Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Race for the playoffs: Preds and Coyotes can clinch; Ducks, Stars, and Hawks fight on

Shane Doan, Shea Weber

Phoenix Coyotes right wing Shane Doan (19) skates past Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber (6) in the second period of an NHL hockey game on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mike Strasinger)

AP

With the season winding down and the playoff picture sorting itself out, we’ll be taking a look at the night’s games and how they’ll potentially affect the playoff races. This is ProHockeyTalk’s “Race for the Playoffs.”

Western Conference

p - 1. Vancouver - 115 pts (1 GR)
y-2. San Jose - 103 pts (2 GR)
y-3. Detroit - 102 pts (2 GR)
x-4. Los Angeles - 98 pts (2 GR)
5. Nashville - 97 pts (2 GR)
6. Phoenix - 97 pts (2 GR)
7. Anaheim - 95 pts (2 GR)
8. Chicago - 95 pts (2 GR)
9. Dallas - 93 pts (2 GR)
10. Calgary - 93 pts (1 GR)

p- clinched Presidents’ Trophy
z - clinched conference title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot
GR - games remaining

Rather than analyzing each of tonight’s games, the scenarios for teams in the West break down pretty easily to clinch. Here’s how it goes:

Nashville: Earning a point of any kind puts the Predators in the playoffs. 97 points isn’t good enough to get you in, but 98 points is as it puts them out of striking range of Dallas in ninth place. Dallas losing either in regulation or a shootout also puts Nashville in in case the Predators lose in regulation. Nashville plays at home tonight against Columbus and is in St. Louis tomorrow night.

Phoenix: Same scenario as the Predators. A point of any kind against San Jose puts the Coyotes into the playoffs. If/when they clinch then the juggle up and down the standings in the West can shake things up as far as matchups go, but the Coyotes would like to just lock it down for now. In the event of a regulation loss, a Dallas loss in regulation or overtime/shootout would also clinch a spot for the Coyotes. Phoenix closes their season with a home-and-home set with San Jose. They’ll play tonight in Phoenix and tomorrow night in San Jose.

Chicago: A win over Detroit coupled with a Dallas loss of any kind would put the Blackhawks into the postseason. Given that Dallas is facing Colorado, hoping for that to happen seems unlikely. Chicago going into their final two games against Detroit makes their quest all the more daunting as they can’t afford to lose when Dallas has such a weak schedule to close things out. The Blackhawks play tonight in Detroit and Sunday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. ET in Chicago on NBC’s Game of the Week.

Anaheim: A win over Los Angeles paired up with a Dallas loss of any kind puts the Ducks in the playoffs. The Ducks are in a similar place to that of Chicago in that a loss puts them in instant danger should Dallas continue to win. The Ducks have one of the most dangerous lines in hockey and could get Jonas Hiller back for the playoffs. They’d be a very dangerous team to face in the playoffs for any of the top seeds. We’re pretty sure that most teams atop the West wouldn’t be too sad if Dallas found a way to force them out of the postseason. The Ducks are in Los Angeles tonight and at home in Honda Center against the Kings tomorrow night.

Dallas: Dallas has no option but to win. A loss in either of their remaining games puts them in immediate danger of being shutout of the playoffs as they’re two points back of both Anaheim and Chicago. Dallas has the easier path to victory compared to those teams, but they’ve got a much smaller window for mistakes. Dallas is in Denver tonight to take on the Avalanche and in Minnesota on Sunday night to take on the Wild.