After a busy 11-game NHL docket on Tuesday, here the are the latest playoff odds from Moneypuck.com as of Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday, there are just three games around the NHL: two in the Eastern Conference and one in the West. Perhaps the most intriguing one is Wednesday’s game in the Empire State.
NHL Game of the Night: Buffalo @ Rangers
Coming into Wednesday’s action, there’s a three-way point tie atop the Atlantic Division. Through 78 games played apiece, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens all have 102 points. The differential comes down to the NHL’s tiebreaker protocol.
Tiebreaker No. 1 is regulation victories. Tampa and Buffalo both have 39 regulation wins. Montreal has 32 RW. That has Montreal in third place. As of now, they’d play the Sabres in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. That’s because the Lightning and Sabres are separated by the secondary tiebreaker: regulation plus overtime wins. Tampa has 44 to Buffalo’s 42.
Projected goalie matchup: Luukkonen (20-9-3, 2.55 GAA, .911 SV%) vs. Shesterkin (25-17-6, 2.50 GAA, .912 SV%)
Playoff implications: By the end of Wednesday, the Sabres will either be first or third in the Atlantic. If the Sabres win (any means), they’ll temporarily move into first place. Even a regulation tie with an eventual overtime or shootout loss puts the Sabres up one point. Nevertheless, a win is more important. The Bolts and Habs will both have one game in hand after being idle on Wednesday.
Moneypuck odds: Money Puck has the visiting team as the favorite to beat the Rangers, who are solely in a spoiler role and already eliminated from the playoffs. The site gives Buffalo a 55.6% chance to win. It’s likely only due to Shesterkin being the projected starter that the Rangers were given a 44.4% chance of victory. The Blue shirts, as a team, have nothing to play for at this point. It’s all about Draft lottery odds at this point for New York.
Other NHL Games on April 8
The Edmonton Oilers visit the San Jose Sharks. Moneypuck has Edmonton as the favorite (55.8% to 44.2%). The Oilers, the two-time defending Western Conference champions currently hold first place in the Pacific Division by tiebreaker (30 RW to 28 RW) over the Vegas Golden Knights. Both teams otherwise have 88 points apiece through 78 games. The Oilers remain without the services of Leon Drainsaitl (lower-body injury) for the remainder of the regular season. Meanwhile, the Sharks have dropped to fourth in the wildcard race. A win over the Oilers would put San Jose past Los Angeles (83 points, 19 RW) by tiebreaker at the end of the night.
Finally, there’s a 7:30 p.m. EDT Eastern Conference game — Washington Capitals at Toronto Maple Leafs — that should finish ahead of the Edmonton vs. Sharks match. The Caps are still not yet mathematically eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoffs. However, their odds are down to 3% per MoneyPuck. Washington would have to win all of its remaining four games and get plenty of help from all the other Metro playoff teams losing in regulation. However, with a win on Wednesday, the Caps would tie the New York Islanders with 89 points. The Isles (four straight regulation losses) will hold one game in hand at the end of the night.
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