Down the stretch for the end of the 2021 NHL regular season

Team	Record	Points	Games left	Max points
Toronto	34-13-6	74	3	80
Edmonton	32-18-2	66	4	74
Winnipeg	28-21-3	59	4	67
Montréal	24-20-9	57	3	63
Calgary	22-26-3	47	5	57
Ottawa	21-27-5	47	3	53
Vancouver	20-25-3	43	8	59

Editor's note: The NHL has set start times and TV schedules for the rest of the Canadian games.

We have 3 of the 4 teams that will make it out of the Gord Downie Memorial North Division, as referred to by Jay Onrait of Sportscentre on TSN. Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, and the Winnipeg Jets are in the club.

The Montréal Canadiens are close to clinching a playoff spot. Any Montréal point or lost point from Calgary means the Flames are out of the playoff chase. The Ottawa Senators are eliminated. Vancouver's maximum point total is 59 points and the Habs are currently at 57.

Ottawa Senators had a great second half of the season. Winning 6 of the 10 games against the Habs might cost Montréal 3rd place.

Edmonton needs a point to clinch home ice in 1st round. The real battle is for the third slot with Winnipeg and Montréal. There aren't that many games remaining in terms of playoff positioning.

Here is the remaining schedule for the Canadian teams. The May 15-19 contests don't have starting times and could get moved to the afternoon.

May 8 Ottawa @ Winnipeg, 7p+/Montréal @ Toronto, 7p*+/Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p*+
May 9 Ottawa @ Calgary, 8p
May 10 Edmonton @ Montréal, 7p/Vancouver @ Winnipeg, 8p
May 11 Vancouver @ Winnipeg, 8p
May 12 Edmonton @ Montréal, 5p*/Toronto @ Ottawa, 8p+
May 13 Vancouver @ Calgary, 9p+
May 14 Toronto @ Winnipeg, 8p*
May 15 Vancouver @ Edmonton 3:30p*+
May 16 Calgary @ Vancouver 10:30p*+
May 18 Calgary @ Vancouver 4p
May 19 Vancouver @ Calgary 3:30p

* means the game will run on the NHL Network in the United States
+ means the game will run on CBC, Citytv, or nationally on Rogers Sportsnet in Canada

Montréal had its COVID-19 woes earlier in the season but will finish before every other Canadian team, though the Ottawa season will end about 3 hours later. That will give the Canadiens a bit more rest before the Stanley Cup playoffs.

We will update the starting times of those last games north of the 49th parallel.

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Count on Chris Cuthbert and Craig Simpson to call the Toronto series in the first round for Rogers. Cuthbert and Simpson have been the de facto Sportsnet Ontario crew for the Maple Leafs but know when to kick in the national take.

John Bartlett and Garry Galley or Greg Millen will likely call the CBC games of U.S. teams. Rogers can run U.S. feeds but CBC can't. That would start as early as May 15.

As for the Edmonton series, the second crew isn't easily defined. Jim Hughson would get that call if he decides to travel outside Vancouver. If not, Harnarayan Singh and Rick Ball have called games out west this season. Louie DeBrusk and Cassie Campbell-Pascall have been the primary analysts on the late games.

Singh and Millen called the Oilers-Jets on Hockey Night in Canada when that game was moved up to 7 pm on April 17. Reducing travel has guided who covers games: Would DeBrusk work the games in Edmonton and not in Winnipeg (assuming that matchup holds)?

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Anson Carter has been working for Rogers Sportsnet on Wednesday night telecasts this season. Carter has been known for his work in the studio for NBC. Like Kevin Bieska, Carter is based in the United States.

For his day job, Carter did go after the quality of the Canadian division, arguing that only 1-2 teams should make the playoffs. While we don't agree with his take, we would like to understand his logic. NBC doesn't offer time for nuance in its analysis. NBC didn't use Carter to his full potential.

Good for Carter to step up. ESPN, TNT, and Rogers Sportsnet might be interested in working with him after the NBC run.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

While there isn't a NHL Center Ice free preview, NHL.TV is making games free to watch as long as you sign up (no money or credit card needed).

photo credit: NHL

Comments

[Kyle]

I hate to nitpick, but Ottawa has a different logo now than the one in that picture.

[Chad]

Not nitpicking in the slightest. Good catch. I did switch photos though not for that reason.