The NHL's regular season is less than four weeks from its conclusion, but before you shift into playoff mode, there are plenty of reasons to monitor the remainder of the schedule.

Here are five of the most intriguing storylines to keep an eye on as the 2018-19 campaign wraps up.

1. Lightning chasing history

For nearly the entire season, 30 teams have stared up the standings at the Tampa Bay Lightning and their potentially record-setting pace. The Bolts have already matched the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings as the fastest teams in history to reach 50 victories in a season (66 games) and need to win nine of their final 12 contests to tie those same Red Wings for the wins record at 62. It's a tall task, but if Tampa falls short, it's nothing to fret about - only three teams have eclipsed 120 points in a season in the last 23 years, a feat the Lightning will achieve with five more victories.

It's also worth monitoring the closing stretch for Lightning dynamo and MVP favorite Nikita Kucherov, who's on pace for the NHL's first 130-point campaign since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.

2. Pressure's on for Blue Jackets

Since general manager Jarmo Kekalainen pushed his chips to the middle of the table and added both Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel at the trade deadline, the Columbus Blue Jackets are just 3-5-0. Those troubling results have left the team with a tenuous hold on the East's second wild-card position, an unsettling situation for the organization.

Kekalainen was under the gun even before the season began due to the uncertain futures of pending unrestricted free agents Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. He's since added two more UFAs, leaving his franchise only two 2019 draft picks in the process. If the Blue Jackets miss the cut after such a major gamble, it can only be viewed as a catastrophic failure.

3. Battle for seeding

The NHL's oft-criticized playoff format has created unenviable scenarios for a handful of the league's elite teams. In the Atlantic, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins are essentially locked into a first-round meeting for the second straight year, despite being two of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference. Though the matchup is predetermined, home-ice advantage is still on the line, with the Leafs sitting four points back of the Bruins with 13 games to go.

In the West, the battle for the Pacific Division crown is of massive importance. The Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks are separated by just one point in the standings, and whoever finishes in front likely gets a date with the second wild-card team (currently the Minnesota Wild). The runner-up, meanwhile, will face a first-round bout with the Vegas Golden Knights, who've lost just one game since acquiring Mark Stone.

The Flames and Sharks play their final regular-season clash March 31 in San Jose in what could be one of the biggest games of the year.

4. Droughts over?

Further down the standings, two of the league's three longest active postseason droughts could be snapped this spring. The Carolina Hurricanes are engaged in a battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metro and are in good shape to claim a wild-card spot if they fall short. Since Jan. 1, the Hurricanes have surged up the standings, sporting a 22-7-2 record and a plus-32 goal differential. If Carolina hangs on to make the dance, it'll be its first playoff appearance since 2009.

In the Western Conference, the surprisingly hot Arizona Coyotes are making a charge at a wild-card berth, sitting one point back of the Wild with a game in hand entering Tuesday. The Coyotes are gaining ground on the strength of a stingy defensive scheme and the play of goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who owns a .924 save percentage in 17 starts since the beginning of February. If Arizona squeaks in, it will be for the first time since 2012.

5. Awards race

Though Kucherov has a viselike grip on the Hart, multiple major awards still lack clear-cut winners at this point of the season.

Who ends up with the Norris? Will it be Brent Burns and his 89-point pace, or will 35-year-old Mark Giordano finally get the nod for his best season yet? What about Morgan Rielly, who leads all blue-liners with 18 goals and 39 even-strength points? All three play for teams entrenched in playoff spots, so their individual performances down the stretch will likely decide the end-of-year voting.

The fate of the Jack Adams Award is also up in the air. Barry Trotz has transformed the New York Islanders into a potential division winner in his first year with the team, but is his case stronger than Jon Cooper's? The latter has the more talented roster, but he and the Bolts have kept the rest of the league in check without a peep this season. The Lightning also own the league's top power play and penalty kill, leaving plenty to consider before the hardware is handed out.

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Warning: Tweet contains coarse language

The league is investigating the alleged usage of a homophobic slur during Monday night's game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL Public Relations announced.

Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly could be the suspect, as he may have directed a homophobic slur to a referee.

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas commented on the situation postgame.

"The club is aware of the reports surrounding a homophobic slur used during the Maple Leafs versus Lightning game on Monday night," he said in a statement. "The issue of homophobia is one the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club strong condemns and takes very seriously. We are in communication with the NHL and are cooperating fully with their office."

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Warning: Video contains coarse language

The league is investigating the alleged usage of a homophobic slur during Monday night's game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL Public Relations announced.

Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly could be the suspect, as he may have directed the slur at a referee.

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas commented on the situation postgame.

"The club is aware of the reports surrounding a homophobic slur used during the Maple Leafs versus Lightning game on Monday night," he said in a statement. "The issue of homophobia is one the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club strongly condemns and takes very seriously. We are in communication with the NHL and are cooperating fully with their office."

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews offered a blunt evaluation of his team's performance Monday against the powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning.

"They pretty much just slapped us," he said postgame, according to The Athletic's James Mirtle.

