The Box Seats: NHL Matchups Recap, Edition 25
NHL Preview for the Week of March 25th - 31st, 2024
THE BOX SEATS (Edition Twenty-Five, for the Week of March 25th-31st, 2024)
Hello, and welcome to “The Box Seats”, a column designed to keep Pro Hockey fans informed, educated, and entertained with the news and notes from around the National Hockey League. So kick back, and read along every week for our NHL matchups recap.
The Push for the Playoffs continues as we wind down the month of March and head into the all-important month of April, where the Stanley Cup Playoffs officially start in just a few weeks. Teams in both conferences and all divisions are scratching and surviving the late-season run hoping to be one of the final 16 clubs to play for Lord Stanley’s Cup.
We saw a possible Eastern Conference Finals preview on Saturday as the New York Rangers clipped the Florida Panthers in a 4-3 overtime thriller on Primetime TV. We’ll have all the games to watch this week, along with NHL preview stats and betting trends to follow.
First off, let’s start things off with a quick rundown of each Conference with the NHL playoff picture.
STANDINGS AND PLAYOFF PICTURE (as of EOD March 24th, 2024)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Metropolitan Division
Team Record Points Games Remaining
New York Rangers 47-20-4 98 11 (7 Home/4 Road)
Carolina Hurricanes 45-20-7 97 10 (4 Home/6 Road)
Philadelphia Flyers 36-27-9 81 10 (4 Home/6 Road)
Atlantic Division
Florida Panthers 46-20-5 97 11 (8 Home/6 Road)
Boston Bruins 41-16-15 97 10 (3 Home/7 Road)
Toronto Maple Leafs 40-21-9 89 12 (8 Home/8 Road)
Wild Card (Top Two Advance)
Tampa Bay Lightning 39-25-6 85 11 (7 Home/4 Road)
Washington Capitals 36-26-9 81 12 (6 Home/6 Road)
Detroit Red Wings 36-29-6 78 11 (4 Home/7 Road)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central Division
Team Record Points Games Remaining
Colorado Avalanche 46-20-5 97, 11 (8 Home/4 Road)
Dallas Stars 44-19-9 97, 10 (6 Home/6 Road)
Winnipeg Jets 44-22-5 93, 11 (7 Home/4 Road)
Pacific Division
Vancouver Canucks 45-18-8 98, 11 (6 Home/5 Road)
Edmonton Oilers 42-22-4 88, 13 (7 Home/6 Road)
Los Angeles Kings 37-22-11 85, 12 (6 Home/6 Road)
Wild Card (Top Two Advance)
Nashville Predators 42-25-4 88, 11 (5 Home/6 Road)
Vegas Golden Knights 38-25-7 83, 12 (5 Home/7 Road)
St. Louis Blues 38-30-3 79, 11 (9 Home/6 Road)
Minnesota Wild 34-28-9 77, 11 (6 Home/5 Road)
Team Trends To Watch For (as of EOD March 24th, 2024)
- Dallas Stars: 27-5 Run to the 2nd Period Over when lined at 1.5 goals in their last 32 games overall.
- Tampa Bay Lightning: 14-3 run to the 1st Period Over in their last 17 games overall.
- Nashville Predators: 15-2 SU last 17 games overall.
- New York Rangers: 17-5 SU last 22 games overall
- Colorado Avalanche: 11-1 SU last 12 games overall.
Top Five NHL Teams to go Past Regulation
New York Islanders = 24 Games (34.6%)
Boston Bruins = 24 Games (33.8%)
Montreal Canadiens = 22 Games (31.8%)
Toronto Maple Leafs = 21 Games (30.8%)
Dallas Stars = 20 Games (27.7%)
NHL FULL SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK:
March 25th
Vegas at St. Louis – 8:00p ET on NHL Network
With two games to open the week of NHL games action, we see the Vegas Golden Knights travel to Gateway City. They battle the St. Louis Blues in a dogfight for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
March 26th
New Jersey at Toronto – 7:30p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
ESPN+ will have two Toronto Maple Leafs games next week, as superstar forward Auston Matthews continues his quest for 60 goals. The Maple Leafs look to sharpen their swords before the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
March 27th
Boston at Tampa Bay – 7:30p ET on TNT/MAX
Division rivals clash in Tampa Bay on Wednesday as the Boston Bruins look to secure a second consecutive Atlantic title. Tampa Bay holds on to one of the final two Wild Card spots in the East.
Minnesota at Los Angeles – 10:30p ET on TNT/MAX
The Los Angeles Kings seem to be backing their way into the NHL playoffs as the Minnesota Wild are on the second leg of back-to-back games in Southern California.
March 28th
Detroit at Carolina – 7:30p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
The slumping Detroit Red Wings are clinging on to the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference as they head to Raleigh to battle the Hurricanes in a streaming-exclusive showdown.
March 29th
New Jersey at Buffalo – 7:00p ET on NHL Network
With only one game on Friday night, two floundering teams play for exercise late in the season. They get top billing as the Sabres host the Devils.
March 30th
Detroit at Florida – 12:30p ET on NHL Network
It’s an Atlantic Division battle at lunchtime as the Florida Panthers host the Detroit Red Wings. Florida has gone under the total in seven of its last ten games versus division foes.
Vegas at Minnesota – 2:30p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
The Vegas Golden Knights look to take out one club pushing towards the final Wild Card spot in the West as they battle the Wild in Saint Paul.
Toronto at Buffalo- 8:00p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
Two long-time rivals battle in Buffalo on Saturday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs skate into town. The Sabres have won six of the last nine meetings against Toronto.
March 31st
Anaheim at Vancouver – 3:30p ET on TNT/MAX
The Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks battle in a standalone spot on Sunday afternoon to wrap up our NHL matchups recap.
Frozen Fashion: The Hockey Jersey of The Week
Following our NHL matchups recap, we will select one NHL team jersey to highlight that specific sweater’s design and history. This week, we look at one of the brighter-looking uniforms in the league
Nashville Predators 2017 – Current Yellow Home Jersey
The Nashville Predators came into the National Hockey League in 1997 when the league was heavily looking to grow its exposure in the southern part of the United States.
The team’s logo was designed before a contest was held to name the club. The logo paid tribute to the fossilized bones of a saber-toothed tiger that was found under the old First American Center, which is now the Bridgestone Arena.
With the tiger logo, came a color scheme of Navy Blue, Yellow, and Silver with white accents. After several different jerseys in their first two decades, the “Preds” settled on a simple yellow base jersey with blue accents on the collar, sleeves, and bottom.
Inside the tag of the jersey are piano keys, to acknowledge the “Music City” moniker that Nashville has earned for being the official home of country music.
Paired with blue shorts and a yellow helmet, this look has been their home set since the 2017-2018 season. This was when the franchise won its first-ever President’s Trophy by earning the most points of any team in the regular season.
National Hockey League Trivia Question
Who was the first National Hockey League player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, given annually to the Most Valuable Player of that year's Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Montreal Canadiens forward Jean Beliveau scored eight goals and eight assists to earn the first ever Conn Smythe Trophy in the 1965 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Montreal Canadiens won their thirteenth Stanley Cup title at the time.
What Goaltender holds the National Hockey League record for most Shutouts in a single season?
Check Back Next Week for the Answer!
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