After taking a pause for the 4 Nations Face-Off — and continuing Canadian domination in best-on-best tournaments — the NHL regular season is now rocketing toward the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The stakes are high. Time is short. Who’s in and who’s out?

The NHL Bubble Watch is our monthly check-in on the Stanley Cup playoff races using postseason probabilities and points projections from Stathletes for all 32 teams. We also reveal which teams shouldn’t worry about any of this because they’re lottery-bound already.

As a bonus this month, we’re also including which player from the playoff contenders needs to step up the most in the stretch run.

But first, a look at the projected playoff bracket:

Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton has returned to New York to undergo medical testing, multiple outlets reported Monday.

Stanton, 35, has yet to take part in spring training activities in Tampa, Fla., as he continues to battle tendinitis in both elbows. The New York Post said Monday that it was unclear whether the medical testing was for an evaluation of his elbows.

On Sunday, manager Aaron Boone told reporters that Stanton was undergoing treatment and “nothing imminent” was on tap for the designated hitter, baseball-wise.

The Yankees haven’t been pushing Stanton this spring, giving him time to rest and, hopefully, recover.

The MVP of the 2024 American League Championship Series, Stanton was bothered by deep soreness in his elbows for much of last season. He hit 27 home runs and drove in 72 runs over 114 games in the regular season.

Stanton had seven homers and 16 RBIs in 55 postseason at-bats as the Yankees reached the World Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. Stanton went deep twice in the Fall Classic to follow up his four-homer showing against the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS.

Stanton is entering his 16th major league season — the first eight coming with the Miami Marlins before he was traded to the Yankees prior to the 2018 season. He has 429 homers and 1,103 RBIs along with a .257 average in 1,649 career games.

Stanton is a five-time All-Star and he was the National League MVP in 2017 when he established career highs of 59 homers and 132 RBIs for Miami.

He has three seasons remaining on a 13-year, $325 million deal he signed with the Marlins. The Yankees hold a club option for 2028.

CLEVELAND — Lawrence J. Dolan, owner of Cleveland’s major league baseball team since 2000, has died at age 94.

The Cleveland Guardians put out a statement Monday saying Dolan died Sunday night of natural causes.

“Mr. Dolan invested his entire life in Greater Cleveland and impacted our community on so many levels,” Bob DiBiasio, Guardians senior vice president of public affairs, said in a statement. “From his service to our country as a First Lieutenant in the United States Marines, his many philanthropic acts of kindness, career in law, business, education, and sports, many benefited from his engagement, influence, and passion. Especially in the world of sports.”

Dolan, a Cleveland native, purchased the team from Richard Jacobs in 2000 for $320 million. The Dolan family has a 75% stake in the club and is the longest-tenured owner in Cleveland franchise history.

Guardians chairman and CEO Paul Dolan, Larry Dolan’s son, took over as the team’s primary control person in 2013.

“We are saddened by the loss of our Dad, but lucky to have him as part of our lives as long as we did,” he said in a statement. “He was a loving husband, father and grandfather who was passionate about his family, work, our community and his love of our local sports teams, including owning the Cleveland Guardians.”

The Cleveland Guardians are saddened to announce the passing of Lawrence Dolan, owner of the Cleveland Guardians.

Larry purchased the Cleveland Baseball Club on February 15, 2000, from Richard Jacobs. The 2025 season is the 26th year of ownership for the Dolan family, the… pic.twitter.com/NrUYg62mtg

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) February 24, 2025

The franchise was known as the Cleveland Indians before changing its name to the Guardians after the 2021 season. Over the past 24 seasons, Cleveland has won seven American League Central Division titles, made nine postseason appearances and advanced to the 2016 World Series before losing to the Chicago Cubs in seven games. Cleveland also hosted the 2019 MLB All-Star Game.

“I am saddened by the passing of Cleveland native Larry Dolan, whose family’s quarter-century ownership has made their hometown team a consistent winner and a staple of their community,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “He strongly believed in mentoring young people and using the Guardians as a way to impact Greater Cleveland. Larry also served the industry by bringing his professional expertise to the Major League Executive Council and the Ownership Committee, and he served on two labor negotiating committees.”

Dolan is survived by his wife Eva, six children and 21 grandchildren. His nephew, James Dolan, owns the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden.