Child star of ‘The Last of Us’ meets a legend of the ice
Keivonn Woodard, the 10-year-old star of the hit HBO series, The Last of Us, meets NHL legend Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals on a VIP tour.
Sportskind, USA Today
The New Jersey Devils are in the playoffs for the first time since 2018, and the red-hot Boston Bruins have clinched their first division title in three years and tied their franchise record for victories.
Next up are the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers, even though both are idle on Monday night.
The Maple Leafs will clinch a playoff berth if the Florida Panthers lose to the Ottawa Senators in any fashion. The Rangers clinch if the Buffalo Sabres lose to the Montreal Canadiens in any fashion AND the Panthers lose to the Senators in regulation.
Plenty of questions remain with the end of the regular season rapidly approaching.
NHL PLAYOFF BRACKET: Updated league standings, potential first-round matchups
CONNOR BEDARD WATCH: Who has best chance to win draft lottery?
Can the Bruins and Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid keep up their impressive paces to reach special territory? Who will win the races in the Metropolitan, Central and Pacific divisions? How about the wild-card races? And which team will have the best odds to win the May 8 draft lottery and get the chance to draft generational talent Connor Bedard?
USA TODAY Sports analyzes the NHL’s stretch drive, with the regular season ending April 14 (story is updated through March 26):
Will the Boston Bruins break the NHL wins record?
The NHL record is 62 by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bruins, who have tied their franchise record of 57 wins, need six more over their final nine games. They have won seven in a row, including a 4-3 shootout win Sunday afternoon at the No. 2 overall Carolina Hurricanes, even though Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Hampus Lindholm were sitting out. Boston plays five games at home, where it is 30-3-3. The Bruins have a combined 14-2 record against their final nine opponents.
Will Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid reach 70 goals?
McDavid’s 60 goals, reached Wednesday night, are 16 more than his previous career best. But getting the NHL’s first 70-goal season since the 1990s might be tough. He was limited to an assist Saturday by the Vegas Golden Knights. He needs 10 goals in his final nine games, but five of those games are against the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes, who have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Can Sharks defensemen Erik Karlsson reach 100 points?
He needs 10 points in nine games, and he has eight points in his last nine games. Only two of the final games are against teams sitting outside a playoff spot. He twice faces the Colorado Avalanche, who shut him out in their lone meeting. No NHL defenseman has scored 100 points since the New York Rangers’ Brian Leetch in 1991-92.
Who wins the Metropolitan Division?
The Carolina Hurricanes have a three-point lead on New Jersey after forcing overtime vs. the Bruins. The New York Rangers are seven points back. The Hurricanes have one game in hand and face neither of those teams down the stretch. The Rangers will face the Devils on March 30.
Who wins the Atlantic Division?
The Bruins clinched with their victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Boston forward Garnet Hathaway, a trade deadline acquisition, fought with Pat Maroon nine seconds into the game and scored the game-winning goal in the second period.
What about the Eastern Conference wild-card race?
The New York Islanders (83 points) and Pittsburgh Penguins (82) hold the two spots. The Islanders were shut out Saturday by the Buffalo Sabres and the Penguins got a big win against the rival Washington Capitals as Evgeni Malkin stole the puck and scored on a third-period breakaway. Florida has lost three in a row since briefly moving into the second wild-card spot last week. They’re three points behind the Penguins and the Sabres and Capitals are six back. Buffalo has a game in hand, but it’s looking promising for the Pittsburgh to extend their 16-year postseason streak, even with injuries to forward Nick Bonino and defensemen Jeff Petry, Dmitry Kulikov, Marcus Pettersson and Jan Rutta.
Who wins the Central Division?
The Minnesota Wild have a one-point lead on both both the Avalanche and Dallas Stars. The Wild have points in 18 of their last 19 games, despite missing injured leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov for the last eight games. This week will be key because the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche play the Wild on Wednesday and the Stars on Saturday.
Who wins the Pacific Division?
The Golden Knights lead the surging Los Angeles Kings by two points. The Golden Knights got back injured goalies Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit, though Thompson left his game with an injury. The Kings extended their point streak to 12 games Sunday with a 7-6 win against the St. Louis Blues. Kevin Fiala had two assists in his return from injury. The Golden Knights and Kings play on April 6 (will Jonathan Quick face his former team?). The Edmonton Oilers, who are seven points behind the Golden Knights and five behind the Kings, can make up ground because they play Vegas one more time and Los Angeles twice.
How about the Western Conference wild-card race?
The second-year Seattle Kraken (88 points) helped their cause with a rout of the 10th-place Nashville Predators on Saturday. The Winnipeg Jets (85 points) hold the second spot, with the Calgary Flames at 81 points and Predators at 80. The Predators, who are missing Roman Josi, have two games in hand on the Jets. Winnipeg plays Calgary (April 5) and Nashville (April 8) in back-to-back games.
Who gets the best odds to draft Connor Bedard?
The Columbus Blue Jackets moved out of last place by beating the New York Islanders 5-4 in overtime on Friday for their second win in a row. They’re percentage points ahead of the Sharks, who are on a 0-6-3 slide. Both teams lost Saturday, the Blue Jackets getting crushed 8-2 by the Montreal Canadiens.
Goalie Elvis Merzlikins, in his first game back after a death in the family, left the game with an injury. The team made an emergency recall of goalie Jon Gillies. The Blue Jackets, who have played one less game than the Sharks, have been crushed by injuries, with No. 2 scorer Patrik Laine hurting his arm in a recent practice and out 2-4 weeks.
The bottom team has a 25.5% chance of getting the first pick in the lottery, either outright or with a team in the 12 to 16 range winning. The lottery winner can move up only 10 spaces this year.
Contributing: Associated Press
