Morning Coffee: NHL East playoff race down to the wire

UFC 300, NBA, MLB, and one of the best NHL playoff races in recent memory.

Oh, and I nearly forgot the little tournament taking place in Augusta, Georgia this weekend.

Forget about downtime. This weekend will be all about keeping up with an absolutely loaded sports calendar.

After a full day of golf, Saturday night will feature an absolutely stacked UFC fight card, while five NHL teams fight for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

It doesn’t get much better than this.

It’s time to recharge the batteries. Maybe hit a parlay or two.

This is the Morning Coffee for Friday, April 12, 2024.

NHL East playoff race down to the wire

The Pittsburgh Penguins have arrived in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Sure, they’re a little late. However, this playoff race was worth the wait.

With just under a week remaining in the regular season, there are five teams separated by four points in the battle for the final two Eastern Conference playoff spots.

The New York Islanders are four points clear of the competition for third place in the Metropolitan Division with three games to go.

Behind them, there are four teams lined up in a tight battle for the final wild-card spot.

With a 6-5 win over the Detroit Red Wings last night, the Penguins moved into sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot with three games to go.

The Red Wings, Washington Capitals, and the Philadelphia Flyers are all exactly one point back with three games remaining.

For as impressive as Pittsburgh’s recent push has been, they still have their work cut out for them entering the final stretch.

The eighth seed in the Eastern Conference has changed six times in nine days dating back to April 3.

All five of the Islanders, Penguins, Red Wings, Capitals, and the Flyers have had a turn as the eighth seed over that span.

Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, the Isles are in the pole position with 89 points.

The Islanders are -1400 to make the playoffs at FanDuel. That number represents a 93.3 per cent implied probability.

The Isles don’t have to go 3-0 to make the playoffs, but how they perform against the New York Rangers on Saturday and the New Jersey Devils on Monday could have major implications ahead of their regular season finale against the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 17.

Pittsburgh could be found as high as 12-to-1 to make the playoffs at FanDuel at the start of the month. Twelve days later, the Penguins are -150 to make the playoffs.

In terms of implied probability, that’s a jump from a 7.7 per cent chance to a 60 per cent chance in less than two weeks. Still, Pittsburgh is far from a lock to qualify for the postseason.

The Penguins will host the Boston Bruins on Saturday night and then the Nashville Predators on Monday night. Then it’s the regular season finale against the Islanders on April 17.

If they win out, Pittsburgh will punch its postseason ticket in one of the most improbable runs in recent history.

However, one regulation loss could completely shake things up once again.

The Capitals are one point back of the Penguins with games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bruins, and the Flyers down the stretch.

Washington is +370 to make the playoffs at FanDuel.

The Red Wings are also just one point back of Pittsburgh, with a tough test against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, before a back-to-back against the Montreal Canadiens to close out the regular season.

Detroit is +300 to make the playoffs at FanDuel

Then there’s a Flyers’ team that snapped an eight-game slide with a 4-1 win over the Rangers last night for their first victory since March 23.

Sure, they spoiled a potential sweep for the FanDuel Best Bets in this column.

At the same time, Philadelphia pulled within one point of the final wild card with two games to go against the Devils and the Capitals to close out the season.

The Flyers remain a longshot to make the playoffs at +750.

With seven nights of hockey left in the regular season, the stage is set for an epic finish in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race.

Factor in everything else going on in the world of sports, it should be an exciting weekend.

Here’s my FanDuel Best Bet for the weekend: The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Minnesota Wild on the moneyline tonight, parlayed with the UFC 300 fight between Bo Nickal and Cody Brundage not to go the distance at -140.

If you don’t know Nickal, you can find plenty on his climb up the UFC ladder online.

He’s a -3000 favourite versus Brundage, so I’ll cheer for him to keep the fight from going to a decision.

Meanwhile, the Golden Knights have lost three in a row and still haven’t locked up a playoff spot.

They’ll close out the season with four straight games on home ice, where they are 24-11-2.

I’ll take Vegas to beat Minnesota and the Nickal fight not to go the distance at UFC 300 as my FanDuel Best Bet.

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!