NHL Thursday: Erik Karlsson returns against Caps

Playoff berths were on the line Thursday night, and after all was said and done, two teams had clinched spots and two teams were left on the outside looking in.

The New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators both locked up playoff spots in the East with victories, meaning that the eight playoff teams in the East are all set. Neither the Winnipeg Jets nor the Dallas Stars were in control of their own playoff destinies on Thursday, and both teams were eliminated from contention before their own games were even finished.

Unfortunately for them, they weren’t so lucky.

• A day in the life of an off-ice official

All of the playoff participants in the East are now set, and the final games of the season will only determine the seeding. The Eastern Conference playoff teams are:

• A day in the life of an off-ice official

The Rangers are battling to clinch a playoff spot, and losing Clowe for any significant amount of time would hurt. They’ll most likely head into the playoffs facing the first or second seed in the East, and will need the physical edge that power-forward Clowe brings to the team.

• A day in the life of an off-ice official

2. Will any playoff spots be clinched in the Western Conference?

3. What is Erik Karlsson’s return going to consist of?

Obviously, that schedule proved to be inaccurate.

A little over a week later, general manager Bryan Murray stated that Karlsson was “obviously” getting closer to a return and that all involved hoped he would be ready for the start of the playoffs. Two days later he returned to full-team practice.

Carolina has two games remaining and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Semin was unable to participate in practice on Wednesday. Mueller stated that he was fine and explained his absence as a maintenance day. This marks the second time this season that Semin has been forced to miss a set of games, as he sat out a pair of games in April due to an undisclosed upper-body injury.

There are four spots remaining in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, with two spots available per conference.

Eastern Conference