Stanley Cup Playoff Buzz: Penguins try to keep pace in Metropolitan

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2019 NHL postseason. There are 13 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.

Stanley Cup Playoff clinching scenarios

The Vegas Golden Knights will clinch a playoff berth with at least one point against the St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV).
The Nashville Predators will clinch a playoff berth with a win in any fashion against the Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV).

On Tap

There are nine games on the schedule Monday, eight with playoff implications:
: The Maple Leafs are third in the Atlantic Division, seven points behind the second-place Boston Bruins and six points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens. The Panthers are 10 points behind the Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with a game in hand.
:The Penguins are third in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind the second-place New York Islanders and three behind the first-place Washington Capitals. The Penguins, who have won two straight games, are two points ahead of the Hurricanes. The Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention when the Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 7-4 on Saturday.
: The Bruins, who clinched a playoff berth with a 7-3 win against the Panthers on Saturday, have won four in a row and are second in the Atlantic Division. They are 19 points behind the first-place Lightning and seven ahead of the third-place Maple Leafs. The Lightning need four wins in their final six games to equal the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings' single season record of 62. They would need to win their final six games to tie the NHL record of 132 points in a single season set by the 1976-77 Canadiens.
: The Golden Knights are third in the Pacific Division, five points behind the second-place San Jose Sharks, and can clinch a playoff berth with one point against St. Louis. The Blues have won three in a row and are third in the Central, two points behind the second-place Nashville Predators and six behind the first-place Winnipeg Jets. St. Louis is six points ahead of the Dallas Stars.
: The Predators are second in the Central, four points behind the first-place Jets and two points ahead of the third-place Blues, and can clinch a playoff berth with a win of any kind. The Wild are two points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card from the West. Minnesota is 2-5-1 in its past eight games.
:The Stars hold the first wild card from the West; they are one point ahead of the Avalanche and six points behind the Blues for third in the Central. Dallas is 1-3-1 in its past five games. The Jets, who clinched a playoff berth with a 5-0 win against the Predators on Saturday, have won five of their past six games and are first in the Central, four points ahead of second-place Nashville and six points ahead of third-place St. Louis.
: The Flames have won three straight games and are first in the Pacific Division and Western Conference, six points ahead of the second-place Sharks. Calgary clinched a playoff berth when the Minnesota Wild lost 3-2 in overtime to the New York Islanders on March 17.
Detroit Red Wings at San Jose Sharks (10:30 a.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSCA, FS-D, NHL.TV): The Sharks clinched a playoff berth when the Wild lost to the Avalanche 3-1 on Tuesday. They are second in the Pacific, six points behind the first-place Flames and five points ahead of the third-place Golden Knights.

Thought of the day

The St. Louis Blues have already made a memorable run back into the Stanley Cup Playoff picture after they were 15-18-4 following a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Dec. 31, and are close to clinching a postseason berth. They also have a good chance to move up in the Central Division standings.
The Blues are third in the Central, six points behind the first-place Winnipeg Jets and two behind the second-place Nashville Predators with a game in hand on each. And if the Blues needed a boost of confidence, they got it when they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, the best team in the NHL, 4-3 on Saturday.
"It's huge," forward Brayden Schenn said. "They're a very good team, playing great hockey, winning a lot of games, scoring a lot of goals. For us to come in and beat them two times this year obviously gives the team confidence, and we know we're a good team in here."
The Blues have seven games remaining, including Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights at Enterprise Center (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV). Should they reach the playoffs, the Blues should be feeling confident. They've won three straight games and are 19-5-3 since Jan. 23, when they began an 11-game winning streak. If they can take advantage of their schedule down the stretch, they could pressure the Predators and Jets and possibly get home-ice advantage in the first round.
-- NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers

Need to know

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will not play against the New York Rangers on Monday because of an upper-body injury. Letang has 56 points (16 goals, 40 assists) in 63 games. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said Letang is day to day.
St. Louis Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson is expected to play against the Vegas Golden Knights. He's been out since Feb. 7 with an upper-body injury. He has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 18 games.

If playoffs started Monday

Here is a look at the matchups for the first round as they stand entering games Monday:
Eastern Conference
(1A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC2) Montreal Canadiens
(1M) Washington Capitals vs. (WC1) Carolina Hurricanes
(2A) Boston Bruins vs. (3A) Toronto Maple Leafs
(2M) New York Islanders vs. (3M) Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference
(1P) Calgary Flames vs. (WC2) Colorado Avalanche
(1C) Winnipeg Jets vs. (WC1) Dallas Stars
(2P) San Jose Sharks vs. (3P) Vegas Golden Knights
(2C) Nashville Predators vs. (3C) St. Louis Blues

About last night

There were five games on Sunday, each with playoff implications:
Washington Capitals 3, Philadelphia Flyers 1: The Capitals maintained their one-point lead over the New York Islanders for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals are 1-1-1 in their past three games and 10-3-1 in their past 14. The Flyers, who are 2-5-0 in their past seven games, fell eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with six games to play.
New York Islanders 2, Arizona Coyotes 0: The Islanders remained one point behind the Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan by getting their second win in as many days. The Islanders, who won 4-2 against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, are two points ahead of the third-place Pittsburgh Penguins. The Coyotes, who went 0-3-1 with four goals during their four-game road trip, fell two points behind the Colorado Avalanche in the race for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
The Hurricanes moved three points ahead of the Canadiens for the first wild card from the East. Carolina, which has won two in a row and four of its past five games, moved within two points of the Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan with a game in hand. The Canadiens are two points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card.

The Avalanche, who had won four in a row, moved two points ahead of the Coyotes and Minnesota Wild for the second wild card from the West. The Blackhawks are five points behind the Avalanche with one game in hand.
Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Vancouver Canucks 0: The Blue Jackets, who ended a four-game road trip with their first win (1-2-1), moved within two points of the Canadiens for the second wild card from the East. Columbus has seven games remaining, Montreal six. The Canucks dropped seven points behind the Avalanche for the second wild card from the West.