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 Boston Bruins have another chance Thursday night to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy and at the same time help the Columbus Blue Jackets’ future.
The Bruins can clinch home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs outright if they beat the Blue Jackets, a team they lead by 66 points and defeated 4-0 and 4-2 earlier this season.
They also can clinch in other ways, but a defeat would keep the Blue Jackets in last place in the league, which comes with the best draft lottery odds to land generational talent Connor Bedard.
Questions to be answered with the end of the regular season rapidly approaching:
Can the Bruins and Edmonton 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?
NHL PLAYOFF BRACKET: Updated league standings, potential first-round matchups
CONNOR BEDARD WATCH: Who has best chance to win draft lottery?
USA TODAY Sports analyzes the NHL’s stretch drive, with the regular season ending April 14 (story is updated through March 29):
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 can set a franchise of 58 wins Thursday night, need six victories over their final eight games to get the record. Their seven-game winning streak was ended Tuesday night by the Nashville Predators. Boston plays four more games at home, where it is 30-4-3. The Bruins have a combined 13-2 record against their final eight opponents.
Will Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid reach 70 goals or 150 points?
McDavid seemed headed for the NHL’s first 70-goal season since the 1990s when he had five consecutive two-goal games in late February and early March to give him 52 goals in 62 games. He scored his league-best 60th goal on March 22, but has been held without a goal the last three games. He needs 10 goals in his final seven games. Four of those games are against the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, who are in the bottom four in the league. McDavid has 143 points (five assists in his last three games) and has a good chance to be the league’s first 150-point scorer since the 1990s.
Can Sharks defensemen Erik Karlsson reach 100 points?
He needs nine points in eight games, and he has eight points in his last eight games. Only two of the final games are against teams sitting outside a playoff spot. He twice faces the 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 lead the New Jersey Devils by three points and Rangers are five points back. The Hurricanes, who are 4-4-1 since Andrei Svechnikov suffered a season-ending knee injury, have a game in hand on both teams and face neither down the stretch. The Devils host the Rangers on Thursday in what could help determine who gets home-ice advantage in the first round if those teams meet.
Who wins the Atlantic Division?
The Bruins clinched with their victory against the Lightning on Saturday.
What about the Eastern Conference wild-card race?
The New York Islanders (87 points) and Pittsburgh Penguins (82) hold the two spots. The Panthers ended a four-game losing streak Wednesday to pull one point behind Pittsburgh. The Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals are five points back. Pittsburgh, which is looking to extend its 16-year postseason streak, and all of its closest competitors are in action Thursday, except Buffalo. The Penguins got defenseman Jeff Petry back Tuesday from an injury but are missing forward Nick Bonino and defensemen Dmitry Kulikov, Marcus Pettersson and Jan Rutta. Senators goalie Cam Talbot could return from an injury Thursday. Goaltender Devon Levi, who starred at Northeastern University, will make his NHL debut Friday vs. the Rangers.
Who wins the Central Division?
The Minnesota Wild, who beat Colorado on Wednesday, lead the Dallas Stars and Avalanche by three points. The Wild have points in 20 of their last 21 games, even with Injured leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov missing 10 games. The defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche dropped to third place with the loss. The Avalanche and Stars face each other on Saturday. Both have a game in hand on the Wild.
Who wins the Pacific Division?
The Vegas Golden Knights lead the Los Angeles Kings by two points and Edmonton Oilers by three. The Golden Knights can clinch a playoff berth on Thursday, though they’ll be without injured defenseman Shea Theodore, who’s day-to-day. The Kings visit the Oilers on Thursday in a battle for second place. Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins needs four points to join teammates McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as 100-point scorers. The Golden Knights and Kings play on April 6 (will Jonathan Quick face his former team?), and the Oilers and Kings meet again on April 4.
How about the Western Conference wild-card race?
The second-year Seattle Kraken (88 points) and the Winnipeg Jets (85 points) hold the two spots, with the Flames (83) and Predators (82) pulling closer after big wins against the Kings and Bruins, respectively, on Tuesday. The Predators, who are missing Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene, will play one of their two games in hand on the Jets on Thursday vs. the Penguins. The Jets play Friday, as do the Flames. Winnipeg plays Calgary (April 5) and Nashville (April 8) in back-to-back games.
Who gets the best odds to draft Connor Bedard?
Goalie James Reimer’s 41-save shutout of the Jets ended San Jose’s nine-game losing streak and lifted the Sharks out of last place. They’re 30th overall now with the Columbus Blue Jackets dropping back to the cellar and the Chicago Blackhawks (six-game losing streak) falling to 31st place. All three teams and the 29th overall Anaheim Ducks are in action on Thursday.
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
