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The optimist’s case for the eight teams still chasing down a playoff spot

We’reu200b down to crunchu200b timeu200b inu200b theu200b NHLu200b playoffu200b race, withu200b 16 spots upu200b for grabs andu200b lessu200b than three weeksu200bu200b to sort it all out.

At this point, we can basically break the league down into four groups. There are the teams that are already in, either because they’ve clinched (Tampa, Calgary) or are so close that they’re basically locks (Boston, San Jose, Winnipeg and several others). You’ve got the teams that are already out, like Ottawa and Los Angeles. And you’ve got teams like Arizona, Carolina and Columbus that are holding down spots right now and who would really like to run out the clock before somebody can catch them.