PHILADELPHIA -- Four victories against teams that will sit out the Stanley Cup playoffs are all that separate the Penguins from a first-place finish in the East Division.
Whether it also would mean they would claim the East Division championship remains to be seen.
That's because it's not just winning that matters, but also when a team wins.
The first-place Penguins, you see, would finish with 79 points if they win those final four games, beginning with one against Philadelphia Monday at 7:08 p.m. at Wells Fargo Center. Washington, which is second in the division, would have to win its final five games to match that total.
However, in that scenario, the Capitals could get an edge in the first tiebreaker, which is regulation victories. They and the Penguins have 26 each, but Washington has one more regular-season game remaining than the Penguins do.
The other East clubs that will be in the playoffs, the New York Islanders and Boston, have 23 regulation victories each, so they will be hard-pressed to catch the Penguins or Capitals in the tiebreaker, even if they manage to close the points gap that separates them.
If the Penguins and Capitals would finish even in points and regulation victories, the second tiebreaker is regulation/overtime victories, in which the Penguins currently hold a 31-29 advantage.
Should neither of those be decisive, next up would be total victories. That would go to the Penguins if both clubs win out because they hold a 34-32 edge and they prepare to face Philadelphia.
The Flyers were expected to contend for first place in the East -- and maybe even a Stanley Cup -- this season, but their playoff hopes were consigned to the metaphorical morgue a few days ago. Nonetheless, they tend to elevate their game when they face the Penguins, and putting a few dents in an arch-rival's record might give them a wisp of satisfaction in an otherwise disappointing, if not disastrous, season
After a pair of games in Philadelphia, the Penguins will return home for two against Buffalo.
The Sabres, after a brief spasm of competence that included a 4-2 victory against the Penguins April 18, have reverted to their form from most of 2020-21, losing four games in a row and five of their past six. By the time the Sabres report to PPG Paints Arena Thursday evening, they should have their after-the-season travel plans booked, so it's difficult to project how interested or involved they will be in those games.
The Penguins are the only playoff team in the East scheduled to face nothing but teams that have failed to qualify for postseason play the rest of the way; the Capitals and New York Islanders have one each against such an opponent (both against Boston), while the Bruins have two.
Here are the remaining games for the top four teams in the East:
Penguins -- Monday and Tuesday, at Philadelphia; Thursday and Saturday, Buffalo.
Washington -- Monday and Wednesday, at New York Rangers; Friday and Saturday, Philadelphia; May 11, Boston.
New York Islanders -- Monday and Tuesday, at Buffalo; Thursday and Saturday, New Jersey Devils; May 10, at Boston.
Boston -- Monday and Tuesday, at New Jersey; Thursday and Saturday, New York Rangers; May 10, New York Islanders; May 11, at Washington.
