5. New York Islanders – 89
The focus of the Eastern Conference has shifted away from the wild-card race to the Atlantic Division.
Tampa Bay, Buffalo and Montreal all enter Wednesday with 102 points. The Lightning and Canadiens face off Thursday in Montreal. Buffalo faces the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.
The Lightning lost three of their last five to open up the door for the Sabres or Canadiens to win the division.
If Tampa Bay can beat Montreal, or at least get a point out of the game, it should win its final three against Boston, Detroit and the Rangers.
Buffalo finishes with the Rangers, Columbus, Chicago and Dallas. Montreal takes on Columbus, the New York Islanders and Philadelphia after its clash with the Lightning.
The Canadiens have the most difficult schedule of the three, so it might come down to the Lightning and Sabres picking up points against worse teams.
Ottawa has two points of separation between itself and the rest of the challengers for the final wild-card spot.
The Senators face three eliminated teams and the Islanders to conclude the regular season. They will be in the postseason if they handle their business in those games.
The four chasers need the Senators to slip up on multiple occasions to have a sniff at landing the final playoff position in the East.
Columbus, Detroit, the New York Islanders and Washington all had opportunities to distance themselves from the pack, but they haven’t been consistent enough to do so.