Playoff Buzz: Canadiens can clinch Thursday

Welcome to the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, your daily look at the stories impacting the sprint to the finish line of the 2016-17 regular season and the mad scramble for the seven remaining spots in the postseason. There are 11 days remaining in the season. If the playoffs were to start today, this is what the matchups would be. Here is all the playoff news for Thursday:

#

Canadiens can clinch

Here are the clinching scenarios for Thursday:
TheMontreal Canadienswill clinch a playoff berth:
If they defeat the Panthers in regulation or overtime
OR
If they defeat the Panthers in a shootout AND either of the following occurs:
1) The Lightning lose to the Red Wings in any fashion or defeat the Red Wings in a shootout
2) The Bruins lose to the Stars in any fashion
OR
If they get one point against the Panthers AND the Islanders lose to the Flyers in any fashion or defeat the Flyers in a shootout AND either of the following occurs:
1) The Lightning lose to the Red Wings in any fashion
2) The Bruins lose to the Stars in regulation

6:00 p.m.

A busy schedule starts in less than an hour when the puck drops on two of the nine games.
The Canadiens have an opportunity to become the second Canadian team to clinch a playoff berth. Edmonton qualified with a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. There are five teams on the schedule from the Eastern Conference all within reach of the Boston Bruins for the second wild position: The Tampa Bay Lightning, the New York Islanders, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Florida Panthers.
Here is one final primer on a big night in the NHL:
New York Islanders at Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET; SN1, SNO, CSN-PH, MSG+, NHL.TV)
The Islanders, four points behind the Bruins for the second wild card in the East, get defenseman Johnny Boychuk back in the lineup after a 12-game absence because of a lower-body injury. The Flyers have won four of their past six and are six points behind the Bruins.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, FS-O, NHL.TV)
The Blue Jackets, 10-3-1 in March, are five points behind the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division and the race for the Presidents' Trophy. The Hurricanes are four points behind the Bruins for the second wild card in the East and are 8-0-4 in their past 12 games, tying their record point streak set in 2005-06.
Dallas Stars at Boston Bruins (7:30 p.m.; NBCSN, TVA Sports, NHL.TV)
Since Bruce Cassidy took over as coach on Feb. 7, the Bruins are 14-7-0. They lead the Lightning by three points and are one point behind the Maple Leafs for third in the Atlantic Division.
Florida Panthers at Montreal Canadiens (7:30 p.m. ET; SNE, RDS, FS-F, NHL.TV)
The Canadiens are first in the Atlantic, four points ahead of the Ottawa Senators with six games remaining. The Panthers are nine points behind the Bruins for the second wild card.
Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning (7:30 p.m. ET; SUN, FS-D, NHL.TV)
The Lightning, who could get center Steven Stamkos back this weekend, are three points behind the Bruins for the final wild card and four points behind the Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic. For the first time since the 1990-91 season, the Red Wings are not preparing for the playoffs.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Nashville Predators (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, TSN4, NHL.TV)
The Maple Leafs, with goalie Frederik Andersen returning, hit the road trying to catch the Senators for second in the Atlantic, and also are trying to hold onto their one-point lead for third place. The Predators, who have a 10-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card in the West, can move into third place in the Central with a victory.
Ottawa Senators at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; FS-WI, FS-N+, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV)
The Senators, four points behind the Canadiens for the Atlantic Division lead, will turn to goalie Craig Anderson. The Wild, nine points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference with one game in hand, will start goaltender Alex Stalock, who make his first NHL start since Feb. 11, 2016
Anaheim Ducks at Winnipeg Jets (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-W, NHL.TV)
The Ducks have won five straight and are 9-1-1 in the past 11 games. They are first in the Pacific, two points ahead of the Sharks and Oilers with six games remaining.
San Jose Sharks at Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. ET; SNW, CSN-CA, NHL.TV)
The Oilers and Sharks, who would meet in the first round if the playoffs started today, have each qualified for the playoffs and trail the Ducks by two points for the lead in the Pacific Division. The Sharks and Oilers each have 93 points but the Sharks hold the first tiebreaker because they have more regulation/overtime wins (ROW), 41-38.

2:45 p.m.

Boychuk back

Defenseman Johnny Boychuk will return to the lineup for the New York Islanders at the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Islanders are four points behind the Bruins for the second wild card in the East with seven games left. Boychuk not only gives the Islanders greater depth, but more experience in these big-game situations. He missed the past 12 games because of a lower-body injury.

1:35 p.m.

Lightning in a bottle

Better late than never for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Forwards Tyler Johnson and Steven Stamkos could be
back in the lineup
as early as Saturday. That's great news for the Lightning, who are three points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Johnson was a full participant in practice Thursday and Stamkos participated in every practice drill Wednesday. The Lightning have three home games in four days, starting Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings (7:30 p.m. ET; SUN, FS-D, NHL.TV). They play the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
The return of Johnson and Stamkos would not only provide a big offensive boost to the Lightning, but an emotional lift to a team most pundits thought was out of the playoff picture after it traded goalie Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings, forward Brian Boyle to the Toronto Maple Leafs and forward Valtteri Filppula to the Philadelphia Flyers before the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline.
Stamkos hasn't played since injuring his knee on Nov. 15; he had arthroscopic surgery for a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee two days later. Johnson has missed nine games with a knee injury.
Here's the latest off the Lightning's
morning skate
prior to their game against the Red Wings.

10:20 a.m.

Getting the points

The Calgary Flames and St. Louis missed out on chances to clinch playoff berths in the Western Conference on Wednesay. Seven of the nine games on the schedule Thursday feature at least one team in the hunt for one of the four remaining playoff spots in the Eastern Conference: Here's a look:

9:00 a.m.

Not so fast

The Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues each had a chance to clinch a berth in the playoffs on Wednesday, but Los Angeles Kings forward Jarome Iginla spoiled the party.
Iginla had a goal and an assist to help the Kings to a 4-1 win at Calgary. That victory not only put the Flames' clincher on hold, it also prevented the Blues from getting in.
Here's a recap of what happened on Wednesday.
Los Angeles Kings 4, Calgary Flames 1
The Kings trail the Nashville Predators by 10 points for the second wild card in the Western Conference with six games remaining. The Flames lead the Predators by one point for the first wild card.

St. Louis Blues 3, Arizona Coyotes 1
The Blues moved into third place in the Central Division, one point ahead of the Predators. St. Louis, 11-2-1 in March, received goals from Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Tarasenko and David Perron. Goalie Carter Hutton made 22 saves.
Chicago Blackhawks 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 1
The Penguins lost their fourth straight to remain in third in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets and seven behind the Washington Capitals. The Blackhawks moved nine points ahead of the Minnesota Wild in the Central Division and Western Conference. Chicago is within five points of the Capitals in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. Five different skaters scored for the Blackhawks, who matched a record they set in 2014-15 with their 24th road win.
Washington Capitals 5, Colorado Avalanche 3
The Capitals won their sixth in a row to get to 110 points, five more than the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks in the NHL points race. Marcus Johansson and Evgeny Kuznetsov each had a goal and an assist. John Carlson, Jay Beagle and Lars Eller also scored for the Capitals.