With two games remaining in the regular season, the Atlantic Division is up for grabs.
The Pittsburgh Penguins (47-25-8, 102 pts) defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Tuesday night to pull within one point of the Philadelphia Flyers (46-22-11, 103 pts) for the division lead.
The Penguins tonight took care of business and got some help as the Flyers suffered a disapointing 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
The Tampa Bay Lightning (44-25-11, 99 pts) who came into tonight’s action one point behind the Penguins for the No. 4 seed, had their five game winning streak snapped, losing to the Buffalo Sabres 4-2.
Pittsburgh has now moved three points ahead of Tampa.
Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals are in the driver seat to earn the No. 1 seed, moving two points ahead of the Flyers with 105 pts.
Is there concern in Philly? The Flyers have now loss 13 of their last 19 games.
In the race for the division, Pittsburgh finishes the season on the road against the Islanders and Thrashers.
Philadelphia’s last two games are also on the road. The Flyers have Buffalo and the Islanders left on their schedule.
The Lightning’s final two games are against Florida and Carolina.
Updated Eastern Conference Standings
1. Washington (80GP-47-22-11, 105 pts)
2. Philadelphia (80GP-46-22-11, 103 pts)
3. Boston (79GP-44-24-11, 99 pts)
4. Pittsburgh (80GP-47-25-8, 102 pts)
5. Tampa Bay (80GP-44-25-11, 99 pts)
6. Buffalo (80GP-41-29-10, 92 pts)
7. Montreal (79GP-42-30-7, 91 pts)
8. New York (80GP-43-32-5, 91 pts)