All the Carolina Hurricanes needed to do to ensure themselves the Southeast Division title (And the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs) was beat the 11th place Florida Panthers. But after a 4-3 loss at home, and Philly blanking the Devils 3-0, they now sit on the outside looking in. They have now completed their entire schedule, leaving them in a very bad position in terms of improving their spot.
And if the Washington Capitals can get even a point against those same Panthers tomorrow night, Carolina will miss the playoffs for the second straight year. They haven’t played in the postseason since winning the Stanley Cup in 7 games against the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Oilers have already been mathematically eliminated for the second straight season. And the Flyers are now have 93 points, guaranteeing that the runner-up in the Southeast will not get in.
In fact, the Caps/Canes victor will get the only undetermined playoff spot left. All the other playoff-bound clubs, both Eastern and Western Conferences, have been determined. Only seeding is left now.
And deserving of mention is the fact that Philadelphia went from dead last in the NHL (A franchise-low 56 points) last season and have quickly turned it around to get in this year. An amazing accomplishment.
And now the playoffs seem more like they should be. Perennial contenders Colorado and Philly are both back after missing out last year.
Let’s see, the Islanders beat the Rangers 4-3 in a shootout in the second game of a home-and-home series.
The Ottawa Senators lost their first game following the loss of captain Daniel Alfredsson. Not that a loss is a surprise, even with ‘Alfie’…
It was a 2-1 loss to the Bruins. They are, however, still going to the playoffs as either the 7th or 8th seed. If they don’t figure out how to win consistently again though, it will be a much shorter venture into the postseason than last year.
In the West, the Stars lost to the Coyotes 4-2 and the Chicago Blackhawks used goals by Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to help knock off the Predators 3-1.
