In a perfect world, the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs would play each other in the Basement Bowl on Saturday night, and Auston Matthews would be in attendance.
Both teams are tied for last in the league with 69 points, and both have one game left to play. The Maple Leafs will face the New Jersey Devils on the road Saturday, while the Oilers visit the Vancouver Canucks.
Last place guarantees the best odds - 20 percent - at the NHL draft lottery on April 30. On the line is the right to select first overall at June's entry draft, where Matthews is predicted to be taken No. 1.
The Maple Leafs failed to clinch 30th by winning Thursday in Philadelphia.
Should both Toronto and Edmonton win or lose their final games, the Maple Leafs will finish 30th thanks to fewer regulation and overtime wins (ROW). Toronto has 23 ROWs to Edmonton's 27.
If the Maple Leafs finish last, it will only be the third time in franchise history, writes the Toronto Star's Kevin McGran.
Many Montreal Canadiens fans haven't wanted to talk about anything between the pipes since all-world goaltender Carey Price went down with a knee injury, but Charlie Lindgren put forth a valiant effort in trying to change that.
Lindgren suited up for the Habs in his first NHL start Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, earning a 4-2 victory and a moment he'll never forget.
Last night was the best night of my life. That was truly a dream coming true. Thanks to everyone who watched and supported me #1stNHLWin
— CharlieLindgren35 (@CharlieLindgren) April 8, 2016
Lindgren made 26 saves in the win.
The undrafted 22-year-old signed a two-way contract with the Canadiens on March 30 following a dazzling season at St. Cloud State, where he posted a 30-9-1 record with a .925 save percentage.
An upper-body injury will keep Minnesota Wild forward Thomas Vanek out of at least Game 1 of the playoffs.
Vanek took a cross-check March 29 and last played on April 1. He's missed three games and was ruled out Friday for more than a week, according to the Pioneer Press' Chad Graff. The Wild tweeted that Vanek will be "out for at least a week."
Recently a healthy scratch, Vanek finishes his season with 18 goals and 23 assists in 74 games. His 41 points are a career low in a full season.
The Wild also announced that Zach Parise will sit out the club's regular-season finale Saturday for maintenance issues.
The NHL pointed out Friday that heading into the final weekend of the regular season - every team is in action Saturday - nothing has been decided. While 14 of 16 teams have clinched playoff spots, no team knows its first-round opponent, and there are only 18 games left to play.
From NHL, good look at where things stand going into the final weekend of the season. pic.twitter.com/0CKhW86B8P
That's remarkable. It speaks to parity in the league, thanks especially to points awarded for shootout losses. It also means that eight very good hockey teams are going to be going home after the first round of the playoffs.
The Avalanche are about to begin an extended vacation, and that doesn't sit well with head coach Patrick Roy. But he plans to be back at work in Colorado next year, even though his team's trended down for a second straight season.
Roy's Avalanche had a remarkable 112 points in his first season behind the bench, before losing a seven-game series to the Minnesota Wild in the first round. They had 90 points last season, missing the playoffs. They'll finish with 84, at most, this season. Considering the club's dropped five in a row to close out its schedule, 82 is more likely. But the fire still burns in Roy.
"Yeah, I do," Roy said when asked if he still wants to be behind the Avalanche bench next season, according to The Denver Post's Terry Frei. "Has this year been a tougher year that I expected? Yes. I thought that we were going to make the playoffs. Obviously, we did not have a good start for many reasons. But to answer your question, I do.
"I guess my 10 years in junior taught me a lot. As long as there's respect and I feel our players are playing hard. ... Are they playing well every night? No. But I feel that they're playing hard for me and I appreciate that. And they're very receptive."
Roy made headlines last week after he called out Matt Duchene for an over-the-top celebration in a blowout loss after the forward hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career. He went even further, criticizing the leadership of his core players, outside of captain Gabriel Landeskog. Roy's a passionate coach, much like he was as a player.
Now 50, Roy said he loves working with general manager Joe Sakic, and acknowledges that success in his first year as head coach hurt, in a way.
"Sometimes you want to go fast track, but that would be the wrong thing to do," Roy said. "The problem is we got 112 points the first year and that's where everybody thought we made the turn. But let's not forget that the year before, we were second-to-last overall. There's a reality between that year and what's going on."
Roy's thinking long term. With young players like Duchene, Landeskog, and Nathan MacKinnon in the fold, the future still looks bright in Denver.
Seth Jones might start thinking about it when the NHL season is over.
The Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman is one of several high-profile young stars due a second NHL contract this summer.
Entry-level deals last the first three seasons of ...
Desperately needing a win, the Philadelphia Flyers couldn't get it done, falling 4-3 in overtime Thursday night against the last-place Toronto Maple Leafs.
The loss was a near-fatal blow to the Flyers playoff hopes, but with two games remaining, they're still mathematically alive.
Philadelphia let a playoff position slip out of their grasp for the first time since March 21, but needing two consecutive wins to earn a spot as an Eastern Conference wildcard is an opportunity the Flyers need to be thankful for, or at least Claude Giroux thinks so.
"Tell us two months ago we'd be in this position and we'd take it," the Flyers captain told Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post. "We played really good in the second and third period."
