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Penguins Playoff Seeding and Eastern Conference Matchup Scenarios

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are headed to the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season. They beat the Detroit Red Wings and reached 99 points are are currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Here are the Penguins and Eastern Conference scenarios for the final weekend of the NHL regular season:

Penguins Get Second Place IF:

–The Penguins win AND New York Islanders lose in regulation at Washington Saturday.

Penguins Finish in Third Place IF:

–Penguins earn a point against the New York Rangers Saturday

–Carolina loses at Philadelphia Saturday

Penguins Fall to the Wild-Card IF:

–Carolina wins at Philadelphia AND the Penguins fail to gain a point.

Currently, the Penguins as the No. 3 seed in the Metro Division will be the road team against the New York Islanders in Round One. The series would start in Long Island for Games 1 and 2, then come back to Pittsburgh for Games 3 and 4 before alternating for Games 5, 6, and 7 if necessary.

Washington clinched the Metro Division Thursday night by beating the Montreal Canadiens. So, they will face the top wild-card, which is currently Carolina. However, the possibility exists the Penguins fall to the top wild-card and face Washington in Round One.

Tampa Bay long ago clinched the President’s Trophy and the top seed in the NHL. Tampa Bay will face the second wild-card which is still to be determined. Columbus and Montreal are tied with 94 points, though Columbus has one game in hand. Columbus can clinch the playoff spot if they beat the New York Rangers Friday because Columbus has 44 ROWs (Regulation Overtime Wins) which is three more than Montreal.

ROWs are the first tiebreaker in the NHL.