On Tap
There are six games on the NHL schedule Thursday, three with playoff implications:
Anaheim Ducks at Nashville Predators (8 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, Victory+, KCOP-13, SNO)
The Ducks (42-33-6) need a win at Bridgestone Arena to have a chance at securing second place in the Pacific Division and home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They trail the Edmonton Oilers by one point for second, but the Oilers own the regulation wins tiebreaker (31-25). A loss means Anaheim could drop all the way to the second wild card with the Los Angeles Kings also in action and tied with the Ducks, each with 90 points, and Anaheim owning the regulation wins tiebreaker (25-22). They already have their most wins and points since 2017-18, when they won 44 games and finished with 101 points and was the last time they made the playoffs. The Ducks are 1-6-2 in nine games since March 28, including a 5-0 loss to the Predators on April 7.
Los Angeles Kings at Calgary Flames (9 p.m. ET; SN1, FDSNSC)
The Kings (35-26-20) need a win at Scotiabank Saddledome to maintain their chances at second in the Pacific. They're 6-0-2 in April and hold the second wild card from the West, but a victory against the Flames coupled with regulation losses by the Ducks and Oilers, would give them second place and home-ice advantage in the first round. This will be Kings captain Anze Kopitar's last regular-season game. He announced in September that this would be his final NHL season and has 1,316 points (452 goals, 864 assists) in 1,520 games, all with the Kings. He will finish with the seventh-most points by a European born and trained player in NHL history, behind Jaromir Jagr (1,921), Alex Ovechkin (1,687), Teemu Selanne (1,457), Evgeni Malkin (1,407), Jari Kurri (1,398) and Mats Sundin (1,349).
Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. ET; SNW, SNP)
The Oilers (40-30-11) will secure second in the Pacific Division with one point in their regular-season finale at Rogers Place. Center Connor McDavid needs two goals to become the fifth player in Oilers history with multiple 50-goal seasons, joining Wayne Gretzky (eight), Kurri (four), Leon Draisaitl (four) and Glenn Anderson (two). McDavid will also wrap up his sixth NHL scoring title. He leads the League with 134 points (48 goals, 86 assists), four more than Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who completed their regular-season schedule Wednesday. Edmonton is 1-2-2 in its past five games.
