The Pittsburgh Penguins can clinch a playoff berth on April 9 if they beat the New Jersey Devils in any fashion. They also can get in with one point against New Jersey if the Buffalo Sabres beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, or if the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders and the Sabres beat Columbus in regulation.
Those are three of the day’s most important pens game paths, and they are not the only ones with something at stake. The Boston Bruins can clinch a playoff berth if the Maple Leafs beat the Islanders in regulation, the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Detroit Red Wings in regulation and the Sabres beat the Blue Jackets in regulation, while the Colorado Avalanche can lock up the Presidents' Trophy by beating the Calgary Flames in any fashion. Colorado also gets there with one point against Calgary if the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Carolina Hurricanes in any fashion, or if the Blackhawks beat Carolina in regulation.
The Avalanche’s chase for the top seed gives April 9 extra weight, because the day can reshape the bracket before the final stretch of the regular season is even complete. The Oilers also have a route in, but it is narrower: Edmonton will clinch a playoff berth if the Anaheim Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks in any fashion, the Utah Mammoth beat the Nashville Predators in regulation and there is any result in the Winnipeg Jets-St. Louis Blues game other than a Jets regulation win.
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Utah has a simpler path than Edmonton. The Mammoth will clinch a playoff berth if they beat Nashville in regulation and the Ducks beat the Sharks. The slate is spread across the evening, with games set for 6:45 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET, leaving several teams waiting on results elsewhere as the night unfolds.
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That is the tension built into a clinching night: one result can settle a season, but for several clubs the math depends on two or three other games falling the right way at the same time. By the end of April 9, the standings may look a lot more finished, and the Penguins, Bruins, Avalanche, Oilers and Mammoth could know exactly where they stand.
