Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Golden Knights can clinch berth

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2018 NHL postseason. There are 16 days left in the regular season and the races in each conference are wide open.
Here is a look at the NHL Standings and everything else that could impact the playoff picture.

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Stanley Cup Playoff clinching scenarios

The Vegas Golden Knights will clinch a playoff berth:
* If they defeat the Colorado Avalanche in any fashion
OR
* If they lose to the Avalanche in a shootout ANDthe St. Louis Blues lose to the Columbus Blue Jackets in regulation ANDthe Los Angeles Kings lose to the Edmonton Oilers in regulation.

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What's on tap

There are 12 games on the schedule Saturday with potential impact on the race for positioning in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
-- Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury rejoined the Golden Knights for practice Friday after missing their 2-1 overtime loss at the San Jose Sharks on Thursday with an unspecified injury. Vegas is in first place in the Pacific Division, seven points ahead of San Jose. The Avalanche hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, one point behind the Anaheim Ducks, and one point ahead of the St. Louis Blues.
-- A Pacific Division matinee between teams headed in opposite directions. The Flames have lost four in a row to fall eight points behind Colorado for the second wild card in the West and will be without center Sean Monahan for the rest of the season because of unspecified injuries. The Sharks have won six in a row, outscoring opponents 29-16, to open a four-point advantage on the third-place Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific.
--The Maple Leafs, who are 5-1-0 in their past six games, open a three-game homestand in third place in the Atlantic Division, seven points behind the Boston Bruins. Center Auston Matthews returned after missing 10 games with a shoulder injury and scored a goal in a 5-2 win against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
-- Winners of six of their past seven games, the Capitals hold a three-point lead on the Penguins in the race for first place in the Metropolitan Division. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 44 goals, has 27 goals in 44 career games against the Canadiens, including four in a 6-1 win in Washington on Oct. 7.
--The first game of a home-and-home series that concludes in Ottawa on Monday. The Hurricanes trail the New Jersey Devils by nine points for the second wild card in the East with eight games remaining.

-- The Panthers will try to keep the pressure on the Devils, who they trail by three points for the second wild card in the East. They have played two fewer games than the Devils, but will play their next four on the road.

--This would be an Eastern Conference First Round matchup if the playoffs began today. The Lightning are tied in points with the Predators for first place in the League standings with 106, but the Predators have played one fewer game. Tampa Bay holds a four-point lead on Boston for first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. The Devils, who are four points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the first wild card in the East, return home after going 4-2-0 on a six-game road trip.
-- The Islanders are 1-2-0 so far on a five-game homestand. They trail the Devils by 12 points for the second wild card in the East with eight games remaining.
--Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist returned to practice on Friday, but will miss his second consecutive game after being shaken up in a collision against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. The Rangers are 12 points behind the Devils for the second wild card in the East with eight games remaining.
-- The Blue Jackets look to extend their winning streak to 11, which would be the longest in the NHL this season. Columbus is in third place in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Penguins and one ahead of the Flyers, which holds the first wild card in the East. The Blues have won four in a row to climb within one point of the Avalanche for the second wild card in the West, but will be without defenseman Carl Gunnarsson for the rest of the season after he tore his left ACL in a 4-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.
--The Predators look to rebound from a 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs on Thursday in this Central Division showdown. The Predators were 14-0-1 in their previous 15 games and lead the Winnipeg Jets by six points for first place in the Central. The third-place Wild trail the Jets by 10 points and are two points ahead of the Avalanche in the division race.
-- After getting four goals from Anze Kopitar in a 7-1 win against the Avalanche on Thursday, the Kings are 4-1-2 in their past seven games. They are tied in points with the Ducks, but are in third place in the Pacific Division because they have five more regulation/overtime wins.

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Need to know

Calgary Flames:The Flames' playoff push became a lot harder with the news Saturday that center and leading goal-scorer
Sean Monahan will miss the remainder of the season
with two injuries.
Winnipeg Jets:The success of the Jets hasn't just been because of Patrik Laine. Tim Campbell looks at the impact that rookie
Kyle Connor, who has scored back-to-back goals in overtime
, has had in Winnipeg.
New Jersey Devils:According to everyone else but them, the Devils weren't supposed to be in this position, fighting for a playoff spot this late in the season. Yet, here they are. Mike Zeisberger looks at how they've gotten into this position and why they have a
"New Jersey Devils vs. Everybody"
mentality.
NHL:Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, who leads the League with 44 goals, is in action Saturday and will try to pad his lead in the
Rocket Richard Trophy race
over Laine (43 goals) and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins (41), who are idle.

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Thought of the day

Although the Pittsburgh Penguins have steamrolled through the second half of their schedule -- 22-8-3 since Jan. 5 after going 20-19-3 prior -- the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions have played with the swagger of a team ready to take on all challengers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The one exception might be the New Jersey Devils, who have defeated the Penguins three times since Feb. 3, including a 4-3 overtime victory in Pittsburgh on Friday. Accustomed to giving opponents headaches with their blazing team speed, the Penguins have had trouble at times containing the Devils' speed and Taylor Hall, who has six points (two goals, four assists) in the three New Jersey wins.
That was the case again when the Devils scored three times in the second period Friday, including rush goals from Blake Coleman and Nico Hischier. The Devils continued to get counterattack chances and won in overtime on Hall's breakaway goal.
The teams meet for the final time in the regular season in New Jersey on March 29. After that, who knows?
If the season ended Friday, the Penguins would face the Columbus Blue Jackets, winners of 10 in a row, in the Eastern Conference First Round. But after defeating the Blue Jackets in five games in first round last season, the Penguins would be confident heading into that series.
Despite their advantage in postseason experience, that might not be the case against the Devils, who hold the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Devils would love to get that chance after missing the playoffs the past five seasons.-- Tom Gulitti, NHL.com staff writer

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About last night

Four of the games played on Friday had playoff implications:
-- The Devils finished their six-game trip with a 4-2-0 record and extended their lead over the Florida Panthers to three points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. New Jersey is 3-0-0 against the Penguins this season. Pittsburgh is three points behind the first-place Washington Capitals and one point ahead of the third-place Columbus Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division.
St. Louis Blues 4, Vancouver Canucks 1-- St. Louis moved within one point of the second wild card in the West and three points behind the Minnesota Wild for third place in the Central Division. The Blues have won four straight games, while the Canucks are 1-8-0 in their past nine.
-- The Jets reached 100 points for the first time in franchise history, passing their previous mark of 99, set in 2014-15. Forward Kyle Connor had the winning goal, the second time in two games he has scored in overtime. Winnipeg leads the Minnesota Wild by 10 points for second place in the Central Division. The Ducks hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche.
Boston Bruins 3, Dallas Stars 2-- The Bruins moved within four points of the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division and extended their lead over the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs by seven points. Dallas, which lost its seventh straight game (0-5-2), trails the Avalanche by four points for the second wild card in the West. The Stars have not won since they defeated the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 on March 9.

If playoffs started Saturday

Here is a look at the matchups for the first round as they stand entering games Saturday:
Eastern Conference
(1A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs (WC2) New Jersey Devils
(1M) Washington Capitals vs. (WC1) Philadelphia Flyers
(2M) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (3M) Columbus Blue Jackets
(2A) Boston Bruins vs. (3A) Toronto Maple Leafs
Western Conference
(1C) Nashville Predators vs. (WC2) Colorado Avalanche
(1P) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) Anaheim Ducks
(2C) Winnipeg Jets vs. (3C) Minnesota Wild
(2P) San Jose Sharks vs. (3P) Los Angeles Kings