NHL Playoff Picture 2018: Analyzing Postseason Races, Standings and Bracket

There are losses, and there are devastating losses.

The St. Louis Blues suffered the latter Wednesday night, when they let a 3-1 lead over the Chicago Blackhawks slip away and dropped a 4-3 game in regulation.

The Blues were on a power play in the second period, and beleaguered Chicago goalie J.F. Berube made a key save to keep the score at 3-1. Blake Hillman then followed with a short-handed goal to bring the Blackhawks back in the game at 3-2.

Alex DeBrincat drew the Blackhawks even when he scored on a wrist shot past goalie Jake Allen at the 8:30 mark of the third period, and Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith scored the winner with less than nine seconds remaining.

The Blues have lost four games in a row and remain outside of the playoff structure. A win would have allowed them to jump past the idle Colorado Avalanche. The Los Angeles Kings clinched a playoff position as a result of St. Louis' loss.

"It's tough to not sit here and talk about winning the game, that's for sure, and I think it's even tougher to say that we just didn't play well enough, especially when the game was on the line in the third period to deserve the win," St. Louis coach Mike Yeo said, per Louie Korac of NHL.com.

The Blues and Avs each have two games remaining in the regular season. Colorado has 93 points, and St. Louis has 92 points.

St. Louis plays at Chicago on Friday before going to Colorado for its season finale. The Avalanche play the San Jose Sharks on the road Thursday night prior to hosting the Blues.

The Anaheim Ducks clinched a spot in the playoffs with their 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night. Ondrej Kase scored the game-winner with 3:56 remaining, banging a rebound past Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk. The Ducks added an empty-net goal by Andrew Cogliano.

Here's a look at the NHL standings following Wednesday's action.

The Boston Bruins will try to move two points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning when they play the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. The two teams are tied with 110 points, but the Bruins have three games remaining, while the Lightning have two.

As a result of having the game in hand, the Bruins have the technical advantage and are in first place. However, if they lose in regulation to the desperate but hopeful Panthers, the Lightning would move back into first place since they have one more regulation or overtime (ROW) win than Boston. 

If the two teams are tied on points at the end of the season and Tampa Bay maintains that edge in ROW, the Lightning will win the division. However, if the Bruins can tie the Lightning in ROW and they are tied in the standings, Boston would have the edge since they have won three of four games between the two teams, and head-to-head matchups is the next tiebreaker after ROW.

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The Panthers are four points behind the Philadelphia Flyers and five points back of the New Jersey Devils with three games to play. While they are still fighting to make the playoffs, they are in a challenging position.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, Devils, Flyers and Panthers are still jostling for seeding. Columbus, New Jersey and Philadelphia have the inside track, but not one of those teams has clinched a playoff spot.

The Washington Capitals have clinched the Metropolitan Division title, and the Pittsburgh Penguins have sealed a playoff spot. Though they are in second place, the Penguins could still get caught by the Blue Jackets, Devils or Flyers.

In the Western Conference, the Nashville Predators are trying to hold off the surging Winnipeg Jets for the Central Division title, while the Wild have clinched third place in the division.

The Vegas Golden Knights clinched the Pacific Division title, while the second-place San Jose Sharks have a one-point lead over the Ducks and a two-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings. Those three teams each has two games remaining.

Below is a look at the playoff bracket heading into Thursday's action.

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (1) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (wild card 2)

Tampa Bay Lightning (2) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (3)

Washington Capitals (1) vs. New Jersey Devils (wild card 1)

Pittsburgh Penguins (2) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (3)

Western Conference

Nashville Predators (1) vs. Colorado Avalanche (wild card 2)

Winnipeg Jets (2) vs. Minnesota Wild (3)

Vegas Golden Knights (1) vs. Los Angeles Kings (wild card 1)

San Jose Sharks (2) vs. Anaheim Ducks (3)