The Carolina Hurricanes are starting to fall behind in the Eastern Conference playoff race. What are their chances, among others, now?
The Eastern Conference playoff race has opened up a bit in the past month, especially in the Metropolitan Division. For a good portion of the 2017-18 NHL season, the Metro was the tightest division race among all of them. However, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals could be starting to pull away, and really separate themselves from the rest of the pack down the stretch.
Even the Philadelphia Flyers have caught fire within the past few weeks. Their offense really took off at the beginning of February, behind star forward and captain Claude Giroux. However, they’re not too far ahead of a few of the teams in the wildcard race, and need to be diligent of their place in the standings.
As of now, the Flyers sit with 79 points, Pens with 80, and Caps with 81. Washington would play the top wildcard team if the season were to end today, March 7. However, the Caps are still behind all three of the top teams in the other division in the East.
The Atlantic Division’s top three teams all have at least four points more than the Caps. Those three teams in the Atlantic are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and Tampa Bay Lighting. Overall, the Bolts actually have the most points in the league, just one ahead of the Nashville Predators from the Western Conference.
There’s seven teams that are either in the thick of the wildcard race in the East, or at least still have a shot. Some are a long shot. Anyhow, here’s the outlook and percentage chance for each of those teams making it into the playoffs in 2018.