Penton: Wild finish inevitable to NHL regular season

Sports

Apr 7

By Bruce Penton

There couldn't be a more appropriate word for the scramble to determine the final few teams for the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s wild, man, so the term ‘wildcard’ could not be more apropos.

The 82-game regular season winds up April 17 and while some teams locked up berths weeks ago — hello, Washington; hi there, Winnipeg — there are division positions and wildcard spots still up for grabs.

The situation is extreme in the East, where at one point in late March, there were five teams battling for the second and final wildcard position and separated by a mere three points. Barring a late collapse, Ottawa Senators have seemingly locked up the first wildcard berth in the East, but Montreal, the Islanders, Rangers, Columbus and Detroit were all neck-and-neck.

It’s not so crazy tight in the West, but fans of Vancouver and Calgary will be on pins and needles down the stretch as they try to sneak into one of the wildcard spots. Minnesota and the hard-charging St. Louis Blues appeared fairly secure as the calendar flipped to April, with the Canucks and Flames needing late-season winning streaks to have a hope.

The chase for the wildcard positions in the East is just one of the highlights of a very entertaining NHL season, which offered excitement galore. Ottawa making the playoffs with former Canucks’ coach Travis Green at the helm created loads of excitement in our nation’s capital. Montreal and Columbus both coming to life and making solid runs was a surprise, with the possibility of playoff regulars Boston and Rangers being sent to the sidelines. The relative success enjoyed by the Blue Jackets was especially heart-warming, considering the team’s best player, Johnny Gaudreau, was killed along with his brother Matthew while riding their bicycles in August.

Five Canadian teams could make the NHL playoffs, making Sportsnet happy. Winnipeg was one of the best stories of the year, roaring off to a 14-1 start and not letting up, battling Washington all season for the President’s Trophy as the league’s overall points leader. Jets have perhaps the best line in the league — Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi. Goalie and MVP candidate Connor Hellebuyck was the team’s glue.

Another goalie who was the undisputed kingpin of his team was Linus Ullmark in Ottawa. The Senators picked him up as a free agent after a great season last year with Boston and the Swedish netminder has been sensational.

Montreal won only 30 games in 2023-24 and had already exceeded that total after 67 games this year. The vastly improved Habs have one of the most potent lines in the league, led by sniper Cole Caufield, captain Nick Suzuki and former No. 1 overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky.

Canada’s two other playoff hopefuls, Toronto and Edmonton, led by superstars Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid respectively, have had solid seasons, but are anything but dominant.

It would certainly be a surprise if the Leafs snapped their 58-year Stanley Cup drought, but hey, why not? Just add that to the ‘wild’ pile.

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