Trophy, playoff races among questions remaining

There are fewer than 200 games remaining in the 2014-15 NHL regular season and the only race remotely close to being decided is the one for first place in the Pacific Division. The Anaheim Ducks have a 13-point lead.

The rest of the playoff chases and scoring races are still up for grabs. Home-ice advantage is on the line. Players are trying secure their candidacy for postseason awards. Ten teams are within eight points of the lead for the Presidents' Trophy.

So much still has to be decided and yet the days are quickly ticking off the calendar. So many questions still have to be answered, but why wait until April 11, the final day of the regular season, when all 30 teams are in action? Why can't we just answer the hot questions now?

Here are 15 important questions heading into the homestretch of the season, with some educated guesswork for the answers:

1. WHO WILL WIN THE PRESIDENTS' TROPHY?

There are two teams tied with 95 points, but the New York Rangers have the lead because of their games played (68) and regulation/overtime victories (41). They have three games in hand on the Anaheim Ducks, who also have 95 points.

The Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators and Predators are also front and center in this race, but there are now seven teams within five points of each other.

Best guess: New York Rangers

The Rangers the most games remaining (14) of any team. They have seven games left at Madison Square Garden, where they're 22-7-5 this season. They play seven games against teams that aren't in a playoff position entering play Monday.

The Blues (93 points) have the next most games remaining (13) of the teams within three points of first, but they play seven on the road and have to face the Chicago Blackhawks two times as well as the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild.

2. WHO WILL WIN THE CENTRAL DIVISION?

The Predators, Blues and Blackhawks are within five points of each other. The Blues and Predators are tied with 93 points.

Best guess: St. Louis Blues

The Blues have two games in hand on the Predators. They could come in handy. The Predators have an easier April, but the Blues play six games in April and that should make the difference.

3. WHO WILL WIN THE ATLANTIC DIVISION?

The race is between the Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, though the Red Wings are not out of it yet. Montreal and Tampa Bay are separated by two points. The Canadiens have a game in hand. The Lightning and Canadiens play twice more this season, so there's a good chance that this race can be determined in those head-to-head matchups.

The Lightning play at home against Montreal on Monday; the Canadiens are home against Tampa Bay on March 30.

Best guess: Montreal Canadiens

Carey Price is the difference in this race. He has played so well of late that he has solidified his Hart Trophy candidacy. If the Canadiens can do a better job in front of him in their final 13 games Price will carry Montreal to the division title.

Tampa Bay takes a hit by losing forward Ondrej Palat and defenseman Braydon Coburn to injuries.

4. WHO WILL WIN THE METROPOLITAN DIVISION?

The Rangers, New York Islanders, and Penguins are within seven points of each other. The Washington Capitals are 11 points off the lead in fourth.

The only head-to-head matchup left between the top three teams is April 10, when the Islanders play the Penguins at Consol Energy Center. The Rangers still have two games against Washington.

Best guess: New York Rangers

The Rangers are pegged as the Presidents' Trophy winners in the answer to the first question, so obviously that means they would win the Metropolitan Division as well. They are 18-5-1 against Metropolitan Division opponents this season. The Islanders are 19-5-1 vs. the division.

5. WILL THE LOS ANGELES KINGS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?

The Kings are one point behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card in the Western Conference with 14 games remaining. They are two points behind the Flames for third place in the Pacific Division. They three points behind the Canucks for second. It's that close.

Best guess: Yes

Despite what appears to be a tough schedule, Los Angeles not only will make the playoffs, it will finish second in the Pacific Division. The Kings will overtake the Canucks and Flames to finish behind the Ducks.

It won't be easy, though. The Kings have to get through a tough six-game stretch that includes a home game against the Ducks on Wednesday followed by a five-game road trip featuring three games in the New York-New Jersey area. They play the Edmonton Oilers twice in April.

But the Kings have done this before in the regular season only to come out just fine. They won the Stanley Cup as the eighth seed in 2012 and had to win three Game 7s on the road last season before winning the Stanley Cup again.

