NHL Playoff Death Watch: Everyone wins in the West (except Avs, Sharks)

Since we're down to the final moments of postseason life for teams in contention, Puck Daddy solemnly begins a daily countdown to annihilation.

The Western Conference bubble teams all did their duty on Monday night, as the Flames, Wild, Jets, Kings and even the Stars kept pace with regulation victories.

Alas, the Avalanche lost to Calgary, dropping their tragic number to 10 and leaving them with a 0.7 percent chance of making the playoffs.

Alas, the San Jose Sharks were the jobbers to the Ottawa Senators juggernaut, dropping down to 12th place in the West and seeing their playoff chances down to under one percent.

On Tuesday night, the Wild are at the New York Islanders; the Kings play at the New York Rangers; and there’s a Canadian showdown between the Canucks and Jets in Vancouver that could shake things up.

Here are the current standings. The Death Watch tracks the final Wild Card spot and the teams that are chasing it. Their “tragic number” is the number of points gained by the final wild card team or lost by the team chasing it.

All playoff percentages are from Sports Club Stats; tragic numbers and other figures via the NHL. A team is eliminated from play-offs when their "Tragic Number" hits 0.

Here’s the Eastern Conference picture:

The Senators moved into sole possession of the last wild card spot last night with their regulation win over the Sharks. As you can see, they control their own destiny with a game in-hand over the B’s.

The Panthers face the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight in their game in-hand on Boston, and can close to within two points of the Bruins and three of the Senators. Don’t sleep on the Cats: Especially when they have two games with Boston and one with Ottawa left on the schedule.

The Penguins host the St. Louis Blues, looking to keep pace with the Islanders and create some bubble space from the Capitals. Pittsburgh has 90 points, while Washington has 88. This is the Penguins’ game in-hand on the Caps.

Meanwhile, in the West …

The Canucks’ game against the Jets is their game in-hand vs. Calgary, as Vancouver tries to make a little breathing room with the Flames. They do currently own the ROW tiebreaker.

The Predators host Montreal and despite all that free-fallin’, they can move back into first in the Central with a win and a Blues loss in Pittsburgh.

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