Top 5: The 16 teams confirmed for the playoffs

Raphael Simard
Top 5: The 16 teams confirmed for the playoffs
Credit: X

Last night, there were 10 games on the schedule.

Two of those games were particularly important for the Canadiens, by the way.

Here are the results and highlights:

1. We now know the 16 teams in the playoffs

Several teams had already secured their playoff spots before yesterday's games, but as of last night, we know the 16 teams that will compete in the postseason.

The Flyers, with a win over the Hurricanes, have qualified and will face the Penguins in the first round. Philadelphia has thus eliminated the Capitals and the Blue Jackets, who will play a meaningless game tonight.

In the West, the Ducks and Kings have qualified, thereby eliminating the Predators, Blues, Jets, and Sharks.

Anze Kopitar will therefore play playoff games in his final NHL season.

As for the Ducks, they're back in the playoffs for the first time in a long while.

Here are the confirmed matchups:

Stars vs. Wild

Lightning vs. Canadiens

Penguins vs. Flyers

As for the rest, we're still waiting.

2. The Flyers advance to the playoffs thanks to a shootout win

Fans of the Capitals and the Jackets were watching the Flyers' game very closely. A win for Philly would have eliminated both teams.

And Rick Tocchet's squad beat the Eastern Conference's top team—as of yesterday—in a shootout.

Philadelphia will face off against the Penguins in the first round.

The Battle of Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia was trailing 2-0 in the game, but the team fought back. Trevor Zegras tied the game.

Matvei Michkov is the other goal scorer.

3. Connor Ingram frustrated in the shootout

The Avalanche were visiting Edmonton.

And let's just say that for two teams with strong offenses, it was a defensive game. It ended 2-1 in a shootout.

After Nathan MacKinnon's goal, Connor Ingram was pretty upset.

Gabriel Landeskog almost secured the win in overtime.

However, he hit the post squarely.

It was Connor McDavid who forced overtime.

Parker Kelly made headlines.

He was called for a penalty that's pretty rare.

4. Anze Kopitar in the playoffs during his final season

It's hard not to root for the Kings and Anze Kopitar this season.

We wanted to see the Slovenian in the playoffs one last time. Yesterday, the Kings beat the Kraken, securing their spot in the playoffs.

Los Angeles still has a chance to face the Oilers in the first round…

In a 5-3 win, Kopitar recorded an assist on Adrian Kempe's game-winning goal.

As I mentioned earlier, this win eliminated quite a few teams: the Blues, the Jets, the Preds, and the Sharks.

San Jose, which beat Nashville, and St. Louis both won yesterday, though…

5. The John Tortorella era is in full swing

The Golden Knights have already been qualified for some time now.

That hasn't stopped them from dominating. Yesterday, Vegas beat the Jets 6-2, and the team has been undefeated in the regular season since John Tortorella took over.

With this win, the Knights have put themselves in a strong position to claim first place in the Pacific Division.

In the Jets' loss, Mark Scheifele reached the 100-point mark this season. He was overlooked for Team Canada, as we recall.

Jack Eichel also put on a show.

What a pass there, on his team's game-winning goal.


Overtime

– Lol.

– And that's one.

– Wow.

– Patrick Kane's 1,400th point.

– Very cool.

– Jonathan Quick's final game.

– Mavrik Bourque and Jack Eichel lead the charge.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Nine games on the schedule tonight.

(Credit: Google)
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