The final week of the NHL’s regular season is underway and the Minnesota Wild can lock up second place in the Central Division by winning one of their final three games or by St. Louis losing one of its final four games.
Minnesota will be watching closely to see which team finishes third in the Central: St. Louis or Nashville. Per the NHL’s playoff structure, the second- and- third-place teams in the division meet in the first round of the playoffs.
St. Louis has one game in hand and a two-point lead on Nashville, making the Blues the most likely first-round foe for the Wild.
Remaining schedule for the Blues (record against team in parenthesis):
- Tuesday: Winnipeg (0-3-1)
- Thursday: at Florida (0-1)
- Saturday: at Carolina (0-1)
- Sunday: Colorado (3-0-1)
Remaining schedule for the Predators (record against team in parenthesis):
- Tuesday: NY Islanders (1-0)
- Thursday: at Dallas (2-2)
- Saturday: at Winnipeg (2-1)
Nashville has proved to play better against its final three opponents than the Blues have against its final four opponents.
If St. Louis and Nashville tie, Nashville wins the tiebreaker because they won the season series 3-2.
The Predators can’t finish with more than 97 points, so even if Nashville wins out the Blues could still take third by securing five of a possible eight remaining points.
Either way, the Wild will be hosting a best-of-seven first-round series against St. Louis or Nashville.
