NHL playoff watch: The first-round matchups yet to be set
As expected, Tuesday’s games resulted in many playoff seeds being clinched:
In fact, the entire East bracket is now locked in. So what remains to be determined out West? It’s just the shuffle between the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings for the Pacific Division’s No. 3 seed vs. the second West wild card. Whoever gets the No. 3 spot will take on the Edmonton Oilers in Round 1; whoever gets the wild card will square off against the Dallas Stars.
Both clubs are idle tonight (with Vegas pulling one point ahead on Tuesday), and close things out Thursday — the Knights against the Anaheim Ducks and the Kings against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Wednesday’s schedule
Tuesday’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Florida Panthers vs. WC1 Tampa Bay Lightning
A2 Boston Bruins vs. A3 Toronto Maple Leafs
M1 New York Rangers vs. WC2 Washington Capitals
M2 Carolina Hurricanes vs. M3 New York Islanders
Western Conference
C1 Dallas Stars vs. WC2 Los Angeles Kings
C2 Winnipeg Jets vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vancouver Canucks vs. WC1 Nashville Predators
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights
Wednesday’s games
Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available via NHL Power Play, which is included in an ESPN+ subscription (local blackout restrictions apply).
Toronto Maple Leafs at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Islanders, 7 p.m.
St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars, 9:30 p.m. (TNT)
Edmonton Oilers at Arizona Coyotes, 10 p.m.
Tuesday’s scoreboard
1:14
P.K. Subban to McAfee: Penguins should have kept Jake Guentzel
P.K. Subban voices to Pat McAfee his firm belief that the Penguins should not have traded Jake Guentzel.
Ottawa Senators 3, Boston Bruins 1
Detroit Red Wings 5, Montreal Canadiens 4 (SO)
Washington Capitals 2, Philadelphia Flyers 1
Columbus Blue Jackets 6, Carolina Hurricanes 3
Florida Panthers 5, Toronto Maple Leafs 2
Winnipeg Jets 5, Seattle Kraken 3
Vegas Golden Knights 3, Chicago Blackhawks 1
Vancouver Canucks 4, Calgary Flames 1
Expanded standings
Atlantic Division
Points: 110
Regulation wins: 42
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 0
Points pace: 110
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 109
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 0
Points pace: 109
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 102
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 1
Points pace: 103
Next game: @ TB (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 96
Regulation wins: 36
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 1
Points pace: 97
Next game: vs. TOR (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 91
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 84
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 84
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 78
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 78
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 76
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Metropolitan Division
Points: 114
Regulation wins: 43
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 0
Points pace: 114
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 111
Regulation wins: 44
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 0
Points pace: 111
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 92
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 1
Points pace: 93
Next game: vs. PIT (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 0
Points pace: 91
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 89
Next game: @ NYI (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 30
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 87
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 81
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 0
Points pace: 66
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Central Division
Points: 111
Regulation wins: 40
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 1
Points pace: 112
Next game: vs. STL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 108
Regulation wins: 45
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 1
Points pace: 109
Next game: vs. VAN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 105
Regulation wins: 41
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 1
Points pace: 106
Next game: vs. EDM (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 99
Regulation wins: 38
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 0
Points pace: 99
Next game: N/A
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 92
Next game: @ DAL (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 88
Next game: vs. SEA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 76
Next game: vs. EDM (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 51
Regulation wins: 17
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 52
Next game: @ LA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Pacific Division
Points: 109
Regulation wins: 44
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 1
Points pace: 110
Next game: @ WPG (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 104
Regulation wins: 39
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 2
Points pace: 107
Next game: @ ARI (Wednesday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 98
Regulation wins: 34
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 1
Points pace: 99
Next game: vs. ANA (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 97
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 1
Points pace: 98
Next game: vs. CHI (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 80
Next game: vs. SJ (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 80
Next game: @ MIN (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 57
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 58
Next game: @ VGK (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
Points: 47
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 1
Points pace: 48
Next game: @ CGY (Thursday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Tragic number: E
p — clinched Presidents’ Trophy
y — clinched division
x — clinched playoff berth
e — eliminated from playoff contention
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Macklin Celebrini, a freshman at Boston University.
Points: 47
Regulation wins: 14
Points: 51
Regulation wins: 17
Points: 57
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 66
Regulation wins: 21
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 27
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 78
Regulation wins: 25
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 27
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 31
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 33
Points: 84
Regulation wins: 33
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 30
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 32
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 32
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 27
Points: 91
Regulation wins: 31
* The Penguins’ first-round pick was traded to the Sharks as part of the Erik Karlsson trade. However, it is top-10 protected.
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Tim Keown
TOKYO — Shohei Ohtani seems impervious to a variety of conditions that afflict most humans — nerves, anxiety, distraction — but it took playing a regular-season big-league game in his home country to change all of that.
After the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Opening Day 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Dome, Ohtani made a surprising admission. “It’s been a while since I felt this nervous playing a game,” he said. “It took me four or five innings.”
Ohtani had two hits and scored twice, and one of his outs was a hard liner that left his bat at more than 96 mph, so the nerves weren’t obvious from the outside. But clearly the moment, and its weeklong buildup, altered his usually stoic demeanor.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Shohei nervous,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But one thing I did notice was how emotional he got during the Japanese national anthem. I thought that was telling.”
As the Dodgers began the defense of last year’s World Series win, it became a night to showcase the five Japanese players on the two teams. For the first time in league history, two Japanese pitchers — the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga — faced each other on Opening Day. Both pitched well, with Imanaga throwing four hitless innings before being removed after 69 pitches.
“Seventy was kind of the number we had for Shota,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “It was the right time to take him out.”
The Dodgers agreed, scoring three in the fifth inning off reliever Ben Brown. Imanaga kept the Dodgers off balance, but his career-high four walks created two stressful innings that ran up his pitch count.
Yamamoto rode the adrenaline of pitching in his home country, routinely hitting 98 with his fastball and vexing the Cubs with a diving splitter over the course of five three-hit innings. He threw with a kind of abandon, finding a freedom that often eluded him last year in his first year in America.
“I think last year to this year, the confidence and conviction he has throwing the fastball in the strike zone is night and day,” Roberts said. “If he can continue to do that, I see no reason he won’t be in the Cy Young conversation this season.”
Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki went hitless in four at bats — the Cubs had only three hits, none in the final four innings against four relievers out of the Dodgers’ loaded bullpen — and rookie Roki Sasaki will make his first start of his Dodger career in the second and final game of the series Wednesday.
“I don’t think there was a Japanese baseball player in this country who wasn’t watching tonight,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers were without Mookie Betts, who left Japan on Monday after it was decided his illness would not allow him to play in this series. And less than an hour before game time, first baseman Freddie Freeman was scratched with what the team termed “left rib discomfort,” a recurrence of an injury he first sustained during last year’s playoffs.
The night started with a pregame celebration that felt like an Olympic opening ceremony in a lesser key. There were Pikachus on the field and a vaguely threatening video depicting the Dodgers and Cubs as Monster vs. Monster. World home-run king Saduharu Oh was on the field before the game, and Roberts called meeting Oh “a dream come true.”
For the most part, the crowd was subdued, as if it couldn’t decide who or what to root for, other than Ohtani. It was admittedly confounding: throughout the first five innings, if fans rooted for the Dodgers they were rooting against Imanaga, but rooting for the Cubs meant rooting against Yamamoto. Ohtani, whose every movement is treated with a rare sense of wonder, presented no such conflict.
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