There will be four Canadian NHL teams competing in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring.
Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs punched their ticket to the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season, thanks to both the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings losing. The Edmonton Oilers were able to do the same a few hours later, defeating the Colorado Avalanche in a 6-2 final.
The Vancouver Canucks were the first Canadian team to clinch, doing so exactly one week ago thanks to the San Jose Sharks picking up a 4-0 win over the St. Louis Blues. The Winnipeg Jets became the second Canadian team to do so, thanks to their 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.
That same game resulted in the Flames being eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight season, while the Montreal Canadiens were also eliminated Thursday following a 7-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Ottawa Senators have yet to be mathematically eliminated but can end up with a maximum of 84 points on the season. The Philadelphia Flyers, who occupy the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 83 points, can eliminate the Senators with a victory tonight.
The upcoming playoffs will feature one more Canadian team than a year ago, as the Oilers, Leafs, and Jets were the only three to qualify in 2023. The last time four qualified was during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, where the Leafs, Oilers, Jets, and Canadiens all earned a spot in the Scotia North Division.
Of the four Canadian teams that will participate in this year’s playoffs, three are currently in position to have home-ice advantage in the first round: the Canucks, Oilers, and Jets. The Leafs are sitting third in the Atlantic Division, trailing the second-placed Florida Panthers by six points.
The Oilers have the best odds of all four Canadian teams to win the Stanley Cup, as per FanDuel, sitting fifth with the New York Rangers at +900. Both the Leafs and Canucks sit at +1400, while the Jets round out the list at +1500. Reaching that goal will be no easy feat, as the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup was the Canadiens in 1993.
- You might also like:
- Bobby Ryan removed from podcast after making fun of women’s sports