What’s at stake in the NHL, April 5: Clinching scenarios, playoff matchups and more

The NHL season is winding down, with less than two weeks remaining on the regular-season schedule. We’ve reached the point of the campaign at which some clinching or elimination scenario is seemingly in play every night, so we’ll keep you abreast on what to watch for each day between now and the end of the regular season.

So what’s at stake in the standings for Wednesday, April 5?

– All eyes are on the pivotal clash between the Calgary Flames (36-27-15) and Winnipeg Jets (43-31-3). A loss won’t eliminate the Flames, who trail the Jets by two points for the final Western Conference Wildcard spot, but it would badly wound the Flames’ chances given the Jets have a game in hand. That deflating loss to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday has major consequences.

–  A win would put the Jets four points ahead of Calgary. More importantly, it would clinch all tiebreakers. As it stands, if the Flames were to win out in regulation and the Jets don’t win another regulation game, the Flames can tie the Jets in ROW at 33. That would trigger a second tiebreaker: points in head-to-head meetings. Each team has won once so far. So the Flames would hold the second tiebreaker and keep the first tiebreaker alive if they win in regulation tonight. If the Jets win in regulation tonight, they’ll have both tiebreakers clinched and a four-point lead with a game in hand.

– Anything less than two points will guarantee that the Flames cannot catch the Seattle Kraken, who sit seven points up on Calgary in the first Wildcard position and already have the ROW tiebreaker clinched.

– A loss tonight to the Tampa Bay Lightning would take the New York Rangers (45-21-11) out of the running for the Metropolitan Division title.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY…

Western Conference

(P1) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC2) Winnipeg Jets
(C1) Colorado Avalanche (WC1) Seattle Kraken
(P2) Los Angeles Kings vs. (P3) Edmonton Oilers
(C2) Dallas Stars vs. (C3) Minnesota Wild

Eastern Conference

(A1) Boston Bruins vs. (WC2) New York Islanders
(M1) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (WC1) Florida Panthers
(M2) New Jersey Devils vs. (M3) New York Rangers
(A2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (A3) Tampa Bay Lightning