NHL Playoff Death Watch: Wild card gets a little more wild

Since we're down to the final moments of postseason life for teams in contention, Puck Daddy solemnly begins a daily countdown to annihilation. 

The Boston Bruins scratched and clawed back into their game with the Chicago Blackhawks, but ultimately lost. They have three games remaining, and remain a point behind the Detroit Red Wings for third in the Atlantic and the Philadelphia Flyers for the last wild card.

That’s because the Flyers dropped a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, leaving them with 91 points with four games left. One of those games is against the New York Islanders, who have 93 points and five games left. Another one of those games is against the Red Wings on Wednesday night.

Here are the current standings. The Death Watch tracks the final Wild Card spot and the teams that are chasing it. Their “tragic number” is the number of points gained by the final wild card team or lost by the team chasing it.

All playoff percentages are from Sports Club Stats; tragic numbers and other figures via the NHL. A team is eliminated from play-offs when their "Tragic Number" hits 0.

The Eastern Conference picture, via the NHL:

The Penguins are now five points up on the New York Rangers with three games remaining. The Rangers have four left, and are glancing over their shoulder at the Islanders.

But as we said – who would rather face the Penguins than the Atlantic winner in the first round?

Here are the latest Eastern Conference playoff odds from Sports Club Stats:

*Wild Card Teams

The Bruins’ playoff chances dropped by 8.3 percent with their loss to the Blackhawks. As of this moment, there’s a 50/50 chance that the Red Wings or the Bruins finish in third place in the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, in the West:

The Blues and Blackhawks were both victorious, leaving St. Louis four points ahead of Chicago for home ice in the first round. It also puts them two points in back of the Dallas Stars for top in the conference, which means there’s still an outside chance the Blues can avoid Chicago in the first round altogether.

The Ducks, meanwhile, grabbed the top spot in the Pacific with their win. Four games left, just like the Los Angeles Kings, who visit the Canucks and Flames in the next two nights and have that game with the Ducks lurking on Wednesday night. Fun!

Here are the latest Western Conference playoff odds from Sports Club Stats:

*Wild Card Teams

The Avalanche’s loss on Sunday night was nothing to celebrate – well, unless you’re Matt Duchene – as it dropped their wild card chances to one percent.

--

Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY