{"id":693661,"date":"2026-04-02T10:31:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T10:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/693661\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T10:31:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T10:31:20","slug":"previewing-the-nhl-and-nba-stretch-run-plus-pukas-rehab-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/693661\/","title":{"rendered":"Previewing the NHL and NBA stretch run, plus Puka\u2019s rehab trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning! Maybe I\u2019m too online, but I think all April Fools\u2019 Day content should be banned. Sorry. Real news coming up:<\/p>\n

Standings Check, Pt. 1: Hockey\u2019s center now lives in Buffalo<\/p>\n

Two of our major sports share the same calendar schedule and number of games. Today, we are table-setting each of their stretch runs as the playoffs near. I had a hard time choosing between metaphorical children to cover first, so I did what any millennial would do: find a random picker tool on the internet to decide for me:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

NHL it is. And for that, we must start in \u2026 Buffalo. Yes:\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Sabres are undeniably the NHL\u2019s best story this year, a contender no one saw coming. As of this morning, Buffalo (100 points) holds a two-point lead in the Atlantic Division over Tampa Bay and sits tied with Carolina atop the whole conference.
\nThis is a franchise that has not made the playoffs since 2011. The Sabres now have four 100-point seasons this century. They had a losing record last year, and they\u2019ve never won a Stanley Cup. You\u2019ll find little love for them in our season preview<\/a> from October, where the only real appearance they make is a prediction that coach Lindy Ruff might be the first fired.
\nInstead, what looked like a meh season in early December turned special, and quickly. Buffalo posted a 10-game win streak in the final days of 2025 and followed it with an eight-game streak in late February\/early March. The goaltending has been shockingly good, with both Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon in the top 10 of save percentage in the NHL. The defense has been special. Tage Thompson has scored 38 goals. It\u2019s just a great team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why Sean McIndoe called the Sabres the greatest bandwagon team of all time<\/a>. If you\u2019re teamless, climb aboard. Here\u2019s how the rest of the seeding is shaking out: <\/p>\n

The wild-card race is tight in both conferences: The Bruins and Blue Jackets hold the top two spots in the East, while the Mammoth and Kings lead in the West. But a cluster of other teams remains within range<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two resources before we switch to our other sport\/child:\u00a0<\/p>\n

An in-depth look<\/a> at these projected playoff matchups with notes on the remaining games that could change them.
\nDom Luszczyszyn\u2019s data-driven projections<\/a> for all facets of the season, including each team\u2019s chances to win the Stanley Cup. The Sabres\u2019 odds aren\u2019t great, despite our praise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Basketball time:<\/p>\n

Standings Check, Pt. 2: Your turn, Detroit\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Greg Fiume \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

We move on to our other playoff family, the NBA, which we love quite equally. Stop grumbling. Blame the generator.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyway, we also have a surprise contender here: the Detroit Pistons. Two fresh points to make:\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Pistons, like the Sabres, are the league\u2019s best story this season. The playoff drought isn\u2019t as long \u2014 first-round exits in 2025, 2019 and 2016 \u2014 but true relevance? You have to go back to 2008, when Flip Saunders was the coach and Chauncey Billups was the point guard. That team won 59 games and made the Eastern Conference finals. This year\u2019s team has 55 wins with six games to play.
\nA huge reason: Cade Cunningham, who emerged as an MVP candidate this season until his lung collapsed last month. It might be more impressive that the team is 6-2 without Cunningham during this absence. Both losses came in overtime, against Atlanta and Oklahoma City, two of the hottest teams in the NBA.
\nCunningham is a superstar, yes, but this team is deep \u2014 and plays elite defense, much like its forebears<\/a> in the early aughts. Center Jalen Duren might be the league\u2019s biggest surprise<\/a> this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As of this morning, Detroit holds a four-game lead over Boston for the East\u2019s top seed. Barring a collapse, that\u2019s probably settled. Here\u2019s how the bracket would look if the playoffs started today: <\/p>\n

Two more notes before we move on:\u00a0<\/p>\n

For a season in which most of the chatter has been over off-court matters or tanking, we may have our deepest set of true contenders in years. Detroit, Boston, New York, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Los Angeles (Lakers) and Denver have a real shot at a ring. Atlanta is 17-2 since Feb. 22. Houston has a great roster. Like I said: deep.
\nWith all that aside, there is little actual drama down the stretch, as we see a clear line in the standings between tankers, Play-In teams, and real-deal playoff groups. No one would be surprised if Charlotte ends up as the No. 6 seed instead of the No. 8 in the Play-In, but that\u2019s about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read our full breakdown of all the first-round matchups<\/a>. Onward:<\/p>\n

News to Know\"\"<\/p>\n

\n David Jensen \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nacua in rehab
Rams star wide receiver Puka Nacua has checked into a private rehab facility, per his attorney, to work on his \u201coverall development\u201d after a string of worrisome events near the end of last season and through this offseason. He entered the facility before a lawsuit was filed against him, alleging he bit two women at a New Year\u2019s Eve party. More details inside<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Clarke arrested in Arkansas
Veteran Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke was detained by police last night in Cross County, Ark. \u2014 about an hour west of Memphis \u2014 on four charges, including trafficking a controlled substance. Clarke has played in Memphis since 2019. Read our full report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More news:<\/p>\n

Another new ABS milestone achieved last night: a walk-off challenge call<\/a>.
\nMichigan State coach Tom Izzo said the Suns offered him their head-coaching job last year. What?<\/a>
\nKansas coach Bill Self will return to the school<\/a> after hinting he could step away.
\nFIFA raised World Cup ticket prices again for its final phase sale. See the details<\/a>.
\nSpanish soccer superstar Lamine Yamal criticized his country\u2019s fans for anti-Muslim chants heard in a friendly against Egypt. Read more<\/a>.
\nThe bids are in to join the NBA\u2019s new league in Europe. Some top $1 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0Find more news here 24\/7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Watch Guide<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NBA: Timberwolves at Pistons
7 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Detroit is everywhere in today\u2019s newsletter. Also, Lakers-Thunder follows at 9:30 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NHL: Sabres at Senators
7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
We talked plenty about Buffalo earlier, but Ottawa sits just two points back of a wild-card spot. This game matters on both ends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa MLB: Mets at Giants
9:45 p.m. ET on MLB Network
Nothing feels real this early in the MLB season, but the Giants\u2019 initial malaise has rebounded a bit. Still, it\u2019s one of the stories we\u2019re following most closely. <\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like these here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Patrick Smith \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Greenfield, Ind., as Joe Rexrode found, is built on poetry and basketball. After Braylon Mullins\u2019 iconic shot, it now has a Final Four in its lore<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parity is nonexistent in women\u2019s college basketball, at least this year. That\u2019s a good thing, as Sabreena Merchant argues<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Augusta National Women\u2019s Amateur has been invaded \u2026 by Stanford<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The NFL Draft picks proposal from the Cleveland Browns, which would allow teams to trade picks five years into the future, was radical. It\u2019s dead on arrival, as Jourdan Rodrigue reports, and moreover, it might be dead forever<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I love stories like this one from Jason Quick, who wrote about Sheel Tyle, whom Damian Lillard thought was just a gym buddy. Then Tyle helped buy the Blazers<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Bruce Feldman\u2019s mock draft<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most-read on the website yesterday: \u261d\ufe0f<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com<\/a>, and check out our other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":693662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,6,11,1106],"class_list":{"0":"post-693661","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-nba-playoffs","11":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116334658806120695","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=693661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/693661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/693662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=693661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=693661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=693661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}