The GIST: We\u2019re officially in the homestretch of the NHL regular season, but only two squads have punched their tickets to the 16-team Stanley Cup Playoff, which begins on April 18th. Here\u2019s the tale of two conferences.<\/p>\n
But first, a reminder: The top three teams from each of the league\u2019s four divisions will make the postseason, plus the next best two teams from each conference.<\/p>\n
\u27a1\ufe0f The Eastern Conference (EC) Wild Card hunt is bananas: For starters, not a single EC team<\/a> has officially made the playoffs. Six squads are still firmly in the hunt<\/a> for the two Wild Card spots, with just three points separating the Wild Card\u2013holding Columbus Blue Jackets from the last contender, the Washington Capitals. Every regulation win is worth two points \u2014 talk about down to the wire.<\/p>\n \u2b05\ufe0f Highs and lows in the Western Conference (WC): The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars have already claimed two of the eight WC postseason berths. But while the league\u2019s top two teams call the WC home, so does the NHL\u2019s weakest division: the Pacific, which Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid recently likened to a pillow fight<\/a>.<\/p>\n