NHL Playoff Standings 2019: Latest Picture, Projected Bracket and Races to Watch

The Tampa Bay Lightning were not about to lose two games in a row. But it sure looked like they would after the second period of their game Monday night with the second-place Boston Bruins.

After dropping a 4-3 decision to the St. Louis Blues Saturday, they were trailing the Bruins 4-2 after 40 minutes. Boston had scored three second-period goals to take the lead and appeared ready to pick up its fourth straight win. 

However, the Lightning turned up the pace of their offensive attack and responded with their own three-goal period to come away with a 5-4 victory. The goals came from Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and Anthony Cirelli.

"We just go out there and play," Cirelli said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). "We never give up, we just keep going and we have the skill to put up goals. We saw that in the third period."

While the game was thrilling, it does not have much of an impact on the standings. The Lightning clinched the Presidents Trophy a week ago, while the Bruins are in second place in the Atlantic Division with 101 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-5 winners over the Florida Panthers, are five points behind the Bruins.

The Washington Capitals (96 points) are in first place in the Metropolitan Division, followed by the New York Islanders (95 points) and Pittsburgh Penguins (95 points). Pittsburgh picked up a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers Monday night.

The primary race in the Eastern Conference is for the second of two wild-card spots. The Carolina Hurricanes have 91 points and are in the first wild-card spot, while the Montreal Canadiens have 88 points and are two points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Habs and Blue Jackets meet Thursday night in Columbus, and that game is likely to have a huge impact on the outcome of the playoff race.

Eastern Conference Playoff Standings

Atlantic Division
Team, Points, ROW, Games Remaining
Tampa Bay-p, 122, 53, 5
Boston-x, 101, 44, 6
Toronto, 96, 45, 6

Metropolitan
Washington, 96, 40, 6
New York Islanders, 95, 40, 6
Pittsburgh, 96, 40, 5

Wild Card
Carolina, 91, 40, 7
Montreal, 88, 38, 6
Columbus, 86, 40, 7

p-clinched Presidents Trophy
x-clinched playoff spot

The Winnipeg Jets and the Nashville Predators are involved in a tight battle for the Central Division crown. The Jets have a two-point lead over the Preds (94-92), while the St. Louis Blues are in third place. The Blues defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 Saturday.

The Calgary Flames are in first place with 101 points, and they have a six-point edge over the second-place San Jose Sharks, losers of six straight games, including a 3-2 decision to the Detroit Red Wings Monday. The Golden Knights have 90 points, and are in third place in the Pacific Division.

The Dallas Stars have 84 points and are holding down the first wild-card position in the West, followed by the Colorado Avalanche with 81 points. The Stars scored a key 5-2 road victory over the Jets Monday night.

The Avs are trying to hold off the Arizona Coyotes and Minnesota Wild, who both have 79 points. The Coyotes were idle Monday, but the Wild dropped a 1-0 decision at home to the Predators.

The Chicago Blackhawks have 76 points and are still technically in the race, but it is unlikely they will jump over three teams to make the playoffs with seven games to go in the regular season.

Western Conference Playoff Standings

Central Division
Team, Points, ROW, Games Remaining
Winnipeg-x, 94, 43, 6
Nashville-x, 92, 39, 5
St. Louis, 90, 40, 6

Pacific Division
Calgary-x, 101, 47, 6
San Jose-x, 96, 43, 7
Vegas, 90, 39, 6

Wild Card
Dallas, 84, 39, 6
Colorado, 81, 33, 6
Arizona, 79, 32, 6
Minnesota, 79, 34, 5
Chicago 76, 31, 7

x-clinched playoff spot

Predictions

The Bruins should hold off the Maple Leafs and take second place in the Atlantic Division, setting up a first-round playoff series between those two rivals for the second straight year.

The Metropolitan Division is wide open, and look for the Stanley Cup champion Capitals to win the division. The Islanders have a game in hand on the Penguins, and New York should hang on to second place.

Carolina is in an excellent position to earn the top wild-card spot, while the Canadiens seem just a bit more focused than the Blue Jackets and should earn the last playoff spot.

Expect Winnipeg, Nashville and St. Louis to finish in the top three spots in the Central Division in that order, while Calgary, San Jose and Vegas are on track to finish in the top three spots in the Pacific.

Dallas and Colorado are in a position to hold on to the wild-card positions, but Arizona has been a tough, hustling team all season. While the Coyotes have slowed a bit, they have a better chance of catching the Avs than the Wild or the Blackhawks.