NUGGETSDaily :Nuggets: Golden Knights Playoff Clinching Scenarios; Injury Concerns

Buckle up, folks; please keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are at most 21 days away. The league hasn’t officially announced the schedule yet, but since the regular season ends on April 17th, we can assume that the postseason will kick off on the 19th or 20th. The Vegas Golden Knights will have their first opportunity to punch their ticket to ride on Monday, but they’ll have to do some scoreboard-watching.

Elsewhere in the Daily Nuggets, the Edmonton Oilers finally released an update on Connor McDavid’s injury status. Two teams had the opportunity to clinch a playoff berth on Sunday, but no such luck. Alex Ovechkin is just five goals away from cementing his legacy as the greatest goalscorer of all time– and guess what? Even the goaltenders want him to do it.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS NEWS

Let’s dance, baby– the Golden Knights can officially clinch a playoff berth on Monday while idle. How? It’s simple: they need the Calgary Flames to lose to the Colorado Avalanche in regulation. Should the Flames win, things get a little more complicated.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division, the Los Angeles Kings curb-stomped the San Jose Sharks on national television on Sunday night. They rolled to an 8-1 victory, scored the most goals in a single game since 2023, and set the franchise record for home wins in a season with 27. The Kings are funny– they’re 27-4-4 at home and 14-19-5 on the road. Since the Golden Knights have all but locked up the Pacific Division title, the Kings’ record doesn’t really matter– but that kind of home dominance is pretty impressive.

PLAYOFF CLINCHES AND ELIMINATIONS

The Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs were each in a position to clinch a playoff spot on Sunday with a win and a Montreal Canadiens loss. The Canadiens won; the Canes and the Leafs will get another chance at clinching a playoff berth on Tuesday.

Teams that can be eliminated from playoff contention on Monday: None

Teams that can clinch a playoff berth on Monday: Golden Knights

NHL NEWS, RUMORS, & NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

Sportsnet: Here’s some good news for Edmonton Oilers fans– Connor McDavid will be fine. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch doesn’t expect McDavid to play during their upcoming road trip, but he’ll be back before the end of the regular season. This also means he’ll be healthy and ready to eliminate the Los Angeles Kings from the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

Sportsnet: Alex Ovechkin scored his 890th goal on Sunday. It’s starting to feel real; he’s going to break Gretzky’s record, and he’s probably going to do it this season. The Capitals have nine games remaining in the regular season, and if I’m betting on anybody to score five goals in nine games, it’s Ovechkin.

NHL.com: Goaltenders are just like us; they’re rooting for Alex Ovechkin to break Wayne Gretzky’s goal record– just not against them. Buffalo Sabres goaltender James Reimer said it best: “As a goalie, you just want to keep him to under one.”

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The hockey gods blessed the Golden Knights with unprecedented success. They missed the playoffs just once in their eight-year existence; that season, they weren’t eliminated until game 81. But nothing lasts forever– look at the Penguins. After 16 consecutive years of qualifying for the postseason, the Penguins are about to miss the playoffs for the third year in a row. So, it’s time for the dreaded ‘R-Word’; it’s time for a rebuild.

New York Islanders Hockey Now: On Long Island, the Isles are in trouble. They’ve dropped five in a row, and their long-shot chance of making the playoffs gets longer by the day.