2015 NHL Playoff Picture: Takeaways from Tuesday Night's Action

With a little less than a month remaining before the end of the NHL's regular season, it is crunch time for the teams battling it out to earn a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Tuesday night was no different, with a number of teams just on the edge of the postseason in action, including a slate of games in the incredibly tight Western Conference.

Here are some takeaways from Tuesday’s games in terms of the playoff races.

The Sabres actually had an impact on the playoff race

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Leave it to the Buffalo Sabres to be the worst team in the NHL (20-43-7)—and well entrenched in the race for either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, the top prospects in the upcoming 2015 NHL draft—and yet still play a serious role in the race for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Taking on the Bruins in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day, the Sabres weren’t in a festive mood, as they took down the home team 2-1 in a shootout. With a third-period power-play goal from Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen forcing the extra period, both teams' goalies held strong for most of the shootout, with only Tyler Ennis getting past Niklas Svedberg to give the Sabres the win.

With the Bruins holding onto the final playoff spot in the East, the shocking upset by the Sabres had to put a smile on the faces of players and coaches on a number of teams that have been struggling to keep up with Boston’s recent run of solid form.

Before suffering back-to-back defeats, against the Sabres and two days prior against the Washington Capitals, the Bruins had won five in a row and seven of eight to build a slight lead on the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers for the second wild-card spot.

If this return to earth is a sign of things to come for Boston, then the final weeks of the season might have an added bit of intrigue that had nearly slipped away in the past month.

Senators gain some ground

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The biggest threat to Boston’s playoff spot had a rather successful Tuesday, with the division rival Ottawa Senators claiming an away overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Only a first-period goal kept Ottawa from producing a shutout, with goaltender Andrew Hammond recording 35 saves in the 2-1 victory against Carolina.

Although a win over the Hurricanes is nothing to write home about, it helped the Senators close the gap to four points on Boston, who was threatening to pull away from the pack at the beginning of March.

While the Bruins have been impressive for the last two weeks, the Senators have been hot as well, winning four in a row and seven of eight. Victories over the New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets proved what the Senators are capable of, but a loss to Boston might mean just as much because of the implications in the standings.

Now that the Bruins are nearly within striking distance, Ottawa is likely to smell blood in the water. Furthermore, with a game against Boston scheduled for this Thursday, it could prove to be a vital matchup for both teams and have major playoff implications.

Winnipeg jumps Calgary in the standings

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With the juggernaut that the Central Division has become this season, it seems like the Jets can kiss any shot of claiming one of the top three spots in the division goodbye. Now that the St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks have all eclipsed 90 points, it looks like the only hope for the Jets is the wild card.

With a well timed 5-2 win against the San Jose Sharks, who are also in the chase for the second wild-card spot, the Jets moved into a playoff position, one they will have to fight to hold onto for the remainder of the regular season.

The other aspect that helped Winnipeg, which currently has 82 points on the season, jump back into a playoff spot was the Blues dismantling the Calgary Flames by a score of 4-0.

The Flames are still very much in the running for a top-three finish in the Pacific—they are tied with the Los Angeles Kings with 81 points—but without captain Mark Giordano for the stretch run due to a torn biceps tendon, every loss is huge and could be detrimental to Calgary's playoff hopes.

Once the postseason comes around, anything can happen, and with a number of teams battling it out for a limited number of spots, the Western Conference could see another team, a la the 2011-12 L.A. Kings, that just squeaks in make a run to the Stanley Cup.