NHL Playoff bubble

The season is coming to a close very quickly with every team having between 10-13 games remaining and the playoff window starting to close for some teams.

The entire Eastern Conference was in play, but with the season dwindling down, the bottom half is starting to see the math get harder and harder with every day that passes.

The Senators have really turned it on since the addition of Dylan Cozens to their lineup at the trade deadline. They have only dropped two games since then, all but securing that first wild card spot with 79 points and still having 13 games left.

The second spot is a little more interesting with maybe five teams in play being the Canadiens who hold the spot right now with 75 points and 13 games left.

The Islanders and Rangers are nipping at their heels with 74 points and 12 and 11 games left respectively. The only other teams that really have a shot are the Blue Jackets with 73 points and 12 games left and the Red Wings who only have 72 points, but 12 games left.

The Islanders have gotten hot getting at least one point in each of their last six games but still have a back-to-back remaining and two, two day breaks, every other game is every other night.

The Rangers have caught fire since their free fall in the beginning of the season. They went from next to last in the Metropolitan Division and fought all the way back, but have the least amount of games remaining to make up their deficit.

The Blue Jackets have come back down to Earth since they were lit up halfway through the season. They’ve only won three games in the month of March and it’s not getting any easier with eight of their 12 remaining games coming against teams currently in the playoffs.

The Red Wings have no easy feat needing to make up five points, but the only reason they have a chance is they have at least one game in hand over every team ahead of them except the Canadiens.

The Wings see themselves in the same boat as the Blue Jackets with 11 of their 12 remaining opponents sitting in a playoff spot right now.

The West is a little less interesting. The Wild and the Blues hold the current wild card spots with 85 points and 11 games left and 81 and 10 games left respectively.

The Flames find themselves in a very beneficial position right now having at least two games in hand over every other team in the race for the playoffs and only four points out of a wild card spot. With 13 games remaining, six of their opponents are out of the playoff race.

Vancouver and Utah are both sitting at 71 games played. Vancouver is only three points out of a wild card spot and playing with nothing to lose after trading arguably their best player and knowing Brock Boeser won’t be returning most likely after this season.

Utah sees themselves in quite a tough spot and on a steep incline to try to fight for a playoff spot. They find themselves on the bubble of being on the bubble. They are six points out of a playoff spot with 11 games left.

Utah however does cross paths with four of the bottom feeders of the Western Conference. It is important that they walk out of those four games with all eight possible points. If they drop any of those games, they are essentially eliminating themselves.

Two notable final games are the Islanders matching up with the Blue Jackets and Utah taking a visit to St. Louis. These games could come down to who makes the playoffs with a win.

These final couple weeks are turning into early playoff hockey for these bubble teams as each game means so much to their season.

Tristan Kunec is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email tqk5432@psu.edu.