NHL playoff race report: Blue Jackets, Bruins surging at the right time

Welcome to the post-trade deadline NHL world! It’s a hellish landscape full of streaky teams battling each other for a handful of playoff spots. It’s a Great Time To Be Alive™.

So each Monday we’ll hit the reset button, take a step back, and look at how the playoff race in each conference has changed. Who’s up. Who’s down. What changed since the previous week. What games teams need to take care of this week. You get the idea. Our Western Conference update this week is right here.

Onward!

Washington Capitals (44-13-7, 69 points)

Holds second wild card by one point, 18 games left (nine vs. quality teams)

Outlook: They had a great trade deadline. They have the best roster in the league. And the best record. They’ve won three straight. The Caps are fine.

Goal for this week: Get Kevin Shattenkirk involved on the power play. Washington’s man advantage is running at a 27 percent clip since he joined, but he has just one assist on those three goals.

Oh, and get Braden Holtby a dang win over the Stars on Monday (0-3 in his career).

Pittsburgh Penguins (40-16-8, 88 points)

Holds third in Metro by one point, 18 games left (12 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: Pittsburgh has to ooze confidence right now after rallying from a 3-0 deficit to stun the Sabres on Sunday. The defending champions keep winning through injuries on the blue line.

Goal for this week: Get Kris Letang up and running again and try to remain somewhat healthy as they start a five-game road trip this week in Winnipeg.

Columbus Blue Jackets (41-17-6, 88 points)

Holds second in Metropolitan by zero points, 18 games left (11 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: Back to their high-scoring ways, the Blue Jackets are finding their stride once again.

Goal for this week: Take advantage of an easy schedule. Two dates with Buffalo and one with New Jersey should be an easy nine points.

Montreal Canadiens (37-21-8, 82 points)

Leads Atlantic by six points, 16 games left (10 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: Well, they’ve won five straight. So not too bad.

Goal for this week: Withstand their last long trip along the West Coast. And hope Carey Price keeps this level of play up.

New York Rangers (41-22-2, 84 points)

Holds first wild card by 13 points, 17 games left (14 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: Holding steady, and benefiting from a big difference in Metropolitan and Atlantic talent.

Goal for this week: Tighten up defensively. That cushion will disappear quickly if New York keeps giving up four goals a night.

New York Islanders (30-23-11, 71 points)

Holds second wild card by one point, 18 games left (10 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: Oof. Anyone who watched the Isles’ first period in Calgary yesterday knows bad things are happening to that team. Poor Thomas Greiss faced 21 shots in the first period. New York looked more lost than ever defensively. And that was just one week after they lost 7-0 in Columbus!

Goal for this week: What Bill Peters said.

Buffalo Sabres (27-27-12, 66 points)

Trailing wild card by five points, 16 games left (15 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: I can’t believe the Sabres are just five points back of the playoffs. Those five points feel like an abyss after last week. Buffalo has one win (against the Coyotes, yay) in seven games.

Goal for this week: Get points in all three games before things get really tough on a California road trip next week. Buffalo might have the hardest remaining schedule in the East, and this week is the only soft spot.

Toronto Maple Leafs (28-22-14, 70 points)

Trailing wild card by one point, 18 games left (12 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: Have the Leafs hit the rookie wall? Toronto claimed just five wins last month, and the only reason they’re so close in the playoff hunt is the five points they picked up in overtime losses.

Goal for this week: Right the ship before it starts to sink. Because dropping games this week (vs. Detroit, Philadelphia and Carolina) could alter their playoff hopes in a bad way.

Boston Bruins (34-22-6, 74 points)

Holds third place in Atlantic Division by four points, 17 games left (14 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: Bruce Cassidy’s interim status might not last long. Since taking over for Claude Julien, the new Bruins coach has led his team to an 8-2 record and a nice cushion ahead of the chasing Senators.

Goal for this week: Win out. A win in Ottawa on Monday and at home against Philadelphia on Saturday would do wonders for the Bruins’ playoff odds. This is as important a week as any the Bruins have faced this year.

Ottawa Senators (35-22-6, 76 points)

Holds second wild card by one point, 18 games left (9 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: Rolling slightly slower than their Boston rivals, with six wins in their last 10 games.

Goal for this week: Beat the Bruins. It starts there.

Philadelphia Flyers (30-26-8, 68 points)

Trailing wild card by three points, 18 games left (11 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: There’s a real opportunity here, with the Islanders faltering and teams below the Flyers searching for consistency. The matchups this week at Buffalo and Toronto are downright tantalizing.

Goal for this week: Help out their goaltending. Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth have had to bail out the Flyers in more than a few games lately. Aside from a 4-0 win over the Avs (that I won’t count, because Colorado), Philly is averaging just 1.25 goals a game over the last week or so.

Tampa Bay Lightning (30-26-8, 68 points)

Trailing wild card by three points, 18 games left (13 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: Quite good, and much better than a month ago. The Lightning have really found their offensive stride in recent weeks, buoyed by a terrific month from Nikita Kucherov. Steven Stamkos could be back soon, as well.

Goal for this week: Stay healthy (out of their control) and ride new No. 1 goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy into the dirt. Besides Kucherov, no player has been more important for the Lightning during this run. Their biggest test this week? A home date with the rival Panthers. Speaking of ...

Florida Panthers (29-24-11, 69 points)

Trailing wild card by two points, 18 games left (14 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: The best deadline acquisition? Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov returning from injury. The two injected life back into the Panthers, though Florida has dropped five of its last six games.

Goal for this week: Get back into that winning groove. Losses to the Flyers and Stars last week were unacceptable, and the opponents this week are far tougher: the Rangers, Wild, and Lightning.

Carolina Hurricanes (26-26-10, 62 points)

Trailing wild card by nine points, 20 games left (15 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: What a miserable month that was. Carolina has just four wins since Feb. 4 as they’ve plummeted out of the playoff race.

Goal for this week: Feast on struggling teams. The Hurricanes did so in Arizona on Sunday, and dates with the Avalanche and Leafs could prove fruitful.

New Jersey Devils (25-28-12, 62 points)

Trailing wild card by nine points, 17 games left (11 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: Just about ready for a spring vacation after seven straight losses.

Goal for this week: Stop the bleeding. Finishing the road trip in Denver and Arizona should help.

Detroit Red Wings (25-27-11, 61 points)

Trailing wild card by 10 points, 19 games left (12 vs. quality teams)

Outlook: Waving the white flag on their playoff streak.

Goal for this week: Hope for continued improvement from goalie Petr Mrazek. Detroit wanted to see Mrazek step up as a starting goalie this year and he’s recently started to put a poor season behind him. Last week was a setback, though.