5 NHL Teams That Can Play Spoiler in Last Week of Regular Season

We have entered the final week of the NHL regular season, and like always, there are several teams whose postseason future is unknown.

Some of those teams need just a win or two to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs, while others will need to win out in order to keep their slim hopes alive.

Every matchup counts in the final week, and no opponent can be overlooked, especially those teams who are looking to play spoiler.

Teams who have been eliminated already or are close to it know how close the race is for other teams and would love nothing better than to cancel their celebration party.

As much as teams want to get into the playoffs, those already eliminated still want to end the season on a high note and take some momentum into the offseason.

If hopeful playoff teams overlook these five spoiler teams, they could very well get an early start to their golf game.

Toronto Maple Leafs

After an impressive start to the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs struggled in February and March and will miss the playoffs for the seventh straight time.

The Leafs' struggles this season led to the firing of head coach Ron Wilson at the beginning of March, and he would quickly be replaced by former Anaheim Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle.

Coming into this weekend, the Leafs had a home-and-home series scheduled with their division foe, the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres currently sit ninth in the Eastern Conference with 86 points, just two points behind the eighth-place Washington Capitals.

Washington and Buffalo will battle it out until the very end for the final spot, as the Ottawa Senators have all but clinched the seventh spot, meaning only one spot remains undecided in the East.

Although the Leafs will not be in the playoffs, there is no doubt they will be motivated to deliver the same fate to a divisional opponent.

The Leafs took the first game from the Sabres with a 4-3 victory on Saturday and will look to deliver yet another blow on Tuesday in Buffalo.

A home-and-home sweep early on in the week could extinguish all hope in Buffalo.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Not a lot has gone right for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season.

After trading for Jeff Carter and signing James Wisniewski, the Jackets got off to a horrid 2-9-1 start and found themselves at the bottom of the NHL standings.

However, with a week left in the season, Columbus is starting to build a little momentum going into the offseason.

The Jackets have won their last three games behind the solid play of R.J. Umberger, Nikita Nikitin and rookie goaltender Allen York.

Columbus finishes the season with games against the Phoenix Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche, as well as the New York Islanders.

The Yotes currently sit in seventh place in the Western Conference with 91 points, while the Avalanche are just two points back from the eighth and final playoff spot.

It will be a tight race to the end for the final spots in the conference, and Columbus has a chance to keep Colorado out of the postseason for a second straight year and possibly ruin the Coyotes' last chance at the Cup before being relocated if they cannot figure out their financial issues.

Edmonton Oilers

The Los Angeles Kings currently sit in third place in the Western Conference as the divisional leader of the Pacific division.

However, unless they can string some wins together in the final week, L.A. could slip to as low as seventh or even out of the top eight in just one night.

The San Jose Sharks currently sit in eighth place and finish the season with a home-and-home series with L.A., while the Dallas Stars trail the Kings by just two points in ninth place.

The Kings' first game of the final week will come against the Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers got off to a hot start to begin the season, but after only seven combined wins in December and January, they slipped to the bottom of the West and have been unable to dig themselves out.

This will be the sixth straight year the Oilers have missed the playoffs, but they have an opportunity to put an end to the Kings' playoff hopes.

Los Angeles has struggled to score this season, ranking almost dead last in goals per game, but has remained in the hunt with the stellar play of goaltender Jonathan Quick.

After dealing away a first-round pick and talented defenseman Jack Johnson for goal-scorer Jeff Carter, the Kings showed that they will do whatever it takes to make the playoffs this year.

The Oilers have a chance to end any hope of making that dream a reality.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning came very close to returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2004.

After falling to the eventual Cup champion Boston Bruins, the expectations for the 2011-2012 Lightning team were high.

However, even a career year from Steven Stamkos was not enough to give Tampa back-to-back playoff berths.

The Lightning have struggled with goaltending with Dwayne Roloson and Mathieu Garon, as the team sits dead last in goals against.

The final week of the season sees Tampa going up against two playoff hopefuls who just happen to be divisional foes.

On Saturday, the Lightning defeated the Winnipeg Jets in overtime.

The Jets remain hopeful for a playoff berth but need as many points as they can get, as they currently sit seven points out of eighth place.

Tampa will meet the Jets again in the final game of the season, which could have huge playoff implications for Winnipeg.

Before the Lightning and Jets finish the season, Tampa will also take on Washington, which is barely holding on to the eighth playoff spot with Buffalo hot on its tale.

The opportunity to continue Alex Ovechkin's Stanley Cup drought is motivation for any team.

San Jose Sharks

As I mentioned earlier, the Los Angeles Kings currently sit in third place in the Western Conference.

However, both San Jose and Dallas are trailing close behind and could easily leapfrog the Kings for the No. 3 spot.

As of right now, the Sharks are barely holding onto the eighth spot with a one-point lead over the Stars and could easily be on the outside looking in with a loss.

The Sharks have a huge opportunity in front of them, as they end the season with home-and-home series against the two teams they are battling for playoff spots in the Stars and Kings.

On Saturday, the Sharks shut out the Stars 3-0 and will take some much-needed momentum into Dallas on Tuesday.

San Jose is the only team on this list that has the opportunity to not only ruin others' playoff hopes, but also achieve its own with a playoff berth in the process.

The Sharks have been a dangerous team this year but have been inconsistent when it comes to scoring.

At times they have been able to put up five-plus goals in a game but follow up by getting shut out the next night.

In order to clinch their eighth straight playoff berth, the Sharks will have to turn it on as they will make their own destiny.

A couple wins could put the Sharks as one of the top seeds in the West, while one loss could result in San Jose's first missed postseason since 2003.