The Leafs were embarrassed in their own barn, losing by a final score of 6-2. Tampa Bay held a 5-1 lead when the second period concluded.

"In the third period, we pretty much just quit," Matthews told TSN's Kristen Shilton. "That's on us as players. We have to wake up and do a much better job and hold each other accountable."

Teammate Nazem Kadri offered a different response when asked if the team quit in the final frame.

"I don't think so. We're not quitters," Kadri said, according to TSN's Mark Masters. "We've never been like that. We always finish it to the end. Did we want a better (overall) effort? Of course."

The Bolts controlled 55.8 percent of the shot attempts and 57.1 percent of the high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five during the contest, according to Natural Stat Trick.

If the Eastern Conference standings remain unchanged, Toronto and Tampa Bay would meet in the second round of the playoffs should each team win its first-round matchup.

"Tonight we really wanted to show them that's why we're the best team in the league," Lightning forward Cedric Paquette told Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

With the win, the Lightning became the seventh team ever to reach 110 points in 70 or fewer games.

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Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel disagrees with the NHL's decision to suspend him two games for his hit to the head of Colorado Avalanche forward Carl Soderberg on Saturday.

"If you look at the hit and you look at the rule book, I just didn't think it matched up," Eichel told Paul Hamilton of WGR 550.

Here's a look at the play, which Eichel was penalized for.

"That's not an illegal hit. I don't move myself to lower into him," Eichel said. "If you watch the hit, he is actually at fault for dropping his head down there. He puts himself in a vulnerable position, leans over, and his head goes off my back - his head's on my number."

Sabres coach Phil Housley shares his captain's point of view.

"I don't agree with the decision, but we have to live with it, that's all I'm going to say," he said.

Eichel leads the Sabres with 72 points in 65 games this season. He's eligible to return Saturday versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

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The NHLPA has reportedly filed an appeal of the two-game suspension dished out to Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek, according to Dave Isaac of the Courier Post.

The appeal will take place Tuesday, according to Sportsnet's John Shannon, meaning Voracek will remain unavailable for the Flyers' contest versus the Ottawa Senators on Monday.

Voracek was suspended two games for interference after a reverse hit on New York Islanders blue-liner Johnny Boychuk on Saturday.

Any player can appeal on-ice discipline as long as written notice of the appeal is provided within 48 hours, according to the NHL Department of Player Safety. Appeal decisions are handled by commissioner Gary Bettman, but for suspensions of six or more games, players can then appeal to a neutral arbitrator if the commissioner upholds the original decision.

Voracek didn't appear to agree with his punishment, tweeting this shortly after the announcement of his ban.

If Voracek's suspension isn't lifted after review, he'll be eligible to return to the lineup Friday evening versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Every Monday, theScore offers a weekly fantasy hockey column detailing a handful of moves you should make. This week's edition focuses on Round 2 of the fantasy hockey playoffs. Ownership percentages (as of March 10) and position eligibility are courtesy of Yahoo.

Scoop up Travis Sanheim

Team: Flyers
Position: D
Ownership: 16 percent

Quality defensemen are hard to come by this time of year, but Sanheim is still available in the majority of leagues. The former first-round pick has come into his own down the stretch, picking up 12 points in his last 12 games while averaging over 21 minutes per night - over two minutes more than his season average.

The Flyers play four games this week with only one contest on a busy game night, so you shouldn't run into any issues getting Sanheim into your starting lineup.

Take a flier on Sam Montembeault

Team: Panthers
Position: G
Ownership: 5 percent

The Panthers only play three games this week but there's a good chance Montembeault will be in goal for at least two of them. The 22-year-old rookie netminder has started each of Florida's last two games, stopping a combined 44 of 47 shots en route to two victories. The Panthers already have an eye toward next season and will likely want to see what they have in "Monty."

Montembeault is vastly unproven, but if you need help between the pipes in a deeper league, he's your guy.

Add Troy Terry

Team: Ducks
Position: RW
Ownership: 8 percent

The Ducks may be a complete and utter disaster, but there's still some fantasy value to be extracted from their roster. Terry has been a bright spot, picking up seven points in his last four games. The former U.S. Olympian has plenty of skill and has been seeing time on the Ducks' top power-play unit.

More importantly, the Ducks have four games over the next seven days but don't play on Saturday - the busiest night of the week.

Pick up Ryan Donato

Team: Wild
Position: C/LW/RW
Ownership: 23 percent

Donato is getting a chance to flourish with the Wild - something he wasn't afforded with the Boston Bruins. He has nine points in as many games since being traded to Minnesota and is currently skating on the club's top line alongside Eric Staal and Jason Zucker.

Donato's positional versatility and the fact the Wild have four games this week should help maximize his fantasy value for Round 2 of the playoffs.

Drop Kings, Golden Knights players

The Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights each have a league-low two games this week. In standard-sized re-draft leagues, anyone not named Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault, or Marc-Andre Fleury can be dropped for players with four games. In deeper re-draft leagues, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty are worth hanging on to as well.

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