from Emily Sadler of Sportsnet,

The final month of the regular season is upon us, which means the playoff picture is really taking shape.

The stage is mostly set in the East – the steep, 15-point drop-off between eighth and ninth place is the difference between Washington’s 99.4 per cent odds of making the post-season and New York’s 0.6. So, while it’s safe to say we know the cast of actors we’ll be watching as the action plays out this spring, the roles aren’t set quite yet.

Over the past week, the Maple Leafs have remained in second place in the Atlantic but their opponent has changed. A heated battle with the Bruins Tuesday night, a 6-4 Toronto victory, gave us a glimpse of what would be another nasty playoff series should the two line up. That Bruins loss, though, combined with Tampa Bay’s thrilling overtime win over Carolina, saw the Lightning leap into third place. Considering how tightly packed the Atlantic is after Florida (the Panthers’ 98 points gives them a healthy seven-point lead over Toronto for the division’s top spot), it’s safe to assume the trio of Toronto-Tampa-Boston will continue to play leapfrog right through to the end of the regular season.

Over the past week in the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche became the first team to hit the 100-point mark on the season to maintain their pace miles above the rest of the West. Momentum is strong this side of the NHL, with all eight current playoff teams heading into the weekend on a win. And then there’s Vegas, currently riding a three-game win streak and applying plenty of pressure in the wild-card race. The Golden Knights, at risk of missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, are just one point behind the Stars for that second wild-card spot – although Dallas has three games in hand. Vegas has a favourable schedule ahead, their next six games coming against team not currently in the playoff picture – including three matchups against the Vancouver Canucks, who could take this opportunity to pass their Pacific foes in the standings if they play their cards right.

Let’s take a closer look at the playoff picture.

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