Columbus joins Carolina in playoffs. But who will the Canes play?
The eight playoff teams in the NHL’s Eastern Conference have been set but not the Stanley Cup playoff pairings.
That will take a Saturday scramble to decide, in the final games of the regular season.
The Columbus Blue Jackets nailed down the final playoff berth Friday with a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers emptied their net and scored with seconds left in regulation but the Blue Jackets regrouped and won in a shootout.
Just like that, the Blue Jackets were in and the Montreal Canadiens out.
Where does that leave the Carolina Hurricanes? The Canes, who clinched their playoff spot Thursday, will face the Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals or New York Islanders in the opening round of the playoffs, but it will take three Saturday games to determine the opponent.
“We’re still playing for something and not really sure how it all shakes out,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Friday.
The Saturday schedule: Carolina at Philadelphia, Columbus at Ottawa and the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Rangers.
The standings: the Pens have 99 points, the Canes 97 and the Blue Jackets 96.
With a win Saturday against the Flyers, the Canes would clinch the first wild-card spot in the conference. But should the Canes win and the Penguins lose in regulation, the Canes would move past the Pens into third place in the Metropolitan Division.
The first wild-card team will face the Capitals, the defending Stanley Cup champions, in the opening round. Take the Metro third-place berth and it would be the Islanders.
Should Columbus win Saturday and the Canes lose, or Columbus lose in overtime or a shootout while the Hurricanes lose in regulation, the Blue Jackets would claim the first wild card and the Canes the second wild card. That would set up a playoff series for the Canes against the Lightning, the Presidents’ Trophy winner.
Should the Canes and Columbus both lose in regulation, it’s Canes vs Caps in the first round.
As a lower seed, the Canes will play the first two playoff games on the road and Games 3 and 4 in Raleigh, regardless of the opponent. After a 10-year wait to be back in the playoffs, Canes fans are ready for it. So are the players.
The NHL will announce the playoff schedule Sunday at 10 a.m. on the NHL Network and the league’s web site, NHL.com
