2024-03-27 19:26:23
The fight for the cup place promises to be hot. True, only in the East.
Will Alexander Ovechkin be able to compete for the second Stanley Cup in his career? Does Pittsburgh have a chance at the “last dance” in the era of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby? These and many other questions will be answered by the finish line of the regular season, which can bring surprises. The 2023-24 NHL season ends on April 18, and teams don’t have much time left to improve their standings.
How are the playoffs going?
Half of the league – 16 teams – will compete for the main trophy. Eight clubs from each conference advance to the playoffs. In this case, conferences are divided into divisions. Capital and Atlantic – in the East, Pacific and Central – in the West.
The dozen contenders for the Cup are the top three teams from each division. And then the wild card system works. The remaining four places go to the most successful clubs in their conferences.
So, last season, Calgary took 16th place in the league, and Florida finished the regular season only in 17th place. But the Ogonki did not make it to the playoffs, and the Panthers sensationally reached the Stanley Cup final. This happened because the clubs represent different conferences.
In addition, it may turn out that, for example, five teams from the Capital Division will take part in the elimination games, and only three from the Atlantic Division.
Eastern Conference
Representatives of the Capital Division who can reach the playoffs:
1. Rangers – 100 points (72 games)
2. “Carolina” — 97 (73)
3. Philadelphia – 82 (73)
4. “Washington” — 81 (71)
5. New Jersey – 76 (73)
6. Islanders – 75 (71)
7. Pittsburgh – 72 (71).
Representatives of the Atlantic Division who can reach the playoffs:
1. Boston – 99 points (73 games)
2. “Florida” — 97 (72)
3. “Toronto” — 89 (71)
4. “Tampa Bay” — 85 (71)
5. “Detroit” — 79 (72)
6. “Buffalo” – 73 (72)
7. “Montreal” — 66 (71)
8. “Ottawa” — 64 (70).
Wild card:
1. Tampa Bay – 85 points (71 games)
2. “Washington” — 81 (71).
In the East, one participant in the future Stanley Cup has already decided: the Rangers were the fastest in the league to score 100 points and were the first to secure the continuation of the season. But the Blueshirts continue to fight for leadership in the conference. All other teams still have a chance to make the playoffs. In addition to Columbus, in which Dmitry Voronkov, Kirill Marchenko, Egor Chinakhov and Ivan Provorov play.
Tampa and Washington have the highest chances of reaching the playoffs thanks to wild cards. In addition, the “capital” can aim for third place in the division and get into the top dozen participants in the relegation games. Then the Lightning and Philadelphia will get the coveted pass.
Alexander Ovechkin and Niklas Backström / Photo: © Rich Graessle / Icon Sportswire / imago-images.de / Global Look Press
At the same time, the Capitals have a difficult calendar: they have 11 matches left to play, four of which are against teams from the cup zone and two with direct competitors – Detroit and Tampa. But experts believe that Ovechkin will compete for the second trophy in his career. Thus, the North American portal Money Puck estimated Washington’s chances of making the playoffs at 65.5%. Only Detroit (29.6%), New Jersey (12%) and the Islanders (4.7%) can stop Ovechkin.
As for Pittsburgh and Malkin, their chances are still greater than zero, but extremely small – 1.3%. Most likely, the Penguins will go on vacation for the second year in a row immediately after the regular season.
Western Conference
Representatives of the Pacific Division who can reach the playoffs:
1. Vancouver – 98 points (72 games)
2. “Edmonton” – 90 (70)
3. Los Angeles – 87 (71)
4. “Vegas” — 86 (72)
5. “Calgary” — 71 (71)
6. “Seattle” — 71 (71).
Representatives of the Central Division who can reach the playoffs:
1. Dallas – 99 points (73)
2. “Colorado” — 97 (72)
3. “Winnipeg” — 94 (72)
4. “Nashville” — 90 (72)
5. St. Louis – 80 (72)
6. “Minnesota” — 77 (71).
Wild card:
1. “Nashville” — 90 (72)
2. “Vegas” — 86 (72).
But in the West there is no longer any intrigue. “Arizona” and “Chicago” from the Atlantic, “Anaheim” and “San Jose” from the Pacific Division have lost their mathematical chances of reaching the playoffs. That is, they will definitely not compete for the Cup: Nikita Zaitsev (Chicago), Pavel Mintyukov, Ilya Lyubushkin (both Anaheim), Klim Kostin and Alexander Barabanov (both San Jose).
On paper, Calgary and Seattle could be in the playoff picture, but all experts give them 0%. Russian fans are unlikely to be very upset by the absence of “Kraken” in the Stanley Cup, because none of ours play there. But among the “lights” there are several Russians: Andrey Kuzmenko, Daniil Miromanov and Nikita Okhotyuk.
Andrey Kuzmenko (right) / Photo: © IMAGO / John Jones / imago-images.de / Global Look Press
If we imagine that the top three in the divisions will not change, then only two clubs are theoretically capable of ousting Nashville and Vegas from the wild card zone – St. Louis and Minnesota. True, experts almost do not believe in such a development of events. For example, the authoritative portal The Athletic gives the Wild and Blues each 2% on a successful outcome. But Money Puck thinks differently: the “savages” have 7.4%, and the “bluesmen” have 4.4%.
However, in the West, most likely, the composition of the playoff participants has already been determined. If there are changes, they will only be at the top of the table. This means that the Stanley Cup will take place without Minnesota superstar Kirill Kaprizov.
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