There\u2019s no rest for the weary Hurricanes as they have to take a quick trip North of the Border for the last time in the regular season to face off against an Ottawa team that\u2019s\u2014stop me if you heard this one before\u2014fighting for its spot in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
In the last two weeks\u2014starting with the 5-1 win against the Penguins in Pittsburgh\u2014the Canes have played seven games and six have been against opponents fighting for their playoff lives. The only team to catch them has been Montreal. The latest victim was the New York Islanders on Saturday who currently sit in third in the Metropolitan Division, and next up is an Ottawa team that would be Carolina\u2019s opponent if the playoffs started today. Which they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s helped Carolina is that they have something to play for, and honestly may continue to have something up until the last day of the season thanks to a ridiculously close Atlantic Division. Entering Sunday, they lead Pittsburgh by 10 points for first place in the Metro. As Pittsburgh has only five games left\u2014including a 3 PM tilt against Florida (that is not a typo, somehow the NHL scheduled Florida and Pittsburgh to play in Pittsburgh on back-to-back days)\u2014the best they can hope for is a tie. Should that happen because Pittsburgh won every game in regulation and the Hurricanes lost all six of their remaining games in regulation, then Pittsburgh would actually be the Metro champs because they\u2019d have 37 regulation wins to the Canes\u2019 36.<\/p>\n
What that means for Carolina is that if Pittsburgh once again wins in regulation\u2014and now that Florida is officially eliminated it\u2019s tough to see them really fighting that hard even after being killed 9-4 on Saturday\u2014the Canes will need to get their game at least to Overtime. That will provide them with at least a point, and officially clinch the division. If somehow Pittsburgh fails to win in regulation, however, then that also clinches the division for Carolina. Why? Well, the best Pittsburgh can do then would be to tie the Canes in regulation wins at 36, the next tiebreaker is regulation plus overtimes wins (ROW) and the Canes have an eight game lead on Pittsburgh there.<\/p>\n
In short\u2014it\u2019s possible the Canes will have clinched the division officially before their game against the Senators finishes, and if not all they have to do is get their game to overtime. That will bring them their first division title since 2023. Of course then it\u2019s a fight for the top seed in the East overall, and as Tampa proved by coming back to beat Boston they aren\u2019t going to sit back since both Montreal and Buffalo are tied for second just two points behind them. The answer as to when you sit guys that aren\u2019t 100% may be later than you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n
With the short turnaround of a 7 PM game at home and now a 5 PM game on the road, don\u2019t expect a morning skate for Carolina, and it\u2019s also likely that once again coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour won\u2019t be changing out the lines. Frederik Andersen should be between the pipes.<\/p>\n
On the other side of the ice the Ottawa Senators are one of several teams in the East that\u2026don\u2019t seem to really want to claim a spot. The Boston Bruins have gotten points in seven of their last ten to build a six point cushion over the second wild card spot, so even with their loss to Tampa on Saturday they are playing solid hockey. The Islanders, Senators, Red Wings, and Blue Jackets have all stumbled as of late while the Flyers and Capitals have taken advantage to crawl back in the race. It\u2019s created a log jam to where Ottawa is technically in the WC2 spot, but they are right now tied in points with Detroit, Philadelphia, and Columbus. The Islanders sit just one point ahead of this group but in third place in the Metro, while Washington is just one point back though with one fewer game remaining than most.<\/p>\n