A last ticket for the NHL play-offs was to be taken on Wednesday, between the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights. The Texans were in the best position to land him. They were however beaten at home by the Arizona Coyotes (4-3). But the franchise of Las Vegas having also lost, at the Chicago Blackhawks (4-3), Dallas validated its place for the final phase.
Of the sixteen teams that took part in the play-offs last season, 12 are still at the rendezvous this year. The four absentees are the Montreal Canadiens – finalists last year and sad last franchise in terms of victories (24 out of 81 games) this season in the NHL -, the Vegas Golden Knights, who will miss the final phase for the first time since their creation in 2017, the New York Islanders and the Winnipeg Jets.
They are replaced by the New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars. Only one Frenchman will play the play-offs: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare with the Tampa Bay Lightning, double defending champion.
The other two Frenchmen, Antoine Roussel (Arizona Coyotes) and Alexandre Texier (Columbus Blue Jackets), had a season complicated by injuries. Roussel, who has just resumed, will only have played 52 games while the injured ex-Brûleur de Loups has not returned to the ice since the end of January (36 games, 20 points)
The regular season will end on Sunday and the play-offs will start on Monday.
The 16 qualified for the play-offs:
Eastern Conference : Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals.
Western Conference : Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, St Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators.