NHL Playoff Races Heat Up with 18 Days Left

0:00On March 30th, with just 18 days left in the regular season, NHL playoff races are straight fire across both conferences. Top 3 teams per division snag spots, plus two wildcards each side. Minnesota Wild could clinch tonight at Vancouver Beach Vegas anyway and St. Louis handle San Jose in regulation. Monday Slate packs five massive games. Penguins at Islanders could see Sydney Crosby and Evgeny Malcolm back from bumps, with Pitt one point back in a game in hand. Vegas debuts fiery coach John Torturella after firing Bruce Cassidy, hosting a eliminated Vancouver. Anaheim leads Pacific over Edmonton, while St. Louis in San Jose chase wildcards, and teen star Maclin Celebrini eyes 100 points. Fans are buzzing over Sunday's thrillers, Tampa Bay edge Nashville to tie Buffalo and Carolina atop Atlantic. Bruin stormed back from three down to stun Columbus in a shootout. Montreal's Nick Suzuki lit up Carolina for their fifth straight win.

1:00Flyers Trevor Zegra's OT Heroics pulled Philly within two of East Wildcard, and Devils Rally behind Jack Hughes. If playoffs kicked off today, West Pitt's Anaheim over Utah, Edmonton versus Vegas, Colorado against Nashville, Dallas facing Minnesota. East has Tampa over Columbus, Buffalo against Montreal, Carolina, versus Boston, Islanders taking on Pittsburgh. Wildcards stay razor tight, especially West's second spot. These late pushes got everyone locked in. Heep eyes on those wildcard chasers and coaching shakes as the cup hunt intensifies. That's your NHL News Today update, AI powered and always on.