The Pittsburgh Penguins can clinch a playoff berth on April 9 with a win over the New Jersey Devils, or with one point if the Buffalo Sabres beat the Columbus Blue Jackets. They can also seal a spot if the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders and the Sabres defeat Columbus in regulation.
The Boston Bruins have their own path to the postseason on the same night, but it depends on a three-game chain: a Maple Leafs regulation win over the Islanders, a Flyers regulation win over the Detroit Red Wings, and a Sabres regulation win over the Blue Jackets. The Colorado Avalanche, meanwhile, can lock up the Presidents' Trophy if they beat the Calgary Flames, or if they pick up one point and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Carolina Hurricanes, or if Chicago beats Carolina in regulation.
Those are the kinds of late-season math problems that define the nhl standings in April. On a night with multiple games, one result can flip a team’s fate, and several clubs are chasing the same clean finish line at once. The Penguins’ earliest path starts at 7 p.m. ET against New Jersey, while the Bruins’ and Avalanche’s scenarios hinge on the later games that begin at 6:45 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET.
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The wider board is just as tight. The Edmonton Oilers can clinch a playoff berth if the Anaheim Ducks beat the San Jose Sharks, the Utah Mammoth beat the Nashville Predators in regulation and the Winnipeg Jets-Blues game ends in anything other than a Jets regulation win. The Mammoth can clinch too, but only by beating Nashville in regulation and getting help from Anaheim against San Jose.
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That is the tension built into April 9: every clinching path depends on someone else finishing the job. For the teams still holding the line, the standings can move fast, and a night that begins with hope can end with a spot in the playoffs secured or pushed back for one more round of results.
