NHL Playoff Standings 2015: Current Bracket Matchups and Postseason Picture

With just two days remaining in the NHL's regular season, there's only two playoff spots still up for grabs. The Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins are separated by just two points in the Eastern Conference standings. Clearly, one of the three will be left out of the playoffs.

Here's a look at the current standings in both conferences.

Place	Team	Division	Points
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Place	Team	Division	Points
Atlantic Division
1	Montreal Canadiens	A	108
2	Tampa Bay Lightning	A	106
3	Detroit Red Wings	A	98
Metropolitan Division
1	New York Rangers	M	111
2	Washington Capitals	M	101
3	New York Islanders	M	98
Wild Card
1	Ottawa Senators	A	97
2	Pittsburgh Penguins	M	96
In the Hunt
3	Boston Bruins	A	95
Pacific Division
1	Anaheim Ducks	P	107
2	Vancouver Canucks	P	99
3	Calgary Flames	P	97
Central Division
1	St. Louis Blues	C	107
2	Nashville Predators	C	104
3	Chicago Blackhawks	C	102
Wild Card
1	Minnesota Wild	C	100
2	Winnipeg Jets	C	97

If recent play is left to prove which team is most worthy, the Penguins are going to get the short end of the stick. The team has lost four games in a row, and thus it is in a must-win situation heading into its final two games of the season.

The Penguins are at home against the New York Islanders on Friday and on the road against the lowly Buffalo Sabres in the regular-season finale. As inappropriate as it might seem, Pittsburgh controls its own destiny.

If the Pens win out, they will take a playoff spot with 100 points. The highest Ottawa can get is 99, and the Bruins can reach no higher than 97. Injuries to Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have proved crippling for the Penguins, but it's time the team made a stance and showed enough pride to win two must-have games.

Current Playoff Matchups

If the season ended today, here are the matchups we'd see in both conferences:

Series	Away Team	Home Team
W1 vs. A1	Ottawa Senators	Montreal Canadiens
A3 vs. A2	Detroit Red Wings	Tampa Bay Lightning
W2 vs. M1	Pittsburgh Penguins	New York Rangers
M3 vs. M2	New York Islanders	Washington Capitals

Series	Away Team	Home Team
W1 vs. C1	Minnesota Wild	St. Louis Blues
C3 vs. C2	Chicago Blackhawks	Nashville Predators
W2 vs. P1	Winnipeg Jets	Anaheim Ducks
P3 vs. P2	Calgary Flames	Vancouver Canucks

Most Intriguing Potential First-Round Series

Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks

Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

These two teams split four regular-season meetings, and all but one of the contests was decided by a goal or less. The games figure to be close and physical, and the series also features a matchup between two of the game's best left wingers.

The Calgary Flames' Jiri Hudler has accounted for 73 points and tallied a sparking plus-14 rating this season. On the other side, the Vancouver Canucks' Daniel Sedin has put up 72 points this season. We'll likely get a competitive series and some potentially dazzling playmaking from Hudler and Sedin.

New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Islanders and Washington Capitals spilt their regular-season series as well. The home team won all four meetings, and all but one game was decided in overtime or a shootout.

It will be great to see the Caps' Alexander Ovechkin go head-to-head with John Tavares. Yahoo Sports shows how productive both stars have been in comparison with the game's other superstars:

Ovechkin leads the league in goals scored with 52, and Tavares is in a three-way tie for the overall points lead with 83. Two of the game's biggest stars will attempt to lead their very even teams to victory. It should make for a great series.