there, so if one guy is kind of losing their guy or off track, it kind of screws up the whole thing, so we’ve got to be mentally sharp and ready.”
The team had three players at the 4 Nations with goaltender Samuel Montembeault acting as the third goaltender for Canada while forwards Patrik Laine and Joel Armia suited up for Finland.
Rookie defenceman Lane Hutson, who leads all first-year players in scoring this season with 41, is ready to return for the stretch drive.
“I kept thinking about coming back, I felt like the break was too long honestly,” said Hutson on Thursday.
Bruins face time without McAvoy
One team that will have to do without one of their best players for the foreseeable future as the playoff race heats up is the Boston Bruins, who will be missing defenceman Charlie McAvoy.
McAvoy suffered an injury during the 4 Nations while playing for the United States and was hospitalized earlier this week after undergoing "an irrigation and debridement procedure" stemming from an infection in his right shoulder.
He was released from the hospital on Thursday and was in the American locker room reading out the starting lineup against Canada but remains out indefinitely.
The 27-year-old logged 19:45 of ice time in the United States’ opening win over Finland and 19:27 of ice time in their preliminary round win over Canada.
With the Bruins this season, McAvoy has seven goals and 23 points in 50 games this season while averaging 23:40 minutes of ice time.
The Bruins are one point back of the Red Wings for the final wild-card spot and are +240 at FanDuel to make the postseason.