NHL playoff chase in the East is 'a fight for your life' down the stretch as postseason looms
NEW YORK (AP) — Connor McDavid called the Pacific Division path to the playoffs “a bit of a pillow fight right now. ” The same race down the stretch in the NHL's Eastern Conference is anything but. No team has clinched a berth, and only three — Carolina, Tampa Bay and Buffalo — are strong bets to get in.
That means five spots up for grabs among seven contenders who just keep winning to up the ante on each other. Montreal, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Boston, Ottawa, Detroit and the New York Islanders have combined to go 52-29-17 since play resumed following the Olympic break , a points percentage of . 617.
Two of them are guaranteed to miss the playoffs and could tie or break the record for the most standings points of any team that failed to qualify. “It just heightens the urgency mentally,” Senators forward Lars Eller said. “There’s no cushion, and every game it’s a fight for your life just staying in the race.
” Eller and his teammates have gone 10-2-2 out of the break to take over the conference's second and final wild card position with 85 points and 11 games remaining. The Islanders also at 85 points have slipped out of the top eight in the East after losing three of four but still have more than Anaheim, atop the Pacific, with Edmonton at 79 and Vegas at 78 points comfortably in the field. Beastly East There's nothing comfortable about the stretch run in the East, where even a brief slide can make a big difference.
“It’s up to us to get the job done — it’s up to us to get the wins ourselves,” Islanders center Bo Horvat said. “You’re always watching what other teams are doing, but at the same time, we can’t rely on other teams losing in order for you to get in. You want to win to get in.
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