<p>With just a few weeks left in the 2024-25 season, there is a heated race for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.</p>



<p>Heading into Friday night’s slate of action, the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/ottawa-senators/line-combinations">Ottawa Senators</a> hold the first Wild Card spot in the conference with 77 points, while the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/montreal-canadiens/line-combinations">Montreal Canadiens</a>, sitting eighth in the East, are three points back. As it stands, there are six teams within 10 points of the Canadiens, with four teams within four points.</p>



<p>It has been a tight race for the last couple of months, but with teams only having a dozen or so games left in the regular season, things are only going to get crazier before the eight spots are determined.</p>



<p>On<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCspCk71DOE&amp;ab_channel=DailyFaceoff"> Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE</a>, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk look at the playoff picture in the East and what that means for the dash to the finish line.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="149"></div>



<p><strong>Frank Seravalli:</strong> The Ottawa Senators are scuffling a bit now, for the first time in a little while … the door is wide open now for a team like the Montreal Canadiens to chase down the Sens, which adds yet another layer of intrigue, is that seventh spot back in play. The [Columbus] Blue Jackets are still very much in the race, although it does feel like they’ve hit a bit of a wall. The [New York] Rangers don’t look, to me, like a team that’s possibly going to get it together, and if you sort it by points percentage, they’re actually below Detroit and Columbus…</p>



<p>The Islanders deserve full marks for the way that they battled back again, seemingly from the dead. I look at this team, and I say the fact that they’ve survived with this poor special teams and a team that also, at times, really struggles to score. It’s kind of amazing … they might almost make the playoffs by accident after trading away one of their best players … If I were to pick one team to answer your next question, it would be the Montreal Canadiens to get in. I just like the mojo and energy that they have. I think they have a playoff-ready offense, and obviously, the Lane Hutson differentiator on the back end, that goes a long way.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="227"></div>



<p><em>You can watch the full</em> <em>segment and entire episode here…</em></p>



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