NEW YORK (AP) — Connor McDavid called the Pacific Division path to the playoffs “a bit of a pillow fight right now.”
The same race down the stretch in the NHL’s Eastern Conference is anything but.
No team has clinched a berth, and only three — Carolina, Tampa Bay and Buffalo — are strong bets to get in. That means five spots up for grabs among seven contenders who just keep winning to up the ante on each other.
Montreal, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Boston, Ottawa, Detroit and the New York Islanders have combined to go 52-29-17 since play resumed following the Olympic break, a points percentage of .617. Two of them are guaranteed to miss the playoffs and could tie or break the record for the most standings points of any team…