Pluses, minuses for Lightning-Rangers, Oilers-Ducks

NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his thoughts for big games each week throughout the season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning (45-26-6) and New York Rangers (45-21-11) have each clinched a berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs but will try and improve upon their positioning in the standings when they play at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TNT, SN NOW). Then the Edmonton Oilers (46-23-9) visit the Anaheim Ducks (23-44-10) at Honda Center (10 p.m. ET; TNT, TVAS, SN360, SN NOW).
Here's my breakdowns of the games.

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Lightning

Pluses: Tampa Bay has won three straight and is looking in fine playoff form. In the streak, the Lightning outscored the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders 14-1, including two shutouts from goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Forward Nikita Kucherov has 106 points, forward Brayden Point is two goals from 50 and forward Steven Stamkos has 37 goals and 80 points. The Lightning will play the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and likely open that series on the road, so for now it's just about fine-tuning their game. Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev has had a breakout season with 59 points (nine goals, 50 assists) in 75 games and has really stepped up this season after the trade of Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators in the offseason.

Minuses: This will have a playoff feel against the Rangers, who the Lightning defeated in the Eastern Conference Final last season. Tampa Bay has been great at home this season, going 27-7-5, but is 18-19-1 on the road. Other than that, not many negatives with them.

Rangers

Pluses: The Rangers are 10-2-2 in their past 14 games. Forward Artemi Panarin has averaged 1.28 points per game (336 points in 263 games) in his four seasons playing for New York. Defenseman K'Andre Miller is having his best season with 41 points (nine goals, 12 assists) and a plus-12 rating in 74 games and has done it mostly without playing on the power play. Goalie Igor Shesterkin has been on his game and is third in the NHL in wins with 35. Forwards Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, each acquired before the NHL Trade Deadline, have gotten a little more comfortable each game, which is a great sign for the Rangers heading into the playoffs.

Minuses: I can't really find any faults in their game right now. Of their four losses in their past 14 games, each were by one goal, so clearly they've played very well over this stretch.

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Oilers

Pluses:Can forward Connor McDavid get 150 points? He's at 147 (62 goals, 85 assists) right now. Forward Leon Draisaitl has 123 and forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 99, which means the Oilers could have three players with at least 100, something that hasn't been done since the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins (Mario Lemieux, 161; Jaromir Jagr, 149; Ron Francis, 119). Goalie Stuart Skinner has had a great rookie season, going 26-14-5 with a 2.84 goals-against average and .911 save percentage, and Jack Campbell is coming off a 36-save shutout in a 6-0 win against the Ducks on Saturday. Edmonton is 10-0-1 in its past 11 and can move to within one point of the Vegas Golden Knights for the top seed in the Western Conference with a win.

Minuses: We know it's not the scoring, since they have plenty of that, but the defense is what worries me. True, they've gotten better with the addition of Mattias Ekholm, but the Oilers rank 18th in goals-against per game (3.22) and are tied for 20th on the penalty kill (76.5 percent).

Ducks

Pluses:It's no secret that for the Ducks it's about the young players. Forward Trevor Zegras, 22, leads the Ducks with 60 points; forward Troy Terry, 25, is second with 56; and forward Mason McTavish, 20, is fourth with 42. There are a lot of good players in the pipeline and Anaheim could be in line for another because should it land a top pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Minuses: It's been a tough couple of seasons for the Ducks. They're 31st in goals per game (2.49) and last in goals-against per game (4.08). The power play (15.9 percent) and penalty kill (72.6 percent) each rank 31st. They've lost eight straight and have won more than two consecutive games twice this season.