By: Chris Nosek

April is finally here. The regular season starts to wind down. Let’s take another look around the NHL. We will explore the situations for some teams in the midst of a playoff race.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins are being extremely underrated heading into the playoffs. Regardless of who they end up playing, there are several reasons they can win the series. They’re one of the few teams that have had success scoring on Andrei Vasilevskiy regularly. Brandon Bussi is showing signs of fatigue in Carolina, and Buffalo hasn’t been in the playoffs in 14 years. The Bruins’ physicality can wear down any team in a 7-game series. Jeremy Swayman has proven he can play at a Conn Smythe level. If the Bruins get past the first round, they’ll gain further confidence and only become more dangerous.

Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina is over the 100-point mark again and is picked by many to go deep in the playoffs. The biggest concern for the Canes, and their fans, remains their goaltending. It appears that Brandon Bussi is hitting a wall and is showing signs of fatigue in his game. While he and the team are still winning, this remains a concern. If Bussi is able to turn the corner, then the question becomes whether or not he’s the game one starter. Andersen has the playoff experience, but Bussi has the production this season.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings have seen another March come and go. Yet again, March sees them drop out of a playoff position. This has many fans panicking. The team showed great strides this season and suffered some very untimely injuries. Over the past several seasons, Yzerman has been accumulating and developing young, talented players. Over the years, he’s remained patient and disciplined and hasn’t made any panic moves. Some of his younger players are now showing their true growth potential. He can now methodically make a trade to improve this roster. Even if the Wings don’t make the playoffs this season, the year-over-year improvements are evident. The amount of young talent he’s accumulated is impressive. These factors have earned Yzerman at least one more season at the helm. He also started the role in 2019. All of his first two years of draft picks had their development severely affected by COVID. Detroit fans need to be patient for one more season before calling for Yzerman’s job. They’re on the verge of something special.

Ottawa Senators

As the Senators fight for their playoff lives, there is a lot of discourse among the fanbase over Linus Ullmark. This seems to be all media and fan-driven. Ullmark has carried the load in goal for the Sens despite his leave earlier in the season. The players and the coaches in the room seem to back him 100%. Until that changes, the story remains clickbait. Yes, Ullmark will be critical to the team’s playoff run. However, if the team plays the way they did against Florida and Tampa, they won’t beat anyone. Yes, they’re suffering through several injuries. However, they put forth a great effort and defeated Buffalo. With 7 games remaining, and 5 of those being at home. They should still be able to get themselves into the playoffs.

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks remain a fun team to watch, and the addition of John Carlson has only helped their defense. Injuries to Cutter Gauthier, Radko Gudas, Ross Johnston, and Pavel Mintyukov have come at a terrible time. They have a favorable schedule down the stretch, with most of their remaining games being played at home. They should be able to clinch home ice by winning the division. They’ll also be able to get healthier heading into the playoffs. It looks like they’ll be facing off against the Utah Mammoth in the first round. This will be an incredible series between two young teams – don’t overlook it when it comes.

San Jose Sharks

It looked like the Sharks were going to fall out of the playoffs. Now, they’re not only back in the race, but holding onto the second Wild Card spot. Only two of their remaining eight games are against teams that currently sit in a playoff spot. The tandem of Askarov and Nedeljkovic has been working. However, it’s Macklin Celebrini who truly has this team in the race. If he’s able to get this team to the playoffs, regardless of how far they go, they’ll play fearlessly. This team getting into the playoffs would all but secure Macklin Celebrini the Hart Trophy.

Utah Mammoth

All eyes in the Central remain focused on the Avalanche, Stars, and Wild. This is allowing the Utah Mammoth to remain significantly under the radar. Dylan Guenther is quietly having a (almost) 40-goal season, while they have five other players with at least 20 goals. Something to keep an eye on, especially going into a first-round matchup (likely) against the Ducks, is the goaltending. Karel Vejmelka has started 57 games and over 3300 minutes. The team still has seven games remaining. Dostal and Vejmelka were teammates in the Olympics, so the head-to-head match-up will be fun. However, it was Dostal getting four of five starts for Czechia in Italy. Even with those starts, Vejmelka has played more minutes and could hit a wall first.

Vegas Golden Knights

The firing of Bruce Cassidy, with so little time left in the season, was a desperate move. It narrows the spotlight entirely on Kelly McCrimmon going forward. The team will very likely get the typical “new-coach” bump. However, John Tortorella will not be able to solve the goaltending woes. Their remaining schedule includes two games against Edmonton and Colorado. Their other four games are against Vancouver, Winnipeg, and two against Seattle. They’ll be fine to end the regular season. I don’t see them getting past a talented offensive team like Edmonton. Their first-round matchup will dictate how far they go.