Chicago Blackhawks at San Jose Sharks (10 p.m. ET; CHSN, NBCSCA, TVAS)
With the Predators and Kings facing off, the Sharks need a win to remain two points out of the second wild card in the West. San Jose (36-32-7) won four in a row before losing to Nashville on Saturday. After scoring six goals in his past five games, 19-year-old Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini has 41 this season, tying Rick Nash (2003-04) and Brian Bellows (1983-84) for sixth most by a teenager in NHL history. Chicago (28-35-14) has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; FDSNSC, FDSNSO)
The bad news for all the teams chasing the second wild card in the West is the Predators (36-31-9) and Kings (31-26-19) play each other, so one of them will get two points Monday. Nashville will look for its third straight victory against an opponent it is battling for the second wild card, following a 5-4 shootout win at Los Angeles on Thursday and a 6-3 victory at the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. The Kings have points in six of their past seven games (3-1-3), including a 7-6 overtime victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, but will try to win consecutive games for the first time since a three-game winning streak from Jan. 20-27.
If playoffs started Monday
Western Conference
(1P) Edmonton Oilers vs. (WC1) Utah Mammoth
(2P) Anaheim Ducks vs. (3P) Vegas Golden Knights
(1C) Colorado Avalanche vs. (WC2) Nashville Predators
(2C) Dallas Stars vs. (3C) Minnesota Wild
Eastern Conference
(1A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (WC1) Boston Bruins
(2A) Buffalo Sabes vs. (3A) Montreal Canadiens
(1M) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (WC2) Ottawa Senators
(2M) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (3M) Philadelphia Flyers
About last night
There were seven games on the NHL schedule Sunday, and each had playoff implications:
Philadelphia Flyers 2, Boston Bruins 1 (OT)
Porter Martone scored his first NHL goal, on a 5-on-3 power play, at 2:31 of overtime to push the Flyers one point ahead of the Islanders into third in the Metropolitan Division. Martone also assisted on Christian Dvorak’s first-period goal for Philadelphia (39-26-12), which is 10-3-1 in its past 14 games. The Bruins (43-26-9) lost their third straight (0-2-1) but picked up a point to strengthen their hold on the first wild card from the East, five points ahead of the Ottawa Senators, and moved within five points of the Canadiens for third in the Atlantic Division.
