The Eastern Conference has flipped on its head compared to last season, with younger and surprising teams finding their way into playoff contention. The wildcard race especially has been a treat to watch, with several teams just one or two wins away from moving into a spot, and a loss away from losing it. Currently, the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadians hold the two wildcard spots with the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings just behind them.
Ottawa Senators
Ottawa seems to have a solid grip on the first wildcard spot, currently having 77 points, four points ahead of the Canadians. Even if the Senators go on a losing streak to end the season, they should still find themselves in the playoffs. Their remaining schedule is pretty tough, with games against teams like Colorado and New Jersey. Even so, they have plenty of winnable games against the Penguins, Blue Jackets and Sabres that should propel them to a playoff appearence. Keeping the first wildcard spot will be crucial to get a more favorable matchup in the first round, but I think Ottawa will do just that.
Montreal Canadians
The Canadians are a young, exciting team that have been on the rise in the latter parts of the season. Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are the focal point of their attack, and so far it's been going well. Their goaltending is average at best, with Sam Montembeault getting the majority of the starts. Rookie defenseman Lane Hutson has been their quarterback on offense, scoring 53 points so far this season. Hutson hasn't proven to be an all-time defenseman yet, but with his scoring production he will get some looks for the Calder Trophy, which honors the best rookie in the NHL that season.
I'm not sure how much noise Montreal will make if they get to the postseason, and they will need some help to get there. Other teams will have to be on the decline, but a young team like Montreal could wreck some havoc with playoff brackets if they get the right first-round matchup.
New York Rangers
The Blueshirts are an odd team to evaluate simply because they seem to be all over the place. One moment, it seems like the Rangers are getting back to the same level as last year, the next their forwards are shooting the puck on net only six times. After an embarrassing 2-1 loss last night to the Calgary Flames, where New York was outshot 35-13 on home ice, the Blueshirts fell out of the second wildcard spot, making things so much harder than they need to be. Igor Shesterkin continues to play like the league's best goaltender, but mistakes on defense and a dying offense puts the Rangers' playoff hopes in jeopardy.
Even if the Rangers make it, they will most likely be first-round exists, a disappointing way to end a season after making it to game six of the Eastern Conference Finals last season, where the Blueshirts lost to the Florida Panthers.
New York Islanders
Despite being sellers at the deadline, the Islanders have found themsleves close to a playoff spot. A 4-2 win over the Penguins on Tuesday only helps matters, and now the other team from New York could jump the Rangers in the standings. The Islanders are 6-4 in their last 10, putting them just a few wins away from a playoff spot. Numbers wise, no one on the team really blows me away, but goaltender Illya Sorokin has proven to be a great starting goaltender in this league. The Isles' are peaking at the right time, and there is no better time for a team to peak then right now.
Columbus Blue Jackets
In a season marred with so much turmoil after the devastating loss of forward Johnny Gaudreau, the Blue Jackets were looked at as a team that still had some work to do. Even so, the Blue Jackets have played solid hockey this season, and are so close to a playoff spot. Columbus shot out of a cannon after the break for the Four Nations tournament, winning four straight. However, a four game losing streak has sunken them in the standings a bit. A 4-0 loss to the Rangers just last week stings the most right now, and two losses to the Devils hurts as well. Columbus will need to turn things around quickly if they wish to make it to the postseason.
Detroit Red Wings
This year's trade deadline was a quiet one for the Red Wings, with little to no changes to the roster. Before the break, Detroit won seven games in a row, setting themsevels up for a good chance at a playoff spot. Since then, the offense has cooled down, as the Red Wings have lost eight of their last ten games. If the trajectory of this team doesn't change, Detroit will find itself out of the playoffs once again, and big changes could be on the horizon.
If they can get their act together however, Detroit is a dangerous team with a good amount of scoring talent that could take advantage of a team battling injuries (I'm looking at you, New Jersey.) But, the Red Wings need to turn things around and fast.
Predictions
The two teams that I think will round out the Eastern Conference are the Ottawa Senators and the New York Rangers. The Senators just need a few more wins to essentially guarantee the first wildcard, and I just like the Senators the most out of any team on this list. The Sens' are a solid, well-rounded team with a few studs like Brady Tkachuk sprinkled in to give them some star power. For New York, they are just a much better team than their record shows. Even though they haven't put things together yet all year, and probably won't be as strong as they were last season, all it takes is a few more games to improve their position. I think the Rangers are better than any of the other teams in contention when playing their best. However, it all depends on if they can do so, which isn't likely. Even so, the other teams have more ground to make up, which I think gives them a decent chance.