The Boston Bruins are on the verge of securing the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Chicago Blackhawks are battling just to have home-ice advantage in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Original Six franchises will get together in a rematch of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final as part of the NHL's 10-game schedule Thursday night. Thanks to its recent 12-game winning streak, Boston (49-17-6) has built a seven-point lead on the Pittsburgh Penguins atop the East; Chicago (42-16-15) trails the St. Louis Blues by six points in the Central Division, but is three points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche for second place; Colorado has a game in hand.
The Detroit Red Wings continue their pursuit of a 23rd consecutive postseason appearance Thursday when they host the Montreal Canadiens. Detroit (33-25-14) is one of four teams in the East with 80 points; Montreal is in second place in the Atlantic Division, two points up on the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning host the New York Islanders on Thursday.
Later Thursday, the Vancouver Canucks aim for their fourth straight win when they face the Avalanche at Pepsi Center. The surging Canucks have moved within four points of the Phoenix Coyotes for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
The San Jose Sharks, who are two points ahead of the Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific Division and trail St. Louis by two for the conference lead, host the Winnipeg Jets at SAP Center.
Here's a closer look at the action Thursday:
Chicago Blackhawks at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET, NHLN-US, CSN-CH, NESN)
Phoenix Coyotes at New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. ET, FS-A, MSG)
Los Angeles Kings at Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET, FS-W, ROOT)
Montreal Canadiens at Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m. ET, RDS, TSN, FS-D)
New York Islanders at Tampa Bay Lightning (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG PLUS, SUN)
Carolina Hurricanes at Florida Panthers (7:30 p.m. ET, FS-CR, FS-F)
Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET, FS-N, FS-WI, FS-MW)
Buffalo Sabres at Nashville Predators (8 p.m. ET, MSG-B, BELL TV, FS-TN)
Vancouver Canucks at Colorado Avalanche (9 p.m. ET, SNET-P, ALT)
Winnipeg Jets at San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET, TSN-JETS, CSN-CA)
The Stanley Cup Playoffs consist of 16 teams, eight in each conference, but it is now division-based and a wild-card system has been added.
The top three teams in each division will make up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season points and regardless of division. It is possible for one division to send five teams to the postseason while the other sends three.
Seeding of the wild-card teams within each divisional playoff will be determined on the basis of regular-season points. The division winner with the most points in the conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the fewest points; the division winner with the second-most points in the conference will play the wild-card team with the second-fewest points.
The teams finishing second and third in each division will play in the first round of the playoffs. There is no reseeding as the tournament moves to the second round and winners of that series advance to the conference championship series and the right to play in the Stanley Cup Final.
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