NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Rick Tocchet understood the stakes, so the Philadelphia coach didn’t want to make his players nervous before stepping onto the ice.
鈥淭hey know,鈥� Tocchet said. 鈥淭hey see the standings.鈥�
The standings in the Eastern Conference look a lot different than they did in late March. For one thing, Tocchet’s Flyers have crashed the party and are in a playoff spot for the first time since Jan. 12.
Way ahead of them, the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens have solidified their positions, while the Detroit Red Wings have dropped from what was once a comfortable lead to the outside looking in. Things went so sideways for the New York Islanders that , and the Washington Capitals look to be running out of time to give Alex Ovechkin possibly one more postseason appearance at age 40.
“It鈥檚 just frustrating,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said after at the New York Rangers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 frustrating because we fought as hard as we have to get back into this spot where we鈥檙e within striking distance.鈥�
Race turns upside down
Before play began on March 26, only four points separated the Canadiens (88), Columbus Blue Jackets (87), Penguins and Bruins (86), Ottawa Senators and Islanders (86) and Red Wings (84). With the Flyers all the way back at 80, seven teams vying for five spots.
six consecutive victories and clinched Sunday before its eight-game winning streak that began March 21 came to an end at night. Pittsburgh won five of seven, and Boston went 4-2-1 to erase any doubt of postseason hockey in those markets this spring.
鈥淲ith where the league鈥檚 at, our division, there鈥檚 pressure every night on every team,鈥� said Canadiens winger Cole Caufield, who’s on the verge of being since 1990. “That鈥檚 what makes this thing so fun. It鈥檚 just the guys in this group, in this room that are pushing each other and the staff that we have is unreal. We鈥檙e just going to keep this thing going.鈥�
in overtime Sunday on leapfrogged the Flyers over the Islanders into third place in the Metropolitan Division. Long before Martone arrived following the completion of his college season at Michigan State, the Flyers were 13th out of 16 teams in the East out of the Olympic break and have since won 14 of 21 games to burst into contention.
鈥淭hese past 10 or so games, they鈥檝e been playoff games and we鈥檝e been playing the right way,鈥� forward Noah Cates said. “It鈥檚 been the simple things, the little things that just kind of get us over the hump and in the win column.鈥�
Red Wings and Blue Jackets are falling
Detroit led the Atlantic Division and was tied for the most points in the East on Jan. 15. The cushion ahead of the conference’s ninth-placed team was 12 points.
After falling behind by three goals, rallying to tie it and to Minnesota on Sunday, the Red Wings have gone 8-9-3 since that point and sit two points out with five games left to play.
鈥淥bviously, we would have loved to be in a playoff spot, but that鈥檚 not the case,鈥� forward Lucas Raymond said after at the Rangers on Saturday. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got a great opportunity here. We鈥檝e got these games left here to really do something special with this team. The faith is high in here. We have a lot of faith in ourselves, in our team, so it鈥檚 just about going out there and getting it done.鈥�
Raymond and his teammates have failed to score in the first period in 43 of 77 games, the most in the league.
鈥淚 wish I had the answer,鈥� coach Todd McLellan said. 鈥淲e can get out of the gate quicker: don鈥檛 dip our toe in the water.鈥�
Columbus from Dean Evason to Rick Bowness in mid-January and won 19 of 27 games to surge to second in the division. The Blue Jackets have lost seven in a row since.
Islanders and Capitals running out of gas
Since March 18 when it looked like they’d cruise into the playoffs in , the Islanders have lost seven of 10 games, including four in a row. First-year general manager Mathieu Darche dismissed Roy and hired Peter DeBoer on Sunday with four games left, hoping the new-coach bump could get his team in.
The Capitals are not contemplating any such change with Carbery, the who should see them through , whenever that is. and depth center Nic Dowd with a youth movement afoot, but going 8-3-2 from March 9 through Saturday made the playoffs seem possible.
Getting blown out by the already-eliminated Rangers unearthed some of the defensive issues Carbery thought were there for the past dozen games or so that were covered up by strong goaltending, outscoring the problems and getting lucky. Washington needs a lot of that, plus some help, now three points out with four games remaining.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tough we put ourselves in this spot,鈥� forward Aliaksei Protas said. 鈥淏ut those big games, I feel like they can really show who we are as a team and where we鈥檙e at as a team.鈥�
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AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
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