6. WHO WILL BE THE WILD-CARD TEAMS IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE?

Let's start by eliminating the Kings from this answer because we just said they're going to finish second in the Pacific Division.

The top candidates for the two wild cards in the Western Conference are the Wild, Flames, Canucks, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets. The Blackhawks could still drop and the Avalanche could climb, but the likelihood of either happening is slim with the amount of games remaining and the potential for three-point games.

Best guess: Wild and Flames

Minnesota will get in despite having arguably the toughest schedule left of any Western Conference team, including two games against the Blues, two against the Predators, and one each against the Blackhawks, Rangers, Kings, Capitals, Islanders, Red Wings, Flames and Jets.

The Wild have been getting excellent goaltending from Devan Dubnyk and they're among the best teams in the Western Conference at suppressing shot attempts and controlling possession. But they also showed they can win when giving up a lot of shots, as they did in a 3-1 win against the Blues on Saturday, when they were outshot 42-19 but won because of Dubnyk.

The Flames are among the worst teams in the NHL at suppressing shot attempts and controlling possession, but whatever they're doing seems to be working because they are still in the race in spite of the fact that they trail early in most games and lost captain Mark Giordano, a Norris Trophy favorite, for the season.

The Jets should not be discounted and watch out for the Sharks, who are playing better of late. Inconsistency has been an issue for San Jose, though.

7. WHO WILL WIN THE ART ROSS TROPHY?

John Tavares

Center - NYI

GOALS: 33 | ASST: 39 | PTS: 72
SOG: 239 | +/-: 4

Islanders captain John Tavares has the lead with 72 points. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who won the scoring race in 2007-08, and center Nicklas Backstrom have 71 points. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, the winner last season and a two-time NHL regular-season scoring champ, has 70 points.

Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin, Philadelphia Flyers right wingJakub Voracek, Blues left wing Vladimir Tarasenko and Lightning center Tyler Johnson are also in the mix.

Best guess: Sidney Crosby

This will only happen if Crosby doesn't miss any more time. He sat out the game Saturday because he was ill. Crosby has two things going for him, other than his world-class talent: 1) He is red-hot with 13 points in his past 10 games; 2) The Penguins have 13 games remaining, one more than the Capitals and two more than the Islanders.

Assuming Crosby plays the rest of the way, he could finish with 85 points based on his current pace. It'll be just enough to edge out the field. It will also be the fewest points for a scoring champ in a full NHL season in the modern era (post expansion).

8. WHO WILL WIN THE ROCKET RICHARD TROPHY?

This race is not decided, but it's getting close. There are three legitimate candidates in Ovechkin, Rangers forward Rick Nash and Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, but there is one overwhelming favorite.

Best guess: Alex Ovechkin

It's hardly a guess at this point. Ovechkin has a six-goal lead on Nash for first in the NHL. Ovechkin has 45 goals, including 21 on the power play.

Ovechkin will win this race because of his prowess on the power play. Nash has only five power play goals. Stamkos has 37 goals, including 10 on the power play.

9. WILL OVECHKIN SCORE 50?

Ovechkin has 29 goals in his past 34 games, including 14 goals on the power play. He has scored at least 50 goals in five of his eight full seasons in the League (not including 2012-13).

Best guess: Yes

Ovechkin has 12 games to get five goals. By his current pace he'll crack 50 before the end of the month, maybe even before the end of the week.

He has scored 11 goals in 20 games against the 11 opponents remaining on Washington's schedule. He surprisingly has no goals in three games against the Carolina Hurricanes. He had 27 goals in 57 games against the Hurricanes coming into the season.

10. WHO WILL WIN THE HART TROPHY?

Like the Art Ross Trophy race, this one is wide open with no absolute favorite. The same players vying for the scoring title are up for considering for the MVP trophy, but they're competing against a goalie who might be running away with the Vezina Trophy.

Best guess: Carey Price

Whoever thinks goalies can't win the Hart Trophy because they have their own trophy hasn't watched Price carry the Canadiens this season. Price will be the first goalie to win the Hart Trophy since Jose Theodore, yes of the Canadiens, took home the hardware in 2002.

