Forget the Chicago Blackhawks for a moment. Set aside the Minnesota Wild, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals while you’re at it, too.
Let’s talk wild card.
As much as this is the time of the year for top-tier contenders, like those Pens and Blackhawks, to close the regular season on a strong note and carry momentum into a run at the Stanley Cup, it’s also the critical point in the road where playoff hopefuls eke their way into the postseason.
While the elites battle for seeding and the deadline sellers look beyond 2017, it’s up to the middle-of-the-pack scrappers -- some overlooked for their inconsistencies and others fighting to live up to lofty expectations -- to stay alive.
As we inch closer to April’s final playoff picture, let’s assess five teams on the brink of a postseason berth:
Florida Panthers
The much-criticized lead-up to their season, which featured apparent staff disarray, seems like long ago now that the Panthers are fresh off a big streak in the right direction. There was a time not long ago, in fact, that Florida would’ve been pegged as a surefire seller at the deadline. Now? They’re making a serious push for the Eastern Conference wild card on the heels of the Boston Bruins.
The big key here is health. They were missing Aleksander Barkov and other top contributors for awhile, and now their lineup is restocked with refreshed bodies. A 10-game stretch, fueled by a dominant road trip with wins over superior foes like Anaheim and San Jose, got them right back into the mix. If they can stay healthy, if they can turn their momentum into consistency and if their defense shores up after the trade deadline, they need to be considered spoiler candidates heading into the playoffs.
New York Islanders
Fending off the Panthers and Bruins in the home stretch of the regular season, the Islanders have been a markedly improved team since the ascension of Doug Weight into the head coaching role. They’ve scored a lot. And, for the most part, their free-agent acquisitions from prior to the season have done more than enough to warrant respect, even under Weight’s new management.
They do, however, have their fair share of concerns, starting with a porous record on the road. That just will not fare well for the Isles down the road, especially if New York does, in fact, work its way into the playoffs. And even Weight has struggled to fully grasp just how to solve the ordeal. If the Islanders can translate their work at home to the rest of their schedule, then we’re talking about a team that should have no problem giving more formidable clubs a run for their money.
Boston Bruins
Bruce Cassidy’s undefeated streak recently came to a close, as was eventually going to happen. But the Bruins are still overall a more focused, fine-tuned and depth-oriented club than before Claude Julien’s headlining dismissal. Their record remains just above that of a middle-of-the-road group, but the B’s are hard to ignore as a team that’s on an upward trajectory. Couple that with a poor stretch from the Philadelphia Flyers and the unpredictability of the Islanders on the road, and all of a sudden, Boston looks like a team that could very well take a firm grip on a wild card spot before season’s end.
If Tuukka Rask keeps up his All-Star goaltending and the Bruins don’t get complacent down the stretch, they almost seem like the safest bet among Eastern Conference wild-card contenders -- outside of only the Columbus Blue Jackets -- to actually earn their way into the playoffs. And that’s saying something, considering the state of the team when Julien departed.
Calgary Flames
Defense wins championships, they say. Of course, that’s a statement of only occasional truth, depending on the circumstances. But the Flames went after some help on “D,” as many expected they would, in landing Michael Stone from the Arizona Coyotes. It’s a good thing, because Calgary was severely lacking in that department. And while Stone’s true impact over the course of the season -- and perhaps the playoffs -- remains unclear, the Flames have still been pressing forward like a team with its sights set on a big playoff run.
Their negative goal differential has to be corrected quickly, but that, of course, is what Stone and Co. are for. That’s not to say anyone should expect Calgary to become a defensive powerhouse overnight, but even a few upgrades here and there would enhance the Flames’ recent hot streak. Momentum is everything in the NHL, especially come playoff time, and a recent 7-2-1 stretch, followed by competitive games against the Panthers and others, makes them an attractive underdog coming out of the Western Conference.
Los Angeles Kings
Where the Islanders do well, the Kings are downright horrendous. Well, perhaps that’s an overstatement. And, no, we’re talking about playing in New York. It’s at home where Los Angeles has failed to build its case as a legitimate playoff contender despite earlier-season expectations that suggested otherwise. If the Kings don’t right their ship sometime soon and at least reverse the sub-.500 10-game stretch they endured at the end of February, they’ll find themselves sinking farther below the Flames in the wild card standings than they can imagine.
Recently outgunned by the Bruins in a big match-up, the Kings are squarely in the midst of their worst scoring slump of the season. And now is not the time for a shortage on goals. Thankfully for them, they have a few more showdowns lined up with Calgary, and those contests could be final chances for L.A. to make up some ground. Otherwise, they’re the surest of these five to see their playoff hopes drown in the near future.
