On Tap
There are nine games on the NHL schedule Tuesday, five with playoff implications:
New Jersey Devils at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; NESN, MSG, SNP, SN360, TVAS)
The Bruins can wrap up the first wild card in the East and a first-round meeting with the Buffalo Sabres with any kind of win against the Devils. Boston (44-27-10) has a one-point lead over the Ottawa Senators for the first wild card, but Ottawa owns the first tiebreaker (regulation wins, 37-32). Ottawa hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Morgan Geekie is two goals shy of becoming the fourth player in the past 30 years to score 40 goals in a season for the Bruins, joining David Pastrnak (five times), Glen Murray (2002-03) and Bill Guerin (2001-02). The Devils have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Montreal Canadiens at Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, TSN2, RDS)
The Flyers clinched a playoff berth on Monday and will open the postseason at the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Canadiens are also in and will play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, but home-ice advantage is still up for grabs. The Canadiens (48-23-10) are tied in points with the Lightning with 106 points, but Tampa Bay owns the first tiebreaker, so Montreal would need to finish ahead of Tampa Bay in points to get home ice in the first round. If Montreal loses in regulation on Tuesday, it will open the first round in Tampa Bay.
Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; FDSNWIX, FDSNNO, Victory+, KCOP-13, KSTC)
The Ducks (42-32-6) clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2018 when San Jose won 3-2 against Nashville on Monday. Anaheim has two games left and can finish as high as first in the Pacific Division or as low as the second wild card in the West. The Ducks (42-32-6) are currently third in the division, three points behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights and one point behind the second place Edmonton Oilers. The Ducks have two games left while Vegas and Edmonton have one game left. They are tied in points with the Utah Mammoth for the first wild card in the West and two points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card. Like the Ducks, the Mammoth and Kings each have two games left. The Wild (45-24-12) are locked into third place in the Central Division, and will play the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference First Round.
Winnipeg Jets at Utah Mammoth (9 p.m. ET; Utah16, TSN3)
The Mammoth (42-32-6) have a chance to lock up the first wild card in the West depending on what they do against the Jets and how the Kings fare at the Canucks and the Ducks do against the Wild. The Mammoth own the first tiebreaker over the Kings, Ducks, Oilers and Golden Knights. Winning the first wild card would avoid having to play the Presidents’ Trophy winning Colorado Avalanche in the first round. The Jets were eliminated from playoff contention on Monday.
Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; SNP, FDSNSC)
The Kings look to extend their season-long win streak to six games after clinching their fifth straight berth into the playoffs with 5-3 win at the Seattle Kraken on Monday. Los Angeles (35-26-19) still has a chance, with 89 points, to finish as high as second in the Pacific Division. They are one point behind the Ducks for third and two points behind the Oilers for second. They do not own the tiebreaker against either team.