Montreal was 23rd in the NHL in shots on goal against per game (30.5) and 23rd in shot attempts percentage (48.60 SAT), but they are in the running for the Presidents' Trophy. The reason is Price, who leads the NHL with 38 wins, a .936 save percentage and a 1.91 goals-against average.

11. WILL HENRIK LUNDQVIST RETURN BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS?

Henrik Lundqvist

Goalie - NYR

RECORD: 25-11-3
GAA: 2.25 | SVP: .922

The Rangers have continued to win without Lundqvist. Cam Talbot and an offense that scored 39 goals in a 10-game stretch have been the difference in the Rangers' soaring up the standings to the top spot. Mackenzie Skapski has two wins against the Sabres. The Rangers are 15-2-3 without Lundqvist.

Best guess: Yes

Lundqvist has been skating on his own and taking low shots from goalie coach Benoit Allaire as part of his rehab. He is staying in shape so he can return as soon as he gets medical clearance from his doctors.

Lundqvist's return has nothing to do with how he feels and everything to do with what the doctors tell him. As a result it's impossible to put a timeline on his return, but Lundqvist is preparing as if he is planning to return before the playoffs.

12. WHO WILL FINISH 30TH?

The race at the bottom of the standings is intriguing too, because the prize at the end of a bad season could be a generational player. Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel are expected to be the first and second picks in the 2015 NHL Draft. They are expected to have immediate impacts.

The team that finishes 30th team has a 20 percent chance of securing the first pick in the draft via the 2015 NHL Draft Lottery, but it can't fall further than the No. 2 pick, meaning it is guaranteed the opportunity to select one of McDavid or Eichel.

The top three candidates are the Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers, and Arizona Coyotes.

Best guess: Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres are 30th and are four points clear of the 29th-place Oilers and six points clear of the 28th-place Coyotes. They have a game in hand on both the Oilers and Coyotes. The decisions Buffalo made prior to the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline were geared toward improving its draft position.

Buffalo is 6-27-4 in its past 37 games. The Sabres went 0-12-0 in January.

13. WILL THE PANTHERS OR SENATORS GET A WILD CARD?

The Panthers have the advantage of playing three games against the Bruins. Two of those three games are in Florida, where the Panthers are 16-10-7 this season. They play their final five games at home.

Ottawa has one game remaining each against Washington and Boston, and the advantage of playing the Maple Leafs three times. The Senators also have two games left against the Rangers and one each against the Red Wings, Lightning, and Penguins.

Best guess: Neither team gets a wild card

The Bruins have been playing much better of late and have built a big enough cushion to secure their spot. Odds are they won't lose three games to the Panthers, so even if they get two out of six points available against Florida, or split the difference and get three, they'll still be in fine shape. Boston also has games left against Buffalo, Toronto and Carolina.

Washington, two points ahead of the Bruins with 84, hardly is set but the Capitals have a big enough cushion on the Senators and Panthers that getting in shouldn't be a problem as long as their slump doesn't continue.

14. WILL ROBERTO LUONGO WIN FOUR MORE GAMES TO REACH 400 WINS?

Roberto Luongo

Goalie - FLA

RECORD: 23-16-11
GAA: 2.37 | SVP: .921

Best guess: Yes

Luongo did not return Sunday. When he does, he'll likely be asked to play every game until the Panthers either clinch a playoff spot or get eliminated from contention. That means he could play the remaining 13 games on the schedule, which gives him enough time to win four more games. Florida has two back-to-back sets remaining.

15. WHO WILL WIN THE ROOKIE SCORING RACE?

It has come down to Filip Forsberg of the Predators and Johnny Gaudreau of the Flames.

Forsberg has been the leader and favorite for most of the season, but Gaudreau pulled even in the race Friday with a three-point game against the Maple Leafs. They each have 53 points. Forsberg has four points in his past 16 games. Gaudreau has nine points in his past seven games.

Best guess: Johnny Gaudreau

Gaudreau has gotten hot at the right time while Forsberg has cooled considerably. Gaudreau also has 13 games left; Forsberg has 11.