Florida Panthers at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, SCRIPPS)
The Canadiens and Panthers play the second of a home-and-home set after Montreal won 4-2 at Florida on Sunday. That win put the Canadiens (34-30-9) back into the final playoff spot in the East. They are tied with the New York Rangers in points (77) but have a game in hand. The Panthers (44-26-3) are tied in points with the Tampa Bay Lightning for second in the Atlantic Division, but Tampa Bay has two more regulation wins. Each is three points behind the first-place Maple Leafs.
Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET: RDS2, TSN5, MSG-B)
The Senators (39-28-6) will try to bounce back after being shut out by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, a 1-0 overtime loss. Still, they have a seven-point lead on the Canadiens for the first wild card in the East. The Sabres (31-36-6) have won four of five and sit nine points behind the Canadiens for the second wild card in the East.
Nashville Predators at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, FDSNSO)
The Blue Jackets (33-30-9) are in the thick of the race in the East, two points behind the Canadiens with a game in hand. Columbus captain Boone Jenner has scored in four straight games. The Predators (27-39-8) have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, SN360)
The Lightning and Islanders complete a home-and-home set after Tampa Bay won 5-3 at home Saturday. Nikita Kucherov has had four points in each of his past two games and looks to extend his point streak to nine (17 points; five goals, 12 assists) for the Lightning (43-25-5), who are tied with the Panthers for second in the Atlantic, three points behind the Maple Leafs. The Islanders (32-31-10), who are 0-3-2 in their past five games, are three points behind the Canadiens for the second wild card in the East.
Detroit Red Wings at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, FDSNDET)
The Blues will go for their 10th straight win and try to pass the Wild for the first wild card in the Western Conference. St. Louis (40-28-7) is one point behind Minnesota. The Red Wings (34-33-6) are three points behind the Canadiens for the second wild card in the East.
Calgary Flames at Utah Hockey Club (9 p.m. ET; Utah16, SNW)
The Flames (35-26-12) moved to within five points of the Blues for the second wild card in the West with a 3-2 shootout win against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday. Calgary is 5-1-1 in its past seven games. Utah (33-29-12) in nine points behind St. Louis for the second wild card in the West.
Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, SN1, TVAS)
The Oilers (42-26-5) are locked in a battle with the Los Angeles Kings for second in the Pacific Division, with each trying to gain home-ice advantage for a likely first-round matchup. Edmonton, which is two points behind Los Angeles for second place, got forward Leon Draisaitl back from an undisclosed injury Saturday in a 3-2 overtime win against Calgary. The Golden Knights (45-20-8) have won six in a row and have a seven-point lead on the Kings for first in the Pacific.
San Jose Sharks at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, NBCSCA+, KCOP-13)
The Ducks (32-33-8) are 15 points behind the Blues for the second wild card in the West, and would be eliminated from playoff contention if they lose in regulation and the Blues defeat the Red Wings. The Sharks (20-44-9) have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Winnipeg Jets at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; FDSNW, TSN3)
The Kings (41-23-9) will look to build on their franchise-record home wins total (27), which they set Saturday. They are 27-4-4 at Crypto.com Arena and can increase their two-point lead on the Oilers for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Jets (51-19-4) have won three straight and are four points ahead of the Dallas Stars for first in the Central Division and three ahead of the Capitals in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy.
If playoffs started Tuesday
Eastern Conference
(1A) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (WC1) Ottawa Senators
(2A) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3A) Florida Panthers
(1M) Washington Capitals vs. (WC2) Montreal Canadiens
(2M) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (3M) New Jersey Devils
Western Conference
(1P) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC1) Minnesota Wild
(2P) Los Angeles Kings vs. (3P) Edmonton Oilers
(1C) Winnipeg Jets vs. (WC2) St. Louis Blues
(2C) Dallas Stars vs. (3C) Colorado Avalanche
About last night
There were four games on the NHL schedule Monday, all with playoff implications:
New Jersey Devils 3, Minnesota Wild 2 (SO): The Devils swept the home-and-home from the Wild after a 5-2 win at Minnesota on Saturday. New Jersey (40-29-7) moved within seven points of the Carolina Hurricanes for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Wild (41-28-6) tied the game on a goal from Matt Boldy with 2:08 left in the third period and moved one point ahead of the Blues for the first wild card in the West.
Philadelphia Flyers 2, Nashville Predators 1: The Flyers (31-36-9) improved to 3-0-0 under new coach Brad Shaw and moved within six points of the Canadiens for the second wild card in the East. The Predators have been eliminated from postseason contention.
Calgary Flames 3, Colorado Avalanche 2 (SO): Ryan Lomberg and Adam Klapka scored 32 seconds apart in the third period to help the Flames rally for the shootout win and move within five points of the Blues for the second wild card in the West with two games in hand. Nathan MacKinnon had an assist to extend his home point streak to 25 games (16 goals, 26 assists) for the Avalanche (45-26-4), who remained six points ahead of the Wild for third in the Central but fell eight points back of the Stars for second.
Dallas Stars 3, Seattle Kraken 1: Wyatt Johnston scored for the fifth straight game and reached 30 this season for the Stars (49-21-4), who won their sixth straight game to move within four points of the Jets in the races for first in the Western Conference, Central Division and Presidents’ Trophy. The Kraken (31-38-6) have been eliminated from postseason contention.
