Stanley Cup Playoff Buzz: Tight races top to bottom in Western Conference

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2020 NHL postseason. There are 26 days left in the regular season and the races in each conference are wide open.

Here is a look at the NHL standings and everything else that could impact the playoff picture.

Thought of the day

The Western Conference is wild

With an overtime goal from Kevin Fiala on Sunday, the Minnesota Wild defeated the Anaheim Ducks 5-4 and leapfrogged one point ahead of the Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks into the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

Welcome to the wild Western Conference, where the Wild hold the first wild card with 77 points and the Canucks, who have 76, hold the second wild card via tiebreakers ahead of the Predators (one more regulation/overtime win) and the Jets (played one game fewer). The Arizona Coyotes are two points behind the Canucks, Predators and Jets.

The picture will look different after the Jets play the Coyotes at Bell MTS Place on Monday (8 p.m. ET; TSN 3, FS-A, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV). If the Jets win, they’ll jump into the first wild card. A Coyotes regulation win would put them in a four-way tie in points with the Canucks, Predators and Jets for the second wild card. (The Canucks would hold the tiebreakers.)

If Winnipeg gets one point with an overtime or shootout loss, it will move into the second wild card (Minnesota would hold the first wild card because it has played fewer games), one point ahead of Vancouver, Nashville and Arizona.

Then it could all change again Tuesday, when the Predators play the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre and the Canucks play the New York Islanders at Rogers Arena.

The potential daily reshuffling of the teams makes the Western Conference wild card race compelling. It almost makes you forget that the division races in the West also are tight.

The Vegas Golden Knights lead the Edmonton Oilers by two points for first in the Pacific Division heading into their showdown at Rogers Place on Monday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV). In the Central Division, the St. Louis Blues, who play the Florida Panthers at Enterprise Center on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, SNE, SNO, SNP, FS-MW, FS-F, NHL.TV), are in first, two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, who play the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-W; ALT2, NHL.TV).

It will all add up to plenty of late-night scoreboard watching through the end of the regular season April 4.

— Tom Gulitti, NHL.com Staff Writer

About last night

There were seven games Sunday, all with playoff implications:

Minnesota Wild 5, Anaheim Ducks 4 (OT): Kevin Fiala scored his second power-play goal with 59 seconds left in overtime, and the Wild moved one point ahead of the Vancouver Canucks, Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Wild are five points behind the third-place Dallas Stars in the Central Division.

Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Vancouver Canucks 1: Elvis Merzlikins made 26 saves and the Blue Jackets moved two points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders for the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. The Canucks dropped into a tie for the second wild card in the West with the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets.

St. Louis Blues 2, Chicago Blackhawks 0: The Blues maintained their two-point lead on the Colorado Avalanche in the Central with their ninth win in their past 10 games (9-1-0).

Colorado Avalanche 4, San Jose Sharks 3: Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal and two assists for Colorado, which remained two points behind the Blues and moved eight points ahead of the Stars for second in the Central.

Carolina Hurricanes 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 2: Morgan Geekie had two goals and an assist in his NHL debut for Carolina, which moved into a tie with the Islanders for the second wild card in the East. The Penguins, third in the Metropolitan Division, remained five points behind the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals and are three points ahead of the fourth-place Blue Jackets.

Detroit Red Wings 5, Tampa Bay Lightning 4 (SO): The Lightning moved within six points of the first-place Boston Bruins and 13 points ahead of the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division.

Vegas Golden Knights 5, Calgary Flames 3: Shea Theodore broke a tie with 1:10 remaining in the third period, and the Golden Knights moved into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division. They are two points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, and five points ahead of the third-place Flames.