The Chicago Blackhawks have two days left in the regular-season and are fighting for a playoff seeding. Each day until the end of the regular-season, we’ll breakdown their chances at seeding in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Thursday’s results
The Blackhawks dropped a 2-1 decision to the St. Louis Blues and lost home-ice advantage in the playoffs. The Hawks will open the playoffs on the road. The Blues clinched the division with the win combined with the Nashville Predators‘ 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild. The Predators are locked into the division’s No. 2 seed. The Wild can still leap the Hawks and move into third place. The Winnipeg Jets lost a 1-0 shootout to the Colorado Avalanche, but still clinched a the final playoff berth in the Western Conference when the Calgary Flames beat the Los Angeles Kings, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Jets will face the top seed in the West, which could be the Ducks or Blues. Both teams are tied with 107 points.
Friday’s scoreboard watch
There are no games that affect the Hawks. The Columbus Blue Jackets host the Buffalo Sabers in a match-up featuring two non playoff teams, while the Pittsburgh Penguins, who hold the second wild-card spot in the East, host the New York Islanders, who are two points ahead of the Penguins in the Metropolitan Division.
Conference Standings
Western Conference Play-Off Race (Games Ending Thursday 4/9) pic.twitter.com/nxwL9Y3kot
— Damian Echevarrieta (@Ech28) April 10, 2015
Eastern Conference Play-Off Race (Games Ending Thursday 4/9) pic.twitter.com/pcqNgewjsc
— Damian Echevarrieta (@Ech28) April 10, 2015
Blackhawks’ outlook
The Hawks still have three possible opponents for the first round: Blues, Predators or Ducks. Here are the scenarios for how each would have to play out:
- Hawks vs. Ducks — The Hawks would have to lose in regulation to the Avalanche on Saturday, the Wild would have to defeat the Blues in overtime or a shootout and the Ducks would have to lose to the Arizona Coyotes.
- Hawks vs. Blues — The Hawks would have to lose in regulation to the Avalanche and the Wild would have to defeat the Blues.
- Hawks vs. Predators — The Hawks would have to pick up at least one point against the Avalanche and/or the Wild have to lose in any fashion to the Blues.
Blackhawks’ schedule
The Blackhawks travel to play the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday in their regular-season finale.
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