What's at stake over the final week of the NHL season

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With eight days and just a handful of games left for each team, we have some interesting races for playoff spots and individual awards on our hands.

Let's look at the playoff picture first, with a focus on the Canadian teams.

In the Eastern Conference, seven of the eight playoff berths are officially spoken for, while Montreal has all but clinched the final wild card with six consecutive wins heading into Friday night's game at Ottawa. If the Stanley Cup playoffs started today, the Canadiens would face Alex Ovechkin's top-seeded Washington Capitals.

The Senators, who are returning to the post-season for the first time since 2017, currently hold the top wild-card spot and are in line to face Toronto in the first Battle of Ontario series in 21 years.

The Maple Leafs tightened their grip on first place in the Atlantic Division (and the No. 2 seed in the conference) with a big 4-3 overtime win last night at Tampa Bay. Matthew Knies scored the winner to complete a hat trick and put Toronto three points ahead of the Lightning, who are pointed toward a Battle of Florida against the Stanley Cup champion Panthers.

One Eastern matchup is locked in: Carolina will face New Jersey in the first round, and the Hurricanes will likely have home-ice advantage as they lead the Devils by seven points for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Washington clinched first place in the Metro earlier this week.

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In the Western Conference, three of