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. 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. 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. 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 look 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. 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. The Flames (35-26-12) moved to within five points of the Blues for the second wild card in the West with a 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. 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 an 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. The Ducks (32-33-8) are 15 points behind the Blues for the second wild card in the West, 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. 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 look to build on 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.
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