Playoff Picture: Maple Leafs on verge of securing Atlantic, Habs look to complete East field
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the verge of clinching the Atlantic Division after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Sunday evening.
Toronto's win has the team four points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning at the top of the division with two games remaining in the regular season. The Lightning also have two games remaining and a loss of any kind will eliminate them in the division race, while Toronto can clinch by picking up a single point in their remaining two games.
A division championship would be the franchise's first since they won the all-Canadian North Division during the 2021 56-game shortened season and their seventh division title all-time.
"I think it's a great thing because when we're at home, we have a good opportunity especially going into the later games of a round," defenceman Brandon Carlo said about clinching home-ice advantage after the team's 1-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. "Overall, you have to have the mindset that each game matters and it's not really about where it's played. We're just taking it one game at a time and focusing on the process."
"We want to be at home has much as we possibly can in the playoffs," said forward Mitch Marner. "It's always inspiring [to be at home] when the playoffs come around.
Should Toronto clinch the Atlantic Division, they will take on the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs, who have clinched the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The series would renew the "Battle of Ontario" rivalry, which hasn't been seen in the playoffs since the first round of the 2004 tournament.
Toronto and Tampa Bay both have two games remaining in the regular season with the Maple Leafs needing only a point to clinch the division.
They take on the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday before finishing off the regular season at home against the Detroit Red Wings.
Canadiens looking to clinch
The Canadiens are still looking to book their ticket in to the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.
Montreal has a three-point advantage over the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wild-card spot in the East and needs two points to seal the deal.
"It's a huge opportunity and I love that we can control our own path to the playoffs," captain Nick Suzuki said after the teams loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday. "We can go out on Monday in front of our fans and do what we want to do. That's what we want."
The Canadiens have not made the post-season since the 2021 campaign where they went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
They currently own the first tie-breaker with 29 regulation wins comparted to Columbus' 28. They also won the season series 2-1.
Both Montreal and Columbus has two games remaining on their schedule with Montreal hosting the Blackhawks on Monday and wrapping up the regular season against the Hurricanes on Wednesday.
Columbus is on the road on Tuesday to take on the Philadelphia Flyers and end their season at home against the New York Islanders.
"We wanted to finish it and clinch the spot," netminder Jakub Dobes said on Sunday. "Hopefully the hockey gods will be with us [on Monday]. I'm disappointed we didn't close it out but we are a good team. I think we'll finish it off."
Capitals await opponent, Hurricanes and Devils to clash
The Washington Capitals have clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the lower of the two wild-card seeds.
The winner of the Capitals' first-round series will face either the Hurricanes or the New Jersey Devils in the second round.
The matchup between the Hurricanes and Devils was locked in last week. The season series was split evenly between the two, with both going 2-2-0 over their four games.
In the Atlantic Division, the Florida Panthers and Lightning appear to be on a collision course for an in-state first-round battle. The Panthers own a 2-1 lead over the Lightning in their season series, with two teams set to meet for the final time on Tuesday.