Giroux is right, the Flyers were the better team for the final 40 minutes. But after a sloppy first period, the Flyers couldn't surmount an early 2-0 deficit.
Philadelphia out-shot Toronto 44-26 in the game, and forced overtime with a last-minute goal from Wayne Simmonds, salvaging at least one point - another thing the Flyers are thankful for after the disappointing result.
"We didn't do it. They came down and had a couple chances and scored two goals. The point is huge, but we needed to get two," said Flyers forward Jakub Voracek, who was out of position on the Leafs' first goal, and finished the contest minus-2.
Now, the Flyers control their own destiny, but earning a berth in the playoffs won't come easy. Philly's final two games come on back-to-back days against two playoff-bound opponents in the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders.
Anything can happen as the season comes to a close, and the Flyers are no strangers to dramatic playoff-clinching scenarios.
The significance of an NHL captain is often contested, but ranking them is likely to invoke even more debate.
The best captains aren't merely great players, but ones who help balance egos and lead - often both vocally and by example - teams well into the spring.
The veteran defenseman isn't his formerly dominant self at age 39, and the Boston Bruins are in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight season.
14. Ryan McDonagh
He's overcome some brutal luck, suffering a concussion and a jaw injury within a two-week span, then sustaining another injury Monday that could force him to miss playoff games.
13. Henrik Zetterberg
The Swedish winger has spent his entire 13-year career with the Detroit Red Wings, who named him Nicklas Lidstrom's replacement as captain in 2013.
The physical center's offensive production has dropped off in a contract year, but that hasn't slowed down the surging St. Louis Blues, and he has picked up his game lately.
11. Shea Weber
The leader of Nashville's loaded blue line has helped the Predators remain a tough out for years in the fiercely competitive Central Division, but the club has yet to advance past the second round.
10. John Tavares
Tavares locked in his third 30-goal campaign Monday, but the Islanders have slipped into wild-card territory and aren't exactly heading into a potential playoff matchup on the most inspiring note.
9. Claude Giroux
Giroux is on pace to post his lowest point total in an 82-game season since his first full campaign in 2009-10, but he's already over the 60-point plateau, so that's just a testament to how consistent he's been in his career.
8. Ryan Getzlaf
The Anaheim Ducks' first-line center struggled in the first half of the season and his prolonged slump mirrored the team's woes, but Getzlaf resurrected his campaign in the second half and his teammates followed suit.
Karlsson is in the midst of a Norris Trophy-caliber season and ranks among the most productive skaters in the league, but his less than flattering jab at teammates - and arguably Ottawa Senators management - didn't help his cause here.
The Lightning are the youngest team in the league among playoff-bound clubs, and their only regular alternate captain, Ryan Callahan, is now banged up, too. Stamkos is a captain who leads by example, and his absence will truly illustrate how important he is to the youthful squad when healthy.
It was 2-0 less than three minutes in, and, for the Detroit Red Wings, it was over.
The Boston Bruins jumped all over Detroit on Thursday, winning a huge game between the clubs that ties them in the standings with 93 points, with only one game left to play for both.
The Red Wings played Wednesday, earning a massive 3-0 win at home against the Philadelphia Flyers, and didn't get into Boston until very late Wednesday night - or early Thursday morning, depending on your perspective.
Detroit was outshot 11-8 in the first period, but Boston truly took over in the second and third periods. The shots in the final 40 minutes: 23-7. Detroit mustered only two shots in the third period.
"I think it was a just a little bit of everything," Jimmy Howard, who was pulled after allowing five goals on 28 shots, said. "Having such an emotional high (Wednesday), coming off such a big victory, getting in relatively late last night and having to get up for another emotional game - it was tough. We just didn't have our 'A' game tonight."
"You get down 2-0 right away, that's a hard thing," said head coach Jeff Blashill.
Down 3-1 heading into the third period, the Bruins blitzed again, scoring twice in 45 seconds to end any thoughts of a comeback.
"Those first two shifts in the third period killed the game," Henrik Zetterberg said.
There are a number of scenarios by which the Red Wings can make the playoffs. The simplest: Beat the Rangers on Saturday in New York. Win and they're in.
The postseason streak's on the line. Rest up, Red Wings.
Poile snatched the 11th overall pick in 2012 from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Martin Erat and Michael Latta in April of 2013, a move that has paid huge dividends for the Predators, as they look like contenders heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Thursday night, Forsberg etched his name in the Predators history books by scoring his 33rd goal of the season, tying the franchise record set by Jason Arnott in 2008-09.
Not bad for a 21-year-old.
Forsberg's career season has drawn the praise of his Predators teammates, including captain Shea Weber.
"That's pretty impressive," Weber told John Glennon of The Tennessean. "He's a special player, a special talent. We're fortunate to have him on our team. You forget how young he is sometimes and how much he's going to keep getting better and growing. It's a great thing for him."
Preds head coach Peter Laviolette echoed the praise of Forsberg's impressive campaign.
"Filip's been a really strong player for us, especially in the second half of the season. It's nice to see him follow that up from his first year and what he was able to do."
Forsberg has one more game to attempt to break the franchise record, a Saturday night affair with the Central Division leading Dallas Stars.
