It was a big win for the Blue Jackets tonight over Carolina as Sergei Bobrovsky made 46 saves for the shutout. Meanwhile, the Flyers blew a 5-2 lead and lost 7-6 in Toronto.
So the standings through Friday's play look like this:
1. Caps 91 points/71 games/38 ROW (Saturday at Tampa Bay)
2. Isles 89 points/70 games/37 ROW (Saturday at Detroit)
3. Penguins 87 points/71 games/38 ROW (Saturday vs. St. Louis)
4. Hurricanes 83 points/70 games/37 ROW (Saturday vs. Buffalo)
5. Blue Jackets 83 points/71 games/39 ROW (Saturday at Boston)
6. Philadelphia 76 points/71 games/32 ROW (Sunday at Pittsburgh)
Also in Wild Card Race
Canadiens 81 points/71 games/35 ROW (Saturday vs. Chicago)
The Blue Jackets currently hold the second Wild Card, so five Metropolitan Division teams are currently in playoff spots.
The Isles begin a two-game road trip on Saturday afternoon in Detroit. The Isles have beaten the Red Wings four straight times since last February, but all four were decided by a single goal. The Wings went 0-1-3 in those four games. The Isles have won both of their games in the Red Wings' new home, Little Caesars Arena.
Since the Capitals don't play until Saturday night, the Isles would skate off the ice on Saturday in first place if they can win the game in regulation or overtime. No Islander team has been in first place this late in the season since the Isles won the Patrick Division in 1987-88.
The Isles will end Saturday in first place if:
- The Isles beat Detroit (in any fashion) AND
- Tampa Bay beats Washington in regulation
Magic Numbers:
The Isles' Magic Number to clinch a playoff spot is 15. It could go as low as 11 (with an Isles win and a Montreal regulation loss) on Saturday.
The Isles' Magic Number to clinch the Metropolitan Division is 25. It could go as low as 21 (with an Isles win and a Washington regulation loss) on Saturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment