NHL Playoff Picture 2016: Updated Standings and Bracket Outlook
The Washington Capitals are in the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.
With a snap of Alex Ovechkin's wrists, the Capitals earned a 2-1 victory in overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes, and those two points allowed Washington to become the first team to clinch a playoff spot.
Not that there was any doubt. The Capitals have earned 105 points so far and have been the best team in the league in the regular season by a wide margin.
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"The @washcaps are the 1st team to clinch a berth in the 2016 #StanleyCup Playoffs, their 8th appearance in 9 seasons pic.twitter.com/HTx658JSzx
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 16, 2016"
They will almost certainly finish with the best record in the league and earn the Presidents' Trophy. But as strong a team as the Capitals have, they have dominated in the regular season before. However, playoff success has eluded this team throughout its franchise history, and that doubt will always be there until the Capitals bring home the Stanley Cup.
There is less than four weeks to go in the regular season, and the NHL standings are not as wide open this year as they have been in previous seasons. While 15 playoff spots are up for grabs, it looks like two teams are fighting for one available spot in the Western Conference, while three teams are competing for two available spots in a somewhat tighter Eastern Conference.
The Los Angeles Kings (89 points) have had a bounce-back season in the Pacific Division, and they reside in first place over the hard-charging Anaheim Ducks (85 points) and San Jose Sharks (84 points). All three teams are solidly in the playoff structure with less than four weeks to go in the regular season, and none of them are under any threat to miss the postseason.
The Kings are coming off an impressive 5-2 road win at Dallas Tuesday night, and Stars head coach Lindy Ruff was impressed with the visitors' defensive ability.
"Once inside the zone, they're heavy," Ruff told Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. "We use the word 'heavy.' They're heavy on the puck. Their puck battles are as good as any team in the league. It's hard to generate any quality opportunities once you're in there because they're a good defending team."
The next-closest Pacific Division team is the Arizona Coyotes (67 points), and they are not in a position to catch San Jose.
Nor do they have a realistic chance of catching Minnesota or Colorado for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
It appears Nashville (83 points) and the survivor between Minnesota (75 points) and Colorado (74 points) will fill the wild-card spots in that conference.
The Wild dropped a 3-2 overtime decision at Ottawa Tuesday night when Mika Zibanejad scored the tying goal with eight seconds left and Erik Karlsson won it for Ottawa with a goal in overtime. Minnesota had controlled the game until the final seconds of regulation, but the Wild blew an important point.
The Central Division race is all about positioning. The Dallas Stars (91 points) and St. Louis Blues (91 points) are at the top, and the Stars are in first place because they have three more non-shootout wins than the Blues. The defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks are lurking with 88 points, but Chicago goes into its Wednesday night matchup with Philadelphia having won just four of its last 10 games.
The Capitals have dominated the Eastern Conference, and the New York Islanders (85 points) and New York Rangers (85 points) are holding down the second- and third-place spots, respectively, in the Metropolitan Division. However, the Pittsburgh Penguins (82 points) are fighting hard for a playoff spot and are not far behind.
The Penguins lost Evgeni Malkin to an upper-body injury over the weekend, and that's a brutal blow. However, the Pens picked up an important 2-1 win over the Islanders Tuesday night, and head coach Mike Sullivan has his team keeping their heads above water.
The Penguins are in the first wild-card spot, while the Detroit Red Wings (79 points) are holding on to the final playoff spot by one point over the much-improved Philadelphia Flyers. Philadelphia hung on for a 4-3 regulation victory over Detroit Tuesday night, and the Flyers will jump over the Red Wings in the standings with a win at Chicago Wednesday night.
(The Flyers will move into the final spot even if they secure one point, because they have played fewer games than the Red Wings.)
The Florida Panthers (87 points), Boston Bruins (86 points) and Tampa Bay Lightning (85 points) are engaged in a taut battle for the Atlantic Division title. The relentless Panthers moved into the top spot Tuesday night with a 4-1 victory at Montreal, while the Bruins and Lightning lost to the Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs, respectively.
It would not be a surprise to see those three teams continue to change positions throughout the conclusion of the regular season.
The Carolina Hurricanes (75 points), Ottawa Senators (74 points) and New Jersey Devils (73 points) would all appear to have a chance at making a run at the final playoff spot, but they would need collapses by at least two of the teams in front of them (Pittsburgh, Detroit and Philadelphia) to make a legitimate run at the postseason.
