The NHL’s Eastern Conference wild-card race is looking to go down to the wire yet again, and it’s never been a better time for the “weaker” teams in recent years to shed that label.
While the usual suspects, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, are leading the Atlantic, with the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils on top of the Metropolitan Division, there’s a tremendous opportunity for teams who continuously miss the playoffs to get back in this season.
The Buffalo Sabres, who are trying to snap a 13-season playoff drought, sit in the second wild-card spot.
John Hefti-Imagn Images
The rebuilding Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets, which haven’t made the playoffs in the last four seasons, are two and three points behind the Sabres, respectively.
The Detroit Red Wings, who have gone eight seasons without making the playoffs, are three points back.
The Ottawa Senators have missed the playoffs in the last seven seasons and are four points back.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, who are trying to do everything they can to give Sidney Crosby another shot at a Stanley Cup, are five points back, looking to get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
Even the Montreal Canadiens, who sit in the basement of East, are only seven points out. This team has missed the playoffs for three straight seasons.
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Looking at the Metro, the second-place Hurricanes are now without their starting and backup netminder. Frederik Andersen could be out until late February as he underwent knee surgery.
Backup Pyotr Kochetkov is currently out while in concussion protocol.
The Hurricanes have lost two of their last three games, going 1-1-1.
The third-place Washington Capitals, who find themselves that high in the standings because of Alex Ovechkin’s red-hot start, are without their captain for the next four-to-six weeks due to a fracture in his left fibula.
The Ovechkin-less Capitals have dropped two of their last three, with a 1-2-0 mark.
The top wild-card New York Rangers have taken a nose-dive after a strong start.
They’ve dropped three in a row and are 5-5-0 over their last 10 games, with no signs that they are turning things around.
Danny Wild-Imagn Images
The New York Islanders, who made the playoffs as the third seed in the Metro last season, have blown leads frequently and lost six of their last eight games.
They are without two-thirds of their top line in Anthony Duclair and Mathew Barzal, along with top defensive defenseman Adam Pelech and bottom-pairing blueliner Mike Reilly.
Heading to the Atlantic, the Tampa Bay Lightning are doing what they usually do, sitting with just a one-point lead for third in the division, but they haven’t played to the best of their abilities with Nikita Kucherov carrying them.
The Boston Bruins, who sit tied in points with Buffalo for the second wild-card spot, fired Jim Montgomery after a slow start.
Despite interim coach Joe Sacco beginning his tenure with back-to-back wins, Boston has so many flaws offensively and defensively right now that it wouldn’t be a shock if they miss the playoffs.
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We also have to mention that although the Panthers are second in the Atlantic, they’ve dropped six of their last seven games, going 1-6-1.
This could finally be the year we see some playoff staples swap places with teams that have been desperate for a playoff berth for years or stronger teams losing home-ice advantage.
We are at a pinnacle point of this season where very few Eastern Conference teams are running away with things, so if the struggling franchises want to put themselves in a strong spot to change their fortunes, now is the time to strike.
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