Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Blackhawks look to gain in West wild-card race

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2019 NHL postseason. There are 25 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.

Thought of the Day

As the competition to claim a wild-card spot in the Western Conference continues, the Edmonton Oilers are playing some of their best hockey of the season. Will it be enough to get them back into the playoff picture?
The Oilers, who are six points behind the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild card into the playoffs from the West, are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games. Forward Leon Draisaitl is on a 14-game point streak (10 goals, 13 assists), the longest in the League, and has an NHL career high 42 goals. Center Connor McDavid has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in his past nine games and 98 points (34 goals, 64 assists) in 65 games as he closes in on his third consecutive 100-point season.
Coach Ken Hitchcock said the Oilers are playing with confidence.
"The players are excited to come to the rink and get better now," Hitchcock said Tuesday. "It's not a burden to try and improve. There's a real energy in this team, that every day they get to be together is another day they can improve. If you have that, you never know where it can take you. We understand the situation we're in, but it looks a lot more realistic now than it did a week ago. And it's based on our good play."
But the Oilers have ground to make up and will continue to be tested. This weekend they start a three-game road trip against teams that hold playoff spots, beginning with the Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN1, CITY, FS-A, NHL.TV). They'll also play the Vegas Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues on that trip.
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers

On Tap

-- Chicago has 69 points and can get within four of the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference with a victory. The Blackhawks have won three straight games and have been better defensively, allowing two goals in their past two games (a 2-1 victory against the Dallas Stars on Saturday and a 7-1 win against the Coyotes on Monday). The Maple Leafs, who are 3-1-1 in their past five games, have a solid hold on third place in the Atlantic Division. With 89 points, Toronto is four points behind the second-place Boston Bruins and eight ahead of the Montreal Canadiens.
New Jersey Devils at Edmonton Oilers (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, NHL.TV) -- Edmonton can get within four points of the Coyotes for the second wild card from the West with a win. The Oilers, who have 69 points, are 5-1-0 in their past six games and wrap up their four-game homestand against the Devils, who will be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss of any kind Wednesday.
New York Rangers at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SNP, MSG, NHL.TV) -- The Canucks, who are 10 points behind the Coyotes for the second wild card from the West, are clinging to slim playoff hopes. Vanouver has 65 points but has been struggling with two wins in its past 10 games (2-6-2).

If playoffs started Wednesday

Here is a look at the matchups for the first round as they stand entering games Wednesday:
Eastern Conference
(1A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC2) Columbus Blue Jackets
(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) San Jose Sharks vs. (WC2) Arizona Coyotes
(1C) Winnipeg Jets vs. (WC1) Dallas Stars
(2P) Calgary Flames vs. (3P) Vegas Golden Knights
(2C) Nashville Predators vs. (3C) St. Louis Blues

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About last night

All eight games on the schedule Tuesday had playoff implications:
Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Washington Capitals 3: The Penguins took over third place in the Metropolitan Division by ending the Captials' winning streak at seven. Evgeni Malkin had two assists to score his 1,000th NHL point for Pittsburgh, which moved two points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes. Alex Ovechkin had an assist for his 1,200th NHL point for Washington, which leads the New York Islanders by two points for first in the Metropolitan.
Dallas Stars 2, Buffalo Sabres 0: The Stars moved within two points of the third-place St. Louis Blues in the Central Division on the strength of Ben Bishop's third straight shutout. Bishop, who hasn't allowed a goal in 204:20, made 35 saves for Dallas, which leads the Arizona Coyotes by two points for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Sabres fell 12 points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card in the East.

Columbus Blue Jackets 7, Boston Bruins 4: The Blue Jackets held on to the second wild card in the East by handing Boston its second straight loss. Columbus is tied in points (81) with the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card but holds the regulation/overtime wins tiebreaker. The Bruins remain four points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for second place in the Atlantic Division.
Montreal Canadiens 3, Detroit Red Wings 1: The Canadiens stayed tied in points with the Blue Jackets for the second wild card behind Carey Price, who picked up win No. 315 to become the all-time winningest goalie in Canadiens history. The Red Wings were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.
Arizona Coyotes 3, St. Louis Blues 1: The Coyotes, who have not been to the postseason since the 2011-12 season, moved into the second wild card in the West with the win. Arizona, which lost 7-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, is one point ahead of the Minnesota Wild. The Blues are third in the Central, two points ahead of the Stars.

San Jose Sharks 5, Winnipeg Jets 4: The Sharks maintained their lead for first place in the Western Conference and Pacific Division with the victory, which came when Joe Pavelski scored the game-winning goal with five seconds remaining. The Sharks lead the Calgary Flames, who defeated the New Jersey Devils, by one point in both the conference and division. The Jets, who have lost three of their past four games, remain first in the Central Division, one point ahead of the Nashville Predators.
Calgary Flames 9, New Jersey Devils 4: The Flames scored six goals in the third period to stay within one point of the Sharks for first in both the Western Conference and Pacific Division. It was the second straight win for Calgary after losing four in a row.

Anaheim Ducks 3, Nashville Predators 2: Nashville missed a chance to move back into first in the Central Division. The second-place Predators are one point behind the Jets, who lost to the Sharks.