Eastern Conference Playoff Races: Capitals surging; Sens, Devils fading; Flyers look finished

1. *Pittsburgh Penguins – 8 Games Remaining | 30-10-0, 60 pts

2. *Montreal Canadiens – 9 Games Remaining | 25-9-5, 55 pts

3. *Washington Capitals – 8 Games Remaining | 21-17-2, 44 pts

4. Boston Bruins – 10 Games Remaining | 25-9-4, 54 pts

5. Toronto Maple Leafs – 9 Games Remaining | 22-13-4, 48 pts

6. Ottawa Senators – 9 Games Remaining | 19-14-6, 44 pts

7. New York Islanders – 8 Games Remaining | 20-16-4, 44 pts

8. New York Rangers – 9 Games Remaining | 19-16-4, 42 pts

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9. Winnipeg Jets – 7 Games Remaining | 20-19-2, 42 pts

10. New Jersey Devils – 9 Games Remaining | 15-14-10, 40 pts

11. Buffalo Sabres – 8 Games Remaining | 16-18-6, 38 pts

12: Philadelphia Flyers – 9 Games Remaining | 17-19-3, 37 pts

13. Tampa Bay Lightning – 9 Games Remaining | 17-20-2, 36 pts

14. Carolina Hurricanes – 9 Games Remaining | 16-21-2, 34 pts

15. Florida Panthers – 9 Games Remaining | 13-20-6, 32 pts

RACE FOR TOP SEED

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the drivers seat leading the Montreal Canadiens by 5 points and the Boston Bruins by 6 points. Montreal failed to keep pace losing tonight 3-2 to the Washington Capitals. The Boston Bruins have two games in hand on the Penguins so you can’t count them out yet.

WHO’S SURGING?

The Washington Capitals have won five straight and Alexander Ovechkin is back leading the NHL with 26 goals. The Capitals have re-emerged as the favorites to win the Southeast and their improvement defensively has the Capitals becoming a possible dangerous team in post-season play.

The New Jersey Devils have lost seven straight and Ilya Kovalchuk is not yet ready to return to action…….The Ottawa Senators have overachieved all season but have now lost five straight and are fading in the standings. Erik Karlsson is on the fast track to return but not fast enough.

Put a fork in them

The Philadelphia Flyers squandered two great opportunities to make a serious push in the standings in the past three days, losing to Winnipeg Saturday afternoon and the New York Islanders 4-1 tonight. Both were teams in front of them in the standings by a couple points and also battling for one of the final playoff spots. Tonight was the Flyers season and you can put a fork in them.

1. Winnipeg Jets

Honorable Mention: New York Islanders